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THE  JOURNAL 


OF 


HOME    ECONOMICS 


PUBUSHED  BY 

THE  AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOCIATION 


CX)MPLETE  IN  TWELVE  NUMBERS 
VOL.  Xn,  1920    . 


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BALTIMORE,  MD. 

1920 


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THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 


■*■■«■ 


I 


Vol.  Xn  JANUARY,  1920  No.  1 

THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAMINES 

KAXHARINB  BLUNT  AMD  CHI  CHE  WANG^ 

Unwrniy  cf  Chicago 

It  is  not  a  simple  undertaking  to  summarize  even  the  more  important 
points  in  the  recent  literature  on  vitamines,  because  the  subject  has 
been  developing  very  fast  during  the  last  few  years,  and  parts  of  it  are 
still  much  in  debate.  Not  only  has  information  been  gained  from! 
laboratory  research  but  from  observations  of  the  tragic  human 
experience  with  inadequate  war  diets. 

The  material  is  considered  under  the  headings  of  the  three  vitamines 
now  recognized — fat-soluble  A,  present  in  butter  fat,  cod-liver  oil,  green 
leaves,  etc.,  the  absence  of  which  results  often  in  the  eye  disease  xero- 
phthalmia; water-soluble  B,  fairly  widely  distributed  in  plants,  and 
necessary  to  prevent  poljmeuritis  or  beri-beri;  and  water-soluble  C, 
the  antiscorbutic  vitamine.    All  are  necessary  for  the  best  growth. 

PAT-SOLUBLE  A 

Dr.  H.  Gideon  Wells*  of  the  Department  of  Pathology  of  the  Uni- 
verdty  of  Chicago,  who  served  in  Roumania  xmder  the  Red  Cross,  tells 
a  dramatic  story  showing  the  need  of  this  vitamine  for  children.  The 
scanty  diet  in  Roumania,  when  he  arrived,  consisted  of  little  more  than 
a  limited  amount  of  corn-meal  and  quantities  of  a  very  thin  bran-vege- 
table soup.  There  was  no  milk  nor  butter,  for  the  Austrians  had  driven 
off  the  cows.    Many  of  the  children  had  eye  disease,  sometimes  so  severe 

*  The  authors  wish  to  thank  Dr.  Lafayette  B.  Mendel  and  Dr.  E.  V.  McCollum  for  read- 
ing this  paper  and  making  important  suggestions. 
'  I^iBODal  communication. 

1 


• , 


•   •  • 

•    •  • 


2  .    ^r^  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

.  •  •  • 

as  to  cause  blifidness.    There  also  was  much  of  the  distressing  swollen 

C04<fiti6ji- tnown  as  war-edema,  the  latter  probably  due  to  the  low 

:-.C£Lk>ries  and  especially  the  low  protein  of  the  diet.    Dr.  Wells,  at  the 

.  :  *.;\:lieight  of  his  difficulties  in  getting  food  of  any  kind,  learned  of  a  vessel 

which  had  put  into  Archangel  with  cod-liver  oil  as  its  entire  cargo. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  Red  Cross  all  of  it  was  sent  down,  and  it 

saved  the  lives  of  many  of  the  children.    After  their  long  fat  starvation, 

they  took   readily  what  might  have   been  refused  under  happier 

circumstances. 

Not  only  xerophthalmia  but  rickets  may  be  connected  with  lack  of 
the  fat-soluble  vitamine.  Work  by  Mellanby  (1)  on  puppies  seems  to 
point  in  this  direction,  and  possibly  that  of  Hess  and  Unger  (2)  on  the 
value  of  cod-liver  oil  in  curing  and  preventing  rickets  in  negro  infants. 

The  need  for  fat-soluble  A  is  not  limited  to  children  or  young  animals 
in  general.  Drummond  (3) ,  in  London,  has  shown  that  as  yoxmg  rats 
approach  maturity  their  requirement  becomes  markedly  less.  They 
can 'even  live  without  it  in  apparently  good  health  for  considerable 
time,  but  sooner  or  later  they  lose  weight  and  often  have  eye  disease. 
They  also  show  a  distinct  decrease  in  resistance  to  various  infections, 
many  deaths  from  infectious  disease  occurring.  The  older  the  young 
rats  are  the  longer  they  can  stand  the  inadequate  diet  before  their  decline. 
Dr.  McCoUum  in  his  lectures  has  reported  what  he  believes  to  be  a 
similar  pathological  eye  effect  in  adult  human  beings  in  certain  northern 
lumber  camps  where  the  only  fat  is  cured  bacon  and  where  the  diet  must 
be  almost  completely  lacking  in  il.  A  condition  known  as  "night- 
blindness"  is  prevalent — a  defect  of  eyesight  not  noticed  by  the  non- 
reading  laborer  till  the  dim  light  of  night.  "There  is  therefore  every 
reason, "  says  Drummond,  "  that  great  care  should  be  taken  to  ensure 
that  dietaries  of  adults  contain  an  adequate  supply  of  foodstuffs  in 
which  the  fat-soluble  A  is  present. " 

The  fat-soluble  vitamine  occurs  in  more  foods  than  was  at  first  thought, 
but  in  variable  quantities.  Butter  fat  is  still  regarded  as  the  most 
important  source,  but  the  quantity  (4)  therein  depends  upon  the  quantity 
of  A  in  the  feed  of  the  cow  and  upon  the  manipulation  of  the  butter  itself. 
(See  below  in  connection  with  stability.)  Whale  oil  is  another  fairly 
rich  source,  though  not  so  rich  as  butter.  Drummond  (5),  with  care- 
fully standardized  methods  of  feeding  young  rats  and  noting  the  change 
of  weight,  if  any,  week  by  week,  found  that  he  obtained  about  the  same 
satisfactory  growth  when  the  fat-soluble  A  came  wholly  from  8  per  cent 


1920]  PSESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAlilNES  3 

butter  fat  or  20  per  cent  whale  oil.  McCoUum  (6)  has  found  even 
smaller  amounts  of  butter  fat  entirely  satisfactory — as  little  as  3  per  cent. 
Fish  oils  in  general,  and  fat  fish  may  serve  as  valuable  sources.  Oleo 
oil,  as  shown  by  Osborne  and  Mendel  several  years  ago,  contains  a  fair 
amount  of  it,  and  so  do  oleomargarines  made  from  oleo  oil,  but  not  the 
nut  margarines  made  wholly  from  vegetable  oils  (8).  However,  as 
Steenbock  (4)  says,  ^'Oleomargarines  ....  are  not  to  be  con- 
sidered in  the  same  dass  as  good  butter  in  providing  the  organism  with 
the  fat-soluble  vitamine. "  Pig's  liver  oil,  and  liver  tissue,  kidney  tissue, 
probably  ^andular  organs  in  general  (9)  give  fair  supplies — that  is, 
that  portion  of  the  animal  of  which  we  eat  little  is  far  superior  to  the 
skeleton  muscle  of  which  we  eat  much. 

Of  the  vegetable  sources  we  know  even  better  than  formerly  the  value 
of  spinach.  Osborne  and  Mendel  (10)  fed  rats  dried  spinach  to  the 
extent  of  5  per  cent  of  the  diet  as  their  only  source  of  fat-soluble  vitamine 
for  eighty-seven  and  eighty- three  days;  then  substituted  the  spinach 
by  yeast,  which  is  free  from  the  fat-soluble  vitamine,  containing  only 
the  water-soluble.  The  rats  continued  to  thrive  for  ninety-three  and 
ninety-seven  days  more;  that  is,  they  had  stored  up  .enough  of  the  fat- 
soluble  vitamine  from  the  spinach  to  last  through  the  long  period  of 
deprivation.  Cabbage  is  not  so  satisfactory.  Carrots  (11),  although 
not  leaves,  have  some  fat-soluble  A;  peas  (12)  a  small  amount.  So,  too, 
possibly  do  bananas  (13).  Yellow  com  (14)  may  contain  sufficient 
amoimts  to  allow  normal  growth  and  reproduction  in  the  rat,  but 
white  com  is  valueless  as  a  source. 

A  very  interesting  generalization'  has  been  made  by  Steenbock  (14) 
about  the  foods  which  contain  this  vitamine:  they  all  contain  yellow 
coloring  matter.  Butter,  egg  yolks,  cod-liver  oil  are  obvious  examples. 
Oleo  oil,  the  part  of  the  beef  fat  which  contains  the  vitamine,  is  yellow, 
the  solid  beef  fat  which  lacks  it  is  colorless.  Of  the  conmierdal  oleo 
oils  which  he  has  tested,  those  most  highly  pigmented  are  richest  in  the 
fat-soluble  vitamine.  Colored  roots  such  as  carrots  and  sweet  potatoes 
have  it,  but  sugar  beets,  mangels,  dasheens,  and  Irish  potatoes  have 
little  or  none.  Spinach  and  grass,  of  course,  have  yellow  associated 
with  their  chlorophyl.  The  carotin  isolated  by  Steenbock  did  not 
serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  vitamine,  but  carotin  is  a  very  labile  sub- 

« 

*  See,  however,  an  article  by  Palmer,  which  appeared  after  this  paper  had  gone  to 
pieaa,  in  Science,  50, 502,  (Nov.  28),  1919,  and  which  enumerates  vaiioiis  foods  with  yellow 
color  and  without  A,  and  with  A  without  yellow  color. 


4  THE  joxmNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

stance  and  may  have  changed  chemicaliy  in  the  process  of  removal. 
'^It  appears  reasonably  safe,  at  least  as  a  ^vorking  hypothesis,  to  assume 
that  the  fat-soluble  vitamine  is  a  yellow  plant  pigment  or  a  closely 
related  compound.  '* 

The  stability  of  fat-soluble  A  is  not  nearly  so  great  as  has  been  thought. 
The  earlier  conclusion  that  it  is  stable  to  heat  is  due  more  probably  to 
the  fact  that  sudi  large  quantities  of  the  vitamine-containing  food 
were  fed  that  a,  destruction  of  part  of  it  would  not  be  noted.  Steenbock, 
Boutwell  and  Kent  (4)  have  foimd  that  after  butter  fat  had  been  heated 
for  four  hours  at  lOO^  its  growth-promoting  properties  had  largely  dis- 
appeared, and  after  one  hour  at  100^  they  had  distinctly  lessened. 
Drummond,  interested  particularly  in  the  use  of  hydrogenated  fats  as 
butter  and  lard  substitutes  during  the  fat  shortage  in  England,  has 
investigated  the  question  both  for  whale  oil  and  butter.  The  hydro- 
genation  of  the  wh^e  oil  at  250^  for  four  hours  completely  destroyed 
the  A .  Even  heating  at  100^  for  an  hour  had  the  same  effect,  or  keeping 
it  for  eighteen  days  at  37^  spread  out  exposed  to  air.  The  heat  was  the 
cause  of  this  loss  of  ef&dency,  for  shaking  with  oxygen  at  room  tem- 
perature made  no  change.  Steenbock  mentions  a  sample  of  butter 
which  showed  no  demonstrable  amount  of  A  after  it  had  been  kept 
three  weeks  tmsalted  in  a  poorly  iced  refrigerator.  The  probability 
of  some  destruction  during  ordinary  cooking  processes  is  thus  of  interest. 

With  cabbages  (15),  too,  high  temperatures  or  drying  may  reduce 
the  efficiency,  an  hour's  heating  at  100^-120^  having  no  effect  on  A, 
but  two  hours  at  130^  destroying  it  completely. 

The  fat-soluble  vitamine  therefore  seems  to  be  of  even  greater  impor- 
tance in  the  diet  of  young  and  old  than  was  formerly  realized,  and  while 
it  is  more  widely  distributed,  it  is  less  stable  than  the  first  investigations 
demonstrated,  and  may  be  even  destroyed  in  part  at  temperatures 
used  in  cooking. 

WATER-SOLUBLE  B 

For  studying  the  water-soluble  vitamine,  observations  have  been 
continued  on  the  growth  of  rats  and  on  the  onset  of  polyneuritis  in 
pigeons  and  chickens.  While  it  is  not  definitely  proved  that  these  two 
methods  deal  with  one  and  the  same  substance,  the  assumption  that 
such  is  the  case  is  usually  made.  A  new  and  most  promising  method 
of  research  has  just  been  developed  by  Williams  (16)  in  the  laboratory 
of  Physiological  Chemistry  of  the  University  of  Chicago.    Yeast  (16, 


1920]  PSESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAMIMES  .5 

1 7) ,  unlike  the  higher  plants,  cannot  grow  without  this  vitamine.  There- 
fore if  drops  of  different  solutions  each  containing  a  single  yeast  cell 
are  observed  microscopically  at  intervals  of  a  few  hours,  the  growth  of 
the  yeast  and  the  number  of  cells  into  which  it  has  multiplied  will 
show  not  only  whether  the  solutions  contain  the  vitamine  but  the  relative 
quantities  present.  This  method  is  of  course  much  simpler  and  quicker 
than  the  tisual  feeding  experiment  and  will  probably  result  in  a  rapid 
increase  in  our  knowledge  of  this  vitamine. 

Water-soluble  B  occurs  more  widely  in  plant  than  in  animal  foods. 
Milk  is  by  no  means  rich  in  it.  Osborne  and  Mendel  (18)  found  it 
necessary  to  give  their  rats  at  least  16  cc.  per  day  for  normal  growth. 
Th^  discuss  but  do  not  explain  to  their  satisfaction  the  much  quoted^ 
results  of  Hopkins  who  secured  remarkable  growth  on  adding  as  little 
as  2  cc.  of  milk  to  a  diet  on  which  his  rats  were  failing.  They  warn 
against  a  diet  of  white  bread  and  only  a  little  milk,  or  against  feeding 
infants  a  top  milk,  water,  sugar  mixture.  Muscle  tissue  also  is  low  in 
this  vitamine,  but  various  other  animal  tissues — heart,  kidney,  brain, 
and  liver — are  satisfactory  sources  of  supply — a  distribution  similar  to 
that  of  A  (9)  though  somewhat  wider. 

An  especially  satisfactory  statement  of  the  occurrence  of  this  vita- 
mine in  plants,  as  so  far  known,  is  given  by  Osborne  and  Mendel  (19) 
in  the  Journal  of  Biological  Chemistry  for  this  past  August.  They  list 
a  wide  variety  of  plant  foods,  including  among  others  seeds  of  cereals 
and  a  number  of  legumes,  spinach,  cabbage,  potatoes,  and  carrots; 
and  they  add  to  the  list,  from  their  own  recent  experiments,  the  usual 
edible  portion  of  the  onion,  turnip,  beet  (leaves,  stem,  and  root),  and 
tomato.  A  goodly  number  of  our  common  vegetables  have  thus  been 
tested  for  B  and  so  far  without  exception  everyone  has  been  found  to 
contain  it — a  much  wider  distribution  than  that  of  A.  The  part  of  the 
cereal  that  is  rich  in  it  is  not  the  bran  as  usually  supposed,  so  much  as 
the  germ,  which  is  often  removed  with  the  bran,  e.g.,  in  rice  polishings. 
Commercial  wheat  bran  contains  more  or  less  vitanaine,  according  to 
the  amount  of  the  germ  associated  with  it.  Of  one  sample  tested  by 
Chick  and  Hume  (20)  five  and  a  half  times  as  much  had  to  be  used  to 
cure  polyneuritic  pigeons  as  was  necessary  when  the  germ  was  used. 
Our  commercial  bran  is  especially  thoroughly  ''skinned"  when  it  comes 
from  large  well-equipped  modem  flour  mills  (21),  and  therefore  is  of 
little  value  to  correct  the  deficiency  of  white  flour  and  bread.    Even 

«  Shenaan:  Food  Products,  1914,  p.  79. 


6  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

the  yeast  or  the  milk  used  in  the  white  bread  does  not  prevent  poly- 
neuritis in  pigeons  (22),  though  the  yeast  delays  the  period  of  its  onset. 
On  the  other  hand,  bread  made  from  real  graham  flour  is  adequate.  Of 
course  these  facts  have  important  bearing  upon  the  kind  of  flour  most 
desirable  from  the  standpoint  of  national  nutrition.  Voegtiin  and  Lake 
in  a  later  paper  (23)  say, ''  We  believe  that  a  product  which  does  not 
contain  any  bran  but  does  include  the  germ  would  not  possess  these 
objectionable  features  [of  causing  intestinal  disturbances],  would  at  the 
same  time  be  more  nutritious  and  would  reduce  greatly  the  possibility 
of  vitamine  deficiency  in  the  modem  mixed  diet. " 

Yeast  (10)  is  distinctly  the  richest  known  source  of  the  water-soluble 
vitamine,  being  four  times  as  efficient  as  dried  spinach  which  ranks 
next  among  a  group  studied  quantitatively.  Only  half  as  rich  as  spinach 
are  whole  wheat,  soy  beans,  dried  eggs,  milk  solids.  Cabbage,  too,  is 
not  so  satisfactory  as  spinach.  Wheat  germ  is  a  valuable  source,  and 
so  are  navy  beans  and  .peas.  Immature  alfalfa  clover  and  timothy 
show  decided  advantage  over  the  mature  (19).  This  variation  with  age 
may  apply  to  plant  foods  in  general  and  may  mean  a  real  nutritive 
superiority  for  young  vegetables. 

Like  fat-soluble  A,  B  is  not  so  stable  toward  heat  as  we  formerly 
supposed.  McCollimi's  beans  and  peas  (12),  which,  although  heated 
for  one  and  a  quarter  hours  in  an  autoclave,  still  supplied  all  the  B  that 
the  rat  needed,  were  fed  in  large  quantities,  often  as  much  as  25  per 
cent  of  the  diet.  When  the  food  supplying  B  is  fed  in  the  smallest 
amoimt  which  will  produce  growth  at  all  (24) ,  it  is  found  that  heating 
above  100^  does  cause  deterioration,  and  that  the  heated  food  has  to  be 
supplied  in  larger  quantities  than  the  raw  food.  For  example,  while 
wheat  germ  (25)  heated  2  hours  at  100^  loses  little  or  none  of  its  potency, 
heated  40  minutes  at  113^  it  loses  one-half,  and  heated  2  hours  at  118^- 
124^  it  may  lose  up  to  nine-tenths.  These  temperatures,  of  course, 
point  to  the  safety  of  the  water-soluble  vitamine  in  our  ordinary  cooking 
processes,  but  the  danger  of  its  partial  or  complete  destruction  in  com- 
mercial canning  or  other  high  pressure  cooking.  Tinned  meat.  Chick 
and  Himie  report,  is  devoid  of  this  vitamine,  a  fact  shown  not  only  by 
their  laboratory  experiments,  but  by  the  repeated  development  of  beri- 
beri in  the  British  army  in  the  Dardanelles  and  Mesopotamia  where  the 
diet  for  a  time  consisted  only  of  white  bread,  tinned  meat,  and  jam. 

The  stability  of  B  toward  alkali  seems  to  be  imcertain,  though  here, 
too,  according  to  Chick  and  Hume,  the  difficulties  may  be  due  to  feed- 


1920]  PHESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAMINES  7 

ing  such  large  quantities  that  a  destruction  of  half  or  even  more  during 
the  alkali  treatment  would  not  have  noticeable  effect  on  the  animals. 
Sullivan  and  Voegtlin  (26)  of  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service, 
who  observed  several  years  ago  that  chickens  developed  polyneuritis 
promptly  on  com  bread  made  with  soda  but  not  on  com  bread  made 
with  salt,  now  report  polyneuritis  in  cats  and  dogs  fed  meat  treated  with 
sodium  carbonate  till  d&tinctly  alkaline  and  then  heated  at  120^  for 
three  hours;  meat  heated  without  the  alkali  was  stUl  a  fairly  satisfac- 
tory food.  Rats,  however,  that  were  fed  the  alkali  meat  lived  for  at 
least  110  dajrs — a  fact  quoted  by  Osborne  and  Wakeman  (27)  to  show, 
with  experiments  of  their  own,  that  the  vitamine  is  more  resistant  to 
alkali  than  generally  supposed.  Daniels  and  McClurg  (28)  feeding 
generous  quantities  of  navy  beans,  soy  beans,  and  cabbage,  found  the 
diets  entirely  satisfactory  even  when  cooked  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
with  5  per  cent  sodium  bicarbonate,  McCollum  and  Simmonds  (29) 
find  the  B  in  wheat  germ  destroyed  by  boiling  with  0.28  per  cent  sodium 
hydroxide  for  an  hotir,  but  Osbome  and  Wakeman  (27)  find  it  imdi- 
minished  in  yeast  digested  with  tenth  normal  sodium  hydroxide  (slightly 
stronger  than  McCoUum's)  for  two  and  a  half  hours,  and  then  heated 
for  two  hours.  It  may  be  that  previous  extraction  with  ether  or  other 
removal  of  the  fat  lessens  the  stability  of  B  (16). 

What  happens  in  the  body  as  a  result  of  lack  of  the  water-soluble  B 
in  the  diet?  McCarrison  (30),  working  in  India*  has  made  striking 
advances  in  answering  this  question.  He  has  observed  changes  during 
life  and  loss  in  weight  of  organs  after  death  in  a  large  group  of  pigeons 
made  polyneuritic  by  a  diet  of  polished  rice  and  later  a  group  fed  polished 
rice,  butter  fat  to  supply  A ,  and  onions  for  C*  There  was  little  dif- 
ference between  the  group  undergoing  B  starvation  and  that  with 
general  vitamine  starvation.  The  body  temperature  of  the  pigeons 
gradually  fell  from  a  normal  average  of  107^F.  to  98^  or  99^F.,  lowing 
a  marked  slowing  up  of  metabolic  processes.  Digestive  processes  were 
greatly  impaired;  the  starch  was  largely  excreted  unchanged.  The 
different  organs  of  the  body  lost  weight  strikingly,  all  except  the  adrenals 
which  gained — thymus  most,  then,  in  order,  testicles,  spleen,  ovary, 
pancreas,  heart,  liver,  kidneys,  stomach,  thyroid,  brain.    The  testicles 

*  A  &izly  fuU  Abstiact  of  the  fint  of  these  papen  is  given  m  BriHsh  Meiietd  Journal  1, 
177,  (Feb.)  1919,  and  a  btiefer  reference  to  it  by  Le  Mer  in  J<mr.  Amer.  Med  Assoc,  73^ 
1381,  (Nov.  1),  1919. 

*  Observe  apparent  contradiction  here  with  Osbome  and  Mendel's  work  with  rats,  prov« 
ing  jB  in  muons.  McCarrison's  pigeons  became  polyneuritic  even  more  promptly  in  the 
batter-fat-onion  group  than  on  polished  rice  alone. 


8  THE  jouKNAL  OF  HOiCE  scoKOiacs  [January 


lost  93  per  cent  and  the  ovaries  69  per  cent  of  the  ordinal  weight. 
^'Perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  results  of  a  dietary  deficient  in 
so-called  anti-neuritic  vitamine  is  the  constant  and  very  pronounced 
atrophy  of  the  testicles  in  males  and  the  similar  but  less  pronounced 
atrophy  of  the  ovary  in  females."  Other  investigators  have  noted 
dmilar  results  of  vitamine  starvation.  Drummond  found  that  when 
male  rats  after  as  short  a  time  as  14  days  on  a  diet  adeqxuite  except 
for  B  were  mated  with  females  on  an  adequate  diet  no  pregnancies 
resulted. 

Such  degrees  of  atrophy  in  the  himian  subject  would  result  in  sterility 
in  males  and  in  amenorrhoea  and  sterility  in  females.  Human  obser- 
'Vations  are  not  lacking.  McCarrison  quotes  Vedder  as  saying  that 
beri-beric  women  cease  to  menstruate.  '^  War  amenorrhoea  "  (abnormal 
cessation  of  menstruation)  is  inferred  to  in  many  recent  German  peri- 
odicals with  alarm,  attributing  it  in  part  at  least  to  defective  nutriti(m. 
In  the  Charit£-Frauenklim'k  in  Beriin  it  has  been  seven  times  more 
frequent  than  before  the  war.^  In  Belgium,  too,  many  cases  have  beoi 
observed  (31).  The  experience  of  Benedict's  yotmg  men  is  also  strik- 
ing (32).  These  difficulties  may,  of  course,  be  due  to  general  food  lade 
^rather  than  to'  the  specific  deficiency  in  B. 

Miscellaneous  infections  were  very  frequent  among  McCarrison's 
pigeons.  The'whole  body  was  liable  to  be  overcome  by  a  rank  growth 
of  bacteria;  =  There  may  be  some  similarity  between  this  observation 
and  the  great  increase  in  tuberculosis  abroad  during  the  war. 

The  whole  morbid  process  McCarrison  believes  to  be  due  to  nuclear 
starvation  of  all  tissue  cells.    ''Vitamines  are  nuclear  nourishers. " 

WATER-SOLUBLE  C 

The  third  vitamine  now  recognized  is  the  antiscorbutic.  The  earlier 
conclusion  (33)  that  scurvy  is  not  a  deficiency  disease,  but  is  due  to 
constipation,  has  been  abandoned.  Its  adoption  probably  arose  from 
having  a  non-controlled  milk  intake  in  the  diet  of  the  experimental 
animals  and  therefore  a  slight  and  variable  amount  of  the  vitamine. 

With  this  vitamine  even  more  than  with  the  others,  human  expe- 
rience as  well  as  laboratory  experiments  must  be  considered — both 
infantile  scurvy  and  adult  scurvy.  Mild  cases  of  the  latter  may  merely 
manifest  themselves  in  languor  and  depression,  and  severe  cases  in  loose- 
jiess  and  final  falling  out  of  the  teeth,  soreness  and  hemorrhages  of  the 

*  (British  Midical  Journal,  Dec.  1,  1917,  p.  734). 


1920]  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAHINES  9 

gums,  sweUing  of  the  joints,  great  weakness,  and  finally  death.  Degen- 
erative tooth  changes  are  particularly  characteristic  of  scurvy  (34). 
They  have  been  described  at  length  in  the  guinea-pig  and  are  said  to  be 
identical  in  the  huzoan  subject. 

The  laboratory  animal  most  used  is  the  guinea  pig,  for  rats,  while 
they  thrive  better  with  the  antiscorbutic  than  without  it,  (35)  do  not 
have  scurvy.  The  usual  experimental  method,  carefully  worked  out, 
is  to  note  the  smallest  quantity  of  ejperimental  food  which  will  prevent 
the  onset  of  scurvy  in  the  guinea  pig  when  added  to  a  basal  ^'scorbutic 
diet''  such  as  oats,  hay,  and  autodaved  milk. 

Among  the  di^ei  workers  on  the  antiscorbutic  vitamine  are  Hess  in 
New  York,  Givens  in  New  Haven  and  Rodbester,  and  the  group,  largely 
women,  at  the  Lister  Institute  of  Preventive  Medicine,  London, — 
Harriette  Chick,  E.  Maigaret  Hume,  and  others.  The  results  of  the 
latter  were  made  the  basis  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Food  (War) 
Committee  of  the  Royal  Society  on  the  prevention  of  scurvy  in  the 
army  and  navy  (36).  Three  recent  editorials  (37)  in  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Medical  Association  summarize  much  of  their  work  as 
well  as  that  of  others, 

"The  vitamine  is  present  in  living  vegetable  and  animal  tissues,  in 
largest  amounts  in  fresh  fruits  and  green  vegetables,  to  a  less  extent  in 
root  vegetables  and  tubers.  It  is  present  in  small  amount  in  fresh 
meat  and  milk, and  has  not  been  detected  in  yeast,  fats,  cereals,  pulses** 
(38).  It  is  sensitive  to  high  temperature  and  destroyed  ''when  the 
living  tissue  is  disorganized  by  drying  and  other  methods  of  preser- 
vation. "  Orange  juice  has  been  generally  recognized  as  one  of  the  best 
antiscorbutics;  grapes  are  only  about  one  tenth  as  satisfactory.  Orange 
peel  extract  is  also  of  value.  Lime  juice  is  poor.  The  ''lime  juice"  of 
the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  century  which  was  responsible  for 
the  disappearance  of  scurvy  from  the  British  navy  was  really  lemon 
juice  from  the  Mediterranean  co\Lntries.  In  1875  certain  vessels  on 
polar  exploration  changed  from  the  old  "lime  juice"  to  the  true  west 
Indian  lime,  and  scurvy  broke  out  again  with  great  severity.  The 
.Lister  Institute  work  has  shown  that  fresh  lemon  juice  has  about  four 
times  the  >^Jue  of  fresh  lime  juice  as  an  antiscorbutic  and  that  preserved 
,lime  juice  is  almost  valueless. 

Of  t^e  vegetables:  (39),  of  ten  more  readily  available  than  the  fruit  and 
che^er,  raw  cabbage  is  even  better  than  orange  juice,  s^nd  the  raw 
juices  of  swede  (a  kind  of  turnip),  beetroot,  and  carrots  are  of  service. 


10  THE  J0T7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [JanUEXy 

Cooking  (40),  however,  diminishes  or  entirely  destroys  their  efficiency 
except  when  the  vegetables  (carrots)  are  young  (Hess).  Cabbage  (15) 
cooked  for  one  hour  at  60^  or  twenty  minutes  at  90^  to  100^  lost  about 
70  per  cent  of  its  antiscorbutic  value  and  for  one  hour  at  90^  more  than 
90  per  cent.  Long  cooked  or  canned  vegetables  are  thus  of  no  value 
as  antiscorbutics,  a  fact  bom  out  by  human  experience  for  many  years. 
Canned  tomatoes  (40)  seem  to  be  an  exception,  possibly  because  of  their 
add  and  original  richness  in  the  substance.  They  have  been  successfully 
Used  as  a  substitute  for  the  more  expensive  orange  juice  to  prevent 
scurvy  in  infants  receiving  pasteurized  milk  (41). 

Drjring,  too,  lessens  the  value  (42),  and,  still  more,  storage  after  drying. 
Dried  vegetables  and  herbs  have  been  tried  in  scurvy  in  the  Army  and 
Navy  with  no  help.  Dried  tomatoes,  however,  Givens  (43)  found, 
still  retain  a  significant  amount  of  the  original  high  antiscorbutic  potency. 
Drjring  generally  does  least  harm  when  done  quickly  at  a  low  temper- 
ature (under  diminished  pressure)  and  when  the  vegetables  dried  are 
yoimg.  Dried  beans,  themselves  valueless,  develop  their  vitamine  on 
sprouting  (44).  The  Food  (War)  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society 
recommends  (36)  that  when  bther  antiscorbutics  are  not  available  the 
beans  be  sprouted  and  the  sprouts  used.  Their  therapeutic  value  was 
strikingly  shown  when  King's  College  Hospital,  London,  with  a  number 
of  mild  cases  of  scurvy  in  soldiers  from  Serbia,  divided  its  patients  into 
two  groups,  treating  thirty  in  one  ward  with  4  ounces  of  fresh  lemon 
juice  daily  and  twenty-seven  in  another  with  4  ounces  of  dried  haricot 
beans  freshly  germinated.  Of  the  patients  on  the  lemon  juice  53.4  per 
cent  were  cured  within  four  weeks  and  of  those  on  the  germinated 
beans  70.4  per  cent  (45). 

Potatoes  contain  the  vitamine  if  not  cooked  too  long,  but  as  the  only 
antiscorbutic  the  ration  must  be  as  much  as  fourteen  ounces  per  man 
per  day  (36).  In  Glascow  (46),  recently,  a  poor  law  hospital  which  had 
apparently  been  depending  largely  on  potatoes  and  had  been  near  the 
danger  line  with  a  normal  of  three  cases  of  scurvy  a  year,  developed 
fifty  cases  when  the  lack  of  potatoes  in  the  faU  and  winter  of  1916-17 
caused  the  substitution  of  die  potatoes  by  rice  and  bread.  In  this 
country,  too,  Hess  (47)  speaks  of  the  development  of  scurvy  in  numerous 
institutions  in  the  spring  of  1916  after  an  exceptionally  poor  potato 
crop  the  previous  year.  In  one  there  were  more  than  twenty  deaths, 
in  another  more  than  two  himdred  diagnosed  cases  and  probably  many 
latent  cases  which  escaped  observation. 


1920]  PBESENT  STATUS  OF  VTTAMINES  11 

Milk  (48)  is  of  only  moderate  value  as  an  antiscorbutic  and  loses  most 
of  the  value  when  pasteurized  or  boiled.  Commercial  condensed  milk 
(49)  is  valueless  and  so,  too,  is  dried  milk  unless  the  drying  is  done 
very  quickly,  e.g.,  for  a  few  seconds  at  116^  (Hess  and  Unger)  (50). 
Numerous  observations  have  been  made  of  infantile  scurvy  developing 
from  use  of  pasteurized  milk  and  its  check  by  the  addition  of  orange 
juice.  In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  a  very  valuable  summary, 
though  without  the  work  of  the  last  two  years — Morse's  ^  A  R^um6  of 
the  Literature  of  Infantile  Scurvy  during  the  Past  Five  Years''  in  the 
Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal  (51).  An  editorial  in  the  Journal 
of  the  American  Medical  Association  (52)  cites  numerous  recent  dis- 
tressing cases  of  infantile  scurvy  abroad,  for  instance,  in  Ptague  in 
1917-18  when  the  much  desired  ''raw"  milk  was  often  of  doubtful 
"rawness,''  oranges  had  disappeared  from  the  markets  since  early  in 
the  war,  and  other  fruits  and  even  most  green  vegetables  were  difficult 
to  obtain  and  usually  very  expensive. 

Fresh  meat  has  so  little  antiscorbutic  value  that  the  Royal  Society 
(36)  states  that  as  much  as  two  to  four  pounds  daily  are  necessary  if  it 
is  to  be  used  as  the  chief  preventive  agent,  and  tinned  meat  is  completely 
valueless.  Dutcher,  Pierson,  and  Blester  (53)  find  practically  none  even 
in  raw  beef.  Their  laboratory  experiments  do  not  confirm  Stef&nsson's 
remarkable  report  (54)  of  his  polar  experiences.  His  habit,  and  that 
of  his  party  in  the  north,  was  to  live  almost  wholly  on  seal  meat  and 
bear  meat,  using  not  only  the  muscle  tissue,  but  liver  and  various  other 
organs.  Often  they  consumed  raw  frozen  liver.  They  had  no  cases  of 
scurvy  on  this  diet.  However,  three  men,  who  were  separated  at  times 
from  the  main  party  and  depended  largely  on  some  cached  foods  which 
they  had  found — flour,  salt  pork,  butter,  honey,  sugar,  pilot  bread,  pre- 
served fruit,  pemmican,  meat  extract,  dried  fruit,  rice,  beans,  and  peas- 
developed  serious  scurvy.  They  were  promptly  cured  when  fed  meat, 
largely  raw.  ^ 

One  more  human  scurvy  experience  (55)  illustrates  a  number  of  the 
points  so  far  stated.  A  number  of  camps  of  the  South  African  Native 
Labour  Corps  were  established  in  France  during  the  war.  The  rations 
consisted  of  1  pound  frozen  or  preserved  meat,  8  ounces  fresh  vegetables, 
anddefinitequantitiesof  mealy  meal(com)or  rice,  bread,  coffee,  sugar,  salt, 
margarine,  and  tobacco.  In  coimtry  depots  where  they  could  pick  extra 
fruit  (apples)  no  scurvy  occurred,  but  in  a  camp  when  this  was  impossible 
40  per  cent  of  the  natives  at  one  time  showed  symptoms  of  scurvy.    The 


12  THE  J0X7KNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiacs  [januaiy 

half  ix>und  of  fresh  vegetables  probably  allowed  no  margin  for  the 
reduction  of  the  antiscorbutic,  and  yet  all  foods  had  been  cooked  for  at 
lea^t  three  hours.  The  chief  part  of  the  cure  was  to  give  lemon  juice, 
increase  the  supply  of  vegetables  and  limit  their  cooking  to  forty-five 
minutes.  In  a  camp  where  the  scurvy  was  most  severe  and  lasted 
longest  it  was  discovered  that  the  instruction  to  shorten  the  cooking 
.period  had  been  disobeyed.  The  condition  was  soon  improved  when 
I  tilt  cooking  was  reduced  to  forty  minutes. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  lAaia  that  remarkable  $8  axe  the  advances  in  the 
subject,  we  still  have  far  to  go  for  anything  approaching  complete 
-knowledge.  We  need  more  quantiiaUve  information  as  to  the  distribu- 
lion  of  the  vitamines  in  foods  and  their  resistance  to  all  sorts  of  manip- 
ulations— cooking,  storing,  aging.  We  lack  knowledge  of  the  quanti- 
ties advisable  for  human  beings  of  different  ages.  Finally,  and  most 
fundamentally,  we  yet  await  the  isolation  of  the  substances  themselves 
in  purity  and  the  establishment  of  thdr  chemical  composition. 

It  is  very  difEicult  to  say  what  is  the  importance  to  the  average  indi- 
vidual of  giving  thought  to  these  three  vitamines  in  choosing  the  diet. 
Most  of  us  probably  udemilk  or  leaf  vegetables  (McCoUum's  "protec- 
tion foods")  to  get  an  adequate  supply  of  A,  enough  vegetables  of  all 
kinds  and  whole  cereals  to  get  B  and  enough  uncooked  or  little  cooked 
foods  for  C.  But  the  occasional  moderately  well-to-do  individual  with 
dietary  idiosyncrades,  many  persons  on  very  limited  incomes,  and 
many  in  institutions  must  be  close  to  the  danger  line.  Probably  C 
with  its  marked  unstability  to  beating  or  drying  is  the  most  often  low 
in  quantity,  and  A  with  its  limited  distribution  second.  It  is  more  than 
.piitobable,  too,  that  all  sorts  o^^mmon  languors  and  inefficiencies,  and 
-susceptibilities  to  many  miscellaneous  inf ections»  are  connected  with 
shortage  in  vitamines. 

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of  water-soluble  vitamine.    Jour.  Bud.  Chem.,  34,  537,  1918. 

(19)  OsBQRME,T.B.,Ain>MEND!KL,L.B.:Nutritivefactorsinplantt]8sne.    Jour. Bud. Chem.^^ 

39,  29  (Aug.),  1919. 

(20)  Chick,  H.,  and  Huicb,  E.  M.:  The  distribution  in  wheat,  rice  and  maise  grains  of  the ' 

substance,  the  deficiency  of  which  in  a  diet  cause  polyneuritis  in  birds  and  beri- 
beri in  man.    Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  90B,  44,  1917. 

(21)  BsiGGS,  C.  H.:  The  digestibility  of  the  branny  coats  of  wheat.    Science,  SO,  427,  1919;' 

(22)  VoEGTLiN,  C,  Lake,  G.  C,  and  Myers,  C.  N.:  The  dietary  defidency  of  cereal  foods 

with  reference  to  their  content  in  ''antineuritic  vitamine."    U.  S.  Pub.  Bealth' 
Repts.,  33,  647, 1918. 

(23)  VosGTUN,  C,  and  Myekb,  C.  N.:  Distribution  of  the  antmeuritic  vitamine  in  wheat 

and  com  kemd.    Amer.  Jour.  Physiol.,  48,  504  (May),  1919. 

(24)  CmCK,  H.,  and  Hxtxe,  E.  M.:  Note  on  the  importance  of  accurate  and  quantitative 

measurements  in  experimental  work  on  nutrition  and  accessory  food  factors. 
Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  39,  203  (Sept.),  1919. 

(25)  CmCK,  H.,  AND  HuKE,  E.  M.:  Effect  of  exposure  of  temperature  at  or  above  100*  C. 

upon  the  substance  (vitamine)  whose  deficiency  in  a  diet  causes  polyneuritis  in 
burds  and  beri-beri  in  man.    Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  90B,  60, 1917. 

(26)  SuujVAK,  M.  X.,  VoEOTUN,  C:  The  distribution  in  foods  of  the  so^alled  vitamines 

and  their  isolation.    Proc.  Soc.  Bud.  Chem.,  Jour.  Bud.  Chem.,  24,  XVI,  1916. 

(27)  Osborne,  T.  B.,  Wakeman,  A.  J.,  and  Ferry,  E.  L.:  Preparation  of  protein  free  from 

water-soluble  vitamine.    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  39,  35  (Aug.),  1919. 

(28)  Daniels,  A.  L.,  and  McCluro,  N.  I.:  Influence  of  high  temperatures  and  dilute  alka- 

lies on  the  antineuritic  properties  of  foods.    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  37,  201,  1919. 

(29)  McCozxiTM,  E.  v.,  and  SnocoNDS,  N.:  A  study  of  the  dietary  essential,  water-soluble 

B,  in  relation  to  its  solubility  and  stability  towards  reagents.    Jour.  Biol.  Chem., 
33,  55,  1918. 


14  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [January 

(JO)  McCassxson,  R.:  The  pathogenesis  of  deficiency  disease.    Indian  J  mm.  Mtd.  Restarck, 
6,  275  Qan.},  1919;  ibid.,  6,  550  (Apr.),  1919. 

(31)  Belgian  letter:  Jour,  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  73, 1228  (Oct  18),  1919. 

(32)  Milks,  W.  R.:  The  sex  expression  of  men  living  on  a  lowered  nutiitbnal  leveL    Jour. 

Nervous  and  Mental  Diseases^  49,  208  (Mar.),  1919. 

(33)  McCoLLXTic,  E.  v.,  AND  PiTZ,  W.:  The  ''vitamine"  hypothesis  and  deficiency  diseases. 

Jour.  Biol.  Ckem.,  31, 229, 1917. 

(34)  ZxLVA,  S.  S.,  AND  Wells,  F.  M.:  Changes  in  the  teeth  of  the  guinea^ng  on  a  scorbutic 

diet    Proc.  Roy.  Soc.,  90B,  505, 1919. 

(35)  Harden,  A.,  and  Zilva,  S.  S.  :  Accessory  factors  in  nutrition  of  the  rat    Biochom.  Jour^ 

12, 408, 1918. 

(36)  Memorandum  on  food  and  scurvy  by  the  food  (war)  committee  of  the  Royal  Society. 

Lancet,  London,  756  (Nov.  30),  1919. 

(37)  Editorial,  Antiscorbutics.    I.  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  73,  271  (July  26),  1919;  Antip 

scorbutics,  n.  ibid,  73,  338  (Aug.  2),  1919;  Scurvy  in  animals,  ibid,  73,  1288 
(Oct  25),  1919. 

(38)  Chick,  H.,  Hdice,  E.  M.,  Sxslton,  R.  F.,  and  Sioih,  A.:  The  relative  content  of 

antiscorbutic  prin^>]e  in  limes  and  lemons.    Lancet,  London,  735  (Nov.  30),  1918. 

(39)  CmcK,  H.,  AND  Rhodes,  M.:  An  investigation  of  the  antisooibutic  value  of  the  raw 

juices  of  root  vegetables.    Lancet,  London,  774  (Dec  7),  1918. 

(40)  Hess,  A.  F.,  AND  Unox&,L.  J.:  The  scurvy  of  guinea-pigs.    m.  The  effect  of  age,  heat 

and  reacdon  on  antiscorbutic  foods.    Jour.  Biol.  Ckem.,  38, 293, 1919. 

(41)  Hess,  A.  F.,  and  Unger,  L.  J.:  Canned  tomatoes  as  an  antiscorbutic    Proc  Sac  Exp, 

Bid.  Med.,  16,  1,  1918. 

(42)  Delv,  E.M.,  AND  Skelton,R.F.:  Antiscorbutic  value  of  cabbage,    n.  Biochem.Jaur.9 

12,  448,  1918. 

(43)  G1VEN8,  M.  H.,  AND  McClugoage,  H.  B.:  The  antiscorbutic  property  of  vegetables. 

L  An  experimental  study  of  raw  and  dried  tomatoes.    Jour.  Biol.  Ckom,,  37, 253, 
1919. 

(44)  Chick,  H.,  and  Delf,  E.  M.:  The  antiscorbutic  value  of  dry  and  genninated  seeds. 

Biochem.  Jour.,  13,  199  Quly),  1919. 

(45)  Wiltshire,  H.  W.:  Value  of  germinated  beans  in  the  treatment  of  scurvy.    Lancet^ 

London,  811  (Dec  14),  1918. 

(46)  Editorial,  Recent  cases  of  scurvy  in  Glascow.    Brit.  Med.  Jour.,  2,  28  (July  7),  1917. 

(47)  Hess,  A.  F. :  R61e  of  antiscorbutics  in  our  dietary.  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  71, 941, 1918. 

(48)  CmcK,  H.,  Hume,  E.  M.,  and  Sxelton,  R.  F.:  An  estimate  of  the  antiscorbutic  value 

of  milk  in  infant  feeding.    Lancet,  London,  1  (Jan.  5),  1918. 

(49)  Hakt,  E.  B.,  Steenbock,  H.,  Smith,  D.  W.:  Studies  of  experimental  scurvy.    Jour. 

Bid.  Ckem.,  38,  305  Qune),  1919. 

(50)  Hbss,  a.  F.,  and  Unges,  L.  J.:  The  scurvy  of  guinea  pigs.    m.  The  effect  of  age, 

heat  and  reaction  on  antiscorbutic  foods.    Jour.  Bid.  Ckom.,  38,  293,  1919. 

(51)  MossE,  J.  L.:  Progress  in  pediatrics.    A  r£8um4  of  the  literature  of  infantile  scurvy 

during  the  past  5  years.    Boston  Med.  Surg.  Jour.,  178, 160,  1918. 

(52)  Editorial,  Child  welfare  and  disease  under  war-time  food  conditions  in  Central  Europe. 

Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  72,  939,  1919. 

(53)  DuTCHER,  R.  A.,  PiERSON,  E.  M.,  AND  BiESTER,  A.:  The  antiscorbutic  properties  of 

raw  lean  beef.    Science,  50,  184  (Aug.  22),  1919. 

(54)  StefInsson,  V.:  Observations  on  three  cases  of  scurvy.    Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.^  71, 

1715,  1918. 

(55)  Dyke,  H.  W.:  Outbreak  of  scurvy  in  the  South  African  Native  Labour  Coips.    Laneetf 

London,  513  (Oct  19),  1918. 


1920] 


FOOD  SELECTION  AND  PREPAIUITION 


IS 


RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OUR  KNOWLEDGE  OF  FOOD 

SELECTION  AND  PREPARATION 

MABEL  T.  WELLMAN 
Indiama  Unhtnity 

While  much  of  the  work  on  food  reported  in  the  last  few  months  has 
already  appeared  in  the  Jottenal  oe  Home  Economics — much  especially 
of  that  relating  to  food  preparation — still  a  great  deal  of  interesting 
information,  sometimes  in  regard  to  the  cooking  of  foods,  sometimes  in 
regard  to  food  selection,  is  to  be  gleaned  from  studies  of  nutrition, 
published  in  more  technical  journals.  The  Science  Section  of  the 
American  Home  Economics  Association  has  made  an  excellent  start  in 
the  collection  and  publication  of  the  experimental  work  going  on  in  the 
various  universities  and  colleges,  thereby  filling  an  evident  need  and 
giving  an  immense  impetus  to  further  experimentation. 

In  the  following  account,  material  from  all  sources  is  summarized 
from  the  standpoint  of  a  special  food  or  food  principle,  so  that  the 
results  of  various  investigations  may  be  related  or  compared. 

Bread.  The  question  of  the  most  economical  way  to  use  our  wheat 
supply,  emphasized  by  war  conditions,  has  led  to  various  studies.  A 
bulletin^  from  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  shows 
the  effect  of  bran  in  lowering  the  coefficient  of  digestibility  of  an  ordinary 
mixed  diet.  Bran  bread  made  by  the  following  recipe  was  fed,  each 
subject  eating  almost  a  pound  a  day.  Bran  bread:  15  c.  bran,  3}  tsp. 
soda,  1|  c.  molasses,  3}  tsp.  salt,  5  tsp.  ginger,  1  scant  c.  lard,  1}  qts. 
hot  water. 

Both  coarse  and  fine  bran  was  used.  The  reduction  in  the  coefficient 
of  digestibility  obtained  is  shown  as  follows: 


Ordiiiazy  mixed  diet . 
Dkt  with  coarse  bran 
Diet  with  fine  bran. . . 


WAX 

Ptrcmt 

ptrctia 

92 

95 

55.8 

93.1 

37 

88.5 

muTS 


97 

82.8 

79.8 


During  the  tests  the  amoimts  of  feces  were  greater  than  usual  whether 
the  subjects  were  active,  athletic,  or  sedentary  in  habit,  some  finding 


1  Experiments  on  the  Digestibility  of  Wheat  Bran  in  a  Diet  Without  Wheat  Flour.    A. 
B.  Hohnes,  BttUeiin  751. 


16  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOKics  (January* 

the  bran  deddedly  laxative.  Little  difference  was  noted  between  fine 
and  coarse  bran  so  far  as  its  laxative  effect  was  concerned.  Osborne 
and  Mendel  with  coworkers*  state  that,  except  in  special  cases,  ''little 
can  be  gained  by  including  bran  and  wheat  embryo  in  the  flour  when 
this  is  used  under  conditions  prevaiiing  in  this  country. "  By  the  last 
part  of  the  statement  theymean  thatthedangerof  vitaminedefidencydue 
to  too  restricted  a  use  of  highly  milled  flour  is  not  a  menace,  with  the 
food  habits  of  our  people.  They  add  that  "  the  by-products  of  milling 
will  be  better  utilized  on  the  farm  than  on  the  table.  Moreover,  since 
"  about  80  per  cent  of  the  wheat  kernel  can  be  so  improved  in  nutritive 
value  by  adding  animal  products  to  the  diet  that  a  much  smaller  amount 
of  the  flour  will  satisfy  the  protein  needs  of  nutrition,  it  may  well  be 
that  the  use  of  the  by-products  of  milling  for  the  production  of  meat, 
Toaiikj  or  eggs  will  result  in  a  greater  economy  in  the  use  of  flour  than  if 
these  were  used  directly  for  human  food. '' 

Meanwhile  a  report'  from  London  includes  figures  for  the  digest!* 
bility  of  bread  made  with  wheat  flour  of  80  and  of  90  per  cent  extraction, 
and  concludes  that  "breads  made  with  90  per  cent  flour  are  not  so 
completely  utilized  as  those  made  from  80  per  cent  flour,  since  when  they 
are  used  as  part  of  an  ordinary  mixed  diet  the  coefficient  of  digesti- 
bility of  the  entire  diet  was  94.5  per  cent,  in  comparison  with  96.4  per 
cent  when  breads  made  with  80  per  cent  extraction  were  used.  The 
coefficient  of  digestibility  for  the  nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  diet  in 
the  case  of  the  former  is  87.3  per  cent  and  the  latter  89.4  per  cent.  The 
observations  indicate  that  bread  made  of  90  per  cent  extraction  had  no 
ill  effects  upon  health  and  will  mean  a  gain  in  food  value  for  every  100 
lbs.  of  wheat  of  13,000  total  calories  and  1.56  lbs.  of  protein." 

In  connection  with  this  report,  another  from  a  French  source*  is 
of  interest.  The  workers  examined  microscopically  both  bread  and  the 
feces  recovered  after  feeding  bread  to  mouse,  dog,  and  man,  and  obtained 
results  that  apparently  show  that  the  cell  walls  of  the  aleurone  granules 
are  broken  in  the  bread  and  that  the  contents  are  digested.  They 
suggest  that  during  kneading  and  fermentation  the  cell  walls  are  broken 

s  The  Nutritive  Value  of  the  Wheat  Kernel  and  its  Milling  Products.  Jour.  Bud,  Ckem,, 
37,  pp.  557H501. 

*  Rep(Mt  by  the  Food  (War)  Committee  of  the  Royal  Society  on  the  Digestibility  of 
Breads.    Abstracted  in  Exp,  Sta.  Record,  40,  p.  657. 

*  Digestion  of  the  Aleurone  Cells  Incorporated  in  Bread.  Lapique  and  Liacre,  Compt, 
Rfhd.Soc,  Biol.  (Paris),  81,  pp.  217-222. 


1920]  FOOD  SELECTION  AKD  PREPARATION  17 

open  at  points  weakened  by  milling,  exposing  the  contents  to  the  action 
of  the  digestive  juices. 

Along  an  entirely  different  line  are  some  experiments  conducted  in  the 
physical  laboratory  of  the  University  of  Washington.*  It  was  deter- 
mined in  three  separate  tests  that  bread  baked  in  pans  of  different 
materials  was  much  more  readily  burned  in  certain  materials  than  in 
others.  The  bread  baked  in  granite  burned  most  easily;  that  in  other 
materials  in  the  order  listed:  Russian  iron,  tin,  pyrex  glass,  alu- 
minum (unpolished),  aluminum  (polished).  The  oven  temperaturea 
were  carefully  controlled. 

Vegetables.  Much  work  on  vegetables  has  been  reported,  some  in 
legaid  to  food  value  and  the  effect  oi  cooking  on  food  value,  the  rest 
on  problems  connected  with  canning. 

The  theory  that  v^^tables  and  fruits  must  be  considered  necessary 
to  well-being,  on  the  ground  that  they  balance  the  add-forming  sub- 
stances in  meat,  cereals,  and  certain  other  foods,  seems  to  be  disproved. 
Lamb  and  Eward,*  as  a  residt  of  work  on  pigs,  think  **  the  apparent 
faihire  for  experimental  diets  previously  tried  may  be  attributed  to 
other  causes  not  wholly  excluded. "  They  find  that  excess  of  mineral 
add  did  not  cause  a  significant  loss  of  caldum,  nor  did  it  interfere  with 
storage  of  protein.  This  work  agrees  with  that  reported  by  McClendon' 
and  others,  from  which  they  condude  that  there  is  no  foundation  for 
the  view  that  the  alkaline  reserve  of  man  is  endangered  by  the  add- 
forming  diets,  but  that  such  diets  as  usually  eaten  by  man  are  defident 
in  antiscorbutic  vitamines. 

Osborne  and  Mendel*  have  investigated  the  relative  effidency  of 
foods  as  antiscorbutics,  and  condude  that  dried  spinach  is  twice  as 
effective  as  whole  wheat,  soy  beans,  dried  eggs,  or  milk  solids,  but  that 
dried  yeast  is  four  times  as  effident  as  the  spinach.  Delf*  finds  that 
the  long  cooking  of  cabbage  at  a  low  temperature  is  more  destructive 
of  the  antiscorbutic  vitamine  than  short  cooking  at  a  high  temperature, 
and  points  out  the  disadvantage  of  the  use  of  the  fireless  cooker  for  such 
vegetables  as  cabbage  and  green  vegetables.  He  also  finds  that  such 
vegetables  preserve    their   antiscorbutic  property  better  if  steamed 

*  Bread  Baking  in  Pans  of  Dififerent  Materials.  Work  done  by  Fiances  Heverlo.  Jpuf. 
Home  Econ,f  11,  p.  352. 

*  The  Add-Base  Balance  in  Animal  Nutrition.    Jour.  Biol.  Ckem.,  37,  pp.  317--342. 

'  Effect  of  Diet  on  the  Alkaline  Reserve  of  the  Blood.    Jour,  Bid,  Chem.,  38,  pp.  53^548. 

*  A^tamines  in  Green  Foods.    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  37,  pp.  187-200. 

*  The  Antiscorbutic  Value  of  Cabbage.    Biockem,  Jour,,  12,  pp.  411-447. 


18  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOiCE  ECONOMICS  [Januarjr 

rather  than  boiled,  and  believes  that  if  they  are  boiled  the  addition  of 
either  add  or  alkali  will  increase  the  loss  of  antiscorbutic  properties. 
The  fat-soluble  vitamines  seem  to  show  greater  stability  when  exposed 
to  heat.  Continuing  the  work,  Delf  and  Skelton^"  find  that  cabbage 
dried  at  60°C.  and  stored  two  or  three  weeks  at  ordinary  room  temper- 
ature, has  lost  95  per  cent  of  its  antiscorbutic  property,  while  at  the 
end  of  3  months  it  has  lost  nearly  all  of  it.  Plunging  the  cabbage  into 
boiling  water  before  drying  distinctly  increases  the  amoimt  of  anti- 
scorbutic material  retained  after  drying.  Drying  and  storing  for  two 
months  also  resulted  in  the  loss  of  86  per  cent  of  the  fat-soluble  factor. 

Hess  and  Unger^^  declare  that  in  dehydration  ''too  much  attention 
has  been  paid  to  the  degree  of  the  heating  process  and  too  little  to  the 
more  important  factors — the  age  of  the  vegetables,  their  freshness 
previous  to  dehydration,  and  their  manner  of  preservation. "  In  another 
article^,  entitled  the  Scurvy  of  Guinea  Pigs,  the  same  authors  find  that, 
while  35  grams  of  old  carrots  was  sufficient  to  protect  a  guinea  pig 
from  scurvy  when  used  raw,  after  three  quarters  of  an  hour  cook- 
ing that  amount  was  insufficient,  but  when  the  test  was  repeated  with 
freshly  plucked  carrots,  35  grams  of  the  cooked  carrots  was  sufficient 
for  protection. 

In  the  same  article  the  authors  call  attention  to  the  value  of  canned 
tomatoes  as  a  substitute  for  orange  juice  in  infant  feeding,  though 
boiling  the  tomatoes  diminished  somewhat  the  antiscorbutic  potency. 

Helen  Masters"  concludes  that  the  best  way  to  cook  dry  legumes, 
especially  on  a  larger  scale,  is  to  soak  them  for  at  least  four  hours  in 
water  containing  1  per  cent  of  sodium  bicarbonate;  then  either  steam 
them  or  boil  them  for  about  an  hour  in  water  containing  0.25  per  cent 
salt. 

Daniels  and  McClurg^^  warn  us  that  ''The  fact  that  our  animals 
made  normal  growth  on  rations  in  which  the  liquor  from  the  cooked 
beans  was  the  only  source  of  the  water-soluble  vitamine  emphasized 
again  the  undesirability  of  discarding  the  water  surroimding  cooked  or 
canned  vegetables.    This  contains  not  only  much  of  the  inorganic  con- 

»  Biochem.  Jour,,  12,  pp.  448-463. 

^  Factors  Meeting  the  Antiscorbutic  Value  of  Foods.  Amer,  Jour,  Diseases  CkUdren^ 
17,  pp.  221-240. 

"  Jour.  Bid.  Ckem.,  38,  pp.  293-304. 

^  An  Investigation  of  Methods  Employed  of  Cooking  Vegetables  with  Special  Reference 
to  the  Losses  Incurred.    Biochem.  Jour.,  12,  pp.  231-247. 

^  Antineuritic  Properties  of  Foods.    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  37,  pp.  210-213. 


1920]  FOOD  SELECTION  AKD  PREPARATION  19 

stituents  of  the  vegetables,  the  soluble  carbohydrates,  and  proteins,  but 
obviously  much  of  the  water-soluble  food  accessory  as  well." 

There  seems  to  be  a  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  possible 
dangers  which  may  arise  from  the  use  of  canned  foods.  Daniels  and 
McClurg  continue  in  the  article  quoted  above,  ''The  note  of  warning 
sounded  by  Chick  and  Hume  to  the  effect  that  grave  danger  may  attend 
the  use  of  large  amounts  of  tinned  goods,  we  believe  is  unfounded,  at  least 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  antineuritic  vitamine  contents  of  the  food. 
From  our  results  as  well  as  those  of  McCollum  and  coworkers,  it  seems 
improbable  that  in  the  commercial  canning  of  foods  this  vitamine  is 
destroyed  to  such  an  extent  that  too  little  will  be  included  in  the  diet 
when  the  usual  amoimt  of  canned  food  is  eaten.  Even  if  there  should 
be  a  considerable  increase  in  the  amount  of  canned  food  consumed,  we 
believe  there  will  be  still  enough  of  the  anti-neuritic  vitamine  to  meet 
physiological  requirements,  provided  the  diet  is  not  materially  changed 
in  other  respects."  Chick  and  Hume^^  reply  to  this  disagreement 
with  the  opinion  just  quoted  and  object  because  the  work  was  not  per- 
formed quantitatively.  They  point  out  that  no  measure  of  the  amount 
necessary  for  growth  was  made,  nor  of  the  exact  amount  offered  to  or 
eaten  by  the  rats.  They  believe  that  the  amount  of  anti-neuritic 
vitamine  in  the  diet  was  so  far  in  excess  of  what  was  necessary  that  it 
could  well  be  reduced,  halved,  or  even  quartered  by  cooking  and  still  be 
sufficient  for  maintenance.  If  this  were  true  the  results  would  not 
prove  that  the  anti-neuritic  vitamine  was  not  injured  by  heating. 

Kurk^*  describes  the  residts  of  examining  such  vegetables  as  celery, 
lettuce,  water-cress,  green  onions,  and  radishes,  collected  from  stores  that 
were  both  desirable  and  undesirable  from  the  sanitary  standpoint.  He 
concludes  that  the  general  sanitary  conditions  of  the  store  did  not 
influence  the  bacterial  coimt. 

The  Journal  op  Home  Economics  has  recently  published  two  inter- 
esting articles  on  canning.  One  reports  results  from  the  canning  of 
asparagus^^  and  suggests,  among  other  conclusions,  the  addition  of 
small  quantities  of  vinegar  as  effective  in  reducing  the  time  of  processing 
necessary  for  the  preservation  of  the  vegetable. 

^  Note  on  the  Importance  of  Accurate  and  Quantitative  Measurements  in  Experimental 
Work  on  Nutrition  and  Accessoiy  Food  Factors.    Jowr,  Bid.  Chem,^  39,  p.  201. 

*  The  Bacterial  Examination  of  Green  Vegetables.  Amer,  Jour.  Pub.  Health,  8,  pp. 
660-661. 

^  The  Canning  of  Asparagus.    Skinner  and  Glasgow,  Jour,  Home  Earn.,  11,  pp.  154-157. 


20  THE  J0T7SNAL  OF  HOicE  ECONOKics  [January 

The  second  article  gives  data  on  the  Effect  of  Pack  and  Depth  of 
Water  Bath  upon  Interior  Temperature  of  Jars  in  Cold  Pack  Canning.^* 
Conclusions  drawn  are  that  the  water  bath  should  completely  im- 
merse the  jars;  that  loosely  packed  jars  only  should  be  used  in  canning 
by  usual  home  methods;  that  home-canned  vegetables  should  always 
be  heated  before  use  to  avoid  the  danger  of  poisoning  by  the  toxin  of  B. 
botulinus,  the  spores  of  which  are  exceedingly  resistant  to  heat. 

The  last  statement  refers  to  an  article  by  Burke^*  in  which  it  is 
reported  that  there  is  a  difference  in  the  powers  of  the  spore  to  resist 
heat.  The  more  resistant  forms  are  not  killed  by  the  open-kettle  method 
of  canning,  since  spores  will  survive  three  and  a  half  hours  boiling  and 
remain  alive  in  the  scum  on  top  of  the  liquid  even  longer.  Cold  pack 
methods  are  also  not  effective  in  killing  the  spores;  one  period,  even  of 
five  hours  heating  in  boiling  water,  being  insufficient  fbr  sterilization. 
Blanching  in  hot  water  does  not  materially  injure  the  spore.  Even 
fractional  sterilization  in  three  successive  dajrs  is  of  doubtful  value 
because  the  exposure  to  the  temperature  of  the  first  sterilization  period 
delajrs  the  germination  of  the  spores  so  that  they  do  not  develop  before 
the  third  period  of  sterilization.  While  pressure  canning  is  the  only 
method  of  sterilization  that  can  be  considered  safe,  a  pressure  of  5,  10 
or  even  15  poimds  for  ten  minutes  will  not  kill  these  spores.  A  com- 
paratively long  period  must  be  used.  It  is  suggested  that  the  wisest 
way  is  to  prevent  contamination  during  the  preparation  of  the  material, 
since  it  is  certain  that  the  organisms  are  not  present  under  the  skin  of 
perfectly  soimd  fruit  and  vegetables  that  are  not  overripe.  Bruised 
and  partially  spoiled  material  should  never  be  used  for  canning. 
Fruits  and  vegetables  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  before  cutting  and 
hands  and  utensils  should  be  dean,  and  flies  eliminated.  Each  jar 
should  be  examined  when  opened  but  not  tasted,  since  the  smallest 
taste  may  be  fatal  if  the  poison  is  strong.  There  are  three  signs  of 
spoilage,  any  one  of  which  should  cause  the  canned  material  to  be 
suspected:  (l)  gas  bubbles  in  jar,  tops  of  jar  blown  and  a  squirt  of 
liquid  when  the  top  is  unscrewed;  (2)  an  odor  somewhat  resembling 
rancid  cheese;  (3)  a  mushy  or  disintegrated  appearance  of  the  solid 
part  of  the  contents. 

1*  Effect  of  Pack  and  Depth  of  Water  Bath  upon  Interior  Tempeiature  of  Jars  in  Cold 
Fftck  Canning.    Castle,  Jow,  Home  Econ.^  1 1,  pp.  246-251. 

^  Effect  of  Heat  on  the  Spores  of  Bacillus  Botulinus.  Jour.  Amer,  Med,  Assoc.,  72,  pp. 
8M^. 


1920]  FOOD  SELECTION  AMD  PKEPAKATION  21 

Since  the  tozixis  can  be  destroyed  by  five  minutes  boiling,  the  material 
heated  in  this  way  just  before  using  may  be  eaten  without  danger, 
even  though  the  spores  are  not  killed,  since  the  latter  are  not  hannful 
in  themselves.  Since  this  organism  produces  toxins  only  in  material 
that  has  been  sealed  in  air-tight  containers  for  a  week  or  more,  there  is 
no  danger  from  it  when  fresh  fruit  and  vegetables  are  eaten.  Meanwhile 
Dickson*^  tells  us  that  botulism  is  of  comparatively  frequent  occurrence 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Milk.  In  an  article  on  the  Milk  Industry  and  the  War,  North^ 
informs  us  that ''  to  provide  a  milk  supply  that  would  furnish  the  United 
States  with  the  milk  required,  according  to  the  leading  food  chemists, 
would  mean  an  increase  of  20,000,000  dairy  cows  in  the  United  States, 
or  almost  double  the  present  mmoiber.  '* 

Moreover  Overman'  tells  us  that  dairy  products  (milk,  skim  milk, 
cottage  cheese,  and  American  cheddar  cheese)  are  to  be  regarded  as 
among  the  cheapest  foods  of  animal  origin^  both  as  to  protein  and  total 
energy. 

Such  experiments  as  those  of  McCoUum,  Simmonds  and  Parsons' 
make  clear  that  we  should  demand  an  increase  in  our  milk  supply. 
They  report:  "In  all  cases  where  we  have  attempted  to  correct  the 
dietary  deficiency  of  a  seed  mixture  by  the  addition  of  leaf  only,  we 
have  not  secured  results  so  good  as  with  milk,  especially  with  such 
amounts  of  leaf  as  would  be  acceptable  in  the  human  diet.  '^  Eggs  do 
not  furnish  sufficient  calcium.  They  also  say:  "From  biological  tests 
we  now  know  that  the  proteins  of  pea  and  navy  bean  are  worth  only 
about  half  as  much  for  growth  in  the  rat  as  an  equal  amoimt  of  protein 
from  one  of  the  cereal  grains,  and  that  the  latter  have  about  one  half 
the  value  for  the  conversion  into  the  body  proteins  which  can  be  shown 
for  the  milk  protein;  and  again, ''Both  meat  and  eggs  are  more  expensive 
sources  of  protection  against  faulty  diet  than  milk." 

There  are  several  studies  of  the  antiscorbutic  properties  of  milk. 
Chick,  Hiune,  and  Skelton^  find  "that  milk  is  a  food  poor  in  the 
antiscorbutic  accessory  factor,  since  a  ration  large  in  comparison  with 
that  of  other  antiscorbutic  materials  is  necessary  to  afford  sufficient 

*  Monograph  from  The  Rockefeller  Institute  of  Med.  Research,  No.  8, 1918. 

*  Amer.  Jour.  Pub.  HeaUh,  9»  pp.  258-267. 

**  Food  Values  and  Dairy  Products.    SL  Sta.  Ore  255. 

"  A  Biological  Analysis  of  Pellagra-Produdng  Diets.    Jour.  Bid.  Chem,,  38,  pp.  115-147. 

^  The  Antiscoibutic  Value  of  Cow's  Milk.    Biochm.  Jour.,  12,  pp.  151-155. 


22  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

protection  from  scurvy. "  They  urge  that  in  infant  feeding  when  milk 
is  in  any  way  heated  or  dried,  an  additional  source  of  antiscorbutic 
vitamine  be  provided.  Hart,  Steenbock,  and  Smith^  find  that  sterilized 
milk,  unsweetened  condensed  milk  and  milk  powders  seem  to  have  largely 
lost  their  antiscorbutic  properties.  In  this  they  are  not  in  agreement 
with  the  British  experience  reported  by  the  United  States  Public  Health 
Service^  in  the  use  of  milk  powder  in  infant  feeding. 

Hess  and  linger*^  in  discussing  the  possible  deficiency  in  antiscor- 
butic vitamine  of  pasteurized  milk,  point  out  that  much  of  the  anti- 
scorbutic factor  is  lost  subsequent  to  heating  in  the  course  of  handling 
and  aging,  and  believe  that  '^  the  length  of  time  to  which  it  is  subjected 
to  the  injurious  environment  is  in  general  more  important  than  the 
intensity  of  the  process. " 

A  suggestion  that  cows  might  be  specially  fed  to  produce  antiscor- 
butic vitamine  is  interesting.  Also  of  interest  is  Sugiura  and  Bene- 
dict's finding  that  a  diet  adequate  for  the  production  of  the  yoimg  and 
for  growth  after  the  eyes  of  the  young  open  was  nevertheless  inadequate 
for  proper  milk  production.  Such  a  result  may  call  for  more  careful 
feeding  of  the  nursing  mother. 

Fruits.  Sugiura  and  Benedict**  find  banana  deficient  in  protein  as 
well  as  in  enough  water-soluble  accessory  to  produce  either  maintenance 
or  growth  in  albino  rats.  It  is  interesting  to  find  so  many  of  the  vege- 
table sources  of  protein  commonly  used  for  meat  substitutes  declared 
inadequate,  but  until  we  know  more  of  their  elQfectiveness  in  combina- 
tions we  are  not  in  a  position  to  be  sure  of  their  place  in  the  diet.  A 
method  of  preparing  banana  meal  is  given  in  the  Experiment  Station 
Record"  quoted  from  the  SaUh  African  Journal  of  Industry.  The 
fruit  is  to  be  peeled,  sliced  thin  with  a  nickel  or  fruit  knife,  and  spread 
in  wooden  trays  to  dry  in  the  sun.  After  drying,  the  material  may  be 
crushed  in  an  ordinary  mill  or  mortar  and  sifted  through  fine  muslin. 
The  meal  may  be  used  for  cakes  or  bread  by  mixing  with  equal  parts  of 
wheat  flour,  or  cooked  into  mush  or  used  in  pudding.  Sweet  potatoes, 
yams,  or  dasheens  may  all  be  treated  in  the  same  way. 

*  Effect  of  Heat  on  the  Antlacoibutk  Properties  of  Some  Milk  Products.  Jour.  Bid. 
Chem.,  38,  pp.  305-324. 

«  Bid.  Hyg.  Lab.  U.  S.  P.  H.,  No.  473. 

'  Factors  Affecting  the  Antiscorbutic  Value  of  Foods.  Amer.  Jour.  Disoases  CkUdron^ 
17,  pp.  221-240. 

«  Nutritive  Value  of  Banana.    Jowr.  Bid.  Ckem.,  36,  pp.  171-189. 

»  VoL  41,  pp.  64  and  65. 


1920]  POOD  SELECTION  AND  PREPARATION  23 

Eggs.  In  an  artide^^  from  the  laboratory  of  the  University  of 
Missouri,  on  The  Use  of  Desiccated  Eggs,  the  conclusions  are  drawn 
that  satisf acory  desiccated  egg  products  may  now  be  obtained  and  that 
these  even  at  their  present  price  can  effect  a  considerable  saving  through- 
out the  greater  part  of  the  year,  but  that  there  is  not  yet  sufficient 
demand  to  make  them  easy  to  obtain  in  retail  amoimts.  The  bacterial 
content  is  not  such  as  to  make  them  detrimental  to  health  when  used 
in  cooked  food.  They  give  highly  satisfactory  results  in  practically 
all  typical  foods  in  which  eggs  are  used,  but  can  not  be  used  in 
mayonnaise  dressing. 

The  suggestion'^  that  horse  serum  be  used  as  an  inexpensive  and 
satisfactory  substitute  for  white  of  egg  in  cooking  is  not  likely  to  meet 
with  much  favor  in  this  country. 

Sugars  and  syrups.  In  an  article  on  Factors  Influencing  the  Amount 
of  Invert  Sugar  in  Fondant^  Daniels  and  Cook  draw  some  very 
interesting  conclusions.  They  find  that  in  regions  in  which  the  water 
used  in  cooking  is  even  moderately  hard,  the  alkalinity  may  be  sufficient 
to  neutralize  the  cream  of  tartar  called  for  in  an  ordinary  recipe,  and 
believe  a  local  redpe  should  be  formulated  for  such  use.  They  suggest, 
however,  that  it  is  easier  to  obtain  constant  results  in  making  fondant 
if  glucose  is  added  directly  to  the  sucrose  instead  of  depending  on  the 
inversion  of  part  of  the  latter,  for  they  find  that  when  add  is  present 
the  length  of  time  of  cooking  influences  the  amount  of  invert  sugar 
obtained. 

In  an  article  on  the  Acidity  of  Various  Syrups  Used  in  Cookery, 
Daniels  and  Heisig**  determined  the  amount  of  soda  to  be  used  with 
various  syrups  and  honey.  This  article  calls  our  attention  to  the  need 
of  standardization  of  such  recipes. . 

The  American  Pood  Journal^  has  an  article  by  Dunnigan  from  Iowa 
State  College  on  sugar  substitutes  in  jelly  making,  and  an  article 
by  Rucke**  of  the  University  of  Illinois  on  the  manufacture  of  Invert 
Sugar  and  Use  of  Substitutes,  both  of  which  may  prove  useful  during 

*  Tbe  Use  of  Deskcated  E^    Lhamon,  Jour,  Borne  Econ.^  11,  pp.  106^115. 
^  ntiUatioii  of  Hone  Serum  in  Human  Nutrition.    Compt.  Rmi.  Acad.  Agr.  Ff<mo$^ 
No.  29,  pp.  807-810. 

■  Jmtr.  Eom$  Beom.^  11,  pp.  6S-7a 
**  /our.  Epme  Ecm.^  11,  pp.  195-200. 
M  Vol  13,  pp.  247-248. 
«  Ibid,  pp.  671  and  672. 


26  THE  jouKNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [January 

AN  EXPERIMENT  IN  SOCIALIZING  HOME  ECONOMICS 

EDUCATION 

ElOCA  A.   WmSLOW 

Secretary,  Commitee  on  Some  Eunomks  of  the  New  York  Charily  OrganSsaMoH  Soddy,  and 

LeOnreTf  Teaekors  CoUege,  ColmMa  UwhorsUy 

How  can  home  economics  students  be  brought  into  closer  touch 
with  real  life  problems?  How  can  they  be  made  to  realize  more  fully 
the  individual  and  social  importance  of  home  economics  education? 
How  can  they  be  made  to  see  more  definitely  the  close  relationship 
between  organized  sodal  work  and  home  economics  work?  How  caa 
they  be  influenced  to  think  of  home  economics  as  a  social  science  and 
one  with  social  responsibilities? 

An  attempt  to  answer  these  questions  was  made  during  the  month 
of  June  by  the  Committee  on  Home  Economics  of  the  New  York  Char- 
ity Organization  Society  through  its  Sub-committee  on  Student  Plans 
of  which  Miss  Cora  M.  Winchell  is  Chairman.  A  special  field  work 
course  was  offered  to  properly  qualified  women  with  home  economics 
training,  and  over  forty  applications  were  received  although  the  dates 
of  the  course  (June  9  to  July  5)  interfered  with  the  attendance  of  stu- 
dents or  staff  members  from  the  many  schools  and  colleges  whose  aca- 
demic year  ends  late  in  Jime.  The  size  of  the  group  was  originally 
limited  to  twenty-five,  but  thirty  applicants  were  finally  accepted  and 
twenty-six  of  them  completed  the  course.  Only  five  of  these  were 
without  professional  experience,  and  the  majority  of  the  group  had  had 
a  considerable  amount  either  as  teachers,  extension  workers,  or  dietitians. 

On  Wednesday  of  each  week  the  group  heard  talks  by  social 
workers  and  visited  sodal  agencies.  On  Saturday  there  was  a  roimd 
table  discussion.  On  Monday,  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday  the 
students  were  divided  into  groups  of  two  or  three,  and  each  group  was 
assigned  to  a  special  field  work  supervisor  who  gave  each  student  indi- 
vidual training  in  the  methods  and  principles  of  social  case  work  and 
a  considerable  amount  of  experience  in  case  work  practice.  The  field 
work  supervisors  were  district  secretaries  in  the  New  York  Charity 
Organization  Society  and  the  Brooklyn  Bureau  of  Charities,  and  the 
students  were  given  full  responsibility  as  members  of  the  staff  of  these 
organizations  during  their  training  period  and  their  work  was  expected 
to  measure  up  to  the  standards  set  for  good  sodal  case  work.    The 


1920]  SOCIALIZING  HOME    ECONOMICS  EDUCATION  27 

particular  tasks  varied  according  to  the  capability  of  the  student  and 
the  particular  needs  of  the  families  under  care,  but  usually  the  student 
was  assigned  to  work  with  a  small  group  of  families  presenting  various 
types  of  social  problems,  and  was  guided  in  making  different  kinds  of 
investigations  and  developing  various  constructive  plans  of  treatment. 

A  surprising  thing  to  several  of  the  students  was  the  fact  that  not  all 
people  tell  ''the  truth  and  nothing  but  the  truth;"  and  that  there  is 
real  need  for  the  verification  of  essential  kinds  of  information.  They 
also  learned  the  importance  of  searching  for  imderlying  causes  rather 
than  treating  superficial  difficulties,  and  came  to  realize  the  difficulty 
of  securing  good  results  in  educational  work  in  home  economics  when 
the  main  cause  for  low  living  standards  is  the  payment  of  inadequate 
wages  or  the  lack  of  community  responsibility  for  providing  the  essen- 
tials for  wholesome  living.  In  addition  they  learned  to  appreciate  the 
value  of  the  methods  and  technique  which  have  been  gradually  devel- 
oped in  social  work,  and  the  importance  of  utilizing  certain  of  them  in 
any  social  work  in  home  economics. 

They  also  came  to  realize  very  forcibly  how  many  families  are  not 
reached  by  the  domestic  science  work  in  the  upper  grades  of  the  ele- 
mentluy  schools  and  how  much  need  there  is  for  developing  more  oppor- 
tunities for  people  to  receive  instruction  in  simple  homemaking  practices, 
especially  in  foreign  districts  where  people  are  unfamiliar  with  desirable 
housekeeping  methods  under  American  living  conditions. 

Of  greatest  value,  perhaps,  especially  in  connection  with  home  eco- 
nomics work,  was  the  realization  which  came  to  practically  all  of  the 
students  of  the  importance  of  thinking  of  the  influence  of  various  social 
and  economic  problems,  and  of  the  various  forms  of  organized  sodal 
work,  in  the  terms  of  their  effect  on  individual  family  life.  Why  girls 
go  wrong,  why  men  desert  their  families,  why  vocational  training  is 
necessary,  why  certain  racial  groups  do  not  mix  easily  here  in  America, 
the  evils  of  unemployment,  the  long-standing  effects  of  illness,  what 
happens  when  the  cost  of  living  goes  up  and  the  wage  remains  station- 
ary,— these  and  many  other  questions  became  of  absorbing  interest  to 
various  members  of  the  group  when  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of 
what  was  happening  in  a  family  in  which  they  were  vitally  interested. 
The  efficiency  or  the  deficiency  in  the  work  of  viarious  types  of  sodal 
agencies  became  matters  of  considerable  importance  in  a  definite  and 
personal  way  when  considered  in  connection  with  the  development  of  plans 
for  the  lessening  of  the  difficulties  encoimtered  in  a  particular  family. 


28  THE  jousKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

Each  student  kq>t  a  diary  record  of  all  work  done,  and  the  academic 
result  for  the  course  which  was  given  by  Teachers  College,  Columbia 
University,  was  based  on  this  record  and  the  grades  recommended  to 
the  Committee  on  Instruction  by  the  Committee  in  charge  of  the  work* 

The  course  was  too  short  to  be  of  value  as  vocatioiud  training  for 
social  work  positions,  and  this  was  not  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
established.  It  is  felt,  however,  that  it  proved  itself  of  distinct  value 
as  a  means  of  bringing  students  into  dose  contact  with  actual  home 
problems  as  seen  by  the  social  worker,  and  that  it  also  brought  them 
into  dose  contact  with  the  many  and  varied  efforts  required  for  the 
solution  of  these  problems.  It  also  seems  to  have  had  the  very  great 
value  of  strengthening  the  belief  of  this  group  of  home  economics  women 
in  the  social  value  of  the  subject  in  whidi  they  are  chiefly  interested. 


THE  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN  AS  A  PART  OF  LABORA- 
TORY WORK  IN  HOME  MANAGEMENT 

ELIZABETH  VESMILYE 
The  UnmrsUy  rf  Minnesaia 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  Smith-Hughes  act,  universities  engaged 
in  training  teachers  of  the  vocation  of  homemaking  are  required  to 
provide  W  their  students  "vocational  contact."  That  is,  if  these 
students  are  ultimately  to  teach  the  vocation  of  homemaking,  it  is 
obviously  necessary  that  they  must  themsdves  have  experience  with 
that  vocation.  The  value  of  home  experience  has  been  well  demon- 
strated, but  it  is  likewise  well  known  that  in  too  many  cases  girls  in 
thdr  mothers'  homes  are  never  given  full  responsibility,  so  that  they 
have  not  had  complete  contact  with  their  vocation. 

Obviously  the  college  girl  cannot  be  provided  with  the  identical 
experience  of  the  average  homemaker.  She  has  neither  the  situation 
nor  the  time.  The  thing  which  the  colleges  and  universities  can  do  is 
to  put  her  into  contact,  not  with  the  actual  situation  of  the  homemaker 
responsible  for  the  welfare  of  her  family,  but  with  as  many  home  prob- 
lems as  possible,  and  with  those  problems  grouped  together  in  such  a 
fashion  as  to  provide  the  nearest  semblance  to  the  task  of  the  home- 
maker. 


1920]  TiuuNiNG  07  chubren  29 

At  the  present  time  there  are,  to  our  knowledge,  eighteen  colleges 
and  universities  in  the  country  offering  laboratory  work  in  home  man- 
agement. Up  to  this  time,  however,  the  most  important  work  of  the 
household,  the  work  around  which  the  average  household  centers,  has 
been  omitted — the  care  and  training  of  children.  The  time  has  now 
come  when  it  seems  feasible  to  make  an  application  in  the  home  man- 
agement house  of  the  subject  matter  gained  in  child  welfare  courses. 

The  following  is  an  explanation  of  the  project  undertaken  in  the 
spring  and  summer  quarters  of  1918-19  at  the  University  of  Minnesota. 

The  University  of  Minnesota  conducts  two  home  management  houses 
in  connection  with  its  Division  of  Home  Economics.  Under  the  project 
for  adding  the  training  of  children  to  the  course,  a  child  was  taken  into 
each  house,  the  entire  care  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  students, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  instructor. 

THE  PKOBLEK 

The  Object.  The  work  was  undertaken  (1)  to  show  that  labora- 
tory work  in  the  care  of  children  can  be  fitted  into  a  college  program; 
(2)  to  demonstrate  methods  of  child  care,  both  phjrsical  and  mental, 
which  are  known  to  result  in  the  well-being  and  development  of  the 
child;  and  (3)  to  work  out  some  management  problems  involved  in  the 
care  of  children. 

The  babies.  The  children  were  two  boys,  Russell,  aged  thirteen 
months,  and  Earl,  aged  twenty-one  months.  Both  had  been  in  baby 
homes  since  birth.  They  were  taken  because  they  were  two  for  whom 
the  arrangements  could  be  made  easily.  The  co5peration  of  the  home 
authorities  was  easily  secured. 

Cooperation  of  other  sections  and  departments.  Although  the  problem 
was  mainly  one  of  management,  it  was  recognized  from  the  beginning 
that  the  project  was  undertaken  by  the  Division  as  a  whole.  Thus, 
the  dothing  section  codperated  in  making  clothing  and  a  clothing 
budget;  the  instructor  in  home  nursing  gave  the  initial  demonstrations 
of  the  best  methods  of  physical  care.  The  Division  of  Pediatrics  in  the 
College  of  Medicine  codperated  by  giving  the  babies  an  examination  in 
clinic. 

Adjustment  to  the  college  program.  Each  girl,  in  rotation,  carried  the 
work  of  "baby  manager*'  for  one  week.  Toward  the  close  of  the  course 
each  girl  had  another  period  with  the  same  responsibility.  The  ''baby 
manager^'  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  for  the  care  of  the  child 


30  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  £CX)NOMics  [januaiy 

during  her  period.  She  herself  did  the  actual  woric  of  caring  for  him 
between  the  hours  of  6.00  to  8.00  a.m.  and  from  4.30  to  6.00  p.m. 
During  the  day  the  child  was  in  the  care  of  three  or  four  other  students 
during  the  time  they  were  not  in  class,  the  manager  making  the  program 
for  this  care,  giving  instructions  regarding  food  and  other  matters 
needing  attention.  The  baby  manager  did  the  bab/s  laundry  work. 
One  difficulty  in  the  program  should  be  noted.  There  were  3 
periods  per  week  when  all  the  students  in  both  groups  were  in  the  same 
class ;  3  other  periods  when  all  the  students  and  one  instructor  were  in 
the  same  class.  In  the  first  case  the  instructors  took  care  of  the  chil- 
dren; in  the  latter,  assistance  from  students  not  in  the  working  group 
was  used. 

METHODS  OF  CAKE  EICPLOYED 
Daily  program 
Runell  Earl 

Waken 6:30  Waken 6.O0 

Breakfast 6:30-730  Breakfast 6K)0-  6K)0 

Quiet  play  in  czib 7:30-  8:30  Quietplay  in  czib...  6:30—  7*.30 

Bath 8J0-  8:50  Bath 7J0-  8K)0 

Play 8:50-  9J0  Play,  ride 8K)0-11K)0 

Sleep 9:30-12K)0  Dinner ll.-00-12K)0 

Dinner 12K)0-  IKX)  Sleep 12K)0-  3:00 

Piay,ridc IKX)-  SM  Play,  ride 3K)0-  S.O0 

Sapper 5K)0—  6K)0  Supper 5KX)—  6:00 

Bed 6:00  Bed 6K)0 

Food.  Russell:  age  thirteen  months;  weight  15  pounds,  9  ounces  at 
beginning.  Special  dietary  needs:  diet  to  overcome  rickets  and  eczema; 
liberal  in  quantity  to  correct  imderwdght.  The  following  shows  the 
kinds  given  daily,  except  as  noted: 

Milk  (skimmed),  one  pint. 

Toast,  crackers,  both  white  and  graham. 

Cereal  thoroughly  cooked  but  not  strained. 

Fruit  juice  and  pulp,  two  kinds  each  day,  especially  orange  juice  and  prune 

pulp. 
Potatoes,  mashed  or  baked,  served  without  butter. 
Vegetables  other  than  potatoes,  almost  any  kind,  especially  spinach,  carrots, 

tomatoes. 
Meat  in  the  form  of  scraped  beef,  veal,  or  chicken,  two  or  three  times  per 

week  or 
Eggs  2  or  3  times  per  week  or 
Custards  2  or  3  times  per  week. 
Cod  liver  oil,  3  tsp.  per  day. 


1920]  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN  31 

Earl:  age  twenty-one  months;  weight  19  pounds,  2  ounces  at  be- 
ginning. Special  dietary  needs:  diet  to  overcome  anaemia;  liberal  in 
quantity  to  correct  underweight.  The  diet  for  Earl  was  practically 
the  same  as  for  Russell  with  a  few  exceptions.  Not  having  the  com- 
plication of  eczema  he  was  not  so  closely  restricted  as  to  fat,  and  a  little 
butter  was  used  as  seasoning;  emphasis  was  placed  on  iron-containing 
varieties  of  fruits  and  vegetables;  eggs  were  allowed  two  or  three  times 
a  week  in  addition  to  the  allowance  of  meat,  and  simple  desserts  were 
allowed  daily,  such  as  blanc  mange,  fruit  whip,  custards,  gelatine. 

Play.  Russell,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  months  was  very  inactive  and 
apparently  took  notice  of  nothing.  He  was  content  to  be  in  his  bed 
and  made  no  effort  to  creep  or  reach  for  things.  Gradually  he  came  to 
take  more  interest  as  illustrated  by  his  desire  to  find  articles  concealed 
from  him,  to  imitate  expressions  and  sounds,  and  to  recognize  people 
whom  he  knew.  Progress  was  shown  equally  in  his  ability  to  creep  and 
attempt  to  take  steps.  The  latter  was  accomplished  by  the  use  of  his 
bed  and  pen. 

Earl,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  months,  could  walk  only  a  few  steps 
at  a  time,  and  did  not  know  how  to  laugh  or  play;  his  muscular  coSrdi- 
nations  generally  were  poorly  developed.  A  ''kiddie  car''  was  the 
means  of  teaching  him  to  walk  easily  because  he  was  so  fond  of  pushing 
it  about.  Climbing  on  stairways  and  furniture,  and  turning  somer- 
saults resulted  in  amazing  development.  After  being  helped  to  walk 
up  and  down  stairs  a  half-dozen  times,  he  chose  to  stop  sitting  down 
and  propelling  himself  with  his  hands  and  to  walk  "right  side  up"  by 
the  banisters.  Development  in  using  his  hands  came  more  slowly. 
Building  blocks  helped;  baskets  or  metal  bowls  into  which  he  could 
put  small,  light  objects,  such  as  soap  boxes  and  talcimi  cans,  afforded 
much  amusement — much  more  than  more  costly  special  toys.  His 
development  and  pleasure  came  from  being  allowed  to  work  with 
things. 

Not  the  least  important  part  of  his  progress  came  from  being  loved 
and  played  with  and  taught  the  baby  games.  It  was  necessary  to  see 
that  this  was  not  overdone,  but  this  took  care  of  itself  as  the  instructor 
and  the  girls  became  acquainted  with  their  problem. 

Discipline.  This  presented  no  particular  problem  in  the  case  of 
Russell,  who  was  in  the  creeping  stage.  Of  a  naturally  happy  dispo- 
sition, he  was  pleased  with  any  attention  he  received  and  made  few 
protests. 


32  THE  J0T7BNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  Qanuaiy 

With  the  older  child  who  had  a  more  nervous  disposition,  and  who 
was  climbing  about,  discipline  was  one  of  the  largest  problems.  The 
principle  was  adopted  of  giving  him  the  greatest  amount  of  freedom 
compatible  with  reasonable  care  of  property  and  convenience  for  the 
grown  people.  Students  and  instructor  together  worked  out  the  specific 
applications,  as,  for  instance:  Earl  may  play  with  wastebaskets  but 
must  be  taught  to  replace  anjrthing  he  pulls  out;  he  may  not  handle 
books  and  papers  from  any  bookshelves;  he  may  push  about  the  wicker 
furniture,  but  may  not  handle  piano  nor  piano  stool.  Whenever  pos- 
sible, corrections  were  made  by  diverting  his  attention;  sometimes  he 
had  to  be  removed  bodily  from  the  scene  of  trouble. 

Success  in  the  problems  of  discipline  was  demonstrated  by  a  consider- 
able improvement  in  his  nervous  condition  effected  in  the  first  two  weeks. 
Uniformity  in  granting  privileges  and  imposing  restrictions,  and  the 
prevention  of  over-stimulation  were  probably  the  two  most  important 
factors. 

MANAGEMENT  PROBLEMS 

Task  management,  or  the  adjustment  of  work  to  take  the  least  time 
and  energy,  perhaps  came  first.    Factors  in  accomplishing  this  were: 

Equipment.  Outside  the  simplest  pieces,  such  as  crib  and  high  chair, 
no  special  equipment  was  used.  Working  space  in  the  bathroom  was 
improvised  with  an  old  drawing  board  and  pads,  fitted  over  the  end 
of  the  tub;  a  paper  lined  grape  basket  held  toilet  articles.  All  of  this 
was  of  great  interest  when  being  arranged. 

Food  planning.  Much  of  the  babies'  food  was  served  from  the 
amoimts  prepared  for  the  family  use.  Only  a  few  of  the  out-of-season 
vegetables  were  prepared  separately. 

Supervision  of  play.  Russell  could  be  left  to  play  alone  a  considerable 
part  of  the  time  and  seemed  better  for  it.  Attempts  at  leaving  Earl 
entirely  alone  at  his  play  resulted  in  disastrous  bumps,  or  in  damaged 
furniture.  The  method  developed  was  to  give  him  the  toys  which 
would  keep  him  busiest  and  let  hiTn  play  alone  while  other  work  pro- 
ceeded. AU  kinds  of  housework  could  be  done  but  at  a  much  slower 
rate  than  nonnally;  sewing  and  mending  could  be  done  at  a  rate  nearly 
nonnal,  also  the  more  mechanical  kinds  of  desk  work,  such  as  copying 
and  checking.    Really  concentrated  study  was  impossible. 


1920]  TRAINING  OF  CHILDREN  33 

« 

« 

Time.  Any  figures  given  must  be  taken  as  approximate.  In  re- 
cording time,  an  attempt  was  made  to  separate  the  time  when  nothing 
could  be  done  besides  caring  for  the  baby,  and  that  in  which  the  care 
of  the  baby  overlapped  other  work. 

Time  given  especially  to  the  care  of  the  babies  was  subdivided 
approximately  as  follows,  and  was  about  the  same  for  both  babies: 

1.  About  three  hours  per  day  to  giving  meals.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  children  were  undernourished  to  begin  with  and  in 
strange  hands,  and  hence  were  somewhat  capricious.  Moreover,  the 
babies'  meal  hours  did  not  coincide  with  the  family  schedule  as  in  many 
homes,  and  this  meant  an  increase  in  time. 

2.  About  one  half  hour  per  day  to  bath. 

3.  An  average  of  about  one  hour  to  laimdry. 

4.  About  one  half  hour  to  tidying  rooms,  bathroom,  airing  beds. 
Total:  five  hours  of  actual  care  of  baby. 

Aside  from  the  above  the  babies  spent  not  over  four  waking  hours, 
and  these  at  play.  However,  even  during  their  sleep,  someone  had  to 
assume  responsibility.  Including  this,  there  was  an  average  of  about 
five  hours  work  per  day  expended  by  the  baby  manager,  and  an  average 
of  one  and  one-third  hours  per  day  by  the  assistant  housekeepers, 
though  usually  put  in  in  groups  of  three  or  four  hours  twice  a  week. 

It  must  be  noted  that  these  hours  included  many  other  activities  of 
the  students.  From  the  manager's  time  should  be  deducted  the  time 
spent  in  dressing,  eating  breakfast  and  dinner,  cleaning  her  room;  also 
time  for  her  personal  relaxation  in  the  evening,  even  though  not  com- 
pletely free  from  responsibility.  On  the  other  hand  the  draft  upon  an 
individual  which  comes  from  assuming  responsibility  cannot  be  com- 
puted in  terms  of  hours.  It  is,  however,  an  inevitable  accompaniment 
of  homemaking. 

Cost.  All  the  large  pieces  of  equipment  were  donated  or  loaned, 
including  cribs,  carriages,  high  chairs,  toilet  chair;  also  some  clothing. 
For  this  reason  the  actual  figures  recorded  are  not  significant  of  the 
actual  cost  of  initiating  such  a  piece  of  work.  The  figures  for  food, 
also,  were  extremely  difficult  to  separate  accurately,  since  much  was 
served  from  the  amounts  prepared  for  the  family.  A  weighed  dietary 
study  was  made  over  a  one-week  period.  Calculations  based  upon 
this,  with  allowances  for  waste  indicated  $25  as  the  approximate  cost 
per  quarter,  twelve  weeks  for  each  child. 


34  THE  J0T7BNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

CONCLUSIONS 

After  one  quarter  and  one  summer  session  of  child  training  as  a  part 
of  home  management  work,  with  the  opinion  of  four  groups  of  students 
and  four  instructors,  the  following  conclusions  are  unanimous: 

1.  The  work  is  of  irreplaceable  value  because  of  the  joy  it  brings  to 
the  house  and  the  home  spirit  it  creates;  because  of  the  increased  range 
of  vocational  contact;  and  because  it  makes  the  house  problems  more 
normal  in  their  relationships. 

2.  The  work  is  of  decided  benefit  to  both  students  and  children.^  The 
benefit  to  the  babies  is  shown  by  a  few  facts  taken  from  their  health 
records: 

Russell — Gain  in  weight  in  seventeen  weeks,  4  poimds,  12  oimces; 
eczema  controlled;  activity  greatly  increased,  gain  in  height  2|  inches. 

Earl — Gain  in  weight  in  seventeen  weeks,  3  pounds,  6  ounces; 
activity  greatly  increased;  muscular  co5rdination  improved;  nervous 
irritability  greatly  lessened;  mental  development  advanced. 

3.  The  most  desirable  age  for  the  babies  is  open  to  discussion. 
Children  of  four  to  six  months  of  age  to  start  with  would  give  a  wider 
range  of  problems  during  the  year.  Undoubtedly  babies  who  could 
remain  in  the  crib  a  large  share  of  the  time  would  be  easier  to  care  for 
under  house  conditions,  if  in  good  health.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
experience  with  the  active,  developing  small  boy  or  girl  presents  a  field 
all  its  own. 

^  The  examining  physician  at  the  end  of  seventeen  weeks  summed  up  his  opinion  of  the 
results  thus:  ''The  improvement  in  the  condition  of  these  children  speaks  highly  for  your 
cooperative  motherhood." 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

COST  OF  LIVING* 

FLOBENCE  NESBITT 
ItuHkUs  Instrmtar  m  DUMes,  Amtnean  Red  Craa 

It  is  practically  impossible  to  avoid  the  subject  of  family  income 
when  talking  about  child  welfare,  because  it  lies  so  close  to  the  very 
root  of  all  work  for  the  interests  of  the  duld.  If  the  income  of  the 
father  is  not  enough  to  cover  the  necessities  of  Ufe,  does  not  permit  a 
minimum  normal  standard  of  living,  then  either  mother  and  children 
are  driven  into  industry ,  and  home  life  is  neglected;  or  else  the  standard 
is  lowered,  and  we  have  bad  housing,  imder-nourishment,  and  all  the 
other  hideous  results  of  poverty. 

It  is  a  difficult  thing  to  give  any  absolutely  definite  figures  for  an 
income  below  which  we  do  not  dare  see  families  fall.  These  last  few 
years,  since  the  rise  in  cost  of  living  has  focused  so  much  attention  upon 
the  subject,  have,  however,  given  us  increasing  confidence  that  we 
are  able  to  make  a  fairly  accurate  estimate  of  this  sort.  When  ap- 
proaching the  problem  from  different  points  of  view,  we  find  that  our 
results  when  trying  to  estimate  the  necessary  cost  of  a  normal  standard 
of  living  closely  approximate  each  other.  For  example,  the  estimate 
which  the  Bureau  of  Labor  based  on  a  large  volimie  of  statistics  as  to 
what  people  really  do  with  their  income,  differs  very  little  from  the 
estimates  of  those  of  us  who  start  from  exactly  the  opposite  end,  trying 
to  define  the  elements  of  a  noimal  standard,  and  then  attempting  to 
discover  the  cost  of  maintaining  such  a  standard. 

In  Chicago,  those  who  have  been  working  on  the  problem  recently 
figure  that  it  costs  approximately  $1500  a  year  to  buy  the  essentials 
for  maintaining  the  average  family  of  five — father,  mother  and  three 
children — at  what  we  might  consider  a  normal  standard.  That  means, 
of  course,  a  minimum  wage  of  about  $5  a  day  for  the  working  man. 

^  Rq>iiiited  from  Standards  of  CkUd  WOfart.  A  report  of  the  Children's  Bureau  Con- 
feieoces,  May  and  June,  1919. 

35 


36  THE  JOURNAL  07  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

Last  fall  I  made  an  estimate  of  the  minimum  cost  of  living  for  a 
self-supporting  family  in  Cleveland.  The  Bureau  of  Labor  had  at  that 
time  just  completed  their  estimate  which  placed  the  cost  of  living  for 
ship  builders'  families  at  something  imder  $1500  per  year.  My  esti- 
mate was  almost  the  same.  I  asked  two  managers  of  Cleveland  factories 
how  that  compared  with  the  wages  of  their  men.  Each  one  said  that 
not  more  than  25  per  cent  of  their  people  earned  as  much  as  that. 

We  are  so  in  the  habit  of  thinking  about  the  rather  abnormally 
high  wages  some  people  have  received  since  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
that  we  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole  body  of  wage  earners 
are  earning  a  great  deal  more  than  they  are.  When  it  really  comes 
down  to  figures,  we  find  that  there  are  large  groups  of  workers  who  have 
been  affected  very  little  by  these  raises.  In  the  isolated  communities 
where  the  war  industries  have  not  penetrated,  there  is  no  increase  in 
wages  that  even  begins  to  cope  with  the  increased  cost  of  living.  If  we 
could  raise  wages  to  meet  the  increase  in  the  cost  of  living  we  would  be 
on  solid  ground,  but  there  has  never  been  a  time  when  the  ordinary 
wage  of  untrained  labor  covered  adequate  living.  In  1914,  when  the 
unskilled  wage  was  about  $2  a  day,  it  took  at  least  $75  a  month  to  cover 
the  eveiy-day  requirements  of  decent  living. 

So  there  seem  only  three  ways  out  of  the  difficulty:  The  cost  of  living 
must  come  down;  or  there  must  be  a  nationalization  of  financial 
responsibility  which  wiU  relieve  the  individual  family  of  a  portion  of  the 
cost  which  they  must  now  bear;  or  wages  must  rise  to  cover  the  cost  of 
living ;  so  that  every  child  may  have  his  adequate  opportunity  for  normal 
development. 


TO  COOK  PRUNES  WITHOUT  HEAT  OR  SUGAR 

Wash  prunes  well;  throw  the  water  away.  Pour  over  them  boiling 
water;  let  stand  for  three  minutes.  Pour  this  water  off.  Barely  cover 
with  cold  water;  let  stand  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  result  will  be  a 
delidously  cooked  prune  with  rich  juice. 


1920]  CAXD  SYSTEM  OF  HOUSEHOLD  ACCOUNTING  37 

A  CARD  SYSTEM  OF  HOUSEHOLD  ACCOUNTING 

ELLA  KAISEIL  CA&RUTH 

For  many  years  woman  has  been  exhorted  from  the  platform  and 
from  the  printed  page  to  put  her  housekeeping  on  as  businesslike  a  basb 
as  her  husband  puts  his  affairs.  Now  what  is  more  businesslike  than  a 
card  index,  unless  it  be  a  check  book?  Why  not,  then,  at  least  begin 
to  put  up  a  business-like  appearance  by  using  them  both?  And  using 
them  as  a  part  of  a  "system  of  household  accounting''  certainly  has  the 
true  ring  of  administrative  efficiency  I 

Two  cards  and  a  check  book  wiU  do  as  a  starter  for  the  system,  although 
a  third,  fourth,  or  n^  card  may  be  added  as  the  zeal  for  detail  increases. 
And  after  all  of  these  are  filled,  may  come  the  most  absorbing  of  all — 
the  ''human  interest"  card.  Consideration  of  that,  the  best,  shall  be 
saved  till  last,  as  the  children  say. 

On  the  check  book  stubs  are,  of  course,  the  records  of  any  large 
expenditures.    There  too  are  found  such  items  as  "Cash $10.00." 

With  this  latter  entry  the  first  of  the  cards  is  also  concerned.  On 
this  card,  with  day-book  rulings  (see  fig.  1)  is  recorded  every  cent  of 
cash  which  goes  into  and  comes  out  of  the  household  purse.  In  the 
wide  colmnn  to  the  right  of  the  date  are  entered  the  sources  of  supply, 
followed  in  each  case,  in  the  first  cash  columns,  by  the  amount  received. 
On  other  lines  in  this  same  wide  column  are  noted  the  names  of  articles 
for  which  cash  (never  checks)  has  been  paid,  the  amoimt  following  in 
the  last  two  cash  colunms.  There  it  is  in  a  nutshell;  what  has  come  in 
and  what  has  gone  out. 

The  "Balances"  with  amoimts  in  brackets  are  merely  partial  balances. 
They  are  figured  out  every  few  days  and  compared  with  the  "money 
in  thy  purse."  This  is  an  ounce  of  prevention  which  obviates  serious 
discrepancies  on  the  day  of  final  reckoning  at  the  end  of  the  month. 
When  that  day  comes,  the  difference  between  the  sum  of  the  money 
spent  and  that  received  should  equal  the  amount  of  cash  on  hand. 

Assuming  that  it  does,  and  that  recourse  to  a  large  "simdries"  item 
has  been  unnecessary,  the  household  admiAistrator  may  proceed  to  the 
filling  out  of  a  general  sunmiary  card.  Details  for  the  sunmiary  are 
culled  from  the  check  stubs  and  from  the  cash  accoimt  card  imder 
various  headings.  Those  suggested  in  figure  2  are  of  fairly  general 
application.  In  considering  the  items  from  the  check  book,  the  checks 
drawn  to  "cash"  should  be  ignored  as  they  are  accounted  for  on  the 
cash  card. 


38 


IHE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[January 


If  the  housekeeper  is  interested  to  have  any  sub-division  on  the  general 
summary  card  itemized  in  more  detail  she  has  but  to  make  use  of  one 
more  card.  Figure  3  illustrates  how  the  details  of  the  $50.63  spent 
for  food  in  January  may  be  shown.  Various  sub-headings  for  any  of 
the  other  items  will  readily  suggest  themselves. 


Fto.  1.    Cash  Aoooukt  Casd 
Januaiy  1-31,1919 


1 
2 


3 

7 


19 


Cash  onhand. .. 

Laundiy 

Toys 

Car  fore 

Cream 

Dividend 

Stamps 

Dishes 

Steak 

Balance 


5 

00 

10 

00 

1 
4 

(7 

15) 

90 
40 
35 
40 

00 
00 
80 


20 

Qub  dues 

1 

00 

21 

Slippers 

Lettuce 

2 

00 
15 

25 

Theatre 

4 

00 

Cftifh 

10 

00 

2 

27 

Red  Cross 

00 

30 

Shoes 

(1 

00) 

7 

00 

Balance 

Buttons 

Total 

25 

00 

20 

24 

20 

Forward 

80 

1919 


Fig.  2.    Suioiaky  or  Household  Expenses 


MOMTB 


Januaiy.. 
Februaiy. 


ffOOD 

B0D8B- 
BOIO 

PKUONAL* 

DU8S 

AUX>WAVGB 

J 

M 

50.63 

25.10 

15.00 

10.75 

20.00 

20.00 

TOTAL 


141.48 


Fio.  3.    Food  Casd 


1919 


MOMTR 

MIAT 

Max 

ICI 

TOTAL 

MUIIBBB 

intAU 

SXEVKD 

January 

6.70 

37.11 

6.82 

50.63 

364 

February 

And  now  for  the  human  interest  feature.  Humanly  speaking*  few 
things  are  of  more  universal  interest  than  meals.  Next  to  them  perhaps 
ranks  social  intercourse.  And  the  meals  eaten  by  the  family  and  the 
social  intercourse  enjoyed  by  them  individually  or  collectively  are 
recorded  on  this  fourth  card. 


1920]  CAfiB  SYSTEM  OF  HOUSEHOLD  ACCOUNTING  39 

One  side  is  ruled  to  form  a  calendar  for  the  current  month.  In  each 
day's  space  three  figures  jotted  down  thus  a  indicate  exactly  how  many 

breakfasts,  lunches,  and  dinners  were  served  on  that  day.  Any 
variation  from  the  ordinary  number  is  explained  briefly  on  the  back  of 
the  card.  If,  for  instance,  there  were  five  dinners  served  on  a  given 
day  instead  of  the  usual  four,  a  glance  at  the  "sodal  register''  side  of 
the  card  reveals  the  fact  that  Uncle  Sam  dined  with  the  family  on  that 
day.  A  zero  in  another  space  is  explained  by  the  statement  that  the 
entire  family  dined  out  on  that  evening.  This  card  should  be  very 
popular  with  those  who  maintain  that  one  of  the  chief  values  of  a  cash 
accoimt  is  that  it  forms  a  diary  of  daily  events. 

But  it  also  serves,  most  prosaically,  as  a  basis  for  computing  the 
amount  spent  per  person  per  meal.  If  the  total  number  of  meals  served 
is  transferred  to  the  Food  Card  this  computation  is  easily  made.  And, 
as  every  housekeeper  knows,  she  must,  in  supplying  her  table,  keep 
within  the  limits  set  by  the  expert  dietetic  statisticians,  possibly  modified 
by  her  own  special  condition  and  experience.  Otherwise  she  is  not  a 
really  business  Uke  administrator — not  the  kind  her  husband  is  at  the 
office. 


MINIMUM  WAGE 


The  Massachusetts  Minimum  Wage  Commission,  in  ordering  a  mini- 
mtun  wage  of  $12.50  per  week  for  experienced  women  workers  in  the 
candy  trade,  publish  the  following  weekly  budget  as  necessary  for  a 
self-supporting  woman: 

Boaid  and  lodgmg $7 .00 

Qothing 2.25 

Laundiy 50 

Carfares 76 

Doctor  and  dentist 30 

Church 11 

Newspapers  and  magazines 18 

Vacation 40 

Recreation 30 

Savings  and  insurance 30 

Self-improvement 15 

Incidentals 25 

$12.50 

The  Commission  fixed  a  minimum  wage  of  $1 1  per  week  for  experienced 
workers  in  the  canning  industry. — Industrial  News  Survey, 


40  THE  jovsN/a.  OF  HOKE  ECONOIDCS  [January 

SHOES 

The  Health  Division  of  the  Bureau  of  Sodal  Education  of  the  Y.  W. 
C.  A.  has  begun  a  campaign  of  education  in  the  matter  of  shoes.  It 
not  only  hopes  to  prove  to  women  and  girls  that  the  shoes  ordinarily 
worn  are  not  conducive  to  good  posture,  and  consequently  to  good 
health,  but  it  has  enlisted  the  cooperation  of  shoe  manufacturers  in 
placing  upon  the  market  "approved"  shoes.  A  list  of  the  finns  carry- 
ing "approved"  shoes  will  be  sent  to  each  of  the  1039  local  associations 
in  the  United  States. 

This  is  particulariy  welcome  news  to  the  many  women  who  have  not 
needed  to  be  convinced  of  the  need  of  proper  shoes,  but  who  have  found 
it  exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain  comfortable  ones,  especially  if  any 
regard  were  paid  to  looks. 


Can  we  critidze  China?* 

A  leaflet  issued  by  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service  called  the 
"Road  to  Health"  emphasizes  the  need  of  properly  fitting  shoes,  and 
gives  the  following  directions  for  the  care  of  the  feet: 

Exercise  the  toe  muscles  by  working  the  toes  up  and  down  over  the  edge 
of  a  thick  board  30  times  daily.  Stand  with  feet  parallel  and  somewhat  apart 
with  great  toes  firmly  gripping  the  ground.  Without  bending  the  knees  or 
moving  the  feet  rotate  the  thighs  outward  repeatedly.  This  is  chiefly  done 
by  strong  contraction  of  the  great  muscles  of  the  back  of  the  thigh  and  seat. 
Improve  your  general  health;  take  general  exerdse  to  strengthen  your  body. 
Bathe  the  feet  daily.  See  a  surgeon  if  these  simple  measures  are  not  sufficient 
The  arches  found  in  the  shops  will  not  correct  flatfoot.  They  merely  act  as 
crutches.  Hammertoe,  bunion,  and  many  other  defects  can  be  corrected  by 
a  surgeon.  Painful  feet  may  be  due  to  infection  in  tooth  sockets  or  tonsils; 
search  for  such  conditions  should  be  made.  Mere  flatness  of  the  foot  with- 
out pain  or  other  deformity  may  be  of  no  importance. 

*  Uted  t^  conitesy  of  the  War  Work  Buileiin. 


1920]  NOT  BSEAD  ALONE  41 

NOT  BREAD  ALONE 

Menu  cards  have  a  certain  fascination  for  most  persons.  They  are 
usually  full  of  possibilities,  at  least  this  is  so  of  those  which  ordinarily 
come  to  the  attention  of  the  eating  public.  When  a  menu  comes  to 
light  which  is  so  meager  as  to  be  devoid  even  of  possibilities,  it  is  such  a 
rarity  that  it  deserves  a  place  unto  itself  in  the  light  of  publicity. 

One  Polish  widow,  with  four  children  in  a  family  which  has  recently 
come  to  the  Federated  Charities  for  assistance,  was  asked  to  keq>  a 
menu  of  the  meals  which  she  served  her  family  for  one  week.  At  the 
end  of  the  week  she  handed  to  our  worker  the  menu,  which  is  copied 
exactly  below. 

Mea]ft-n5-17-^19  to  3-23-'19 
Monday  morning    Bread  with  butter  Iliaxiday  moraing    Bread  with  laid 

dinner    Hie  same  for  dinner    the  aame 

Sopper    Potatoes  sopper    Tomatoe  soup 

TueKlay  morning    Ballony  Frieday  morning    Cake 

dinner    Cake  Diner   Bread  with  batter 

Sopper    Potatoca  Sopper    rioe 

Wensday  morning    Downuti  Saturday  morning    Bread  Just 

Dinner    Haiingi  Dinner    sausage 

Sopper    Macaroni  Sopper    potatoes 

Sunday    sausage 

Dinner    tomatoe  soup 

Sopper    the  same 

Immediately  upon  receipt  of  this  information  our  worker  requested 
the  dietitian  of  the  Maryland  State  College  of  Agriculture,  Extension 
Service,  who  is  working  in  conjunction  with  one  of  our  district  offices, 
to  instruct  this  mother  in  the  art  of  buying  and  preparing  food.  The 
Polish  mother  was  entered  in  a  cooking  dass  and  was  taught  to  prepare 
shnple  and  nourishing  food  for  her  family.  She  was  given  a  menu  to 
substitute  for  her  old  one,  and  on  the  list  of  foods  which  she  served 
during  the  week  of  March  24th,  1919,  were  introduced  oatmeal,  rice, 
biscuits,  cocoa,  bean  soup,  prunes,  lima  beans  and  cabbage,  none  of 
which  she  had  known  how  to  prepare  before.  In  the  short  space  of  one 
week  she  had  been  taught  to  prepare  these  foods,  and,  more  than  that, 
she  had  learned  that,  while  there  was  such  an  organization  as  the  Feder- 
rated  Charities,  and  such  assistance  to  be  had  as  she  had  secured  from 
the  trained  dietitian,  there  was  no  further  need  for  serving  meals  con- 
sisting of  "bread  just." — The  Helping  Hand,  The  Federated  Charities 
of  Baltimore. 


42  THE  joxTRNAL  OF  HOiCE  ECONOMICS  [January 

EFFECT  OF  BEATING  CAKE  MADE  WITH  DIFFERENT 

BAKING  POWDERS 

EVELYN  G.  EALUDAY 
The  UniversUy  cf  Chicago 

From  the  results  of  their  work  with  cakes  Miller  and  Allen^  concluded 
that  the  optimum  time  of  beating  was  from  one  to  two  minutes  and  for 
a  given  recipe  was  dependent  upon  the  vigor  with  which  the  beating 
was  done.  When  beating  was  prolonged  beyond  the  optimum  time, 
cakes  were  heavy  and  inclined  to  tuimels.  These  results  were  ascribed 
to  loss  of  carbon  dioxide.  For  their  work  one  type  of  phosphate  baking 
powder  was  used  throughout. 

Some  recent  experiments  carried  out  in  this  laboratory  have  shown 
that  the  optimiun  time  of  beating  varies  also  with  the  type  of  baking 
powder  used.  For  these  experiments  one-third  of  the  following  redpe 
was  used:  fat  i  c,  sugar  |  c,  egg  1,  milk  i  c,  flour,  1^  c,  baking  powder 
3  t.  of  tartrate  or  phosphate  or  aliun  powder. 

All  ingredients  were  weighed  and  combined  according  to  the  conven- 
tional method  by  creaming  the  butter  and  sugar,  adding  beaten  egg,  then 
liquid  and  flour  with  baking  powder  alternately.  Weighed  amounts  of 
batter  were  baked  in  muffin  tins  of  the  same  size  and  at  the  same  tem- 
perature. One  series  of  cakes  was  baked  immediately,  others  af terbeat- 
ing  one,  two,  three,  five,  and  ten  minutes  respectively. 

With  all  powders  it  was  found  that  cakes  beaten  one  minute  had  a 
better  texture  than  those  which  were  unbeaten  and  all  were  quite  sim- 
ilar in  appearance  except  those  made  with  aliun  powder.  These  were 
a  little  coarser  in  texture  than  the  others.  When  phosphate  cakes 
were  beaten  longer  than  one  minute,  tartrate  longer  than  two,  heavi- 
ness began.  With  continued  beating  heaviness  was  more  pronoimced 
and  tunnels  appeared.  Quite  different  were,  the  results  with  alum 
powders.  With  these  the  cakes  beaten  ten  minutes  were  best,  and 
were  as  fine  in  texture  as  the  best  of  the  tartrate  cakes. 

If  heaviness  and  timnels  are  largely  due  to  loss  of  carbon  dioxide,  the 
behavior  of  aliun  powders  is  easily  explained  by  the  fact  that  such 
powders  do  not  act  appreciably  in  the  cold  and  consequently  lose  but 
little  of  their  carbon  dioxide  in  the  process  of  manipulation. 

1  Miller  and  Allen:  Jour.  Home  Earn.,  10  (1918),  no.  12,  p.  542. 


1920]  THE  END  OF  AN  80-HOUB  DAY  43 

THE  END  OF  AN  80-HOURDAY 

A  man  who  stayed  home  with  the  children  for  half  a  day  while  his 
wife  did  her  Christmas  shopping  submits  the  following  statistics: 

Opeaed  door  for  cliildreQ 108  times 

Qosed  it  after  them 108  timet 

Tied  children's  shoes 16  times 

Nmnber  of  stories  read  to  them 21 

Stopped  children  playingpiaoo 19  times 

Smoke  nags  Mown  to  amuse  tikm 498 

A]i>itKated  children's  quaxxd 77  times 

Pat  doll  carriage  out 28  times 

Brought  doll  carriage  in 28  times 

Mended  kiddie  car 5  times 

Cautioned  chikiren  about  crossing  street 66  times 

Children  crossed  street 66  times 

Peddlers  nmg  door  bell 7  times 

Toy  balloons  bought  for  children. 6  times 

Average  life  of  balloon 3  min. 

Dried  children's  tears 14  times 

Assisted  chikiren  to  blow  noses 14  times 

Telephone  calls  answered 8 

Percentage  of  wrong  phone  numbers 100  percent 

Crackers  issued  to  children 37 

Shces  of  bread  and  butter  served 12 

Drinks  of  water  served 9 

Refused  to  buy  candy 87  times 

Questions  about  Santa  Qaus  dodged 1,051 

The  statistician  is  now  advertising  for  two  nurse  girls  and  a  governess. 
— Selected. 


HIGH  COST  OF  LIVING 


Among  the  angels — it's  a  shame 

To  tell  it—prices  are  so  dear, 
They  use  the  bbwn-out  candle  flame 

To  mend  the  ragged  stars,  this  year  I 
'Mary  Carolyn  Davies  in  A  Little  Freckled  Person — Houghton,  Mifflin  Co. 


EDITORIAL 

Lake  Placid  Conference  on  Group  living.  Those  who  in  past 
years  have  experienced  the  hospitality  of  the  Lake  Pladd  Club  will  be 
doubly  glad  to  know  of  the  proposal  for  another  conference  outlined  in 
the  following  letter  from  Mrs.  Dewey. 

In  response  to  several  letters  asking  if  the  spirit  of  the  Lake  Pladd  Con- 
ference could  not  be  revived  and  an  ''old  time  rally"  be  held  there  again,  an 
informal  meeting  was  called  at  the  Riversea  branch  of  the  Club,  Old  Saybrook, 
Conn.,  on  October  24-26,  to  discuss  plans  and  possibilities.  Since  as  a  result 
of  war  conditions  and  labor  difficulties,  the  country  is  fadng  a  transition 
period  with  a  decided  trend  from  home  to  institution  life,  there  seems  urgent 
need  to  study  specially  problems  connected  with  group  living.  One  definite 
plan  that  has  been  suggested  is  the  organization  of  a  Bureau  of  research  for 
institutional  economics,  on  similar  lines  to  the  Harvard  Bureau  of  Business 
Research,  connected  with  the  School  of  Business  Administration. 

It  was  decided  to  hold  a  conference  at  the  Club  about  the  middle  of  May 
and  to  invite  several  allied  organizations  to  codperate.  It  was  suggested  that 
a  full  day  be  offered  to  both  the  Institutional  Economics  and  the  American 
Dietetic  Association  when  their  Chairmen  should  preside  and  be  responsible 
for  their  entire  program;  or,  if  they  prefer,  that  each  should  select  definite 
subjects  for  which  one  or  more  sessions  be  reserved,  under  their  charge. 

With  various  sectional  and  administrative  groups,  working  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  and  holding  meetings  at  stated  intervals,  the  chief  purpose 
of  such  a  general  meeting  would  be  to  unify  results,  broaden  the  scope  of 
future  research  and  avoid  duplication  of  work 

Miss  Emma  H.  Gunther  of  Teachers  College  was  asked  to  act  as  Chairman 
of  the  general  program  conmiittee,  with  whom  allied  organizations  might 
confer  in  selecting  definite  topics.  Open  discussion  after  each  subject  pre- 
sented would  give  opportunity  for  exchange  of  varied  experiences  on  a  wide 
range  of  problems. 

The  usual  plan  of  the  Lake  Placid  conference  has  been  to  hold  morning 
and  evening  sessions,  reserving  afternoons  for  attractive  excursions  in  the 
neighborhood.  Regular  meetings  might  cover  four  full  days,  or  possibly 
Monday  evening  to  Saturday  momingindusive.  Those  who  attend  could  remain 
over  two  Sundays,  gaining  opportunity  for  informal  interchange  of  ideas  and 
44 


1920]  COMMENT  AND  DISCUSSION  45 

broadening  acquaintance  with  workers  who  are  widely  scattered  in  different 
states.  Because  of  their  interest  in  the  subject,  the  Club  trustees  offer  con- 
'ference  members  half  price  on  both  rooms  and  meals. 

While  all  questions  of  community  service  will  be  of  interest,  suggestions 
for  the  program  are  especially  asked  on  subjects  which  concentrate  on  present 
day  progress  in  efficient  living.  Annie  Dewey. 


COMMENT  AND  DISCUSSION 

The  Committee's  Definition  of  Home  Economics.  The  necessity 
for  fixing  the  meaning  of  terms  in  any  science  or  argument  is  generally 
recognized  for  the  puri)ose  of  outlining  its  field  and  of  preparing  the  way 
for  further  study  and  discussion.    Out  of  this  need  arises  the  definition. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  19 10  that  an  effort  was  made  by  a  group 
of  people  to  formulate  an  adequate  definition  of  Home  Economics,  a 
complex  subject  which,  within  recent  years,  has  come  to  have  an 
important  share  in  shaping  the  conditions  and  directing  the  activities 
of  hiunan  life.  The  definition  proposed  by  the  Committee  appointed  to 
formulate  it,  and  accepted  by  the  American  Home  Economics  Assoda^ 
tion,  performed  the  splendid  service  of  summing  up  the  knowledge  of 
the  subject  at  that  time  and  stating  it  in  a  convenient  form  for  preser- 
vation and  future  investigation.  The  question  now  proposed  is,  ''Is 
the  definition  of  Home  Economics  as  the  Conmiittee  gave  it  to  us  an 
adequate  one  for  our  present  needs?" 

In  the  words  of  the  Committee,  ''Home  Economics,  as  a  distinctive 
subject  of  instruction,  is  the  study  of  the  economic,  sanitary,  and 
esthetic  aspects  of  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  as  connected  with  their 
selection,  preparation,  and  use  by  the  family  in  the  home  or  by  other 
groups  of  people." 

In  reflecting  on  the  meaning  of  the  word  "sanitary"  it  has  seemed 
that  it  can  not  be  regarded  as  furnishing  a  full  account  of  the  meaning 
which  should  be  expressed.  In  itself  it  is  only  a  fragment  of  the  word 
which  would  complete  the  meaning.  I  refer  to  the  word  "hygienic." 
The  question  to  be  considered  here  is  the  question  of  the  relation  of 
sanitation  to  hygiene  and  of  hygiene  to  sanitation.  Sanitation  refers 
to  environment  and  is  sometimes  defined  as  "environmental  hygiene," 


46  THE  jousNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [January 

thus  indicating  that  it  is  a  division  of  the  larger  subject  hygiene,  which, 
according  to  Sedgwick  and  others,  is  the  whole  science  and  art  of  the 
conservation  and  promotion  of  health.  It  will  be  recalled  that  dietetics 
is  also  a  division  of  the  subject  hygiene  and  deals  with  the  individual 
and  his  perfection  as  affected  by  food  and  nutrition.  As  the  definition 
of  Home  Economics  now  stands  this  phase  of  the  food  problem  is  not 
wholly  included  within  its  limits. 

One  other  point  seems  worthy  of  consideration,  namely,  the  sodologic 
aspects  of  the  subjects  enumerated.  In  addition  to  the  economic, 
hygienic,  and  esthetic  aspects  might  well  come  the  sodologic  aspects 
with  reference  to  how  much  protection  of  life  and  property  the  citizen 
is  to  receive,  how  good  shaU  be  the  living  conditions  of  the  community, 
and  other  questions  intimately  related  to  the  daily  life  of  the  citizen 
as  he  is  affected  by  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  all  of  which  is  not  merely 
a  matter  of  personal  hygiene,  but  a  codperative  task  of  the  entire 
community. 

Grace  Lxmber, 
Ohio  State  University. 

Mercantilism  is  the  name  given  to  a  theory  of  trade  that  prevailed 
in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 

Mercantilism  assiuned  that  the  strength  of  a  nation  dq>ended  upon 
the  stores  of  silver  and  gold  that  it  was  able  to  accumulate  and  retain. 
It  followed  that  imports  were  to  be  discouraged  by  tariff  restrictions 
and  otherwise,  and  exports  encouraged;  to  the  end  that  money  might 
flow  into  rather  than  out  of  the  country. 

The  fallacy  of  mercantilism  consisted  in  regarding  money  alone  as 
wealth  and  in  not  recognizing  that  other  forms  of  capital  have  equal 
value. 

The  finances  of  many  a  home  are  conducted  on  the  mercantilist 
theory.  I  have  known  a  busy  mother,  for  instance,  to  spend  a  couple 
of  hours  making  a  child's  underwaist  and  to  pride  herself  on  having 
saved  the  thirty-five  cents  that  the  garment  would  have  cost  at  the 
shop.  Allowing  fifteen  cents  for  materials,  she  has  exchanged  her  two 
hours'  work  for  an  equivalent  of  ten  cents  an  hour.  It  would  seem  that 
a  resourceful  woman  should  be  able  to  employ  her  time  more  profitably. 
A  penny  saved  is  not  necessarily  a  penny  earned;  it  may  be  a  dollar 
unearned,  and  therefore  lost. 

Maky  Barron  Washbxtrn. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


Tha  He«tiiig  of  the  American  Home 
Bcoaomics  Aasodetion  in  comiectioii  with 
the  Department  of  Supezintendenoe  of  the  N. 
E.  A.  win  be  held  in  the  Auditorium  of  the 
Eagje  School  at  Qeveland,  Ohio,  on  Feb- 
maiy  23  and  24. 

Methods  and  tests  applicable  to  home 
economics  teaching  in  the  high  school,  and 
the  newer  data  on  child  feeding,  are  the  three 
main  divisions  of  the  program. 

The  use  of  the  project  method  hi  high 
school  teaching,  and  applied  economics  m 
the  one  year  home  economics  high  school 
coune,  will  be  discussed  under  the  first 
head. 

How  various  tests  may  be  used  as  a  guide 
to  teachers  in  evaluating  a  home  economics 
course  will  be  the  first  topic  under  the  second 
group,  and  this  will  be  followed  by  a  dis- 
cussion of  some  of  the  standard  tests  that 
may  be  applied  in  teaching  textiles  and 
dotfaing,  and  by  an  illustrated  talk  on  eco- 
nomic tests  for  sewing  in  the  vocational 
part-time  schools. 

A  report  on  the  field  work  of  the  Children's 
Bureau  will  precede  a  practical  demonstra- 
tion of  the  working  of  a  feeding  dinic  for 
children  under  the  general  subject  of  child 
feeding.  An  exhibit  of  animals  fed  on 
different  types  of  diet  to  show  the  effect  of 
various  foods  on  bodily  growth  and  repair 
win  emphasize  the  importance  of  proper 
food  for  children. 

General  discussion  wiU  foUow  the  presen- 
tation of  each  division  of  subject  matter. 

The  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National 
Society  for  Vocational  Education  wiU  be 
held  in  Chicago,  February  19  to  21,  in  co- 
operation with  the  Vocational  Education 
Assodatbn  of  the  Middle  West,  with  head- 
quarters at  the  Hotel  La  SaUe. 

The   Vocational    Homemaking    Section 


wiU  have  programs  Thursday  and  Friday 
mornings. 

The  Home  Boonomics  Section  of  tha 
Michigan  State  Teachers  Association 
held  a  morning  session  at  the  Detroit  meet- 
ing last  October. 

Mr.  Roy  Barnes  of  the  Educational 
Research  Bureau  of  Detroit  ^>oke  on  the 
Project  Method  and  Mr.  Stuart  Courtis  of 
the  same  Bureau  talked  about  Kdufational 
Measures  in  Relation  to  Home  Economics. 
The  Detroit  Home  Economks  Association 
had  arranged  for  a  luncheon  at  the  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs,  the  Woman's  Exchange 
catering.  Miss  Mary  Baldwin  of  Grand 
Rapids,  Acting  Chairman,  presided  at  the 
afternoon  meeting  and  Mrs.  Henrietta  Cal- 
vm,  Bureau  of  Education,  Washmgton, 
D.  C,  gave  an  inspiring  talk. 

A  Round  Table  Discuasioa  and  busmcss 
meeting  foUowed. 

The  Home  Economics  Section  of  the 
Arkansas  State  Teachers  Association 
held  a  meeting  at  Little  Rock  October  31, 
SteUa  Pakner  of  FayetteviUe  actmg  as 
fliatmiAn  and  Mrs.  Marion  Cole  of  Helena 
as  secretary.  Adelaide  Baylor  of  the  Federal 
Board  spoke  on  Vocational  Home  Economics, 
answering  as  weU  the  many  questions  that 
arose.  The  Course  of  Study  was  discussed 
by  Mrs.  Cole  and  by  Gladys  DoweU  of 
Jonesboro.  Bessie  Peay  of  Little  Rock 
q)oke  on  Evening  School  Classes.  At  the 
f oUowing  busmess  meeting  the  section  voted 
to  raise  a  sum  of  money  to  establish  a 
scholarship  for  some  Arkansas  girl  who 
wishes  to  prepare  herself  to  be  a  home 
economics  teacher. 

The  Home  Economics  Section  of  tlie 
California  State   Teachers  Association 

held  three  meetings  during  1919. 

47 


48 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[January 


At  the  first  meetiiig  a  luncheon  was  given 
in  the  Red  Cross  Lunch  Room,  San  Fran- 
cisco. Miss  Maude  Murchie  spoke  on  Voca- 
tional Education. 

The  program  of  the  second  meeting  in- 
cluded The  Work  of  a  Dietitian  with  the  A. 
£.  F.,  Miss  Monica  Clay,  Dietitian  Base 
Hospital  No.  30;  Home  Economics  Courses 
in  the  Public  School,  Now  and  To-Monow, 
Miss  Florence  M.  La  Ganke,  Director  of 
Home  Economics,  Oakland  Public  Schools. 

The  third  meeting  was  a  luncheon  and 
business  meeting  with  an  attendance  of  85 
members.  Six  sections  were  organized:  (1) 
home  economics  teachers  in  the  elementary 
schools,  (2)  in  the  secondary  schools,  (3)  exten- 
sion workers  and  teachers  under  the  Smith- 
Hughes  act,  (4)  supervisors  of  teacher- 
training  classes,  (5)  dietitians,  (6)  admin- 
istrators. 

Miss  Florence  La  Ganke,  the  newly  ap- 
pointed director  of  home  economics  in  the 
Oakland  Schools,  was  elected  president. 

Budget  Information  Bureau.  The 
Bureau  of  Home  Economics  in  the  Savings 
Division  of  the  First  Federal  Reserve  Dis- 
trict, which  includes  the  New  England  states, 
is  organizing  budget  information  bureaus  in 
banks,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  S. 
Agnes  Donham,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Florence 
A.  Warner.  The  plan  is  to  have  a 
home  economics  worker  for  one  or  two 
days  a  week  in  an  individual  bank  ready  to 
give  information  on  individual  and  family 
budgets  and  advise  as  to  how  one  can 
increase  one's  margin  for  saving.  Mrs. 
Warner  has  recently  been  visiting  banks  in 
Maine  where  the  proposal  has  met  with  a 
very  cordial  welcome.  In  several  cases  the 
banks  are  assigning  a  special  clerk  to  be  . 
trained  in  budget  conference  work.  Miss 
Donham  has  started  in  Boston  a  budget 
training  dass  for  clerks  in  banks. 

Fellowships.  Applications  for  fellow- 
ships in  the  University  of  Chicago  should  be 
received  by  the  Deans  of  the  Graduate 
Schools  on  or  before  March  1,  1920.  Infor- 
mation concerning  graduate  work  in  house- 
hold administration  may  be  obtained  from 
Professor  Marion  Talbot. 


Notes.  In  1916,  the  late  Mrs.  lizzie 
Merrill  Palmer  of  Detroit  provided  in  her 
will  a  fund  for  the  founding,  endowment,  and 
maintenance  of  a  school  where  "girls  and 
young  women  shall  be  educated,  trained, 
developed,  aud  disciplined  with  special  ref- 
erence to  fitting  them  mentally,  morally, 
physically,  and  religiously  for  the  discharge 
of  the  functions  and  service  of  wifehood  and 
motherhood,  and  the  management,  super- 
vision, direction,  and  inspiration  of  homes." 
The  trustees  of  the  fund  have  wisely  taken 
time  to  seek  advice  from  many  sources. 
They  have  appointed  an  equal  number  of 
women  as  co-trustees.  They  have  studied 
the  situation  carefully  and  have  persuaded 
Prof.  Edna  N.  White,  the  president  of  the 
American  Home  Economics  Association,  to 
accept  the  directorship  of  the  school  as  the 
very  best  person  available.  Miss  White's 
resignation  from  Ohio  State  College  and  her 
entrance  upon  her  new  duties  will  take  effect 
on  Februaiy  1, 1920. 

Margaret  Gleason,  a  graduate  of  the  Uni- 
versity  of  Chicago  with  a  master's  degree 
from  the  University  of  California,  has  this 
year  been  appointed  director  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Household  Arts  at  the  College  of 
Industrial  Arts,  Denton,  Texas. 

Up  to  this  time  there  have  been  two 
directors,  one  for  food  and  one  for  clothing, 
but  Miss  Gleason  has  had  several  years  of 
successful  teaching  in  both  subjects.  There 
are  twenty-two  teachers  under  her  super- 
vision. Out  of  the  1400  students  in  the 
college  900  are  in  the  Household  Arts  De- 
partment and  the  total  dass  enrollment  is 
1415. 

A  convention  of  delegates  from  national 
women's  organizations  was  held  in  New 
York  from  the  17th  to  the  24th  of  October, 
following  the  International  Conference  of 
Women  Physicians.  Miss  Cora  Winchell 
and  Miss  Isabel  Lord  were  asked  to  rep- 
resent the  American  Home  Economics 
Association. 

At  the  conference  on  Problems  of  Educa- 
tion in  Mining  Towns,  held  under  the  auspices 
of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  at 
Pittsburgh,  November  28  and  29,  one  of  the 
topics  discussed  was  the  education  of  the 
miner's  wife  and  daughters  in  homemaking. 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  FEBRUARY,  1920  Na  2 

A  NUTRITION  CLASS 
In  Cooperation  with  a  Summer  Play  School 
mary  swartz  rose  and  gertrude  gates  mudge 

Teachers  College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City 

This  summer  there  came  to  the  Department  of  Nutrition  of  Teachers 
College  an  unusual  opportunity  for  field  work.  The  Federation  for 
Child  Study,  conducting  play  schools  in  several  districts  in  New  York 
City,  invited  cooperation  in  the  work  of  improving  the  children's 
nutritive  condition.  As  an  outcome  of  this  invitation,  Stuyvesant 
Neighborhood  House,  on  the  Lower  East  Side,  was  chosen  as  a  center 
for  a  nutrition  class  to  be  conducted  by  the  Department. 

The  Federation  for  Child  Study  and  the  settlement  were  together 
furnishing  the  children  a  noonday  meal  and  a  mid-afternoon  lunch 
during  the  two  months  (July  and  August)  of  the  session.  The  food  was 
sent  from  a  central  kitchen  to  the  various  centers,  under  the  supervision 
of  a  special  luncheon  director.  But  it  is  no  easy  task  to  feed  little  Jews 
and  Italians,  of  whom  the  Stuyvesant  House  group  mostly  consisted, 
when  they  have  never  had  regular  meals  nor  acquired  a  taste  for-  the 
light  kind  of  food  for  children,  even  if  one  is  versed  in  the  peculiarities 
of  Italian  and  Jewish  cookery.  There  was  need  of  a  connecting  link 
between  the  meals  and  the  children  if  the  food  provided  was  to  render 
its  fullest  service.  Moreover,  a  large  number  of  the  children  showed 
distinct  signs  of  poor  nutrition.  They  were  all  given  a  medical  exami- 
nation in  June,  and,  of  the  175  pupils  enrolled  at  this  center,  more 
than  75  were  reported  to  have  malnutrition.  For  these  the  clinic  was 
organized. 

49 


so  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

By  good  fortune  there  was  a  group  of  25  students  attending  the 
summer  session  at  Teachers  College  admirably  fitted  to  engage  in 
this  piece  of  social  work.  They  had  had  some  training  in  dietetics 
and  were  enrolled  for  further  study  of  this  subject.  The  class 
offered  a  splendid  opportunity  for  practical  work  and  the  students 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  it  mostly  heartily.  Accordingly,  the  class 
was  organized  on  a  group  plan,  three  children  assigned  to  each  student, 
and  the  students  associated  in  groups  of  three,  one  of  whom  could 
always  be  present  at  the  clinic  to  look  after  the  nine  children  assigned 
to  the  unit.  Each  student  made  weekly  visits  to  the  homes  of  the 
children  entrusted  to  her  personally,  and  the  instructor  in  charge  of  the 
field  work  held  conferences  with  the  student  units  to  discuss  the 
situation  of  the  children  belonging  to  each  unit. 

The  class-room  weight  records  provided  by  the  Child  Health  Organi- 
zation were  used  to  keep  the  weight  records  of  each  unit,  and  every  week 
the  child  in  each  irnit  making  the  greatest  gain  received  a  red  star  on  this 
class  record,  while  each  child  making  any  gain  at  all  received  a  blue  star, 
and  the  one  in  the  whole  clinic  making  the  greatest  gain  was  rewarded 
with  a  gold  star.  Besides  the  class  weight  records,  each  student 
prepared  individual  weight  charts  in  graphic  form  for  her  charges. 
These  showed  the  normal  gain  to  be  expected  for  the  two  months  and 
the  actual  weight  week  by  week.  The  Manny  table^  was  used  in 
determining  the  normal  gain. 

The  group  met  once  a  week,  the  children  being  weighed  at  the 
settlement  the  morning  of  the  same  day.  They  came  to  the  auditor- 
ium in  the  settlement  directly  from  their  mid-afternoon  lunch.  Their 
mothers  were  urged  to  attend  also  and  many  of  them  came  regularly, 
so  that  there  were  from  20  to  25  mothers  present  each  week.  Each 
leader  of  a  unit  gathered  her  children  and  their  mothers  about  her  and 
used  this  opportunity  to  strengthen  the  bonds  made  by  the  home  visit- 
ing. The  air  was  charged  with  friendliness,  and  to  see  the  big  room 
full  of  eager  children  and  interested  mothers  gathered  in  these  little 
groups  was  an  inspiring  sight. 

When  the  meeting  was  called  to  order,  the  first  number  on  the  pro- 
gram was  a  short  talk  by  the  director  of  the  clinic,  stressing  some  point 
about  food  in  relation  to  health.  To  attract  the  children's  attention 
and  serve  as  reminders  of  past  lessons  several  of  the  charts  prepared  by 

'  Sherman:  Chemistry  of  Food  and  Nutrition,  p.  372. 


1920]  A  NUTRITION  CLASS  ^    51 

the  New  York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor 
were  used,  and  also  some  from  the  National  Child  Welfare  Association. 
The  ''text"  of  the  first  lesson  was  ''Drink  at  least  two  cups  of  milk  a 
day/'  One  of  these  was  furnished  by  the  play  school  in  the  mid- 
afternoon  lunch,  the  other  the  children  were  urged  to  take  for  break- 
fast. Each  week  thereafter  they  were  questioned  as  to  how  many  were 
getting  the  home  cup  of  milk,  how  many  had  learned  to  like  milk, 
and  how  many  were  trying  to  learn.  The  number  of  milk  drinkers 
increased  steadily  throughout  the  session.  Joseph  F.'s  mother  became 
so  interested  in  trying  to  make  him  like  milk  that  she  went  of  her  own 
accord  and  bought  him  a  new  cup;  and  at  the  suggestion  of  the  home 
visitor  she  added  drinking  straws  from  the  soda  fountain;  all  of  which 
proved  an  e£fective  incentive  for  Joseph. 

The  second  lesson  laid  down  the  law,  "No  tea  and  coffee,"  and 
thereafter  the  children  were  given  special  seab  on  their  individual  weight 
charts  when  they  had  had  neither  during  the  week.  At  first  the  use 
of  tea  and  coffee  was  well-nigh  universal,  but  by  the  third  week  many 
of  the  children  were  sajdng  at  home  that  they  did  not  want  them.  Sam 
B.'s  mother  attended  the  clinic  faithfully,  although  she  could  not  speak 
English  at  all.  Sam  was  addicted  to  coffee  and  it  did  not  seem  as  if 
much  impression  could  be  made  upon  his  eight-year-old  self-suffidency; 
yet  by  the  fourth  week  it  was  gratifjdng  to  find  that  Sam's  little  sister, 
who  did  not  come  to  the  clinic,  was  beginning  to  get  milk  and  Sam 
did  not  want  any  more  coffee. 

The  third  session  stressed  the  eating  of  vegetables;  the  fourth,  chew- 
ing for  the  sake  of  the  teeth,  as  many  of  the  children  were  being  sent 
to  the  dental  clinics  by  the  nurse  assisting  in  the  play  school  work;  the 
fifth  and  sixth  lessons  introduced  vegetables  again,  as  these  were  the 
foods  with  which  the  children  were  least  acquainted  of  all  the  kinds  they 
needed.  At  first  they  very  generally  refused  to  eat  them  at  the  noon- 
day lunch.  When  a  kind  friend  sent  in  lettuce  for  the  children's  sand- 
wiches one  little  girl  said  that  she  hked  the  bread  but  did  not  want  to 
eat  the  flower.  No  such  series  could  ignore  cereab  and  dried  fruit, 
and  these  were  touched  in  the  last  lesson. 

Each  time  in  connection  with  the  lesson  there  was  a  demonstration  of 
the  preparation  of  some  food  which  it  was  desirable  to  have  the  chil- 
dren learn  to  eat,  and  to  have  the  mothers  prepare  for  them  at  home. 
Cocoa  was  taught  as  an  alternative  to  milk,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Shapiro, 
the  dietitian  of  the  Allied  Hebrew  Charities,  very  kindly  came  and 


52  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  £CX>NOMics  [February 

talked  to  the  mothers  in  Yiddish,  which  won  their  hearts  besides 
reaching  their  minds.  Each  child  and  each  mother  had  a  taste  of 
whatever  was  prepared,  so  that  they  could  compare  notes  and  talk  it 
over  with  the  student  with  whom  they  were  associated.  Lack  of 
parental  control  is  so  characteristic  of  these  families  that  not  much 
progress  in  food  education  can  be  made  unless  the  mother  knows  that 
the  child  will  eat  the  food  if  she  provides  it.  The  initiative  has  to  come 
from  the  children  themselves;  what  they  demand  they  will  get.  The 
older  children  will  often  assume  authority  over  the  younger  ones  in  a 
very  effective  way.  For  the  chewing  lesson  small  squares  of  crisp 
toast  were  distributed  and  a  veritable  chewing  match  held  on  the  spot. 
At  the  same  lesson  milk  toast  was  taught  as  a  good  supper  dish  and 
it  looked  like  a  huge  picnic  when  ''teacher"  held  a  big  bowl  of  the 
toast,  surrounded  by  a  dozen  waving  paper  spoons  each  claiming  a 
share. 

Other  lessons  included  a  vegetable  salad,  a  vegetable  soup,  a  stewed 
vegetable  with  a  sauce,  and  a  rice  pudding  with  raisins.  Mrs.  Florence 
Wright,  home  demonstration  agent  of  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  very  kindly 
gave  the  rice  pudding  demonstration  and  succeeded  in  making  her 
audience  enthusiastic  over  a  dish  that  had  been  absolutely  refused  in 
the  lunch  room  a  few  weeks  before.  Potatoes  and  onions  were  about 
the  only  vegetables  with  which  the  children  were  familiar.  They 
picked  the  string  beans  out  of  the  luncheon  soup  and  refused  utterly 
anything  with  carrots  in  it.  Isadore  W.'s  mother  said  he  wouldn't  eat 
cauliflower  or  spinach  unless  he  was  spanked!  But  after  they  had 
sampled  together  a  string  bean  and  potato  salad  "Reasoned  in  the  fashion 
of  the  Jewish  home  and  had  been  induced  to  consume  carrots  by  the 
mighty  influence  of  the  crowd,  they  behaved  better  toward  the  food  in 
the  lunch  room.  The  children  became  interested  in  food  that  would 
make  them  grow,  so  that  they  might  get  blue  and  red  and  gold  stars 
and  thus  become  distinguished  members  of  society.  It  takes  strong 
motives  to  conquer  food  aversions! 

A  lively  feature  of  the  class  was  this  song,  composed  by  one  of  the 
students  and  presented  one  verse  a  week,  with  a  special  chorus  for  the 
last  meeting. 


1920]  .  A  NUTRITION  CLASS  S3 

CHILDREN'S  NUTRITEON  SONG 
{Air:  Keep  the  Home  Fires  Burning) 

L  We  are  many  little  children 
Who  come  each  day  to  school. 
And  we  play  and  sing  and  are  happy 
Though  the  days  are  none  too  cooL 
We  have  luncheon  in  the  schoolhouse 
And  in  eating  we  are  strong, 
We  like  milk  and  bread  and  pudding, 
And  we  sing  this  merry  song: 

Chorus: 

Does  your  chart  show  gaining? 
Is  your  weight  increasing? 
Though  the  gold  star's  far  away 
There  are  red  and  blue. 
There's  a  golden  lining 
Through  the  dark  clouds  shining; 
Turn  the  dark  clouds  inside  out 
Till  the  gold  shines  through. 

2.  We  won't  drink  tea  or  coffee 
But  we  will  drink  milk  instead, 
And  at  nine  o'clock  each  evening 
All  of  us  will  go  to  bed. 

We  will  eat  all  that  you  give  us, 
All  we  possibly  can  chew, 
And  we'll  suiprise  the  teachers  so 
They  won't  know  what  to  do. 

3.  Do  you  know  that  milk  makes  muscle? 
Beans  and  spinach  help  you  grow? 

And  that  bright  eyes,  hair,  and  red  cheeks 
Come  from  eating  these  we  show? 
We  are  going  to  be  strong  women; ' 
We  are  going  to  be  strong  men; 
And  when  our  countiy  needs  us 
You  wiU  find  us  ready  then. 

Chorus  for  Last  Session: 

All  our  charts  show  gaining, 
And  our  weight  increasing; 
Some  have  gold  stars  pasted  on. 
Some  have  red  and  blue. 
There's  a  golden  lining 
Through  the  dark  clouds  shining, 
Turn  the  dark  clouds  inside  out 
Till  the  gold  shines  through. 


54  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  EcaNGMics  [February 

Reports  of  the  weekly  gains  in  weight  naturally  had  a  prominent 
place  on  the  program.  Each  leader  told  about  the  progress  of  her 
group  and  the  child  in  each  group  gaining  most  was  called  to  the  plat- 
form and  publicly  congratulated.  The  mothers  were  radiant  when 
their  children  were  thus  rewarded.  Their  eyes  shone  and  they  embraced 
the  returning  children  ecstatically.  When  Nellie  F.  gained  5  pounds 
the  week  after  she  had  her  tonsils  out,  everybody  applauded;  and  when 
little  eight-year-old  Abie  W.,  11  pounds  under  weight,  with  three  teeth 
out  and  a  bandaged  head,  came  up  to  receive  a  star  for  a  half  pound  of 
flesh  it  was  a  great  moment. 

Thus,  with  the  food  lesson,  the  demonstration,  the  individual  reports, 
the  song,  and  the  food  distribution,  the  hour  was  gone  before  anyone 
realized  it.  Then  the  children  who  were  farthest  below  par  in  each 
group  were  brought  to  the  public  health  nurse  for  inspection  and 
instructions.  These  conferences  were  as  helpful  to  the  students  as  to  the 
children.  Throughout  the  week  the  students  tried  to  follow  up  her 
suggestions,  getting  parents  to  consent  to  the  removal  of  tonsils  or 
other  medical  measures  as  well  as  urging  the  children  to  get  to  bed 
early,  brush  their  teeth,  and  eat  the  right  kind  of  food. 

When  the  class  dosed  there  were  50  children  who  had  been  in  prac- 
tically cbnstant  attendance  from  the  beginning.  In  age  they  ranged 
from  six  to  fourteen  years,  the  majority  being  nine  or  ten.  In  the 
case  of  35,  more  or  less  home  cooperation  had  been  secured  and  here  the 
best  results  were  obtained  with  the  children.  Thirteen  had  had  their 
tonsils  out  and  some  of  these  did  not  recuperate  in  time  to  make  any 
gain  in  weight.  Thirty-one  gained  over  1  pound  each  and  42  made 
some  gain.  Excluding  one  tonsil  case,  in  which  there  was  the  phe- 
nomenal gain  of  13  pounds,  the  average  gain  {or  the  two  months  was  2 
pounds  apiece  for  all  who  gained  at  all.  Ten  gained  3  pounds  or  more. 
At  the  last  meeting  a  huge  gold  star  was  awarded  to  the  one  who  had 
made  the  greatest  gain  and  a  copy  of  that  attractive  booklet  of  the 
Child  Health  Organization,  "The  Child's  Health  Alphabet,"  was  given 
to  the  child  in  each  group  who  had  made  the  greatest  gain  in  that  unit. 
Little  William  C,  nine  years  old  and  7  poimds  under  weight,  who  had 
absolutely  no  care  at  home  and  had  walked  miles  to  attend  the  school 
and  the  clinic,  received  no  prize,  for  his  total  gain  was  only  half  a 
pound,  but  when  he  came  at  the  dose  of  the  session  and  in  a  pleading 
voice,  with  still  more  pleading  eyes,  begged  for  "the  extra  picture 
book"  one's  heart  mdted  and  he  recdved  it.  He  had  never  missed  a 
session  in  spite  of  all  his  handicaps. 


1920]  K  NUTKITiaN  CLASS  55 

Of  course,  the  credit  for  these  resiilts  belongs  to  the  enterprise  as  a 
whole  and  not  to  the  class  alone.  The  noonday  lunches  offered  each 
child  an  opportunity  to  secure  from  1000  to  1200  calories  daily,  if  he 
would  accept  the  food  provided.  Below  are  typical  luncheon  menus 
for  one  week,  August  11  to  August  15.  ^ 

Monday:  lima  bean  and  barley  soup;  rye  bread  and  butter,  graham 
bread  and  jam;  ice  cream  (donation).  ' 

Tuesday:  baked  beans  with  tomato  sauce,  graham  muffins,  rye 
bread  and  jam,  apple  sauce. 

Wednesday:  oatmeal  mush  with  raisins,  rye  bread  and  butter,  graham 
bread  and  jam,  stewed  prunes. 

Thursday:  vegetable  soup,  com  muffins,  graham  bread  and  jam, 
cottage  pudding. 

Friday:  salmon  and  potato  loaf,  rye  bread  and  butter,  graham 
bread  and  jam,  stewed  fruit. 

The  mid-afternoon  lunch  of  milk  and  crackers  was  taken  by  prac- 
tically every  child.  Joseph  F.  did  not  like  the  milk  but  he  did  want 
the  cracker  and  they  would  not  let  him  have  the  cracker  without  the 
milk,  so  he  accepted  the  milk  too.  The  two  meals  together  aimed  to 
furnish  each  child  about  a  pint  of  milk  daily.  Fruit  was  quite  liberally 
supplied  and  vegetables  were  freely  used  in  soups.  Some  of  the 
children  had  little  food  beside  what  they  received  at  school.  Anna  Y. 
came  from  a  home  where  the*  mother  was  difficult  to  approach.  She 
had  for  breakfast  coffee,  a  roll,  and  sponge  cake;  on  her  way  home  from 
school  a  lollipop;  and  for  supper,  wine  (often  whiskey,  of  which  her 
mother  said  she  was  very  fond),  and  shrimp.  Poor  Anna,  ten  years 
old  and  10  pounds  under  weight,  with  a  generally  bad  physical  con- 
dition, gained  only  three-fourths  of  a  pound  in  six  weeks,  after  which 
she  was  sent  to  the  country,  where  it  was  hoped  she  would  have  better 
care.  Yetta  K.'s  mother  could  not  speak  English,  and  Yetta  had  no 
breakfast  and  could  not  go  to  bed  before  midnight  because  there  was 
no  dark  or  quiet  place  where  she  could  sleep  until  then;  but  Yetta 
ate  heartily  at  the  school  and  gained  5}  pounds  in  one  month.  In 
such  cases  the  most  valuable  service  rendered  by  the  clinic  was  prob- 
ably helping  to  keep  the  children  in  school.  The  visitors  over-ruled 
various  objections  which  the  children  made  to  going  to  school;  found 
them  companions  when  they  did  not  want  to  come  alone;  reassured 
them  when  they  feared  the  food  because  of  some  other  child's  remarks, 
as,  for  instance,  that  the  cottage  pudding  had  castor  oil  on  it  (for  thus 


56  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Febniaiy 

many  of  them  interpreted  the  imheaxd-of  sauce  and  it  had  to  be  dis- 
continued!); and  generally  kept  up  the  uncertain  interest  of  these  little 
children  who  received  no  support  in  their  school-going  from  their 
homes. 

At  first  the  clinic  children  generally  had  no  appetite,  as  was  to  be 
expected.  But  the  clinic  work  soon  began  to  tell.  The  following  is  a 
typical  visitor's  diary  record: 

End  of  first  week:  Mother  is  trying  to  get  children  to  bed  by  ten  o'clock. 
Is  much  interested  and  very  appreciative  of  the  interest  in  her  child. 

End  of  second  week:  Mother  is  trying  to  get  them  to  go  to  bed  still  earlier. 
Is  preparing  cocoa  for  breakfast. 

End  of  third  week:  Mother  is  cooking  breakfast  cereal  as  well  as  cocoa. 
They  are  also  getting  fruit  every  morning,  and  the  girls  have  both  red  seals 
for  "no  tea  and  coffee."  The  children  do  not  like  the  cocoa  and  cereal  as 
well  as  bread  and  coffee  but  are  trying  hard  to  learn  to  eat  them. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  family  groups  consisted  of  a  mother  with 
four  children  of  her  own  plus  a  nephew  who  spent  the  day  with  her 
children  because  his  mother  worked  away  from  home.  The  student's 
record  says  in  part : 

July  23,  1919.  I  visited  Mrs.  F.  and  met  her  on  the  street.  She  said  the 
children  ate  no  breakfast  and  very  little  of  anything  which  she  cooked.  They 
liked  candy  and  ice  cream  cones  which  they  bought  on  the  street.  They 
drank  coffee  and  did  not  like  milk  or  cocoa.  I  asked  her  when  the  children 
went  to  bed  and  she  said  they  played  out  on  the  street  from  four-thirty, 
when  school  closed,  imtil  eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  at  night. 

July  24,  1919.  Mrs.  F.  seemed  to  enjoy  the  cocoa  which  was  prepared  at 
the  dinic  today.  She  observed  that  her  children  clamored  for  more  and  she 
promised  to  make  some  at  home. 

July  31,  1919.  I  called  on  Mrs.  F.  on  the  day  of  the  third  meeting  of  the 
clinic.  She  was  planning  to  attend  it.  She  said  the  children  had  eaten 
more  for  breakfast  this  week  and  were  liking  milk  better  than  before.  She 
had  made  cocoa  twice  and  the  children  drank  it  and  asked  for  more.  She 
added  that  the  children  did  not  want  her  to  make  coffee  any  more. 

August  5,  1919.  I  called  on  Mrs.  F.  this  afternoon.  N.  had  gone  to  the 
hospital  to  have  her  tonsils  removed.  Mrs.  F.  said  she  had  made  potato 
salad  (potato,  fish,  and  string  beans)  on  Simday  just  as  it  had  been  prepared 
at  the  clinic  and  the  children  liked  it.  She  had  bought  two  quarts  of  milk 
each  day  and  made  cocoa  nearly  every  day. 


1920]  A  NUTRITION  CLASS  57 

August  12,  1919.  I  called  on  Mrs.  F.  and  found  her  very  busy  as  she  was 
going  to  have  company  for  supper.  She  said  she  had  made  milk  toast  three 
times  since  the  last  clinic.  She  is  now  bu3dng  three  quarts  of  milk  on  some 
days.    The  children  are  now  going  to  bed  at  nine  o'clock  every  night. 

After  N.  had  her  tonsils  removed  she  gained  rapidly  and  at  the  last 
meeting  received  the  gold  star  for  the  greatest  gain  in  weight,  13  pounds. 
Her  general  health  was  much  improved.  D.,  aged  7 J,  gained  SJ 
pounds;  A.  and  S.,  twins  approaching  six,  remained  practically  in  statu 
quo.  Cousin  J.  gained  2}  pounds  and  is  now  exactly  normal  in  weight 
for  his  age  and  height.  Mrs.  F.  says  she  has  less  trouble  in  getting  her 
children  to  eat  things  at  home  than  she  had  before  the  clinic  started. 
"They  will  eat  foods  now  because  they  believe  they  will  make  them 
grow." 

In  the  last  analysis  the  greatest  gain  came  to  those  who  shared  in  the 
conduct  of  the  class.  This  type  of  work  is  in  its  infancy.  We  are 
especially  indebted  to  Dr.  W.  H.  Emerson  and  Dr.  Charles  Hendee 
Smith  for  demonstrating  the  power  of  group  rivalry  as  an  incentive  to 
proper  eating  and  other  habits  essential  to  normal  growth  of  children. 
The  literature  of  the  nutrition  clinics  has  been  ably  reviewed  by  Miss 
Lydia  Roberts,  who  has  also  reported  in  some  detail  nutrition  work 
carried  on  by  college  students  under  her  supervision.*  A  number  of 
clinics  are  now  maintained  by  social  agencies  in  New  York  City  at  which 
the  children  are  weighed  and  instructed  in  health  duties,  under  the 
stimulus  of  class  spirit  as  an  incentive  for  improvement.  In  this  par- 
ticular undertaking  we  were  able  to  get  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm  from 
the  relatively  large  number  of  people  participating.  Children,  mothers, 
and  "teachers"  filled  a  good-sized  auditorium  and  this  of  itself  was 
inspiring.  The  food  demonstration  and  sampling  were  perhaps  the  most 
unique  feature,  and  one  whose  value  appeared  to  be  well  proved.  The 
connection  with  the  school  lunch  made  possible  a  progress  that  was 
encouraging  to  all  concerned  and  could  not  have  been  secured  other- 
wise. The  hearty  support  of  the  settlement  staff  was  a  large  element 
in  the  success  of  the  undertaking.  The  social  visitor  was  unfailingly 
helpful,  from  the  day  when  she  introduced  each  trembling  prospective 
visitor  to  her  family  till  the  day  when  all  the  prizes  were  awarded  and 
the  last  child  sent  home.  The  school  nurse  was  most  sympathetic  in 
her  attitude  and  practical  in  her  suggestions ;  and  the  luncheon  director 

*Jaur,  Home  Ecan,,  Jan.  and  Mar.,  1919. 


58  THE  jouBKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

did  her  best  to  bring  about  a  codrdination  between  the  instruction  in  the 
clinic  and  the  food  provided  by  the  school. 

Since  many  of  the  students  who  participated  were  abready  experienced 
home  economics  teachers  and  leaders  in  the  commimijties  from  which 
they  came,  there  is  no  doubt  that  this  piece  of  field  work  was  of  value 
in  demonstrating  the  possibilities  in  this  kind  of  work,  in  giving  them 
some  first-hand  experience  with  the  organization  of  a  health  class,  and 
in  bringing  them  into  direct  contact  with  the  individual  home. 


WHAT  CONSTITUTES  RESEARCH  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS? 

MINNA   C.   DENTON 
Offiu  of  Home  EcaitomicSf  Umied  Stales  Defartment  of  AgHcvUure 

Comparatively  little  has  been  accomplished  in  the  way  of  research  in 
home  economics.  The  number  of  institutions  in  the  country  which 
have  fostered  work  of  a  high  grade,  truly  meriting  the  name  of  research, 
is  limited.  Yet  the  field  is  very  large,  including  as  it  does  those  bodies 
of  science,  economics,  art,  and  education  which  are  or  should  be  applied 
to  home  problems.  The  demand  for  more  precise  information  than  we 
now  possess,  in  each  of  these  realms,  is  urgent. 

No  inconsiderable  part  of  this  demand  is  for  answers  to  what  seem  at 
first  sight,  rather  simple  questions;  e.g.,  a  professional  woman  criticizes 
a  thrift  propagandist  for  condemning  silk  stockings  and  silk  underwear 
as  an  extravagance.  In  these  days  of  impossible  laundry  and  servant 
conditions,  she  argues,  a  woman  saves  both  time  and  money  by  purchas- 
ing a  good  grade  of  silk  and  laundering  it  herself  each  night;  she  can  thus 
make  the  silk  hose  last  longer  than  would  cotton  or  lisle  hose  purchased 
for  the  same  money,  and  the  time  she  spends  in  laundering  is  offset  by 
the  time  she  would  have  spent  in  mending  hose  sent  to  the  laundry  or 
washerwoman — supposing  that  a  washerwoman  is  indeed  to  be  had. 
"Why  don't  some  of  you  home  economics  people  publish  a  study  bring- 
ing out  such  points?" 

Incidentally  it  may  be  remarked  that  perhaps  the  problem  is  rather, 
— Does  it  pay  better  to  buy  an  expensive  grade  of  hose  of  fine  texture, 
whether  silk,  cotton,  or  lisle, — ^and  give  them  the  daily  attention 
suggested, — rather  than  to  spend  an  equal  amount  of  money  in  cheaper 


1920]  RESEARCH  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  59 

and  coarser  weaves  of  the  same  or  of  other  textiles,  since  the  daily 
washing  may  lengthen  the  life  of  all  three  textile  fibers  equally? 

Now  this  would  at  first  sight  seem  to  be  a  very  snnple  sort  of  study, 
and  one  which  a  freshman,  or  even  a  high  school  girl,  ought  to  be  capa- 
ble of  making.  What  could  be  less  complicated  than  to  purchase 
representative  pairs  of  each  grade  of  hose,  record  date  and  price,  wear 
each  on  alternate  weeks,  record  dates  upon  which  holes  appear  and 
time  spent  in  laundering  and  mending,  and  let  the  facts  speak  for  them- 
selves? But  should  such  a  study  be  considered  worthy  of  the  name  of 
research? 

Let  us  pause  a  moment  to  consider  the  definitition  of  research.  At 
least  four  elements  must  receive  attention: 

1.  The  problem  attacked  should  be  on^  of  some  practical  interest,  or 
else  connected  organically  with  that  body  of  ^^pure"  science  which 
underlies  all  '^ practical"  and  other  human  iuterests.  It  must  be  one 
which  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  or  completely  solved,  so  far  as  can 
be  determined  by  a  review  of  all  available  literature. 

2.  The  problem  must  be  successfully  analyzed;  i.e.,  a  complex  situa- 
tion must  be  resolved  iuto  its  elements.  All  of  the  variants  which  may 
affect  the  final  result  must  be  recognized  ultimately,  although  it  is  often 
not  possible  to  recognize  all  of  them  at  first;  yet  the  success  of  the  work 
depends  largely  upon  the  skill  of  the  investigator  in  recognizing  as  great 
a  number  as  possible,  and  in  planning  carefully  controlled  tests  to  elim- 
inate all  variants  excepi  one,  in  each  test;  the  whole  series  to  give  the 
effect  of  each  variant  in  turn,  so  far  as  time  and  resources  permit.  The 
plan  of  the  experimenter  should  be,  not  to  prove  or  to  disprove  this  or 
that  preconceived  notion,  but  to  find  the  truth;  she  must  be  able  to 
reverse  her  judgment  at  any  moment  that  the  evidence  demands  a 
change  of  verdict. 

3.  The  methods  used  must  be  precise  methods,  and  should  utilize  all 
known  resources  of  science,  art,  technology,  or  economics,  in  so  far  as 
these  resources  can  be  made  to  apply  to  the  matter  iu  hand.  Original 
methods  may  be  worked  out,  and  must  be  demonstrated  by  checking 
them  against  known  facts.  When  possible,  more  than  one  method 
should  be  used,  in  order  to  arrive  at  the  same  fact  from  different  angles. 
All  materials  used  for  experimentation  must  be  shown  to  be  imiform 
from  time  to  time,  and  also  representative  of  their  dass.^ 

^For  further  amplification,  see  "What  is  Expezimental  Cookery?"  Jour.  Home  Eeon., 
Maich,  1919. 


60  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

4.  The  conclusions  demonstrated  by  the  study  in  question  should  be 
precisely  formulated,  carefully  qualified,  and  published  (together  with  a 
full  description  of  the  methods)  in  such  a  medium  as  to  be  available  to 
that  class  of  persons  best  qualified  to  judge  the  worth  of  the  study. 
These  conclusions,  even  if  negative,  should  constitute  an  addition  to 
existing  knowledge,  as  that  knowledge  is  reflected  in  the  literature  of  the 
subject. 

Now  our  problem  of  silk  hose  vs.  cotton  or  lisle  hose,  or  of  fine  expen- 
sive hose  vs.  cheaper  coarser  hose,  is  certainly  one  of  practical  interest. 
It  has  undoubtedly  received  attention  from  a  great  many  women,  and 
been  satisfactorily  disposed  of,  so  far  as  their  own  personal  affairs  are 
concerned;  but  the  question  is,  would  their  experience  if  published,  be 
of  real  value  to  a  considerable  body  of  other  women,  or  is  it  perhaps  in 
some  way  exceptional? 

Secondly  and  thirdly,  can  this  problem  be  analyzed  and  studied  in 
any  precise  fashion?  Are  there  materials  at  hand,  fairly  representative 
of  the  market,  sufficiently  standardized  so  that  any  woman  wishing  to 
avail  herself  of  others'  experience  and  reading  of  the  study,  coidd  obtain 
substantially  the  same  article  which  was  studied?  And  is  it  possible  to 
be  sure  that  the  tests  to  which  one  subjects  these  materials  are  always 
the  same  from  week  to  week,  or  are  about  the  same  as  the  tests  which 
they  would  necessarily  encounter  if  put  into  customary  use  by  other 
women?    Here,  of  course,  is  the  rub. 

In  order  to  make  sure  that  the  materials  tested  are  truly  representa- 
tive, one  woidd  need  to  make  a  fairly  complete  survey  of  the  markets 
open  to  that  body  of  women  whom  one  wishes  to  serve.  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  be  a  good  practical  judge  of  such  textile  materials, — since  one 
cannot  demonstrate  the  degree  of  fitness  as  such  a  judge,  merely  by 
stating  one's  qualifications  on  the  printed  page.  The  material  used 
should  be  specified  exactly,  and  not  as  the  consimier  ordinarily  specifies 
it.  "A  pair  of  $2.00  Asterisk  silk  hose,  purchased  at  Johnson's  in 
Emporia  on  November  4, 1918,"  e.g.,  is  by  no  means  a  sufficient  descrip- 
tion even  though  the  Asterisk  hose  may  chance  to  be  known  as  a  stand- 
ard make,  in  that  part  of  the  country.  It  should  rather  be  specified 
as  the  wholesaler  and  the  manufacturer  specify  it.  How  to  make  avail- 
able "all  known  resources"  of  information  concerning  a  trade-marked 
article,  whose  manufacturers  are  sis  a  rule  anxious  to  preserve  their 
secrets,  is  indeed  a  problem.  Friendly  retailers  or  buyers  may  give 
interesting  data  and  many  valuable  suggestions,  yet  their  unsupported 


1920]  KESEARCH  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  61 

statements  cannot  always  be  relied  upon  for  research  purposes.  Nor 
has  the  testing  of  textiles  been  developed  to  as  advanced  a  stage  as  that 
of  the  testing  of  foodstuffs.  Notwithstanding  all  these  discouraging 
difficulties,  however,  the  persevering  investigator  may  sometimes  suc- 
ceed in  obtaining  a  reliable  history  which  persuades  her  that  she  has  a 
representative  article  worth  studying;  and  that  she  can  so  specify  it 
that  other  women  may  ask  for  the  same  thing,  with  a  fair  degree  of  prob- 
ability that  they  may  obtain  it  through  reliable  dealers. 

The  matter  of  devising  a  fair  test  of  wearing  qualities  does  not  present 
fonnidable  difficulties.  It  is  true  that  S.  walks  at  least  seven  miles  a 
day,  and  T.  not  more  than  two;  that  M.  dances  a  great  deal,  while  N. 
never  does;  that  A.  has  a  peculiar  way  of  setting  her  feet  down  (prob- 
ably unnoticed  by  herself  as  a  causal  factor  applying  to  this  problem) 
which  causes  her  to  be  "very  hard  on  her  stockings;"  that  two  succes- 
sive weeks  in  any  person's  life  may  show  very  different  degrees  of  activ- 
ity with  regard  to  the  feet;  that  some  shoes  are  much  "harder  on  stock- 
ings" than  others;  that  the  influence  of  perspiring  feet,  of  soap  and  of 
other  laundry  details,  is  highly  variable.  But  the  enterprising  experi- 
menter will  devise  tests  which  are  representative  because  of  their  selec- 
tion and  numbers,  and  because  as  many  conditions  as  possible  have 
been  standardized.  She  will  not  draw  her  conclusions  from  experience 
with  only  two  pairs  of  hose,  nor  from  tests  carried  out  by  a  single  indi- 
vidual. She  will  consider  carefully  the  influence  of  circumstances  com- 
mon in  every  day  life,  but  not  encountered  in  her  tests;  and  she  will 
modify  her  conclusions  accordingly.  Incidentally,  she  will  doubtless 
gather  a  considerable  fund  of  information  concerning  varieties  of  tex- 
tiles to  be  encountered  in  her  local  markets;  also  concerning  some  of  the 
reasons  why  one  girl  can  wear  her  stockings  twice  as  long  as  another, 
before  wearing  them  out.  These  "by-products"  of  research  are  some- 
times even  more  valuable  than  the  conclusions  originally  sought  for. 

Conceivably,  then,  a  method  may  be  worked  out  for  making  a  sys- 
tematic study  of  the  above  question  precise  enough  for  practical  pur- 
poses, if  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  tests  be  made.  Under  these 
drcumstances,  the  study  may  be  suitably  tenned  research  of  an  order 
adapted  to  the  undergraduate  student  in  home  economics. 

If  it  is  desired  to  adapt  the  problem  to  graduate  work,  additional 
elements  may  be  superimposed,  which  will  call  for  a  more  precise  method 
of  testing,  or  for  a  more  elaborate  study  of  some  single  aspect  of  the 
question  which  is  susceptible  of  more  exact  determination.    For  example. 


62  THE  jouKNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  pF'^bruary 

the  effect  of  some  of  the  salts  found  in  the  perspiration  upon  tensile 
and  other  properties  of  textile  fibers,  as  studied  by  the  usiial  machine 
and  microscopic  methods,  may  be  taken  up.  Or  possibly  a  method 
might  be  devised  for  studying  the  peculiarities  of  the  muscular  per- 
formance, in  walking,  of  a  girl  who  invariably  wears  out  her  shoes  in 
the  middle  of  the  sole  first  of  all,  and  who  is  correspondingly  ''hard  on 
her  stockings."  Any  other  detail  which  serves  to  indicate  degree  of 
correspondence  between  machine  testing  of  textiles  and  the  test  which 
they  encounter  in  actual  wear  would  be  an  equally  good  subject  of  study. 

The  survey  method  is  necessary  in  many  studies  of  home  problems 
in  economics,  as  well  as  in  other  phases  of  our  subject.  The  survey  is 
of  value  only  as  it  accurately  reflects  actual  conditions,  and  in  so  far  as 
it  is  truly  representative  of  some  natural  group  or  of  some  locality.  It 
is  of  no  special  interest  to  know  what  were  the  monthly  grocery  bills  in 
seventy-five  homes  in  a  town  of  1000  inhabitants,  unless  we  have  some 
way  of  judging  ivhich  seventy-five  homes  they  were;  whether  most  nearly 
representative  of  professional  men's  expenditures,  of  day  laborers,  or  of 
dependent  families.  The  banker's  family  may  spend  $100  a  month  for 
food,  a  janitor's  family  $25;  the  average  of  these  two  sums  represents 
neither  of  these  families,  and  nothing  else  under  the  sun  that  is  of  prac- 
tical interest. 

All  the  human  elements  which  affect  the  gathering  of  data  for  the 
survey  must  be  taken  into  account,  such  as  the  desire  of  the  laborer's 
wife  to  make  it  appear  that  her  family  lives  well,  and  the  consequent 
raising  of  her  estimate;  or  the  desire  of  the  home-economics-trained 
housewife  to  make  it  appear  that  she  is  a  thrifty  manager,  and  the  con- 
sequent selection  of  an  estimate  which  is  perhaps  a  little  low  rather 
than  a  little  high. 

Research  is  an  attitude  of  mind  if  it  is  anything,  and  the  ability  to 
sift  critically  the  evidence  before  rendering  a  judgment  is  not  only  one 
of  the  highest  attainments  of  the  research  worker,  but  also  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  all  attainments  for  meeting  the  little  exigencies  and 
the  great  crises  of  everyday  life.  It  therefore  would  seem  that  at  some 
time  before  she  graduates  the  home  economics  student  might  well  be 
put  up  against' a  problem  which  she  must  work  out,  without  any  chance 
to  "find  the  answer  in  the  book."  She  may  not  make  discoveries  which 
greatly  enhance  the  world's  stock  of  knowledge,  but  at  least  she  will 
have  been  given  a  fair  opportunity  to  lose  some  of  her  undue  reverence 
for  the  printed  page;  to  develop  the  power  to  discriminate  between 


1920]  DIETARY  STUDIES  63 

first-hand  knowledge  and  hearsay  testimony,  whether  spoken  or  printed; 
a  critical  sense  for  the  merits  of  a  disputed  case;  the  abiUty  to  exercise 
suspended  judgment;  and  possibly  she  may  even  develop  those  rare 
qualities,  the  initiative  and  the  insight  which  enable  the  finite  human 
being  to  wrest  some  of  its  secrets  from  the  great  unknown. 


DIETARY  STUDIES 

ISABEt  BEVIER 
Prcfessor  of  Home  Economics^  UniversUy  of  lUinois 

Dietary  studies  carefully  supervised  have  long  been  recognized  as  a 
valuable  source  of  infoimation  on  many  points.  Those  made  under  the 
leadership  of  Professor  Atwater  brought  together  a  vast  store  of  infor- 
mation about  living  habits.  Recently  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture  has  collected  more  data  by  this  same  method. 

It  seemed  to  the  members  of  the  Home  Economics  Department  of 
the  University  of  Illinois  that  such  studies  might  serve  two  purposes: 
first,  give  data  regarding  food  suppUes  and  living  habits  of  students; 
second,  these  data  might  serve  as  a  help  in  finding  economic  and  prac- 
tical ways  of  securing  an  adequate  diet  according  to  accepted  standards 
with  present  high  prices.  As  a  result,  the  Department  is  able  to  report 
the  following. 

These  studies  involved  some  three  hundred  people  living  in  sorority, 
church,  and  co5perative  houses.  The  work  was  carried  on  according  to 
approved  methods  for  a  seven-day  period.  Twelve  studies  in  all  were 
made,  six  of  them  in  partial  fulfilhnent  for  a  master's  degree.^  For 
purposes  of  this  paper,  data  from  nine  of  these  groups  are  averaged. 

Table  1  shows:  a  minimum  cost  of  37.1  cents  per  person  per  day, 
and  a  maximum  of  43,  with  an  average  of  40.3;  a  calorific  value 
varying  from  2038  to  3023,  with  an  average  of  2419;  a  protein  mini- 
mum of  56.6  grams,  a  maximum  of  88.9,  with  an  average  of  69.5.  It 
thus  appears  that  the  quantity  of  food  is  fairly  satisfactory,  both  in 
calorific  value  and  in  the  amount  of  proteiu,  fat,  and  carbohydrate,  and 

^  '*Dietaiy  Studies"  conducted  by  Mrs.  Ethel  C.  Yunker,  1919. 


^ 


64 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  E(X>NOMICS 


[February 


the  cost  not  extravagant,  though  in  No.  9  the  56.6  grams  of  protein  and 
in  No.  3  the  2038  calories  used  are  too  low  for  the  active  life  led  by  these 
students. 

TABLE  1 
Data  from  nine  groups 


mniBKK  or  bovsx 

COST  or 

FOOD  PXM 

PERSON 

PER  DAY 

AVSIAOB  CONSUlCPnON  PER  PERSON 
PER  DAY 

COST  OP 
WASTE 
PER    PER- 
SON 
PER  DAY 

COST  OP 
REPU8B 

PER    PER- 
SON 

PER  DAY 

'*  oxnsDE  bats" 

PER 

PERSON  PER  DAY 

Protein 

Fat 

Carbo- 
hydrate 

Total 
calories 

Calories 

Cost 

emu 

grams 

irawu 

grams 

cmtt 

cmts 

cms 

1 

40.5 

76.0 

101.0 

27  3  A 

2306 

1.4 

3.6 

142 

9.1 

2 

37.1 

68.5 

108.8 

265.9 

2317 

0.7 

1.7 

251 

15.2 

3 

41.7 

65.6 

79.9 

264.2 

2038 

1.8 

3.6 

202 

10.3 

4 

43.0 

64.7 

105.1 

308.9 

2440 

1.1 

1.8 

184 

10.9 

5 

39.4 

62.8 

89.7 

270.3 

2140 

0.6 

3.0 

191 

10.8 

6 

39.5 

80.2 

120.3 

404.9 

3023 

none 

* 

none 

none 

7 

42.1 

88.9 

113.9 

364.9 

2840 

none 

♦ 

m 

0.8 

8 

38.4 

62.4 

102.0 

311.0 

2412 

0.4 

^_m 

* 

^_m 

9 

40.7 

56.6 

122.9 

230.0 

2253 

2.8 

m 

218 

♦ 

Average 

40.3 

69.5 

104.8 

299.3 

2419 

1.2t 

2.78 

170 

8.2 

*Data  not  available. 
tAverage  for  seven  houses. 
(Average  for  five  houses. 

Few  such  studies  are  available  for  comparison.  Four  others  have 
been  selected,  viz.:  those  made  at  the  University  of  Chicago  in  1896, 
involving  130  people;  at  Lake  Erie  College  in  1900,  with  103  people; 
and  two  studies  at  the  Boston  School  of  Housekeeping  in  1901,  illustrat- 
ing respectively  an  expensive  and  a  low-cost  dietary.  Table  2  gives 
the  results  of  this  comparison. 

TABLE  2 
Comparison  of  studies 


TEAR 


1919 
1896 
1900 
1901 
1901 


PLACE 


University  of  Illinois 

University  of  Chicago 

Lake  Erie  College 

Boston  School  of  Housekeeping 
Boston  School  of  Housekeeping 


NUVBER 

OP 
PEOPLE 


300 

130 

103 

16 

16 


COST 

PER 
PERSON 
PER  DAY 


cents 

40.3 
25.0 
18.0 
22.6 
51.1 


AVERAOR  CONSUMPTION  PER 
PERSON  PER  DAY 


Protein 


grams 

69.5 

108.0 

68.0 

94  0 

118.0 


Fat 


grams 

104 
102 
115 
127 
115 


Carbo- 
hydrate 

grams 

299.3 
381.0 
321.0 
317.0 
390.0 


Total 
calories 


2419 
2955 
2665 
2776 
3057 


1920  DIETARY  STUDIES  65 

According  to  accepted  standards,  the  amount  of  fat  is  high  in  all  of 
the  studies.  The  fact  that  the  protein  and  the  total  calories  at  Lake 
Erie  College  and  the  University  of  Illinois  are  practically  the  same, 
while  the  present  cost  is  more  than  double,  is  added  testimony  to  the 
high  cost  of  living.  The  high  protein  and  carbohydrate  in  the  Chicago 
University  dietaries  are  noticeable  and  account  for  the  high  calorific 
value.  The  explanation  for  the  high  amount  of  fat  in  the  study  at  Lake 
Erie  College,  and  probably  in  all  the  studies,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in 
a  restricted  diet  one  always  makes  larger  use  of  bread  and  butter.  At 
present  prices,  if  butter  is  used  freely,  it  adds  much  to  the  total  cost 
of  the  food.  It  may  be  that  one  permanent  result  of  the  lessened  use 
of  meat  will  be  the  increased  use  of  butter  or  butter  substitute. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  days  of  the  Boston  studies,  1901-02, 
the  following  menu  could  be  secured  for  51  cents  per  person  per  day." 

Friday  y  May  2 

Breakfast, — Grape  fruit,  wheat  breakfast  food,  nmip  steak  (garnished  with 
water  cress),  baked  potatoes,  buttered  toast,  orange  marmalade. 

Luncheon. — Cream  of  asparagus  soup,  ragoAt  of  duck,  lettuce  and  orange 
salad,  brown  bread  sandwiches  filled  with  cream  cheese  and  water  cress, 
wheat-bread  sandwiches  filled  with  cucumbers  dressed  with  maitre  d'hotel 
butter,  caramel  charlotte  russe. 

Dinner, — Clear  tomato  soup,  broiled  mackerel  garnished  with  lemon  and 
parsley,  cucumbers  with  French  dressing,  potatoes  with  maitre  d'hotel  dress- 
ing, spinach  on  toast,  chicory  salad,  cheese  croquettes,  tutti-frutti  ice  cream, 
coflfee. 

It  is  recognized  in  these  days  that  an  adequate  diet  is  not  translated 
fully  in  terms  of  protein,  fat,  and  carbohydrate,  that  other  elements 
than  cost  and  quantity  enter  into  dietary  studies.  Emphasis  now  is 
put  upon  the  character  of  the  protein  and  the  necessity  for  vitamines. 
A  doser  study  of  the  menus  used  at  the  University  of  Illinois  reveals 
the  fact  that  the  high  calories  of  No.  6  are  due  to  the  large  amount  of 
carbohydrates  in  the  form  of  sirups,  while  both  Nos.  6  and  7  are  lacking 
in  the  use  of  fresh  vegetables,  and  consequently  in  minerals  and  vitamines. 
Attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  No.  9  is  excessively  high  in  fat,  122.9 
grams,  though  its  calorific  value  is  not  correspondingly  high,  due  to  its 

'  Bulletin  No.  129,  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, p.  22. 


66 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECOKOMICS 


[February 


low  carbohydrate,  230  grams.  Extremes  apparently  meet  in  this  study, 
for  it  is  lowest  in  protein,  56.6  grams,  lowest  in  carbohydrates,  230 
grains,  and  highest  in  fat,  122.9  grams. 

It  seemed  desirable  to  estimate  somewhat  carefully  a  few  of  the  staple 
articles,  such  as  milk,  cream,  butter  substitutes,  cooking  fat,  and  sugar. 
While  the  government  regulations  were  not  in  force,  it  is  probable  that 
the  habits  acquired  were  being  observed  because  the  use  of  sugar  and 
butter  substitutes  was  not  excessive.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  sweeten- 
ing was  partly  sugar  substitutes.  The  almost  entire  absence  of  cream 
and  the  small  amount  of  milk  indicate  very  serious  faults  in  the  selec- 
tion of  the  food.  A  generous  use  of  milk  is  a  great  factor  of  safety  in 
any  restricted  diet;  moreover  it  is  comparatively  inexpensive. 

The  average  consumption  per  person  per  day  of  some  staple  articles 
is  given  in  the  following  table. 

TABLE  3 
Averagfi  consumption  per  person  per  day 


vomn  ov 

B008K 

MTLX 

CKi^ac 

B17TTE1 
SUBSTCTUn 

TAT 

8U0AK 

BIVAta 

9uncu 

MMMf 

cmnett 

MMMS 

9tmct9 

9uncu 

1 

10.9 

0.8 

2.1 

0.6 

3.0 

0.2fatdiippingB 

2 

8.1 

none 

1.1 

0.6 

2.1 

3 

9.6 

0.3 

1.9 

1.2 

2.1 

4 

2.7 

0.2 

1.5 

0.2 

1.6 

0.7sklmmilk 

5 

4.0 

0.8 

1.7 

0.7 

2.2 

0.3  aklm  milk 

6 

5.3 

0.2 

1.6 

0.5 

2.6 

0.9  skim  milk 

Incidentally  the  study  revealed  some  facts  concerning  the  living  habits, 
not  appearing  in  the  table;  for  example,  only  75  per  cent  of  these 
people  appeared  at  breakfasts.  Apparently  this  lack  of  food  was  not 
made  up  until  lunch  as  the  '^  outside  eats"  belonged  to  the  afternoons. 

Waste  is  a  very  variable  quantity,  depending  upon  the  groups  studied, 
the  sense  of  values  of  those  responsible,  as  well  as  the  eating  habits  of 
the  individual  members  of  the  group.  The  refuse  depends  upon  at  least 
two  factors:  wise  buying  and  careful  preparation.  It  was  a  great  sur- 
prise to  some  of  the  people  making  the  studies  that  32  pounds  of  pota- 
toes yielded  17  pounds  of  refuse.  In  the  nine  studies  averaged,  the 
figures  show  comparatively  little  waste,  an  average  of  1.2  cents  per 
person  per  day.  However,  in  the  groups  not  included  in  the  averages, 
the  amount  of  refuse  and  waste  was  much  greater,  due  to  at  least  two 
factors,  both  common  school-girl  practices,  namely,  irregular  appear- 


1920]  HOME  PKOJECT  WOSX  IN  UTAH  67 

ance  at  breakfast,  and  indulgence  in  the  sundae  and  chocolate-bar  habit. 
It  took  some  little  time,  apparently,  for  the  students  to  realize  that  sun- 
daes taken  at  five  o'clock  made  meat  and  potatoes  seem  very  imappe- 
tizing  at  six,  and  that  it  would  be  wiser  for  them  not  to  be  served  meat 
and  potatoes  rather  than  thus  to  increase  the  waste.  One  other  source  of 
waste  was  the  large  amount  of  bread  broken  and  left  on  the  plates. 

"The  congenial  calories  of  the  candy  shop"  have  long  been  associated 
with  school  girls.  In  this  particular  study,  it  appears  that  the  diet  was 
supplemented  in  one  case  by  a  maximum  of  250  calories,  and  a  mini- 
mum of  142,  with  an  average  of  170,  while  the  cost  per  person  per  day 
varied  from  9  to  15  cents  for  the  calories  so  obtained — ^not  so  large  as 
the  10  per  cent  of  the  daily  intake  accredited  to  Vassar.'  However 
neither  the  money  value  nor  the  calorific  value  is  the  question  at  issue 
here.  The  use  of  candy  in  the  diet  is  the  question.  Often  it  is  not  a 
desirable  addition  because  it  interferes  with  the  use  of  more  substantial 
and  more  necessary  food.  These  students  need  building  material  and 
vitamines  as  well  as  fuel,  and  in  most  cases  the  10  or  15  cents  which 
half  the  students  expended  on  sweets  might  better  have  been  contrib- 
uted, and  in  this  instance  should  have  been,  to  providing  milk  and  fresh 
vegetables  in  the  general  dietary.  An  inadequate  diet  leaves  an  imsat- 
isfied  craving  for  something,  and  the  student  is  very  likely  to  meet  this 
sense  of  something  lacking  with  a  chocolate  bar  or  chocolate  sundae. 
In  rare  cases,  this  may  be  a  desirable  addition,  but  it  is  far  more  prob- 
able that  a  better  selected  dietary,  eaten  at  the  regular  hours,  would 
have  removed  this  unsatisfied  longing. 


HOME  PROJECT  WORK  IN  UTAH 

The  home  project  in  Utah,  after  some  months  experience,  has  become 
a  permanent  part  of  the  school  curriculum,  though  a  year  ago  it 
was  thought  of  only  in  the  haziest  possible  way.  The  simamer  project, 
especially,  has  met  with  the  favor  of  both  teacher  and  pupil,  and  the 
girls  are  convinced  that  the  project  idea  has  been  a  decided  factor  in 
making  a  satisfactory  vacation. 

Preferably  the  project  is  a  logical  outgrowth  of  the  work  of  the  school 

*  Ste  Amer,  Med.  Jaur.  Oct  26,  1918,  and  Jour.  Horn*  Eccn.,  March  1918. 


68  THE  JOTIRNAL  OF  bOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

year.  Successful  projects  have  been  carried  on  in  sewing,  dress-making 
and  millinery,  baking,  preparation  of  meals,  preservation  of  food,  house- 
hold management,  including  actual  participation  in  different  home  ac- 
tivities, and  in  money  making  projects  including  personal  accounts. 
One-half  to  two-thirds  of  the  required  time  may  be  spent  on  varied 
household  activities.  The  required  amount  of  time  for  each  project  is 
150  hours,  approximately  equal  to  one-half  unit  credit. 

At  the  Granite  District  High  School  the  reports  of  the  individual  stu- 
dents at  their  last  meeting  showed  enthusiasm,  success,  and  develop- 
ment. One  little  girl  proudly  recounted  her  troubles,  which  have  changed 
to  successes,  in  learning  to  sew.  Her  first  dress,  on  which  she  spent  23 
hours  and  a  bushel  of  tears,  she  considered  unfit  for  indde  inspection, 
so  she  wore  it  to  the  school  house  for  the  teacher  to  see.  When  the  dress 
was  examined  it  was  found  that  the  sleeves  were  reversed!  The  next 
dress  was  completed  in  eleven  hours  and  a  duplicate  made  for  a  yoimger 
sister  in  seven  hours,  both  of  them  finished  inside  and  out  in  a  way  of 
which  the  maker  could  justly  be  proud.  Stories  of  equal  development 
of  skill  were  told  by  other  girls  who  had  taken  projects  in  meal  planning, 
marketing,  and  food  preservation. 

In  answer  to  the  question  "Will  projects  be  equally  successful  if  car- 
ried on  parallel  to  the  work  done  in  school? ' '  the  decided  answer  was, 
"No,  they  will  not  because  there  are  so  many  other  demands  on  our  time 
in  the  winter  that  we  cannot  enjoy  doing  the  things  as  we  do  in  vacation 
time." 

Two  other  points  seem  to  favor  home  project  work  during  the  summer. 
It  is  a  decided  bond  between  the  girl,  the  mother,  and  the  school,  and  it 
has  some  social  value,  especially  in  scattered  localities  where  it  is  a 
direct  means  of  getting  girls  together.  This  is  illustrated  by  the 
group  of  girls  in  one  district  who  planned  and  estimated  caloric 
amounts  and  costs  of  food  supplies  for  a  three  days'  camping  trip. 
They  arranged  and  *  supervised  transportation  for  themselves  and  a 
teacher  and  her  friend  who  acted  as  chaperons,  as  well  as  for  the  bed- 
ding, food,  and  other  supplies  that  they  had  purchased  or  prepared. 
The  management  and  execution  of  the  entire  outing  was  directly  on  the 
girls  who  were  undertaking  this  project,  and  as  it  went  off  from  concep- 
tion to  finish  without  a  hitch,  this  training  in  team  work,  as  at  least  one 
mother  appreciated,  was  well  worth  the  time  of  the  girls. 

The  work  in  school  is  carefully  planned  not  to  duplicate  the  work 
done  during  the  summer. 


1920]  DEMOKSniATION  ON  SEUSCnON  OF  CLOTHING  69 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  A  DEMONSTRATION  ON  THE  SELECTION 

OF  CLOTHING 

ZELIA  £.   BIGELOW 
MmAtr  ^  CammiUee  am  SUmdat^kaHan  af  TexHIes^  A.  H.  E,  A. 


Many  courses  in  household  arts  departments  in  the  public  schools 
and  colleges  have  lately  had  their  names  changed.  The  word  dotking 
has  been  substituted  for  sewing.  The  new  name  indicates  a  new  con- 
tent in  the  course  which  in  turn  implies  new  methods  of  instruction. 
Taking  it  for  granted  that  we  shall  no  longer  teach  only  sewing  and 
dress-making  but  that  we  shall  train  women,  who,  as  consumers,  spend 
96  per  cent  of  the  amount  spent  annually  in  the  United  States  for  cloth- 
ing, what  methods  shall  we  follow  in  giving  instruction  in  clothing 
courses? 

Teachers  are  everywhere  presenting  the  subject  in  new  and  interest- 
ing ways.  The  following  plan  for  a  lesson  is  the  result  of  the  experience 
of  several  teachers  and  is  offered  merely  as  a  suggestion  for  presenting 
certain  phases  of  the  clothing  problem. 

The  plan  is  to  show  garments  on  living  models,  really  a  style  show 
with  style  in  the  background  and  with  suitability,  durability,  and 
becomingness  to  the  front.  The  following  outline  sets  up  the  scheme 
for  the  lesson: 

Aim:  To  teach  the  selection  of  outer  garments  from  the  standpoints  of 
suitability,  durability,  economy,  becomingness,  health,  and  efficiency. 

Types  of  garments:  House  dresses,  school  dresses,  "best"  dresses,  party 
dresses,  suits,  sport  clothes,  coats,  hats,  shoes,  accessories. 

Methods  of  procuring  garments:  From  the  wardrobes  of  students;  borrowed 
or  rented  from  local  stores;  the  product  of  dass  work. 

Methods  of  presenting  lesson:  Teacher  plans  and  conducts  lesson;  teacher 
plans  and  pupils  conduct  lesson;  pupils  plan  and  conduct  lesson;  mature  pupils 
made  responsible  for  groups  conduct  class  as  a  demonstration  problem. 

Points  to  make  regarding  garments: 

Suitability:  (a)  to  circumstances,  (b)  to  the  occasion,  (c)  to  the  per- 
sonality of  the  wearer,  (d)  to  puipose  for  which  it  is  intended. 

Durability  (length  of  wear):  (a)  material — color,  weave,  fiber,  (b)  style, 
(c)  trimmings. 

Becomingness:  (a)  color,  (b)  line,  (c)  details — such  as  neck  line,  (d) 
trimmings. 


TO  THE  jousNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  pFebruary 

Economy:  (a)  original  cost,  (b)  cost  of  upkeep,  laundry,  difficulty  in 
cleaning,  repairing,  (c)  cost  in  relation  to  frequency  and  length  of  wear. 

Health:  (a)  hygienic  properties  of  fibers  used  in  materials,  (b)  easily 
kept  dean,  (c)  protection  against  weather,  (d)  freedom  of  movements  per- 
mitted. 

Efficiency:  (a)  material,  color,  and  style  to  permit  most  efficient  use  of 
dress,  (b)  freedom  of  movements  permitted. 

Variations  of  flan:  Good  vs.  bad  taste;  emphasis  on  any  particular  phase 
of  the  subject  as  hygiene,  thrift,  costume  design,  simplified  clothing,  home 
made  vs.  ready-made  clothing,  remodeled  clothing,  children's  clothing. 

With  the  cooperation  of  the  physical  training  department  a  very  good 
lesson  on  the  hygiene  of  clothing  could  be  arranged.  The  models 
should  be  clothed  for  different  occupations,  climates,  kinds  of  weather, 
and  activities.  An  interesting  variation  of  the  lesson  would  be  to  have 
models  of  different  ages,  from  the  infant  to  the  grandmother. 

Thrift  or  economy  or  both  can  be  emphasized  by  showing  garments 
requiring  much  and  little  material;  garments  which  are  suitable  for 
more  than  one  purpose;  gannents  planned  for  economy  of  time  and 
strength  devoted  to  their  making,  laundering,  or  care;  garments  with 
high  initial  cost  but  no  cost  for  upkeep,  and  vice  versa;  garments  that 
will  give  long  wear  and  short  wear.  This  lesson  might  end  with  showing 
two  models,  clothed  in  entire  wardrobes,  one  selected  from  the  stand- 
point of  thrift,  the  other  with  no  regard  for  thrift. 

The  lesson  in  which  costume  design  is  to  receive  the  emphasis  should 
be  given  jointly  by  the  dothing  and  art  departments;  color,  line,  and 
proportion  should  govern  the  choice  of  garments  to  be  shown. 

Where  there  is  suffident  interest  in  simplified  dothing,  a  lesson  might 
present  models  showing  different  attempts  to  simplify  dress,  such  as  the 
Biennial  Dress  of  the  Women's  Clubs,  the  Peter  Thompson,  the  Hoover 
Dress,  the  middy  blouse,  or  the  Norfolk  Jacket.  The  distinctive  points 
of  each  garment  and  the  reason  for  its  being  should  be  brought  out. 

The  question  of  homemade  vs.  ready-made  dothing  has  not  yet  been 
fully  solved  but  where  any  dass  has  suffident  data  to  build  on,  a  lesson 
could  be  planned  which  would  teach  many  valuable  facts. 

For  remodded  dothing,  the  best  results  would  come  from  having 
large  sketches  of  the  original  garment  for  comparison  with  the  remodded 
garment.  The  wearer  of  the  remodeled  garment,  or  whoever  is  giving 
the  talk,  should  describe  the  original,  giving  date  of  purchase,  cost, 
length  of  wear,  method  and  cost  of  the  preparation  made  for  remodeling. 


1920]  DEMONSTRATIOK  ON  SELECTIOK  OF  CLOTHING  71 

such  as  cleaning  or  dyeing,  and  the  estimated  value  of  the  remodeled 
garment.  There  should  be  an  attempt  to  attain  as  great  variety  as 
possible  in  the  garments  shown. 

A  Children's  Style  Show  would  be  particularly  appealing  and  would 
be  an  excellent  way  of  interesting  the  mothers.  Such  a  lesson  might 
be  arranged  in  connection  with  a  Child  .Welfare  Exhibit  or  dass. 

The  choice  of  girls  who  are  to  wear  the  garments  should  be  carefully 
made  to  bring  out  in  each  case  exactly  the  desired  points.  Posture  and 
walk  should  be  emphasized  and  all  details,  such  as  what  to  do  with  the 
hands,  should  be  taken  care  of  so  that  nothing  will  detract  from  the 
desired  effect.  On  the  other  hand  artificiality  or  affectation  should  be 
avoided.  Music  during  the  appearance  and  exit  of  the  model  is  an 
improvement.  The  physical  training  department  will  be  of  great 
assistance  in  training  the  girls  for  this. 

The  lecture  or  talk  which  accompanies  the  showing  of  gannents 
should  be  thoroughly  planned  beforehand.  The  content  of  the  talk 
will,  of  course,  depend  upon  the  particular  phase  which  is  being  empha- 
sized. The  following  is  a  suggested  outline  built  upon  the  subject  of 
suitable  clothing: 

House  dresses:  essential  characteristics  of  a  suitable  house  dress: 

Must  permit  freedom  of  motion.  Skirt,  short  and  medium  width;  neck,  low; 
sleeves,  either  short  or  made  so  that  they  can  be  easily  and  securely  rolled  up. 

Must  be  easy  to  vrash  and  iron.  Color,  fast  to  water  and  light;  pattern, 
plain;  trimmings — self  trimmings,  flat  for  ease  in  ironing. 

Must  be  durable.  Material — strong,  to  resist  wear  and  frequent  launder- 
ings;  pockets,  etc.  arranged  to  lessen  likelihood  of  tearing  in  wearing  or  laun- 
dering. 

School  or  business  dresses:  essential  characteristics  of  suitable  school  or  busi- 
ness dresses: 

Must  be  attractive  and  neat.  Color,  becoming,  preferably  dark;  pattern, 
simple,  good  lines;  trimming— very  litde,  no  trimming  which  cannot  easUy  be 
kept  fresh  and  clean. 

Must  be  durable.    Material  strong,  to  stand  constant  wear. 

Party  dresses:  essential  characteristics  of  suitable  party  dresses: 

Must  be  becoming.  Color,  light;  material  and  style  suited  to  age  and 
personality  of  wearer. 

Durability.  Party  dresses  do  not  need  to  be  particularly  durable  since 
they  are  given  only  occasional  wear  and  almost  any  suitable  material  will 
wear  as  long  as  the  dress  remains  in  style.  Inexpensive  materials  can  often 
be  used  to  advantage  in  party  dresses  because  of  this  fact. 


72  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOBis  ECONOMICS  [February 

Shoes:  essential  characteristics  of  suiUMe  shoes: 

Must  conform  to  the  natural  lines  of  the  foot.  Straight  inside  line;  round 
toes;  low,  broad  heel;  flexible  arch. 

Must  be  in  harmony  with  rest  of  costume.    Kind  of  leather;  color. 

Stockings:  essential  characteristics  of  suitable  stockings: 

Must  be  durable;  must  not  be  too  thin;  must  be  of  fiber  in  harmony  with 
rest  of  costume;  must  fit  well  and  be  the  right  size  for  the  foot. 

The  model  may  describe  her  own  dress,  or  a  second  person  may  give 
the  lecture.  The  latter  plan  is  best  in  most  cases.  As  each  point  is 
made  it  should  be  demonstrated  if  possible.  Unbutton  the  long  sleeves 
of  the  house  dress  and  roll  them  up;  unbutton  the  high  collar  and  turn 
it  down;  have  the  model  climb  a  few  rounds  of  a  step  ladder  or  step  up  on 
a  chair  to  display  the  suitable  width  of  her  skirt.  Action  makes  the 
show  interesting. 

The  planning  of  the  lesson  and  its  presentation  may  be  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  teacher  or  of  the  students.  Even  grade  children  could 
present  such  a  lesson  and  would  gain  much  from  the  responsibility 
entailed. 

The  lesson  could  be  given  toward  the  end  of  a  course  as  a  summary 
of  what  has  been  learned  regarding  clothing  selection,  or  it  could  be 
given  after  certain  phases  of  clothing  selection  have  been  taught.  It 
is  suitable  for  use  with  groups  of  any  age.  Seventh  or  eighth  grade  girls 
could  conduct  such  a  lesson.  High  school  classes  and  college  dasses 
will  be  equally  interested.  It  can  be  used  with  girls'  garment  making 
dubs,  for  farmers'  week  meetings,  women's  dubs,  and  county  or  state 
fairs.  Every  woman  likes  a  style  show  and  much  very  valuable  infonna- 
tion  can  be  imparted  in  this  way. 

In  any  case,  it  is  best  to  use  garments  actually  constructed  by  the 
group  interested,  as  well  as  borrowed  garments.  For  this  reason, 
such  a  lesson  fits  in  well  at  the  end  of  a  course.  If  there  are  voca- 
tional or  trade  departments  connected  with  the  institution,  the  pro- 
ducts of  such  dasses  should  be  used.  Each  girl  can  appear  in  her  own 
costume,  explaining  her  reasons  for  choice  of  material,  pattern,  and  style. 

By  borrowing  from  local  stores  and  by  careful  choice  from  aU  avail- 
able sources,  shoes,  hats,  and  dress  accessories  can  be  induded  in  the 
style  show.  Their  use  gives  an  excellent  opportunity  for  teaching  facts 
about  their  choice  which  ordinarily  find  no  place  in  a  dothing  course. 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

A  COOPERATIVE  NURSERY 

HARGAKET  GOODRICH  NORTON 
One  cf  the  Mothers 

The  codperative  nursery  at  the  University  of  Chicago  was  founded 
to  meet  a  war-time  emergency.  Many  of  the  faculty  wives  wished  to 
do  Red  Cross  work  but  could  neither  leave  their  small  children  at  home 
nor  afford  to  hire  nurse  maids.  After  discussing  the  matter  several  of 
the  women,  under  the  leadership  of  one  especially  interested,  decided  to 
ask  the  University  for  the  use  of  a  building  that  had  formerly  been  the 
Women's  Gymnasium  and  that  had  not  been  remodeled  for  other  use  since 
the  completion  of  the  new  gymnasium.  It  was  well  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose, since  it  had  several  small  rooms,  a  large  main  hall,  and  a  field 
enclosed  by  a  high  brick  wall.  The  University  not  only  gave  the  use  of 
the  building,  for  the  sake  of  helping  the  Red  Cross  work,  but  supplied 
also  Ught,  heat,  and  janitor  service.  A  trained  kindergartner  was 
engaged  to  be  at  the  nursery  from  9  a.m.  till  12,  and  1.30  till  5  p.m.  on 
five  days  a  week,  and  the  mothers  enrolled  in  the  enterprise  were  assigned 
a  morning  or  afternoon  every  week  to  act  as  her  assistants. 

The  nursery  as  thus  organized  for  war  work  was  found  too  valuable 
to  dispense  with  after  the  war  closed.  It  is  now  in  its  third  year  and  has 
survived  several  crises,  the  most  serious  one  being  the  taking  over  of 
the  building  to  serve  as  a  mess  hall  for  the  Student  Army  Training 
Corps.  When  it  was  returned  to  us,  however,  the  University  expressed 
its  interest  in  the  plan  in  the  very  tangible  and  welcome  form  of  installing 
toilets,  low  wash  bowls,  a  bubble  fountain,  and  various  improvements,  such 
as  fresh  paint  and  other  needed  changes.  This  was  done  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  use  of  the  premises  was  to  be  restricted  to  children  of 
parents  connected  in  some  way  with  the  University. 

We  have  an  average  attendance  of  seventeen  in  the  morning.  These 
are  usually  children  under  kindergarten  age  and  we  supply  sand  pile, 
slide,  and  swing  for  outdoor  amusement,  and  kiddy-cars,  clay,  toys,  and 
the  like  for  indoor  fun,  with  a  piano  for  rmusical  games.    In  the  af ter- 

73 


74  THE  JOX7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

noon  the  attendance  is  slightly  larger  and  the  children  are  those  who 
were  in  kindergarten  in  the  morning.  These  children  have  found  their 
greatest  happiness  in  building  a  real  playhouse  in  the  field  with  real 
boards  and  nails.  Babies  are  brought  at  all  hours.  Our  youngest 
was  a  constant  attendant  from  the  age  of  three  months,  while  both 
parents  were  studying  law  at  the  University  and  the  father  took  a 
degree.  The  babies  have  a  small  room  with  cribs  or  they  are  trundled 
out  into  the  yard  and  remain  in  their  carriages.  We  have  now  xmder 
consideration  a  separate  place  for  these  babies  with  a  trained  nurse  in 
charge,  as  they  are  a  great  responsibility  and  it  is  difficult  to  protect 
the  tots  just  creeping  from  the  careless  romping  of  the  older  children. 

The  attendance  but  not  the  membership  is  largely  increased  when 
the  children  can  be  conveyed  back  and  forth  from  the  homes.  We 
tried  to  do  this  and  it  proved  a  very  great  help  to  the  mothers  living  at 
a  distance  from  the  University.  We  found,  however,  that  we  could  not 
finance  the  scheme  and  it  was  abandoned  until  one  of  the  mothers 
offered  her  own  automobile  and  her  services  in  collecting  and  returning 
the  children  every  morning.     This  she  does  for  a  very  small  fee. 

We  also  tried  the  scheme  of  serving  Ixmches  to  such  children  as 
wished  to  remain  through  the  Ixmch  hour.  These  children  bring  their 
own  bread,  butter,  and  other  cold  food  and  we  bring  over  in  a  thermos 
contrivance  hot  vegetables  and  simple  hot  desserts  from  the  nearby 
lunch  room  in  Ida  Noyes  Hall.  This  venture  required  the  assistance 
of  so  many  more  mothers  that  now  lunches  are  served  on  only  one  day  a 
weeL 

Several  points  in  the  successful  management  of  such  a  nursery  are 
obvious  to  those  who  have  watched  the  enterprise  from  the  beginning. 
First  there  must  be  a  nucleus  of  enthusiastic  and  loyal  women  and  they 
need  a  guaranteed  financial  backing  until  the  enterprise  is  under  way. 
Next,  the  situation  must  be  centrally  located.  During  the  fall  of  the 
Student  Anny  Training  Corps  our  nursery  practically  suspended, 
since  no  such  suitable  place  could  be  foxmd.  Then  the  dues  must  be 
very  low  as  otherwise  the  mothers  will  not  join.  Ours  are  on  a  sliding 
scale  of  twenty-five  cents  to  a  dollar  a  week  per  family,  most  of  the 
members  paying  fifty  cents.  When  it  is  considered  that  for  this  price 
your  children,  no  matter  how  many,  can  be  competently  guarded  for 
over  thirty  hours  a  week  it  is  obvious  that  it  is  the  one  cheap  thing  left  in 
the  world.  With  our  membership  of  46  these  dues  are  sufficient  to  pay 
the  salary  of  the  kindergartner  and  leave  a  small  margin  for  extra  help. 


1920]  WOMEN  AND  PRESENT  DAY  PRICES  75 

games,  cleaning  supplies,  or  crackers.  They  are  not  sufficient  to  pay 
rent  on  a  room  and  light  and  heat. 

Surprising  as  it  may  seem  our  most  serious  difficulty  is  in  persuading 
the  assisting  mothers  to  come  regularly  and  promptly.  It  is  absolutely 
essential  that  at  least  two  adults,  preferably  three,  be  on  duty  con- 
stantly. In  case  of  accident  someone  must  go  for  help  but  the  children 
cannot  be  left  alone.  And  yet  to  our  shame  be  it  said  that  time  and 
again  the  mothers  are  inexcusably  late  or  do  not  appear  at  all. 

Cooperation  is  the  key-note  of  our  nursery.  Membership  necessi- 
tates service  on  the  mother's  part.  I  take  care  of  the  children  today  so 
that  thirty  other  mothers  may  have  time  free  for  other  things.  Tomor- 
row it  is  another's  turn  and  I  may  have  precious  time  for  countless 
duties  that  can  hardly  be  accomplished  when  little  three  year  olds  are 
asking  "Why?  why?  why?"  or  baby  one  year  olds  are  toddling  and 
tumbling  into  harm. 


WOMEN  AND  PRESENT  DAY  PRICES 

MARY  KOLL 
University  of  Chicago 

Attorney  General  Palmer's  nation-wide  appeal  to  women  for  support 
in  restoring  the  country's  economic  equilibrium  recalls  a  pointed  anec- 
dote apropos  of  "stepping  down"  related  by  an  English  lecturer  at  one 
time  with  us. 

The  case  had  to  do  with  Jack  and  Jim.  Jack  knew  exactly  to  the 
penny,  or  nearly  so,  how  much  money  Jim  earned  in  a  week;  he  knew 
how  much  Jim  had  to  pay  for  rent,  for  food,  and  for  the  upkeep  of  his 
five  children.  Jim  knew  the  same  of  Jack.  When  Jim  was  wont  to 
enjoy  solid  comfort  in  the  bosom  of  the  family,  he  sat  in  shirt  sleeves, 
pipe  in  mouth,  on  a  sprawling  old  chair  before  the  kitchen  fire.  Jack 
knew  this;  Jack  did  the  same  and  Jim  was  aware  of  it.  *  However,  when 
Jack  and  his  family  came  to  call  on  Jim  and  his  family,  the  comfort  of 
the  kitchen  stove  was  deserted  and  the  family  passed  to  the  shivering 
domain  of  the  parlor  where  they  sat  "  straight-up"  with  the  neighboi 


76  THE  jousNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

all  of  which  led  up  to  the  point  that  each  of  us  is  struggling  not  so  much 
to  get  on  the  step  above  as  to  convey  to  the  world  the  impression  that 
he  is  on  the  step  above,  and  that  if  each  of  us  stepped  down  just  one 
step  the  struggles  of  economic  life  would  be  overcome,  the  only  difficulty 
being,  "who  should  be  the  first  to  step  down." 

We  are  well  aware  that  patriotic  principles  were  not  alone  responsible 
for  the  willingness  to  wear  three-winter-old  suits  and  four-season-back 
hats  during  the  never-to-be-forgotten  days  of  conservation.  Many  of 
us  were  glad  enough  to  step  down,  to  wrest  ourselves  free  from  the  over- 
powering influence  of  the  emulative  and  invidious  (thanks  to  Veblen) 
aspects  of  the  Standard  of  Living,  and  blithely  to  assign  to  the  war  our 
sudden  force  of  character.  It  is  precisely  through  exercising  this  type 
of  force  of  will  that  the  Attorney  General  contends  that  the  women  of 
the  nation  can  lower  the  cost  of  consumption.  It  is  the  women  who 
purchase  90  per  cent  of  the  food  and  wearing  apparel  consumed  in 
America.  If  this  most  powerful  dass  of  consumers  will  unite  in  effort, 
their  concerted  resistance  will  demonstrate  that  the  producer  is  insult- 
ing their  patriotism  and  their  knowledge  of  values  through  the  styles 
and  the  prices  that  he  endeavors  to  fix  today.  If  this  powerful  group  of 
consumers  will  as  a  group  "step  down,"  and  will  determine  not  to  buy 
now,  to  refuse  to  sanction  the  overwhelming  extravagance  flaunted  upon 
them,  to  demand  through  forbearance  a  return  to  the  era  of  sound  sense; 
and  it  they  establish  the  dictum  that  the  woman  who  continues  to 
encourage  the  present  program  of  the  producer  is  the  woman  who  does 
not  care  about  the  condition  of  the  country,  about  other  women,  about 
the  American  home — ^if  the  American  woman  will  do  these  things  there 
may  be  a  return  to  "plain  living  and  high  thinking,"  and  there  must  be 
a  reduction  in  prices.  This  cannot  be  done  by  legislature.  Men  and 
women  must  do  it  for  themselves,  voluntarily. 

The  problem  is  not  so  much  a  matter  of  dollars  and  cents  as  it  is  the 
matter  of  restoring  peace,  happiness,  and  contentment  to  the  coimtry 
at  large. 


1920J  EGG  SUBSTITUTES  77 

EGG  SUBSTITUTES 

The  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
after  analyzing  and  making  baking  tests  with  most  of  the  preparations 

which  are  claimed  by  manufacturers  to  do  the  work  of  eggs,  state  that: 

» 
Baking  tests  showed  that,  with  the  same  redpe,  cakes  made  with  these 

so-called  egg  substitutes  are  inferior  to  cakes  made  with  water  in  place  of 
the  substitute,  are  not  nearly  so  good  as  cakes  made  with  milk,  and 
in  no  measure  are  comparable  with  cakes  made  with  eggs.  There  is  no  doubt, 
say  the  specialists,  that  most  of  these  products  do  not  really  resemble  eggs, 
neither  can  they  take  the  place  of  eggs  in  baking  and  cooking,  and  further 
they  do  not  serve  any  purpose  in  baking  and  cooking  which  is  not  equally 
served  by  the  ordinary  products  daily  used  in  the  household. 

A  distinction  should  be  made  by  the  consumer  between  dried  egg  prepara- 
tions, dried  egg  powders  and  the  like,  which  consist  entirely  or  mainly  of  real 
eggs  in  powdered  form,  and  the  so-called  egg  substitutes  which  contain  little 
or  no  egg  in  any  form.  Real  egg  powders,  properly  prepared,  will  answer 
most  purposes  of  shell  eggs  in  baking  and  cooking. 

The  statements  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry  in  regard  to  composition 
and  cost  are  in  accord  with  those  of  the  Food  and  Drug  Bureau  of 
Pennsylvania  who  last  year  analyzed  more  than  forty  egg  substitutes 
and  published  the  results  in  bulletin  form.^  The  results  of  the  analyses 
showed  that  one  half  or  more  than  one  half  of  every  sample  was  starch 
of  some  kind.    Some  of  the  statements  in  the  summary  are  as  follows: 

An  egg  of  average  size  has  a  nutritive  value  of  75  calories.  Three  dozen 
eggs  would  have  a  total  food  value  of  2700  calories.  A  mixture  of  the  ingre- 
dients commonly  used  in  these  egg  substitutes  has  a  nutritive  value  of  100 
calories  for  each  oimce.  Therefore,  4  ounces,  the  largest  amount  found  in 
any  one  of  the  packages,  would  have  a  nutritive  value  of  less  than  one-sixth 
that  of  the  nmnber  of  eggs  it  claims  to  replace.  In  most  of  them  the  ratio 
was  less  then  this. 

To  replace  any  article  of  the  daily  dietary  with  a  product  costing,  we  will 
say,  one-third  as  much,  but  having  one-sixth  or  one-eighth  of  the  nutritive 
value,  is  certainly  not  in  the  interests  of  the  consumer  nor  a  real  blow  at  the 
high  cost  of  living. 

In  some  few  of  the  products  great  stress  is  laid  upon  the  fact  that  real  egg 
is  present.    In  several,  the  proportion  of  egg  may  reach  50  per  cent,  but 

^BuUetin  of  the  Pennsyhania  DeparknetU  of  Agricitlture,  Harrisbuig,  Pa.,  VoL  1,  No.  7, 
June,  1918.    Genenl  Bulletin  No.  314.    Egg  Substitutes  and  So-Called  Egg  Savers. 


78  THE  joiTRNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

these  are  rare  indeed,  and  are  appearing  on  the  market  only  on  account  of 
the  ruling  of  several  of  the  Food  Departments  of  other  States,  in  which  a 
product  may  not  use  the  syllable  ''egg"  in  the  title,  unless  the  product  actually 
contains  at  least  51  per  cent  of  egg.  Even  in  these  few  instances,  when  egg 
is  present,  the  element  of  deception  still  persists,  for  the  directions  for  use 
state  that  one  teaspoonf  ul  of  the  powder  will  replace  one  egg  in  contradiction 
of  the  incontrovertible  fact  that  the  most  concentrated  form  of  dehydrated 
egg  requires  about  four  teaspoonfuls  of  the  material  to  represent  one  egg. 
The  coloring  matter  which  is  present,  is  another  element  of  deception  for 
which  there  can  be  no  legitimate  defense.  Its  purpose  is  to  make  the  cooked 
or  baked  article  possess  an  appearance  of  egg  richness,  which  is  not  warranted 
by  the  composition. 

As  a  class,  these  products  are  inimical  to  the  welfare  of  the  consuming 
public  and  a  detriment  to  the  trade  in  legitimate  food  substitutes,  of  which 
there  are  many  of  merit.  If  an  economical  housekeeper  wants  to  save  the 
cost  of  eggs  and  of  egg  substitutes  as  well,  it  may  be  done  by  taking  4  table- 
spoonfuls  of  milk  and  half  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  cornstarch.  This  will  be  equiva- 
lent to  a  teaspoonf  ul  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  dried  milk  and  cornstarch, 
which  are  the  essential  ingredients  of  most  of  the  brands  on  the  market. 

The  practice  of  combining  ingredients  to  be  found  in  every  household  and, 
after  giving  the  mixture  a  fancy  name,  selling  it  for  many  times  its  value, 
should  be  discouraged  by  every  means  possible.  In  many  instances  the 
package  selling  for  25  cents  does  not  cost  more  than  5  or  6  cents  to  the 
manufacturer;  hence  the  effort  to  introduce  these  preparations. 

These  conclusions  are  given: 

First.  The  brightest  light  of  publicity  should  be  shed  upon  these  products 
and  the  heaviest  weight  of  official  authority  should  be  invoked  to  discourage 
their  manufacture  and  sale. 

Second.  They  afford  an  opportimity  for  unpatriotic  pro&teering,  com- 
bined with  the  development  of  the  art  of  camouflage  to  the  point  of  perfection. 

Third.  Their  names  are  deceptive;  their  composition  in  no  wise  resembles 
that  of  egg;  the  presence  of  color,  in  those  where  it  is  used,  is  a  fraud  and  the 
claims  as  to  replacing  value  are  either  deliberate  misstatements  or  ambiguous 
phrases. 

Finally.  Egg  substitutes  serve  no  purpose  that  cannot  be  served  just 
as  satisfactorily  and  much  more  cheaply  by  articles  in  daily  use  in  every 
household. 


1920]  DEPRIVATIONS  IN  GERICANY  79 

AFTER  THE  WAR— IN  GERMANY 

XXISACrS  FROM  PRIVATE  LETTERS  OF  AN  AMERICAN  WOMAN,  RESIDENT 

IN  GERMANY  FOR  MANY  YEARS  AS  THE  WIFE 
OF  A  GERMAN  OFFICER 

MUnchen, 
November  28,  1919. 
Dear  Aunt— 

Winter  set  in  early  this  year — on  October  1 — and  we  have  had  several 
snow  storms  and  frost  and  extremely  cold  weather  ever  since.  As  a  result  we 
are  burning  all  our  caref uUy  hoarded  supply  of  peat  and  wood,  which  ought 
to  have  lasted  all  winter,  and  when  this  is  used  up  I  don't  know  what  will 
happen  to  us.  We  all  live  in  one  room,  the  dining  room,  though  the  children 
do  their  home  work  in  the  adjoining  room,  which  is  half-heated  by  leaving  the 
door  open  between.  All  the  rest  of  the  apartment  is  icy  cold  and  I  have 
gotten  very  painful  chilblains  from  the  cold  floors.  I  think  cold  is  much 
harder  to  stand  than  hunger,  and  I  am  used  to  both.  We  have  more  to  eat 
now,  but  pay  exorbitant  prices  for  meat,  flour,  and  other  necessities,  whereas 
the  rations  allowed  by  the  authorities  still  exist  in  the  same  insufficient  quan- 
tities we  have  had  all  during  the  war.  Yesterday  was  Thanksgiving  Day, 
the  first  year  without  a  turkey  and  the  first  year  I  had  absolutely  no  desire 

to  cdebrate.    All  the  other  past  years  my  friends,  Mrs.  ,  Mrs. 

and  their  husbands  have  met  together  with  us  for  some  sort  of  feast. 

I  went  to  the  short  service  at  the  American  church  in  the  morning,  but  all  of 
those  present  had  to  ''imagine"  the  turkey  dinner  afterwards.  Most  of  us 
felt  like  crying 

The  currency  is  so  low  that  a  check  for  the  smallest  amount  by  being 
multiplied  by  25  or  30,  according  as  the  exchange  happens  to  be,  will  go  a 
great  way  here,  even  if  the  prices  are  exorbitant.  Since  the  embargo  was 
raised,  coffee,  tea,  cocoa,  rice,  etc.,  have  appeared  on  the  market,  but  at  such 
prices  that  no  one  can  buy  much  of  these  long-needed  articles.  I  have  not 
eaten  bananas  or  oranges  for  years.  We  drank  malt  coffee  all  during  the  war; 
during  the  last  year,  until  the  embargo  was  raised  this  summer,  tea  was  a 
great  luxury  seldom  enjoyed.  We  have  known  all  the  deprivations  and  mal- 
nutrition of  the  Southerners  during  the  Civil  War.  During  that  awful  reign 
of  terror  in  April,  when  the  troops  which  came  to  the  relief  of  Munich  were 
shooting  in  the  streets,  and  a  battery  of  artillery  was  shot  to  pieces,  several 
of  the  horses  were  killed  by  exploding  shells.  These  were  fallen  upon  and 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  hungry  mob  who  kept  on  till  every  eatable  piece  had  been 

seized,  in  spite  of  dangerous  shell  fire!    ....    B often  was 

obliged  to  eat  horse  flesh  during  the  last  year  of  the  war.  He  even  sent  us 
a  supply  frequently  and  the  children  ate  it  if  it  was  stewed  or  made  into 


80  THE  jouxKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

hash,  but  I  preferred  to  go  hungry  those  days.  Horsemeat  has  a  horrid, 
sweetish  taste  which  I  simply  couldn't  ''stand  for."  At  the  b^inning  of 
the  war  there  were  5000  dogs  in  MtLnich.  There  are  3000  less  now,  and  I 
believe  most  of  these  were  eaten  in  the  form  of  sausages. 

The  worst  of  all  is  the  lack  of  sugar,  butter,  or  fat  in  every  form,  and  milk. 
Families  where  there  are  no  children  can't  get  any  milk  at  all;  those  with 
children  under  10,  only  one  pint  per  head;  even  nursing  mothers  do  not  get 
enough.  Just  try  to  drink  malt  co£Fee  without  milk,  or  bake  without  it,  and 
see  how  things  taste.  Condensed  milk  is  now  for  sale,  but  a  25  cent  tin 
costs  nearly  $2.00.  You  can  imagine  how  much  the  poor  can  buy  at  that 
price.  The  worst  deprivation  for  me  was  the  lack  of  white  bread.  The 
black  bread  during  the  last  3  years  was  horrid,  full  of  sawdust,  potato,  or 
turnips  to  stretch  the  rye  or  barley  flour  used,  which  I  loathe  even  unadul- 
terated. Well,  we  drink  coffee  now  at  $3  a  pound  and  tea  and  cocoa  at  $5  a 
pound,  but  all  our  drink,  either  coffee  or  tea,  has  to  be  sweetened  with  sac- 
charine as  the  sugar  ration  is  barely  enough  for  baking  or  sweetening  apple 

sauce,  puddings,  etc We  pay  $5  for  a  roast  of  any  kind,  $5 

for  a  small  chicken,  $10  for  a  goose,  and  $1.50  a  pound  for  the  commonest 
kind  of  fish.  We  plan  to  go  out  to with  the  children  and  serv- 
ants for  the  Christmas  holidays,  and  may  have  to  stay  there  all  of  Jan- 
uary on  account  of  the  heating  problem.  The  children  say  the  schools  are  to 
be  closed  until  February,  for  lack  of  coal.  It  will  be  quiet  out  there  and 
healthful,  and  we  have  stoves  in  several  of  the  rooms  and  plenty  of  wood  to 
bum,  as  I  had  lots  of  the  trees  in  the  garden  cut  down  last  winter  to  make 
into  fuel. 

December  8,  1919. 

We  need  badly  decent  shoestrings  of  all  lengths,  black  and  brown,  but 
particularly  black.  For  years  we  couldn't  buy  decent  shoestrings  and  those 
now  on  the  market  are  made  of  paper  or  other  fibre,  and  burst  after  a  few 
days'  wear.  Writing  paper  over  here  is  so  rotten  that  it  can't  be  used.  They 
have  no  decent  finishing  process  and  the  ink  runs  on  it.  If  you  only  knew 
all  the  things  we  have  to  do  without  and  have  done  without  these  last  years 
you  would  hardly  believe  it 

My  brother-in-law  has  had  to  go  through  another  robbery — this  time  in 

his  villa  on  Lake .    Two  gentlemen  crooks  appeared  to  the  woman 

who  kept  the  keys  of  his  house  which  had  been  carefully  locked  up  for  the 
winter  and  explained  they  were  his  cousin  returned  from  captivity  in  Persia 
and  his  servant  and  demanded  the  key  to  spend  the  night.    They  gave  a  most 

plausible  story  of  having  arranged  with  R to  meet  them  there  the 

next  day.  The  woman  opened  the  house  for  them,  hunted  ever3rwhere  f or 
bedding  which  R had  carefully  hidden  against  just  such  an  emer- 
gency.   When  the  woman  came  back  the  next  morning  the  thieves  had  departed 


1920]  CHEERFUL  COMPROMISES  81 

taking  with  them  all  the  bedding,  a  wheel,  a  big  photographic  apparatus,  very 
valuable,  and  all  kinds  of  other  instruments.  The  same  day  all  oiu:  doormats 
were  stolen  in  the  entry  to  this  apartment,  and  part  of  the  carpet  on  the  stairs. 
Hardly  a  week  passes  that  some  of  our  friends  do  not  get  robbed  or  lose  some 
of  their  property  in  one  way  or  another.  The  police  seem  powerless  to  pre- 
vent it  or  to  catch  the  scamps  afterwards.  The  "honest  German"  seems 
sometimes  a  relic  of  the  past.  If  he  isn't  stealing  he  is  busy  smuggling  in 
or  out  of  Germany  articles  forbidden  for  trade,  in  the  hope  of  helping  the 
low  state  of  the  currency.  Smuggling,  bribery,  stealing,  and  cheating  are 
on  the  increase  in  spite  of  all  the  new  laws  to  the  contrary. 

This  six  hour  scheme  of  the  working  classes  is  a  calamity,  too,  when  the 
nation  ought  to  work  longer  hours  and  harder  than  before,  if  it  ever  hopes  to 
recover  from  the  fearful  waste  and  losses  of  the  war. 


A  CHEERFUL  COMPROMISE 

"Life  has  its  inevitable  compromises.  We  cannot  always  be  at  our 
best.  Take  such  a  simple  matter  as  that  of  masticating  our  food. 
Before  I  had  given  much  thought  to  it,  I  should  have  said  that  it  was 
something  worth  doing  and  worth  doing  well.  When  I  learned  that 
Mr.  Gladstone  was  accustomed  to  chew  each  morsel  of  food  thirty-two 
times,  I  thought  it  greatly  to  his  credit.  For  a  man  who  had  so  many 
other  things  to  do,  that  seemed  enough. 

"But  when  I  read  a  book  of  some  three  hxmdred  pages  containing  the 
whole  duty  of  man  in  regard  to  chewing,  I  was  disheartened.  Mr. 
Gladstone  appeared  to  be  a  mere  tyro  guilty  of  bolting  his  food.  ''The 
author  has  found  that  one-fifth  of  the  midway  section  of  the  garden 
young  onion,  sometimes  called  shallot,  has  required  seven  hundred  and 
twenty-two  mastications  before  disappearing  through  involuntary 
swallowing." 

"The  author  evidently  did  his  whole  duty  by  that  young  onion,  and 
yet  I  should  have  pardoned  him  if  he  had  done  something  less.  That 
doctrine  of  his  about  involxmtary  swallowing  being  the  only  kind  that 
is  morally  justifiable,  seems  to  me  to  be  too  austere.  If  we  have  to 
swallow  in  the  end,  why  not  show  a  cheerful  willingness?" 
—Samuel  McChord  Croihers  in  ''The  Pardoner's  WaM,"  Houghton, 

Mifflin  Company. 


EDITORIAL 

A  New  Departure.  An  interested  member*  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association  took  the  trouble  to  fonnulate  a  careful  plan  for 
the  enlargement  of  the  Jouknal  of  Houee  Economics  and  to  present 
it  to  the  Council  of  the  Association  at  Blue  Ridge  in  the  form  of  a 
typewritten  statement  of  eight  pages.  It  is  impossible  to  carry  out 
many  of  the  valuable  suggestions  without  a  greater  financial  backing 
than  is  available  at  present.  In  response  to  one,  however,  we  are 
beginning  in  the  editorial  section  of  this  number  a  monthly  review  of 
the  articles  that  have  appeared  in  recent  scientific  periodicals.  It  is 
hoped  that  this  may  be  of  special  service  to  those  who  wish  to  keep 
up  to  date  in  their  teaching,  but  who  have  not  adequate  library  facili- 
ties at  their  disposal,  or  perhaps  the  time  to  use  them. 

We  are  hoping  that  these  reports  may  deal  not  only  with  food  but 
with  shelter  and  clothing  and  that  they  may  include,  not  merely 
reports  of  research,  but  description  of  new  types  of  apparatus  that 
have  been  found  of  value,  and  other  matters  of  immediate  interest  to 
the  readers  of  the  Journal.  Dr.  Katharine  Blunt  and  her  associates 
at  the  University  of  Chicago  have  agreed  to  take  charge  of  these  sum- 
maries for  the  present  year,  though  the  material  may  often  be  prepared 
by  others. 

New  Measurement  of  Metabolism.  Studies  of  energy  production 
have  been  made  much  easier  and  simpler  since  Benedict^  published  the 
account  of  his  new  portable  respiration  apparatus.  The  older  methods 
for  measuring  energy  metabolism,  long  used  with  brilliant  success  by 
Benedict  and  his  coworkers  in  Boston  and  by  DuBois  and  others  at  the 
Russell  Sage  Institute  of  Pathology,  involve  elaborate  apparatus  and 
require  very  specialized  skill  on  the  part  of  the  experimenter,  and  often 
considerable  time  and  patience  from  the  subject  experimented  upon. 

The  new  apparatus  is  less  expensive  and  much  easier  of  manipulation 
since  it  requires  no  gas  analysis.  In  using  it  the  subject  breathes  through 
a  mouth-piece  connected  by  a  rubber  tube  to  an  enclosed  volume  of 

*  Mrs.  Louise  McDanell  Browne. 

1  Benedict.    Boston  Med.  and  Sur.  Jour,,  178,  667,  1918. 

82 


1920]  EDITORIAL  83 

oxygen-rich  air  contained  in  a  movable  cylinder,  or  spirometer,  while 
the  carbon  dioxide  produced  is  absorbed  in  soda  lime.  The  air  in  this 
closed  circuit  is  kept  moving  by  a  small  blower  inside  the  apparatus,  so 
that  breathing  is  quite  normal.  To  determine  the  volume  of  oxygen 
consumed,  it  is  merely  necessary  to  note  the  diminution  of  volume  of 
air  in  the  cylinder.  The  calories  are  calculated  from  this.  In  15  min- 
utes on  a  woman  subject  the  oxygen  consumption  may  vary  around 
3000  cc,  so  that  observation  periods  as  short  as  this  give  a  very  fair 
degree  of  accuracy.  The  carbon  dioxide  may  also  be  determined  by 
weighing  the  soda  lime  jar  before  and  after  an  experiment,  but  as  the 
jar  is  large  and  the  weight  of  carbon  dioxide  small,  the  observation 
requires  a  special  balance,  and  it  is  hardly  necessary  for  calculation  of 
calories.  Carpenter,*  in  a  series  of  experiments  comparing  results  on 
*' untrained  subjects"  with  this  apparatus  and  others  in  the  Nutrition 
Laboratory,  draws  favorable  conclusions  as  to  the  accuracy  of  the  new 
method. 

The  possible  extent  of  the  use  of  the  apparatus  both  for  teaching  and 
research  cannot  be  even  suggested.  We  can  now  demonstrate  to  our 
students  and  have  them  find  for  themselves  with  vividness,  many  of  the 
points  in  metabolism  that  we  have  heretofore  been  merely  talking  about. 
First,  of  coiurse,  are  the  questions  of  basal  metabolism  and  its  variation 
under  different  conditions.  The  hardship  in  this  determination — com- 
ing to  the  laboratory  without  breakfast,  lying  absolutely  quiet  for  a 
preliminary  half  hour  rest  and  for  the  observation — ^is  not  enough  to 
check  research,  and  is  good  discipline  for  the  budding  dietetics  teacher. 
Moreover,  the  New  York  workers*  report  that  a  light  breakfast  of  two 
pieces  of  bread  and  butter,  a  lump  of  sugar  and  60  cc.  of  milk  without 
coffee,  has  no  effect  on  the  basal  Metabolism  after  two  hours,  so  that 
mid  morning  observations  are  feasible.  Other  questions  for  demon- 
stration for  investigation  are  the  effect  of  food,  of  coffee,  of  exercise,  of 
household  tasks — anything  that  can  be  done  with  a  subject  lying,  sit- 
ting, or  standing  attached  to  the  mouth-piece  of  the  apparatus. 

Clinicians  are  making  increasing  use  of  determinations  of  basal  meta- 
bolism in  diagnosis  of  disease,  especially  hyperthyroidism,^  abnormal 
basal  metabolism  being  probably  the  best  indication  of  the  presence  of 

*  Hendiy,  Carpenter,  and  Emmes.  Boston  Med,  and  Sur.  Jour.,  181,  285  (Sept.  4),  1919; 
ibid.  334  (Sept.  11),  1919;  ibid.  368  (Sept.  18),  1919. 

*  Soderstrom,  Barr,  and  DuBois.    Arch,  Inter,  Med,,  221,  613,  1918. 
«McCaskey.    Jour,  Amer,  Med.  Assoc.,  73,  243  (July  26),  1919. 


84  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

disturbed  thyroid  secretion,  and  such  diagnosis  is  therefore  made  pos- 
sible in  many  more  cases  by  the  simplicity  of  this  new  apparatus. 

The  Role  of  fhe  Antineuritic  Vitamine  in  fhe  Artificial  feeding 
of  Infants.  The  artificial  feeding  of  infants  so  far  has  been  largely 
concerned  with  approximating  the  composition  of  human  milk.  To 
attain  this,  top  milk  is  diluted  and  the  energy  value  is  made  up  by  the 
addition  of  carbohydrate  material,  usually  lactose.  So  long  as  milk 
was  considered  a  valuable  source  of  the  antineuritic  vitamine  there  was 
little  need  for  considering  the  possible  relationship  between  a  deficiency 
in  this  growth  promoting  factor  and  nutritional  disturbances  in  infancy, 
but  recent  work  along  this  line  raises  the  question  of  the  effect  of  such 
dilution.  Attention  was  drawn  to  the  importance  of  this  fact,  because 
it  developed  that  artificially  fed  infants  required  a  greater  energy  value 
in  the  diet  to  equal  the  gain  in  weight  of  breast  fed  children.  The 
suggestion  was  made  that  the  excess  food  carried  with  it,  by  adsorption, 
the  required  supply  of  antineuritic  vitamine. 

The  work  of  Dr.  Amy  Daniels  and  Miss  Byfield*  at  the  Iowa  Child 
Welfare  Research  Station  was  undertaken  in  order  to  study  the  value 
of  various  additions  to  the  diet.  Infants  were  selected  from  the  Iowa 
clinic  who  were  normal  in  every  respect  excq)t  that  they  were  failing  to 
gain  in  weight.  For  three  periods  of  from  10  to  20  days  each,  they 
received  an  addition  of  vitamine-rich  material  with  the  regular  bottle 
feedings.  In  the  first,  this  was  an  extract  of  wheat  embryo;  in  the 
second  period,  in  order  to  study  a  more  easily  available  source,  it  was  an 
alcoholic  extract  of  carrots,  turnips,  and  celery;  in  the  third,  since  the 
preparation  of  this  extract  is  not  feasible  for  routine  feeding,  a  soup  was 
made  from  the  same  vegetables.  Growth  was  stimulated  in  all  the 
subjects  and  all  showed  a  similar  gain  in  weight  in  spite  of  variable 
factors  of  age,  calorie  value,  and  different  percentage  composition  of  food. 

The  authors  draw  the  conclusion  that  failure  to  gain  in  infants  and 
yoxmg  children  may  be  the  result  of  an  insufficient  amoimt  of  the  anti- 
neuritic vitamine  in  the  food,  which  should  therefore  be  carefully  scruti- 
nized with  this  in  mind. 

Is  Botulism  a  Present  Danger?  Numerous  deaths  from  botulism 
have  been  reported  on  the  Pacific  Coast  in  the  past  three  or  four  years 

•McCaskey.    N.  Y.  Med.  Jour.,  110,  607  (Oct  11),  1919. 

*  Daniels  and  Byfield.    Amer.  Jour,  Diseases  Children,  Dec.,  1919. 


1920]  EDITORIAL  85 

and  recently  this  f onn  of  food  poisoning  has  been  recognized  in  several 
instances  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  caused  by  ripe  olives  in  Ohio 
and  Detroit/  by  home  canned  asparagus  in  Bois£,  Idaho,*  and  by  cattle 
forage  in  Illinois.*  The  increase  in  number  of  cases,  whether  real  or 
apparent  because  of  improvement  in  methods  of  diagnosis,  raises  the 
questions:  where  does  B.  botulinis  occur,  how  generally  is  it  distributed 
in  nature,  what  are  the  possibilities  of  its  presence  in  canned  food,  either 
home  or  factory  product,  what  is  the  extent  of  our  danger  from  this  sort 
of  poisoning? 

The  organism  is  possibly  quite  generally  distributed  through  yard, 
garden,  and  orchard,  as  it  has  been  foxmd  by  Dr.  G.  S.  Burke^  of  Leland 
Stanford  University,  in  such  places  as  bruised  and  bird-pecked  cherries, 
spotted  bean  leaves,  insects  from  bean  plants,  hog  manure.  The  mate- 
rial was  collected  from  five  widely  separated  localities  in  California. 
Earlier  eflForts  (1912)  by  Van  Ermengem  to  find  the  bacillus  probably 
failed  because  of  the  difficulty  of  actually  isolating  it.  Mrs.  Burke 
made  no  espedal  attempt  to  isolate  the  organism  but  detected  its  pres- 
ence by  specific  toxin  formation.  The  method  consisted  essentially  of 
injecting  the  filtrate  from  the  unknown  culture  into  guinea-pigs  and 
watching  for  the  characteristic  botulism  symptoms;  the  toxin  was 
further  identified  with  the  specific  anti-toxin  prepared  in  her  laboratory. 

The  organism  B.  bohdinis  was  not  found  by  Weinzirl*  in  some  1018 
samples  of  factory  canned  food  examined  in  the  laboratories  of  the 
Department  of  Preventive  Medidne  and  Hygiene  in  Harvard  Medical 
School.  The  finality  of  his  results  is  questioned  by  Dr.  Burke*  who 
states  that  failure  actually  to  isolate  the  bacillus  is  not  a  true  indication 
of  its  absence.  The  interesting  controversy  of  these  two  investigators 
can  be  read  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association}*'' 

^  Geneial  News.  Bacillus  Botulinis  Poisoning  in  Detroit,  Jow,  Atntr.  Med,  Assoc.,  73, 
1373, 1919. 

*  Thorn,  Edmondson,  and  Giltner.  Botulism  from  Canned  Asparagus,  Jour.  Amer, 
Med.  Assoc,,  73,  907, 1919. 

*Gzaham  and  Brueckner.  Studies  in  Forage  Poisoning,  Jour,  Bacteriology,  4,  1, 
1919. 

<  Burke.  The  Occurrence  of  BadUus  Botulinis  in  Nature,  Jour,  Bacteriology,  4,  541 
(Sept.),  1919. 

*  WeinzirL    The  Bacteriobgy  of  Canned  Foods,  Jour.  Med.  Research,  39,  349,  1919. 
*Buike.    Spoiled  Canned  Foods  and  Botulism,  Joum.  Amer,  Med.  Assoc.,  73,  1078, 

(Oct  4),  1919. 

'Weinadrl.  Spoiled  Canned  Foods  and  Botulism,  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  73,  17S9, 
(Dec  6),  1919. 


86  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

Because  the  offending  food  has  been  in  many  instances  a  home  canned 
product"  considerable  suspicion  has  been  attached  to  fruits  and  vege- 
tables so  preserved.  It  is  known  now  that  some  strains  of  B,  botulinis 
can  withstand  even  the  temperatures  at  5,  10,  and  15  pounds  pressure 
for  10  minutes.*  There  is  apparently  some  diversity  in  resistance  to 
heat  and  cold  among  the  different  strains;  Thom,  Edmondson  and 
Giltner'  foxmd  that  the  Bois6  strain  ''can  live  and  multiply  in  as  low  a 
temperature  as  12^C.;  therefore  foods  set  away  in  the  ice  box  are  not 
free  from  danger  if  B.  boUdinis  happens  to  be  present.  Fortunately, 
the  toxins  of  the  various  strains  seem  to  be  rendered  innocuous  quite 
readily  by  heating  to  the  boiling  temperature." 

The  salient  features  of  the  measures  of  precautions  advised  by  many 
writers  seem  to  be:  to  reject  any  canned  material  which  is  at  all  suspi- 
cious of  spoiling  or  putrefaction,  not  even  tasting  it;  to  use  in  canning 
only  fresh,  xmbruised,  sound  vegetables  and  fruits;  and  then  as  a  final 
safeguard,  to  heat  all  canned  food  to  the  boiling  temperature  to  destroy 
any  possible  toxin.  -  In  many  instances  of  botulism  poisoning,  the  vic- 
tims had  suspected  the  condition  of  the  material  but  proceeded  to  eat 
it  nevertheless. 

Our  interest  in  botulism,  far  out  of  proportion  to  its  incidence  and 
importance  as  a  cause  of  death,  is  due  partly  to  the  unusualness  of  the 
symptoms"  and  partly  to  its  relation  to  the  whole  question  of  the  preser- 
vation of  foods.  We  await  with  much  interest  further  information  con- 
cering  the  mode  of  contamination  of  food  products  and  of  dissemination 
of  the  organism. 

Sending  American  Home  Economics  Abroad.  A  very  interesting 
plan  has  been  laid  before  the  officers  of  the  American  Home  Econom- 
ics Association.  It  is  that  they  show  their  faith  in  their  own  science 
by  sending  it  to  the  Near  East.  Our  efficient  agency  for  this  work  is 
on  the  spot,  namely,  the  American  College  for  Girls  at  Constantinople. 

This  interesting  and  unique  College  has  been  in  existence  for  twenty 
years  and  has  exerted  an  incalculable  influence  over  the  women  of  the 
Near  East.  It  serves  18  nationalities,  and  sends  into  Greece,  the 
Greek  islands,  Turkey,  the  shores  of  the  Bosphorus  and  all  the  Balkan 
states  educated  women  to  become  leaders  of  their  people. 

*  Dickson,  Monograph  8,  Rockefeller  Inst.,  for  Med.  Research,  1918. 

*  Burke.  The  Effect  of  Heat  on  the  Spores  of  B.  botulinis:  Its  Bearing  on  Home  Can- 
ning  Methods,  Part  I,    Jour,  Atner,  Med,  Assoc.^  72,  88,  1919. 


1920]  EDITORIAL  87 

These  people  live  very  differently  from  us  and  very  empirically. 
The  College  now  offers  good  courses  in  chemistry  and  biology  which 
would  be  factors  in  a  home  economics  curriculum. 

After  over  seven  years  of  war  and  the  necessity  for  doing  a  great  deal 
of  relief  work,  the  College  is  not  in  a  position  to  introduce  the  home 
economics  that  the  girls  so  terribly  need.    So  they  turn  to  America. 

The  suggestion  is  made  by  Miss  Marlatt,  of  the  University  of  Wis- 
consin, and  warmly  seconded  by  Miss  White,  President,  by  Mrs. 
Norton  of  the  Jousnal,  and  by  many  other  officers  of  the  Association, 
that  we  send  out  a  first-class  professor  to  Constantinople,  who  can  organ- 
ize an  active  department  in  the  College.  The  Council  of  the  Associa- 
tion will  be  asked  to  consider  such  a  plan  at  the  Cleveland  meeting. 

This  seems  a  wonderful  opportunity  to  make  our  home  economics 
do  service.  Every  girl  who  could  be  taught  how  to  live  and  run  a 
home  would  go  either  into  a  village  where  she  would  be  the  leading 
citizen  and  carry  a  great  light  with  her,  or  into  a  dty,  where  her  can- 
dle,  together  with  the  candles  of  other  alumnae  of  the  College  at 
Constantinople,  would  illuminate  the  town.  Imagine  sending  into 
Turkish,  Armem*an,  Greek,  Servian,  Albanian,  Jewish,  Bulgarian,  and 
other  Oriental  homes  lux  ex  Ocddenta. 

It  would  cost  $2000  a  year  to  maintain  a  department  of  home 
economics  at  Constantinople,  and  we  should  wish  to  imdertake  it  for 
three  years.  The  money  would  pay  $1200  to  a  professor  (who  would 
also  receive  her  living),  together  with  her  travelling  expenses  to  and 
from  America,  and  would  supply  a  little  departmental  equipment. 

The  American  Colleges  at  Constantinople,  Beirut,  and  other  points 
in  Asia  Minor  are  the  hope  of  the  Near  East,  and  home  economics 
workers  will  watch  with  great  interest  the  plans  for  this  contribution 
from  their  own  field  to  a  section  of  the  world  which  education  must 
win  from  anarchy  and  ignorance. 

Benjamin  R.  Andrews. 

As  the  Journal  Goes  to  Press.  A  Bill  (H.  R.  12078)  to  amend 
the  Smith-Hughes  Vocational  Educational  Bill  has  just  been  intro- 
duced into  the  House  of  Representatives  by  Congressman  Fess, 
chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Education.  This  amendment 
is  substantially  the  bill  that  was  given  in  tentative  form  in  the  June 
JouKNAL.  It  provides  an  appropriation  of  three  million  dollars  for 
home  economics,  distributed  among  the  states  on  the  basis  of  population. 

Now  is  the  time  to  write  to  your  representative  and  urge  its  passage. 


88  THE  jouBNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

PROGRAM  OF  THE  AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOCIATION 

In  Connection  with  the  Depastmsnt  or  Sufbsiniendence,  N.  E.  A. 
AuDiTORiuic,  Eagle  School,  Cleveland 

MONDAY  AFIESNOON,  FEBXUASY  23 

Methods  in  High  Schools: 

Leadei^-Ediia  N.  White,  President,  A.  H.  E.  A.,  and  Professor  of  Home  Economics,  Ohio 
State  University,  Columbus,  Ohio 
1.30    The  Problem  Solving  Method  in  Home  Economics  Teaching 

Helen  Goodspeed,  State  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Madison,  Wisconsb 
2.30    Applied  Economics  in  a  One  Year  Home  Economics  EQgh  School  Course 

Rosa  Biery,  University  of  Chicago,  Elementary  and  High  Schools 
3.30    General  Discussion 
6.30    Dinner 

TUESDAY  MOSNING,  rSBKUASY  24 

Tests  in  Home  Economics  Teaching: 

Leade]^— Adelaide  Laura  Van  Duzer,  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Cleveland,  Ohio 
9.00    Tests  as  an  Aid  in  the  Teaching  and  Organization  of  Home  Economics 

Florence  Williams,  Supervisor  of  Industrial  Arts,  Richmond,  Indiana 
10.00    Standard  Tests  in  Teadung  Textiles  and  Clothmg  hi  High  School 

Mabel  Trilling,  Professor  of  Home  Economics,  University  of  Chicago 
11.00    Teachmg  by  the  Meal  Plan  Method 

Betsey  Madison,  Home  Economics  Department,  University  of  V^sconsin 

TUESDAY  AVXEKNOON,  FEBRUARY  24 

Child  Feeding: 

Leader — ^Lydia  Roberts,  Assistant  Professor  of  Home  Economics,  University  of  Chicago, 
and  temporarily  with  the  Children's  Bureau,  Department  of  Labor,  Washington, 
D.  C. 
1.30    Report  on  Field  Work  for  Children's  Bureau 

Lydia  Roberts 
2.00    Feeding  Clinic  and  Demonstration  School 

Mary  A.  Harper,  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  New 
York  aty 
3.00    Exhibits  of  Rats  on  Different  Experimental  Diets 

Emma  Francis,  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 
3.45    General  Discussion 

Members  of  the  Association  should  register,  upon  arrival,  at  N.  E.  A.  headquarters  in  the 
Hotel  Cleveland.  Tickets  for  the  dinner  Monday  should  be  purchased  at  that  time.  Ar- 
rangements should  also  be  made  for  excursions  Monday  morning.  The  local  committee 
will  arrange  for  visits  to  elementary  and  jimior  and  senior  high  schools,  to  Western  Reserve 
University,  to  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  to  factories  serving  lunches,  and  to  hospitals.  Communica- 
tions in  regard  to  reservations  should  be  addressed  to  Miss  Adelaide  L.  Van  Duser,  Board  of 
Education,  Cleveland.    It  is  important  that  advance  reservations  should  be  made. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


American  Marriage  Laws  in  their  Social 
Aspects:  A  Digest.    By  Fred  S.  Hall 
AMD  Elizabeth  W.  Brooke.    New  York: 
Russell  Sage  Foundation,  1919|  pp.  132. 
This  compilation  of  the  maxziage  laws  is 
the  second  of  a  series  of  studies  dealing 
with  the  problem  of  marital  maladjustment 
as  those  problems  come  to  the  attention  of 
Urn  sodal  case-worker.    The  first  study, 
Broken  Homes,  by  Miss  Cokord,  was  re- 
viewed in  the  November  Jouhnal.    These 
two  will  be  followed  by  a  study  of  the 
administration  of  the  marriage  laws  of  the 
various  states. 

The  authors  first  summarize  the  recom- 
mendations for  amendment  to  our  marriage 
laws  that  have  been  put  forward  by  four 
authorities — the  CommissioneiB  on  Uniform 
State  Laws,  Professor  George  £.  Howard  in 
his  monumental  Study  of  Matrimonial 
Institutions,  Miss  Wlllystine  Goodsell,  author 
of  The  Family  as  a  Social  and  Educational 
Institution,  and  Frank  Gaylord  Cook, 
author  of  a  series  of  articles  on  the  "Mar- 
riage Celebration"  published  in  the  Atlantic 
Monthly  in  1888. 

The  plan  followed  by  the  authors  is  that 
of  setting  forth  something  in  the  nature  of  a 
standard  and  following  this  exposition  first 
by  a  summaiy  of  the  marriage  laws  of  all 
the  states  and  then  by  an  analysb  of  the 
law  of  each  state.  The  recommendations 
bear  on  the  following  subjects: 

1.  Common  law  marriages,  which  are 
still  recognized  in  26  states  and  should  be 
eveiywhere  abolished. 

2.  Hie  marriageable  age. 

3.  The  notice  of  intent  to  many,  of 
importance  as  insuring  greater  deliberation 
on  the  part  of  the  contracting  parties  and 
as  giving  opportunity  for  investigation  by 
authorities  or  persons  interested. 

4.  Tlie  marriage  celebrant. 


5.  State  registration. 

6.  Inter-state  relations. 

Acts  proposed  by  the  Commissbners  on 
Uniform  State  Laws  are  either  given  in 
full  or  carefully  summarized.  Tlie  subject 
of  the  desirability  of  uniform  legislation  is 
discussed  and  the  arguments  for  and  against 
federal  action  as  con^Mured  with  action  by 
the  various  states. 

The  editor,  Miss  Mary  £.  Richmond, 
expresses  the  hope  that  persons  in  possession 
of  fairly  exact  knowledge  concerning  the 
administration  of  the  marriage  laws  in  the 
various  communities  may  share  their  knowl- 
edge with  her.  (Address  care  of  the  Russell 
Sage  Foundation,  130  £.  22nd  Street,  New 
York  aty.) 

It  is,  of  course,  clear  that  if  there  is  to  be 
devebped  a  national  structure  throuj^ 
which  the  national  life  is  to  function  with  a 
fair  degree  of  freedom  and  satisfaction, 
national  standards  must  be  developed, 
national  minima  determined  upon.  It  is 
highly  important,  then,  that  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  in  the  various  important  fields  of 
social  organization,  data  be  obtained  from 
which  the  volume  and  character  of  the  task 
of  nationalizing  the  social  life  may  be 
judged.  Like  so  many  other  subjects 
originally  left  to  the  states,  the  organization 
of  the  family  now  appears  as  clearly  of 
national  rather  than  local  concern.  This 
study  makes  a  contribution  towards  our 
tJiinking  in  national  terms  upon  a  funda- 
mental problem. 

This  is  an  illustration  of  the  national 
character  of  the  problem  of  distress,  for  the 
families,  whose  marital  difficulties  often 
prove  to  be  the  critical  question  for  a  social 
agency  which  is  trying  to  develop  a  plan  for 
treatment,  may  have  been  the  victim  of 
conditions  in  this  respect  as  in  others  far 
below  those  prevailing  in  the  community 

89 


90  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

m  which  the  agency  and  family  are  brought  be,  with  all  interested  in  the  development  of 

together;  and  burdens  resulting  from  lack  a  true  American  home,  peculiarly  concerned 

of  intelligent  social  control  in  one  place  may  for  the  standardization  on  a  nadonal  scale 

fall  on  shoulders  far  removed  from  that  of  this  body  of  legislation, 
jurisdiction.    Social  workers,  then,  should  S.  P.  Bsbcxinkidge. 


PAMPHLETS  RECEIVED 

Issued  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor,  Children's  Bureau, 

Infant  Mortality.  Results  of  a  Field  Study  in  Saginaw,  Mich.  Nila  F.  Allen.  Infant 
Mortality  Series  No.  9,  Bureau  Publication  No.  52,  1919. 

Maternity  Benefit  Systems  in  Certain  Foreign  Countries,  Henry  J.  Harris.  Legal  Series 
No.  3,  Bureau  Publication  No.  57, 1919. 

Minimum  Standards  for  Child  Wdfare.  Adopted  by  the  Washington  and  Regional  Con- 
ferences on  Child  Welfare,  1919.  Conference  Smes  No.  2,  Bureau  Publication  No.  62, 
1919. 

Save  ike  Youngest,  Seven  Charts  on  Maternal  and  Infant  Mortality,  with  explanatory 
comment.    Children's  Year  Follow-up  Series  No.  2,  Bureau  Publication  No.  61,  1919. 

Seeenlh  Annual  Report  of  the  Chief,  Children* s  Bureau,  to  the  Secretary  of  Labor,  Fiscal  year 
ended  June  30,  1919. 

Issued  by  the  New  York  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  University: 
The  Cornell  Reading  Course  for  ike  Home:    Thrift  Series— Lesson  128,  Points  in  Selecting  the 
Daily  Food,  Flora  Rose;  Lesson  129,  Questions  for  Group  Discussions  on  Thrift,  Flora 
Rose;  Lesson  130,  Club  Programs  on  Thrift. 

Issued  by  the  Indiana  State  Department  of  Public  Instruction,  Indianapolis,  Indiana: 
Homemaking  Series:    Care  of  the  Family  in  Health.    Care  of  the  Family  in  Sickness.    Care 
of  the  House.    The  Farm  House.    Hie  Gift  Season.    Home  Management.    Hos- 
pitality.   House  Decoration.    House  Furnishing.    How  to  live.    Selection  of  Ctoth- 
ing.    Home  Sewing.    Problems  in  Hand  Sewing.    Making  Use  of  our  Food  Supply. 

Table  Service.    Food  Preservation. 

Issued  by  the  Ladies  Home  Journal,  Philadelphia,  Pa.:  Written  by  Anna  Barrows.  Price 
10  cents  each. 
Foods  that  Build  the  Body.    What  a  Young  Housewife  should  know  about  Buying  and  Cook- 
ing Meat  and  other  Body-Building  Foods;  Good  Bread  Making;  Serving  Fat  in  Food; 
Serving  Minerals  as  Food;  Serving  Sweets  as  Food. 

• 

Issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Applied  Economics,  Inc.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Changes  in  Cost  of  Living,  1914-1919,  A  Summary  of  Existing  Data. 
Standards  of  Living,  A  Compilation  of  Budgetary  Studies. 
Wages  in  Various  Industries,    A  Summary  of  Wage  Movements  during  the  War. 

Issued  by  the  National  Kitchens  Division  of  the  Ministry  of  Food,  London: 
Handbook  of  National  Kitchens  and  Restaurants, 
Good  Food  at  Less  Cost,  Spencer  Leigh  Hughes,  M.P. 
A  Great  Public  Work.    Mrs.  F.  L.  Turner. 
Thoughts  on  National  Kitchens,  Arnold  Bennett. 


1920]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  91 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 

PERIODICAL  LITERATURE 

House  CoNSTRUCnoN  and  Fusnishzngs 

Floors  and  Flaws  in  your  Kitchen.    Ethel  R.  Peyser,  House  and  Garden,  October,  1919. 

Experiences  in  Teaching  Household  Decoration.  Harriet  Day,  Indus.  Arts,  October, 
1919. 

Italian  Furniture.    Leslie  G.  Martin,  Indus,  Arts,  October,  1919. 

Colonial  Pdrtraits  as  Decoration  in  Modem  Homes.  Peyton  Boswell,  House  and  Garden^ 
October,  1919. 

Methods  of  Heating  a  House.    F.  C.  Brown,  House  and  Garden,  October,  1919. 

What  to  Know  About  Furniture.    Matlack  Price,  House  and  Garden,  October,  1919. 

How  to  Make  Your  Curtains.    Agnes  Foster  Wright,  House  and  Garden,  October,  1919. 

Shrinkage  of  Interior  Trim:  Its  Cause  and  Prevention.  L.  V.  Teesdale,  Amer,  Arcki» 
tea.  pp.  143-145,  figs.  5. 

Cloihimg  akd  Design 

Embroidery  Designs  for  Simple  Stitches.    Le  Costume  Royal,  October,  1919. 

The  Girdle  in  Some  of  Its  Forms  Throughout  Past  Centuries.  Le  Costume  Royal,  October, 
1919. 

The  Amateur  Dressmaker.    Elite,  December,  1919. 

Old  Ck>thes  as  New  Fashions^    Cathttmne  Oglesby,  Fashion  Review,  November,  1919. 

Evolution.    Historical  Development  of  Skirts.    Le  Costume  Royal,  November,  1919. 

Dress  Trimmings— English  History.    Le  Costume  Royal,  December  1919. 

Democracy  and  Art    Gutzon  Borghun,  Arts  and  Decor.,  October,  1919. 

Simplicity  and  Design.    Pedro  Lemas,  School  Arts,  November,  1919. 

Creative  Textile  Art  and  the  American  Museum.  M.  D.  C.  Crawford,  Amer.  Museum 
Jour.,  17  (1917)  No.  4,  pp.  253-259,  figs.  20.  An  article  with  illustrations  describing  the 
use  of  pre-Columbian  and  American  motives  and  similar  sources  for  modem  textile  designs. 

Pine  Needle  Basketry.    Edward  F.  Worst,  Indus.  Arts.,  October,  1919. 

Miscellaneous 

Administration  of  aMen's  Club.  J.  W.  Wood,  Hotd  Mo.,27, (1919), No. 318,  pp.  77,  78, 
Many  suggestions  regarding  management,  cost,  food  problems,  and  simikr  topics  are  made 
in  this  article,  presented  at  the  annual  conference  of  the  Institution  Economics  Section, 
American  Home  Economics  Association,  at  the  University  of  Wisconsm,  Madison,  in  June, 
1919. 

The  Invention  and  Spread  of  Agriculture  in  America.  H.  J.  Spinden,  Amer,  Museum 
Jour.,  17  (1917),  No.  3,  pp.  180-188,  figs.  8.  Information  is  given  regarding  the  use  of  com, 
peanuts,  squashes,  and  other  American  foods  of  prehistoric  times.  The  article  is  preceded 
by  a  list  of  food  plants,  medicines,  fibres,  gums,  and  domestic  animals,  for  which  the  world 
today  is  indebted  to  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  America. 

The  conservation  of  Our  Food  Supplies  in  War  Time.  T.  G.  Hull,  Amer.  Museum  Jour.,  17, 
(1917),  No.  5,  pp.  295-298,  figs.  3.  An  account  of  the  war-time  exhibit  instaUed  at  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History. 

Wild  Mushrooms  as  Food.  W.  A.  Murrill,  Amer.  Museum  Jour.,  17  (1917),  No.  5,  pp. 
322-331,  figs.  14.    An  illustrated  article  describing  edible  mushrooms  and  giving  suggestions 


92  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

as  to  thdr  cookery.  Infonnation  is  also  giveii  regarding  the  poisonous  species  yMdi  must 
be  avoided. 

The  Anay,  a  New  Edible-fruited  Relative  of  the  Avocado.  S.  F.  Blake,  Jour.  Wash, 
Acad.  Set.,  9  (1919),  No.  16,  pp.  457-462,  fig.  1.  This  paper  reports  the  discovery  in  Central 
America  of  an  edible  fruit  related  to  the  avocado,  for  which  the  native  name  "anay"  is 
retained.  A  full  botanical  description  is  given,  together  with  other  information.  It  is 
stated  that  the  fruit  is  oily  and  in  general  resembles  the  avocado,  but  in  addition  has  a 
slightly  sweetish  taste. 

Ostrich  Farming  in  South  America.  J.  E.  Duerden,  Atner.  Museum  Jour.,  17  (1917), 
No.  6,  pp.  366-375,  figs.  12.  This  article  contains  much  interesting  infonnation  about  ostrich 
feathers  and  plumes. 

Discoveries  at  the  Aztec  Ruin.  £.  H.  Morris,  Atner.  Museum  Jour.,  17  (1917),  No.  3, 
pp.  168-179,  figs.  14.  Data  regarding  prehistoric  Pueblo  architecture  in  the  Southwest* 
and  pottery,  household  utensils,  and  clothing,  are  given. 

Explorations  in  New  Mexico.  E.  H.  Morris,  Amer.  Museum  Jour.,  17  (1917),  7,  pp. 
461-471,  figs.  9.    Interesting  information  on  pottery,  etc.,  and  similar  topics  are  included. 

The  YeQowing  of  Paper.  A.  B.  Kitchens,  Set.  Amer.  Sup.,  87  (1919),  No.  2257,  p.  222, 
figs.  3.  Experimental  work  here  discussed  led  to  the  condusbn  that  "the  sheet  from  which 
the  sizing  had  been  removed  did  not  discolor  greatly,  but  did  not  hold  up  as  well  as  those 
which  had  never  been  sized  at  alL  The  rosin  size,  even  if  it  is  present  in  the  paper  only  for 
a  short  time,  undoubtedly  has  some  influence  upon  the  fibers  and  produces  a  certain  amount 
of  yellowing  with  time. 

"Where  it  is  necessary  that  a  paper  retain  its  original  color,  it  is  obviously  important  to 
use  as  little  rosin  size  as  possible,  consistent  with  the  degree  of  sizing  required,  and  to  use 
always  an  iron-free  aluminum  sulphate  as  the  precipitant.  Tlie  animal  sizing  should  be 
omitted  or  kept  as  low  as  possible." 

Effect  of  Number  of  Coats  on  the  Moisture  Resistance  of  Spar  Varnish.  Technical  Notes, 
U.  S.  Forest  Service  (Madison,  Wis.),  No.  F-12. 

Some  References  to  Literature  on  Manufacture  and  Testing  of  Animal  Glues.  Technical 
Notes,  U.  5.  Forest  Service  (Madison,  Wis.),  No.  F-7. 

Bibliography  on  Casein  and  Casein  Glues  (Books  on  Chemistry  of  Casein)  and  (Articles 
on  Manufacture  and  Use  of  Casein).  Technical  Notes,  U.  S.  Forest  Service  (Madison,  Wis.) 
No.  F-6. 

Water  Resbtant  Glues.    Technical  Notes,  U.  S.  Forest  Service  (Madison,  Wis.),  No.  F-4. 

Scratched  Joints  Versus  Smooth  Joints  in  Gluing.  Technical  Notes,  U.  S.  Forest  Service 
(Madison,  Wis.),  No.  F-5. 

Setting  Blood  Albumin  Glue  in  a  Kiln.  Technical  Notes,  U.  S.  Forest  Service  (Madison, 
Wis.),  No.  F-19. 

On  the  Bacterial  Eflidency  of  Soap  Solutions  in  Power  Laundry.  H.  G.  EUedge  and  W. 
E.  McBride,  Amer.  Jour.  Pub.  Health,  8  (1918),  No.  7,  pp.  494-498.  Experimental  work  is 
reported.  Sterilization  is  obtained  when  garments  are  finished  by  ironing  or  by  drying  at 
high  temperatures.  In  the  case  of  those  not  so  treated  the  washing  with  soap  produces  a 
bactericidal  efficiency  comparable  to  that  obtained  by  pasteurization. 

Carpets  Washed  and  Scoured  on  the  Floor.    Hotd  Mo.,  27  (1919),  No.  318,  p.  50. 

China  for  dual  use — cooking  and  serving.    Hotd  Mo.,  27  (1919),  No.  318,  p.  52. 

Solving  the  floor  scrubbing  problems.    Hotd  Mo.,  27  (1919),  No.  318,  p.  52. 

Washing  and  itonmg  machines  for  small  hotels.  Hotd  Mo.,  27  (1919),  No.  318,  p.  52. 
A  unit  suitable  for  small  laundry  equipment  installation  is  described. 

Teachhig  Healtii  in  the  Schools.  L.  Emmett  Holt,  Mo.  Bull.,  N.  Y.  State  Dept  Health* 
July,  1919. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


The  Vocational  Homemaking  Section 
of  the  National  Society  for  Vocational 
Education  offers  the  following  program  for 
its  meetings  at  Hotel  La  Salle,  Chicago, 
Febniaiy  19  and  20. 

Thursday  Morning,  9  A.  M. 

Vocational  Homemaking  Education 

Chairman,  Isabel  Ely  Lord,  Director  School 

of  Household  Science  and  Arts,  Pratt 

Institute,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

1.  Effect   of   the    Smith-Hughes   Law    on 

Instruction  in  Home  Economics 
Rqport  of  Special  Committee  of  the 
Vocational  Educatbn  Assodadon  of 
the  Middle  West:  A— Full  Tune 
Schooti,  Cora  I.  Davis,  State  Super- 
visor of  Home  Economics  Education, 
Illinois.  B — ^Teacher  Treuning,  Louise 
Stanley,  Head  of  Department  of  Home 
Eoonomics,  University  of  Missouri. 
C— Fart-Time  and  Evening  Schools. 

2.  In  TVaining  Teachers  of  Vocatbnal  Home- 

making,  how  shall  we  meet  the 
requirement  of  practical  experience? 
Report  of  Special  Conunittee  of  the 
National  Society  for  Vocational  Edu- 
cation, Maud  Murchie,  State  Super- 
visor of  Home  Economics,  California. 

3.  Standards  of  Accomplishmftnt 

Report  of  Special  Conunittee,  Anna  M. 
Cooley,  Associate  Professor  of  House- 
hold Arts  Education,  Teachers  Col- 
lege, New  York  City. 

Friday  Morning,  9  A,  M. 

Vocational  Homemaking  Education 

Chairman,  Maud  I.  Murchie 

1.  Home  Project  Work  in  Vocational  Home- 

making 
Report  of  Special  Committee,  Louisa  A. 
Plyor,  State  Board  of   Education, 
Massachusetts. 

2.  Methods  of  Household  Accounting  in  the 

form  of  an  exhibit,  Sarah  McLeod, 
Society  for  Savings,  Qeveland. 


The  sessions  when  the  industrial  educa- 
tion of  women  is  discussed  will  also  interest 
home  eoonomics  teachers.  There  will  be  a 
large  home  economics  rq>resentation,  as  the 
Federal  Board  has  called  in  the  Smith- 
Hughes  workers  for  a  conference  just  before 
the  Natbnal  Society  meeting. 

The  Ohio  Home  Economics  Aaaocia- 
tion  will  hold  its  annual  meeting  in  the 
auditorium  of  the  Eagle  School,  Cleveland, 
February  25  (the  day  following  the  meeting 
of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.). 

The  afternoon  program  will  be  as  follows: 

A  Forward  Look  in  Home  Economics, 
Sarah  Louise  Arnold,  Dean  of  Simmons 
College,  Boston,  Mass.;  The  Reorganization 
of  Home  Eoonomics  Instruction,  Mrs.  Hen- 
rietta W.  Calvin,  Specialist  in  Home  Eoo- 
nomics, Bureau  of  Education,  Washington, 
D.  C;  The  Nutritbn  Class  for  Childroi  as 
a  New  Field  for  the  Teacher  of  Home  Eco- 
nomics, Mrs.  Ira  Couch  Wood,  Director 
Elizabeth  McCormick  Memorial  Fund,  Chi- 
cago, HI.;  The  Relation  of  the  Home  Eco- 
nomics Teacher  to  the  Health  of  the  Com- 
munity, Dr.  E.  A.  Peterson,  Director 
Department  of  Health  Service,  American 
Red  Cross,  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  morning  will  be  given  to  visiting 
schools  and  other  places  of  interest  to  home 
economics  teachers.  It  is  hoped  that  those 
who  come  to  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  meeting  may 
be  able  to  stay  over. 

The  Meeting  of  the  Home  Economics 
Division  of  the  American  Association  of 
Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment 
Stations  has  become  8o  important  an  event 
in  the  home  economics  world  that  many 
have  thought  it  to  be  a  session  of  the  Ameri- 
can Home  Eoonomics  Association.  A  few 
years  ago  this  section  was  only  a  small 
informal  gathering  holding  a  single  session 
at  the  meeting  of  the  Agricultural  College 

93 


94 


THE  JOtmNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOIOCS 


[February 


Association.  At  the  meeting  in  November, 
1919,  it  offered  a  full  program  for  two  after- 
noons and  served  as  a  meeting  place  for  a 
laxge  number  of  home  economics  people. 
Agnes  Harris  of  Texas  was  chairman  of  the 
section,  and  Inga  M.  K.  Allison  of  Colorado, 
secretary. 

The  first  speaker,  Abby  Marlatt  of  the 
University  of  Wisconsin,  read  an  able  paper 
on  the  Unification  of  Subject  Matter  in 
Teacher  Training  Courses  in  Vocational 
Home  Economics,  Eztensbn  Woik,  and 
Research.  Beginning  with  a  brief  review  of 
the  aim,  methods,  and  subject  matter  used 
in  teaching  home  economics  as  a  basis  for 
discussion,  she  made  a  keen  analysis  of  the 
failures  in  many  departments  of  the  woik, 
and  gave  suggestions  for  remedies.  The 
next  speaker.  Bertha  Terrill,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Vermont,  gave,  in  delightful  English, 
a  vigorous  defense  of  The  General  Course  in 
Home  Economics  for  the  undergraduate 
eollege  student  Mildred  Weigley,  in  her 
paper  on  Vocational  £iq>erience,  asked  the 
pertinent  questions,  What  does  vocational 
experience  mean?  How  are  we  to  know 
whether  the  vocational  experience  demanded 
of  our  students  is  adequate?  At  what  pdnt 
in  the  course  should  vocational  experience 
be  required?  These  must  be  answered  by  a 
careful  analysis  of  our  present  curricula  and 
courses.  Edna  White,  president  of  the  A. 
H.  E.  A.,  presented  Tlie  Legislative  Program 
of  the  Association,  and  Isabel  Bevier 
reported  as  the  chainnan  of  the  committee 
on  plans  and  policies  of  the  home  economics 
section. 

The  first  paper  on  Thursday  was  by  Alice 
Loomis  of  the  University  of  Nebraska,  who 
spoke  upon  The  Relationship  of  the  Train- 
ing of  Teachers  of  Home  Economics  in  Agri- 
cultural Colleges  to  the  State  Supervision  of 
Home  Economics  under  the  Vocational  Acts. 
She  recommended  a  further  cooperation 
between  the  state  supervisor  and  the  teacher 
trainer.  Dr.  Edwin  O.  Jordan  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  spoke  upon  Food-Borne 
Infections,  giving  the  latest  results  of  the 
study  of  botulism  and  other  food  infections. 
Dr.  Blunt  of  the  University  of  Chicago  pre- 


sented a  paper  on  The  Present  Status  of 
Vitamines  that  was  published  in  the  January 
JouxNAL.  Dr.  Minna  Denton  gave  a  most 
interesting  extract  of  a  report  on  the  Absorp- 
tion of  Fat  by  a  Doug^  or  Batter  when 
Fried  in  Deep  Fat.  The  full  paper  will  be 
published  soon  in  the  Jouxnal.  Margaret 
Sawyer  gave  a  review  of  the  woik  of  the 
Red  Cross  in  supplying  dietitians,  and  out- 
lined the  Plans  for  Public  Health  Dietetic 
Work.  Florence  Ward  of  the  States  Rela- 
tions Service  gave  a  report  of  The  Accom- 
plishment of  Home  Dononstration  Agents 
of  the  North  and  West 

The  officers  chosen  for  the  ooming  year 
were  Abby  L.  Marlatt,  chairman,  and  In- 
deed Weigley,  secretary. 

The  Journal  made  a  request  that  it  be 
allowed  to  print  as  many  of  these  p^>ers  as 
possible. 

The  Home  Bconomics  Section  of  the 
Central  Association  of  Science  and 
Mathematics  Teachers  met  at  the  Lake 
View  High  School,  Chicago,  in  connection 
with  the  ^ole  society,  on  the  Friday  and 
Saturday  after  Thanksgiving.  The  first 
session  was  devoted  to  reports  from  the 
'<  Committee  on  Reconstruction"— -a  pro- 
cedure followed  in  all  the  sections.  Mabel 
Trilling  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  chair- 
man of  the  committee,  outlined  the  work 
of  the  home  economics  committee  and 
its  relation  to  the  educational  research 
committee  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  of  ^diich  she 
is  also  chairman.  Helen  C.  Goodspeed, 
State  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  gave 
a  report  for  \^sconsin;  Florence  Williams, 
Supervisor  of  Industrial  Arts,  Richmond, 
Ind.,  diiBcussed  Tests  as  an  Aid  in  Formulat- 
ing the  Course  of  Study,  and  Rosa  Bieiy  of 
the  University  of  Chicago  Elementary  and 
ffigh  Schools,  in  a  paper  on  Economics  in 
the  Home  Economics  Course,  described  the 
work  which  she  does  with  her  high  school 
senbrs^ 

The  next  morning,  Minnie  L.  Volk, 
South  High  School,  Columbus,  Ohio,  opened 
the  meeting  with  an  interesting  and  stimu- 
lating paper  on  Correlation  of  Art  and 


1920] 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


95 


Household  Art  Following  her  came  Emma 
Fiands  of  the  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium,  who 
meantime  had  been  lent  to  the  Biology 
Section,  with  her  exhibit  of  rats  on  different 
experimental  diets.  She  showed  them  in 
pain  or  groups,  pointing  out,  for  instance, 
the  maiked  difference  in  size  and  vigor 
between  rats  held  for  as  short  a  time  as  3 
weeks,  on  a  diet  with  or  without  milk — 
striking  material  for  teaching  the  value  of 
milk  to  motheis  and  children.  A  satis- 
&ctoiy  sequel  to  the  rat  discussion  was  the 
paper  by  Maiy  E.  Freeman,  an  elementaiy 
school  teacher  in  the  Chicago  Public  Schools, 
on  Malnutrition  in  Children  and  What  the 
School  Can  Do  to  Overcome  It — an  account 
of  her  own  encouraging  work  to  improve  the 
health  of  her  sixth  giade  through  teaching 
better  health  habits  in  general  and  espe- 
daily  food.  Of  her  49  pupils  she  found  that 
30  drank  coffee  for  breakfast  and  only  15 
had  mUk;  but  after  a  month  of  the  class 
discussion  the  coffee  number  had  dropped 
to  19  and  the  mUk  risen  to  26. 

The  officers  elected  for  next  year  are: 
chairman.  Miss  Harriet  Glendon,  Lewis 
Institute;  vice-chairman.  Miss  Treva  Kauff- 
man,  Ohio  State  University;  secretary. 
Miss  Maude  Firth,  Supervisor  of  Home 
Economics,  Davenport,  Iowa. 

Will  Some  County  Agent  Reply?  A 
writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly  says:  ''What 
is  the  Government  doing  for  us?  Set- 
ting the  price  on  wheat  and  sending  us 
county  agents  to  tell  our  husbands  how  to 
kill  jack-rabbits,  and  women  county  agents 
to  tell  us  farm  women  how  to  make  a  dress 
out  of  our  flour  sacks.  That  latter  was  all 
right  during  the  war,  but  I  wonder  if  that 


county  agent  didn't  find  out  that  we  farm 
women,  long  before  the  war,  were  compelled 
to  use  our  flour  sacks  for  underwear  bosiuse 
the  middleman  was  buying  silk  underwear 
for  his  wife?" — Annie  Pike  Greenwood,  in 
"Letters  from  a  Sagt-bnuh  Farm." 

A  Lunch  Room  Management  Course 
was  introduced  at  Purdue  University  last 
year  as  an  experiment.  It  proved  successful 
and  will  be  extended  this  year.  New  equip- 
ment is  being  added,  thus  incurring  a  debt 
which  gives  a  real  problem  of  the  kind  that 
every  beginner  in  lunch  room  work  must 
meet.  Next  year  the  course  will  be  ex- 
panded into  a  cafeteria  in  the  New  Woman's 
Building  where  the  general  public  will  be 
served. 

Two  lunches  are  served  each  week,  aver- 
aging forty-five  servings  in  each.  Two 
managers  work  out  every  detail  of  the 
lunch,  plan  the  menu,  order  the  supplies,' 
keep  an  accurate  itemized  account,  adver- 
tize their  menu,  prepare  the  main  dishes, 
keep  paid  help  employed  with  routine  work 
to  good  advantage  (a  problem  that  every- 
one who  takes  up  lunch  room  work  must 
meet) ,  direct  the  three  girls  from  the  class 
appointed  as  helpers  for  the  morning  work, 
and  manage  the  serving.  The  three  help- 
ers assist  only  during  the  day  that  the  lunch 
is  served. 

Last  year  the  course  proved  a  financial 
success,  for  the  class  was  able  to  buy  silver, 
dishes,  and  a  tea  wagon.  This  year  we  are 
starting  out  with  a  deficit  of  $93.00  for 
aluminum  trays,  and  later  another  one  will 
be  added  when  more  silver  and  dishes  are 
purchased. 


96  THE  J0T7SNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [February 

OMICRON  NU* 

UNA  VESMmJON 
NaUomd  Editor 

Our  organization  is  unfortunately  someifdiat  late  in  utilizing  our  space  in 
the  JoxTKNAL.  It  will  require  e£fort  and  cooperation  on  the  part  of  each  indi- 
vidual member,  alumnae  included,  to  make  these  pages  a  success.  Should 
any  of  our  members — ^whether  active  or  not — ever  feel  that  they  have  some- 
thing worth  while  to  contribute  to  our  undertaking  they  will  find  that  any 
and  all  contributions  or  suggestions  will  be  heartily  appredated. 

The  present  national  officers  of  our  organization,  elected  last  spring  at  the 
fourth  annual  Conclave  of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Omicron  Nu  Society, 
are  as  follows:  President,  Marion  S.  Van  liew  (Beta);  Vice  President,  Hazel 
Manning  (Eta);  Secretary,  Emily  Hamilton  (Beta);  Treasurer,  Marjory 
Williams  (Alpha);  Editor,  Una  Vermillion  (Iota). 

Lambda  chapter  was  installed  at  the  Oregon  Agricultural  College,  Corvallis, 
Oregon,  on  May  30,  1919.  Mrs.  H.  J.  Gramlick  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  was 
the  installing  officer. 

Dean  Ava.  B.  Milam,  A.  Grace  Johnson,  and  Hatty  R.  Dahlberg  were 
elected  faculty  members.  Helen  Lee  Davis  and  Mary  Van  Kirk,  were 
transferred  from  Zeta  chapter  at  Lincoln,  Nebraska. 

Nineteen  student  members  were  elected,  four  from  the  jimior  class  to  hold 
the  organization  together  and  carry  it  over  to  the  following  year.  This  fall 
eight  new  members  were  elected  from  the  present  senior  class.  The  officers 
are  Helen  C.  Gardner,  president;  Ruth  Kennedy,  vice-president;  Hazel  Kesley, 
secretary;  Marie  Mendenhall,  treasurer;  and  Ruth  E.  Peaslee,  editor. 

Helen  C.  Gardner  was  sent  as  delegate  from  this  chapter  to  the  national 
conclave  held  at  Albany,  New  York,  June  18-21,  1919. 

A  Letter  Directory  for  Omicron  Nu,  Last  spring  the  Omicron  Nu  at  Purdue 
University  decided  to  send  out  a  Letter  Directory  to  every  Omicron  Nu 
member,  both  alumnae  and  active.  This  brief  Directory  contained  the  names 
of  all  the  members,  their  addresses,  and  an  article  concerning  their  work. 
Our  chapter  was  also  discussed,  stressing  the  work  that  the  girls  had  done 
during  the  year.  A  card  was  inserted  for  each  member  to  return,  giving  a 
full  account  of  her  work,  in  order  to  secure  material  for  a  more  detailed  direc- 
tory next  spring. 

1  Omicron  Nu  is  the  honorary  home  economics  sorority.  The  first  chapter  was  formed  at 
Michigan  Agricultural  College  in  1912. 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  MARCH,  1920  No.  3 

WHAT  WE  HAVE  LEARNED  IN  DIETETICS  FROM  THE 

ARMY* 

JOHN  R.  MXTRIIN 

Director  of  the  DeparknetU  of  Vital  Economics,  University  of  Rochester;  Late  Director  of  the 

Division  of  Pood  and  Nutrition,  Medical  Departmenl,  U,  5.  Army 

Tlie  Division  of  Food  and  Nutrition  in  tlie  Medical  Department  of 
the  Army  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  safeguarding  the  nutrition  of  the 
soldiers.  In  every  previous  war,  the  army  has  been  subjected  to  some 
form  of  nutritional  privation.  In  the  Revolutionary  War  there  really 
was  not  enough  food  to  go  around.  In  the  war  of  1812  the  army  was 
plagued  with  a  contractor  system  for  supplying  the  provisions,  which 
placed  a  great  premium  on  dishonesty.  As  a  consequence,  the  army 
suffered  greatly  from  want  of  enough  food,  and,  because  of  ignorance  of 
dietetics,  or,  more  properly,  the  science  of  nutrition,  the  food  which  it 
did  get  was  not  varied  enough  or  fresh  enough  to  insure  good  health. 
Scurvy  was  very  conunon.  Calhoun,  as  Secretary  of  War,  adopting 
the  suggestions  of  the  first  Surgeon-General,  corrected  these  defects  to 
a  large  extent  in  1818. 

In  the  Mexican  War  the  army  was  able  to  live  largely  upon  the 
coimtry  in  which  it  was  operating,  and  the  abimdance  of  fruit  and  wine 
prevented  scurvy;  but  the  sanitary  care  of  foods,  as  well  as  of  the 
camps  in  general,  was  very  poor,  and  much  dysentery  resulted. 

In  the  Civil  War  the  Medical  Department  for  the  first  time  was 
charged  with  a  share  of  the  responsibility  for  the  proper  feeding  of  troops. 
But  this  authority  was  not  conferred  until  1863.    Previous  to  that  time, 

'Presented  at  the  Second  Annual  Convention  of  the  American  Dietetic  Association, 
Cincinnati,  September,  1919.    Also  printed  in  the  Modem  Hospital,  January,  1920. 

97 


98  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  EOOKOmCS  f&faidl 

espedzOy  in  the  Peninsular  Campaign,  there  was  mudi  scorvy  and 
rifknfss  of  other  s<nts  resulting  from  impnq^KT  food.  Smgcon  John 
Lettennan,  Medical  Director  of  the  Aimy  of  the  Pot<»nac,  upon  his 
appointment,  immediate  took  measures  to  conect  the  deficiencies  of 
the  ration.  He  was  one  of  the  greatest  sanitarians  the  army  ever  had 
and  ranks  with  Lowell,  the  first  SuigieoQ-General,  and  our  own  bdoved 
General  Gorgas. 

Finally,  the  Spanish-American  War,  ^vdudi  brought  Goigas  his  (^)por- 
tunity  to  study  the  transmission  of  disease  by  mosquitoes,  was  charac- 
terized, as  many  of  u^  remember  well,  by  the  "embalmed  beef'  scandal. 
Looking  back  upon  the  tiny  little  war  of  '98,  we  see  now  what  a  tempest 
in  a  te^>ot  it  was.  There  really  were  few  cases  of  serious  poisoning  by 
improperly  processed  canned  meats;  but  in  all  probability  the  so-caOed 
canned  "roast"  beef,  used  in  the  travel  ration  as  a  substitute  for  canned 
corned  beef,  was  req)onsible  for  much  diarriioea  and  consequently  con- 
tributed to  the  lack  of  resistance  to  typhoid  which  was  the  real  curse 
of  that  war.  The  chief  difficulty  lay  in  sending  to  the  semi-tnq)ical 
climate  of  Florida  and  Cuba  canned  stuff  ^duch  had  been  processed  for 
northern  climates.  Much  of  the  meat  spoiled  and  smelled  badly  and 
made  a  pestilential  scandal  for  itself  and  for  that  part  of  the  press  which 
loves  to  handle  putrescent  news.  What  was  really  learned  by  this  un- 
pleasant experience  in  1898  was  the  need  of  adequate  inspection  of 
foods,  not  only  when  they  are  purchased  by  the  Supply  Department, 
but  also  at  the  mess  before  they  are  used  by  the  cook. 

To  avoid  the  mistakes  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  as  well  as  of 
the  Civil  War — to  go  no  further  back — General  Goigas  organized  in  his 
department  this  Division  of  Food  and  Nutrition,  which  should  make 
frequent  inspections  of  food  conditions  in  the  camps  and  in  the  field, 
should  seek  to  improve  the  cooking  and  serving  of  the  food,  and  should 
study  constantly  the  suitability  of  the  ration. 

What  we  have  learned  about  army  dietetics  may  be  summarized 
briefly  as  f oUows : 

(1)  We  know  now  for  the  first  time,  not  only  the  average  require- 
ment of  food  by  the  soldier  in  training,  but  also  the  range  of  this  require- 
ment.* 

(2)  We  know  about  how  much  the  soldier  eats  outside  the  mess  and 
that  he  will  eat  it  no  matter  how  good  the  mess  may  be.' 

*  Cf.  Murlin  and  Hildebrandt:  Average  Food  Consumption  in  the  training  camps  of  the 
U.  S.  Army.    Amer,  Jour.  Physiol.,  Sept,  1919,  p.  531. 


1920]  .    WHAT  WE  HAVE  LEARNED  FROM  THE  ABMY  99 

(3)  The  average  daily  consumption  of  each  food  so  that  an  average 
dietary  or  ration  built  upon  exact  information  can  now  be  written.* 

(4)  The  average  composition  of  the  food  actually  eaten  in  the  mess.* 

(5)  The  variation  in  food  consumption  in  different  seasons  of  the 
year.* 

(6)  The  surprising  variations  in  food  consumption  in  different  com- 
pany messes  of  the  same  regiment  doing  identically  the  same  physical 
work,  the  variation  depending,  apparently,  upon  the  psychology  of  the 
mess  rather  than  upon  the  physiology  thereof.  Likewise  a  surprising 
variation  in  the  amount  consumed  by  the  same  company  from  week  to 
week,  the  external  factors,  such  as  temperature  and  work,  remaining 
essentially  the  same.* 

(7)  The  average  consumption  by  different  classes  of  patients  in  the 
army  hospitals.^ 

(8  The  preponderance  of  add  ash  in  the  ration,  as  prescribed  and 
as  actually  eaten,  with  the  accompanying  danger,  in  combination  with 
excessive  muscular  fatigue,  of  an  accumulative  acidosis.* 

(9)  The  surprising  fact  that  a  corrective  diet  prescribed  by  the 
hospital  surgeon  has  nearly  always  a  basic  ash.* 

(10)  And  finally,  a  possible  relationship  between  diet  and  suscepti- 
bility to  infection,  which  must  be  studied  further.^ 

The  garrison  ration  of  the  army  in  force  when  this  war  began  was  an 
excessive  one.  The  basal  portion  of  it,  18  oimces  of  bread  and  20 
ounces  of  beef,  dates  from  1794,  when  the  only  other  component  with 
energy  value  was  whiskey.  In  1818  one-half  pint  of  beans  was  added, 
and  whiskey  was  changed  to  molasses  for  making  spruce  beer.  In 
1832,  liquors  were  eliminated  entirely  and  coffee  ^and  sugar  were  substi- 
tuted. In  1861 ,  a  poimd  of  potatoes  was  added  and  beans  were  reduced. 
In  1898,  tomatoes  were  added — none  of  the  other  components  being 
reduced;  in  1901,  prunes;  in  1908,  jam,  evaporated  milk,  butter,  and 
lard.  I  have  not  mentioned  the  seasoning  materials,  salt,  pepper,  and 
extracts.  Salt  and  vinegar  have  been  present  from  the  beginning; 
pepper  since  1864,  and  extracts  since  1908. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  the  soldier  in  the  late  war  has  eaten 
all  of  this,  although  like  a  good  sport  he  has  tried.    The  ration  is,  and 

*  Howe,  Mason,  and  Dinsmore:  Variation  in  Strength  and  in  the  Consumption  of  Food 
by  Recruits  and  Seasoned  Troops.    Ibid,,  p.  557. 

*  Hoskins:  American  Military  Hospital  Dietaries.    Ibid,,  p.  578. 

*  Blatherwick:  Note  on  the  Add-Base  Balance  of  Army  Rations.    Ibid.,  p.  567. 


100  THE  JOTJXKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiaCS  [Matdl 

should  be,  liberal,  partly  to  offset  excusable  inefficiency  in  hasty  mobili- 
zation and  unavoidable  wastes.  You  cannot  make  cooks  over  ni^t, 
especially  out  of  male  Americans.  The  school  for  bakers  and  cooks  in 
the  army  has  succeeded  in  making  them,  and  some  very  good  ones  Xoo, 
in  two  months. 

But  no  man  can  eat  the  entire  American  army  ration  day  in  and  day 
out.  The  average  amount  of  meat  of  all  kinds  actually  eaten  in  the 
training  camps  in  this  country  was  13.5  ounces  instead  of  20  ounces  as 
provided  by  the  ration;  7  ounces  of  bread  instead  of  18;  13  ounces  of 
potatoes  instead  of  16.  But  with  free  choice  of  foods  such  as  they  had 
in  the  camps,  the  average  soldier  ate  more  beans,  more  fruit,  more  milk, 
more  butter,  drank  more  coffee  and  seasoned  it  with  more  sugar  than 
the  ration  prescribes.  Therefore  the  ration  should  be  revised  in  these 
directions.  This  could  have  been  done  a  year  and  a  half  ago  with  a 
saving  of  3  cents  a  day  for  each  soldier — amounting  to  an  enormous 
sum  of  money  for  an  army  of  4,000,000  men  in  a  very  short  time.  In- 
stead of  revising  the  ration,  however,  the  General  Staff  saw  fit  to  with- 
draw the  privilege  of  "savings,"  as  it  was  called, — by  which  whatever 
remained  of  the  money  allowance  to  which  an  organization  was  entitled, 
was  paid  in  money  and  could  be  spent  for  such  extra  things  as  the  mess 
sergeant  might  select, — and  now  requires  all  purchases  to  be  made  by  the 
Quartermaster  upon  requisition.  This  has  worked  a  considerable  hard- 
ship upon  the  hospitals,  for  it  has  made  more  difficult  the  selection  of 
suitable  foods  fpr  particular  cases. 

Notwithstanding  some  abuses  of  the  savings  system,  however,  the 
ration  system  in  vogue  has,  under  dose  inspection  and  supervision, 
worked  well, — much  better  than  in  any  previous  war.  The  men  have, 
except  in  very  emergent  circumstances  exigent  upon  their  military 
duties,  always  had  enough  to  eat  and  of  such  quality  that  no  cases  of 
deficiency  disease  have  been  reported,  and,  with  almost  negligible  excep- 
ti<m,  no  cases  of  other  disease  in  any  way  traceable  to  the  food. 


1920]  STANDARDIZATION  OF  TEXTIl^Q     ^  101 

RECENT  WORK  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  C^N  THE. 

STANDARDIZATION  OF  TEXTILES      '  •  ■ ,'.: . . 

So  general  an  interest  has  been  manifested  by  home  economics  women* 
in  the  progress  of  the  Committee  on  the  Standardization  of  Textile 
Fabrics,  and  so  much  cooperation  and  encouragement  has  been  given 
us,  that  we  gladly  accept  the  editor's  offer  of  space  for  a  brief  chronicle 
of  our  work  up  to  date,  although  by  the  first  of  March  we  shall  be  a 
whole  month  older  and  shall  have  added  another  chapter  to  our  history. 

The  Committee  on  the  Standardii^tion  of  Textile  Fabrics  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Textile  Section  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association  last  June,  and  started  in  life  with  excellent 
resolutions  and  the  backing  of  the  entire  Association.^  To  the  six  orig- 
inal members  of  the  Committee  have  been  added  Elizabeth  Weirick, 
director  of  the  Sears,  Roebuck  textile  testing  laboratory,  and  Marie 
Sellers,  household  editor  of  the  Pictorial  Review  Magazine.  There  is  an 
Advisory  Committee  numbering  nearly  forty  and  representing  twenty 
States.  Advisory  Committee  members  are  carrying  on  the  Study  of 
Purchasing  Habits  outlined  below;  bringing  the  committee  program 
before  state  home  economics  associations,  state  federations  of  women's 
dubs,  and  organizations  of  consiuners  generally;  carrying  on  laboratory 
tests;  securing  samples  for  wearing  tests;  giving  us  educational  publicity; 
and  holding  up  the  hands  of  the  Central  Committee  in  other  ways  too 
numerous  to  mention.  Every  member  of  the  two  committees  is  a 
worker,  and  each  has  had  or  will  have  an  important  share  in  the  sum 
total  of  the  Committee's  activities. 

The  first  happening  of  major  importance  was  a  conference  in  New 
York  on  October  10  and  11,  1919,  attended  by  seven  members  of  the 
Central  Committee.  The  object  of  this  meeting  was  to  hear  from 
rq)resentative  textile  manufacturers,  retailers,  and  others  some  of  the 
difficulties  that  were  sure  to  beset  our  way.  We  hoped  also  to  get  con- 
structive suggestions.  There  were  present  two  silk  manufacturers,  a 
cotton  manufacturer,  a  consulting  expert  in  silk  manufacture  who  was 
experienced  in  woolen  manufacture,  a  famous  textile  chemist,  and  a 
man  in  close  touch  with  large  retail  interests  in  a  number  of  leading 
dties.  We  also  met  the  secretary  of  the  Retail  Dry  Goods  Association 
of  New  York  City.    At  this  meeting  skepticism  on  the  part  of  the  trade 

*  See  "Some  Suggestions  from  the  Textile  Secdon"  in  the  Journal  for  September,  1919. 


,     ••  •     • 


102  .''^.  i^^^I^AL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Maxch 

•    •    •  - 

»    •  • 

representatives  'gradually  changed  to  interest,  and  much  valuable  inf  or- 
matiottVais*  received. 
••-.  Hie  Committee  came  to  agree  with  the  manufacturers  that  in  all 
'  probability  the  constructive  way  to  deal  with  the  question  of  standards 
was  to  propose  minimum  standards  based  on  manufacturing  specifica- 
tions and  on  wearing  and  laboratory  tests,  and  to  mark  fabrics  that  met 
or  surpassed  these  standards  so  that  they  could  be  recognized  by  con- 
smner  and  salesperson,  rather  than  to  develop  and  push  a  few  fabrics 
precisely  meeting  a  proposed  standard  and,  in  so  doing,  ignore  or  deny 
recognition  to  fabrics  that  more  than  met  the  standard.  Our  conferees 
pointed  out  very  sensibly  that  this  latter  course  would  tend  to  prevent 
the  support  of  the  very  class  of  manufacturers  and  dealers  on  whom 
we  were  counting  for  cooperation. 

We  therefore  register  our  conversion,  on  October  10, 1919,  to  the  doc- 
trine of  minimum  standards. 

We  wish  to  make  plain,  as  we  had  to  make  plain  again  and  again  in 
the  conference,  that,  in  proposing  a  movement  for  the  adoption  of 
minimimi  standards  of  quality  for  textile  fabrics,  we  are  not  proposing 
to  destroy  or  diminish  the  value  of  the  individual  trademark  or  neces- 
sarily to  reduce  the  number  of  different  fabrics  on  the  market.  We  are 
aiming  to  provide  for  the  intelligent  consumer,  who  desires  or  is  obliged 
to  spend  her  money  to  the  best  advantage,  a  sort  of  clothing  insurance, 
assurance  if  you  please,  that  will  enable  her,  without  previous  training 
in  textiles,  to  pick  out  materials  sure  to  give  real  service  for  a  definite 
use,  and  thus  guard  her  from  loss  of  money  and  material  that  she  can  ill 
afford.  Conditions  in  the  textile  market  to-day  make  the  need  for  such 
protection  and  guidance  greater  than  ever  before.  We  believe  that 
these  same  conditions  have  laid  a  strong  basis  for  support  of  such  a 
movement  by  thoughtful  consumers. 

We  are  quoting  from  our  earlier  article*  when  we  say  that  such  a 
movement  cannot  be  fully  developed  in  a  day  or  a  year,  nor  by  radical 
or  destructive  methods.  It  cannot  be  developed  at  all  except  by  the 
intelligent  and  sympathetic  xmderstanding  and  cooperation  of  all  parties 
concerned — the  manufacturer,  the  jobber,  the  garment  maker,  and  the 
retailer,  as  well  as  the  consumer.  It  should  in  time  be  possible  to 
secure  such  cooperation  because  standardization,  like  other  forms  of 
insurance,  will  be  of  mutual  benefit  to  the  consumer,  the  seller,  and  the 
producer. 


1920]  STANDARDIZATION  OF  TEXTILES  103 

Following  this  conference  the  Committee  formulated  the  following 
list  of  problems  to  be  grappled  with : — ^lack  of  laws  protecting  the  con- 
sumer of  textiles  and  clothing  from  misrepresentation;  ignorance  or 
indifference  of  a  large  proportion  of  women  and  girls  to  clothing  prob- 
lems so  that  yard  goods  and  ready-made  clothing  are  selected  largely 
on  the  basis  of  surface  finish,  color,  and  cut,  and  there  is  extravagant 
expenditure  for  dress;  lack  of  data  on  which  to  base  suggestions  for 
minimum  standards;  need  for  determining  the  most  effective  way  of 
identifying  fabrics  that  reach  or  pass  the  minimum  standard;  indiffer- 
ence and  possible  antagonism  of  the  trade. 

In  December  and  January  the  Committee  sent  out  to  Advisory  Com- 
mittee members,  and  certain  others,  mimeographed  copies  of  its  Position 
and  Program,'  which  served  the  several  purposes  of  crystallizing  our 
convictions  and  plans,  placing  us  on  record  before  the  world,  and  unify^ 
ing  the  preaching  of  apostles  in  divers  places.  It  is  upon  this  program 
that  the  following  paragraphs  are  based,  and  we  bespeak  the  assistance 
of  consumers  in  general  and  home  economics  people  in  particular  in 
carrying  it  forward  as  promptly  as  may  be.  A  brief  report  of  progress 
to  date  is  included  imder  each  section. 

Passage  of  protective  legislation.  The  Committee  is  urging  active  sup* 
port  of  the  Barkley  Misbranding  Bill,  H.  R.  2855,  66th  Congress.  This 
bill-  penalizes  the  misbranding  of  merchandise  of  all  kinds,  including 
textiles  among  others.  The  reason  the  passage  of  this  bill  is  so  vital  to 
the  work  of  the  Committee  is  that  at  present  there  exist  widespread 
practices  of  misrepresentation  in  all  branches  of  the  textile  trade,  entirely 
unchecked  by  law.  There  would  be  little  to  prevent  unscrupulous 
persons  from  putting  on  the  market  goods  purporting  to  meet  any 
standard  the  Committee  might  set.  This  would  be  especially  true  of 
fabrics  made  up  into  ready-to-wear  garments,  and  at  our  conference  we 
heard  with  surprise  that  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  fabrics  that 
leave  the  manufacturer  find  their  wa^  into  the  hands  of  the  cutting 
up  trade. 

The  Committee  has  secured  the  endorsement  of  this  Bill  by  the  Leg- 
islative Committee  and  the  Council  of  the  Association,  and  Advisory 
Committee  members  have  secured  endorsement  by  women's  clubs  and 
individuals. 

'  A  copy  of  this  may  be  obtained  from  the  Joubnal  Office  by  sending  6  cents  postage. 


104  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOIQCS  [Mazdl 

The  NaHanal  Clothier  for  August,  1919,  prints  the  bill  in  full,*  and  also 
discusses  the  British  Merchandise  Marks  Act  upon  which  the  Barklejr 
Bill  is  patterned.  We  asL  you  to  write  your  representative  urging 
favorable  action  on  this  bill  as  soon  as  it  is  reported,  and  to  write  Con- 
gressman BarUey  expressing  your  personal  interest  and  that  of  any 
group  of  consiuners  with  whom  you  are  connected.  Awaken  th^  inter- 
est of  local  dry  goods  merchants  and  get  them  to  write  indorsing  the 
bill,  which  is  as  important  to  the  honest  merchant  as  it  is  to  the  consumer. 

We  recently  learned  that  the  bill  was  drafted  originally  by  a  sub- 
committee of  the  Interstate  and  Foreign  Commerce  Committee  of  the 
House  about  six  years  ago  to  meet  requests  for  legislation  to  penalize 
the  misbranding  of  a  number  of  different  articles,  iududiug  leather 
goods  and  various  textiles.  It  was  unanimously  reported  by  the  Com- 
mittee in  the  64th  Congress  but  failed  to  gain  consideration  on  the 
floor.  In  the  65th  Congress  it  was  shelved  for  war  legislation,  and, 
although  introduced  during  the  present  Congress  and  again  referred  to 
the  Interstate  and  Foreign  Commerce  Committee,  it  has  not  yet  received 
their  attention.  Congressman  Barkley  ei^)ects  the  bill  will  come  up  for 
consideration  within  the  next  month  or  two,  and  when  the  hearing  is 
announced,  the  Association  will  be  represented  by  delegates  who  will 
speak  in  its  favor. 

Encouragement  of  standard  American  dyes.  The  Committee  also  calls 
attention  to  the  Longworth  Bill  which  seeks  to  protect  and  develop  the 
dye  industry  built  up  in  America  during  the  war  against  cut-throat 
competition  by  German  dye  stuffs  manufacturers.^ 

The  education  of  women  and  girl  consumers  to  appreciate  and  demand 
quality  in  yard  goods  and  ready-made  garments  must  come  slowly 
tlirough  various  avenues  of  home  economics  teaching,  which  include 
women's  magazines  and  extension  work  as  well  as  schools,  normal 
schools,  and  colleges.  The  central  ideas  will  be  the  wisdom  and  duty  of 
a  careful  planning  of  the  wardtobe  on  the  basis  of  a  definite  clothing 
budget,  and  the  selection  of  conservative  styles  and  reliable  fabrics. 
The  Committee  has  added  its  mite  by  securing  for  printing  hi  the  Jour- 
nal "Putting  Over  Budget  Lessons,"  by  Janet  Cation,  October,  1919, 
"Suggestions  for  a  Demonstration  on  the  Selection  of  Clothing,"  by 

*See  also  Textiles^  July,  1919,  and  reference  to  the  bill  in  the  editorial  section  of  the 
JouKNAL  for  Dec.,  1919. 

*  For  articles  on  this  subject  see  reference  list  in  the  Bibliogniphy,  p.  140.  Also  editorial, 
December  Joxtsnal,  p.  557. ' 


1920]  STANDARDIZATION  OF  TEXTILES  105 

Zdk  Bigelow,  February,  1920,  and  a  "List  of  References  of  Timely 
Interest/'  page  139  of  this  issue.  A  further  contribution  is  being  pre- 
pared containing  suggestions  as  to  how  work  in  textile  and  clothing 
selection  may  be  incorporated  in  clothing  courses  in  grammar  and  high 
sdiools. 

SUidy  of  purchasing  kabiis.  It  was  the  skepticism  of  the  manufac- 
turers and  merchants  as  to  the  survival  of  the  old-time  '' thrifty  buyer" 
in  numbers  worth  recognizing  that  goaded  the  Committee  into  launch- 
ing its  Study  of  Purchasing  Habits.  We  refused  to  agree  that  women 
purchasers  as  a  dass  no  longer  sought  for  quality  and  durability  but 
were  carried  away  by  extreme  styles,  beautiful  colors,  and  surface  finish. 
"This  may  be  true  to  a  large  extent  in  New  York/'  we  protested.  ''We 
think  it  cannot  be  true  the  country  over,  but  We  do  not  know,  and  we 
propose  to  find  out." 

The  Cominittee  has  therefore  drawn  up  and  distributed  a  question- 
naire supplemented  by  record  blanks  for  a  study  of  purchasing  habits. 
This  investigation  is  now  being  carried  on  simidtaneously  by  groups 
of  institutions  of  collegiate  rank  in  various  parts  of  the  country  to 
determine  what  textile  fabrics  are  most  frequently  purchased  for  vari- 
ous common  uses;  what  makes  are  considered  staple  in  each  of  these 
lines;  how  the  demand  for  these  staples  compares  with  the  demand  for 
novelties  for  the  same  uses;  the  trade  names  of  such  staples,  together  with 
names  of  manufacturers  and  other  data.  The  twenty-six  codperating 
institutions  have  been  divided  into  six  committee  groups,  each  with 
a  chairman,  for  the  study  of  fabrics  purchased  for  the  six  following 
uses: — service  dresses  (wool,  silk);  underskirts  (silk,  cotton);  coat 
linings  and  dress  foundations  (silk,  cotton) ;  women's  underwear  (cotton, 
silk,  not  knitted);  children's  dresses  and  infants'  wear  (not  knitted); 
housdiiold  textiles.  There  are  from  four  to  six  institutions  in  each 
group,  and  these  are  so  located  that  the  data  collected  will  as  far  as 
possible  represent  country-wide  conditions. 

We  are  expecting  to  secure  supplementary  reports  from  extension 
specialists  in  clothing,  from  students  in  salesmanship,  and  from  certain 
retailers. 

The  data  gathered  by  the  members  of  each  group  will  be  submitted  to 
the  chairman  who  will  tabulate  it  and  send  it  in  to  the  Central  Com- 
mittee in  time  for  a  report  at  the  June  meeting  of  the  Association  at 
Colorado  Springs. 


106  THE  jotJRKAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [March 

study  of  minimum  standards.  The  Committee  felt  that  it  might  be 
embarrassing  to  find  itself  preaching  minimum  standards  while  at  a 
loss  for  definite  data  as  to  what  should  constitute  such  standards.  It 
therefore  set  as  one  of  its  early  goals  the  gathering  of  such  data  for  a 
limited  number  of  fabrics: — underskirt  and  coat  lining  silks,  a  cotton 
for  lingerie  that  may  be  finished  either  as  cambric  or  nainsook,  and 
serge  for  service  dresses.  The  plans  for  the  silks,  which  are  the  farthest 
advanced,  provide  for  three  distinct  kinds  of  wearing  tests  to  be 
supplemented  by  laboratory  tests.  These  are  respectively  the  Worn 
Garment  Test,  in  which  samples  of  outworn  imderskirt  and  coat  lining 
silks,  accompanied  by  a  data  sheet  giving  details  of  wear,  are  collected 
for  laboratory  analysis  and  testing;  the  SmaU  Piece  Testy  in  which 
pieces  of  new  silk  so  selected  as  to  approximate  our  tentative  notion  of 
a  minimum  standard  for  underskirt  silk  are  sewed  upon  the  garments  in 
places  that  receive  the  heaviest  wear,  their  wearing  qualities  recorded, 
and  an  unworn  sample,  reserved  for  the  puipose,  sent  bf  for  analysis 
""  and  tests.  We  have  actually  begun  on  these  two  tests  (February  1). 
The  New  Garment  Test  is  perhaps  the  best  and  certainly  the  most  ambi- 
tious of  the  three,  and  is  not  yet  entirely  worked  out.  We  hope,  with 
the  advice  and  cooperation  of  one  or  more  silk  manufactiurers,  to  pur- 
chase silk  in  standard  navy  blue  and  in  black  which  approximates  or 
surpasses  our  tentative  standard.  This  silk  will  be  made  up  into  under- 
skirts and  the  skirts  disposed  of  to  women  interested  in  the  test,  who 
must  pledge  to  keep  a  record  of  wear  and  turn  it  in  to  the  Committee 
at  a  certain  date.  Profits  arising  from  the  transaction  will  be  used  to 
finance  the  rapidly  growing  work  of  the  Committee. 

The  tests  on  silks  are  being  carried  out  imder  the  general  direction  of 
Mrs.  Ellen  B.  McGowan  of  Teachers  College,  with  the  co5peration  of 
Miss  Ruth  O'Brien  of  Iowa  State  College,  Miss  Trilling  of  Chicago  Uni- 
versity, and  Miss  Weirick  of  the  Sears,  Roebuck  Laboratory.  We  hope 
to  report  shortly  on  the  organization  of  our  tests  for  lingerie  cotton 
imder  Miss  O'Brien,  and  for  serge  imder  Miss  Grace  Denny  of  the 
University  of  Washington. 

We  shall  need  your  help  with  the  silk  tests  outlined  above.  See  details 
for  the  Worn  Garment  Test  on  page  109.  If  you  are  willing  to  cooperate 
in  other  tests  write  Mrs.  McGowan  at  Teachers  College,  specifying  the 
test  you  select,  and  enclose  a  self-addressed,  stamped  envelop.  Instruc- 
tions will  be  promptly  forwarded. 


19201  STANDARDIZATION   OF    TEXTILES  107 

Coffperalion  with  organizations.  Miss  Sellers  is  presenting  the  idea  of 
minimum  standards  to  editors  of  women's  maga2dnes  in  New  York  City. 
The  chairman  has  discussed  the  Committee's  program  with  Mrs.  Charles 
Greene,  Director  of  the  Home  Economics  Division  of  the  General  Fed- 
eration and  with  the  editor  of  the  Federation  Magazine,  The  chair- 
man for  the  Clothing  Section  of  the  Federation,  Miss  Mary  Matthews 
of  Purdue  University,  is  a  member  of  our  Advisory  Committee.  Plans 
are  on  foot  to  secure  the  interest  of  the  A.  C.  A.  and  the  Consumers 
League.  We  have  offered  our  co5peration  to  the  H.  C.  L.  Division  of 
the  Department  of  Justice,  and  established  relations  with  the  Director 
of  Women's  Activities,  who  has  sent  out  in  mimeographed  form  a  re- 
quest for  samples  for  our  Worn  Garment  Test.  We  urge  Journal  read- 
ers to  keep  in  touch  with  the  plans  of  the  H.  C.  L.  Division,  which  has 
some  definite  suggestions  as  to  what  women  consumers  can  do  to  help  de- 
flate clothing  prices.  Write  to  the  headquarters  in  your  state,  if  one  has 
been  established,  or  to  Miss  Edith  C.  Strauss,  Director  of  Women's  Activ- 
ities, H.  C.  L.  Division,  U.  S.  Department  of  Justice,  Washington,  D.  C/' 

The  Community  Moving  Picture  Bureau  of  New  York  City  is  prepar- 
ing under  Mrs.  Woolman's  direction  a  series  of  films  dealing  with  textile 
manufacture  and  selection.  In  planning  these  pictures  Mrs.  Woolman 
has  had  at  heart  the  program  of  the  Committee  as  well  as  the  needs  of 
the  home  economics  student  and  the  consumer  in  general. 

Method  of  carrying  minimum  standards  into  effect.  We  are  still  in 
search  of  the  simplest  and  most  expedient  method  of  identifying  fabrics 
that  have  met  or  surpassed  the  minimimi  standard,  so  that  consumers 
may  readily  recognize  them.  Among  several  possibilities,  two  appear 
especially  promising.  The  first  is  a  testing  station  to  be  maintained 
by  the  American  Home  Economics  Association,  which  would  (1) 
examine  fabrics  submitted  to  it  by  manufacturers  and  decide  whether 
they  met  or  surpassed  the  minimum  standards  proposed  by  the  Asso- 
ciation, either  independently  or  in  cooperation  with  national  textile  asso- 
ciations; (2)  authorize  for  such  fabrics  the  use  of  a  copyrighted  label 
or  symbol  protected  by  a  license.  We  have  the  assurance  of  practical 
advertising  men  that  such  a  plan  is  fundamentally  sound.  The  second 
possibility  is  a  similar  testing  station,  maintained  jointly  by  organ- 
izations  of  consumers,  manufacturers,  and  retailers.  In  many  respects 
this  second  plan  is  a  bigger  and  more  generous  one  than  the  first,  yet  its 
very  bigness  indicates  that  obstacles  may  arise  in  its  path.  It  is  evi- 
dent, however,  that  either  of  these  possibilities  contains  the  germ  of  a 


108  THE  JOURNAL  OV  HOME  ECONOIQCS  [Maich 

potential  research  foundation  that  would  conduct  impartial  studies  of 
fabrics  from  the  standpoint  of  the  use  they  are  to  serve;  co<Hxiinate  work 
being  carried  on  by  independent  agencies;  and  out  of  its  experience 
make  constructive  and  authoritative  suggestions  that  would  in  the 
course  of  time  profoundly  influence  the  consuming  public  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  manufacturing  and  merchandising  world  on  the  other. 

Conferences  wUh  the  trade.  Now  that  our  preliminary  work  is  fairly 
well  blocked  out  we  are  ready  to  ask  for  further  advice  and  cooperation 
from  the  "associations  of  manufacturers,  retailers,  and  jobbers"  men- 
tioned in  our  birthday  resolutions.  A  number  of  such  conferences  are 
being  arranged  for  February  in  such  centers  as  Chicago,  New  York, 
and  Boston.  We  shall  listen  openmindedly  to  all  suggestions,  but 
before  the  conference  closes  we  shall  hope  to  drive  home  these  two 
ideas: —  . 

1.  It  would  be  good  business  for  you  if  you  could  say,  "This  bolt  of 
goods  has  been  submitted  to  the  Testing  Station  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association,  and  they  have  pronounced  it  to  equal  (or  surpass, 
as  the  case  may  be)  the  standard  they  have  established  by  careful  wear- 
ing and  laboratory  tests.  It  bears  their  symbol,  and  this  guarantees  on 
their  authority  that  it  will  give  you  satisfactory  (or  unusual)  wear. 
This  is  a  sort  of  clothing  insurance  you  women  have  been  needing  for  a 
long  tune." 

2.  If  you  accept  this  idea  and  help  us  work  it  out,  you  will  have 
behind  your  reliable  goods  one  of  the  biggest  and  most  effective  adver- 
tising forces  in  the  country — the  organized  body  of  home  economics 
teachers.  These  teachers  according  to  the  latest  available  figures  came 
into  intimate  daily  contact  with  20,724  students  in  colleges  and  uni- 
versities in  1917,  163,826  students  in  high  schools  in  1915,  39,414  stu- 
dents in  federally  aided  vocational  schools  in  1919,  and  many  more  in  the 
eighteen  states  that  have  part  time  compulsory  education  laws.  They 
talked  face  to  face  with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  homemakers  in  the 
extension  service  cooperatively  maintained  by  the  federal  government 
and  the  agricultural  colleges  in  forty-eight  states.  They  reached  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  women  through  the  home  economics  programs  of 
state  federations  of  Women's  Clubs,  and  they  have  access  to  millions 
of  consumers  every  month  through  the  articles  they  contribute  to  the 
women's  magazines.  These  home  economics  teachers  are  themselves 
consumers;  they  have  many  avenues  for  influencing  the  consumers  of 
today;  and  they  are  molding  the  consumers  of   tomorrow.     As  an 


1920]  FIRE  AND  WATE&  IN  THE  CLASS-EOOM  109 

organized  body  they  are  behind  this  plan  for  minimutn  standards, 
because  they  believe  it  is  needed  by  the  individual  consumer  and  by. 
the  country  as  a  whole.  In  the  long  run,  your  interests  are  identical 
with  those  of  the  consumer.  Can  you  afford  not  to  give  serious  con- 
sideration to  our  proposition? 

Worn  garment  test.  If  you  wish  to  cooperate,  send  two  samples, 
each  6  by  9  inches,  or  the  equivalent  in  pieces  of  a  different  shape,  from 
the  less  worn  parts  of  the  garment,  and  one  somewhat  smaller  sample 
from  the  most  worn  part  to  show  the  nature  of  the  wear.  In  addition, 
fill  out  the  Information  Blank  below  as  accurately  as  you  can  and 
enclose  with  the  samples. 

Send  blank  and  samples  to  Miss  Ruth  O'Brien,  Dept.  of  Chemistry, 
Iowa  State  College,  Ames,  la. 

Information  Blank 

Samples  of Year  of  purchase » . .  • . 

(Coat  lining,  underskirt) 
Fmta  what  part  of  garment  were  laige  samples     Small  samples? 

taken? : 

How  long  did  you  wear  this  garment  before  the  first  weak  places  appeared: — 

About  how  many  weeks  of  wear? About  how  many  hours  a  day? 

About  how  many  days  a  week? 

Reasons  for  unusually  hard  wear,  such  as: — ^Frictbn  from  rough  or  scant  skirts,  ti^t  fit 

around  armhole  or  over  hips,  stoutness  of  figure,  skirt  rubbing  on  shoes,  getting  flounce 

repeatedly  wet,  perspiration. 

Do  you  consider  this  silk  gave  good,  medium,  or  poor  wear? 

Give  name  and  address  of  manufacturer  of  garment  or  material,  if  you  know  it 

Give  trade  name  of  garment  or  material,  if  you  know  it 

Name Address 

Date 


no  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [March 

FIRE  AND  WATER  IN  THE  CLASS-ROOM 

ANNA  BARROWS 

What  are  the  schools  of  home  economics  doing  to  show  the  public 
how  to  use  fire  and  water  inteUigently? 

There  are  schools  where  the  casual  observer  might  judge  from  the  habits 
of  the  students  that  gas,  hot  water,  and  electricity  were  as  free  as  air, 
costing  nothing  in  either  labor  or  money. 

Even  the  teachers  seem  to  feel  little  responsibility,  and  at  midday  all 
the  electric  lights  may  be  on  while  the  window  shades  are  down. 

Many  young  women  have  not  learned  how  to  wash  dishes  dean  with 
little  water  and  are  much  perturbed  by  the  conditions  under  which  many 
demonstration  lectures  must  be  given.  There  is  great  waste  of  soap 
where  a  large  quantity  of  water  is  used  and  the  dishes  are  no  more  sterile 
than  those  washed  in  a  little  very  soapy  water  and  then  scalded  with 
actually  boiling  water. 

The  regulation  of  the  gas  burners  to  avoid  waste  in  boiling,  and  the 
transfer  of  kettles  to  the  sunmering  burner,  once  they  have  reached  the 
boiling  point,  saves  fuel  and  produces  a  better  result  in  the  article  to 
be  boiled.  The  turning  out  of  oven  burners  when  three-fourths  of  the 
time  for  baking  h^  elapsed  also  saves  fuel  and  improves  the  product. 

The  fireless  and  pressure  cookers  are  used  in  occasional  lessons,  but 
even  their  continuous  use  wherever  suitable  saves  less  fuel  in  the  end 
than  the  habit  of  lighting  gas  after  the  kettle  is  ready  to  place  on  the 
burner,  and  the  turning  out  of  the  burner  before  removing  the  kettle 
from  the  top  or  the  pans  from  the  oven. 

Do  all  our  schools  for  training  teachers,  even,  show  their  pupils  the 
monthly  or  quarterly  cost  of  the  fuel  and  water  used  in  the  class-rooms? 
Perhaps  the  household  budgets  do  not  always  make  the  items  as  prom- 
inent as  they  deserve,  but  include  them  in  rent.  ^ 

In  the  north  temperate  zone,  what  is  a  reasonable  allowance  for  each 
person  a  year  for  water  and  for  fuel  for  warmth  and  for  cooking  ? 

Unless  such  instruction  is  given  generally  in  our  public  schools,  the 
art  of  cookery  may  soon  depend  on  a  few  lumps  of  charcoal  after  the 
manner  of  southern  Europe  and  India,  where  forests  have  been  eliminated. 

The  prodigal  use  of  natural  gas  in  this  country  foreshadows  what  may 
come  in  future  to  the  users  of  coal  and  its  products. 

Even  where  "white  fuel,"  water  electricity,  is  available,  and  the  natural 
power  seems  inexhaustible,  installation  and  maintenance  are  costly. 


1920]    ABSORPTION  OF  FAT  BY  FRIED  BATTERS  AND  DOUGHS     111 

ABSORPTION  OF  FAT  BY  FRIED  BATTERS  AND  DOUGHS, 

AND  CAUSES  OF  VARIATION* 

MINNA  C.  DENTON,  EDITH  WENGEL,  AND  LOtTISE  PRITCHETT 
Office  of  Home  Economics ^  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C, 

What  is  the  composition  of  fried  eggs,  apples,  mush,  or  potatoes,  as 
compared  with  boiled?  How  much  fat  should  a  poimd  of  food  reasonably 
be  expected  to  take  up  in  frying?  How  many  poimds  of  doughnuts 
should  one  pound  of  dough  produce?  How  many  teaspoonfuls,  or  table- 
spoonfuls,  of  fat  in  a  homemade  doughnut?  Is  it  the  amount  of  fat 
contained  in  them  that  determines  the  indigestibility  of  doughnuts  for 
many  persons?  Can  a  good  quab'ty  of  homemade  doughnut  be  obtained 
which  will  be  low  in  fat? 

It  is  indeed  a  difficult  matter  to  find  reliable  data  for  the  answers  to 
these  and  other  important  questions  upon  the  same  subject. 

PREVIOUS  EXPERDCENTAL  WORK 

Table  1  is  compiled  from  earlier  work  (unpublished)  done  at  Ohio 
State  University  in  1915-1916  by  Rose  Hughes  in  conjunction  with  the 
senior  author  of  this  article. 

In  general  Miss  Hughes  foimd  that  fat  absorption  was  about  the  same 
in  lard  as  in  cotton-seed  oil.  Some  of  the  series  she  obtained  seemed  to 
show  plainly  that  increase  of  temperature  increased  the  fat  absorption 
somewhat,  provided  all  other  factors  were  kept  exactly  the  same;  this, 
of  course,  is  not  the  case,  in  practice,  where  increase  in  temperature  is 
accompanied  by  decrease  in  time  of  cooking. 

Miss  Hughes'  doughnuts,  which  showed  a  moderate  fat  absorption 
only,  increased  about  10  per  cent  in  weight  as  a  result  of  frying. 

McKee,^  in  1917,  made  doughnuts  from  the  following  recipe:  IJ  cups 
milk  (340  grams),'  a  little  more  than  6  cups  of  flour  (709  grams),  1 J  cups 
sugar  (300  grams),  3  tablespoons  Crisco  (34  grams),  2  eggs'  (84  grams), 
6  teaspoons  baking  powder  (25  grams).* 

*  Published  with  permisdon  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

*  Fat  Absorption  in  Frying  Doughnuts,  Jour.  Home  Econ.,  Jan.,  1918. 

*  According  to  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Standards  table,  the  standard  half -pint  cup  is  237.5  cc. 
In  that  case,  a  "standard  cup"  of  milk  (sp.  gr.  1.032)  should  weigh  245  grams. 

*  Evidently  "  2  cups"  of  egg  for  84  grams,  as  printed  in  Miss  McKee*s  paper,  is  a  misprint. 
(The  Jousnal  xmderstood  that  the  "2  cups"  referred  to  beaten  eggs,  probably  yolk  and 
white  beaten  separately.    Editor^s  Note.) 

*  Forty-eight  weighings  of  1  teaspoonful  of  baking  powders  of  different  ages,  done  in  this 
Experimental  Kitchen  gave  an  average  of  3.3  grams.  12  cans  were  used  representing  8 
brands._^  But  variations  among  different  samples  ran  from  2.7  grams  to  4.4  grams  per  tea- 


112  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Mazdl 

She  rolled  them  not  quite  half  an  inch  thick  (1  cm.),  cut  them  with  a 
cutter  of  the  usual  shape,  about  2}  inches  (6.5  cm.)  in  diameter  and  with 
a  center  hole  almost  one  inch  (2.1  cm.)  across,  then  fried  them  in  deep 
fat,  viz.  cotton  seed  oil,  at  200^C.,  for  5  minutes.  She  found  that  they 
gained  in  weight  by  cooking,  since  they  weighed  from  19  to  24  per  cent 
more  after  frying  than  before — ^in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  must  have 
lost  a  good  deal  of  water  during  cooking.  This  water  loss  would  probably 
be  about  IS  per  cent  of  their  weight  before  cooking,  according  to  our 
own  experience  with  mixtures  of  this  kind,  fried  at  that  temperature 
for  that  length  of  time.  It  may  be  calculated,  from  the  figures  which 
she  gives  on  pages  19  and  20,  that  a  doughnut  weighing  36  grams  before 
cooked  and  containing  1.8  grams  of  fat  in  the  dough,  would  lose  5  grams 
of  water  and  gain  13  grams  of  fat  during  this  five  minutes'  frying,  so 
that  its  weight  after  cooking  would  be  44  grams,  of  which  14.8  grams,  or 
about  one-third,  is  fat. 

Morgan  and  Cozens^  made  doughnuts  from  a  recipe  varying  from 
Miss  McKee's,  in  that  they  used  abbut  20  per  cent  less  of  egg  and 
25  per  cent  more  of  flour.  They  report  absorption  of  fat  varying  from 
13  per  cent  (on  the  weight  of  the  finished  product)  to  21  per  cent.  This 
is  directly  comparable  with  10  to  22  per  cent  in  the  Hughes  doughnuts 
and  with  about  33  per  cent  in  the  McKee  doughnut, — ^if  we  have  not 
misrepresented  the  figures.  Both  the  Hughes  and  the  Morgan  doughs 
are  rather  high  in  flour  and  show  a  low  absorption  for  that  reason.  The 
McKee  doughnuts  not  only  were  low  in  flour,  but  also  were  fried  for 
five  minutes  instead  of  three  or  four.  Furthermore,  they  were  cut  as 
somewhat  smaller  doughnuts  than  in  the  other  two  cases,  which  gives 
them  more  surface  for  absorption,  in  proportion  to  the  mass  of  the 
doughnut. 

EXPERIMENTAL  WORK  DONE  IN  THE  PRESENT  STUDY 

In  order  to  determine,  if  possible,  the  effect  of  different  components 
of  the  dough  and  also  of  temperature  of  the  hot  fat  on  the  amount  of 
fat  absorbed  by  batters  and  doughs  during  frying,  the  series  of  experi- 
ments indicated  in  tables  2  and  3  were  performed  by  the  authors  of  this 
article.    The  following  precautions  were  observed. 

^x>onful,  though  lall  weighiiigs  were  done  from  measurements  made  by  a  single  individual, 
whose  different  measurements  of  the  same  sample  checked  very  closely.  The  loss  of  weight 
which  results  from  aging  appears  to  be  the  chief  factor  concerned. 

■  Changes  in  Phy^cal  and  Chemical  constants  of  Fats  used  in  Frying  a  Standard  Dough, 
Jour,  Home  Econ.f  Sept.,  1919. 


1920] 


ABSORPTION  OF  PAT  BY  FRIED  BAXTERS  AND   DOUGHS 


113 


TABLE  1 
.    Amount  of  fat  taken  up  during  frying  hy  various  hatters  and  doughs* 


DOVGB  OA  BARIft 


^Quecn  Fritters*'  (Equal  parts  by 
*  weight  of  eggs  and  boiling  water;  i 

part  each  of  flour  and  btitter;  cooked 

as  mush,  then  eggs  beaten  in.) 
Same;  thicker  batter  because  cooked 

longer  before  fiyinig. 
"Apple  Fritten"   (Equal  parts  of 

flour,  milk,  and  apple;  i  part.of  egg; 
'  small  amounts  of  baking  powder 

and  salt.) 
Conuneal  mush  sautedf 


Comme^  mush  friedf 


"Swedish  timbales''  (}  part  flour  to  1 
part  milk,  about  i  part  eggs  and  ^ 
part  oH,  small  ilinounts  of  salt  and 
sugar.    Fried  as  veiy  thin  shell.) 

"  Raised  doughnuts'  Yeast  dough) 


Poughnuts,  three-egg.  (100  ,grams 
sugar,  16  grams  butter,  70  grams 
egg,  123  grams  milk,  6  grams  bak- 
ing powder,  3)  grams  sail,  311 
giams  flour.  Dough  rolled  i  inch 
thick,  cut  3  inches  in  diameter. 


WXXOT  BK90SX 
COOKKD 


8  baUs,  19- 
30  grams 
each 

7  balls,  28- 
49  g.  each 

8  fritters, 
39  g. 


each 


3  slices,  f  in, 
thick,  33- 
50  g.  each 

3  slices,  i  in. 
thick,  33- 
50  g.  each 

6  timbales, 
5—8  grams 
each 

7  doughnuts, 

cut  as  be- 
low; 55- 
63  g.  each 

8  dough- 
nuts, 51- 
52  grams 
each 


- 

YAT 

T 

ABSORP- 

Tiine 

TEMPER- 

TION 

01 
rRYIMO 

ATVBE 

'      0» 
nYSMO 

VAT  iDSID 

BASED 

ON 
WXIQBT 

OP 
DOUGH 

mimaes 

dtgnts  C. 

p€r  cent 

6-8 

170-190 

Lard 

17-25 

6-7 

180-225 

Cotton 
seed  oil 

6-9 

3-6 

170-225 

Cotton 

13-26 

• 

seed  oil 

10 

- 

Laid 

5-8 

8 

185-225 

Lard 

7-9 

1 

175-200 

• 

42-52 

2-5 

160-190 

Lard 

7-12 

4 

150-215 

Lard 

11-23 

YAT   r 

ABSORP- 
TION 
BASED 
ON     ' 
WEIGBt 

or 

COOEXD 

DOUOH- 

NUT 

p^runi 


*I 


10-22 


*  This  table  is  published  with  the  consent  of  Edna  White,  formerly  Head  of  Home  Eco* 
nomics  Department,  Ohio  State  University. 

t  Other  foods  show  more  striking  differences  in  fat  absorption  between  the  two  methods. 
£.  g.,  fried  oysters  absorbed  19  per  cent  fat,  sauted  10  per  cent;  fried  halibut  cutlets  14  per 
cent,  sauted  4  per  cent. 


114  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [March 

Each  mixture  was  freshly  made  up  just  before  using,  unless  explicit 
statement  is  made  to  a  different  effect.  Inasmuch  as  many  of  the 
mixtures  which  we  desired  to  use  could  not  possibly  be  rolled  and  cut 
in  the  shape  of  ordinary  doughnuts,  it  was  decided  that  a  greater  approx- 
imation to  uniformity  of  shape  and  surface  presented  (and  also  of  manip- 
ulation) would  be  attained  by  rolling  the  dough  into  a  ball  (if  stiff) ;  or 
by  scraping  it  from  the  spoon  in  a  single  mass,  if  too  soft  to  roll — since 
these  soft  doughs  usually  puff  into  ball  shape  during  the  frying.  In 
almost  every  case,  128  grams  of  dough  (or  batter)  was  used  at  a  sinj^e 
frying,  in  four  balls  of  32  grams  each.  In  a  very  few  cases,  there  were 
only  1,  2,  or  3  balls  of  32  grams  each.  All  fryings  were  done  for  eight  min- 
utes (unless  otherwise  stated)  in  an  iron  kettle  8  inches  high  and  6  inches 
wide,  weighing  2083  grams  (something  over  4}  pounds),  and  holding 
about  5  quarts  when  full,  or  5  pints  when  half-full.  The  amount  of  fat 
used  was  about  4}  pints,  or  between  1850  and  1900  grams.  The  "dough- 
nuts" were  turned  once,  if  possible  (sometimes  they  refuse  to  be  tiuned), 
in  case  they  did  not  turn  themsdves;  this  was  usually  in  the  middle  of 
the  frying  period,  unless  rapid  browning  of  the  under  surface  demanded 
an  earlier  turning.  After  cooking,  they  were  thoroughly  drained  over 
the  kettle  of  fat,  on  a  wire  skimmer,  and  were  weighed  within  ten  minutes 
after  frying.  The  hot  fat  was  weighed  immediately  after  each  frying, 
and  the  difference  in  weight  before  and  after  cooking  of  the  doughnuts, 
was  taken  as  the  amount  of  fat  absorbed  by  them  during  frying.  Re- 
peated weighings  of  the  amount  of  fat  left  on  the  skimmer,  or  taken 
up  by  the  paper  on  which  the  doughnuts  were  laid,  showed  that  this  is 
only  a  fraction  of  a  gram,  when  due  care  is  exercised,  and  hence  need 
not  be  taken  into  account. 

It  may,  however,  be  urged  that  the  weight  of  fat  remaining  in  the 
kettle  after  frying  is  an  inaccurate  measure  of  absorption,  since  the 
character  of  the  fat  is  changed  as  a  result  of  heating,  in  ways  which 
change  the  weight  of  the  molecule.  Oxidation  of  the  unsaturated 
carbon  atoms  does,  of  course,  increase  the  weight  of  the  molecule,  while 
on  the  other  hand,  the  splitting  off  of  terminal  carbon  atoms  from  the 
fatty  add  chain  (e.g.,  in  formation  of  acrolein)  diminishes  the  weight 
of  the  molecule.  However,  a  careful  calculation  of  the  maximum 
change  in  weight  which  could  result  from  either  one  of  these  causes, 
under  the  conditions  which  obtain  during  frying,  shows  that  such  changes 
must  be  very  small  indeed,  in  comparison  to  the  weight  of  the  entire 
molecule.    Many  successive  weighings  of  30  gram  samples  of  lard  and 


192(^         ABSOBPnON  OF  FAT  BY  FJEUED  BATTBSS  AMD  DOUGHS  115 

CriscOy  each  done  after  strongly  heating  in  a  platiniun  capsule  for  periods 
of  one  to  ten  minutes,  during  which  pungent  fumes  were  constantly 
issuing  forth,  showed  that  there  was  a  very  slight  and  progressively 
increasing  loss  in  weight  with  each  heating  period.  Yet  under  even 
these  severe  conditions,  the  change  in  weight  amounted  only  to  hun- 
dredths, thousandths,  or  ten-thousandths  of  a  gram  of  fat,  at  each 
heating,  and  was  therefore  absolutely  insignificant  so  far  as  these  experi- 
ments were  concerned.  Furthermore,  fat  analyses  by  ether  extract  oi 
cooked  and  uncooked  doughs  have  been  made  for  a  number  of  these 
samples;  in  all  cases,  the  results  show  very  good  agreement  with  those 
obtained  by  assuming  that  the  gain  in  fat  of  the  dough  during  frying 
is  approximately  equal  to  the  loss  in  weight  of  the  fat  in  the  kettle. 

All  flour  had  one  thirty-second  of  its  own  weight  of  baking  powder 
sifted  twice  with  it,  shortly  before  using. 

The  eggs  used  in  any  given  set  of  experiments  were  always  broken 
and  beaten  together  before  weighing,  in  an  effort  to  secure  as  great 
umformity  as  possible,  in  raw  materials.  Similarly,  mSk  from  different 
bottles  was  thoroughly  mixed;  the  same  samples  of  flour,  baking  powder, 
and  fat  were  used  throughout,  imless  otherwise  specified.  Each  set  of 
experimental  doughnuts  or  fried  balls  was  required  to  have  its  own 
control,  fried  at  the  same  time  as  the  rest  of  the  set.  By  comparison  of 
the  controls  oi  different  sets  with  each  other,  variations  in  manipulation 
of  ingredients  or  in  other  special  conditions  could  be  recognized,  which 
otherwise  might  have  gone  xmnoticed. 

'' Percentage  of  fat  absorbed  during  cooking"  is  obtained  by  dividing 
atnaufU  of  fat  absorbed  during  frying  by  weighs  of  dough  b^ore  fried.  This 
is  a  much  fairer  measure  of  the  effect  of  any  given  constituent  of  the 
doug^  or  of  any  detail  of  manipulation  upon  fat  absorption  than  is  the 
usual  method  of  judging  the  fat  absorption  by  analsrsis  of  the  cooked 
product.  For  some  doughs  increase  greatiy  in  weight  during  frying, 
some  increase  very  littie,  and  some  actually  decrease.  If  the  water  loss 
of  the  dough  is  great,  absorption  of  five  grams  of  fat  may  count  for 
twice  as  much,  expressed  as  percentage  of  finished  product,  as  if  the 
water  loss  were  low;  e.g.,  in  Nos.  29  and  30,  the  fat  absorption  is  iden- 
tical, 11.5  grams  of  fat  having  been  taken  up  in  each  case  by  128  grams 
of  dough.  Also  the  original  fat  content  of  the  dough  is  the  same.  Yet 
the  excessive  water  loss  of  No.  30  (explained  in  the  table)  causes  the  12 
grams  of  fat  to  appear  as  22  per  cent  of  the  final  product,  whereas  in 
No.  29  it  constitutes  only  12- per  cent. 


118 


CTE  JOOSMAI.  OF  HOME  ECOUONICS 


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1920) 


ABSORPTION  OF  FAT  BY  FRIED  BATTERS  AMD  DOUGHS 


119 


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III!  iM  iiiil ''"  '  '^ 


192(8         ABSORPTION  07  FAT  BY  FtaBD  BATTEES  AND  DOUGHS 


120 


•      "•    »      \  J  1 


.>J  axa  JOXTBNAL  .OR:aOME  ECONOMICS 


[March 


TABLE  3 
Varying  time  and  temperature 


.•*.. 


i*  f  i 


■   "  T 

•9  • : 


O 


22 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


ICATXKIALS  USED 


By  weight 


Milk  34  parts 
Flour  100  parts 
Sugar  42  parts 
Egg  19  parts 
Butter  6  parts 
Salt        2  parts 

Milk  40  parts 
Flour  100  parts 
Sugar  34  parts 
Egg  8  parts 
Lard  4  parts 
Salt    0.7  parts 

Milk  50  parts 
Flour  100  parts 
Sugar  34  parts 
Egg  30  parts 
Butter  10  parts 
Baking  powder 


By  measure 


Ic.  milk 
6.3  c.  flour 
1.5  c.  sugar 
3  eggs 
3  T.  butter 
3  tsp.  salt 

Ic.  milk 
5.5  c.  flour 
1  c.  sugar 

1  egg 

2  T.  lard 
1  tsp.  salt 

Ic.  milk 
4.2  c.  flour 
0.8  c.  sugar 

3  eggs 

3  T.  butter 

4  tsp.  B.  P. 


percent 
4.9 


O 

I 

a 


I, 


-•^^ 


mtHifks 


200 


^^rfifcent 


43 


■I 


^eent 
i  22 


§ 


g 

-> 


cc. 


f*rtm$ 

■  •         t 

•     c   >       ' 

40  i 


(Dough  coidd  eaaily  be  ^^atte<i  out"  into^  sheet    j 

but  did^ioFroll  easily.)  j  •  ' 

(Fried  at  195  to  198?C.  for  6  minutes  only.) 


Same  as  No.  24,  but  dough  stood 
1}  hours  after  mixed,  before 
being  fried 

Same  as  No.  24,  except  that  water 
replaced  milk.  Stood  1}  hours 
before  fried 

Same  as  No.  26,  except  that  half 
the  flour  was  replaced  by  com 
'  starch.    Stood  two  hours 


Same  as  No.  27  except  that  water 
was  replaced  by  milk.  Stood 
two  hours 


Water  100  parts 
Flour  100  parts 


1  c.  water 
2.1  c.  flour 


^   1 

f 

t-  r 
1 

1 
» 

1 

1 

4.0 

? 

« 

150 

13 

11. 

-206 

* 

•  »■ 

• 

4 

\ 

* 

6.7 

10 

200  1 

49 

13 

« 

206 

16.7J 


24 


(Fried  immediately  -after  dough  was  mixed.) 


0.5 


8 


t 

V  • 

1 

« 

185 

11 

9 

290 

185 

4 

9 

r 

11 

280 

185 

16 

5 

270 

185 

.  19 

10 

280 

"200 

'  9 

29.0 

214 

•  t 

..  t 


16 


14 


18 


24 


12 


*The  volume  of  these  balls  was  too  great  to  be  measured  in  the  1000  cc.  graduated 
cylinder. 


il920]         ABSORPTIOlf  QF  FAT  :BY  PJOED  BATTI^ItS  AND  DOUGHS  121 


TABLE  Z^Cantinutd 


« 


>  •» 


IQ 


31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 


37 


ICAtElIAXS  vs:i^> 


!- 


Bytreis^i'     | 


.^ 


By  measurp 


ISame  as  Nq.  29i:l^t  cooked  nin,^ 
minutes  over  hot  water,  before 
fryii^g.t 

t 

Water  50  parts    1 C.  water 

Flour  100  parts    4.2  c.  flour 

*■      ■  •      '  • 

^ame  as  No.  31,  but  stood  1} 
faou7s.before  being  fried4 


Same  as  No.  31,  but  half  of  the 
}  floiir  was  replaced  by  equal 
-weight  of  coRistardi;    Explo- 
sion as  in  32 

Same  as  No.  33,  but  51' grams  of 
dough  were  fried,  as  two  ring- 
shaped  doughnut-like  pieces, 
instead  of  in  two  balls  as  usual 
Explosion  occurred  neverthe- 
less 


S 


ptrtwU 


Water  100  parts 
Flour  100  parts 
Egg  30  parts 


1  c.  water 
2.1c.  flour 
1.6  eggs 


Same  as  No.  35  but  flour  and 
water  were  cooked  over  hot 
water  nine  minutes.  Water 
lost  during  this  cooking  was 
restored.  Egg  and  baking 
.powder  were  added  when  mush 
was  cool 

Same  as  No.  35  but  half  the  flour 
was  replaced  by  equal  weight 
of  cornstarch.  This  made  a 
veiy  thin  batter  which  scat- 
tered badly  and  tended  to 
settle  to  the  bottom  during 
frying,  thus  presenting  very 
large  amoimt  of  surface  for 
absorption 


0.7 


ii 


.minuUs 
8 


3.7 


8 


8 


8 


8 


II 


5 


.•  > 


8 


8 


8 


deirees 
C. 

•2Q0 

'       \ 


^00 


200 


200 


200 


s 


55 


200 


200 


200 


percent 

9 


4.3 


2.2 


3.0 


12.0 


o 


percent 
'43.0 


29.0 


11.0 


55.0 


18.0 


9.0 


17.0 


25.0 


38 


36 


56 


U 


8 


■I' 


120 


189 


H 


O  p  rt 


percent 


14 


35 


17 


58 


122 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[March 


TABLE  i-CmkMM 


58 


MATnZAU  V8BO 


Byweisht 


Bymeanm 


Same  as  No.  37,  but  cooked  as  in 
No.  36.  Cooking  thickened 
the  batter  and  it  held  together 
well 


i^ 


t 


8 


% 


200 


6.5 


^1 

I" 


30 


I 


06. 


11 


t  Baking  powder  was  lost  as  a  result  of  this  cooking  process,  and  the  balls,  having  lost 
their  leavening,  and  being  quite  dense  in  texture,  remained  submeiged  for  7  minutes.  This 
accounts  for  the  high  water  loss.  But  it  will  be  observed  that  the  gluten  crust  formed  by 
the  hot  fat  successfully  resisted  the  entrance  of  ezceasive  fat  into  the  dough,  in  q>ite  of  the 
long  submeruon,  for  its  fat  abaotption  is  no  higher  than  that  of  No.  29. 

X  Two  of  die  4  balls  exploded  violently  as  a  result  of  steam  n^idly  formed  at  this  Idgh 
temperature  and  rigidly  confined  by  the  hard  crust.  As  a  result  of  the  ezploiion,  much  fat 
was  lost  out  of  the  pan.  Results  were  calculated  from  fat  analyns  of  the  cooked  balls,  two 
of  which  left  the  pan  at  the  end  of  ax  minutes. 

"Percentage  of  water  lost  during  cooking*'  is  calculated  by  sub- 
tracting the  weight  of  fat  absorbed  during  frying  from  the  weight  of  dough- 
nut after  cooked,  then  subtracting  this  difference  from  weight  of  doughnut 
before  cooked,  then  dividing  this  water  loss  by  the  weight  of  doughnut 
before  cooked. 

The  following  conclusions  are  deducted  from  tables  2  and  3  and  from 
a  considerable  body  of  other  work  which  has  since  been  done  with 
"  Queen  Fritters ''  and  with  doughnuts. 

1.  In  general,  the  higher  fat  absorption  occurs  with  a  greater  volume 
attained  by  the  dough  during  frying. 

2..  The  differences  in  absorption  of  these  doughs  when  fried  at  150** 
and  200^C.  are  rather  marked  as  a  rule  and  almost  absolutely  consistent. 
The  lower  temperature  shows  the  higher  fat  absorption  in  doughs  and 
batters  made  without  egg;  the  reverse  is  true  in  egg  batters  and  doughs. 
This  is  partly  because  the  volume  is  larger  at  150°  in  most  cases  where 
no  egg  is  used,  and  larger  still  at  .200°  when  it  is  used.  But  it  is  partly 
also  because  the  crust  formation  (due  to  action  of  hot  fat  on  the  gluten 
and  also  upon  other  dough  constituents  to  some  extent)  proceeds  more 
rapidly  at  the  higher  temperature,  imless  the  egg  prevents  rapid  crust- 
formation  because  of  its  highly  extensile  properties.  It  is  not  to  be 
assumed,  however,  from  these  experiments,  that  like  differences  in 


1920]         ABSOBFXIQN  OF  FAT  BY  FSIED  BATTERS  AMD  DOUGHS  123 

absorpti^m  would  occur  with  all  other  dou^s ;  nor  with  these  same  doughs 
fried  for  shorter  intervak  in  different  forms,  such  as  that  of  the  ring- 
shaped  dou^mut.  In  fact,  our  later  experimental  wotk  shows  that  at 
temperatures  which  are  properly  used  for  frying  any  ordinary  doug^ut 
dough  (170°  to  l9(fC.)  the  effect  of  a  change  of  10  to  20''C.  in  the  tem- 
perature of  the  hot  fat,  upon  fat  absorption,  would  be  so  slight  as  to 
be  unnoticed  except  as  it  acted  to  change  the  time  of  frying  or  the  manip- 
ulation during  frying. 

It  is  true  that  TfXfC.  is  too  high  a  temperature  for  practical  work'  and 
that  150°C.  is  too  low.  These  temperatures  were  chosen  however  for 
this  experimental  work  because  of  the  fact  that  temperature  influence 
is  not  very  strong,  so  far  as  crust  formation  is  concerned,  on  an  edible 
dough.  It  rather  affects  color,  texture,  and  volume.  It  was  therefore 
thought  best  to  exaggerate  the  temperature  interval  to  some  extent 
in  order  to  be  able  to  demonstrate  that  there  is  an  effect  of  high  tem- 
perature upon  gluten  in  the  formation  of  a  fat-resistant  dough  at  least 
in  the  absence  of  egg. 

3.  Increasing  the  softness  of  the  dough,  increases  the  fat  absorption. 
Compare  absorption  of  over  8  per  cent  in  No.  4  with  6.3  and  6.6  pefr  cent 
in  No.  2  and  about  5  per  cent  in  No.  1.  Compare  also  9  per  cent  in 
No.  29  with  4.3  per  cent  in  No.  31. 

4.  Use  of  a  ''strong'  flour  (larger  amount  or  improved  condition  of 
gluten)  results  in  a  diminution  of  fat  absorption  as  compared  with 
dosely  identical  mixtures  in  which  flour  made  from  a  softer  wheat  is 
used.  Compare  No.  3  (5  per  cent  and  4.7  per  cent  of  fat  absorbed) 
with  No.  2  (6.6  per  cent  and  6.3  per  cent) ;  also  No.  7  (13  per  cent)  with 
No.  6  (14.5  per  cent.) 

I  5.  Influence  of  manipulation  of  the  dough  is  marked  in  comparing 
numbers  11  and  12,  where  the  difference  in  the  two  flours  used  is  by  no 
means  sufficient  to  account  for  so  large  a  difference. 

6.  The  influence  of  fat  in  the  dough  is  to  increase  the  fat  absorption 
of  the  dough  in  which  it  is  contained.  Evidently  the  fat  in  the  dough 
''draws  other  fat  in  after  it."  This  is  in  ^ite  of  the  fact  that  fat  tends 
to  decrease  the  voliune  of  the  cooked  ball.  Nos.  6  and  7  contain  very 
little  fat,  yet  they  show  absorption  of  13  per  cent  and  14.5  per  cent, 
as  compared  with  5  per  cent  in  No.  1 ;  No.  5  compares  in  the  sdme  way 
with  No.  3.    It  is  not  clear  why  No.  5,  which  is  a  much  softer  dou{^ 

*SohTM  the  ofdioaiy  home  product  is  concerned* 


124  r      THE  JOXTRNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  ^^  [MarCb 

than  Nos.  6  and  7  and  sQso  contains  more  fat,  should  show  a  slightly 
lower  fat  absorption  than  they  show,  instead  of  a  higher  one.  Doubtles$ 
the  reason  for  this  unexpected  difference  is  concerned  with  some  detail 
of  manipulation.  No.  5  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  these  e^Eperiments, 
and  may  very  likely  have  been  kneaded  until  smooth  and  compact. 
Nos.  6  and  7  were  very  lightly  kneaded,  and  as  a,  result  tended  somewhat 
to  separate  into  convoluted  lobes  as  they  expanded  in  the  hot  fat.  This 
increase  in  surface  did,  of  course,  increase  the  fat  absorption. 

7.  The  influence  of  egg  in  the  dough  is  to  increase  the  fat  absorption 
during  frying.  Compare  Nos.  8,  9,  and  10  with  No.  1  (7,  8,  and  9  per 
cent  fat  absorbed  instead  of  5  per  cent).  Com'pare  No.  35  (29  per  cent 
absorbed)  with  No.  29  (only  9  per  cent  fat  absorbed).  This  may  be 
because  of  the  thinning  effect  of  the  egg  liquid  on  the  batter;  it  may  be 
because  adding  egg  increases  the  fat  contei^t  of  the  dough;  it  may  be 
also  because  egg  increases  the  volume  attained  during  frying.  The 
effect  of  dipping  the  dough  into  egg  as  is  done  with  croquettes,  so  that 
an  outer  egg  crust  is  formed  on  the  doughnut,  is  to  decrease  the  fat 
absorption;  but  this  is  a  different  proposition  from  that  of  putting  egg 
into  the  dough. 

Miss  McKee's  conclusion^  was  that  increase  of  egg  in  the  batter 
decreased  the  fat  absorption.  It  will  be  noted,  however,  that  at  the 
same  time  that  she  increased  the  egg  she  also  added  200  grams  of  flour. 
We  believe  that  the  decreased  fat  absorption  she  obtained  was  due  to 
the  increased  gluten  content  of  the  dough  rather  than  to  its  increased 
egg  content.  Her  conclusions  in  regard  to  the  effect  of  fat  and  sugar 
in  tlie  dough  are  fully  confirmed  by  our  results. 

8.  The  influence  of  sugar  in  the  dough  is  to  increase  the  fat  absorption. 
Compare  No.  15  (9.3  per  cent,  6.2  per  cent)  with  No.  12  (6.2  per  cent, 
1.5  per  cent).  No.  16  contains  twice  as  much  sugar  as  No.  15,  and 
shows  its  effect  still  more  (18  per  cent  and  9  per  cent,  instead  of  9.3 
per  cent  and  6.2  per  cent.)  No.  14  is  not  strictly  comparable  with 
No.  1  because  the  latter  was  made  with  a  weaker  flour;  yet  the  150*^0. 
sample  shows  the  effect  of  the  addition  of  sugar. 

9.  The  influence  of  using  milk  instead  of  water  to  mix  the  dough  is  on 
-the  whole  to  increase  the  fat  absorption,  especially  at  150°C.  Com- 
pare No.  15  with  No.  14-^.3  per  cent  against  7.8  per  cent,  and  6.2  per 
cent  against  4.6  per  cent.  Or  compare  No.  18  with  No.  17-t-IQ  per 
cent  against  7  per  cent,  16  per  cent  against  8  per  cent.  No.  20  fails  to 
show  a  similar  comparison  with  No.  19,  because  of  the  fact  that  it  stood 


1920]         ABSOBPTION  01*  FAT  BY  HBJED  BATTERS  AND  DOUGHS  125 

for  an  hour  before  frying.    No.  26  cannot  fairly  be  compared  with  No. 

24  for  the  same  reason.  (See  conclusion  No.  12.)  Compare  No.  28 
(19  per  cent  fat  absorbed)  with  No.  27  (16  per  cent  fat  absorbed). 

10.  A  ''rich  dough"  containing  large  quantities  of  egg  and  milk,  and 
moderate  quantities  of  sugar  and  fat,  can  be  fried  without  undue  absorp* 
tion  of  fat,  if  pains  be  taken  to  balance  other  ingredients  with  the  proper 
proportion  of  flour;  e.g.,  Nos.  17  to  20  inclusive,  and  23  to  28  inclusive, 
do  not  show  high  absoiption.  An  absorption  below  20  per  cent  of  the 
weight  of  the  dough  may  be  looked  upon  as  very  moderate  in  frying 
doughnuts.  An  absoiption  above  30  per  cent  is  high,  and  produces  a 
very  rich  doughnut.  The  rich  doughnut  is  not  necessarily  greasy. 
*' Greasiness"  pertains  to  unabsorbed  fat,  and  is  not  found  in  conjunc- 
tion with  a  crisp  crust,  unless  the  absoiption  has  been  highly  excessive. 

11.  The  influence  of  substituting  cornstarch  for  part  of  the  flour  is, 
as  might  be  expected,  to  increase  the  fat  absorption  very  greatly.  Com-^ 
pare  No.  27  (16  per  cent  absorbed)  with  No.  26  (9  per  cent  absorbed); 
No.  37  (55  per  cent  absorbed)  with  No.  35  (29  per  cent  absorbed).  The 
increase  i^  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  cornstarch  contains  no  gluten, 
and  gluten  is  the  constituent  of  the  dough  most  smtable  for  forming  a 
fat-resisting  crust;  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  substitution  of  cornstarch 
for  flour  increases  the  proportion  of  raw  starch  grains  in  the  dou^, 
that  is,  increases  the  absorbing  surface  presented  to  the  hot  fat. 

The  influence  of  substituting  cooked  mashed  potato  for  part  of  the 
flour  is  quite  opposite  to  the  influence  of  raw  cornstarch,  as  will  be 
explained  in  a  future  article.  The  reason  for  the  discrepancy  of  effect 
in  these  two  cases  is  perhaps  obvious. 

12.  Allowiug  the  dough  to  stand  and  "ripen''  for  an  hour  or  more 
depresses  the  fat  absorption,  and  often  profoundly  so.    Compare  No. 

25  (11  per  cent  fat  absorption  in  four  minutes  frsdng)  with  No.  24  (19 
per  cent  iu  ten  minutes);  No.  32  (2.2  per  cent)  with  No.  31  (4.3  per 
cent).  No.  20  as  compared  with  No.  19,  and  No.  26  as  compared  with 
No.  24  show  similar  effects,  though,  in  one  case,  the  substitution  of  milk 
for  water  would  have  led  one  to  expect  higher  instead  of  lower  absorption. 
The  most  striking  examples  of  this  phenomenon  occur,  however,  in 
later  work  to  be  published  soon. 

This  lower  fat  absorption  is  perhaps  due  to  the  fact  that  in  standing, 
the  moisture  tends  to  distribute  itself  uniformly  throughout  the  dough, 
and  the  separate  gluten  particles  begin  to  fuse  or  "cake''  as  soon  as  they 
become  thoroughly  wet;  this  greatly  promotes  crust  formation  up<m 
contact  with  the  hot  fat. 


126  THE  JOUXNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Mardl 

13.  Cooking  the  flour  or  flour  plus  cornstaxch  greatly  decreases  fat 
absoiption.  No.  36,  cooked,  11  per  cent  absorption,  is  to  be  compared 
with  No.  35,  29  per  cent.  No.  38,  6.5  per  cent  absorbed,  is  to  be  com- 
pared with  No.  37,  55  per  cent  absorbed.  The  effect  of  cooking  starch 
to  a  paste  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  effect  of  ripening  ghiten.  The 
formation  of  a  homogeneous  layer  from  a  number  of  distinct  granules 
evidently  promotes  the  formation  of  a  resistant  crust.  Doubtless 
cooking  may  also  increase  the  resistance  of  the  gluten  to  some  extent. 
(It  is  true  that  pieces  of  bread  when  fried,  take  up  a  great  deal  of  fat; 
but  that  fact  is  due  to  their  porosity  and  the  great  amount  of  surface 
presented  for  absoiption.) 

14.  Increase  of  surface  in  proportion  to  mass  will  of  course  increase 
fat  absorption  greatly,  unless  at  the  same  time,  the  length  of  time  of 
frying  can  be  materially  reduced.  See  No.  34,  12  per  cent  absorption 
for  rings  as  compared  with  3  per  cent  absoiption  for  the  same  weight  of 
the  same  dough  fried  as  balls. 

15.  The  effect  of  manipulation,  both  upon  the  dough  and  during 
frying,  is  very  great.  In  general,  any  manipulation  which  tends  to 
compress  or  pull  or  stretch  the  gluten  also  tends  to  decrease  the  fat 
absorption.  This  may  easily  be  because  it  facilitates  the  union  of 
gluten  particles,  which  of  course  are  separated  in  the  dry  flour  and  are 
still  somewhat  distinct  in  a  lightly  mixed  dough,  for  a  short  time  after 
mixing. 

Any  roughening  of  the  dough,  such  as  may  take  place  in  loosening 
a  sticky  doughnut  from  the  surface  on  which  it  rests,  preparatory  to 
frying  it,  will  tend  to  increase  the  fat  absoiption. 

Cracking  of  doughnuts  greatly  increases  absorption.  Frequent  turn- 
ing increases  it,  because  it  constantly  exposes  a  fresh  surface  to  the  hot 
fat;  except  that  under  some  circumstances,  frequent  turning  may  pre- 
vent cracking,  and  thus  may  conduce  indirectly  to  low  absoiption. 

Most  of  the  factors  which  lower  fat  absoiption  also  tend  to  make 
doughnuts  tough  or  hard  and  "bready."  This  is  true  of  a  considerable 
increase  in  flour  and  of  the  use  of  considerable  quantities  of  mashed 
potato.  The  best  means  of  applying,  to  actual  practice,  the  principles 
discovered  in  this  experimental  work  will  be  discussed  in  a  future  paper. 
The  results  upon  which  this  second  paper  is  based  confirm  those  shown 
in  these  published  tables. 

Temperature  of  liquid  used  for  mixing  dough  may  be  of  importance 
for  fat  absorption,  especially  if  much  sugar  is  used,  or  if  coarse  sugar  is 


1920]  H.  &.  12078  127 

nacd.  The  cold  liquid  has  less  solvent  action  than  does  the  warm  even 
if  the  temperature  difference  be  merely  the  difference  between  the  ice  box 
and  the  kitchen.  The  effect  of  undissolved  crystalline  masses  of  sugar 
which  stand  out  in  the  dough  is  apparently  an  unfavorable  one;  the 
melting  down  of  these  crystals  during  frying  appears  to  promote  fat 
absorption. 

Another  practical  question  is  whether  to  roll  the  dough  half  an  inch 
thick  and  fry  doughnuts  which  will  ^' swell  shut"  in  the  center,  so  that 
they  must  cook  five  minutes;  or  to  roll  the  dough  one-quarter  inch  thick 
and  cut  a  large  center  out,  so  that  the  doughnut  fries  in  half  that  time. 


H.  R.  12078 

Mr.  Fess  introduced  the  fdlowing  bill  in  the  House  of  Representatively 
January  26, 1920.  It  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Education  and 
ordered  to  be  printed. 

A  BILL  TO  AMEND  AX  ACT  ENTITLED  ''AN  ACT  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  PRO- 
MOTION OP  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION;  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  COOPERATION 
WITH  THE  STATES  IN  THE  PROMOTION  OF  SUCH  EDUCATION  IN  AGRI- 
CULTURE AND  THE  TRADES  AND  INDUSTRIES;  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  COC^ERA- 
TION  Wrra  THE  STATES  IN  THE  PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS  OF  VOCA« 
TIONAL  SUBJECTS;  AND  TO  APPROPRIATE  MONEY  AND  REGXTLATE  ITS 
EXPENDITURE,"  APPROVED  FEBRUARY  23,  1917. 

Be  ii  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United 
States  in  congress  assembled: 

That  the  Act  entitled  ''An  Act  to  provide  for  the  promotion  of  vocational 
education;  to  provide  for  cooperation  with  the  States  in  the  promotion  of 
such  education  in  agriculture  and  the  trades  and  industries;  to  provide  for 
cooperation  with  the  States  in  the  preparation  of  teachers  of  vocational  sub- 
jects; and  to  appropriate  money  and  regulate  its  expenditure,"  approved 
February  23,  1917,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  amended  by  adding  thereto 
the  following  section: 

Sec.  19.  That  for  the  purpose  of  cooperating  with  the  States  in  pa3dng 
the  salaries  of  teachers,  supervisors,  or  directors  of  home  economics  subjects, 
there  is  hereby  authorized  to  be  appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  States,  subject 
to  the  provisions  of  this  section,  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  Jime  30,  1921,  the 


128  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [March 

sustL  of  $500,000  and  annually  thereafter  for  nine  years  an  amount  for  each 
year  equal  to  the  amount  appropriated  for  the  year  preceding  increased  by 
$250,000|  and  for  the  fiscal  y6ar  ending  June  30,  1931,  and  annually  there- 
after, the  sum  of  $3,000,000;  such  appropriations  to  be  in  lieu  of  the  appropria- 
tions for  cooperation  with  the  States  in  the  payment  of  the  salaries  of  teachers 
of  home  economics  subjects  provided  by  section  3,  and  to  be  allotted  and 
paid  to  the  States  in  the  same  manner  and  upon  the  same  terms  and  condi- 
tions, except  as  herein  otherwise  prescribed,  as  the  funds  provided  by  said 
section  3;  the  acceptance  by  any  State  of  the  benefits  of  the  Vocational  Edu- 
cation Act,  approved  February  23,  1917,  being  deemed  an  acceptance  of  the 
benefits  of  the  appropriations  for  home  encomomics  authorized  by  this  sec^ 
tion  and  entitling  such  State,  upon  compliance  with  the  terms  and  condi- 
tions prescribed  hereby,  to  its  allotment  of  the  appropriations  herein  author- 
ized: Provided,  however,  That  the  appropriations  provided  by  said  section  3 
shall  hereafter  be  available  solely  for  the  purpose  of-  cooperating  with  the 
States  in  payment  of  salaries  of  teachers  of  trade  and  industrial  subjects, 
except  that,  if  for  any  reason  it  is  impossible  for  any  State  to  meet  the  condi- 
tions prescribed  for  the  use  of  its  allotment  of  the  appropriations  for  honie 
economics  authorized  by  this  section,  such  State  may  continue  to  use  its  allot- 
ment of  the  appropriations  contained  in  section  3  for  home  economics  educa- 
tion as  heretofore,  subject  to  the  conditions  thereby  prescribed.  That  the 
appropriations  thereby  authorized  shall  be  allotted  to  the  States  in  the  propor- 
tion which  their  population  bears  to  the  total  population  of  the  United  States, 
not  including  outl3dng  possessions,  according  to  the  preceding  United  States 
census:  Provided,  That  the  allotment  of  funds  to  any  State  shall  be  not  less 
than  a  minimum  of  $5,000  for  any  fiscal  year  prior  to  and  including  the  fiscal 
year  ending  June  30, 1926,  nor  less  than  $10,000  for  any  fiscal  year  thereafter. 
And  there  is  hereby  authorized  to  be  appropriated  annually  the  sum  of  $50,000, 
or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  which  shall  be  used  for  the  purpose  of 
providing  the  minimum  allotment  to  the  States  provided  for  in  this  section. 
That  of  the  mone3rs  authorized  to  be  appropriated  as  provided  by  this  section 
5  per  centum  may  be  deducted  and  used  for  the  purpose  of  making  or  cooper- 
ating in  making  studies  and  reports  to  aid  the  States  in  the  organization  and 
conduct  of  home  economics  education,  such  studies  and  reports  to  include 
homemaking  piu^uits,  economies  in  the  home  in  the  provision  of  food,  cloth- 
ing, and  shelter  and  the  organization  of  home  economics  material  to  assist 
in  the  Americanization  program,  and  for  administrative  expenses  incident 
to  performing  the  duties  imposed  by  this  Act,  including  salaries  of  such  em- 
ployees in  the  District  of  Columbia  or  elsewhere  as  the  board  may  deem 
necessary;  actual  traveling  and  other  necessary  exp>enses  incurred  by  the 
members  of  the  board  and  its  employees  under  its  orders,  including  attend-^ 
ance  at  meetings  of  educational  associations  and  other  organizations;  rent 


19201  .H.  R.  12078  129 

and  equipment  of  quarters  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  elsewhere;  purchase 
of  books  of  reference,  law  books,  and  periodicals;  t3q>ewriters,  and  exchange 
thereof;  miscellaneous  supplies,  postage  on  foreign  mail;  and  aU  other  neces- 
sary expenses. 

Sec.  20.  That  in  order  for  any  State  to  secure  the  benefits  of  the  appropria- 
tions authorized  by  section  19  of  this  Act,  the  State  Board  for  Vocational  Edu- 
cational Education  of  the  State,  created  or  designated  in  accordance  with  the 
provisions  of  section  5,  shall  prepare  plans  showing  the  kinds  of  home  eco- 
nomics education  for  which  it  is  proposed  that  the  appropriation  shall  be  used. 
Such  plans  shall  be  submitted  by  the  State  board  to  the  Federal  Board  for 
Vocational  Education,  and  if  the  Federal  Board  finds  the  same  to  be  in  con- 
formity with  the  provisions  and  purposes  of  this  Act,  the  same  shall  be 
approved;  that  any  State  may  use  the  sums  allotted  to  it  under  the  provisions 
of  section  19,  or  any  part  thereof,  for  the  salaries  of  teachers  of  home  economics 
subjects  in  schools  or  classes  or  for  the  salaries  of  supervisors  or  directors  of 
the  same.  The  State  board  of  any  State  shall  also  provide  in  its  plans  for 
home  economics  education  that  such  education  shall  be  conducted  in  schools 
or  classes  which  are  under  public  supervision  or  control;  that  the  controlling 
purpose  of  such  education  shall  be  to  fit  for  useful  emplo)nnent  in  the  home 
or  other  occupation  in  the  field  of  home  economics;  that  such  education  shall 
be  of  less  than  college  grade  and  shall  be  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  persons 
over  fourteen  years  of  age  who  have  entered  upon  or  are  preparing  to  enter 
upon  the  work  of  the  home  or  other  occupation  in  the  field  of  home  economics; 
that  the  State  or  local  community,  or  both,  shall  provide  the  necessary  plant 
or  equipment  to  be  determined  upon  by  the  State  Board  with  the  approval 
of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  as  the  minimum  requirement 
in  such  State  for  education  in  home  economics  subjects;  that  the  total  amount 
expended  for  the  maintenance  of  such  education  in  any  school  or  classes 
receiving  the  benefit  of  allotments  for  home  economics  education  shall  be 
not  less  annually  than  the  amount  fixed  by  the  State  board  with  the  approval 
of  the  Federal  board  as  the  minimum  of  such  schools  or  classes  in  the  State; 
that  at  least  one-third  of  the  sum  allotted  to  any  State  for  the  salaries  of 
teachers,  supervisors,  or  directors  of  home  economics  subjects,  shall,  if  ex- 
pended, be  applied  to  part-time  schools  or  evening  classes  for  workers  over 
fourteen  years  of  age  who  have  entered  upon  employment;  and  that  the 
teachers,  supervisors,  and  directors  of  home  economics  subjects  in  any  State 
shall  have  at  least  the  minimum  qualifications  for  teachers,  supervisors,  and 
directors,  to  be  determined  upon  for  such  State  by  the  State  board  with  the 
approval  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education.  The  provisions 
of  this  section  shall  be  in  lieu  of  the  provisions  of  section  11  in  so  far  as  the 
same  relate  to  home  economics. 


130  THE  JOUKKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Marcb 

IS  THE  AVERAGE  HOME  SANITARY? 

Is  the  average  home  conducted  along  approved  lines  of  sanitation? 
Are  individual  towels  provided?  Are  conunon  drinking  utensils  used? 
Are  dishes  thoroughly  and  properly  washed?  Are  cups,  forks  and 
spoons  scalded  after  each  usage?  Are  soiled  handkerchiefs  properly 
cared  for? 

When  one  member  of  a  family  contracts  a  common  cold,  other 
members  generally  contract  colds  in  due  season.  Affectionate  greet- 
ings, the  kissings  and  the  embradngs,  even  hand-shaking,  between 
infected  and  iminfected  members  have  considerable  to  do  with  the 
transmission  of  colds  as  well  as  the  promiscuous  sneezings  and  care- 
less nose-blowings.  Droplet  and  spray  infections  also  play  their  part. 
These  methods  of  transmission  are  important  and  probably  constitute 
the  chief  factors  in  the  spread  of  common  colds. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  use  of  the  common  towel  and  drinking  cup, 
the  careless  washing  of  dishes,  especially  cups,  forks,  and  spoons,  as 
well  as  the  careless  disposal  of  soiled  handkerchiefs,  may,  under  some 
conditions,  be  of  even  greater  importance  in  the  spread  of  common 
colds. 

At  any  rate,  no  household  can  afford  to  neglect  the  practice  of  com- 
mon approved  methods  of  sanitation.  Their  adoption  will  imdoubt- 
edly  have  considerable  to  do  with  the  prevention  of  the  spread  of 
commimicable  diseases  other  than  common  colds.  No  family  should 
tolerate  the  common  towel  or  the  common  drinking  cup,  and  as  for 
the  efficient  washing  of  dishes,  that  is  the  pride  of  every  good  house- 
wife.— Mo.  Bid.  California  Bd.  Health,  Aug.,  1919. 

The  compiler  of  the  above  statements  might  well  have  added,  Is 
everyone  careful  to  wash  the  hands  thoroughly  after  visiting  the  toilet, 
especially  before  returning  to  the  kitchen  or  to  other  work  that  means 
the  handling  of  food?  Typhoid  fever  has  been  spread  many  times 
through  the  neglect  of  this  simple  precaution.  Aside  from  this  danger, 
it  is  not  pleasant  to  think  of  such  soiling  of  food.  We  do  not  want 
feces  on  our  food,  even  in  minute  amoimts,  any  more  than  we  want 
food  sprayed  with  the  excretions  of  the  nose  and  throat  of  the  person 
who  sneezes  and  coughs  over  it. 


\ 


1920]  HOME  ECONOMICS  IN  AN  ARMENIAN  VILLAGE  131 

HOME  ECONOMICS  IN  A  PRIMITIVE  ARMENIAN  VILLAGE 

HESTER  DONALDSON  JENKINS 

Miss  Mianzare  Kaprielian,  a  graduate  of  Constantinople  College  for 
Girls,  has  been  doing  an  unique  piece  of  work  in  domestic  teaching. 

After  she  left  college,  she  took  one  of  the  very  pleasant  teaching  posi- 
tions in  an  American  school  in  Asia  Minor.  But  one  day  she  became 
dissatisfied  with  her  soft  work,  for  she  heard  from  a  missionary  a  story 
that  moved  her  deeply.  It  was  of  a  tiny  Armenian  village,  stranded  in 
an  out-of-the-way  comer  of  Asia  Minor,  where  the  people  lived  in  a 
terribly  primitive  state.  They  were  her  people,  and  she  could  not 
sleep  in  her  pretty  bed  room  until  she  had  decided  to  go  to  them  and 
serve  them. 

So,  accompanied  by  the  missionary,  she  made  her  difficult  way  to 
Chalgara,  the  stranded  village.  Of  course  there  was  no  inn  in  the 
place,  so  she  was  put  up,  (or  rather  dovnty  for  her  bed  was  a  mattress 
on  the  floor)  by  one  of  the  village  families.  She  foimd  herself  in  a  room 
dirtier  than  she  had  ever  seen  before.  Every  instinct  revolted.  The 
next  morning  she  arose  and  girded  herself  for  toil,  and  this  refined, 
educated  lady  scrubbed  the  unspeakable  floor  and  thus  gave  her  first 
lesson  to  the  wondering  women  of  Chalgara. 

It  was  only  the  Alpha  of  cleanliness  to  be  followed  as  soon  as  possible 
by  other  letters.  The  church  she  found  to  be  almost  as  dirty  as  the 
houses.  Expressing  her  disgust,  she  gathered  together  a  corps  of 
women  and  set  them  to  making  the  edifice  decent. 

She  was,  naturally,  more  than  a  nine  days'  wonder  to  the  Chalgarites, 
who  gaped  at  her  neat  black  dress,  her  smooth  hair,  and  especially  the 
dainty  white  collar  and  cuffs  that  she  wore.  They  themselves  had  been 
sewed  tightly  into  blouse  and  bloomers  since  the  beginning  of  the 
season.  Their  many  tight  braids  of  hair  had  not  been  unbraided  some- 
times for  years.  It  was  a  marvel  to  them  when  she  took  down  her 
smooth  hair,  combed  and  brushed  it,  and  then  recoiled  it  neatly  on  her 
head.    She  also  showed  them  all  her  apparel  and  how  it  came  off  and  on. 

Such  object  lessons  were  followed  by  classes  in  cutting,  sewing,  and 
donning  of  clothes.    The  women  of  Chalgara  began  to  prink. 

At  the  first  possible  moment  she  built  a  house  for  herself.  She 
planned  it  and  supervised  the  work.  The  result  was  a  building  of  un- 
paralleled splendor  to  the  Chalgara  mind.  It  had  a  wooden  floor  and 
doors  and  windows.    No  chimney,  of  course,  but  a  pipe  coming  through 


132  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [March 

a  window  carried  out  the  smoke.  There  were  no  partitions  in  it,  but 
each  comer  was  a  separate  room,  from  which  radiated  education  to  the 
people  of  Chalgara.  In  one  comer. was  the  oven,  and  here  lessons  in 
cooking  and  the  dean  preparation  of  food  were  given ;  in  another  comer 
was  the  bed,  a  model  of  neatness  and  daintiness;  in  the  third  was  a 
bench  and  stools,  with  the  Bible  and  spelling  book,  where  the  children 
were  taught  letters  and  religion;  and  the  fourth  comer  was  the  living 
room. 

The  money  for  her  living  Miss  Kaprielian  begged  from  friends  and 
from  Constantinople  College.  The  students  of  the  latter  felt  that 
Chalgara  was  their  college  settlement  and  gladly  took  up  annual  col- 
lections for  the  work.  I  was  in  the  College  when  this  fragile-appear- 
ing lady  came  to  tell  us  of  her  pioneer  work.  She  made  very  light  of  the 
hardships. 

I  asked  her  what  she  had  to  eat  in  Chalgara. 

She  replied  cheerfully,  "Oh,  we  have  plenty  of  eggs." 

"Meat?"  I  asked. 

"No,  they  don't  often  kill  an  animal." 

"Vegetables?" 

"Only  two  kinds,  but  plenty  of  eggs." 

"How  about  milk?" 

"Well,  there  is  really  no  milk,  but,"  and  she  smiled  with  luminous 
tolerance,  "there  are  plenty  of  eggs." 

She  did  not,  however,  rest  with  such  a  menu.  She  began  by  showing 
the  men  other  vegetables  to  plant.    Then  she  bought  a  cow. 

Oh,  that  cow!  What  a  wonder  it  was.  And  how  the  people  gathered 
about  to  see  her  milk  it;  and  what  good  cheese  and  butter  she  made. 
In  a  short  time  Chalgara  had  a  small  but  flourishing  dairy  industry. 

Miss  Kaprielian  became  quite  naturally  the  confidant  of  the  women, 
and  straightened  out  many  a  domestic  difficulty  for  ^em.  One  bride 
came  to  her  with  a  personal  problem  to  solve.  Should  she  turn  over 
her  private  fortune  to  her  husband,  or  would  it  be  right  to  keep  it  for  an 
emergency.  Inquiry  discovered  that  the  fortune  amounted  to  $2,431 
Miss  Kaprielian  assured  her  that  she  would  be  justified  in  keeping  it. 

What  this  Armenian  lady  is  doing  in  Chalgara  is  an  illustration  of 
what  many  a  student  going  out  from  Constantinople  College  could  do. 
Few  towns  are  so  primitive  as  Chalgara;  but  students  who  could  have 
a  good  training  in  home  economics  in  Constantinople  would  have  endless 
fields  of  usefulness  opened  to  them. 


1920]  HOM£lCA£[NG    ADJUSTMENTS  133 

A  COURSE  FOR  PRACTICE  IN  HOMEMAKING 

ADJUSTMENTS 

For  a  Limited  Group  of  Women  Trained  in  Hobo:  Economics 

Under  the  Direction  of  the  Committee  on  Home  Economics  of  the  Charity 

Organization  Society  of  the  City  of  New  York 

Aim.  The  aim  of  this  course  is  to  bring  students,  teachers,  and  other 
workers  in  home  economics  into  closer  contact  with  home  living  condi- 
tions and  with  the  methods  by  which  various  social  agencies  are  endeav- 
oring to  raise  home  standards  and  prevent  personal  and  family  break- 
downs. 

Admission  requirements.  Although  the  training  is  planned  primarily 
for  women  with  professional  experience  in  home  economics,  it  is  also 
open  to  college  juniors  and  seniors  who  are  especially  recommended  by 
the  head  of  their  home  economics  department.  The  size  of  the  group  is 
limited  to  thirty-five.  Applications  for  membership  must  be  received 
by  May  1,  1920. 

Time.  The  course  begins  Thursday,  June  3,  and  ends  Wednesday, 
June  30.    Hours  9: 00-5: 00,  Monday  to  Friday  of  each  week. 

Type  of  work.  One  day  a  week  will  be  used  for  roimd-table  discus- 
sions and  for  special  lectures  and  for  visits  to  social  agencies.  Four 
days  a  week  will  be  spent  in  field  work  carefully  arranged  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  individual  pupil.  This  year  special  training  can  be  pro- 
vided at  the  Morningside  Nutrition  and  Homemaking  Center  which 
has  just  been  established  by  the  Home  Economics  Committee.  There 
is  also  opportunity  for  nutrition  work  with  hospital  clinics  and  various 
health  and  social  agencies  and  for  social  case  work  training  with  family 
social  work  agencies. 

Fees  and  college  credit.  A  fee  of  $24.00  is  to  be  charged  for  the  train- 
ing. This  fee  is  payable  in  advance  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society 
or  to  colleges  making  special  arrangements  with  the  Society  with  ref- 
erence to  payment  and  credit  recognition  for  the  course  when  taken  by 
their  students. 

For  further  information  and  ^pp  ication  blanks  write  to  Miss  Emma 
A.  Winslow,  Secretary,  Committee  on  Home  Economics,  Charity 
Organization  Society,  105  East  22nd  Street,  New  York  City. 


EDITORIAL 

Yeast  as  A  Food|  A  Medicinei  and  A  Laboratory  Reagent.  A 
siirprising  amount  aid  variety  of  work  has  recently  been  published  on 
yeast.  In  vitamine  experiments  on  rats  and  pigeons  yeast  has  long  been 
used  as  one  of  the  most  common  sources  of  water-soluble  B,  and  the 
"autolyzed  yeast"  (the  filtrate  from  yeast  that  has  stood  at  37.5^C. 
from  24  to  48  hours)  has  been  shown  by  Williams  and  Seidell^  to  be  more 
eflfective  than  fresh  yeast.  As  a  result  of  this  experimental  work  yeast 
is  now  used*  in  cases  of  human  beri-beri  and  found  to  be  only  slightly 
less  efficacious  than  rice  polishings.  Doses  of  from  2  to  4  cc.  of  autolyzed 
yeast  filtrate  every  3  hours  have  rapidly  removed  symptoms  of  infantile 
beri-beri.    Larger  doses  have  shown  good  results  with  adults. 

Yeast  may  be  used  as  a  cure  for  other  diseases  than  beri-beri,  espe- 
cially diseases  of  the  skin  and  of  the  gastro-intestinal  tract.  Hawk* 
reports  that  SO  out  of  52  cases  of  funmculosis  (boils),  acne  vulgaris 
(common  pimples)  and  acne  rosacea,  and  constipation  were  improved 
or  cured  by  the  yeast  treatments.  The  explanation  of  this  action  we 
hope  will  soon  be  forthcoming.  The  usual  daily  dose  was  two  or  three 
cakes  taken  in  water,  beef  tea,  or  orange  juice.  In  some  cases  living 
yeast  was  used,  in  others,  dead  yeast  (that  had  been  killed  by  boiling 
water).  Dead  yeast  was  preferable  where  there  was  gas  formation. 
One  case  of  constipation  3rielded  to  living  yeast  but  not  to  dead  yeast. 

Yeast  may  also  serve  as  a  food.  During  war  conditions  in  Europe  it 
was  used  extensively  for  cattle  feed  and  was  considered  an  excellent 
source  of  protein.  It  has  the  advantage  of  being  independent  of  crops 
and  seasons  and  of  being  an  otherwise  waste  product.  To  determine  its 
value  as  a  food  for  man  much  experimental  work  on  men  and  also  on 
dogs  and  rats  has  been  done  in  both  Germany  and  the  United  States  to 
ascertain  what  per  cent  of  its  large  nitrogen  content  is  available  and  to 
what  extent  it  may  be  used  to  supplant  other  proteins.  Osborne  and 
Mendel,*  feeding  yeast  to  rats  as  the  sole  protein,  have  shown  the  nitro- 

i  Williams  and  SeideU,  Jour.  Bid,  Chem,,  29,  145,  1917. 

•  Saleeby,  Philippine  Jour,  of  SciencCy  14, 11, 1919. 

'  Hawk,  Knowles,  Rehfuss,  and  Clarke,  Jour.  Amcr.  Med.  Assoc.^  69, 1243, 1917. 

*  Osborne  and  Mendel,  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  38, 223, 1919. 

134  . 


EDITORIAL  135 

gen  to  be  well  utilized  (74  to  83  per  cent)  even  when  the  experiments 
were  carried  on  for  a  year.  No  toxic  effect  was  observed  as  had  been 
thought  possible  from  earlier  experiments.  As  the  sole  source  of  nitro- 
gen in  experiments  on  man,  Funk*  found  it  not  well  utilized,  but  Hawk* 
recently  has  obtained  excellent  results  when  it  supplied  10  to  30  per 
cent  of  the  protein  of  the  diet.  He  dried  the  yeast  and  ground  it  into  a 
powder,  which  could  be  used  to  replace  SO  per  cent  of  protein  in  wheat 
biscuits,  and  25  per  cent  of  protein  of  meat  in  meat  preparations.  With 
this  use  of  yeast  in  both  low  and  high  protein  diets  the  yeast  was  well 
utilized  and  in  some  cases  a  positive  nitrogen  balance  was  obtained. 

Another  recently^  developed  use  of  yeast  is  in  experiments  to  test  for 
the  presence  of  vitamines  in  foods,  since  the  yeast  plant  needs  water- 
soluble  B  for  its  own  optimum  growth. 

Yeast,  then,  may  be  regarded  as  a  source  of  water-soluble  B,  a  valu- 
able reagent  in  studying  vitamines,  a  therapeutic  agent  in  diseases  of 
the  skin  and  of  the  gastro-intestinal  tract,  and  a  source  of  protein  for 
animals  and  man. 

lodinCi  it  has  recently  been  shown,  is  probably  among  those  inor- 
ganic elements  necessary  for  the  student  of  nutrition  to  consider,  espe- 
cially in  its  relation  to  goiter  and  the  thyroid  gland. 

In  April  1917,  Marine  and  Kimball^  began  a  series  of  observations  on 
goiter  in  Akron,  Ohio  (in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  "goiterous  regions") 
by  a  survey  of  the  amoimt  of  goiter  among  3872  girls  in  the  public 
schools  from  the  fifth  to  the  twelfth  grades  inclusive.  They  found  that 
56.41  per  cent  had  a  hyperplastic  condition  of  the  thyroid  gland  which 
might  be  considered  simple  goiter.  Iodine  was  used  as  a  therapeutic 
measure  by  giving  2  grams  sodium  iodide  in  0.2  gram  doses  for  10  consec- 
utive school  days  twice  a  year — ^autiunn  and  spring.  Seven  and  nine- 
teen months  later  two  other  surveys  of  the  same  schools  were  made. 
The  most  striking  results  obtained  were  that  not  a  pupil  in  whom  the 
th}n:oid  was  normal  at  the  beginning  and  who  took  iodide  showed  any 
thyroid  enlargement,  while  of  those  not  taking  iodide,  15.9  per  cent 
showed  definite  enlargements.  Also  of  the  girls  with  slight  goiter  those 
taking  iodide  improved  somewhat  more  than  those  without. 

*  Funk,  Lyle,  and  McCaskey,  Jour.  Bid,  Chem,,  27, 173, 1916. 
•Hawk,  Smith,  and  Holder,  Amer.  Jour.  Physiol.,  48, 199,  1919. 
7  Williams,  Jow.  Bid.  Chem.,  38, 465, 1919. 

1  Marine  and  Kimball:  Jour.  Lab.  and  Clin.  Med.,  3,  40,  1917;  Arch.  Int.  Med.,  22,  41, 
1918;  Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  73, 1873, 1919. 


136  THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Maxch 

Although  this  is  the  first  extensive  work  done  with  human  beings,  the 
fact  that  iodine  could  prevent  goiter  had  been  observed  some  time 
before  in  connection  with  the  sheep  growing  industry  in  Michigan. 
Prior  to  the  discovery  of  the  salt  deposits  around  the  Great  Lakes  the 
sheep  industry  seemed  hopeless,  but  with  the  use  of  the  salt  the  sheep 
growers  ceased  to  have  trouble,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  iodide  content 
of  the  salt  was  supplying  the  needs  of  the  sheep.  Kimball  and  Marine 
were  also  able  to  control  an  outbreak  of  goiter  in  the  salmon  and  trout 
hatcheries  by  adding  potassium  iodide  to  the  water  or  feeding  whole 
sea  fish  for  part  of  the  diet. 

As  to  the  sources  of  iodine  for  human  nutrition,  Forbes  and  Beegle* 
found  traces  in  some  samples  of  almost  aU  types  of  foods  (animal,  vege- 
table, grains,  condiments,  and  water)  but  not  in  all  samples  of  the  same 
food.  Sea  foods  (agar-agar,  Irish  moss,  and  sea  weeds)  are  exceptions. 
They  universally  contain  iodine.  In  other  words,  the  presence  of  iodine 
in  foods  other  than  sea  foods  is  accidental  due  probably  to  the  fact  that 
iodine  is  not  essential  to  plant  growth.  Consequently,  our  only  depend- 
able source  is  the  inorganic  form. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Kendall'  working  at  the  Mayo  clinic  has 
succeeded  in  isolating  from  6550  pounds  of  fresh  hog  thyroid  33  grams  of 
an  iodine  containing  compound  (thyroxin)  which  is  the  active  principle 
of  the  thyroid  gland.  He  has  determined  its  structural  formula  and 
also  its  specific  action  by  feeding  it  to  people  suffering  with  myxedema 
and  cretinism — diseases  due  to  diminished  thyroid  activity. 

ERRATA 

In  the  February  number  of  the  Journal  in  speaking  of  the  work  of 
Daniels  and  Byfield,  Dr.  Byfield  was  inadvertently  referred  to  as  Miss 
Byfield.  Dr.  Albert  H.  Byfield  is  the  physician  at  the  head  of  the 
Department  of  Pediatrics  in  the  Medical  School  of  the  State  University 
of  Iowa.    The  work  of  Miss  Daniels  is  in  his  department. 

In  the  article  on  Recent  Advances  in  our  Knowledge  of  Food  Selec- 
tion and  Preparation  in  the  January  number,  the  last  paragraph  on 
page  17  should  read  "Osborne  and  Mendel  have  investigated  the  rela- 
tive efficiency  of  foods  as  antineuritics,^*  not  antiscorbutics. 

*  Forbes  and  Beegle:    Jour,  Med,  Research,  34. 445, 1916. 
'  KendaU:    Jottr.  Bid.  Chem,,  59, 125,  1919. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


Teaching  Home  Economics.    By  Anna  M. 
CooLEY,    Cora   M.    Winchell,    Wn> 

HELMINA   H.    SpOECK,   AND   JOSEPHINE    A. 

Marshall.    New  York:  The  MacmiUan 

Coinpaiiy,  1919,  pp.  555.    $1.80. 

The  book  is  a  graceful  tribute  of  remem- 
brance to  Helen  Rinne  and  a  recognition  of 
"her  great  share  in  the  establishment  of 
ideals  in  the  teaching  of  home  economics." 
The  authors  took  upon  themselves  a  large 
task  as  indicated  in  the  statement  of  their 
aim,  namely,  to  "offer  suggestions  for  the 
oi^anization,  administration,  and  teaching 
of  home  economics  subjects."  Work  in  any 
one  of  these  divisions  would  be  no  small  task. 

The  authors  say,  "It  is  taken  for  granted 
that  the  students  who  will  use  it  will  be 
familiar  with  the  scope  of  the  field,"  and 
that  "the  book  is  intended  for  use  primarily 
in  normal  schools  and  colleges"  though  they 
"hope  that  the  social  workers,  vocational 
advisors,  and  lay  readers  will  find  in  this 
book  suggestions  of  value."  They  specially 
stress  the  fact  that  they  wish  to  "attack  the 
subject  in  the  light  of  the  new  vision  of  edu- 
cation as  a  factor  in  social  evolution." 
"Adaptation  has  been  made  the  burden  of 
the  message,  throughout  the  book." 

The  attempt  to  cover  in  outline  the  whole 
field  is  treated  under  four  different  divisions: 
(1)  Home  economics  as  an  organized  study 
in  the  school  program;  (2)  Organization  of 
courses  in  home  economics;  (3)  Planning  of 
lessons;  (4)  Personnel,  materials,  and  oppor- 
tunities; (5)  Addenda. 

Part  One  brings  together  "the  response  of 
womanhood  to  modem  social  demands," 
^  "the  response  of  educational  agencies  to  the 
needs  of  women,"  "the  development  of  home 
economics,"  and  "the  interrelation  of  home 
economics  with  other  subjects  in  the  curric- 
ulum." This  part  does  give  both  the 
backward  and  the  forward  look  which  is 
necessary  for  the  teacher  to  interpret  her 
present  needs  and  is  suggestive  at  many 
points. 


P^ut  Two  gives  actual  courses  of  study  of 
different  types  and  kinds  for  a  great  variety 
of  schools.  Chapter  eight.  Home  Economics 
in  the  Rural  Schools,  seems  to  the  writer  a 
very  inadequate  presentation  of  the  sub- 
ject. It  gives  a  wrong  sense  of  values  to 
attempt  to  discuss  the  rural  situation,  home 
economics  extension,  influence  of  the  Smith- 
Lever  Act,  County  Farm  Bureau,  and  the 
Home  Demonstration  Agent  in  a  few  pages. 
In  the  judgment  of  the  reviewer,  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  named  these  agen- 
cies and  concentrated  the  attention  on  the 
tyf>es  of  schools. 

The  quality  of  instruction,  the  planning  of 
lessons,  and  the  aim  of  instruction  are  clearly 
set  forth  in  Part  Three. 

Part  Four  has  good  suggestions  on  the 
interrelationship  of  school  and  community 
interests  and  valuable  helps  in  the  study  of 
equipment. 

One  of  the  good  features  of  the  book  is  the 
list  of  questions  after  each  chapter  and 
the  suggested  references  for  collateral  read- 
ing. The  authors  have  emphasized  clear 
thinking  and  a  study  of  the  particular  needs 
of  the  school  and  community. 

While  the  authors  have  succeeded  in 
bringing  together  in  one  volume  material 
which  will  be  very  helpful  to  the  discrimi- 
nating teacher  of  home  economics,  the  under- 
taking was  so  great  as  almost  to  prevent 
adequate  treatment  of  the  various  parts. 

Isabel  Bevier, 
University  of  Illinois. 

Garments  for  Girls.    By  Celestine  Leon- 
tine  ScHMiT.    New  York:  The  Century 
Company,  1919,  pp.  249,  $1.25. 
The  preface  and  foreword    of    this  book 
state  something  of  its  plan,  some  features  of 
which  are  to  offer  opportunity  for  close  cor- 
relation  with  other  subjects — to   make   it 
possible  for  the  teacher  to  give  more  class 
instruction  by  presenting  problems,  every 
detail  of  which  has  been  carefully  worked 

137 


138 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[March 


out —  and  to  eliminate  the  expense  and  waste- 
fulness of  commercial  patterns.  There  is  no 
statement  however  as  to  the  grade  of  students 
for  whom  the  work  is  intended,  but  from  the 
character  of  the  problems  and  the  method  it 
would  seem  that  the  book  was  stuted  to 
high  school  or  college  students,  depending  on 
their  previous  training. 

The  problems  are  all  good,  the  sequence 
well  planned,  and  the  illustrations,  both  line 
drawings  and  half  tones,  are  excellent.  The 
drafts  are  the  important  feature  of  the  book. 
While  the  value  of  drafting  for  certain  groups 
of  students  is  fully  recognized  some  of  the 
drafts  illustrated  in  this  book,  with  their 
plain  lines,  dotted  lines,  arrows,  lettering, 
numbering  and  other  symbols,  appear  so 
complicated  that  only  an  experienced  teacher 
could  tally  them  up  with  their  accompany- 
ing directions.  Moreover  it  is  a  question 
whether  many  teachers  would  have  sufficient 
time  for  their  work  to  be  willing  to  consume 
so  much  in  drafting,  especially  if  their  stu- 
dents had  not  previously  had  a  good  course 
in  mechanical  drawing. 

The  directions  for  making  the  garments 
are  clearly  given,  and  the  finishes  suggested 
are  excellent.  The  book  would  be  of  still 
greater  value  in  home  economics  work  if 
some  general  material  was  given  separately 
instead  of  being  so  closely  interwoven  with 
the  directions  for  making  the  problem.  As 
the  book  has  no  index  it  is  impossible  to  look 
up  seams,  finishes,  and  other  points  of  con- 
struction to  apply  to  other  problems. 

Blanche  E.  Hyde, 
George  Peabody  CoUegefor  Teachers. 

The  Eotd  St.  Francis  Cook  Book.    By  Victor 

HiKTZLER.    Chicago :  The  Hotel  Monthly, 

1919,  pp.  432,  $5.00. 

This  book  contains  a  bill  of  fare  for  each 
day  in  the  3rear  suitable  for  a  hotel  Each 
menu  with  accompanying  recipes  occupies  a 
page.  There  b  a  classified  as  well  as  a  gen- 
eral index  so  that  the  recipes  may  be  found 
without  difficulty.  The  redpes  are  sugges- 
tive, especially  for  anyone  who  desires  a  great 
variety  in  menus. 

Many  of  the  menus  set  a  good  standard 
of  simplicity  that  is  none  too  common  in 
first  class  hotels. 


Victor  Hirtzler  is  the  chef  of  the  Hotel 
St.  Frauds,  San  Frandsco. 

Scientific  Problems  of  AlimenUUion  During 
the  War.  (ProlfUmes  ScienUJi^ues  ITAU- 
mentation  en  Prance  pendant  la  Guerre). 
Minutes  of  the  Nutrition  Committee  of 
the  Sodety  of  Biology,  with  analytical 
bibUography  of  French  work  published 
1914-1918;  by  R.  Legendre,  SecteUry, 
Paris,   1919. 

This  committee  was  organized  in  May, 
1918  under  the  chairmanship  of  M.  Charles 
Richet  and  at  the  request  of  MM.  Gley  and 
Langlois,  French  ddegates  to  the  Inter- 
Allied  Sdentific  Commission  on  Alimenta- 
tion. This  report  of  its  meetings,  together 
with  the  bibliography  (induding  a  digest  of 
each  article  noted),  furnishes  an  excellent 
picture  of  the  aid  rendered  in  France  during 
the  war  by  the  science  of  nutrition.  While 
abstract  research  has  been  laigely  laid  aside, 
much  work  has  been  done  by  original  inves- 
tigators on  such  practical  problems  as 
military  and  dvil  rationing,  the  use  and 
nutritive  value  of  various  types  of  wheat 
flour  and  substitutes  for  wheat  in  bread 
making,  and  the  most  effident  use  of  the 
meat,  milk,  and  fat  supply.  Interesting 
attempts  have  been  made  to  popularize 
knowledge  of  the  general  prindples  of 
nutrition  and  methos  of  adapting  the  diet  to 
the  changed  food  supply;  in  this  the  Sod6t^ 
sdentifique  d'Hygi^ne  alimentaire  appears 
to  have  taken  the  lead,  both  by  arranging 
popular  lectures  and  by  distributing  popular 
literature. 

Helen  W.  Atwater. 

Material    for    Permanent     Painting.     By 
Maximilian  Toch.    New  York:  D.  Van 
Nostrand  Company,  1919,  pp.  208,  figs.  7. 
This  work,  although  published  some  years' 
ago,  is  worth  noting,  since  it  gives  much  in- 
formation about  the  causes  of  deterioration 
in  paintings,  the  proper  methods  of  prevent- 
ing deterioration,  as  well  as  information  re- 
garding pigments,  dryers,  varnishes,  and 
other  related  facts.    Some  of  the  informa- 
tion is  of  interest  in  connection  with  paints 
used  for  household  purposes  as  well  as  in 
connection  with  oil  paintings. 


1920]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  139 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS^ 

Reperences  op  Timely  Interest  to  Home  EcoNOiacs  Teachers  and 
Home  Makers  in  Connection  with  Clothing  Selection, 
Clothing  Thrift,  Textile  Standardization,  and 

Current  Legislation^ 

Gevemment  PiMkaiums: 

An  analysis  of  the  high  cost  of  living  problem.    Grosvenor  B.  Clarkson,  Director  of  the 

U.  S.  Council  of  National  Defense.    Council  of  National  Defense,  Washington. 
Price  Bulletins  of  the  U.  S.  War  Industries  Board,  Clothing  Series — ^5  cents  each.* 

No.    5 — Prices  of  clothing 

No.  23 — Prices  of  cotton  and  cotton  products. 

No.  24 — Prices  of  wool  and  wool  products 

No.  25 — Prices  of  silk  and  silk  products 

No.  26 — Prices  of  hides  and  skins  and  their  products 

No.  27— Prices  of  hatters'  fur 

No.  28 — Prices  of  hair,  bristles  and  feathers 

No.  29 — Prices  of  buttons 
Clothing  for  the  family.    Bui.  23,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education — 15  cents.* 
Materials  for  the  household.    Bulletin  70,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Standards,  25  cents.* 
The  removal  of  stains  from  clothing  and  other  textiles.    Farmers'  Bulletin,  861,  U.  S. 

Department  of  Agriculture — ^free. 
Selection  and  care  of  clothing.    Farmers  Bui.  1089.    (Forthcoming) — ^free. 
liiscdlaneous  Articles: 

Some  suggestions  from  the  textile  section.    Miriam    Birdseye,   Jour.  Home  Ecan,, 

September,  1919. 
The  partner  at  home.    Same,  October,  1919. 

A  plan  of  spending  for  the  home.    Pearl  MacDonald,  Same,  December,  1919. 
Putting  over  budget  lessons.    Janet  Cation,  Same,  November,  1919. 
Teaching  the  clothing  budget    Janet  Cation,  Same,  December,  1918. 
Textile  lessons  for  home  makers.    Grace  0.  Denny,  Same,  June,  1918. 
A  course  in  textile  shopping.    Iva  L.  Brandt,  Same,  December,  1919. 
Household  arts  and  the  high  school  girl.    Nancy  Gladish,  Same,  November,  1919. 
The  problem  of  the  high  cost  of  living.    Summary  of  report  submitted  to  Congress  by 

the  Council  of  National  Defense.     (See  above.)     Same,  December,  1919. 
The  new  consumer.    Mary  S.  Woolman,  Gen.  Fed.  Magazine,  September,  1919. 
Dressing  the  school  girl.    Same,  September,  1919. 
How  to  choose  clothes.    Literary  Digest,  October  4, 1919. 
World  Situation  in  textiles.    Dry  Goods  Economist.    December  6,  1919. 
Diversity  in  materials  and  diversity  in  prices.    (Shoes.)    Same,  December  6,  1919. 
Why  a  dye  dyes.    Literary  Digest,  October  11,  1919. 

^  Supplied  by  the  conmdttee  on  the  standardization  of  textile  fabrics. 

*  Note:  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  list  in  this  brief  compilation  the  many  helpful  ex- 
tension publications  of  the  various  State  colleges  and  universities.  Write  your  State  College 
of  Agriculture  for  the  extension  bulletins  and  mimeographed  material  on  clothing  subjects 
and  budgeting  now  available.  "Bibliography  of  Home  Economics"  (see  last  reference,  page 
140)  contains  a  comprehensive  list  of  Extension  Publications. 

*  Government  publications  for  which  a  charge  is  made  should  be  ordered  from  the  Super- 
intendent of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 


140  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  iMoTch 

Printing  on  cloth.    Color  Trade  Journal,  September,  1919. 

Economic  basis  of  the  dyestufif  industry.    Same,  May,  1919. 

Americanizing  the  dyestuff  industry.    Textile  World  Jour.,  March  22,  April  12,  1919. 

Importance  of  the  -dye  industry  for  the  economic  life  of  the  American  nation.  Color 

Trade  Journal,  October,  1919. 
American  dyestufifs  or  national  disaster.    Textiles,  September,  1919. 
Misbranding  of  merchandise  (Barkey  Bill).    Textiles,  July,  1919. 
Misbranding  of  merchandise  (Barkey  Bill).    National  Clothier,  August,  1919. 
British  Merchandise  Marks  Act.    National  Clothier,  August,  1919. 
Trade  Magazines: 

The  Textile  World  Journal,  334  Fourth  Ave.,  N.  Y.  City. 
The  Dry  Goods  Economist,  231  W.  39th  St.,  N.  Y.  City. 
Women's  Wear  (Daily),  8  E.  13th  St.,  N.  Y.  City. 
Posselt's  Textile  Journal,  Philadelphia. 
Textiles,  79  Milk  St.,  Boston. 
Books: 

J.  B.  Lippincott,  Philadelphia: 

Clothing  for  Women,  Baldt. 

Housewifery  Balderston  (Bedding,  household  textiles). 

The  Business  of  the  Household,  Taber. 

Millinery,  Tobey  (about  to  be  issued). 

Clothing — Choice,  Care,  Cost,  Woolman  (about  to  be  issued). 
Macmillan,  New  York: 

Textiles,  Woolman  and  McGowan. 

Textiles  and  Clothing,  Waite  and  McGowan. 

Shelter  and  Clothing,  Rinne  and  Cooley. 

Clothing  and  Health,  Kinne  and  Cooley. 

How  we  are  Clothed,  Chamberlain. 
Scribner,  New  York: 

Dressmaking,  Fales. 
Whitcomb  &  Barrows,  Boston: 

Household  Textiles,  Gibbs. 
D.  C.  Heath  &  Company,  New  York: 

Textiles,  Dooley. 
D.  Appleton  &  Company,  New  York: 

Sewing  and  Textiles,  Turner. 

The  Study  of  Fabrics,  Turner. 
American  School  of  Home  Economics,  Chicago: 

Textiles  and  Clothing,  Watson. 
The  Century  Company,  New  York : 

Garments  for  Girls,  Schmit. 
Bibliograpkies: 

Annotated  list  of  books  relating  to  household  arts.    Teachers  College,  Columbia 

University — 25  cents. 
Valuable  books  and  bulletins  on  home  economics.    Agricultural  Extension  Depart- 
ment, Iowa  State  College,  Ames — ^free. 
Home  economics  in  high  schools  of  Mississippi.    State  Department  of  Education, 

Jackson — free. 
Textiles  and  clothing.    The  Library,  State  College  of  Washington,  Pullman — ^25  cents. 
Teaching  home  economics.    Cooley,  Winchell,  Spohr  and  Marshall,    pp.  420-442. 
Bibliography  of  home  economics.    U.  S.  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin  No.  46. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


A  Conference  on  Natural  Gas  met  In 
Washington,  January  14,  at  the  call  of 
Franklin  K.  Lane,  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
to  consider  possible  economies  in  gas  utiliza- 
tion and  the  mutual  interests  of  the  public 
and  the  gas  companies. 

In  attendance  were  governors,  public 
utility  commissioners,  state  geologists,  home 
economics  experts,  owners  and  officials  of 
natural-gas  companies,  and  appliance  manu- 
facturers. 

Responding  to  the  invitation  of  Secretary 
Lane  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation was  represented  by  its  president, 
Edna  White,  and  the  Jousnal  by  Keturah 
Baldwin,  the  buaness  editor.  Several  other 
members  of  the  Association  were  there  repre- 
senting also  other  interests. 

The  common  interests  of  the  producer  and 
consumer,  including  cost,  necessary  equip- 
ment, waste,  and  consideration  of  future  use, 
were  presented  by  Secretary  Lane,  Geoige 
Otis  Smith,  director  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  Commissioner  John  S. 
Rilling,  of  the  Pennsylvania  Public  Service 
Commission,  and  Director  Van  H.  Manning 
of  the  Bureau  of  Mines. 

Samuel  S.  Wyer  of  Ohio  State  University, 
in  a  discussion  of  importance  to  the  home 
economics  representatives,  stated  that  80  per 
cent  of  the  natural  gas  used  in  the  household 
is  wasted;  that,  in  the  household  range,  by 
properly  adjusting  the  gas  pressure  and  the 
distance  of  the  cooking  vessel  from  the  flame, 
43  per  cent  of  the  heat  energy  could  be 
utilized,  and  73  per  cent  in  a  properly  con- 
structed natural  gas  furnace.  He  maintained 
that  the  most  important  factor  in  reducing 
this  waste  would  be  increase  in  cost;  that  so 
long  as  gas  may  be  purchased  at  present 
rates  no  attention  would  be  given  to  effi- 
/ciency;  that  increasing  the  rate  would  not 
increase  the  ultimate  cost  to  the  consumer 


nor  income  to  the  producer  because  of  the 
greater  economy  practiced  and  the  greater 
efficiency  secured  from  the  amount  used. 

A  more  extended  discussion  of  the  prob- 
lems considered  in  this  conference  will  appear 
in  an  early  number  of  the  Journal. 

The  Home  Economics  Association  of 
Philadelphia  held  its  regular  January  meet- 
ing at  the  Widener  Library,  Thursday,  the 
15th,  with  the  Dietitian's  Section  in  charge. 

The  following  talks  were  given  on  the 
various  opportunities  open  to  dietitians: 

An  Experiment  in  Settlement  Teaching, 
Alice  McCoIlister,  Chairman  Dietitans' 
Section,  State  Hospital,  Norristown,  Pa.; 
Acting  as  Health  Advisor  for  the  School 
Child,  Ova  C.  Pendleton,  Health  Advisor, 
White  Williams  Foundation;  Factors  in 
Teaching  the  High  School  Pupil  Home  Eco- 
nomics, Ada  Z.  Fish,  Director  of  Art  and 
Home  Economics,  William  Penn  High  School; 
How  the  Dietitian  of  School  Luncheons^May 
Increase  the  Pupil's  Efficiency,  Emma  Smed- 
ley,  Director  of  School  Luncheons;  A  Nutri- 
tion Clinic  for  Children,  Mrs.  Gwendolyn  S. 
Hubbard,  Social  Service  Dietitian,  Children's 
Hospital;  Diet  in  Health,  Sylvia  Bayard, 
Consulting  Dietitian,  Child  Federation;  A 
Vifflting  Dietitian  in  a  Municipal  Court, 
Mary  Loftus,  Visiting  Dietitian,  Municipal 
Court;  The  Need  of  the  Visiting  Dietitian, 
Miss  Frost,  Instructor,  Visiting  Nurse  Society. 

The  Dietitian's  Section  first  met  in  No- 
vember at  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital.  Mr. 
Miller  of  the  Suaco  Company  gave  a  talk  on 
detergents  and  soap  savers. 

Miss  Gladwyn,  Jefferson  Hospital,  was 
appointed  to  report,  at  the  regular  monthly 
meetings,  current  topics  in  the  dietetic 
world. 

The  Section  appointed  an  investigating 
and  reporting  committee  on  social  service 

141 


142 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[March 


dietitians  in  this  city.  As  the  first  report 
of  this  committee  a  Round  Table  Discussion 
on  Social  Service  Work  was  held  January  29. 

An  Institutional  Burean.  A  hospital 
and  institutional  Bureau  of  Consultation  has 
been  organized  at  284  Fourth  Avenue,  New 
York  City,  by  Mr.  Henry  C.  Wright,  for- 
merly of  the  Department  of  Charities,  New 
York  City.  This  bureau  will  be  ready  to 
give  information  on  plans  and  equipment  of 
institutions  to  be  built,  and  also  on  the  oxgan- 
ization  and  operation  of  institutions  already 
established. 

"The  purpose  of  the  bureau  is  to  make 
available  the  advice  of  the  most  competent 
and  experienced  persons  on  every  phase  of 
hospital  and  institutional  plan,  equipment, 
organization,  and  operation." 

Notes  from  Kentucky.  The  Farm  and 
Home  Convention  was  held  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Kentucky,  Lexington,  January  27  to 
30.  The  principal  speakers  on  the  women's 
program  were  Mrs  Henrietta  Calvin,  Mrs. 
Alice  P.  Norton,  and  Mrs.  Ruth  Reed.  The 
High  Cost  of  Living  was  the  keynote. 

The  County  Home  Demonstration  Agents 
attended  a  seminar  during  January.  Instruc- 
tion was  given  in  Dietetics,  Cookery,  Cloth- 
ing, Dairy,  Poultry,  Physical  Education,  and 
Extension  Methods.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  class  work  there  were  twelve  lectures 
on  special  subjects  including  Literature, 
Pageantry  and  Rural  Recreation,  Music, 
Salesmanship,  and  Home  Decoration. 

Notes.  At  the  Colorado  State  Agricul- 
tural College,  the  Experiment  Station  has 
assigned  to  the  Department  of  Home  Eco- 
nomics a  budget  that  provides  for  full  time 
salary  of  an  investigator,  and  for  expenses 
incident  to  the  conduct  of  research  work. 
Dr.  N.  E.  Goldthwaite,  with  the  rank  of 
Associate  Professor,  is  in  charge  of  the  Exper- 
iment  Station  work  in  Home  Economics. 


The  next  annual  meeting  of  the  American 
Dietetic  Association  will  be  held  in  New 
York  Gty,  October  22  to  26, 1920. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Teachers  College 
Bulletin,  "Current  Notes  in  Institution  Ad- 
ministration," (Series  11,  No.  7)  for  several 
news  items  this  month.  Those  interested  in 
institutional  work  should  send  to  Teachers 
College  for  a  copy. 

The  National  Board  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
600  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York  City,  is 
issuing  an  Economic  Notebook,  loose-leaf 
plan,  that  deals  with  housing,  budgeting,  and 
cafeteria  work.  This  should  be  of  service 
to  those  interested  in  problems  of  larger 
group  living. 

Fellowships  in  Social-Economic  Re- 
search. Three  fellowships  in  social-eco- 
nomic research,  carrying  a  stipend  of  $500 
each,  are  offered  each  year  by  the  Women's 
Educational  and  Industrial  Union  to  women 
who  wish  thorough  preparation  for  such 
work.  Clerical  assistance,  equipment,  and 
traveling  expenses  necessary  for  the  investi- 
gation are  furnished. 

Application  must  be  filed  before  May  1. 

For  further  information,  address  Depart- 
ment of  Research,  Women's  Educational 
and  Industrial  Union,  264  Boylston  Street, 
Boston  17,  Massachusetts. 

Annual  Meeting  of  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association.  Since  the 
February  Journal  was  printed,  the  dates 
for  the  annual  meeting  at  Colorado  Springs 
have  been  changed  to  June  24-29. 

Further  notice  of  the  meeting  will  appear 
in  the  Journal  as  soon  as  the  necessary 
arrangements  have  been  completed. 

Win  every  one  who  e3q>ects  to  attend 
the  meeting  send  a  postal  card  to  the 
secretary,  Miss  Cora  Winchell,  Teach- 
ers College,  New  York  City,  as  soon  as 
possible,  so  that  the  committee  may 
have  some  idea  of  the  number  of  rooms 
to  be  reserved. 


1920]  oiacRON  NU  143 

OMICRON  NU 

DELTA  CHAPTER 

Organization  of  alumnae  chapter.  The  members  of  the  Delta  Chapter,  in 
order  to  secure  a  relationship  between  the  active  and  alumnae  members,  have 
organized  an  aliunnae  chapter.  Early  in  the  fall  the  active  members 
wrote  interesting  letters  to  the  aliunnae  members  who  were  teaching  in  the 
State  inviting  them  to  attend  a  tea,  during  the  State  Teachers  Associa- 
tion. Four  girls  from  the  Chapter  went  to  Indianapolis  to  meet  the  guests. 
Our  honorary  member,  Mrs.  Henrietta  W.  Calvin  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
twenty  almnnae  were  present,  who  expressed  their  desire  to  form  such  an 
organization.  Miss  Lucy  Wallace  Wade,  the  Supervisor  of  Domestic  Art  in 
the  IndianapoUs  Public  Schools,  was  elected  president,  and  Miss  Francis 
McMahon  of  LaFayette  was  elected  secretary.  It  was  voted  to  make  the 
meeting  an  annual  affair,  to  be  held  on  the  Thursday  of  each  State  Teachers' 
Association. 

Organization  of  home  economics  society.  One  of  the  Omicron  Nu  girls  who 
attended  the  conclave  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  came  back  with  a  desire  to  organize 
a  society  for  every  girl  taking  the  home  economics  work,  and  through  her 
efforts  the  plans  were  outlined.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  the 
Constitution  and  by-laws  which  were  submitted  to  the  girls  for  approval  and 
accepted. 

The  object  of  the  society  is  to  promote  a  better  understanding  of  the  scope 
of  home  economics,  and  to  foster  fellowship  among  the  students.  Approxi- 
mately one  hundred  and  twenty-five  girls  became  members  at  the  first  meeting. 

Only  Sophomores  and  Freshmen  may  hold  office;  two  Juniors,  two  Seniors, 
and  one  faculty  member  are  on  the  Advisory  Board. 

The  meeting  on  December  3,  was  in  observance  of  Ellen  H.  Richards'  day. 
The  speaker  was  Elizabeth  Miller  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  who  holds 
the  Ellen  H.  Richards'  Scholarship. 

BETA  CHAPTER — NEW  YORK  STATE  COLLEGE  FOR  TEACHERS 

Our  program  for  the  year  has  been  divided  into  three  phases — educational, 
sodal,  and  financial,  each  of  which  is  directed  by  two  students  and  a  faculty 
advisor. 

For  the  educational  work  during  the  year  the  committee  has  planned  a 
series  of  studies  and  discussions  on  the  "Servant  Problem,"  briefly  outlined 
here:  The  home  or  fanuly  unit,  its  social  and  economic  relation  to  the  com- 
munity ;  growth  of  family  and  service.  Development  of  public  service.  Service 
— what  it  means  and  involves,  principles  underlying  service.  Can  household 
service  be  put  on  a  business  basis?    If  so,  what  standards  should  be  estab- 


144  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Match 

lished?  Physiological  and  ethical  side  of  service.  Specialization  in  domestic 
service  work,  a  place  for  it  in  vocational  high  schools.  A  suggested  course  of 
study  for  this  vocation. 

The  social  committee  is  making  plans  for  a  tea  to  be  given  for  the  home 
economics  Freshmen.  This  is  an  annual  event  and  one  of  the  few  oppor- 
tunities for  Seniors  and  Freshmen  to  become  acquainted.  During  the  New 
York  State  Teachers'  Convention,  which  was  held  in  Albany  on  Thanksgiving 
week,  Beta  Chapter  gave  a  tea  for  the  Home  Economics  Alumnae  who  were  in 
town  for  the  convention. 

Beta  has  been  most  enthusiastic  in  making  plans  for  raising  money.  We 
have  made  a  forecast  of  the  probable  expenses  for  the  year,  and  each  member 
has  assmned  responsibility  for  her  proportion  of  the  expenses.  Some  of  the 
girls  have  taken  Christmas  orders  for  plum  puddings,  fruit  cakes,  and  orange 
marmalade;  some  are  catering  for  dinners,  luncheons,  and  teas;  others  are 
taking  Larkin  orders;  marmalade  and  pickles  have  been  made  and  sold.  One 
afternoon  a  week  we  open  a  rest  room  to  faculty  and  students,  and  serve  tea, 
cocoa,  or  coffee,  with  wafers  or  crullers. 

Una  Vesmiixion, 

National  Editor, 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  APRIL,  1920  No.  4 


TEA  ROOM  MANAGEMENT  FROM  THE  MANAGER'S  POINT 

OF  VIEW* 

AGNES  GLEASON 
The  Parkway  Tea  Room,  Chicago 

The  problems  of  those  who  choose  catering  to  the  public  for  their  work 
in  life  lie  very  close  to  me.  Years  of  business  experience  have  taught 
me  what  these  problems  are,  and  how  to  solve  some  of  them  in  a  prac- 
tical way.  If  I  can  be  of  help  to  you  in  putting  the  gist  of  what  I  have 
learned  before  you,  I  am  indeed  happy  to  do  so. 

It  is  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  find  college  women  seriously  consider- 
ing going  into  tea-ro6m  work.  This  is  putting  the  work  professionally 
where  it  belongs.  This  is  recognizing  the  business  of  furnishing  the 
public  with  food  for  what  it  is — a  science.  I  am  keenly  conscious  of  the 
large  contribution  such  women  as  you  are  capable  of  making  to  the 
profession  of  food-serving,  and  the  demands  of  the  public  upon  you 
will  be  proportionate. 

In  your  laboratories  you  have  learned  the  chemistry  of  food  and  its 
nutritive  value.  You  have  been  taught  scientifically  how  to  combine 
foods  and  what  are  the  right  amounts  necessary  to  keep  the  body  well 
nourished.  You  have  studied  bacteriology.  You  know  how  to  safe- 
guard the  public  from  the  dangers  in  food  that  were  never  even  sus- 
pected a  generation  ago. 

You  are  women  with  trained,  xlisciplined  minds.  We  need  such  as 
you  to  think  out  our  problems.    For  in  the  tea-room  business,  as  in 

^  Presented  at  the  meeting  of  the  Institution  Economics  Section  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association,  Madison,  Wis.,  June,  1919. 

145 


146  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

Other  business,  there  is  no  haphazard  solution  of  difficulties,  and  college 
women  are  equipped  to  find  the  right  solution  without  that  waste  of 
energy  and  time  that  hampers  women  with  little  or  no  scientific  knowl- 
edge and  no  formal  mental  training. 

You  have  been  furnished  with  the  theory  and,  beyond  question,  with 
some  of  the  practice,  but  I  take  it  that,  in  the  nature  of  things,  you  know 
littie  of  the  "making  it  pay"  side;  that  is,  of  the  ''cashing  in''  of  your 
scientific  knowledge. 

However  much  and  however  good  the  training  you  have  had  iti  your 
college  laboratories,  the  business  field  still  remains  an  imknown  world 
to  you,  and  I  would  beg  of  you  to  still  take  with  you,  on  entering  it, 
the  attitude  of  the  learner. 

This,  first  of  all,  is  what  the  manager  wants  in  a  helper — a  willingness 
to  be  told  the  problems  of  that  particular  business — for  the  problems  of 
every  tea  room  vary^ — a  readiness  to  execute  orders.  Go  into  the  field 
in  a  receptive  frame  of  mind,  and  preserve  that  frame  of  nund  until  you 
are  quite  certain  that  that  particular  tea  room  has  nothing  more  to 
teach  you.  By  that  time  you  will  either  be  the  manager's  right  hand — 
she  cannot  have  too  many — or  you  will  be  disassociated  altogether  from 
the  enterprise. 

Secondly,  I  would  impress  upon  you  that  managing  a  modem  tea 
room  means  exactiy  what  managing  a  large  home  means.  The  most 
successful  tea  room  is  the  one  that  preserves  the  atmosphere  of  a  pleas- 
ant, well-ordered  home.  The  more  successful  a  manager  in  getting  the 
home  touch  in  the  tea  room,  the  better  her  management. 

The  competent  manager  of  a  tea  room  knows,  first  and  foremost, 
how  to  merchandise  food  intelligentiy — how  to  get  the  right  number  of 
portions  out  of  a  given  amount  of  raw  material,  and  how  to  put  the 
right  price  upon  it  when  cooked  and  ready  to  serve.  Knowledge  of 
right  purchasing,  apportioning,  and  pricing  of  food  is  not  all  there  is  to 
tea  room  management,  by  any  means,  but  I  feel  justified  in  saying  that 
it  is  the  rock  upon  which  success  is  founded.  Equipped  with  such  knowl- 
edge you  may  operate  a  more  or  less  successful  business.  Lacking  an 
understanding  of  clever  merchandising  of  food,  no  amount  of  ability 
to  give  your  tea  room  an  artistic  and  homelike  atmosphere  will  compen- 
sate. These  other  qualities  are  highly  useful  as  ciphers  in  the  success 
total,  but  the  integer  is  knowledge  of  merchandising  the  food.  To  stay 
in  business  you  must  create  an  income.  To  do  this  you  must  sell  what 
you  buy  at  a  price  that  will  cover  the  cost  of  its  preparation,  the  over- 


1920]  TEA  ROOM   MANAGEMENT  147 

head,  and  something  more  for  your  profit.  The  amotmt  of  profit  you 
should  have  is  for  you  to  decide.  The  selecting  of  raw  supplies  wisely 
and  the  merchandising  of  them  are  things  to  be  learned  only  by  doing 
them. 

In  this  connection  I  should  like  to  say  a  word  about  economy.  Some 
of  the  simplest  dishes  are  utterly  spoiled  by  too  close  economy.  If  an 
extra  potmd  of  butter,  even  at  seventy  or  eighty  cents  a  potmd,  will 
put  your  product  in  demand,  it  is  certainly  folly  to  skimp  on  the  butter 
or  to  use  a  substitute.  Make  a  note  that  the  best  food  will  always  mer- 
chandise the  best.  Buy  No.  1  quality.  The  best  is  always  the  most 
economical. 

I  wotdd  advise  any  girl  going  into  tea  room  work  to  first  determine 
that  that  is  the  one  work  she  wants  to  do  and  to  begin  by  taking  a  posi- 
tion in  a  popular  and  successful  tea  room.  This  will  contribute  to  get- 
ting a  right  balance  established  in  her  mind  between  theory  and  prac- 
tise. Just  what  the  position  shotdd  be  does  not  matter  half  so  much  as 
some  girls  think.  From  any  part  of  the  tea  room  you  can  get  a  fair 
start,  and  gradually  acquire  a  knowledge  of  what  is  going  on  throughout 
the  whole  establishment.  If  you  do  not  go  in  with  too  exalted  an  opin- 
ion of  your  attainments,  but  rather  with  the  spirit  of  a  pupil,  you  will 
be  surprised  to  see  how  much  you  can  learn  about  methods  in  a  short 
while. 

Be  open-minded,  tolerant,  and  patient.  You  will  come  in  contact 
with  people  of  all  sorts.  They  will  not  know  what  you  are  there  for, 
but  you  will,  and  that  should  help  make  you  more  patient.  You  can 
learn  a  great  deal  from  other  employees  who  may  not  have  had  any  of 
the  academic  advantages  you  have  had,  while  you,  no  doubt,  are  teach- 
ing them  much  through  the  quiet  force  of  personality.  Let  it  be  such, 
and  not  definite  instruction.  You  are  there  to  find  out  how  things  are 
done  by  other  people,  and  what  is  the  secret  of  that  particular  tea  room's 
success  and  popularity.  I  make  a  point  of  this  simplicity  of  attitude  on 
the  part  of  the  newcomer,  whoever  she  may  be  and  however  much  her 
technical  training,  because  my  experience  with  domestic  science  gradu- 
ates has  been  that  their  weakness  seems  to  lie  in  an  inability  or  tmwill- 
ingness  to  adopt  the  apprentice's  point  of  view  even  temporarily.  I 
have  taken  domestic  science  graduates  into  the  tea  room,  at  their  re- 
quest, because  they  wished  to  learn  how  things  were  done  there,  but 
when  I  have  detailed  them  to  do  certain  work,  along  with  the  regular 
helpers,  they  have  felt  themselves  slighted.    The  work,  they  have  told 


148  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

me,  was  not  wortliy  of  their  abilities.  If  you  are  not  willing  to  carry 
out  instructions,  in  order  that  you  may  know  how  things  are  done, 
or  demonstrate  how  they  are  done,  before  asking  others  to  do  them, 
your  success  will  be  deferred  until  that  adjustment  takes  place  within 
yourself. 

Selecting  help  is  an  important  part  of  the  work.  After  finding  your 
people  you  must  train  them  to  your  methods  and  set  the  pace  for  them. 
They  are  quick  to  appreciate  justice,  even  if  the  decision  goes  against 
them.  As  manager,  you  must  adjust  yourself  to  your  employees,  and 
give  them  the  work  that  will  bring  out  their  best  abilities,  raise  wages 
when  business  warrants  it,  and  in  every  way  try  to  make  them  fed  that 
your  success  is  their  success.    In  other  words,  there  must  be  cooperation. 

It  is  the  patron  who  makes  the  business.  This  should  be  constantly 
impressed  upon  your  helpers.  Give  them  the  slogan:  "The  guest  is 
always  right,"  that  is,  he  must  be  treated  with  the  utmost  courtesy. 
Patrons  will  not  seek  a  tea  room  unless  value  is  obtained  there.  While 
the  appearance  of  the  place  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with  attracting  people, 
they  will  not  pay  for  "personality*'  and  "atmosphere''  alone.  They 
come  primarily  for  food,  good  food,  well  cooked,  clean,  and  well  served. 

A  word  here  about  the  number  of  employees  required  to  man  a  tea 
room  might  not  be  amiss.  For  an  establishment  serving  two  meals  to 
between  500  and  600  persons  a  day,  a  first  and  a  second  meat  cook  will 
be  required;  a  vegetable  cook;  a  pastry  cook;  two  pantry  girls  who  will 
have  charge  of  salads,  sandwiches,  ice  cream,  and  beverages;  two  dish- 
washers; one  glass  and  silver  cleaner;  one  pan  washer;  one  scrubwoman, 
who  will  prepare  vegetables  and  clean  iceboxes;  two  laimdresses;  one 
porter;  nine  waitresses;  and  one  cashier. 

From  your  place  of  employment  in  the  tea  room,  whether  it  be  helper 
in  the  kitchen  or  manager's  assistant,  you  will,  note  very  soon  that  the 
matter  of  the  size  of  portions  and  their  prices  plays  a  highly  important 
part  in  the  day's  work,  and  that  in  a  given  tea  room,  a  certain  ration  is 
consistently  maintained  throughout  the  menu  in  this  respect.  Later, 
you  will  learn  the  ratio  of  prices  charged  for  the  prepared  food  to  the 
market  cost.  There  is  a  rule  for  all  of  these  things.  For  example,  it 
will  not  take  you  long  to  discover  how  many  slices  must  come  out  of  a 
loaf  of  sandwich  bread  of  certain  dimensions,  and  how  much  sliced  or 
minced  ham  or  sliced  chicken  a  given  number  of  poxmds  of  meat  must 
afford;  how  many  slices  of  roast  beef  a  full  seven  rib  roast  must  yield,  and 
how  the  price  must  be  fixed;  what  the  soup  is  to  cost  per  person,  the  salad 


1920]  TEA  ROOM  MANAGEMENT  149 

per  person;  into  how  many  portions  a  turkey  should  cut;  how  many 
orders  one  should  get  out  of  a  case  of  asparagus,  a  bushel  of  potatoes, 
and  so  all  the  way  down  the  menu. 

Such  points  as  these  can  best  be  learned  by  adding  to  your  school 
training  a  course  of  experi^ice  in  a  successful  tea  room. 

Being  a  manager,  I  said,  comes  to  pretty  much  the  same  thing  as  run- 
ning a  home  on  a  large  scale.  This  holds  good  whether  you  are  in  a 
small  tea  room  or  the  largest  hotel  in  the  world.  It  is  what  the  public 
is  looking  for.  There  is  nothing  the  public  appreciates  so  much  as 
hominess  and  there  is  nothing  so  subtle.  Herein  lies  one  great  attrac- 
tion of  the  work.  There  are  no  end  of  delightful  touches  that  a  woman 
may  give  to  her  establishment  that  reflect  herself.  I  want  to  stress 
this  point  particularly.  Your  output  will  be  a  reflection  of  what  you 
are,  of  your  capacity  for  work,  your  ideals,  and  your  imagination  and 
temperament.  This  is  inescapable.  Catering  is  service.  If  you  have 
the  true  spirit  of  service,  you  have  a  splendid  start  for  success  in  business. 
If  the  spirit  of  service  is  not  found  in  the  head  of  the  establishment,  it 
is  usually  not  found  in  the  employees,  and  the  atmosphere  reflects  the 
true  situation. 

Managing  means  much  testing  and  tasting,  time,  thought,  hard  work — 
and  no  wasting.  You  must  be  at  your  business  early,  and  you  must 
stay  at  it  late.  You  must  never  let  your  helpers  forget  that  you  have  a 
right  to  know  everything  that  is  going  on,  both  in  the  kitchen  and  at 
the  desk.  You  must  be  imcompromising  in  your  daily  inspections,  and 
you  must  make  your  aides  imderstand  that  you  exact  from  them  the  best 
service  of  which  they  are  capable.  Laxness — the  bone  of  too  easy 
success — will  not  creep  in  if  you  maintain  this  vigilance.  Supervise 
diligently  as  to  cleanliness,  order,  and  the  general  deportment  of  employ- 
ees. Be  direct  in  your  orders  but  be  sure  that  they  have  been  well 
thought  out. 

Catering  is  a  delightful  occupation,  once  the  public  has  learned  to 
trust  you.  You  can  gain  their  confidence  by  giving  food  cooked  in  a 
cleanly,  appetizing  manner,  served  in  a  homelike  way,  and  priced  con- 
sistently. By  consistently,  I  mean  with  due  regard  to  the  cost  of  its 
preparation,  asking  neither  more  nor  less  than  is  fair  to  your  business. 
Volume  of  business  is  the  goal  to  be  sought,  though  too  much  must  not 
be  sacrificed  for  it.  There  is  no  work  in  which  a  woman  can  realize 
more  in  money  returns  for  her  scientific  attainments  than  in  this  kind 
of  work.    Nor  is  there  any  work  for  a  woman  more  fascinating. 


150  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

I  shotQd  advise  every  woman  who  takes  up  a  profession,  whether  it 
is  a  tea  room  or  something  else,  to  have  a  hobby.  We  are  prone  to  stick 
too  closely  to  one  line  of  work,  and  this  is  not  good.  Ride  horseback, 
play  golf,  do  something  to  amuse  yourself  in  your  leisure  hours,  and 
have  leisure  hours  which  must  be  respected.  By  getting  away  com- 
pletely from  thoughts  of  your  work  at  intervals,  you  only  strengthen 
your  grip  on  the  work.  Have  a  hobby — something  that  will  take  you 
away  mind  and  body  from  too  close  confinement  to  your  main  line  of 
occupation.  It  will  make  you  richer  and  more  capable,  rather  than  de- 
tract from  your  business  worth. 

Closing  this  article  is  hard — for  it  is,  as  you  see,  an  all  engrossing 
subject  to  me.  But  let  me  leave  this  parting  word  with  you.  The 
price  of  success  in  this  work  is  costly,  but  perseverance  will  crown  it 
adequately. 


A  STUDY  OF  WOOL  FABRICS* 

LOUISE  PHILLIPS  GLANTON 

As  a  partial  fulfilment  of  the  requirements  for  the  M.A.  degree  at  Colum- 
bia University,  I  made,  during  the  spring  of  1917,  some  investigations  of  the 
various  qualities  of  wool  fabrics  in  general  use  for  garments  for  women  and 
children.  Since  that  time  the  interest  in  these  fabrics  has  not  decreased; 
indeed  it  has  steadily  increased  as  the  supply  of  wool  has  lessened  and  the 
price  of  wool,  along  with  the  prices  of  every  thing  else,  has  greatly  advanced. 
The  editor  of  the  Journal  has  asked  me  to  summarize  the  conclusions  drawn 
from  the  results  of  the  tests. 

The  investigations  were  made  under  conditions  which  insured  the  same 
kind  of  scientific  accuracy  that  is  required  in  the  departments  of  chem- 
istry or  engineering,  and  the  conclusions  were  approved  by  the  heads  of  the 
departments. 

For  these  tests,  twelve  samples  each  of  five  kinds  of  wool  fabrics  in 
common  use  were  included,  namely:  white  or  baby  flannel,  ranging  in 

>  It  was  not  possible  in  the  Jousnal's  limited  space  to  publish  the  tables  that  were  in- 
cluded in  the  original  report,  but  arrangements  may  be  made  for  the  loan  of  the  paper,  through 
the  JoiTSNAL  Office. 


1920]  A  STUDY  OF  WOOL  FABRICS  151 

price  from  $0.45  to  $1.10  per  square  yard;  broadcloth,  $0.77  to  $2.33 
per  square  yard;  suiting  for  suits  for  men,  women,  and  children  with 
price  range  of  $0.66  to  $2.35  per  square  yard;  serge  for  dresses  at  $0.80 
to  $1.19  per  square  yard;  and,  lastly,  miscellaneous  fabrics  used  for 
various  kinds  of  garments  at  $0.64  to  $1.42  per  square  yard. 

None  of  the  samples  were  of  fancy,  or  ^^  stylish"  materials,  but  were  of 
the  general  dass  which  might  have  been  fotmd  in  shops  all  over  the 
country  at  any  time  during  the  previous  five  to  ten  years.  There  were 
ranges  in  qualities  as  varied  as  the  ranges  in  price. 

Hie  samples  were  tested  for  shrinkage,  tensile  strength,  percentage 
composition  or  amoimt  of  wool  and  cotton  present,  the  number  of  yams 
to  the  square  inch,  and  the  weight  per  square  yard.  From  these  tests, 
there  may  be  drawn  some  practical  conclusions  which  are  valuable  for 
the  purchaser  of  such  fabrics. 

The  best  wool  fabrics  show  a  good  deal  of  elasticity  and  resiliency. 
The  yams  shotdd  pull  apart,  never  break  off  even,  as  do  those  of  cotton. 
These  two  qualities  will  prevent  easy  tearing,  and  give  conformity  to 
the  curves  of  the  body,  the  latter  conserving  the  heat.  Many  all-wool 
fabrics  may  lack  these  properties  because  of  the  quality  of  the  fiber 
used,  or  because  of  faulty  manufacturing  processes.  If  a  fabric  seems 
stiff,  examine  carefully  the  individual  fibres  for  stiffness  and  for  harsh- 
ness, due  usually  to  the  use  of  strong  chemicals.  Again,  those  samples 
which  stand  the  greatest  direct  strain,  but  lack  resiliency,  soon  lose 
their  shape.  In  a  garment  from  such  fabrics,  the  results  vary  all  the 
way  from  sagging  side  and  back  seams  with  a  front  elevation  to  exceed- 
ing bagginess  over  the  knees.  No  matter  how  well  cut  a  coat  or  skirt 
may  be  originally,  the  comfort  is  all  gone  when  the  garment  loses  its 
"hang,"  or  gets  baggy  in  any  part.  Very  often  the  presence  of  cotton  in 
large  proportions  will  cause  this  difficulty  in  garments  with  long  seams. 
With  smaller  garments,  for  school  girls  for  instance,  this  objection  does 
not  hold  to  any  great  extent.  Such  dresses  clean  easily  and  look  well 
enough  for  the  purpose.  Very  few  girls  can  wear  a  dress  more  than  one 
season,  because  of  their  constantly  increasing  growth.  The  less  expen- 
sive fabrics  are  therefore  most  excellent  for  such  purposes.  Such  fab- 
rics may  be  purchased  in  good  designs  and  coloring. 

A  small  amoimt  of  cotton,  up  to  10  per  cent,  is  no  great  disadvantage 
in  white  goods,  if  the  price  is  right.  Indeed  it  is  advocated  by  many 
eiperienced,  intelligent  purchasers.  However,  in  colored  goods,  especi- 
ally ^those  of  dark  color,  the  cotton  may  not  hold  the  dye,  as  all  dark 
colors  tend  to  be  fugitive  on  cotton. 


152  THE  JOURKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

The  shrinkage  presented  one  of  the  most  interesting  problems.  From 
a  study  of  the  samples  there  seem  to  be  three  principal  factors  which 
make  for  shrinkage.  If  the  fibers  are  quite  curly,  the  fabric  shrinks 
even  imder  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  If  the  fibers  are  not 
fairly  well  combed,  even  though  relatively  straight,  there  is  consider- 
able shrinkage.  If  the  fabrics  are  woven  quite  closely,  that  is,  if  the 
yams  are  quite  near  each  other,  there  is  much  matting  of  the  serra- 
tions. This  is  increased  if  the  yams  lack  twist,  or  have  not  been  well 
spxm. 

In  garments  for  infants'  use,  shrinkage  is  a  great  disadvantage  be- 
cause of  the  board-like  character  the  fabric  assumes  after  a  few  wash- 
ings. The  skin  of  babies  is  tender,  the  least  harshness  causing  undesir- 
able irritation  and  consequent  ill  effects.  There  is  another  disadvan- 
tage not  to  be  overlooked.  With  much  shrinkage,  a  garment  quickly 
becomes  too  small — an  economic  dead  loss. 

The  shrinkage  in  the  other  faeries  was  not  very  noticeable  nor  signifi- 
cant, except  the  very  cheap  broadcloth,  which  lost  25  per  cent  in  size  and 
faded  miserably. 

The  prices  were  almost  always  directly  proportional  to  the  value. 
Those  fabrics  which  had  good  color,  good  finish,  and  kept  their  shape, 
were  in  every  case  in  the  middle  or  upper  class  of  prices.  Some  of  the 
fabrics  which  were  purchased  in  stores  where  the  appeal  is  to  a  sense  of 
real  worth,  not  style  or  finish,  were  medium  or  low  in  price,  and  showed 
high  counts  on  every  point.  It  would  seem  to  indicate  how  advisable 
it  is  for  a  woman  who  must  really  economize  to  go  to  one  of  the  less 
exclusive  shops  to  do  her  buying,  although  she  should  compare  prices 
and  values  with  those  in  the  style-setting  shops. 


1920]  AN  EIGHTH  GRADE  CLASS  C0X7RSE  OF  STUDY  153 

HOW  AN  EIGHTH  GRADE  CLASS  MADE  THEIR  OWN  COURSE 

OF  STUDY 

ROSAMOND  C.  COOK 

Assistant  Professor  of  Home  Economics,  Iowa  State  CoUege 

The  scene  is  laid  in  a  sewing  laboratory.  Eighteen  eighth  grade  girls 
were  filing  in  for  the  first  sewing  lesson  of  the  year.  As  the  class  came  to 
order  the  teacher  said,  '^  I  am  glad  to  see  so  many  of  my  last  year  seventh 
grade  girls  here,  and  to  welcome  the  three  new  girls.  From  your  faces 
I  judge  there  is  something  you  want  to  talk  about  right  away.  What  is 
it?'' 

''What  are  we  going  to  make  first?"  was  the  chorus  of  replies. 
•  "Well,"  replied  the  teacher,  "that  is  interesting  for  it  is  exactly  what 
I  want  to  talk  about  too.    What  do  you  want  to  make?" 

A  nimiber  of  garments  were  mentioned  and  the  teacher  wrote  the  list 
on  the  board.  It  included  dress,  petticoat,  bloomers,  nightgown, 
drawers,  and  "  teddy."  As  some  of  the  garments  were  named  comments 
by  other  members  of  the  class  were  heard,  such  as, — "You  can't  make  a 
dress,  you  don't  know  enough,"  and,  "My  mother  won't  let  me  wear  a 
'teddy.' " 

As  the  teacher  completed  writing  the  list  she  said,  "Now  girls,  there 
seems  to  be  a  difference  of  opinion  about  what  we  are  to  make,  but 
as  I  think  it  over  it  seems  to  me  that  we  have  to  decide  two  points: 
first,  would  it  be  possible  for  each  girl  to  make  any  garment  she  chooses; 
second,  how  shall  we  decide  which  garment  to  make.  Let  us  take  the 
first  question.  What  do  you  think?"  Several  hands  went  up  and  the 
teacher  called  on  Helen  who  replied,  "We  don't  know  enough  to  make 
some  of  the  articles  named,  especially  the  dress." 

The  teacher  replied,  "We  could  plan  a  simple  cotton  dress  but  it 
wotdd  take  a  nimiber  of  weeks  to  complete  it  and  that  would  take  us 
into  the  time  of  the  year  when  you  are  wearing  wool  dresses  and  if  you 
waited  tmtil  next  summer  to  wear  it,  what  wotdd  probably  happen?" 
The  girls  looked  at  each  other  and  laughed.  One  answered,  "Well,  I 
don't  think  I  wotdd  be  able  to  wear  it  if  I  grow  as  fast  as  I  did  last  win- 
ter; why  I  didn't  have  a  thing  I  could  wear  last  spring." 

"Are  there  any  other  reasons  why  we  cannot  all  make  separate  gar- 
ments?" asked  the  teacher.  Again  the  hands  went  up  and  the  teacher 
called  on  Marguerite  who  said,  "I  should  think  we  would  have  to  wait 
a  good  deal  for  help  if  we  did  that." 


154  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

"That  is  perfectly  true  for  there  are  eighteen  girls  in  the  class  and  only 
one  teacher,  and  even  if  I  worked  very  fast  I  could  give  each  one  only  a 
few  minutes  time.  We  have  only  seventy-five  minutes  for  a  lesson  and 
if  you  divide  that  by  eighteen  you  see  it  gives  about  four  minutes  to 
each  girl.  We  would  surely  save  time  and  really  accomplish  more  if 
we  cotdd  plan  something  every  girl  wotdd  like  to  make  and  so  have  class 
instruction.  Shall  we  try  to  planfit  that  way?"  Replies  of  "yes" 
and  nods  of  heads  decided  the  question. 

"Now,"  continued  the  teacher,  "about  the  second  question.  How 
shall  we  dedde  which  garment  to  make?  Shall  we  just  choose  any  gar- 
ment or  can  you  think  of  something  that  might  help  us  decide  on  one 
or  two  particular  garments?    Think  carefully  a  moment." 

The  girls  looked  thoughtf td  but  no  very  satisfactory  reasons  suggested 
themselves.  One  girl  finally  said,  "I  wish  I  cotdd  use  some  little  things 
that  are  in  the  machine  drawer.  I  saw  Gladys  using  a  fimny  one  the 
other  day  when  I  came  in  to  bring  you  the  note  from  Miss  H ." 

"You  mean  the  attachments  on  the  machine,"  replied  the  teacher; 
"the  'funny  one'  you  saw  Gladys  using  was  the  tucker.  I  certainly  see 
no  reason  why  you  cannot  use  the  tucker  if  you  wish,  provided,  of  course, 
that  the  garment  you  choose  to  make  reqiures  tucking." 

This  reply  started  a  perfect  avalanche  of  "oh,  may  Fs,"  and  after  a 
bit  of  discussion  the  teacher  said, "  I  am  wondering,  girls,  if  you  have  not 
fotmd  the  answer  to  our  question  of  how  to  decide  which  garment  to 
make.  Suppose  we  make  a  list  of  the  things  about  sewing  that  you 
already  know  and  a  second  list  of  the  things,  like  the  tucker,  that  you 
want  to  know  more  about  and  then  see  which  garment  will  give  the 
most  experience  and  practice.    Do  you  think  that  a  good  idea?" 

The  idea  apparently  found  favor  from  the  rapidity  with  which  the 
replies  were  given,  and  the  teacher  had  a  hard  time  writing  fast  enough 
to  keep  up.  The  first  list,  helped  out  by  a  question  or  two  on  forgotten 
points,  was  about  like  this: 

What  the  girls  already  knew:  Sewing — ^basting,  hemming,  threading 
and  plain  stitching  on  the  machine,  names  of  parts  of  machine,  French 
seam,  button-hole  (more  knowledge  needed),  turning  a  hem  and  stitch- 
ing it.  Textiles — ^meaning  of  the  terms  bias,  selvedge,  lengthwise,  cross- 
wise, filling,  warp;  ability  to  recognize  gingham,  percale,  and  toweling, 
to  recognize  design  as  made  by  the  use  of  dyed  yams  (structural  design), 
to  recognise  design  as  made  by  printing  (applied  design),  to  recognise 
plain  weave. 


1920]  AN  EIGHTH  GRADE  CLASS  COURSE  OF  STUDY  155 

The  second  list  was  much  more  difficult  to  make  than  the  first,  since 
the  girls  were  not  always  able  to  name  the  work  about  which  they  wished 
to  know.  The  teacher  began  by  using  the  fact  about  the  sewing  machine 
which  had  already  been  mentioned  and  then  called  for  more  requests. 
A  few  suggested  by  the  first  list  were  given  readily,  but  on  this  very 
account  they  were  in  the  nature  of  a  review  such  as  ''more  about  seams, 
straighter  stitching  on  the  French  seam,  and  more  work  on  button- 
holes.'' 

''Try  to  remember  how  the  dothing  you  have  on  is  made  and  I  am 
sure  it  will  give  you  ideas,"  said  the  teacher;  and  it  did,  for  "how  to 
make  plackets,"  "how  to  gather  and  put  on  a  band,"  and  "trimming" 
were  the  products.  When  trimming  was  mentioned  the  teacher  asked, 
"How  many  kinds  of  trimming  can  you  recognise  if  I  show  them  to 
you,  and  of  how  many  can  you  tell  me  the  names?" 

Lace  was  the  only  one  of  which  the  girls  were  sure  and,  like  "Pigs  is 
Pigs,"  there  were  no  distinctions  even  in  that.  The  teacher  named 
several  kinds  of  laces  and  several  types  of  trimming  with  the  restdt  that 
the  girls  wanted  to  be  able  to  recognise  at  least  three  or  four. 

Again  there  was  a  pause  and  the  teacher  suggested,  "Last  year  you 
made  aprons  and  before  we  started  them  we  studied  several  materials 
to  discover  which  one  was  best  suited  to  the  purpose.  Could  you  use 
those  materials,  gingham  or  percale,  to  make  a  nightgown  or  "teddy?" 
The  very  idea!  Of  course  it  would  be  necessary  to  find  out  about  the 
right  kinds  of  doth  to  be  used  for  nightgowns  and  it  developed  that  sev- 
eral girls  had  heard  their  mothers  ask  for  longdoth  and  one  girl  had  heard 
the  word  "nainsook."  Said  the  teacher,  "When  you  go  into  the  store 
for  the  material  what  else  must  you  know  besides  the  name  of  the  goods? 
Mary  may  answer." 

"I  shotdd  want  to  feel  of  it  to  see  if  it  is  thin  enough." 

"Yes,  you  will  study  the  quality  first,  and  having  made  your  choice, 
what  next?" 

"Tell  how  many  yards  I  need,"  replied  Mary. 

"How  many  yards  are  you  going  to  ask  for  and  how  will  you  dedde?" 
asked  the  teacher.  Mary  was  unable  to  answer  so  the  question  was 
passed  to  Dorothy  who  replied,  "I  shotdd  think  you  would  measure  as 
we  did  for  our  aprons." 

"Oh,  we  have  to  have  a  pattern  and  measure  it,"  exclaimed  two  or 
three  at  once. 


156  THE  J0X7RKAL  OF  HOME  ECX)NOMICS  [April 

^'Oh,  can  we  use  one  of  the  patterns  that  come  in  an  envelope  like  my 
mother  uses,  instead  of  the  brown  paper  patterns  we  used  for  our  aprons?'' 
asked  a  girl  who  had  been  sitting  quietly  and  without  much  apparent 
interest. 

"We  surely  will,"  replied  the  teacher.  "  Can  you  tell  us  how  the  pat- 
tern your  mother  uses  diflEers  from  ours?" 

"It  is  made  of  tissue  paper  and  has  little  roimd  holes  in  it,"  replied 
Thehna. 

"The  tissue  pattern  is  usually  spoken  of  as  the  conmiercial  pattern 
and  the  "little  holes"  are  the  perforations  that  tell  us  how  to  place  the 
pattern  on  the  cloth  for  cutting,"  remarked  the  teacher  adding  pattern 
to  the  list  of  desirable  knowledge  and  then  writing  the  words  commercial, 
pattern,  and  perforation,  on  the  board  and  pronouncing  them  again  as 
she  wrote  them. 

"You  girls  probably  do  not  know,"  she  continued,  "that  patterns  are 
made  in  what  is  called  'sizes'  and  each  size  carries  with  it  a  certain  set 
of  measures.  Now  while  the  measures  are  very  carefully  taken  for  each 
size  and  the  patterns  do  fit  very  well  indeed,  yet,  because  people  vary  so 
much  in  form  it  is  always  necessary  to  take  one's  own  measures  and  test 
each  pattern  before  it  is  used.  So  I  will  add  these  points  imder  patterns. 
Once,  when  I  was  in  New  York,  I  visited  the  great  Butterick  Building 
and  saw  how  the  'Delineator'  patterns  were  made.  Some  day  when  we 
have  time  I  will  tell  you  about  the  wonderful  things  I  saw  there.  Well, 
this  begins  to  look  like  a  pretty  big  task,  let  us  nm  over  it  again  to 
be  sure  it  is  just  as  we  want  it." 

The  second  list,  telling  what  the  girls  wanted  to  know:  more  about  the 
machine  appliances;  more  about  seams — (reviewing  French  seam  to 
improve  stitching),  a  new  seam  flat  fell;  more  work  on  button-holes; 
how  to  put  on  trinmiing;  to  be  able  to  recognize  three  or  four  kinds  of ' 
trimming;  how  to  gather  and  put  on  a  band;  how  to  make  a  placket — 
continuous;  about  patterns — ^what  the  perforations  mean,  how  to  order, 
how  to  test  the  size;  more  about  cloth — another  kind  of  weave,  the 
names  of  more  materials,  ability  to  recognize  them. 

"Now,"  continued  the  teacher,  "let  us  go  back  and  think  about  the 
garment  we  are  going  to  make  and  see  what  we  can  learn  on  the  garments 
we  have  here  in  oiir  list.  Which  one  do  you  want  to  discuss  first,  since 
we  have  crossed  out  the  dress?"    Two  girls  mentioned  the  "teddy." 

"  Can  you  girls  all  use  a  'teddy?'  "  asked  the  teacher.  "  Someone  said 
a  while  ago  that  her  mother  would  not  let  her  wear  one,  who  was  it? 


1920]  AN  EIGHTH  GRADE  CLASS  COURSE  OF  STUDY  157 

Oh,  Marion  it  was  you,  do  you  know  why  your  mother  objects  to  the 
'teddy?'  " 

"Well,  Mother  says  I  can  wear  them  when  my  dresses  are  longer,  but 
now  I  have  to  wear  bloomers  because  I  nm  so  much  and  mother  says 
they  look  better  under  my  dresses." 

"That  is  what  I  suspected  for  I  have  heard  other  mothers  say  the  same 
thing.  Suppose  we  leave  the  ^teddy*  for  a  few  minutes  and  look  at  the 
bloomers  and  nightgown  and  see  what  we  can  learn  on  those  two,  and 
if  the  two  girls  who  spoke  of  the  'teddies'  still  want  to  make  them  per- 
haps we  can  compromise.  Here  is  a  pair  of  bloomers  I  have  borrowed 
for  you  to  look  at.    What  kind  of  seams  are  used?" 

As  the  class  mentioned  each  point  in  the  construction  the  teacher 
wrote  it  on  the  board  and  then  said, 

"Well  the  bloomer  is  a  pretty  good  garment  to  work  on,  I  should 
judge,  for  you  see  how  it  fits  into  our  Ust,  flat  fell  seams  on  the  leg,  French 
seam  on  the  body,  hems  on  the  bottoms  of  the  legs  and  elastic  to  make  it 
fit  at  the  knee,  two  plackets,  one  on  each  side,  two  belts,  a  curved  yoke 
belt  in  front  to  take  out  some  of  the  bulk  and  to  make  it  fit  nicely,  and 
a  straight  one  in  back.    And  see  all  the  button-holes  for  practice  too." 

"But,"  objected  one  of  the  girls  who  had  asked  about  the  teddy,  "I 
want  to  use  the  tucker  and  there  are  no  tucks  on  the  filoomers." 

"And  there's  no  lace  trimming  either,"  added  another. 

"No,  that  is  so,  but  let  us  see  about  the  nightgown,  could  you  make 
tucks  on  that;  and  how  about  the  trimming,  couldn't  you  make  and 
trim  a  nightgown  in  about  the  same  way  that  you  would  a  'teddy?' 
How  do  you  like  this  one?"  She  held  a  dainty  garment  up  to  view. 
Exclamations  of  pleasiire  were  expressed  by  many  of  the  girls  and  Marion 
asked,  "Did  you  make  that.  Miss  Black?" 

"Yes, '  answered  the  teacher,  "and  I  see  no  reason  why  you  girls 
cannot  make  one  even  prettier." 

"Now,"  she  continued,  "we  shall  have  two  lessons  a  week  this  year 
instead  of  one  lesson  a  week  which  we  had  last  year,  and  I  think  we  can 
make  two  garments.  What  do  you  girls  think  about  the  bloomers  and 
nightgown?  Can  you  make  use  of  both?  With  a  few  exceptions  the 
girls  said  they  cotdd,  and  asked  which  garment  was  to  be  made  first. 

"That  is  for  you  girls  to  decide,  but  remembering  the  time  of  year 
(September)  and  the  fact  that  it  will  take  several  weeks  to  make  either, 
which  would  be  most  useful  and  which  would  you  need  first?" 

The  bloomers  were  decided  upon  as  the  first  problem  and  the  teacher 
continued:  "It  is  just  time  for  us  to  close.    Will  the  three  or  four  girls 


158  THE  JOUKNAL  OF  HOBiE  ECONOMICS  [April 

who  were  not  siire  about  needing  bloomers  ask  their  mothers  about  them 
and  see  me  before  the  next  lesson?  By  the  way,  what  do  you  think  we 
ought  to  do  next  lesson?" 

"Practice  on  the  machine,"  "buy  our  doth,"  "start  practice  on  the 
button-hole,"  were  some  of  the  answers. 

"Yes,  I  think  we  can  do  at  least  two  of  those  things,  review  the  ma- 
chine and  the  French  seam  and  find  out  about  statable  material  for  the 
bloomers.    Now  it  is  time  to  dismiss  tmtil  tomorrow." 

As  the  class  filed  out  the  teacher  seated  herself  at  the  desk  and  picking 
up  a  paper  began  to  compare  an  outline  which  was  written  upon  it  with 
the  outline  of  sewing  the  girls  had  helped  to  plan.  Running  her  pencil 
down  the  list  she  paused  at  "machines"  and  read  "How  to  set  a  needle." 

"No,"  she  mused,  "there  did  not  seem  to  be  a  good  place  to  bring  it 
in  but  with  a  little  judicious  carelessness  I  think  I  can  make  it  necessary." 

Again  she  paused  at  the  two  headings  marked  Health,  and  Art  Prin- 
ciples, and  addressed  them:  "Poor  old  fellows,  so  you  did  not  get  asked 
in.  Well  you  know  it  would  have  been  bad  manners  to  have  dragged 
you  in  by  the  hair  of  your  heads,  and  any  way  after  the  careless  manner 
in  which  you  have  been  used  in  the  past  by  people  who  did  not  think 
as  highly  of  you  as  I  do,  I  doubt  if  you  would  have  survived.  However, 
if  you  will  call  again  at  the  "psychological"  moment,  I  think  you  can 
safely  count  on  being  invited  to  enter." 

Just  at  this  moment  the  eighth  grade  teacher  entered  and  said,  "What 
are  you  talking  to  yourself  about?" 

"My  eighth  grade  class  have  just  made  their  own  course  of  study  for 
the  coming  half  year;  there  it  is  on  the  board  and  here  is  the  one  we 
planned  last  spring.    How  do  you  think  they  compare?" 

The  teacher  compared  the  two  as  indicated  and  then  said, 

"But  I  still  do  not  see  the  idea.  Why  did  you  ask  the  girls  to  make 
their  own  course  when  you  had  already  decided  upon  it?" 

"Well,  I  have  thought  for  a  long  time  that  I  shotdd  like  to  see  how  my 
own  plans  wotdd  coincide  with  the  ideas  of  the  girls  themselves.  It 
seems  to  me,  too,  that  I  shall  be  meeting  a  ^present  situation'  and  'mak- 
ing subject-matter  meet  the  needs  of  the  child,'  and  helping  them  'to 
solve  real  and  vital'  problems  when  they  have  themselves  made  a  'pres- 
ent situation'  by  recognizing  and  telling  me  of  their  needs  and  wishes. 
Mastering  the  use  of  that  tucker  will  be  a  'real  and  vital  problem'  all 
right  if  they  are  to  make  tucks  on  their  nightgowns,  and  as  for  wanting 
a  nightgown,  well  if  you  could  have  seen  their  eyes  you  would  not  doubt 
their  interest.    It  seems  to  me  that  we  already  have  'motive'  enough  to 


1920]  LIFE  STUDIES  AMD  HOME  ECONOMICS  159 

run  us  through  the  entire  term  without  stimulating  any  more.  Why/' 
laughingly^  ^'  I  believe  I  can  even  furnish  motive  for  some  special  reading 
with  you,  for  of  course  the  girls  are  going  to  be  interested  in  finding  out 
something  about  the  people  who  make  the  ready-to-wear  gaiments  like 
those  we  are  making." 

''It  certainly  soimds  interesting  and  I  shall  gladly  do  my  share  to  help 
out  in  the  reading.  I  suppose  you  have  the  Consimier's  League  material 
in  mind?" 

'' Yes^  that  and  possibly  some  other  reading  such  as  the  Geographical 
readers  of  Allen,  McMurray,  Keller,  and  Bishop.  What  do  you  thiok 
about  them?" 

''I  am  sure  they  will  be  useftd,  and  I  will  take  an  hour  any  day  after 
school  to  go  over  them  with  you." 

''All  right,  that  is  fine;  let  us  plan  to  do  it  next  week." 


FARM  LIFE  STUDIES  AND  THEIR  RELATION  TO  HOME 

ECONOMICS  WORK^ 

C.  J.  GALPIN 
Bureau  of  Farm  Management,  WashingtaUf  D.  C 

The  life  side  of  the  farm  home  will  be  one  of  the  research  projects  in 
Farm  Life  Studies  in  the  Ofiice  of  Farm  Management,  just  as  the 
physical  basis  of  the  farm  home  is  at  present  one  of  the  subjects  of  in- 
vestigation by  the  Office  of  Home  Economics  in  the  States  Relations 
Service.  Farm  Life  Studies  will  not  undertake  to  explore  the  technical 
aspects  of  food,  dietetics,  clothing,  household  equipment,  household 
work,  or  household  management  of  the  farm  home,  but  will  be  concerned 
primarily  with  the  state  of  mind  of  the  members  of  that  home.  Farm 
life  Studies  will  give  attention  to  the  social  situations  facing  faim  life 
and  the  consequent  problems  arising  in  the  home.  While  home  eco- 
nomics work,  on  the  investigative  side,  is  concerned  mainly  with  the 
physical  basis  of  the  faim  home.  Farm  Life  Studies  will  be  centered  on 
the  analysis  of  the  sodal  elements  in  the  faim  home  situation. 

^  Read  by  title  at  the  Twelfth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation, Blue  Ridge,  N.  C,  June,  1919. 


160  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

An  analjrsis  of  household  situations,  neighborhood  situations^  and 
community  situations  in  such  a  way  as  to  display  the  states  of  mind 
of^the  people  concerned  should  assist  in  the  wholesome  adjustment  of  all 
sorts  of  human  relationships  on  the  farm.  The  farm  home,  for  example, 
may  be  out  of  the  general  current  of  present  day  life,  having  little  to  do 
with  the  thought  and  activity  of  the  world  at  large.  The  life  of  the 
home  consequently  may  be  so  simple  as  to  be  too  simple.  The  wants 
of  the  members  may  come  to  be  so  belated  and  backward  that  the  home 
will  fail  to  see  the  value  of  an  expanded  physical  basis  for  its  life.  Pub- 
licity of  the  causes  of  farm  home  isolation  should  tend  to  remove  this 
isolation  and  enable  farm  homes  to  participate  in  the  current  of  aiSairs, 
making  it  easier  for  all  to  raise  the  standard  of  physical  life  on  the 
farm. 

Farm  home  life  is  peculiar  in  the  fact  that,  as  at  present  organized,  it 
involves  an  economic  partnership  of  the  man,  the  woman,  and  the  child. 
This  partnership,  moreover,  frequently  reaches  its  maturity  only  when 
the  farm  itself  passes  from  the  hands  of  the  man  into  the  complete 
ownership  of  the  child  who,  by  that  time,  will  have  reached  manhood. 
The  social  situation  of  the  farm  home,  therefore,  in  many  cases  constitutes 
a  family  cycle  which  is  a  little  larger  than  the  unit  usually  accounted 
as  a  home.  The  grandfather  and  grandmother,  the  father  and  mother, 
the  children,  make  up  this  family  unit,  even  though  living  in  two  sepa- 
rate houses.  The  farm,  owned  by  the  grandfather,  is  apt  to  pass  from 
entire  management  by  the  grandfather  through  the  several  stages  of 
management  by  the  son,  tenancy  by  the  son,  possibly  part  ownership 
by  the  son — all  within  the  grandfather's  life.  Farm  Life  Studies  will 
observe  carefully  this  family  cycle  and  situation;  studying  the  child  as 
an  apprentice  to  farming;  as  manager  for  his  father;  as  tenant  of  his 
father;  as  owner  with  his  father;  as  complete  owner.  It  will  study  the 
retreat  of  the  father  from  the  farm  as  his  energy  wanes;  as  he  gives  over 
his  farm  by  degrees  to  his  son;  as  he  finally  retires  from  fanning  to  the 
town  or  to  a  house  on  the  land. 

Farm  Life  Studies  will  observe  the  spiritual  r61e  of  the  woman  in  the 
home  as  the  interpreter  of  one  family  (her  own)  to  another  (her  hus- 
band's) and  of  her  children  to  their  father,  and  the  father  to  his  children. 
The  r61e  of  the  child  as  the  bringer  in  to  the  family  of  the  things  of  life 
which  are  new  will  not  be  overlooked. 

The  use  and  distribution  of  leisure  on  the  part  of  members  of  the 
farm  home  will  be  studied.    Diaries  are  already  available  showing  just 


1920]  UFE  STUDIES  AND  HOME  ECONOMICS  161 

when  this  leisure  comes  in  the  day  at  the  different  seasons,  and  exactly 
what  has  been  done  with  the  leisure. 

Certain  social  aspects  of  the  location  of  the  farm  house  will  be  included 
in  our  study.  The  farm  house  has  too  frequently  shunned  even  the 
roadside,  going  back  into  a  field  for  its  site.  The  stream  of  life  mean- 
while moves  along  main  roads.  The  question  of  the  social  value  of 
location  on  residence  roads  and  the  social  detriment  of  location  on 
back  roads  will  engage  our  attention. 

Such  home  questions  as  the  following  will  also  be  considered  in  Farm 
life  Studies: 

Is  home-making  on  farms  popular  with  superior  coimtry-bred  young 
women?  If  not,  why  not?  If  so,  in  some  localities  and  not  in  others, 
what  are  the  reasons? 

Are  yotmg  men,  of  a  superior  type,  especially  after  some  educational 
advantages,  attracted  to  farm  life  in  open  competition  with  other 
occupations?    If  not,  why  not? 

What  is  the  distribution  of  time  among  tasks  of  the  household,  farm 
work,  and  leisure  in  contented  farm  homes? 

What  is  the  relation  of  the  man,  the  woman,  and  the  child  to  the 
farm  income  in  the  intelligent,  contented  farm  home? 

Do  the  woman  and  child  participate  in  the  management  of  the  farm  in 
the  intelligent,  contented  farm  home? 

How  are  the  necessary  unsightly  parts  of  farm  work  screened  from 
the  view  of  the  farm  house  on  farms  where  beauty  is  organized  into 
farm  home  life? 

The  Division  of  Farm  Life  Studies  seeks  to  assist  the  various  depart- 
ments of  rural  life  work  by  a  careful  exploration  of  the  sodal  aspects  of 
all  phases  of  farm  life,  and  to  cooperate  to  the  full  with  all  those  at 
work  upon  one  phase  or  another  of  agriculture  or  of  home  life  in  a 
common  task. 


162  THE  JOUSKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  THE  DIETETIAN* 

HUGH  P.  GREELY,  MJ). 
Medical  School,  University  of  Wisconsin 

It  may  be  truly  said  that  a  hospital  kitchen  without  a  dietitian  is 
like  a  locomotive  without  the  engineer.  There  is  plenty  of  food  in 
one  case  and  plenty  of  steam  in  the  other,  but  the  energy  in  them  is 
wasted  imless  properly  directed.  A  locomotive  with  an  engineer  and  a 
fireman  is  an  efficient  instrument  of  service,  but  they  need  an  organi- 
zation higher  up  in  order  to  properly  serve  the  public.  In  the  same  way 
a  hospital  kitchen  plus  a  dietitian  is  an  efficient  instrument  of  service, 
but  needs,  in  fully  as  great  a  degree,  the  intelligent  staff  of  physicians 
in  order  to  serve  patients  properly. 

In  the  past  a  great  many  hospitals  have  been  run  without  dietitians. 
In  such  a  case  the  physicians  or  the  hospital  superintendent  did  the 
work  of  the  dietitian,  or  too  often  it  was  left  to  an  untrained  cook. 

We  are  glad  to  be  entering  this  new  era  where  the  physician  may 
have  the  intelligent  cooperation  of  the  trained  dietitian.  In  well  organ- 
ized hospitals  today  the  phjrsicians  cannot  adeqiiately  administer  this 
work  without  help.  Dietitians  are  or  should  be  trained  to  give  this 
help.  They  bear  the  same  relationship  to  the  physician  as  the  phar- 
macist does.  They  fill  the  prescription.  But  success  requires  a  great 
deal  more  than  technical  training.  The  successful  pharmacist  does 
not  just  throw  the  ingredients  together.  He  prepares  his  drugs  care- 
fully, compounds  his  prescription  accurately,  and  then  dispenses  it  as 
tastefully  and  neatly  as  it  can  be  done.  He  must  also  exercise  economy. 
The  same  thing  applies  a  hundred  fold  to  the  dietitian.  Food  repre- 
sents calories,  but  should  not  be  served  as  such.  Economy,  care  in 
preparation,  both  as  to  quality  and  balance,  and  serving  are  the  impor- 
tant things  to  consider.  A  dietitian  is  selling  goods  in  the  same  way 
that  the  pharmacist  is  and  she  must  sell  service  as  well. 

For  a  long  time  the  dieririan  was  accepted  rather  reluctantly  by  the 
hospital  board  of  trustees.  The  hospital  dietitian  had  rather  to  force 
her  way  along  and  prove  her  worth.  She  has  not  always  made  good, 
so  that  her  employment  has  often  failed  to  produce  the  good  results 

^  Presented  at  the  meeting  of  the  Institution  Economics  Section  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association,  Madison,  Wis.,  June,  1919. 


1920]  THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  THE  DIETITIAN  163 

that  it  should.  Her  failure  is  not  always  her  fault,  for  hers  is  not  an 
independent  profession.  Coming  into  the  hospital  organization  under 
sufiFerance,  having  to  prove  her  own  value  to  the  hospital,  she  has 
seldom  been  given  the  power  necessary  to  develop  herself  and  the  job 
as  it  should  be  done.  Without  broad  power,  her  function  resolves  itself 
into  the  work  of  preparing  special  diets,  which,  to  be  sure,  is  important 
and  necessary  work,  but  work  which  is  after  all  restricted  to  a  small 
number  of  patients. 

There  has  been  further  difficulty  in  the  path  of  the  dietitian  in  the 
failure  of  the  hospital  staffs  of  ph3rsicians  to  impress  upon  the  trustees 
the  necessity  for  conferring  broader  power  on  the  dietitian.  This 
cooperation  between  ph3rsician  and  dietitian  is  manifestly  impossible  in 
all  hospitals  in  which  there  is  no  unified  medical  and  surgical  staff. 
Therefore  in  many  small  hospitals  the  proper  sphere  of  action  of  the 
dietitian  is  greatly  restricted  and  hampered.  A  hospital  cannot  be 
efficient  in  this  respect  without  a  unified  staff.  The  dietitian  and  the 
medical  staff  are  responsible  for  the  hospital  dietary.  When  we  con- 
sider that  the  average  daily  cost  per  patient  in  a  modern  hospital  is 
from  $3.50  to  $4.50  a  day,  and  when  we  realize  that  fully  one-third  of  this 
smn  is  spent  for  food,  we  can  see  that  this  divided  responsibility  is  a 
highly  important  factor. 

The  medical  staff  and  the  dietitian  are  responsible  for  one-third  of  all 
hospital  expenses.  As  long  as  people  are  unwilling  or  unable  to  pay  hotel 
prices  for  hospital  care,  it  may  be  impossible  to  cater  to  patients'  indi- 
vidual tastes  to  any  degree.  The  result  will  be  that  the  vast  majority 
of  patients  must  have  served  them  a  standard  diet.  In  a  dty  of  mixed 
population,  one  can  readily  see  how  difficult  it  is  to  serve  foods  equally 
suited  to  separate  individual  tastes.  It  would  be  ideal  if  the  American 
people  could  have  a  standard  American  diet.  After  many  centuries  of 
education,  we  shall  probably  work  out  such  a  Utopian  idea,  and  then  the 
hospital  dietitian's  path  will  be  simplified.  At  the  present  time  we 
have  to  take  the  situation  as  it  is,  and,  in  order  to  do  the  work  well, 
the  imified  medical  staff  should  meet  with  the  dietitian  and  plan  a  few 
standard  diets,  just  as  few  as  possible.  These  diets  should  be  based 
on  principles  of  nutrition  and,  as  far  as  consistent,  on  accepted  habits 
of  eating.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  often  that  people's  habits 
should  not  be  suddenly  interrupted.  When  these  standard  diets  are 
compiled,  they  should  be  issued  to  the  medical  staff  so  that  they  could 
aU  cooperate  in  simplifjdng  the  work  and  avoiding  waste. 


164  THE  JOI7SNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

As  I  look  upon  it,  the  success  of  the  dietitian  of  any  hospital  lies  in 
her  having  broad  power,  in  her  being  well-trained  technically  and  also 
as  an  administrator,  in  her  being  a  person  of  common  sense,  and  in 
her  having  the  definite  coSperation  of  a  unified  medical  staff.  What 
makes  her  so  often  a  failure  today  is  this  lack  of  direction  higher  up. 

The  profession  of  hospital  dietitian  should  be  one  of  indispensable  bene- 
fit to  modem  medicine  as  well  as  to  modem  hospital  organization.  The 
food  problem  of  a  modem  hospital  is  as  difficult  and  as  important  as  any 
problem  which  the  hospital  trustees  have  to  face.  It  is  one  which  will 
require  all  their  business  acumen  to  solve.  Too  many  hospitals  in  the 
past  have  been  run  on  a  diametrically  opposite  plan  from  that  of  the 
successful  hotel,  whose  motto  is  ^^The  guest  is  always  right."  The 
attitude  of  many  hig^y  organized  hospitals  often  seems  to  be  ''The 
patient  is  always  wrong''  or  ''Take  what  you  get  and  be  thankful  and 
cheerful.  Don't  express  an  opinion.  Patients  shouldn't  have  opin- 
ions." The  hotel  plan  proves  a  financial  success;  the  hospital  plan  is 
almost  always  a  finanria.1  failure.  There  are,  of  course,  many  other  fac- 
tors which  contribute  to  this  failure,  but  there  are  also  factors  which 
should  partially,  at  least,  counterbalance  them.  The  hospital  gets  a 
lot  of  its  most  expensive  service  gratis. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  dietitian,  the  medical  staff  and  the  trostees, 
to  work  out  a  successful  compromise  between  the  hotel  plan  which  is  a 
success  and  the  hospital  plan  which  is  a  failure.  We  ought  to  work  out 
something  which  will  at  least  enable  us  to  come  out  even  and  which  will 
be  a  great  improvement  upon  the  imperfect  sjrstem  that  exists  in  many 
hospitals  today.  I  firmly  believe  that  some  patients  in  hospitals  ought 
to  have  a  menu  privilege.  This  would  not  necessarily  add  to  the  work 
and  it  would  add  enormously  to  the  attractiveness  of  a  place  that  had 
all  too  few  attractions.  We  are  still  combating  the  old  idea  that  the 
hospital  is  the  place  to  go  when  you  are  going  to  die,  not  the  place  for  the 
best  and  most  comfortable  treatment, — and  what  is  still  more  fre- 
quently heard  and  something  that  cannot  always  be  refuted  is,  "I 
would  go  to  the  hospital  but  you  can't  get  anything  to  eat  there." 

The  problem  of  the  best  management  of  a  hospital  dietary  is  still  an 
imsettled  one.  But  one  can  readily  see  that  the  dietitian  is  the  key- 
stone in  the  arch.  She  is  the  go-between  between  the  physician  and 
his  patient.  She  occupies  a  position  that  requires  more  than  good 
training.    It  rests  upon  a  thorough  understanding  of  food  principles, 


1920]  THE  PHYSICIAN  AND  THE  DIETITIAN  165 

upon  a  practical  knowledge  of  cooking,  upon  thorough-going  common 
sense  and  good  administrative  ability  as  well  as  tact  and  enthusiasm. 

There  is  another  type  of  dietitian,  however,  whose  importance  is  not 
recognized  and  whose  sphere  of  action  is  at  present  limited,  and  that  is 
the  nurse  qualified  as  a  dietitian.  The  time  is  surely  coming,  I  hope, 
when  people  who  conmiand  $25.00  to  $35.00  a  week  will  be  even  more 
hig^y-trained  than  they  are  today.  Nothing  will  ever  justify  the 
present  exalted  position  of  the  nursing  profession  or  put  it  on  its  proper 
footing  until  it  adopts  the  academic  standard. 

The  opportunity  for  service  and  the  emolument  of  nurses  should 
immediately  demand  this  step.  Every  trained  nurse  should  be  enough 
of  a  dietitian  so  that  she  could  fill  dietary  prescriptions  at  the  patient's 
home  as  well  as  the  phaimadst  does  a  drug  prescription.  The  future  of 
the  nurse  as  dietitian  in  the  home  will  be  an  increasingly  great  one.  Do 
not  thiok  for  a  moment  it  is  lowering  the  dignity  of  the  dietitian.  It 
would  be  raising  the  profession  of  nursing. 

As  with  any  new  profession  like  that  of  dietitian,  it  takes  a  generation 
or  so  to  get  it  properly  adjusted  in  its  niche.  Practical  details  can 
only  be  worked  out  through  experimentation  and  finally  ^perfected.  All 
this  takes  time.  Meanwhile  the  stress  is  apt  to  be  put  on  the  theory, 
and  if  I  were  to  make  a  criticism  it  would  be  to  say  just  this,  that  the 
training  today  is  overloaded  with  the  theory  of  metabolism  and  nutri- 
tion, and  perhaps  too  little  attention  paid  to  the  perfecting  of  practical 
details  of  the  hospital  dietary.  The  science  of  metabolism  is  also  yoimg 
and  what  seem  to  be  facts  today  are  fable  tomorrow.  The  treatment  of 
metabolic  disease  is  only  a  very  small  part  of  medicine,  and,  though  an 
important  one,  occupies,  I  feel,  an  exaggerated  place  in  the  training 
school  today. 

What  we  need  is  the  recognition  by  hospital  trustees  that  the  dietitian 
is  not  only  necessary  to  the  physician  but  pays  her  own  salary  many 
times  over  in  the  more  efficient  and  economical  management  of  the 
hospital  kitchen.  Physicians  are  every  year  more  eager  to  welcome 
her  as  an  indispensable  and  permanent  agent  in  the  organization  of 
modem  medicine. 


166  THE   JOTTRNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

POSSIBILITIES  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  WORK 

MELISSA  FARSELL  SNYDER 
Office  of  Home  Economics,  Untied  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

If  the  average  of  all  salaries  paid  to  home  economics  workers  could  be 
known,  the  figure  would  probably  be  small.  This  is  because  the  majority 
of  positions  are  in  school  work  where  the  pay  for  all  subjects  is  notori- 
ously low.  Moreover,  many  important  colleges  and  universities  have 
not  yet  felt  the  necessity  of  raising  the  salaries  of  the  home  economics 
staff  to  the  maximum  allowed  for  each  grade.  In  spite  of  these  facts, 
however,  those  familiar  with  the  entire  field  of  home  economics  have  for 
some  time  been  aware  of  an  upward  trend  in  salaries.  The  opportuni- 
ties outside  of  the  teaching  profession  have  been  increasing  in  number, 
variety,  and  salary,  and  this  fact  is  beginning  to  have  its  effect  on  the 
salaries  paid  in  colleges  and  universities,  especially  for  positions  involving 
administrative  work. 

This  opinion  is  borne  out  by  the  data  here  presented.  They  were  ob- 
tained from  voluntary  replies  to  questions  sent  by  the  Office  of  Home 
Economics  to  a  limited  number  of  exceptionally  well-informed  workers 
in  home  economics.  They  make  no  pretensions  to  giving  accurate  in- 
formation regarding  the  entire  field,  and  are  given  here  merely  as  an 
interesting  indication  of  the  probable  trend  of  things  in  home  economics 
work  outside  of  high  and  elementary  school  teaching  and  Federal  em- 
ployment. 

In  tabulating  the  information  the  positions  were  grouped  as :  Teaching 
and  administrative  work  in  Colleges,  Universities,  and  Technical  Schools; 
Managerial;  Dietitians;  Commercial;  Journalistic;  and  Miscellaneous. 
The  positions  were  classified  according  to  the  names  given  them  by  the 
informants;  for  example,  work  reported  as  managerial  was  grouped  as 
such  even  when  it  might  as  well  or  better  have  been  classed  as  commer- 
cial. Three  himdred  and  ten  individual  positions  are  included  in  the 
report.    The  total  range  of  salaries  is  from  $700  to  $10,000. 

The  tabulations  for  the  different  groups  are  on  file  in  the  office  of  the 
JoxTRNAL.  The  information  furnished  by  them  may  be  simimarized  as 
follows: 

College  and  university  positions.  These  call  for  from  8§  to  12  months 
of  work  per  year.  The  pay  ranges  from  $800  to  $5000;  $7000  is  a  pos- 
sible figure  in  one  imiversity,  though  this  amount  has  never  been  given 


1920]  POSSIBILITIES  IN  HOME  ECX>NOMICS  WORK  167 

in  actual  practice.  In  the  lower  paid  positions,  such  as  instructors, 
board  or  room,  or  both,  are  sometimes  provided  in  addition.  In  the 
higher  grades,  as  for  heads  of  departments,  the  positions  often  involve 
administrative  work,  either  with  or  without  teaching.  The  average 
figures  for  different  grades  of  work  run  from  $1066  for  assistant  instruct- 
ors to  $4067  for  deans;  the  latter  figure  rq>resents  a  small  number  of 
'^picked"  institutions  and  is  doubtless  considerably  higher  than  a  com- 
plete average  for  the  entire  country. 

Technical  school  positions.  The  salaries  paid  range  from  $900  for  an 
instructor  or  teacher  to  $2850  for  a  head  of  a  department.  The  average 
salaries  for  the  different  grades  run  from  $1367  for  instructors  to  $1950 
for  heads  of  departments. 

Managerial  positions.  This  group  includes  institutional  managers, 
both  resident  and  non-resident;  managers  of  cafeterias,  tea  and  lunch 
rooms,  and  club  dining  rooms;  and  the  so-called  managers  employed  by 
conmierdal  firms  to  introduce  food  products  or  household  equipment. 
The  salaries  range  from  $720  to  $5000.  Board  and  lodging  are  almost 
always  provided  in  addition  in  case  of  the  very  low  salaries.  When  the 
work  involves  travel,  additional  allowance  is  usually  made  to  cover  the 
actual  added  expense,  but  such  allowance  does  not  necessarily  compen- 
sate for  the  probable  wear  and  tear  of  the  manager's  health  and  personal 
belongings.  One  manager  earned  $400  in  addition  to  her  regular  salary 
by  t^^l^^Tig  institutional  management.  The  average  salaries  in  the 
different  groups  of  positions  here  included  ranged  from  $1656  for  institu- 
tional management  to  $5000  for  the  commercial  positions. 

Positions  as  dietitian.  Salaries  ranged  from  $700  to  $4000.  This 
wiiniTTiiiTn  is  the  lowest  reported  in  this  study,  but,  as  in  managerial 
positions,  board  or  lodging  or  both  were  frequently  allowed.  In  some 
instances  one  month  vacation  is  allowed,  in  others  monthly  increases  of 
$10  after  the  first  three  months.  The  average  salary  for  tlie  different 
types  of  positions  ranges  from  $990  to  $3500.  This  minimum  represents 
army  dietitians  and  includes  a  monthly  war  bonus  of  $20;  in  addition 
they  receive  maintenance  estimated  at  $62.20  per  month.  The  maxi- 
mum includes  positions  in  which  the  work  of  dietitian  is  combined  with 
that  of  institutional  manager. 

Commercial  positions.  These  include  experts  employed  by  banks, 
hotels,  and  land  companies;  in  manufacture  and  marketing  of  foods  and 
textiles;  in  research  and  testing  work;  as  instructors  to  sales  force  and 
factory  employees,  and  in  many  other  unspecified  lines.    Salaries  range 


168  THE   J0X7SNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [ApriT 

{rom  $1040  to  $10,000  with  averages  of  from  $1900  to  $7500.  One  posi- 
tion pays  $300  per  month  with  board.  These  lines  of  work  give  promise 
of  good  remuneration. 

Positions  in  journalism.  This  covers  editorial  and  publicity  work 
for  newspapers,  magazines,  and  farm  papers.  The  salaries  range  from 
$1500  to  $10,000.  One  newspaper  paid  a  recent  graduate  $50  a  week  for 
two  hours  daily  work.  The  average  is  $3200,  or,  coimting  out  the  one 
exceptionally  high  salary  of  $10,000,  $2350.  This  Ime  of  work,  like  the 
commercial  field,  offers  attractive  opportunities  for  women  with  the 
necessary  qualifications. 

Miscellaneous  positions.  Here  are  classed  supervisors  and  directors 
not  associated  with  a  single  institution  but  maintained  by  state,  dty  or 
other  general  agency;  visiting  housekeepers;  social  welfare  workers;  head 
of  agricultural  league;  imspedfied  positions.  The  salaries  range  from 
$1000  to  $7500.  In  one  case  the  salary  is  increased  after  three  months; 
in  another  the  pay  is  $100  a  week  and  transportation  expense;  in  an- 
other  all  travelling  expenses  are  given  in  addition  to  the  salary;  in  still 
another,  room,  board,  and  laundry. 

It  may  be  worth  noting  that  the  average  of  the  310  salaries  here  con- 
sidered is  $2307;  59.4  per  cent  of  the  salaries  come  below  this  amount 
and  40.6  per  cent  above  it.  The  best  paying  positions  are  in  the  com- 
mercial and  journalistic  fields,  which  are  rivals  in  the  opportunities  of- 
feredf  but  it  should  be  noted  that  the  higher  salaries  are  paid  to  women 
of  xmusual  qualifications  and  experience;  such  amoimts  as  the  three 
$10,000  salaries  included  in  the  tabulations  are  very  excptional.  Nexte 
in  order  of  compensation  come  the  managerial  and  a  few  of  the  miscel- 
laneous positions,  such  as  state  supervisors.  The  apparent  salary  of 
these  is  in  some  instances  increased  by  maintenance,  especially  in  the 
case  of  managers  and  dietitians.  In  comparing  teacher's  salaries,  allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  the  number  of  weeks'  vacation  allowed;  the  extra 
compensation  given  for  teaching  during  the  summer  term  varies  in  dif- 
ferent institutions. 

While  these  figures  perhaps  represent  the  ''cream"  of  positions  in 
home  economics,  they  indicate  that  the  openings  for  women  of  compar- 
able training  and  ability,  compare  favorably  with  those  in  other  lines. 
They  also  indicate  that  the  increasing  connection  between  home  eco- 
nomics and  the  business  world  is  widening  the  opportunities  for  home 
.economics  workers,  and  in  so  doing  tends  to  increase  the  salaries  paid 
lor  the  older  types  of  work. 


1920]  ALIMEMTA&Y  HYGIEME  IN  THE  YRAR  3000  169 

.ALIMENTARY  HYGIENE  AND  RATIONAL  ALIMENTATION 

IN  THE  YEAR  3000 

ALICE  F.  MENDEL 

Authors  have  frequently  exposed  the  faults  of  civilization  by  forecast- 
"ing  conditions  of  the  future.  So  Bellamy  has  done  in  ^'Looking  Back- 
ward," and  H.  G.  Wells  m  "Thte  War  of  the  Worlds."  This  method  is 
^employed  also  by  Dr.  A.  Hemmerdinger  of  Paris  in  divining  the  food 
.conditions  in  the  socialistic  world  of  the  year  3000  in  a  far-distant  planet 
to  which  the  reader  is  transplanted  by  aeroplane.  The  subtle  criticisms 
^f  present  day  conditions  are  not  without  interest  to  students  of  home 
reoonomics.  ^ 

Do  not  think  that  we,  men  of  the  thirtieth  century,  are  much  better  than 
those  of  the  preceding.  We  are  only  a  little  more  intelligent,  a  little  more 
xonsdous  of  our  interest,  a  little  better  informed;  we  understand  a  certain 
number  of  old  truths  in  the  sense  that  we  have  applied  them.  We  understand 
that,  of  all  the  riches  at  our  disposal  for  conquering  the  world,  the  most 
^portant  and  indispensable  is  man  himself.  We  understand  that  man  will 
yield  the  best  possible  results  only  if  he  is  nourished  in  the  best  conditions. 

Finally  we  understand  that,  if  an  appropriate  food  is  indispensable  to  the 
;:adult  in  order  to  produce  the  best  results,  it  is  still  more  important  for  the 
.adolescent,  and  most  of  aU  for  the  nursling,  the  being  just  bom,  whose  organs 
.are  entirely  transformed  for  all  life,  physically  and  intellectually,  by  a  deter- 
!  mined  nourishment.  These  are  the  bases  on  which  our  alimentation  reposes. 
We  distinguish  among  human  beings  four  periods:  the  nursling,  the  infant, 
ithe  adolescent,  the  adult. 

As  Wells  had  thought  way  back  in  the  twentieth  centiuy,  we  believe  that 
'the  community  cannot  be  disinterested  in  the  feeding  of  the  nursling,  since 
ats  diet  is  at  the  basis  of  aU  society.  The  physiologists  have  taught  us  defi- 
iUitely  that  for  the  new  bom  child  one  nourishment  alone  is  correct,  the  milk 
of  its  mother;  and,  as  we  have  judged  that  nourishment  indispensable,  we 
organized  in  order  to  provide  it  in  the  greatest  possible  number  of  cases.  We 
beginby  taking  the  young  girl,  the  child  at  school,  and  at  the  same  time  that 
we  teach  her  to  read  and  to  write,  we  teach  her  simple,  but  indispensable  ideas, 
xonceming  puericulture. 

Moreover,  as  we  consider  that  the  woman  who  nurses  a  child  fills  the  most 
ruseful  rOle  in  society,  we  think  that  rdle  ought  to  be  compensated.    Hence 

^  Tht  free  and  abbreviated  tranalation  that  follows  is  from  an  article  in  the  BttiUHn  d$ 
Ja  Sodm  SekiUifiqu*  ITHygUne  AHmentake,  Paris,  1919,  VU,  no.  3,  p.  105. 


170  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

the  nursmg  mother  receives  a  salary  equal  to  that  of  the  best  craftsman  in  the 
most  difficult  craft,  so  that  there  is  not  that  atrocity  of  the  twentieth  century — 
a  mother  obliged  to  sell  to  a  stranger  the  milk  destined  for  her  child. 

In  spite  of  this  amelioration  for  the  health  of  all  humanity,  there  are  still 
cases  where  the  mother  cannot  completely  nourish  her  child!  Another  mother 
must  supply  the  needed  milk. 

Inasmuch  as  we  know  that  the  milk  of  the  ass  is  most  like  that  of  a  woman, 
we  have  established  large  parks  where  we  raise  these  animals.  These  parks 
are  placed  under  the  care  of  distinguished  hygienists;  the  animals  are  kept 
in  a  good  state  of  health,  and  they  furnish  a  milk  which  can  be  given  raw  for 
mixed  feeding  and  is  especially  good  for  solely  artificial  nutriment. 

We  know  that  milk  is  indispensable  to  nurslings  because  of  its  vitamines. 
Infantile  mortality,  which  involved,  in  the  twentieth  century,  at  least  half  of 
the  births  in  certain  countries  like  France,  is  lowered  to  almost  zero,  for  that 
mortality  was  assassination  by  poor  nutrition. 

This  is  what  we  have  done  for  the  infant,  and  I  add  that  society  does  not 
hesitate  to  take  from  the  mother  the  infants — the  case  is  exceptional — ^who 
are  not  raised  according  to  the  principles  of  growth.  We  believe  that  the 
child  does  not  belong  to  its  mother,  but  to  the  conmiunity,  which  delegates  to 
the  mother  the  right  and  duty  of  raising  it,  as  she  is  the  best  qualified  for  that; 
nevertheless  society  does  not  hesitate  to  withdraw  that  rdle  from  her  who  does 
not  know  how  to  fill  it. 

From  the  time  the  child  ceases  to  be  a  nursling  until  it  is  seven  or  eight  years 
old,  physiologists  teach  us  that  good  milk  is  still  needed.  Now,  the  milk  of 
the  ass  is  no  longer  necessary;  the  milk  of  the  cow  suffices  and  we  have  given 
every  care  to  the  creation  of  large,  collective  dairies.  We  think  that  milk, 
that  food  most  precious  for  aU — children,  certain  invalids,  the  old,  and  even 
adults — ought  to  be  the  object  of  a  very  particular  care.  We  have  therefore 
eliminated,  little  by  little,  those  criminals  of  the  twentieth  century,  the  milk 
defrauders.  We  have  concluded  there  were  no  greater  criminals  in  society, 
and  we  have  sent  them  to  the  planet  Mars  and  the  race  has  gradually  dis- 
appeared. 

We  no  longer  give  entire  freedom  to  the  parents  in  the  feeding  of  the  ado- 
lescent. His  regimen  becomes  more  difficult  to  regulate  than  that  of  the  in- 
fant and,  as  we  think  that  an  exactly  regulated  diet  is  indispensable  to  his 
proper  development,  we  furnish  it  gratuitously,  imder  the  care  of  our  hygien- 
ists. As  man  becomes  less  and  less  carnivorous,  our  adolescents  can,  in 
general,  find  in  milk  and  eggs  what  is  necessary  for  their  growth. 

In  the  case  of  the  adult,  knowing  better  how  to  proportion  the  qualitative 
need  of  nitrogenous  matter,  we  have  been  able  to  diminish  the  quantitative 
requirement.  Appreciating  the  importance  of  certain  micro5rganisms  added 
to  our  food,  we  have  been  able  to  diminish  the  ration,  with  the  result  that  M» 


1920]  ALIMENTARY  HYGIENE  IN  THE  YEAR  3000  171 

Berthelot's  complete  ration,  in  the  form  of  a  tablet,  becomes  a  small  por- 
tion; the  allowance  necessary  for  the  repast  of  the  day  is  placed  gratuitously 
at  the  disposition  of  those  who  ask  for  it.    As  a  matter  of  fact  they  are  few. 

No  one  is  obliged  to  work  to  live  and  therefore  every  one  labors,  because 
work  is  necessary  for  man,  and  because  Berthelot's  tablet  is  not  very  pleasant. 
All  prefer  the  old  alimentation  according  to  the  ancient  method  of  cooking, 
which  can  be  had  only  by  working,  to  the  short  rations  sufficient  for  living 
and  which  can  be  obtained  gratuitously — ^f or  we  have  admitted  that  the  being 
who  has  not  asked  to  live  in  the  world  has  the  right  to  live. 

In  truth  we  have  greatly  perfected  the  kitchen,  where  everything  is  done 
by  electricity  so  that  the  cook  is  no  longer  obliged  to  soil  his  hands.  Cookery 
has  become  the  most  important  branch  of  medicine.  Next  to  the  mother 
nursing  her  child,  we  consider  the  cook  to  be  the  most  useful  member  of  so- 
ciety. Much  more  is  asked  of  him  than  in  barbarous  times.  The  chef  must 
know  not  only  how  to  cook,  but  also  how  to  plan  a  menu  according  to  indi- 
vidual needs.  We  have  large  conununity  kitchens,  where  every  one  can  sup- 
ply himself,  either  by  eating  at  the  place,  or  having  his  repast  sent  to  his  home. 
Each  is  free  to  choose  his  menu  as  he  requires.  But  those  who  are  not  epecially 
interested  in  cooking  need  only  give  the  chef  their  weight  and  their  occupation 
for  which  they  will  receive  a  suitable  menu.  This  is  not  the  same  for  him  who 
does  manual  labor  as  for  him  who  does  intellectual  work.  Moreover,  there  is 
no  longer  need  of  computing  the  calories  of  the  diet;  the  cook  knows  perfectly 
how  to  apportion  the  condiments  and  to  present  the  food  so  that  the  appetite 
of  each  may  be  the  best  guide.    The  problem  belongs  entirely  to  the  chef. 

Has  the  family  cook  disappeared?  Not  at  all.  Many  women  have  learned 
cookery,  for,  having  looked  after  the  family  taste,  they  have  admitted — as 
was  thought  formerly — that  household  cares,  the  preparation  of  the  food  and 
family  life  were  worthy  occupations  not  inferior  to  any  other  vocation  and 
also  not  without  charm. 

.  Our  diet  has  become  much  more  vegetarian,  because  the  great  obstacles 
of  the  twentieth  century  no  longer  exist — lack  of  time  to  pr^are  vegetables, 
and  the  difficulty  of  transporting  all  the  exotic  fruits.  The  conununity 
kitchen  has  solved  the  first  problem,  the  aeroplane  the  second.  Wine  is  rarely 
used  at  our  tables  and  alcohol  has  entirely  disappeared. 

This  picture  which  I  have  drawn  for  you,  this  dream  of  the  year  3000,  can 
become  a  reality  in  100  years,  in  40,  less,  perhaps.  Are  there  not  already  some 
timid  attempts?  For  instance,  canteens  where  mothers  obtain  food  gratui- 
tously. 

Science  is  the  great  revolutionist.  If  its  results  are  translated  into  practice, 
the  face  of  the  world  will  be  convulsed  much  more  surely,  much  more  com- 
pletely, than  by  the  most  bloody  revolutions. 


172  THE  JOUSKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOIOCS  [April 

A  PLAN  FOR  REDUCING  EXPENSES  IN  A  SCHOOL  LUNCH 

ROOM* 

BLANCHE  INGERSOLL 

If  you  are  a  home  economics  teacher,  struggling  with  the  question 
of  finances,  or  with  a  school  lunch  room,  or  both,  listen  to  the  story  of 
what  we  did  last  year  in  the  Jimior  High  School  at  Little  Rock,  Arkan- 
sas. One  hundred  girls  were  enrolled  in  the  cooking  classes,  with  one 
teacher.  With  the  aid  of  the  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics  and  from 
one  to  five  paid  workers,  these  girls  prepared  and  served  limch  to  500- 
^00  people,  daily,  in  the  school  limch  room,  with  the  result  that  in  the  one 
year  the  lunch  room  paid  for  itself,  for  the  laboratory  supplies,  and  for 
most  of  the  equipment. 

The  supervisor  planned  the  menus,  bought  all  supplies,  and  managed 
the  lunch  room.  The  principal  idea  in  the  planning  of  the  menus  was  to 
give  the  children  good,  wholesome  food,  food  which  would  be  nour- 
ishing and  satisfying,  and  yet  not  heavy.  The  menu  consisted  of  sev- 
eral hot  dishes,  sandwiches,  ice  cream,  some  sweets,  and  fruits.  The 
''whole  meal  in  one  dish"  idea  was  emphasized  with  the  use  of  such 
dishes  as  stew  with  vegetables,  meat  hash,  hamburger  sandwiches.  The 
child's  taste  was  catered  to  by  the  service  of  dishes  which  children  like, 
and  foods  for  which  they  care  less  were  made  as  attractive  as  possible. 
As  a  result  the  lunch  room  was  popular  with  the  students.  At  first  the 
idea  had  been  to  serve  food  which  would  supplement  the  lunch  brought 
from  home,  but  the  parents  soon  found  out  that  the  child  could  buy  a 
better  lunch  for  20  cents  in  the  school  limch  room  than  could  be  put  up 
at  home  for  the  same  money. 

The  cooking  classes,  meeting  daily,  prepared  all  food  for  the  lunch 
room  as  laboratory  work.  The  laboratory-kitchen  was  equipped  with 
twelve  stoves  of  the  size  used  in  the  ordinary  household,  and  all  of  the 
equipment  was  ''family  sized."  The  half-gallon  double  boiler  was  used 
and  other  things  in  proportion.  The  advantage  in  the  use  of  such  equip- 
ment rather  than  the  large  institution  equipment,  or  the  small  cooking 
laboratory  equipment,  is  readily  seen.  One  dass  cooked  potatoes,  an- 
other class  cocoa,  each  class  preparing  something  which  was  on  the  day's 
menu,  and  each  girl  preparing  a  quantity  which  would  serve  six  people. 
In  the  case  of  foods  requiring  long  cooking,  it  was  necessary  to  begin 

^  An  interview  with  Myrtle  Wlaon,  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Little  Rock,  Ark. 


1920]  SEDUCING  EXPENSES  IN  LUNCH  ROOM  173 

the  preparation  one  day  and  finish  it  the  next,  or  to  have  one  dass  partly 
cook  the  food  and  a  later  section  finish  it. 

The  menus  and  lessons  were  planned  so  as  to  avoid  repetition.  After 
a  few  lessons  on  sandwiches,  the  sandwiches  for  each  day  were  made  by 
the  paid  workers.  The  girls  were  taught  to  make  bread,  but  the  bread 
for  the  lunch  room  was  purchased,  as  was  also  the  ice  cream.  The  menu 
in  the  faculty  room  was  varied  so  as  to  include  com  bread,  muffins,  and 
other  quick  breads  occasionally  instead  of  sandwiches,  thus  giving  op- 
portunities for  quick  bread  lessons  to  the  classes. 

In  the  cafeteria  most  of  the  food  sold  for  5  cents  a  portion,  but  in  the 
faculty  room  higher  prices  were  charged.  The  girls  computed  the  costs, 
figuring  how  much  of  one  food  could  be  served  for  5  cents,  and  if  a  nor- 
mal portion  cost  more  than  5  cents  they  determined  how  to  make  up  the 
difference.  It  was  surprising  to  see  how  quickly  the  girls — even  the 
seventh  grade  girls — questioned  the  advisability  of  selling  different  sand- 
wiches, such  as  peanut  butter,  raisin,  and  pimento  cheese,  for  the  same 
price,  but  they  soon  saw  that  the  profit  on  the  peanut  butter  sandwich 
could  be  used  to  make  up  the  loss  on  some  other  kind,  so  that  all  sand- 
wiches could  be  sold  at  the  uniform  price  of  5  cents.  They  learned,  too, 
that  the  profit  on  a  vegetable  soup  served  one  day  would  make  up  the 
loss  on  a  more  expensive  cream  soup  served  another  day. 

In  addition  to  preparing  the  food,  the  cooking  classes  performed  all 
the  work  of  the  limch  room,  each  section  serving  during  the  noon  hour 
for  a  month  at  a  time.  The  paid  workers  merely  supplemented  the  work 
of  the  classes.  There  was  always  a  waiting  list  of  girls  who  wanted  to 
work  for  their  limch.  Cafeteria  service  was  used  in  the  student  limch 
room  and  table  service  in  the  faculty  room.  The  arrangement  of  the 
rooms,  including  the  arrangement  of  the  food  on  the  steam  table  and  on 
the  counter,  gave  the  girls  some  very  valuable  ideas  as  to  sanitation  and 
quantities  of  food.  Each  girl  was  given  an  opportunity  to  serve  in  each 
different  capacity — ^behind  the  counter,  as  checker  or  cashier,  to  make 
salads  as  they  were  needed,  as  waitress  in  the  faculty  room.  Some  very 
valuable  experience  in  table  service  was  secured  in  the  faculty  room. 
The  orders  were  checked  on  menu  cards,  which  were  tjrpewritten  by  the 
students  in  the  commercial  department.  The  girls  filled  the  orders  and 
served  them. 

The  cost  of  the  food  to  the  children  was  reduced  by  putchasing  in 
large  quantities  at  wholesale  prices.  The  only  expense,  other  than  the 
cost  of  the  food,  was  the  wages  of  the  paid  workers.    With  more  teachers, 


174  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOHICS  [April 

and  consequently  more  sections,  a  greater  variety  of  food  could  be 
served  and  fewer  paid  workers  would  be  necessary.  As  was  stated  before 
— ^the  lunch  room  was  not  only  self  supporting  but  eliminated  all  expend- 
itures for  laboratory  supplies  and  paid  for  most  of  the  equipment. 

Aside  from  the  advantage  in  dollars  and  cents  to  all  the  students,  this 
plan  offers  many  special  advantages  to  the  girls  in  the  cooking  classes. 
Each  girl  becomes  familiar  with  market  prices,  learns  to  estimate  the 
cost  of  different  foods,  has  practical  experience  in  handling  the  amoimts 
of  foods  and  equipment  that  would  be  used  in  the  average  family,  learns 
the  fundamentals  of  good  table  service,  and  developes  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bility. 


<( 


A  LITTLE  NONSENSE  NOW  AND  THEN" 

I  yearn  to  bite  on  a  colloid 

With  phosphorus,  iron,  and  beans; 
I  want  to  be  filled  with  calcium,  grilled, 

And  veg'table  VitanunesI 

I  yearn  to  bite  on  a  colloid 

(Though  I  don't  know  what  it  means) 
To  line  my  inside  with  potassium,  fried, 

And  veg'table  Vitamines. 

I  would  sate  my  soul  with  spinach 

And  dandelion  greens. 
No  eggs,  nor  ham,  nor  the  hard  boiled  clam, 

But  veg'table  Vitamines. 

Hi,  Waiter!  Coddle  the  colloids 

With  phosphorus,  iron,  and  beans; 
Though  mineral  salts  may  have  some  faults 

Bring  on  the  A^tamines. 

— Anonymous, 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

IS  THERE  A  STANDARD  BUDGET? 

ALICE  P.  NORTON 

What  is  the  ideal  division  of  the  family  budget  for  the  year  1920?  is  an 
unanswerable  question  that  has  been  put  to  the  Journal.  A  few  years 
ago  there  had  been  worked  out  for  different  sized  incomes  certain  percent- 
ages that  might  be  considered  "ideal."  It  was  never  even  then  consid- 
ered that  these  could  be  used  for  families  of  different  types  without  modi- 
fication by  variations  in  occupation,  in  location,  in  social  demands. 
Today  such  percentages  have  little  more  than  historic  value.  Not 
only  has  the  cost  of  each  item  increased  in  different  ratio,  but  changes 
in  price  occur  with  amazing  rapidity.  Before  the  results  of  a  survey  of 
prices  is  available,  the  material  is  out  of  date. 

If  by  a  "standard  budget"  is  meant  one  that  may  be  presented  as  a 
model  toward  which  individual  families  should  endeavor  to  adjust  the 
division  of  their  incomes,  any  attempt  to  formulate  such  a  standard  is 
useless,  and  it  is  sometimes  worse  than  useless  to  offer  it  to  those  who 
are  seeking  help  in  making  a  spending  plan  suited  to  their  own  special 
needs.  If  a  "standard  budget"  means  not  a  "model"  but  an  example, 
and  if  it  is  based  on  legitimate  needs  and  actual  expenditures  of  large 
groups  of  people  and  on  average  prices,  it  may  be  of  the  greatest  service 
as  a  guide,  especially  for  one  making  a  tentative  plan.  Such  budgets 
are  probably  most  serviceable  when  based  on  minimum  standards  at 
different  "living  levels."  The  Department  of  Labor  suggests^  as  most 
important  of  these  the  "pauper  or  poverty  level,"  in  which  families  receive 
aid  from  charity  or  run  into  serious  debt;  the  "minimum  of  subsistence 
level,"  based  on  mere  animal  existence  with  little  allowed  for  social  needs; 
the  "minimum  of  health  and  comfort  level,"  taking  into  accoimt  not 
mere  material  need,  but  education,  some  amusement,  and  some  insur- 
ance, with  consideration  of  self  respect  as  well  as  decency.  To  this 
might  be  added  the  "minimum  of  luxury"  level.  Properly,  in  a  well 
organized  society  no  family  should  fall  below  the  third  level. 

^  Monthly  Labor  Review,  December,  1919. 

175 


176  THE  JOUSKAL  OF  HOME  EOONOIOCS  [April 

In  order  to  furnish  information  for  the  commission  appointed  by  Con- 
gress on  Reclassification  of  Salaries,  the  Department  of  Labor  has  lately 
published  a  budget  for  the  family  of  a  government  employee  in  Wash- 
ington, based  on  the  minimum  comfort  level.  The  family  chosen  was 
the  so-called  economic  family,  consisting  of  a  husband,  wife,  and  three 
children,  a  boy  of  eleven,  a  girl  of  five  and  a  boy  of  two.  It  must  be 
remembered  in  interpreting  this  budget  that  food  is  probably  higher  in 
Washington  at  present  than  in  the  majority  of  places  in  the  country. 
According  to  various  estimates  dz  hundred  dollars  would  provide  the 
amount  needed.  Rents  are  also  high.  Each  factor  has  been  worked 
out  with  care.  The  budget  is  intended  to  provide  for  a  sufficient  amoimt 
of  nourishing  food  for  the  maintenance  of  health;  for  housing  in  a  low 
rent  neighborhood  with  the  smallest  possible  number  of  rooms  consis- 
tent with  decency,  but  with  sufficient  light,  heat,  and  toilet  facilities  for 
the  maintenance  of  health;  for  the  upkeep  of  household  equipment,  with 
no  provision  for  additional  furnishing;  for  dothing  sufficient  for  warmth, 
of  good  quality,  but  with  no  further  regard  for  appearance  and  style 
than  necessary  to  avoid  slovenliness  or  loss  of  self  respect;  for  the  keep- 
ing up  of  a  modest  amoimt  of  insurance,  for  contribution  to  church,  for 
medical  and  dental  care,  simple  occasional  amusements,  necessary  street 
car  fare  and  the  daily  paper.  The  summary  of  the  budget  is  given 
below. 

« 

Summary  of  budget 

Cost  of  quantity  budget  at  market  prices 

I.  Food $773.95 

n.  Clothing: 

Husband $121 .  16 

Wife X 166.46 

Boy  (11  years) 96.60 

Girl  (5  years) 82.50 

Boy  (2  years) 47 .  00 

513.72 

m.  Housing,  fuel  and  light 428.00 

IV.  Miscellaneous 546 .  82 

Total  budget  at  market  prices $2,262.47 

Possible  samng  upon  market  cast  by  b,  family  of  extreme  thrift,  of  high  intelligence,  great 
industry  in  shopping,  good  fortune  in  purchasing  at  lowest  prices,  and  in  which  the  wife  is- 
able  to  do  a  maTimum  amount  of  home  woxk: 


1920] 


IS  THESE  A  STANDARD   BT7DGET 


177 


L  Food  (7J  per  cent) $58.04 

n.  aothing  (10  per  cent) 51 .  37 

m.  Housing 30.00 

IV.  Miscellaneous 107.50 

Total  economies $246.91 

Total  budget  minus  economies $2,015.56 

Other  budget  examples  are  given  by  the  Home  Economics  Bureau  of 
the  Society  for  Savings  in  Cleveland. 

Two  are  included  here.  The  headings  under  which  the  items  are 
grouped  differ  somewhat  from  those  used  by  the  Department  of  Labor 
but  they  may  easily  be  compared.  These  estimates  are  given  by  the 
month  instead   of   the  year. 


Suggested  budget  on  mofMy  basis 


Savings 

Food 

Rent 

Clothing 

Operating . . . 
Advancement 


XNCOMX  $1300  A  TEAS 


Number  in  the  family 


Two 


$20.00 
40.00 
30.00 
25.00 
15.00 
20.00 


Tbree      Four 


$16.00 
44.00 
33.00 
25.00 
15.00 
17.00 


$10.00 
48.00 
35.00 
30.00 
15.00 
12.00 


Five 


$8.00  $40 
50.00 
35.00 
35.00 
15.00 
7.00 


mcoMX  12,400  a  txam 


Number  in  the  family 


Two 


00 
42.00 
40.00 
30.00 
18.00 
30.00 


Three 


$27.00 
50.00 
40.00 
35.00 
18.00 
30.00 


Four       Five 


$23.00 
58.00 
42.00 
35.00 
18.00 
24.00 


$22.00 
60.00 
42.00 
35.00 
18.00 
23.00 


The  Savings  Division  of  the  U.  S.  Treasury  Department  in  "How 
Other  People  Get  Ahead"  offered  last  year  yet  other  examples.  These 
are  probably  low  in  rent  and  housekeeping  expenses  for  most  localities 
today  and  it  would  be  necessary  to  transfer  to  these  items  something 
from  savings  and  from  other  items. 

Before  attempting  to  make  a  budget,  especially  if  one  has  not  kept 
classified  accounts  upon  which  to  base  one's  estimates,  it  is  well  to  study 
such  examples  as  have  been  given.  Determining  first  whether  one's 
income  should  put  one  in  the  "comfort"  or  the  "luxury"  class,  one  may 
make  such  additions  to  the  minimum  standard  in  each  class  as  the  in- 
come allows  and  choice  suggests. 


178  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

ESTIMATING  FOOD  COSTS 

The  housekeeper  of  today  is  becoming  familiar  with  the  term  calorie, 
and  the  100-calorie  portion.  She  is  seeing  the  value  of  training  herself  to 
estimate  in  a  rough  way  the  amount  of  food  she  is  serving  to  her  family. 
She  is  also  learning  that  the  food  that  is  cheapest  per  pound  is  not  al- 
ways the  cheapest  from  the  standpoint  of  the  energy  it  furnishes  to 
the  body. 

In  this  day  of  high  prices,  she  is  interested  in  knowing  what  foods  that 
will  adequately  feed  the  family  can  be  bought  most  cheaply  when  figured 
on  a  sustenance  basis  rather  than  on  a  poimd  or  pint  basis.  This  table 
prepared  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  intended  to  help  her  do 
this  in  an  easy  way.  By  inserting  the  price  per  pound  or  bushel  at  the 
proper  place  in  the  third  column  of  the  table  and  dividing  it  by  the  cor- 
responding figure  in  the  second  column  she  can  determine  the  price  of  a 
100-calorie  portion  of  a  particular  food.  For  example,  if  she  finds  that 
sirloin  steak  is  50  cents  a  poimd,  she  writes  '^50"  opposite  sirloin  steak 
in  the  third  column.  Then  she  looks  in  the  second  colunm  and  finds, 
opposite  sirloin  steak, "  10  per  poimd."  She  divides  SO  by  10.  The  quo- 
tient is  5.  Five  cents,  therefore,  is  the  price  of  a  100-calorie  portion  of 
sirloin  steak.  In  exactly  the  same  way  she  can  find  the  cost  per  100- 
calorie  portion  of  any  food. 

One  must  remember,  however,  that  other  things  than  body  fuel  are 
necessary  in  human  food.  Not  all  of  the  necessary  body  fuel  may  safely 
be  taken  from  any  one  of  the  food  groups.  Of  the  120  100-calorie  por- 
tions necessary  each  day  for  the  average  family  of  five,  consisting  of 
father,  mother,  and  three  children,  about  24  should  come  from  vegetables 
and  fruits,  36  from  milk,  eggs,  and  meat,  30  from  cereals  and  legiunes, 
12  from  sugar  and  sugary  foods,  and  18  from  fats  and  fatty  foods. 

For  a  family  of  four  adults  36  100-calorie  portions  might  come 
from  the  cereal  group,  24  from  milk,  eggs,  and  meat,  and  24  from  fats 
and  fatty  foods.  This  division  is,  of  course,  to  be  used  only  as  a  general 
guide. 


How  to  figtare  food  costs  by  calories 


PUCB  VIK 

100-caxjoub 
poetxoii 


Vegetables  and  fruits 


Potatoes 

Onions 

Cabbage 

Com,  canned 

Ffcas,  canned 

Tomatoes,  canned 

Ftunes 

Oranges  (8  ounces  each) . 
Bananas  (5  ounces  each) 


3  per  pound 
2  per  pound 
1  per  pound 
3perNo.2can 

do. 
1  per  No.  2  can 
11  per  pound 

10  per  dozen 

11  per  dozen 


Cents  per  pound 
do. 
do. 
Cents  per  No.  2  can 
do. 
do. 
Cents  per  pound 
Cents  per  dozen 
do. 


Milk,  eggs,  meat 


Milk.. 
Cheese 


Sizkun  steak. 
Round  steak 
Rib  roast . . . 
Chuck  roast. 
Plate  beef... 


Cereals 


Com  meal. . 
Rolled  oats.. 
Wheat  flour. 

Bread 

Rice 

Macaroni.. . 
Com  flakes.. 
Beans,  dried 


16  per  pound 
18  per  pound 
16  per  pound 
12  per  pound 
16  per  pound 

do. 

do. 

do. 


Cents  per  pound 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


Sugar  and  sugaiy  foods 


Sugar,  granulated 

Sugar,  hxmp 

Sugar,  maple 

Honey...- 

Molasses , 

Simp,  com 

Candy 


18  per  pound 

do. 
13  per  pound 
15  per  pound 

13  per  pound 

14  per  pound 
17  per  pound 


Cents  per  pound 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


Fat  and  fatty  foods 


Butter 

Laid 

Vegetable  oils 
Bacon 


34  per  pound 
41  per  pound 

do. 
26  per  pound 
9  per  pint 


Cents  per  pound 

do. 

do. 

do. 
Cents  per  pint 


Cents 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


Cents  per  quart 

Cents 

Cents  per  pound 

do. 

Cents  per  dozen 

do. 

Cents  per  pound 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 

Cents 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


Cents 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


Cents 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 


179 


180  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

SOME  HOME  CANNING  COSTS  FOR  1919 

MARION  WOODBURY 

The  figures  given  in  the  accompanjdng  table  represent  what  would 
be  the  actual  cash  outlay  for  the  average  family  doing  home  running  on 
a  small  scale.    No  attempt  is  made  to  take  labor  into  account. 

The  vegetables  were  raised  on  the  premises,  the  fruits  were  bought  at 
local  prices.  The  vegetable  garden  was  a  lot  80  by  135  feet — about  a 
quarter  of  an  acre.  This  was  owned  and  tended  by  three  small  families 
in  partnership,  and  furnished  all  their  v^etables  for  table  use  and 
canning.  These  included  potatoes,  onions,  shell  beans,  winter  root 
v^etables,  and  celery.  The  cost  of  the  garden  included  plowing,  seeds, 
fertilizer,  spray  materials,  and  a  few  small  tools.  The  labor  was  fur- 
nished by  the  owners  and  amounted  to  about  100  hours  for  the  season. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  produce,  tomatoes,  potatoes,  beans,  and 
peas  were  priced  by  the  bushel  at  the  time  of  lowest  market  price;  com 
by  the  dozen  ears;  other  vegetables  by  the  pound.  By  comparing  the 
total  value  of  the  produce  obtained  with  the  net  cost  of  the  garden,  it 
was  estimated  that  the  vegetables  cost  approximately  50  per  cent  of 
market  price.  This  per  cent  was  used  in  figuring  the  cost  of  the  home 
grown  materials  used  in  canning. 

The  cost  of  the  jars  and  caps,  and  other  containers  was  figured  at  one- 
fifth  cost.  New  rubbers  were  bought  at  3  dozen  for  23  cents;  paraffin 
cost  41  cents  for  3  pounds. 

The  fuel  cost  is  estimated  somewhat  roughly.  One  gas  burner  run- 
ning full  was  foimd  to  cost  about  one  cent  per  hour.  The  length  of 
time  the  gas  burned  was  divided  by  two,  as  the  burners  were  turned  low 
more  than  half  the  time.  The  cost  per  jar  for  a  given  amount  of  vege- 
tables would  be  somewhat  lower  if  the  entire  quantity  were  canned  in 
one  day.  Often  several  cookings  were  made  as  the  surplus  from  the 
garden  became  available  in  small  lots. 

Only  the  time  actually  employed  in  preparation  and  in  cleaning  up 
was  reckoned.  As  the  other  work  was  being  done  while  cooking  was 
going  on,  this  time  was  not  coimted. 

The  market  prices  of  goods  are  those  of  a  large  mail  order  house. 
Those  at  a  retail  store  would  be  10  to  20  per  cent  higher. 

The  cost  of  the  home  canned  product,  not  taking  labor  into  account, 
would  average  about  one-third  the  market  cost.  The  difference  may 
be  taken  as  representing  roughly  tht  saving  achieved. 


1920] 


HOME  CANNING  COSTS 


181 


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182  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

FOOD  RULES  FOR  SCHOOL  CHILDREN 

Begin  the  day  by  drinking  a  glass  of  water  and  drink  at  least  six 
glasses  during  the  day. 

Do  not  go  to  school  without  breakfast. 

Eat  regularly  three  times  a  day. 

Eat  slowly  and  chew  all  food  weU. 

Drink  milk  every  day — four  glasses  are  not  too  much. 

Eat  some  breakfast  cereal  every  day. 

Eat  some  vegetable  besides  potato  every  day. 

Eat  bread  and  butter  every  meal. 

Eat  some  fruit  every  day.    Spend  the  pennies  for  apples  instead  of 
candy. 

Do  not  eat  candy  between  meals;  eat  candy  and  other  sweets  only  at 
the  end  of  a  regular  meal. 

Do  not  drink  tea  or  coffee;  it  does  the  body  no  good  but  does  do  it 
harm. 

Do  not  eat  or  touch  any  food  without  first  washing  the  hands. 

Do  not  eat  fruit  without  first  washing  it. 

Do  not  eat  with  a  spoon  or  fork  which  has  been  used  by  any  other 
person  without  first  washing  it. 

Do  not  drink  from  a  glass  or  cup  which  has  been  used  by  another 
person  without  washing  it. 

Do  not  eat  from  the  same  dish  with  any  other  person. 

— The  Comnumhealtk. 


While  the  modem  homemaker  is  much  less  a  producer  than  formerly, 
and  more  a  consumer,  it  is  still  true  that  the  home  produces  wealth. 
The  housewife,  having  selected  and  purchased  materials,  makes  them 
into  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  for  her  family.  Her  skill  in  thus  con- 
verting raw  materials  into  products  which  the  family  requires,  deter- 
mines the  value  of  the  doUar  spent  for  the  raw  material.  In  so  far  as 
she  increases  the  value  of  the  raw  material  by  her  manipulation  of 
them,  is  she  adding  to  the  resourses  of  the  family. 

Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education. 


EDITORIAL 

The  Fund  for  Constantinople  College.  The  Council  of  the  A. 
H.  E.  A.  at  the  meeting  in  Cleveland  voted  to  tindertake  the  raising  of 
$6000  to  establish  for  three  years  a  chair  of  Home  Economics  in  the 
American  College  for  Girls  in  Constantinople,  and  to  send  a  teacher  there 
from  America. 

The  needs  of  the  college  have  been  stated  in  a  former  issue  of  the 
Journal.  Miss  Jenkins'  story  (in  the  March  number)  showing  what 
one  graduate  accomplished  ought  to  make  us  see  the  wonderful  opportim- 
ity  to  reach  out  into  many  homes  and  into  the  very  kind  of  homes  that 
most  need  help. 

The  A.  H.  E.  A.  as  an  association  has  had  few  opportimities  to  raise 
money  with  its  only  purpose  the  service  of  others,  though  service  is  of 
course  the  primary  reason  for  the  very  existence  of  the  Association. 

Professor  Abby  Marlatt  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  has  been  made 
general  chairman  of  the  Committee  for  raising  this  fimd.  Sectional 
chairmen  have  been  appointed  to  aid  her. 

Let  us  all  take  hold  with  a  will,  so  that  at  the  annual  meeting  the 
money  may  be  in  hand. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Constantinople  College  have  asked 
that  the  Association  present  the  names  of  three  candidates  from 
among  whom  the  appointee  may  be  selected,  and  has  indicated  the 
following  basis  of  qualification:  ''the  appointee  should  be  a  mature 
woman,  at  least  35  years  of  age,  an  expert  in  her  work;  she  should 
be  adaptable  to  foreign  conditions  and  broad  minded  in  building  up 
what  she  finds  in  the  East  rather  than  imposing  American  custom. 
She  should  have  organizing  as  well  as  teaching  ability  as  it  would  be 
her  place  to  build  up  a  new  department,  and  she  should  also  be  able 
to  correlate  the  courses  that  she  already  finds  in  the  College  with  her 
department.  She  should  be  capable  of  a  personal  interest  in  her 
students  and  also  of  a  broad  vision  of  the  work." 

Those  who  are  interested  in  considering  the  Constantinople  position 
are  asked  to  commimicate  with  the  Chairman  of  the  International 
Committee  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Association,  Dr.  H.  R. 
Andrews,  Teachers  College,  New  York  City. 

183 


184  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiaCS  [April 

Home  Economics  Abroad.  The  International  Committee  on  the 
Teaching  of  Home  Economics  calls  the  attention  of  all  teachers  of  home 
economics  to  the  opportmiity  afforded  American  teachers  to  advance 
the  cause  of  home  economics  in  other  countries  by  bringing  the  Amer- 
ican Home  Economics  Movement  to  the  attention  of  foreign  students 
attending  American  institutions  of  higher  learning,  and  also  to  the 
opportunity  for  meeting  representatives  of  foreign  school  systems  who 
occasionally  visit  American  institutions.  It  is  suggested  that  every 
home  economics  department  in  a  college  or  normal  school,  which  has 
foreign  students  in  attendance,  arrange  early  in  the  second  half  year 
for  a  home  economics  reception  to  which  all  foreign  students  in  attend- 
ance at  the  institution  will  be  invited.  An  explanation  of  the  plans 
and  purposes  of  home  economics  teaching  in  American  schools  might 
be  placed  before  the  foreign  students  at  such  a  time.  Some  form  of 
social  entertainment  will  as  a  matter  of  course  be  made  part  of  such  an 
occasion.  In  this  way  education  for  the  home  can  be  promoted  in  var- 
ious countries  through  the  interest  developed  in  foreign  students  attend- 
ing American  institutions.  Foreign  men  students  as  well  as  women 
should  be  invited  to  such  a  gathering.  The  Y.  W.  C.  A.  organization 
in  the  institution  will  often  be  interested  to  co5perate  with  the  Home 
Economics  Department  in  such  an  imdertaking. 

Among  the  foreign  visitors  who  have  recently  come  to  America  to  make 
inquiry  regarding  the  teaching  of  home  economics  in  American  schools 
are  Professor  Mimda  Bemardi  of  Rome,  Italy,  and  Miss  Hilda  Eossler  of 
Berne,  Switzerland.  Both  of  these  teachers  visited  the  Home  Eco- 
nomics Division  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  schools  in  various  parts  of  the  country. 

Mis.  Calvin  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  reports  also  that  Senora 
Elisa  Zegers  de  Fernandez  of  Santiago,  Chili,  has  been  recently  making 
inquiry  regarding  the  teaching  of  home  economics  in  American  schools. 
Senora  de  Fernandez  reports  that  home  economics  was  established  in 
Santiago  in  1907  imder  a  Swedish  teacher.  At  first  the  work  was  for 
only  one  year,  but  the  course  was  increased  imtil  there  was  finally  a 
three  years'  course  in  teacher  training  leading  to  the  title  of  professor, 
and  including  not  only  cooking,  garment  making,  and  duld  care,  but 
also  the  history  of  education,  psychology,  pedagogy,  civics,  political 
sdence,  and  other  subjects. 


1920]  EDITORIAL  185 

Rancidity  of  Fat.  Some  recent  reports  on  fat  decomposition  add 
^considerably  to  our  knowledge  concerning  the  substances  present  in 
irandd  fats  and  the  conditions  which  make  for  rancidity. 

Olive  Oil.    Holland  and  others^  stored  a  number  of  portions  of  olive 
^  for  six  years  under  varying  conditions.    At  the  end  of  that  period 
they  found  that  the  sample  to  which  air,  light,  and  moisture  had  been 
julmitted  showed  the  greatest  increase  in  acidity,  going  from  2  per  cent 
in  the  original  to  over  10  per  cent  in  the  final  analysis,  an  increase  of  some- 
thing over  400  per  cent.    When  any  one  of  these  factors  was  omitted 
there  was  but  slight  increase  in  acidity.    When  all  three — air,  light, 
;and  moisture — ^were  excluded,  the  acidity  actually  decreased.    Oxida- 
tion was  greatest  in  the  presence  of  air  and  light  as  was  shown  by  the 
increase  in  the  saponification  nimiber  and  decrease  in  iodine  nimiber. 
In  the  absence  of  air  and  light  oxidation  was  practically  nil. 

The  changes  were  sufficiently  great  to  give  fat  a  rancid  taste  and  odor 
at  the  end  of  two  years. 

Com  meal.    Those  of  us  who  struggled  with  spoiled  com  meal  during 
the  wheat  saving  period  will  be  interested  in  the  work  of  Rabak.'    He  in- 
'Oculated  com  meal  with  mold  and  examined  the  ether  extract  of  this 
moldy  com  at  intervals  during  a  ninety-day  period.    A  profoimd  de- 
'  composition  of  the  fat  molecule  took  place.    The  ether  extract  decreased 
from  5.58  per  cent  in  the  fresh  com  to  2.02  per  cent  in  the  thoroughly 
-moldy  sample.    The  oil  itself  increased  greatly  in  free  add  content,  going 
Irom  an  add  value  of  13.6  to  72.1.    At  the  same  time  the  general  oxida- 
tion products  rose  steadily,  for  the  iodine  value  dropped,  and  the  acetyl 
value  rose. 

Another  evidence  of  the  profoimd  changes  in  the  com  oil  was  the 
:^eat  increase  in  the  per  cent  of  non-fatty  (unsaponifiable)  matter,  some- 
thing over  500  per  cent  in  fact.    Thus  hydrolysis,  oxidation,  and  general 
<<iecomposition  seem  to  have  taken  place. 

The  precise  nature  of  all  of  these  fat  decomposition  products  is  not 
known;  consequently  it  is  not  possible  to  state  just  which  of  them  di- 
rectly give  the  randd  taste  and  odor.  Since  few,  if  any,  of  the  glycer- 
ides  of  the  bad  tasting  fatty  adds  are  found  in  olive  and  com  oil,  the  adds 
formed  by  hydrolysis  are  not  here  primarily  responsible  for  randdity. 
The  condition  must  then  be  essentially  due  to  oxidation  products  of  one 
kind  or  another,  probably  to  aldehydes,  ketones,  and  hydrocarbons,  for 
many  of  these  may  be  of  an  unpleasant  nature. 

^  Holland,  Reed  and  Buckley:  Jour.  Agr.  Research,  13, 353, 1918. 
*  Fiank  Rabak:  Jow.  Indus,  and  Engin.  Chem.,  12, 46, 1920. 


186  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiaCS  [ApiD 

Although  these  investigations  leave  much  to  be  learned  about  the  sub- 
stances present  in  a  rancid  fat,  they  do  afford  definite  information  re- 
garding proper  storage  conditions.  Judging  from  these  results  it  seems 
safe  to  assume  that  moisture-free  fats  kept  in  the  dark  away  from  air 
will  keep  for  an  indefinite  period. 


Acid-Base  Balance  and  Disease.  A  prolonged  diet  on  add  form- 
ing food  has  recently  been  suggested  as  another  possible  cause  for  lower- 
ing the  resistance  of  the  body  to  disease.  Some  foods — meat  and 
cereals — ^have  an  add  residue,  while  others — ^fruit,  vegetables,  and  milk — 
have  a  basic  one,  and  a  diet  having  an  add-base  balance  has  been  consid- 
ered to  be  the  most  desirable  though  there  has  not  been  much  proof  of 
this. 

A  dietary  study  of  thirty-one  of  the  Army  Camps  showed  an  excess 
of  add  fomung  food  in  the  mess.  In  contrast  to  this  diet  of  the  well 
soldier,  the  patients  of  a  certain  army  hospital  recdved  base  forming 
rations  on  six  out  of  seven  days.  The  dietaries  of  the  base  hospitals 
at  different  camps  were  foimd  to  be  consistently  basic  in  character.  ''  Is 
this  alkaline  reaction  of  dietaries  of  the  sick  a  mere  coinddence,  or  has  a 
process  of  selection  hit  upon  the  seeming  fact  that  neutral  or  base  form- 
ing diets  are  best  suited  to  the  needs  of  convalescents?" 

To  investigate  this  problem  Blatherwick  made  a  study*  of  the  bills  of 
fare  of  certain  organizations  at  Camp  Wheeler  covering  a  period  of  two 
months  when  there  were  numerous  cases  of  measles,  mumps,  influenza, 
and  pneumonia.  The  diet  had  been  changed  from  one  pound  of  meat 
and  one  of  potatoes  per  man  per  day,  to  one  poimd  of  meat,  one-fourth 
poimd  of  potato,  and  rice  or  hominy,  in  other  words  to  a  more  add  type. 
The  results  of  the  investigation  showed  a  rough  but  unmistakable  paral- 
lelism between  the  amount  of  meat  and  the  number  of  cases  of  sickness. 
An  increase  of  meat  seemed  to  be  followed  by  an  increase  of  sickness. 
Of  course  the  figures  do  not  permit  definite  condusions,  but  suggest  that 
a  continued  use  of  a  diet  of  add  forming  foods  may  lead  to  a  greater 
susceptibility  to  disease. 

How  Long  Does  it  Take  to  Print  a  Journal?  There  seems  to  be 
some  misimderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  contributors  to  the  Jouknal 
in  regard  to  the  time  necessary  to  make  up  a  magazine  and  put  it  through 
the  press.    The  last  day  of  March,  for  example,  a  note  comes  into  the 

•  Blatherwick,  N.  R.,  Amer,  Jour.  Physiol.,  49',  567, 1919. 


1920]  OPEN  roRUM  187 

office  with  the  urgent  request  that  accompanying  material  appear  in  the 
April  nimiber.  The  material  for  the  April  number  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  printer  by  February  28.  It  is  possible  to  make  a  few  minor 
additions  to  page  proof  as  late  as  the  middle  of  March,  but  if  much  ma- 
terial is  added  it  may  mean  a  second  page  proof,  and  is  sure  to  delay 
the  issue  of  the  Journal.  There  are  enough  unavoidable  delays  without 
adding  imnecessary  ones. 

Many  of  the  magazines  are  ''made  up/'  in  great  part,  six  months  in 
advance.  We  are  making  a  very  reasonable  request  when  we  -ask  that 
we  shall  receive  material  five  weeks  before  the  date  of  issue,  and  as  soon 
as  we  can  surmount  the  many  difficulties  with  which  all  publications  have 
had  to  contend  in  the  last  years  we  hope  the  Joxtknal  will  be  ready  for 
distribution  on  the  first  of  each  month. 


THE  OPEN  FORUM 

A  Plea  for  fhe  Teacher. — ^I  should  like  to  make  a  suggestion. 
Thousands  of  home  economics  teachers  are  in  small  localities  where 
they  have  little  opportunity  to  talk  over  their  work  with  other  teach- 
ers. It  would  be  a  great  help  if  a  page  in  the  Jgxtrnal  of  Home 
Economics  were  given  over  to  discussion  of  the  every  day  problems 
which  grammar  and  high  school  home  economics  teachers  meet  in 
planning  their  courses  and  managing  their  classes.  We  are  so  apt  to 
get  into  ruts  and  follow  the  course  of  least  resistance, — ^to  fail  to  keep 
up  with  progress,  and  let  our  work  become  too  narrow  in  scope. 

The  chance  to  keep  in  closer  touch  with  what  other  teachers  are 
doing,  and  ta  submit  to  others  for  discussion  the  problems  we  find 
difficult  to  solve  would  awaken  us  and  inspire  us  to  do  better  work 
and  more  work. 

Is  there  not  a  place  for  such  a  department  to  appear  regularly  in  the 
JoiTSNAL  OF  Home  Economics? 

Some  of  my  problems  may  suggest  the  needs  of  other  elementary 
teachers.    I  should  like  very  much  to  hear  how  others  are  meeting  these. 

How  should  school  work  be  connected  with  the  home? 

How  should  meal  service  be  carried  out? 

Hpw  much  work  should  be  given  in  food  values  and  meal  planning, 
and  what  is  the  best  way  to  teach  it? 

What  work  should  be  given  in  textiles? 


188  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [April 

When  each  pupil  has  a  lesson  in  domestic  science  only  once  a  wee£ 
(2  hour  period)  through  the  three  grades  (6th,  7th  and  8th)  is  it  best  to 
alternate  the  work  in  cooking  and  sewing  each  week  or  concentrate  first 
on  one  and  then  on  the  other? 

How  much  work  should  girls  accomplish  in  sewing  in  this  time? 

Is  it  best  to  attempt  the  making  of  a  simple  dress  in  the  eighth  grade 
with  such  a  small  amount  of  time,  and  large  classes  (averaging  20). 

In  the  grades  is  it  best  to  give  children  their  recipes  and  other  informa- 
tion through  text  books,  note  books,  or  printed  sheets?  If  through 
text  books,  what  ones  are  best  to  use? 

In  my  classes  it  seems  best  to  continue  some  hand  sewing  after  intro- 
dudhg  machine  work.  How  can  the  teacher  best  explain  to  the  pupil 
that  this  hand  work  is  not  a  waste  of  time? 

Rena  Gray. 

A  Practical  Application  of  Food  Study.  As  a  partial  answer  to 
the  question  of  how  work  in  foods  may  be  related  to  the  home  con- 
ditions of  the  student,  a  dass  of  27  Jiunors  in  Elementary  Dietetics  in 
the  University  of  West  Virginia  kept  the  amoimts  and  cost  of  food  for 
a  week  during  the  Christmas  holidays,  following  Caroline  Hunt's  outline. 

The  food  costs  were  found  to  be  about  two  to  two  and  one-half  cents 
per  100  calories,  ranging  from  66  to  85  cents  per  3300  calories.  These 
results  were  compared  with  the  market  list  given  by  Miss  Nesbitt  in  the 
pamphlet  "Dependent  Families  in  Chicago."  According  to  her  figures 
im  April,  1919,  a  minimum  cost  for  the  ''standard"  man  was  43  cents. 
Those  same  foods  in  Morgantown  on  January,  1920,  cost  60  cents. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that  some  of  the  poorest  students  in  the  class 
reported  the  greatest  influence  on  the  family  food  habits  as  a  result  of 
the  study. 

Some  of  the  comments  as  to  the  students'  estimation  of  the  value  of 
the  study  of  the  week's  market  list  may  be  of  interest. 

''My  mother  has  known  others  to  have  made  similar  studies  but  she 
has  never  before  had  opportiunty  to  know  how  it  was  done.  She  wants 
me  to  practice  next  summer  the  things  that  I  have  learned  in  this  course. 
Although  mother  is  interested,  when  she  is  very  hurried  she  does  not  pay 
much  attention  to  varieties." 

"My  family  thought  this  study  the  most  practical  thing  that  I  have 
done  since  I  have  been  in  West  Virginia  University.  As  a  result  my 
mother  is  now  making  every  effort  to  conform  to  the  standards  that  I 
have  explained  to  her,  and  our  market  basket  is  improving  rapidly." 


1920]  OPEN  roRUM  189 

^'My  family  thought  at  first  that  it  was  a  joke  and  did  not  think  it 
was  very  practical.  Mother  did  not  see  the  point  of  so  much  weighing 
and  figuring  until  I  showed  her  the  results  that  I  obtained.  When  I 
told  her  that  we  used  too  much  fat  and  not  enough  cereals  and  milk  and 
explained  to  her  why  we  should  use  more  milk  and  milk  products  and  less 
meat  and  less  fat  she  became  interested  and  decided  that  she  would 
make  a  few  changes.  She  has  reduced  the  fats  and  sugar.  Since  the 
hofidays  we  had  had  illness  in  the  family  and  the  doctor  confirmed  my 
statement  of  more  milk  and  cereals  and  less  meat;  so  mother  says  from 
now  on  she  will  do  the  best  she  can  to  keep  up  the  standard  and  that  I 
am  to  take  charge  of  it  this  summer.'' 

''Mother  helped  me  with  my  study.  Father  was  not  much  concerned 
about  it  but  my  brother  did  not  like  it  at  all.  He  only  wants  to  eat  meat 
and  potatoes  and  does  not  care  for  fruit,  detests  milk  and  eggs,  and  cares 
very  little  for  lettuce  or  cabbage  and  fresh  vegetables.  Now  the  family 
have  to  take  what  mother  and  I  plan  and  as  we  prepare  just  enough  at 
each  time  for  that  meal  and  as  brother  does  not  care  to  eat  bread  between 
meals  he  is  getting  so  that  he  is  looking  forward  to  each  meal  and  eats 
what  is  put  before  him." 

"My  family  was  shocked  beyond  expression  to  find  that  they  spent 
so  much  money  on  foods.  We  have  decided  that  running  a  monthly  bill 
is  too  expensive  and  will  pay  cash  for  everything  we  buy  and  buy  where 
we  please.  My  family  thought  at  first  that  the  study  was  foolish.  I 
told  them  that  it  was  to  see  if  the  money  for  foods  was  evenly  distributed 
among  the  different  kinds.  They  foimd  that  it  was  not.  Now  we  are 
keeping  strict  account  of  everything  spent  for  the  month." 

"My  family  was  quite  interested  in  this  study  especially  mother  who 
was  interested  in  the  problem  and  has  always  said  that  her  family  use 
too  much  meat  but  she  did  not  know  just  how  much.  My  family  never 
considered  the  cost  since  a  great  deal  of  the  supplies  were  raised  at  home 
and  they  forgot  that  the  cost  was  there  just  the  same.  Mother  is  using 
more  milk  instead  of  selling  it  at  ten  cents  a  quart  and  uses  meat  once  a 
day  instead  of  three  times." 

The  girls  in  one  of  the  fraternity  houses  said,  "It  is  affecting  what  we 
are  doing  now  by  making  us  use  more  milk  and  less  meat,  more  vege- 
tables and  less  fat.  The  study  has  also  interested  all  the  girls  at  the 
house  in  the  study  of  foods." 

Rachel  H.  Colwell, 
University  of  West  Virginia. 


192 


THE  JOXTRMAL  O?  HOME  ECONOIQCS 


[Apr»t 


teachers  of  home  eoonomics  reach  the  home 
makers  of  their  communities?  This  plan  of 
dividing  into  sections  after  the  general 
meeting  has  proved  very  successful. 

On  February  14,  Frederick  Snyder,  who 
was  Chief  of  Division  of  the  Coordination 
of  Purchase  of  the  U.  S.  Food  Administra- 
tion, spoke  on  Fundamental  Economics  as 
Applied  to  Present  Day  Market  Problems, 
and  Amy  Blanchard,  Supervisor  and  In- 
structor of  Employees,  in  the  store  of  Almy, 
Bigdow  and  Washburn,  Salem,  gave  a  talk 
on  Practical  Pomts  in  the  Selection  of  Tex- 
tiles and  Clothing.  At  later  meetings  Ways 
of  Meeting  the  Shortage  in  Household  Ser- 
vice is  to  be  discussed,  and  Systematic  Sav- 
ings and  Methods  of  Investments. 

The  School  of  Home  Beonomics  at 
Chautauqnay  New  York,  is  offering  this 
summer  a  course  in  experimental  cookery 
under  the  charge  of  Elizabeth  W.  Miller, 
formerly  of  the  University  of  Chicago  and 
now  of  Iowa  State  College.  She  is  ^t  pres- 
ent on  leave  of  absence  and  is  the  Ellen  H. 
Richards  fellow  at  the  University  of  Chicago. 
Miss  Miller  has  contributed  to  the  Jouknal 
from  time  to  time.  The  course  will  be  open 
only  to  graduate  or  advanced  students,  and 
will  be  accepted  for  college  credit 

Mrs.  Norton  and  Miss  Barrows  will  have 
charge  of  the  school  as  in  former  years, 
and  are  planning  a  Home  Information 
Bureau  in  addition  to  various  new  courses. 


The  Gift  for  Home  Economics  Fellow- 
ships at  the  University  of  Chicago  has  been 
renewed  for  next  year.  Two  fellowships  of 
$300  each  will  be  awarded.  The  candidates 
must  be  graduates  of  an  institution  of  high 
standing  or  must  already  have  done  some 
graduate  work.  This  year  the  fellowships 
were  limited  to  workers  in  nutrition  but 
next  year  they  will  be  awarded  to  the  strong- 
est applicants  in  any  lines  of  home  econom- 
ics. Applications  with  reconunendations 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  chairman  of  the 
home  economics  department  or  the  dean  of 
the  graduate  schools  before  June  15. 


Notes.  The  editor  of  the  Jouknal  ex- 
tends her  thanks  to  her  former  students  who 
have  lately  made  her  a  life  member  of  the 
American  Home  Economics  Association. 
To  the  recipient,  at  least,  this  is  a  particu- 
larly pleasant  renewal  of  former  relation- 
ships. 

The  officers  of  the  recently  organized  New 
York  State  Home  Economics  Assodation-^ 
are:  Pres.,  Laura  Sexton,  Chazy;  V.  Pres., 
Ethel  Newlands,  Technical  School,  Buffalo; 
Secy,  and  Treas.,  Edith  A.  Sarver,  108 
Union  St,  Schenectady;  Councilor,  May 
Benedict,  Dep't.  of  Household  Arts,  Me- 
chanics Institute,  Rochester. 

Mrs.  Mary  Schenck  Woolman  is  spending 
one  week  of  each  month  in  New  York  directing 
the  making  of  home  economics  films  for  the 
Conmiimity  Motion  Picture  Bureau.  Mrs. 
Woolman  asks  the  cooperation  of  the  Asso- 
ciation in  extending  this  service  to  as  many 
conmiunities  as  possible. 

Make  Your  Reservations  for  Colorado* 
Springs.  The  Antlers  Hotel  is  to  be  the 
headquarters  for  the  meeting  of  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association,  June  24  to  29. 
The  other  hotels  where  reservations  are  being 
made  are  the  Acacia  and  the  Alta  Vista. 

The  rates  are  as  follows: 

The  Antlers — ^Single  room  without  bath' 
$3.00,  2  persons  $5.00;  double  room,  4  per- 
sons $8  00.    The  same  with  the  bath  $5.00, 
$7.00  and  $10.00,  respectively. 

The  Acacia — Single  room  without  bath 
$2.50,  2  persons  $4  00.  The  same  with  bath 
$4  00  and  $6.00,  respectively. 

The  Alta  Vista — ^Single  room  without  bath ' 
$1 .50, 2  persons  $2 .50.    The  same  with  bath, 
$2.00  and  $3.50,  respectively. 

Rooms  accommodating  three  persons  and 
rooms  with  bath  between  are  also  available. 

Remember  that  the  meeting  of  the  N.  E. 
A.  in  Salt  Lake  City  followfr—July  4  to  10. 
It  is  hoped  that  arrangements  may  be  made 
with  the  railroads  to  have  the  reduced  rate 
tickets  for  Salt  Lake  City  on  sale  a  week 
early,  allowing  a  stop  over  at  Colorado- 
Springs. 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  MAY,  1920  No.  5 

NOTES  ON  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  EATING 

GEORGE    S.   BRYAN 

Duimg  their  first  winter  in  America,  the  founders  of  New  England 
Kved  on  groundnuts,  which  are  not  nuts  at  all,  but  tubers  of  the  Indian 
potato,  or  wild  bean.  Boiled,  they  are  reported  to  be  agreeable  and 
nutritious.  Tradition  is  that  the  Puritans  first  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Indian  com  (or  maize)  by  stealing  it  irom  the  Indians.  Certain 
versions  assert  that  they  afterward  paid  something  for  it.  Let  us  hope 
they  did.  In  any  event,  they  were  very  soon  raising  their  own.  They 
also  wisely  followed  the  example  of  the  Indians  by  using  fish,  if  fish  in 
quantity  were  readily  obtainable,  as  a  fertilizer.  And,  furthermore, 
they  learned  the  virtues  of  "nocake."  The  term  "nocake"  was  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  Massachuset  word  noohkik  (nokehick  being  the  closely 
sunilar  Narraganset  form).  Nocake  was  made  of  selected  Indian  com 
parched  in  hot  ashes,  then  well  sifted  and  thoroughly  pulverized.  When 
needed,  it  was  mixed  with  cold  water  and  drunk.  The  early  Virginians 
knew  it  as  '^rockahomonie." 

We  have  upon  our  library  shelves  a  learned-looking  volume  on  human 
foods  and  their  nutritive  value;  this  says  nothing  whatever  about  no- 
cake.  In  fact,  the  author,  though  he  writes  emditely  of  protein,  gliadin, 
and  phosphoric  anhydride,  dismisses  Indian  com  with  a  few  words, 
sajdng  that  for  a  balanced  ration  it  must  be  combined  with  other  things. 
However  that  may  be  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  dietetic  chemist,  the 
tmth  is  that  parched  and  pulverized  maize  was  the  sole  food  of  Indian 
runners  as  they  dog-trotted  day  after  day  through  the  forest;  it  was  the 
chief  dependence  of  the  Indian  at  other  times,  in  country  where  game 
was  scarce  or  where  he  thought  it  dangerous  to  hunt;  it  sustained  such 

193 


194  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

pioneers  as  Daniel  Boone,  Simon  Kenton,  and  Davy  Crockett  in  their 
emergencies;  it  was  a  mainstay  of  the  ''Two  Captains,"  Lewis  and 
Clark,  on  eight  thousand  miles  of  journey  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Pacific;  it  has  been  relied  on,  time  out  of  mind,  by  desert  wanderers  in 
Mexico  and  other  countries  of  Latin-America.  It  was  praised  by  such 
men  as  Roger  Williams  and  Colonel  William  Bsnrd  (who  called  it 
"Sprightful  Bread");  and  in  modem  times,  T.  S.  Van  Dyke,  an  out- 
doors expert  of  long  and  varied  experience,  has  said  of  it:  ''It  is  the 
only  form  in  which  you  can  carry  an  equal  weight  and  bulk  of  nutri- 
ment on  which  alone  one  can,  if  necessary,  live  continuously  for  weeks, 
and  even  months,  without  any  disorder  of  stomach  or  bowels."  Horace 
Kephart,  an  authority  in  "wildcraft,"  says,  "I  often  carry  a  small  bag 
of  this  parched  meal  when  moimtaineering." 

Nocake  (call  it  by  any  other  name — ^rockahominy,  cold  flour,  or 
pinole — ^it  is  just  as  good)  was  the  rudiment  with  which  New  En^and 
folk  began  the  study  of  preparing  foods  from  Indian  com.  That  Indian 
com  and  its  associate,  the  pumpkin,  played  no  small  part  in  the  morn- 
ing of  New  England's  history,  may  be  seen  from  this  allusion  in  Hins- 
dale's "Old  Northwest:"  "After  describing  the  American  method  of 
tilling  the  com  and  the  pumpkin,  by  which  two  crops  are  produced  on 
the  same  land  in  one  year,  while  the  girdled  trees  are  still  standing, 
Professor  Shaler  remarks:  'It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that,  but  for 
these  American  plants  and  the  American  method  of  tilling  them,  it 
would  have  been  decidedly  more  difficult  to  have  fixed  the  early  colonies 
on  this  shore.'  "  Indian  com  and  pumpkin  were  gastronomically  united 
in  primitive  New  England  johnny  cake,  the  unsweetened  com  meal  being 
mixed  with  a  paste  of  mashed  pmnpkin  that  enriched  it  in  both  flavor 
and  color. 

Time  would  fail  us  to  tell  of  all  the  other  ingenious  and  gustable 
dishes  made  from  Indian  com  by  those  New  England  pioneers.  There 
was  com  bread,  mixed  with  mHlk  and  eggs.  There  were  com  fritters — 
fried  batter  cakes  of  grated  sweet  maize,  with  eggs  and  milk  added. 
There  was  "ryaninjun,"  compounded  of  rye  flour,  com  meal,  milk, 
water,  and  yeast;  raised  by  the  fire  and  baked  in  the  brick  oven.  There 
was  the  pudding  inseparable  from  the  original  New  England  "boiled 
dinner."  And — most  famous  of  all — there  was  hasty  pudding,  which 
Joel  Barlow  took  as  emblematic  of  the  pristine  simplicity  that  still 
marked  his  home  region,  and  which  he  celebrated  in  a  mock-heroic 
poem  whose  quiet  humor  remains  vital.    "It  is  interesting,"  observed 


1920]  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  EATING  195 

one  commentator,  ''to  see  what  a  poetic  product  he  could  make  out  of 
such  a  subject  as  'mush' "  .  .  .  .  (for  "mush"  and  "suppawn" 
were  other  and  even  less  euphonious  terms  for  the  same  viand). 

The  basis  of  the  hasty  pudding  of  New  England  was  a  batter  made 
by  stirring  com  meal  into  boiling  water  and  cooking  it  until  it  attained 
the  proper  "body."    BarloVs  authoritative  words  are: 

"In  boiling  water  stir  the  yellow  flour: 
The  yellow  flour,  bestrew'd  and  stirr'd  with  haste. 
Swells  in  the  flood  and  thickens  to  a  paste. 
Then  puffs  and  wallops,  rises  to  the  brim. 
Drinks  the  dry  knobs  that  on  the  surface  swim; 
The  knobs  at  last  the  busy  ladle  breaks, 
And  the  whole  mass  its  true  consistence  takes." 

In  eating  hasty  pudding.  Barlow  tells  us, 

"Some  with  molasses  line  the  lusdous  treat. 
And  mix,  like  bards,  the  useful  with  the  sweet." 

For  himself,  he  preferred  to  eat  it  with  milk;  plenty  of  the  milk  being 
first  placed  in  a  bowl,  and  the  pudding  then  being  dropped  in  until 
"  the  soft  island  looms  above  the  brink."  Sirup,  sugar,  or  butter  might 
also  be  used  as  accompaniments;  and  what  was  left  of  the  pudding  could 
later  be  fried.  A  note  to  BarloVs  poem  contains  the  following  warn- 
ing: "In  eating,  beware  of  the  lurking  heat  that  lies  deep  in  the  mass; 
dip  your  spoon  gently,  take  shallow  dips,  and  cool  it  by  degrees.  It  is 
sometimes  necessary  to  blow.  This  is  indicated  by  certain  signs  which 
every  experienced  feeder  knows." 

Scholars  have  held  that  the  pimipkin  was  known  in  England  as  early 
as  1570,  having  been  introduced  from  the  East.  Probably,  therefore, 
at  least  some  of  the  early  New  England  colonists  had  grown  it  or  seen 
it  grown,  in  a  small  way,  in  cottage  gardens.  It  is  supposed,  however, 
to  have  been  indigenous  to  North  America;  and  its  field  cultivation 
with  maize  is  thought  to  have  been  adopted  from  Indian  practice.  The 
pumpkin,  besides  being  fodder  for  cattle  and  hogs,  was  no  small  item  of 
old-time  Yankee  diet.  In  fact,  an  early  rhymester,  cataloguing  "New 
England's  annoyances,"  himiorously  declares, 

"We  have  piunpkins  at  morning  and  pumpkins  at  noon; 
If  it  was  not  for  pumpkins  we  should  be  undone." 


196  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOIQCS  [May 

Paste  of  mashed  pumpkin  was,  as  we  have  noted,  an  added  touch  to 
true  New  England  johnnycake.  Pumpkin  was  also  prepared  as  an 
independent  dish  by  baking  or  stewing.  It  was  sometimes  kept,  ready 
for  use,  in  the  form  of  long  strips  that  had  been  dried  by  the  fire;  or  in  a 
mass  that  had  first  been  stewed,  then  desiccated  in  the  brick  oven. 
2^ealous  spirits  even  got  a  poor  kind  of  sirup  out  of  it  The  noblest 
product  manufactured  from  the  pmnpkin  was,  of  course,  the  pumpkin 
pie,  sung  by  Whittier  and  "to  every  Yankee  dear." 

Beans  were  liberally  grown  and  were  often  on  the  table.  They  were 
stewed,  baked,  or  made  into  porridge.  Genuine  New  England  baked 
beans,  it  may  be  said  here,  have  nothing  in  common  with  the  pallid, 
liquescent  messes  frequently  served  today  imder  that  name,  and  most 
flagrantly  in  dty  restaurants.  Bean  porridge  was  a  thick,  rich  soup, 
seasoned  with  fried  pork  (or  more  rarely  with  beef  bones),  pepper-pods, 
and  salt.  The  beans  were  first  softened  by  being  soaked  overnight  in 
cold  water;  and  after  the  other  ingredients  had  been  added,  the  porridge 
was  fabricated  by  long,  slow  boiling.  It  could  be  "wanned  over" 
indefinitely. 

"Succotash"  was  as  near  as  the  early  New  Englanders  could  get  to 
fnsickquaiash,  which  was  Narraganset  for  boiled  com-and-beans.  Be- 
nevolently assimilated,  like  so  much  else,  from  the  Indian  aborigines, 
this  mixture  in  its  primary  fashion  was  a  kind  of  porridge  made  with 
bush  beans  and  maize.  These  might  be  either  fresh  or  dried.  An 
author's  footnote  in  "The  Last  of  the  Mohicans"  shows  that  Cooper 
understood  the  dish — ^as  prepared  by  Indians,  at  any  rate — ^to  be  "  com- 
posed of  cracked  com  and  beans."  The  New  England  cook  usually 
added  a  piece  of  pork;  for  nearly  all  of  a  Yankee  pig  save  the  squeal 
was  in  some  way  utilized. 

In  earliest  New  England,  potatoes  commonly  were  grown  in  gardens 
only,  and  did  not  appear  in  their  own  right  as  a  leading  item  of  every- 
day fare.  Gradually,  however,  they  came  to  be  raised  in  quantity  as  a 
field  crop.  They  were,  practically  from  the  beginning,  an  element  of 
the  "boiled  dinner,"  which  further  included  a  large  piece  of  salted  beef, 
a  cut  of  pork,  the  "pudding,"  and  such  vegetables  of  the  domestic  stock 
as  beets,  cabbages,  carrots,  and  turnips.  The  pudding  was  a  thin  bat- 
ter of  com  meal  and  fresh  milk,  encased  in  a  linen  bag.  When  the 
water  had  reached  the  boiling  point,  the  bag  was  suspended  within  the 
pot.  The  cooked  pudding  was  eaten  with  cream  (or  sometimes  with 
maple  sugar  and  cream),  thus  answering  the  purpose  of  a  dessert.    It 


1920]  EABLY  MEW  ENGLAND  EATING  197 

would  seem  that  the  boiled  dinner  was  almost  as  hardy  a  perennial  as 
the  boarding  house  turkey  of  modem  jokesmiths.  Having  reappeared 
cold  at  supper  (with,  let  us  say,  bread  of  some  kind  and  in  season  a 
salad  of  chopped  mustard  leaves),  it  furnished  the  hash  of  next  dajr's 
breakfast,  and  endured  for  a  second  dinner,  refreshed  with  the  pot  broth 
and,  if  necessary,  reinforced  with  a  few  beans. 

Rye,  wheat,  and  buckwheat  were  all  extensively  grown  in  early  New 
England,  and  flour  made  from  them  was  utilized  in  breadstuffs.  In 
this  connection  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  not  all  of  the  early  baking 
was  in  the  comparatively  familiar  brick  oven  beside  the  kitchen  fire- 
place. Either  a  "bake  kettle"  or  a  "tin  kitchen"  might  be  used.  The 
bake  kettle  was  a  cast-iron  pot  with  legs  and  a  cast-iron  lid.  It  was 
placed  over  a  bed  of  live  coals;  the  dough  was  laid  on  either  the  greased 
bottom  or  a  baking  j^ate;  the  lid  was  then  put  on  and  covered  with  live 
coals,  which  it  was  shaped  to  hold.  The  bake  kettle  gave  much  quicker 
results  than  the  brick  oven.  Biscuit  bread  was  ordinarily  baked  in  it. 
The  tin  kitchen  was  a  light  utensil — of  tin,  as  the  name  indicates; 
dosed  on  all  sides  but  that  facing  the  fire;  the  top  being  curved  or  slanted 
downward  and  the  bottom  curved  or  slanted  reversely.  Whatever  was 
to  be  baked  was  placed  on  a  shallow  pan  supported  within  the  tin- 
kitchen,  and  thus  received  direct  heat  from  the  hearth  fire  and  reflected 
heat  from  the  utensil.  The  collapsible  aluminum  reflector  used  today 
by  campers  is  derived  from  the  old-fashioned  tin  kitchen  and  works  on 
exactly  the  same  principles.  Shortcake — a  thin,  flat,  unsweetened 
cake,  "shortened"  with  butter  or  lard  and  served  hot,  was  frequently 
baked  in  the  "spider."  In  certain  rural  communities  of  New  England 
an  ordinary  frying  pan  is  now  colloquially  known  as  a  spider;  but  a 
spider  is  properly  a  deep,  long-handled  iron  frying  pan  with  legs,  usually 
three,  so  that  it  may  be  stood  in  the  coals. 

Flapjacks  were  prodigious  batter  cakes  cooked  in  a  long-handled  pan, 
and  obtaining  their  name  from  the  fact  that  they  were  skilfully  "flap- 
ped," or  turned  in  air,  by  being  tossed  from  the  pan  and  caught  again. 
Before  the  wholesale  destruction  of  the  sugar  maple,  the  making  of 
maple  sirup  and  maple  sugar,  now  peculiar  to  Vermont,  was  rather 
common  throughout  most  of  New  England.  Many  households  annu- 
ally made  enough  for  their  own  use;  and  either  the  sirup  or  the  pulver- 
ized sugar  was  applied  to,  or  mixed  with,  a  variety  of  victuals.  One  or 
the  other  was  almost  invariably  a  "spread"  for  the  toothsome  flapjack. 


198  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

Wherever  skim  milk  was  fairly  plentiful  cottage  cheese  was  in  favor. 
Thus  a  by-product  of  the  dairy  was  utilized  for  the  making  of  a  pala- 
table, digestible,  and  nutritious  food  that  lent  variety  to  the  bill-of-fare. 
Appreciation  of  cottage  cheese  and  its  possibilities  was  to  a  considerable 
extent  revived  in  this  coimtry  during  the  Great  War  through  a  cam- 
paign directed  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

After  a  time,  cultivated  fruits  furnished  materials  for  pies;  before 
that,  wild  brambleberries  were  used,  as  were  also  wild  black  cherries 
and  even  chokecherries,  which  for  puckery  taste  are  equalled  by  few 
other  known  things  in  nature.  New  Englanders  brought  the  basic 
idea  of  pie  from  Old  England,  but  they  developed  it  and  embroidered 
upon  it  with  an  almost  unlimited  ingenuity;  and  eventually  they  ex- 
tended the  term  to  '^  Washington  pie,"  which  is  nothing  more  than  two 
layers  of  q)onge  cake  with  pastry  cream  between  them.  In  other  parts 
of  the  country,  a  lugubrious  visage  was  ascribed  to  the  typical  Yankee, 
the  result  (it  was  more  or  less  jestingly  said),  in  part,  of  Calvinistic 
theology  and,  in  part,  of  indigestion  caused  by  too  much  pie.  So  far  as 
the  pie  is  concerned,  confirmation  of  this  is  perhaps  had  in  the  distin- 
guished testimony  of  the  ''Autocrat  of  the  Breakfast  Table"  that  after 
an  excess  of  pie  he  ''wrote  some  sadly  desponding  poems,  and  a  theo- 
logical essay  which  took  a  very  melancholy  view  of  creation."  "  When," 
he  adds,  "I  got  better  I  labelled  them  all  'Pie  crust,'  and  laid  them  by." 
Yet  the  "tranquil  mirthfulness"  of  the  Sage  of  Concord  throve  upon 
breakfast  pie. 

The  ancient  rhymer  to  whom  we  have  already  referred,  includes  the 
following  sarcastic  particulars: 

'^If  barley  be  wanting  to  make  into  malt. 
We  must  be  contented  and  think  it  no  fault; 
For  we  can  make  liquor  to  sweeten  our  lips 
Of  pumpkins  and  parsnips  and  walnut-tree  chips." 

Passable  substitutes  for  tea  could  be  found  by  the  early  New  Eng- 
landers— ^not  only  walnut  (i.e.,  hickory)  chips,  but  white  cedar  (arbor 
vitae)  chips,  too;  sassafras  wood  and  the  bark  of  the  root;  Oswego  tea; 
the  tender  tips  of  hemlock  branches;  and  dried  leaves  of  the  black 
birch.  All  these  things,  and  many  others,  have  been  used  by  American 
pioneers.  The  very  first  comers  to  New  England  were  not  coffee 
drinkers;  for  the  use  of  coffee  did  not  become  conmion  in  Old  England 
until  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  the  first  coffee  house  in 


1920]  EARLY  NEW  ENGLAND  EATING  199 

London  did  not  open  its  doors  until  1652.  In  due  course,  however, 
Yankee  land  contributed  its  share  toward  placing  the  per  capita  con- 
sumption of  coffee  in  the  United  States  at  a  figure  about  twelve  times 
greater  than  that  for  the  United  Kingdom.  Early  New  Englanders 
could  devise  substitutes  for  coffee  from  wheat,  pulverized  burnt  bread, 
and  parched  corpi  meal.  We  have  also  encountered  a  reference  to  the 
use  of  a  certain  "evan  root,"  described  as  "  the  fleshy  root  of  a  low-grow- 
ing plant  of  which,"  says  the  account,  ''I  wish  I  could  give  the  botanical 
name,  as  I  have  no  doubt  it  still  grows  in  imcultivated  swamps."  ''  Evan 
root"  is  imdoubtedly  a  provincial  corruption  of  "avens  root,"  the  plant 
in  question  being  what  the  books  call  water  avens  (the  Geum  rivale  of 
Gray).  "The  freshly  dug  roots,"  the  account  further  says,  "were  to  be 
washed  and  boiled,  and  used  in  place  of  coffee;  it  had  an  aromatic  and 
slightly  pimgent  flavor,  not  much  resembling  coffee;  but  with  plenty  of 
milk  and  sugar  it  made  a  very  acceptable  drink." 

Wild  game  was  abimdant  in  earlier  colonial  New  England.  Moose 
ranged  in  goodly  numbers  through  the  more  northerly  forests.  Deer 
were  plentiful  in  all  the  woods.  So  were  wild  turkeys;  their  flocks 
averaging,  it  is  said,  from  twenty  to  forty  members.  Henry  Oldjrs,  of 
the  United  States  Biological  Survey,  has  stated  that  ruffed  grouse  (the 
New  England  "partridge")  and  bobwhites  were  even  more  numerous 
than  the  wild  turkesrs  and  "were  regarded  as  too  insignificant  to  spend 
powder  on."  "In  colonial  dajrs,"  he  says,  "Massachusetts  even  placed 
a  boimty  on  ruffed  grouse  to  protect  crops.  The  heath  hen,  or  eastern 
prairie  chicken,  now  [1910]  confined  to  Martha's  Vineyard  and  reduced 
in  numbers  to  about  200,  furnished  an  abundant  article  of  diet  to  the 
colonists  in  New  England  and  New  Netherlands — so  abundant,  in  fact, 
that  articles  of  apprenticeship  often  specified  that  apprentices  should 
not  be  compelled  to  eat  its  meat  oftener  than  twice  weekly.    Pigeons 

were  innimierable Dressed  pigeons  were  sold  in  Boston 

for  threepence  a  dozen." 

Adriaen  Van  der  Donck  placed  the  market  value  of  a  prime  buck  in 
New  Netherlands  in  1653  at  not  more  than  $1.20  in  present  United 
States  currency,  and  frequently  much  less  than  that.  It  is  probably 
safe  to  assume  that  very  nearly  the  same  quotation  would  be  true  for 
New  England  at  the  same  period.  Wildfowl  were  to  be  seen  in  plenty 
in  the  bays  and  inlets  along  New  England's  coasts,  and  upon  its  inland 
waters.  Of  both  salt-water  and  fresh-water  fish  an  excellent  supply  was 
to  be  had. 


200  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

All  this  game  and  fish  made  cheap  and  excellent  fare  in  early  New 
England  homes.  Biologist  Oldys,  although  granting  that  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  land  by  man  necessarily  resulted  in  permanent  reduction  of 
the  amoimt  of  wild  game,  asserts  with  truth:  ''The  recklessness  with 
which  the  early  colonists  destroyed  the  game  that  filled  this  land  to 
overflowing  is  astonishing,  even  though  such  wasteful  methods  are  usual 
in  a  new  coimtry/'  He  also  dtes  unregulated  trade  in  game  as  another 
factor  contributing  toward  its  decrease.  As  it  has  decreased  (or  even 
been  exterminated)  in  all  readily  accessible  places,  its  market  value  has 
risen.  "From  a  time,"  says  Oldys,  "when  bounties  were  paid  for 
ruffed  grouse  and  apprentices  appealed  from  a  diet  of  prairie  chicken, 
we  have  reached  the  time  when  ruffed  grouse  are  within  reach  only  of 
the  rich  and  prairie  chickens  are  not  to  be  had  at  any  price."  He 
might  have  added  that  the  existing  scarcity  (or,  in  many  cases,  complete 
absence)  of  native  game — ^which,  had  it  been  rightly  conserved,  would 
now  be  affording  at  small  cost  a  welcome  and  wholesome  variety  of  diet 
— ^is  nothing  short  of  anomalous  in  New  England,  in  every  state  of 
which,  as  statistics  show,  the  acreage  of  improved  farm  land  has  for 
years  been  steadily  diminishing. 

Cattle,  sheep,  or  swine  that  had  been  brou^t  to  a  pioneer  commu- 
nity of  New  England  were  ordinarily  held  too  precious  to  be  slaughtered 
for  food  until  such  time  as  a  further  supply  of  animals  had  been  wdl 
assured.  After  that,  a  "beef  critter"  would  occasionally  be  slaughtered 
by  its  owner  and  shared  with  the  nei^bors.  Some  of  the  meat  was 
very  often  "corned" — that  is,  cured  with  coarse  granulated  salt  In 
the  speech  of  those  times  the  word  "com"  was  frequently  used  in  the 
sense  of  a  small,  hard  particle;  as  of  salt,  powder,  or  sand. 

In  early  New  England,  mutton,  though  never  so  favored  as  it  had 
been  in  the  old  English  home,  was  used  to  a  considerable  extent.  The 
Yankee  quickly  found,  however,  that  among  domestic  animals  the  pig 
furnished  meat  the  most  cheaply.  Hams,  shoulders,  and  bacon  were 
cured  by  smoldng  in  "smokehouses,"  where  they  were  hung  on  hooks 
above  a  smoldering  fire.  The  smokehouse  was  commonly  an  outbuild- 
ing, but  might  sometimes  be  a  closet  or  small  apartment  within  the 
dwelling  and  having  a  smoke  vent  opening  into  a  chimney.  Salt  pork 
was,  of  course,  made  by  pickling  in  barrels  of  strong  brine.  Sausage 
was  manufactured  from  minced  pork,  highly  seasoned  with  pepper, 
salt,  and  sage.  Usually  it  was  laid  down  in  pans,  covered  with  a  thin 
coating  of  lard  for  protection  from  the  air,  and  cut  out  in  slices  to  be 


1920]         E7FICIEMT  ARRANGEMENT  IN  COOKING  LABORATORIES  201 

fried.  Headcheese  (known  in  Old  England  as  brawn)  was  composed 
of  portions  of  the  head,  or  of  the  head  and  feet,  cut  up  finely,  seasoned, 
boiled,  and  pressed  into  a  mass  somewhat  like  a  cheese.  Pickled  pig's 
feet  were  esteemed  rather  a  delicacy.  In  time,  certain  alien  meat  prep- 
arations, such  as  rolliches  (which  originated  among  the  New  Amsterdam 
Dutch)  and  scrapple  (which  took  its  rise  among  the  Pennsylvania  Ger- 
mans) became  known  in  parts  of  New  England  and  were  made  there. 
Pure  food  laws  were  not  needed  in  early  New  England.  Towns  had 
not  yet  begun  to  grow  apace,  nor  industries  to  develop  and  become 
centralized.  Life  was  chiefly  agricultural,  and  the  subsistence  of  each 
fann  group  was  produced  almost  exclusively  upon  its  particular  farm. 
Housewives  then  required  no  special  guidance  as  to  what  was  or  was  not 
safe  to  use;  no  list  of  approved  products,  such  as,  a  few  years  since,  was 
issued  by  one  New  England  town.  But  certainly  they  did  require 
culinary  knack;  for,  past  a  doubt,  in  those  times  good  cooking  demanded 
greater  aptitude  and  skill  than  it  does  today. 


EFFICIENT  ARRANGEMENT  IN  COOKING  LABORATORIES 

CHARLOTTE  A.  ICORTON 
Direcior  Eom9  Economics^  State  Normal  School,  San  Jose^  Calif  orma 

It  is  time  that  cooking  laboratories  were  made  as  convenient  as  the 
modem  kitchen.  For  many  generations  the  housewife  worked  in  an 
unplanned  kitchen,  with  no  analysis  of  processes  and  no  thought  of  the 
relative  position  of  operations.  Often  her  kitchen  was  many  times 
the  necessary  size,  with  storage  center,  sink,  and  stove  so  far  distant 
from  each  other  that  she  walked  miles  daily  in  accomplishing  even  the 
simplest  work.  Unfortunately,  a  large  majority  of  these  kitchens 
still  exist.  But  imder  the  leadership  of  those  who  have  applied  to  their 
kitchens  the  principles  of  efEicient  arrangement,  which  of  necessity  are 
in  application  in  any  modem  factory,  women  are  demanding  efficient 
kitchens  in  the  new  homes  which  are  being  btiilt,  and  are  rearranging 
the  old  kitchens  when  possible. 

It  is  a  part  of  every  good  home  economics  course  to  teach  the  close 
connection  between  efficient  work  and  proper  relative  position  of  the 


202  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

various  processes  involved.  But,  unfortunately,  up  to  the  present 
time,  much  the  same  conditions  have  obtained  in  cooking  laboratories 
as  those  which  for  so  many  years  made  work  so  hard  in  most  kitchens; 
namely,  an  arrangement  which  makes  necessary  much  recrossing  of 
steps;  waste  of  space  with  greater  distances  to  walk;  and  a  relative 
position  of  operations  different  from  that  advocated   in    the   home. 

The  hollow  square  arrangement  has  been  the  one  most  widely  used. 
The  advantage  of  this  arrangement  is  that  it  places  the  student  in  a 
position  fadng  the  teacher  who,  from  one  position  inside  the  square,  can 
see  what  each  member  of  the  class  is  doing.  But  the  teacher  often 
must  leave  her  position  inside  the  square  and  go  outside  to  help  the 
individual  student  working  on  such  operations  as  kneading  bread;  she 
also  must  go  outside  to  attend  parts  of  the  equipment  such  as  the  range 
or  supply  cupboards;  or  to  meet  visitors.  So  that  in  the  course  of  a 
lesson  the  teacher  has  a  fatiguing  road  to  travel.  The  fatigue  is  greatly 
increased  by  the  fact  that  to  arrive  at  the  different  points  needing  he; 
attention,  she  must  many  times  cross  the  track  of  students  who  musr 
also  leave  their  working  positions  to  secure  their  necessary  suppliest 
teacher  and  student  must  wait  for  each  other  or  squeeze  past  each  other 
in  narrow  passageways,  sometimes  behind  other  students  whose  work  is 
interrupted  to  let  them  pass. 

Making  the  laboratory  very  large  decreases  this  passage  difficulty, 
but  increases  the  number  of  steps  to  be  taken,  and  does  not  affect  the 
recrossing  of  paths;  moreover,  this  way  of  overcoming  the  diffictdty 
could  not  be  used  in  small  schools  with  limited  funds,  which  often  plan 
small  laboratories  with  the  hollow  square,  necessitating  a  painful  amount 
of  crowding  and  hindering  of  each  other's  work.  Increasing  the  num- 
ber of  openings  in  the  square  itself  decreases  the  crossing  of  paths,  but 
increases  expense,  as  it  spreads  out  the  class  and  makes  more  space 
necessary.  Increasing  the  number  of  sinks  in  the  room  does  more  than 
anything  else  to  decrease  the  amount  of  walking  and  consequent  recross- 
ing of  paths;  but,  even  if,  as  in  the  best  laboratories  on  this  plan,  there 
is  a  sink  to  every  four  students,  one  group  is  working  left  handed  toward 
the  sink  in  a  position  which  would  never  be  advocated  in  a  well  arranged 
kitchen.  To  make  these  points  clear,  drawings  have  been  made  (1)  of 
the  laboratory  actually  in  use  in  one  of  the  best  schools  in  the  country; 
(2)  of  a  projected  laboratory  which  offers  suggestions  to  overcome  the 
difficulties  shown  in  (1) ;  and  (3)  a  detail  drawing  of  the  working  unit 
necessary  in  the  suggested  arrangement. 


1920] 


EFFICIEMT  AKSANGElfENT  IN  COOKING  LABORATORIES 


203 


? 


J  -o®---/     \\\  \  //  /'A 


.//  //  \\\>/ 


0  (s)      <S)  fe 


? 


ji^'-p-. 


I 


Ht^  Wittdows   en  firm    Itn^fh. 


204 


THE  JOUKNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[May 


PLATE  3 


Indivi^iMt  ^uppi^  9hmlt 


1   r 


In  plate  1,  which  shows  the  hollow  square  arrangement  that  in  this  or 
a  similar  form  is  now  in  use  in  a  majority  of  the  cooking  laboratories  in 
our  schools,  note  the  course  of  the  teacher,  which  is  indicated  by  a  solid 
line,  from  her  various  positions,  in  each  of  which  she  must  place  herself 
at  least  several  times  during  each  lesson.  Contrast  with  that  her  main 
position  in  plate  (2),  where  it  will  be  seen  that  she  can  remain  in  a  dear 
space  in  a  position  from  which  she  can  more  quickly  and  easily  reach 
the  various  points  that  will  require  her  attention  during  the  lesson. 
Her  course  around  the  room  should  also  be  clear  after  the  class  has 
obtained  supplies  and  begun  work. 

In  plate  2,  which  is  merely  an  arrangement  suggested  to  overcome 
the  difficulties  shown  in  plate  1,  it  will  be  seen  that  no  recrossing  of 
students  need  occur.  Once,  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson,  the  student 
leaves  her  position  to  secure  supplies  from  the  table  directly  behind  her 
where  monitors  have  placed  them,  as  is  customary  before  the  lesson 
commences.  Having  obtained  these,  it  will  not  again  be  necessary  for 
her  to  leave  her  own  unit;  and  the  space  behind  her  is  left  free  for  the 
teacher's  passage.  The  objection  might  be  raised  that  the  expense  of 
installing  so  many  sinks  is  too  great;  but  such  an  expense  would  be 
much  smaller  than  that  involved  in  unit  kitchens,  which  are  at  present 
approved  by  many  teachers. 


1920]         EFFICIENT  ASBANGEMENT  IN  COOKING  LABORATORIES  205 

Plate  3  is  a  detail  drawing  of  the  unit  that  may  be  arranged  either  as 
a  group  or  individual  unit.  Note  that  in  this  unit  the  work  progresses 
from  right  to  left,  with  the  same  relative  position  of  operations  as  should 
exist  in  any  inteUigently  planned  kitchen.  The  student  obtains  her 
supplies  at  the  beginning  of  the  lesson  and  places  them  on  her  individual 
supply  shelf,  which  has  the  same  relation  to  her  sink  as  the  pantry  and 
refrigerator  should  have  to  a  kitchen  sink;  she  reaches  into  the  wall 
cupboard  directly  in  front  of  her  for  necessary  utensils,  a  great  advan- 
tage over  the  hollow  square  arrangement,  where  she  must  either  pull 
out  a  drawer,  necessitating  a  move  from  her  working  position,  often 
using  both  hands  to  lift  or  rearrange  the  utensils  to  obtain  those  she 
wishes;  or  stoop  imcomfortably  to  obtain  them  from  low  cupboards,  the 
opening  of  whose  doors  again  moves  her  from  her  working  position. 

When  her  food  is  ready  to  cook,  she  moves  to  the  left  and  places  it 
on  har  stove,  then,  while  it  is  cooking,  proceeds  to  dear  her  shelf  and 
wash  the  dishes  which,  as  the  supply  shelf  has  been  cleared,  have  been 
piled  there.  From  towel  rods  directly  over  her  sink  (pushed  back 
against  the  cupboard  when  not  in  use),  she  takes  her  dish  towels  and 
doth,  and  with  plenty  of  water  at  hand  she  washes  her  dishes,  deanses 
her  towels  and  hangs  them  over  the  sink  to  dry. 

Space  may  be  provided  in  the  cupboard  for  cans  of  flour,  spices,  and 
other  individual  supplies;  and,  if  desired,  there  may  be  an  additional 
cupboard  beneath  the  drawers,  but  this  usually  will  be  foimd  lumeces- 
sary.  The  large  utensils  used  by  the  entire  class,  or  with  only  one  to 
every  four  or  more  students,  can  be  placed  in  large  cupboards  at  the 
side  or  front  of  the  room.  The  teacher  will  not  be  able  to  stand  in  front 
of  the  individual  student  in  making  suggestions.  But  if  this  point  is 
carefully  considered,  it  must  be  conceded  that  it  does  not  outwdgh  the 
advantages  gained  by  arrangement  2.  In  fact,  there  are  many  labora- 
tories with  other  than  the  hollow  square  arrangement,  which  already 
have  lost  the  advantage  of  the  face-to-face  position — such,  for  instance, 
as  that  in  which  the  students  work  aroimd  large  square  tables,  or  in 
unit  kitdiens.  Both  of  these  last  named  arrangements  are  advocated 
by  many  teachers;  but  to  the  writer  neither  of  them  seems  to  solve  the 
difficulties  first  outlined,  namely,  those  of  much  walking  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher,  waste  of  space,  and  recrossing  of  paths. 

It  is  hoped  that  neither  housewives  nor  teachers  will  be  bound  by 
tradition  when  better  conditions  are  obtainable  whidi  make  for  econ- 
omy of  energy  and  time  and  consequent  better  achievement. 


206  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

STUDIES  IN  NUTRITION 

From  the  Home  Economics  Laboratory  or  the  University  of 

Wisconsin 

VALUE  OF  FEEDING  EXPERIMENTS 

MARGXTERITE  DAVIS 

In  nutrition  as  in  other  divisions  of  science  our  knowledge  is  but  an 
arrangement  of  observations.  The  part  that  feeding  experiments  have 
played  in  assembling  these  observations  is  familiar  to  all.  Reaumur,  in 
his  study  of  digestion  in  1765,  was  probably  the  first  to  use  this  method 
of  investigation.  Chohners  Watson  in  1906  examined  the  changes  in 
the  tissues  resulting  from  a  long  continued  monotonous  ration.  In 
this  country  Beaumont's  classic  experiments  in  digestion  were  the  first 
great  contribution,  while  the  extensive  work  of  McColliun  and  his  co- 
workers and  of  Osborne  and  Mendel  has  been  most  conspicuous  in  recent 
years. 

We  hope  for  much  from  this  method  in  the  future.  There  is  first  the 
problem  of  growth.  That  the  change  in  mass  from  the  egg  of  micro- 
scopic proportions  to  the  adult  is  due  to  the  food  absorbed  is  well  known. 
It  is  not  so  well  understood  that  the  changes  in  structure  and  composi- 
tion also  result  from  the  food.  We  have  conceded  that  milk  was  neces- 
sary for  babies,  but  it  has  not  been  generally  appreciated  that  food  of 
proper  quality  was  necessary  after  infancy. 

Then  there  is  the  problem  of  the  maintenance  of  individual  organs. 
A  chemical  and  histological  examination  reveals  much  more  than  records 
of  maintenance,  growth,  and  reproduction.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  a 
large  number  of  animals  should  be  examined  before  a  conclusion  with 
regard  to  the  ration  is  arrived  at,  and  of  the  fact  that  a  chemical  and 
histological  examination  requires  more  time  and  skilled  labor  than  the 
growth  and  reproduction  records,  it  seems  desirable  to  have  rather 
extensive  preliminary  observations  to  serve  as  a  guide  for  more  intensive 
work. 

It  is  feeding  e3q)eiiments  which  keep  adding  to  the  list  of  essential 
substances  in  the  ration.  Chemical  analysis  and  our  common  experi- 
ence with  food  showed  the  necessity  for  protein,  but  the  carefully  con- 
trolled experiments  of  Hopkins  and  Willcock  showed  the  necessity  for 
tryptophane.  At  present  our  only  test  for  the  three  vitamines  is  the 
biological  test. 


1920]  STUDIES  IN  NUTKmON  207 

In  spite  of  the  progress  that  has  been  made  there  are  still  many  con- 
fusing factors.  Clear  cut  results  are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 
An  animal  may  be  subnormal  and  recover  without  change  in  the  ration, 
or  it  may  be  subnormal  and  not  recover  when  taken  off  the  e3q)eriment. 
Frequently  the  individual  variations  within  a  group  are  greater  than  the 
variations  between  groups. 

On  the  qualitative  side  a  ration  may  be  xmsatisfactory  in  two  respects. 
It  may  lack  some  essential  or  it  may  contain  a  toxic  substance.  An 
essential,  like  magnesium,  is  toxic  if  present  in  too  high  a  concentration. 
Since  foods  are  complex,  it  is  extremely  diffictdt  to  obtain  a  ration  which 
is  uniform.  With  a  ration  which  is  not  imifoim  it  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine to  what  factor  the  unsatisfactory  results  are  due.  The  chief 
source  of  variations  in  the  ration  is  the  vitamines.  Hess  and  Unger 
have  shown  that  10  grams  of  fresh  young  carrot  contain  as  much  of  the 
antiscorbutic  vitamine  as  35  grams  of  fresh  old  carrot.  Doubtless 
difference  in  soil  causes  a  difference  in  vitamine  content.  It  is  well 
established  that  the  vitamine  content  of  milk  is  dependent  on  the  ani- 
mal's ration.  Aside  from  the  difference  in  the  initial  amount,  there  is 
the  destruction  due  to  aging.  This  destruction  is  very  rapid  for  the 
antiscorbutic  vitamine.  Until  some  rapid  method  of  quantitative 
estimation  of  vitamine  is  devised,  a  ration  imifoim  with  respect  to  the 
antiscorbutic  factor  is  a  practical  impossibility.  Furthermore,  there  is 
some  evidence  that  both  this  and  the  fat  soluble  vitamine  operate  indi- 
rectly in  that  their  absence  induces  a  lowered  resistance  to  infection 
from  ordinarily  umocuous  bacteria.  It  is  therefore  a  complicated  matter 
to  obtain  accurate  measurements  of  the  comparative  value  of  foodstuffs. 

The  fact  that  different  animals  give  different  results  with  the  same 
ration  has  been  used  as  an  argument  against  feeding  experiments.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  an  advantage,  for  it  gives  additional  information. 
Individual  variations  among  hmnan  beings  are  as  great  as  the  different 
requirements  of  different  animals. 

A  ration  restricted  to  egg  yolk  carries  the  rat  through  growth  and 
reproduction.  On  the  other  hand,  the  addition  of  egg  yolk  to  the  rab- 
bit's ration  shows  this  complete  food  for  the  rat  to  be  toxic  for  the  rabbit. 

We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  many  common  foodstuffs  may  be  toxic 
to  certain  animals  if  fed  in  sufficient  amounts  for  a  sufficient  time. 
From  what  little  data  we  have  it  seems  that  different  foodstuffs  do  not 
manifest  their  toxic  effects  in  the  same  manner.  Therefore  it  is  of  inter- 
est to  classify  the  foods  with  regard  to  their  toxic  effects. 


208  THE  J0I7SNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiacs  [May 

We  have  mentioned  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  unifonn  conditions 
within  a  single  laboratory.  When  one  seeks  to  compare  the  results  of 
different  laboratories,  the  difficulties  are,  of  course,  greater.  Again  it  is 
the  vitamines  which  cause  the  greatest  confusion.  This  is  particularly 
true  when  cooked  or  preserved  food  is  the  source  of  vitamine,  especially 
of  antiscorbutic  vitamine.  With  cooked  food  it  is  important  to  know 
how  it  was  cooked;  how  long;  the  state  of  division;  the  amount  cooked 
at  a  time;  if  boiled,  the  amount  of  water;  if  baked,  the  temperature; 
and  the  Interval  between  cooking  and  consumption.  The  data  with 
conmierdal  preserved  food  is  of  purely  economic  value  for  the  condi- 
tions are  not  known. 

Conflicting  statements  due  to  different  conditions  are  bound  to  cause 
skepticism.  Even  so,  we  believe  that  all  honest  and  careful  work  is 
good  work  and  will  have  its  place  when  order  succeeds  confusion.  We 
even  consider  that  it  is  an  advantage  to  have  different  conditions  in 
different  laboratories,  for  when  one  comes  to  doubt  the  accepted  prin- 
ciples a  discovery  may  follow. 

The  writer  would  be  very  glad  if  there  were  a  clearing  house  for  data 
in  feeding  experiments.  It  would  be  necessary  to  have  strict  regula- 
tions to  exclude  experiments  which  were  not  properly  controlled.  It 
would  seem  that  by  pooling  observations  much  of  the  error  from  con- 
clusions from  insufficient  evidence  would  be  eliminated.  One  reason 
for  hasty  conclusions  Is  a  desire  for  priority.  Under  the  pooling  system 
priority  would  not  be  so  important  as  careful  and  complete  experiments. 

It  would  be  a  great  help  to  a  laboratory  which  serves  the  double 
purpose  of  investigation  and  instruction  to  work  in  connection  with 
other  laboratories.  For  investigation  the  resources  of  the  laboratory 
are  more  profitable  when  concentrated  on  a  small  problem,  except  for 
preliminary  work  designed  to  indicate  the  relative  merit  of  various  small 
problems.    For  instruction  less  intensive  work  is  desirable. 


1920]  STUDIES  IN  NUTRITION  209 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  VTTAMINE  CONTENT  OF  FOODS 

MARGUERITE   DAVIS  AND   COLLABORATORS 

INTRODUCTION* 

The  experiments  reported  here  are  not  primarily  studies  in  vitamine 
cooteikt.  They  are  long  time  experiments  to  determine  the  effect  of 
prolonged  feeding  of  a  given  amount  of  a  given  foodstuff.  In  the  case 
of  the  guinea-pigs  and  rabbits,  the  oats,  hay,  salt,  and  water  ration  to 
which  the  foodstuff  is  added  is  lacking  in  the  antiscorbutic  vitamine. 

The  deficiency  of  this  ration  is  reported  by  Hess  and  Unger,^^  and  by 
Hart,  Steenbock,  and  Smith.'  Therefore,  when  our  animals  have  ex- 
hibited the  t3rpical  symptoms  of  acute  scurvy  in  three  weeks,  we  have 
considered  that  the  added  foodstuff  did  not,  in  the  amoimt  fed,  contain 
sufficient  vitamine  to  protect  against  scurvy.  When,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  normal  growth  and  reproduction  we  consider  that  the 
added  foodstuff  does  contain  sufficient  vitamine.  The  intermediate 
conditions  are  often  more  difficult  to  determine.  There  is,  for  instance, 
a  great  difference  between  canned  spinach  and  boiled  onion.  With  the 
spinach-fed  guinea-pigs,  those  receiving  15  grams  daily  are  in  better 
condition  than  those  receiving  10  grams,  while  those  receiving  20  grams 
are  in  better  condition  than  those  receiving  15  grams.  On  the  other 
hand,  although  boiled  onions  unquestionably  contain  the  antiscorbutic 
vitamine,  and  although  10  grams  is  unquestionably  below  the  level 
necessary  for  complete  protection,  three  lots  of  guinea-pigs  on  10  grams, 
15  grams,  and  20  grams,  respectively,  were  in  equally  poor  condition 
at  the  end  of  26  days. 

We  have  more  confidence  in  the  beri-beri  experiments  with  the  pig- 
eons. So  far  as  we  know,  acute  beri-beri  results  only  from  lack  of  the 
anti-beri-beri  vitamine.  To  exclude  other  factors  as  far  as  possible 
we  have  fed  the  stock  pigeon  ration  of  equal  parts  com,  kaffir  com, 
barley,  and  split  peas.  This  ration  is  heated  in  the  autoclave  at  fifteen 
pounds  pressure  for  2f  hours.  As  the  birds  eat  a  normal  amount,  which 
is  not  the  case  when  they  are  offered  polished  rice,  and  as  grit  is  kept  in 
the  cages,  the  changes  due  to  heating  must  be  responsible  for  the  defi- 
ciencies in  the  ration.  When  the  addition  of  a  fixed  amount  of  a  food- 
stuff (daily)  prevents  or  delays  the  appearance  of  symptoms  of  beri-beri, 

*  Mln  Davis'  ooUaboiatois  are  students  working  under  her  superviflion. 


210  THE  JOtntNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

we  consider  the  anti-beri-beri  vitamine  in  the  added  foodstuff  to  be 
responsible.    A  gram  of  butter  fat  daily  is  given  the  pigeons  receiving 
potato,  as  McCollum,  Parsons,  and  Simmonds"  have  shown  that  potato 
lacks  the  fat  soluble  vitamine. 
The  following  notes  record  the  progress  to  date  of  the  experiments. 

Experiments  With  Vakiqus  Foods 

EFFECT  OF  HEAT  ON  FOOD 

As  Stated  above,  the  ordinary  pigeon  ration  of  com,  kaffir  com, 
barley^  and  split  peas  was  heated  in  the  autoclave  for  2\  hours,  at  15 
pounds  pressure  and  fed  as  the  beri-beri  producing  ration.  Since  the 
pressure  cooker  is  used  in  food  preparation^  it  was  considered  of 
interest  to  feed  a  ration  which  was  heated  in  it. 

The  2  pigeons  receiving  the  ration  which  had  been  heated  in  the 
pressure  cooker  2}  hours  at  15  pounds  pressure  developed  beri-beri  and 
died  after  40  and  48  days,  respectively.  The  2  pigeons  receiving  the 
ration  which  had  been  heated  in  the  pressure  cooker  35  minutes  at  15 
pounds  pressure  were  in  excellent  condition  after  280  da3rs. 

EXPERIMENTS  WITH  CARROT 

One  pigeon  received  2.5  grams  of  fresh  carrot  daily.  It  devel- 
oped beri-beri  in  43  days.  After  it  had  recovered  with  yeast,  it  received 
5  grams  of  raw  carrot  for  67  days.  Beri-beri  again  developed  and  the 
experiment  was  discontinued. 

One  pigeon  received  5  grams  of  carrot  canned  in  the  laboratory. 
After  49  days  the  canned  carrot  was  increased  to  10  grams,  because  of 
the  poor  condition  of  the  bird.  It  gained  in  weight  and  was  apparently 
normal  when,  after  75  days  on  10  grams,  the  pigeon  was  returned  to  the 
Genetics  Department. 

One  female  guinea-pig  one  month  old  received  5  grams  of  canned 
carrot  and  5  grams  of  fresh  cabbage.  After  22  days  the  carrot  was 
increased  to  10  grams  because  of  loss  in  weight.  She  gave  birth  to  2 
normal  young  88  days  later.  For  50  days  she  and  her  young  received 
60  grams  of  canned  carrot  and  5  grams  of  fresh  cabbage  for  the  three. 
The  young  grew  at  the  normal  rate.  When  50  days  bid  they  received 
10  grams  of  canned  carrot  and  5  grams  of  fresh  cabbage  each.  Thirty- 
four  days  later  the  experiment  was  discontinued. 


1920]  STUDIES  IN  NUTRItlON  211 

EXFERDCENTS  WITH  RAISINS  AND  WITH  GRAPE-JUICE 

Two  pigeons  received  2  grams  of  raisins  daily.  They  died  after  35 
and  61  days,  respectively,  with  no  sign  of  acute  beri-beri. 

Two  pigeons  received  3  grams  of  raisins  daily.  One  developed  beri- 
beri in  59  days  and  died.  The  other  received  4  grams  of  raisins  on  the 
60th  day  and  continued  on  this  level  for  90  days  when  the  raisins  were 
increased  to  8  grams  daily.  It  died  120  days  later  after  a  total  of  270 
days  on  the  experiment. 

One  pigeon  received  3  ca  of  commercial  grape-juice  daily.  Beri-beri 
developed  in  30  days.    The  pigeon  died. 

One  guinea-pig  one  month  old  received  3  cc.  of  the  same  grape-juice 
daily.  Scurvy  developed  in  22  days.  With  the  same  pig,  which  had 
recovered  on  cabbage,  4  cc,  6  cc.  and  10  cc.  of  grape- juice  proved  insuffi- 
cient for  protection  against  scurvy. 

FEEDING  EXPERDCENTS  WITH  ULK  POWDER 

Milk  varies  in  its  vitamine  content.  Its  antiscorbutic  value  depends 
on  the  food  of  the  cow,  and  is  higher  when  the  animals  are  in  the  pasture 
than  when  fed  dried  food.  When  the  milk  is  first  drawn  its  antiscor- 
butic content  is  generally  high,  but  decreases  rapidly  on  standing. 
Moreover,  the  exposure  to  heat  in  pasteurization  (which  is  necessary  to 
destroy  any  possible  pathogenic  bacteria  and  to  make  it  safe  for  infant 
consumption)  lowers  the  antiscorbutic  value.  The  ordinary  milk  sup- 
ply is  therefore  unreliable,  and  for  this  reason  milk  powders  have  been 
introduced  into  infant  feeding. 

From  recent  investigation  by  Chick  and  Hume,  Hart  and  Steenbock, 
and  Hess  and  Unger,  it  is  seen  that  fresh  milk  given  in  sufficient  quanti- 
ties will  protect  guinea-pigs  against  scurvy.  Chick  and  Hiune*  foimd 
that  partial  protection  was  afforded  when  each  guinea-pig  received 
50-100  cc.  certified  milk,  delivered  in  24  hours,  in  addition  to  a  basal 
ration  of  oats  and  bran,  and  that  by  the  addition  of  100-150  cc.  scurvy 
symptoms  were  entirely  prevented.  Hess  and  Unger*  found  that  only  80 
cc.  fresh  milk,  per  individual  per  day,  was  necessary  when  superimposed 
on  a  ration  of  hay,  oats,  and  bran.  Hart,  Steenbock,  and  Smith'  using 
the  same  basal  ration  found  that  100  cc.  entirely  prevented  scurvy, 
while  50  cc.  prevented  the  onset  of  scorbutic  S3anptoms  for  18  weeks. 

For  a  long  time  it  has  been  conjectured  that  heated  milk  was  low  in 
the  antiscorbutic  property.    Recent  experimental  work  has  definitely 


212  THE  JOUItNAL  07  HOME  ECX>NOHICS  [May 

shown  that  milk,  like  other  foodstuffs,  loses  its  ability  to  protect  against 
scurvy  when  heated,  and  the  degree  to  which  the  antiscorbutic  factor 
is  destroyed  depends  on  the  degree  of  heat  and  the  time  of  exposure  to  it. 

Hart,  Steenbock,  and  Smith'  autoclaved  fresh,  whole  milk  at  120^C. 
for  10  minutes  and  found  that  with  an  ingestion  of  47  cc.  per  day  scurvy 
occurred  in  7-9  weeks,  whereas  30  cc.  fresh  milk  prevented  the  onset  of 
scurvy  for  18  weeks. 

In  regard  to  powdered  milks,  the  results  of  investigators  differ.  Hart, 
Steenbock,  and  Smith'  accord  them  littie  value.  Guinea-pigs,  given  pow- 
dered skimmed  milk  the  equivalent  of  40-45  cc.  fresh  milk,  show  typical 
scurvy  in  5-6  weeks;  on  75-90  cc.  the  onset  is  prevented  for  5-15  weeks. 
Barnes  and  Hume*  show  that  dried  milk,  given  in  amounts  equivalent 
to  100-150  cc.  fresh  milk,  was  unable  to  protect  against  scurvy.  Experi- 
ments on  monkejrs  showed  that  150-175  cc.  fresh  milk  was  necessary  to 
protect  from  scurvy  these  animals  weighing  2-3  kgm.,  whereas  the 
corresponding  ration  of  dried  milk  freshly  manufactured  by  the  Hat- 
maker  process  is  from  250-300  cc.  Hume  therefore  concluded  that  the 
corresponding  amount  of  dried  milk  necessary  for  a  guinea-pig  would 
be  equivalent  to  200  -|-  cc,  an  amount  too  large  to  be  consumed  by  an 
animal  of  300-400  grams  weight.  Hess  and  Unger,  however,  consider 
that  littie  of  the  antiscorbutic  vitamine  is  lost  in  the  Just-Hatmaker 
process.  This  statement  is  confirmed  by  finding  that  infantile  scurvy 
could  be  cured  by  giving  dried  milk  prepared  by  this  method. 

There  are  difficulties  in  feeding  milk  to  guinea-pigs.  They  do  not 
like  milk,  and  they  do  not  require  a  large  amount  of  liquid.  Conse- 
quentiy  it  is  hard  to  get  a  guinea-pig  to  consume  enough  milk  to  protect 
against  scurvy.  In  feeding  powdered  milk,  this  difficulty  has  been  met 
by  mixing  the  powder  into  a  paste.  Some  days  the  entire  amount 
given  was  ingested;  other  days  a  small  amount  was  left.  It  was  impos- 
sible to  determine  the  exact  amount  eaten. 

We  have  obtained  growth  and  reproduction  and  the  prevention  of 
scurvy  on  20  grams  milk  powder  prepared  by  the  Hatmaker  process. 
This  is  equivalent  to  about  150  cc.  fresh  milk. 

Oats  were  offered  only  occasionally,  in  order  that  the  pigs  might  eat 
more  milk.  Hay  and  salt  constituted  the  basal  ration.  The  fact  that 
two  generations  have  been  bom  on  the  ration  without  showing  signs  of 
scurvy  gives  evidence  of  sufficient  antiscorbutic  in  the  diet.  The  ration 
is  too  concentrated  for  guinea-pigs  which  might  account  for  the  fre- 
quency of  abortion.    In  the  case  of  the  last  two  litters,  oats  and  bran 


1920]  STUDIES  IN  NUTRITION  213 

were  added  two  weeks  before  parturition.  Guinea-pigs  on  the  ration 
seem  to  thrive,  and  the  only  animal  of  the  second  generation  in  turn 
gave  birth  to  three,  two  of  which  are  living. 

Our  data  on  condensed  milk  are  in  accord  with  the  data  of  other 
investigators.  Scorbutic  symptoms  appeared  in  4  weeks  on  75  cc.  con- 
densed milk.  Steenbock  and  Smith*  obtained  scurvy  in  30-40  days 
when  they  fed  36-52  cc. 

Condensed  milk  supplies  little  antiscorbutic.  Dried  milk  (Mam- 
mala)  can  be  used  as  the  only  source  of  antiscorbutic  in  an  otherwise 
satisfactory  diet.  It  is  wise,  however,  to  use  in  infant  feeding  an  addi- 
tional food  which  contains  the  antiscorbutic  factor,  such  as  orange  juice. 

FEEDING  EXPERDCENTS  WITH  POTATO 

Vedder  and  Clark^  fed  4  fowls  as  much  polished  rice  as  desired  and 
10  grams  of  raw  potato  daily.  One  developed  beri-beri  in  32  days,  1  in 
38  days,  and  the  other  2  remained  well  after  63  days  when  the  experi- 
ment was  discontinued.  They  fed  the  same  number  of  fowls,  under  the 
same  conditions  10  grams  of  boiled  potato.  One  developed  beri-beri 
after  25  days,  1  after  59  days,  and  the  other  2  remained  well  after 
63  days  when  the  experiment  was  discontinued. 

We  have  fed  one  pigeon  on  a  ration  of  autodaved  grain,  1  gram  of 
filtered  butter  fat,  grit,  and  raw  potato  for  440  days.  The  filtered 
butter  fat  was  added  after  200  days  on  the  experiment.  (For  amoimt 
of  potato,  see  table  4.) 

Of  5  other  pigeons,  one  has  received  raw  potato  for  343  days,  and  one 
has  received  baked  potato  for  343  days.  Another  pigeon  on  baked 
potato  developed  acute  beri-beri  after  248  days  on  the  ration  and  died. 
Of  the  2  pigeons  on  boiled  potato,  one  developed  acute  beri-beri  after 
210  days  on  the  ration.  It  recovered  on  yeast  and  has  been  back  on 
the  ration  for  94  days.  The  other  pigeon  developed  acute  beri-beri 
after  250  days  on  the  ration.  It  recovered  on  yeast  and  has  been  back 
on  the  ration  for  90  dajrs. 

These  experiments  indicate  a  loss  in  anti-beri-beri  vitamine  as  a  result 
of  ordinary  methods  of  cooking. 

Preparation  of  potato:  A  small  potato  was  baked  daily  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  about  300^  for  20  minutes.  Potato  cut  in  small  pieces  was 
boiled  with  skin  for  15  minutes.    (See  table  4.) 


214 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[May 


TABLE  1 
Animals  put  on  ration 


MinCBBS  OV 
AKOtAJS 

SniAL 
MUKBKft 

WXtOST 

NUVBEft 

OV 

DATS 

AVPftOX- 

DKAIX 

NOSIIAL 

GROWTH 

inrAtn 

DAILY 

Initkl 

FinAl 

grams 
20 

2  males     I 

< 

2  females 

62 

63 
66 

67 

grams 

324 
333 

225 
241 

grams 

801 
740 

722 

366 
366 

326 
326 

percent 

85 
85 

50 

No  scurvy 

Condition  apparently  good 

After  110  days  gave  birth  to  3 
young.    One  lived — No.   80. 
After  208  days  abortion. 

Abortion  after  96  days  and  150 
days.   After  280  days  5  young 
bom — 2  living 

Growth  and  reproduction  is  secured  on  milk  powder. 

TABLE  2 
Animals  bom  on  roHon 


WLK 

mnouL 

OV 
AMmALt 

■SUAL 
NXJMBZft 

OV 
DAT! 

ncAts 

MOBKAL 
•BOWTB 

DAUT 

Initial 

Final 

frcflM 
20 

1 

80 

grawu 

grams 
680 

247 
245 

214 

27 
27 

pareamt 
100 

100 
100 

Bom  on  ration  of  No.  66.    Growth 
noraiaL    At  214  days  gave  birth 
to  3  young.    1  died 

Young  of  No.  67 
Normal  growth 

Young  bom  on  ration  show  normal  growth  on  milk  powder. 


TABLES 
Third  generation  on  ration 


KUICBXX 

OV 
AMIXAU 

tXKXAL 

mmasa 

WZtOBT 

NUlCBBft 

OV 

DATS 

Avnox- 

WAIX 
MDBMAL 
GftOWTH 

InitiAl 

Final 

grams 
20 

2    ' 

grawu 

grawu 

208 
178 

31 
31 

parunt 

75 
75 

Young  of  No.  80 

Growth    75   per   cent   normaL      No 
scurvy 


The  third  generation  bom  on  the  ration  show  no  scurvy.    Growth  is  only  75  per  cent 
normal. 


19201 


STUDIES  IN  NUTRITION 


215 


TABLE  4 
Pigeon  data 


tor  ATO  DiULY 

NUMBZft  OV 
AmUAU 

SULIAL 
NYTMBSa 

WEIGHT 

inTMBKK 
OV 

ISMAini 

Tnitial 

Final 

DAYS 

trems 

grams 

Raw 

j% 

<%      •                    J 

11 

67 

Died 

2grain8 

2  pigeons    < 

12 

70 

Increased  potato  to  5  grams. 

5grain8 

2  pigeons    < 

12 
13 

380 

255 
280 

140 
110 

Increased  potato  to  8  grams. 
Increased  potato  to  8  grams. 

8  grams 

same       f 

12 

255 

281 

233 

In  progress 

pigeons     \ 

13 

280 

264 

233 

In  progress 

Baked 

4 

5gram8 

2  pigeons    < 

16 

402 

275 

110 

Increased  potato  to  8  grams. 

17 

455 

315 

110 

Increased  potato  to  8  grams. 

8giaiiis 

same       f 

16 

275 

250 

138 

Died — acute  beri-beri 

pigeons     \ 

17 

315 

228 

233 

In  progress 

BmUd 

5gram8 

2  pigeons   < 

14 
15 

360 
435 

235 
270 

110 
110 

Increased  potato  to  8  grams 
Increased  potato  to  8  grams 

f 

14 

235 

208 

140 

Acute  beri-berL  Recovered  with 

yeast 

same 

262 

246 

90 

Returned  to  ration.    In  progress 

pigeons 

15 

270 

195 

89 

Acute  ben-beri      Yeast  given. 
Off  ration  for  60  days 

» 

296 

210 

94 

Returned  to  ration.    In  progven 

Cmpmmtcmi 

dried 

g^ 

/ 

18 

330 

253 

36 

Acute  beri-berL    Died 

2giaiiis 

2  pigeons   < 

19 

307 

249 

36 

Increased  potato  to  4  grams 

4giaiiis 

1  pigeon 

19 

249 

268 

71 

In  progress 

Chick  and  Rhodes*  found  that  17  grams  of  steamed  potato  gave  slight 
protection,  and  20  grams  gave  complete  protection  against  scurvy. 
Givens  and  Cohen*  found  that  guinea-pigs  fed  boiled  potato  equal  to 
5  grams  raw  potato  developed  scurvy  in  28,  25,  and  27  days. 

Our  expoiments  indicate  that  potato  can  be  the  sole  source  of  anti- 
scorbutic vitamine,  but  we  have  not  determined  the  amount  necessary. 
Four  grams  of  raw  and  20  grams  of  boiled  potato  are  not  sufficient  for 
reproduction.  For  our  results  with  smaller  amounts,  see  table  5.  The 
boiled  potato  was  prepared  the  same  way  as  for  pigeons. 


216 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[May 


TABLES 


rOTAlO  DiULY 


Boiled 
5gnmB 
Sgrams 

4  grams  raw 
and4grain8 
boiled 

Bailed 
Sgrama 

Booed 
8giaiDi 


AXIMAL 

mncBsa 

waioar 

WUMBXl 

OV 

DATS 

InitUa 

Final 

gramM 

grams 

1  guinea-pig 
1  guinea-pig 

18 
18 

410 
580 

580 
732 

73 

233 

1  guinea-pig* 

19 

665 

787 

240 

1  guinea-pigt 

23 

313 

657 

112 

Igttinea-pigt 

24 

369 

503 

99 

ancAii 


Increased  potato  to  8  grams 
In  progress 


Increased  potato   to  20  grama 
7  days  before  parturition. 


*  Litter  of  2  after  81  days  on  experiment  Young  at  34  days  given  8  grams  boiled  potato 
(see  Nos.  23  and  24).  Second  litter  of  4  after  214  days  e^ieriment  Two  died  on  fifth  day. 
Postmortem  of  young.    Gums  haemorrhagic.    Lesion  and  haemonbage  of  femur. 

For  first  litter  6  days  before  parturition  to  34  days  after,  boiled  potato  was  increased  to 
20  grams.  For  second  litter  boiled  potato  was  increased  to  40  grams  for  3  days  after 
parturition. 

t  Young  of  No.  19.  Growth  normal  for  70  days,  then  maintenance.  Bind  legs  stiff 
when  145  days  old. 

t  Young  of  No.  19.  Litter  of  3  when  131  days  old.  Two  young  died  on  fifth  day.  Ration 
disoontintted  on  fifth  day  after  parturition.    Third  young  died  on  ninth  day. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

(1)  Baxmbs  AMD  Huicb:    Biochem,  Jowr,^  1919,  voL  13,  p.  306 

(2)  CmcK,  HniCB  and  Skbltom:    Biochem,  Jour.,    1918,  voL  12,  p.  137. 

(3)  CmcK  Aia>  Rhodes:    Lancet,  1918,  2,  p.  736. 

(4)  Delf  AMD  Hums:    Biochem.  Jour.,  1919,  July. 

(5)  Funk:    Jovr.  Biol.  Chem.,  1916,  voL  25,  p.  409. 

(6)  GiVEMS  AND  Cokbn:    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  1918,  voL  36,  p.  127. 

(7)  Givsns  and  McClxtoaqe:    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  1919,  vol.  37,  p.  253. 

(8)  Hast,  Stbxnbock  and  Shiih:    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  1919,  voL  38,  p.  305. 

(9)  Hess  and  Unoer:    Jour.  Bud.  Chem.,  1918,  voL  35,  p.  473. 

(10)  Hess  and  Ungee:    Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  1919,  voL  38,  p.  293. 

(11)  HoPKZMB  AND  Chick:    Lonccl,  1919,  July  5. 

(12)  McCoLLUM,  SiMMONDS  AND  Passons:    Jout.  Bid.  Chem.,  1918,  voL  36,  p.  197. 

(13)  Vedder  and  Clark:    PMUppine  Jour.  Sci.,  series  B,  vol.  7,  p.  6. 


1920]  SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHING  TEXTILES  217 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  TEACHING  OF  TEXTILES  IN 
ELEMENTARY  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

FLORENCE  E.  WINCHELL 
Tk€  Lincoht  School  of  Teachers  CaUege,  New  Yorh  City 

IN  OOOfSRAnON  WIIH 

MERIEL   WILLARB 
Washing^  Irvmg  High  School,  New  Yorh  Ciiy 

AMD 

CHARLOTTE   WAITS 
JMa  Fichman  High  School,  New  Yorh  COy 

The  judgment  of  textile  materials  cazmot  be  well  taught  except  in 
connection  with  the  natural  use  of  the  fabrics.  Much  of  the  knowledge 
can  be  acquired  only  through  familiarity  with  doth  of  various  kinds. 

The  specific  articles  made  in  any  two  classes  in  sewing,  garment- 
making,  dressmaking,  or  millinery  would  not  be  the  same,  but  would 
be  determined  by  the  type  of  pupil,  by  the  needs  of  the  group,  by  the 
economic  situation,  and  by  the  organization  of  the  curriculum.  Hence 
the  textile  study  would  vary  accordingly  in  the  order  of  presentation 
of  subject  matter  and  the  method  of  attack. 

The  foregoing  statements  make  it  clear  that  a  suggestive  course  in 
textiles  must  be  outlined  in  large,  elastic  units,  ready  to  be  adjusted  to  the 
exigencies  of  the  situation,  appealing  to  the  pupil's  interests  when  he 
sees  a  real  need  for  acquiring  the  infonnation. 

The  judicious  use  of  texts  and  suitable  references  strengthens  the 
woik  with  pupils  of  aU  ages. 

THE   ELEliBNTARY    SCHOOL   FOR   BOTH   BOYS   AND    GIRLS 

The  aim  of  such  a  course  in  the  elementary  school  should  be  to  ac- 
quaint children  with  the  characteristic  properties  of  the  four  textile 
fibres  as  found  in  materials  commonly  used,  to  help  to  a  rough  identifi- 
cation and  a  knowledge  of  their  general  uses,  and  to  give  children  a 
knowledge  of  the  raw  products  and  the  main  processes  through  which 
the  four  fibres  must  pass  in  preparation  for  their  manufacture  into  doth. 

Grades  i,  2  and  3 

In  the  first  three  grades  the  children  should  learn  to  roughly  identify 
cotton,  silk,  and  wool  by  choosing  their  own  materials  for  doll  dothes, 


218  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

and  by  feeling  of  their  own  clothing  and  frequently  naming  cloth  when 
handling  it.  Elnitting  such  articles  as  stripes  for  dolls'  afghans  or  blocks 
for  baby  blankets  out  of  woolen  yam  gives  a  knowledge  of  its  fed. 

The  children  may  get  an  understanding  of  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
cloth  through  carrying  on  these  processes  in  the  schoolroom.  Wool  may 
be  cut  from  the  pelt,  washed,  carded,  dyed,  and  spun  in  the  fingers.  A 
demonstration  of  spinning  on  the  spinning  wheel  or,  better  still,  practice 
on  the  spinning  wheel  by  the  children,  themselves,  may  be  supplemented 
by  pictures  of  various  kinds,  making  the  spinning  devices  intelligible. 
Understanding  of  the  factory  processes  may  be  acquired  by  the  use  of 
the  reflectoscope,  stereoscope,  slides,  moving  pictures,  or  visits  to  indus- 
trial exhibitions  or  factories  when  possible. 

Weaving  of  short  lengths  that  can  be  used  for  rugs,  mats,  or  bags 
gives  a  knowledge  of  cloth  structure  which  makes  it  easy  for  children 
to  understand  how  striped,  checked,  and  plaid  materials  are  made  and 
how  different  weights  of  warp  and  woof  will  affect  the  material. 

Handling  of  materials  in  cutting  and  sewing  makes  its  own  impres- 
sions. Frequent  references  to  warp,  woof,  and  selvedge  are  essential 
to  make  the  children  familiar  with  them. 

Knowing  how  to  knit  gives  a  foundation  for  judging  of  knitted  mate- 
rials and  a  background  for  stockinet  darning  in  the  upper  grades. 

Grades  4j  5  and  6 

The  children  of  these  grades  should  be  given  freedom  in  selecting 
materials  for  their  own  sewing  problems  whenever  possible.  Judgment 
will  thus  be  developed  natxurally. 

A  permanent  school  exhibit  of  common  textile  fabrics  can  be  made 
by  one  or  more  classes  contributing  samples,  mounting  and  labeling 
them  with  the  name  of  the  fabric  and  the  price  per  yard  (if  made  by 
older  children).  These  should  be  classified  according  to  the  fibre  from 
which  they  are  made  and  further  grouped  as  to  uses. 

Weaving  on  looms  made  by  the  children  themselves  to  carry  cotton 
warp  of  light  weight  makes  it  possible  for  children  to  work  out  decorative 
weaves,  such  as  stripes  or  checks.  By  the  use  of  the  warp  and  doth 
beams  long  pieces  like  hat  bands,  sleeve  bands  of  school  colors,  or  bdts 
may  be  woven.  A  dass  problem  on  the  Colonial  loom  gives  each  child 
an  opportunity  of  imagining  himself  in  the  home  factory  of  the  period. 
After  such  experiences  the  girl  or  boy  can  understand  the  devices  used 
in  the  modem  loom.    Pictures  of  various  kinds,  textile  exhibits,  and 


1920]  SUGGESTIONS  F0&  TEACHING  TEXTILES  219 

visits  to  factories  are  all  helpful.  A  collection  of  samples  of  materials 
of  fancy  weaves  will  be  interesting  for  the  children  to  analyze  to  deter- 
mine how  designs  are  effected. 

A  study  of  comparative  strengths  of  materials  and  the  methods  for 
testing  warp  and  woof  with  thmnb  pressure  gives  a  basis  for  selection  of 
materials  suited  to  various  uses. 

A  study  of  the  production  of  cotton,  flax,  and  silk  should  be  inserted 
wherever  such  study  will  best  vitalize  geography,  history,  and  other 
subjects.  Reference  reading,  pictures  of  various  kinds,  and  industrial 
exhibits  should  be  freely  used  to  make  the  subject  most  interesting. 

Distinction  between  cotton  and  linen  should  be  given  with  a  discus- 
sion of  their  adaptability  to  uses;  cotton  as  a  legitimate  and  illegitimate 
substitute  for  linen  should  also  be  discussed. 

JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL  GIRLS 

The  aims  of  the  work  for  the  jimior  high  school  girls  would  include 
the  two  aims  given  for  the  elementary  school,  with  the  addition  of  these: 

To  teach  girls  to  analyze  their  needs,  their  own  individual  appear- 
ance and  their  budgets  in  prq>aration  for  the  selection  of  a  garment. 

To  teach  girls  the  wise  selection  of  clothing  from  the  standpoints  of 
health  and  beauty. 

To  give  girls  a  basis  for  wise  judgment  of  household  linens  and  bedding. 

To  give  older  girls  an  understanding  of  the  methods  by  which  certain 
"fancies"  are  made  often  at  the  expense  of  durability. 

Tlie  work  outlined  for  the  elementary  school,  should  be  covered  in 
the  high  school  in  the  case  of  classes  that  have  not  yet  had  the  work. 
In  any  case  the  information  should  be  recalled  in  brief,  for  instance, 
when  working  on  imderwear,  a  critical  study  of  the  various  materials 
suitable  for  underwear  will  recall  the  structure  of  the  material,  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  fibre,  and  the  adaptability  to  various  uses.  Tests  for 
strength,  washing  out  sizing,  and  counting  threads  to  the  inch  by  the 
use  of  a  magnifier  give  one  a  good  basis  for  judgment  of  quality.  Chil- 
dren should  handle  both  cheap  and  strong  materials  in  order  to  fully 
i^redate  quality.  Attention  directed  to  the  widths  of  materials 
when  cutting  will  help  them  to  judge  of  economical  widths. 

Microscopic  study  of  the  fibres,  the  weighting  of  fabrics,  the  use  of 
substitute  fibers,  an  eq;>lanation  of  the  legitimate  use  of  shoddy,  mercor- 
ization,  burning  tests,  analysis  of  weaves  and  finish,  will  all  help  the 
girls  to  judge  of  materiak  and  their  comparative  values.    Microscopic 


220  THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  ECX>NOMICS  [May 

and  chemical  tests  for  identification  of  fibres  in  mixtures,  tests  for  weight- 
ing, for  fastness  of  dye  and  shrinkage,  should  be  inserted  whenever 
needed.  Such  tests  can  be  found  in  various  texts.  This  study  may 
grow  out  of  a  need  for  school  dish  towels  or  napkins  or  preparation 
for  buying  of  dress  materials. 

Lessons  in  laundering  and  cleaning  are  very  valuable.  In  addition 
to  giving  the  girl  a  knowledge  and  skill  that  will  help  her  as  a  life-long 
asset,  they  help  her  to  judge  of  the  way  various  materials  and  qualities 
respond  to  laundering,  to  realize  what  kind  of  wear  laundering  requires 
of  garments,  to  exerdse  a  wiser  care  of  her  clothing,  and  to  respect  the 
skill  and  service  of  a  laundress. 

Parallel  to  laundering  blankets  or  woolen  flannels,  pressing  woolen 
clothing  or  making  garments  out  of  woolen  materials,  a  careful  study  of 
the  manufacture  of  both  woolens  and  worsteds  is  easily  grasped. 

A  study  of  production  of  silk,  the  various  methods  of  adulterating 
silk  materials,  the  accepted  use  of  artificial  silk  for  hose  and  dress 
trimmings,  all  tend  to  make  the  girls  wiser  consumers  and  more  anxious 
to  know  facts  upon  which  wise  buying  depends.  Such  a  knowledge 
requires  an  intelligent  suspicion  of  misrepresentation  and  insures  a 
willingness  on  the  part  of  the  consumer  to  pay  for  materials  that  will 
stand  hard  wear.  Time  and  labor  are  too  valuable  to  waste  on  shabby 
materials  that,  even  when  new,  do  not  appear  well. 

The  skill  of  the  manufacturer  in  misleading  the  purchaser  will  help  to 
make  every  girl  conscious  of  a  need  for  legislation  against  misrepresen- 
tation and  a  need  for  a  few  materials  manufactured  according  to  specifi- 
cations. Such  study  may  be  inserted  in  relation  to  seasonal  buying  of 
suits,  coats,  or  dresses.  Comparison  of  various  experiences  as  to  econ- 
omy of  various  qualities  of  woolens  and  worsteds  may  stimulate  the 
keeping  of  a  class  record  of  the  life  of  all  dresses,  suits,  and  coats  pur- 
chased by  members  of  the  class.  This  would  lead  naturally  into  a  study 
of  a  well  planned  wardrobe  and  a  clothing  budget.  Making  the  most 
of  one's  personal  appearance  should  be  studied  with  the  cooperation 
of  the  Art  Department.  The  hygiene  of  clothing  is  closely  allied 
and  may  be  taught  in  codperation  with  the  Department  of  Ph}rsical 
Education. 

To  learn  something  of  the  research  work  in  textiles  that  is  being  done 
in  colleges,  in  textile  schools,  in  stores,  and  in  commercial  laboratories 
will  tend  to  give  the  girls  an  intelligent  attitude  toward  textile  study, 
a  desire  to  participate  in  further  investigatons  in  high  school,  and 
possibly  a  special  interest  to  follow  in  college. 


1920]  STATUS  OF  MISBRANDING  ACTS  221 

THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  MISBRANDING  ACTS  AND  OTHER 

TEXTILE  LEGISLATION* 

That  there  is  need  for  protection  of  the  consumer  of  textiles,  no  woman 
who  bujrs  and  wears  dothing  will  deny.  When  the  shine  washes  off  the 
linen  table  cloth  and  the  weighting  cuts  holes  in  her  silk  dress,  she  knows 
her  linen  is  cotton  and  her  silk  half  tin,  but  she  has  no  recourse.  As 
a  matter  of  honesty  and  right  dealing,  the  question  of  pure  textiles  has 
always  been  important,  but  with  the  present  prices  it  is  imperative  that 
the  consumer  be  protected  from  frauds  in  fabrics.  Processes  of  adulter- 
ating fabrics  are  being  perfected  and  their  use  constantly  increased  until 
experienced  buyers  themselves  cannot  detennine  true  values;  *  the  schools 
do  not  yet  reach  all  women  with  the  training  which  will  teach  them  to 
know  materials,  and  the  women  in  the  low  income  group  who  most  need 
protection  from  fraud  have  none. 

With  the  passage  of  the  Pure  Food  Act  in  1906,  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Committee  of  the  U.  S.  House  of  Representatives  instituted  the 
type  of  federal  legislation  which  gives  protection  to  the  consiuner  by 
regulating  interstate  commerce  in  foods.  A  law  of  this  kind,  of  course, 
does  not  reach  intrastate  commerce,  but,  following  the  initial  passage 
of  such  an  act  by  Congress,  there  is  a  tendency  for  the  states  to  enact 
similar  or  identical  laws  and  thereby  give  uniformity  to  the  legislation 
throughout  the  country. 

In  the  last  ten  Congresses  pxire  fabric  legislation  has  been  agitated 
at  least  three  times  and  at  least  twelve  bills  have  been  presented  but 
have  failed  of  passage  because  they  were  ineffective  or  without  merit. 

In  1916  Representative  Alben  W.  Barkley  of  Kentucky  introduced 
into  the  House  a  bill  patterned  very  closely  after  the  British  Merchandise 
Marks  Act  which  for  thirty-two  years  has  been  in  successful  operation 
in  the  United  Kingdom  and  in  most  of  the  British  colonies.  Legislation 
relating  to  the  war  and  the  railroads  prevented  consideration  of  the  bill 
by  the  committee  and  action  by  the  House  until  the  beginning  of  this 
year  when  the  so-called  Truth-in-Fabrics  legislation  again  began  to 
attract  attention. 

There  have  been  introduced  into  the  present  Congress  at  least  six 
bills  which  relate  to  fabrics.* 

>  Fiom  the  Committee  on  the  Standazdization  of  Textiles  of  the  American  Home  Economics 
AsaodatSon. 

*  Copies  of  these  bills  may  be  secured  by  writing  to  the  House  Document  Room. 


222  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

The  French  Bill  (H.  R.  11641)  and  the  Capper  Bill  (S.  3686)  are 
identical,  having  been  introduced  simultaneously  into  the  House  by 
Mr.  French  and  in  the  Senate  by  Mr.  Capper.  The  bill  aims  "to  prevent 
the  deceit  and  profiteering  that  result  from  the  unrevealed  presence  of 
substitutes  for  virgin  wool  in  woven  fabrics  purporting  to  contain  wool 
and  in  garments  or  articles  of  apparel  made  therefrom."  The  general 
opinion  seems  to  be  that  some  of  the  effects  of  this  bill  would  be  to 
benefit  the  wool  grower,  to  work  a  hardship  on  the  manufacturer,  to 
require  federal  appropriations  for  its  enforcement,  and  to  increase  the 
price  of  dothing  to  the  consmner  by  raising  the  price  of  new  wool. 

The  Kreider  Bill  (H.  R.  9283)  prohibits  "fraud  upon  the  public  by 
making  or  disseminating  false  statements  or  assertions  concerning  any 
merchandise,  commodities,  securities  or  service"  and  provides  penalties 
for  the  violation  of  the  act.  The  bill  does  not  include  definitions  nor 
is  it  as  comprehensive  as  the  other  bills,  being  aimed  particularly  at 
fraudulent  advertising. 

The  Barkley  Bill  (H.  R.  2855)  prohibits  the  manufacture,  sale,  or 
transportation  in  interstate  commerce  of  misbranded  articles,  regulates 
traffic  therein,  and  penalizes  violations  of  the  law.' 

The  Rogers  Bill  (H.  R.  13136)  is  very  much  like  the  Barkley  Bill, 
with  the  exception  of  certain  sections  which  deal  with  trade-marks  and 
trade  descriptions.  It  also  provides  for  larger  penalties  for  violations 
of  the  law. 

The  Interstate  Commerce  Committee  held  hearings  on  these  bills 
(with  the  exception  of  the  ELrdder  Bill  which  was  referred  by  the  House 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary)  from  March  18  to  March  31.  The 
American  Home  Economics  Association  was  represented  by  Miss  Ina 
Pitner,  who  presented  the  cause  of  the  consiuner.  The  Association  was 
also  asked  to  prepare  a  statement  to  be  incorporated  in  the  published 
report  of  the  hearings.^ 

As  a  result  of  the  testimony  offered  at  the  hearings,  the  Interstate 
Commerce  Committee  seems  to  feel  that  the  so-called  Truth-in-Fabrics 
Law  (The  French-Capper  Bill)  might  not  give  the  desired  results,  but 
that  legislation  along  the  Unes  of  the  Misbranding  Acts  (The  Rogers 
and  Barkley  Bills)  is  the  kind  of  constructive  legislation  which  the 

*  See  "Recent  Work  of  the  Committee  on  the  Standardization  of  Textiles"  in  the  JouRNia 
for  March,  1920.    See  also  TexPUes,  July,  1919,  and  The  NaHonai  Cloihier,  August,  1919. 

*  The  Report  of  the  Hearings  may  be  secured  by  writing  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interstate 
and  Foreign  Commerce  Committee,  House  Office  Building,  Washington,  D.  C. 


1920]  PEtnCOAT  LANE  TO  PROSPERITY  223 

public  needs.  For  this  reason,  it  is  expected  that  such  a  bill  will  be 
reported  out  by  the  Committee  and  an  effort  made  to  bring  it  before 
the  House  before  its  adjournment.  Special  effort  is  needed  to  get  action 
before  the  dose  of  a  crowded  session,  and  home  economics  people  who 
are  interested  in  the  passage  of  the  bill  should  make  their  interest  known 
to  their  representatives  as  soon  as  the  Bill  is  reported  in  the  House. 


PETTICOAT  LANE  TO  PROSPERITY 

The  silks  for  the  petticoats  to  be  used  in  the  wearing  test  reported 
by  the  Conmiittee  on  the  Standardization  of  Textiles  in  the  March 
number  of  the  Journal  are  now  on  the  looms.  We  expect  the  eight 
hundred  skirts  will  be  ready  for  distribution  about  the  first  of  June. 
For  the  leaflet  giving  details  of  sizes  and  prices,  send  to  the  Committee's 
manager,  Miss  Ina  K.  Pitner,  Crescent  Place,  Short  Hills,  New  Jersey. 

Very  briefly,  the  silks  are  taffeta  and  messaline,  three  grades  of  each. 
The  color  of  all  the  silks  Is  identical,  changeable  navy  blue  and  green. 
The  same  design  is  used  for  all  the  skirts.  The  workmanship  is  excellent. 
The  prices  range  from  $9.50  to  $12.00.  The  skirts  will  be  sent  out  in 
lots  of  five  or  more  to  one  address,  cash  being  required  with  the  order. 
The  leaflet  contains  full  details.  The  quality  of  the  skirts  is  higher  than 
it  would  be  possible  to  secure  at  a  retail  store  for  the  same  price.  Pur- 
chasers will  be  asked  to  keep  a  simple  record  of  wear  and  send  it  to  the 
Conunittee  on  request. 

The  profits  will  be  used  to  finance  the  growing  work  of  the  Committee. 

Orders  will  be  filled  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  received. 


226  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiacs  [May 

It  is  time  for  the  public  to  take  a  new  viewpoint  on  the  waste  of 
natural  gas.  It  is  time  for  the  domestic  consxmier  to  realize  that  his 
duty  is  not  done  when  he  cries  out  against  the  flagrant  wastes  occurring 
in  the  gas  fields,  and  demands  of  his  Government  that  such  wastes  be 
abated;  he  must  realize  that  he  himself  is  likewise  at  fault  and  that  it 
is  time  for  him  to  set  his  own  house  in  order.  Furthermore,  the  domes- 
tic consumer  must  realize  that  these  wastes  do  not  concern  him  alone, 
and  that  he  has  not  the  right,  merely  because  he  pays  for  the  gas,  to 
employ  it  in  any  manner  that  pleases  him,  no  matter  how  wasteful  this 
may  be.  Natural  gas  is  a  natural  resource  in  which  every  inhabitant  of 
this  country  has  an  equity.  Those  who  waste  the  gas  do  so  at  the 
expense  of  others  who  would  use  it  efficiently.  Natural  gas  is  not 
replaced  by  nature,  and  in  comparison  with  the  life  of  the  nation  the 
duration  of  the  supply  will  be  brief.  The  public  has  a  right,  therefore, 
to  demand  that  this  natural  asset  be  used  to  the  greatest  advantage  of 
all.  Natural  gas  in  each  dty  is  a  community  asset  and  every  con- 
sumer has  a  right  to  demand  that  wasteful  use  shall  be  prohibited  in 
the  interest  of  the  public  service.  This  is  particularly  important  during 
cold  spells  in  the  winter  when  the  supply  is  insufficient  and  actual  suffer- 
ing may  occur.  It  is  not  right  that  any  consumer  suffer  at  such  times 
because  of  the  extravagance  and  waste  of  other  consumers,  even  though 
they  are  willing  to  pay  for  the  gas  wasted.  Nor  can  the  citizens  justify 
demands  for  better  service  from  the  public  utility  companies  without  mak- 
ing provision  for  the  correction  of  abuses  in  their  own  homes.  The  pub- 
lic has  been  and  is  to-day  just  as  much  a  party  to  the  crime  of  wasting 
this  natural  resource  as  are  the  companies  that  produce  and  market  it. 

Mr.  Samuel  S.  Wyer,  a  consulting  engineer,  who  was  chief  of  natural 
gas  conservation  of  the  Fuel  Administration  during  the  war,  called 
attention  to  the  tremendous  waste  of  gas  between  the  field  and  the 
ultimate  consumer's  meter,  averaging  about  35  per  cent  of  the  total  gas 
reduced  to  possession  at  the  wells,  and  to  the  tremendous  waste  of  gas 
by  the  domestic  consumer,  averaging  about  80  per  cent  of  the  total 
amount  of  gas  received.  Mr.  Wyer  feels  that  it  is  impractical  to  now 
correct  much  of  the  waste  of  gas  in  the  field  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
expense  involved  would  increase  the  cost  of  the  gas  so  materially  as  to 
render  its  domestic  use  almost  prohibitive.  Yet  to  reduce  the  waste  in 
the  home  it  is  necessary  to  make  the  gas  worth  saving  by  increasing  some- 
what the  price  of  the  gas.    Increasing  the  price  will  not  increase  the 


1920]  THE  WASTE  OF  NATURAL  GAS  227 

revenue  of  the  gas  company  because,  as  is  proved  by  reports,  as  the 
price  of  gas  goes  up  the  amount  used  by  the  consumer  is  lessened. 

He  referred  to  a  study,  made  in  the  Home  Economics  Department  of 
Ohio  State  University,  of  the  relative  cost  of  five  fuels  for  cooking  a 
dinner.  The  dinner  cooked  consisted  of  steak,  scalloped  potatoes, 
spinach,  bread,  butter,  rice  pudding,  co£Fee,  cream,  and  sugar,  with  por- 
tions for  six  people.  The  fuel  cost  was  taken  as  follows :  Natural  gas  $1 .00 
per  1000  cubic  feet;  soft  coal  $6.50  per  ton,  delivered  to  the  house;  gas- 
oline 27  cents  per  gallon;  coal  oil  15  cents  per  gallon;  electricity  3  cents 
per  kilowatt  hour.  The  natural  gas  used  with  properly  directed  short 
flame  cost  1.1  cents  with  1  to  2  ounce  pressure;  2.2  cents  with  4  to  5 
ounce  pressure  and  long  flame;  2.5  cents  with  soft  coal;  4.6  cents  with 
gasoline;  5  cents  with  electricity;  and  5.4  cents  with  coal  oil.  Natural 
gas  then  should  be  conserved  for  cooking  purposes  not  only  because 
of  its  convenience  but  also  because  it  is  an  economical  source  of  fuel. 

Mr.  Wyer  claims  that  there  are  three  main  sources  of  waste  in  the 
home,  which,  if  stopped,  would  add  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  to  the 
period  that  natural  gas  will  be  available  for  domestic  use. 

The  first  waste  to  be  corrected  is  the  amount  of  gas  lost  through 
leaking  pipes  and  fixtures  in  the  home.  It  is  estimated  that  fully  one- 
sixth  of  the  gas  which  passes  through  the  house  meter  is  lost.  That  is, 
for  every  1000  cubic  feet  registered  through  the  meter  165  feet  is  never 
burned.    For  every  dollar  paid  for  gas,  16  cents  is  thrown  away. 

A  second  large  waste  of  gas  is  in  the  use  of  inefficient  heating  and 
cooking  appliances.  When  a  coal  furnace  is  used  for  burning  natural 
gas  only  25  per  cent  of  the  gas  is  utilized;  75  per  cent  of  the  gas  is  wasted. 
If  the  coal  furnace  is  converted  into  a  natural  gas  furnace  75  per  cent 
of  the  gas  is  utilized.  That  means  that  in  a  properly  constructed  fur- 
nace one  foot  of  gas  will  give  as  much  heat  as  three  feet  did  with  the 
old  wasteful  type  of  furnace.  With  rightly  constructed  apparatus 
natural  gas  at  $1.00  per  thousand  would  cost  the  consumer  no  more 
than  33  cent  gas  does  now.  It  would  3deld  no  more  revenue  to  the  gas 
company  and  would  prolong  the  period  of  the  supply  of  natural  gas. 

The  natural  gas  cook  stove  with  solid  top  and  low  set  burner,  usually 
more  than  2i  inches  below  the  cooking  vessel,  wastes  87  per  cent  of  the 
gas  brought  to  the  stove.  The  artificial  gas  stove  gives  the  same  amount 
of  service  with  one  foot  of  gas  that  the  natural  gas  stove  does  with 
3  feet  of  gas.  If  it  is  not  possible  to  use  the  correct  type  of  stove  the 
natural  gas  stove  may  be  converted  by: 


228  THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

Raising  the  manifold  and  burner  supports  so  as  to  bring  the  burners 
to  the  proper  height  below  the  cooking  vessel,  or,  preferably  in  some 
stoves,  cementing  a  new  burner  casting  on  top  of  the  existing  low  burner. 
If  neither  of  these  methods  is  practical  it  is  possible  to  put  a  few  nails 
or  triangular  pieces  of  thin  sheet  iron  in  the  burner  slots  so  as  to  have  a 
support  on  which  to  rest  the  vessel.  The  principle  involved  is  to  have 
the  vessel  come  in  contact  with  the  blue  tip  of  the  short  flame.  The 
yellow  flame  is  wasteful  because  all  of  the  gas  delivered  is  not  converted 
into  heat.  The  blue  flame  gives  the  most  heat.  The  burner  should 
have  holes  drilled  so  as  to  allow  the  gas  flame  to  bum  straight  to  the 
cooking  vessel. 

No  cook  stove  should  be  used  with  a  closed  top  as  it  wastes  the  gas, 
but  the  top  should  be  of  the  grid  or  skeleton  t)^.  The  cook  stove 
should  be  clean.  That  means  that  the  person  who  uses  the  stove  should 
know  how  to  care  for  and  how  to  use  it  properly. 

The  pressure  of  gas  is  likely  to  vary  and  in  order  to  bum  the  least 
amount  of  gas  there  should  be  no  blowing  of  the  burners  or  any  hissing 
sound.    Hissing  may  be  stopped  by  partially  closing  the  gas  cock. 

When  the  pressure  of  gas  is  low  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  large  sized 
spud.  A  spud  is  the  small  opening  immediately  in  front  of  the  gas  cock 
through  which  the  gas  passes  into  the  mixer.  Some  stoves  have  adjust- 
able spuds,  others  must  either  have  new  spuds  or  have  the  small  open- 
ing made  larger.  With  proper  sized  spud  and  the  vessel  placed  about 
1^  inches  above  the  burner  it  is  possible  to  obtain  satisfactory  cooking 
results  with  pressure  as  low  as  tV  inch  of  water  pressure.  This  produces 
the  short  flame  about  |  inch  long.  The  cooking  can  be  done  in  the 
nomal  time  and  with  less  gas  than  would  be  used  with  the  long  flame 
and  high  pressure  which  is  generally  from  4  to  6  or  8  ounces  of  pressure. 

Most  incandescent  mantle  lamps  are  not  properly  adjusted  and  use 
much  more  gas  than  is  necessary,  usually  50  to  75  per  cent  more  than 
would  be  required  with  proper  adjustment.  A  hissing  or  roaring  soimd 
from  the  lamp  is  a  sign  of  excessive  consumption.  The  ordinary  open 
flame  burner,  which  requires  2i  times  as  much  gas  to  give  the  same 
amount  of  li^t  as  the  incandescent  mantle,  is  still  in  frequent  use. 

The  third  source  of  waste  is  in  the  burning  of  gas  when  it  is  not  needed. 
One  incandescent  mantle  lamp  burning  all  the  time  for  one  year  would 
consiune  43,800  feet  of  gas;  three  such  lamps  would  waste  enough  gas 
to  supply  one  domestic  consumer  for  a  year.  Many  street  lights  are 
fitted  with  such  mantles  and  kept  burning  all  the  time. 


1920]  THE  WASTE  OP  KATUSAL  GAS  229 

The  leakage  from  gas  fixtures  if  only  one  foot  per  hour  will  mean 
8769  feet  per  year,  a  month's  gas  supply  for  the  average  family. 

After  Mr.  Wyer's  talk  there  was  a  general  discussion^  and  the  opinion 
of  the  conference  was  expressed  in  the  following  resolutions: 

Whereas,  The  supply  of  natural  gas  is  limited  in  quantity  and  is  not  being 
replaced  by  Nature,  and 

Whe&eas,  There  is  no  other  fuel  that  can  replace  natural  gas  which  is 
as  cheap,  as  convenient  and  as  efficient,  and 

Whereas,  The  supply  of  natural  gas  is  failing  in  many  communities;  be  it 

Resolved,  In  order  that  the  supply  of  natural  gas  may  be  prolonged  and  the 
service  improved,  this  Conference  recommends  that  the  appropriate  agency 
in  each  State  which  uses  natural  gas  take  measures  to  discover  what  amount 
of  natural  gas  is  now  being  wasted  by  the  consumer,  and  the  various  causes  of 
such  waste,  and  adopt  such  measures  as  may  be  available  to  reduce  such 
wastes  and  effect  economies  in  order  that  the  benefits  from  this  natural 
resource  be  prolonged;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  the  appropriate  agencies,  both  State  and  Federal,  be  urged 
to  stimulate  research  in  perfecting  means  and  methods  for  a  more  efficient 
use  of  natural  gas;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  the  appropriate  State  and  Federal  agencies  be  urged  to 
conduct  educational  campaigns  to  instruct  consumers  and  the  public  in  the 
importance  of  the  wastes  of  natural  gas;  how  economies  in  the  use  of  natural 
gas  may  be  effected,  and  on  the  natural  gas  situation  in  general,  that  the 
public  may  be  informed  on  the  subject  and  deal  with  it  in  the  most  intelli- 
gent manner;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  every  effort  be  made  towards  arriving  at  understandings 
between  the  natural  gas  industry  and  the  communities  using  natural  gas 
as  to  how  the  supply  of  natural  gas  can  be  best  conserved  and  its  life  prolonged; 
and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  ten  be  appointed  by  the  Chairman  of  this 
Conference  to  represent  the  natural  gas  industry,  and  the  public  and  Federal 
institutions  to  cooperate  with  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  in  working 
out  a  constructive  program  for  the  conservation  of  natural  gas  and  the  better- 
ing of  the  natural  gas  service,  and  in  collecting  and  distributing  information 
on  this  subject. 

Every  home  keeper  and  teacher  in  gas  consmning  states  should  have  a 
copy  of  the  Bulletin  published  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior, 
"Waste  and  Correct  Use  of  Natural  Gas  in  the  Home,"  Every  person 
interested  in  home  keeping  should  know  what  natural  gas  cooking  appli- 
ances are  efficient,  how  to  care  for  and  how  to  use  them. 


230  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiacs  [May 

HOMEMADE  VERSUS  READY-MADE  CLOTHING 

KATHERINE  CRANOR 
Professor  of  Household  Arts,  James  MiUikin  University,  Decatur,  Illinois 

With  the  present  cost  of  clothing  materials  most  women  must  con- 
sider more  than  ever  before  the  question  of  how  to  be  well  dressed  at 
the  least  possible  expense.  One  step  toward  thrift  in  clothing  and  one 
of  the  best  means  of  stretching  the  clothing  allowance  is  to  make  one's 
own  garments.  When  the  cost  of  making  does  not  have  to  be  added 
to  the  cost  of  material  the  same  money  will  provide  a  garment  of  much 
better  materials  and  workmanship.  When  clothing  is  made  at  home, 
one-half  or  two-thirds  the  cost  may  often  be  saved.  A  dark  silk  dress 
for  example,  of  fair  material  and  workmanship,  if  it  is  a  garment  of 
distinctive  style,  will  cost  anywhere  from  $60  to  $125.  Four  or  five 
yards  of  material  will  make  the  dress;  $5  per  yard  will  buy  silk  of  far 
better  quality  than  is  used  in  the  best  of  the  ready-made  garments. 
Five  dollars,  or  ten  at  most,  should  cover  the  cost  of  buttons  and  other 
trimmings,  thread,  and  findings  for  the  average  dress,  making  the 
total  cost  of  materials  from  $25  to  $35. 

The  color  can  be  chosen  with  more  care  and  may  be  adapted  more 
easily  to  the  coloring  and  general  personality  of  the  wearer.  The  home- 
made garment  more  often  expresses  individuality,  is  more  artistic  many 
times,  and  is  less  apt  to  be  duplicated.  This  last  means  a  good  deal 
to  the  average  woman  who  wishes  something  different  from  that  worn 
by  her  neighbor.  Even  the  best  dressmaker  may  duplicate  some  of  her 
gowns.  Often  a  customer  is  led  to  beUeve  that  the  dress  she  is  pur- 
chasing is  an  exclusive  design,  and  she  may  pay  a  high  price  for  it  for 
this  reason.  Last  summer  three  women  met  on  the  campus  of  one  of 
New  York's  great  universities,  each  from  a  different  part  of  the  country. 
One  woman  was  tall  and  very  stout,  one  of  medium  size,  and  one  thin. 
Each  had  been  sold  the  dress  she  had  on  with  the  idea  that  she  had  the 
only  dress  of  its  kind,  and  that  it  was  just  the  thing  which  was  best 
adapted  to  her  espedal  type  of  figure.  In  reality  the  dress  was  suited 
only  to  the  slender  woman.  Many  times  the  unscrupulous  salesman 
persuades  his  customer  to  buy  by  telling  her  that  the  style  of  hat  or 
dress  is  just  what  she  needs  to  bring  out  the  good  points  in  her  figure 
or  to  cover  up  certain  defects.  Many  of  the  dresses,  suits,  and  coats 
offered  are  entirely  unsuited  to  the  general  needs  of  the  average  woman 
and  many  of  them  are  ugly  besides. 


1920]  HOMEMADE  VS.  READY-MADE  CLOTHING  231 

Of  course  to  make  dothing  successfully  one  must  have  some  knowledge 
of  garment  construction,  a  feeling  for  line  and  color,  and  some  skill  of 
hand.  Every  woman  does  not  have  the  required  knowledge,  but  the 
public  schools,  noimal  schools,  colleges,  and  imiversities  give  oppor- 
tunities for  training  in  textiles  and  clothing.  Then  there  are  extension 
courses,  evening  classes,  short  courses,  bulletins,  newspaper  and  maga- 
zine articles,  as  well  as  numerous  lectures  on  dress,  besides  some  helpful 
books.  The  woman  of  average  intelligence  who  is  interested  in  the  mak- 
ing of  garments  may  at  least  get  some  idea  of  the  selection  of  materials, 
of  design,  and  also  of  the  processes  of  construction.  The  inexperienced 
woman  might  start  on  simple  garments  such  as  aprons,  imderwear,  and 
children's  clothes.  After  she  has  gained  a  little  experience  and  has  be- 
come more  skillful  in  the  use  of  her  needle  it  will  not  be  difficult  for  her 
to  make  her  own  dresses.  Many  say,  "But  why  trouble  to  make  clothes, 
as  it  is  not  possible  to  get  the  cut  and  style  which  is  found  in  the  ready- 
made  garment."  We  must  admit  that  in  the  average  dress  which  is 
made  in  the  home  there  is  a  lack  of  distinction  in  cut  but  this  is  lumec- 
essary .  There  is  no  reason  why  such  a  dress  should  have  a  "  homemade  " 
appearance.  It  is  possible  to  make  a  garment  in  the  home  which  has 
the  style  of  the  gown  made  by  the  professional.  It  may  even  surpass 
it  in  cut.  If  the  person  who  makes  her  own  clothes  has  some  artistic 
sense,  a  feeling  for  clothes,  a  knowledge  of  what  is  good  in  dress  from 
the  standpoint  of  art,  is  conscious  of  her  good  and  her  weak  points, 
knows  how  to  emphasize  the  good  and  to  cover  up  the  bad,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  make  a  garment  which  is  fax  more  artistic  than  any  she  could 
buy  for  a  moderate  price.  It  may  even  be  as  chic  as  those  shown  in  the 
best  shops.  The  woman  of  artistic  taste  often  is  able  to  add  little  indi- 
vidual touches  which  are  the  making  of  a  garment.  The  woman  who 
can  make  for  herself  a  few  artistic  dresses  of  distinctive  cut,  which  may 
be  used  until  they  are  worn  out  because  they  are  simple  and  look  nice, 
is  fortunate  indeed. 

Great  care  must  be  used  in  the  choice  of  materials  when  a  garment  is 
to  be  made  at  home.  In  order  that  it  may  be  suited  to  its  use,  not  only 
is  it  necessary  to  know  for  what  it  is  to  be  used  but  also  the  style  of  gar- 
ment which  is  to  be  made,  so  that  the  exact  quantity  of  material  may  be 
computed.  Guessing  at  the  quantity  shows  poor  judgment.  It  is 
always  wasteful  to  buy  too  much  and  even  worse  to  buy  too  little,  since 
it  is  sometimes  impossible  to  match  a  piece  of  material.  Many  people 
plan  to  have  some  left  for  the  time  when  the  garment  is  to  be  made  over. 


232  THE  J0T7HNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

This  is  usually  not  worth  while  and  does  not  tend  to  thrift  in  clothing, 
as  a  gannent  often  changes  color  or  wears  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it 
impossible  to  use  the  new  material.  The  quality  of  the  material  is  im- 
portant. A  poor  fabric  does  not  wear,  never  looks  well,  and  is  more 
apt  to  change  color  and  change  its  shape.  It  is  better  to  economize  on 
the  number  of  dresses  rather  than  on  the  quality  of  their  material.  In 
choosing  color,  consider  the  hair,  eyes,  complexion,  personality,  age, 
and  build  of  the  wearer,  and  the  occasion  for  which  the  dress  is  intended 
as  well  as  the  fastness  of  the  color.  In  considering  durability,  buy 
material  which  is  firm.  The  weave  also  affects  the  wearing  quality. 
For  example:  plain  weave  and  twill  weave  wear  better  than  satin, 
basket,  and  figure  weaves,  because  these  last  have  many  loose  threads 
that  may  catch  on  things  and  pull  and  in  this  way  be  easily  spoiled. 
Be  able  to  recognize  fibers  and  adulterations.  Know  what  you  are 
buying. 

The  amount  of  time  one  has,  the  value  of  that  time,  and  the  amoimt 
of  money  one  can  afford  to  spend  for  clothing  axe  factors  which  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  garments  are  to  be  bought  or  made  at  home. 
Often  it  is  far  more  sensible  to  buy  garments  ready-made  than  to 
make  them.  Many  women  have  their  time  fully  taken  by  work  which 
zneans  more  to  them  and  to  the  world  than  making  their  own 
dothes  could  possibly  mean.  Many  business  women  work  hard  every 
day  and  have  no  time  for  sewing  except  at  night.  They  are  too  tired 
when  evening  comes  to  bother  with  making  dothes,  and  sometimes  they 
are  not  the  people  who  sew  with  ease.  If  such  women  are  making  a 
fair  salary  they  had  far  better  get  some  training  in  wise  selection  and 
buy  thdr  dothing.  Mothers  sometimes  find  that  they  must  choose 
between  doing  their  own  sewing  and  being  companions  to  their  chil- 
dren. Again  there  are  women  who  have  some  leisure  but  have  a 
strong  dislike  for  sewing,  who  do  not  do  it  well  or  easily,  yet  cannot 
afford  to  hire  everything  made  or  to  buy  high  priced  ready-made  gar- 
ments. It  is  better  for  them  if  possible  to  do  some  kind  of  work  whidi 
they  do  like  and  can  do  well  and  use  the  money  toward  buying  their 
dothes.  If  one  must  hire  one's  sewing  done,  there  is  no  great  saving 
in  cost  over  buying  ready-made,  but  one  gets  better  materials  and  better 
made  garments,  yet  often  they  are  lacking  in  style.  The  average  dress- 
maker or  sewing  woman  does  not  have  the  time  to  study  line,  color, 
individuality,  and  fashion  suffidently  to  turn  out  always  a  stylish, 
artistic,  garment.  Then,  besides,  she  is  not  paid  enough  for  her  work 
to  justify  her  in  spending  the  time  necessary  to  get  such  results.  Eadi 
woman  must  dedde  for  herself  whether  she  is  willing  to  sacrifice  cost 


1920]  HOMEICADE  VS.  READY-MADE  CLOTHING  233 

for  material,  workmanship,  and  individuality,  or  vice  versa.  Again 
the  woman  who  is  clever  with  her  needle,  if  she  has  a  little  leisure,  may 
give  the  ready-made  dress  or  other  garment  certain  individual  touches, 
which  may  change  it  entirely  and  in  a  way  adapt  it  to  her  personality 
and  individuality. 

If  clothing  is  to  be  bought  ready-made  the  use  of  the  gannent  must 
be  considered  and  the  occasion  for  which  it  is  intended.  Decide  what 
you  can  afford  to  pay  for  it  and  try  to  get  the  full  value  of  the  money 
you  have  put  into  it.  Remember  that  well-made,  high-class  garments 
of  good  material  are  not  cheap.  One  must  expect  to  pay  a  good  price 
for  quality,  but  the  cost  of  the  gannent  in  relation  to  the  clothing  budget 
as  a  whole  must  also  be  considered. 

Buy  clothing  which  has  been  made  under  right  conditions.  The 
woman  who  is  interested  in  bettering  the  condition  of  her  fellow 
workers,  who  has  a  sympathy  for  society  as  a  whole  and  an  interest  in  it, 
is  not  going  to  wear  the  garment  which  has  been  made  at  the  expense 
of  the  health  and  character  of  other  women.  She  will  not  encourage 
sweated  labor,  unsanitary  conditions,  long  hours,  and  underpaid  labor 
by  buying  garments  which  have  been  made  imder  those  conditions. 

Buy  high-class  garments,  if  possible, — garments  of  good  material, 
style,  and  workmanship.  By  all  means  consider  comfort  and  beauty. 
Have  a  few  shnple,  well  chosen  clothes,  and  stick  to  lines  and  colors 
which  are  most  becoming.  Lack  of  art  and  individuality  in  dress  is 
one  reason  why  so  many  tire  of  their  clothes  and  are  willing  and  anxious 
to  cast  them  aside  for  new  ones.  Distinction  of  style  and  perfection  of 
cut  determine  to  a  great  extent  the  success  of  a  garment. 


EDITORIAL 

Colorado  and  the  American  Home  Econonucs  Association.    The 

Centennial  State,  Colorado,  can  best  express  her  welcome  to  the  members 
of  the  American  Home  Economics  Association  through  the  opportunities 
for  recreation,  for  rest,  and  for  sightseeing,  with  which  she  has  been  so 
richly  endowed.  Colorado  Springs,  with  her  mile-high  elevation,  her 
days  of  sunshine  and  nights  of  cool  refreshment,  o£Fers  exceptional  com- 
fort and  convenience  for  Association  meetings. 

Pike's  Peak,  the  famous  old  sentinel  of  the  Rockies,  with  its  cog  road 
and  its  broad  auto  toll  road;  the  ''Garden  of  the  Gods,"  a  district  of 
unique  rock  formation;  these,  and  numerous  other  attractions  are  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  convention  town. 

Colorado  contains  within  her  boundaries  two  famous  national  play 
grounds,  the  Rocky  Moimtain  National  Park  (Estes  Park)  and  the 
Mesa  Verde  National  Park. 

A  half  day's  ride  to  the  north  of  the  Springs  brings  the  Colorado 
visitor  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  National  Park.  Access  to  this  wonderful 
mountain  resort,  nestling  on  "the  top  of  the  world,"  is  possible  only  by 
means  of  automobile  highwasrs,  the  most  spectacular  of  which  follows 
the  Big  Thompson  river  in  its  winding  course  through  rugged,  rock- 
walled  canons.  Adventure,  the  thrill  of  a  hundred-mile  view  at  sunrise, 
the  breath  taking  ecstasy  of  a  glance  backward  to  one's  starting  point 
miles  below,  or  just  plain,  lazy,  old-fashioned  fim,  fishing  or  riding 
horseback,  are  all  within  reach  of  the  sojourner  in  Estes  Park.  It  has 
been  repeatedly  said  that  the  peaks  and  ranges  of  the  park  offer  every 
incentive,  every  thrill,  and  every  satisfaction  to  the  mountain  climber 
that  may  be  found  in  the  Alps  of  Switzerland.  One  of  the  most  popular 
climbs,  requiring  hardihood  both  of  body  and  of  nerve,  is  the  ascent  of 
Long's  Peak,  towering  14,271  feet  above  sea  level — ^higher  even  than  the 
famous  Pike's  Peak. 

The  Mesa  Verde  National  Park  is  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
state  and  contains  what  is  considered  the  most  notable  and  best  pre- 
served of  the  prehistoric  cliff-dwellings.  These  ancient  dwellings,  ding- 
ing to  the  walls  of  overhanging  cliffs,  for  all  the  world  like  swallow's 

234 


1920]  EDITORIAL  235 

nests,  are  constructed  of  a  masonry  which  has  stood,  with  surprising 
resistance,  the  assaults  of  time,  of  weather,  and  of  unknown  battles. 
Finger  prints  of  the  toilers  of  centuries  ago  are  still  visible  in  the  mortar. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  things  to  see  and  ''do"  in  Colorado.  Besides 
these  there  are  many,  many  other  attractions  such  as  the  Denver  Park 
Mountains,  so  extensive  that  they  require  a  day  by  auto  to  cover. 
Almost  every  town  within  the  state,  especially  along  the  foothills,  has 
some  scenic  attraction  to  offer,  reached  invariably  by  smooth  auto  roads. 

Nor  should  it  be  forgotten  that  Colorado  Springs  is  on  the  way  west- 
ward to  Yellowstone  National  Park,  and  to  Glacier  Park. 

Conference  on  Group  Living.  The  invitation  to  a  Conference  on 
Group  Living  to  be  held  at  the  Lake  Placid  Club  May  27  to  31, 
already  noted  in  the  Journal,  has  been  extended  by  Mrs.  Dewey  to 
members  of  the  American  Dietetic  Association,  to  the  Conference  of 
Deans  of  Women,  the  Institution  Section  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association,  economic  secretaries  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A,  super- 
intendents of  hospitals,  faculties  of  colleges  giving  instruction  in  insti- 
tution management,  and  others.  This  Is  not  an  official  meeting,  but 
affords  an  opportunity  for  those  especially  interested  in  the  problems 
that  arise  in  group  living  to  have  several  dasrs  conference.  Its  chief 
purpose  is  to  unify  results,  to  broaden  the  scope  of  future  research, 
and  avoid  duplication  of  work. 

The  program  is  arranged  under  six  headings:  Diet  and  food  service; 
Bu3dng;  Training;  Housing,  Research;  Personnel.  Some  of  the  topics 
are:  Community  Kitchen  experiments;  Cooperative  agencies;  Investi- 
gation of  opportunities  and  training  in  technical  fields;  Floor  plans  for 
large  group  living;  Hotel  for  women;  Purchasing  of  meats;  Buying  of 
fruits  and  canned  goods;  Cost  studies;  Diet  studies — ^National  Council 
of  Research;  Recent  labor  studies.  Round  table  conferences  will  be  held 
on  school  lunches,  eight  hour  service  in  households,  and  other  topics. 
The  list  of  speakers  includes  Dr.  McCoUum,  Miss  Arnold,  Dr.  Meeker 
of  the  Department  of  Labor,  Dr.  Cole  of  Harvard,  Miss  Geary  of 
the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  American  Dietetic 
Association,  and  others  equally  well  known  to  the  home  economics 
world,  besides  several  experts  from  other  fields. 

The  Lake  Placid  Club,  as  in  former  years,  has  extended  the  courtesy 
of  half  rates  to  the  members  of  the  conference.  Motor  and  launch 
trips,  walks  and  climbs,  rowing,  tennis  and  golf  will  add  the  charm 
of  delightful  recreation  to  the  inspiration  of  the  meetings. 


236  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

Meeting  of  fhe  American  Home  Economics  Association  in  con- 
nection with  the  Department  of  Superintendence,  N.  E.  A.  At  the 
meeting  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  held  in  Cleveland,  February  23  and  24,  1920, 
there  was  an  attendance  of  between  two  hundred  and  three  hundred  at 
each  session. 

At  the  Council  meeting  held  on  Monday  afternoon,  Edna  N.  White, 
the  president,  presiding,  there  was  an  attendance  of  18.  New  members 
of  the  Executive  Committee  were  appointed  as  follows:  Mildred  Wdgley, 
Alice  F.  Blood,  Ava  Milam,  Alice  M.  Loomis,  Mary  E.  Matthews. 

Plans  were  discussed  concerning  the  meeting  to  be  held  in  Colorado 
Springs,  Colorado,  June  24-29,  1920.  One  of  the  most  interesting 
topics  for  action  was  the  proposed  plan  to  establish  at  Constantinople 
College  for  Women  a  chair  of  Home  Economics  to  be  supported  by  the 
Association.  The  following  committee  was  appointed  to  raise  money 
for  the  fund  to  make  the  professorship  possible:  Abby  Marlatt,  Chair- 
man; Isabel  Ely  Lord,  Eastern  states;  Agnes  Ellen  Harris,  Southern 
states;  Isabel  Bevier,  Central  states;  Alice  M.  Loomis,  West  Central 
states;  Ava  B.  Milam,  Pacific  states. 

An  unusually  interesting  program  had  been  prepared  for  the  meeting 
by  the  Program  Committee,  Abby  Marlatt  chairman.  On  Monday 
afternoon  the  main  topic  was  Methods  in  High  Schools.  Helen  Good- 
speed,  State  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
outlined  a  scheme  for  developing  the  problem  solving  method  in  home 
economics  teaching.  She  offered  specific  suggestions  for  linking  the 
present  life  of  the  girl  with  her  work  in  home  economics  in  the  school. 
Rosa  Biery,  University  of  Chicago,  Elementary  and  High  Schools, 
presented  a  paper  on  Applied  Economics  in  a  One  Year  Home  Econom- 
ics High  School  Course.  Miss  Biery  has  worked  out  a  very  excellent 
scheme,  and  one  with  many  possibilities  for  development.  The  general 
discussion  of  these  two  papers  showed  a  keen  interest  in  the  topic. 

At  this  meeting  Miriam  Birdseye,  States  Relations  Service,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  presented  a  report  of  the  work  of  the  Textile  Committee 
which  is  imdertaking  to  promote  standardization  of  textile  fabrics,  and 
promises  to  accomplish  results  along  this  much  needed  line. 

Edna  N.  White,  Director  of  the  Merrill-Palmer  School,  Detroit, 
Michigan,  was  leader  of  the  discussion. 

The  subject  for  Tuesday  morning  was  Tests  in  Home  Economics 
Teaching,  Adelaide  Laura  Van  Duzen,  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics, 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  presiding.    Mabel  Trilling  presented  the  topic  Stand- 


1920]  sdhosial  237 

ard  Tests  in  Teaching  Textiles  and  Clothing.  The  reports  of  this  work, 
both  in  Cleveland,  and  in  Blue  Ridge,  June,  1919,  have  been  most 
interesting  and  valuable.  Florence  Williams,  Supervisor  of  Industrial 
Arts,  Richmond,  Indiana,  followed  Miss  Trilling  and  told  how  tests  are 
an  aid  in  the  teaching  and  organization  of  home  economics.  Betsey 
Madison,  Home  Economics  Department,  University  of  Wisconsin, 
Madison,  presented  a  paper  on  Teaching  by  the  Meal  Plan  Method. 
After  a  lively  discussion,  Mrs.  Mary  Schenck  Woohnan  spoke  briefly 
upon  the  subject  of  the  moving  picture  as  an  aid  in  the  teaching  of  home 
economics. 

On  Tuesday  afternoon,  Lydia  Roberts,  Assistant  Professor  of  Home 
Economics,  University  of  Chicago,  was  leader.  The  general  topic  of 
the  meeting  was  Child  Feeding.  Miss  Roberts  gave  a  very  definite 
and  concrete  report  on  the  field  work  which  she  has  been  doing  for  the 
Children's  Bureau  that  carried  with  it  confidence  in  the  results  to  be 
gained  through  work  along  the  lines  of  child  welfare.  Mary  A.  Harper, 
Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  New  York  City, 
followed  Miss  Roberts  and  told  of  the  work  of  a  Feeding  Clinic  and 
Demonstration  School.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  work  of  this 
type  the  results  axe  tangible  and  one  is  inspired  to  bend  all  efforts  in 
every  direction  possible  toward  improvement  in  health  through  wise 
feeding.  A  very  interesting  exhibit  of  rats  on  different  experimental 
diets  was  shown  by  Emma  Francis,  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium,  Battle 
Creek,  Michigan,  with  details  in  relation  to  the  various  experiments. 
Miss  Francis  made  the  very  generous  offer  to  supply  those  who  request 
them  with  photographs  of  rats  fed  on  different  diets.  Furtheimore, 
she  offered  to  send  to  anyone  who  wished  them  live  rats  for  purposes  of 
experimenting. 

A  home  economics  dinner  was  arranged  by  the  local  committee  for 
Monday  night,  at  which  several  prominent  residents  of  Cleveland  spoke. 
Visits  had  also  been  arranged  to  elementary  and  junior  and  senior  high 
schools,  to  the  Western  Reserve  University,  to  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  to 
factories  serving  lunches,  and  to  hospitals. 

Great  appreciation  was  expressed  for  the  work  of  the  local  committee 
which  made  the  visit  to  Cleveland  a  most  delightful  one  for  all  members 
of  the  Association. 

Cora  M.  Winchell, 
Secretary^  American  Home  Economics  Association, 


238  THE  JOUKNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [May 

Is  fhe  Calcium  of  Vegetables  of  Value?  Since  Shennan  and  Gillett 
showed  convincingly  that  caldum  is  the  food  constituent  which  is  most 
apt  to  be  lacking  in  the  diet  of  many  people,  nutrition  workers  have  been 
concerned  as  to  possible  sources  of  it.  -  Milk  is  well  known  to  furnish 
the  chief  supply.  Is  this  the  only  food  which  can  give  it  satisfactorily? 
Is  that  supplied  by  vegetables  of  equal  value? 

In  1918  McClugage  and  Mendel/  published  the  results  of  experiments 
on  feeding  various  forms  of  calcium  to  two  dogs.  They  used  milk, 
calcium  carbonate,  spinach,  and  carrots.  The  quantities  of  calcium  fed 
were  in  no  case  sufficient  to  prevent  loss  of  some  calcixmi  from  the  ani- 
mals' bodies.  The  calcium  from  vegetables  was  much  less  completely 
utilized  than  from  the  other  sources.  From  milk  on  the  average  only 
27  per  cent  of  that  fed  was  lost,  from  caldxmi  carbonate  35  per  cent, 
and  from  the  spinach  and  the  carrots  the  large  amount  of  80  per  cent. 
The  experiments  bring  out  clearly  that,  for  the  dogs,  milk  and  the  in- 
organic salt  had  a  greater  value  as  a  source  of  this  element  than  had  the 
vegetables  used. 

More  recently  Mrs.Mary  Swartz  Rose'  has  published  two  series  of 
experiments  on  the  utilization  of  calcium  by  healthy  young  women, 
which  give  results  quite  different  from  those  of  the  Yale  investigators. 
All  of  the  diets  contaiQed  approximately  the  minimum  amount  of 
calcium  on  which  caldum  equilibrium  can  be  maintained.  In  the  first 
three  weeks  70  per  cent  of  the  element  came  from  milk  and  in  the  second 
two  weeks  milk  was  ahnost  completely  omitted  and  carrots  substituted 
as  the  source  of  caldum.  The  caldum  in  this  second  period  was  as  well 
utilized  as  in  the  first.  It  seems  therefore  possible  for  adults  to  obtain 
the  required  caldxmi  largely  from  carrots. 

^  McClugage,  H.  B.  and  Mendel,  L.  B.,  Experiments  on  the  Utilization  of  Nitrogen, 
Caldum,  and  Magnesium  in  Diets  Containing  Carrots  and  Spinach.  Jour,  Bud,  Chem., 
35,  353, 1918. 

*  Rose,  Maiy  Swartz,  Experiments  on  the  Utilization  of  the  Calcium  of  Carrots  by  Man. 
Jour.  Biol.  Chem,,  41,  349,  1920. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


Gift  to  the  Nattonal  Academy  of 
Sciences  and  the  National  Research 
Council.  The  Carnegie  Coiporation  of  New 
York  has  given  $5,000,000  to  the  National 
Academy  of  Sciences  and  the  National 
Research  Council.  Fart  will  be  used  to  erect 
in  Washington  a  home  of  "suitable  architec- 
tural dignity"  for  the  two  organizations,  and 
the  remainder  will  be  a  permanent  endow- 
ment for  the  National  Research  CoundL 
"The  coimcil  is  a  democratic  organization 
based  upon  some  forty  of  the  great  scientific 
and  engineering  societies  of  the  coimtiy, 
which  elect  delegates  to  its  constituent  divi- 
sions. It  is  not  supported  or  controlled  by 
the  government,  differing  in  this  respect 
from  other  similar  organizations  established, 
smce  the  beginning  of  the  war,  in  England, 
Italy,  Japan,  Canada,  and  Australia.  .  .  . 
The  council  was  organized  in  1916  as  a 
measure  of  national  preparedness  and  its 
efforts  during  the  war  were  mostly  confined  to 
assisting  the  government  in  the  solution  of 
pressing  war-time  problems  involving  scien- 
tific investigation.  Reorganized  since  the 
war  on  a  peace-time  footing,  it  is  now 
attempting  to  stimulate  and  promote  scien- 
tific research  in  agriculture,  medicine,  and 
industry,  and  in  every  field  of  pure  science." 

This  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  home 
economics  workers  as  well  as  to  others  inter- 
ested in  scientific  progress  and  its  applica- 
tion to  life.  As  an  instance  may  be  cited 
the  work  of  the  Division  of  Biology  and 
Agriculture,  of  which  C.  £.  McClung  is 
chairman.  One  of  the  committees  of  this 
division  deals  with  ''Food  and  Nutrition." 
Prof.  J.  R.  Murlin  is  chairman.  The  com- 
mittee has  three  standing  sub-committees, 
namely:  (a)  Animal  nutrition;  (b)  Human 
nutrition;  (c)  Protein  metabolism  in  animal 
feeding. 


A  New  Home  Economics  Club.  The 
young  women  of  the  Home  Economics  De- 
partment of  the  State  Manual  Training 
Normal  at  Pittsburg,  Kansas,  have  formed 
a  Home  Economics  Club  during  the  last 
semester.  Officers  for  the  year  have  been 
elected  and  the  regular  monthly  business 
meetings  have  been  marked  by  a  good  attend- 
ance and  instructive  and  entertaining 
programs. 

The  object  of  this  club  is  three-fold  and 
the  young  women  who  make  up  the  member- 
ship have  as  their  aim  the  gaining  of  knowl- 
edge and  skill  in  the  science  and  art  of  home- 
making;  a  realization  of  the  importance  of 
the  home,  its  duties  and  relation  to  society; 
and  the  development  of  poise,  dignity,  and 
other  qualities  which  bespeak  true  woman- 
hood. Through  the  accomplishment  of 
these  ends  it  is  expected  that  the  depart- 
ment will  be  strengthened  and  the  course 
enriched  and  broadened. 

The  Pittsburg  Normal  is  a  very  young 
institution  but  a  well  balanced  four-year 
course  in  Home  Economics  is  offered  and 
the  general  tone  of  the  institution  is  pecu- 
liarly in  keeping  with  the  development  of 
alert,  sympathetic,  accomplished  teachers 
and  workers  in  the  broader  field  of  home- 
making. 

A  Health  Campaign.  The  Department 
of  Household  Arts  Education  of  Teachers 
College,  Columbia  University,  is  conducting 
a  health  campaign  among  the  students  of 
the  department  and  others  who  have 
wished  to  enter  it. 

The  departments  of  Nutrition  and  Phy- 
sical Education  are  giving  their  hearty 
cooperation  to  the  movement. 

Records  and  weight  charts  are  being  kept 
and  attention  is  given  to  individual  cases 
needing  advice. 

239 


240 


THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOICB  ECONOMICS 


[May 


The  students  are  not  only  aiming  to  make 
themselves  physically  fit,  but  are  learning 
how  to  organize  and  conduct  a  health 
campaign. 

Of  131  students  registered  in  this  cam- 
paign, 22.1  per  cent  are  10  per  cent  or  more 
below  normal  weight  and  16.8  per  cent  are 
10  per  cent  or  more  above  normal. 

A  series  of  mass  meetings  has  been 
arranged  by  the  student  committee  for  the 
members  of  the  department  Various  phases 
of  the  health  problem  will  be  presented  by 
specialists  in  the  field. 

Each  ckiss  participating  in  the  contest 
appointed  a  committee  of  two  students  from 
its  own  membership  to  assist  the  general 
committee  in  the  execution  of  the  plans  for 
the  campaign. 

Angeline  Wood,  Frances  ZuHl  and  Eliza- 
beth Marsh  are  the  members  of  the  student 
committee  in  charge  of  the  campaign.  A 
staff  committee  of  five  members  act  as  an 
advisory  board.  The  members  of  this  com- 
mittee are  Dr.  Maiy  Swartz  Rose,  Dr. 
Thomas  D.  Wood,  Wilhemina  H.  Spohr, 
Jo6q>hine  A.  Marshall,  and  Cora  M. 
WmchelL 

State  Teachers  Asaociatioii  in  Colum- 
bia, South  Carolina.  At  a  recent  meeting 
Dr.  Benjamin  Andrews  of  the  Savings  Divi- 
sion, U.  S.  Treasury  Department,  Washing- 
ton, spoke  to  the  members  of  the  Home  Eco- 
nomics Association  in  the  afternoon  and 
was  on  the  general  program  for  the  evening. 
He  spoke  in  an  impressive  way  of  the  prob- 
lems we  are  facing  today,  not  only  those 
of  food  and  clothing,  but  of  all  living  condi- 
tions. He  told  of  the  work  some  states  are 
doing  and  urged  the  appointment  of  a 
program  committee  on  thrift.  The  asso- 
ciation felt  especially  favored  in  having 
him  present. 

Notes.  A  course  of  lectures  on  lunch- 
room management  is  being  given  in  New 
York  University  by  Miss  EUzabeth  H.  Bohn. 
Some  of  the  topics  are:  benefits  of  company 
lunch  rooms;  food  requirements  and  stand- 
ards; accounting;  equipment. 

The  New  York  Association  of  Dietitians 
is  making  a  survey  in  hospitals,  throughout 


the  state,  of  the  courses  in  dietetics  given 
nurses,  the  training  offered  to  ptiq>il  dieti- 
tians, and  the  duties  of  the  dietitians  in  the 
various  hoqntals. 

National  Education  Association.  The 
next  annual  meeting  will  be  held  at  Salt 
Lake  Dty,  Utah,  July  4-10,  inclusive. 

A  feature  of  the  program  will  be  the  Con- 
gress of  Boards  of  Education  on  Thursday, 
July  8 — forenoon,  afternoon,  and  evening. 
Theme:  "Financing  and  Managing  the 
Public  Schools."  Members  of  school  boards, 
state,  dty,  and  county  superintendents,  and 
educational  experts  will  take  part  in  the 
discussions. 

The  program  of  the  Department  of  Home 
Economics  for  the  General  Federation  Meet- 
ing in  Des  Momes,  June  16-23,  includes  two 
conferences — one  on  Child  Welfare  as  a 
Home  Economics  Problem  in  the  Home  of 
the  Average  Club  Woman  and  the  other 
A  Home  Economics  and  a  Made  in  America 
program.  The  latter  will  indude  a  presen- 
tation of  the  Dye  Situation,  the  Textile 
Situation,  and  Federal  Control  of  Food. 

OUR  00NTRIB17T0SS 

From  time  to  time  the  Jouhnal  is  favored 
by  contributions  from  those  who  are  not 
well  known  to  all  our  readezs.  Such  con- 
tributors may  have  newly  come  into  home 
economics  work,  they  may  only  lately  have 
entered  the  literary  field,  or  they  may  have 
made  their  reputation  in  other  lines  of  work. 
Of  the  last  dass  is  George  S.  Bryan,  the 
author  of  ''Notes  on  Early  New  Eng^d 
Eating."  Mr.  Bryan  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Historical  Association,  wa3  former- 
ly on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Enc3rdoped]a 
Americana  and  other  important  publicaticms, 
is  the  author  of  several  books,  and  is  a  fre- 
quent contributor  to  well  known  newq;>apers. 

Marguerite  Davis  was  associated  with  Dr. 
McCollum  in  his  work  at  the  University  of 
Wisconsin.  Her  co-authors  are  at  present 
students  in  that  university. 

It  will  interest  many  to  know  that  Alice 
F.  Mendel,  the  author  of  "Alimentary  Hy- 
giene and  Rational  Alimentation  in  the  Year 
3000,"  in  our  last  number,  is  the  wife  of  Dr. 
LaFayette  B.  Mendel  of  Yale  University. 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  JUNE,  1920  No.  6 

EDUCATIONAL  RESEARCH  IN  THE  PRACTICAL  ARTS* 

FREDERICK   G.    BONSER 
Teachers  CoUege,  Columbia  UmeersUy 

In  the  practical  arts,  as  in  other  subjects,  there  are  two  distinct 
although  closely  related  forms  of  research  work.  One  of  these  is  that 
form  of  investigation  by  which  new  truth  is  discovered,  research  by 
which  the  sum  of  knowledge  is  increased.  This  type  of  research  is  not 
primarily  concerned  with  the  immediate  uses  which  can  be  made  of 
what  is  discovered.  To  be  sure,  there  is  usually  the  presumption  that 
whatever  is  foxmd  will  be  of  some  value  in  relationship  to  life.  But  in 
such  research  the  worker  goes  forward  to  the  end  of  his  quest  with  an 
immediate  interest  in  the  truth  as  it  reveals  itself,  whatever  may  be 
its  value. 

The  other  form  of  research  has  to  do  with  the  discovery  of  relation- 
ships between  life  needs  and  means  for  meeting  these  needs,  and  with 
the  selection  and  adaptation  of  known  materials  to  satisfy  these  needs. 
It  is  the  fxmction  of  this  form  of  investigation  to  select  from  the  con- 
tributions of  the  first  type  those  elements  and  results  which  are  of 
service  to  life  and  to  make  these  available  for  the  education  of  the 
masses.  This  kind  of  research  we  may  call  professional  or  educational 
as  distinguished  from  that  which  is  commonly  known  as  academic.  In 
an  institution  which  has  large  numbers  of  advanced  students  directly 
interested  in  some  form  of  educational  leadership  provision  should  be 
made  for  both  forms  of  research.  My  purpose  here,  however,  is  to 
consider  educational  research  alone. 

1  Summaiy  of  an  address  given  at  the  Alumni  Conference  of  Teachers  College,  Febmazy 
20,1920. 

241 


242  THE  JOURNAL  0?  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

We  may  treat  the  matter  from  two  points  of  view:  first,  that  of  re- 
search as  a  method  of  education,  and,  second,  that  of  the  practical 
values  resulting  from  such  research. 

One  of  the  largest  purposes  of  education  is  to  develop  the  inquiring 
attitude  of  mind.  Research  provides  means  for  this  and  stimulates 
growth  in  the  student.  This  method  of  study  focuses  the  mind  upon  a 
problem  the  solution  of  which  requires  the  actual  use  of  the  scientific 
method.  It  requires  the  setting  up  of  a  definite  aim,  planning  the 
procedure  in  carrying  forward  the  work  to  realize  this  aim,  executing 
the  plan  in  its  details,  and  judging  or  testing  results  throughout  the 
procedure  until  the  final  realization  of  the  aim  is  accomplished.  It 
requires  the  application  of  much  from  several  sources,  and  tests  one's 
knowledge  of  principles  and  his  •capacity  to  apply  them.  It  reveals  any 
inadequacies  of  exact  knowledge  or  methods  of  work  and  provides  a 
compelling  motive  for  removing  any  deficiencies  by  selective  and  inten- 
sive study. 

Such  work  prevents  the  development  of  a  dogmatic  or  self-sufficient 
attitude  and  contributes  directly  in  making  for  genuinely  scientific 
open-mindedness.  This  attitude  of  inquiry  and  open-mindedness  is 
most  essential  in  good  teaching  or  supervisory  work.  It  is  the  only 
attitude  by  which  work  can  be  kept  from  becoming  formal  and  mechan- 
ical. Research  is  the  only  method  which  will  most  helpfully  stimulate 
inquiry  and  growth  in  the  mind  of  the  student.  It  develc^  the  explora^ 
tory  impulse  and  stimulates  creative  activity,  providing  a  means  for 
both  its  expression  and  its  satisfaction. 

Research  of  this  kind  by  the  advanced  student  is  a  direct  preparation 
under  guidance  for  the  kinds  of  organization  and  use  of  materials  re- 
quired in  positions  in  a  field  developing  as  rapidly  as  are  all  of  the  prac- 
tical arts.  Fortunately,  the  practical  arts  subjects  have  not  become 
very  extensively  formalized.  New  materials  are  added  from  the  results 
of  researches  by  specialists  with  great  frequency,  and  constant  read- 
justments in  teaching  and  in  the  organization  of  work  are  necessary. 
The  training  in  method  which  this  kind  of  research  affords  is  impor- 
tant and  valuable  in  both  tjeaching  and  supervisory  positions,  whether 
in  schools  or  in  institutions  which  strive  to  make  the  most  effective 
appUcations  of  whatever  is  discovered  in  the  fields  of  related  technical 
research. 

As  a  general  method  of  teaching  and  learning,  this  form  of  research 
may  begin  very  early  in  the  schools  and  progress  with  increasingly  com- 


1920]  EDUCATIOKAI.  BESEA&CH  IN  THE  PRACTICAL  ARTS  243 

plez  and  difficult  problems  as  we  advance  from  elementary  education 
to  college  and  imiversity  stages.  It  is  the  project  method  of  instruc- 
tion in  a  somewhat  special  form.  In  the  graduate  school,  the  projects, 
to  be  of  most  value,  should  indude  elements  of  adaptation  and  relation- 
ship which  are  new,  which  are  unknown  to  anyone.  This  is  the  justifi- 
cation of  the  term  research  for  the  work  as  applied  to  the  projects 
appropriate  to  challenge  the  endeavors  of  advanced  students.  These 
new  elements  which  are  found  are  not  something  which  will  add  to  the 
sum  of  technical  knowledge  within  a  given  field,  but  they  will  add  to 
our  knowledge  of  relationships  and  to  means  of  using  more  effectively 
that  which  makes  up  some  part  of  the  technical  field.  In  the  periods 
of  elementary,  secondary,  and  early  college  education  the  projects  are 
the  means  by  which  the  known  facts,  principles,  and  technique  of  the 
special  fields  are  acquired.  In  advanced  educational  research  the  pro- 
jects are  the  means  for  adapting  these  bodies  of  knowledge  and  tech- 
nique to  teaching  or  other  practical  applications  by  developing  new  or 
more  effective  methods  of  their  organization  and  usage. 

Practically  considered,  such  workers  make  the  contributions  of 
specialists  available  for  the  masses.  Taken  altogether,  there  is  an 
immense  amount  of  material  in  the  fields  of  household,  industrial,  and 
fine  arts  of  very  great  importance  to  the  well-being  of  all,  but  in  such 
a  technical  form  that  it  can  not  be  used.  There  are  literally  hundreds 
of  problems  in  the  adaptation  and  formulation  of  such  material  in 
simple,  practical  applications  to  the  needs  of  everyday  life. 

To  do  this  work,  thorough  scholarship  in  the  given  technical  field  is 
necessary.  But  coupled  with  this  scholarship  there  is  also  required 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  educational  principles  and  a  sense  of  the 
needs  of  the  masses.  If  in  those  who  have  some  measure  of  the  passion 
for  scholarship  we  may  also  develop  as  great  a  passion  for  service  we 
shall  have  the  type  of  worker  who  can  contribute  richly  by  this  form  of 
educational  research. 

All  we  can  hope  to  do  in  this  limited  time  is  to  indicate  the  meaning 
of  the  kind  of  research  of  which  we  are  thinking  by  several  illustrations 
which  suggest  the  variety  of  possible  problems.  In  general,  these 
illustrations  center  about  a  few  general  types  of  problems.  These  are: 
the  organization  of  curricula;  the  adaptation  of  technical  materials  to 
school  usage  and  popular  usage;  the  development  of  special  methods 
of  teaching;  the  working  out  of  problems  in  equipment  for  definite 
purposes;  the  organization  of  relationships  between  technical  subject 


244  THE  JOURNAL  GT  HOME  ECONOMICS  Qune 

matter  and  other  fields  or  subjects;  and  the  adaptation  of  teaching 
materials  and  methods  in  regular  schools  to  special  types  of  schools — 
part-time,  evening,  or  other  forms. 

To  illustrate  possibilities,  the  following  problems  are  offered  as  sug- 
gestive: 

The  use  of  excursions  in  the  study  of  foods  and  dothing  in  elementary 
and  high  schools. 

The  use  of  museum  materials  and  pictures  in  teaching  the  household 
arts. 

The  organization  of  household  arts  courses  for  junior  high  schools. 

How  to  carry  the  influence  of  school  instruction  in  the  practical  arts 
into  the  homes  of  the  students. 

The  organization  in  content  and  method  for  short  courses  in  house- 
hold arts  for  housewives  in  country  or  city. 

The  practical  arithmetic  of  foods— purchasing,  preparing,  and  using. 

The  practical  arithmetic  of  dothing  and  of  furnishings. 

Practical  problems  in  design  as  related  to  studies  in  house  furnishings, 
for  upper  grades  and  high  schools. 

Finding  out,  by  specific  evidence,  who  gets  the  most  bargains  in  half 
a  dozen  bargain  sales. 

Considering  the  whole  problem,  economically,  hygienically,  and 
aesthetically,  does  it  pay  the  housewife  to  bake  her  own  bread?  If  she 
bakes  her  own  bread,  how  does  she  get  her  pay? 

An  annual  or  semi-annual  digest  with  careful  evaluations  of  govern- 
ment documents — ^federal,  state,  and  munidpal — on  household  arts 
subjects. 

The  organization  of  definite  projects,  with  all  of  the  necessary  mate- 
rial, on  deansing  agendes,  laundering,  marketing,  labor  saving  devices, 
and  kindred  topics,  for  use  in  dementary  schools,  or  high  schools,  or 
evening  schools. 

History  studies  adapted  to  the  dementary  schools  on  such  topics  as 
hats,  shoes,  neckwear,  gloves,  coats,  and  others  which  these  suggest. 

Industrial  and  commercial  geography  of  certain  specific  foods,  of 
textiles,  of  household  china,  of  rugs,  and  of  other  housdiold  materials. 

The  organization  of  informational  material  for  vocational  guidance 
purposes  in  the  household  arts  and  related  fidds. 

The  possibilities  of  household  arts  pursuits  for  the  avocational  occu- 
pation of  women  in  the  professions. 

Problems  and  methods  in  supervising  teachers  of  the  practical  arts. 


1920]  EDUCATIONAL  BESEASCH  IN  TEE  FRACnCAL  ARTS  245 

The  preparation  of  a  score  card  for  various  phases  of  housekeeping. 

Experimentation  in  using  the  mothers  of  girls  as  assistants  in  teach- 
ing these  girls  the  practical  arts  subjects. 

How  exhibits  of  school  work  in  the  practical  arts  may  be  made  a 
means  of  education  in  the  studies  themselves. 

A  study  of  school  equipment  essential  for  teaching  the  several  phases 
of  practical  arts  in  the  best  way. 

A  study  of  the  amount  and  distribution  of  the  spare  time  of  100 
housewives  with  the  plans  of  household  routine  followed  by  each,  with 
deductions  for  principles  of  household  management. 

The  actual  foods  in  variety  and  amount  eaten  by  100  seventh  grade 
(Mdren  in  one  week  and  the  questions  in  dietetics  and  hygiene  raised 
by  the  information  gained. 

The  dothing  purchased  and  worn  by  100  girls  of  the  eighth  grade 
for  one  year,  and  the  deductions  for  studies  in  girls'  dothing  and  budget 
problems. 

The  devdopment  of  standardized  types  of  kitchens  as  to  size  and 
equipment  in  houses  of  various  types  together  with  an  organization  of 
this  material  for  teaching  purposes. 

A  study  of  the  actual  kinds  and  amounts  of  hand  sewing  done  in 
several  hundred  homes  as  a  basis  for  the  sdection  of  projects  in  hand 
sewing  for  a  course  in  vocational  homemaking. 

A  study  in  food  purchasing  through  the  observation  of  a  thousand 
individual  illustrations  of  purchasing,  and  the  making  of  a  course  for 
teaching  the  dements  of  marketing  for  which  the  investigation  reveals 
needs. 

By  dose  cooperation  between  the  technical  departments  and  the  gen- 
eral departments  of  schools  of  education,  it  should  be  possible  to  direct 
the  work  of  advanced  students  in  many  such  problems  with  the  hope  of 
substantial  results.  Needs  for  such  work  are  widespread  and  intense. 
Our  institution  realizes  the  call  and  it  recognizes  its  obligation.  To  this 
call  it  now  plans  to  respond  with  definite  provision  for  conducting 
educational  research  studies  in  practical  arts  and  making  their  results 
available. 


246  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  Qune 

FOOD  WORK  IN  THE  SINGLE  PERIOD 

STELLA  M.  HUBBELL 
EngUwood  High  School,  Chicago 

We  began  single  period  food  work  in  the  autumn  of  1918  when  there 
was  special  need  for  food  conservation  as  a  war  measure.  Our  prin- 
cipal, Mr.  James  E.  Armstrong,  felt  that  it  should  be  possible  for  every 
girl  in  high  school  to  take  the  work,  if  she  wished  to  do  so. 

The  classes  were  therefore  all  organized  for  one  school  period  a  day^ 
each  class  having  an  enrollment  of  32  to  35.  The  task  seemed  at  first 
almost  an  impossible  one,  as  the  time  allowed  for  actual  work  was  not 
more  than  forty  minutes.  It  was  at  once  seen  that  for  each  girl  in  so 
large  a  dass  to  measure  materials,  prepare  dishes,  cook  and  serve  them, 
and  leave  utensils,  tables,  and  towels  in  proper  condition  would  result 
only  in  failure.  The  first  lessons  were  therefore  given  as  demonstra- 
tions by  the  teacher,  but  the  girls  were  all  amdous  to  work  and  this 
plan  was  abandoned.  The  next  step  was  to  have  certain  groups  alter- 
nate in  demonstrating  the  lesson  under  the  teacher's  direction.  This 
plan  was  soon  discarded,  as  it  left  too  many  in  the  unemployed  dass. 
The  work  finally  evolved  itself  in  this  manner.  The  classes  were  all 
divided  into  groups  of  four  or  five,  called  families.  One  girl  was  either 
dected  or  appointed  to  act  as  manager  of  the  group.  It  was  her  duty 
to  see  that  work  was  fairly  distributed  in  her  family  and  that  the  same 
kind  of  task  was  not  done  twice  in  succession  by  the  same  girls.  She 
saw  to  it  that  they  left  tables  and  drawers  in  proper  order  and  that 
towels  and  dish  doths  were  cared  for. 

During  the  redtation  period  on  the  day  preceding  the  laboratory 
work  the  lesson  for  the  next  day  was  very  carefully  discussed.  The 
redpes  were  all  for  family  amounts  and  the  girls  thus  had  practical  and 
valuable  experience  in  preparing  dishes  such  as  would  be  used  at  the 
home  table.  The  grocery  bills  were  no  larger  than  when  the  individual 
redpes  using  sudi  amounts  as  a  tablespoon  of  sugar  and  a  teaspoon  of 
egg  were  used. 

The  girls  learned  to  handle  larger  quantities  of  materials  and  to  be 
more  careful  in  the  work,  as  they  understood  that  any  inaccuracy 
would  entail  a  larger  loss  and  would  also  bring  down  upon  themsdves 
the  reproaches  of  the  rest  of  the  group,  who  were  expecting  to  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  their  labor.    They  came  into  class  with  eagerness  and  prompt- 


1920]  700D  WORK  IN  THE  SINGLE  PERIOD  247 

ness  as  they  knew  time  was  limited  aud  must  be  improved  to  the  utmost, 
if  their  product  was  to  be  finished.  There  was  no  dawdling  over  work 
and  no  waste  of  time  in  washing  unnecessary  dishes.  They  learned  to 
save  dishes  as  well  as  time,  to  keep  dishes  washed  as  they  used  them,  and 
to  sit  down  to  eat  with  all  dishes  washed  and  put  away,  except  the  ones 
used  for  serving. 

They  learned  coSperation  with  others,  a  lesson  that  is  worth  much. 
They  did  good  team  work  in  order  to  get  through.  During  the  year 
and  a  half  in  which  we  had  only  one  period  for  all  our  food  work,  there 
were  not  more  than  two  complaints  about  lack  of  harmony  in  any 
groups.  These  slight  differences  were  easily  adjusted.  The  girls 
grouped  themselves  as  they  liked  and  thus  formed  congenial  '^families.'' 

Each  semester  the  girls  who  have  had  one  year's  previous  training 
in  the  high  school  specialize  on  menu  making  and  meal  serving.  There 
is  alwasrs  one  dass  doing  this  work,  usually  serving  a  meal  once  a  week. 
On  the  other  laboratory  day,  if  they  are  not  getting  ready  for  a  luncheon 
the  next  day,  they  prepare  some  new  dish  which  they  will  again  make 
as  a  part  of  some  subsequent  luncheon  or  meal.  In  addition  to  this 
dass,  the  girls  who  are  taking  the  second  semester  of  the  first  year  also 
do  some  meal  work,  as  many  of  them  cannot  take  work  the  second  year. 

During  a  part  of  the  time  there  were  two  or  three  student  hdpers, 
who  gave  three  hours  a  week  to  assisting  in  the  laboratory.  They 
recdved  for  this  extra  credit  and  were  of  much  service  in  placing  sup- 
plies for  the  laboratory  work,  and  doing  similar  tasks.  With  the  classes 
serving  luncheons  the  menus  were  discussed,  as  to  their  food  value, 
cost,  and  suitability  to  one  hour  work,  at  a  previous  redtation.  Pre- 
liminary work  was  done  the  day  before  the  luncheon,  and  as  far  as  pos- 
sible such  things  as  cookies,  cake,  salad  dressing,  were  made  and  put 
away  for  the  next  day. 

The  hour  preceding  a  luncheon  the  student  hdper,  or  member  of  the 
dass,  placed  all  supplies  in  readiness,  filled  tea-kettles  with  water  to 
heat,  and  saw  to  it  that  everything  was  arranged  for  the  greatest  eflGi- 
dency  when  the  dass  came  in.  The  classes  which  were  doing  most  of 
the  meal  work  were  always  placed  at  the  hour  preceding  the  noon 
intermission.  They  thus  had  their  meal  at  the  proper  hour,  and  if  any 
were  a  little  more  elaborate  than  usual  a  few  minutes  might  be  used 
from  the  luncheon  period  for  washing  extra  dishes  or  doing  some  last 
things.  The  firdess  cooker  was  used  frequently,  some  members  of 
the  class  coming  in  before  school  in  the  morning  and  placing  food  in  the 


248  THE  JOURNAL  ov  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

cooker.  The  girls  learned  the  value  of  planning  ahead  even  the  small 
details,  and  thus  saw  the  failure  and  inefficiency  of  last  minute  ordering 
and  lack  of  forethought. 

The  following  were  two  of  the  menus  which  were  served: 

Salmon  and  celery  salad,  mashed  potatoes,  baking  powder  biscuit 
and  butter,  jelly,  canned  pears  and  cookies. 

Beef  loaf,  boiled  potatoes  and  brown  gravy,  cabbage  salad,  tea  bisctiit 
and  butter,  canned  peaches  and  loaf  cake. 

The  jelly  and  canned  fruit  were  put  up  by  the  girls  last  autumn. 
The  beef  loaf  mixture  was  prepared  by  two  of  the  student  helpers  and 
made  into  small  loaves,  one  for  each  family,  and  was  ready  for  the 
oven  when  the  class  came  in.  Such  a  dish  as  this  was  s(nnetimes  pre- 
pared by  some  member  of  a  preceding  class,  and  others  were  able  to 
observe  the  work  in  addition  to  their  own  regular  lesson. 

The  cost  of  this  menu  was  17  cents  for  each  girl.  They  usually  served 
themselves,  but  at  this  luncheon  three  guests  were  served  in  addition. 
For  each  of  these  meals  they  were  allowed  ten  minutes  of  extra  time  from 
the  noon  intermission,  to  wash  the  last  dishes. 

In  the  limited  time  allowed  they  learned  to  turn  off  work  and  accom- 
plish certain  things  in  a  set  time.  The  luncheons  or  meals  were  always 
discussed  afterward.  Criticisms  were  made  by  members  of  groups  and 
certain  improvements  suggested  in  planning  for  next  time. 

The  one  hour  period  demands  much  careful  thought  and  planning  by 
the  teacher  and  there  must  be  a  sympathetic  and  helpful  ^irit  to  bring 
out  the  cooperation  of  the  class  so  that  they  will  be  eager  to  respond. 
Iji  The  longer  periods  are  easier,  as  there  is  not  the  constant  thought  of 
time  to  make  one  anxious  and  there  are  many  things  which  can  not  be 
done  in  the  one  hour,  but,  with  good  organization,  careful  planning, 
and  responsiveness  on  the  part  of  the  class,  a  great  deal  may  be  accom- 
plished in  the  one  hour  period. 


1920]  HOME  ECONOMICS  COUSSES  IN  COIXEGES  249 

A  COMPARATIVE  STUDY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  COURSES 

IN  COLLEGES 

JEAN  KRX7EGER 
Utwoersity  of  Wisconsin 

This  year,  the  curriculum  committee  of  the  home  economics  depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  was  requested  to  measure  its  own 
dqiartment  with  that  of  other  institutions.  Because  of  the  shortness 
of  the  time  allotted  it  was  necessary  to  limit  the  comparison  to  a  few 
schools  representative  of  different  sections  of  the  country.  For  the 
same  reason,  information  had  to  be  secured  from  correspondence  and 
from  the  latest  catalogues  obtainable,  instead  of  from  personal  visits 
and  conferences  which,  of  course,  would  have  been  much  more  satisfac- 
tory. The  accompanying  charts  were  compiled  from  the  data  secured. 
Even  taking  into  consideration  all  the  possibilities  of  error  due  to  such 
a  method  of  study,  certain  tendencies  are  apparent. 

The  committee  wished  to  find  out,  among  other  things,  what  the  imi- 
formity  of  curricula  in  various  dqiartments  of  accepted  college  standing 
might  be.  In  order  to  reach  a  basis  of  comparison,  material  was  first 
classified  according  to  types  of  schools,  and  then  according  to  majors. 
The  general,  food,  textile,  and  vocational  education  majors  were  selected 
as  those  which  are  offered  by  most  departments.  The  courses  outlined 
in  the  catalogues  for  these  majors  were  assorted  according  to  their  na- 
ture. For  instance,  requirements  in  English,  in  language,  in  history, 
in  art,  were  classified  as  "general;''  requirements  in  chemistry,  in  phys- 
ics, in  bacteriology,  as  "science;"  and  the  work  in  food,  in  clothing,  in 
shelter,  in  child  care,  as  "home  economics."  By  calculating  the  credit 
value  of  each  division,  and  translating  these  into  percentages  of  the 
total  number  of  credits  required  for  graduation,  the  following  percentages 
are  made  directly  comparable: 

1.  Percentage  of  time  given  to  general,  science,  and  home  economics 
subjects. 

2.  Percentage  of  time  given  to  electives. 

3.  Proportion  of  non-technical  to  technical  subjects. 

4.  Proportion  of  required  subjects  to  electives. 

As  can  readily  be  seen,  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  draw  definite  conclu- 
sions from  the  accompanying  charts.  With  such  a  wide  variance  of 
requirements  existing  among  the  different  colleges  and  majors,  very 


250  THE  J0X7BNAL  07  HOME  EOONOMICS  [June 

little  emphasis  may  be  placed  on  the  averages  shown  by  the  dotted  lines. 
They  merely  indicate  a  tendency. 

A  few  generalities  are  possible.  The  state  agricultural  schools,  for 
instance,  appear  to  require  more  non-technical  work  in  the  food  and 
textile  majors  than  do  the  universities  and  endowed  schools  studied. 
They  also  require  a  larger  percentage  of  general  subject  matter  in  the 
general  major  than  the  average  for  that  division.  This  emphasis  is 
accomplished  at  the  expense  of  dectives  and,  in  the  case  of  the  general 
major,  science  is  curtailed.  In  the  vocational  education  major,  more 
science  than  the  average  is  required,  slightly  less  general  work,  and  fewer 
dectives. 

In  the  universities,  as  a  rule,  a  larger  proportion  of  time  is  allowed 
for  dectives.  These  institutions  require  more  sdence  in  the  food  major 
than  the  average  indicated  and  in  all  majors,  less  time  in  home  economics 
subjects.  The  reverse  of  this  condition  is  true  in  the  endowed  schools, 
where  the  percentage  of  time  given  home  economics  is  high,  and  that 
given  dectives  and  general  subject  matter  is  low. 

The  outstanding  feature  of  the  accompanying  charts  is  that  each  school 
seems  to  be  a  law  unto  itself.  It  is  of  interest  to  note,  however,  that  in 
the  food  major— perhaps  the  most  carefully  organized  major  of  all — 
the  averages  for  each  division  approach  25  per  cent  of  the  whole.  That 
is,  one  fourth  of  the  credits  required  for  graduation  must  represent 
languages,  English,  economics;  one  fourth,  sdence;  one  fourth,  home 
economics;  and  one  fourth,  electives.  Is  this  the  very  best  division  of 
time?    If  so,  should  it  be  the  same  for  all  majors? 

While  there  is  no  need  for  home  economics  courses  everywhere  to  be 
identical,  there  is  a  definite  need  for  greater  uniformity  than  at  present 
exists.  This  holds  true  in  the  context  of  basic  home  economics  courses, 
as  well  as  in  the  larger  divisions  of  subject  matter.  Those  who  have  had 
the  responsibility  of  accrediting  the  home  economics  work  done  by  a 
student  in  another  institution  realize  the  difficulties  involved.  Ten 
units  of  general  chemistry  from  an  accredited  college  are  accepted  with- 
out question,  while  five  credits  in  a  home  economics  subject  may  or  may 
not  fulfill  the  requirements  of  the  department  to  which  they  are  submitted . 

The  difficulties  of  a  transferring  student  are  not,  however,  the  vital 
issue.  Home  economics  leaders,  up  to  the  present,  have  been  con- 
cerned in  proving  the  value  of  the  work  as  an  integral  part  in  the  higher 
education  of  women.  Would  not  greater  uniformity  in  requirements 
and  context  of  courses  all  over  the  country  strengthen  still  more  what 
has  already  been  accomplished? 


1920] 


HOME  ECONOMICS  COmSBS  IN  COLLETS 


251 


GErC»VLMAJQQ 


FOOD    MAJOR 


252 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[June 


TtXTILt  MAJOR 


VDCATIOh4AL   LOUCffTIOIN  MAJOl? 


1920]  THE  4SYGIENE  OF  CLOTHING  253 

THE  HYGIENE  OF  CLOTHING 

ZELLA  E.   BIGELOW 
Spmd  AssiskuU  im  Borne  Economics  Educatum^  Federal  Board  for  VoeaUonal  Educaiiom 

From  the  designer  to  the  ultimate  consumer  everyone  who  deals 
with  a  garment  will  agree  that  certain  essential  things  must  be  con- 
sidered in  its  selection.  It  must  be  suitable,  durable,  hygienic,  and 
becoming.  The  teacher  who  deals  with  the  subject  of  dothing  is  con- 
fronted with  the  problem  of  so  presentmg  these  factors  that  the  con- 
sumer is  trained  to  recognize  and  apply  them  in  dothing  herself  and 
her  family. 

The  success  of  the  instruction  in  suitability  of  dothing  is  measured 
by  the  extent  to  which  good  judgment  and  good  taste  are  cteated  and 
devebped  in  the  pupil.  The  responsibility  of  imparting  to  the  student 
an  appreciation  of  becomingness  rests  jointly  with  the  teachers  of 
drawing,  design,  and  dothing  construction.  These  three  subjects 
deal  with  line,  color,  and  proportion,  the  determining  factors  in  an 
artistic  and  becoming  garment. 

The  hygiene  of  dothing  is  a  subject  which  bdongs  to  the  teacher  of 
physiology  and  hygiene,  to  the  phjrsical  director,  and  to  the  teacher  of 
textiles  and  dothing.  It  seems  fair  to  say  that  in  many  dothing  courses, 
with  their  emphasis  on  the  construction  of  dothing,  the  hygienic  phase 
has  been  n^lected.  Now  that  ready-made  dothing  is  more  and  more 
meeting  the  needs  of  women  and  replacing  garments  made  at  home  or 
by  a  dressmaker,  the  sdection  of  dothing,  as  well  as  its  construction,  is 
being  induded  in  dothing  courses,  and  in  these  new  courses  hygiene 
must  be  given  the  place  and  time  due  to  its  importance. 

The  four  most  important  factors  which  determine  the  hygienic  value 
of  a  garment  are:  first,  the  inherent  properties  of  the  fiber  itself;  second, 
the  properties  of  the  woven  material  as  affected  by  its  composition, 
weight,  weave,  finish,  and  color;  third,  the  properties  of  the  garment  as 
affected  by  its  construction;  and,  fourth,  those  factors  which  depend 
iq>on  the  wearer — ^upon  the  age,  occupation,  and  environment. 

PROPERTIES  OP  PIBERS 

From  the  standpoint  of  dothing,  the  following  properties  of  textile 
fibers  are  important  for  the  reasons  given: 


254  THE  JOUHNAI.  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [jUDe 

Absorption.  Clothing  worn  next  the  body  must  take  care  of  the 
secretions  of  the  sweat  glands  and  the  sebaceous  glands. 

Evaporation.  The  moisture  absorbed  by  garments  worn  next  the 
skin  diould  not  be  retained  but  should  be  eliminated  nearly  as  fast  as 
it  is  formed.  Moisture  retained  in  a  garment  makes  it  feel  cold  and 
damp  and  forms  a  heat  conducting  layer  which  may  carry  heat  from 
the  body,  thus  causing  a  dangerous  lowering  of  temperature.  On  the 
other  hand  too  rapid  evaporation  may  also  cause  a  chill. 

Heat  conductivity.  One  function  of  dothing  is  to  help  maintain  the 
body  at  a  constant  temperature.  It  should  not  conduct  heat  too 
rapidly  away  from  the  body,  nor  hinder  too  much  the  radiation  of  body 
heat. 

Elasticity.  This  is  important  for  comfort  and  health.  Freedom  of 
motion  must  be  permitted. 

Tensile  strength.  The  fineness  to  which  a  fiber  can  be  ^un  dq>ends 
partly  upon  its  tensile  strength.  Durability  in  relation  to  the  weight 
and  fineness  of  material  therefore  dq)ends  upon  this  property. 

Weight.  Heavy  clothing  impedes  free  movement  of  the  body,  and 
is  a  burden.  The  weight  is  often  caused  by  material  which  is  so  dose 
and  boardlike  in  texture  as  to  be  unhygienic  from  other  standpoints 
as  well. 

Cleanliness.  The  health  of  the  wearer  and  the  care  of  the  garment 
are  affected  by  the  deanliness  of  the  fiber.  Clothing  should  be  capable 
of  easy  and  thorough  deansing.  There  is  one  spedes  of  louse,  Pedicidus 
vestimentif  which  Uves  on  the  human  body  and  breeds  in  soiled  dothing. 

Affinity  for  dyes  is  important  only  in  outer  dothing,  since  most  doth- 
ing worn  next  the  skin  is  white.  For  outer  dothing,  however,  this 
property  must  be  considered  in  rdation  to  attractiveness,  care,  cost,  and 
length  of  wear.  Stain  removal  is  a  problem  which  hinges  upon  the 
affinity  of  the  fibers  for  dyes. 

Luster  is  a  factor  in  deanliness,  attractiveness,  and  becomingness. 
Lustrous  materials  are  inclined  to  shed  dust  because  the  fibers  of  which 
they  are  made  are  smooth. 

Shrinking  or  felting.  If  the  air  spaces  in  a  material  are  dosed  by 
shrinking  or  fdting,  its  heat  conductivity  is  changed  and  its  hygienic 
value  is  thereby  affected.  The  care  of  a  garment  and  its  laundering 
are  more  difficult  when  it  possesses  this  quality. 

Cost  of  production,  manufacture,  and  transportation  is  a  factor  in 
economy. 


1920] 


THE  HYOIEME  OF  CLOTHING 


255 


The  use  of  the  following  table  is  a  device  by  which  a  comparison 
of  the  hygienic  value  of  the  four  principal  fibers  may  be  roughly  set 
forth.  The  +  and  —  signs  are  used  to  indicate  the  possession  of  a 
property  to  a  desirable  or  undesirable  d^ee,  respectively.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  this  is  a  comparison  of  the  fibers  only,  and  that 
these  properties  may  be  modified  by  difference  in  weaves. 

CompaHsan  of  properties  of  fibers  ^ 


Wool 

SOk 

Cotton . . . 


8 


+ 


3 

■28 


I 


8 


+ 
+ 


+ 


+ 


+ 


1  Cleanliiiess  as  lilted  here  has  a  double  significance.  Cotton  has  very  few  natural  impu- 
rities; though  it  collects  dirt  quickly  it  is  easily  laundered.  Linen  gives  up  its  dirt  easily, 
while  wool  is  difficult  to  dean.  Silk  sheds  dust,  but  demands  careful  handling  in 
cleaning. 

A  study  of  the  table  will  show  which  fibers  have  the  most  hygienic 
properties  and  therefore  might  be  expected  to  make  the  most  healthful 
clothing.  Taking  two  fibers,  such  as  wool  and  cotton  or  wool  and  silk 
and  cancelling  the  +  and  —  signs  will  show  how  the  possession  and  lack 
of  a  given  property  offset  each  other  and  render  a  union  of  the  two 
fibers  very  desirable. 


PROPERTIES  OF  UATE&IAL 

The  study  of  the  fibers  should  be  followed  by  a  consideration  of  the 
hygienic  properties  of  materials.  All  other  factors  being  equal,  mate- 
rials made  from  the  four  fibers  would  exactly  partake  of  the  properties 
inherent  in  the  fibers  themselves  but,  since  materials  differ  in  composi- 
tion, weight,  weave,  finish,  and  color,  it  is  necessary  to  study  the  effects 
of^^each  of  these. 

Composition.  A  combination  of  fibers  in  a  material  is  very  desirable, 
not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  health,  but  of  cost  as  well.  Wool  and 
cotton,  wool  and  silk,  silk  and  cotton,  and  silk  and  linen  are  excellent 
combinations  because  they  combine  and  offset  desirable  and  undesirable 
qualities,  as  is  shown  by  the  table. 


256  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOliE  ECONOMICS  [Junc 

Weight.  The  wei^t  of  the  material  should  be  considered  with  a 
view  to  its  use.  A  motor  coat  may  be  quite  heavy  when  the  same 
weight  worn  for  sports  or  walking  would  be  a  burden.  Weight  also 
governs  the  amotmt  of  material  to  be  used  in  a  garment.  A  voluminous 
skirt  of  heavy  weight  material  would  contribute  considerably  to  fatigue 
on  the  part  of  the  wearer.  Weight  impedes  movement  and  does  not 
necessarily  imply  warmth. 

Weave.  The  weave  must  afford  ventilation  and  the  correct  amotmt 
of  heat  conduction.  An  open  weave  with  air  held  in  its  meshes,  is  a 
poor  heat  conductor.  A  fiber  such  as  cotton  or  linen,  each  of  which 
is  a  good  conductor  of  heat  and  allows  too  rapid  evaporation,  has  these 
bad  qualities  offset  by  an  open  weave.  Silk,  which  loses  moisture 
rapidly,  should  be  of  an  open  mesh  for  the  same  reason  when  worn 
next  the  skin.  Too  open  a  mesh  allows  heat  loss  by  convection.  This 
explains  why  a  sweater  is  not  warm  on  a  windy  day  and  shows  how  the 
use  of  a  garment  should  determine  its  weave. 

Finish.  The  finish  of  cloth  affects  its  hygienic  properties.  A  napped 
cotton  material  has  a  disadvantage  in  its  inflammability,  but  an  advan- 
tage in  the  warmth  imparted  to  it  by  the  air  enmeshed  in  the  nap. 
Highly  bleached,  sized,  or  weighted  fabrics  lose  some  of  the  most  valu- 
able properties  of  the  fibers  in  the  processes  they  tmdergo  in  being 
converted  into  cloth.  The  strength  of  the  fiber,  particularly,  is  im- 
paired, as  in  the  case  of  bleached  Unen  and  weighted  silk.  A  smooth, 
shiny  fabric  like  silk  or  linen  sheds  dust  better  than  does  the  lusterless 
wool  or  cotton. 

Waterproofing  is  one  of  the  valuable  finishes  from  a  hygienic  stand- 
point. Waterproof  material  should  be  chosen  for  outside  garments 
used  for  protection  against  rain  but  not  for  any  other  purpose,  since  its 
very  imperviousness  becomes  a  disadvantage.  Fireproofing  is  another 
finish  for  materials.  While  fireproofed  materials  are  not  in  common 
use  for  clothing,  they  can  be  procured  and  have  some  practical  value. 

Color.  When  we  think  of  color  in  relation  to  clothes  we  think  of  its 
becomingness,  but  color  has  another  important,  if  less  obvious,  function 
as  regards  clothing.  It  has  the  power  of  concentrating,  absorbing,  or 
reflecting  the  sun's  rays,  thus  affecting  the  temperature  of  the  body. 
This  is  of  especial  importance  in  hot  climates.  Some  colors  are  warm 
while  others  are  cool.  White  and  green  afford  protection  from  the 
sun's  rays,  while  red,  orange,  and   black   seem  to  concentrate  them. 


1920]  THE  HYGIENE  OF  CLOTHING  257 

Orange  is  a  valuable  color  for  a  lining,  however,  because  it  cuts  off 
certain  light  rays  which  have  a  harmful  effect  upon  the  body.  Such  a 
precaution  is  not  necessary  in  a  temperate  climate  but  is  of  great 
importance  in  the  tropics.  There  is  another  phase  of  the  question  of 
color  which  is  important  and  which  offers  a  possible  danger  to  guard 
against.  Some  dyes  are  actually  poisonous,  as  b  instanced  by  cases 
where  the  wearing  of  black  stockings  or  dyed  shoes  has  caused  infec- 
tions. Such  injurious  dyes  are  more  frequently  found  in  cheap  articles 
than  in  those  of  better  quality. 

PROPERTIES  OF  THE  GARMENT 

The  garment  itself  is  hygienic  or  unhygienic,  depending  upon  its 
design  and  fit. 

Design.  The  weight  of  the  garment  should  be  evenly  distributed 
and  should  fall  on  the  proper  supports,  the  shoulders.  For  this  purpose 
the  value  of  the  one-piece  garment  is  obvious.  There  should  be  no  re- 
striction of  movement,  either  at  the  shoulders,  elbows,  waist,  neck,  or 
ankles.  The  garment  should  allow  entire  freedom  of  motion  and  should 
be  so  simple  that  the  wearer  is  unconscious  of  it. 

FU.  The  fit  of  the  garment  must  be  neither  so  ti^t  that  it  restricts 
movement,  so  loose  that  it  is  unwieldy,  nor  so  poor  that  it  puts  a  strain 
on  any  part  of  the  body. 

Manufacture.  There  is  a  factor  that  pertains  to  the  choice  of  a  ready- 
made  garment,  which  cannot  be  ignored  by  the  conscientious  consumer — 
the  conditions  under  which  the  garment  was  made.  Were  they  healthful? 
Did  the  persons,  probably  women,  who  made  the  garment,  labor  under 
conditions  that  the  wearer  would  be  willing  to  endure?  The  purchaser 
should  be  acquainted  with  these  conditions  in  order  to  protect  the 
health  and  comfort  of  the  great  numbers  of  women  workers  on  ready- 
to-wear  clothing. 

THE    WEARER 

The  fourth  consideration  in  the  selection  of  clothing,  keeping  in  mind 
its  hygienic  value,  is  the  wearer.  Age,  health,  occupation,  and  environ- 
ment must  control  the  choice  of  garments. 

Age  and  heaUh.  Yotmg  children  have  a  larger  body  surface  in  pro- 
portion to  their  weight  than  adults,  and  consequently  a  greater  loss  of 


258  THE  jonsNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  Qune 

heat.  They  are  more  active  than  most  adults,  and  create  more  heat  by 
exercise.  Older  people  and  invalids,  for  different  reasons,  have  practi- 
cally the  same  needs  as  the  very  young,  and  should  wear  wool  or  such 
combioations  of  wool  with  other  fibres  as  will  keep  them  warm  and  dry. 

OccupaHon  and  ermranmeni.  A  sedentary  and  an  active  occupation 
make  different  demands.  Indoor  and  outdoor  work  require  different 
kinds  of  clothing.  Shelter  and  eaqposure  during  work  or  going  to  woik 
need  consideration.  An  occupation  which  requires  muscular  activity 
calls  for  under  clothing  with  greater  power  of  absorption  than  does  a 
sedentary  occupation.  Heating  facilities  in  office  or  home  and  the 
humidity  of  the  atmosphere  affect  the  choice  of  clothing.  In  a  humid 
atmosphere  evaporation  of  moisture  from  the  body  is  slow  and  must 
not  be  further  decreased  by  an  unwise  choice  of  clothing.  In  a  dry 
atmosphere  evaporation  is  rapid  and  clothing  that  retards  evq)oration 
should  be  selected.  These  same  things  are  applicable  to  the  question 
of  the  relation  of  climate  to  clothing. 

It  will  be  seen  that  few  absolute  statements  can  be  made  regarding 
any  one  fiber,  material,  or  garment  for  all  wearers,  since  all  the  factors 
are  interdependent.  After  studying  these  factors,  however,  it  b  pos- 
sible to  make  application  of  them  to  any  particular  case  and  in  that 
way  to  intelligently  select  a  hygienic  wardrobe. 


PERSONAL  QUERIES  ON  HOME  ECONOMICS  WORK^ 

KOGER   L.   TOTTEN 
Su^erintefidemt  ef  SckoolSf  Harrmgiont  Diiawar$ 

SOaOLOGICALLY  CONSmERED 

How  does  vocational  home  economics  now  function  in  my  school, 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  teaching  how  to  bring  up  children  better? 
How  can  I  make  it  more  generally  useful  in  that  direction? 

^  A  list  of  questions  submitted  to  recall  the  general  values  in  home  economics  education, 
and  to  show  what  results  may  be  in  the  mind  of  superintendents  as  desirable. 

Summaiy  of  an  address  and  discussion  at  a  meeting  of  the  Home  Economics  Instnictois 
of  the  State  of  Delaware,  March,  1920. 


1920]  PBRSONAL  QUEIOES  ON  HOME  ECONOMICS  WOSZ  259 

EGONOiaCAIXY  GONSIDEHED 

Am  I  building  upon  existing  economic  foundations,  or  am  I  pre- 
supposing different  ones? 

Am  I  teaching  each  girl  how  to  derive  the  maximum  use  primarily 
from  that  equipment  which  will  be  hers  to  use? 

Am  I  insisting  upon  a  material  condition  which  is  desirable  but  hmnanly 
impossible  in  the  future  homes  of  any  students? 

Am  I  teaching  how  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  by  true  economy, 
leading  to  better  equipment  and  conditions? 

PEDAGOGICALLY  CONSIDESED 

Do  I  give  opportunity  and  aid  in  developing  basic  manipulative  skills? 

Does  my  laboratory  work  develop  basic  skills? 

Am  I  maintaining  a  just  balance  between  skills,  related  technical 
knowledge,  and  related  cultural  knowledge? 

Is  technical  knowledge  accompanied  by  or  preceded  by  related  skills? 

Do  I  build  on  home  apprenticeship  and  tmdirected  experience  in 
developing  skills,  or  do  I  ignore  them? 

Do  I  capitalize  the  strongest  incentives,  discover  the  most  appealing 
motivation,  and  arrange  the  work  accordingly? 

Do  I  make  effective  use  of  the  home  as  a  cooperative  agency? 

Do  I  use  "home  projects"  to  the  best  advantage? 

Does  my  course  actually  prepare  for  immediate  practice  of  the  voca- 
tion, without  further  apprenticeship  of  any  sort?    Can  I  make  it  do  so? 

SOCIALLY  AND  CULTURALLY  CONSIDEEED 

Do  I  admit  opposition  between  "cultural"  and  "vocational"  educa- 
tion? If  not,  do  I  see  to  it  that  all  elements  of  a  liberal  education  are 
included  in  my  course? 

Do  I  use  cooperative  projects  for  their  social  value? 

Is  my  course  really  developing  "taste"? 

Am  I  using  pictures,  discussions,  readings,  and  other  agencies  to 
make  the  home  a  central  power  plant  from  which  social  energy  and 
increase  of  culture  emanate? 

Am  I  developing  high  ideals  of  homemaking  and  of  character  ? 

Is  my  course  producing  enriched  personalities,  capable  of  enriching 
others? 


260  THE  J017SNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOIOCS  IJune 

SHOP  METHODS  IN  THE  SEWING  LABORATORY:  AN 

EXPERIMENT 

inUJCENT  M.  COSS 
Director  of  Clothing  and  TexHies,  State  Normal  Sckoolf  Framingham^  Massachusetts. 

The  present  emphasis  on  vocational  training  has  made  many  home 
economics  teachers  stop  and  think,  ''How  can  we  make  our  teaching  of 
the  household  arts  ftmction  most  fully?  What  suggestions  can  we 
gain  from  business  methods?" 

Obviously  a  business  organization  must  prove  of  economic  value  or  it 
fails  to  succeed.  When  we  had  seen,  through  direct  contact,  the  work- 
ing organization  of  a  shop  for  making  clothing,  we  asked  ourselves  the 
question,  What  are  the  dements  of  a  shop  that  turns  out  sunilaT  pro- 
ducts to  those  of  our  home  economics  classes,  which  can  be  trans- 
ferred or  adapted  to  our  school  life? 

Three  weeks  of  the  tenn  remained  for  a  dass  of  thirty  senior  students 
in  dressmaking.  Throughout  the  three-year  course  all  of  the  products 
of  the  class  had  been  planned  for  and  executed  by  the  students  for 
themsdves;  the  materials  had  been  bought  by  them  and  the  completed 
artides  used  by  them.  Chir  desire  now  was  to  plan  a  project  which 
should  be  stimulating,  impersonal,  and  oiganized  on  a  trade  basis 
with  necessary  class-room  modifications. 

Here  is  the  story  of  our  experiment. 

The  teacher  became  the  director  of  a  large  work  room  where  dresses 
with  individuality  were  made  for  girls  from  two  to  fourteen  years  of 
age.  The  dass  was  divided  into  working  units  with  a  forewoman  and 
three  assistants  in  each  group.  The  forewoman  was  responsible  to  the 
director  for  the  making  of  a  child's  gingham  dress  with  the  greatest 
speed  compatible  with  good  workmanship.  The  director  bought  the 
materials  at  wholesale,  planned  the  dress  with  the  forewoman  and 
supervised  her  cutting  of  it  by  a  paper  pattern.  The  forewoman  gave 
out  the  material  to  her  assistants,  telling  them  what  to  do;  managed 
the  work  so  that  there  should  be  no  loss  of  time  through  idleness;  con- 
sulted with  the  director  if  any  question  arose  as  to  design  or  method; 
kept  an  accurate  account  of  all  the  materials  used,  with  thdr  cost; 
kept  the  time  sheet  of  her  group,  each  worker  reporting  to  her  at  the 
dass  period  any  "overtime." 


1920] 


SHOP  METHODS  IN  THE   SEWING  lABORATORY 


261 


Each  student,  was  rated,  potentially,  at  a  fixed  wage.  A  forewoman's 
rating  was  $18  per  week,  an  assistant's  was  $15.  Oveitime  was  paid  for 
at  the  same  rate  as  class  time.  There  were  six  three-hour  periods  and 
two  one-hour  periods  of  class  time  each  week. 

When  one  dress  was  so  nearly  finished  that  there  was  not  enough 
work  on  it  to  keep  the  group  occupied,  a  di£ferdnt  forewoman  was 
selected  from  the  group,  a  second  dress  planned  and  cut  and  a  new 
record  kept,  giving  to  each  student  the  additional  problem  of  keeping 
separate  the  time  spent  on  the  first  dress  and  on  the  second.  When 
there  remained  but  two  lessons  the  girls  were  urged  to  '^  speed  up"  as  the 
shop  was  dosing  for  vacation  and  no  tmfinished  work  should  be  left 
and  more  "overtime"  was  cheerfully  given. 

The  following  is  a  sample  order  sheet. 

Tas  F.  N.  S.  Childun's  Saop 


Age  6  yean 

Date  of  Sale,  Jaauaiy  21, 1919 


Model  No.  1500 
Date  of  Older,  January  5, 1919 

Woiken:    Mias Forewoman 

Misses Assistants 

Article:  Qiild's  Gingham  Dress,  green  and  white  check  with  plain  green  trimming. 
Cost: 


ItOOl 


Checked  Gin^^iam 
Plain  Gingham... 

Edging 

Butttilia 

Snaps 

Thread  No. 90.... 
Basting  thread  . . . 


Amount 


2yds. 

1yd. 

4  yds. 

8 

7 

1  spool 

}qx>ol 


Cost 


<0.50 
.30 
.16} 
.12 
.03 
.05 
.03 


LABOa 


Honn  at  10.285 


3 

21 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 


Houn  at  10.423 


Cost  of  material 9  1.20 

Cost  of  labor 9.74 

Total  cost  of  garment 10.94 

Selling  price 4.00 

Profit  on  materials 2 .  80 


At  the  end  of  three  weeks,  there  were  on  hand  sixteen  well-made, 
exceedingly  attractive  children's  dresses.  A  price,  allowing  a  profit, 
was  then  fixed  on  each  garment  and  the  students,  who  were  given  the 


262  THE  jouHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

first  opportunity  to  buy,  purchased  several  of  the  dresses.  To  dispose 
of  the  remainder,  one  comer  of  the  room  was  arranged  as  a  '' Children's 
Shop"  at  the  semi-annual  exhibition  of  the  Clothii^  and  Textiles  De- 
partment which  was  held  at  this  time,  and  the  dresses  were  placed  on 
sale.    It  proved  to  be  the  most  popular  part  of  the  exhibition. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  cost  of  materiab  was  low,  due  to  wholesale 
buying;  that  the  selling  price  does  not  take  into  account  the  cost  of 
labor,  because  no  actual  wages  were  paid,  but  that  the  total  cost  includ- 
ing labor  was  estimated.  This  seemed  legitimate  since  our  project  was 
primarily  educational.  It  was  voted  by  the  dass  that  the  profits  should 
be  used  to  buy  'luxuries"  in  the  equipment  of  the  department. 

One  of  the  satisfying  results  of  the  whole  experiment  was  the  splendid 
spirit  manifested  throughout.  The  forewomen,  who  were  in  the  first 
place  chosen  on  a  scholarship  basis,  showed  for  the  most  part  initiative, 
executive  ability,  accuracy,  and  good  judgment.  The  assistants  did 
willingly  such  parts  of  the  work  as  were  assigned  to  them.  Had  there 
been  su£Eicient  time,  the  various  members  of  the  groups  would  have 
served  as  forewomen,  in  turn,  in  order  to  test  the  executive  ability  of 
each,  but  a  longer  experiment  might  possibly  have  resulted  in  loss  of 
interest   - 

By  this  experiment  we  tested  to  our  satisfaction  a  new  method  of 
approach  in  our  teaching  of  dressmaking:  we  learned  that  the  students 
were  capable  of  good  ''team  work;"  that  their  interest  can  be  main- 
tained when  the  product  is  not  for  themselves.  We  demonstrated  the 
importance  of  the  ''time  element"  in  reckoning  the  cost  of  good  work- 
manship. We  taught  the  students,  in  a  realistic  way,  how  to  apply 
their  knowledge  of  sewing  to  the  making  of  attractive  but  inexpensive 
dresses  for  children — ^an  important  part  of  their  training  whether  their 
vocation  be  teaching  or  homemaking. 


•  ^  • 

I 

I 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

PUBLIC  KITCHENS^ 

It  has  been  taken  for  granted  that  the  food  of  the  moderate  mcome 
family  will  be  prepared  at  home.  In  rural  regions  this  must  be  the  case 
because  dwellings  are  too  far  apart  to  allow  of  service  from  outside;  in 
villages,  cooked  food  would  be  confined  to  what  is  furnished  by  bakeries, 
but  in  cities  it  is  possible  for  the  home  table  to  be  served  with  hot  meals 
cooked  in  some  central  place.  Restaurants  have  always  furnished  such 
service  in  a  small  way,  but  to  serve  hot  meals  on  a  large  scale  to  families 
who  will  pay  but  a  small  advance  over  the  cost  of  materials  requires 
special  codperation  and  management.  The  Public  Kitchen,  much 
discussed,  often  tried,  has  special  problems  which  have  not  yet  been 
solved  in  this  country. 

Public  kUchens  in  Europe.  All  European  countries  have  their  special 
type  of  self-supporting  public  kitchen  in  the  large  cities,  where  standard 
dishes  are  sold  at  very  near  cost  prices  to  be  eaten  on  the  premises  or 
carried  home.  Such  kitchens  became  of  great  importance  during  the 
late  war  when  food  was  to  be  conserved  and  when  wives  and  mothers 
were  away  from  home  in  war  work  and  their  time  and  energy  were  not 
available  for  home  buying  and  cooking.  Sheer  necessity  was  back  of 
the  public  kitchen  in  all  of  the  large  foreign  cities;  those  already  existing 
increased  their  equipment,  and  new  ones  were  started,  financed  by 
public  funds.  It  has  always  been  the  case  in  Europe  that,  when  food  is 
scarce  and  high,  as  in  time  of  war  or  other  great  calamity,  and  the 
home  as  a  manufactory  of  cooked  food  breaks  down,  there  is  seen  a 
tendency  toward  mass  feeding  for  the  civilian  population  as  well  as  for 
the  army,  and  for  similar  reasons.  Food  can  be  purchased  more  cheaply 
in  ^olesale  quantities  and  there  is  the  least  possible  waste  in  the  prq>ara- 
tion  of  the  food,  it  being  directed  by  trained  people. 

English  public  kitchens  in  war  Ume.  In  London  in  1917  public  kitch- 
ens were  started  on  a  large  scale.  In  1918  one  thousand  municipal 
kitchens  were  in  operation  in  England. 

>  Put  of  a  chapter  in  Successful  Family  Ldfe  on  the  Moderate  Income.  By  Maiy  Hinman 
AbeL    J.  B.  Lqipincott  Company,  Philadelphia  (forthcoming). 

263 


264  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Jtine 

The  following  calculations  of  savings  for  a  million  families  were  made 
on  the  basis  of  a  London  kitchen  which  supplied  daily  150  families,  or 
on  an  average  450  to  500  individuals.*  The  cost  of  fuel  in  the  imiver- 
sally  used  form  of  gas  by  the  slot  system  was  found  to  average  two 
shillings  per  week  per  f amily,  while  gas  fuel  used  in  the  public  kitchen 
averaged  two  pence  per  family  for  the  same  amotmt  of  cooking.  The 
saving  was  somewhat  less  if  comparison  is  made  with  coal.  A  saving  in 
food  was  effected,  first,  by  buying  at  wholesale  by  trained  and  experi- 
enced people  who  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  market  and  were 
informed  twenty-four  hours  in  advance  as  to  what  foods  were  expected 
to  come  into  the  dty.  The  cost  of  ^'many  thousand  tons  of  food''  was 
thus  saved.  Second,  by  saving  the  waste  that  goes  on  in  private  kitch- 
ens where  many  small  utensils  are  in  use  to  which  particles  of  food 
adhere  in  the  processes  of  cooking.  This  waste  was  calculated  as 
amotmting  to  }  to  J  otmces  per  person  per  day,  or  7000  tons  yearly  for 
a  million  families  in  cereals  alone,  while  15  per  cent  loss  in  meat  was 
calculated  in  private  families  as  compared  with  better  methods  of  cook- 
ing and  serving  in  the  public  kitchen. 

Such  computations  based  on  actual  experience  on  a  large  scale  are 
very  valuable  and  can  be  utilized  in  any  time  of  need  when  saving  must 
be  effected  for  large  numbers. 

Public  kUchens  in  the  United  States.  Circumstances  have  not  required 
mass  feeding  on  a  large  scale  in  this  country  although  during  the  war 
educational  kitchens,  for  demonstration  of  food  conservation,  and  can- 
ning and  drying  kitchens  were  used  in  large  numbers. 

The  type  of  public  kitchen  which  is  of  special  interest  to  the  woman 
of  the  household  is  that  which  sells  cooked  food  for  home  use;  in  its 
perfected  form  it  delivers  at  the  home  the  entire  meal.  Urged  by  the 
scarcity  of  household  service,  groups  of  householders  have  in  a  number 
of  instances  attempted  to  start  such  kitchens,  not  for  the  poor,  as  in 
Europe,  but  for  the  well-to-do.  They  are  generally  called  Community 
Kitchens. 

In  the  report'  of  a  valuable  study,  made  by  the  Woman's  Committee 
of  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  in  1918,  on  all  kinds  of  public  kitch- 
ens, this  type  was  described  with  the  final  conclusion  as  follows: 

'  Report  made  by  Mrs.  Earl,  June,  1917. 

*  Agencies  for  the  Sale  of  Cooked  Foods  without  Profit.  A  survey  of  their  development 
with  particular  reference  to  their  social  and  economic  ^ect.  Govenmient  Printing  Office. 
Washington,  D.  C. 


1920]  PX7BIIC  KITCHENS  265 

''In  America  there  is  at  present  nothing  encouraging  to  the  enthusiast 
on  communal  cooking.  The  causes  for  failure  in  the  past  .... 
(are)  practically  the  same  as  those  for  the  failure  of  most  cooperative 
enterprises  in  this  country — the  unwillingness  of  Americans  to  submit 
long  to  the  restraints  which  cooperation  requires;  and  a  lack  of  leaders 
who  combine  adequate  ability  in  planning,  buying,  cooking,  and  serving 
food  with  general  administrative  experience." 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  considerable  number  of  community 
kitchens  run  on  the  cooperative  basis  that  have  been  started  in  this 
country  in  the  last  thirty  years  have  had  an  interesting  but  in  most 
cases  a  brief  history.  The  most  enduring  was  also  the  earliest,  the 
New  England  Kitchen,  started  in  1890  in  Boston,  ''to  determine  the 
successful  conditions  of  preparing  by  scientific  methods  from  the  cheaper 
food  materials  nutritious  and  palatable  dishes  which  should  find  a  ready 
demand  at  paying  prices/'  It  had  ample  funds  for  experiment  and  the 
best  of  scientific  backing,  but  its  success  as  a  business  was  determined 
not  by  the  market  furnished  by  households  but  by  the  demand  of  schools. 
Since  1917  it  has  furnished  lunches  to  the  public  schools  of  Boston 
under  the  management  of  the  Woman's  Industrial  and  Educational 
Union. 

The  fuiure  of  the  communUy  kiichen.  Notwithstanding  the  negative 
results  in  former  experiments  there  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
certain  changes  which  have  come  about  in  recent  years  will  yet  enable  a 
good  type  of  community  kitchen  to  succeed.    Those  changes  are: 

First,  the  high  price  and  scarcity  of  hired  labor  in  the  individual 
household. 

Second,  the  high  price  of  food  which  places  emphasis  on  the  saving 
to  be  effected  by  wholesale  buying  in  the  hands  of  trained  and  experi- 
enced people. 

Third,  the  improvement  in  team  work  and  the  develcqunent  of  leader- 
ship among  women,  largely  through  their  experience  in  war  work. 

Fourth,  a  growing  intelligence  as  to  the  importance  of  well  chosen 
and  well  cooked  food  and  a  greater  value  put  on  the  work  of  trained 
dietitians  and  cooks  such  as  would  preside  over  such  kitchens. 

Fifth,  the  perfecting  of  insulated  ccmtainers  for  hot  delivery  and  also 
rapid  automobile  service.  Neither  of  these  were  available  for  the 
earlier  type  of  community  kitchen. 

Here  would  seem  to  be  the  foundations  for  a  successful  business,  but 
difficulties  are  also  to  be  faced. 


266  THE  JOUHNAL  OF  HOICE  ECONOMICS  [June 

The  chief  difficulty  is  found  in  suiting  the  individual  patron  who 
can  be  allowed  but  limited  choice  as  to  his  food,  unless  the  price  of 
service  is  to  be  greatly  increased.  It  must  be  remembered  that  to 
gratify  this  desire  for  personal  choice  the  restaurants  and  hoteb  offer 
a  long  menu  card;  to  meet  it  in  the  family,  the  housewife  makes  a  study 
of  the  likes  and  dislikes  of  its  members. 

The  second  difficulty  is  in  business  management.  Women  are  apt 
to  undertake  such  work  without  sufficient  training,  and  frequently  do 
not  call  in  the  experienced  person  until  matters  have  become  desperate. 
Trained  people  must  be  employed  from  the  first. 

The  requirements  for  success  would  seem  to  be,  in  addition  to  the 
aU-important  fact  that  experienced  people  must  be  in  command  and 
be  given  full  authority: 

First,  sufficient  capital  to  equip  and  also  to  sustain  a  kitchen  for  a 
long  enough  time  to  carry  out  the  initial  experiments  in  what  must 
be  recognized  as  a  new  field. 

Second,  standard  dishes  and  combinations  must  be  perfected  so  as  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  nutrition  and  of  palatability  for  the  average 
taste. 

Third,  the  tastes  and  requirements  of  the  locality  must  be  studied  and 
met.  This  may  be  done  gradually  by  encouraging  suggestion  and 
criticism  of  the  meals  served. 

Fourth,  the  probable  number  of  patrons  must  be  ascertained  in  some 
way  as  a  basis  for  the  business,  and  the  price  of  meals  must  be  such 
as  will  compete  successfully  with  home  cooking.  To  convince  the 
housewife  that  she  can  afford  the  dinners  served  by  the  kitchen  may 
require  work  on  the  part  of  the  publicity  committee  in  the  way  of  cal- 
culating for  her  the  cost  of  the  home  cooked  dinner,  giving  proper  value 
to  the  different  factors  of:  food  bought  at  retail  prices;  time  used  in 
buying  as  weU  as  in  preparing  and  serving  the  food;  fuel  used;  and  wear 
and  tear  on  equqmient. 

There  may  exist  a  great  need  of  the  Community  Kitchen  in  any  given 
locality  and  yet  it  will  wait  long  for  success  unless  it  can  convince  the 
householder  that  it  will  give  her  a  better  value  for  her  mon^  than 
she  can  herself  obtain  by  home  methods. 

It  is  this  fourth  requirement,  the  study  of  the  possible  patron,  which 
may  prove  to  be  the  most  important  of  all  these  factors  in  success,  for 
it  will  show  the  managers  of  a  commimity  kitchen  what  is  their  real 
rival,  not  some  boarding  house,  restaurant,  or  hotel,  but  the  housewife 
herself.    Until  the  value  of  the  housewife's  labor  in  buying  and  cook- 


1920]  PUBUC  KITCHENS  267 

ing  the  food  for  the  family  is  rightly  estimated  and  until  other  ways  of 
employing  her  time  in  lucrative  work  are  provided,  community  kitchens 
may  continue  to  fail,  even  though  they  have  learned  to  furnish 
excellent  food  at  reasonable  prices,  because  enough  patronage  has  not 
been  found. 

The  economic  cofUribuHon  of  ihe  housewife.  In  America  the  public  in 
general  has  never  seriously  considered  the  economic  value  of  the  house- 
wife's contribution  to  the  family  welfare,  except  in  the  case  of  the  poor. 
It  is  accepted  that  the  man  who  earns  the  lower  grades  of  income  can 
bring  in  only  enough  for  rent  and  the  raw  materials  of  living.  The 
woman  of  the  family  must  keep  the  house,  care  for  the  children,  make, 
mend,  and  launder  the  clothes  and  cook  the  food.  The  money  value  of 
these  services  is  her  necessary  contribution  to  the  income,  and  its  value 
has  been  estimated  in  the  case  of  the  working  man's  family  at  not  less 
than  $800  a  year;  without  it  the  home  of  this  grade  cannot  exist.  That 
is,  if  the  working  man  in  question  earns  a  thousand  dollars  a  year,  the 
wife's  contribution  may  rai4e  the  actual  family  income  to  $1800. 

To  the  family  whose  income  is  $2000  to  $3000,  the  contribution  of 
the  housewife  in  the  form  of  services  that  have  money  value  continues 
to  be  as  necessary  as  in  the  case  of  the  laborer's  wife,  for  as  the  income 
rises,  so  also  does  the  standard  of  living,  and  it  cannot  be  compassed  on 
the  earnings  of  the  man  alone.  Under  the  conditions  and  prices  that 
prevail  in  1920  the  most  feasible  way  for  this  woman  to  make  her  con- 
tribution is  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  woman  possessing  the  lower 
income,  that  is,  through  buying  and  managing  for  the  household  and  in 
doing  most  of  the  work.  She  says  she  cannot  afford  any  form  of  public 
cooking  whose  charges  are  much  beyond  the  price  of  raw  materials, 
because  she  can  ''work  in"  the  buying  of  the  food  and  the  cooking  of 
the  dinner  along  with  her  other  duties. 

If  the  size  of  her  family  or  the  state  of  her  health  forbids  the  doing 
of  all  her  work  she  is  less  apt  to  turn  to  a  Cooked  Food  Service  for  relief 
than  to  employ  a  woman  by  the  day  for  laundry  and  cleaning. 

The  famiUes  whose  incomes  are  $3000  to  $4000  and  upward  are  those 
most  wpt  to  use  the  commimity  kitchen. 

Families  of  five  living  on  this  grade  of  income  are  able  to  employ  the 
resident  maid,  whose  complete  cost  is  now  nearly  $1000  a  year,  but 
frequently  this  maid  cannot  be  found  and  in  the  emergencies  that  arise 
is  the  chance  of  the  community  kitchen.  The  kitchen  will  also  be  in 
demand  to  furnish  the  main  meal  of  the  day  for  the  smaller  family 
groups  that  are  doing  Ught  housekeeping. 


268  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Jtine 

Only  by  trial  will  it  be  ascertained  whether  the  patronage  from  the 
above  groups  will  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  kitchen  going  on  a  paying 
basis,  and  also  what  advance  over  the  cost  of  the  raw  materials  these 
patrons  will  pay.  It  is  known  that  the  price  of  the  finished  dish  may  be 
from  two  to  ten  times  the  cost  of  the  raw  materials,  according  to  the 
quality  of  the  cooking  and  the  grade  of  service.  For  instance,  in  a 
college  dining  room  with  a  regular  daily  attendance  of  300  the  price  of 
the  meal  may  not  be  more  than  twice  the  cost  of  the  material.  In  hoteb 
and  restaurants  of  various  grades  the  higher  proportions  prevail  to  cover 
higher  overhead  and  profits. 

It  may  be  that  in  order  to  reach  success  a  conmumity  kitchen  must  in 
some  way  obtain  the  patronage  of  the  large  number  of  families  having 
less  than  a  $3000  income,  in  which  families,  as  we  have  said,  the  house- 
wife must  save  the  difference  between  the  cost  of  the  raw  food  material 
and  the  price  of  the  delivered  meal  as  part  of  her  contribution  to  the 
income.  It  would  seem  that  this  patronage  is  only  to  be  gained  by 
helping  the  hoiisewife  to  make  her  absolutely  necessary  contribution 
in  new  ways  that  will  equal  the  value  of  her  services  as  cook. 

An  organization  along  cooperative  Unes  might  furnish  her  part  time 
jobs  outside  her  home,  while  at  the  same  time  arranging  on  better 
lines  some  of  her  present  duties,  as,  for  instance,  by  starting  a  creche 
for  the  care  of  little  children  for  a  few  hours  of  the  day,  like  the  one 
which  has  been  started  by  the  families  of  the  faculty  of  the  University 
of  Chicago,^  which  would  enable  her  to  leave  her  home  for  certain  hours. 

A  close  study  of  the  various  occupations  that  make  up  housework 
may  show  that  the  services  rendered  by  the  housewife  are  so  interrelated 
that  it  is  difficult  to  lift  out  any  one  or  two  of  them  without  reference  to 
the  rest,  and  the  success  of  the  commimity  kitchen  may  be  found  to 
lie  in  making  it  an  integral  part  of  a  large  plan  of  service  to  the  house- 
hold. A  plan,  which  would  include  not  only  the  latmdry,  and  the 
furnishing  of  all  kinds  of  housework  by  the  day  and  hour,  but  also  an 
'^exchange''  which  would  take  into  account  the  economic  relation  of 
the  housewife  to  the  family  income,  by  furnishing  lucrative  employment 
for  a  part  of  her  day,  is  yet  to  be  tried. 

There  is  great  need  of  actual  e]q>eriment  along  all  of  these  lines,  and 
those  groups  of  women  who  are  undertaking  the  solution  of  any  depart- 
ment of  household  service  are  conferring  a  great  favor  on  the  com- 
munity.   It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  definition  of  success 

*  A  Codperative  Nuneiy,  Journal  of  Home  Economics,  Feb.  1920. 


1920]  PUBUC  KITCHEKS  269 

in  such  a  case  is  not  that  which  would  be  used  for  a  business  enter- 
prise, but  rather  that  of  the  escperimental  scientist  whose  aim  is 
the  establishment  of  facts.  If  the  aim  is  clearly  held,  the  procedure 
well  outlined,  records  carefully  kept,  and  conclusions  truthfully  drawn, 
failure  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word  is  impossible,  for  every  experiment 
of  the  kind  enlarges  our  basis  of  fact  and  brings  success  nearer. 

UndemulriHon  and  public  cooking.  There  is  another  reason,  and  a 
very  important  one,  for  the  establishment  of  the  public  kitchen  on  the 
brcMd  lines  that  have  been  successful  in  Europe.  Recent  advances  in 
scientific  knowledge  of  food  and  nutrition  have  revealed  new  causes  for 
diseased  conditions  of  the  human  being  and  many  of  them  are  traced 
to  wrong  food;  therefore  the  choice  and  preparation  of  food  from  a 
nutritional  standpoint  has  become  a  serious  matter,  especially  for 
the  dty  dweller  of  small  means. 

Investigation  has  always  shown  a  great  deal  of  malnutrition  among 
the  poorer  and  more  ignorant  part  of  our  population;  it  is  the  children 
who  suffer  most  in  health  and  development  and  the  recognition  of  this 
fact  has  led  to  the  provision  of  the  school  lunch  for  thousands  of  children 
ini  our  great  cities. 

.  Commercial  enterprises  can  not  be  trusted  to  meet  this  need;  the  pro- 
duct of  the  low  grade  delicatessen  shop  is  costly,  considering  its  quality, 
and  frequently  it  is  quite  unfit  from  a  sanitary  point  of  view. 

It  may  well  be  that  there  is  a  place  in  our  great  cities  for  the  com- 
munity kitchen  as  a  purveyor  of  what  people  ought  to  eat  if  the  food 
can  be  served  at  cost  prices  and  meet  the  popular  taste.  It  may  work 
great  changes  in  domestic  conditions,  especially  in  the  home  where  there 
is  too  often  neither  the  knowledge  nor  the  equipment  for  cooking. 

The  platform  of  the  woman's  party  in  England  called  for  communal 
kitchens  "to  economize  food  and  labor  and  to  provide  the  best  food 
cooked  in  the  most  skillful  way  and  sold  at  the  lowest  pirces."  In 
England  great  efforts  are  being  made  to  keep  up  the  kitchens  that  were 
indispensable  during  the  war. 

For  every  grade  of  family  a  community  kitchen  run  in  the  interest 
of  the  public,  perhaps  as  an  adjunct  of  the  Department  of  Health  and 
presided  over  by  trained  dietitians,  would  be  of  the  greatest  service. 
There  the  main  dish  of  the  meal  could  be  purchased  in  quantities  esti- 
mated to  furnish  full  nutrition  for  the  family  with  the  proper  number  of 
calories  and  drawn  from  the  right  sources  to  make  a  balanced  menu. 
Such  a  dish  or  dishes  would  meet  nutritional  requirements  making  it 
safe  for  the  family  to  spend  the  rest  of  their  food  money  with  a  clear 
conscience  on  some  preferred  accessories. 


270  THE  J0X7XNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

THE  HOUSEHOLD  BUDGET 

SARAH  J.  MACLEOD 
Sw^ity  for  Savings,  O^odamd,  Ohio 

The  use  of  the  budget  in  the  home  is  slowly  gaining  favor  among 
housekeepers,  but  a  large  number  of  women  still  meet  the  words 
budgets  and  accounts  with  one  of  these  comments:  '^My  income  is  so 
small  that  I  couldn't  do  any  differently  with  it  anyway/'  or  "Well|  I 
have  a  good  sized  income  so  why  should  I  bother  with  a  budget?" 

An  answer  to  these  arguments  is  that  a  budget  is  simply  a  pattern  for 
one's  spending  and  it  bears  the  same  relationship  to  the  income  as  a 
paper  pattern  does  to  the  material  out  of  which  a  dress  is  to  be  made. 
If  one  has  a  small  amount  of  goods,  she  adjusts  her  pattern  and  plans 
most  carefully  in  order  to  get  the  essential  parts  of  the  garment  out  of 
the  material.  The  same  holds  true  in  regard  to  the  small  income;  if 
the  spending  is  planned  carefully,  the  chances  are  that  one  will  obtain 
better  food,  clothing,  and  shelter  than  she  would  otherwise.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  one  were  making  a  gown  of  very  nice  material,  she  would 
be  most  careful  in  adjusting  her  pattern  because  she  would  want  the 
best  effect  possible,  and  the  same  principle  is  applicable  in  using  a 
larger  income;  if  she  plans  her  spending  it  is  most  probable  that  she 
will  get  not  only  better  food,  clothing,  and  shelter,  but  also  more  of  the 
other  things  in  life  that  she  really  wants.  After  a  subsistence  income 
is  reached,  it  is  not  so  much  the  size  of  the  income  as  the  way  in  whidi 
the  income  is  spent  which  gives  satisfaction. 

A  budget  is  an  individual  thing;  it  is  well  to  remember  that  budget 
figures  which  are  so  often  published  in  women's  magazines  and  by 
dffierent  organizations,  are  intended  only  as  suggestions  and  are  valu- 
able in  that  they  show  how  other  people  manage;  the  experience  of 
others  is  always  useful  and  helpful  but  one  does  not  have  to  do  the  same 
thing  that  others  do;  instead,  one  can  choose  the  best  that  others  have 
to  offer. 

In  making  a  budget,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  face  the  size  of  the 
income  and  if  the  income  is  variable,  use  the  smallest  amount  one  is 
likely  to  receive  as  the  basis.  Far  too  many  people  want  to  "take  a 
chance"  on  the  largest  income  that  could  possibly  be  received.  This 
is  a  poor  poHcy,  for  then,  if  one  falls  short  and  has  to  curtail,  discontent 
is  bound  to  result;  whereas  if  one  plans  on  the  smaller  income  and  the 
"extra"  does  come  in,  the  surplus  can  be  taken  care  of  most  happily. 


1920]  THE  HOUSEHOLD  BUDGET  271 

The  second  thing  to  do  is  to  decide  what  one  wants  out  of  that  money 
and  the  next  step  is  to  plan  so  as  to  get  as  many  as  possible  of  the  things 
that  are  wanted.  The  amounts  allotted  to  the  various  divisions  should 
be  written  down,  for,  when  plan  and  figures  are  set  down  in  black  and 
white,  one  will  not  make  changes  without  some  thought. 

Various  divisions  have  been  used  in  planning  the  household  budget, 
but,  ^^latever  the  classification,  the  important  thing  is  to  aUow  for  all 
possible  expenditures.  The  following  classification  has  been  found 
suggestive  and  useful  and  may  serve  as  a  basis: 

Savings:  Bank  account;  Investments;  life  insurance. 

Food:  Meat  and  fish;  Dairy  products;  Fresh  fruits  and  vegetables; 
Groceries  and  ice;  Meals  outside  the  home. 

Clothing:  All  wearing  apparel  and  sewing  supplies. 

Shelter:  Rent  or  taxes;  Fire  insurance;  Upkeep;  Rq>air. 

Operating  £jq>enses:  Fuel,  light,  and  telephone;  Cleaning  materials; 
Renewal  of  equipment;  Service. 

Household  Furnishing. 

Advancement:  Education;  Travel;  Carfare;  Gifts;  Church  and  benev- 
olence; Entertainment;  Amusement;  Club  dues;  Papers,  books,  and 
magazines;  Stationery  and  postage;  Physician,  dentist,  and  medicine; 
Toilet  articles;  Personal  taxes. 

The  budget  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a  plan  for  spending  and,  like 
any  other  plan,  it  is  of  no  value  unless  carried  out,  and  the  only  way  to 
know  how  closely  one  is  following  the  budget  is  by  keeping  accoimts 
and  comparing  Uie  results  with  the  budget  figures.  The  main  reason 
for  keeping  accoimts  is  to  see  how  closely  one  is  adhering  to  the  standard 
set  for  one's  self.  A  classified  accoimt  form,  whether  in  the  form  of 
cards  or  a  book,  shows  this  most  easily.  To  be  able  to  accoimt  for 
every  dollar  is  very  nice,  but  because  accounts  do  not  balance  is  no 
reason  for  giving  up  the  keeping  of  accounts.  Is  it  not  better,  for 
instance,  to  be  able  to  account  for  95  per  cent  of  the  income  than  to 
give  up  keeping  accounts  because  5  per  cent  is  missing?  One  will  have 
much  more  satisfaction  in  knowing  exactly  what  one  is  getting  out  of 
95  cents  of  every  dollar  that  is  spent  than  if  it  is  not  possible  to 
account  for  any  of  the  money.  The  longer  one  keeps  accounts,  the 
more  easily  they  balance. 

After  keeping  accounts,  one  is  either  satisfied  or  dissatisfied.  If  one 
is  satisfied,  it  is  because  of  the  written  proof  that  one  has  received 
what  was  most  wanted  out  of  every  dollar  handled  and  that  it  is  not 


272  IHE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

possible  to  better  the  spending.  Very  often  this  feeling  of  satisfaction 
has  been  the  greatest  boon  to  the  conscientious  woman  who  perhaps 
has  handled  a  great  deal  of  money  but  who  also  has  had  heavy  financial 
responsibilities  and  as  a  result  has  not  been  able  to  save  as  much  as  she 
desired. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  accounts  show  leaks  and  imwise  expendi- 
tures, the  feeling  that  results  is  far  from  that  of  satisfaction;  but,  in- 
stead of  only  having  the  feeling  that  entirely  too  much  is  spent,  one  can 
go  over  the  accounts  and  pick  out  those  expenditures  which  did  not  give 
full  value,  with  the  result  that  one  will  think  twice  before  doing  the  same 
things  again.  A  classified  account  shows  the  totals  of  the  small  spend- 
ings  and  these  are  the  ones  which  most  often  cause  the  trouble.  Twenty- 
five  cents  is  often  spent  unthinkingly,  but  a  twenty-five  dollar  purchase 
is  sure  to  demand  some  thought. 

Accounts  are  interesting  and  valuable  when  they  are  analyzed  and 
used  in  making  comparisons,  either  from  month  to  month  or  from  year 
to  year.  It  is  perhaps  of  some  value  just  to  know  how  much  has  been 
spent,  but  that  can  be  found  out  without  keeping  accounts,  by  subtract- 
ing what  is  left  from  what  is  received.  What  one  does  want  to  know  is 
how  the  money  has  been  spent  and  what  each  dollar  has  yielded. 

The  first  two  of  the  ten  commandments  of  thrift  which  were  adopted 
by  practically  aU  organizations  interested  in  the  development  of  thrift 
are,  (1)  Make  a  Budget,  and  (2)  Keep  an  Intelligent  Record  of  Expendi- 
tures. These  are  of  prime  importance  in  managing  a  business  success- 
fully, and  it  is  no  less  true  that  when  the  home  finances  are  managed  in 
a  thoughtful  way,  greater  happiness  results  because  each  activity  in  the 
home  is  better  balanced,  since  it  receives  its  just  proportion  of  the 
mcome. 


EDITORIAL 


Thirteenfh  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics 
Association,  Colorado  Springs,  June  24  to  29.  A  preliminary  pro- 
gram for  the  amiual  meeting  of  the  Association  has  already  been  sent 
to  each  member.  The  final  program  will  probably  be  issued  before 
this  number  of  the  Journal  reaches  its  readers.  Copies  may  be 
obtained  by  writing  to  the  office  of  the  Journal.  A  number  of  addi- 
tions have  been  made  to  the  first  program.  More  space  has  been  given 
to  public  school  work  and  several  speakers  of  nation  wide  reputation 
in  education  are  expected  to  be  present.  Each  Section  of  the  Associ- 
ation is  ably  represented  in  general  sessions  as  well  as  in  sectional 
conferences. 

The  thanks  of  the  Association  are  due  to  Miss  Marlatt,  chairman 
of  the  program  committee  and  to  the  chairmen  of  the  various  Sections 
for  the  time  and  effort  they  have  generously  given.  Miss  Allison, 
who  has  made  the  arrangements  in  Colorado,  has  had  perhaps  the 
most  difficult  task  of  all,  and  we  are  especially  indebted  to  her. 

''Education  in  general  has  been  facing  many  new  problems  since 
the  war  and  if  home  economics  is  to  hold  the  place  that  it  should  in 
the  educational  field  we  must  avail  ourselves  of  every  opportunity  for 
conference.  It  will  take  the  united  efforts  of  all  home  economics  work- 
ers to  carry  us  pver  the  top. 

"Plan  to  meet  in  Colorado  Jime  24  to  29,  so  that  we  may  have  the 
largest  group  we  have  ever  had." 

While  it  was  impossible  to  procure  convention  rates  tourist  rates 
are  available  and  have  the  advantage  of  allowing  stop  over  privileges. 
Hotel  accommodations  may  be  secured  directly  from  the  hotels.  The 
b'st  was  printed  in  the  April  Journal.  Any  one  who  is  unfamiliar 
with  the  attractions  of  Colorado  as  a  place  for  meeting  and  for  vaca- 
tion should  consult  the  May  Journal. 


273 


274  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  EOONOIQCS  [June 


Some  Results  of  Low  Protein  Diet.  The  recent  war  has  contrib- 
uted an  abundance  of  data  on  the  effects  of  restricted  or  inadequate  diets 
in  human  nutrition.  One  of  the  most  common  diseases  prevalent  among 
the  people  of  Eurc^e  during  this  period  has  become  familiar  under  the 
name  ''war  dropsy"  or  "hunger  edema."  The  latter  name  implies 
that  it  is  recognized  as  a  form  of  malnutrition. 

The  most  prominent  symptom  of  the  disease  is  an  edema,  or  swelling, 
which  in  mild  cases  may  be  localized  but  in  the  more  severe  cases  be- 
comes general.  Accompanying  this  edema,  there  are  extreme  emaci- 
ation, fatigue,  soreness  of  the  musdes,  anemia,  and  greatly  lowered  con- 
dition of  general  nutrition.  Susceptibility  to  infections  and  to  exposure 
to  cold  are  markedly  increased.  The  skin  becomes  dry  and  scaly  with 
frequent  sores.  Chemical  analyses  of  the  blood  show  a  depletion  of 
fats,  lipoids,  and  glycogen,  and  diminished  protein.  This  is  not  due  to 
simple  dilution  with  water,  since  the  composition  of  the  corpuscles 
themselves  is  changed. 

The  disease  has  been  tentatively  ascribed  to  almost  every  form  of 
defective  diet — ^lack  of  fat-soluble  A  and  water-soluble  B,  insufficient 
fat,  inadequate  protein,  restricted  calories,  deficiency  of  caldum,  ex- 
cessive carbohydrate,  and  high  fluid  intake.  Some  recent  experiments 
reported  by  Dr.  Kohman,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  in  the  American 
Journal  of  Physiology  for  March,  1920,  lead  definitdy  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  continued  subsistence  on  a  diet  very  low  in  protein  which  is 
really  responsible  for  the  devdopment  of  this  condition. 

Denton  and  Kohman  in  earlier  work  observed  that  edema  was  pro- 
duced in  rats  fed  on  a  carrot  diet  in  which  the  proportion  of  protein  was 
reduced  by  the  addition  of  starch  or  fat.  These  rats  presented  a  picture 
very  similar  to  that  described  in  cases  of  "wax  dropsy."  There  was 
loss  of  wdght,  decreased  activity,  soreness  of  musdes,  anemia,  dry  skin, 
and  lowered  resistance  to  infections  and  to  cold. 

Dr.  Kohman  modified  the  diet  by  the  addition  of  generotis  amounts 
of  fat-soluble  A,  water-soluble  B,  and  mineral  salts,  and  by  substitution 
of  fat  for  part  of  the  starch.  She  found  that  no  one  of  these  factors 
had  any  effect  dther  in  preventing  the  disease  or  in  curing  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  a  diet  in  which  purified  casein  was  substituted  for  a  part  of 
the  starch  prevented  the  occurrence  of  edema  in  wdl  rats  and  acted  as 
a  cure  if  the  disease  had  not  progressed  too  far.  In  one  single  rat  she 
was  able  to  produce  or  cure  the  edema  at  will  by  decreasing  or  increasing 


1920]  EDITQUAL  275 

the  amount  of  protein  in  the  diet.  Rats  kept  on  a  diet  restricted  as  to 
calories  but  with  an  adequate  quantity  of  protein,  while  they  did  not 
grow  at  a  normal  rate,  showed  no  signs  of  edema.  A  high  water  intake 
and  an  increase  in  the  acidity  of  the  diet  each  caused  more  marked  edema 
on  the  low  protein  diet,  but  apparently  produced  no  deleterious  effect 
when  used  in  connection  with  the  adequate  diet.  They  seem  to  be  ac- 
cessory factors  but  not  direct  causes  of  the  edema. 

In  an  excellent  review  of  this  subject  published  in  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Medical  Association^  April  3,  1920,  Dr.  Maver  also  arrives  at 
the  conclusion  that  ''war  dropsy"  is  not  a  deficiency  disease  in  the  sense 
that  it  is  due  to  a  lack  of  specific  vitamines,  but  that  it  is  the  result  of 
protracted  existence  on  a  diet  deficient  in  amount,  and  especially  de- 
ficient in  protein.  She  also  reports  feeding  experiments  with  animals 
which  corroborate  Dr.  Kohman's  results. 

Much  has  been  said  about  overfeeding  of  protein.  Our  attention  is 
here  called  to  the  fact  that  there  may  be  serious  ill  effects  from  the  oppo- 
site extreme  of  protein  underfeeding.  The  dropsy  occurring  in  many 
conditions  associated  with  defective  nutrition,  as  in  pernicious  anemia 
and  marasma  in  infants,  is  very  similar  to  "war  dropsy"  and  is  prob- 
ably the  result  of  similar  nutrition  disturbances. 

Food  Idiosyncrasies.  Strawberry  rash  and  other  disturbances  of 
the  skin  and  the  digestive  tract,  following  the  eating  of  foods  such  as 
^gs,  milk,  and  nuts,  are  but  a  few  examples  of  food  idiosyncrasies. 
These  reactions  are  more  accurately  called  anaphylaxis.  They  may  be 
caused  by  abnormal  behavior  of  protein  in  the  body.  If  an  incom- 
pletely digested  protein  finds  its  way  into  the  blood  through  a  faulty 
intestinal  wall,  the  individual  becomes  "sensitized"  to  that  protein; 
when  the  same  protein  is  eaten  several  days  or  weeks  later,  the  result 
of  the  sensitization  shows  in  the  ways  mentioned  above. 

This  phenomenon  has  for  several  years  been  known  to  be  associated 
with  various  bodily  disturbances:  of  the  respiratory  tract  as  in  hay- 
fever  and  asthma  (although  the  direct  cause  of  trouble  here  is  as  a  rule 
weed  pollen,  there  may  be  an  accompanying  sensitivity  to  one  or  more 
food  proteins  also) ;  of  the  skin  as  in  eczemas;  and  of  the  gastro-intestinal 
tract  causing  vomiting  and  diarrhea.    Park^  dtes  an  unusually  violent 

>  Fuk,  £.  A.,  A  case  of  hypenenaitiveness  to  cow's  milk.  Amer.  Jour.  Dis,  Child,,  19, 
46  Qan.,  1920). 


276  THE  JOUBNAL  OF  HOME  EOONOIQCS  [JUDC 

case  of  the  last  mentioned  type.  An  infant  six  weeks  old  was  found  to 
be  hypersensitive  to  cow's  milk;  at  various  times  during  the  first  year 
or  so  of  his  life,  a  drop  of  a  highly  diluted  milk  solution,  a  crumb  of 
bread  made  with  milk,  a  few  drops  of  diluted  condensed  milk  brought 
on  alarming  symptoms  of  vomiting,  diarrhea,  stupor,  and  prostration. 

Sufferers  from  asthma,  hay-f ever,  and  eczemas  have  often  been  shown 
to  be  reactive  to  the  proteins  of  one  or  many  common  foods  by  means  of 
the  ''skin  test.''  This  test  consists  of  the  application  of  some  of  the 
suspected  protein  to  a  scratch  on  the  skin  of  the  inner  forearm.  A  raised 
wheal  in  an  area  of  redness  at  the  end  of  a  half*hour  shows  that  the 
individual  has  sometime  in  the  past  become  sensitive  to  this  particular 
protein.  Baker*  has  recently  used  the  test  to  detect  sensitivity  in  nor- 
mal children  not  known  to  have  any  anaphylactic  history.  As  expected, 
he  found  the  condition  very  rare  in  these  children  but  the  articles  of  diet 
giving  positive  or  questionable  reactions  included  foods  which  pedia- 
tricians have  had  to  avoid  in  regulating  the  diets  of  children  of  erratic 
tendencies.  In  other  words,  the  normal  child  occasionally  showed  the 
reaction  previously  found  clinically  in  the  abnormal.  The  foods  causing 
an  occasional  positive  reaction  include  oatmeal,  potato,  eggs,  peas,  rice, 
casein,  beef- juice,  chicken,  and  salmon.  In  many  instances  a  child  was 
reactive  to  only  one,  though  he  might  be  to  several. 

In  children,  this  sensitization  often  tends  to  disappear  spontaneously 
as  they  grow  older,  possibly  because  they  desensitize  themselves  as  they 
begin  to  eat  the  food  in  question  regularly.  Park  reports  that  the  child 
hypersensitive  to  milk  partially  desensitized  himself  by  picking  up  stray 
crumbs;  he  was  cured  entirely  by  being  given  daily  amounts  of  milk, 
increasing  in  nine  days  from  1  drop  to  10  cc.  Improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  adults  has  in  some  cases  resulted  from  avoiding  the  food  at 
fault  and  in  a  few  others  by  gradual  desensitization  with  regular  and 
increasing  amounts  of  the  food. 

Practical  application  of  knowledge  of  this  kind  to  proper  regulation 
of  the  diet  has  not  yet  become  so  extensive  as  it  promises  to  become  in 
the  future.  The  understanding  of  the  causes  and  symptoms  of  protein 
sensitization  should  aid  in  its  interpretation  of  children's  reactions  to 
certain  foods  if  these  foods  are  taken  in  quantities  too  small  to  cause 
digestive  disturbances. 

'  Baker,  H.  M.,  The  incidence  of  protein  sensitization  in  the  normal  child.  Amer.  Jour. 
Dis.  ChUd.,  19, 114  (Feb.,  1920). 


1920]  THE  OPEN  FORUM  277 

The  Disinfection  of  Bathing  Suits.^  In  order  to  enforce  a  legis- 
lative act  in  California  controlling  the  sanitation  and  healthfulness  of 
swimming  pools,  bathhouse,  and  bathing  places  and  their  appurtenances, 
an  investigation  of  suitable  methods  of  laundering  bathing  suits  and 
towels  was  made.  Detailed  study  was  given  to  the  tedmic  of  sampling 
the  suits  and  towels  and  to  the  effectiveness  of  various  disinfectants. 
Immersing  and  agitating  bathing  suits  for  fifteen  minutes  in  a  1.5  per 
cent  solution  of  a  water  soluble  coal  tar  disinfectant,  and  towels  for  the 
same  length  of  time  in  a  solution  containing  300-400  parts  per  million 
available  chlorine  was  foimd  to  make  them  practically  sterile.  The 
best  method  of  washing  seems  to  be  in  hot  water  and  soap  for  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes,  depending  on  previous  disinfection,  but  further  study 
on  this  point  is  recommended.  The  method  of  drying  is  also  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  removal  of  bacteria.  Sun-drying  for  six  hours  or  hot- 
air  drying  for  1  hour  at  a  temperature  of  250-300^  seems  to  be  best. 


THE  OPEN  FORUM 

To  the  Journal  o?  Home  EcoNOiacs: 

Does  the  Joxtrnal  approve  of  the  scheme  of  the  cooperative  nursery 
described  in  the  February  Joxtrnal?  Why  is  it  that  any  other  work  is 
considered  more  worth  while  than  the  rearing  of  the  next  generation, 
which  is  the  most  difficult  task  in  the  world  whatever  period  is  con- 
sidered— ^the  pre-natal  or  post-natal  period,  or  the  period  of  childhood  or 
adolescence?  What  proportion  of  home  economics  teachers  are  in 
favor  of  such  a  scheme?  Will  governments  be  impressed  with  the 
Importance  of  teaching  mothercraft  or  child  welfare  work  to  women  if 
educated  women  do  not  prize  the  opportunity  of  such  work? 

E.  M.  HUXCHESON. 

The  above  letter  was  submitted  to  the  author  of  the  article  in  ques- 
tion, whose  reply  follows: 

1  Studies  in  Bacteriological  Sampling  and  Diunfecdon  of  Bathing  Suits  and  Towels, 
C.  G.  GiUespie,  CaUf.  SUUe  Bd.  Health  Mo.  Bui.,  15  (1919),  No.  4,  pp.  97-111. 


278  iHE  jouKNAL  07  HOME  ECONOiQCS  [June 

Here  is  a  mother,  typical  of  many  another  living  an  apartment  house 
life  with  husband  and  two  small  children.  Johnnie  must  have  some  new 
nighties,  the  old  ones  are  past  patching,  and  she,  herself,  must  have  a 
spring  hat.  But  how  can  she  get  down  town?  The  husband  is  working 
all  day  and  she  feels  diffident  about  dumping  two  children  on  her  ac- 
quaintances however  cordial  they  may  be.  Fortunately  there  is  no 
difficulty  in  her  case.  She  leaves  them  at  the  Cooperative  Nursery  on 
her  way  to  the  train  and  caUs  for  them  again  at  the  close  of  her  shopping 
trip,  confident  that  they  have  been  carefully  guarded  and  have  had  pleas- 
ant companions  while  she  has  been  away.  The  next  week  ''little  Sister" 
is  not  well.  John  cannot  be  sent  out  alone  to  play  on  the  street  and  the 
apartment  yard  is  unq>eakable.  The  mother  must  stay  with  the 
baby  but  fortunately  John  can  go  to  the  Nursery  and  be  out  doors  in 
the  big  safe  field  all  the  morning.  The  next  morning  the  baby  is  weU 
again  and  it  is  the  mother's  day  to  help  at  the  Nursery.  To  her  it 
appears  a  privilege  to  watch  her  children  as  they  play  with  others.  She 
may  notice  qualities  brought  out  there  which  are  unsuspected  at  home  and 
perhaps  should  be  reproved.  She  gains  useful  ideas  from  the  trained 
kindergartner  and  by  learning  more  of  many  children  is  better  able  to 
understand  her  own.  She  uses  the  Nursery  perhaps  three  times  a  week 
and  regards  it  as  a  wonderful  help  towards  the  health  and  happiness  of 
her  whole  family. 

Then  there  are  many  others  situated  as  is  this  mother,  the  wife  of  a 
graduate  student.  It  has  been  a  great  financial  sacrifice  to  come  to  the 
University  for  this  longed  for  year  of  study.  Because  of  the  children  she 
did  not  expect  to  be  able  to  share  the  opportunity  but  she  learns  of  the 
Nursery.  The  children  go  there  every  day  while  she  attends  the  classes 
which  will  make  her  better  fitted  to  help  her  husband  or  to  do  her  home 
work  intelligently. 

The  Nursery  is  not  an  alternative  home.  It  is  an  assistant  to  the 
busy  mother  who  cannot  afford  a  competent  nurse  and  wishes  her 
children  to  share  with  other  children  the  benefits  of  safe  play  both 
indoors  and  out. 

Makgaset  Goodrich  Norton. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


Some  Household  and  Personal  Expense  AC" 

eotuU  Forms, 

From  a  survey  of  a  number  of  the  per- 
sonal and  houaehold  account  books  on  the 
market,  it  would  seem  that  the  dasslfied 
account  is  the  most  popular  form.  The 
dassification  of  the  various  account  sheets 
Is  by  no  means  uniform  but  at  least  an 
attempt  at  dassification  is  made. 

In  additkm  to  grouped  expenditures,  a  daa- 
sified  account  may  also  show  the  following: 

1.  Budget  figures 

Xa  T^ffmPis 

3.  List  of  items  with  prices 

4.  Comparisons:  (a)  between  different 
months  of  the  same  year,  (b)  between  dif- 
ferent years,  (c)  between  the  same  months 
of  different  yean 

5.  Dai^ir  totals 

6.  Grand  totals 

mt^weinntnK^^^0 

Hie  following  are  some  classified  accounts 
with  notatkms  of  what  they  show: 

Household  Account  Boohs 

The  Economiaer  Household  Account,  Econ- 
omiaer  Publishing  Co.,  BeriLdey,  CaL  Shows 
1,  2,  3,  4a,  6  and  7. 

The  Perrin  Money  Saving  Account  Booh. 
Independent  Corporation,  119  W.  40th 
Street,  New  York  Qty.  Shows  1,  2,  3, 
4a,  4b,  4c,  6  and  7. 

A  Budget  Booh  with  a  Conscience,  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  347  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 
City.  Shows  1,  2,  3,  4a  and  7.  This 
book  lacks  durability  in  construction  and 
the  space  for  entries  is  cramped. 

Woolson's  Economy  Expense  Booh,  Wool- 
son  Co.,  120  W.  32nd  Street,  New  York 
City.  Shows  2,  3,  4a,  4b,  4c,  6  and  7. 
This  book  pves  vptuct  for  accounts  for  four 
yesTk 


Household  Accounts  SimpUfied.  Otis  and 
Otis,  1822  Chadboume  Avenue,  Madison 
Wis.  Shows  1,  2,  4a,  and  7.  This  hoA 
contains  a  nice  mechanical  device  which 
shows  all  the  monthly  summaries  without 
posting. 

The  Taplex  Budget  for  Personal  or  PamOy 
Expenses.  Shows  1,  2,  3,  4a,  4b,  4c,  6,  7 
and  8.  This  book  has  space  for  accounts 
for  four  years. 

The  Prosperity  Boeih.  By  Fk>rence  Bar- 
nard. Fort  Hill  Press,  Boston,  Mass. 
Shows  2,  4a,  6  and  7.  This  is  a  small 
book  with  some  suggestive  reading  matter 
but  unfortunatdy  the  space  for  entrie.  is 
cramped. 

Monthly  Household  Budget.  American 
Society  for  Hirift,  220  West  42nd  Street, 
New  York  City.  Shows  1,  2,  5  and  6. 
Tliis  comes  m  large  mn^  sheets  12  by  19 
indies  in  siae  and  is  ruled  for  use  on  both 
skies.    It   is   ungainly   and    andLward    to 

Taber's  Household  Ledger  Shed.  Tht 
Chart  and  Record  Company,  Chicago,  HL 
Shows  1,  2,  4a,  4b,  4c,  and  7.  Tbk  is 
demgned  for  weekly  and  montl^y  reoorch. 

Home  Account  Booh.  Ddawaie  Agri- 
cultural College  Krtension  Sendee.  Shows 
2,  3,  6  and  7.  The  columns  are  not  labeled, 
so  the  indivklual  may  dassify  to  suit  her 
own  needs. 

Personal  Expense  Boohs 

Personal  Account  Booh.  Y.  W.  C.  A., 
600  Lerington  Avenue,  New  York  City. 
Shows  2,  3,  4a,  5  and  6. 

The  Ten  Financial  Commandments  and 
How  to  Keep  Them.  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  347 
Madison  Avenue,  New  Yorlc  Qty.  Shows 
1,  2,  3,  5  and  6.  This  has  a  very  inoooqilete 
classification  and  gives  space  for  expenses 
for  only  six  months. 

279 


280 


THE  J0X7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[June 


\r  Personal  Expense  Account  Book.  Wo- 
men's Educatbnal  and  Industrial  Union, 
264  Boylston  Street,  Boston,  Mass.  Shows 
2,  3,  4a,  5,  6  and  7.  This  book  gives  space 
for  accounts  for  two  years. 

An  Account  Blank  for  College  Siudenls, 
Division  of  Home  Economics,  University  of 
Minnesota,  St.  Paul.  Shows  2,  3,  5,  6  and 
7.  This  book  stresses  the  rlnthing  item 
and  would  be  of  espedal  value  to  one  inter- 
ested in  clothing  costs. 

An  account  to  be  of  value  must  tell  those 
things  which  one  really  wants  to  know.  A 
fulfy  ckssified  account  does  this  but  where 
an  endeavor  Is  made  to  save  space  by 
grouping  a  number  of  expenditures,  one  of 
the  main  purposes  of  a  classified  account 
is  defeated,  for  often  essential  and  non- 
essential expenditures  are  grouped  together 
with  the  result  that  leaks  do  not  show. 
It  would  seem  that  a  rlaiwified  account  book 
should  be  either  very  fully  and  freely  classi- 
fied and  even  then  a  few  extra  cahimns 
left  for  q)edal  expenditures,  or  the  columns 
Ahould  not  be  labeled,  but  a  suggested  classi- 
fication given  in  the  preface  so  that  the  user 
may  label  the  columns  to  suit  his  own 
puiposes. 

Sabah  J.  MacLeod, 
Society  for  Savings, 
CleeelandrOkio. 

Report  on  tke  Present  State  of  Knowledge 
Concerning     Accessory     Pood     Factors 
{Vitamines).    Special  Report,  Series  No. 
38.    Compiled  by  a  Committee  Appointed 
Johitly  by  the  Lister  Institute  and  Medi- 
cal Research  Committee. 
This  Report  of  one  hundred  pages  is 
essentially  a  monograph  on  the  chemically 
unidentified  food  factors,  and  presents  a 
dear  and  easily  readable  account  of  the 
established  facts  concerning  these  interest- 
ing substances  at  the  time  of  its  publication 
in  June,  1919. 

The  Report  was  prepared  by  a  Committee 
consisting  of  Professor  F.  Gowland  Hopkins, 
Drs.  HarrieUe  Chick,  J.  C.  Dnimmond, 
E.  Mellanby  and  Professor  Arthur  Harden. 


The  enumeration  of  these  names  is  a  suffi- 
cient guarantee  of  the  excellence  of  the  work. 

The  introductory  chapter  gives  an  his- 
torical review  of  the  early  experimental 
work  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  exis- 
tence of  a  new  class  of  substances  plajdng  a 
prominent  part  in  nutrition,  the  etblogy  of 
beri-beri  and  of  scruvy,  and  an  application 
of  experimental  work  to  the  practical  prob- 
lems of  human  diet 

Rickets  is  regarded  as  a  deficiency  disease, 
of  which  xerophthalmia  is  but  one  feature. 
The  authors  aro  of  the  opinion  that  rickets 
is  probably  specific  starvation  for  the  dietary 
essential  fat-soluble  A,  but  this  view  is  ex- 
pressed with  caution.  A  brief  account  is 
included  of  the  experimental  work  which 
tends  to  illuminate  the  difficult  problem  of 
the  etiology  of  pellagra. 

An  excellent  bibliography  is  included 
which  adds  to  the  merit  of  the  work.  It  is 
a  pleasure  to  read  such  a  sane  treadse  on  a 
subject  which  has  suffered  so  much  mis- 
representation at  the  hands  of  incompetents. 

E.  V.  McCoLLUif, 

Sckool  of  Hygiene  and  Public  Healtk, 
Jokns   Hopkins    University, 

» 

Twenty-Pour    lAtOe   French   Dinners.    By 

Co&A  MoouE.    New  York:    £.  P.  Dut- 

ton  and  Co.,  1919. 

This  book,  while  containing  some  inter- 
esting material  especially  in  the  opening 
chapter,  is  too  indefinite  for  the  average 
housekeeper  and  the  seasonings  and  mate- 
rials called  for  are  often  difficult  to  obtain 
even  in  a  city  like  New  York. 

The  use  of  expressions  such  as  "a  pint  of 
bdchamel"  or  "a  pint  of  velout^"  is  confus- 
ing to  those  who  have  not  had  the  meaning 
explained. 

The  French  cook  would  undoubtedly  be 
guided  by  her  judgment  when  told  to  put 
"celery,  carrot,  onions,  etc."  into  a  pin  but 
too  many  housekeepers  would  not  have  the 
necessary  good  judgment 

On  page  83  b  a  recipe  for  "Homards  et 
Champignons"  that  b  a  good  example  of 
what  is  meant. 


1920J  PAMPHLETS  RECEIVED  281 

PAMPLETS  RECEIVED 

Issued  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture: 
Boys' and  Gkl^  Club  Work.    Diseases  and  ItueOs  of  the  Home  Garden,    W.  W.  Gflbert  and 

C.  H.  Popenoe.    Department  Circ.  55. 
Rntal  Conmumty  Buildings  in  ike  United  States.    W.  C.  Naaon  and  C  W.  Thompson. 

Bulletin  No.  825. 
SdecHon  and  Care  of  Clothing.    Laura  I.  Baldt.    Farmers  Bulletin  1089. 

Issued  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Education: 
BibHograpky  of  Home  Economics.    Carrie  Alberta  Lyford.    Bulletin,  1919,  No.  46. 
Diot  for  the  School  CMd.    Health  Education.    No.  2. 
Educational  Hygiene.    WUhUxl  S.  Small    Bulletin,  1919,  No.  48. 
Federal  Executive  Departments  as  Sources  of  Information  For  Libraries.    Edith  Guerrier. 

Bulletin,  1919,  No.  74. 
List  of  References  on  the  Prcject  MeUM  in  Education.    Prqwred  in  the  library  Division^ 

library  Leaflet  No.  9. 
Stories  for  Young  Children.    list  Prqiared  by  the  literature  Committee  of  the  International 

Kindeigarten  Union  and  the  library  Division.    libraiy  Leaflet  No.  6. 
Training  Little  Children.    Suggestions  for  Parents.    Bulletin,  1919,  No.  39. 

Issued  by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor,  Children's  Bureau: 
Courts  in  the  United  States  Hearing  Children's  Cases.    Evelina  Belden.    Dependent,  Defeo> 

tive,  and  Delinquent  Classes  Series  No.  8,  Bureau  Publication  No.  65. 
Every  Child  in  School.    A  Safeguard  against  Child  Labor  and  Illiteracy.    Children's  Year 

Follow-up  Series  No.  3,  Bureau  Publication  No.  64. 
Illegitimacy  as  a  Child-Welfare  Problom.    Emma  O.  Lundberg  and  Katharbe  F.  Lenroot 

Dqpendent,  Defective  and  Delinquent  Classes  Series  No.  9,  Bureau  Publication  No.  66. 
Illegitimacy  Laws  of  the  United  States  and  Certain  Foreign  Countries.    Ernst  Freund.    Legal 

Series  No.  2,    Bureau  Publication  No.  42. 
Laws  Rdating  to  Mothers'  Pensions  in  the  United  States,  Canada,  Denmark  and  New  Zealand. 

Laura  A.  Thompson.    Legal  Series  No.  4,  Bureau  Publication  No.  63. 
What  do  Growing  Ckildren  Need?  A  Problom  for  Parents.    Dodger  No.  10. 

Issued  by  the  United  States  Public  Health  Service: 

A  Homemade  Milk  Refrigerator.    Prqiared  by  Direction  of  the  Surgeon  General.    Public 
Health  BuDetb  No.  102. 

Antenatal  and  Neonatal  Factors  in  Irrfant  Mortality.    Reprint  No.  528  from  the  Public  Health 
R^xurts. 
Issued  by  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education: 

Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  1919.    Volume  1,  Voca- 
tional Education.    Volume  1 1,  Vocational  Rehabilitation. 

Survey  ef  the  Needs  in  the  FieU  of  Vocational  Home  Economics  Education.    Bulletin  No.  37, 
Home  Economics  Series  No.  4. 

Tke  Garment  Trades,  May  1919. 

Training  Courses  in  Safety  and  Hygiene  in  the  Building  Trades,  Bulletin  No.  31,    Trade  and 
Industrial  Series  No.  6,  May  1919. 

Use  and  Preparation  of  Food,  Bulletin  No;  35.   Home  Economics  Series  No.  3.,  October  1919. 


282  THE  JOURNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [June 

Issued  by  the  College  of  Industrial  Arts,  Denton,  Tens: 
Ap^opriaU  Clothes  for  the  High  School  Girl.    Virginia  M.  Alexander. 
A  Syllabus  oh  Design,  Costume  Design,  and  Interior  Decoration  For  Art  and  Home  Economics 
Teachers.    College  Bulletin. 

Issued  by  the  Home  Economics  Bureau  of  the  Society  for  Savings  in  the  City  of  Cleveland: 
Budgdsfor  Incomes  of  $1500jOO,  $I800j00,  $2400,00,  $3000M,  $3600M,  $4800 JOO. 
Ten  Commandments  of  Thrift, 

Issued  by  the  publishers  listed: 
Are  You  Getting  Your  Money's  Worth.    War  Loan  Organization,  Fifth  Federal  Reserve 

District,  Richmond,  Va.    Contains  suggested  budget  and  form  for  monthly  e^seose 

account. 
Budget  Planning  in  Social  Case  Worh,    Bulletin  No.  3,  Committee  on  Home  Economics, 

The  Charity  Organization  Society,  105  E.  22d  St,  New  Yorlc. 
UEducaUon  FamHiale.    (Monthly)  Brussels,  Belgium. 
The  Pood  Calendar,    Extension  Service  University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,  Illinois.     Ananged 

for  daily  record  under  five  food  groups.    Price,  25  cents. 
Girls  Clothing  Contest.    BuUetm  109,  Department  of  Education,  State  of  Texas. 
Household  Weights  and  Measures  (Kitchen  Card).    Miscellaneoua  PubUcatbns  No.  39, 

Bureau  of  Standards,  Department  of  Commerce. 
Houses  or  Homes.    First  Report  of  The  Cincinnati  Better  Housing  League,  June,  1919. 
Oysters  and  Pish.    Official  Bulletin,  Sq>t.,  1919,  Conservation  Commission  of  Maryland, 

512  Munaey  Bldg.,  Baltimore. 
Thrift  in  the  Household.    Wisconsin  War  Savings  Organization,  415  E.  Water  St,  Mil- 
waukee, Wb. 
Vocational  Homemahing  Education:    Some  ProUems  and  Proposala.    David  Snedden,  ]ni.D. 

Teachers  College  Bulletin,  Teachers  C:ollege,  New  York  City. 
American  Dyestujfs  or  National  Disaster.    Reprinted  from  Textiles,  Sq>tember,  1919. 
Cafeteria  Standards  and  Methods  of  Attaining  Them*    Nola  Treat  and  Lenore  Richarda. 

Special  Bulletin  No.  44.    Extension  Division,  University  Farm,  St  Paul,  Minn. 
The  Case  of  the  Biiuminous  Coal  Mine  Worhers.    Issued  by  the  United  Mine  Workers  of 

America,  1920.    Sec.  2,  The  Case  for  a  Living  Wage,  gives  data  on  minimum  and 

adequate  standards  of  living  with  estimates  made  by  Professors  Ogbum,  Chapin^  and 

others. 
Current  Notes  in  Institutional  AdmimstraUon.    Bulletin,  Eleventh  series,  No.  7.    Teachers 

College,  Columbia  University,  New  York  City. 
Eleven  Years  of  Community  Service.    A  Summary  of  the  Worh  of  the  Immigrants  Pratectiee 

League.    Issued  by  the  Immigrants  Protective  League,  Chicago. 
The  Hot  School  Lunch.    Dorothy  Buckley.    Bulletin  No.  16.    Conn.  Agr.  College  Extension 

Service,  Storrs. 
Homemahing  in  Wiscotuin.    Home  Economics  Teachers  Exchattgfi  Ideas.    Compilerf  by  Helen 

C.  Goodspeed,  Supervisor  of  H.  E.,  State  Dept.  of  Public  Instruction.    Issued  monthly. 
Low  Cost  Menus.    Costing  $20  a  Weeh  for  Five  Persons.    Alice  Bradley     Issued  monthly  by 

the  Woman's  Home  Companion,  N.  Y.  City.    Price,  10  cents. 
Planning  the  House.    An  Outline  Course  for  Use  with  Clubs.    Elisabeth  Jenkins.    House  and 

Home  Series,  The  Woman's  Press.  N.  Y.  Oty. 


1920]  BIBUOGSAFHY  OF  HOME  EOONOMICS  283 

Rural  Seked  SomikOum.  Dr.  E.  M.  Fkkcas.  Issued  by  the  Muyland  State  College,  Col- 
lege Puk^Md. 

Wkm  Palakm  an  PUtiHfid,  The  Comell  Resdbg  Coiine  lor  the  Fann  Home,  April  1918. 
Food  Series.  Lewm  118.  N.  Y.  State  College  of  Agriculture  at  Cornell  Univenity, 
Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

Bamphlets  on  Natural  Gas.    Issued  by  publishers  listed: 

CaUckism  an  Naktrai  Gas.    Dept  of  the  Literior,  Bureau  of  Mines. 

Supfly  and  CamenaHon  of  Natural  Gas  m  (he  Slaia  af  Pemuylvama.  In  three  parts:  Pro- 
ceedings of  Conservation  Conference  in  Pittsburg  on  Januaiy  8,  1919;  Present  and 
Prospective  Supply  of  Natural  Gas  Available  in  Pa.;  Smithsonian  Institution  Bulletin 
No.  1Q2,  Part  7,  Natural  Gas,  its  pioductbn,  service,  and  conservation.  Issued  by  the 
Public  Service  Commission  of  Pa.,  Hairisbuzg,  Pa. 

KiUkan  Tests  of  RdaUve  Cast  of  Natural  Gas,  Soft  Coal,  Coal  OU,  GasaUm,  and  EledrkUy 
far  Cooking.    Issued  by  (Xdo  State  Unxveislty,  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Waste  and  Correct  Use  of  Natural  Gas  in  ike  Home.  Samuel  S.  Wyer.  Issued  by  the  Dept 
of  the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Mines. 

Natural  Gas  and  Natural-gas  GasoUne  in  1917,  Contains  a  list  of  names  of  the  natural  gas 
using  towns  in  the  United  States.    Issued  by  the  Dept.  of  the  Interior,  Bureau  of  Mines. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 

DOICXSTIC  LlGBXXMO^ 

Booitt 

Godinez,  F.  Laurent.  The  lighting  book:  a  manual  for  the  layman  •  •  •  .  practi- 
cal and  esthetic  sides  of  good  lighting  for  the  home.  New  York:  McBride,  Nast  and  Com- 
pany, 1913. 

niuminating  engmeering  practice.  New  York:  McGraw-Hill,  1917.  p.  595-413:  The 
lighting  of  the  home,  by  H.  W.  Jordan. 

Keene,  Edward  Spencer.  Mechanics  of  the  household;  a  course  of  study  devoted  to 
domestic  machineiy  and  household  mechanical  appliances.    New  York :    McGraw-Hill,  1918. 

Luckiesh,M.  The  lighting  art.  New  Yoric:  McGraw-Hill,  1917.  Chapter  XVI: 
Residence  lighting. 

Periodicd  artides 

Cassidy,  Geoige  W.  Art  and  science  in  home  lighting.  Illuminating  Engineering 
Society.    Transactkns.    1915.    VoL  10,  p.  55-81. 

Clewell,  C.  E.  Decorative  lighting  for  the  home.  Electrical  Age.  New  York,  1916. 
Yd.  49,  No.  5,  p.  27-28. 

Clinton,  W.  C.  Recent  developments  in  public  and  private  lighting.  Illuminating 
Engineer.    London,  1919.    Vol.  12,  p.  287-89. 

Cravath,  J.  R.  Knowns  and  unknowns  in  the  lighting  of  small  interiors.  Illuminating 
Engmeering  Society.  Transactions.  1915.  Vol.  10,  p.  303^14.  Page  314— short  Mblio- 
graphy  (general  theoiy). 

^  Furnished  by  the  New  York  Public  Library.  For  additional  references  see  periodical: 
The  Illuminating  Engineer.    London. 


284  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  EOOKOldCS  [June 

French,  C.  H.  and  Van  Giessen,  C«  J.  Dual  lighting  for  the  home.  Gas  Rec&rd, 
Chicago,  1916.    VoL  10,  p.  195-7. 

French,  C.  H.  and  Van  Giessen,  C.  J.  Gas  and  electric  lighting  in  the  home.  Illumi- 
nating Engineering  Society.    Transactions.    1916.    VoL  11,  p.  1068-82. 

Harrison,  Newton.  The  scientific  lighting  of  a  home.  Central  Station,  New  Yoric, 
1914.    VoL  13,  p.  341-44. 

Pierce,  R.  F.  Residence  lighting  with  special  reference  to  semi-indirect  illumination. 
American  Gas  Light  Journal,  New  York,  1915.    VoL  102,  p.  322-24. 

Powell,  A.  L.  The  lighting  of  a  simple  home.  Illuminating  Engineering  Society. 
Transactions.    1914.    VoL  9,  p.  45-66. 

Riley,  Percy  G.  Radiadon  in  ornament.  Carpet  and  Upholstery  Trade  Reoiew,  1917. 
VoL  48,  no.  12,  p.  64-66. 

MlSCELLAMXCUB 

A  system  of  dietary  follow-up  work,  B.  B.  Titus.    Mod.  Hosp.,  12  (1919),  No.  1,  p.  67. 

Menus  con^)iled  by  dietitian  for  officers'  hall  and  maids'  and  helps'  cafeteria  [of  the  Hotel 
Pennsylvania,  New  York  City]^  Hotel  Mo,,  27  (1919),  No.  321,  pp.  58-60.  These  menus 
for  a  week  are  included  in  an  article  discusshig  the  equipment  and  operation  of  the  Hotel 
Pennsylvania.  Much  attention  is  given  to  the  food  and  the  dining  room  management, 
laundry,  and  other  problems  of  interest  to  students  of  food  and  home  economics.  As  appar- 
ently home  cooked  food  is  what  many  patrons  desire,  a  spedal  kitchen  has  been  equipped 
in  charge  of  a  dietitian  with  home  economics  training,  and  special  mention  of  this  fact  is 
made  in  the  menu  cards. 

Time-savers  for  the  accounting  and  the  laundry  departments  [of  hospitals].  L.  H.  Bur- 
lingham.  Mod.  Hasp,,  12  (1919),  No.  1,  pp.  21-23,  figs.  4.  The  advantages  of  using  an 
individual  payroll  card  are  pointed  out,  with  the  claim  that  time  is  saved  and  friction  ob- 
viated. A  simple  method  for  caring  for  the  linen,  which  obviates  a  central  linen  room, 
which  it  is  believed  is  a  time  saver,  is  described.  Instead  of  being  piled  into  baskets  and 
taken  to  the  linen  room,  sorted  and  placed  on  shelves,  and  then  transferred  from  the  shelves 
to  the  carriers  and  thence  to  the  wards,  it  is  taken  directly  from  the  laundry  machines  to 
sorting  shelves  in  the  laundry  and  from  these  shelves  it  is  placed  in  baskets  for  the  various 
wards  and  delivered  to  them  directly  from  the  laundry. 

Posture  and  iU  Relation  to  Health.    John  B.  Blake,  The  CommonheaUh,  May-June,  1919. 
Housing  Investigation.    George  Whipple,  The  Commonhealth,  March-April,  1919. 
Home  Work  in  Home  Economics.    Vera  B.  Tice,  Indus.  Arts,  September,  1919. 
Lessons  in  Foods  and  Cookery,  with  Simple  Appliances;  Foods  ready  without  Cooking. 
Anna  Baxiows,  Amer.  Cookery,  24  (1919),  No.  1,  pp.  26-29. 
Breakfasting  as  a  Fine  Art    Atlantic  Mo.,  Nov.,  1919. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


XIm  oondiflni  Hobw  Boononiics 
cktioo.  The  fourth  annual  meeting  of 
the  Southern  Home  Kcopomics  AModation 
was  held  hi  New  Oikanap  March  lS-20, 
hidnahfe,  with  the  hugeat  attendance  hi 
hahbtocy.  Maiy  £.  Oeawell,  State  Super- 
vlnr  of  Home  Kconomka  for  the  itate  of 
Geonda.  and  Pkesident  of  the  aaaodatkm. 
preaented  a  moat  exoeUent  and  oompre- 
nctnive  ptDgiami 

An  otttatandhig  feature  of  the  meetbg 
waa  the  fact  that  the  attendance  repreaented 
eveiy  phaie  of  home  ecooomka  work. 
Cftllfgg  piofctaony  hi|^  achool  teacherti 
nual  teadioa,  vocational  woikers,  and 
county,  diftikt  and  atate  home  demonatra- 
tion  agenta  were  all  repmented  on  the 
piQgnun  and  hi  the  audienoe. 

The  offioeia  of  the  awociation  were: 
Ftiskienty  Maiy  E.  Cieewell»  Supeiviaor  of 
Home  Economica  for  the  state  of  Geoigui; 
Vice  Pkeadcnt,  Maiy  £.  Sweeny,  Super* 
▼imr  of  Home  Kconomka  for  the  state  of 
Kentucky;  Secretaiy-Tieaaurer,  Sude  V. 
Powell,  Aaabtant  Director  of  Eztenafon 
woric  for  MifloiMippL 

The  St  Chailca  Hotel  waa  headquarten 
and  the  mcftingi  were  held  in  the  Art 
Building  of  Sophie  Newoomb  College  with 
the  eiccption  of  the  opening  aeiakm  whkh 
waa  hdd  at  Tulane  Univenity. 

Welcome  was  extended  to  tibe  ataociatfcw 
aa  foOows:  to  the  Qty,  Dr.  J.  M.  Gwinn, 
City  Superintendent  of  Public  schools, 
New  Oileana;  to  Tuhme,  Dr.  A.  B.  Dm- 
widdie,  PnakUnt  of  Tulane  University; 
to  the  State,  Hon.  T.  H.  Harris,  State 
Superintendent  of  Education;  to  the  Home 
Economica  Department  of  Sophie  Newcomb 
Memorial  College,  Hairiet  Beyer,  Professor 
of  Domestic  Science;  to  the  Loulsfama  Ez- 
tension  Department,  Noma  Oveibey,  State 
Home  Demonstration  Agent;  to  the  Home 
Economica    Dqwrtment    of    the    Public 


Schools,  Qeora  Helbbg,  State  Supervisor  of 
Home  Eoon<Hnlcs. 

Miss  Creswell  responded  to  the  cordial 
words  of  welcome  most  graciously  and 
accepted  the  hospitality  in  the  name  of  the 
swsnrlntion 

A  masteriy  address  was  made  by  Mrs. 
Henrietta  Calvin  from  the  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation, Washington,  D.  C,  on  what  Home 
Economics  Should  Stand  for  To-day,  q)itom- 
laedasHealth,  Thrift, and  AmericanuEatlon. 

In  the  afternoon  an  Illuminating  address 
was  made  by  Oht  Powell,  Assistant  in 
Home  Demonstration  WoriL,  U.  S.  Dept 
of  Agr.,  Washington,  on  Recent  Progress  in 
Home  Demonstration  WoriL. 

This  was  followed  by  an  address  by 
Adelaide  Baylor,  Federal  Agent  for  Voca^ 
tkmal  Educatkm,  on  What  is  Vocational 
H^?me  Economics* 

Friday  morning  the  aaaodation  met  In 
three  sections,  the  Section  of  Elementaiy 
Schools,  the  Section  of  College  and  Nomial 
Schools,  and  the  Extenskin  Section.  Friday 
afternoon,  the  association  visited  the  New- 
comb  College  Schools  of  Art  and  Home 
Economics  and  listened  to  addresses  by 
Prof.  E.  Woodward,  Director  of  the  Art 
School  and  Mrs.  Gertrude  Smith,  Professor 
of  Water  Color. 

The  social  features  of  the  meeting,  planned 
by  the  entertainment  committee,  Miss  Boyer 
and  Miss  Hdbmg,  were  delightfuL 

On  Thursday  afternoon  the  entire  asso- 
ciation had  an  enjoyable  auto  tour  of  the 
dty,  and  Thursday  evening  a  typical  French 
banquet  at  the  famous  Antomes. 

Friday  afternoon  the  Senior  Oass  in 
Home  Economics  gave  a  deligfatful  picnic 
at  the  historic  Spanish  Fort 

Saturday  afternoon  there  was  a  boat 
ride  down  the  river  to  see  the  greatest  inland 
hartx>r  in  the  worid.  Sunday  morning  a 
tour  through  the  Fkench  quarter  was  con- 

285 


286 


THE  J0XJ2SAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[June 


ducted  by  Mis.  Afana  Stephens  of  Sophie 
Newcomb  College. 

At  the  final  aeasion  of  the  ntwoHatian, 
Mis.  Grace  Wilmot  of  New  Yozk  City  gave 
a  delightful  talk  on  Art  in  Decoration,  and 
Mrs.  ^^rginia  Eaton,  Agent  in  Daizying, 
told  how  the  Milk  Campaign  in  Louisiana 
was  made  a  success. 

The  following  officers  were  elected: 
President,  Hamet  Boyer;  Vice-President, 
Louise  Turner;  Secretary-Treasurer,  Laura 
Neak. 

Invitations  were  extended  to  the  AsBoda- 
tlon  for  next  year's  meeting  by  the  Alabama 
Home  Economics  Assodadon,  by  Edith 
Thomas  of  Florida  State  College  for  Women, 
and  by  Geoige  Peabody  College  for  Teachers. 

SusiB  V.  Powell, 
Secntofy-Treasurtr. 

The  New  England  Home  Bconomks 
Association  held  an  all-day  meedng  at 
Simmons  College,  Boston,  on  April  10. 
At  the  morning  session,  devoted  to  the 
subject,  Ways  of  Meeting  Shortage  In 
Household  Service,  Mrs.  Geoige  U.  Crocker 
spoke  on  the  woik  of  the  Boston  Bureau  of 
Household  Occupatians  in  placing  superior 
women  in  households  on  a  business  basis, 
and  Mrs.  James  Odell  tpckit  on  the  success 
of  the  Evanston,  Illinois,  Community 
Kitchen  in  delivering  hot,  home-cooked 
dmnera  to  households.  After  luncheon  in 
the  College  lunch  room,  the  Social  Wozkers 
Teachers,  and  Homemakers  Sections  joined 
forces  to  discuss  What  Changes  are  Needed 
in  the  Teaching  of  Home  Economics  to 
Meet  Present  Conditions.  The  key  note 
of  the  speeches  of  Lucy  GUlett  for  the  social 
wozkeis.  Miss  Howard  for  the  teachers, 
and  Mrs.  Horatio  Dresser  for  the  home- 
makerB,  as  of  the  morning  q)eeches,  was  the 
necessity  of  preserving  the  home  as  a  means 
of  happy,  healthy,  useful,  devebpment. 
Short  talks  from  the  floor  and  lively  round 
table  dinnitBion  followed. 


The  Story  of  a  Fellowship.  During 
the  war  when  the  production  of  beer  was 
prohibited  the  Fleischmann  Yeast  Company 
could  no  longer  obtain  malt  grouts  from  the 
brewers.  They  found,  however,  that  the 
malt  grouts  seemed  necessary  for  the  nu- 
trition of  the  yeast  Dr.  Lee,  the  chemist 
for  the  Fleischmann  Company,  called  on  Dr. 
Koch  of  the  University  of  Chicago  to  ask 
Aether  it  would  be  possible  to  have  a  man 
work  in  the  Uboratory  there  on  the  nutri- 
tion of  yeast  to  discover  if  possible  idiy  the 
malt  sprouts  are  so  Important  for  yeast 
growth.  The  consent  of  the  president  of  the 
University  was  obtained  and  the  Fleisch- 
mann Company  gave  a  fellowship  of  $1500 
to  extend  over  two  years.  Dr.  WHliams 
who  held  the  fellowship  found  that  water- 
soluble  vitamine  present  in  sprouting  grain 
is  one  of  the  factors  necessaiy  for  yeast 
growth,  and  incidentally  suggested  the  growth 
of  yeast  as  a  means  for  testing  the  amount 
of  water-soluble  vitamine  present  in  a  solu- 
tion. 

The  fellowship  has  been  continued  for 
another  two  years  and  has  been  granted  to 
Mr.  F.  K.  Swoboda  who  is  tiying  to  discover 
what  effect  different  fonns  of  nitrogen  have 
on  the  growth  of  yeast. 

Courses  on  Child  Csre.  Dr.  Dorothy 
Reed  Mendenhall  of  the  U.  S.  Chikiien's 
Bureau  is  to  give  two  courses  on  Child  Care 
this  summer  at  the  University  of  Chicago, 
one  on  the  Hygiene  of  Maternity  and  In- 
fancy and  the  other  on  the  Hygiene  of  the 
Older  Child.  Observations  will  be  made  in 
the  Child  Health  School  for  underweight 
children  which  is  to  be  held  thb  Mtmm^r 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Home  Economics 
Department  primarily  for  the  training  of 
teachers  for  nutrition  classes  for  children. 
Miss  Lydia  Roberts  of  the  home  economics 
faculty  will  be  director  of  the  school  and  Dr. 
Mendenhall  and  Dr.  Walter  Hoffmann  of 
Rush  Medical  School  will  serve  as  medical 
advisors. 


1920]  OMiCRON  NU  287 

OMICRON  NU 

Alpha  Chapter,  the  mother  chapter  of  Qmicroii  Nu,  was  organized  at  Mich- 
igan Agricultural  College  in  April,  1912.  Since  its  organization,  meetings 
have  been  held  often,  this  3^ear  two  meetings  a  month,  at  which  topics  of 
interest  have  been  discussed  and  sewing  done. 

In  the  spring  term  of  1919  the  annual  tea  for  the  Freshmen  was  held.  The 
purpose  of  the  tea  is  to  acquaint  the  girls  with  the  ideals  and  aims  of  Qmi- 
cron  Nu.  In  the  fall  term  of  1920  plans  for  the  year's  work  were  discussed. 
Sewing  for  the  United  Charities  of  Lansing  was  a  large  part  of  the  program. 
At  Christmas  Omicron  Nu  joined  her  efforts  with  those  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 
in  giving  a  Christmas  tree  and  feast  to  the  children  of  a  veiy  poor  district 
near  the  College. 

Kappa  Chapter  elected  to  membership  four  former  Washington  State  stu- 
dents who  graduated  in  home  economics  previous  to  the  establishment  of  our 
chapter.  The  new  members,  F.lmina  White,  Ruth  Kennedy,  Inez  Amquist 
and  Myrtle  Boone,  are  county  demonstration  agents  who  have  experienced 
unusual  success  in  their  work.  They  were  in  Pullman  at  a  large  convention* 
of  the  extension  workers  of  Washington. 

Omicron  Nu's  big  event  this  semester,  an  at  home  or  open  house  in  Van 
Doren  Hall,  our  home  economics  building,  was  held  during  the  first  part  of 
May.  Committees  at  work  on  the  arrangements  promise  interesting  features 
including  exhibits  of  home  economics  work,  a  tea  room,  and  a  musical  and 
dramatic  entertainment.  A  sale  of  cakes,  pies,  and  tarts  was  also  held  follow- 
ing the  annual  gymnasimn  show  and  attracted  the  large  crowds  assembled  in 
the  gymnasium  that  evening. 

Lambda  Chapter  of  Omicron  Nu  took  over  the  regular  monthly  meeting  of 
the  Home  Economics  Club  at  the  Oregon  Agricultural  College  for  the  pur- 
pose of  observing  Ellen  H.  Richards'  day.  A  special  program  with  music  was 
planned. 

Ava  B.  Milam,  Dean  of  the  School  of  Home  Economics,  spoke  to  the  girls 
on  the  life  of  Ellen  H.  Richards,  giving  them  the  inspiration  she  had  received 
from  Mrs.  Richards'  life. 

Dean  Milam  also  told  of  her  trip  East  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  Associa- 
tion of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations  at  Chicago  and  the 
Council  meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Association.  Dean  Milam, 
while  on  this  trip,  also  visited  theschools  of  home  economics  at  the  Universi- 
ties of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin,  and  Kansas  State  Agricultural  College. 

Theta  Chapter,  located  at  the  Kansas  State  Agricultural  College,  was  recog- 
nized by  eveiy  student  in  the  institution  as  a  factor  in  securing  better  condi- 
tions for  practical  home  economics  work,  when  the  chapter  secured  for  their 
college  the  Better  Homes  Institute. 


288  THE   JOURNAL   OF  HOME    ECONOMICS  (june 

The  Institute,  which  consisted  of  eight  numbers  given  by  representatives 
sent  out  by  the  Chicago  Art  Institute,  was  held  at  the  college  auditorium  from 
March  8  to  12.  The  programs  given  during  the  mstitute  included  interior 
decoration  demonstrations,  dramatizations  of  home  furnishings,  and  other 
practical  demonstrations  in  which  the  audience  was  actually  shown  how  to 
arrange  and  furnish  a  home.  Generalized  talks  on  planting  the  home  grotmds 
and  buUding  the  home  were  also  included  in  the  program. 

Qmicron  Nu  gained  the  co6peration  of  the  dub  women  of  the  city  of  Man- 
hattan in  getting  the  ideas  of  the  Institute  before  the  public;  the  patronesses, 
who  were  chosen  from  the  faculty  and  the  townswomen,  did  much  to  interest 
the  townspeople  in  the  Institute.  Teas  were  held  after  several  of  the  programs 
at  which  those  especially  interested  were  given  an  opportimity  to  examine 
more  closely  the  art  and  architecture  exhibits  which  accompanied  the  Institute. 
At  these  sodal  affairs,  the  Qmicron  Nu  girls,  and  the  patronesses  of  the  Insti- 
tute were  hostesses. 

The  Better  Homes  Institute,  which  was  a  financial  as  well  as  an  artistic 
success,  served  as  a  means  of  getting  the  work  of  Qmicron  Nu  before  the  pub- 
lic, and  secured  from  the  press  much  commendatory  comment  on  the  work 
of  the  organization. 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  JULY,  1920  No.  7 


IS  THE  CHINESE  DIET  ADEQUATE? 

cm  CHE  WANG 

DepaHmeni  of  Home  Economics,  University  of  Chicago 

The  Chinese  people  have  a  very  varied  diet — eggs,  meat,  fish,  fruit, 
cereals,  and  a  great  variety  of  vegetables.  The  common  notion  that 
rice  is  their  only  food  is  far  from  true.  Rice  merely  takes  the  place  of 
the  American  bread.  Some  people,  ignorant  of  the  real  condition  in 
China  have  argued  that  if  rice  is  the  chief  food  then  ''surely  the  minerals, 
vitamines,  and  adequate  proteins  which  are  decidedly  deficient  in  rice 
cannot  really  be  necessary,"  but  the  facts  are  that  the  Chinese  as  a  race 
probably  have  greater  variety  in  their  food  than  the  Americans  and  more 
sources  of  the  essentials  of  an  adequate  diet. 

Pork  is  their  chief  meat.  It  is  used  by  practically  all  classes  of  people 
in  all  parts  of  China.  A  meal  without  pork  is  considered  to  be  unusually 
simple  and  with  the  exception  of  vegetarians  is  used  by  slaves  or  very 
poor  people  only.  Fresh  pork  is  such  a  common  food  that  wealthy 
people  will  not  even  touch  it.  During  new  year  festivals  and  birthday  or 
wedding  celebrations  a  whole  dressed  hog  or  a  half  of  it  is  often  purchased 
and  consumed  by  the  family  and  their  guests.  Lamb,  however,  may  be 
substituted  for  pork,  but  beef  is  considered  more  or  less  sacred  and  is 
very  seldom  used  as  food.  The  quantity  of  meat  eaten  is  small;  it  is 
usually  served  cut  into  small  pieces  and  mixed  with  vegetables  in  a  great 
variety  of  ways. 

Fish  and  shellfish,  including  crabs,  shrimps,  lobsters,  oysters,  and  the 
like,  are  always  so  much  in  demand  that  many  fishermen  raise  them  in 
their  private  ponds.  Not  only  are  they  sold  at  the  market,  but  they 
may  be  purchased  from  the  peddlers  who  go  from  house  to  house  every 

289 


290  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [JuIy 

morning.  The  peddler  has  a  heavy  bamboo  stick  across  his  shoulder, 
and  suspended  from  each  end  of  it  is  a  big  wooden  tub  containing  a  great 
variety  of  fish  swimming  lively  in  the  water.  Dead  fish  is  either  thrown 
away  or  given  to  cats  and  dogs;  it  is  almost  never  considered  fit  for 
human  food. 

Unlike  Americans,  who  consider  the  muscle  of  an  animal  almost  the 
only  edible  part,  the  Chinese  people  eat  practically  every  bit  of  the  ani- 
mal excepting  hair  and  bones — the  brain,  spinal  cord,  and  the  various 
organs,  even  the  skin  and  the  blood.  The  blood  is  permitted  to  coagu- 
late after  it  is  drawn  from  the  animal  and  comes  on  the  market  in  brown- 
ish cake-like  pieces,  which  look  like  Uver.  The  people  are  entirely 
without  the  feeUng  of  repulsion  toward  it  that  the  occidental  has.  Blood 
is  one  of  the  inexpensive  foods  and  is  therefore  used  quite  liberally. 
Very  little  work  on  its  food  value  has  been  reported.  However,  it  is  a 
known  fact  that  carnivorous  animals,  which  eat  not  only  the  flesh  and 
organs  of  an  animal  but  blood  and  bone  marrow  as  well,  can  live  for  gen- 
erations and  generations  on  their  prey  alone.  On  the  other  hand,  lab- 
oratory animals  cannot  survive  more  than  a  few  months  on  a  diet  of 
either  meat  or  organs  as  the  sole  source  of  food  supply.  This  fact  seems 
to  show  that  blood  furnishes  at  least  a  part  of  the  constituents  necessary 
to  life,  which  are  either  lacking  or  deficient  in  flesh  and  organs.  It 
seems,  therefore,  that  the  liberal  use  of  blood  has  probably  helped  the 
natives  in  getting  an  adequate  diet. 

Although  large  chicken  farms  are  absolutely  unkown  in  China,  I  have 
no  doubt  that  more  chickens  are  raised  there  every  year  than  in  this 
country.  Everybody  who  owns  a  little  piece  of  back  yard  raises  a  few 
chickens  and  several  ducks.  They  are,  therefore,  sold  both  at  the  mar- 
ket and  by  peddlers.  From  market  one  need  not  buy  a  whole  fowl, 
but  may  purchase  such  part  as  is  desired,  for  example,  a  half  dozen  duck's 
heads  or  a  dozen  duck's  feet  to  use  in  soup,  or  ten  or  more  duck's  tongues 
to  prepare  the  delicacy  of  duck's  tongues  cooked  with  ham.  Fowl  are 
more  expensive  than  either  pork  or  fish  and  therefore  are  almost  never 
used  by  the  poor.  However,  they  are  consumed  so  extensively  by  the 
wealthy  that  they  furnish  probably  their  chief  source  of  adequate  pro- 
tein. Geese,  pigeons,  turkeys,  pheasants,  and  many  other  domestic 
and  wild  birds  are  also  used  as  food,  but  owing  to  their  scarcity,  they 
are  considered  more  or  less  as  a  delicacy. 

Eggs  are  used  very  freely  in  the  Chinese  diet,  not  only  hen's  eggs  but 
duck's  and  pigeon's.    As  in  America  they  are  cooked  in  many  ways — 


1920]  IS  THE  CHXMESE  DIET  ADEQUATE  291 

boiled,  fried,  scrambled — ^and  in  addition  they  are  used  for  seasoning, 
garnishing,  making  noodles,  and  preserving.  Thus  eggs  in  one  form  or 
another  are  almost  always  found  in  chop  suey,  chow  mein  (fried  noodles), 
won  dung  (meat  dumpling),  mein  ee  (something  like  pan  cake),  and  many 
other  dishes.  One  of  the  forms  of  eggs  of  which  Chinese  people  are  very 
fond  is  the  so-called  **  tea  eggs."  To  prepare  these,  fresh  hen's  ^ggs  are 
hard  boiled,  the  shells  cracked,  and  the  eggs  then  cooked  for  hours  in  a 
mixture  of  tea  infusion,  salt,  spice,  and  soy  bean  sauce.  When  the  price  of 
eggs  is  low  ^*  tea  eggs''  are  often  prepared  and  kq>t  warm  on  the  stove 
so  that  any  member  of  the  family  may  help  himself  to  them  as  Ameri- 
cans do  to  candy  or  nuts.  Hen's  eggs  are  usually  very  cheap.  Ten 
years  ago  they  were  sold  at  three  for  a  penny.  People  of  moderate 
means  usually  bought  them  by  the  hundred  and  kq>t  them  on  hand  all 
the  year  around.  An  ordinary  day's  diet  for  a  family  easQy  contains  a 
half  dozen  ^ggs  or  even  more.  Even  poor  people  who  keep  their  own 
hens  use  eggs  fairly  freely.  Slaves  and  servants,  however,  are  given 
only  a  few,  for  vegetables  are  usually  cheaper  and  the  eggs  regarded  as 
no  more  desirable. 

A  distinctly  Chinese  use  of  eggs  is  for  preservation.  At  least  three 
different  kinds  are  produced — hulidan  or  salted  duck's  eggs,  dsaudan 
or  fermented  eggs,  and  pidan,  the  so-called  "Chinese  old  eggs."  The 
first  kind  is  prepared  either  by  simply  immersing  fresh  duck's  eggs  in  a 
saturated  cold  solution  of  common  salt  or  by  coating  them  with  a  mix- 
ture of  salt  and  red  earth  or  wood  ashes.  After  one  month  or  longer 
they  are  ready  for  use.  They  are  eaten  hard  boiled  and  their  appear- 
ance is  not  much  different  from  fresh  eggs. 

"  Fermented  eggs"  are  not  so  simple  to  make.  To  prepare  them  clean 
fresh  duck's  eggs  are  packed  in  jars  containing  a  mixture  of  salt,  clay, 
and  fermented  boiled  rice  and  stored  away  for  six  months  or  so.  The 
shell  of  the  egg  has  then  been  dissolved  entirely  or  softened  and  the 
inner  membrane  of  the  shell  is  greatly  thickened.  The  egg  is  somewhat 
coagulated,  and  looks  like  a  soft  boiled  egg,  but  it  has  a  strong  wine-like 
taste  and  odor. 

Pidan,  the  third  kind,  is  a  factory  rather  than  a  home  product.  The 
fresh  duck's  eggs  are  washed,  coated  one  by  one  with  a  mixture  of  Ume, 
wood  ashes,  salt,  and  tea  infusion,  and  stored  away  for  six  months  to  a 
year  or  even  longer.  Then  they  are  covered  further  with  rice  hull  and 
are  ready  for  the  market  By  this  time  the  texture  of  the  egg  is  almost 
like  that  of  hard  boiled  eggs,  the  yolk  is  greenish  gray,  the  white  looks 


292  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOBIICS  [July 

exactiy  like  coffee  jelly,  brown  in  color  and  translucent.  The  egg  has 
an  ammoniacal  odor  which  is  decidedly  different  from  that  of  spoiled 
eggs.  It  tastes  salt  and  slightly  pungent.  All  the  natives  are  very 
fond  of  it  and  consider  it  more  or  less  as  a  delicacy,  using  it  in  the  same 
way  as  Americans  use  cheese. 

It  is  partly  this  extensive  use  of  eggs  by  the  Chinese  people  that  makes 
their  diet  adequate,  supplying  the  necessary  adequate  proteins,  salts, 
and  vitamines.  Milk  they  use  little  or  none.  Cows  as  domestic  animals 
are  employed  only  for  draft  purpose.  Babies,  invalids,  and  the  aged 
are  sometimes  given  human  milk,  but  the  usual  child  and  adult  never 
tastes  milk  at  all.  Mothers  nurse  their  children  for  long  periods  and 
then  sometimes  secure  a  wet  nurse  to  prolong  the  nursing  till  the  child 
is  a  year  and  a  half  to  two  years  old. 

Vegetables  are  used  much  more  freely  by  the  Chinese  people  than  by 
Americans.  In  addition  to  the  common  ones  such  as  spinach,  cabbage, 
potatoes,  radishes,  and  the  like,  many  plants  and  weeds  are  eaten  whidi 
are  not  usually  considered  as  food  in  America.  Thus  radish  leaves,  shep- 
herd purse,  bamboo  sprouts,  and  a  large  number  of  sea  weeds  are  used  as 
food.  Being  lovers  of  vegetables  the  Chinese  people  are  skilled  in  culti- 
vating them  and  in  manufacturing  new  food  articles  from  them.  There 
are  at  least  six  or  seven  varieties  of  spinach  differing  from  each  other  in 
the  size  of  the  plants,  the  size  of  the  leaves,  the  length  of  stems,  and  the 
thickness  of  leaves.  The  one  which  grows  most  abimdantly  in  the  cen- 
tral eastern  part  of  China  looks  somewhat  like  cabbage.  It  differs  from 
the  latter  in  that  it  has  large,  thick,  straight  leaves  which  are  rather 
loose  and  very  few  in  number.  This  plant  contains  so  much  fat  that  the 
vegetable  oil  which  the  natives  use  is  made  from  it.  With  the  exception 
of  about  two  months  it  is  produced  all  the  year  aroimd.  It  is  extremely 
inexpensive  and  is  often  bought  by  the  ton.  It  is  often  dehydrated  or 
preserved  by  means  of  salt  and  spices. 

Even  more  abimdant  than  spinach  is  soy  bean.  There  are  no  less 
than  twenty  different  varieties  of  it,  and  from  them  some  thirty  or  more 
bean  products  are  manufactured.  Tu-fu  (bean  curd),  fun-see  (noodles 
made  from  bean  flour),  and  nga-tsai  (bean  sprouts)  are  some  of  the  bean 
products.  Bean  sprouts  are  especially  interesting.  They  are  one  of  the 
most  inexpensive  foods  and  are  used  in  large  quantity  by  every  Chinese. 
There  are  three  different  kinds  of  them — all  equally  delicious.  One  is 
made  from  small  green  beans,  while  the  other  two  are  from  larger  beans 
of  different  color.    All  beans  are  known  to  contain  water-soluble  B,  but 


1920]  IS  TBE  CHINESE  DIET  ADEQUATE  293 

the  soy  bean  contains  also  a  considerable  amount  of  fat-soluble  A. 
Beans,  on  sim>uting,  have  bew  found  to  develop  their  vitamine  content, 
including  the  antiscorbutic  vitamine.  Thus  sprouted  beans  have  been 
used  to  cure  scurvy.  From  the  above  facts  it  may  be  seen  that  bean 
sprouts  make  a  good  source  of  the  three  vitamines,  and  their  liberal  use 
in  China  must  theref<^e  have  supplied  one  of  the  protective  foods. 

There  is  not  so  much  di^erence  in  the  use  ot  cereal  products  in  China 
and  the  United  States  as  is  usually  thought  In  the  south  and  the  cen- 
tral eastern  part  of  China  where  rice  is  produced  abundantly  it  takes  the 
place  of  wheat,  but  in  the  uotth^  such  as  Pdung  and  Shantung,  wheat, 
cocHy  attd  millet  seed  nxe  used  rather  than  rice.  The  rice  UfiuUy  is  un- 
policed.  Polished  rice  is  a  rather  eiQ)ensive  huouy  limited  to  the  rich. 
The  wheat  flour  used  in  the  nprth  is  white,  much  )ike  American  flour, 
but  probably  it  is  not  so  highly  miUed.  The  millet  s^,  ground  or 
whole,  is  made  into  cakes  €h:  a  thin  mush  eaten  especially  by  children. 
As  far  as  taste  is  concerned  it  is  decidedly  less  palatable  than  either  rice 
or  wheat  i»oducts,  but  its  food  value  is  pcobably  higher  than  either  of 
them.  Dr.  McCdlum  has  found  that  unlike  other  cereals,  millet  seed 
contains  a  consideraUe  amount  of  fat-sduble  A. 

In  very  poor  families  instead  of  meat  and  other  more  expensive  foods 
the  ration  consists  chiefly  of  unpolished  rice  (or,  ifi  the  north,  of  millet 
seed  and  com),  bean  curd,  green  onicms,  sometunes  salt  fish,  and  invari- 
ably a  large  quantity  of  leafy  vegetables  including  bean  ^Mrouts.  Owing 
to  the  choice  of  foods  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  less  danger  of  inade- 
quate diet  in  China  than  in  this  country.  The  eggs,  blood,  bean  sprouts, 
and  the  libeml  quantity  of  leafy  vegetables  have  probably  served  as  the 
protective  foods  in  China. 


294  THE  JOX7&NAL  OF  HOHE  EGONOiaCS  [JuIy 

THE  PLACE  OF  THE  GENERAL  COURSE  IN  HOME 

ECONOMICS* 

BEKTHA  If.  TERRILL 
UmversUy  cf  Vermani 

I  know  not  to  what  extent  accident  or  design  controlled  our  chairman 
in  asking  me  to  present  a  discussion  of  the  subject  assigned  me.  I  am 
certain  that  I  could  hardly  have  chosen  a  more  congenial  topic.  What 
greater  challenge  to  one  who  experiences  increasing  appreciation  of  a 
background  of  college  work  for  both  classical  and  literary  degrees  before 
taking  up  the  study  of  home  economics  than  this  part  of  her  letter: 
"Is  there  any  longer  a  place  for  a  general  course  in  home  economics? 
Some  think  there  is  not/'  I  could  not  resist  that.  I  confess  I  was 
shocked  and  appalled  at  the  statement,  for  I  had  not  realized  that  we 
had  gone  so  far  in  our  enthusiasm  for  the  work  in  which  we  as  a  group 
must  profoundly  believe,  but  which  I  sincerely  think  we  can  in  no  way 
so  successfully  defeat  as  by  such  an  attitude.  Dare  I  add  without 
danger  of  mistmderstanding  and  ofFense,  as  a  too  discourteous  champion, 
that  I  have  been  more  than  once  forced  to  use  great  restraint  not  to 
point  out  to  those  berating  the  arts  courses  as  designed  for  much  waste 
of  time,  that  the  very  English  in  which  they  contended  would  seem  to 
prove  the  value  of  further  lingering  within  the  class  rooms  where 
language  appreciations  are  essentially  obtained? 

But  let  us  come  to  our  subject.  What  is  a  general  course  in  home  eco- 
nomics? I  take  it  that  this  may  be  either  a  course  intended  for  those 
not  definitely  decided  upon  a  vocation  and  therefore  not  wishing  to 
specialize  or  a  course  containing  the  fundamentals  of  home  economics  in 
its  various  phases  without  attempting  specialization  through  advanced 
courses  in  any  one  particular  phase  of  the  subject.  This  term  may  be 
applied,  I  should  suppose,  either  to  a  course  in  the  College  of  Arts  and 
Sciences  which  recognizes  a  minor  elective  in  home  economics,  or  to  a 
course  leading  to  a  degree  in  home  economics  in  which  the  required  home 
economics  is  of  a  general  nature,  rather  than  specialized,  in  food,  cloth- 
ing, household  management,  and  the  like.  Defense  of  a  general  coiuse 
seems  to  me  to  involve  an  appreciation  of  a  general  admixture  of  subjects 
other  than  home  economics  and  also  a  sufficiently  broad  representation 

1  Presented  at  the  Thirty-third  Annual  Convention  of  the  Aaaodation  of  American  Agn- 
ciiltuial  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations,  Chicago,  November,  1919.  Published  also  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Association. 


1920]  THE  PLACE  OF  TBE  GEMESAL  COXmSE  295 

of  all  the  phases  of  home  economics  to  give  a  well-iounded  acquaintance 
with  its  subject  matter  rather  than  a  highly  specialized  grasp  of  a  limited 
field. 

In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  afford  to  lose  sight  for  a  moment  of  the 
great  basic  reason  for  education,  by  which  I  believe  that  every  imder- 
graduate  course  should  be  carefully  tested.  This  leads  to  a  recognition 
of  the  five-fold  intellectual  inheritance  as  the  most  precious  of  posses- 
sions for  any  human  being,  and  that  as  surely  as  we  profit  by  inheriting 
the  experience  of  others  in  ways  of  doing  the  thiugs  to  be  done  in  life,  so 
we  may  acquire  invaluable  aid  in  self-direction  and  service  by  appropri- 
ating the  thought  life  of  the  past.  This  inheritance  has  been  helpfully 
subdivided  for  us  into  the  five  groups  of  our  scientific,  literary,  esthetic 
or  artistic,  institutional,  and  religious  inheritances.  Recognition  of  the 
value  of  each  of  these  groups  is  to  be  found  in  all  past  orthodox  curricula 
and  an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  each  of  these  gives  significance  to 
the  chemistry,  language,  music,  history,  education,  comparative  relig- 
ions, Bible  or  other  ethical  courses  prescribed  as  requirements.  No  one 
of  these  groups  can  be  ignored  without  intellectud  crippling,  arrested 
development,  a  limiting  of  mental  efficiency.  The  more  fully  election 
is  made  from  each  and  all,  the  more  splendid  and  rich  the  equipment. 
In  view  of  this  it  seems  to  me  that  those  who  have  the  arrangement  of  a 
required  course  of  undergraduate  study  have  a  grave  responsibility  to 
see  to  it  that  a  student  is  not  allowed  to  specialize  in  any  of  these  groups 
to  the  exclusion  of  some  knowledge  of  all  of  them,  the  more  evenly  dis- 
tributed, the  better.  In  this  lies  the  danger  of  a  too  free  elective  sys- 
tem. Of  course  wide  free  choice  still  remains  as  to  the  particular  sci- 
ence, history,  literature  or  language  a  student  pursues,  in  defense  of 
which  I  should  say  that  it  remains  with  the  teacher  of  the  first  essay  into 
either  one  of  these  fields  to  make  the  subject  matter  so  compellingly 
essential  to  the  student  that  life  thereafter  becomes  a  further  search 
into  the  varied  resotirces  of  that  group. 

Sad  as  physical  defects  are,  can  there  be  a  sadder  spectacle  or  experi- 
ence than  that  resulting  from  intellectual  bUndness,  deafness,  or  dumb- 
ness in  an  age  so  appealing  for  many-sided  reactions,  so  rich  in  all  it 
offers  both  of  personal  appropriation  and  opportimities  to  share?  Merely 
from  the  standpoint  of  success  do  we  not  see  at  the  present  time  as  a 
result  of  rash  ignoring  of  these  essentials  for  development,  pitiful  fail- 
ures not  due  to  lack  of  specific  knowledge,  but  to  ill-fitting  adjustment 
through  lack  of  appreciations?  It  is  the  most  common  criticism  I  hear, 
and  I  believe  it  an  especial  danger  in  vocational  training. 


296  THE  JOUitNAL  OT  HOICE  ECONOMICS  [JuIy 

But  perhaps  we  are  not  so  far  apart  in  the  ided  as  it  sometimes  seems. 
There  still  remains  the  question  of  whether  sudi  a  general  course  is  pos- 
sible. Do  students  or  their  parents  want  it?  Can  an  institution  hold 
to  it  as  an  ideal,  divergencies  being  frankly  recognized  as  necessarily  tm- 
fortunate  compromises  in  some  cases.  I  bdieve  that  it  can,  and  that 
there  should  be  such  a  course.  Therefore,  whfle  entirely  oidorsing  voca- 
tional training  as  highly  desirable  dttring  tmdeigraduate  study,  I  believe 
very  firmly  that  few  undergraduate  studaits  are  able  to  dedde,  at  least 
before  senior  year,  what  their  happiest  selection  in  vocation  is  to  be. 
Perhaps  my  own  five  years  of  teaching  Gredc  before  I  found  myself 
colors  this  conviction,  although  I  recognize  present  day  improvement  in 
vocational  opportunities. 

I  believe  strongly,  moreover,  in  the  dwarfing  which  must  result  from 
crystaEzing  interest  in  study  upon  a  given  subject  or  group  of  subjects 
too  early.  An  undergraduate  student  should  be  an  octopus,  reaching 
out  hungrily  in  every  possSHie  direction  with  the  eagerness,  whidi  gives 
zest,  of  not  knowing  in  whidi  direction  the  richest  food  supply  is  coming. 
This  much  conceded,  I  am  wholly  ready  to  give  place  with  all  my  heart 
to  a  reasonable  amotmt  of  sudi  applied  material  as  courses  in  home  eco- 
nomics present,  believing  that  if  properly  presented,  they  quicken  mter- 
est  in,  and  desire  for,  the  more  abstract  materml.  But  I  cannot  beHeve 
that  undergraduate  work  in  home  economics  ^lould  ever  be  allowed  to  be 
so  spedaUzed,  that,  later,  teachers  of  foods  have  no  proper  conception 
of  clothing,  or  vice  versa,  and  I  believe  that  our  departments  today  are 
weakened  by  the  presence  of  some  thus  wrongly  limited. 

Now  I  have  not  spoken  in  ignorance  of  what  the  actual  working  condi- 
tions for  aU  this  are  today.  There  is  intense  pressure  away  from  such  a 
course,  at  a  time  when  young  women  are  needing  and  seeking  highly 
vocational  training  as  never  bef ore,  and  when  special  funds  would  limit 
for  specific  use  all  teaching  done  under  their  aid.  It  is  so  child's  prob- 
lem for  a  small  institution,  of  limited  facilities  especially,  to  determine 
what  to  do.  I  can  only  dedare  that  person^Jly  my  deepest  mtoest  and 
belief  is  in  the  undergraduate  courses  in  home  ecMiomics  offered  as  dbc- 
tives  to  students  in  the  college  of  arts  and  sciences,  which  are  made  as  rich 
and  full  of  subject  matter  as  is  possible  in  junior  and  semor  years.  Next 
to  this  comes  my  regard  for  the  general  home  economics  course  winch 
gives  place  to  as  large  recognition  of  language,  English,  history,  art, 
general  sdence  as  possible,  with  so  much  of  general  courses  in  home  eco- 
nomics as  will  prepare  for  intelligent  homemaking  or  teaching  in  a  junior- 


1920]  YOUTHFUt  HANDIWORK  FROM  ITALY  297 

senior  high  schod.  The  true  student  who  needs  more  will  return  at  her 
earliest  opportunity  for  graduate  work  in  her  chosen  field.  She  will 
never  go  back  for  the  general  courses. 

So  strong  is  my  conviction  in  this  that  when  the  test  came,  I  insisted 
that  for  our  institution  such  a  course  must  stand,  whether  acceptable  for 
special  purposes  or  not,  and  no  modification  has  been  made  except  the 
mtroductaon  of  a  course  in  special  methods.  This  with  two  possible 
electives  has,  fortunately,  been  sufficient  to  make  our  course  acceptable 
for  all  that  is  asked  of  us  at  present. 

I  was  greatly  encouraged  last  year  to  believe  that  I  was  not  wholly  out- 
run and  that  the  possibility  of  this  sort  of  home  economics  is  still  with  us, 
on  being  asked,  by  those  interested  in  the  introductionof  the  study  into 
the  curriculum  of  one  of  the  leading  colleges  of  the  Middle  West,  whetiba: 
I  could  suggest  a  teacher  with  this  point  of  view.  I  was  a8sui?ed  that  the 
seemiiig  lack  of  sudi  was  a  diief  deterrent  in  the  introducticm  of  the 
w<M-k.  That  that  colk|;e  is  not  yet  provided  for  makes  me  fear  that  the 
variety  is  growing  too  rare.  Those  of  us  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to 
know  Mrs.  Richards,  and  to  appreciate  her  ideals,  consider  earnestly  our 
obligation  to  continue  the  reject  which  she  created  for  the  study,  by 
virtue  oi  her  own  broad  training  and  interests  and  the  vision  she  had 
for  the  work. 


YOUTHFXJL  HANDIWORK  FROM  ITALY 

Some  of  the  most  prized  articles  in  several  American  homes  today  are 
exquisite  little  vases,  boxes,  and  trays  made  by  the  childish  fingers  of 
small  Italian  refugees.  These  were  brought  home  by  American  Red 
Cross  workers  from  that  land  of  beauty  and  art  where  even  the  children 
were  imbued  with  an  understanding  of  color  and  design.  In  spite  of  the 
youthfulness  of  the  artisans,  much  of  this  handiwork  has  real  artistic 
merit. 

The  pottery  came  from  Monteporzio,  where  the  Red  Cross  had  a 
school  for  boys  whose  parents  were  lost  or  left  behind  in  the  evacuated 
districts.  One  of  the  directors  of  this  school  was  a  student  from  the 
American  Academy  at  Rome  and  under  his  training  many  of  the  boys 
became  quite  skillfid  in  decorative  work. 


298  THE  J0X7&NAL  OP  HOME  ECONOIHCS  [July 

In  Avellino,  novelties  in  wood  were  made.  Avellino  is  the  center  of 
a  wood  working  district  and  the  boys  who  worked  in  the  industrial 
groups  of  the  American  Red  Cross  asili  turned  out  some  clever  carved 
and  painted  wooden  toys  for  use  in  their  playgroimd,  for  which,  inci- 
dentally, they  made  all  the  equipment  themselves. 

In  Venice  the  children  made  a  specialty  of  cross  stitch  work  and  hand 
sewing.  With  their  fine  sense  of  color  and  harmony  even  the  pieces  done 
by  the  smallest  children  showed  ability  and  taste  in  design.  One  little 
girl  of  six  made  an  embroidered  square,  with  the  Italian  and  American 
flags,  joined  by  the  symbol  of  the  Red  Cross,  in  the  center,  and  an  em- 
broidered motto  across  the  top,  entirely  in  cross  stitch.  This  bit  of 
work  equals  in  execution  the  sampler  of  grandmother's  day  and  is  far  in 
advance  of  any  handiwork  the  average  American  child  of  today  could 
make  at  the  same  tender  age. 

The  children  of  this  same  asili  made  complicated  little  lira  cases  too, 
those  queer  foreign  purses,  which  you  turn  one  way  and  your  lira  notes 
are  in,  and  you  turn  another  and  they  are  out!  These  are  made  of  scraps 
from  the  workrooms,  and  painted  or  embroidered  in  attractive  designs. 

Not  only  in  the  schools  and  €uili  for  children  were  interesting  bits  of 
handiwork  made.  In  the  workrooms  where  the  American  Red  Cross 
gave  employment  to  himdreds  of  refugee  women  and  imtrained  wives  of 
soldiers,  every  scrap  of  material  was  utilized.  From  these  left  over  bits 
of  goods,  "hit  or  miss''  rag  rugs  were  knitted  or  crocheted,  and  Friuli 
shoes,  the  soles  made  entirely  from  doth,  quilted  and  pounded,  were 
manufactured. 

The  greatest  service  the  American  Red  Cross  rendered  to  the  soldiers 
of  Italy  was  in  the  care  of  their  children,  a  care  which  these  impetuous 
little  southern  folk  will  not  soon  forget.  On  one  July  4th,  the  boys  of 
Monteporzio  held  a  celebration  and  exhibition  of  their  work  in  honor  of 
the  Americans,  which  those  who  were  present  will  always  remember. 

One  boy,  trim  in  brown  uniform  and  Boy  Scout  hat,  spoke  for  them 
all.  "Oh,  my  mother,"  he  finished,  "up  behind  that  curtain  of  blood 
and  fire  that  separates  us,  read  in  the  stars  of  Heaven  that  beneath  other 
stars,  the  starry  flag  of  America,  your  little  son  has  found  safety  and 
tender  care." 


1920]  TVTXTSCR  ADlOKISTltATIVE  PROBLEMS  299 

FUTURE   ADMINISTRATIVE    PROBLEMS    IN    VOCATIONAL 

EDUCATION  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS* 

ANNA  £.  RICHARDSON 
AssistoMt  Director  for  Home  Economics  Education,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  EdncaHon 

I  wish  very  briefly  to  discuss  with  you  some  of  the  problems  of  the 
administration  of  home  economics  education — the  groups  of  women  to 
be  reached  by  such  training,  the  school's  responsibility  for  providing  all 
the  facilities  and  factors  which  enter  into  a  complete  program  of  home- 
making  education,  and  the  need  of  providing  adequately  trained  voca- 
tional teachers.  These  are  problems  in  which  both  the  federal  govern- 
ment and  the  states  are  mutually  concerned.  The  national  government 
has  assumed  its  responsibility  in  the  matter  of  training  women  for  the 
vocation  of  homemaking  by  the  inclusion  of  home  economics,  along  with 
agriculture  and  trade  and  industry,  in  the  Federal  Vocational  Education 
Act.  The  48  states  likewise  have  assumed  responsibility  both  by  their 
acceptance  of  the  provisions  of  the  act  and,  on  the  part  of  a  number  of 
states,  by  the  enactment  of  further  legislation  which  provides  additional 
state  funds  to  establish  schools  and  classes  for  homemaking  instruction. 

After  almost  three  years  of  work  imder  the  act,  we  find  that  a  good 
beginning  has  been  made,  but  that  there  are  many  problems  involved  in 
the  administration  of  home  economics  education  yet  to  solve.  Have 
we,  as  state  and  federal  people,  really  analyzed  our  job  of  administration? 
Have  we  carefully  studied  the  needs  of  the  women  and  girls  who  should 
be  reached  by  this  instruction,  and  then  planned  a  program  which  will 
meet  those  needs?  We  are  all  tied  pretty  closely  to  the  school  and  its 
point  of  view.  Have  we  not  very  generally  attempted  to  formulate  a 
plan  for  vocational  education  which  will  fit  into  our  present  school  system, 
rather  than  a  program  planned  after  studying  the  problem  of  h  me- 
making  in  our  state  and  the  needs  of  our  girls  and  women,  as  we  have 
found  them?  How  shall  we  set  about  outlining  a  program  which  is 
truly  based  upon  the  needs  of  our  homemakers?  Unquestionably  the 
first  step  is  to  find  out  those  needs.  The  homemaking  problems  facing 
a  mother  who.has  a  family  to  care  for  are  not  the  same  as  those  with  which 
the  girl  is  concerned  who  is  just  now  preparing  for  housekeeping,  nor  are 

'  Pftper  read  before  the  meeting  of  the  National  Society  for  Vocational  Education,  Chi* 
cago,  February,  1920.     Published  also  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Sodety. 


300  THE  JOUBNAL  OF  HOMB  ECONOMICS  [JuljT 

they  the  same  for  the  young  woman  who  is  employed  outside  of  the  home 
and  yet  who  keeps  house  for  herself  and  other  members  of  her  family. 
We  can  not,  therefore,  study  those  needs  in  general  terms,  but  will  find 
it  more  satisfactory  to  study  the  homemaker's  needs  in  relation  to  the 
groups  to  be  reached  by  homemaking  instruction. 

All  of  our  girls  and  women  may  be  roughly  divided  into  three  large 
groups: 

(1)  The  women  employed  in  the  occupation  of  homemaking,  either  in 
their  own  home  or  for  wage  earning  in  some  one's  else  home. 

(2)  The  girls  and  women  employed  outside  of  homes  in  industrial  or 
commercial  occupations. 

(3)  The  girls  who  are  still  in  school. 

Is  homemaking  training  desirable  for  all  of  these  groups?  The  whole 
problem  of  training  women  for  homemaking  is  complicated  by  the  fact 
that  more  than  80  per  cent  of  our  women  do  eventually  go  into  their  own 
homes  and  practice  homemaking  as  their  chief  occupation,  and  that  the 
majority  of  the  remainder  practice  some  phases  of  the  vocation,  even 
though  employed  outside  of  the  home  in  wage-earning  occupations. 

The  women  employed  in  full-time  homemaking  comprise  the  largest 
group  needing  vocational  training,  for  homemaking  is  still  the  occupation 
into  which  more  persons  enter  than  into  any  oth^  one  occupation. 
Women  enter  this  vocation  with  various  degrees  of  ddll  and  effidaKy, 
which  must  be  supplemented  by  training  if  they  are  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  the  home  in  such  a  way  that  the  ideals  of  our  family  life  are  to  be  pre- 
served and  we  are  to  rear  a  happy,  healthy  American  pec^le. 

With  the  sentiment  of  the  country  steadily  growing  in  favor  of  part- 
time  classes  for  all  woricers  from  14  to  16  or  18  jrears  of  age,  and  with 
the  passage  of  compulsory  part-time  laws  in  18  states,  we  have,  through 
these  classes,  an  opportimity  to  serve  an  increasing  large  number  of 
girls.  Chu:  problem  is  not  so  clearly  defined  for  this  group  of  wage  earn- 
ers outside  of  the  home  as  it  is  for  the  women  emi^ojred  in  h<miemaklng 
pursuits.  The  majority  of  these  giris  have  little  education,  general  or 
vocational,  and  their  chief  concern  is  to  earn  a  living.  They  make  up 
the  great  group  of  tmskilled  labor  in  factories,  mills,  and  other  industrial 
plants,  and  their  chance  for  advancement  is  sUght  unless  c^^rtunity  b 
given  to  them  to  add  to  their  meager  education.  Wherever  the  employ- 
ment of  these  girls  is  such  that  part-time  trade  extension  classes  can  be 
offered,  they  shoidd  have  them.  This  is  an  important  point  for  home 
economics  people  to  clearly  see,  for  sometimes  in  our  enthusiasm  we  are 


1920]  FUTURE  ADMINISTRATIVE  PROBLEMS  301 

apt  to  feel  that  every  group  of  factory  girls  should  be  given  homemaking 
instruction.  Unquestionably  there  should  be  homemaking  classes  for 
those  girls  who  expect  soon  to  assume  homemaking  responsibilities,  or 
who  wish  preparation  for  wage  earning  in  some  homemaking  cocupation. 
This  group  is  comparable  to  the  part-time  trade  preparatory  classes  which 
are  organized  on  the  basis  of  a  contract  of  employment;  but,  for  the 
greater  number,  who  do  not  expect  immediately  to  assume  full  home- 
making  responsibilities,  should  vocational  training  be  offered?  Yes, 
but  not  at  a  sacrifice  to  their  wage-earning  opportunities.  Obvi- 
ously the  occupation  of  many  of  these  women  is  a  dual  one, — with  part 
of  the  tnne  spent  in  homemaking  activities,  while  the  greater  part  of 
the  time  is  spent  in  a  wage-earning  pursuit  outside  of  the  home.  Should 
they  not  nevertheless  be  eligible  for  vocational  training  in  home  eco- 
nomics? Such  women  do  not  practice  homemaking  in  its  entirety,  but 
they  have  some  very  real  problems  of  food,  clothings  and  shelter  with 
which  to  contend,  and  they  need  help  in  solving  them. 

Educators  are  practically  agreed  that  the  two  groups  just  outlined 
should  be  reached  by  vocational  courses  in  home  economics.  Concern- 
ing the  third  group,  which  is  made  up  of  girls  who  are  in  school,  there 
seems  to  be  considerable  variance  of  opinion.  There  are  those  who 
maintain  that  there  should  be  no  vocational  courses  in  home  economics 
open  to  normal  high  school  girls,  while  there  are  others  who  fed  that  aU 
home  economics  properly  taught  and  rightly  chosen  is  vocational.  It  has 
been  difficult  to  see  dearly  the  problems  of  vocational  education  in  the 
day  school,  for  the  issue  has  been  bedouded  by  the  fact  that  day  school 
is  only  now  getting  its  bearing  in  rdation  to  community  needs.  It  was 
comparativdy  simple  as  long  as  its  chief  function  was  to  give  general 
education  in  schools  and  pass  on  as  many  of  the  pupils  as  possible  to 
hi^er  institutions.  But  now  that  the  question  is  being  asked,  What  is 
the  school  doing  for  the  boys  and  girls  who  drop  out? — and  when  first 
one  community  interest  and  then  another  questions  the  value  of  the 
school  and  what  it  is  giving  in  the  way  of  training  to  fit  boys  and  girls 
for  work,  the  problem  begins  to  be  more  dearly  defined  and  the  function 
of  the  day  school  in  reaching  the  groups  through  vocational  education 
becomes  more  evident. 

The  girls  of  over  fourteen  who  are  in  school  divide  themsdves  pretty 
generally  into  three  groups.  First,  a  large  group  who  are  in  high  school 
simply  because  they  are  sent  there.  They  have  little  choice  and  do  not 
much  care  what  course  they  foUow.    The  future  is  hazy  and  they  take 


302  THE  JOUKKAL  OF  HOICE  EOONOiCCS  [Joly 

little  heed  of  tomorrow.  The  second  group  is  made  up  of  girb  who  know 
that  pretty  soon  they  must  get  to  work,  and  therefore  they  are  anxious 
to  have  training  which  will  put  them  into  employment.  The  third 
group  IS  made  up  of  those  who  fully  expect  to  go  on  through  high  school 
and  probably  on  to  normal  school  or  college.  Should  all  of  these  groups 
be  given  vocational  home  economics  education?  From  the  standpoint 
that  they  are  all  girls  who  have  some  share  in  the  life  of  the  home,  and 
from  the  fact  that  the  majority  of  them  will  eventually  have  a  much 
larger  share,  Yes.  If,  however,  vocational  home  economics  courses 
are  to  be  limited  to  those  girb  who  expect  to  go  directly  into  their  own 
homes,  then  we  must  exclude  from  this  training  the  groups  who  expect 
to  enter  other  vocations. 

Should  assurance  of  immediate  placement  in  the  occupation  deter- 
mine whether  or  not  a  course  is  vocational?  Or  should  not  rather  the 
avowed  aim  of  the  course,  and  the  fact  that  the  instruction  offered  is 
chosen  to  carry  out  that  aim,  determine  that  a  course  is  either  vocational 
or  designed  for  general  education  training? 

Agreeing  generally  on  the  groups  who  should  be  reached  by  homemak- 
ing  training,  our  next  big  problem  is:  How  shall  we  determine  the  kind 
of  instruction  which  should  be  offered?  I  shall  neither  have  the  time 
nor  do  I  wish  to  discuss  courses  of  study,  but  I  do  wish  to  point  out  a 
few  guide  posts  in  determining  the  choice  of  the  instruction  material  in 
a  vocational  program.  The  many  queries  indicate  that  our  choice  of  sub- 
ject matter  is  still  largely  dominated  by  the  ideals  of  general  education. 
We  have  not  clearly  enough  in  mind  the  demands  of  the  vocation  and 
the  necessity  for  these  demands  dominating  our  training,  if  we  are  really 
to  off er  vocational  education  which  will  get  results. 

The  homemaking  needs  are  not  identical  for  the  three  groups  as  set 
up  above,  and  the  choice  of  subject  matter  taught  should  not  be  the  same 
for  all  groups.  Homemaking,  as  has  been  said,  is  a  composite  occupa- 
tion. The  modem  home  is  much  less  a  production  plant  than  it  was, 
yet  the  home  is  and  will  continue  to  be  concerned  with  productive  jobs; 
and  the  woman  is,  therefore,  a  worker  in  the  several  semi-skilled  occu- 
pations which  are  practiced  in  the  home.  In  addition,  the  homemaker's 
job  is  a  management  job.  She  is  largely  responsible  for  the  buying  of 
supplies,  the  planning  of  the  work  in  the  home,  and  the  management  of 
the  family  life.  No  two  homes  offer  quite  the  same  conditions  and  the 
management  and  work  jobs  vary  with  the  income,  size  of  family,  location 
of  home,  and  the  native  talent  and  ability  of  the  homemaker.    For  one 


1920]  FUTUSE  ADIONISIIUTIVE  PROBLEMS  303 

homemaker  the  job  is  largely  that  of  a  worker  in  the  various  occupations 
that  make  up  the  life  in  the  home;  for  another  it  is  largely  that  of  a 
manager  of  a  business  enterprise;  for  the  majority  it  combines  both  de- 
ments. 

Recognizing  that  homemaking  is  a  composite  vocation  made  up  of 
several  fairly  dearly  defined  occupations  which  are  frequently  practiced 
independently,  shall  we  not  arrive  more  quickly  at  our  determination  of 
the  kinds  of  instruction  to  offer  if  we  analyze  each  of  the  occupations 
sqMuatdy,  and  from  such  analyses  determine  the  occupational  needs 
and  the  content  of  instruction?  We  can  not  hope  to  deal  satisfactorily 
with  these  problems  wholesale,  but  there  are  common  occupations  which 
foim,  in  varying  d^prees,  a  part  of  practically  all  homemakers'  jobs,  and 
the  training  which  is  needed  for  the  several  groups  differs  mainly  in  the 
extent  to  which  these  occupations  form  a  part  of  homemaking  for 
each  group. 

For  the  group  employed  in  homemaking  activities  the  instruction  of- 
ered  should  do  three  things.  First,  it  must  offer  opportunity  to  learn 
simple  processes  as  they  are  carried  on  in  the  home;  second,  it  must 
supplement  any  skill  which  the  home  worker  already  possesses  and  in- 
crease her  ability  to  do  the  work  of  the  home;  and  third,  it  must  devdop 
an  imderstanding  and  appredation  of  what  the  job  as  a  whole  means, 
develop  managerial  ability  and  appredation  for  the  finer  and  more  spir- 
itual and  aesthetic  side  of  homemaking.  The  extent  to  which  these 
three  aims  of  iiKSIruction  can  be  carried  out  will  depend  upon  the  ability, 
general  education,  and  training  of  the  women. 

In  planning  instruction  for  this  group  it  must  be  remembered 
that  at  most,  the  homemaker  will  come  for  only  short  unit  courses 
offered  two  or  three  times  a  week,  so  that  the  opportunities  are 
necessarily  limited  and  the  instruction  material  will  have  to  be  chosen 
carefully.  Theoretical  education  will  have  little  place.  Text  books  and 
courses  of  study  which  deal  with  general  phases  of  homemaking  should 
be  discarded.  The  woman  needs  specific  hdp  to  do  her  job.  To  illus- 
trate— a  theory  of  budget  making  availeth  nothing.  Her  problem  is  to 
feed,  dothe,  house,  and  provide  education  and  recreation  for  a  family 
of  five  on  $1500.  It  is  a  definite  problem,  and  if  you  are  to  hdp  her  you 
must  deal  with  it.  She  keeps  house  in  a  dty  apartment;  the  problems 
of  house  construction,  heating,  proper  arrangement  of  rooms  so  as  to 
secure  southern  exposure  for  nursery  or  living  room,  mean  little  to  her. 
She  needs  to  know  how  she  can  provide  adequate  heat,  air,  and  sunshine 
for  the  baby  in  a  three-room  apartment  on  the  north  side  of  the  house. 


304  THE  JOUKKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  Quly 

Neither  must  we  rest  content  with  merely  offering  courses;  we  must 
see  to  it  that  the  women  are  reached,  interested,  and  attracted  to  come 
for  instruction.  This  is  not  an  easy  job;  it  is  the  hardest  that  we  have. 
We  have  so  little  machinery,  no  compulsory  attendance  laws,  no  hope 
of  advancement  in  wages  for  most  of  those  who  come — ^nothing  to  bring 
them,  imless  we  have  something  to  give  which  they  want.  In  teaching 
such  groups  the  teacher  and  the  content  of  instruction  are  both  on  trial, 
as  the  class  is  made  up  of  rather  discriminating  critics.  But  it  is  worth 
all  the  effort  we  can  put  forth.  Remember  we  do  not  dare  to  neglect 
the  home;  for  every  day  the  child,  the  hope  of  tomorrow,  goes  forth  what 
he  is,  because  of  that  home.  With  about  twenty  million  women  to 
reach  through  short  courses,  we  can  not  feel  that  we  have  a  really  na- 
tional vocational  program  until  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  reached. 

The  instruction  in  homemaking  offered  for  the  group  of  girls  who  are 
employed  outside  of  their  homes  should  be  based  upon  their  immediate 
needs.  We  must  c(»nmence  our  training  of  this  girl  where  we  find  her 
and  build  upon  her  own  homemaking  interests,  idiich  for  the  most  part 
center  around  her  clothes,  her  looks,  her  budget  for  living  on  $15  a  week, 
and  her  food.  She  is  interested  not  so  much  in  problems  of  construction 
of  dothing,  but  in  its  choice,  renovation,  and  care.  As  these  girls  are  in 
school  for  from  six  to  eight  hours  a  week  and  many  of  them  for  more 
than  a  year,  sjrstematic  instruction  should  be  o£Fered  which  will  teach 
fundamental  homemaking  processes,  as  well  as  the  essential  related  in- 
struction and  general  education  which  will  make  them  intelligent  work- 
ers either  in  their  own  homes  or  in  occupations  outside  of  the  home. 

The  aim  of  the  instruction  in  home  economics  given  to  the  girls  in 
school  wiU  vary,  as  was  pointed  out  earlier,  with  the  different  groups  of 
girls  found  in  school.  For  the  girl  who  has  made  her  choice  of  home- 
making  either  to  be  followed  in  her  own  home  or  as  a  basis  for  wage 
earning  in  some  one  of  the  occupations  practiced  in  the  home,  the  course 
should  be  organized  as  a  homemaking  preparatory  course,  for  it  seems 
only  sound  to  judge  a  vocational  course  on  the  basis  of  aim,  content,  and 
avowed  choice  of  the  student. 

Is  home  economics  as  given  to  all  girls  of  over  14  years  of  age  vocational, 
or  is  it  to  be  accepted  as  a  part  of  their  general  education?  I  am  ready 
to  grant  that  it  is  vocational,  but  for  what  vocation  is  it  designed?  The 
vocation  of  house  daughter?  Is  it  taught  primarily  from  the  point  of 
view  of  training  the  homemaker,  or  is  its  avowed  aim  to  train  a  girl  for 
her  share  in  the  life  of  the  family?    I  can  not  settle  this  problem,  but  I 


1920]  FTJTUI^  ADMINISTRATIVE  PROBLEMS  305 

think  it  is  one  that  as  administrators  we  must  squarely  face.  If  we  are 
to  offer  a  vocaticmal  course  for  a  house  daughter,  let  us  recognize  it  as 
such  and  carefully  study  the  problem  as  to  how  best  to  train  the  girl  for 
her  immediate  needs  as  a  member  of  her  family  and  as  a  worker  in  her 
mother's  home.  Let  us  determine  the  amoimt  and  kind  of  homemaking 
instruction  necessary  to  make  of  her  a  good  house  daughter.  If,  on  the 
other  handy  we  are  training  her  to  be  a  homemaker,  let  us  agree  to  this  and 
set  to  work  to  analyze  the  homemaker's  job  and  base  our  instruction  on 
this  analysis. 

We  have  never  satisfactorily  determined  what  the  instructional  content 
of  our  homemaking  course  shall  be.  We  have  never  made  a  thorough- 
going study  of  the  successful  homemaker  and  the  elements  of  her  suc- 
cess. I  agree  that  we  have  based  our  instruction  upon  home  practice 
and  that  the  best  home  usage  has  been  our  guide,  but  we  have  not  made 
a  very  careful  study  of  the  contributing  agencies  that  make  for  suc- 
cessful homemaking,  nor  have  we  formulated  these  into  homemaking 
courses.  Have  we  determined  the  processes  involved  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  homemaking  and  have  we  classified  these  processes  in  the  order 
of  their  learning  difficulties? 

We  have  been  offering  good  home  economics  courses,  but  have  we 
been  offering  a  course  designed  to  train  our  yoimg  people  to  be  home- 
makers?  Do  we  know  the  amount  of  time  necessary  to  train  a  girl  in 
the  fimdamental  operations  of  the  work  of  the  home  and  at  the  same 
time  give  her  sufficient  related  instruction  to  make  of  her  an  intelligent, 
indq>endent  worker?  Have  we  agreed  upon  whether  the  length  of 
the  homemaking  course  should  be  six  months,  or  one  or  two  years? 
Should  it  be  offered  90  minutes  a  day,  or  for  two  and  one-half  or 
three  houis?  ShaU  we  devote  part  of  our  half  day  to  related  subjects; 
and  if  so,  what  shall  we  teach?  Shall  we  require  supervised  home  pro- 
ject work  of  all  girls  taking  vocational  work  in  home  economics?  It  is 
impossible  to  teach  all  of  the  vocation  of  homemaking  to  the  girl  in 
school.  We  can  not  hope  that  the  day  school  will  turn  out  a  100  per 
cent  product,  therefore  we  must  needs  decide  the  amount  of  skill,  man- 
agerial ability,  scientific  and  artistic  appreciation  which  should  be  given 
as  a  part  of  our  homemaking  training. 

The  third  problem  which  we,  as  administrators,  face  is  that  of  pro- 
viding adequately  trained  teachers.  In  vocational  education,  even 
more  than  in  general  education,  the  success  of  the  work  will  depend  upon 
the  teacher.    The  institutions  of  the  country  are  each  year  graduating 


306  THE  JOTJSKAL  OF  HOME  EOOKOMICS  Quly 

girls  well  trained  in  the  scientific  aspects  of  home  economics,  but  are  we 
training  many  good  teachers  of  homemaking?  Furthermore,  the  chief 
interest  and  concern  of  the  institutions  has  been  to  train  the  teacher 
for  the  all-day  school.  As  we  have  earlier  pointed  out,  this  is  only  a 
small  part  of  the  problem  of  homemaking  teaching,  for  the  great  group 
of  our  people  are  yet  to  be  reached  through  evening  schools  and  short 
courses. 

A  number  of  the  states  have  gone  after  this  problem  with  some  serious* 
ness.  Particularly  is  this  true  of  Massachusetts,  New  York,  and  Cali- 
fornia. In  the  main,  the  recruits  for  these  teacher-training  classes  have 
been  women  with  trade  experience  or  housekeq[>ing  experience.  The 
yoimg,  inexperienced  girl  has  been  barred.  The  trade-trained  woman  has 
proved  to  be  a  teacher  very  successful  in  dealing  with  the  practical  house- 
wife enrolled  in  the  short  unit  courses,  for  she  has  to  deal  only  with  the 
phase  of  homemaking  which  she  knows  from  long  experience.  This  is 
particularly  true  in  millinery  or  dressmaking,  where  the  trade  standard  is 
the  desired  standard  for  all  garments  made.  These  potential  teachers 
have  training  and  vocational  experience,  and  the  further  need  is  to  give 
them  the  type  of  pedagogy  which  will  enable  them  to  put  over  their 
knowledge  to  their  students. 

Ideally  our  short  course  teachers  should  be  picked  by  hand,  for  the 
successful  teacher  must  not  only  know  her  subject  and  how  to  teach 
it,  but  she  must  know  her  students  and  their  needs.  She  must  know 
the  general  home  standards  of  her  class  and  be  in  full  sympathy  with 
its  problems.  For  this  reason  the  trade  teacher  does  not  always 
successfully  teach  the  care,  renovation,  and  remodeling^  of  dothing 
with  the  success  of  the  woman  who  has  worked  more  nearly  under 
home  conditions.  Great  care  has  to  be  taken  in  choosing  women  who 
can  successfully  work  with  the  foreign-bom  woman.  To  reach  her 
you  must  know  her  standards  of  life  in  her  native  country  and  her  social 
and  religious  prejudices,  which  have  to  be  reckoned  with.  Tact  and 
sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  will  go  far  in  arriving  at  the  real 
needs  of  the  foreign-bom  woman  and  in  determining  how  best  to  help  her. 

I  have  attempted  to  show  that  the  big  problem  before  us,  both  as 
federal  and  state  administrators,  is  the  working  out  ot  a  real  program 
for  vocational  education  in  home  economics,  based  upon  a  study  of  the 
needs  as  revealed  in  the  analysis  of  the  homemaking  occupation  as  it  is 
practiced  by  the  various  groups;  that  we  have  been  too  apt  to  follow 


1920]  FUTtmE  ADIOKISTRATIVE  PROBLEMS  307 

the  well-beaten  path  as  marked  out  for  general  education,  rather  than 
to  strike  out  and  determine  content  and  method  for  vocational  courses; 
and  that  the  great  challenge  to  us  is  to  reach  with  vocational  education 
the  large  group  of  girls  and  women  who  are  out  of  school,  as  well  as  the 
small  group  who  are  in  school. 

There  has  recently  been  introduced  into  Congress  at  the  earnest  re- 
quest of  the  American  Home  Economics  Association  and  the  General 
Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  a  bill  to  further  extend  the  opportunities 
for  homemaking  training.  This  bill  proposes  to:  (1)  remove  home  eco- 
nomics from  that  section  in  the  law  where  it  is  now  included  with  trade 
and  industry.  In  this  way  standards  may  be  set  up  for  home  economics 
which  are  more  nearly  suited  to  the  needs  and  conditions  of  the  vocation 
of  homemaking.  (2)  To  appropriate  additional  funds  for  homemaking 
education.  In  the  present  act  the  fund  available  for  home  economics  is 
20  per  cent,  or  one-fifth  of  the  trade  and  industries  fund.  (3)  To  ap- 
propriate the  fund  on  the  basis  of  total  population;  the  present  fund 
which  may  be  used  for  home  economics  is  apportioned  to  the  states  on 
the  basis  of  the  urban  population.  As  31  of  the  states  have  a  larger 
rural  than  urban  population,  and  as  the  need  for  homemaking  training 
is  as  great  in  rural  as  in  urban  centers,  a  more  equitable  adjustment  of 
these  funds  will  come  from  an  apportionment  on  the  basis  of  total 
population. 

This  legislation  offers  increased  vocational  opportunities  for  training 
women.  With  this  legislation  pending  it  is  imperative  that  we  stop 
and  think  of  some  of  these  problems  that  are  before  us.  Are  we  making 
the  most  of  our  opportunities?  Have  we  a  real  program  for  vocational 
education  in  home  economics  which  can  be  supported  and  pushed  by  the 
states  and  the  national  government? 


308  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  EOONOiCCS  Quly 

PRACTICE  HOUSES  A  REALITY 

DOROTHEA  BEACH 
UfdversUy  of  Maine 

In  order  to  help  formulate  plans  for  a  Practice  House  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Maine,  a  questionnaire  was  sent  out  in  January,  1919,  to  seventy- 
six  institutions,  including  thirty-five  state  colleges  and  universities, 
twenty-one  colleges,  thirteen  state  normal  schools  and  state  teachers' 
colleges,  and  seven  institutes.  The  information  desired  was  asked  for 
in  the  following  form: 

1.  Have  you  a  practice  house?  (a)  Owned  by  whom?  (b)  How 
many  rooms? 

2.  How  many  girls  work  at  once  in  the  practice  house?  (a)  What 
length  of  time  does  each  group  work?  (b)  Do  girls  live  in  the  practice 
house  while  working  there?  (c)  Are  other  studies  carried  on  while 
students  work  in  the  practice  house? 

3.  How  many  instructors  superintend  work  in  the  practice  house? 
(a)  Do  they  reside  there?  (b)  Do  they  do  any  other  teaching?  (c) 
Do  they  pay  for  their  board  and  room? 

4.  Is  work  in  the  practice  house  required  or  given  as  an  elective? 
(a)  Is  the  work  given  in  junior  or  senior  year?  (b)  How  large  is  the 
junior  or  senior  class?  (c)  How  many  credit  hours  are  given  for  prac- 
tical work?  (d)  How  many  credit  hours  of  work  do  students  carry 
with  their  practical  work? 

5.  How  are  the  expenses  of  the  practice  house  met? 

6.  What  was  the  cost  of  furnishing  the  practice  house? 

7.  What  are  the  annual  expenses?    (a)  Total?    (b)  Per  capita? 

8.  What  division  of  the  work  of  the  house  is  made? 

The  following  questions  should  have  been  added  to  those  above, 
since  answers  to  them  have  been  desired  as  plans  for  this  house  matured. 

What  were  your  practice  house  expenses  for  the  school  year  1917- 
1918?  (a)  Rent  paid  (or  estimated)?  (b)  Cost  of  heat?  (c)  Cost  of 
light?    (d)  Cost  of  food?    Classify  other  expenses. 

Sixty-one  institutions  answered  the  questionnaire.  Of  this  number, 
thirty-two  had  a  practice  house  and  twenty-nine  had  not.  Of  the  thirty- 
two,  nineteen  were  state  colleges  and  universities;  four  were  colleges;  six 
were  normal  schools;  and  three  were  institutes.  Of  the  twenty-nine  not 
having  a  practice  house,  eleven  were  state  colleges  and  universities;  twelve 
were  colleges;  three  were  normal  schools;  and  three  were  institutes. 


1920]  PRACTICE  HOUSES  A  ItEAIJTY  309 

SUIOCARY 

State  universities  and  colleges.  Eleven  houses  are  owned  by  the  insti- 
tution and  eight  are  rented.  The  rooms  number  from  five  to  fourteen 
with  an  average  of  eight. 

The  number  of  girls  working  at  once  in  the  house  is  from  two  to 
d^teen,  and  averages  seven.  The  length  of  time  which  each  group 
works  ranges  from  five  days  to  eighteen  weeks,  averaging  about  seven 
weeks.  In  each  institution  the  girls  live  in  the  practice  house  while 
working  there  and  carry  on  other  regular  courses.  In  fourteen  institu- 
tions, one  instructor  superintends  the  work  and  in  the  others,  two. 
These  instructors  reside  in  the  house,  nine  paying  for  board  and  room, 
five  for  board  only,  and  four  paying  neither  board  nor  room.  In  every 
instance  but  one  the  instructor  does  other  teaching  which  usually  in- 
cludes household  management.  No  conclusion  can  be  drawn  as  to  the 
relative  amount  of  time  given  by  the  instructor  to  the  practice  house  or 
to  other  teaching. 

Work  in  the  practice  house  is  elective  in  three  institutions,  required  of 
Smith-Hughes  students  in  four,  required  of  seniors  in  eight  institutions, 
required  of  both  juniors  and  seniors  in  three;  and  in  one  institution, 
where  the  niunber  of  students  is  small,  required  during  all  four  years. 
In  the  institutions  requiring  the  work  of  juniors  or  seniors,  the  number  of 
students  in  this  course  ranges  from  sixteen  to  seventy.  Credit  given 
varies  from  no  credit  to  six  semester  hours.  With  their  practical  work 
these  students  carry  from  eleven  to  twenty  hours,  averaging  sixteen. 

Of  the  nineteen  state  coUeges  and  universities,  two  and  possibly  three  of 
the  practice  houses  are  self-supporting. 

The  majority  of  those  not  self-supporting  have  rent  and  heat  furnished 
by  the  institution. 

The  reports  on  the  cost  of  furnishing  are,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  too 
inaccurate  to  be  of  any  value.  The  two  self-supporting  practice  houses 
gave,  respectively,  $5.90  and  $4.50  per  person  per  week  for  expenses; 
the  former  was  in  the  northwest  and  the  latter  in  the  south.  Only  five 
other  houses  gave  an  average  cost  of  food  per  person  per  day  and  this 
varied  from  thirty  to  fifty  cents.  Of  the  nineteen  institutions,  six  were 
just  opening  a  practice  house.  The  division  of  work  varies  so  greatly 
that  it  is  impossible  to  simmiarize  it  satisfactorily.  In  general,  it  is  as 
follows:  housekeeper  and  hostess,  cook,  assistant  cook,  waitress,  and 
general  housemaid.  It  is  so  arranged  that  every  girl  has  an  opportunity 
to  do  each  type  of  work. 


310  THE  JOURNAL  OP  HOME  EOONOiaCS  [July 

Normal  schools.  Of  the  six  nonnal  schools  reporting,  four  own  the 
house.  The  average  number  of  rooms  is  nine.  The  number  of  girls 
working  at  once  in  the  house  ranges  from  five  to  twelve,  averaging  seven. 
The  length  of  time  during  which  each  works  ranges  from  two  to  twelve 
weeks,  averaging  eight  weeks.  The  girls  live  in  the  practice  house 
while  working  there  and  carry  on  other  regular  courses.  In  each  case, 
one  instructor  lives  in  the  house  and  superintends  the  work.  Four  in- 
structors pay  board  and  room,  one  pays  board  only,  and  one  pays 
nothing.    All  but  one  carry  other  teaching  work. 

In  every  case  the  work  is  required  of  home  economics  seniors.  The 
number  of  seniors  ranges  from  ten  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  averages 
twenty,  except  in  the  one  large  institution.  The  credit  given  ranges 
from  no  credit  to  four  imits.  Full  work  is  carried  in  each  place,  with 
the  practical  work.    Two  schools  are  self-supporting. 

The  cost  of  furnishing,  and  the  running  expenses  given  are  too  indefi- 
nite to  be  of  value.  The  division  of  work  is  the  same  as  in  state  colleges 
and  imiversities. 

Colleges  and  InsUluies.  The  data  received  from  these  varies  so 
greatly  that  a  summary  is  impossible. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ICAINE 

The  practice  house  at  the  University  of  Maine  was  opened  on  Sep- 
tember 8,  1919. 

The  house,  which  is  known  as  North  Hall,  is  on  the  university  campus, 
and  is  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  village  of  Orono.  It  is  a  typi- 
cal, old,  rambling  Maine  house,  which  faces  west  and  overlooks  the  Still- 
water River.  It  was  built  almost  one  himdred  years  ago  and  was  the 
farm  house  on  one  of  the  two  farms  which  the  towns  of  Orono  and  Old 
Town  bought  and  gave  to  the  State  in  1866  for  the  Campus  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Maine.  Since  that  time,  the  house  has  been  used  as  a  pro- 
fessor's residence,  a  fraternity  house,  and,  for  one  year,  as  a  temporary 
girls'  dormitory.  Few  changes  have  been  made  in  the  house,  although 
it  has  been  moved  from  its  original  site. 

On  the  first  floor  there  are  double  living  rooms  with  seven  large  re- 
cessed windows  through  which  the  sun  streams  all  day  long.     In  the 
rear  of  the  large  front  hall,  which  is  thirty  feet  long,  are  the  housekeeper's 
desk  and  files,  and  the  family  telephone.    Back  of  these,  running  across 
the  house,  is  a  huge  dining  room  with  a  fireplace  at  one  end  and  French 


1920]  F&ACnCE  HOUSES  A  BEAUTY  311 

doors  opening  on  a  piazza.  Then  there  are  the  serving  room,  back 
hall  and  stairs,  and  kitchen.  Opening  off  the  kitchen  are  the  supply 
pantry,  with  built-in  ice  box,  and  laundry.  Back  of  these  are  a  tool  room, 
trunk  room,  and  shed.  There  are  nine  bedrooms  and  a  bath  room  on 
the  second  floor  and  in  the  attic  there  is  one  large  room. 

The  front  living  room  is  furnished  with  wicker  chairs  upholstered  in 
tapestry,  a  small  walnut  table,  and  a  piano,  which  the  three  upper  classes 
of  the  Home  Economics  Department  are  buying  for  the  house.  The 
back  living  room  and  dining  room  are  furnished  in  fumed  oak.  The 
color  scheme  in  the  living  rooms  is  brown  and  blue,  which  is  carried  out 
in  the  rugs,  tapestries,  and  portieres.  The  entire  house  has  hard  wood 
floors,  white  painted  woodwork,  and  simple  white  curtains  at  the  win- 
dows. The  dining  room,  kitchen,  laimdry,  and  cleaning  doset  are  fur- 
nished with  all  labor-saving  devices  which  are  practical  for  the  average 
family,  such  as  oil  stove,  firdess  cooker,  vacuum  deaner,  dectric  iron. 
Special  care  has  been  taken  in  planning  the  kitchen  so  that  the  work 
may  be  done  quickly  and  easily. 

In  every  bedroom  there  is  a  desk,  and  for  each  person  a  bed,  chiffonieTi 
straight  chair  and  rocking  chair.  Each  member  of  the  family  must  pro- 
vide her  own  rugs,  curtains,  bedding,  and  towels,  as  is  done  in  the  dormi- 
tories. The  furnishings  of  the  house,  which  are  practically  completed, 
cost  $2691.45. 

The  four  home  economics  instructors  live  in  the  house  with  the  seven 
senior  girls.  These  people,  with  one  woman  who  supplements  the  work 
done  by  the  girls,  constitute  the  family.  The  house  is  rented  by  this 
family  from  the  University.  The  house  is  self-supporting,  paying  rent, 
heat,  light,  water,  tdephone,  laimdry,  help,  food,  and  inddentals. 

Four  girls  are  doing  the  work  for  this  semester  and  three  will  do  it 
the  second  half  of  the  year.  All  the  girls  live  in  the  house  during  the 
whole  year.  This  course  in  household  administration  is  required  of  all 
seniors  in  home  economics  and  three  credit  hours  are  given  for  the  work. 
The  other  credit  hours  carried  vary  from  fourteen  to  sixteen.  One  in- 
structor superintends  the  work,  giving  about  one-third  of  her  teaching 
time  to  it. 

The  family  runs  on  a  cooperative  basis,  each  member  pajdng  the  same 
board  and  room  rent  that  is  charged  in  the  university  dormitories.  At 
the  close  of  the  college  year  an  itemized  cost  of  furnishings  and  running 
expenses  will  be  made. 


312  THE  J0I7KKAL  OF  HOICE  EOONOMICS  Qtlly 

Every  girl  holds  each  of  the  following  positions  for  about  one  month: 
the  housekeeper,  who  plans  the  meals,  does  all  the  buying,  pays  the  bills 
and  keeps  the  accoimts;  the  cook,  who  is  responsible  for  all  the  meals 
from  Monday  morning  through  Saturday  noon;  the  assistant  cook,  who 
helps  the  cook  prepare  the  meals  and  wash  the  dinner  dishes;  the  general 
maid,  who  sets  the  table,  waits  on  table  as  a  member  of  the  family,  and 
does  cleaning.  The  woman  who  supplements  the  work  of  the  girls, 
washes  the  breakfast  and  limcheon  dishes,  is  responsible  for  preparing 
the  meals  from  Saturday  noon  to  Sunday  night,  and  does  the  remainder 
of  the  cleaning.    Each  student  keeps  her  own  room  in  order. 

The  house  has  no  rules  and  regulations  other  than  those  which  are 
under  student  government.  The  life  of  the  house  is  that  of  a  large  fam- 
ily with  all  its  freedom  and  varied  interests.  Current  magazines,  music, 
growing  flowers,  and  a  daily  paper  add  much  to  the  home  life.  Each 
member  of  the  family  is  free  to  invite  guests  whenever  she  chooses,  and 
birthda}rs  and  holidays  are  made  occasions  of  family  parties.  The 
Home  Economics  Club  holds  its  monthly  meetings  here. 


A  HOSPITAL  HEALTH  CLINIC 

GWENDOLYN  STANTON  HtJBBARD 
Visiting  DiMian,  The  CkOdren's  Hospital,  Philaddpkia 

Nutrition  clinic  work  is  still  in  the  pioneer  stage,  although  fortunately 
it  has  not  had  to  struggle  against  so  much  opposition  as  many  new  pro- 
jects, for  each  year  the  world  grows  more  human  and  devotes  more  time 
and  money  to  the  development  and  education  of  youth.  Until  a  few 
years  ago  doctors  centered  their  efforts  upon  the  removal  of  physical 
and  mental  defects  by  means  of  surgery,  but  now  they  realize  more  and 
more  the  effect  of  diet  and  hygiene  in  youth's  development. 

The  undernourished  child  is  found  in  appalling  nimibers  now  that 
attention  has  been  focused  on  this  subject.  Ignorance  is  more  to  blame 
than  poverty  in  most  cases,  and  the  interest  of  the  mothers,  and  of  the 
school  authorities  must  be  gained  as  well  as  that  of  the  medical  pro- 
fession. If  the  co5peration  of  these  three  is  obtained,  slowly  but  stead- 
ily the  malnourishment  of  children  will  be  lessened,  and  those  little  ones 
who  are  entering  the  world  will  have  a  fair  start  in  life. 


1920]  A  HOSPITAL  HEALTH  CLINIC  313 

The  Chfldren's  Hospital  of  Philadelphia  has  established  a  health  clinic 
that  has  a  wider  scope  and  a  larger  field  than  is  covered  by  most  nutri- 
tion clinics.  It  is  not  only  interested  in  bringing  the  undernourished 
child  up  to  par,  but  it  feels  the  responsibility  of  keeping  well  the  chil- 
dren living  in  its  neighbortiood. 

The  preventive  work  of  training  children  in  proper  living  and  eating 
has  progressed  steadily  until  now  after  four  years  the  clinic  has  enrolled 
three  hundred  children  between  the  ages  of  four  weeks  and  twelve  years. 
Many  of  them,  after  having  been  cured  in  the  wards  and  dispensary, 
have  been  referred  to  the  health  clinic  in  order  that  they  may  keep 
strong.  Frequently  mothers  bring  in  their  children  and  remark  that 
they  have  heard  of  the  "Healthy  CUnic''  and  they  want  to  know  what 
and  how  to  feed  their  babies  to  keep  them  well. 

No  discrimination  is  made  regarding  color,  nationality,  creed,  or  fi- 
nancial standing,  although  most  of  the  children  belong  to  the  poorer 
sections  of  the  dty.  The  clinic  might  almost  be  called  a  school  of  Amer- 
icanization, for  little  dark-eyed  Angelina  Pocdni  is  encouraged  to  want 
oatmeal,  lima  beans,  spinach,  and  potatoes,  like  her  American  sisters,  in- 
stead of  a  daily  diet  of  macaroni  a  I'ltalienne,  and  some  desire  for  clean- 
liness and  thrift  is  instilled  into  our  many  negro  boys  and  girls.  Each 
child  on  admittance  to  the  class  is  given  a  thorough  physical  examination 
to  determine  any  defects,  and  his  weight  chart  per  age,  per  height,  is 
made  out.  Enlarged  tonsils,  adenoids,  and  carious  teeth  seem  to  be 
the  most  numerous  defects.  The  first  effort  is  to  correct  these,  for  they 
are  heavy  burdens  preventing  the  child  from  mounting  the  hill  of  health. 
The  dietitian  talks  to  the  child  and  his  mother  in  the  hope  of  finding 
some  rule  of  health  which  is  already  being  carried  out.  Upon  this  foun- 
dation she  builds  the  rules  of  health  and  enlarges  the  structure  as  the 
child's  interest  increases.  One  little  Italian  chap  was  dirty  from  head 
to  foot;  he  drank  coffee,  and  played  around  the  streets  until  late  hours, 
but  his  teeth  were  in  excellent  condition,  large  and  white,  the  kind  that 
might  have  pleased  any  dentist.  When  the  dietitian  talked  to  him  of 
how  much  whiter  and  prettier  they  would  look  if  matched  by  a  dean, 
rosy  face,  she  "got  it  across,"  and  his  present  condition  is  remarkable. 

If  the  mother,  herself,  does  not  bring  the  child  into  the  clinic,  the 
dietitian  visits  the  home,  provided  it  is  in  the  ward  in  which  the  hos- 
pital is  located;  if  not,  she  writes  instructions  to  the  mother  and  asks 
her  to  bring  the  children  to  the  next  clinic.  Home  instruction  supple- 
ments that  given  in  the  hospital  when  possible,  and  is  of  inestimable 


314  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOICICS  [July 

value,  for  the  children  do  not  very  often  introduce  the  subject  of  health 
rules  at  home,  unless  they  feel  that  their  mothers  will  be  truly  interested 
and  will  pull  with  them. 

The  children  whose  weight  charts  show  signs  of  progress  each  visit 
come  once  a  month.  When  the  red  line  of  actual  weight  runs  down 
hill  away  from  the  blue  line  of  normal  weight,  the  child  comes  more 
frequently.  A  detailed  study  is  made  of  his  condition  from  week  to 
we^  and  his  interest  in  his  progress  is  enhanced  by  a  small  book  in 
which  he  records  everything  he  eats  for  a  week,  or  again,  when  his 
efforts  seem  deserving,  he  receives  a  gold  star  on  the  Honor  Roll. 

An  average  of  twenty-five  attend  the  Monday  clinic,  which  is  devoted 
to  children  from  a  few  weeks  to  six  years  old.  About  two  o'clock  they  be- 
gin coming  and  the  nurse  is  kept  busy  weig^iing  the  babies,  taking  their 
height,  and  recording  their  progress  on  the  medical  charts.  The  die- 
titian then  brings  the  weight  charts  up  to  date;  she  shows  them  to  the 
mothers  and  talks  with  each  one  individually — ^to  Mrs.  Brown,  to  find 
the  cause  of  Jimmy's  loss  of  one  poimd  in  two  weeks,  perhaps  due  to  a 
ten  o'clock  bed  rule,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  7:30  had  been  set  as  the 
latest  hour;  to  Mrs.  D'Amato,  whose  Mary  had  progressed  rapidly  and 
gained  two  pounds  in  a  month  since  her  tonsils  were  removed.  At  2 :45 
everyone  moves  up  to  the  health  clinic  room  where  the  dietitian  demon- 
strates some  simple  principle  of  cookery.  The  mothers  and  children 
taste  the  Home  Defense  pudding,  oatmeal,  milk  vegetable  soup,  or  what- 
ever is  prepared  that  day;  they  discuss  the  price,  and  take  the  recq>e 
home  for  future  use.  Each  week  the  dietitian  emphasises  a  special 
subject.  On  the  day  cream  spinach  soup  was  prepared,  she  stressed 
the  importance  of  vegetables  in  the  diet,  the  function  they  fill,  the  dif- 
ferent ways  of  preparing  them  and  the  relative  cost.  The  doctor  exam- 
ines each  child  and,  assisted  by  the  information  he  receives  from  the 
dietititan  as  each  case  is  brought  up,  he  gives  individual  directions  for 
each  one.  This  is  recorded  on  the  medical  chart.  Pamphlets  on  the 
lesson  of  the  day  are  often  given  to  the  mothers  to  read  while  they  are 
waiting  to  see  the  doctor,  or  they  examine  the  food  and  health  posters 
which  are  hung  about  the  room. 

Wednesday  is  by  far  the  busier  day.  The  children  from  six  to  twelve 
years  old  come  earlier,  some  by  1:30,  impatient  to  see  their  weight 
charts;  for  they  want  to  grow  healthy  and  strong.  The  dietitian  talks 
individually  with  each  one  as  she  did  with  the  mothers.  She  questions 
them  about  their  meals,  bed  hour,  baths,  tooth-brushing,  and  all  the 


1920] 


A  HOSPITAL  HEALTH  CLINIC 


315 


little  things  which,  when  perfoimed,  tend  to  make  healthy  boys  and 
girls,  and,  when  neglected,  to  make  sickly  ones.  At  2:45  there  is  a 
rush  of  about  thirty  children  up  to  the  ''health  room."  Each  child  is 
eager  to  see  his  weight  chart  hung  on  the  health  line  and  to  coimt  the 
number  of  stars  he  has  on  the  Honor  Roll.  On  one  end  of  the  line  are 
many  charts,  on  the  other  few.  The  many  represent  the  gainers  in 
weight,  the  few  the  losers.    Frequently  one  of  the  children  comes  up 

and  almost  wistfully  asks,  ''Do  you  think  I'll  get  a  star,  Mrs. ? 

I  drank  my  milk  and  had  oatmeal  every  morning  and  Tve  gained  eight 
ounces  in  one  week." 

School  holds  our  attention  for  the  next  half  hour.  If  anyone  is  for- 
tunate enough  to  have  four  stars  on  the  Honor  Roll,  a  prize  is  given  and 
the  child  comes  up  in  front  of  the  class  to  tell  everyone  all  the  things 
he  has  done  to  gain  those  stars.  One  day  we  may  play  "The  Race  to 
Health."  On  the  blackboard  is  drawn  a  series  of  steps  mounting  to 
the  goal  called  health.  Each  child  tells  one  way  to  climb  and  the  die- 
titian writes  in  each  step  a  suggestion.  Early  to  bed,  windows  open  top 
and  bottom,  drinking  milk  and  cocoa,  oatmeal  every  day — these  sugges- 
tions with  many  others  fill  the  many  steps.  One  favorite  amusement 
of  the  children  is  to  learn  health  poems.  Wouldn't  you  want  to  brush 
your  teeth  twice  a  day,  if  you  could  learn  the  poem  called  "Johnny 
Brushing-Game? "  This  is  one  they  learn,  afterward  raising  their 
hands  to  show  how  many  of  the  children  are  actually  keeping  the  rule. 

Johnny  Bkushino-Gaice 
If  you  do  not  brush  your  teeth,  If  you  do  not  bmih  your  teeth, 

Evciy  pleaaant  day,  Every  ndny  mom. 

When  you  comt  to  be  grown-up  Some  day  folks  will  look  at  you 

All  the  folks  will  say:  ^th  an  auftd  scorn. 


"Bad,  black  teeth, 
O,  what  a  shamel 
I  don't  want  to  know  your  name!" 


Bad,  Uack  teeth, 
O,  what  a  shamel 
Folks  won't  want  to  know  your  namel 


If  you  always  brush  your  teeth, 

Whate'er  the  weather  be, 
Everyone  will  smile,  and  say, 
<' Who  is  this  I  see 

With  nice,  white  teeth? 

I  know  your  name, 

You  are  Johnny  BrusHng-Gomol** 

Before  the  children  go  the  doctor  examines  and  prescribes  for  each  one, 
and  the  case  is  recorded  on  the  medical  chart. 


316  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [July 

While  the  health  clime  is  one  very  important  phase  of  the  work,  it 
must  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  follow-up  work  in  the  home.  One  can 
make  a  general  classification  of  the  mothers — the  cooperative,  who  really 
work  to  get  results  and  who  welcome  any  suggestions;  those  who  in- 
differently shrug  their  shoulders  and  say  they  do  not  care,  the  children 
can  come  to  the  clinic  if  they  want  to,  they  can  stay  up  late  or  go  to 
bed  early,  it  is  entirely  up  to  the  child;  and  those  who  admit,  frequently 
with  a  certain  degree  of  pride,  that  their  children  are  the  bosses.  They 
seem  to  have  no  control.  Their  children  do  just  as  they  please  and  in 
every  case  they  show  the  result  of  their  lack  of  training.  Each  mother 
has  to  be  handled  differently  and  with  ah  endless  amount  of  tact. 

In  some  homes  the  visit  is  a  friendly  call  and  the  dietitian  is  welcomed 
as  a  neighbor  from  across  the  way.  The  mother  discusses  with  her  the 
proper  diet  for  the  family  and  ways  of  preparing  cheap,  nourishing,  and 
attractive  dishes.  When  there  is  no  coal  stove,  the  visitor  may  show  the 
mother  how  to  make  a  fireless  cooker,  or  if  there  is  a  two  burner  gas  stove, 
she  may  help  in  the  construction  of  a  seventy-five  cent  gas  oven.  If 
the  mother  does  not  know  how  to  cook  the  food  advised,  a  cooking  les- 
son takes  place  in  the  home  or  perhaps  the  noon-day  meal  is  prepared. 
When  malnutrition  is  evidently  due  chiefly  to  ignorance,  and  the  mother 
does  not  know  about  cheap  cuts  of  meat,  meat  substitutes,  and  how  to 
make  out  her  weekly  food  budget,  the  two  talk  over  the  taste  of  the 
family  and  the  money  they  may  spend  and,  never  forgetting  these  two 
points,  plan  simple,  nourishing  meals. 

Then  come  the  families  where  there  is  a  distinct  social  problem.  When 
the  dietitian  has  gained  the  confidence  of  both  parents,  she  tries  to  help 
them  and  to  guide  them  wisely.  Home  happiness,  hygienic  living,  and 
proper  and  sufficient  food  are  so  closely  interwoven  that  health  depends 
on  each  factor  to  make  it  supreme. 

Every  institution  has  plans  for  the  future;  each  clinic  has  its  dreams 
of  how  it  will  extend  upward  and  outward.  Some  day  we  hope  to  have 
a  diet  kitchen  where  cooking  classes  for  the  mothers  and  children  may 
be  held.  Some  day  we  want  a  small  model  house  where  the  children 
can  learn  through  actual  experience  the  ways  of  healthy  living  and  eat- 
ing. Yet  our  plans  are  not  alone  for  the  development  of  the  work  in 
our  hospital;  we  want  every  hospital  to  establish  health  clinics  and  we 
want  the  work  introduced  into  every  school  so  that  diet  and  hygienic 
living  may  fill  as  important  a  place  in  the  curriculimi  as  the  three  R's. 


1920]  THE  "science"  op  consxthption  317 

THE  "SCIENCE"  OF  CONSUMPTION 

FAHH  U.  MCAULEY 
The  UmoersUy  of  Chicago 

YoT  years  careful  study  has  been  given  to  the  problems  of  production. 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  through  its  various  bureaus  and  through 
the  state  experiment  stations  has  made  sdentifiic  agriculture  and  allied 
fidds  a  special  problem.  All  the  primary  industries  have  been  fostered 
and  have  developed  with  unparalleled  rapidity  in  the  last  fifty  years. 

Not  only  production  but  distribution  as  well  has  been  made  the  sub- 
ject of  study.  The  distribution  of  our  food  products  is  as  highly  special- 
ized as  is  their  production.  The  separation  of  producer  and  consumer 
is  an  economic  separation  as  weU  as  a  geographic  one.  A  complex  mar- 
ket organization  has  been  developed  requiring  the  services  of  specialists. 
The  complexity  of  the  distributive  machinery  required  is  evident  from 
an  inspection  of  a  partial  list  of  food  products  noted  on  the  Chicago 
market  in  February:  winter  caught  trout  from  the  Canadian  lakes, 
strawberries  from  Florida,  tomatoes  from  Mexico,  celery  from  Califor- 
nia, pineapples  from  Cuba,  bananas  from  Venezuela,  Black  Hamburg 
grapes  from  Belgium,  Valencia  onions  from  Spain,  nectarines  from  South 
Africa.  Only  a  small  per  cent  of  Chicago's  3,000,000  eat  South  African 
nectarines  for  breakfast,  to  be  sure,  but  the  market  machinery  making 
it  possible  to  do  so  is  in  operation.  The  work  is  truly  at  our  door. 
Courses  in  salesmanship,  and  courses  in  the  psychology  of  advertising  offer 
training  in  the  art  of  creating  demand,  the  stock  to  supply  which  is 
awaiting  a  "consumer." 

And  what  of  the  consumer?  He  has  been  in  the  main  a  vital  but  pas- 
sive factor  in  economic  activity;  his  principal  function,  in  terms  of  "the 
trade"  has  been  "  to  be  sold."  Certain  measures  intended  to  safeguard 
his  exploitation  have  been  enacted,  as,  for  example,  the  Federal  Meat 
Inspection  Act  of  1891,  and  the  Food  and  Drug  Act  of  1906.  The  work 
of  the  Bureau  of  Standards  and  more  recently  that  of  the  Bureau  of 
Markets  has  done  much  to  protect  the  consiuner's  interests.  To  be 
sure,  the  average  consumer  knows  little  or  nothing  of  these  efforts  or 
their  bearing  on  his  food  problem.  Daniel  Webster  might  well  have 
been  speaking  of  the  food  problem  and  the  consumer  when  he  said, "  From 
the  inattention  of  the  people  to  the  concerns  of  the  government,  from 
their  carelessness  and  negligence,  I  confess  I  do  apprehend  some  dan- 


318  THE  JOUItNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [July 

ger Make  them  intelligent  and  they  will  be  vigilant, 

give  them  the  means  of  detecting  the  wrong  and  they  will  apply  the 
remedy." 

Ignorance  has  long  been  known  to  be  costly.  The  consumer,  who  stands 
convicted  of  glaring  ignorance  in  matters  of  vital  importance  to  himself, 
would  seem  to  find  his  only  safeguard  in  larger  intelligence.  The  educa- 
tional system,  regarded  as  the  cause  of  most  social  iUs,  is  neverthdess 
looked  to  for  the  correction  of  these  same  ills.  The  education  of  women 
as  a  specific  problem  has  not  as  yet  been  squarely  faced.  The  present 
educational  trend  seems  to  promise  much  for  the  future.  Courses  in- 
tended to  furnish  the  scientific  information  necessary  as  a  background 
for  the  individual  in  making  his  social  adjustments  are  being  offered  in 
the  colleges  and  universities.  A  revaluation  is  being  made,  and  it  seems 
certain  that  much  of  the  earUer  educational  material  will  be  discarded 
to  be  replaced  by  new,  the  relation  of  which  to  vital  needs  is  dear. 
''In  that  day''  the  bearing  of  the  Food  and  Drug  Act,  for  example,  on 
commerdal  products  purdiased  daily  by  every  consumer  may  be  dassed 

as  educational  material  of  a  rank  equal  to .    Let  the  reader 

fill  in  the  blank  to  his  own  satisfaction;  comparisons  are  odious. 


INTENTION  STREET 

Intention  Street  is  a  broad  highway. 
And  those  who  follow  it,  so  they  say, 
Go  down  and  up  and  up  and  down, 
Trying  to  get  to  Nowhere  Town« 

Nowhere  Town  is  a  station  fair 
On  a  railway  that's  alwajrs  in  the  air; 
None  of  its  trainsis  scheduled  ''through;" 
Stop-over  tickets  will  always  do« 

Attention  Street  Is  narrow,  quite. 
And  its  dwellers  work  with  all  their  mi^t; 
They  feed  the  sick,  the  poor  they  pity. 
And  finally  they  get  to  Somewhere  City. 

—Winifred  Stuart  Gibbs,  in  Life,  Sept.  18,  1919, 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

A  MINIMUM  FOOD  ALLOWANCE  AND  A  BASIC  FOOD  ORDER 

LUCY  H.  GILLETT 
Dineior^  Dietetic  Bureau,  League  for  Preventive  Work,  Boston 

One  market  order  or  one  food  allowance  to  suit  all  conditions  is  ob- 
viously impossible.  It  is  quite  possible,  however,  to  have  at  hand  the 
minimum  below  which  it  is  not  safe  to  go  but  which  may  be  saf dy  added 
to  as  money  will  permit  or  as  taste  demands.  The  minimum  allowance 
should  be  what  a  family  cannot  a£ford  to  go  without.  At  the  same  time 
it  must  be  workable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  preparation  of  meals 
and  some  concession  must  also  be  made  to  the  taste  of  the  family. 

In  estimating  a  minimum  but  adequate  food  allowance  or  in  planning 
a  market  order  the  question  of  health  is  fundamental.  The  needs  of  the 
body,  so  far  as  known,  must  be  met  by  the  suggestions  given,  but  in 
making  suggestions  for  families  of  different  sizes  it  is  too  laborious  a 
task  to  figure  out  the  needs  of  the  body  in  terms  of  proteins,  mineral 
dements,  and  energy.  The  suggestion  that  it  is  possible  to  have 
well  balanced  meals  by  planning  in  terms  of  types  of  foods  rather  than 
in  terms  of  food  values  is  invaluable  when  plamiing  for  a  large  number 
of  families.  The  calculation  of  the  amount  of  the  different  types  of 
foods  necessary  for  health  (based  on  the  most  reliable  information  avail- 
able) is  perhaps  the  simplest  method  of  arriving  at  a  minimum  food  or- 
der. The  minimum  food  allowance  may  be  calculated  from  the  minimum 
food  order  in  which  the  most  economical  foods  are  used. 

Take,  for  example,  the  well-known  statistical  family  of  five,  consisting 
of  two  adults  (man  and  woman)  and  three  children  under  14  years  of 
age.  Not  knowing  what  they  can  afford,  the  most  we  can  do  in  sug- 
gesting a  minimum  food  allowance  for  them  is  to  state  (in  so  far  as  we 
know  it)  the  least  they  should  have  of  milk,  vegetables,  fruit,  grain  prod- 
ucts, and  fats.  This  minimum  may  be  added  to  by  the  average  woman 
with  much  less  harm  than  the  allowance  slightly  above  the  minimum 
may  be  reduced. 

319 


320  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECOKOMICS  [July 

MUk.  Following  the  general  rule  of  a  quart  of  milk  a  day  for  all 
children  under  three  and  a  pint  of  milk  for  children  from  3  to  6  or  7, 
with  a  third  of  a  quart  for  each  of  the  other  members  of  the  family, 
the  least  amount  of  milk  this  family  should  have  is  two  quarts  a  day. 
One  child  under  three  will  increase  the  amount  to  at  least  two  and  a 
half  quarts  a  day.  This  amount  may  be  safely  and  wisely  increased 
to  three  or  four  or  five  quarts  as  needed. 

Vegetables.  The  more  recent  knowledge  with  regard  to  vitamines 
leads  us  to  suggest,  for  the  sake  of  safety,  two  vegetables  in  the  diet 
each  day,  one  of  which  will  ordinarily  be  potatoes.  Because  of  no  def- 
inite knowledge  of  the  amount  of  vitamines  necessary  it  seems  desirable 
to  have  some  green  or  leafy  vegetable  at  least  two  or  three  times  a  week 
with  a  root  vegetable  on  the  remaining  four  or  five  days.  Allowing  from 
1}  to  2  pounds  of  potatoes  a  day  and  from  1  to  1}  poimds  of  other 
vegetables,  this  family  of  five  will  then  require  from  10  to  15  poimds 
of  potatoes,  from  5  to  7  pounds  of  root  vegetables,  and  from  2  to  4 
pounds  of  green  vegetables  per  week. 

FruU,  While  fruit  was  formerly  thought  to  be  a  luxury  the  function 
of  which  was  to  stimulate  a  sluggish  appetite,  we  now  know  that  it  is 
considered  an  essential  part  of  even  an  economical  diet.  Fresh  fruit 
for  the  yoimger  children  four  or  five  times  a  week  is  considered  advisable 
but  when  the  strictest  economy  is  necessary  fresh  fruit  for  the  whole 
family  is  possible  only  when  fruit  is  cheap.  When  fresh  fruit  is  over 
4  or  5  cents  a  pound  dried  fruit  may  be  substituted  for  the  adults.  In 
such  cases  the  amount  of  milk  and  vegetables  should  be  increased. 

Me<it  products.  The  Interallied  Scientific  Commission,  formed  dur- 
ing the  war,  stated  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  minimum  amoimt  of 
meat  necessary  because  meat  is  not  a  physiological  necessity.  With 
economy  as  the  watchword  neither  can  meat  occupy  a  very  prominent 
part  in  the  diet.  Nevertheless,  it  seems  advisable  from  the  psycho- 
logical standpoint  even  in  a  minimum  food  order  to  satisfy  the  appetite 
of  the  adults  by  including  some  meat.  This  amoimt  should  be  reduced 
to  the  least  amount  that  seems  workable.  It  has  been  found  by  expe- 
rience that  seven  substantial  and  satisfying  dinners  may  be  prepared 
from  5  to  7  pounds  of  meat  and  fish,  supplemented  with  one-half  pound 
of  cheese  and  one  and  one-half  pounds  of  dry  beans  or  peas.  These 
foods  not  only  provide  the  foundation  for  seven  dinners  but  with  even 
two  quarts  of  milk  a  day  they  also  provide  an  adequate  amount  of  pro- 
tein.   Young  children  may  need  eggs,  in  which  case  they  should  be 


1920]  A  MINTKUM  POOD  ALLOWANCE  321 

added  to  or  substituted  for  a  part  of  the  above.  The  stq>pers  will 
necessarily  consist  of  combinations  of  milk,  vegetables,  bread,  cereals, 
and  fruits. 

Pai.  Fat  should  be  planned,  not  so  much  from  the  older  point  of 
view  in  which  the  amount  of  fat  necessary  was  determined  by  conven- 
ience in  cooking,  but  rather  from  the  standpoint  of  the  health  of  the 
family.  The  minimum  amount  specified  by  scientists  as  necessary  for 
adults  is  two  and  one-half  to  three  and  one-half  ounces  a  day .  This  fam- 
ily of  five  which  is  equivalent  to  3.i3  adults  will  therefore  require  at  least 
three  and  one-half  pounds  of  fat  a  week.  As  the  chfldren  may  need  more 
than  the  adults  in  prq[>ortion  to  size  it  seems  safer  to  allow  four  pounds 
as  a  minimum.  Two  quarts  of  milk  a  day  for  a  week  will  provide  one 
pound  of  fat,  leaving  three  pounds  of  fat  to  be  purchased  as  such.  Any 
amount  of  fat  obtained  from  meat  and  other  foods  will  provide  a  margin 
of  safety. 

Grain  products.  Grain  products  are  generally  recognized  as  the  cheap- 
est source  of  energy  and  occupy  a  prominent  place  in  an  economical 
diet.  In  addition  to  the  foods  already  mentioned  grain  products  and 
sugar  must  be  provided  in  sufficient  amounts  to  bring  the  energy  up  to 
the  requirement  of  the  family.  As  sugar  should  not  be  relied  upon  to 
any  great  extent,  especially  in  a  minimum  diet,  the  bulk  of  the  energy 
will  have  to  be  provided  by  grain  products.  About  25  pounds  of  bread 
and  cereals  (including  rice  and  macaroni)  have  been  found  to  meet  the 
weddy  requirement.  If  the  bread  is  made  at  home,  this  amount  may 
be  reduced  to  about  20  pounds.  It  has  been  found  possible  to  use  in 
various  ways  from  10  to  12  pounds  of  cereals  in  the  diet  of  a  family 
of  five.  The  remainder  then  may  be  used  in  the  form  of  bread,  or 
more  bread  and  less  cereal  may  be  used  if  desired. 

Sugar.  Sugar  like  meat  is  not  necessary  from  the  standpoint  of 
jdiysiology.  As  with  the  meat,  however,  it  seems  advisable  to  satisfy 
the  usual  conception  of  a  good  diet  by  adding  the  tniniTniiTn  amount  that 
seems  to  serve  the  purpose  of  sweetening  foods.  Experience  has  shown 
that  the  sugar  may  be  reduced,  reduced  because  it  usually  ocaq>ies  too 
prominent  a  place  in  the  cheaper  diet,  to  two  or  three  pounds  a  week 
for  the  family.  One  pint  of  molasses  makes  a  valuable  addition,  not 
only  because  of  the  energy  but  because  of  the  mineral  elements  which 
are  thereby  introduced. 

Worked  out  on  the  above  suggestions  a  minimum  order  for  a  week  for 
a  family  of  five  (2  adults  and  3  children)  may  be  given  as  follows: 


^ 


322  THE  JOimNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  U^ly 

Milk 14  quarts 

Cheese  or  peanut  butter i  pound 

Meat  or  fish,  fresh 5-<S   pounds 

Fish,  dried  or  salt  or  smoked i  pound 

Beans  or  peas,  dried 1}  pounds 

Eggs }  dosen 

Potatoes 1   peck 

Onions,  carrots,  beets,  turnips,  parsnips,  cabbage,  string  beans,  spinach, 

etc 7-9   pounds 

Prunes,  raisins,  or  other  dried  fruits 2   pounds 

Fresh  fruit 3-5   pounds 

Bread,  or  more  bread  and  less  cereal 14   pounds 

or 

Flour 10  pounds 

Commeal,  rice,  hominy,  samp,  barley,  macaroni,  oatmeal,  or  extra 

flour 10-12   pounds 

Sugar 2   pounds 

Molasses 1   pint 

Fat,  butter,  butter  substitute,  lard,  oil 3   pounds 

Cocoa,  tea,  and  coffee 1   pound 

The  above  food  order  provides  3400  Calories  per  man  per  day  with 
100  grams  of  protein^  1  gram  of  calcium,  2  grams  of  phosphorus  and  16 
milligrams  of  iron  to  every  3400  Calories.  These  figures  compare  favor- 
ably with  the  standard  allowances  suggested  by  Sherman  which  are  75 
grams  of  protein^  0.67  gram  of  calcium,  1.4  grams  of  phosphorus,  and 
15  milligrams  of  iron. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  above  diet  is  considered  a  minimum.  There 
is  no  reason  why  the  food  value  should  be  increased  but  an  increase  in 
cost  will  make  it  much  more  attractive  by  allowing  a  wider  range  of 
foods.  It  is  very  simple  and  easy  to  vary  the  food  to  suit  a  more  lib- 
eral allowance,  without  materially  altering  the  food  value.  As  economy 
becomes  less  of  a  factor,  the  grain  products  will  doubtless  be  reduced 
to  offset  the  energy  supplied  in  other  forms  such  as  cream,  bacon,  or 
more  butter.  Butter  may  well  replace  all  butter  substitutes.  The 
more  expensive  vegetables  may  replace  the  cheaper  ones  while  more 
fruit  and  green  vegetables  are  desirable,  both  from  the  standpoint  of 
nutrition  and  from  the  standpoint  of  flavor.  The  more  expensive  cuts 
of  meat  while  adding  no  more  food  value  will  increase  the  cost  rapidly. 

The  following  table,  which  summarizes  needs  in  terms  of  foods,  may 
be  used  as  the  basis  for  making  food  orders  for  families  of  different 
sizes. 


1920] 


A  immnni  tood  allowance 


323 


PamUyfood  needs 


XmD  OT  lOOD 


Milk. 


Vegetables,  pota- 
toes  


Root  vegetables. 


Leafy  vegetables. 


Fruit 


Grain  products... 


Fats 


Sugar. 


Meat    (no    meat 
needed) 


QUAimTy  PKK  AGX  PER  DAY 


Under  2  yn.t  i  Qt. 
From  2-6  yrs.,  }  qt. 

For  each  three  people  over  6  yrs.  of  age, 
Iqt. 

Under  2  yrs.,  1  to  2  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  4  to  6  oz. 
From  6  to  10  yrs.,  6  to  12  oz. 
Over  10  yrs.,  6  to  12  oz. 

Under  2  yrs.,  less  than  1  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  1  to  2  oz. 
From  6  to  10  3rr8.,  2  to  4  oz. 
Over  10  yrs.,  4  to  8  oz. 


Under  2  yrs.,  \  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  1  to  2  oz. 
From  6  to  10  yrs.,  2  to  3  oz. 
From  10  up,  2  to  4  oz. 

Under  5  yrs.,  fresh  fruit  at  least  4  or  5 
times  a  week 

For  older  people,  amount  depending  on 
economy  and  amount  of  milk  and  vege- 
tables used 

Under  2  yrs.,  1  to  3  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  2  to  5  oz. 
From  6  to  10  yrs.,  6  to  10  oz. 
Over  10  yrs.,  8  to  16  oz. 

Under  2  yrs.,  0.5  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  0.5  to  1  oz. 
From  6  to  10  yrs.,  1  to  2  oz. 
Over  10  yrs.,  2  to  3  oz.  or  more 

Under  2  yrs.,  not  over  \  oz. 
From  2  to  6  yrs.,  not  over  1  oz. 
Over  6  yrs.,  not  over  2  oz. 

Under  6  yrs.,  no  meat  should  be  given 
From  6  to  10  yrs.,  not  over  1  to  2  oz. 
From  10  to  14  yrs.,  not  over  2  to  3  oz. 
Over  14  yrs.,  not  over  2  to  6  oz. 


BSIDEAISS  lOa  A  VAMZLT  Of  FIVI 


2  to  5  qts.  a  day 


li  to  2  lbs.  a  day 
10  to  15  lbs.  a  week 


Itolilbs. 

5  to  7  lbs.  a  week 

(4  or  5  days  |  week) 


i  to  }  lbs.  a  day 
2  to  3  lbs.  a  week 
(2  or  3  days  a].week) 


As  much  as  can  be  af- 
forded 


3  to  4  lbs.  a  day 
20  to  25  lbs.  a  week 
(10  to  14  lbs.  bread) 


i  lb.  a  day 

3}  lbs.  a  week 


2  to  3  lbs.  a  week 


12  to  16  oz.  a  day 
5  to  7  lbs.  a  week 


324  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [July 

In  Boston,  on  April  first,  1920,  the  cost  of  the  market  order  as  given 
was  $11.50.  Then  the  lowest  allowance  on  which  this  family  could 
safely  be  fed  was  $11.50,  at  the  rate  of  50  cents  per  man  per  day  or  14.7 
cents  per  1000  Calories.  This  basic  allowance  presupposes  that  every 
cent  will  be  spent  to  the  very  best  advantage.  As  we  can  hardly  expect 
the  very  wisest  expenditure  of  money  in  every  case  it  seems  best  to  safe- 
guard the  health  of  the  children  by  allowing  a  margin  of  safety  and  rais- 
ing the  allowance  to  $14.00,  or  60.6  cents  per  man  per  day. 

As  a  larger  proportion  of  the  food  value  of  the  diet  of  the  young  chil- 
dren is  from  more  expensive  foods  than  that  of  adults,  it  is  hardly  fair 
to  base  the  allowances  for  children  on  the  diet  of  adults.  Individual 
allowances  for  them  may  be  obtained  by  arranging  separately  the  diet 
for  children  of  various  ages  up  to  seven  years,  in  such  a  way  as  to  pro- 
vide adequate  food  value,  and  then  calculating  the  cost  of  the  food. 
While  the  food  for  an  adult  may  be  purchased  at  a  cost  of  14.7  cents 
per  1000  Calories,  the  food  for  a  child  two  years  of  age  costs  from  20 
to  24  cents  per  1000  Calories  and  for  a  child  six  years  old,  from  18  to 
20  cents  per  1000  Calories. 

A  scale  of  food  cost  allowances  for  the  members  of  a  family  of  various 
ages  may  be  stated  (for  Boston)  as  follows,  considering  ^^A"  the  basic 
allowance,  ^'B''  with  a  margin  of  safety: 

A  B 

Children  under  2  yrs.  of  age $1.80  to  12.00 

Children  from  2to6yr8 1.90  to  2.25 

Children  from  6  to  10  yrs 2.00  to  2.50 

Children  from  10  to  14  yn 2J0  to  3.00 

Men — ^Heavy  muscular  woA 4.00  to  4.50 

Men — Moderate  muscular  woA 3.50  to  4.25 

Men — Li^t  muscular  work 3.00  to  3.50 

Women — ^Heavy  muscular  work 3.20  to  4.00 

Women — ^Moderate  muscular  woA 3.00  to  3.75 

Women— Light  muscular  work 2.50  to  3.00 

QuaUficaUous.  For  a  nursing  mother,  increase  the  amount  given  by  one  half.  For  a 
family  of  three  or  less  allow  $1.00  per  week  extra.  A  small  family  cannot  live  as  econom* 
ically  as  a  large  one.  In  case  of  sickness,  an  extra  amount  may  be  needed  to  allow  for  extra 
nourishment 


1920]  CLOTHING  INFOKMATIOK  BTTHEAU  325 

A  CLOTHING  INFORMATION  BUREAU      . 

The  desire  on  the  part  of  homemakers  to  select  textiles  and  clothing 
with  discriminaton  became  evident  during  the  war.  The  difficulties  of 
the  textile  situation  and  the  rising  cost  of  living  made  the  consimier 
realize  the  need  of  more  knowledge,  not  only  for  home  economy,  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  textile  and  clothing  industries  of  the  coimtry. 

To  meet  the  situation,  a  center  from  which  clothing  facts  could  be 
disseminated  was  establishd  by  the  Woman's  City  Club  in  Boston,  as  a 
part  of  its  war  service.  The  work  was  organized  by  Mrs.  Mary  Schenck 
Woolman,  Textile  Specialist  for  Massachusetts  under  the  War  Emei^ 
gency  Fund  of  the  Um'ted  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  The 
city  of  Boston  gave  it  a  home  in  a  war  hut  on  Boston  Common,  in  the 
most  frequented  part  of  the  dty,  and  it  was  visited  daily  by  consumers 
of  all  classes. 

When  the  war  was  over  and  the  huts  were  removed  from  the  Common 
it  was  felt  that  the  Clothing  Information  Bureau  should  not  be  aban- 
doned, but  should  become  a  pennanent  part  of  city  community  work. 
The  Woman's  City  Club,  therefore,  is  continuing  the  work  at  9  Hamilton 
Place.  Miss  Ada  F.  Blanchard,  formerly  of  the  Los  Angeles  Normal 
School,  is  still  in  charge. 

The  aim  of  the  Bureau  is  threefold:  (1)  To  increase  intelligence  in  the 
selection  of  textiles,  clothing,  and  garment  accessories;  in  the  making 
of  new  clothing  and  the  renovating  and  remaking  of  old;  in  the  manu- 
facture of  textiles  and  clothing,  both  ready-to-wear  and  homemade  and 
in  the  responsibilities  and  costs  of  the  retail  trade.  (2)  To  show  that 
health  can  be  conserved  or  injured  by  the  manner  of  dressing,  and  to 
increase  efficiency  through  the  correct  covering  of  the  body.  (3)  To 
teach  clothing  economy  and  the  use  of  the  budget  that  thrift  may  be 
increased  in  the  homes,  thus  cooperating  with  government  campaigns 
organized  for  this  purpose. 

These  aims  are  carried  out  by  providing  technical  help  in  making  and 
renovating  clothing;  the  use  of  commercial  patterns;  labor  saving  methods 
of  making  garments;  cutting  and  fitting  garments;  the  care  and  launder- 
ing of  clothing;  dyeing  and  tinting  of  gannents;  how  to  test  fabrics. 

Health  instruction  is  given  on  the  reasons  high  heels  and  very  nar- 
rowed toed  shoes  are  injurious;  where  to  buy  correctly  shaped,  shoes  and 
satisfactory  knitted  underwear;  what  textiles  to  wear  next  to  the  skin; 
corsets  and  the  healthy  body. 


326  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [July 

Economical  advice  deals  with  how  to  make  a  clothing  budget;  the 
recognition  of  reliable  materials;  a  minimum  adequate  wardrobe;  esti- 
mated clothing  expenses;  keeping  household  accounts;  where  to  buy  to 
advantage;  satisfactory  material  for  service  clothing;  standard  cloths. 

Information  is  given  as  to  classes,  clubs,  schools,  magazines,  reports, 
and  factories  to  visit;  on  how  to  obtain  exhibits,  moving  pictures  of 
textiles,  posters,  photographs,  and  outlines  for  lectures  and  conferences, 
as  well  as  teachers  and  speakers. 

Students  from  the  colleges,  the  Prince  School  of  Education  for  Store 
Service,  and  other  institutions,  and  children  from  the  elementary  and 
the  high  schools  study  at  the  Bureau.  Exhibits,  often  loaned,  have 
been  held  about  three  times  a  month  on  such  subjects  as  garden  doth- 
ing,  service  dresses,  common  sense  varieties  of  shoes,  varieties  of  stock- 
ings, testing  material  for  fastness,  examples  of  dyes  with  their  effect  on 
different  fibers,  domestic  and  foreign  wools^  wool  substitutes,  serviceable 
clothing  for  children,  children's  clothing  made  from  worn  gannents. 

Demonstrations  and  conferences  are  given  twice  a  week  on  the  various 
subjects  on  which  advice  has  been  asked  at  the  Bureau. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  more  completely  serve  the  community  than 
ever  before,  and  traveling  exhibits  are  being  developed.  Bureau  work- 
ers are  sent  to  local  groups,  and  groups  of  representative  women  from 
the  leading  civic  and  welfare  departments  are  working  in  coSperation 
with  Miss  Blanchard  to  increase  the  service  to  the  association  and  to 
the  city.  Mrs.  Woolman  acts  as  textile  specialist.  Demonstrations  are 
so  well  attended  that  there  is  not  always  room  enough  for  the  visitors. 
The  daily  press  is  keeping  in  touch  with  the  Bureau.  The  work  is 
spreading  beyond  Massachusetts,  and  so  many  demands  for  information 
are  coming  from  over  the  entire  coimtry  that  a  pamphlet  will  soon  be 
issued  which  will  tell  specifically  of  the  organization  and  methods  of 
work.  The  Woman's  City  Club  and  those  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  are 
glad  at  any  time  to  give  help  to  those  desiring  to  organize  a  like  work. 
Such  a  center  need  not  be  expensive,  and  yet  can  render  a  valuable 
service. 


1920]  KITCHENS  327 

KITCHENS 

In  our  endeavor  to  work  out  the  most  efficient  methods  of  work  and 
to  plan  for  the  most  modem  equipment  we  often  forget  both  the  need 
for  adapting  the  equipment  to  individual  needs  and  the  fact  that  there 
are  different  home  ideals  and  conditions,  that  may  make  what  seems 
to  us  an  old-fashioned  method  sometimes  most  desirable.  The  kitchen 
of  the  Pullman  car  is  often  described  as  ideal,  and  so  it  is  from  the  stand- 
point of  compactness,  the  most  necessary  condition  to  observe  in  the 
moving  train,  but  anyone  who  has  been  in  such  a  kitchen  and  experienced 
its  intense  heat  will  hesitate  to  recommend  it  for  the  household.  The 
kitchen  well  planned  for  the  dty  apartment  may  not  be  at  all  adapted 
to  the  fann  house,  though  in  both  places  the  same  principles  should  be 
observed  of  correct  routing,  convenient  arrangement  of  detail,  and  ease 
in  doing  work. 

There  are  still  many  homes  where  the  kitchen  bears  somewhat  the 
same  relation  to  the  household  as  did  the  kitchen  of  colonial  times,  when 
this  was  the  real  heart  of  the  house,  the  true  living  room.  This  type  of 
kitchen  is  the  one  described  by  the  writer  of  the  following  article,  pub- 
lished some  time  ago  in  the  American  Cooking  School  Magazine  (now 
A  merican  Cookery) . 

An  article  in  a  recent  household  magazine  gives  an  enthusiastic  description 
of  a  compact  kitchenette,  so  tiny  that  it  is  modeled  after  a  ship's  kitchen 
and  takes  up  almost  as  little  room.  The  writer  tells  with  what  difficulty  she 
stowed  herself  away,  in  order  to  visit  with  the  owner  whfle  luncheon  was 
being  prepared.  At  first  I  felt  a  pang  of  envy,  contrasting  the  order  and 
neatness  which  prevailed  there  with  the  somewhat  chaotic  condition  which 
met  my  ^es  as  I  looked  up  from  the  magazine  I  had  picked  up  to  fill  in  the 
moments  imtil  the  high  school  boy  should  arrive  in  his  usual  starved  condi- 
tion. When  he  came,  however,  I  wondered  how  he  would  fit  into  that  tiny 
kitchenette,  for  the  high  school  boy  is  long  of  limb  and  broad  of  shoulder  and 
stin  growing. 

I  envied  no  more,  for  our  kitchen  is  the  heart  of  the  house.  On  the  kitchen 
table  the  high  school  boy  builds  his  aeroplanes  and  telegraph  instruments, 
and  solves  his  algebra  problems,  and  conjugates  his  Latin  verbs;  at  the  kitchen 
sink  he  experiments  with  chemistry  and  physics,  all  with  mother's  sympa- 
thetic interest  and  help.  A  perfect  kitchen  companion  is  the  jolly,  whistling 
high  school  boy  with  his  slang,  his  popular  songs  and  his  interest  in  ever3rth]ng 
from  modem  aeronautics  and  wireless  telegraphy  back  to  Alexander  the 
Great  and  Julius  Caesar.    You  can't  lose  your  hold  on  every  part  of  ypur 


'328  '  THE  joimNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [July 

boy's  life  if  he  and  his  chums  are  under  your  feet  in  the  kitchen  on  holidays 
and  stormy  days.  Where  is  there  room,  pray  tell,  for  ttiSy  puUs  and  pqKom 
in  a  kitchenette? 

On  the  fireless  cooker  in  the  comer  (cooker  made  by  said  high  school  boy) 
the  ten-year-old  boy  finds  subjects  and  predicates,  with  mother's  help,  cons 
his  qielling  lessons  and  ''bounds  North  America."  In  the  chalked  ring  in 
the  center  he  "knuckles  down  tight'' and  he  may  even  spin  his  top  here,  bdld 
his  kites  and  mend  his  sled. 

Baby  boy  gets  his  first  lessons  here,  too,  builds  his  blocks  and  runs  his 
choo^hoo  train,  "cranks  his  auto"  with  meat  grinder  and  bread  mixer,  learns 
his  letters  from  oven  door  and  cereal  carton  and  his  numbers  from  dock  and 
scale  dial  and  calendar. 

Even  the  master  of  the  house  warms  his  back  at  the  hot  water  boQer  in  the 
comer  after  his  drives,  as  he  answers  the  "Queen  of  the  Kitchen's"  inquiries 
about  different  patients  he  has  visited  that  morning. 

There  is  even  room  for  the  high  school  boy's  chum,  "the  yaller  dog,"  and 
four-year-old's  kitten;  yes,  there  is  even  a  comfortable  chair  for  the  neighbor 
who  runs  in  "to  borrow"  and  stays  to  chat 

No,  a  kitchenette  would  never  do  for  us. 

KEEPING  SERVANTS 

The  servant  question,  or  the  problem  of  first  catching  your  cook  be- 
fore eating  your  hare,  seems,  like  many  other  matters  of  present  day 
discussion,  to  be  a  perennial  one.  In  1752  an  attempt  at  a  solution  was 
offered  by  a  worthy  anonymous  writer  in  a  small  pamphlet  which  hardly 
merits  the  oblivion  time  has  bestowed  upon  it.  The  sixpenny  was  entitled 
"A  proposal  for  the  amendment  and  encouragement  of  servants."  The 
proposal  was,  in  brief,  to  raise  a  fund  by  popular  subscription,  for  bestow- 
ing annual  rewards  on  such  servants  as  had  lived  long  in  a  place;  "viz., 
so  much  for  one  year,  for  two  years,  for  three,  and  so  on."  The  sub- 
scribers were  to  be  organized  into  a  society,  but  the  writer  does  not  tell 
us  what  happened  to  the  subscribers  who  were  unable  to  keep  servants, 
even  when  the  subscribers  had  always  punctually  paid  their  dues.  He 
is  certain,  however,  that  he  has  solved  the  difficulty  of  keeping  servants, 
for  he  goes  on  to  say,  "This  scheme  (which  those  who  will  give  them- 
selves the  trouble  to  consider  at  large  will  probably  not  think  altogether 
impracticable)  I  believe  will  be  likely  to  conduce  to  a  general  reforma- 
tion of  our  servants."  Unfortunately  history  is  silent  about  the  results 
of  this  plan  and  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  it  wa&  ever 
put  into  effect. — The  Christian  Science  Moniior. 


1920]  FOOD  AKD  FAKE  IN  CANADA  329 

FOOD  AND  FARE  IN  CANADA 

From  the  statements  in  a  recently  published  article^  on  Canadian 
food  and  food  customs,  the  diet  does  not,  after  all,  differ  very  much  from 
what  one  finds  in  the  United  States. 

If  there  is  any  diet  which  may  be  called  purely  Canadian,  "it  is  that 
of  the  French,  the  original  white  Canadians.  Thousands  of  the  less 
sophisticated  habitants  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  still  have  as 
their  staple  food  at  almost  every  meal  the  traditional  pea  soup,  flavored 
and  enriched  with  a  bit  of  fat  pork,  and  supplemented  with  plenty  of 
bread  baked  in  the  great  outdoor  stone-built  oven.  Tea  is  their  strong- 
est drink,  at  home;  but  it  is  strong  enough,  in  all  conscience.  Away 
from  home,  Jean  Baptiste  will  rarely  refuse  a  glass  of  ouiske  blanc. 
Sagamiti,  a  Red  Indian  dish  of  maize,  is  still  made  by  French  Canadians, 
who  also  vary  their  diet  on  festive  occasions  with  blood  puddings  (not 
unknown  among  the  Scots)  and  with  cripes  and  croquinoles^  otherwise 
pancakes  and  douj^uts,  which  are  assuredly  no  monopoly  of  any  race." 
The  description  of  Canadian  farm  home  diet  would  seem  very  familiar 
to  a  great  many  Americans.  The  statement  about  pie,  which  follows, 
is  of  interest  as  it  seems  that,  in  this  instance  as  in  so  many  others,  we 
have  so  taken  over  pie  and  made  it  our  own  that  we  had  forgotten  whence 
it  came.  "The  pie  which  nearly  always  forms  the  second  course  is  con- 
sidered by  old-world  folk  a  peculiarly  new- world  institution;  but,  like 
many  other  'Americanisms,'  it  is  probably  an  earlier  'Anglicism'  carried 
over  the  sea  and  flourishing  there,  though  nearly  obsolete  in  England. 
I  remember,  writes  a  Canadian  correspondent,  forty  years  ago,  an  old 
market  woman  in  North  Wales  who  brought  a  basketful  of  these  pies  to 
town  every  market  day.  They  were  the  real  thing — ^I  recognized  their 
brothers  and  sister  on  every  dinner  table  when  I  went  to  Canada  years 
afterwards — big  round  tarts,  baked  on  a  plate,  upper  crust  and  under 
crust  with  a  layer  of  something  fruity  in  the  middle." 

''Apple  and  mince  pies  are  the  commonest  in  our  part  [of  Canada],  but 
lemon  pie,  covered  with  meringue  instead  of  upper  crust,  is  reckoned  a 
greater  delicacy,  and  pumpkin  pie,  also  devoid  of  upper  crust,  is  the 
prime  favorite  of  a  minority.  A  quite  different  minority,  chiefly  English 
by  birth,  alternate  pies  with  pudding  of  the  usual  English  types." 

>  The  Table  [Gieat  Britain],  Vol.  68  (1920),  No.  1762,  p.  181. 


EDITORIAL 

The  New  Belgian  Home  Economics  College.  Many  readers  of 
the  JoxTRNAL  will  remember  M.  Paul  DeVuyst.  He  occupies  a  high  po- 
sition as  Director  General,  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  Belgiiun,  having 
charge  of  the  section  dealing  with  inspection,  education,  and  extension 
work  in  agriculture  and  home  economics.  He  has  long  been  connected 
with  agricultural  and  home  economics  work  in  Belgium  and  is  in  large 
measure  responsible  for  its  success. 

Owing  to  his  efforts  a  college  of  agriculture  and  home  economics  for 
women  is  being  established  in  Lierre,  one  of  the  suburbs  of  Brussels. 

The  new  institution  will  be  housed  in  an  old  chateau  not  far  from  one 
of  the  residences  of  the  King  of  Bdgium.  His  Majesty  and  the  Queen 
are  both  greatly  interested  in  this  project,  and  their  interest  wiU  be  mani- 
fested in  very  effective  ways. 

Professor  Jean  lindemans,  who  has  been  appointed  Director  of  the 
new  college,  is  now  in  the  United  States  collecting  data  for  the  Belgian 
government  regarding  education  in  home  economics  and  agriculture  in 
this  country  and  Canada.  He  will  visit  a  number  of  schools  and  colleges 
before  his  return  to  Belgium  and  has  spent  some  time  in  Washington.  It 
is  Director  Lindemans'  hope  that  the  Belgian  college  may  establish 
close  contact  with  American  colleges  and  that  some  exchange  of  students 
may  be  possible. 

The  American  Home  Economics  Association  and  all  others  interested 
in  home  economics  congratulate  Belgiimi  and  wish  the  new  college  all 
success.  One  practical  way  of  showing  our  interest  would  be  to  place 
the  name  of  the  college  on  our  mailing  lists  so  that  it  may  receive  cata- 
logues and  current  bulletins  and  also  when  possible  to  send  files  of  bulle- 
tins and  reports  of  home  economics  work. 

The  American  Home  Economics  Association  has  a  personal  interest 
in  this  project,  as  M.  DeVuyst  is  one  of  its  honorary  members. 

Home  Economics  Training  College  in  India.  A  circular  received 
from  Baroda  College,  affiliated  with  the  University  of  Bombay,  gives 
details  of  a  Collegiate  School  of  Household  Arts  recently  opened  to 

330 


1920]  EDITORIAL  331 

give  graduate  instruction  m  the  fundamental  principles  and  practices 
of  private  and  institutional  housekeeping.  His  Highness  the  Maharaja 
Gaekwar  became  interested  in  the  establishment  of  the  institution 
after  a  course  of  lectures  on  household  arts  had  been  delivered  at  Baroda 
College  by  Mrs.  Ann  Gilchrist  Strong,  for  many  years  Director  of  the 
Department  of  Household  Arts  in  the  University  of  Cincinnati. 

Admission  to  candidacy  for  the  diploma  in  household  arts  is  open  to 
those  who  hold  the  B.A.  or  B.S.  degree,  while  students  who  have  passed 
a  college  matriculation  examination  may  enter  for  a  certificate  course  in 
household  arts.  The  curriculum  includes  fundamental  work  in  chemis- 
try, economics,  sociology,  psychology,  and  ethics,  and  applied  courses 
in  housing,  dietetics,  textiles,  household  management,  and  household 
arts  education.  The  faculty  includes  Mrs.  Strong  and  a  number  of 
Indian  professors,  members  of  the  Baroda  College  Faculty.  The  out- 
line of  the  school  points  out  that  the  training  of  teachers  for  district  and 
village  schools  must  in  the  future  include  ability  to  teach  the  household 
arts.  Students  will  be  expected  to  concern  themselves  with  presenting 
in  the  vernaculars,  orally  or  in  print,  the  practical  teachings  of  this  sub- 
ject. ''For  this/'  the  announcement  reads,  ''research  must  be  made 
into  social  and  economic  conditions,  in  their  bearing  upon  home  life. 
Text  books  and  other  books  dealing  with  home  problems  will  require  to 
be  written,  and  written  by  Indians  for  India.  This  is  an  opportunity 
for  household  arts  students.  Government  Departments  require  such 
women,  in  increasing  numbers,  for  civic  and  social  service.  Institu- 
tional management  requires  and  will  demand  other  students.  Hos- 
pitals need  dietetians  able  to  manage  the  practical  preparation  of  invaUd 
diets,  and  to  teach  dietetics  to  nurses.  Laundries  need  managers  who 
understand  the  chemistry  of  textiles  and  detergents  as  well  as  the 
mechanism  of  modem  machinery.  Palaces  and  hotels  need  household 
managers  who  understand  modem  methods  and  can  deal  with  the 
servant  problem. 

"The  student  of  household  arts  also  has  the  opportunity  of  improv- 
ing the  health,  happiness,  and  social  well-being  of  the  family,  and  mak- 
ing the  home  an  example  of  the  'Art  of  Right-Living.' 

"An  expert  always  receives  higher  compensation  than  the  general 
worker.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  those  trained  in  household 
arts  will  receive  improved  finandal  remimeration." 


332  THE  JOURNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [July 

THE  OPEN  FORUM 

Family  Living  Expenses.  The  two-year  Commercial  Graduate's 
Civics  Class,  of  Austin  High  School,  conducted  by  George  C.  Brush,  ob- 
tained an  average  family  budget  of  living  expenses  for  a  period  of  one 
year.  This  class  consists  of  fifty-eight  pupils,  and  each  pupil  turned  in 
an  unsigned  report,  showing  the  amount  of  money  expended  for  the 
family  expenses  and  also  the  savings.    The  results  are  as  follows: 

Food $1119.00 

Oothing S49 .  00 

Shdter 592.00 

Recreation 260.00 

Church— charity 76.00 

InsiuBjice i 144.00 

Carfare 1 13 .  00 

Miscellaneous 242.00 

Average  total  expenses $3595.00 

Average  savings. 572 .00 

Average  income $5967.00 

Average  number  of  people  per  family 5 

Among  these  fifty-eight  families,  forty-five  had  savings  accounts, 
every  family  carried  some  insurance,  and  also  donated  to  charity.  There 
were  302  people  included  in  this  budget,  and  it  took  $194,582.00  to  sup- 
port then!  for  the  past  year. 

These  were  comfortable  families  of  Americans,  chiefly  of  Irish  and 
Swedish  descent,  who  had  been  in  this  country  for  two  or  three  genera- 
tions. Is  this  typical  of  American  expenditure?  Does  the  very  small 
amount  spent  for  church  and  charity  (less  than  2  per  cent)  show  the 
need  for  training  along  altruistic  lines?  Unless  recreation  includes 
travel,  the  amount  spent  for  this  and  for  clothing  would  seem  to  indicate 
self  indulgence  that  might  be  corrected  by  systematic  budget  instruction. 

Nancy  G.  Gladish, 
Austin  High  School. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


Mess  Officers' Ma$mal,    Philadelphia:  Lea  & 

Febiger,  1919,  pp.  192. 

Hiis  volume  was  prepared  by  leveral  of- 
ficen  of  the  Diviakm  of  Food  and  Natritkm, 
of  the  Medkal  Department,  U.  S.  Anny. 
It  is  designed  to  facilitate  the  work  of  camp 
nutrition  officers.  The  topics  considered 
are  composition  of  food,  selection  and  in- 
spection of  food  and  storage  of  foods,  diges- 
tion and  absorption  of  foods,  nutritive  value 
of  foods  in  the  diet,  kitchen  economy,  and 
mess  management,  and  the  duties  of  mess 
officen.  There  is  also  a  pessary,  a  list  of 
additional  reference  books,  and  a  full  index. 
The  tabular  matter  on  food  composition  in- 
cluded in  the  discussion  of  food  contains  a 
number  of  foods  not  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  bulletin,  on  which  it  is  based. 
The  discussion  of  food  contains  a  section  on 
a  topic  not  commonly  considered  in  such 
connection,  namdy,  flavoring  substances. 

Of  special  interest  are  such  matters  as  the 
discussion  of  y  w*piwg  foods,  the  informa- 
tion on  judging  the  quality  of  meat,  poultry, 
and  other  important  foodstuffs  in  the  ration, 
the  care  of  the  refrigerator,  dairy  products, 
vegetables,  dry  foods  such  as  flour,  and 
canned  goods.  Most  of  the  foodstuffs  given 
under  the  first  three  heads  require  icf riger- 
ation.  The  construction  of  a  storage  Un 
and  a  bread  box  are  described  in  detaiL 
The  discussions  of  digestion  and  absorption 
of  foods  and  their  uses  in  the  diet  are  con- 
venient summaries  of  these  important  top- 
ics, while  the  discussion  on  kitchen  economy 
and  mess  management  provides  a  large 
amount  of  useful  information  regarding  the 
hygiene  of  quarters,  equipment,  and  per- 
sonnel The  section  on  battalion  and  com- 
pany mess  officers  and  the  hospital  mess 
officer  and  staff  is  of  decided  interest  to 
students  of  institution  management,  as  are 
also  the  (fiscuasions  of  menu  planning,  meal 
planning,  and  other  topics. 

C.  F.  Lanowobxky. 


A  ManmL  ef  Canmng  amd  Preserving.    By 

Tbsodora  M.  Casxell.    New  YoriL:  E. 

P.  Dutton  &  Company,  1919,  pp.  101. 

$1.50. 

This  Manual  contains  suggestive  intro- 
ductory material  followed  by  well  planned 
definite  directions  for  carrying  on  specific 
canning 


Every  Siep  in  Canning.    By  Grace  Viall 
Gray.    Chicago:    Forbes   &   Company, 
1919,  pp.  253.    $1.25. 
The  short  introduction  describing  the  vari- 
ous methods  of  csnning,  laying  wnphssis 
upon  the  superiority  of  the  smgie-period 
cold-pack  over  other  methods,  and  giving 
suggestions  for  necessary  canning  equip- 
ment, is  very  direct  and  well  worked  out. 

The  following  chapters  deal  with  the 
canning  of  soft  and  hard  fruits,  vegetables, 
soups  (with  and  without  stocks),  jellies,  jams, 
and  preserves,  meat,  fish,  and  poultry,  with 
careful  directions  as  to  the  preparation  of 
the  food  material  previous  to  canning.  A 
chapter  dealing  with  canning  in  tin,  and  a 
discusrion  of  intermittent  or  fractional  ster- 
ilization follows.  There  are  directions  for 
drying  fruits  and  vegetables,  for  the  salting, 
smoking,  and  preserving  of  meats,  with  a 
chapter  on  preservation  of  eggs  and  on  the 
home  storage  of  vegetables. 

The  material  of  the  last  two  chapters 
discussing  the  marketing  of  the  canned 
product  and  giving  a  list  of  firms  supplsring 
canning  equipment  is  suggestive,  and  the 
tables  showing  the  yield  of  canned  products 
from  raw  material  are  hdpfuL 

The  subject  matter  is  carefully  arranged 
throughout.  It  is  very  convenient  to  have 
such  a  book  brini^  together  the  essential 
data  for  home  canning. 

RuTK  Atwatbr, 
PraU  InsiiMe. 

333 


334 


THE  JOTTKNAL  O?  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[July 


The  Book  of  Ice  Cream.    By  W.  W.  FiSK. 

New  York:  The  Macmillan  Company, 

1919,  pp.  302,  figs.  88.    «2.S0. 

The  rapid  devebpment  of  commercial  ice 
cream  making  is  spoken  of  at  some  length 
in  an  historical  account  of  frozen  foods  of 
this  type.  The  book  brings  together  much 
information.  Such  questions  as  milk  and 
cream  and  the  manufactured  milk  products 
as  related  to  ice  cream;  sugar;  chocolate 
products;  fruits;  stabilizers  and  fillers;  flav- 
oring extracts;  classification  of  ice  cream  and 
other  frozen  desserts;  equipment;  refriger- 
ation as  applied  to  ice  cream  making;  ice 
cream  processes,  testing,  and  related  topics, 
are  taken  up  in  this  volume.  Although  the 
subject  is  treated  chiefly  from  the  manu- 
facturer's standpoint,  it  has  been  the  author's 
purpose  to  include  material  for  the  house 
keeper  also. 

The  PamUy,  Vol  1,  No.  1.  Published  by  the 
American  Association  for  Organizing 
Family  Social  Work,  130  East  22nd 
Street,  New  York. 

Tliis  new  magazine  appeared  in  its  first 
issue  in  March,  1920,  and  is  to  appear 
monthly  except  in  August  and  September. 
The  "standard  subscription"  price  (which 
does  not  cover  cost  of  printing)  is  $1.50  a 
year,  with  "full  subscriptions"  at  $3,  "con- 
tributing subscriptions"  $5,  and  "patron's 
subscriptions"  $10;  all  dasses  of  subscribers 
receiving  the  same  service.  Single  copies 
are  $0.20. 

This  magazine  is  a  publication  which  home 
economics  libraries  will  wish  to  have  for  ref- 
erence. It  will  consider  the  problems  of 
sodal  workers  who  deal  with  family  read- 
justments, and  will  doubtless  provide  much 
economic  and  social  material  of  value  in  de- 
veloping instruction  in  this  field. 

The  May  number  contains  a  description  of 
a  stunmer  course  for  college  juniors  given  by 
the  Charity  Organization  Society  in  New 
York;  a  discussion  of  economic  matters  con- 
nected with  the  employment  of  social  work- 
ers in  an  article  On  the  Hiring  Line;  and  a 


paper  on  the  New  Visiting  Housekeq>er — 
her  training  and  her  work — ^by  Emma 
Winslow. 

Children's  Garments.  By  Emilt  anb  Mar- 
ian Wallbamk.  London:  Sir  Isaac  Pit- 
man &  Sons,  Ltd.,  pp.  134.    $2.00. 

This  is  a  pleasingly  printed  English  book 
describing  the  cutting,  planning,  and  mak- 
ing of  children's  garments,  with  four  useful 
full-rized  flat  patterns  slipped  into  a  pocket 
in  the  back  cover  of  the  book. 

This  book  fills  the  need  for  simple  drafts 
and  directions  for  cutting  garments  for 
children,  both  girk  and  boya.  Though  some 
English  terms  used  di£fer  from  our  American 
expressions,  the  descriptions  and  cuts  are  so 
clear  that  anyone  accustomed  to  drafting 
and  cutting  patterns  can  easily  understand 
the  text. 

There  is  an  excellent  table  of  graded  mea»- 
urements  in  the  front  of  the  book,  and  all 
through  the  book  the  most  explicit  direc- 
tions for  block  pattern  making  and  adaptions 
of  patterns  to  various  ages  and  sizes.  \^th 
the  drafting  and  making  of  patterns  very 
dear  directions  are  pvta  for  the  oonstzuction 
of  each  garment.  Finishes  and  trimmings 
are  suggested,  all  in  excellent  taste,  and  de- 
signs are  those  that  are  not  likely  to  vary 
with  the  passing  styles  from  year  to  year. 

The  book  covers  aU  sorts  and  kinds  of 
children's  garments  from  underdotfaes, 
nightgowns,  and  wrappers,  to  many  styles 
of  dresses  for  little  girls  and  many  tjrpes  of 
blouses  and  "knickers"  for  little  boys,  even 
induding  a  coat  suit  with  waistcoat  (typi- 
cally English). 

The  book  would  be  hdpf  ul  to  any  seam- 
stress making  a  specialty  of  children's  gar- 
ments, and  particularly  interesting  and  use- 
ful to  an  instructor  who  expects  to  teach 
the  making  of  these  garments.  It  should  be 
added  to  all  libraries  of  household  arts  text 
books  on  garment  construction. 

Makjoris  KmsKY, 
Praii  Institute. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


The  DIelitians  Section  of  the  Home 
Eooooniks  Assocktioii  of  Phfladelpihto  has 
held  regular  monthly  meetings  during  the 
3rear. 

Courses  in  several  phases  of  post  graduate 
woric  offered  to  student  dietitians  who  are 
domestic  science  graduates  were  outlined  at 
the  February  meeting  by  Emma  Smedley, 
Director  of  School  Luncheons,  and  by  sev- 
eral dietitians  in  Philadelphia  hoqntals. 

Hie  viewpoints  of  graduates  after  enter- 
ing the  dietetic  field  were  presented  at  the 
April  meeting  by  dietitians  from  hospitals, 
cafeterias,  tea  rooms,  school  lunch  rooms, 
coUege  halls,  and  hotek  in  Philadelphia, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  New  York. 

The  business  meeting  in  May  was  followed 
by  a  sodal  afternoon  for  which  refreshments 
were  prepared  by  Miss  Cameron,  Resident 
Dietitian,  Woman's  Homeopathic  HospitaL 

The  officers  for  next  year  are:  Mrs.  Jennie 
M.  Fuller,  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  Chair- 
man; Inez  Griffin,  Children's  Homeopathic 
Ho^ital,  Secretary;  Meta  Reese,  Method- 
ist Ejuscopal  Ho^ital,  Treasurer. 

The  Washington  Home  Economics  As- 
sodatiofi  held  a  conference  for  all  home 
economics  teachers,  west  of  the  mountains, 
on  April  24  at  the  Stadium  High  School  in 
Tacoma. 

The  program  included,  beside  music  and 
an  auto  ride  given  by  the  Rotary  Club,  a 
paper  on  Help  the  Other  Departments  are 
Giving  Us,  by  Ruth  Walker  of  Seattle;  the 
Rqwrt  of  the  Committee  on  Standardiza- 
tion of  Textiles,  by  Grace  Denny;  and  an 
account  of  Girls'  Gub  Work,  by  Elizabeth 
Amery,  University  of  Washington. 

Janet  E.  Scott  of  Lincoln  High  School  was 
toastmistress  at  the  luncheon. 


Saskatchewan  Teachers*  Courses.  Act- 
ing upon  the  request  of  the  Department  of 
Education,  the  Council  of  the  University  of 
Saskatchewan  has  recommended  to  the  Senate 
the  establishment,  during  the  academic  year 
192(K-21,  of  a  one-year  course  in  household 
science  for  teachers  in  the  provincial  schools. 

The  object  of  this  course  is  to  give,  within 
the  period  of  the  ordinary  academic  year, 
work  which  will  be  of  substantial  service  to 
teachers  in  improving  their  equipment  in 
household  science.  The  course  wfll  include 
both  foods  and  textiles,  as  well  as  the  related 
subjects,  including  chemistry. 

To  be  admitted  to  this  course  teachers 
must  have  a  second  class  license  or  higher 
credentials.  Preference  will  be  given  to 
teachers  having  three  or  more  years'  exper- 
ience in  the  public  schools.  The  class  will 
be  limited  in  number  and  therefore  it  is 
suggested  that  early  application  for  admis- 
sion be  made  to  the  Registrar  of  the  Univer- 
sity. It  is  recommended  also  that  those 
teachers  who  have  not  had  the  work  in  chem- 
istry required  for  first  class  diploma  should, 
if  possible,  take  the  course  in  chemistry  to 
be  given  at  the  summer  session  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 

The  Lewis  Hotel  Tzafaifaig  School*  which 
has  for  three  years  conducted  correspondence 
courses  to  train  for  hotel  positions,  has  this 
3rear  begun  resident  work.  The  School  is 
in  Washington,  at  1324  New  York  Avenue, 
and  Mrs.  Henry  C.  Brown,  the  principal,  will 
welcome  any  home  economics  visitors.  The 
school  trains  for  "every  position  from  boiler 
room  to  roof  garden."  The  complete  course 
is  ten  months,  the  classes  meeting  twice  a 
week,  and  the  work  being  practically  all  in 
lectures  and  problems.  The  majority  of  the 
students  in  the  resident  work  are  women. 

335 


336 


THE  JODXNAL  OF  HOME  EOONOIOCS 


[July 


The  field  of  hotel  work  is  giadually  offering 
more  and  more  opportunities  to  women. 

Among  the  outside  lecturers  who  have 
spoken  at  the  School  this  year  are  Miss  Hiuit 
of  the  Office  of  Home  Economics  who  ^>oke 
on  Food  Values,  and  Miss  Lord  of  Pratt 
Institute  who  spoke  on  the  Worker  and  the 
Job. 

Home  Economics  Motion  Pictures.  Since 
it  is  difficult  at  present  to  take  students 
to  see  work  in  progress  in  the  factory  itself, 
home  economics  couises  need  to  have  the 
factory  and  fann  brought  to  the  school  in  order 
that  processes  of  growth,  and  manufacture 
of  textiles  and  foods  may  be  seen  and  appre- 
ciated. The  Motkm  Picture  as  a  method  of 
instruction  can  give,  therefore,  distinct  serv- 
ice, and  is  bdng  increasingly  utilised  in 
educational  institutions. 

The  Community  Motion  Picture  Bureau, 
46  West  Twenty-Fourth  Street,  New  York 
Qty,  which  gave  service  to  the  United 
States  Government  during  the  war,  has 
realised  the  importance  of  presenting  home 
economics  subjects  before  aodal,  commer- 
cial, educational,  and  industrial  institutions. 
This  Bureau's  service  is  outside  of  the 
theatre,  in  the  community,  or  to  groups 
within  the  community;  hence,  it  is  especially 
equqiped  for  such  work.  The  company 
oonsiderB  that  home  economics  fihns,  to  be 
of  true  value,  must  be  organized  by  some 
one  fiunHiar  with  the  woik,  and  it,  theie- 
fore,  has  asked  Mrs.  Mary  Schenck  Wool- 
man,  formeriy  of  Teachers'  College,  Columr 
bia  University,  to  direct  the  making  of 
several  courses  of  home  economics  instruc- 
tion. 

As  a  beginning  a  series  of  ten  textile  sub- 
jects is  bdng  planned,  such  as  si»nning; 
weaving;  knitting;  cotton  growing,  spinning 
and  manufacture;  silk  culture  and  manufac- 
ture; wool  production,  spinning  and  weaving; 
woolen  and  worsted  finishing;  flax  growth 


and  manufacture  into  linen;  bleaching,  dye- 
ing and  printing,  and  embrokleiy  and  lace. 
Twenty  subjects  are  planned  in  the  food 
industries  and  in  social  and  bettennent 
woik  connected  with  the  home.  These  in- 
clude grains  and  cereals;  poultry  and  eggs; 
butter  and  cheese;  milk;  meat  cutting; 
cooking;  laundering;  fumisbing  and  eqaip> 
bg  the  home;  nutrition  clinics;  day  nursoies, 
and  like  subjects. 

The  assembling  of  fihns  relating  to  guid- 
ance of  women  into  industry  and  to  the 
National  Safety  Movement^  are  also  urged 
and  will  be  given  attention  in  the  future. 

Mrs.  Woohnan  is  woridng  directly  in 
connection  with  the  teachers  of  home  eoo- 
nomics,  and  with  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association,  for  she  is  under* 
taking  this  work  for  their  service.  Infof- 
mation  can  be  obtained  oonceming  these 
fihns  by  app^ing  to  her  at  the  Commn- 
nity  Motion  Pfctuie  Bureau  in  New  Yodc, 
or  at  her  home.  Hotel  Hemenway,  Boston, 
Massachusetts. 

Boys  and  Girls  Club  Work.  Sehna 
Rongstad,  Assistant  State  Club  Leader  for 
South  Dakota,  writes:  "The  Boys  and 
Girls  Club  Department  of  South  Dakota  is 
making  bread  baking  one  of  the  most  in^x>r- 
tant  projects  for  1920.  The  bread  club 
work  during  this  year  will  consist  of  baking 
various  kinds  of  muffins,  such  as  plain  gra- 
ham and  rolled  oats;  baking  powder  Uscuits; 
gingerbread;  yeast  breads  such  as  white 
bread,  graham,  rye,  and  rolled  oats;  and 
various  kinds  of  yeast  rolls. 

"The  club  members  will  do  their  baking 
at  home  and  in  dub  groups;  during  the  year 
they  will  give  public  demonstrations.  The 
three  best  bread  demonstrators  in  the 
county  are  chosen  to  go  to  the  State  Fair, 
where  they  will  give  public  demonstrations 
competing  for  State  Honors." 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 


Vol.  Xn  AUGUST,  1920  No.  & 

IF  NOT  WHY  NOT  ? 

MBS.  MAX  WEST 

Every  morning,  as  I  sit  at  my  desk,  there  passes  my  window  an  entranc- 
ing procession.  It  is  composed  of  what  the  older  writers  would  have 
described  as  ''youths  and  maidens/'  but  who  call  themselves  and  each 
other  "men'*  and  "girls."  The  procession  is  headed  for  the  great 
State  University,  rearing  its  stately  white  walls  against  a  background  of 
green  hills,  a  few  blocks  further  down  the  street.  If  the  entire  procession 
should  go  down  our  street  some  morning,  I  should  need  to  provide 
myself  with  a  comfortable  chair,  for  it  would  be  composed  of  more  than 
nine  thousand  students  who  have  come  here  from  all  parts  of  the  United 
States,  including  its  island  possessions,  and  from  many  foreign  countxies. 

The  section  I  am  privileged  to  observe  drifts  past  singly,  in  couples, 
or  in  groups,  and  their  talk  and  laughter  spills  out  along  the  way.  They 
are  as  indifferent  to  possible  observers  as  they  are  to  the  sidewalk  beneath 
their  springing  feet,  or  the  blue  over  their  proud  young  heads.  The 
earth  and  the  fulness  thereof — ^including  commentators — ^is  theirs;  why, 
they  would  probably  say,  worry? 

Just  now  the  spectacle  is  become  particularly  fascinating.  The  mild 
spring  days  have  brought  out  a  rainbow  mass  of  color  in  the  coats, 
sweaters,  and  smocks  of  the  girls,  of  every  possible  hue,  as  well  as  some 
impossible  ones.  Apparently  there  is  no  limit  upon  the  vividness  of 
acceptable  color,  and,  while  one  might  cavil  at  individual  taste  occasion- 
ally, the  mass  effect  as  displayed  at  student  gatherings,  especially  when 
seen  against  the  gray  background  of  their  outdoor  theater,  is  delightful. 

But  if  their  garments  are  varied,  there  is  a  striking  general  similarity 
among  them.    Is  it,  I  wonder,  that  America  is  really  evolving  a  stand- 

337 


338  THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

aid  type  of  young  woman?  At  a  little  distance  they  look  so  much  alike 
that  it  is  quite  amazing,  and  I  am  always  studying  to  find  out  whether  it 
is  because  they  all  adhere  rather  closely  to  the  prevailing  vogue  in  gar- 
ments, coiffure ,  and  carriage,  or  whether  there  is  not  a  more  fundamental 
resemblance,  really  pointing  to  the  development  of  a  recognizable  type? 
If  it  is  due  only  to  the  sequadousness  of  the  human  being,  espedaUy  the 
female,  it  is  an  interesting  phenomenon  and  one  worthy  to  be  studied. 

At  least  nine  out  of  every  ten  of  the  girls  are  wearing  plaid  skirts — 
kilt-,  box-,  or  accordion-pleated,  as  the  advertisements  say,  accom- 
panied by  a  sport  coat  or  sweater  matching  the  predominant  color  of 
the  skirt.  Their  heads,  usually  bare  in  this  climate,  have  a  notably 
uniform  appearance  at  a  little  distance.  Some  are  still  using  the  shiny, 
varnished  effect  of  the  past  year  or  two,  with  the  hair  tightly  confined  in 
invisible  nets;  others  have  adopted  a  new  vogue  in  which  tight  little 
blobs  of  hair  alternate  with  huge  puffs,  bulging  out  in  imexpected  places, 
the  whole  stiflSy  marcelled.  No  pins  or  other  ornaments  are  worn,  nor 
— thanks  be ! — any  black  velvet  bandeaus  cutting  the  forehead  in  two. 

Nothing  delights  me  more  about  their  get-up  than  their  shoes.  For 
the  greater  part  of  these  girls  evidently  eschew  French  heels,  at  least  for 
the  Campus,  and  their  walk  is,  in  consequence,  a  delight  to  behold. 
Since  they  do  not  have  to  balance  the  weight  of  their  vigorous  young 
bodies  on  pegs  or  stilts,  they  are  able  to  plant  their  feet  squarely  at  every 
step,  with  a  freedom  of  action  that  is  in  sharp  contrast  to  the  mincing, 
silly  walk  of  the  exceptional  girl  who  passes,  bound  both  by  bad  shoes  and 
a  tight  skirt.  But  do  not  mistake  me  I  If  the  Washington  group,  who 
once  debated  the  question  as  to  whether  highbrowness  varies  inversely 
with  the  height  of  one's  heels,  could  look  at  these  girls  they  would  realize 
that  there  is  no  question  at  all,  for  the  low  or  moderate  heels  are  by  no 
means  confined  to  the  frumps — ^if  such  there  be!  They  are  all  stylishly 
and — alas ! — expensively  shod.  The  price  for  these  popular  college  shoes 
is  from  $10.00  a  pair  up,  mostly  up  I 

The  "men"  have  a  vogue  no  less  pronounced  than  that  of  the  women. 
This  is  for  what  I  understand  to  be  described  in  their  parlance  as  "  cords ;" 
that  is,  corduroy  trousers,  mostly  of  a  light  brown,  but  shading  into  buff, 
and,  occasionally,  of  a  bright  yellow.  Being  a  stranger,  I  have  not  yet 
learned  the  genesis  of  these  garments.  Possibly  they  have  come  as  a 
shading  off  from  the  khaki  of  recent  seasons;  possibly  the  male  soul,  too, 
feels  the  need  for  expressing  his  youth  and  joy  of  living  in  color;  probably 
the  plain  reason  is  their  comparative  cheapness.    When  a  new  tailor. 


1920]  IP  NOT  WHY  NOT  339 

made  overcoat,  costing  $75.00,  is  so  poor  that  the  buttons  pull  out  of 
the  very  texture  of  the  cloth  the  first  winter,  I  wonder  how  boys  like 
these,  many  of  whom  are  paying  their  own  way  through  college,  can 
a£ford  to  wear  wool  clothing  at  all. 

Candor  compels  me  to  say,  however,  that  "cords"  are  not  things  of 
beauty  undefiled.  Usually  far  otherwise.  Streaked  with  stains  from 
lying  on  convenient  and  sun-warmed  grass  plots  in  off  hours,  or  soiled 
with  the  black  mud  of  the  athletic  fields,  they  testify  to  their  owners'  inde- 
pendence of  mind,  for  evidently  it  is  not  a  la  mode  to  launder  them  any 
too  often.  (Perhaps  they  shrink !)  But  who  cares,  if  the  lads  are  happy, 
bless  'em !    Certainly  not  their  humble  reporter. 

I  think  the  strongest  single  impression  I  get  from  them  all,  men  and 
women  aJike,  is  their  beauty — a  beauty  of  form,  color,  and  fine,  upstanding 
posture,  proclauning  that  within  them  the  springs  of  health  are  bubbling 
high.  It  restores  one's  faith, in  good  old  Mother  Nature.  Surely  a 
race  such  as  these  ought  to  be  able  to  build  a  new  and  better  civilization 
upon  the  earth. 

The  question  ever  recurring  to  my  mind  as  I  watch  the  charming  pano- 
rama unfold  itself  each  day  is  one  which  has  been  asked,  since  the  dajrs 
of  Aristotle,  concerning  the  purpose  of  education.  What  are  all  these 
thousands  of  young  people  here  for;  what  will  they  get  out  of  it;  what 
lode  star  draws  them  here  in  such  hordes  that  they  swamp  the  living 
quarters  of  the  town,  and  overwhelm  the  University?  There  isn't  a 
university  or  college  in  this  country  that  could  adequately  meet  such  a 
demand.  It  was  said  that  one  of  the  history  classes  had  at  the  beginning 
of  the  semester  over  twelve  himdred  registrants!  It  is  obviously  im- 
possible for  any  conceivable  teaching  force,  at  present  constituted,  to  do 
fine  intensive  work  when  faced  with  such  crowded  class  rooms;  it  is 
appalling  aJike  from  the  standpoint  of  teacher  and  pupil.  And  the  same 
cry  is  going  up  from  colleges  and  universities  of  all  sorts  in  every  part 
of  the  country.  Nothing  can  be  plainer,  it  seems  to  me,  than  the  demand 
of  the  new  era  for  more  money  for  education,  a  demand  which  must,  of 
course,  be  met.  An  education  has  come,  since  the  war,  to  be  a  pearl  of 
greater  price  than  ever  before.  The  value  of  the  trained  and  well-stored 
mind  has  been  demonstrated  in  a  thousand  thrilling  instances  to  all  the 
l)03rs  who  went  to  war.  The  star  of  the  college  professor  has  shone  out 
in  no  uncertain  light.  The  plodder,  the  bookworm,  the  dreamer,  the 
absent-minded  blimderbuss,  each  has  come  immistakably  into  his  own. 
It  has  suddenly  become  apparent  to  hordes  of  young  people  that  a 


340  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

degree  is  something  more  than  an  affectation,  and  that  the  college  bred 
are  not,  necessarily,  snobs! 

These  eager  thousands  of  young  people,  and  other  eager  thousands  the 
country  over,  are  without  doubt  making  the  basic  assumption  that  if 
they  put  themselves  in  the  hands  of  the  university  for  four  years  the 
university  will,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  send  them  forth  "educated." 
That  they  will  thenceforth  be  able  to  secure  better  positions,  higher  paid 
and  more  important  work,  in  short,  be  better  fitted  to  cope  with  life. 
This  assumption  is  certainly  made  in  the  homes  from  which  the  greater 
part  of  this  army  comes.  I  feel  rather  chokey  when  I  think  of  that  part 
of  it,  remembering  all  the  sacrifices,  the  imselfishness,  the  givings-up, 
that  son  or  daughter  may  be  sent  to  college.  The  loneliness  of  fathers 
and  mothers  on  distant  farms  and  ranches,  their  patient  wonderment 
as  the  stories  of  initiation  larks,  circuses,  and  revelries  of  many  kinds 
filter  back  to  them  as  to  what  time  can  be  left  for  study,  all  raise  the 
insistent  question:  what,  after  all,  are  these  young  people  going  to  get 
out  of  it?  Are  our  great  institutions  of  popular  education  really  going 
to  justify  this  enonnous  trust?  What  will  be  the  verdict  as  life  subjects 
these  boys  and  girls  to  its  acid  test? 

One  flippant  reply  which  can  always  be  made  to  this  query  is,  why 
worry?  Only  one  or  two  per  cent  of  our  children  ever  get  as  far  as  college 
in  their  educational  careers,  so  the  good  or  ill  effect  of  college  life  is  not 
a  matter  for  general  concern.  In  rebuttal,  it  is  only  necessary  to  point 
to  the  attendance  records  at  practically  all  colleges  in  the  year  1919-20. 
There  can  be  little  question  that  there  is  a  definite  setting  of  the  tide 
toward  our  institutions  for  higher  learning,  which  will,  if  the  college  rises 
to  its  opportunity,  continue  to  swell  as  the  years  go  by.  How  this  de- 
mand is  to  be  met,  both  extensively  and  intensively,  is  a  matter  for 
grave  concern. 

It  all  comes  back  finally  to  abstruse  questions  of  educational  values, 
and,  primarily,  to  that  of  the  real  purpose  of  education.  Men  have 
given  and  are  giving  their  lives  to  the  patient  study  of  such  questions; 
it  is  not  likely  that  the  discussions  will  cease  for  some  generations  to  come. 
But  for  the  modest  purposes  of  these  comments  we  may  be  permitted 
to  assume  that  the  purpose  of  education  is  threefold;  first,  the  strength- 
ening and  developing  of  the  mind,  per  se;  second,  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge for  cultural  puix)oses;  and  third,  to  learn  the  fundamental  principles, 
at  least,  of  one's  task  in  life.  To  these  a  fourth  might  well  be  added, 
that  of  learning  health  habits,  though  the  education  for  health  should 


1920]  IP  NOT  WHY  NOT  341 

have  been  begun  as  far  back  as  any  education  can  begin,  long  before  the 
college  age.  This  part  of  their  task  most  institutions  of  higher  learning 
are  doing  admirably,  some  of  them  supremely  well.  It  is  quite  safe  to 
say,  I  believe,  that  nowadays  most  yoimg  people  have  better  care  of  their 
health  and  development  in  coUege  than  they  do  in  the  smother  of  mater- 
nal injudidousness  in  their  own  homes.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  enlarge 
upon  the  virtues  of  the  present  day  regime  in  most  first-dass  colleges. 
The  provision  of  time  and  equipment  for  all  sorts  of  health-giving  exer- 
dses;  the  prompt  isolation  of  iUness,  and  its  treatment  in  properly 
equipped  institutions,  when  necessary,  are  well  known.  Often,  indeed,  it 
is  this  phase  of  college  life  which  most  recommends  it  to  parents,  and,  since 
so  much  of  our  education  has  to  work  backwards,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
possibly  sometime  the  health  ideals  taught  in  college  may  seep  down- 
ward through  the  lower  schools  and  finally,  into  the  home  itself,  where 
most  of  the  mischief  is  now  done. 

What  these  young  people  will  actually  take  away  with  them  at  the 
end  of  their  college  courses  will,  it  seems  to  me,  be  largdy  determined  by 
three  factors;  first,  the  judgment  with  which  the  course  of  study  is  sdected 
to  fit  the  particular  mentality  and  type,  and  the  proportion  of  ''brain- 
stretchers"  to  ''snaps"  in  it;  second,  and  very  much,  upon  the  personality 
of  the  professors  and  instructors  under  whose  influence  a  student  chiefly 
comes — an  important  point  in  the  sdection  of  a  major  subject;  and,  per- 
haps most  of  all,  upon  the  amount  of  the  mental  gold  the  candidate  has 
to  take  with  him  when  he  starts  out  to  fetch  the  intellectual  wealth  of 
the  Indies.  If  you  cannot  make  a  purse  out  of  a  soVs  ear,  you  may  be 
able  to  make  something  else  quite  as  useful,  and  the  need  for  judidous 
student  advisers  who  are  a  combination  of  psychologist,  psycho-analyst, 
physiologist,  and  spedalist  in  vocational  guidance,  as  well  as  counsellor 
and  friend,  is  a  crying  one  in  every  college. 

This  last  factor,  that  is,  the  fitness  of  the  boy  or  girl  to  take  on  educa- 
tion, is  not  within  the  control  of  the  colleges,  save  to  the  extent  that  they 
are  able  to  sdect  their  students  through  the  medium  of  stiffened  entrance 
examinations.  But  for  the  others  it  has  the  fullest  and  gravest  respons- 
ibility, although  it  can  only  fulfill  this  responsibility  when  the  body  of 
the  people  furnish  the  vast  sums  of  money  which  such  a  vast  imdertaking 
demands.  Several  great  institutions  are,  at  this  moment,  almost  in 
finandal  straits,  owing  to  the  ime]q>ected,  because  unprecedented,  de- 
mand upon  their  resources  of  every  sort, — buildings,  equipment,  living 
halls,  and,  most  of  all,  teachers.    The  drain  upon  the  teaching  forces 


342  THE  JOUSNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

of  our  best  colleges  and  universities  has  been  severe  for  some  years,  and 
will  continue  as  long  as  highly  trained  men  and  women  are  offered  better 
salaries  in  other  fields.  One  thing  is  certain,  and  that  is  that  as  long 
as  our  institutions  of  higher  education  must  carry  a  certain  proportion 
of  men  and  women  of  mediocre  ability  upon  their  staff — as  they  must  do 
until  the  outrageous  standards  of  pasmient  can  be  uprooted  and  a  fair 
living  scale  established — that  our  young  people  are  going  to  be  sadly 
the  losers  in  this  great  game  of  education.  This,  too,  is  a  matter  that 
reaches  far  back  into  the  beginnings  of  things.  One  of  the  biting  ques- 
tions we  parents  must  always  be  asking  ourselves  is  why  we  permit  the 
training  and  teaching  of  our  littie  boys  and  girls  during  the  years  which 
are,  by  all  odds,  the  most  important  in  their  entire  lives,  when  the  wax 
is  soft  to  the  molder's  hands,  to  be  given  over  in  a  very  large  nimiber  of 
instances,  if  not  usually,  to  yoimg  girls,  irresponsible,  inexperienced  and 
untrained,  who  are  often  as  innocent  of  the  basal  sciences,  psychology, 
pedagogy,  sociology,  and  economics,  as  they  are  of  Sanscrit?  Is  it  not 
of  infinitely  greater  importance  to  the  welfare  of  America  that  her  hordes 
of  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  twelve  shall  be  well  taught,  than 
that  the  fraction  which  finally  reaches  college  should  be,  since  these  older 
ones  are  able,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  to  discoimt  the  wisdom  of  their 
elders.  But  this,  like  health  eduction,  is  an  ideal.  Certainly  it  will  not 
be  realized  as  long  as  we  are  willing  to  permit  the  profession  of  teaching 
to  be  starved. 

It  is  a  perfectiy  safe  prognosis  that,  as  far  as  universities  and  colleges 
are  concerned,  the  money  will  be  forthcoming.  Neither  state  legislatures 
nor  private  citizens  with  wealth  will  be  able  to  withstand  the  insistent 
demand  which  is  going  up  in  every  part  of  the  country  and  we  may  safely 
assume  that  the  necessary  expansion  will  be  made  possible,  and  that 
very  soon.  Assuming  this,  we  who  are  parents,  with  sons  and  daughters 
soon  to  be  sent  to  college,  may,  in  all  propriety,  ask  the  colleges  what  they 
are  going  to  do  for  our  precious  ones.  Is  it  going  to  be  worth  all  it  will 
cost  them,  and  us,  whose  happiness  will  lie  in  their  happiness  and  success 
in  the  business  of  living? 

As  I  look  at  it,  the  answer  may  be  afiirmative  with  regard  to  men, 
more  surely  than  with  regard  to  women.  Yoimg  men,  like  those  I  see 
every  day,  appear  to  me  to  have  a  pretty  dear  idea  of  what  they  have 
come  to  college  for,  and  are  making  it  plain  to  the  coU^e.  Whether  the 
admixture  of  "brain-stretching"  courses  and  those  which  particularly 
bestow  that  elusive  quality  we  call  culture  is  as  large  as  one  might  wish, 
is  doubtiess  open  to  question.    Here  is  where  the  highly  competent 


1920]  IP  NOT  WHY  NOT  343 

student  adviser  is  so  sorely  needed.  But  on  the  vocational  side  there 
can  be  no  question  that  the  two  imiversities  with  which  I  am  best 
acquainted,  and  I  doubt  not  others,  are  doing  a  work  of  immeasurable 
value.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  mention  an  avenue  of  interest  in  which 
the  university  does  not  stand  ready  to  act  as  guide,  coimsellor,  and 
friend.  From  road  making  and  concrete  work,  to  journalism  and  archi- 
tecture, the  Hst  of  subjects  taught  is  endless.  It  would  seem  that  the 
feast  spread  is  bountiful  beyond  telling.  If  the  student  fails  to  find 
dishes  to  his  Hking  and  upon  which  he  will  thrive,  it  is  not  the  fault  of 
the  menu  makers. 

But  with  respect  to  the  girls,  one  can  hardly  fed  so  secure. 

Women  today  are  asking  exactly  the  same  things  of  education  as  men; 
to  be  developed  in  all  their  powers  and  faculties,  that  they  may  have 
life  and  have  it  more  abimdantly;  and  so  trained  that  they  may  carry 
on  their  own  special  avocations  with  the  greatest  degrees  of  efficiency 
and  success.  Are  they  getting  it?  For  answer,  scan  the  reports  of  the 
United  States  Children's  Bureau,  the  United  States  Bureau  of  the  Census 
on  Mortality  Statistics,  Marriage  and  Divorce,  and  on  Benovolcnt  Insti- 
tutions; or  similar  records  for  many  a  state  or  large  dty. 

Of  course  the  pertinent  answer  may  be  made  that  it  is  not  the  college- 
trained  woman  who  figures  in  these  exhibits,  since  the  proportion  of 
her  to  the  general  population  is  small.  To  which  reply  might  be  made 
with  the  coimter  charge  that  the  college  bred  woman  is,  in  a  serious 
number  of  cases,  evading  her  responsibilities;  first,  by  not  marrying; 
second,  by  marrying  late;  and  third,  by  refusing  motherhood.  But  it 
is  not  my  ptupose  here  to  enter  upon  these  phases  of  the  controversy. 
The  question  I  am  raising  is  only  with  respect  to  the  value  of  the  college 
education  to  the  successful  working  out  of  the  manifest  destiny  of  women, 
which  is,  as  long  as  the  present  order  of  mundane  things  remains,  to  be 
the  mother  of  children  and  the  creator  of  the  home — a  destiny  of  greater 
importance  to  a  suffering  world  than  any  ever  dreamed  of  since  Adam 
and  Eve  made  a  mess  of  things! 

We  cannot  get  away  from  the  eternal  verities  however  we  may  squirm 
and  wriggle.  Men  and  women  are  not  aUke;  their  place  and  office  in 
the  evolution  of  civilization  is  and  must  always  be  different,  though  para- 
mount, and  it  is  a  useless  waste  of  time  to  deny  it  or  argue  about  it.  The 
time  has  certainly  come  for  women  to  tackle  the  problems  involved  and 
to  demand  from  an  expensive  education  that  it  fit  them  for  these  under- 
igs. 


344  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

There  are,  it  seems  to  me,  two  principal  reasons  why  the  girl  does  not 
get  all  this  out  of  her  college  training.  The  first  lies  in  the  fact  that  up 
to  the  very  recent  years,  at  least,  the  courses  for  women  have  been  a 
slavish  imitation  of  those  for  men.  This  for  obvious  reasons.  Second, 
that  the  courses  in  homemaking,  given  admirably  in  a  few  colleges  and 
partially  in  others,  are  regarded  by  too  many  girls  as  beneath  their  atten- 
tion, as  being  merely  vocational  and  lacking  in  ''brain-stretching" 
courses  as  well  as  in  cultural  values.  Here  is  where  I  throw  down  a 
challenge  to  the  colleges  of  every  kind  which  admit  women!  It  is  ''up" 
to  them  to  dissipate  such  falsity  and  sham.  Such  views  are  not  only 
nonsense  but  nonsense  of  a  peculiarly  dangerous  and  insidious  variety, 
and  educators  must  come  to  see  this  and  to  strive  to  create  a  soimder 
sense  of  proportion  and  a  m^e  wholesome  evaluation  of  the  factors  in 
^ucation  among  the  young  women  whose  destinies  they  have  imdertaken 
to  guide. 

Here,  of  course,  my  opponents  will  say  that  the  girls  won't  take  those 
courses  if  they  are  offered,  and  I  admit  it.  Probably  not;  certainly  not 
in  any  great  nimibers  while  the  present  miasma  pervades  their  minds 
that  the  one  great  purpose  of  an  education  is  to  get  them  a  good  job,  pay- 
^iing  a  large  salary,  preferably,  in  those  economic  and  other  fields  where 
ithey  compete  with  men. 

I  went  the  other  ni^t  to  a  meeting  of  a  dub  composed  of  Junior  and 
Senior  girls  majoring  in  economics.  The  speaker  they  had  invited  to 
address  them  on  the  opportimities  for  women  in  the  work  of  the  world 
was  one  of  the  leading  economists  of  the  country.  He  spoke  for  an 
hour  or  two,  setting  forth  with  nice  discrimination,  the  daily  multiplying 
openings  for  women  in  the  various  occupations,  and  especially  for  the 
women  trained  in  economics  and  kindred  sciences,  but  all  wage-earning, 
and  all  outside  the  home.  At  one  moment  he  spoke  of  one  of  his  own 
women  students  who  had  taken  the  "best"  job,  in  marrying  and  raising 
a  family  of  five  boys,  but  this  was  passed  over,  by  the  audience  at  least, 
as  a  lightsome  interlude  in  the  really  serious  discussion  of  the  evening. 
At  no  other  place  in  the  warm  fire  of  question  and  discussion  that  followed 
the  speaker's  address  did  the  professions  of  homemaking  and  parenthood 
have  a  show.  The  assiunption  that  every  girl's  ideal  was  a  money 
making  job,  as  soon  as  she  graduates,  was  apparently  concurred  in 
without  even  raising  the  question. 

What  has  raised  such  ideals  in  the  minds  of  our  girls?  First,  of  course, 
the  pressure  of  social  and  industrial  conditions  as  they  are, — a  pressure 


1920]  IF  NOT  WHY  NOT  345 

that  mighty  without  doubt,  be  traced  back  to  some  extent  to  the  very 
fact  of  the  sudden  outpouring  of  women  from  the  home  into  wage*eaming 
industries, — but  a  tendency  which  instead  of  being  discouraged  by  our 
educational  authorities  is,  as  I  see  it,  being  in  every  way  fostered  by 
them.  Surely  it  is  a  solemn  part  of  the  responsibility  of  any  college  to 
see  that  its  influence  is  toward  the  formation  of  sound  policies  and  proper 
choices.  Here,  I  am  sure,  lies  one  of  its  most  valuable  contributions 
to  the  education  of  men.  Why  not  exert  the  same  guiding  force  for 
women?  Again  the  question  reaches  back  into  the  fundamentals,  but 
as  in  everything  educational  most  good  will  be  accomplished  by  indirection. 
What  is  needed  is  a  scrambling  of  the  present  cimiculimi  for  women  as 
it  usually  exists,  and  the  evolution  of  one  built  on  the  basis  of  a  wise,  de- 
liberated, and  weighted  selection  of  subjects  of  study  with  an  enlightened 
set  of  educational  values  in  mind,  which  accepts  as  settled  such  facts  as 
these:  that,  since  out  of  the  home  are  the  issues  of  life  itself, no  training, 
for  those  who  are  destined  by  immutable  natural  law  to  be  home-makers 
in  a  new  and  much  more  demanding  civilization  than  any  the  world  has 
yet  seen,  can  be  too  stem,  too  wide,  too  cultural. 

In  such  a  curriculum  she  will  have  her  mind  trained,  polished,  sharp- 
ened by  contact  with  the  steel  of  mathematics  and  the  sciences.  She  will 
need  all  the  beauty,  charity,  and  sweetness  that  the  study  of  literature 
and  the  arts  will  give;  and  her  horizons  must  be  widened  through  the 
pursuit  of  history,  social  and  political  economics,  and  kindred  subjects. 
But,  and  here  is  the  fiindamental  point,  all  these  subjects  must  have  a 
positive  relation  to  her  special  needs.  There  is  no  possible  reason  why 
the  subjects  of  chemistry  and  physics,  for  example,  should  not  be  quite 
as  effective  in  developing  the  mind  if  they  relate  to  the  manifold  applica- 
tions of  these  sciences  to  the  household;  economics  and  sociology  are  just 
as  capable  of  broadening  the  outlook  if  they  dwell  upon  the  questions 
of  domestic  finance,  household  management,  or  consider  the  present 
state  of  the  home  as  revealed  by  the  study  of  the  reports  such  as  are 
above  mentioned.  History,  too,  could,  with  infinite  profit,  concern  itself 
with  the  evolution  and  development  of  the  home.  There  can  be  no 
possible  question,  of  course,  of  this  relation  as  regards  the  present 
courses  in  liberal  arts. 

It  will  not  be  long,  I  think,  before  one  of  the  great  imiversities — for 
such  development  is  bound  to  begin,  I  think,  in  one  of  the  coeducational 
institutions  rather  than  in  the  more  cloistered  atmosphere  of  colleges  for 
women — ^will  "step  on  the  gas,"  to  use  a  pungent  (no  pun  intended!) 


346  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

phrase  of  the  moment,  and  spring  suddenly  forward  with  this  idea  worked 
out  in  detail.  In  this  college  there  will  be  some  readjustments  to  be 
made.  And  a  new  department  will  be  established  (possibly  to  be  called  the 
Chair  of  Domology,  or  the  Science  of  the  Home  or  of  Himian  Relations) 
in  which  basal  work  in  this  new  science  may  be  carried  on.  Research 
must  needs  be  an  important  and  even  preliminary  factor  in  such  a  plan^ 
and  there  will  be  an  infinitely  wide  field  for  such  research  and  for  the 
application  of  the  theories  which  may  be  evolved  from  it.  Such  a  course 
as  this  will  at  once  serve  two  purposes,  first  that  of  dignifying  the  whole 
matter  and  thus  changing  and  influencing  women  students  to  look  upon 
it  in  a  new  light;  second,  of  beginning  to  solve  some  of  the  many  problems 
with  which  the  whole  subject  is  now  complicated;  and,  third,  the  setting 
in  motion,  chiefly  through  the  resultant  efiFect  of  such  study  upon  women, 
forces  which  will  help  to  bring  them  into  more  normal  relation  to  the 
home,  and  finally  help  to  cure  some  of  the  sorrows  of  the  world  today. 

It  will,  of  course,  be  replied  that  many  girls  may  not  have  a  chance  to 
marry;  that  many  will  prefer  a  career;  that  people  cannot  many  young 
any  more,  that  a  young  man  cannot  alone  support  a  home  and  wife,  with 
a  possible  family;  that  domestic  labor  is  slavery;  that  modem  girls  are 
not  willing  to  bear  such  burdens  as  they  see  older  women  bearing;  that 
their  expensive  educations  will  be  thrown  away;  that  the  husband  wiQ 
soon  grow  away  from  the  wife,  and  so  on,  ad  infinitum.  Exactly!  All 
these  things  but  prove  my  case.  There  is  so  much  that  is  wrong  and 
bad  about  the  domestic  situation  as  it  stands  today  that  there  is  sore  need 
for  study  of  the  severest  sort  to  see  how  it  may  be  made  right.  The 
home,  as  an  institution,  is  the  center  and  core  of  all  civilizations  and  it 
is  useless  to  try  palliative  measures  while  the  source  of  infection  remains 
imtouched.  If  for  one  generation  women  would  put  their  minds  upon 
the  solution  of  these  problems  that  lie  at  the  very  heart  of  national  and 
private  happiness  and  welfare,  the  dawn  of  a  new  and  better  era  for  a 
weary  and  distracted  world  would  arise.  One  of  the  first  demands  they 
will  inevitably  make  in  such  an  enterprise  will  be  for  new  ideals  in  the 
education  of  their  daughters. 

Is  it  not  absurd — ^would  it  not  be  laughable,  if  it  were  not  in  effect  a 
tragedy — that  the  only  one  in  all  the  wide  range  of  human  professions 
that  people  woiild  dream  of  entering  without  (oftentimes)  a  vestige  of 
special  preparation  for  it,  should  be  by  all  odds  the  most  vitally  important 
one?  We  would  never  dream  of  permitting  our  yoimg  people  to  engage 
in  any  important  money  making  occupation  without  fortifying  them 


1920J  IP  NOT  WHY  NOT  347 

with  such  education  as  could  be  afforded,  or,  at  least,  consciously  recog- 
nizing the  need  and  regretting  its  absence.  Here  is  what  Herbert  Spencer 
thought  about  it: 

If  by  some  strange  chance  not  a  vestige  of  us  descended  to  the  remote 
future  save  a  pile  of  our  school-books  or  some  college  examination  papers, 
we  may  imagine  how  puzzled  an  antiquarian  of  the  period  would  be  on  find- 
ing in  them  no  indication  that  the  learners  were  ever  likely  to  be  parents. 
''This  must  have  been  the  curriculum  for  their  celibates,"  we  may  fancy  him 
concluding.  ''I  perceive  here  an  elaborate  preparation  for  many  things; 
especially  for  reading  the  books  of  extinct  nations  and  of  coexisting  nations 
(from  which  indeed  it  seems  dear  that  these  people  had  very  little  worth 
reading  in  their  own  tongue) ;  but  I  find  no  reference  whatever  to  the  bringing 
up  of  children.  They  could  not  have  been  so  absurd  as  to  omit  all  training 
for  this  gravest  of  responsibilities.  Evidently,  then,  this  was  the  school 
course  of  one  of  their  monastic  orders." 

As  I  write  these  words,  we  women  are  waiting  breathlessly  for  one 
or  another  state  to  assume  the  honor  of  being  the  thirty-sixth  to  ratify 
the  Anthony  Amendment.  Before  these  words  are  read  there  is  little 
doubt  that  this  will  be  a  fact  accomplished,  and  we  shall  be  free  to  take 
the  place  in  the  affairs  of  our  beloved  country  that  a  blind  stupidity 
has  so  long  denied  us.  It  might  be  pertinent  to  inquire  what  the  uni- 
versities and  colleges  are  doing  to  fit  women  for  these  new  duties,  but 
this  is  aside  from  my  present  purpose,  and  is,  I  believe,  a  question  which 
will  be  answered  as  soon  as  the  greater  one  is  opened  in  a  big  way.  For 
there  is  no  doubt  that  women's  political  power  will  be  directed  toward 
matters  which  relate  chiefly  to  the  home,  children,  and  women,  and  by 
the  very  fact  that  her  attention  is  turned  to  these  subjects  she  will  be 
able  to  see  farther  into  the  whole  mass  of  related  questions,  including 
the  education  of  her  daughters. 

If  I  were  to  ask  one  of  these  pretty  creatures  who  so  delightfully  adorns 
my  immediate  landscape  each  day,  what  she  thinks  about  all  this,  I 
might  or  might  not  get  an  illuminating  answer,  but  I  am  certain  that 
down  deep  in  her  heart  there  is  the  picture  of  a  home  in  which  she  will 
some  time  be  the  center  and  light,  and  that  she  knows,  though  she  may 
never  admit  it  to  me,  that  the  delectable  position  she  is  pursuing  so 
ardently  today  is  really  only  one  to  be  held  while  she  is  waiting.  Is  it 
not  a  great  pity  that  she  has  fallen  between  two  educational  stools,  and 
often  is  being  fitted,  supremely  well,  neither  for  the  one  thing  or  the  other? 


348  THE  J0X7RNAL  OF  HOICB  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

CHILD  CARE  IN  THE  OREGON  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 

PRACTICE  HOUSE 

A.   GRACE  JOHNSON 
Professor  of  EousehM  Administration ^  Oregon  Agrictdtural  CoUegB 

The  School  of  Home  Economics  of  the  Oregon  Agricultural  College 
first  offered  a  lecture  course  in  mothercraft  five  years  ago.  This  course 
has  developed  from  a  very  condensed  one-credit  elective  course  to  a 
three-credit  reqiured  course  in  child  care.  This  school  established  a 
Practice  House*  in  September  of  1916.  Here  the  laboratory  course  of 
household  management  is  offered  to  junior  and  senior  students.  Both 
of  these  courses  have  been  very  popular  and  have  justified  their  estab- 
lishment. However  we  have  thought  from  the  beginning,  as  have 
other  colleges,'  that  the  most  important  piece  of  work  of  the  household, 
the  work  aroimd  which  the  average  household  should  center,  has  been 
omitted,  that  is,  actual  practice  in  the  care  and  training  of  the  child. 

If  a  woman  needs  laboratory  practice  in  care  of  the  house  to  teach 
the  management  of  the  household  operations,  of  the  income,  of  family 
and  community  relations  there  seems  to  be  every  reason  why  she  should 
need  laboratory  practice  in  the  most  important  duty  which  ever  falls 
to  her  lot.  Many  people  have  accepted  the  theory  that  such  training 
is  most  desirable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  student  but  only  a  few 
have  believed  that  it  would  not  be  injurious  to  the  child  in  question. 
Yet  the  vast  majority  of  children  are  cared  for  by  parents  who  have 
never  had  any  training  in  child  care  and  who  have  no  expert  supervision 
when  doing  the  work  for  the  first  time.  There  seems  to  be  no  psycho- 
logical theory  to  prove  that  the  position  of  parenthood  alone  gives  all 
that  is  necessary  for  the  proper  care  and  training  of  the  child. 

On  the  contrary  there  seems  every  reason  to  believe  that  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  adult  much  better  work  can  be  done  when  the  mother 
has  had  some  experience  prior  to  motherhood  in  caring  for  and  training 
children  imder  the  guidance  of  a  trained  and  experienced  person.  The 
child  cared  for  under  such  conditions  should  receive  better  care  and 
training  than  the  one  who  is  imder  the  care  of  a  person  wholly  inex- 
perienced in  such  work  even  though  that  person  be  the  mother.  It  is 
generally  conceded  that  no  child  is  so  fortimate  as  the  one  whose  lot  it 

^Journal  of  Home  Economics,  Feb.,  1917,  p.  71. 
*  Journal  of  Home  Economics,  Jan.,  1920,  p.  28. 


1920]  CHIIJ)  CARE  IN  OREGON  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE  349 

is  to  be  brought  up  in  its  own  home  by  its  own  parents,  who  realize  the 
great  responsibility  of  parenthood  and  who  exercise  ''love,  firmness, 
and  intelligence''  in  the  care  and  training  of  their  own  child.  It  is  to 
give  young  women  experience  that  will  result  in  greater  intelligence  in 
the  bringing  up  of  their  own  children  that  child  care  has  been  made  a 
part  of  our  practice  house  training. 

Our  practice  house  is  open  to  junior  and  senior  students  and  pre- 
requisites for  entrance  to  the  house  include  such  courses  as  housewifery, 
dietetics,  and  child  care,  as  well  as  psychology — sl  college  requirement 
for  graduation.  Students  who  have  completed  such  courses  should  be 
capable  of  caring  for  children  under  proper  supervision. 

When  the  work  was  started  it  was  our  intention  to  make  an  effort  to 
secure  a  child  from  a  children's  home,  but  before  the  final  plans  were 
made  Patsy,  a  perfectly  normal  child  of  sixteen  months,  came  to  our 
attention.  Her  mother  was  to  be  a  graduate  student  of  the  institution 
for  a  year  and  it  was  necessary  to  "  farm  the  child  out"  to  strangers  who 
would  be  paid  to  care  for  her.  It  was  an  easy  matter  to  work  out  a 
plan  whereby  the  mother  could  be  a  resident  in  the  house  during  the 
period  while  the  child  was  becoming  acquainted  with  the  new  life. 
After  six  weeks  the  student  mother  became  a  housemother  in  a  small 
nearby  dormitory  housing  twenty-two  girls.  This  made  it  possible  for 
Patsy  to  see  her  mother  frequently  and  still  be  cared  for  by  students 
living  in  the  practice  house. 

Much  discouragement  was  oflfered  by  outsiders,  many  people  seeming 
to  feel  that  it  was  perfectly  proper  to  have  a  child  from  an  orphanage 
cared  for  in  a  practice  house  but  that  it  was  very  dangerous  for  the 
child  with  a  parent.  Others  seemed  to  feel  that  the  child  would  have 
its  health  ruined  while  almost  every  one  was  confident  that  it  would 
be  "terribly  spoiled."  Had  it  not  been  for  an  unlimited  amount  of 
faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  experiment  we  should  have  grown 
faint  hearted  before  the  child  arrived.  However,  there  was  the  occa- 
sional young  mother  who  came  to  us  and  expressed  a  profoimd  regret  at 
not  having  had  such  responsibility  and  training  before  her  own  child 
arrived. 

After  seven  and  one-half  months  of  the  experiment  we  are  convinced 
that  child  care  is  a  most  vital  part  of  practice  house  training,  and  we 
have  obtained  the  confidence  of  those  who  know  of  our  work.  In  fact 
two  of  our  own  graduates,  who  have  been  in  the  College  since  our  prac- 
tice house  was  established  and  know  the  value  of  the  training  received 


350  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

there,  have  offered  their  babies  to  us  for  a  period  during  which  they  find 
it  necessary  to  devote  a  large  share  of  their  time  to  other  work.  One  of 
these  young  mothers,  whose  husband's  work  keeps  him  away  from  home 
a  part  of  the  time  and  who  is  unable  at  present  to  have  a  permanent 
home,  is  now  on  the  campus  studying  for  a  few  months.  Her  year-old 
son  has  become  a  member  of  the  practice  house  family  and  after  only  a 
few  weeks  of  work  with  two  babies  we  feel  sure  that  we  have  taken 
another  step  forward  in  child  care.  The  mother  of  the  baby  is  board- 
ing in  the  house. 

PROBLEMS    OF    CHILD    CASE 

Food,  Patsy  is  on  a  diet  and  schedule  for  a  normal  child  of  her 
age.  A  definite  schedule  is  posted  and  the  nurse  maid  is  responsible 
for  all  food  and  all  feedings.  Our  students  have  demonstrated  to  their 
own  satisfaction  that  the  dislike  of  a  child  for  any  kind  of  wholesome 
food  is  largely  psychological.  No  new  food  which  should  enter  the 
diet  has  ever  been  refused.  Patsy  had  not  been  trained  to  eat  cereal 
or  to  drink  her  milk  from  a  glass  when  she  came  to  us.  Both  of  these 
habits  were  established  within  a  few  days  and  with  no  unhappiness  to 
the  child.  The  use  of  psychology  was  all  that  was  necessary.  The 
question  of  having  the  child  ask  for  food  which  she  should  not  have  has 
never  been  a  problem  at  all.  Her  meal  schedule  is  not  the  same  as  that 
of  the  family,  her  breakfast  and  dinner  coming  later  and  her  supper 
coming  earlier.  During  the  family  dinner,  she,  not  being  hungry,  is 
most  content  to  play  with  her  toys  in  the  living  room.  This  seems  to  be 
most  surprising  to  our  guests.  Parents,  grandparents,  and  all  who  come 
to  the  house  as  dinner  guests  admit  that  they  have  never  seen  a  happier 
and  better  baby  at  meal  time.  This  is  partly  because  we  started  right. 
There  has  never  been  a  heart-ache  or  a  tear,  because  it  was  the  right 
thing  that  was  done  first. 

Sleep,  The  nurse  maid  sleeps  in  the  same  room  with  the  children. 
This  is  a  very  large  south-west  room  with  three  extra  large  windows. 
Patsjr's  rest  hours  consist  of  a  long  night  which  is  seldom  interrupted 
by  wakefulness,  and  a  three  hour  sleep  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  Here 
again  the  students  have  demonstrated  to  themselves  that  a  healthy 
child  likes  to  go  to  sleep.  Many  a  girl  has  claimed  that  the  little  smile, 
the  final  "good  night"  as  the  covers  were  tucked  in  are  pay  for  all  the 
work  a  baby  has  made  necessary  during  the  day.  Our  nearest  neighbor 
whose  sleeping  porch  is  only  thirty  or  forty  feet  from  the  babies'  sleep- 
ing room  claims  never  to  have  heard  the  children  at  night. 


1920]  CHnx>  CASE  in  Oregon  agricxtltxtral  college  351 

Play,  Patsy  was  walking  when  she  came  to  us.  She  has  alwajrs 
been  allowed  to  play  out  when  the  weather  would  pennit.  A  sand  box 
on  a  pergola  has  given  hours  of  happiness.  Oregon  is  a  land  of  winter 
rain  but  the  north  porch  which  is  seldom  wet  furnished  a  place  where 
some  outside  exercise  could  be  had  even  on  the  worst  dajrs. 

HeaUh.  Patsy  is  one  of  the  few  children  of  the  town  who  have  not 
had  whooping  cough  during  the  winter.  She  has  had  a  cold  twice. 
Both  colds  had  an  effect  upon  her  development  curve  and  both  were 
contracted  during  a  vacation  when  she  was  taken  to  her  grandmother's 
on  a  train. 

Training.  A  very  important  part  of  our  problem  has  been  the  giving 
of  proper  training.  We  started  with  a  child  who  might  easily  have  been 
spoiled.  She  is  pretty,  has  beautiful  brown  eyes  and  hair,  and  a  will  of 
her  own.  But  since  she  had  a  sensible  mother  there  were  no  bad  habits 
to  overcome.  We  have  exercised  gentleness  and  firmness  and  have 
never  tried  to  amuse  the  child.  The  result  is  that  she  is  wholly  unaware 
of  her  own  charms,  does  not  try  to  show  off,  and  is  most  natural  in  her 
manner,  neither  forward  nor  imdesirably  timid. 

Her  vocabulary  has  developed  from  a  few  baby  words  to  long  sen- 
tences that  are  easily  imderstood.  Her  memory  of  former  residents  of 
the  house  is  very  interesting  for  she  calls  them  by  name  months  after 
they  have  left  the  house. 

We  knew  that  the  many  study  tables  and  dressers  with  their  attrac- 
tive articles  would  be  fascinating  in  the  beginning,  so  we  planned  to 
have  certain  tojrs  on  each  floor  and  checked  the  first  attempt  to  play 
with  the  girls'  belongings.  Students  do  not  offer  their  belongings  as 
toys.  All  tojrs  are  kept  in  interesting  baskets  and  there  is  never  any 
question  about  putting  them  away  when  the  right  method  is  used. 

The  greatest  problem  in  training  has  been  presented  from  the  outside. 
The  faculty  woman  who  is  in  charge  of  a  practice  house  can  easily 
manage  her  own  family  but  she  cannot  get  an  entire  coUege  community 
to  keep  its  distance  when  a  lovable  child,  who  is  being  watched  by 
everyone,  goes  for  an  airing.  Fortimately,  the  practice  house  family 
has  not  made  a  ''plaything"  of  the  child  and  she  therefore  enters  a 
protest  when  eveiy  stranger  insists  on  imposing  on  her  when  she  is 
out.  However,  she  will  shake  hands  and  salute  strangers  quite  properly 
if  they  will  keep  hands  off.  This  has  been  a  great  asset.  It  is  appall- 
ing to  see  how  few  people  realize  that  a  child  is  an  individual  and  not  a 
toy  to  be  tossed  about  by  everyone  who  chooses. 


352  THE  J0T7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

PROBLEMS   OF  MANAGEMENT 

Equipment.  Practically  all  equipment  such  as  bed,  toilet  chair,  and 
clothing  has  been  furnished  by  the  mother.  This  is  simple  and  has  been^ 
added  to  from  house  funds  or  by  students  who  wanted  to  make  gifts. 
Another  year  we  hope  to  have  the  entire  wardrobe  of  the  child  planned 
and  worked  out  in  our  household  art  classes.  Some  pieces  have  been 
made  and  donated  by  students  this  year. 

CosL  Carriage  and  high  chair  have  been  donated.  Some  clothing^ 
and  other  small  pieces  of  equipment  have  been  purchased  by  the  house. 
This  has  totaled  about  $7.00  for  7^  months.  The  mother  has  paid 
$10.00  a  month  toward  the  support  of  the  child.  This  has  just  about 
covered  the  cost  of  food  at  present  prices. 

Food,  Students  are  expected  to  be  familiar  with  child  feeding  through, 
their  course  in  child  care.  Little  extra  preparation  of  foods  has  been 
necessary,  the  nurse  maid  simply  using  from  the  family  supply  in  most 
cases,  being  careful  to  see  that  she  is  always  a  little  ahead  of  the  baby's 
needs  as  to  market  orders. 

Laundry.  The  laundry  for  the  baby  has  been  done  by  the  nurse 
maid  when  there  was  the  one  child  only,  but  now  that  we  have  two,  it 
seems  advisable  to  have  this  work  done  by  the  laundress,  whose  duties 
are  usually  light,  since  she  is  only  responsible  for  the  washing  and  iron- 
ing of  table  linens  and  the  sending  out  of  the  bed  and  bathroom  linens 
of  the  house.  The  new  plan  has  worked  well,  the  nurse  maid  being 
careful  to  have  all  articles  in  the  hands  of  the  laundress  by  a  certain 
hour  in  the  morning  and  she  having  those  same  articles  back  in  the 
hands  of  the  nurse  maid  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Supervision  of  Play.  Most  of  this  has  been  done  without  the  child 
being  aware  of  it.  The  nurse  maid  can  easily  go  about  her  other  duties 
while  the  child  plays  in  the  same  room  or  ah  adjoining  one.  When 
Patsy  is  on  a  porch  playing  the  student  may  work  inside  a  window  with 
curtain  thrown  back.  Concentrated  study  over  long  periods  of  time  is 
impossible.  This  is  a  good  time  to  sew  or  mend.  The  best  time  for 
the  care  taker  to  do  her  heaviest  studying  is  when  the  child  is  in  bed. 

Time.  All  figures  must  be  approximate.  The  time  actually  spent 
in  caring  for  Patsy  has  varied  from  4f  hours  a  day  to  6f  hours  depend- 
ing upon  the  speed  and  skill  of  the  student.  Five  hours  would  perhaps 
be  a  good  average  for  the  amount  of  time  in  which  nothing  else  is  done. 


1920]  CHILD  CAKE  IN  OREGON  AGSICX7LTUSAL  COIXEGE  353 

SHidenfs  Schedule.  Since  our  students  remain  in  the  house  one-half 
of  a  term  and  elect  practice  teaching  or  tea  room  management  the  other 
half  of  the  term,  most  of  them  have  easy  schedules  to  adjust,  since  in 
neither  case  do  they  schedule  many  forenoon  classes.  A  substitute 
nurse  maid  schedule  is  necessary  to  make  it  possible  for  students  to 
attend  classes.  An  hour  is  occasionally  found  when  every  member  of 
the  family  has  a  dass.  The  student  in  charge  is  expected  to  secure  a 
former  member  of  the  house  who  comes  for  that  hour.  Only  on  three  or 
four  hours  during  the  entire  year  has  it  been  necessary  for  a  student  to 
miss  a  class  and  that  in  every  case  has  been  the  home  management 
class,  running  parallel  with  practice  house  work. 

C0NCLX7SI0NS 

After  7i  months  experience  with  child  care  as  a  part  of  practice 
house  training  the  staff  of  the  School  of  Home  Economics  as  well  as  40 
students  who  have  helped  to  care  for  the  children  have  reached  the 
conclusion  that: 

1.  The  work  should  be  continued  for  these  reasons: 

a.  It  gives  valuable  training  to  students. 

b.  It  furnishes  excellent  care  to  the  children. 

c.  It  does  not  ''spoil''  the  child. 

d.  The  students  are  enthusiastic  about  the  work. 

e.  It  makes  the  practice  house  more  homelike. 

/.  It  helps  to  train  for  the  most  important  function  of  women — 
motherhood. 

2.  That  two  children  of  different  ages  should  be  taken  whenever 
possible. 


354  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

THE  NEW  YORK  CHILD  HEALTH  CONFERENCE— IMPRES- 
SIONS AND  REACTIONS^ 

HELEN  T.  PARSONS 
Johns  Hopkins  School  of  Hypene  and  PutUc  Health 

It  is  said  that  there  are  forty  agencies  in  New  York  City  concerned  in^ 
'or  devoted  to,  Child  Welfare.  At  the  beginning  of  a  movement  of  this 
kind  there  are  certain  advantages  in  a  multiplicity  of  independent  efforts 
to  solve  the  given  problem.  While  some  of  these  efforts  will  be  top  heavy 
with  a  one  idea,  this  very  fact  brings  out  the  individual  phases  of  the 
problem  with  a  vividness  that  one  conservative,  well-balanced  effort 
would  find  difficult  to  accomplish  in  the  formative  stages  of  the  move- 
ment. The  well  rounded  program,  which  must  be  the  next  stage  if 
progress  is  to  continue,  may  well  acknowledge  its  debt  to  the  enthusiastic 
pioneers,  even  to  those  who  believed  in  panaceas. 

Throughout  the  program  of  the  Child  Health  Conference  this  vivid- 
ness of  the  individual  phase  was  noticeable,  even  when  the  speaker 
sketched  in  a  comprehensive  plan  of  attack.  It  was  shown,  for  eicample, 
what  may  be  done  by  utilizing  a  child's  eagerness  to  take  part  in  a  con- 
structive enterprise.  An  instance  was  dted  of  a  sanitary  survey  carried 
out  by  school  children.  A  map  of  the  town  was  plotted  showing  the 
exact  location  of  privies,  bad  wells,  etc.,  and  the  map  was  himg  in  the 
local  postoffice,  to  the  consternation  of  the  citizens. 

It  was  pointed  out  by  another  speaker  how  necessary  is  vividness  of 
presentation  in  enlisting  the  attention  and  cooperation  of  the  child  at 
the  beginning  of  any  effort  to  correct  faulty  health  habits,  and  the  prac- 
tical use  which  may  be  made  of  the  services  of  an  advertising  expert  in 
passing  upon  printed  matter. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  was  emphasized  that  the  crystallizing  of  the 
child's  initial  interest  into  health  habits  might  be  by  far  the  more  difficult 
and  important  process.  Frequent  and  detailed  reports  by  the  child, 
reinforced  by  class  rivalry  and  public  opinion  among  classmates,  assist 
in  converting  knowledge  and  temporary  interest  into  permanent  and 
desirable  health  habits.  The  story  of  the  boy  who  attempted  to  take 
nine  baths  in  one  afternoon  in  order  to  square  his  record,  which  was  dis- 
gracing that  of  his  class,  gives  an  insight  not  only  into  the  compelling 

1  New  York  Child  Health  Confeience  held  May  19  to  21,  1920,  at  the  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, New  York  City. 


1920]  THE  NEW  YORK  CHILD  HEALTH  CONFERENCE  355 

power  of  childish  public  opinion,  but  perhaps  even  more  into  the  ingen- 
ious if  well-meant  subterfuges  of  the  child  mind  in  attempting  to  deal 
with  those  who  would  change  his  habits. 

The  subject  of  the  school  luncheon  was,  of  course,  a  live  topic.  The 
history  of  the  movement  both  in  England  and  in  America  was  sketched, 
and  data  concerning  the  extent  to  which  the  movement  has  spread,  and 
the  results  it  has  accomplished,  were  given.  Especially  good  results  in 
bringing  malnourished  children  up  to  normal  weight  have  followed  the 
use  of  the  mid-morning  and  mid-afternoon  limcheon.  In  the  case  of 
children  for  whom  it  is  necessary  to  provide  milk  on  account  of  poverty, 
the  home  may  still  be  made  a  contributor  to  the  enterprise  by  the  re- 
quirement that  the  child  bring  a  bottle — a.  clean  bottle — each  day  from 
home.  A  warning  was  sounded  against  regarding  school  lunches  as  a 
panacea  or  allowing  abuses  to  creep  in,  such  as  an  assumption  on  the 
part  of  parents  that  food  given  at  school  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  substitu- 
tion for,  not  an  addition  to,  food  given  at  home.  Except  in  so  far  as  it 
may  be  for  the  purpose  of  scientific  demonstration,  or  propaganda, 
school  feeding  fails  of  its  chief  fimction  if  it  is  used  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  putting  food  into  children,  and  not  also  of  establishing  standards  and 
food  habits.  As  an  illustration  of  the  need  for  better  selection  of  food, 
it  was  stated  that  in  many  coimtry  districts  in  Indiana  the  diet  of  the 
people  resembles  a  pre-pellagra  diet.  In  some  districts  100  per  cent  of 
the  questionnaires  tabulated  confessed  to  a  condition  of  ''stomach  trou- 
ble" and  the  use  of  patent  medicines.  The  general  custom  of  eating  a 
big  Sunday  dumer,  with  its  imfortunate  after  effects,  accounted  for 
many  slumps  in  weight  among  the  children. 

The  possible  relation  between  digestive  upsets  in  infants  and  conse- 
quent adult  digestive  ailments  was  suggested,  as  was  also  the  importance 
of  being  well-bom  and  breast  fed  as  a  start  toward  normal  health. 

The  inter-relationship  between  tuberculosis  and  malnutrition  was 
pointed  out:  on  the  one  hand  malnutrition  predisposes  to  infection;  and 
on  the  other,  a  strikingly  large  proportion  of  cases  of  malnutrition  among 
yoimg  children  may  be  attributed  to  a  sub-acute  tubercular  infection 
not  ordinarily  correctly  diagnosed. 

Weaknesses  in  existing  methods  for  determining  and  grading  malnu- 
trition by  physicians  were  criticised,  and  an  attempt  made  to  list  aids 
to  diagnosis  in  the  order  of  their  relative  importance,  as  follows: 

1.  Weight  for  height — the  most  useful  tables  are  perhaps  those  which 
take  the  age  factor  into  account  also,  as  children  stunted  in  height  may 
not  be  detected  by  the  simple  weight  for  height  relation. 


356  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

2.  Appearance,  such  as  color,  posture,  nervousness,  alertness  or 
apathy. 

3.  The  amount  of  fat. 

4.  The  muscles  of  arms  and  legs. 

5.  Bony  framework — ^wrists,  breadth  of  shoulders  and  hips. 

A  belief  in  the  overshadowing  importance  of  attention  to  factors  other 
than  an  unsatisfactory  diet  in  combating  malnutrition  was  voiced  by 
more  than  one  speaker.  These  other  conditions  needing  attention  and 
correction  include :  disease,  and  such  physical  defects  as  bad  teeth,  ade- 
noids, tonsils,  and  obstructed  breathing;  irregular  and  rapid  eating  and 
gulping  of  liquids;  faulty  posture,  over-fatigue,  home  study,  and  cur- 
tailed sleep,  due  either  to  reading  in  bed,  sleeping  with  others,  or  to 
the  presence  of  others  in  the  room;  maladjustment  with  the  environment, 
and  tension  in  the  home  atmosphere. 

A  plea  was  made  for  a  broader  training  for  the  community  nutrition 
worker  than  has  been  considered  essential  for  the  typical  dietitian  of  the 
past,  and  it  was  urged  that  opportunity  be  given  for  practice  work  under 
supervision  at  a  center  where  good  standards  for  field  work  have  already 
been  established. 

Several  agencies  compete  for  the  responsibility  of  administering  and 
directing  child  health  activities: 

1.  Philanthropic  and  social  agencies,  having  already  the  most  intimate 
contact  with  the  home,  and  experience  as  messengers  of  child  health, 
might  assiune  the  chief  responsibility  and  do  consistent  follow-up  work 
from  the  pre-natal  period  on,  bridging  the  gap  between  home  and  school 
and  insuring  that  children  be  taken  to  physicians — all  children  for  pe- 
riodic examination,  the  physically  defective  for  the  removal  of  defects. 

2.  The  future  clinic  with  enlarged  functions  might  assiune  chief  re- 
sponsibility, supervising  the  pre-natal  period,  insuring  breast  feeding  and 
proper  infant  care,  guarding  the  important  pre-school  and  adolescent 
periods,  and  supervising  both  mental  and  physical  hygiene,  using  philan- 
thropic, municipal,  volunteer,  and  school  activities  to  assist  in  its  work. 

3.  Educators  with  their  ability  to  try  out  methods  experimentally, 
pass  judgment,  admit  limitations,  and  distribute  responsibility  for  proj- 
ects, might  include  the  direction  of  child  health  activities  among  the 
functions  of  the  school,  justifying  their  leadership  by  the  belief  that  one 
of  the  most  influential  messengers  of  health  to  the  home  and  pre-school 
child  is  the  school  child  himself  when  given  the  proper  information  and 
the  proper  impetus,  and  that  the  class-room  method  is  an  economical 
method  for  giving  him  this  information  and  impetus. 


1920]  IHE  NEW  YORK  CHILD  HEALTH  CONFERENCE  357 

It  seems  plain  that  many  imanswered  questions  involve  both  technical 
knowledge  (not  solely  medical)  and  an  imderstanding  of  sound  psy- 
chological and  pedagogical  principles.  Such  questions  as  the  following 
must  be  answered : 

What  standards  shall  we  accept  in  judging  a  normal  child?  What  is 
the  cause  of  seasonal  variation  in  growth  and  what  allowance  is  to  be 
made  for  it  in  determining  progress?  In  the  formation  of  health  hab- 
its what  methods  are  practical  in  insuring  that  no  lapses  shall  occur  in 
the  important  formative  period?  How  often  should  reports  be  submitted 
by  the  children?  What  supervision  of  these  reports  is  necessary?  Can 
any  of  this  be  delegated  to  the  children  themselves?  Which  methods  of 
arousing  enthusiasm  are  followed  by  a  sustained  interest,  and  which 
by  a  slmnp?  What  degree  of  permanency  of  health  habits  may  be  ex- 
pected after  intensive  work  has  ceased?  Is  there  any  unexplained  value 
in  the  "sipping''  rather  than  the  drinking  of  milk  to  explain  the  constant 
stress  placed  upon  the  former  method  by  child  health  workers  in  spite 
of  the  clear  demonstration  by  investigators*- •  that  the  latter  method  in- 
sures a  much  finer  curd  in  the  stomach?  Is  the  5  meals  a  day  plan  which 
works  such  magic  in  the  case  of  the  imdemourished  child  a  sound  dietetic 
regimen  for  the  normal  child  also? 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  child  health  movement  has  gained  ground 
is  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  very  definiteness  of  the  standards  for 
judging  malnutrition  and  for  gauging  progress  in  correcting  this  condi- 
tion. This  has  had  the  effect  at  times  of  an  overemphasis  on  normal 
weight  as  such,  and  a  too  great  confidence  that  the  whole  problem  is 
being  adequately  met  if  everything  possible  is  being  done  to  bring  the 
underweight  children  of  a  community  up  to  normal  weight.  There  is 
such  a  great  value  to  some  definite  objective  standard  for  the  purpose  of 
testing  the  effectiveness  of  one's  efforts  and  checking  theori2dng,  that 
there  is  no  reason  for  discarding  these  standards;  but  the  time  has  come 
to  examine  them  critically,  and  to  consider  the  whole  subject  from  the 
aspect  of  the  greater  importance  of  preventive  work.  We  have  assumed 
perhaps  too  much  the  attitude  of  the  old  man  who  exclaimed  "Sick? 
I  don't  hold  much  with  this  being  sick.  What  I  always  say  is — ^if  you're 
sick,  die — and  prove  itl"    The  child  welfare  movement  has  said  in 

>  Brenneman,  J.  Boiled  Versus  Raw  Milk.  Jour.  Apur.  Med,  Assn.^  Iz  (Feb.  22, 1913), 
575. 

'  Bergexm,  O.,  Eward,  J.  M.,  Rehfuss,  M.  E.,  and  Hawk,  P.  B.  Gastric  Response  to 
Foods,  n.    Afiur.  Jour.  Physiol.,  zlviii  (May,  1919),  411. 


358  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

eflfect  to  children — ^if  conditions  for  your  well-being  are  not  satisfactory, 
become  malnourished  so  that  even  our  crude  tests  cannot  fail  to  detect 
it — and  prove  it. 

What  is  needed  is  a  clearer  conception  of  the  meaning  of  optimum 
nutrition.  For  this  it  is  necessary  to  go  to  the  experimental  laboratory 
where  factors  can  be  so  controlled  as  to  bring  one  factor  at  a  time  into 
sharp  relief.  So  far,  the  clearest  demonstration  has  been  made  for  the 
effect  of  selection  of  diet  as  opposed  to  all  other  factors  making  for  well- 
being.  It  has  been  shown  most  spectacularly  how  great  may  be  the 
differences  in  degrees  of  nutrition,  all  of  which  would  be  classified  by 
the  imcritical  as  satisfactory.  It  has  long  been  generally  known  that  by 
changing  the  composition  of  a  food  mixture  a  diet  which  will  not  allow 
growth  can  be  changed  to  one  which  allows  partial  growth;  this,  to  one 
which  promotes  growth  to  full  adult  size.  But  it  is  not  so  well  known 
that,  depending  on  finer  adjustments  in  the  diet,  this  full  adult  size  holds 
a  number  of  potentialities:  normal  reproduction,  sub-normal  reproduc- 
tion, or  no  reproduction  at  all;  a  long  complete  span  of  adult  life  or  the 
shortening  of  this  by  any  given  degree;  vigor  maintained  throughout 
this  adult  life  or  early  coming  of  the  characteristics  of  old  age. 

In  the  complex  frequently  changing  conditions  that  surroimd  human 
growth,  it  may  be  easily  comprehended  that  the  effects  of  finer  adjust- 
ments in  diet  would  long  remain  undetected,  and  yet  they  are  coming  to 
be  more  and  more  understood  and  appreciated.  It  is  reported^  that  the 
descendants  of  people  of  Iceland  and  certain  Eskimo  tribes,  formerly  pos- 
sessing teeth  which  remained  in  perfect  condition  well  into  advanced 
years  in  spite  of  utter  lack  of  any  prophylactic  measures,  have  shown 
deterioration  of  teeth  coincident  with  a  changed  dietary.  Investigators 
have  shown  that  defective  teeth  habitually  occur  as  an  accompaniment 
of  certain  types  of  experimental  malnutrition.  The  Forsyth  Dental 
Infirmary  of  Boston  is  reported  to  be  now  frankly  shifting  its  emphasis 
from  the  commonly  accepted  prophylactic  and  corrective  methods  of 
modem  dentistry  to  the  more  fundamentally  preventive  measures  of 
proper  nutrition.  A  recent  article  by  Mellanby*  cites  the  Island  of 
Lewis  in  the  Hebrides  where,  in  spite  of  indescribably  bad  sanitary  con- 
ditions, a  strikingly  low  death  rate  among  babies  is  recorded.  That  this 
is  dependent  upon  the  food  of  the  pregnant  and  nursing  mother  and  is 

*  Private  communication^to  writer  by  the  Arctic  explorer  Stefansson. 
■  Mellanby,  £.    Accessory  Food  Factors  (Vitamines)  in  the  Feeding  of  Infants.    Laftcet^ 
czcviii  (April  17, 1920),  856. 


1920]  THE  PRICE  AND  VALUE  OF  TEXTILES  359 

not  merely  hereditary  Is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  children  of  pre- 
school age  in  these  homes,  who  do  not  fare  so  well  as  the  babies  dietetic- 
ally,  show  a  comparatively  high  mortality  and  morbidity.  This  again 
decreases  as  the  children  become  older  and  do  not  suffer  so  greatly  from 
neglect. 

It  would  be  painting  too  rosy  a  picture  to  suggest  that  all  the  factors 
upon  which  optimum  nutrition  rests  are  at  present  imderstood.  How- 
ever, much  knowledge  is  already  at  the  disposal  of  those  who  wish  to 
apply  it.  Enthusiasm  for  the  good  results  which  follow  the  corrective 
treatment  of  defective  teeth  must  not  obscure  the  fact  that  better  teeth, 
not  better  repair  of  teeth,  is  the  real  ideal.  Absence  of  actual  disease 
and  imderweight  among  children  should  not  be  accepted  as  the  highest 
standard  for  which  it  is  worth  while  to  strive.  The  child  health  worker, 
submerged  in  the  struggle  to  correct  widespread  malnutrition,  which 
undoubtedly  exists,  must  never  lose  the  vision  of  optimum  nutrition  as 
the  ultimate  goal  of  achievement. 


THE  PRICE  AND  VALUE  OF  TEXTILES 

EVELYN  M.  HICKICANS 
JhpartmeiU  of  HousehM  Science,  University  cf  Toronto 

The  correct  labeling  of  foodstuffs  is  insisted  on  by  law,  but  at  present 
misleading  statements  are  constantly  being  made  about  the  composition 
and  value  of  textile  goods,  while  names  used  for  inferior  goods  suggest  a 
more  expensive  material;  and  the  manufacturers  have  become  so  expert 
that  the  adulterations  are  difficult  to  detect  on  cursory  examination. 
Consequently  the  public  are  constantly  paying  prices  for  materials  far 
beyond  their  value,  and  are  being  deceived  as  to  the  actual  composition 
of  the  goods.  The  question  becomes  more  important  day  by  day,  for 
the  price  of  clothing  continues  to  soar,  and  the  wearing  qualities  are 
becoming  more  and  more  imsatisfactory. 

While  there  are  firms  whose  word  can  be  relied  on,  and  who  sell  good 
standard  materials  at  a  reasonable  price,  their  stock  being  chosen  with 
the  thought  and  care  resulting  from  long  experience  and  good  judgment, 
there  are  many  others  whose  materials  are  not  labeled  correctly  or  priced 


360  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

according  to  their  value.  Presumably  in  nearly  every  case  the  salesman 
offers  the  goods  in  good  faith,  and  sells  the  article  for  what  he  believes 
it  to  be-^having  obtained  his  information  from  the  manufacturer  or  his 
agent — or,  not  having  received  any  definite  information  on  the  subject, 
he  uses  his  own  judgment  and  knowledge,  and  that  knowledge  proves 
to  be  inadequate  or  insufficient.  The  salesman  fails  to  realize  that  he 
is  misrepresenting  his  goods.  In  addition  to  that,  the  price  is  fixed 
according  to  what  he  thinks  the  fabric  is,  and  not  what  it  really  is. 

An  investigation  was  made  lately  into  the  composition  and  economic 
value  of  a  small  number  of  textiles,  with  the  idea  of  finding  out  to  what 
extent  textile  goods  are  incorrectly  labeled,  and  if  there  is  any  relation 
between  the  price  and  the  composition  of  the  materials.  Forty  samples 
were  obtained  from  four  firms  in  Ontario,  and  were  analyzed.  The  pre- 
liminary investigation  showed  that  6  samples,  or  15  per  cent,  were  not 
what  they  were  sold  for.  An  "all  wool"  flannel  contained  about  50 
per  cent  cotton;  a  piece  labeled  "silk  and  linen''  was  over  80  per  cent 
cotton,  the  rest  being  silk;  another  piece  labeled  "silk"  was  nearly  80 
per  cent  cotton,  the  rest  being  silk;  another  piece  labeled"  silk  and  linen" 
was  silk  and  wool  in  nearly  equal  proportions;  another  labeled  "artificial 
silk"  was  cotton  and  wild  silk;  and  one  labeled  "union  silk  and  linen" 
proved  to  be  more  than  half  cotton,  with  the  remainder  artificial  silk. 

Occasionally  the  labeling  may  be  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  vendor 
instead  of  the  buyer,  for  one  sample  labeled  "a  small  per  cent  of  wool" 
contained  37  per  cent.  Sometimes  the  labeling  is  too  indefinite.  Thus 
a  "flannel"  should  be  wool  unless  described  as  a  "cotton  and  wool  flan- 
nel."   Viyella  flannel  contains  about  SO  per  cent  cotton. 

The  method  of  procedure  was  in  every  case  to  remove  the  finishing 
materials  and  loose  coloring  matters  by  boiling  the  fabric  for  20  minutes 
in  a  1  per  cent  solution  of  hydrochloric  add,  then  for  the  same  length 
of  time  in  a  one-twentieth  per  cent  solution  of  sodiiun  carbonate,  and 
lastly  in  water.  The  percentage  of  dressing  was  calculated  on  the  air- 
dry  weights.  Air-dry  weights  were  taken  in  this  investigation,  as  in 
making  the  mixes  the  weight  would  include  the  normal  amoimt  of  mois- 
ture held  by  the  fibres.  Duplicates  were  made  in  every  case  and  showed 
that  the  error  due  to  differences  in  the  amoimt  of  atmospheric  moisture 
in  the  laboratory  from  day  to  day  was  negligible. 

For  a  cotton  and  wool  mixture,  the  air-dry  sample  was  boiled  for  fif- 
teen minutes  in  a  5  per  cent  solution  of  sodium  hydrate,  the  solution 
being  kept  at  constant  strength;  the  cotton  residue  was  then  washed, 


1920]  THE  PRICE  AND  VALUE  OF  TEXTILES  361 

restored  to  air-dry  condition,  and  weighed.  A  correction  of  S  per  cent 
was  added  to  the  weight  of  the  cotton  residue,  as  the  cotton  itself  suffers 
a  slight  loss  on  boiling  with  caustic  soda  (Matthews). 

For  a  cotton  and  silk  mixture,  and  for  a  wool  and  silk  mixture,  the 
silk  was  dissolved  by  immersion  in  cold  concentrated  hydrochloric  acid 
(about  40  per  cent  strength).  The  residue  was  washed,  dried,  and 
weighed.  A  correction  of  O.S  per  cent  was  made  for  loss  of  wool  and  4 
per  cent  for  loss  of  cotton  (Matthews). 

The  separation  of  cotton  and  wild  silk  was  carried  out  by  immersing 
the  fabric  in  cold  10  per  cent  caustic  soda  solution  for  12  to  18  hours, 
then  washing  and  drying  at  lOO^C. ;  on  rubbing,  the  wild  silk  fibres  were 
disintegrated;  the  cotton  residue  was  then  allowed  to  become  air-dry. 
Duplicates  gave  consistent  results.  Confirmation  was  also  obtained 
by  separating  the  warp  and  weft  threads  of  cotton  and  wild  silk,  respec- 
tively, and  weighing  them. 

The  separation  of  cotton  and  artificial  silk  was  not  carried  out  chem- 
ically, but  the  warp  and  weft  threads  of  cotton  and  artificial  silk,  respec- 
tively, were  separated  by  hand  and  weighed.  The  results  of  the  analyses 
are  shown  in  the  accompanying  table. 

Some  interesting  points  were  brought  out  by  the  analyses  in  respect 
to  the  price.  In  five  all-wool  materials  the  weights  of  wool  obtainable 
for  one  dollar  were  calculated,  and  it  was  f oimd  that  in  one  case  (sample 
3)  the  apparently  expensive  article  was  the  cheapest  in  the  end,  for  in 
this  fabric  one  and  a  half  times  as  much  wool  was  obtained  for  the  money 
as  in  the  cheaper  fabric.  In  another  case,  however  (sample  4),  the  ap- 
parently expensive  fabric  proved  to  be  really  expensive,  as  less  wool  was 
obtained  for  one  dollar  than  in  any  other  sample.  Sample  1  was  a  very 
thin  serge  which  would  easily  pull  out  of  shape,  but  the  other  two  serges 
were  a  much  closer  weave  and  would  doubtless  wear  much  better. 

Three  union  wool  and  cotton  materials  having  approximately  the  same 
composition  gave  three  different  weights  for  one  dollar — so  that  the 
prices  were  not  consistent — though  the  difference  may  be  accounted 
for  to  some  extent  by  the  difference  in  weave  and  finish.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  number  of  satins,  though  of  different  price  and  width,  worked  out 
to  be  of  about  the  same  value.  Again,  two  samples  containing  cotton 
and  wild  silk  were  compared  and  the  one  having  more  silk,  which  should 
be  the  more  expensive  fibre,  was  shown  to  be  cheaper  than  the  other 
sample. 


362  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

The  white  flannel  (sample  6)  gives  better  value  than  any  of  the  other 
materials  grouped  with  it.  While  sample  8  contains  a  higher  percent* 
age  of  wool  than  does  sample  7  the  difference  is  not  sufficient  to  accoimt 
for  the  different  weights  obtained  for  one  dollar.  Sample  9  was  a  printed 
voile  so  that  the  extra  labor  involved  in  printing  probably  balances  the 
deficiency  in  weight  compared  with  7  and  8. 

In  samples  10-21,  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  comparison  in  the 
weights  obtained  for  one  dollar.  Sample  10  has  a  high  percentage  of 
dressing,  but  is  also  made  of  poor  quality  shoddy  which  becomes  thread 
bare  quite  easily, — and  this  probably  accoimts  for  the  low  price  Sample 
14  contains  less  wool  and  more  cotton  than  sample  13,  but  not  enough 
to  account  for  the  difference  in  the  weights  obtained  for  one  dollar,  while 
13  pulls  more  easily  than  14.  Sample  16  gives  nearly  twice  as  much 
weight  for  one  dollar  as  does  13,  yet  the  qualities  appear  to  be  similar. 
Samples  11  and  15  give  the  same  weight  and  appear  to  be  about  the 
same  wearing  quality  as  far  as  one  can  tell  from  sample.  Samples  17 
and  18  are  comparable  and  have  about  the  same  value. 

Samples  22,  23,  and  26  are  somewhat  similar  in  composition,  but, 
while  22  is  a  plain  weave,  23  is  a  poplin,  which  in  all  probability  would 
not  wear  so  well  as  22,  and  only  half  the  weight  is  obtained  for  one  dollar 
in  23  and  26  as  in  nimiber  22.  Samples  28,  30, 31,  and  32  are  similar  in 
value  and  composition;  and  sample  29,  while  having  about  the  same  com- 
position, contains  a  high  percentage  of  dressing  and,  even  allowing  for 
the  extra  labor  involved  in  producing  the  watered  effect,  is  expensive 
compared  with  them.  The  low  value  of  sample  27  is  also  accounted  for 
to  some  extent,  though  not  entirely,  by  the  printing. 

Samples  34  and  35  are  very  similar  in  composition  and  value,  though 
34  has  a  much  heavier  and  stronger  appearance  than  35.  Samples  33 
and  34  are  very  similar  in  quality  as  well  as  in  all  outward  appearances. 

The  low  figure  obtained  in  the  last  colunm  for  sample  36  is  due  to  the 
narrow  width,  and  this  makes  the  material  more  expensive  than  the 
other  two  samples. 

A  further  point  which  needs  to  be  made  clear  in  the  labeling  of  wool 
fabrics  is  whether  the  wool  is  "  virgin"  wool  or  "recovered"  wool.  There 
is  not  sufficient  "virgin"  wool  in  the  world  to  meet  the  demand  for  wool 
clothing,  and  if  the  shoddy  is  carefully  prepared  there  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  used  for  textiles;  but  since  it  is  not  new  wool,  and  is  not 
quite  as  strong  or  as  even  as  new  wool,  owing  to  the  treatment  to  which 
it  has  been  subjected,  and  is  not  usually  evenly  dyed,  it  ought  not  to  be 


1920] 


THE  PRICE  AND  VALT7E  OP  TEXTILES 


363 


sold  at  the  same  price  as  virgin  wool — or  even  labeled  "wool."  It  should 
be  labeled  " shoddy*'  or  "recovered  wool"  and  priced  accordingly .V^This 
would  materially  lower  the  price  of  "woolen"  fabrics. 

The  need  for  the  standardization  of  textiles  is  urgent,  and  the  labels 
attached  to  the  goods  should  show  the  nature  and  percentage  of  the  fab- 
rics present,  and  the  price  should  bear  some  relation  to  the  composition. 
It  would  be  to  the  benefit  of  the  retailer  and  of  the  consumer,  for  the 
public  would  feel  that  they  were  getting  what  they  were  paying  for,  and 
the  retailer  would  retain  the  confidence  of  the  public.  At  the  same  time, 
it  is  important  that  the  interest  of  the  buyers  should  be  aroused  suf- 
ficiently to  ensure  a  demand  from  the  public  for  "pure  textiles,"  that  is, 
for  textiles  honestly  labeled;  and  to  this  end  it  is  hoped  that  the  publica- 
tion of  this  investigation  will  assist. 

JtesuUs  of  analyses 


1 


8 


vsmxtt's  DMOtipnoH 


All  wool  8ei:ge 


Cashmere 


Seige 


Serge 


White  flannel 


White  flannel 


All  wool  flannel 


Viyella  flannel 


Seige 


Cashmere 


Seige 


Seige 


White  flannel 


White  flannel 


Narrow    striped 
flannel 


Plain  blue  viyella 
flannel 


oolCPOConoN 


per£§mi 

Dressing  1.5 
Wool      98.5 

Dressing  6.3 
Wool      93.7 

Dressing  4.0 
Wool      96.0 

Dressing  4.8 
Wool      95.2 

Dressing  10.3 
Wool      89.7 

Dressing  6.8 
Wool  67.0 
Cotton   26.2 

Dressing  2.5 
Wool  47.8 
Cotton   49.7 

Dressing  2.9 
Wool  51.3 
Cotton    45.7 


imkgs 

8 

gnmi 

grams 

36 

$1.49 

127 

127 

44 

1.25 

88 

108 

48 

2.00 

160 

213 

45 

2.50 

136 

170 

28 

1.20 

153 

119 

29J 

1.10 

160 

131 

30 

1.00 

113 

92 

30 

1.25 

115 

95 

s 


8 


85 


86 


106 


68 


99 


120 


92 


76 


364 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[August 


ResuU  of  analyses— Continued 


10 


11 


12 


13 


14 


vzmdok's  DXSCSXPnON 


15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


Cotton  and  wool 
voile 


Can.  cotton  and 
shoddy 


50%  Can.  wool 


Can.  khaki,  small 
percent  wool 


Wool  and  cotton 


CHAKACIBUSTZC8 


Pzlnted  voile 


Wool  and  cotton 


Cotton  and  wool 


Wool  and  cotton 


Wool  and  cotton 


Wool  and  cotton 


Seige 


Suiting* — plain 
weave 


Suiting* — ^plaxn 
weave 


Khaki* — ^plain 
weave 


Serge— twiU 
weave 


Suiting*— gabar- 
dine 


Suiting*— plain 
weave 


Serge* — ^twill 
weave 


Shepherd's  plaid 


Suiting* — ^twiU 
weave 


Seige 


ooMPOsinaii 


per  ant 

Dressing  3.6 
Wool  48.6 
Cotton    47.8 

Dressing  8.7 
Wool  37.0 
Cotton    54.3 

Dressing  4.3 
Wool  32.6 
Cotton    63.1 

Dressing  2.9 
Wool  36.8 
Cotton    60.3 

Dressing  2.5 
Wool  43.0 
Cotton    54.5 

Dressing  3.2 
Wool  35.8 
Cotton    61.0 

Dressing  2.3 
Wool  39.7 
Cotton    61.0 

Dressing  3.3 
Wool  38.9 
Cotton    57.8 

Dressing  2.9 
Wool  47.5 
Cotton    49.6 

Dressing  4.7 
Wool  49.2 
Cotton    46.0 

Dressing  5.7 
Wool  42.2 
Cotton    52.1 


29 


27 


28 


30 


40 


40 


42 


44 


50 


50 


36 


B 


10.65 


0.50 


0.60 


0.60 


i 


grams 

70 


269 


190 


204 


1.50 

102 

1.50 

144 

1.00 

211 

1.25 

144 

2.00 

164 

1.95 

165 

1.00 

127 

8 


grams 

57 


201 


148 


170 


114 


160 


246 


176 


228 


229 


127 


Bo 


graau 

85 


402 


247 


283 


76 


106 


246 


140 


114 


116 


127 


*  Recovered  wool,  but  of  good  quality. 


1920] 


THE  PHICE  AND  VALX7E  O?  TEXTHES 


365 


Restdis  of  analyses — ConUnued 


3 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 


25 


26 


27 


28 


29 


30 


VKMwn's  DnotiFnov 


Uoion  tweed 


Cheviot 


Cotton  and  silk 


Cotton  and  ailk 


Silk  and  linfn 


Cotton  and  sflk 
mull 


Cotton  and  silk 
crepe 


Silk 


Satin 


Moir6si]k 


Satin 


Union  tweed^ 


Cheviot 


Cotton  and  silk, 
plain  weave 


Poplin — cotton 
and  silk 


Silk  and  cotton, 
watered  effect 


Cotton  and  silk 
mull 


Cotton  and  silk 
crepe 

Printed  silk 


Satin 


Watered  effect 


Satin 


oomoaxioif 


percent 

Dressing  5.8 
Wool  45.3 
Cotton   48.9 

Dressing  4.5 
Wool  51.3 
Cotton   44.2 

Dressing  2.1 
Cotton  87.6 
Silk        10.3 

Dressing  1.6 
Cotton  89.8 
SOk  8.6 

Dressing  2.9 
Cotton  82.0 
Silk  5.1 

Dressing  1.6 
Cotton  83.4 
Silk         15.0 

Dressing  1.2 
Cotton  86.2 
Silk         12.6 

Dressing  4.1 
Cotton  78.6 
Silk         17.3 

Dressing  4.8 
Cotton  74.9 
Silk        20.3 

Dressing  10. 7 
Cotton  66.9 
Silk         22.4 

Dressing  5.9 
Cotton  70.2 
Silk        23.9 


42 


52 


34 


35 


35 


35 


38i 


24 


24 


a 


$1.20 


27 


54 


3.00 


0.50 


1.75 


2.50 


1.00 


1.00 


a 


B 


I 
I 


grams 
255 


271 


43 


80 


98 


37 


42 


2.50 


1.50t 


1.75t 


2.50t 


78 


S 


138 


79 


101 


grams 
297 


391 


41 


78 


96 


36 


45 


52 


§ 


92 


59 


152 


grams 

248 


130 


82 


44 


38 


36 


45 


21 


61 


34 


61 


.  < 


t  Wholesale  price. 


366 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[August 


ResvUs  of  analyses — Condudei 


31 


32 


3Z 


34 


35 


36 


37 


38 


39 


vsmdor's  description 


Satin 


Satin 


Silk  and  linen 


Silk  and  wool 


Wool  and  silk 


Cotton  and  silk 


Cotton  and  silk 


Silk  and  cotton 


Artificial  silk 


CHARACTERISTICS 


Satin 


Satin 


OOXFOSITION 


Rep — plain  weave 


Henrietta — twill 
weave 

SilkEolienne 


Plain  weave 
printed  design 

Plain  weave 
printed  design 

Plain  weave 
printed  design 

Poplin  weave 


percent 

Dressing  7.3 
Cotton  68.0 
Silk        24.7 

Dressing  9.0 
Cotton  68.9 
Silk        22.1 

Dresdng  2.8 
Wool  50.9 
Silk        46.3 

Dressing  2.7 
Wool  70.3 
Silk        27.0 

Dressing  2.0 
Wool  70.8 
Silk        27.2 

Dressing  4.2 
Cotton  73.4 
Wildsilk22.4 

Dressing  5.0 
Cotton  64.8 
Mrild8ilk30.2 

Dressing  3.7 
Cotton  75.6 
Wildsilk20.7 

Dressing  3.7 
Cotton  66.0 
Wildsilk30.3 


inches 
54 


24 


38 


39 


40 


34 


35 


36 


$2.50] 


33} 


1.25t 


2.50 


d 
P 


grams 

101 


106 


3.35 


2.50 


1.00 


1.00 


1.00 


1.75 


81 


i 


B 


82 


59 


50 


54 


52 


66 


grams 

152 


i 


wm 


71 


85 


88 


65 


48 


53 


52 


61 


grams 

60 


57 


34 


26 


26 


48 


53 


52 


35 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

COOPERATIVE  BXJYINGi 

HERSCHF.L  H,  JONES 

JHrector,  New  York  Office,  Division  of  Poods  and  Markets,  State  Department  of  Farms  and 

Markets 

As  I  look  at  the  program  of  this  conference  and  the  subjects  of  this 
evening's  session,  I  find  myself  wondering  just  what  the  person  who 
put  me  down  to  discuss  "Cooperative  Buying"  expected  me  to  talk 
about.  The  term,  "Co5perative  Buying"  suggests  something  in  the 
nature  of  a  cheaper  system  of  buying  goods,  presimiably  based  on  the 
principle  of  concentration  of  purchasing  power  and  volimie  of  business. 
On  the  business  of  purchasing  supplies,  I  am  probably  less  qualified  to 
speak  than  most  of  you.  I  prefer  to  assume,  therefore,  that  your  inter- 
est is  primarily  in  the  larger  subject  of  cooperation,  in  the  definite  mean- 
ing of  the  word  as  applied  to  the  cooperative  movement  originating  with 
the  Rochdale  weavers  in  England.  I  would  rather  take  my  text  from 
the  keynote  struck  in  the  advance  program  of  this  conference,  "the  real 
work  in  any  age  is  to  produce,  not  better  methods,  but  better  men." 

Cooperative  buying  may  be  any  kind  of  collective  purchasing.  Coop- 
erative spelled  with  a  capital  "C"  is  a  movement  whereby  the  people 
organize  themselves  in  order  to  take  into  their  own  hands  the  adminis- 
tration of  those  socially  necessary  functions  which  are  now  administered 
by  private  interests  for  private  benefit.  It  is  a  scheme  of  economic 
reorganization  of  production  and  distribution  for  the  service  of  the  peo- 
ple, rather  than  the  profit  of  individuals.  It  was  not  first  conceived  by 
the  Rochdale  pioneers,  but  it  was  they  who  hit  upon  the  right  set  of  fun- 
damental principles  that  spelled  success. 

Since  that  little  store  was  started  by  those  poor  desperate  weavers, 
seventy-five  or  eighty  years  ago,  the  cooperative  movement  has  grown 
and  spread  over  the  entire  world  and  is  now  making  phenomenal  progress 
in  that  last  bulwark  of  individualism,  our  own  coimtry.    The  English 

^  Ftesented  at  the  Conference  on  Group  Living,  lAke  Pladd,  N.  Y.,  May,  1920. 

367 


368  THE  JOUKNAL  OP  HOME  ECX)NOMICS  [AugUSt 

cooperative  societies  now  include  one  third  of  the  population  of  England. 
They  operate  sixty  factories,  and  own  their  own  coal  mines,  their  own 
herds  of  cattle,  their  own  coffee  and  tea  plantations,  fruit  groves,  and 
farms.  One  big  wholesale  agency  distributes  supplies  of  every  kind  to 
the  local  societies. 

In  Belgium  the  working  people  have,  by  the  savings  in  their  coopera- 
tive stores,  been  able  to  build  their  own  halls  for  meeting  and  recreation, 
their  own  libraries,  and  to  conduct  all  sorts  of  educational  health  and 
recreational  enterprises. 

AH  the  world  is  just  coming  to  recognize  that  the  co5perative  societies 
in  Russia  have  been  the  one  thing  that  has  held  together  the  economic 
life  of  the  coxmtry  during  the  upheavals  of  the  last  two  years.  There 
are  50,000  cooperative  societies  in  Russia  with  more  than  twenty  nullion 
members,  who  with  their  families  comprise  one-half  of  the  population. 
During  the  revolution  and  since,  amidst  a  complete  breakdown  of  ex- 
change finance  and  transport,  almost  the  only  purchasing  and  distrib- 
uting of  goods  has  been  through  cooperative  societies.  England,  with 
the  approval  of  the  Allied  Powers,  offered  to  open  up  biisiness  relations 
with  the  Russian  co5perative  societies  although  she  was  still  unwilling 
to  recognize  the  government  itself.  The  AU-Russian  Union  of  Co6p- 
erative  Societies  has  been  doing  a  large  business  with  the  United  States 
for  many  months.  It  has  the  entire  floor  of  an  office  building  on  Liberty 
Street  in  New  York  City  and  there  are  few  offices  in  the  dty  that  have 
a  greater  appearance  of  efficiency  and  up-to-dateness. 

The  scope  of  the  Russian  cooperative  activities  is  imlimited.  There 
apparently  are  few  things  they  do  not  do,  .and  do  successfully.  Distri- 
bution of  clothing  and  food  is  only  the  beginning.  Circulating  libraries, 
moving  picture  shows,  lecture  bureaus,  schools,  and .  universities,  tele- 
phone and  telegraph  lines,  road  building,  all  are  carried  on  by  them. 
Mr.  Alexander  Zelenko,  Director  of  the  Information  Bureau  of  the  Rus- 
sian Cooperative  Societies  in  this  coimtry,  with  whom  I  had  lunch  re- 
cently, apologized  for  having  to  hurry  away  to  a  class  at  Colimibia 
University.  Out  of  curiosity,  I  inquired  as  to  what  course  he  was  taking. 
"My  wife  and  I  are  taking  a  course  in  camping,"  he  replied.  I  expressed 
a  little  surprise  that  they  should  have  time  for  this  diversion.  "Oh,  this 
is  business,"  he  said.  "We  have  recreation  camps  in  Russia,  too.  The 
cooperative  societies  nm  them.  We  are  learning  everything  we  can 
about  camp  management  and  equipment  so  that  when  we  go  back  to 
Russia  we  will  be  able  to  improve  our  cooperative  camps." 


1920]  goOfexative  buying  369 

In  France  the  government  gave  over  to  the  cooperative  societies  during 
the  war  the  distribution  of  coal,  milk,  and  meat  in  certain  areas.  In 
many  districts  aU  business  is  done  through  the  cooperative  societies 
resulting  in  the  dosuxg  up  of  aU  competitive  business. 

In  Italy,  cooperation  is  also  flourishing  and  as  a  reconstruction  meas- 
ure the  Italian  Government  appropriated  a  large  siun  of  money  to  aid 
in  the  establishment  of  cooperative  organizations. 

In  the  United  States  we  have  had  for  seventy-five  years  cooperative 
societies  springing  up  in  every  part  of  the  country,  trying  their  ezperi- 
ments  and  going  down  in  failure  for  want  of  access  to  accurate  and  ade- 
quate information.  Violation  of  the  principles  of  the  Rochdale  societies 
has  invariably  brought  disaster,  but  some  have  survived  their  seasons 
of  trouble  and  become  permanent  examples  of  strength  to  the  hundreds 
of  new  societies  that  have  come  into  being  in  the  last  five  years.  The 
latest  available  figures  of  a  year  ago  show  between  3000  and  4000  con- 
sumers cooperative  societies  in  successful  operation  in  this  country. 
Several  central  wholesale  agencies  have  been  established  in  different 
parts  of  the  United  States,  doing  a  total  business  of  probably  over 
$100,000,000  per  annum. 

During  the  war  people  came  to  realize,  as  never  before,  the  vidous- 
ness  of  the  old  economic  system.  In  the  last  year,  particularly,  we  have 
begun  to  see  how  absolutely  we  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  profiteering  sys- 
tem of  business.  Our  helplessness  as  individual  small  consiuners  in 
exercising  any  control  over  the  conditions  \mder  which  the  necessities  of 
life  are  supplied  to  us  is  parallel  to  the  helplessness  of  the  individual  work- 
ingman  contending  against  a  big  corporation  employer  in  an  effort  to 
secure  better  working  conditions  or  better  wages.  The  vision  of  our 
collective  power  as  consumers  through  cooperative  organization  is  be- 
ginning to  dawn  upon  us.  The  greedy  and  despicable  person  who  has 
been  wont  to  wrap  himself  in  the  stars  and  stripes  and  interpret  Ameri- 
canism as  the  right  of  every  individual  to  exploit  his  fellowman  to  the 
full  extent  of  his  ability  and  freedom  from  conscience  can  no  longer  pull 
the  wool  over  our  eyes.  The  bare  problem  of  living,  of  food,  clothing, 
and  shelter  has  sobered  us,  has  made  us  turn  to  the  future  with  a  deter- 
mination to  find  better  means  of  distributing  the  world's  goods. 

The  workingman  is  beginning  to  see  that  an  increase  of  wages  and  a 
shortening  of  his  hours  does  not  solve  the  problem,  because  those  tlungs, 
he  finds,  simply  add  to  the  cost  of  commodities.  They  are  passed  on  to 
the  consumer  and,  inasmuch  as  the  working  people  represent  the  major- 


370  THE  JOUSNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

ity  of  consumers,  it  is  the  workingman  himself  who  must  pay  for  his 
own  increase  in  wages. 

The  necessity  and  effectiveness  of  large  scale  organization,  by  the  gov- 
ernment during  the  war,  for  relief  of  distress  and  for  providing  things 
essential  to  life  and  health  contributed  to  this  new  perspective  on  the 
old  system  of  economics.  That  a  new  system  based  on  standards  of 
use  and  service  is  coming,  has  been  recognized  by  such  men  as  Mr.  Frank 
Vanderlip,  and  Governor  Lowden  of  Illinois,  and  people  all  over  the 
country  are  turning  to  cooperation  as  the  way  out. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast  there  is  in  California  the  Pacific  Cooperative 
League,  45  or  50  splendid  societies,  connected,  many  of  them,  with  the 
Pacific  Co5perative  Wholesale  Society  with  headquarters  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. Up  the  Coast  at  Puget  Sound  there  is  a  wonderful  co5perative 
movement  started  by  a  strong  labor  group.  Around  Seattle  40  or  50 
well  organized  cooperative  societies  operate  through  a  cooperative  whole- 
sale house  in  Seattle;  societies  occupied  in  all  sorts  of  cooperative  enter- 
prises, not  only  storekeeping,  but  banking,  laundry  work,  fish  canning, 
recreation,  and  restaurants. 

Coming  east  across  the  country  to  the  middle  west  farming  section  we 
find  large  ntmibers  of  societies  that  began  among  the  agricultural  popula- 
tion. Cooperation  in  this  country  has  been  promoted  particularly 
among  farmers  for  the  purpose  of  marketing  to  better  advantage  and 
throwing  off  the  yoke  of  the  exploiting  middleman.  These  cooperative 
selling  agencies  naturally  turned  to  the  purchasing  of  seed  and  fertilizer 
and  then  to  groceries,  clothing,  hardware  and  dry  goods,  thus  becoming 
consimiers'  as  well  as  producers'  organizations. 

In  the  Central  states,  aroimd  Illinois,  are  to  be  found  a  group  of 
societies  that  have  grown  up  among  the  mine  workers,  70  or  80  of  them 
operating  through  a  wholesale  society  in  East  St.  Louis. 

In  Superior,  Wis.,  is  the  wholesale  house  of  another  group  of  40  or  50 
societies,  mostly  among  Finnish  people. 

Further  east,  we  find  in  Pittsburgh  a  cooperative  wholesale  surrounded 
by  a  group  of  40  or  50  societies  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  West 
Virginia. 

And  then  in  New  England  is  another  group  of  societies  just  organizing 
a  wholesale  with  headquarters  in  Boston. 

In  New  York  State  and  in  New  Jersey  we  have  a  considerable  number 
of  societies  operating  successful  bakeries,  stores,  and  restaurants.  In 
New  York  City,  cooperation  has  been  particularly  backward  because  of 


1920]  COfiPERATIVE  BxnnNG  371 

the  lack  of  stability  and  homogeneity  of  population.  Our  dq>artment 
has  just  completed,  with  the  help  of  the  Consumers  League  of  New  York 
City,  a  survey  of  cooperative  enterprises  in  New  York,  which  showed  only 
about  20  really  successful  co6perative  associations.  One  of  these  is  the 
Cooperative  Cafeteria  started  by  Miss  Mary  Arnold  on  East  25th  Street. 
Miss  Arnold  and  a  few  friends  opened  the  cafeteria  themselves  and  then, 
as  the  business  grew,  put  it  on  a  cooperative  basis  so  that  the  patrons 
themselves  now  own  it.  It  has  been  so  successful  that  they  are  planning 
to  start  others  in  different  parts  of  the  dty.  So  complete  is  the  system 
of  accounting  established  by  Miss  Arnold  that  she  is  able  to  tell  you 
the  exact  cost  of  the  materials,  labor,  and  overhead  for  each  dish  served. 
The  scientific  data  that  she  is  accumulating  on  the  cost  of  serving  food 
will  be  of  great  value  to  any  institution. 

There  is  a  codperative  Jewish  restaurant  on  Second  Avenue  in  the 
East  Side  and  a  Finnish  codperative  restaurant  over  in  Brooklsm. 
There  are  two  cooperatively  owned  homes  for  working  girls,  one  of  which 
is  Unity  House  organized  and  run  by  girl  members  of  the  shirtwaist  makers 
union. 

An  organization  of  Jewish  women  down  on  the  East  Side,  called  the 
Women's  Consiuners  League,  took  up  the  question  of  the  cost  of  living 
as  applied  to  Kosher  meat  about  two  years  ago.  They  went  to  the 
Food  Administration  with  their  complaints.  They  were  courteously 
listened  to,  finally,  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Food  Board  himself,  and  in* 
spectors  were  sent  out  to  investigate.  But  as  the  weeks  went  by  they 
foimd  themselves  no  better  off  than  before  and  they  came  back  to  the 
Chairman,  Mr.  John  Mitchell.  After  hearing  their  story  of  the  way 
the  butchers  continued  to  exploit  them,  Mr.  Mitchell  sat  back  and  told 
them  of  how  in  his  youth  the  coal  miners  of  Illinois  were  robbed  by  the 
company  store  and  how  the  miners  made  up  their  nunds  to  have  their 
own  stores  and  stop  all  profit  making  in  the  handling  of  their  supplies. 
"Why  don't  you  do  the  same  thing,"  he  asked  them.  They  went  away. 
Nobody  at  the  Food  Board  heard  of  them  again  until  three  months  later 
it  was  learned  that  they  had  opened  a  codperative  butcher  shop.  They 
started  with  300  members.  Now  they  have  1200  members  and  are  oper* 
ating  four  branch  stores.  Their  prices  are  from  two  to  four  cents  per 
pound  cheaper  than  prevailing  retail  prices  and  the  savings  are  returned 
to  member  buyers  at  the  end  of  the  year,  in  proportion  to  the  amount 
of  their  purchases. 


372  THE  JOUBNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

Among  the  most  interesting  codperative  undertakings  in  New  York 
City  are  two  cooperative  apartment  houses  built  and  owned  by  Finnish 
working  people  in  Brooklyn.  One  was  completed  before  the  war,  and 
the  other  shortly  after  it  began,  so  that  material  cost  them  less  than  now. 
The  men,  who  are  mostly  carpenters  and  painters,  built  the  houses  and 
paid  themselves  wages.  Each  family  put  in  $500  and  loaned  as  much 
more  as  they  could.  The  Finnish  Codperative  Bank  of  Fitchburg,  Mass., 
helped  out  with  further  loans.  Only  the  most  substantial  of  materials 
were  used.  Now  these  families  are  living  in  five  and  seven  room  apart- 
ments, light,  airy,  sanitary,  attractive,  with  tile  floors  in  the  bath  rooms, 
tile  under  the  kitchen  range,  a  little  safe  in  the  wall  over  the  sideboard 
for  the  family  savings,  hardwood  floors,  intramural  telephone,  every- 
thing necessary  to  comfort  and  health — all  for  $22  to  $27  a  month. 
Nothing  like  it  could  be  found  in  Manhattan  for  less  than  $80  or  $100. 
And  this  small  siun  includes  paying  off  the  principal  in  ten  years,  as  well 
as  operating  expenses.  Here  is  a  lesson  for  those  who  seek  to  solve  the 
housing  problem.  These  same  people  with  their  ndghbors  are  now 
building  a  $60,000  bakery  and  codperative  store  in  the  same  block. 

If  not  for  the  risk  of  too  many  details  I  would  speak  of  the  codperative 
stores  of  the  New  York  City  Post  Office  employees,  doing  a  business  now 
of  over  a  milUon  dollars  a  year;  of  a  cooperative  knit  goods  factory  where 
there  are  no  labor  troubles  and  no  bonus  system  is  needed  to  stimulatepro- 
duction;  of  three  codperative  preparatory  schools  owned  by  the  students 
themselves;  of  a  wonderful  codperative  summer  resort  purchased  and  oper- 
ated for  its  members  by  the  dress  and  shirtwaist  makers  union.* 

The  story  of  the  Purity  Codperative  Bakery  in  Paterson,  N.  J., 
is  also  full  of  interest.  Then  there  is  the  Utica  Codperative  Society 
in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  which  is  now  doing  a  weekly  business  of  over  $2300 
and  has  recentiy  moved  into  a  new  store  building  of  its  own  and  is 
building  a  new  up-to-date  $21,000  bakery.  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  is  a 
center  of  codperation — codperative  milk  distribution,  grocery  stores,  dry 
goods  stores,  a  bakery,  a  bank,  a  social  center,  an  orchestra,  a  restaurant, 
a  boarding  house  for  unmarried  people.  Their  solution  of  the  milk 
problem  is  especially  worthy  of  note.  The  milk  supply  of  Fitchburg 
grew  continually  worse.  The  farmers  got  so  littie  from  the  dealers  that 
they  could  not  afford  to  produce  dean  milk  and  many  of  them  were 

'  The  State  Dq>artment  of  Farms  and  Markets  is  publishing  an  illiistrated  pamphlet, 
describing  vaiiotts  cooperative  organizations  in  New  York  City,  which  will  be  available  for 
distribution  in  a  short  time. 


1920]  coAfekative  bxtying  373 

killing  off  their  herds.  The  co5perative  society  made  a  survey  of  the 
field.  They  made  the  farmers  a  proposition  of  eight  and  a  quarter  cents 
a  quart,  instead  of  the  seven  and  three  quarters  cents  paid  by  the  dealers. 
They  sent  their  trucks  after  the  milk,  brought  it  to  their  own  pasteurizing 
station  and  delivered  it  to  the  members  of  the  society,  with  a  profit,  at 
fifteen  cents  a  quart,  three  cents  less  than  the  private  dealers  had 
been  charging.  They  have  now  put  practically  all  the  private  dealers 
out  of  business. 

In  the  adjacent  town  of  Maynard,  Mass.,  a  codperative  society  sold 
the  same  milk  at  thirteen  cents  a  quart,  which  covered  the  whole  cost, 
while  those  who  did  not  belong  to  the  society  paid  18  cents  and  20  cents 
to  private  milk  dealers. 

New  codperative  enterprises  are  being  started  in  New  York  State  nearly 
every  week.  The  problem  now  is  not  to  stimulate  interest  but  to  see 
that  the  new  associations  get  organized  on  a  sound  basis  and  avoid  the 
mistakes  that  lead  to  failure.  The  New  York  State  Department  of 
Farms  and  Markets  has  a  Bureau  of  Cooperative  Associations,  with  a 
small  staff  of  organizers,  whose  function  it  is  to  assist  consiuners  and  pro* 
ducers  codperative  associations  in  preparing  and  filing  their  articles  of 
incorporation,  in  drafting  their  by-laws,  in  planning  their  activities 
and  in  solving  their  marketing  and  buying  problems. 

What  are  the  principles  essential  to  codperative  success?  First,  that 
each  individual  who  enters  into  combination  with  his  fellows  shall  make  a 
personal  contribution  of  some  kind,  shall  put  in  a  certain  minimum 
amount  of  his  own  money.  Second,  that,  irrespective  of  the  amount  of 
capital  put  in,  each  member  has  one  vote  and  no  more,  which  differenti- 
ates codperation  from  private  business  enterprises  where  capital  votes, 
and  not  hiunan  beings.  Third,  funds  invested  in  the  codperative  en« 
terprise  shall  earn  not  more  than  a  fixed  minimum  rate  of  interest, 
never  higher  than  the  legal  interest  rate.  Fourth,  any  profits  accruing 
to  the  codperative  organization  shall  either  be  used  for  the  social  good  or 
returned  to  the  members  in  proportion  to  their  patronage.  Fifth, 
business  must  be  done  for  cash  only,  or  its  equivalent.  Sixth,  goods 
must  be  sold  at  approximately  current  market  prices,  not  at  cost,  and 
adequate  reserves  maintained  for  emergencies,  for  expansion,  and  to 
cover  depredation.  Seventh,  education  in  the  principles  and  aims  of 
codperation  with  the  view  of  expansion  into  larger  fields  should  always 
be  carried  on  in  connection  with  the  enjoyment  of  the  immediate  eco- 
nomic advantages. 


374  THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  £CX)NOMICS  [AugUSt 

Cooperation  is  after  all  merely  democracy  and  Christianity  applied 
to  production  and  distribution.  Political  democracy  and  personal 
Christianity  have  ceased  to  be  primary  issues  in  modem  life.  They  must 
be  applied  to  the  economic  field  if  they  are  to  maintain  their  significance. 
The  crying  need,  therefore,  is  education.  We  cannot  have  cooperation 
in  the  United  States  faster  than  we  can  create  co5perators.  Groups  of 
people  who  get  together  and  organize  a  society  for  the  purpose  of  beat- 
ing the  high  cost  of  living,  who  do  not  study  cooperation,  who  do  not  make 
themselves  familiar  with  its  purpose  and  its  philosophy  are  really  not 
running  a  cooperative  society.  Store  keeping,  or  mere  pooling  of  pur- 
chases, is  not  co5peration.  The  cooperative  movement  is  a  movement 
of  social  reorganization.  It  is  revolutionary  in  its  possibilities,  but 
evolutionary  and  non-political  in  its  process. 


A  "SUBWAY"  BAKERY  IN  VERDUN 

An  underground  bakery  furnishes  all  the  bread  used  by  the  refugee 
population  in  the  ruined  dty  of  Verdun.  No  other  building  was  suffi- 
ciently undamaged  to  house  a  bread  baking  establishment  for  the 
returning  townspeople,  so  the  great  "subway*'  ovens  are  daily  turning 
out  long,  crisp  loaves  which  compose  the  principal  food  of  those  toiling 
among  the  ruins. 

Several  times  each  day  the  bread  is  brought  to  the  mouth  of  the 
black  cavern  beneath  the  great  walls,  where  lines  of  people  await  their 
rations. 

The  bakeshop  is  a  part  of  the  famous  underground  dty  of  Verdun, 
built  after  the  war  of  1871  and  designed  to  house  30,000  persons  during 
an  attack.  During  the  Great  War,  thousands  of  soldiers  and  a  few 
refugees  lived  in  this  subterranean  abode  while  the  dty  was  under  fire 
for  nearly  five  years.  The  bakery  was  in  operation  during  the  whole 
time. 


1920]  ONE  woican's  solution  375 

ONE  WOMAJrS  SOLUTION 

HESTER  M.  CONKUN  AND  PAULINE  D,  PARTRIDGE 

On  the  edge  of  the  desert  of  the  Colorado  not  far  from  Signal  Moun- 
tain, in  the  Imperial  Valley,  where  the  heat  rises  in  great  throbbing  waves 
from  the  white  sand  and  the  only  water  to  refresh  the  burning  land  is 
that  which  runs  in  the  irrigation  ditches,  stands  a  tiny  bimgalow  in  a 
field  of  alfalfa,  like  a  toy  house  on  a  great  green  mat. 

In  this  climate  a  woman  rarely  braves  the  summer  months.  By  late 
April  or  early  May  the  mother  and  her  little  family  leave  the  Valley  for 
the  cooler  land  beyond  the  mountains  or  for  the  Pacific  shore  a  hundred 
miles  away.  The  men  must  stay,  for  the  bulk  of  their  work  is  done 
while  the  thermometer  registers  around  the  hundred  mark,  but,  no  mat* 
ter  what  the  separation  may  mean  in  hardship  or  deprivation  for  them- 
selves, somehow  it  must  be  accomplished  to  keep  the  women  and  children 
well  and  happy. 

This  little  cottage,  however,  has  a  different  story  to  tell.  There  is  a 
woman  in  the  doorway  for  one  fleeting  moment,  the  white  muslin  cur- 
tains seem  to  be  fluttering  in  a  breeze  which  is  a  stranger  in  this  desert 
country,  and  the  laughing  voice  of  a  child  rings  out  in  the  still  hot  air. 
Within  the  cottage  contentment  reigns,  and  an  almost  unbelievable  cool- 
ness. There  is  a  breeze,  but  where  does  it  come  from?  Fans,  fans 
everywhere,  run  by  electricity,  and  reducing  the  temperature  from  twelve 
to  twenty  degrees. 

It  is  wash  day  and  the  electric  washing  machine  is  running.  By  this 
method  Mrs.  Hall  does  the  family  laundry  work  in  a  short  two  hours, 
with  no  additional  heat  and  little  extra  labor.  An  electric  mangle  takes 
care  of  the  larger  flat  pieces  which  are  ready  for  it  as  soon  as  they  have 
passed  through  the  electric  drier,  and  the  electric  iron  completes  the 
work.  The  range  is  also  an  electric  one,  efficient  and  exact.  Electric 
lights  are  to  be  found  wherever  they  are  most  convenient,  one  over  the 
stove,  and  one  near  the  sink.  It  is  plain  to  be  seen  that  Mrs.  Hall  has 
marked  each  spot  where  formerly  she  had  wished  that  a  light  might  be. 
An  electric  dish  washer  removes  the  drudgery  of  the  three  meals  a  day, 
and  a  vacuum  cleaner  run  by  the  same  method  keeps  the  little  bungalow 
sweet  and  clean.  An  electric  refrigerator  and  ice  cream  freezer  supply 
what  could  never  otherwise  be  enjoyed  in  this  climate,  and  a  bread  and 
cake  mixer  run  by  the  same  power  make  home  baking  as  simple  as  home 
laundering. 


376  THE  J0X7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

An  enumeration  of  all  the  electrical  appliances  which  are  used  by  this 
one  woman  to  enable  her  to  remain  in  her  home  with  her  husband  and 
children  through  the  season  when  the  Valley  is,  save  by  a  miracle,  unin- 
habitable by  women  would  be  too  long  to  be  of  interest,  magical  as  these 
might  seem.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  they  have  accomplished  their  pur- 
pose ;  that  she  has  not  been  obliged  to  be  separated  from  her  husband  for 
several  years;  that  her  children  are  well  and  happy,  her  home  dean  and 
well  administered,  her  food  delidous  and  her  life  far  from  monotonous. 

But  where  does  the  dectridty  come  from,  out  in  the  desert,  miles  from 
an3n¥here? 

It  is  supplied  by  an  electric  plant  installed  in  the  house  at  a  cost  of 
about  five  hundred  dollars  and  run  l^  a  low  fud  motor.  Details  are 
imnecessary,  for  any  dectrical  company  can  supply  them. 

The  cost  of  two  women  to  assist  in  the  work  of  this  household,  and 
this  would  be  no  more  than  adequate,  would  be  at  least  ten  dollars  a 
piece  per  week,  making  a  total  of  one  thousand  and  forty  dollars  a  year. 
Add  to  this  the  board  of  each  at  four  dollars  a  week,  a  low  estimate  in 
these  days  of  hi^  costs,  particularly  in  a  region  where  food  must  be 
brought  in  under  difficulty,  and  altogether  you  have  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  a  year,  the  price  of  domestic  service.  Perhaps  if  this  were  per- 
fect, it  would  not  be  too  high  a  price  to  pay,  but  remember  that  only 
the  most  unskilled  labor  will  betake  itself  to  a  place  where  the  ''movies" 
have  not  yet  penetrated,  that  there  is  almost  constant  change  with  per- 
iods when  no  assistance  is  available,  and  that  under  no  circumstances 
can  flesh  and  blood  be  asked  to  do  the  tasks  easily  accomplished  by 
machinery.  Furthermore  this  fifteen  himdred  dollars  must  be  paid  out 
again  next  year  for  the  same  unsatisfactory  result, — ^not  for  an  invest- 
ment, but  for  running  expenses.  Fifteen  hundred  dollars  put  into  an 
electrical  plant  and  equipment  is  as  much  of  an  investment  as  the  home 
itself,  and  once  invested,  the  upkeep  is  small  in  comparison  with  the 
resultant  freedom  and  comfort. 

Are  there  not  many  homes,  even  in  less  isolated  districts,  that  might 
find  in  this  ''obedient  servant"  at  least  a  partial  solution  of  their  "labor 
problem?" 


EDITORIAL 

Vegetables  Again — ^Their  Fat-Soluble  Vitamine.  More  and  more 
the  evidence  is  increasing  as  to  the  value  of  green  vegetables  in 
the  diet.  Quantitative  work  on  the  fat-soluble  vitamine  has  recently 
shown  this  strikingly.  Osborne  and  Mendd^  have  fed  their  rats  diets 
rich  in  every  respect  except  the  fat-soluble  vitamine .  and  supplied  the 
latter  in  small  amounts  of  various  dried  vegetables,  watching  to  see 
whether  the  small  addition  would  permit  good  growth.  As  little  as  0.1 
gram  daily  of  dried  spinach,  alfalfa,  dover,  or  timothy,  was  satisfactory; 
cabbage  was  not  so  good;  tomato  was  excellent.  One  remarkable  ob- 
servation was  that  0.1  gram  butter  fat  was  no  better  than  the  dried  vege- 
tables and  in  some  cases  not  so  good.  The  latter  may  in  fact  contain 
more  fat-soluble  vitamine  than  the  butter  fat.  It  seems  to  be  stable 
toward  heat,  at  least  in  vegetables,  and  not  extracted  by  water.  It  is 
interesting  to  realize  that  this  dietary  necessity  may  be  obtained  as 
freely  from  a  serving  of  spinach,  even  with  its  high  water  content,  as 
from  a  serving  of  butter. 

Osborne  and  Mendd  fed  not  only  the  dried  vegetables,  but  also  the 
green  oil  extracted  from  them  by  ether.  They  obtained  3  per  cent  of 
this,  for  example,  from  dried  spinach  and  4.1  per  cent  from  dried  green 
peas.  The  minute  amounts  of  0.42  mgm.  of  this  grass  oil  daily  or  0.66 
mgm.  spinach  oil  started  growth  again  in  rats  that  were  declining  in 
wdght  because  of  lack  of  the  fat-soluble  vitamine  in  their  diet,  and 
cured  cases  of  the  characteristic  eye  disease . 

It  seems  now  as  if  we  were  getting  nearer  to  knowledge  of  what  this 
fat-soluble  vitamine  is.  Methods  of  extracting  it  from  the  vegetable 
by  solvents,  like  this  ether  extraction  of  Osborne  and  Mendd's,  concen- 
trate it  in  a  way  favorable  for  further  investigation.  Steenbock  and 
Boutwell*  have  tried  various  solvents  on  dried  alfalfa,  carrots,  and  maize. 
They  foimd,  of  course,  that  they  could  obtain  most  vitamine  from  al- 
falfa and  least  from  maize,  since  previously  experiments  had  shown 

1  Osborne  and  Mendel,  Jour.  Biol.  Chem.,  41, 549  FCApril},  1920.  ^^ 
*  Steenbock  and  Boutwell,  Jour.  BuU.  Ckem.,  42, 131  (May),  1920. 

377 


378  THE  JOUHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS         [AugUSt 

maize  to  have  only  about  one-seventeenth  as  much  as  alfalfa.    Water 
was  the  least  and  alcohol  the  most  satisfactory  solvent. 

A  particularly  striking  part  of  their  work  is  the  fractionation  of  their 
alcohol  extract  of  dried  alfalfa.  This  green  extract,  rich  in  vitamine, 
they  saponified  with  alcoholic  potash  in  the  cold  for  many  hours,  thus 
decomposing  the  chlorophyll  which  is  an  ester,  but  not  affecting  the  yel- 
low coloring  matters  associated  with  the  chlorophyll.  Ether  extraction 
after  saponification  gave  an  orange-red  substance  which  successfully  sup- 
plied the  rats  with  vitamine.  This,  by  different  solvents,  they  further 
separated  into  two  fractions  each  containing  one  of  the  two  yellow  col- 
oring matters,  carotin  and  xanthophyll.  The  carotin  fraction  contained 
the  fat-soluble  vitamine  in  large  amounts,  the  other  little  or  none  of  it. 
This  seems  striking  confirmation  of  Steenbock's  earlier  hypothesis  that 
the  vitamine  is  at  least  dosely  associated  with  the  yellow  carotin. 


THE  QUESTION  BOX 

Question:  Will  you  please  write  me  whether  or  not  vinegar  made  from 
vinegar  bees  is  at  all  injurious  to  health?  People  in  this  vicinity  are 
making  vinegar  by  the  gallon  and  the  pupils  have  brought  some  of  the 
bees  for  me  to  use  in  making  vinegar  in  our  cookery  classes  and  I  wish 
to  know  more  about  them  before  encouraging  their  use. 

Answer:  The  product  sold  as  "vinegar  bees,"  "beer  bees,"  "wine 
bees,"  "Australian  bees,"  and  under  various  other  names  is  only  a  wild 
yeast  of  little  value.  Extravagant  claims  are  made  for  the  product,  and 
a  fancy  price  out  of  all  proportion  to  its  original  cost  or  actual  worth  is 
asked. 

The  primitive  process  for  making  "bees"  was  to  expose  to  the  air  a 
mixture  of  com  meal  and  molasses  until  it  became  impregnanted  with 
wild  yeast  and  bacteria.  This  ferment  was  used  in  making  a  sort  of 
vinegar  or  certain  alcoholic  solutions  by  adding  it  to  a  mixture  of  water 
and  either  brown  sugar  or  molasses,  which  was  then  allowed  to  work  or 
ferment.  In  the  judgment  of  the  specialists  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  "bees"  is  not  as  well  suited  for  fermentation  as  is  the 
ordinary  yeast  cake  which  can  be  obtained  from  any  grocer  at  much 
less  than  the  fancy  price  asked  for  "vinegar  bees,"  and  they  can  not 
reconmiend  "bees"  at  all  for  making  vinegar. 

The  Weekly  News  Letter  of  May  28, 1919,  contains  a  full  statement  in 
regard  to  vinegar  bees. 


1920]  THE  OPEN  F0RT7M  379 


THE  OPEN  FORUM 

Tirana,  Albania,  March  5, 1920. 
My  dear  Mrs.  Norton: 

A  courier  from  Paris  recently  brought  me  half  a  dozen  copies  of  the 
JoxTKKAL,  and  as  I  have  not  had  any  copies  f(M:  nearly  a  year,  it  made  me 
fed  as  if  I  were  once  more  in  touch  with  civilization.  Although  I 
have  been  in  the  Balkans  less  than  six  months,  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been 
away  from  ordinary  life  for  a  year  or  so.  Albania  is  the  most  primitive 
of  the  Balkan  States,  and  Tirana  is  the  center  of  the  old  Turkish  regime 
and  nearly  as  oriental  as  Constantinople.  So  it  is  really  a  privilege  to 
be  here  and  see  it  all,  and  I  have  wondered  if  some  of  the  experiences  I 
am  having  might  not  be  interesting  to  the  Journal  readers. 

My  duties  here  are  to  run  the  personnel  mess  and  teach  in  the  Red 
Cross  school  and  the  Albanian  girls'  school,  and  I  am  planning  to  take  a 
dass  of  mothers.  I  have  also  taken  upon  myself  a  dass  in  English  for 
several  of  my  most  promising  boys. 

First,  as  to  the  mess.  We  average  only  about  forty-five,  but  are 
rardy  without  guests — ^Italian  and  Albanian — ^and  as  this  is  Headquarters 
for  Albania,  all  new  personnd  and  all  personnd  going  home  or  on  leave 
or  changing  from  one  station  to  another  must  pass  through  here.  So  it 
makes  a  very  shifting  family.  When  I  came  the  Colond  told  me  that  I 
would  have  a  fund  at  my  disposal  and  that  he  wanted  everything  to  be  the 
best  possible,  as  we  must  all  eat  three  meals  every  day  in  the  mess  with 
no  chance  of  going  outside  for  variety.  Then  I  went  out  and  looked  at 
the  kitchen.  When  I  first  went  in  I  thought  there  were  at  least  a  hun- 
dred people  there.  The  Italians  are  occupying  this  part  of  Albania,  and 
they  had  loaned  soldiers  to  the  Commission  for  all  kinds  of  work.  It  was 
very  good  of  them,  but  led  to  our  feeding  half  the  regiments  on  duty 
here.  We  had  a  head- cook  and  assistant,  two  K.  P.'s,  two  bakers,  and 
foiur  waiters,  and  a  barber,  besides  three  paid  Albanians.  Then  there 
were  several  friends,  and  two  pet  chickens,three  dogs,  and  a  cat.  And 
the  kitchen  was  only  about  fifteen  by  fifteen.  It  took  me  a  day  or  two  to 
get  them  all  placed. 

When  the  Commission  first  came  in  they  had  so  much  to  do  that  they 
were  glad  to  accept  any  offer  of  assistance.  They  found  a  merchant 
here  who  spoke  English  and  who  offered  to  do  all  thdr  bujring  for  them. 
They  made  a  contract  each  month  stating  the  prices  to  be  paid  and  stipu- 
lating that  these  goods  were  not  to  be  bought  elsewhere.    Goods  were 


380  THE  JOUHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

to  be  paid  for  every  week.  This  was  a  very  easy  arrangement,  as  the 
assistant  was  at  the  kitchen  door  constantly,  and  every  time  the  cook 
needed  half  a  poimd  of  anything  he  only  had  to  tell  Met,  and  it  came  in 
five  minutes.  When  I  first  came,  not  knowing  a  word  of  Italian  or 
Albanian,  I  let  this  system  run  for  a  couple  of  weeks  until  I  got  my  bear- 
ings. But  I  used  to  take  an  interpreter  into  the  bazaars  and  find  out 
things,  and  it  did  not  take  me  very  long  to  see  that  we  were  being  cheated 
at  every  hand.  So  at  the  end  of  the  month  I  cancelled  all  the  items  on 
the  contract  except  meat.  I  wanted  to  cancel  the  entire  contract  but 
was  urged  not  to,  as  this  particular  merchant  was  a  very  powerful  one 
in  Tirana  and  could  make  us  trouble.  However,  trouble  came  immedi- 
ately, but  in  a  f prm  I  had  not  expected.  All  of  my  help  objected,  saying 
that  Zef  had  given  them  a  percentage  of  his  earnings  and  they  wanted 
that  continued.  It  meant  a  readjustment  of  all  the  help.  The  head 
cook  went  back  to  his  regiment  and  I  found  a  Turk  who  has  been  splen- 
did. He  speaks  Turkish  fluently,  a  very  little  Albanian,  and  a  few 
words  of  Italian.  But  we  understand  each  other  now  absolutely  and 
hold  long  conversations.  It  is  wonderful  how  much  one  can  get  across 
by  the  sign  language.  He  has  told  me  much  about  Constantinople. 
He  worked  there  in  the  household  of  a  Prince  and  went  to  Austria  in 
his  employ.  Then  he  drifted  away  and  became  attached  to  the  Prince 
who  was  sent  to  Albania  by  Germany  to  be  king  here.  The  prince's 
reign  was  short,  and  when  he  left  Osman  staid  and  opened  up  a  restau- 
rant in  Durazzo.  He  was  commandeered  by  the  Austrians,  and  when  they 
left  he  went  into  the  employ  of  one  of  the  Beys  here  in  Tirana,  and  left 
him  to  come  to  us.  He  promises  to  stay  with  the  Americans  as  long  as 
I  stay,  and  wants  to  come  to  America  with  me.  Incidentally  I  should 
like  to  bring  him,  and  if  I  can  get  his  passport  fixed  up  I  shall.  It  would 
be  easy  for  him  to  find  work  in  America.  He  is  a  wonder  as  a  cook,  and 
here  we  pay  him  five  hundred  lire  a  month,  which  amounts  now  to  about 
twenty-five  dollars.  He  works  from  seven  in  the  morning  to  eight- 
thirty  or  nine  at  night.  He  was  sick  twice  since  I  have  had  him,  and  I 
managed  to  get  him  to  lie  down  for  a  couple  of  hours  only,  but  he  was  so 
worried  about  us  that  he  would  come  trotting  back  to  see  how  things  were. 
I  am  afraid  that  I  shall  be  spoiled  as  to  the  help  problem  when  I  come 
back.  We  have  to  turn  away  people  continually  who  would  Hke  to  work 
for  us,  and  the  ones  I  kept  have  come  to  be  loyal  and  good.  I  have 
found  that  it  pa3rs  to  take  one  of  the  native  Albanians  rather  than  an 
interpreter  into  the  bazaars  with  me.    Our  interpreters  are  all  bo3rs  who 


1920]  THE  OPEN  70RT7M  381 

had  immigrated  to  the  States  and  then  came  back  when  the  war  started, 
and  they  are  pretty  well  spoiled  as  far  as  actual  work  is  concerned.  They 
are  anxious  to  prove  to  the  native  Albanians  that  they  are  better,  and  also, 
I  fanqr,  they  want  to  impress  on  them  what  a  rich  country  America  is, 
so  they  think  it  is  degrading  to  try  to  beat  down  prices.  As  the  natives 
always  ask  a  fabulous  price  for  every  article,  knowing  that  no  one  will 
pay  it  and  looking  forward  to  the  sport  of  the  bidding,  I  was  losing  money 
with  the  interpreters.  Now  I  think  I  am  spoiled  as  far  as  buying  is  con- 
cerned. .  I  dread  to  think  of  the  breaks  I  shall  make  when  I  go  to  Field's, 
for  instance,  and  price  something  and  laugh  at  the  derk  and  turn  my 
back  on  him  and  over  my  shoulder  tell  him  my  price.  I  think  I  shall 
be  arrested.  And  yet  that  is  our  custom  here.  I  go  to  the  same  people 
time  after  time,  and,  although  they  know  me  now,  and  know  that  I  will 
never  pay  the  price  they  ask,  it  is  always  the  same  farce,  and  they  seem 
to  enjoy  it  just  as  much.  What  is  more,  the  Albanian  boy  I  take  keeps 
me  at  it.  Even  when  I  buy  of  his  father,  he  makes  him  come  down  in 
price.  Often  now  I  send  him  alone  and  he  comes  back  with  good  things 
at  fine  prices. 

Everything  is  sold  by  weight  or  number.  We  count  the  oranges, 
lemons,  and  eggs,  and  bunches  of  spinach  or  onions,  but  meats  and  other 
vegetables  are  weighed.  The  standard  is  the  ''oke"  which  is  almost  a 
kilo  and  a  half,  or  about  three  pounds. 

Meat  is  the  thing  with  which  I  have  had  the  most  trouble.  The  animal 
is  killed  and  sold  and  the  flesh  eaten  inside  of  an  hour  or  so,  and  the 
dealers  know  nothing  about  the  cutting  of  meat.  In  the  meat  market  I 
gasped,  for  I  could  not  see  a  single  cut  I  could  recognize.  There  were 
hundreds  of  little  scraps,  each  weighing  possibly  a  pound.  Nothing  is 
wasted  in  thesemarkets.  All  the  intestines  are  cleaned  and  sold  and  eaten 
perse.  Yousee  peoplegoing  through  the  streets  carrying  a  couple  of  yards 
of  stomach  and  intestines.  I  found  it  was  necessary  to  pick  out  my  ani- 
mals and  go  away  a  few  minutes  while  they  were  killed,  and  then  come 
back  and  show  what  parts  I  wanted.  (I  never  knew  I  could  be  a  butcher, 
but  I  find  it  is  not  so  hard.)  In  this  way  I  could  be  reasonably  sure  of 
the  health  of  the  animals,  as  well  as  obtain  the  cuts  I  wished.  I  have  to 
buy  ahead  and  keep  the  meat  a  few  days.  I  had  a  cabinet  btult,  screened 
on  all  sides  and  placed  where  the  winds  strike  it  day  and  night,  and  all 
my  meat  goes  there.  Of  course  we  have  no  ice,  and  I  dread  the  advent 
of  summer.  Our  da}^  already  are  warm  and  balmy,  all  the  fruit  trees 
are  in  blossom  and  planting  has  been  going  on  for  a  month. 


382  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

Tirana  is  so  largely  Mohammedan  that  pork  is  never  sold  and  I  must 
send  to  Durazzo  for  it,  but  we  have  now  any  number  of  baby  lambs  for 
sale.  Lambs  that  would  bring  fancy  prices  in  big  markets  go  for  the 
same  price  as  old  beef.  The  value  of  the  lire  has  dropped  so  we  pay  more 
than  we  did,  but  it  amounts  to  sixty-five  to  seventy  cexits  an  oke,  or 
about  twenty  to  twenty-five  cents  a  pound. 

The  chief  foods  of  the  better  class  Albanians  are  poultry,  eggs,  rice, 
cakes,  and  very  sweet  puddings  made  of  rice  flour.  For  the  poor  it  is 
only  com  bread  and  goat  cheese  and  the  worst  cuts  of  meat,  a  very  few 
eggs,  and  very  strong  leeks,  and  all  the  foods  are  so  seasoned  with  goat  fat 
as  to  be  uneatable.  I  went  with  two  of  the  nurses  on  a  mobile  imit  some 
time  ago.  We  went  up  to  a  mountain  village  and  lived  at  the  home  of 
the  one  Bey  for  three  days.  The  first  day  we  could  eat;  the  second  day 
we  all  felt  pretty  sick,  but  kept  the  food  down;  but  the  third  day  we 
imanimously  went  outside  and  lost  each  meal.  We  had  to  eat — all  the 
family  stood  around  and  watched.  It  was  a  harem,  of  course,  a  father 
and  three  sons,  each  having  two  wives  while  one  had  three.  Altogether 
there  were  about  forty  in  the  immediate  family.  And  it  seemed  as  if 
each  wife  had  vied  with  the  others  to  entertain  us.  We  had  to  eat  it  all 
or  cause  strife. 

In  my  classes  at  the  schools  I  use  only  such  articles  as  are  inexpensive 
and  plentiful.  The  Italians  have  influenced  the  markets  largely,  bring- 
ing in  quantities  of  delicious  oranges  and  apples  and  good  potatoes. 
We  get  dates,  figs,  and  nuts  from  the  south  and  east,  and  onions,  cabbage, 
and  leeks  are  locaUy  grown.  But  the  people  have  no  idea  of  preparing 
them.  Such  simple  dishes  as  baked  apples,  creamed  onions  or  potatoes 
or  a  poached  egg  leave  them  aghast.  And  when  I  showed  them  an  ome- 
let, a  fruit  salad  (with  apples,  nuts,  oranges,  and  dajtes)  or  a  fruit  whip,  the 
children  went  into  ecstasies.  I  am  anxious  to  make  some  impression  on 
their  homes  but  most  of  the  children  are  from  the  very  poor  families, 
and  the  poorest  homes  here  consist  of  one  room  which  is  a  combination 
kitchen,  dining  room,  bed  room,  chicken  roost,  and  stable.  Their  cook- 
ing arrangements  are  simple — one  iron  pot  on  a  smoky  fire  in  the  center 
of  the  room.  Anything  that  must  be  cooked  in  an  oven  must  be  sent  to 
a  bakery.  The  bake  ovens  are  huge  brick  affairs.  The  fires  are  built 
on  the  floor  of  the  oven,  and  when  it  is  well  warmed  up  the  coals  are  either 
pushed  to  one  side  or  raked  out  altogether.  And  then  in  goes  the  bread 
belonging  to  the  baker  himself,  several  lots  of  com  bread  belonging  to 
various  neighbors,  a  few  dishes  of  eggs  baking  in  goat  fat,  and  perhaps 


1920]  THE  OPEN  FORUM  383 

a  turkey  or  chicken.  The  poultry  is  always  boiled  first  (strange  to  say, 
no  one  ever  thought  of  making  soup)  and  then  the  bird  is  well  covered  with 
goat  fat  and  browned.  The  result  is  rather  awful.  There  is  so  much 
for  them  to  learn,  that  I  sometimes  wonder  if  the  little  bit  I  can  give  is 
worth  the  time  and  energy  I  put  into  it.  But  at  any  rate  it  will  not  hurt 
them.  As  for  my  dass  of  boys  in  ''American/'  it  is  wonderful  how 
quickly  these  people  learn  a  language.  I  have  one  man  who  speaks 
French,  Italian,  German,  Greek,  and  Turkish  besides  Albanian.  Most 
of  the  people  have  a  working  knowledge  of  German  since  the  Austrian 
occupation,  and  they  have  picked  up  some  Italian  in  this  past  year  of 
their  stay,  so  they  have  a  good  background.  The  native  language  is  of 
Slavic  origin,  but  there  are  many  Latin  touches.  The  niunbers  from 
one  to  ten  are  "ni,  du,  tre,  quatre,  pess,  joust,  stat,  tete,  non,  thet."  Of 
course  they  do  not  spell  them  so;  their  spelling  is  like  Russian  with  all 
sorts  of  unexpected  double  consonants.  I  admit  I  cannot  learn  their 
language,  but  I  can  buy  without  an  interpreter. 

The  Conunission  here  has  accomplished  a  great  deal  in  opening  the 
eyes  of  the  people.  The  very  fact  that  we  women  come  and  go  in  com- 
pany with  the  men  of  the  Commission  or  Italian  officers  or  some  of  the 
educated  Albanians,  and  go  unveiled,  means  a  lot.  Many  are  the  women 
here  who  have  never  left  their  houses  since  they  were  married,  and  to 
them  we  are  unbelievable.  Then,  too,  we  must  have  clean  quarters, 
and  beds  and  tooth  brushes  and  we  sit  down  at  a  table  to  eat  and  use 
knives  and  forks  and  do  a  thousand  and  one  things  differently,  and  it  is 
bound  to  make  an  impression.  Of  course  the  women  in  the  better  class 
families  in  the  cities  go  to  Italy  and  Constantinople,  and  they  go  unveiled 
when  in  other  countries.  But  the  majority  are  bound  by  iron-dad  rules. 
And  yet  sometimes  we  wonder  if  we  shall  give  them  enough  happiness 
from  our  dvilization  to  compensate  for  their  childlike  satisfiedness  in 
their  present  lives.  As  it  is  they  have  done  all  that  is  necessary  when 
they  marry  at  fifteen  and  bring  all  the  children  into  the  world  they  can 
and  knit  and  make  homespun  and  hdp  their  men.  The  women  here — 
as  in  the  other  Balkan  States — are  the  toilers.  The  men  are  warriors. 
The  one  day  in  the  week  when  women  come  into  their  own  is  Thursday 
— ^market  day.  They  come  in  week  after  week  with  the  same  things  for 
sale,  and  sit  all  day  and  talk.  It  matters  not  whether  they  sell,  in  fact 
they  seem  loath  to  part  with  their  artides.  Having  something  for  sale 
is  their  excuse  for  coming  out.  In  our  small  American  tO¥ms  the  women 
come  out  for  the  Sewing  Sodeties  at  the  Chmrches,  and  for  the  Literary 


384  THE  JOUlStNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [AugUSt 

Societies.  Here,  since  women  have  no  souls  or  brains,  they  cannot  go 
to  church  and  have  no  call  to  learn  to  read  or  write,  so  they  come  to  mar- 
ket.   Civilization  is  pretty  much  the  same  the  world  over. 

This  letter  has  become  longer  than  I  had  expected,  but  when  we 
start  to  write  it  is  hard  to  know  when  to  stop.  I  am  enclosing  several 
pictures.  Two  of  them  show  market  day  scenes,  one  is  of  the  street  in 
front  of  our  office,  showing  two  dty  officials  in  the  foreground,  and  the 
other  is  one  of  my  domestic  science  classes.  The  girls  made  their  own 
uniforms  and  are  very  proud  of  themselves. 

Just  a  personal  note  at  the  end.  Perhaps  you  remember  me  when  I 
was  dietitian  at  the  Cook  County  Hospital  in  Chicago  and  you  were 
dietitian  for  the  County  Institutions?  I  was  ill  and  had  to  give  up, 
and  I  went  west  and  remained  until  I  went  into  the  army  more  than 
two  years  ago.  I  was  at  Riley  until  August  and  then  came  overseas  and 
was  in  France  until  shortly  after  the  Armistice  when  I  was  sent  up  into 
Gennany.  Then  after  more  than  nine  months  in  Germany,  I  came  here 
in  October  last  year,  so  I  reaUy  am  fortunate  as  to  my  experiences. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Nellie  Halleday, 
American  Red  Cross  Commission  to  Albania. 


The  Constantinople  Fund.  All  simuner  schools  are  urged  to  take 
up  a  25  cent  per  capita  contribution  from  students  in  home  economics 
for  the  Constantinople  College  Fund  of  the  American  Home  Economics 
Association.  This  fimd  is  being  raised  by  a  committee  of  which  Miss 
Marlatt  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin  is  chairman,  and  up  to  July 
first  $4800  was  in  hand  or  pledged.  The  remaining  sum  of  $1200  can 
readily  be  raised  if  the  summer  schools  of  home  economics  wiU  make 
the  25  cent  contribution  which  was  given  in  normal  schools  and  col- 
leges during  the  year.  The  fimd  will  be  used  to  establish  a  depart- 
ment of  home  economics  in  the  Constantinople  College  for  Girls  which 
it  is  expected  will  serve  as  the  foundation  of  a  great  school  of  practical 
arts  for  women  of  the  Near  East. 

B.  R.  Andrews, 
Ckairmany  IntemaHonal  CommiUee, 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  SEPTEMBER,  1920  No.  9 


HOW  CAN  OUR  WORK  IN  FOODS  BE  MADE  MORE  VITAL 

TO  THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  CHILD?i 

LUCY  H.   GILLETT 
Director^  Dieieiic  Bureau^  League  for  FrevetUive  Workf  Boston 

Seven  years  ago  as  a  member  of  the  teaching  profession  I  was  feeling 
the  need  of  closer  application  of  subject  matter,  as  taught  in  cookery 
classes,  to  the  needs  of  the  girls  in  their  homes.  This  feeling  had  grown 
gradually  during  several  years  of  teaching,  first  of  children  from  7  to 
16  years  of  age,  then  of  students  who  in  turn  were  preparing  to  teach. 

At  first  I  had  been  gratified  and  perhaps  satisfied,  if  Mary  said  she  had 
made  biscuits  for  supper,  if  Jane  had  made  soup,  or  if  Harriet  had  made 
gingerbread,  but  these  isolated  dishes  did  not  cure  nor  prevent  pale 
faces,  they  did  not  develop  strength  in  the  girls  that  were  weak,  they 
did  not  help  those  who  were  slow  in  their  grade  work  to  concentrate 
better  in  the  class  room.  One  glimpse  after  another  into  the  home  life 
of  the  girls  only  served  to  strengthen  the  impression  that  they  were  get 
ting  much  they  could  not  apply  and  that  this  was  crowding  out  much 
they  needed  to  apply.    What  was  it  that  they  needed? 

This  constant  question  stimulated  a  desire  to  embrace  the  first  oppor- 
tunity for  getting  more  definite  knowledge  of  the  actual  needs  of  the 
children.  During  the  last  six  years  I  have  had  this  opportunity,  an  op- 
portunity to  study  conditions  in  families  where  there  are  children  of  school 
age,  where  there  are  tubercular  or  malnourished  children,  and  in  almost 

^  Read  before  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Eastern  Arts  Association,  April,  1920.  To  be 
published  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Eastern  Arts  Association. 

585 


386  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

every  one  of  these  families  there  is  a  food  problem.  While  the  food  is 
not  always  the  only  problem,  it  is  usually  a  very  important  factor.  This 
study  has  made  me  fed  more  strongly  than  ever  the  gulf  that  lies  between 
the  person  sitting  in  an  office  deciding  what  300  children  should  need 
in  ideal  homes  and  what  300  children  actually  do  need  to  help  them  in 
tiie  homes  in  which  they  are  now  living.  This  paper  is  written,  there- 
fore, not  in  a  spirit  of  criticism  of  anything  that  is  now  being  done,  but 
rather  to  give  to  those  who  fed  the  need  for,  but  are  not  able  to  get 
first  hand,  suggestions  which  will  help  them  to  adapt  their  work  to 
present  day  needs. 

It  is  surprising  to  find  underwdght  and  malnourished  diildren  in  all 
types  of  families,  in  the  families  of  those  who  have  plenty  of  money  as 
wdl  as  in  families  of  limited  means.  One  cannot  judge  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  face.  The  physician  frequently  finds  that  a  plump  rosy  face 
is  stq>ported  by  a  malnourished  body.  Figures  from  various  dties  show 
20  per  cent  of  the  children  underweight,  and  underwdght  is  not  the 
only  index  to  malnutrition.  In  many  instances  the  diildren  are  in  good 
condition  until  they  reach  the  age  of  12  or  14,  when  th^  begin  to  get 
thin  and  pale,  and  are  more  susceptible  to  disease  than  they  should  be. 
This  seems  reasonable  to  expect  unless  the  amount  of  food  eaten  by  these 
chfldren  increases  to  correspond  to  the  rapidity  of  growth. 

In  families  where  we  have  been  asked  to  make  suggestions  concerning 
the  food,  mothers  frequently  tell  us  that  diildren  are  getting  on  much 
better  at  school  after  the  food  has  been  adjusted.  Does  the  work  as 
taught  in  the  codcery  class  hdp  the  diildren  to  concentrate  and  to 
study  better?  Does  the  class  room  teacher  note  a  mental  improvement 
in  any  of  the  children  who  are  taking  cookery? 

Every  teacher  of  foods  is  doubtless  emphasizing  the  relation  of  food 
to  health  but  is  it  in  the  concrete  or  in  the  abstract?  Do  girls  know  that 
the  enthusiasm  and  freshness  of  youth  which  every  girl  wants  may  be 
maintained  or  destroyed  by  her  daily  habits  of  eating?  Rosy  cheeks 
and  good  teeth  are  in  a  large  measure  dependent  upon  the  food  eaten. 

One  of  our  Simmons  students,  a  young  woman  with  every  appearance 
of  being  in  good  health,  was  doing  some  fidd  work  through  the  Bureau. 
She  was  trying  to  convince  the  mother  of  several  thin  and  sickly  looking 
children  that  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  drink  coffee.  Finally  the 
mother  said  "Do  you  drink  coffee?"  and  the  worker  replied,  "No,  I 
never  touch  it."  The  neict  day  the  mother  told  another  worker  who 
was  in  the  same  family  that  she  was  not  going  to  give  her  children  coffee 


1920]  FOOD  MADE  HOSE  VITAL  TO  HEALTH  07  CHILD  387 

any  more  because  she  wanted  them  to  have  red  cheeks  like  Miss  B . 


In  the  first  place  then,  are  we  living  examples  of  what  we  want  our 
piq>ils  to  be? 

Does  each  girl  know  whether  she  weighs  more  or  less  than  she  should 
so  that  she  may  regulate  her  diet  accordingly,  or  whether  her  brothers 
and  sisters  are  of  average  weight?  If  not,  is  there  some  physical  defect 
that  should  be  remedied  so  that  the  food  may  do  its  work?  I  do  not 
wish  to  suggest  that  the  cookery  teacher  is  responsible  for  the  physical 
condition  of  the  children,  for  she  has  neither  time  nor  training;  neither 
is  it  her  responsibility.  This  distinctly  is  the  problem  of  the  nurse, 
the  physical  director,  or  the  doctor,  but  the  relation  of  food  to  health 
and  its  selection  with  health  in  mind  is  our  problem  and  we  do  not 
want  to  waste  time  trying  to  build  up,  with  food,  conditions  that  are 
due  to  other  causes.  The  work  in  foods  provides  an  excellent  opportu- 
nity to  work  in  codperation  with  the  nurse,  the  doctor,  or  the  physical 
director. 

In  social  work  we  are  meeting  in  individual  homes  the  problems  in 
nutrition  that  teachers  are  meeting  in  group  work.  In  one  of  our  nutri- 
tion classes  where  we  were  trying  to  bring  12  or  15  tmderweight  and 
malnourished  girls  into  good  condition  by  teaching  and  persuading  them 
to  follow  proper  food  and  other  health  habits,  the  girls  said,  ''We  have 
had  this  in  school  but  it  never  occurred  to  us  that  it  had  anything  to  do 
with  our  being  underweight.'' 

My  second  thought  is  to  ask  whether  it  is  not  possible  to  make  the 
work  more  personal? 

In  teaching  a  cosmopolitan  group  such  as  we  get  in  our  public  schools 
we  must  decide  which  things  are  fundamental  and  at  the  same  time  most 
useful.  We  want  such  information  as  may  be  taken  home,  not  only  the 
kind  that  is  taken  home  in  a  cup,  but  the  kind  that  will  help  to  lay  a 
good  foundation  for  the  health  and  strength  of  the  whole  family,  the 
kind  that  may  be  used  in  the  future  as  well  as  the  present,  the  kind 
that  applies  to  all  nationalities. 

Has  any  teacher  ever  said  that  there  is  not  time  to  teach  everything? 
There  is  a  big  question  in  my  mind  as  to  whether  there  is  time  in  the 
grades  to  teach  girls  that  foods  are  composed  of  proteins,  fats,  carbo- 
hydrates, mineral  elements,  vitamines,  and  water.  These  are  surely 
fundamental  facts,  but  are  they  the  facts  that  can  be  used  to  best 
advantage? 


388  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

I  know  from  experience  that  children  delight  in  learning  these  names» 
that  they  can  tell  in  a  superficial  way  the  value  of  each  in  the  body; 
but  if  you  were  to  go  into  the  homes  of  any  one  of  these  women  today, 
to  see  what  application  she  really  makes  of  this  information  when  a 
real  test  arises,  I  wonder  whether  you  would  not  be  forced  to  agree 
with  me  that  in  the  face  of  so  many  needs  the  time  might  be  spent  to 
better  advantage?  That  the  information  gained  does  not  justify  the 
time  and  energy  spent  upon  it?  I  would  like  to  raise  the  question 
whether  the  technical  composition  of  foods  could  not  be  left  to  the  high 
schools  where  enough  time  may  be  put  upon  it  to  give  a  working  knowl- 
edge and  where  the  children  are  old  enough  to  apply  the  knowledge 
intelligently?  Some  may  say  that  so  few  go  to  high  school  they  want 
them  to  get  it  in  the  grades,  but  if  we  cannot  give  them  everything  in  the 
grades,  and  if  this  crowds  out  things  that  are  more  important,  are  we 
not  forced  to  eliminate  something  and  put  the  emphasis  on  the  question 
of  value?  We  caimot  teach  chemistry  or  advanced  mathematics  in 
the  grades.    Why  food  composition? 

Perhaps  a  teacher  feels  that  she  is  simplifjring  the  teaching  of  food 
values  and  evading  the  difficulty  by  classifying  foods  into  muscle  build- 
ers, exiergy  foods,  body  regulators.  In  this  it  seems  to  me  we  are  easing 
our  conscience  and  fooling  ourselves  without  educating  the  children. 
In  the  first  place,  are  we  really  giving  the  correct  impression  by  referring 
to  a  certain  dass  of  foods,  presumably  high  protein  foods,  as  muscle  build- 
ers? Is  the  protein  of  any  value  in  the  growth  of  the  muscles  if  the 
mineral  elements  and  the  vitamines  are  not  also  present?  Are  they 
not  just  as  important  in  the  growth  of  the  muscles  as  the  protein?  Chil- 
dren soon  assign  values  of  their  own,  too,  in  spite  of  our  cautions.  They 
reason  like  this:  If  protein  builds  good  strong  muscles,  then  is  not  that 
the  thing  to  be  desired?  And  if  the  time  comes  when  they  have  to  econ- 
omize, will  they  not  think  the  protein  the  thing  above  all  else  to  include 
because  of  muscles  and  strength?  In  100  dietary  studies  in  which  ac- 
curate records  were  kept  and  the  food  values  of  the  diet  were  calculated, 
in  no  instance  was  the  protein  deficient  if  the  energy  was  adequate,  but 
the  things  that  were  deficient,  the  thing  that  was  holding  boys  and  girls 
back  in  their  development,  the  thing  that  was  causing  pale  faces  and 
weary  bodies,  was  the  lack  of  the  mineral  elements  and  the  foods  con- 
taining vitamines.  We  find  malnutrition  more  frequently  in  children 
whose  diets  are  rich  in  protein  and  low  in  vegetables  than  where  protein 
foods  are  deficient  and  vegetables  abimdant.  Why  overemphasize  pro- 
tein foods  by  referring  to  them  incorrectly  as  exclusively  muscle  builders? 


1920]  FOOD  MADE  MORE  VITAL  TO  HEALTH  OF  CHILD  389 

What  are  the  important  things  of  common  interest?  Are  they  not 
the  teaching  of  the  relation  of  food  to  health,  the  planning  of  meals  for 
a  family  to  include  the  desired  foods  necessary  for  health  of  each  mem- 
ber, a  consideration  of  economy  and  marketing,  and  the  preparation  of 
the  foods  that  illustrate  these  points? 

We  all  need  milk,  vegetables,  fruit,  grain  products,  and  fats,  nor- 
mally. (Abnormal  cases  are  problems  for  a  physician.)  Meat,  fish,  sugar 
are  optional.  Why  not  think  in  terms  of  types  of  foods,  and  teach  the 
planning  of  meals  to  provide  these  foods,  the  different  foods  to  use  at 
different  seasons  of  the  year,  the  amounts  of  each  type  of  food  needed 
by  each  member  of  the  family  for  a  day  and  then  for  a  week  to 
make  up  the  weekly  grocery  order,  the  purchasing  of  these  foods,  the 
relative  economy  of  each  food  as  compared  with  other  foods  in  that  type? 

This  will  help  to  solve  the  difficulty  that  often  arises  because  of  nation- 
ality. Teagle  of  all  nationalities,  of  all  ages,  and  of  all  occupations 
need  these  same  types  of  foods  and  from  each  type  may  be  selected 
foods  preferred  by  each.  Take  vegetables,  for  example.  When  the 
question  of  nationality  arises  one  could  find  from  the  surrotmding  mar- 
kets and  shops  or  from  the  members  of  the  class  the  names  of  the  vege- 
tables used  by  the  nationalities  involved  and  these  might  be  brought 
up  in  class.  Vegetables  of  a  similar  nature  might  be  classed  together 
and  rules  for  the  cooking  of  each  class  given.  This  would  help  all  nation- 
alities and  so  called  Americanization  would  be  spread  thereby.  Each 
nationality  could  learn  from  the  other  and  neither  would  feel  that  it 
was  having  something  forced  upon  him.  By  showing  respect  for  and 
acknowledging  the  good  that  is  in  all  diets  there  is  sure  to  be  an  inter- 
change of  food  habits  which  will  be  one  of  the  ways  of  amalgamating 
the  people  living  in  one  country. 

Remembering  that  it  is  usually  easier  in  the  fall  to  begin  with  foods  in 
season  we  will  suppose,  for  example,  that  vegetables  are  to  be  discussed 
in  September.  Do  these  lessons  with  vegetables  leave  with  the  girl  a 
firm  conviction  that  the  vegetables  are  necessary  for  health  even  to  the 
point  of  making  her  learn  to  like  them?  Is  every  girl  in  the  dass  so 
convinced  of  the  value  of  vegetables  that  she  is  going  to  have  at  least 
two  vegetables  in  her  diet  every  day?  Does  she  know  at  what  age 
children  should  begin  to  eat  vegetables  and  that  it  is  very  important 
that  they  be  persuaded  to  learn  to  like  them  early  in  life  (for  they  will 
be  exceptional  children  if  they  do  like  them  at  first)?  Does  she  know 
how  to  prepare  vegetables  for  children  under  five?    Does  she  know  which 


390  THE  J0X7XNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

ones  they  should  not  eat?  Does  she  know  which  vegetables  to  buy  to 
get  the  most  food  value  for  her  money  if  she  has  to  economize?  Does 
she  know  that  vegetables  are  very  valuable  in  overcoming  constipation 
and  that  it  may  be  corrected  or  prevented  by  proper  food?  Does  she 
realize  its  seriousness  if  allowed  to  continue?  Does  she  know  that  green 
and  leafy  vegetables  have  different  qualities  from  the  root  vegetables 
and  that  she  should  have  some  green  and  leafy  vegetable  at  least  two  or 
three  times  a  week  and  as  much  of  tener  as  possible?  Does  she  know 
which  the  green  and  leafy  vegetables  are?  When  leafy  vegetables  are 
scarce  in  January,  February,  and  March,  will  she  know  what  to  do  to 
safeguard  her  health,  provided  the  cost  of  the  green  vegetables  prohibits 
their  use? 

I  have  been  trying  to  imagine  myself  back  in  the  school  room  to  see 
whether  it  would  be  possible  to  emphasize  and  to  prepare  the  leafy  vege- 
tables that  are  most  abundant  in  the  fall,  then  later  in  the  winter  to 
emphasize  cabbage  and  those  leafy  vegetables  to  be  found  all  winter; 
and  in  the  spring,  beet  greens  and  dandelions  or  other  spring  greens. 
Dried  vegetables  do  not  answer  the  same  purpose;  fruit  is  scarce  and 
expensive  at  the  same  season  as  vegetables,  and  why  should  the  pupils 
not  know  that  canned  vegetables  are  better  than  none  at  all.  They 
should  at  least  be  taught  to  use  more  milk  when  green  vegetables  are 
unobtainable.  It  may  be  easy  to  teach  vegetables  in  the  fall  but  the 
real  test  for  the  girl  comes  when  they  are  scarce  and  this  is  when  she 
needs  most  help.  Children  are  not  going  to  remember  from  September 
to  February  what  to  do.    They  must  learn  by  doing. 

If  every  teacher  realized  how  many  children  are  really  suffering  from 
malnutrition  because  of  the  lack  of  vegetables,  none  could  rest  until 
she  had  planned  to  hdp  her  girls  to  get  vegetables  in  their  diets,  not 
six  months  a  year,  but  twelve  months. 

The  importance  of  milk  is  usually  strongly  emphasized.  Children 
know  that  it  is  essential  for  growth.  They  usually  know  of  what  milk 
is  composed  but  how  many  girls  increase  the  amount  they  have  been 
drinking  because  of  this  knowledge?  Which  is  more  important,  provided 
there  is  not  time  for  both,  to  know  the  food  composition  of  milk,  or  to 
learn  to  use  at  least  2  cups  or  more  a  day?  Are  we  content  and  elated 
when  he  hear  that  one  or  two  children  or  perhaps  75  per  cent  of  the 
children  are  drinking  more  milk?  The  milk  that  19  children  drink  will 
not  help  the  twentieth  who  perhaps  needs  it  most. 


1920]  FOOD  MADE  HOKE  VITAL  TO  HEALTH  OF  CHILD  391 

Do  they  know  that  milk  is  a  food  whether  taken  as  a  beven^e  or  in 
cooked  form?  That  when  we  say  a  quart  a  day,  some  of  this  will  prob- 
ably be  taken  in  food  prepared  for  the  family.  We  frequently  hear  in- 
telligenty  well-informed  people  express  surprise  in  learning  that  the  food 
value  of  milk  for  adults  is  the  same  whether  cooked  or  uncooked.  But 
do  they  know  how  to  get  even  a  full  quart  into  the  diet  in  cooked  form 
if  necessary?  Do  they  know  how  much  milk  a  child  one  year  old  should 
have?  5  years  old?  10  years  old?  And  it  is  especially  important  to 
know  how  much  milk  is  required  by  the  whole  family.  (Perhaps  the 
teacher  in  the  arithmetic  class  might  be  persuaded  to  introduce  a  prob- 
lem or  two  at  this  time.)  Do  they  know  that  milk  helps  to  strengthen 
the  teeth  and  to  steady  the  nerves?  And,  that  no  other  food  can  supply 
the  same  qualities  in  such  large  amounts? 

Since  we  find  tea  and  coffee  used  when  milk  should  be  given^  could 
not  the  subject  of  tea  and  coffee  be  introduced  at  this  point  to  good 
advantage?  This  raises  the  question  at  once  as  to  whether  tea  or  coffee 
should  be  made  in  class.  If  we  are  emphasizing  the  health  side  of 
food  why  denounce  the  coffee  and  then  proceed  to  teach  children  to  make 
it?  I  imagine  that  children  are  almost  universally  told  of  its  ill-effects. 
Some  have  said  '4t  would  be  made  anyway;  then  why  not  have  it  weD 
made?"  If  this  excuse  still  exists  could  not  the  prqiaration  be  left 
until  the  end  of  the  year  when  a  tray  for  the  invalid  may  be  prepared? 
We  consider  the  tea  and  coffee  habit  one  of  the  worst  food  sins  of  chil- 
dren. We  find  the  tea  and  coffee  habit  so  well  established  that  children 
often  go  to  school  with  only  tea  or  coffee  and  bread  for  breakfast  The 
teacher  of  cookery  in  the  grades  can  do  much  in  overcoming  this  tea 
and  coffee  habit.  A  class  of  25  underweight  boys  were  runi^g  a  race 
to  see  who  would  get  into  good  physical  condition  first  through  observing 
good  habits.  A  father  of  one  of  the  boys  who  was  18  pounds  under- 
weight came  to  visit  the  class  one  day.  He  said,  ''My  boy  used  to 
drink  coffee  three  times  a  day  but  he  came  home  from  the  class  one  day 
and  he  say  teacher  say  coffee  keep  him  from  growing.  He  sayj  'MothcTi 
I  don't  want  no  more  coffee/  and  because  Antonio  stop,  his  brothers 
and  sisters  stop/'  and  the  man  continued:  "Why  don't  more  of  the 
teachers  tell  the  boys  what  to  do?  They  do  it  when  you  say  so  but 
they  no  mind  us." 

Doubtless  every  teacher  does  say  much.  How  many  say  it  with  such 
force  and  personal  application  that  children  give  up  tea  and  coffee? 
These  things  have  to  be  repeated  many  times,  and  said  in  a  tone  that 


392  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOBCE  ECONOMICS  [September 

carries  conviction,  for  learning  good  food  habits  is  like  learning  a  multi- 
plication table.  It  frequently  takes  us  from  6  to  8  or  even  more  visits 
to  persuade  children  to  give  up  coffee  entirely. 

In  a  similar  way  the  subjects  of  fruits,  grain  products,  fats,  sugars, 
eggs,  meat,  fish,  and  other  foods  might  be  discussed.  There  is  the  value 
of  grain  products  for  ''vigor  and  vim"  as  Cho  Cho  says,  the  relative 
importance  of  the  cereals  with  and  without  the  outside  coating  removed, 
the  various  ways  in  which  the  cereals  may  be  introduced  into  the  diet 
other  than  as  a  breakfast  cereal  as  in  soups,  breads,  and  puddings.  Many 
children  will  eat  the  cereal  for  supper  but  prefer  bread  and  milk  for  break- 
fast. The  need  of  considerable  fat  in  the  diet  should  be  emphasized  in 
the  light  of  more  recent  experiments,  but  the  evil  of  fried  foods  cannot 
be  too  strongly  urged.  The  harmfulness  of  sugar  taken  in  concentrated 
form  except  at  the  end  of  a  meal,  with  appropriate  ways  of  introducing 
it  in  dilute  form,  and  the  imdesirability  of  meat  more  than  once  a  day, 
especially  for  children,  and  then  only  in  small  amoimts,  are  only  suggestive 
of  the  many  things  the  children  need  to  practice  daily  if  they  are  to  be 
healthy. 

After  each  girl  realizes  the  importance  of  the  various  types  of  food  in 
the  diet  she  has  a  problem  at  home  which  we  are  apt  to  overlook.  This 
is  the  planning  of  the  family  meals  and  introducing  into  those  meals 
the  food  she  and  the  rest  of  the  children  need. 

The  average  income  does  not  warrant  many  extras  and  father  says 
he  wants  something  more  substantial  than  creamed  soups,  cereals,  pud- 
dings, and  other  things  that  are  good  for  children.  One  dish  must  fre- 
quently provide  the  requirements  for  the  mother,  father,  and  all  the 
children  ranging  in  age  from  1  to  16  years.  The  new  dishes  must  be 
built  into  those  the  family  already  has.  And  the  girl  has  to  meet  this 
problem.  Do  the  children  leave  the  class  thinking  that  dessert  is  an 
essential  part  of  a  meal  or  do  they  know  that  it  is  possible  to  plan  a  one- 
dish  meal?  Many  of  them  cannot  afford  two  courses  and  it  will  not 
harm  those  who  can  afford  three  or  four,  or  even  more,  to  know  how 
to  plan  one-dish  meals.  Anyone  who  has  tried  to  stretch  a  $20  or  even 
a  $30  income  to  cover  the  cost  of  food,  rent,  light,  fuel,  clothes,  and 
other  expenses  for  a  family  of  five  is  doubtless  aware  that  in  such  fam- 
ilies the  dessert  is  a  Simday  affair. 

Many,  many  children,  many  more  than  we  realize,  are  going  to  school 
without  breakfast  or  with  only  a  very  meagre  one.  This  may  be  because 
the  mother  is  indisposed,  it  may  be  due  to  lack  of  child  discipline,  but  a 


1920]  FOOD  HADE  MOKE  VITAL  TO  HEALTH  OF  CHILD  393 

proper  breakfast  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized.  A  proper  break- 
fast need  not  be  eq>ensive.  It  may  consist  of  bread  and  milk.  If  the 
grade  teacher  knew  that  her  work  would  be  easier  if  children  had  eaten 
a  good  breakfast  it  might  be  that  she  would  add  her  word  to  that  of  the 
special  teacher,  thus  reaching  boys  as  well  as  girls.  We  find  that  when 
the  same  idea  is  lurged  by  two  or,  better  still,  by  three  people  interested 
in  the  same  family,  but  from  different  points  of  view  the  results  are  much 
more  satisfactory. 

Then  there  is  the  luncheon  purchased  away  from  home  either  at  noontime 
or  recess.  Oh  I  those  pickles,  ice  cream  cones,  sodas,  and  doughnutsi 
How  few  girls  realize  what  they  are  doing  for  themselves  when  they 
choose  this  kind  of  a  luncheon! 

What  kind  of  suppers  do  the  children  have?  Are  they  simple  but 
nourishing?  Do  they  have  meat  at  night  and  if  so  are  they  restless  in 
sleep?  We  often  find  children  who  are  restless  at  night  but  sleep  calmly 
and  peacefully  when  the  meat  is  taken  out  of  their  evening  meal.  They 
have  better  control  of  their  nerves  the  next  day,  do  better  work  at 
school,  are  less  irritable. 

Not  only  is  it  necessary  to  give  suggestions  concerning  the  meals, 
but  it  is  especially  necessary  to  urge  regularity  of  meals  with  no  eating 
between  meals,  eating  slowly,  and  only  light  exercise  after  meals. 

One  word  with  regard  to  insisting  on  maximum  standards  before  the 
whole  class.  One  day  a  thin  faced  little  boy  asked  how  much  he  should 
weigh.  When  told,  he  looked  down  at  the  toe  of  a  shoe  that  was  far 
from  new  and  said  sadly,  ''Then  Fm  20  pounds  imderweight? ''  He  was 
asked  if  he  drank  milk  and  he  said,  "No,  mother  used  to  get  a  quart, but 
the  baby  had  to  have.all  of  that."  "Don't  you  suppose  you  coiild  have 
just  two  glasses  a  day? ''  he  was  asked.  And  he  said  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  "The  baby  died  last  week  and  perhaps  I  could  have  some  now." 
The  friend  to  whom  this  boy  was  talking  did  not  say,  "You  tell  your 
mother  you  must  have  a  quart  a  day "  because  she  surmised  the  prob- 
lem in  that  home.  We  all,  I  am  sure,  would  hesitate  to  urge  the  maxi- 
mum when  we  know  the  conditions  are  unfavorable.  It  is  far  more 
considerate  to  urge  the  minimum  in  all  cases  and  advise  more  if  possible. 

After  the  planning  of  the  meals,  the  grocery  order  ordinarily  follows 
in  natural  sequence.  If  meals  are  properly  planned,  however,  woidd 
not  the  grocery  order  partially  precede  the  meal  planning?  Many 
women  buy  from  day  to  day.  Too  many  buy  from  meal  to  meal.  This 
is  poor  economy  and  leads  to  improperly  planned  meals.    In  planning 


394  THE  J0T7SNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

meals  should  not  the  amount  of  milk,  vegetables,  grain  products,  fruit, 
and  fats  that  are  required  by  the  family,  in  other  words  a  partial  grocery 
order,  be  the  basis — then  the  combining  of  these  foods  into  meals  with 
the  addition  of  such  amoimts  of  meat,  eggs,  and  fish  as  the  family  may 
need  or  may  desire  or  can  afford?  Woidd  it  not  be  better  to  plan  market 
orders  a  week  in  advance?  In  one  family  where  we  were  asked  to  help, 
the  man  said  he  earned  enough  money  to  live  comfortably  but  they 
never  seemed  to  have  enough  to  last  through  the  week.  They  lived 
well  for  three  or  four  days,  then  had  bread  and  tea.  The  children  were 
thin,  always  sick,  out  of  school,  and  low  in  their  class.  The  field  worker 
planned  with  the  woman  the  amount  of  milk  per  day,  the  amount  of 
bread  per  day,  the  amount  of  other  grain  products,  vegetables,  fruit, 
fat,  sugar,  and  meat,  needed  for  the  week.  As  many  of  these  things  as 
possible  were  purchased  in  advance.  At  the  end  of  the  first  week  of 
our  work  with  this  family,  the  woman  said  they  had  lived  as  well  the 
last  day  as  the  first  and  all  because  she  had  planned  ahead.  In  a  short 
time  the  children  were  strong  and  sturdy  and  the  mother  said  they  were  get- 
ting on  so  much  better  at  school.  She  says  now  she  does  not  know  how 
she  ever  lived  before.  This  is  only  one  of  many  instances  where  plan- 
ning ahead  has  not  only  saved  the  health  of  the  children  by  stretching 
the  purchasing  power  of  the  dollar,  but  it  has  frequently  saved  a  family 
from  debt. 

When  it  comes  to  the  question  of  economy,  it  makes  some  difference 
in  the  amount  of  growing  material  received  in  return  for  10  cents  whether 
that  10  cents  is  spent  for  oatmeal  or  for  comfliakes.  When  shown  a 
chart  representing  the  relative  value  of  these  foods  in  terms  of  dollars 
and  cents,  many  a  mother  has  been  convinced  of  relative  economy 
when  hours  of  talking  have  failed.  These  charts  are  just  as  convindng 
with  children.  We  frequently  hear  girls  say,  ''Oh  yes,  we  learned  how 
to  do  that  at  school,  but  we  cannot  afford  to  make  it."  Of  course,  an 
egg  or  milk  adds  nourishment,  or  perhaps  mufiSns  are  made  when  ^gs 
are  cheap,  but  Mary  would  like  to  have  them  when  ^gs  are  10  cents 
apiece,  and  she  does  not  know  how  to  use  this  mufiSn  recipe  without 
eggs.  Three  eggs  a  week  for  the  baby  is  all  that  many  families  can  af- 
ford when  eggs  are  $1.20  a  dozen.  If  the  recipes  are  to  be  tried  in  homes 
where  they  are  most  needed,  then  we  must  suggest  how  they  may  be 
adapted  to  suit  varying  incomes,  using  cheaper  fats  where  possible  and 
even  water  for  milk.  I  wonder  how  many  realize  what  a  minimum 
grocery  order  looks  Uke? 


1920]  FOOD  MADE  MORE  VITAL  TO  HEALTH  07  CHILD  395 

Are  our  directions  such  as  will  necessitate  the  fewest  possible  utensils 
and  those  the  least  expensive?  Some  of  our  cities  have  school  kitchens 
beautifully  equipped.  It  is  a  joy  to  the  girls  to  work  in  them,  but, 
even  though  the  equipment  is  complete  and  a  good  example  of  what  a 
well  furnished  kitchen  shoidd  be,  would  it  not  be  possible  to  play  a 
game  occasionally  to  see  with  how  few  utensils  we  can  get  along?  To 
see  which  ones  are  dispensable,  to  devise  substitutes  for  double  boilers, 
for  egg  beaters,  for  rolling  pins?  It  would  be  interesting  to  many,  no 
doubt,  to  know  what  can  be  done  when  teaching  a  woman  in  her  own 
kitchen  where  the  entire  outfit  consists  of  two  saucepans,  perhaps  only 
one,  a  knife,  a  spoon,  and  a  tea  cup.  Will  the  girls  who  come  from 
homes  like  this  know  how  to  apply  what  they  learn,  imless  they  are 
taught  how  to  do  things  with  as  few  utensils  as  possible? 

There  is  need  for  urging  cleanliness  and  sanitation;  especially  neces- 
sary is  it  to  urge  separate  plates,  cups,  spoons,  knives,  and  forks. 
There  is  need  also  for  emphasizing  cleanliness  in  the  care  of  food,  such  as 
putting  food  imder  cover  away  from  dust  and  flies,  for  emphasizing 
danger  in  handling  bread  and  similar  foods. 

The  material  that  might  be  given  is  almost  endless.  No  teacher  feels 
there  is  time  to  give  it  all.  Perhaps  the  things  suggested  here  are  given 
in  the  majority  of  our  schools  today,  perhaps  they  seem  impracticable, 
perhaps  this  seems  like  a  large  program,  but  if  you  have  visions  of  some 
lessons  that  seem  essential  being  crowded  out,  go  down  into  the  crowded 
district  of  the  city  and  with  a  real  desire  to  help  the  people,  study  the 
faces  of  the  children  and  then  decide  what  seems  most  important.  The 
need  of  economy,  like  malnutrition,  is  not  confined  to  the  crowded  dis- 
tricts. Visit  the  homes  of  some  of  the  children  in  a  well  to  do  district 
and  talk  with  the  mothers  imtil  you  get  their  confidence;  see  their 
problems  and  learn,  not  alone  of  their  struggles,  but  of  the  way  in  which 
they  adapt  themselves  to  circumstances. 

Girls  are  going  to  learn  to  do  the  things  that  appeal  to  them,  so  that 
if  there  is  not  time  to  teach  all  the  cooking  processes  in  class  we  may 
be  sure  they  will  find  out  later,  but  they  may  get  the  message  of  health 
when  it  is  too  late.  When  they  have  homes  and  children  of  their  own 
and  are  asked  whether  they  learned  at  school  things  that  were  most 
important,  what  should  the  answer  be? 


396  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

RACIAL  AND  OTHER  DIFFERENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOMS* 

VELMA  PHILLIPS  AND  LAUILA   HOWELL 

FOREWORD 

Within  the  last  few  years  has  come  an  increasing  realization  of  the  need 
for  more  detailed  information  concerning  actual  dietary  customs,  especially 
among  families  of  various  racial  groups.  The  nutrition  worker  who  possesses 
such  inf oimation  can  save  much  time,  and  many  home  economics  teachers 
would  find  it  valuable  in  making  their  courses  really  function  in  improving 
homemaking  standards.  The  educational  value  of  the  school  lunch  is  being 
stressed  constantly  and  here  also  a  knowledge  of  frequent  dietary  defects 
should  go  far  in  guiding  the  selection  of  points  of  emphasis  especially  needed 
in  the  various  sections  of  the  dty  where  foreign  colonies  exist. 

Dietary  habits  are  remarkably  fixed  habits.  Hence  the  data  presented  in 
this  report,  although  collected  several  years  ago  in  a  limited  number  of  sections 
in  New  York,  provides  a  picture  of  dietary  adequacy  probably  very  similar 
to  what  would  be  found  in  a  study  conducted  today  in  many  other  places  than 
New  York.  The  figures  of  cost  are  no  longer  accurate  because  of  the  increased 
food  prices  since  1918,  but  otherwise  the  study  seems  as  valuable  now  as  when 
first  prepared  and  represents  a  real  contribution  to  oiu:  limited  stock  of  infor- 
mation about  dietary  customs. 

Dr.  Allinson  was  a  woman  with  a  remarkable  gift  for  conducting  investi- 
gations with  thoroughness  and  skill  and  with  a  constructive  vision  which  made 
the  findings  of  widespread  and  permanent  value.  This  is  well  illustrated  by 
this  report  and  the  various  reports  from  the  Woman's  Educational  and  In- 
dustrial Union,  which  were  prepared  under  her  direction,  and  by  her  work 
with  the  Woman's  Division  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Labor  which  was  so 
sadly  interrupted  by  her  death  in  December,  1918. 

Because  of  Dr.  Allinson's  dose  supervision  of  this  investigation  this  report 
would  seem  especially  valuable  as  an  illustration  of  desirable  methods  to  be 
followed  in  conducting  social  research  in  connection  with  home  economics 
and  presenting  effectivdy  the  results  of  the  investigation.  For  this  reason, 
as  well  as  because  of  the  subject  matter  which  it  contains,  I  fed  that  the 
report  should  prove  of  great  value  and  influence  and  am  glad  that  it  is  to  be 
available  for  use  by  publication. 

EioiA  A.  WmsLOW. 

^  Prepared  under  the  directioa  of  May  AQinsony  1917-18.  Preface  by  Min  AHinioa, 
Foreword  by  Emma  Winslow. 


1920]  DIREKENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOMS  397 


How  to  get  enough  to  eat  in  these  times  of  high  prices  is  a  serious  question 
for  us  all.  But  it  was  and  still  is  especially  serious  for  the  foreign  family  with 
the  very  small  income.  Not  only  have  prices  jumped  up  beyond  reach  of  many 
of  these  families,  but  their  customary  foods  were  suddenly  cut  ofif  by  the  war. 
Roman  cheese  and  olive  oil  have  been  considered  a  necessity  in  the  poorest 
of  Italian  families.  When  Roman  cheese  rose  to  $1.25  a  pound  and  olive  oil 
to  $4.00  a  gallon,  it  was  still  considered  an  essential  and  the  investigator  found 
in  the  poorest  homes  Italians  suffering  from  cold  and  lack  of  food,  buying  1 
and  2  ounces  of  Roman  cheese  and  small  quantities  of  olive  oil. 

Almost  two-thirds  of  these  105  families  whose  diet  was  studied  for  one 
week  were  receiving  less  than  the  standard  fuel  requirement.  Cereals,  the 
cheapest  fuel  foods,  may  be  within  their  reach  but  they  have  not  learned  how 
to  prq>are  them  nor  how  to  eat  them.  When  wheat,  fats,  and  other  foods  to 
which  they  are  accustomed  are  beyond  their  reach,  there  is  serious  danger  of 
increasing  the  malnutrition  characteristic  of  low  income  families. 

Classes  and  demonstrations  were  conducted  all  over  the  dty  in  1917-1918 
to  teach  the  use  and  value  of  these  new  foods.  But  the  foreign  housewife  is 
difficult  to  reach  in  public  gatherings.  Her  place  is  still  in  the  home  and  she 
must  be  reached  there,  to  a  large  extent,  by  visiting  housekeepers,  dietitians, 
nurses,  settlement  workers,  or  others  who  have  access  to  the  home. 

This  investigation  was  undertaken  by  a  group  of  eight  students  enrolled  in 
the  course  listed  as  Practical  Arts  301-2  in  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, in  the  fall  of  1917  under  the  direction  of  the  writer.  The  field  work 
b^gan  in  October,  1917  and  closed  in  February^  1918.  Two  months,  March 
and  April,  were  spent  in  tabulating  and  digesting  the  material  gathered.  The 
report  was  written  by  two  of  the  students,  Velma  Phillips  and  Laura  Howell. 

The  investigation  was  carried  on  in  constant  consultation  and  in  co5peration 
with  the  Office  of  Home  Economics  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture which  provided  the  schedules  used.  The  completed  schedules  were 
turned  into  the  Office  of  Home  Economics  for  use  in  its  dietary  siurvey  work. 

New  York  is  facing  another  winter  when  reconstruction  conditions,  many 
fed,  will  be  even  more  difficult  than  the  war  conditions,  and  it  seems  worth 
Yfiule  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  its  people  how  the  unusual  conditions  affect 
many  of  its  inhabitants.  These  105  families  t3rpify  many  families  in  their 
neighborhoods  and  show  the  need  for  constructive  and  practical  education 
in  the  choice  and  use  of  foods  from  the  standpoint  of  food  value,  cost,  and 
satisfaction  of  the  appetite. 

With  this  motive  in  mind  this  study  of  the  food  used  by  105  low  income 
families,  most  of  whom  were  foreign,  is  presented. 

May  Allikson. 

October,  1918. 


398  THE  JOTTSNAL  OF  HOME  ECX>NOMics  [Sq>tember 

INTRODUCTION 

How  the  family  with  the  low  income  and  especially  the  foreign  family 
in  the  congested  sections  of  New  York  City  adjusted  themselves  to  meet 
unusual  conditions  brought  about  by  the  war  and  reconstruction  is  the 
question  suggesting  this  study.  Three  distinct  groups  or  nationalities^ 
Italian,  Hebrew,  and  Negro,  constitute  the  main  basis  for  discussion. 
Of  the  105  families  from  which  complete  weekly  records  were  secured, 
44  were  Italian  averaging  7  in  a  family,  22  Hebrew  averaging  6  in  a 
family,  and  27  Negro  averaging  4  in  a  family.  Twelve  more  constituted 
a  miscellaneous  group  of  which  seven  were  Irish,  one  Russian  Pole,  one 
Scotch,  one  German-American,  and  two  German-Italian. 

These  105  families  comprised  562  individuals  or  5.3  persons  per  family. 
Three-fifths  (61  per  cent)  of  the  562  persons  were  under  eighteen  years 
of  age  and  almost  one-half  (47  per  cent)  were  under  fourteen  years  of 
age. 

The  investigators  got  in  touch  with  these  groups  through  faiQilies 
who  were  known  to  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the 
Poor,  and  the  settlements  of  the  dty.  The  majority  of  the  families 
studied  had  no  connection  with  these  philanthropic  organizations. 

METHOD  OP  STUDY 

An  accurate  record  of  the  food  consumed  by  each  family  for  one  week, 
the  food  value,  the  cost,  and  waste  was  the  goal  of  the  investigators. 
Scales,  weighing  accurately  to  the  oimce,  were  taken  to  each  family 
whose  weekly  diet  was  studied.  An  inventory  of  the  food  on  hand  was 
made  by  the  investigator  at  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  the  week. 
This  was  much  less  arduous  than  might  be  supposed.  The  investigator 
frequently  foimd  absolutely  no  food  in  the  house  at  the  beginning  or 
at  the  end  of  the  study.  The  mother  explained  that  they  had  to  buy 
for  each  meal,  otherwise  the  children  would  eat  it  all  up  and  there  would 
be  no  food  or  money  to  buy  more  for  meal  times.  Each  day  the  food 
bought  by  the  family  was  recorded.  Specially  prepared  sheets  were 
provided  on  which  the  weight,  price,  and  waste  were  noted. 

The  waste,  too,  occupied  a  very  small  place  in  most  of  these  records. 
Crumbs,  peelings,  and  scraps  were  frequently  utilized  in  many  of  these 
families.  Some  women  were  indignant  at  the  suggestion  that  there 
should  be  any  waste  to  weigh. 

The  investigator  visited  the  family  through  the  week  as  often  as  seemed 
necessary,  in  some  cases  every  day.    In  other  families,  where  some 


1920]  DIFEEKENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOMS  399 

member  seemed  intelligent  and  reliable,  only  two  or  three  visits  a  week 
were  made.  In  the  foreign  families,  especially  in  the  Italian  families, 
the  children  took  much  of  the  reqx>nsibility  for  the  weighing  and  record- 
ing and  were  f omid  to  be  very  faithful. 

NEIGHBORHOODS 

The  neighborhoods  varied  with  the  nationality.  The  Italians  and 
Hebrews  visited  lived  for  the  most  part  on  the  congested  lower  east 
side,  centering  about  Spring  and  Grand  Streets,  respectively.  Their 
apartments  were  of  the  poorest  type  averaging  from  two  to  five  rooms 
for  large  families  of  from  seven  to  nine  individuals.  The  Negroes  who 
were  visited  lived  on  the  upper  side  centering  about  i30th  Street,  where 
the  housing  conditions  were  comparatively  good.  Though  the  average 
Negro  family  was  small,  it  occupied  from  two  to  eight  rooms.  Lodgers 
were  much  more  common  among  the  Negroes  than  among  either  the 
Italians  or  Hebrews. 

LIVING  CONDmONS 

Weekly  incomes.  The  weekly  incomes  of  these  families  showed  a 
wide  range.  The  Negroes  ranked  first  in  the  income  scale  with  the 
highest  minimum  of  $8.14  and  the  highest  maximum  of  $50.00  with  the 
highest  average  of  $26.49  for  the  week.  The  Hebrews  had  the  lowest, 
incomes  with  the  maximum  weekly  income  of  $22.00  and  an  average  of 
$16.05. 

Occupations.  Each  nationality  group  had  its  characteristic  occupa- 
tion. The  majority  of  the  Italian  men  were  out  of  door  day  laborers 
doing  the  heavy  work  on  the  docks,  near  which  they  lived,  and  work  on 
the  streets  and  construction;  though  tailors,  barbers,  and  others  were 
represented.  The  men  in  the  Hebrew  families  were  garment  workers 
for  the  most  part  and  the  Negroes  were  waiters  and  cooks.  The  miscel- 
laneous group  of  12  families  of  different  nationalities  were  engaged  in 
an  equally  miscellaneous  group  of  unskilled  occupations. 

In  many  homes  the  women  supplemented  the  family  income.  The 
Italian  women  did  sweat  shop  work  at  home  such  as  finishing  clothing 
and  making  paper  flowers.  The  Negro  women  frequently  worked  out- 
side the  home  in  domestic  service.  The  Jewish  mothers  seldom  worked 
outside  the  home  if  there  were  other  wage  earners.  The  women  in  the 
miscellaneous  group  were  often  employed  as  janitresses.    The  larger 


400  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

incomes  observed  in  some  of  the  groups  were  often  due  to  the  earnings 
of  the  older  children. 

Rents.  The  rents  varied  with  the  section  of  the  dty.  The  propor- 
tion of  income  spent  for  rent  varied  slightly  as  is  shown  in  table  1. 

Considering  the  105  families  as  a  group,  17.5  per  cent  of  the  income 
was  spent  for  rent.  The  rent  paid  by  the  average  Hebrew  family  corre- 
sponds with  the  average  of  the  whole  group  (17.4  per  cent).  The 
average  Negro  family  spent  a  larger  proportion  (20  per  cent)  of  its  income 
for  rent  and  the  average  Italian  family,  a  smaller  proportion  (16.4  per 
cent). 

Although  the  average  of  the  table  seems  tsrpical  of  the  amoimt  esti- 
mated as  a  fair  allowance  for  the  rent  in  the  country  in  general,  the 
extremes  are  striking.  One-third  of  the  families  spent  between  10  and 
15  per  cent  of  their  income  for  rent  and  eight  families  spent  less  than 
10  per  cent.  The  Italian  families  whose  incomes  were  increased  above 
the  average  of  their  race  because  of  the  earnings  of  the  children  still 
remain  in  the  crowded  districts  where  rents  are  low.  The  Negroes,  on 
the  other  hand,  spend  a  somewhat  higher  percentage  for  rent  than  either 
the  Italians  or  the  Hebrews.  This  may  be  because  they  take  their 
standards  from  their  employers  or,  as  is  true  in  many  places,  because 
they  are  exploited. 

Shopping,  The  majority  of  the  families  studied  bought  the  food 
for  one  meal  or  at  most  for  one  day  at  a  time  and  usually  at  the  nearest 
store.  Only  those  of  the  higher  income  groups  shopped  outside  their 
own  immediate  neighborhood.  The  Hebrews  and  Italians  bought  in 
smaller  quantities  than  the  Negroes  or  the  miscellaneous  group.  Two 
oimces  of  butter,  one  ounce  of  coffee,  or  four  oimces  of  sugar  were  cus- 
tomary purchases.  In  the  majority  of  these  homes  little  if  any  food 
was  ever  kept  on  hand.  The  Negroes  on  the  other  hand  often  had  an 
imposing  array  of  food  in  the  house  and  habitually  secured  larger  quan- 
tities than  the  foreign  families. 

This  study  was  made  during  the  first  year  the  United  States  entered 
the  war  and  the  food  regulations  were  just  going  into  effect.  The  field 
work  began  in  October,  1917  and  continued  imtil  February,  1918.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  first  sugar  shortage  was  at  its  height  and  the  price  at 
times  and  in  some  sections  was  exorbitant.  This  may  account  in  some 
degree  for  the  low  percentage  of  sugar  used  and  the  comparatively  high 
price  paid.  During  December,  January,  and  February  the  usual  coal 
shortage  and  extreme  cold  made  the  need  of  high  caloric  value  of  food 
more  imperative  than  under  ordinary  conditions. 


1920] 


DIFFBfiENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOMS 


401 


Dietaries.  In  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the  kind  and  selection  of 
(ood  used  by  the  average  family  scheduled  the  following  examples  are 
given  as  typical  for  each  race. 


Jewish  menus 

Breakfast 

Coffee  with  milk  and  sugar 
Rolls    Sweet  batter 

Breakfast 

Coffee  with  mUk  and  sugar 

Soft  cooked  egg 

Rolls 

Lunch 

Lunch 

Rye  bread 
Smoked  sahnon 

Rye  bread 
Kippered  herring 

Supper 

Soup  with  vegetables  and  meat 

Potatoes 

Rye  bread 

Italian  menus 

Supper 

Lima  beans  and  bariey 
Potatoes 
Rye  bread 

Breakfast 

Coffee  with  milk  and  sugar 
Bread 

Breakfast 

Coffee  with  milk  and  sugar 
Bread 

Lunch 

Lunch 

Soup — ^Vegetables  with  small  pieces  of 

and  pork 

onion 

Navy  beans  with  tomato  paste 
Italian  bread 

Supper 

Spaghetti  with  tomato  paste 
Italian  bread 

Supper 

Codfish  cooked  in  oil 

Potatoes 

Italian  bread 

Breakfast 

Pork  chops 
Com  cakes 
Coffee       Condensed  milk 

Negro  menus 

Breakfast 

Sausage 

Hot  cakes 

Coffee,  cream  and  sugar 

Lunch 

Lunch 

Meat  broth  with  rice 
Bread  and  butter 

Fried  hominy 
Syrup       Tea 

Dinner 

Dinner 

Lamb  chops 

Boiled  hominy 

Hot  biscuit 

Tea 

Fried  ham 

Sweet  potatoes 

Canned  com 

Bread  and  butter 

402 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


TABLE  1 
Weekly  income  and  percentage  for  rent 


NATIOHALITT 

mnaiaoT 

wsnxT  nrcoMs 

Minimum 

Avenfe 

Italian 

44 
27 
22 
12 

$8.00 
8.14 
7.20 
5.30 

$44.00 
50.00 
22.00 
41.00 

$19.45 
26.49 
16.05 
21.90 

P0r  umt 
16.4 

Neinx) 

20.0* 

Hebrew 

17. 4* 

Miscellaneous 

14.6 

*Two  Negro  families  and  one  Hebrew  family  omitted  because  rent  was  paid  for  In 
janitor  service. 

TABLE  2 
Distribuium  of  families  when  arranged  according  to  cost  of  food  per  man  per  day 


COST  PEE  MAN  FXt  DAY 


Less  than  15^... 
From  15^  to  20i 
From  20^  to  2H 
From  25^  to  30^ 
From  30^  to  35^^ 
From  35^  to  4o|( 
From  40^  to  45^ 
From  451^  to  50^ 
From  50^  to  60^ 
60^  and  more... 

Total 


vxnaza  or  yaiulixs  whb  spegcviid  ootr  tebl  day 


Italian 


1 

4 
2 
11 
7 
4 
2 
5 
8 


44 


Jewish 


2 
3 

5 
4 
3 

4 
1 


22 


Negro 


2 
3 

2 
4 
4 
4 
2 
3 
3 


27 


Miacella- 


2 
3 
2 
1 

4 


12 


Total 


5 
10 

9 
21 
17 
14 

6 
12 
11 


105 


TABLE  3 
Cost  per  3000  calories 


COST  rut  3000  caloues 


Less  than  30^. . . 
From  30^  to  35^ 
From  35^  to  Aldi 
From  40i&  to  45^1 
From  451^  to  50)^ 
From  50i(  to  60^ 
From  60^  to  70^ 
70^  amd  more. . , 

Total 


NUMBEa  or  rAmuxs  vatoto 

3000  rAfxmiit 


SFSariBD  AMOUNT  VSR 


Italian 


3 
12 
9 
9 
5 
4 
1 
1 


44 


Jewish 


2 
7 
8 

5 


22 


Negro 


3 

5 
6 
8 
4 
1 


27 


Miscella- 
neoos 


3 

1 
4 
2 
2 


12 


Total 


5 
25 
23 
24 
15 
10 
2 
1 


105 


1920] 


DIVFESENCES  W  DIETARY  CUSTOMS 


403 


DoUy  cost  of  food.  Thirty-eight  of  the  families  studied  spent  between 
$.30  and  $.40  per  man  per  day  for  food,  with  only  24  below  $0.30,  a  sum 
higher  than  Sherman  and  Gillett'  fomid  in  the  families  studied  in  1914- 
1915  where  the  most  frequent  amoimt  was  from  $0.25  to  $0.35.  One- 
fifth  of  the  families  in  the  present  study  spent  more  than  $0.45,  and  one- 
fourth  less  than  $0.30  per  man  per  day  for  food.  If  these  families  had 
been  having  a  diet  providing  3000  calories  per  man  per  day,  three- 
fourths  instead  of  one-half  of  the  families  would  have  spent  $0.30  to 
$0.45  per  man  per  day  for  food. 

Approximately  50  per  cent  of  the  Italian  and  Negro  families  spent 
below  $0.40  per  man  per  day  for  food,  as  shown  in  chart  1.  Referring 
to  Table  7  we  see  that  50  per  cent  of  the  Italians  were  receiving  adequate 
fuel  from  their  food  while  the  diet  of  81  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  was  defici- 
ent in  energy.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Italian  people  use  so  much 
macaroni  and  bread,  this  point  calls  our  attention  to  the  fact  that  grain 
products  give  the  greatest  fuel  value  for  the  money.  In  any  food  crisb 
conservation  of  cereals  must  not  be  urged  among  the  working  classes  of 

Chttri    I       Showing      pmx^ntag*     oP    P«mili«s    payino     sp^c'ifi^d 
amounts    p«rclay    for   Pood 


I 


so  40 


niMNIi 


Italian 


Jewish 


~  •  •  ■  • « ~ 


rtitmmm* 


llilllllllllllWffffl 


[rnbcei 

( Irish) 


llllllllllllllllffff^ 


2i 


i  Total 


Kay 

■■   Lass   than    20^ 

cm  004  and  lass  than  40f 

^S  4<H  and  lass  than    604 

CZS  604  and   moro 


*  Shennan  and  Gillett,  Adequacy  and  Economy  of  Some  City  Dietaries. 


404  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

limited  means.  It  would  seem  as  though  conservation  in  this  line  should 
rest  with  those  who  can  afford  to  pay  a  higher  price  per  1000  calories. 

Proportion  of  income  spent  for  food.  Forty-five  per  cent  of  the  income 
of  this  total  group  of  families  was  spent  for  food.  The  variations  for 
nationality  are  wide,  ranging  from  27  per  cent  for  the  Negroes  to  60 
per  cent  for  the  Italians.  The  small  per  cent  spent  by  the  Negroes 
may  be  accoimted  for  by  the  smaller  family  and  the  larger  income  which 
was  characteristic  of  the  Negro  families  visited. 

One  himdred  families  were  divided  by  nationality  and  listed  in  order 
of  increasing  amoimt  spent  for  food  per  man  per  day.  Each  list  was 
divided  in  two  equal  groups  and  the  average  amoimt  spent  for  food  and 
the  average  food  value  for  each  group  was  taken  for  consideration.  It 
might  be  expected  that  in  the  ''higher  cost''  groups  the  standard  allow- 
ance* per  man  per  day  for  an  adequate  diet,  consisting  of  three  thousand 
calories,  75  grams  of  protein,  0.67  gram  of  calcium,  0.015  gram  of 
iron,  1.32  grams  of  phosphorus  would  be  realized.^  But  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  Italian  diet  provided  the  standard  requirement  on 
$0.38  per  man  per  day  while  the  diets  of  the  other  three  groups  ranged 
from  $0.46  to  $0.52  before  providing  an  adequate  food  value. 

The  striking  deficiency  in  calories  in  the  lower  group  is  most  important, 
for  the  deficiencies  in  the  minerals  might  have  been  overcome  had  the 
calories  been  high  enough.  While  sources  of  fat  and  protein  are  properly 
considered  the  most  expensive  food,  there  was  no  deficiency  in  either, 
showing  that  greater  emphasis  needed  to  be  placed  on  increasing  the 
purchase  of  cereals  and  vegetables.  Adequate  nourishment  due  to  racial 
food  habits  seemed  to  be  lost  sight  of  through  economic  pressure. 

Dr.  Sherman  has  suggested,  in  the  interest  of  proper  nourishment, 
that  no  more  food  money  should  be  spent  for  meat  than  for  milk,  and 
as  much  for  fruit  and  vegetables  as  for  meat.  In  order  to  get  adequate 
energy  on  a  limited  amount  of  money  one-fourth  may  well  go  for  cereals. 
In  comparison  with  this  suggestion  the  following  data  from  a  study  of 
the  diet  of  our  105  families  is  given.    (Table  5.) 

The  distribution  of  money  in  Italian  families  came  nearer  this  sug- 
gested division  of  relative  amoimts  to  be  paid  for  each  t}^  of  food  than 
in  any  of  the  other  nationalities.  The  Negro  diet  is  conspicuous  for  the 
small  food  value  received  in  return  for  the  money  spent  for  food. 

*  See  Shennan's  Chemistzy  of  Food  and  Nutritioii. 

'  "We  aze  now  using  1.32  as  agreeing  better  with  all  the  evidence  now  available.  This 
means  that  few  dietaries  are  regarded  as  deficient  in  pho^ihonis." — ^H.  C.  Sherman. 


1920] 


DinERENCES  IN  DIETA&Y  CUSTOMS 


405 


Miss  Gillett  has  fonnulated,  in  connection  with  the  standard  for  the 
division  for  food  money  and  the  relative  weight  of  food  for  expenditures, 
an  estimate  that  for  each  poimd  of  meat  purchased  there  should  be  3 
pounds  of  milk  and  cheese,  3}  pounds  of  vegetables  and  fruits,  4  pounds 
of  grain  products,  and  }  pound  of  fats,  sugar,  etc. 

TABLE  4 
Cost  and  food  vaJue  cf  ono  hundrtd  dietaries;  aperage  hy  naUonality  in  two  groups 


AVBAOB  OOCT  AMD  WOOD  TALVX  VBE  1U»  VBE  DAT  OV  SACK  OBOOr 

<nUMIF 

Coit 

Calorics 

Piotda 

Fat 

CakfaoB 

Iraii 

Fho*. 

Italian \  ^ 

N*8~ {2 

Jewish |5 

MlaceUaiieotts. . .  \^ 

20 
21 

12 
13 

11 
11 

6 
6 

tO.28 

.31 
.51 

.22 

.38 

.36 
.52 

2516 
3091 

2268 
3340 

2028 
2943 

2808 
3506 

grami 

96.8 
110.2 

73.5 
102.3 

75.0 
114.7 

95.6 
123.0 

gromt 

89.4 
100.1 

91.9 
139.3 

40.5 
76.9 

89.1 
U6.0 

gromi 

0.70 
0.63 

0.48 
0.74 

0.39 
0.69 

0.74 
1.05 

fTMM 

0.013 
0.019 

0.010 
0.017 

0.012 
0.019 

0.012 
0.018 

gfoms 

1.31 
1.37 

1.00 
1.69 

1.14 
1.73 

1.46 
1.81 

Totrf {I 

49 

51 

t0.30 
.49 

2504 
3232 

90.3 
117.4 

84.6 
114.2 

0.61 
0.74 

0.012 
0.020 

1.30 
1.67 

Note:  The  families  were  listed  in  order  of  increasing  amonnt  sptnt  for  food  per  man 
per  day.  The  list  was  divided  into  two  equal  groups  and  the  average  amount  q)ent  and 
the  average  amount  of  food  value  for  each  group  taken  for  consideration.  ufS^ 

Thxtt  Italian  and  two  Negro  families  were  omitted  because  they  were  not  Tq>re8enta- 
tive.  (Calories  consumed  by  the  Italians  seemed  too  high  for  possible  consumption  while 
those  of  the  Negro  families  seemed  too  low  for  typical  regular  habit) 

TABLES 
Proportions  spenltfor  diferenit  foods  compared  with  standard  suggested 


Amounts  suggested , 

Italians 

Negroes 

Hd)rews 

Miscellaneous 


t0.20 
.23 
.40 
.36 
.35 


Total  (average) t0.31 


nvn  AMD 


t0.20 
.14 
.13 
.11 
.15 


$0.12 


t0.20 
.15 
.13 
.12 
.15 


to.  14 


tO.25 
.28 
.18 
.29 
.20 


10.26 


to.  15 
.20 
.15 
.12 
.15 


to.  17 


VOXAL 


tl.OO 

1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 

$1.00 


406 


TEDS  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


TABLE  6 
Percentage  expenditure  for  each  type  of  food,  average  of  105  families 


TYPE  OF  FOOD 


Meats  and  fish. .. .. . 

Eggs 

Mflk  and  cream 

Cheese 

Fat 

Grain  products 

Sugar 

Fruits  and  vegetables 

Nats 

MisceOaneous 

Total 


ntcnrtAOB  or  oosr 


Nccro 


36.0 
4.0 

12.01 
0.7 
7.0 

18.5 
3.01 

13.2 
0.6 
5.0 


iOO.O 


Jew 


31.0 

5.0 

10.0 

0.5 

7.0 

29.0 

2.7 

12.0 

0.0 

2.0 


100.0 


ItaUan 


19.5 

3.6 

10.3 

3.4 

9.7 

28.6 

3.0 

14.9 

0.4 

6.6 


100.0 


Irish 


29.0 
5.4 

15.0 
0.4 
6.3 

20.3 
4.1 

14.5 
0.0 
5.0 


100.0 


Total 


26.0 
5.3 

11.0 
1.0 
8.3 

25.4 
3.0 

14.3 
0.3 
5.4 


100.0 


ncacBMTAaB  ov  wuoai 


Negro 


17.4 
1.3 

20.7 
0.3 
2.5 

30.1 
4.3 

21.0 
0.2 
2.2 


100.0 


Jew 


12.2 
1.2 

17.1 
0.2 
1.3 

36.0 
2.0 

28.0 
0.0 
2.0 


100.0 


luliaa 


9.3 
1.4 

20.2 
0.5 
2.9 

37.1 
3.6 

23.1 
0.1 
1.8 


100.0 


IiUi 


11.1 
2.0 

27.0 
0.1 
1.0 

21.8 
4.0 

29.0 
0.0 
4.0 


100.0 


Total 


11.7 
1.2 

20.1 
0.3 
2.3 

34.5 
3.0 

24.6 
0.1 
2.1 


100.0 


From  table  6,  it  can  be  readily  seen  that  the  families  did  not  take 
advantage  of  the  high  food  value  of  nuts  and  cheese.  The  relatively 
high  expenditures  for  cheese  by  the  Italians  was  due  to  the  expensive 
dieese  purchased  and  not  to  the  amount. 


FOOD  VALUE  OF  DIETS  BY  NATIONALITY 

The  tables  showing  the  food  analysis  are  grouped  so  far  as  possible 
on  bases  of  nationality  to  see  if  racial  variations  in  food  habits  in  any 
way  account  for  difference  in  food  values  received.  The  diet  of  the 
Italians  is  characterized  by  the  large  amount  of  wheat  products,  green 
vegetables,  and  olive  oil;  the  diet  of  the  Negroes  is  characterized  by  pork 
products  and  milled  grains  such  as  rice  and  hominy;  while  the  Hebrews 
adhere  more  or  less  strictly  to  the  dietary  laws.  The  miscellaneous 
group  had  an  Americanized  diet  which  was  characterized  by  its  high 
cost  rather  than  by  any  one  kind  of  food  or  by  its  food  value. 

In  the  whole  group  of  105  families,  61  per  cent  were  receiving  less  than 
3000  calories  per  man  per  day  as  shown  in  table  7.  Among  the  Italians 
and  miscellaneous  families,  SO  per  cent  received  sufficient  calories  while 
only  30  per  cent  of  the  Hebrews  and  19  per  cent  of  the  Negroes  received 
the  standard  amount.  It  is  particularly  interesting  to  note  that  while 
the  Negroes  had  a  much  greater  quantity  of  food  and  spent  more  for  it 
than  the  foreign  families,  they  received  the  least  nourishment  from  their 
food. 


1920] 


DIFFERENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOICS 


407 


The  supply  of  protein  was  more  frequently  adequate.  Only  17  per 
cent  of  the  families  received  below  the  standard  allowance  of  75  grams 
of  protein,  per  man  per  day,  as  shown  in  table  8.  But  in  the  protein 
supply  as  in  fuel  value  a  wide  variation  was  discovered  among  the  fami- 
lies of  different  nationalities.  Thirty-seven  per  cent  of  the  Negro 
families  received  less  than  the  standard  amount  and  only  9  per  cent  of 
the  Italians.  Referring  to  table  6,  we  note  that  the  expenditure  of  the 
Negroes  and  Italians  for  sugar  and  fat  differed  little,  but  there  is  a  wide 
difference  between  their  expenditure  for  meat  and  cereals.  The  Italians 
used  large  amounts  of  wheat  products  high  in  protein  while  the  Negroes 
used  grain  products  low  in  protein.  Although  the  Negro  expenditure 
for  meat  was  high,  the  meat  used  was  high  priced,  largely  pork  with 
a  large  amount  of  fat. 

TABLE  7 

DisiHbuiiam  cffamUUs  aeeardmg  to  cahrUsrtcmediJOOO  per  man  per  day  taken  asastaniarii 


ES  MMUUVOtO 
OV  CAL0BXI8 

CSAXiOHRt  m  MAM  RK  BAT 

MUMBBK  UV  WAMILU 

« 

ItaBu 

XfCKFO 

JewUi 

MiMdlft- 
ncooi 

Tbtal 

I^fin  thiiii  1500 

1 
2 
10 
9 
8 
6 
2 
3 
3 

2 
3 
7 
7 
2 
4 
2 

3 
7 
8 
3 

1 

2 

4 
2 
3 

1 

3 

Fkom  1500  to  2000 

8 

From  2000  to  2500 

26 

From  2500  to  5000 

28 

FiDm  5000  to  3500 

15 

From  3500  to  4000 

14 

From  4000  to  4500 

4 

Fkom  4500  to  5000 

4 

5000  and  more. 

3 

Total  families 

44 

.     27 

22 

12 

105 

Ftecent  bdowiOOOcaloxies 

50 

81 

70 

50 

61 

In  table  12,  compiled  from  84  of  the  families  arranged  according  to 
nationality,  is  shown  the  per  cent  of  the  families  with  diets  deficient. 
The  food  factor  most  frequently  adequate  was  the  protein,  only  17 
per  cent  of  the  84  families  showing  a  deficiency.  The  fats  might  perhaps 
be  considered  as  meeting  the  requirements  since  it  is  possible  to  sub- 
stitute carbohydrate  for  the  most  part  and  it  was  foxmd  that  no  family 
had  less  than  13  grams  per  man  per  day. 

All  the  mineral  elements  showed  a  high  percentage  of  deficiency, 
50  per  cent  of  the  families  being  below  standard  in  calcium,  phosphorus 


408 


THE  JOXmNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


and  iron.  If  part  of  the  protein  needed  had  been  obtained  from  milk, 
the  protein  standard  would  still  have  been  met  and  the  caldiun  require- 
ment more  nearly  provided. 

Analyzing  the  families  by  nationality  it  was  found  that  24  out  of  31 
Italian  families  had  less  than  3000  calories  per  man  per  day  and  that 
13  of  these  families  were  paying  more  than  $0.35  per  man  per  day.  Of 
the  7  properly  nourished  families  in  this  group  one  paid  more  than  $0.50 
per  man  per  day  and  six  more  than  $0.60. 


TABLES 

Dutribulion  of  families  according  to  the  amount  of  protein  recdoed  {75  grams  per  man  per  day 

taken  as  a  standard) 


Of  tOLAMB  Of  nOXSDI 
MANVBE  DAT 


Less  than  50  grams 

Fkom  50  grains  to  75 , 

From   75  graips  to  100 

Fkom  100  grams  to  125 

From  125  grams  to  150 

150  grams  and  more , 

Total  families 

Per  cent  of  families  receiving  be- 
low 75  grams 


MUMBKl 

ucBxvnrGi 
im  Of  faon 

GKi 

mf 

lUlUxi 

Jewidi 

XfCKFO 

Bcona 

1 

4 

4 

9 

15 

7 

11 

4 

11 

7 

5 

5 

5 

4 

1 

2 

9 

1 

44 

22 

27 

12 

9 

18 

37 

0 

Total 

1 

17 
37 
28 
12 
10 


105 


17 


TABLE  9 

Distribution  of  families  according  to  the  amount  of  calaum 

day  taken  as  a  standard) 


(Pj(f7  grams  per  man  per 


VUMBXK  Of  OlAllt  Of  CALOUM 
fU  MAN  fU  OAT 


Less  than  0.50  grun 

From  0.50  grun  to  0.67 

From  0.67  grun  to  0.84 

From  0.84  grun  to  1.00 

From  1.00  grun  to  1.25 

1.25  grams  and  more 

Total  families 

Per  cent  of  families  receiving  be- 
low 0.67  gFun 


Mumsa  Of  fAmun  ucaivnro 

Of  CALOUK 


Itahui 


7 
13 
10 

7 

4 
3 


44 


48 


Jcfwirii 


8 
7 
5 

2 


22 


68 


Ncsro 


12 
5 
5 

3 
1 
1 


27 


63 


MiMdlft- 


3 
1 

4 
1 
1 
2 


12 


33 


Total 


30 
26 
24 
13 
6 
6 


105 


53 


1920] 


DIFEESENCES  IN  DIETARY  CUSTOKS 


TABLE  10 


409 


DisiribtUum  offamiUes  according  to  the  amount  of  iron  received,    (15  mgrn,  per  man  per  day 

taken  as  a  standard) 


■  ■     -■"                1 

MUMBKl 

iscBzvmo  1 
un  or  XKOK 

VU  OAT 

uMMM.  Ov 

lUlian 

Jewish 

Xcsro 

MiicelU- 
neoos 

Total 

I^ess  than  10  mgra 

2 
16 
13 
13 

3 
7 
8 

4 

8 
9 
7 
3 

1 
2 
6 
3 

14 

From  10  mgni-  to  15. 

34 

Fkom  15  zDffm.  to  20 

34 

20  mjnn.  and  more 

23 

Tot*l  f»in?lieft 

44 

22 

27 

12 

105 

Per  cent  of  families  receiving  be- 
low 15  msm 

40 

45 

63 

25 

46 

TABLE  11 

DistrUniHon  of  families  according  to  the  amount  of  phosphorus  received  {132  grams  per  man  Per 

day  taken  as  a  standard) 


Of  WAMOOM  iscnviMO  nncuuD  mniBn  ot 

OIAICS  or  rBOSPHOEVS 


OKAMs  or  rBonsoEus  rk  mjom  m  day 


Less  than  1  gram 

From  1  gram  to  1.32. . 
From  1.32  grams  to  2. 
2  grams  and  more. . . . 


Total  families. 


Per  cent  of  families  receiving  be- 
low 1.32  grams 


lUlUn 

Jewiih 

Negro 

MtpeeOa- 
neoui 

6 

3 

8 

7 

6 

8 

3 

23 

9 

9 

6 

8 

4 

2 

3 

44 

22 

27 

12 

30 

40 

60 

25 

Total 


17 
24 
47 
17 


105 


39 


Among  the  Hebrews  it  was  found  that  the  three  families  whose  diet 
was  adequate  in  food  value  in  all  respects  spent  between  $0.40  and  $0.50 
per  man  per  day. 

Among  the  27  Negro  families  11  were  paying  more  than  $0.35  for 
food  per  man  per  day,  but  of  these  only  4  families  were  meeting  the  food 
requirements  in  all  respects.  These  paid  from  $0.43  to  $0.68  per  man 
per  day. 

The  misceUaneous  group  had  diets  providing  practically  all  of  the 
requirements  and  spent  $0.31  to  $0.56  per  man  per  day. 

The  number  of  families  who  spent  liberally  above  the  minimum  cost 
per  man  per  day  ($0.35)  showed  the  smallest  percentage  of  deficiencies. 


410 


THE  J0T7KNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


From  this  it  might  be  concluded  that,  had  the  amount  of  money  been 
sufficient,  there  would  have  been  much  less  danger  of  defidendes  in 
diet. 

TABLE  12 

Percentage  of  84  families  with  diets  deficient  in  one  or  more  food  values,  arranged  according  to 

nationality 


TOMB  Of  VOOD  VA£UX 


Calories 

Protein 

Fat 

Calcium 

Iron 

Phoq[»horu8. 


Coat  per  man  per  day. 


STAMDAIOS 


3000 
75.0  grams 
56.0gnims 
0.67  grams 
0.015  grams 
1.32  grams 


tO.35 


Percent  paying  less  than  tO.35  per  man 
per  day  for  food 


vucKmAOB  or  iakiuis  saanvnio  un  nun 

tXAKDAID  AUOWAMGB  OV  lOOO  VALUS 


Italian 


50.0 
9.0 
22.7 
51.7 
48.0 


14.0 


Jewidi 


81.0 
18.1 
50.0 
72.2 
50.0 


50.0 


Ncfro 


70.0 
37.0 
0.0 
59.2 
62.9 


25.0 


MbceUa- 
neooi 


50.0 

0.0 

0.0 

25.0 

25.0 


0.0 


Total 


61.8 
17.1 
20.0 
57.3 
51.2 


42.8 


All  previous  studies  whether  of  American  or  foreign  families  bave 
shown  a  defidency  in  mineral  content.  This  study  shows  an  even  greater 
defidency  in  the  supply  of  phosphorus  and  iron  than  was  discovered  in 
a  previous  study  in  New  York.  Sherman  and  Gillett  found  in  a  study 
of  92  families  in  New  York  City  in  1917  that  48.9  per  cent  of  the  families 
were  recdving  less  than  the  standard  allowance  of  1.44  grams  phos- 
phorus per  man  per  day;  53.2  were  recdving  less  than  0.68  gram  caldum, 
and  41.3  per  cent  less  than  the  15  milligrams  of  iron.  This  study  in 
the  winter  of  1918  showed  the  following  increased  defidency: 


1918 


1917 


perunt 

PfCtUl 

61.8 

48.9 

57.3 

53.2 

51.2 

41.3 

Families  receiving  less  than  the  standard  allowance  of  phosphorus 

Families  receiving  less  than  the  standard  allowance  of  calcium 

Families  recdving  less  than  the  standard  allowance  of  iron 


Doubtless  this  defidency  in  the  mineral  content  was  one  of  the  causes 
for  the  undersize  and  lack  of  vigor  noted  among  the  children  of  the 
families  studied.  Among  the  Italian  children  there  were  many  cases 
of  rickets,  in  fact  one  would  sddom  see  a  child  between  one  and  eight 


1920]  Chicago's  experiment  411 

yeaxs  of  age  who  was  not  extremely  bow-legged.  The  investigators 
found  many  homes  in  which  the  housewives  bought  no  milk  at  all  be- 
cause they  thought  it  too  expensive  and  at  the  same  time  were  buying 
a  small  piece  of  cheese  at  $1,25  a  pound. 

In  the  Italian  homes  visited  by  the  dietitians  of  the  New  York  Associ- 
ation for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor  there  was  found  a  decided 
contrast  in  their  liberal  use  of  milk. 

This  is  only  one  of  the  many  illustrations  that  could  be  given  of  the 
improvements  brought  about  in  the  diet  by  careful,  personal  instruction 
by  philanthropic  organizations.  Lectures  and  group  instruction  would 
be  of  practically  no  avail  in  these  instances  because  these  women  do 
not  attend  public  gatherings  and  could  not  understand  what  was  said 
if  they  did.  This  individual  instruction  is  a  continued  tedious  process 
because  the  habits  of  years  have  to  be  overcome;  yet  the  children  are 
the  future  citizens  and  it  is  not  right  that  they  should  suffer. 

In  view  of  the  conditions  shown  by  dietary  studies  and  in  the  improve- 
ment shown  through  instruction  in  the  homes  where  mothers  have  not 
had  an  opportimity  to  learn  how  to  adjust  themselves  to  their  cirami- 
stances,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  much  wiser  plan  to  spend  money  for 
instruction  of  the  mothers  rather  than  to  spend  it  later  as  charity, 
doctor's  bills,  punishment  for  crime,  and  education  and  care  for  the 
mentally  deficient. 

CHICAGO'S  EXPERIMENT 

NANCY  G.  GLADISH 
Austin  High  School 

In  February,  1920,  at  the  beginning  of  the  semester,  the  Chicago 
High  Schools  offered  a  half  year  general  course  in  home  economics  for 
fii55t-year  girls.  Ten  weeks  are  used  for  food  study,  hygiene,  and  care 
of  the  house,  and  ten  weeks  for  textiles,  study  of  the  family,  and  house 
furnishings. 

The  lessons  have  been  worked  out  by  groups  of  the  teachers,  who  chose 
the  part  of  the  subject  each  preferred,  and  consulting  together  arranged 
the  material  in  shape  for  use. 

In  many  cases  the  domestic  science  and  domestic  art  teachers  carried 
parallel  classes,  exchanging  at  the  end  of  ten  weeks,  so  that  each  might 
keep  to  her  major  subject.  In  some  cases,  however,  the  same  teacher 
is  canying  the  whole  course. 


412  THE  J0T7KNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

At  the  dose  of  the  first  ten  weeks  a  questionnaire  was  sent  out,  and 
according  to  the  returns  the  teachers  seem  to  find  the  course  a  success, 
even  though  changes  will  have  to  be  made,  and  some  lessons  simplified 
and  shortened.  Many  of  us  feel  that  it  is  the  greatest  opportxmity  that 
the  home  economics  group  have  had  to  reach  the  girls  who  have  never 
before  been  able  to  take  the  subject. 

The  following  schedules  are  still  open  to  change,  but  indicate  the  line 
of  work: 

Outline  of  a  General  Course  for  High  Schools  from  the  Standpoint 

OF  THE  Home 

5  single  periods  per  week — ^20  weeks. 
Jf.  The  Home.    Emphasis  on  food.  .  Ten  weeks. 

Incomes  and  budget,  T}rpical  incomes  of  various  groups  of  families  repre- 
sented in  Chicago,  e.g.,  instructors;  ministers;*  lawyers;  carpenters;  street-car 
men;  clerks;  unorganized  laborers.  Division  of  income,  budget.  Detailed 
lessons  on  amount  to  be  spent  for  housing,  clothing,  and  food;  savings;  recre- 
ation; banking;  accounts. 

Food.  Food  for  the  family  for  the  day;  planning  of  meals  for  the  day; 
marketing;  special  needs  of  members  of  the  family,  e.g.,  small  children,  aged, 
invalids.    Preparation  of  meals.    Trays  for  the  sick.    Cooking  for  children. 

Care  and  operation  of  home.  Systematic  planning  and  doing  of  daily  and 
weekly  work  in  the  home;  reading  of  electric  and  gas  meter;  heating  systems; 
plumbing;  plumbing  code.    Laws  relating  to  housing. 

2.  The  Home.    Emphasis  on  clothing.    Ten  weeks. 

The  family  in  (he  home.  Primitive  life;  evolution  of  family,  part  family  life 
has  played  in  civilization.    Relation  of  family  to  community. 

Clothing.  Principles  which  underlie  selection  of  materials  to  be  used  in 
clothing  and  household  furnishings;  testing  of  fibers;  comparison  of  ready-made 
and  bought  garments;  remodeling  and  renovating;  care  of  garments.  Making 
some  garments.    Care  of  fabric  and  laundry  work. 

Furnishing  of  the  home.  Selection  of  the  home.  Cost  and  decoration.  Art 
principles  underlying  the  selection  and  combination  of  colors. 

Bibliography 

Food  Study,  Welhnan.  Decoration  of  the  Home,  Danieb. 

Qothmg  for  Women,  Baldt  Feeding  the  Family,  Rose. 

Houtewifery,  Baldeiston.  Tbe  Business  of  the  Household,  Taber. 

Manual  to  Business  Forms,  Eaton.  Care  of  the  House,  CSark. 
The  Family  as  a  Social  and  Educational 
Institution,  GoodseU 

The  following  shows  how  the  course  might  be  divided  into  recitation  and 
laboratory  periods.    It  also  shows  how  easily  it  could  be  programmed. 


1920] 


Chicago's  exfeshcent 


413 


w« 

ucnAnfai 

RXCRATIOH 

LABORAKMLY 

LABORAlOaY 

XJBC1XA110V 

1 

lypical     in- 

Food for  the 

100      cakyrie 

Food  preser- 

Cost of  foods 

comes 

family 

portions 

vation — ex- 
peiiments 

2 

Division      of 

Division     of 

Food  preser- 

Food      tests. 

Complete  bud- 

income 

income. 
Begin  bud- 
get 

vation . 
Practical 

Analsrsis 

get 

3 

Detail  of  food 

Detail  of  food 

Day's  ration 

Prepare 

Dacuss  break- 

in budget 

in   budget. 

in  raw  food 

breakfast 

fast    cost — 

Begin  note 

materials. 

adequate 

books 

Menu 

food  value? 

4 

Table  service 

Planning  de- 

Prepare 

Prepare   din- 

Discuss lunch- 

tails of  lab- 

luncheon 

ner 

eon  and  din- 

oratory 

ner  cost  and 

'work 

adequate 
diet 

5 

Planning  spe- 

Plan  labora- 

Prepare tray 

Prepare  tray 

Note    book 

cial  diet — 

tory  work 

for  child 

for   dderly 

wo^ 

children 

person 

and  aged 

6 

Household  ac- 

Banking — 

Food  tests 

Food  tests 

Thrift    lesson. 

counts — 

saving  and 

Methods  of 

Tabulate 

checking 

investments 

cost  of  meal 

7 

Marketing 

Invalid  diet 

Prepare  trays 

Prepare  trays 

Weekly  work 
of  the    home 

8 

Methods     of 

Lighting. 

Ventilation 

Care  of  floors 

Plumbing 

heating 

Reading 
meters 

and  experi- 
ments 

9 

Leavening 

Meat — expen- 

Bread  making 

Meat 

Note    book 

agent 

ments 

work 

Home  recrea- 

Afternoon  re- 

Evening    re- 

tk>n 

freshments 

freshments 

1 

The    family. 

Selection     of 

Making  of  a 

Making  of  a 

The      family. 

Primitive 

material  for 

hat 

hat 

Middle  Ages. 

and    patri- 
archal 

a  hat 

FfnaisfKmce 

2 

Family  down 

Effect  of  in- 

Making of  a 

Making  of  a 

Cost    of    hat 

to    present 

dustrial  rev- 

hat 

hat 

and  compar- 

time includ- 

olution  on 

ison       with 

ing  English 

family. 
The  present 
situation 

commercial 
hat 

3 

Commercial 

Discussion  of 

Testing    ma- 

Testing   ma- 

Physical prop- 

patterns 

sample 

terial     for 
selection  of 
goods     for 
garments 

terial 

erties  of  fab- 
ric 

414 


THE  JOXmNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


w« 

MMOTJOIOm 

RICIZATIOll 

LABOlAXOaT 

lAKUjaOKt 

UCnASKUl 

4 

Selection     of 

Principles  un- 

Making  a  gar- 

Making a  gar- 

Fk)or8       and 

matenalfor 

derl3ring 

ment 

ment 

floor   cover- 

gannent 

home  detor- 
ation 

ing 

5 

Wall  and  wall 

Selection     of 

Making  a  gar- 

Making a  gar- 

Furnish   a    4 

covering 

furniture 

ment 

ment 

room  flat 
$500 

6 

Seasonal  care 

Repair  of  gar- 

Making a  gar- 

Making a  gar- 

Cost  of    gar- 

of clothing 

ments 

ment 

ment 

ment  and 
comparison 
with  com- 
meidal  gar- 
ment 

7 

Complete  de- 

Notebook 

Making       a 

Making       a 

Px^azation  of 

tails  of  fur- 

hottsdiold 

hottsdiold 

ck>thes    for 

nishing 

article 

article 

weekly  wash 

8 

Use    of    re- 

So^M      and 

Laundry 

Laundry 

Laundry     tip- 

agents     in 

bluings. 

pliances  and 

softening 

Starch 

care 

water 

9 

Detail  of 

The  com- 

Laundry 

Laundry 

General    sum- 

dothes   in 

pleted  bud- 

mary     and 

budget 

get  for  fam- 
ily 

• 

notebook 

While  the  course  seems  crowded  and  ahnost  impossible  of  achievement, 
while  it  requires  careful  planning  and  preparation,  the  girls  enjoy  it, 
perhaps  partly  because  it  means  high  speed  work,  as  youth  loves  the 
swing  of  rapid  action. 

It  gives  the  pupils  a  starting  point  for  knowledge  of  many  things 
relating  to  home  making,  and  in  some  cases  it  has  aroused  a  strong 
desire  to  take  the  fuller  home  economics  courses  which  will  still  be 
offered  to  upper  class  students. 

Some  teachers  have  linked  up  the  work  with  the  "home  project''  idea, 
and  that  is  one  of  its  possibilities,  and,  indeed,  almost  a  necessity  if  the 
amount  laid  out  is  covered  and  made  sufficiently  the  pupil's  own  so  that 
it  may  really  function  in  home  life. 

The  consensus  of  opinion  of  the  home  economics  teachers  seems  to 
be  that  Chicago's  Experiment  is  ''blazing  the  way"  for  some  very  fine, 
useful,  constructive  work. 


1920]  A  PROJECT  IN  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  415 

A  PROJECT  IN  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS 

HELEN  MESTON 

Note:  The  project  herewith  reported  originated  in  a  Household  Arts  Class 
in  a  private  school  in  New  York  City  during  the  term  of  practice  teaching 
of  Miss  Helen  Meston,  a  Student  of  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University, 
and  was  carried  out  by  her  class  under  the  supervision  of  Miss  Josephine 
Marshall. 

It  originated  with  the  children  and  in  the  course  of  its  development  all 
phases  of  the  work  which  the  teacher  had  felt  the  girls  were  ready  for  and 
should  have,  arose  naturally  through  the  children's  own  suggestions.  This 
was  particularly  interesting  in  as  much  as  in  a  discussion  previous  to  the 
origin  of  the  project  the  children  had  expressed  the  opinion  that  they  had 
had  all  they  needed  of  costs,  food  values,  and  even  of  cooking  processes,  as 
is  shown  in  Miss  Meston's  report. 

''We  want  to  earn  some  money  to  buy  a  moving  picture  machine  for 
our  school,  and  we'd  like  to  give  a  luncheon  to  our  mothers  and  charge 
them  for  itl" 

This  was  the  eager  greeting  which  the  teacher  of  foods  received  as 
she  entered  the  laboratory  of  the  Junior  High  School.  The  teacher  was 
no  less  delighted  with  the  scheme  than  were  the  girls,  because  she  saw 
in  it  the  possibility  of  working  out  certain  plans  which  she  had  for  the 
semester's  work  in  a  way  that  would  be  most  interesting  to  the  girls. 
The  very  next  remark  of  the  spokesman  was  evidence  that  one  of  the 
aims  would  be  reached  with  no  difficulty  whatever.  ''It  would  have  to 
be  simple,  because  we  want  to  make  money." 

In  planning  the  work  in  foods  for  the  semester,  the  teacher  had  in 
mind  some  things  which  she  felt  it  was  quite  important  for  the  girls  to 
leam.  These  girls  had  done  some  work  in  the  preparation  of  foods  and 
it  seemed  best  that  they  take  up  their  study  now  from  the  standpoints 
of  health  and  economy.  In  a  preliminary  discussion  lesson,  very  little 
interest  was  aroused  in  food  values  or  ansrthing  in  connection  with  health. 
The  girls  said,  "We  had  that  last  year."  Very  few  of  them  had  ever 
been  confronted  with  problems  of  economy,  so  this  had  no  place  in  their 
original  plan  for  serving  a  Ixmcheon.  The  outlook  for  teaching  the  things 
that  the  girls  needed,  without  lessening  their  interest,  had  not  been  very 
bright. 

How  different  the  problem  became  when  they,  themselves,  felt  the 
need  for  these  things!    The  class  at  once  plunged  iato  the  plans  for 


416  THE  JOUKNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

the  luncheon.  After  deciding  upon  the  time,  the  menu  was  considered. 
This  discussion  followed: 

Teacher:  "What  do  we  have  to  think  about,  in  planning  this  menu?" 

Ediih:  "Cost,  because  we  want  to  make  money." 

Teacher:  "Anything  else?" 

Mabel:  "We  want  to  give  the  most  food  value  for  the  least  money." 

Jean:  "Isn't  there  some  way  of  finding  out  what  is  the  food  value  of 
anything?" 

Mabel:  "Isn't  there  something  about  calories?" 

The  meaning  of  the  term  "calories"  was  discussed,  and  the  way  the 
calorie  is  used  to  measure  the  energy  which  our  foods  give  us.  Then 
the  need  for  different  kinds  of  food — especially  protein,  minerals,  and 
vitamines— was  considered.  The  next  question  was,  "What  dishes  can 
we  serve  that  will  give  these  things  for  the  least  money?"  Macaroni 
and  cheese  was  decided  upon  as  a  satisfactory  main  dish.  Edith  told 
about  her  mother's  recipe  for  macaroni  and  tomato  with  grated  cheese 
on  top,  so  Edith  was  asked  to  bring  her  recipe  next  time  and  prepare  it. 

At  the  next  lesson,  one  group  prepared  macaroni  and  tomato  from 
Edith's  recipe  and  one  groxxp  macaroni  and  cheese  f^xm  another  recipe. 
Two  girls  worked  out  the  number  of  calories  in  each  recipe  and  two 
worked  out  the  cost.  The  two  dishes  were  properly  served  at  the  table 
and  the  vote  was  in  favor  of  Edith's  redpe.  The  class  was  asked  to 
complete  the  menu  that  day.  Many  things  were  suggested,  but  they 
finally  decided  upon  "Polly's  salad,"  rolls,  cocoa,  and  lemon  jelly  with 
whipped  cream. 

There  were  still  a  number  of  details  which  had  not  been  considered, 
so,  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  lesson,  the  teacher  asked  the  dass  to 
choose  a  committee  to  whom  they  were  willing  to  entrust  the  plans  for 
the  luncheon.  This  committee  met  with  the  teacher,  and  made  very 
definite  plans  for  the  menu  and  the  apportionment  of  the  work,  while 
the  remainder  of  the  class  made  "Polly's  salad"  and  cocoa  under  the 
direction  of  the  supervisor.  The  general  committee  appointed  the 
waitresses,  the  reception  committee,  and  a  committee  for  the  preparation 
of  each  article  of  food,  and  assigned  the  duties  to  each  group.  The 
girls  on  the  committee  did  practically  all  of  the  planning  and  choosing, 
with  only  occasional  suggestions  and  criticisms  from  the  teacher. 

During  the  last  regular  lesson  before  the  luncheon,  each  group  was 
asked  to  make  out  its  market  order  and  hand  it  to  the  teacher.  (These 
orders,  after  being  checked  and  revised,  were  returned  to  the  girls  on 


1920]  A  PftOJECT  IK  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  417 


their  marketing  day.)  A  practice  service  followed^  in  which  the  wait- 
resses could  learn  their  part  in  the  serving  that  would  be  needed.  Two 
days  before  the  luncheon,  a  little  extra  time  was  taken  for  d.  trip  to  the 
market,  where  the  girls  did  their  own  purchasing  under  a  teacher's 
supervision.  On  the  afternoon  before  the  lunchecm  was  served,  the 
giris  met  without  the  teacher  to  prepare  their  jelly,  mayonnaise,  and  a 
few  other  things.  Despite  the  previous  warnings  of  the  teacher  that 
the  room  should  be  cleared  up  and  the  food  carefully  put  aWay  to  be 
kept  dean^  the  room  was  left  in  a  very  bad  condition  and  some  of  the 
food  exposed  to  dust  over  night.  When  the  principal  of  the  school 
saw  the  room  the  next  mornings  she  felt  that  this  was  the  tinie  to  teach 
the  lesson  the  children  needed  and  that  it  would  be  more  effective  if 
it  should  come  from  the  principal  instead  of  from  the  teacher  of  foods. 
Though  she  hated  to  cast  shadows  on  the  big  day,  she  considered  this 
one  of  the  biggest  lessons  of  the  whole  project,  so  she  called  the  children 
out  of  their  classroom  and  gave  them  a  lesson  in  cleaning  up,  in  taking 
care  of  food,  and  most  of  all  in  assuming  their  share  of  responsibility. 
It  was  done  in  the  kindly  but  forceful  way  that  brings  results.  Need- 
less to  say,  the  rooms  were  left  in  ^'apple-pie  order''  after  the  luncheon. 

On  the  day  of  the  luncheon,  each  group  went  to  work  in  a  business- 
like way.  Since  the  dining  room  was  on  the  floor  above  the  kitchen, 
there  was  a  teacher  in  the  dining  room  and  one  in  the  kitchen  to  suggest 
and  help  when  help  was  asked  for,  but  the  work  was  done  entirely  by 
the  girlsi  and  their  own  ideas  were  carried  out.  Deqnte  the  fact  that 
the  macaroni  had  not  enough  salt,  the  salad  plates  were  a  little  too  full, 
the  whipped  cream  on  the  dessert  a  bit  ''plastered,"  and  the  waitresses 
a  little  confused,  the  luncheon  was  vot^  a  success  and  the  mothers 
enjoyed  it. 

When  making  the  plans,  the  girls  were  inclined  to  buy  and  make  too 
much  of  everything.  The  teacher  showed  them  what  a  small  profit 
they  would  hare  if  they  did  this  and  suggested  ways  of  cutting  down, 
but  they  were  sure  they  needed  all  that  they  had  planned  f or,  so  they 
were  allowed  to  have  their  own  way.  They  did  have  a  good  deal  of 
food  left,  of  which  they  had  to  di^ose.  Some  of  it  was  sold  for  use 
in  the  school  luncheon,  and  some  was  sold  to  the  mothers. 

Menus  and  place-cards  had  been  made  in  the  art  class,  costs  had 
been  calculated  in  the  seventh  grade  arithmetic  class,  and  application 
of  facts  learned  about  foods  were  made  in  the  hygiene  dass^  These 
things,  and  the  fact  that  the  teacher  in  charge  of  the  lunch  room  moved 


418  THE  jousNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

out  of  her  room,  and  served  luncheon  to  the  little  children  in  the  Kinder- 
garten room,  show  the  kind  of  codperation  that  exists  in  the  school. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  was  the  way  in  which  Mabel  took 
hold  of  the  work.  She  had  never  cared  for  practical  work  before ;  though 
she  would  always  do  what  was  assigned  to  her,  she  had  never  shown 
any  real  pleasure  in  doing  it.  From  the  beginning,  she  was  interested 
in  this  and  the  calculation  of  the  number  of  calories  in  each  dish  delighted 
her.  When  it  was  foimd  that  there  would  not  be  time  to  calculate 
calories  in  the  class  before  the  luncheon,  she  asked  if  she  noight  do  it 
outside  of  class.  She  did  this,  and  after  her  work  was  approved  by  a 
teacher,  she  gave  a  little  talk  to  the  mothers  about  the  number  of  calories 
that  were  being  offered  them. 

At  the  first  lesson  after  the  luncheon,  the  whole  dass  computed  the 
calories  in  the  dishes  that  were  served,  from  a  list  of  100-calorie  portions 
of  different  foods.  They  reviewed  the  reasons  for  computing  calories, 
and  found  out  about  how  many  calories  they  would  need  in  a  day  and 
how  many  for  a  single  meal.  This  led,  during  the  next  lesson,  to  a  trip 
to  the  Museum,  where  there  was  a  special  food  exhibit.  After  this 
visit  the  girls  asked  for  more  study  of  food  values.  They  planned  to 
set  up  an  exhibit  of  100-calorie  portions,  and  did  so  at  a  later  period. 

In  the  last  lesson  of  this  project,  the  children  were  asked  to  criticise 
their  work  from  a  general  standpoint  and  to  tell  what  they  had  learned 
from  it  individually.  They  thought  the  whole  project  had  been  worth 
while.  They  had  learned  to  work  together,  and  they  had  learned  some- 
thing about  preparation  of  foods,  table  service,  marketing,  and  care  of 
the  kitchen.  Some  of  their  own  adverse  criticisms  were:  "We  had  too 
much  food."  ''The  waitresses  were  not  always  paying  attention  and 
had  to  be  called  to  their  work."  ''A  few  girls  tried  to  do  too  much  and 
didn't  give  others  a  chance."  ''The  macaroni  didn't  have  enough 
salt."  The  teacher  suggested  that  everything  should  be  tasted  before 
being  served.    They  all  thought  they  could  do  better  another  time. 

The  supervisor  was  anxious  for  them  to  have  a  chance  to  correct  the 
mistakes  which  they  had  made,  so  since  the  girls  had  worked  out  one 
project  of  their  own,  she  suggested  that  they  plan  and  serve  a  very 
simple  luncheon  for  themselves,  during  a  regular  dass  period,  doing 
everything  as  much  better  than  they  did  it  before  as  possible.  The 
girls  were  pleased  with  this  plan,  and  worked  out  this  luncheon  on  the 
basis  of  their  own  individual  needs.  The  serving  of  this  completed  the 
semester's  work. 


1920]  TRAINING  STUDENTS  FOR  JOURNALISM  419 

TRAINING  HOME  ECONOMICS  STUDENTS  FOR 

JOURNALISM! 

MARIE  SELLERS 
Household  Editor,  "Pictorial  IMew" 

It  is  a  great  privilege  to  speak  on  the  topic  of  training  home  economics 
Students  for  journalism  because  the  farther  I  get  into  magazine  work 
the  more  I  realize  the  great  need  there  is  for  journalistic  training  for 
the  college  student. 

Practically  all  of  the  leading  agricultural  colleges  have  courses  in 
journalism,  sometimes  called  ''agricultural  journalism"  or  ''industrial 
journalism."  Institutions  such  as  the  Universities  of  Califomia,  Col- 
orado, Illinois,  Purdue  (Indiana),  Iowa  State  College,  Kansas,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Missouri,  Nebraska,  Cornell  (New  York),  North  Dakota, 
Ohio,  Oregon,  Pennsylvania  State,  Washington,  Wisconsin,  give  journal- 
istic training  to  students  in  home  economics. 

Whatever  the  courses  may  be  named,  or  whatever  they  pmport  to 
teach,  it  can  be  nothing  but  journalism,  regardless  of  the  subject-matter 
that  forms  the  basis  of  the  actual  writing.  If  one  can  write  acceptable 
news-items,  editorials,  or  special  articles,  with  their  related  journalistic 
forms,  it  makes  little  difference  whether  one  specializes  on  alfalfa  or 
human  nutrition. 

The  best  training  for  a  person  who  wishes  to  enter  the  field  of  writing 
on  home  topics,  is  a  canibinaHon  of  the  best  in  joumalism  and  the  best  in 
home  economics.  A  person  lacking  in  either  is  severely  handicapped, 
and  it  is  hard  to  tell  which  is  the  worse — a  trained  home  economist  who 
tliiTilrft  she  can  write,  but  can't;  or  a  trained  writer  who  thinks  she  knows 
home  economics,  but  doesn't.  It  is  futile  to  debate  the  point;  first, 
because  it  is  a  matter  of  opinion;  and,  second,  because  both  are  unspeak- 
ably bad. 

A  successful  writer  in  this  field  must  know  the  subject  on  which  she 
writes.  It  is  doubly  necessary,  because  almost  all  readers  have  enough 
knowledge  to  enable  them  to  detect  some  errors  of  facts. 

At  Cornell  the  journalistic  courses  insist  first  on  a  groxmd  work  in 
the  principles  of  English  composition.    No  one  can  enter  the  joumalism 

^  Brief  summary  of  a  paper  presented  at  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Ameti- 
can  Home  Eoonomics  Auodation,  Colorado  Springs,  June,  1920. 


420  THE  jotiRNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [September 

courses  who  has  not  satisfied  that  requirement.  This  practice  is  the 
usual  one  at  other  institutions,  and  I  feel  that  it  cannot  be  considered 
too  seriously,  for  a  training  in  good  English  expression  as  well  as  com- 
position is  very  much  needed  today.  There  are  many  students  in  our 
educational  institutions,  and  especially  in  the  i^cultural  colleges,  who 
have  not  had  in  their  youth  the  opportxmity  to  hear  perfect  English 
spoken.  In  many  cases  these  students'  parents  have  moved  out  into 
the  rural  districts  before  schools  were  available  and  there  have  been, 
in  many  cases,  few  opportunities  when  advantage  could  be  taken  of 
good  training  in  English.  Some  of  the  women  students  in  agricultural 
colleges  which  I  have  visited  have  spoken  to  me  of  this  and  have  ex- 
pressed their  desire  to  have  better  training  in  the  use  of  correct  EngUsh. 
No  field  offers  more  opportunities  for  the  use  of  journalistic  training  than 
that  of  extension  work.  The  extension  worker  must  be  versatile  not 
only  in  many  phases  of  home  economics  but  she  must  be  ready  at  a 
moment's  notice  to  give  a  speech  or  write  an  article  or  prepare  some 
news  item  or  editorial  for  the  local  papers. 

I  hope  the  time  has  come  when  a  course  in  journalism  will  be  required 
for  each  home  economics  student,  or  at  least  that  course  advisers  will 
be  instructed  to  urge  their  students  to  elect  some  study  in  journalism. 

As  for  the  use  of  journalistic  training  in  research  work,  editorial  work, 
and  magazine  writing,  there  is  a  real  need  and  a  demand  for  combined 
training  in  home  economics  and  journalism  for  a  limited  number  of 
persons.  Those  qualified  by  training  and  aptitude  will  have  no  diffi- 
culties, other  than  those  inherent  in  hard  work,  unflagging  energy,  and 
constant  study,  in  achieving  a  high  success. 


EDITORIAL 

Annual  Meeting  of  fhe  American  Home  Economics  Association. 

The  thirteenth  annual  meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation was  held  at  the  Hotel  Antlers,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  June  24 
to  29,  1920.  There  were  about  300  in  attendance.  The  arrangements 
had  been  made  by  Inga  M.  K.  Allison,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Time  and  Place,  and  every  convenience  and  comfort  possible  to  the 
members  of  the  Association  had  been  provided. 

The  first  Council  meeting  was  held  Wednesday  evening,  June  23,  at 
8.00,  and  the  regular  sessions  of  the  Association  began  at  2.00  p.m.  on 
Thursday,  June  24.  The  program  committee,  with  Abby  Marlatt  as 
diairman,  had  planned  for  two  general  meetings  daily,  thus  leaving  some 
time  each  day  for  those  in  attendance  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
opportunities  for  trips  'round  about  the  Springs. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Association,  held  in  the  Ball  Room  of  the 
Hotel  Antlers,  Mayor  Thomas,  of  Colorado  Springs,  extended  the  greet- 
ings of  the  dty  to  the  Association,  and  Dean  Corbett  of  the  Colorado 
Agricultural  College,  Fort  ColUns,  brought  the  welcome  of  the  state. 
The  president  of  the  Association,  Edna  N.  White,  responded  to  these 
greetings,  and  struck  the  keynote  for  the  meetings  to  follow,  showing 
their  breadth  of  interest.  She  indicated  the  relation  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A. 
to  child  welfare,  social  service,  legislation  as  affecting  the  home  and 
women  in  industry,  and  the  field  of  education  in  general. 

Miss  White  emphasized  the  importance  of  surveys  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  work  in  home  economics. 

Two  addresses  of  strong,  general  interest  were  presented  at  this 
session — one  by  Mrs.  Rufus  Dawes,  of  the  Community  Kitchen,  Evans- 
ton,  HI.,  who  spoke  on  the  development  of  commimity  kitchens,  and 
the  other  by  Olive  Davis,  of  the  Government  Hotels  for  Women,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  who  spoke  on  the  problems  concerned  with  the  organi- 
zation and  administration  of  these  hotels. 

In  the  evening,  in  the  Sun  Parlor  of  the  Hotel  Antlers,  the  Institution 
Economics  Section  held  its  meeting  and  the  Extension  Education  Sec- 
tion met  in  the  Ball  Room.  Strong  programs  had  been  arranged  and 
both  meetings  were  well  attended. 

421 


422  THE  joxiRNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

The  meeting  on  Friday  morning  was  in  general  charge  of  the  Extension 
Education  Section.  Preceding  this  program,  Cleo  Murtland,  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Education  of  Girls  and  Women  for  Industrial 
Occupations,  of  the  National  Society  for  Vocational  Education  presented 
a  report.  The  American  Home  Economics  Association  took  the  follow- 
ing action  in  relation  to  the  report: 

I.  Resolved,  That  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  go  on  record  as  approving  the  statement 
as  made  in  the  introduction  of  the  report  as  presented;  and  be  it  further  re- 
solved that  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  go  on  record  as  favoring  a  just  division  of  federal 
appropriations  for  trade  and  industrial  education  in  order  that  the  interests 
of  girls  and  women  in  industry  may  be  properly  considered  and  their  education 
may  be  more  adequately  supported. 

n.  Voted  that  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  appoint  a  committee  to  cooperate  with  a 
committee  representing  trade  and  industrial  education  of  women  from  the 
N.  S.  V.  E.,  said  committee  to  present  a  preliminary  joint  report  at  the  Febru- 
aiy  meetings  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  and  the  N.  S.  V.  E.,  and  also  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  in  June,  1921. 

m..  Resolved  J  That  it  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  that  in 
the  vocational  education  of  women  in  industry  the  educational  value  of  extra- 
mural training  in  the  shops,  factories,  and  offices  is  of  equal  rank  with  that 
given  within  the  four  walls  of  the  school  building,  and  that  it  should  be  organ- 
ized and  supervised. 

The  survey  of  the  work  of  the  extension  field  was  well  presented  by 
Florence  Ward  of  the  Office  of  Extension  Work,  North  and  West,  and  by 
Ola  Powell,  Office  of  Extension  Work,  South.  Papers  were  presented 
by  Miriam  Haynes,  State  Leader,  Colorado,  and  Nina  Crigler,  Food 
Specialist,  University  of  Illinois. 

On  Friday  afternoon  two  round  tables  were  conducted — one  of  Red 
Cross  workers,  and  one  of  public  school  teachers  with  Jeimy  H.  Snow, 
Supervisor  of  Household  Arts,  Chicago  Public  Schools,  as  chairman. 

At  8.00  p.m.  a  general  session  was  held,  with  Abby  Marlatt  as  chair- 
man. Dr.  Caroline  Hedger,  Medical  Director  of  the  Elizabeth  Mc- 
Cormick  Memorial  Firnd,  Chicago,  told  of  the  work  of  that  organization 
in  combating  malnutrition.  She  was  followed  by  Marie  Sellers  of  the 
Pictorial  Review,  New  York  City,  who  spoke  on  Training  Home  Eco- 
nomics Students  for  Journalism,  and  Harlan  Smith,  of  the  U.  S. 
Department  of  Agricidture,  who  told  of  the  publicity  work  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agricidture  in  relation  to  home  economics. 

At  the  Saturday  morning  meeting  Dr.  Langworthy  spoke  of  the  work 
in  nutrition  of  the  National  Research  Coimdl.    The  meeting  from  this 


1920]  EDITORIAL  423 

point  on  was  in  charge  of  the  Textile  Section,  Mabel  B.  Trilling,  presid- 
ing. Grace  Denny,  Ethd  Phelps,  and  Paul  I.  Cheiington,  Secretary  of 
the  National  Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers,  spoke  on  various 
phases  of  the  textile  question.  Miriam  Birdseye  presented  a  report 
of  the  excellent  constructive  work  which  has  been  done,  by  the  com- 
mittee of  which  she  is  chairman,  on  establislung  minimum  standards 
for  textile  fabrics. 

At  the  evening  meeting  the  Textile  Section,  with  Mabel  Trilling  as 
chairman,  and  the  Science  Section,  with  Dr.  Helen  B.  Thompson  as 
chairman,  held  meetings.  Both  meetings  were  well  attended  and 
excellent  papers  were  offered. 

Other  papers  were  presented  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  Jime  28  and 
29.  Hugh  Magill  of  the  National  Education  Association  spoke  on  The 
Nation  and  Education.  Dr.  Agnes  Fay  Morgan  and  Dr.  Helen  B. 
Thompson  spoke  on  scientific  phases  of  home  economics. 

At  2.00  p.m.,  Monday,  June  28,  the  Science  Section  held  a  second 
meeting  with  Dr.  Helen  B .  Thompson  presiding.  On  Tuesday  afternoon 
a  round  table  was  held  on  Education  in  Homemaking,  with  Adelaide 
Baylor  of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education  presiding. 

Four  Coimdl  Meetings  and  two  general  business  meetings  were  held 
with  excellent  attendance. 

The  officers  elected  by  the  Association  for  the  ensuing  year  are  as 
follows:  President,  Mary  E.  Sweeney;  Vice-presidents,  Edna  N.  White 
and  Isabel  Ely  Lord;  Coimdl  Members  (terms  to  expire,  1925),  Inga 
M.  K.  Allison,  Isabel  Bevier,  Mary  Kelso,  Abby  Marlatt,  Helen  B. 
Thompson.  The  Council  appointed  Lenna  F.  Cooper  as  secretary  and 
Mr.  H.  G.  Turpin  as  treasurer.  A  more  detailed  statement  of  the  Coim- 
dl meetings  and  the  business  meetings  of  the  Assodation  will  appear 
in  the  Assodation  Bulletin. 

Due  to  the  fact  that  the  Secretary  was  teaching  in  the  summer  session 
in  the  University  of  Colorado,  and  had  been  gradously  released  for  part 
of  the  time  of  the  meetings,  Lenna  F.  Cooper,  the  newly  elected  secre- 
tary, acted  as  secretary  pro  tern  during  the  Coimdl  meetings  and  business 
meetings  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  June  28  and  29. 

Very  effident  work  was  done  by  the  Pen  and  Press  Committee,  with 
Ava  B.  Milam  in  charge,  in  providing  reports  of  meetings  to  local  and 
other  daily  papers,  and  reports  of  the  convention  to  periodicals.  This 
service  was  much  appredated. 

Cora  M.  WrNCHEix, 

Secrekury. 


424  THE  JOURNAL  07  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

The  Conference  on  Group  Living.  The  Editor  of  the  Jouiinal 
was  particularly  favored  in  being  able  to  attend  the  Conference  on  Group- 
Living  held  at  the  Lake  Placid  Club,  Lake  Pladd,  N.  Y.,  May  27  to  31. 
Some  80  people  gathered  there,  representing  among  others  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association,  the  American  Dietetic  Association  and 
the  Yoimg  Women's  Christian  Association.  The  presence  of  several 
deans  of  women  and  members  of  the  faculty  in  institutions  where  insti- 
tution administration  courses  are  taught  added  to  the  educational  value 
of  the  conference.  The  one  thing  that  marred  the  conference  was  Mis. 
Dewey's  illness.  She  was  able  to  be  present  only  at  the  first  meeting 
when  she  gave  her  cordial  welcome  to  the  conference  and  made  sug- 
gestions of  great  value.  The  program  was  an  unusually  broad  one, 
including  practical  aspects  of  the  work,  the  theoretical  side  on  which 
these  practical  applications  were  based,  business  methods  and  research. 
Community  kitchens,  cafeteria  service,  the  work  of  the  social  service 
dietitian,  aspects  of  cooperative  buying,  opportunities  for  training  in 
technical  fields,  diet  studies,  research  work  illustrated  by  a  study  of 
the  apartment  hotel,  an  account  of  work  actually  accomplished,  such 
as  the  esqperiment  in  democracy  in  running  government  hotels— ^«ach  of 
these  received  attention. 

Opportunities  were  given  for  inspecting  the  kitchens  at  Lake  Placid, 
and,  as  always,  walks,  boating,  and  motor  trips  added  to  the  pleasure 
of  the  guests. 

The  informal  conferences  were  especially  valuable,  as  many  poiats 
were  brought  out  in  these  that  were  not  touched  upon  in  the  more  formal 
speeches.  Several  of  the  papers  will  appear  in  the  Journal,  some  in 
the  Modem  Hospital  and  in  other  publications,  while  a  general  summary 
of  the  conference  will  also  be  printed. 

Diabetes  and  the  War.  It  is  a  relief  after  reading  and  thinking 
of  the  nutritional  calamities  of  the  War,  to  learn  of  nutritional  gains. 
One  such  is  the  decrease  in  diabetes  of  which  many  reports  are  coming 
in.  Magnus-Levy  in  a  recently  received  number  of  a  German  periodical^ 
gives  figures  for  the  civilian  population  of  Berlin.  From  1900  to  1914 
deaths  from  diabetes  had  increased  from  245  to  444,  but  by  1918  they 
had  fallen  off  to  202.  ''The  development  of  diabetes  is  particularly 
favored  by  luxurious  nutrition."* 

^Deutsche  Medisinische  Wochenschrift,  45  (1919),  p.  1379. 
*Ch€m.  Ahs.,  April  20,  1920. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


Bobbins  of  B4gium.  By  Chablottb  Kxip 
jjoao.  New  York:  Funk  and  Wagmdh 
Gompaay,  1920,  pp.  314.  S2.00. 
"In  FUuden  fiddt  the  poppies  blow"  we 
have  heaid  many  tones  since  MacRae  wrote 
his  eiquisite  little  poem,  but  far  less  have  we 
heaxd  of  the  so^aUed  ''flower  of  Belgfami" 
that  continued  to  grow  and  blossom  on  the 
lace  cushions  of  the  Flemidi  women  despite 
the  vidssltudes  of  war.  Many  American 
women  have  an  apprecktkm  for  ''reaT' 
lace  and  cherish  a  few  pieces  pediaps 
handed  down  from  mother  to  daughter,  but 
few  there  are  who  have  any  knoiriedge  of 
the  technique  of  such  lace  and  the  conditions 
under  wliich  it  is  made.  Mrs.  Vernon  "KA 
logg  in  her  book,  entitled  BMimt  ef  Bd- 
pmnf  describing  a  series  of  ''little  journeys" 
to  the  lace  disteicts,  i^es  in  infoimal  and 
noo-technical  knguage  much  interesting  in- 
footmatkm  about  the  lace  industiy  wliich  has 
flourished  in  Belgium  rince  the  Renaissance. 
Strangely  enough  the  Great  War  has  in 
many  ways  benefited  this  industry  in  Bel- 
gium. Thiouf^  the  efforts  of  the  Brussels 
Lace  Committee,  a  group  of  prominent  and 
devoted  Belg^  women,  the  woric  was  kept 
going  during  the  war,  fine  old  designs  and 
types  were  revived,  better  wages  were  ob- 
tained for  the  woriceis,  and,  what  is  per- 
haps even  more  important  for  the  art,  nor> 
mal  schools  are  being  developed  in  which 
workers  are  trained  as  teachers. 

Bobbins  ofBdgium  may  also  be  considered 
a  plea  to  patrons  of  the  arts  to  encourage 
the  makixig  of  the  more  difficult  and  delicate 
kinds  of  lace  suitable  in  reality  only  to  be 
placed  in  collections.  The  more  skilled 
woricers  are  passing,  but  new  ones  will  take 
their  places  if  the  wages  are  made  adequate. 
The  book  contains  many  and  excellent 
illustrations  of  the  various  kinds  of  lace 


made  in  Belgium  and  of  some  pieces  of  his- 
torical interest,  such  as  the  scarf  presented 
to  Queen  Wilhemina  of  Holland  in  gratitude 
for  the  h^  given  to  Belgians  within  Dutch 
borders  during  the  war,  and  the  magnificent 
banquet  doth  presented  to  Queen  Elisabeth 
on  her  return  from  exile. 

An  appendix,  with  illustrations*  by  the 
Directrice  of  the  Brussels  School  of  Design 
gives  the  fundamentals  of  construction  of 
the  two  main  types  of  laces,  those  made 
with  the  needle  and  those  made  with  bob- 
bins. 

Ruth  Van  Demam. 

Cofo  and  Podding  of  Infa$Us  and  ChUdron. 
(A  Test  Book  for  Trsined  NurBes.)KBy 
Wausr  Rxevx  Ramsby,  M  J>.  I4iihi- 
delphia:  J.  B.  Uppinoott  Co.,  1916,  pp. 
290.    S2.00. 

Infancy  and  Ckitdhood,  (A  Popular  Book  on 
the  Care  of  Children.)  By  Waltes 
RsEvz  Ramsey,  M.D.  New  York:  E.  P. 
Dutton  &  Co.,  1916,  pp.  198.  $1.25. 
The  worth  of  a  book  on  child  care  is 
measured  largely  by  its  simplicity  and  adapt- 
ability to  the  every  day  ne^  of  mothers  and 
nurses.  Dr.  Ramsey  in  his  two  volumes  has 
made  it  possible  for  mothers  and  nurses  to 
obtain  essential  information  regarding  the 
care  of  children  without  going  into  the 
intricacies  of  percentage  feeding  or  infant 
anatomy.  A  lot  of  scientific  material  has 
been  boiled  down  by  Dr.  Ramsey  and  pre- 
sented without  facb  or  fancies.  Especial 
attention  is  given  to  breast  feeding  and  the 
methods  of  encouraging  it  He  asserts  that 
"90  per  cent  of  mothers  can  nurse  their 
babies  in  whole  or  in  part  for  the  first  few 
months  and  many  can  nurse  them  wholly 
or  in  part  for  the  first  year." 

425 


426 


THE  JOUKNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[September 


His  little  book  on  Infancy  and  Childhood, 
written  in  a  popular  style,  is  commended  to 
mothers  who  desire  definite  and  concrete 
information  regarding  the  up-bringing  of 
their  babies.  This  book  has  stood  the  test 
of  four  years  and  is  still  called  for  in  increasing 
numbers.  A  little  revision  in  certain  parts 
would  bring  it  more  fully  up  to  date,  but  even 
as  it  stands  it  is  still  a  valuable  manual  for 
the  mother. 

The  nursing  manual  on  the  "Care  and 
Feeding  of  Infants  and  CMdren"  is  pre- 
sented as  a  text  book  for  trained  nurses. 
It  goes  more  into  detail  in  the  various  phases 
of  child  hygiene  and  is  profusely  illustrated. 
Dr.  Ramsey  recognizes  the  need  of  nurses  to 
be  informed  as  to  the  development  and  prog- 
ress of  child  welfare  work. 

Dr.  Ramsey  in  his  first  chapter  points  out 
clearly  the  necessary  information  for  nurses 
relating  to  the  devebpment  and  progress  of 
child  welfare  woik.  In  this  manual  Dr. 
Ramsey,  appreciating  the  need  of  nurses  for 
a  knowledge  of  fundamental  principles  of 
artificial  feeding,  has  given  more  space  to 
this  subject  although  he  is  Just  as  insistent 
upon  breast  feeding  as  in  his  book  for 
mothers. 

The  worth  of  this  book  as  a  manual  for 
nurses  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  it  was  in- 
troduced as  the  text  book  for  nurses  super- 
vising the  training  of  Health  Visitors  in 
France,  under  the  direction  of  the  Children's 
Bureau. 

RiCHASD  A.  Bolt,  M.D., 
General  Director,  Amer.  Child  Hygiene  Assn. 

Pood  Inspection  and  Analysis.    By  A.  £. 

Ljsacb  AMD  A.  L.  WiMTOM.    New  York: 

John  WOey  &  Sons,  Inc.,  1920,  4  ed.,  pp. 

idx  +  1090,  pis.  42,  figs.  128.    $8.50. 

This  manual,  designed  for  the  use  of  ana^ 
IjTSts,  health  officers,  chemists,  and  food 
eoonombts,  has  been  revised  and  enlarged  to 
the  extent  of  90  pages;  new  material  having 
been  added  or  substituted  for  material  in 


earlier  editions.  The  former  arrangement  of 
chapters  has  been  retained  but  the  list  of 
references  at  the  end  of  chapters  has  been 
left  out  and,  instead,  more  attention  has 
been  given  to  footnote  references.  As  is 
stated  in  the  preface,  wherever  possible  the 
original  papers  referred  to  have  been  con- 
sulted and  where  this  could  not  be  done  reli- 
ance has  been  placed  in  abstracts  which 
^>peared  in  "Chemical  Abstracts"  or  in  the 
"Experiment  Stotion  Record."  A  npodal 
feature  is  the  final  chapter  by  G.  L.  Wendt, 
"Determination  of  Acidity  by  Means  of  the 
Hydrogen  Electrode,"  a  method  which,  as 
pointed  out,  seems  destined  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  food  analyses. 

The  book  includes  such  subjects  as  food, 
its  functions,  proximate  components,  and 
nutritive  value;  genersl  methods  of  food  anal- 
ysis induding  miaosoope  and  lefrsctometer; 
milk  and  milk  products;  flesh  foods;  eggs; 
cereal  grains;  tea,  coffee,  and  cocoa;  edible 
oib  and  fats;  sugar;  as  wdl  as  artifidalfood 
colors,  food  preservatives,  artificial  sweet- 
eners, flavoring  extracts,  and  substitutes. 

Not  only  is  the  volume  valoabJe  for  the 
analytical  methods  described  but  also  for 
the  large  amount  of  informatiott  regarding 
properties  and  uses  of  foodstuffs  and  omdi- 
ments,  which  it  provides  in  convenient  form. 

Meats,  Poultry  and  Game;  How  to  Buy,  Coek 

and    Carve.    By    Edouasd    Panchaid. 

New  York:  E.  P.  Dutton  and  Compsny, 

1919,  pp.  134.    $3.00. 

This  book  merits  ito  sub-title  "How  to 
Buy,  Cook  and  Carve"  as  it  is  full  of  many 
old,  new  and  hdpful  suggestions  under  each 
heading.  These  are  supplemented  by  un- 
usually fine  illustrations  which  bring  out 
the  desired  points. 

Fart  I  is  written  very  defiiutely  and  deariy 
but  Part  n,  "A  Potpourri  of  Redpes,"  would 
be  rather  difficult  for  an  inexperienced  cook 
to  follow. 

Mauon  Evans  Daxin, 
PfoU  InstikOe. 


1920]  BIBUOGSAFHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  427 

BOOKS  RECEIVED 

Eteyday  Mouth  Hygiene.    Joseph  Head,  Dentist  to  Jefferson  Hospital    Philadelphia:  W. 

B.  Saunders  06.,  1920.    $1.00. 
Experimenial  Organic  Chemistry.    Augustus  P.  West,  University  of  the  Philippines.     Yon- 

kers,  N.  Y.:  World  Book  Co.,  1920,  pp.  469.    $3.00. 
Pood  Pacts  for  the  Homemaher.    Lucile  Stimson  Harvey.    Boston  and  New  York:  Houghton 

Mi£ain  C6.,  1920,  pp.  314.    $2.50. 
Household  Arithmetic.    Catherine  F.  Ball  and  Miriam  £.  West.    Philadelphia.    J.  B.  Up- 

pmcott  Co.,  1920.    $1.48. 
Household  Arts  for  Home  and  School.    Anna  M.  Cooley.    New  York:  The  Marmillan  Co., 

Volume  1,  1920,  pp.  221. 
The  Natian^s  Pood.    Raymond  Pearl    Philadelphia:  W.  B.  Saunders  C6.,  1920,  pp.  274. 

$3.50. 
Transactions  of  the  Tenth  Annual  Meeting.       American  Child  Hsrgiene  Association,  1211 

Cathedral  St.,  Balthnore,  Md.    $3.00. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 

PERIODICAL  LITERATURE 

MiSCBLLANEOXTB 

Tlic  Origins  of  Civiliaatbn.  J.  H.  Breasted,  Sci.  Mo.,  9  (1919),  Nos.  4,  pp.  289^316, 
figs.  23;  5,  pp.  416-422,  figs.  17;  6,  pp.  561-577,  figs.  19;  10  (1920),  No.  1,  pp.  87-105,  figs. 
18;  2,  pp.  183-209,  figs.  32;  3,  pp.  249-268,  figs.  18.  In  these  William  EUoy  Hale  lectures 
before  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences  in  Washington,  the  author  discusses  the  origm  of 
civilization  in  the  1<^  valley  in  the  old  stone  age  and  traces  its  development  and  spread 
through  Asia  Minor  to  Europe.  To  the  Egyptians  is  ascribed  the  domestication  of  cereal 
grains  (such  as  wheat  and  enmier),  of  flax,  and  of  catde,  sheep,  and  other  itninndft.  The  de- 
velopment of  architecture  is  considered,  and  mention  is  made  of  clothing,  agriculture,  com- 
merce, and  many  other  matters.  Although  not  prepared  for  students  of  home  economics, 
this  dear  and  well  presented  summary  contains  much  information  of  interest  to  them. 

Wages  and  Hours  of  Domestic  Servants  in  England  and  Bavaria.  U.  S,  Dept.  Labor, 
Bur.  Labor  Statis.,  Mo.  Labor  Reo.,  10  (1920),  No.  2,  pp.  130-132. 

Electrical  Efficiency  in  the  Home.  B.  Grey,  New  West  Mag.,  11  (1920),  No.  5-6,  pp. 
88-^1,  figs.  5. — ^Possibilities  of  equipment  for  different  rooms  of  a  house  are  disaissed  and  a 
considerable  amount  of  information  given. 

Domestic  Science  as  an  Opportunity  for  Sez  Education.  Lo  Ree  Cave,  Kansas  State 
Board  Health  Bui.,  16  (1920),  No.  4,  pp.  67-72.  This  paper  was  read  at  the  Kansas  Con- 
ference of  Education,  Washburn  College,  Topeka,  May,  1920. 

The  New  Visiting  Housekeeper:  Her  Ttdning  and  Her  Work.  Emma  A.  Winslow,  The 
PamUy,  May,  1920. 

A  Hampton  Girl's  Training.    Carrie  Alberta  Lyf ord.  The  Southern  Worhman,  May,  1920. 


428  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [September 

Chfld  Welfare.    The  Indian  Journal  oj  Sociology  (Baroda,  India),  Jan.,  1920. 

Posture  Clinics  Established  by  a  School  Nuise.  Idabd  Duigan,  The  Commonkealtk, 
Mar.-Apr.,  1920. 

How  Cooking  Affects  the  Digestibility  of  Foods.  ALdia  Sandwall,  The  Commonheallh, 
Mar.-Apr.,  1920. 

Japanese  Toys.  M.  Kimura,  Japan  Mag^  10  (1920),  No.  9,  pp.  363-365,  ^.  1.  Infor- 
mation is  given  zegaiding  the  kinds  of  toys  produced  in  Japan  for  domestic  and  foreign  trade, 
as  well  as  data  concerning  kinds  of  toys  required  for  different  markets. 

A  New  Fibre.  K.  Hoshino,  Japan  Mag.,  10  (1920),  No.  9,  i^.  345-n347.  A  new  fibre 
plant  (phyllospadix  scoulen),  one  of  the  marine  algae  of  Japan,  has  been  found  promising 
as  a  source  of  fibre  for  paper  making  and  for  spiiming  mixed  with  cotton. 

Series  of  Photographs  from  the  first  Exhibition  of  American  Textiles,  Costumes,  and 
Mechankal  Processes.  Nat,  History,  19  (1919),  No.  6,  pp.  631-654.  The  exhibit  was 
held  at  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  New  York,  Nov.  12  to  Dec  1,  1919. 
The  legends  accompanying  the  pictures  were  prepared  by  Herbert  J.  Spinden.  H| 

Creating  a  Nadonal  Art  Herbert  J.  Spinden,  Nat.  History,  19  (1919),  No.  6,  pp.  623-630. 
In  a  postscript  to  the  article  data  are  given  regarding  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History  (New  York)  Exhibition  of  Industrial  Arts  in  Textiles  and  Costtmies. 

American  Textiles.    M.  D.  C.  Crawford,  Gen,  Fed.  Mag,,  Feb.-'Mar.,  1920. 

Tlie  Microscopical  Identification  of  Commercial  Fur  Hairs.  L.  A.  Hausman,  Sci,  Mo,, 
10  (1920),  No.  1,  pp.  70.  The  relative  durability  of  different  furs,  the  nature  of  the  hair, 
and  its  identification  by  microscopical  methods  are  discussed,  and  much  general  infor- 
mation regarding  furs  and  their  nomenclature  and  use  is  given. 

Tile  Glass  Industry  in  America.    A.  Douglas  Nash,  Gen,  Fed,  Mag.,  Feb.-Mar.,  1920. 

How  the  Chinese  Make  Their  Beautiful  Enamd  Work.  Sidney  J.  Hall,  ScL  Amer,, 
cxxii.  No.  10,  March  6, 1920.    This  note  on  Cbisonn^  Enamel  is  brief  and  popular. 


Journal  of  the  American  Ceramic  Society,  1  (1918) : 

Ground  Coat  Enamels  for  Cast  Iron,  H.  F.  Staley,  No.  2,  pp.  99-112. — Comparative 
studies  of  different  enamels.    Paper  is  followed  by  discussion. 

Alabaster  Glass:  History  and  Composition,  A.  Silverman,  No.  4,  pp.  247, 261  (figs.  1). — 
Bibliography  is  appended. 

Tlie  Action  of  Acetic  Acid  Solutions  of  different  Strengths  on  a  Sheet  Steel  Enamel,  L. 
J.  Frost,  No.  6,  pp.  422-428  (fig.  1). — ^In  this  paper,  of  interest  in  connection  with 
enamdware  for  cooking  purposes,  results  of  some  tests  are  reported.  According  to 
the  author's  experiments,  a  4  to  5  per  cent  solution  by  volume  of  "such  an  acetic 
add  as  would  probably  be  used  for  testing  at  most  cooking  utensil  plants  is  well  up 
in  strength  as  regards  its  action  on  the  enamd  surface.  This  per  cent  add  is  also 
of  about  the  same  strength  as  the  strongest  vinegar,  which  is  probably  the  most 
destructive  agent  to  which  an  enameled  cooking  utensil  is  subjected  in  ordinary  use." 
In  the  discussion  following  this  paper  the  statement  is  made  that  "tartaric  add 
from  cooking  grapes,  as  in  making  grape  marmalade,  has  a  much  more  severe  action 
on  enamels  than  acetic  add." 

Preparation  and  Application  of  Enamels  for  Cast  Iron,  H.  F.  Staley,  No.  8,  pp.  534r- 
555  (figs.  4). — ^Discussion  of  methods  followed  in  enameling  bath  tubs. 

Some  Types  of  Porcelain,  F.  H.  Eiddle  and  W.  W.  McDand,  No.  9.— 606-627  (figs.  13). 

The  Control  of  the  Luster  of  Enamds,  H.  F.  Staley,  No.  9,  pp.  640-647. 

Note  on  Certain  Characteristics  of  Porcddn,  A.  V.  Bleininger,  No.  10,  pp.  697-702  (fig. 
1).    Formulae  given  for  enamels  such  as  are  used  for  making  enamdware  goods. 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol.  Xn  OCTOBER,  1920  No.  10 


RECENT  CHANGES  IN  BRITISH  EDUCATION* 

Snt  AUCKIAKD  GEDDES 
Briiish  Ambassador  to  ike  United  States 

May  I  preface  my  short  account  of  certain  changes  which  are  taking 
place  in  British  education  by  a  short  profession  of  faith? 

I  do  not  believe  that  in  matters  educational  any  country  can  copy  the 
forms  and  machinery  of  education  thought  out  and  elaborated  by  another 
country.  I  have  held  to  this  faith  with  tenacity  and  not  without  pug- 
nacity on  occasions  when  I  as  an  educationist  was  asked  to  adopt  meth- 
ods in  vogue  in  other  countries.  I  said  then,  as  I  say  now,  "A  system 
of  education  to  be  effective  must  grow  out  of  the  soil,  out  of  the  genius 
of  the  people.  The  most  I  can  do  is  to  familiarize  myself  with  the  meth* 
ods  and  ideals  of  other  countries  and  then  in  its  own  good  time  my  mind 
will  sift  out  the  good  in  them  from  the  bad,  the  applicable  from  the 
inapplicable,  and  will  apply  them  to  its  own  problems." 

Knowing  that  I  hold  this  belief  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  exonerate  me 
from  any  supposed  desire  to  thrust  upon  you  for  acceptance  any  educa- 
tional form,  pattern,  or  ideal,  and  you  will  accept  me  for  what  I  am,  a 
simple  reporter,  who  is  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  of  telling  you  of 
what  he  knows,  has  seen,  and  thinks. 

One  further  warning  and  then  my  path  is  clear.  No  reporter  who  deals 
with  a  subject  about  which  he  is  an  enthusiast  can,  however  hard  he 
may  try,  avoid  coloring  to  seme  extent,  in  its  passage  through  his  mind, 
the  matter  which  he  reports.    I  therefore  ask  you  first  to  credit  me  with 

^Address  delivered  at  the  National  Citizens  0>nference  on  Education,  Washington, 
D.  C,  May,  1920.    Printed  by  permission  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education. 

429 


430  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOBDCS  [Octobcr 

a  desire  to  report  accurately  and  fairly,  next  to  debit  me  with  a  certain 
incapacity  to  report  otherwise  than  as  I  see  things  after  they  have  been 
soaked  in  the  dye  vats  of  my  understanding. 

Here  at  once  we  come  to  the  very  heart  of  the  problem  of  education, 
for  the  period  of  education  of  the  individual  is  marked,  whether  we  will 
it  or  no,  by  the  transformation  of  the  mind,  colorless  perhaps  in  early 
childhood  (though  I  am  not  quite  sure  of  that) ,  into  the  rich  and  inex- 
haustible dye  vat  which  we  call  the  educated  mind.  There  are  other 
processes  in  progress  simultaneously,  but  the  end  of  education  is  to  turn 
out  minds  that  see  facts  in  a  certain  color.  You  professional  education- 
ists may  question  the  accuracy  of  my  belief  and  may  say  that  I  am  jug- 
gling with  words,  that  I  am  calling  prejudices  colors  and  that  everyone 
knows  the  effect  of  education  is  to  get  rid  of  prejudices.  I  used  to  believe 
that,  only  I  know  now  that  I  was  wrong.  The  effect  of  education  is  to  | 
produce  a  set  of  super  refined  prejudices  which  are  not  really  prejudices 
in  any  ordinary  meaning  of  the  word,  so  I  shall  content  myself  with  re- 
peating that  the  educated  mind  is  an  inexhaustible  dye  vat.  It  will 
dye  anything. 

The  path  is  now  clear  so  let  us  begin.  The  war  showed  us  Britons 
many  things  in  a  new  light  and  one  of  the  most  important  things  that 
we  saw  or  thought  we  saw  was  that  the  old  social  order  which  had  stood 
the  test  of  time  was  not  going  to  stand  much  longer  and  that  in  order  to 
make  the  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new  possible  without  catastrophe 
we  had  to  get  busy  first  to  bring  every  adult  female  as  well  as  male  into 
the  circle  of  responsible  citizens,  next  to  do  our  utmost  as  speedily  as 
possible  to  equip  those  citizens,  or  at  all  events  the  recruits  to  their 
numbers,  with  educated  ndnds. 

It  was  this  thought  that  made  Mr.  Fisher,  British  Minister  for  Educa- 
tion, say  in  February,  1917 — "The  proclamation  of  Peace  and  Victory 
will  summon  us  not  to  complacent  repose  but  to  greater  efforts  for  a 
more  enduring  victory.  The  future  welfare  of  the  nation  depends  upon 
its  schools." 

Then  we  who  were  in  Parliament  set  to  work  to  modify  the  law  to 
give  the  following  results : 

1.  To  extend  the  age  of  compulsory  attendance  without  exemption  to 
14,  or  to  15  or  16  by  local  by-law. 

2.  To  provide  medical  inspection  and  treatment  and  physical  welfare, 
before,  through,  and  after  school  to  the  age  of  18. 

3.  To  establish  nursery  schools  for  children  between  two  and  five  and 
six. 


1920]  RECENT  CHANGES  IN  BRITISH  EDUCATION  431 

4.  To  establish  a  sjrstem  of  compulsory  continuation  (part  time)  school 
attendance  ultimately  to  18. 

5.  To  arrange  for  the  promotion  of  poor  but  able  pupils  by  a  system 
of  scholarships  and  maintenance  grants  past  the  higher  rungs  of  the  edu- 
cational ladder  in  the  hope  that  in  the  future  the  nation  may  have  the 
best  mental  capacity  of  all  its  sons  and  daughters  to  draw  on  for  its 
service  instead  of  having  to  content  itself  with  such  brains  as  a  com- 
paratively limited  class  happen  to  produce. 

Incidentally  we  made  a  certain  number  of  administrative  changes.  | 
We  concentrated  the  supervision  over  the  activities  and  welfare  of  chil- 
dren and  adolescents  in  the  hands  of  elected  local  education  authorities. 
We  also  dealt  with  the  inspection  and  supervision  of  private  schools. 
Next  we  did  our  best  to  decentralize  control  by  preserving  and  strength- 
ening the  independence  of  local  authorities,  by  extending  their  powers 
and  functions.  The  control  of  these  authorities  was  designed  to  be 
made  effective  by  central  insistence  on  minimum  standards  with  encour- 
agement through  grants  to  advance  as  far  as  possible.  Finally  the  cost 
of  education  was  divided  equally  between  local  and  national  taxes. 

This  represents  in  brief  form  our  attempt  in  the  field  of  education  to 
provide  the  facilities  to  make  possible  the  realization  of  the  ideals  for 
which  the  war  was  fought.  I  find  it  difficult  to  conceive  of  any  educa- 
tional scheme  more  fully  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  sane  democracy. 

One  of  our  ideals  has  perhaps  been  more  unsparingly  ridiculed  than 
the  rest — the  proposal  to  found  nursery  schools.  I  notice  the  ridiculers 
are  either  childless  or  else  are  the  sort  of  people  who  maintain  at  consid- 
erable expense  in  their  own  homes  the  very  sort  of  nursery  school  which 
we  are  setting  up  for  the  use  of  all.  It  is  easy  to  make  merry  and  to 
draw  pictures  of  tiny  tots  with  horn  rimmed  spectacles  toiling  with  great 
tomes,  but  the  facts  are  otherwise.  The  purpose  of  the  nursery  schools 
is  not  even  to  teach  the  three  R's,  but,  by  sleep,  food,  and  play  to  provide 
the  opportimity  for  little  children  to  lay  the  foundations  of  health,  habit, 
and  a  responsive  personality,  which  is  just  what  every  nursery  in  the 
world  is  supposed  to  be  doing. 

I  have  not  time  to  enter  into  many  details,  but  it  is  necessary  for  me 
to  say  this — that  physical  training  is  to  form  part  of  the  weekly  work  of 
each  pupil  up  to  the  age  of  adolescence. 

The  secondary  school  (age  range  at  least  12-17,  may  be  10-18)  has 
not  been  neglected  and  the  arrangements  there  are  of  considerable  inter- 
est.   There  work  tends  to  fall  into  two  parts,  the  generalized  part  up  to 


432  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOBQCS  [Octobcf 

about  16  and  the  part  which  may  be  specialized  above  that  age.    The 
curriculum  for  the  generalized  part  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

This  must  provide  instruction  in  the  En^ish  language  and  literature, 
at  least  one  language  other  than  English,  geography,  history,  mathe- 
matics, science,  and  drawing.  The  instruction  in  science  must  include 
practical  work  by  the  pupils.  In  addition,  either  within  or  without  the 
formal  curriculum,  provision  must  be  made  for  organized  games,  physi- 
cal exercises,  manual  instruction,  and  singing. 

For  girls,  needlework,  cookery,  laundry  work,  housekeeping,  and 
household  hygiene  are  compulsory  subjects. 

For  the  specialized  part  of  the  curriculiun,  if  that  be  taken,  the  work  is 
founded  upon  the  general  education  before  16  and  consists  of  specializa- 
tion along  lines  on  which  the  pupil  has  already  shown  ability.  In  every 
course  there  must  be  a  substantial  and  coherent  body  of  work  taken  by 
all  pupils  in  one  of  these  three  groups:  (A)  science  and  mathematics, 
(B)  classics,  viz:  the  civilization  of  the  ancient  world  as  embodied  in 
the  languages,  literature,  and  history  of  Greece  and  Rome,  or  (C)  mod- 
em studies,  viz:  the  languages,  literature,  and  history  of  the  countries 
of  Western  Europe  in  medieval  and  modem  times  and  the  settlement  and 
development  of  North  and  South  America. 

In  all  advanced  courses  adequate  provision  has  to  be  made  for  the 
study  and  writing  of  the  English  language  and  of  history  and  geography. 

A  word  perhaps  may  be  useful  on  the  subject  of  science  teaching  in 
the  secondary  schools.  It  has  been  laid  down  that  ''the  course  should 
be  self  contained  and  designed  to  give  special  attention  to  those  natural 
phenomena  which  are  matters  of  every  day  es^rience."  In  fact  the 
object  of  the  science  course  is  not  to  train  specialists  but  to  give  some 
acquaintance  to  each  child  with  the  principles  involved  in  the  daily 
observed  phenomena,  from  the  ringing  of  an  electric  bell  to  the  construc- 
tion of  a  modem  building,  and  to  give  to  enquiring  eyes  a  first  peep  into 
the  fairyland  of  science,  so  that  those  who  have  special  aptitude  to  tread 
its  thorny  and  stony  tracks  delight  in  and  may  not  be  ignorant  of  the 
paths  which  lead  in  its  direction. 

Beyond  the  secondary  schools  stand  the  universities,  but  of  them  I 
have  not  time  today  to  speak.  Not  that  there  is  nothing  to  say  about 
them.  There  is  more  perhaps  than  ever  before.  They  are  palpitating 
with  new  life,  new  thought,  new  energy.  But  of  one  side  of  adult  educa- 
tion I  must  speak — adult  education  for  people  who  have  to  earn  their 
daily  bread  and  can  only  devote  a  small  part  of  each  day  to  educational 


1920]  SECENT   CHANGES  IN  BBITISH  EDUCATION  433 

studies.  I  do  not  mean  technical  education;  that  on  the  whole  is  fairly 
well  provided  for  in  most  parts  of  the  country — ^but  historical,  political, 
economic,  and  cultural  education,  There  is  a  widespread  and  growing 
demand  for  this  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  National  machinery  has 
not  yet  been  elaborated  to  meet  this  demand,  but  in  countless  ways  in 
coimtless  places  facilities  are  being  provided.  Soon  the  situation  will 
begin  to  clarify  itself  and  as  it  clarifies  will  come  a  coherence  that  is  still 
lacking. 

So  much  for  the  machinery.  I  have  sketched  it  in  its  broadest  outlines 
only,  because  the  machinery  by  itself  is  nothing — ^it  is  the  spirit  which 
gives  life,  and  that  you  may  begin  to  understand  one  spirit  which  in- 
spires our  educational  machinery  I  must  ask  you  to  bear  with  me  while 
I  describe  for  a  few  moments  the  ideals  which  animate  the  new  Britain. 
First  you  must  realize  that  Britain  is  thoroughly  democratized.  Its 
Government  is  in  fact  more  immediately  and  directly  under  the  control 
of  the  people  than  that  of  your  country.  Outside  observers  are  inclined 
to  think  that  because  the  head  of  our  State  is  a  King  there  is  some  mys- 
terious subtraction  from  the  people's  power  through  what  I  hear  some 
of  you  caU  **  the  King  business."  It  is  not  so.  We  like  calling  our  hered- 
itary president  a  King  because  this  is  his  home  with  a  wealth  of  asso- 
ciation and  because  we  have  the  deepest  affection  for  him  and  admiration 
for  his  and  his  family's  service  t9  the  State;  but  in  truth  and  in  fact 
King  George  has  a  good  deal  less  direct  power  than  the  occupant  from 
time  to  time  of  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States.  Next,  our 
Cabinet  is  day  by  day  responsible  to  Parliament.  If  it  cannot  find  a 
majority  there  to  support  it  on  all  matters  of  principle  it  must  go  out 
of  office  or  else  get  a  new  Parliament  that  will  suj^rt  it  returned  by  the 
electors ;  and,  finally,  the  Government  has  to  appeal  to  the  people  through 
a  dissolution  of  Parliament  at  least  once  in  five  years  and  when  it  does 
appeal  practically  every  man  and  woman  has  a  vote. 

The  day  to  day  responsibility  of  the  Cabinet  to  Parliament  and 
through  Parliament  to  the  people  has  this  effect — ^politics  are  a  staple 
interest  at  all  times  to  all  men  and  all  women.  We  have,  of  course, 
periods  of  more  intense  interest  and  periods  of  less,  but  the  general  level 
of  interest  is  fairly  high.  These  facts  color  the  whole  of  our  educational 
practice.  Education  with  us  is  tending  to  become  less  and  less  directed 
towards  the  conscious  end  of  simply  fitting  a  man  to  earn  bis  daily  bread. 
Man  does  not  live  for  or  by  bread  alone.  If  he  does  he  is  hardly  worth 
keeping  alive.    He  is  a  member  of  a  family,  a  trades  union,  a  club,  a 


434  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

dty,  a  nation,  a  church.  He  is  a  human  personality  with  something 
more  than  a  pair  of  hands  condemned  to  toil  at  will  of  another.  He  has 
intellectual  and  aesthetic  taste  (only  too  often  cramped  and  undevel- 
oped) and  moral  principles.  He  believes  in  liberty,  justice,  and  public 
right  and  has  shown  hinself  prepared  to  give  his  life  for  these  things. 
Each  is  a  citizen  and  every  citizen,  regardless  of  his  social  position  or 
wealth,  has  claims  which  are  prior  to  all  economic  claims  on  him — 
claims  of  opportunities  to  enable  him  to  fulfill  his  manifold  responsibilities 
as  a  member  of  widening  social  groups  from  the  f andly  to  the  commun- 
ity. His  responsibilities  are  no  less  if  he  be  a  ship's  riveter  than  if  he 
were  a  naval  architect.  The  locomotive  fireman  is  no  less  a  citizen  than 
the  railway  director  or  the  most  wealthy  railway  shareholder. 

In  short,  the  aim  of  education  in  Britain  cannot  be  vocational — ^it 
must  be  nothing  less  than  a  preparation  for  the  whole  of  life.  If  you 
followed  my  brief  summary  of  the  machinery  of  education  you  will  have 
noticed  the  stress  laid  both  in  primary  and  secondary  schools  upon  the 
Englisn  language,  English  literature,  geography,  and  history,  with,  in 
the  later  stages,  some  science  and  some  knowledge  of  at  least  one  other 
country.  You  will  have  noticed,  too,  the  drawing,  the  music,  singing  at 
all  events,  and  games — ^games  for  character,  organized  games  for  team 
work — all  directed  towards  the  making  of  the  citizen. 

There  is,  of  course,  a  danger  which  has  to  be  avoided  through  the  spirit 
in  which  this  education  is  given.  We  all  know  (who  does  not?)  the  type 
of  half  baked,  half  educated  puppy,  male  and  female,  who,  from  the  pin- 
nacle of  doleful  experience  attained  between  the  age  of  20  and  25,  looks 
down  with  pitjdng  contempt  on  all  the  grown  and  hearty  men  who  have 
dared  to  say  a  good  word  for  life  since  the  beginning  of  the  world.  Young 
prophets — and  who  that  is  young  is  not  something  of  a  prophet — tend  to 
be  prophets  of  woe,  which  they  tell  us  can  only  be  escaped  by  what  we 
elders  call  revolution.  Young  thinkers,  speakers,  and  writers  are  apt  to 
suffer  most  uncomfortably  from  possession  by  blue  devils  which  they 
assure  us  can  only  be  exorcised  by  blood.    This  is  no  new  phenomenon. 

Let  me  quote  from  Robert  Louis  Stevenson: — "It  would  be  a  poor 
service  to  spread  culture,  if  this  be  its  result,  among  the  comparatively 
innocent  and  cheerful  ranks  of  men.  When  our  little  poets  have  to  be 
sent  to  look  at  the  ploughman  and  learn  wisdom,  we  must  be  careful 
how  we  tamper  with  our  ploughman.  When  a  man  in  not  the  best  of 
circumstances  preserves  composure  of  mind  and  relishes  ale  and  tobacco 
and  his  wife  and  children;  when  a  man  in  this  predicament  can  afford  a 


1920]  RECENT  CHANGES  IN  BRITISH  EDUCATION  435 

lesson  by  the  way  to  what  are  called  his  intellectual  superiors,  there  is 
plainly  something  to  be  lost  as  well  as  to  be  gained  by  teaching  him  to 
thmk  differently.  It  is  better  to  leave  him  as  he  is  than  to  teach  him 
whining.  It  is  better  that  he  should  go  without  the  cheerful  light  of 
culture,  if  cheerless  doubt  and  paralyzing  sentimentalism  are  to  be  the 
consequence.  Let  us  by  all  means  fight  against  the  hide-bound  stolidity 
of  sensation  and  sluggishness  of  mind  which  blurs  and  discolorizes  for 
poor  natures  the  wonderful  pageant  of  consciousness.  Let  us  teach 
people  as  much  as  we  can  to  enjoy  and  they  will  learn  for  themselves  to 
sympathize;  but  let  us  see  to  it,  above  all,  that  we  give  these  lessons  in 
a  brave  vivacious  note  and  build  the  man  up  in  courage  while  we  demol- 
ish its  substitute,  indifference." 

I  hope  now  that  meaning  is  gradually  emerging  from  my  heterodoxy — 
that  the  cultured  mind  is  like  a  richly  filled  dye  vat  and  that  the  object 
of  education  is  to  select  the  dyes.  A  moment's  thought  and  we  can 
name  four  of  them — courage,  cheerfulness,  sympathy,  and  some  humility.  | 
These  are  spiritual  dyes;  there  are  also  historical  pigments  which  are  so 
different  that  they  are  really  of  a  different  kind  and  should  be  thought  of 
separately.  To  make  my  meaning  plainer  let  me  take  an  exa;mple  from 
my  own  experience.  Twenty  and  more  years  ago  there  were  two  broth- 
ers, one  largely  educated  in  England,  the  other  in  Scotland.  The 
English  educated,  as  a  boy,  hated  and  despised  the  French;  the  Scottish 
educated,  at  the  same  age,  admired  and  sentimentally  loved  them. 
Both  minds  were  approximately  equally  cultured  but  they  were  differ- 
ently charged  with  color.  The  explanation  is  simple;  for  centuries 
England  and  France  were  enemies,  Scotland  and  France  aUies.  The 
school  histories  of  England  and  Scotland  reflected  this  and  the  result 
was  as  I  have  said.  So  you  can  pass  through  the  whole  range  of  the 
results  of  education  and  you  will  find  the  same  sort  of  thing  true. 

Anyhow  beyond  the  machinery  of  education  and  the  avowed  purpose 
of  education  and  the  spiritual  aspect  of  education  stands  the  color  of 
education.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  most  vitally  interesting  thing  to 
foreigners  in  connection  with  any  national  education  is  this  thing  I  call 
its  color.  It  ultimately  matters  more  to  your  State  Department  than 
any  other  thing  in  the  whole  range  of  their  manifold  duties  to  know  the 
color  of  the  education  being  given  in  the  British  Empire,  in  France,  in 
Germany,  in  all  the  countries  of  South  America,  yes,  in  all  the  countries 
of  the  world,  for  if  your  Secretary  of  State  knows,  let  us  say,  the  French 
color  of  education,  he  will  know  how  that  nation  will  be  thinking  ten 
years  hence. 


\ 


436  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

Now  the  present  British  educational  color  I  can  tell  you  something 
about.  It  is  strongly  anti-militarist  and  is,  as  it  has  alwa3rs  been,  in- 
tensely friendly  to  you.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  almost  too  sentimental 
about  you.  It  presents  you  so  favorably  as  to  misrepres^it  you  slightly 
and  the  result  is  that  the  common  people  of  England  are  apt  to  be  sur- 
prised, perhaps  even  a  little  disappointed  when  you  are  most  yourselves, 
but  at  any  rate  it  is  a  most  friendly  and  appreciative  color.  Yet  I  would 
be  less  than  candid  if  I  did  not  say  this: — ^The  teachers  of  England  are  in 
the  main  young  men  whose  minds  have  been  ploughed  and  harrowed  by 
the  war.  Their  eyes  see  things  less  through  a  veil  of  tradition  and  cus- 
tom, and  if  there  ever  were  a  time  that  could  be  fairly  called  anxious  in 
this  particular  respect  it  is  this  time.  The  same  I  believe  is  true  else- 
where with  the  parts  reversed.  Now  is  the  day  both  for  political  and 
educational  statesmanship  so  to  think  and  so  to  act  that  the  color  of  the 
historical  education  given  in  the  schools  of  all  lands  is  fair  and  true  and 
sympathetic  to  the  real  virtues  that  every  great  nation  possesses  and,  \ 
when  it  has  to  deal  with  their  vices  and  backslidings  as  it  must  (every 
nation  has  black  pages  in  its  history),  it  should  see  that  the  perspective  is 
k^t  true  and  fair  and  the  extenuating  circumstances  honestly  presented. 

There  is  still  one  thing  more.  Beyond  the  machinery  effects  of  edu- 
cation, beyond  its  avowed  purpose,  beyond  its  spiritual  effect,  beyond 
its  color,  stands  last — greatest  and  most  precious  of  all — the  care  of  the 
ego.  I  used  to  tell  my  assistants  to  remember  that  those  ten  words  of 
Walt  Whitman's  "Nothing,  not  God,  is  greater  to  one  than  oneself  is'' 
contained  if  they  would  only  dig  deep  enough  into  them  all  the  Law  and 
the  Prophets  for  them  to  remember  in  relation  to  their  pupils. 

There  is  another  saying  of  Walt  Whitman's  that  a  teacher  has  to  re- 
member— "There  is  no  object  so  soft  but  it  makes  a  hub  for  the  wheel's 
universe."  Stevenson's  comment  on  this  is — "  Rightly  understood,  it  is 
on  the  softest  of  all  objects,  the  sympathetic  heart,  that  the  wheel  of 
society  turns  easily  and  securely  as  on  a  perfect  axle." 

This  completes  my  survey.  For  the  heart  of  the  British  public,  made 
wonderfully  sympathetic  by  the  war,  shining  through  its  Department  of 
Education,  is  the  organ  which  will  protect  and  nourish  the  millions  of 
young  British  egos,  each  more  important  to  itself  than  God — ^remember 
they  are  young — and  will  provide  the  axle  upon  which  the  great  educa- 
tional machine  of  its  own  creating  will  revolve  as  it  shapes  and  molds 
the  future,  not  only  of  the  pupils  entrusted  to  its  care,  but  also  of  the 
nation  which  it  is  my  high  privilege  to  represent  here  among  you. 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOICAN's  PROBLEMS  437 

THE  FARM  WOMAN'S  PROBLEMS^ 

FLORENCE  E.  WARD 

In  Charge,  Extension  Work  with  Women^  Office  of  Extension  Worh  North  and  West,  United 

States  Department  of  Apiculture 

THE  FARM  WOMAN  TELLS  HER  OWN  STORY 

By  a  singular  anomaly  the  census  places  fann  women  with  other 
homemakers  in  a  class  of  those  having  ''no  occupation.''  The  testimony 
of  the  ten  thousand  farm  women  who  participated  in  a  recently  com- 
pleted farm  home  survey  would  indicate  that  the  farm  woman  might 
be  better  described  as  one  having  ceaseless  occupation,  so  varied  and 
insistent  are  the  demands  made  upon  her. 

The  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  its  desire  to  extend  to  farm  women 
the  most  practical  and  acceptable  assistance  possible,  undertook,  in  codp- 
eration  with  the  state  agricultural  colleges  and  farm  bureaus,  to  learn 
from  farm  women  themselves  what  were  their  real  problems  so  that  the 
cooperative  extension  service  might  be  guided  in  doing  its  part  toward 
the  solving  of  those  problems. 

This  survey  is  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most  significant  pieces  of  work 
yet  undertaken  in  the  field  of  farm  home  studies.  The  10,044  records 
received  from  farm  women  were  secured  largely  by  home  demonstration 
agents  between  June  and  October,  1919.  These  present  convincing 
evidence  as  to  actual  living  and  working  conditions  under  which  farm 
women  are  meeting  their  reqx>nsibilities  as  partners  in  the  farming  busi- 
ness, and  unmistakably  point  to  certain  definite  kinds  of  assistance 
which  the  co5perative  extension  service  can  extend  to  rural  homes  of 
the  northern  and  western  states. 

How  the  study  tvos  made.  It  may  be  asked  to  what  extent  the  homes 
surveyed  are  typical  of  farming  conditions  over  the  33  northern  and 
western  states  in  which  the  studies  were  made.  It  was  requested  that 
in  selecting  the  counties  to  be  surv^ed  the  following  plan  be  carried 
out:  (1)  choose  the  most  typical  fanning  counties  of  each  state;  (2) 
take  one  or  more  of  the  most  typical  fanning  communities  in  each 
county;  (3)  secure  a  record  from  eveiy  farm  home  in  the  locality  selected, 
irrespective  of  size,  farm  tenure,  proq>erity  of  farm  family,  or  other  con- 
ditions; (4)  select,  if  possible,  a  locality  containing  from  35  to  50  homes; 
and  (5)  include  in  the  survey  none  but  bona  fide  farm  homes. 

^  FnaoLttA  at  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economica  Aaso- 
datioa,  Colorado  S^ringi,  June,  1920.  Revised  figuzes  will  appear  in  a  Department 
bulletin  entitled  "A  Farm  Home  Survey." 


438  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

A  study  of  the  returns  shows  that  these  requests  were  fairly  well 
complied  with.  The  figures  obtained  on  the  size  and  type  of  farms  sur- 
veyed and  the  relative  percentage  of  tenantry  and  farm  ownership  agree 
so  closely  with  the  figures  shown  in  the  census  of  1910  for  the  correspond- 
ing geographic  section  as  to  confinn  the  belief  that  the  localities  were 
comparatively  representative,  although  it  seems  probable  that  a  some- 
what better  response  was  obtained  from  the  more  progressive  element 
of  the  communities,  and  that  in  consequence  the  answers  presumably 
show  conditions  rather  above  the  average. 

In  considering  the  details  of  the  survey  that  follow,  it  should  be  noted 
that  in  nb  single  instance  did  all  of  the  women  answer  any  one  question. 
For  example,  9767  people  answered  the  question  regarding  washing  and 
ironing;  9400  stated  that  this  work  was  done  at  home,  making  an  aver- 
age of  96  per  cent. 

It  is  evident  that  in  some  cases,  women  filling  out  the  blank  laid  it 
down  at  some  interruption  and  in  taking  it  up  again  omitted  certain 
questions.  Many  persons,  apparently,  assiuned  that  if  they  omitted 
a  question  entirely  they  were  indicating  with  sufficient  clearness  that 
the  conditions  imder  discussion  did  not  exist  in  their  families.  For 
example,  a  large  number  failed  to  answer  questions  bearing  upon  the 
number  of  children  of  various  ages,  apparently  because  they  had  no 
children.  The  same  is  true  of  questions  dealing  with  members  of  the 
family  incapacitated  by  old  age  or  illness;  hired  men  and  hired  girls; 
the  vacations  or  ''days  off"  of  the  homemaker;  and  other  points  of 
information.  It  has,  therefore,  been  necessary  to  base  the  average  or 
percentage  in  each  case  upon  the  number  of  explicit  answers  instead  of 
on  the  total  numbers  of  surveys  received,  a  procedure  which  results 
in  certain  instances  in  figures  somewhat  higher,  it  is  believed,  than 
actual  facts  warrant. 

One  needs  but  to  follow  the  average  woman  of  the  surv^  through  a 
week's  routine  to  gain  some  conception  of  the  vitality  and  skills  called 
into  play  by  her  duties  as  cook,  seamstress,  laundress,  and  nurse,  family 
purchasing  agent,  teacher  of  her  children,  and  factor  in  community  life, 
as  well  as  producer  of  dairy,  garden,  and  poultry  products. 

In  considering  the  figures  of  the  survey  one  should  keep  constantiy 
in  mind  the  two  sides  to  the  shield.  One  represents  a  favored  small 
percentage  of  these  10,044  women  whose  surroimdings,  working  con- 
ditions, and  social  escperiences  reach  high  levels  of  comfort  and  progress 
in  farm  home  life.    The  other  and  larger  percentage  less  fortunately 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOMAn's  PROBLEMS  439 

placed  may  give  a  somewhat  exaggerated  impression  of  hardship^  imless 
one  thinks  of  the  motive  back  of  the  work  of  wife  and  mother  and  the 
compensations  that  come  to  every  homemaker  in  her  round  of  activities 
for  the  happiness  and  comfort  of  her  family.    Anyone  who  has  expe- 
rienced the  satisfaction  of  living  in  the  open  country  knows  that  the 
average  farm  woman  is  more  fortimately  placed  in  many  ways  than  her 
average  dty  sister.    Studies  of  living  and  working  conditions  of  dty 
homemakers  bring  to  lig^t  in  many  homes  not  only  handicaps  in  home 
equipment  and  conveniences  but  an  environment  detrimental  to  health, 
happiness,  and  development.    The  varied  interests  of  the  farm  woman's 
life,  her  contacts  with  growing  things,  her  enjoyment  of  seasonal  changes 
in  nature,  and  her  freedom  from  noise,  dust,  and  confusion  are  not  to  be 
lost  sight  of  in  considering  her  comparative  opportunity  with  home- 
makers  of  urban  communities.    It  is  not,  however,  the  purpose  of  this 
discussion  to  go  into  these  comparisons,  but  to  present,  to  those  inter- 
ested, conditions  as  the  survey  reflects  them.    That  marked  progress 
has  been  made  during  the  past  few  years  in  raising  rural  home  standards 
of  living  can  not  be  questioned.    Every  community  boasts  some  homes 
which  exemplify  the  fact  that  the  country  today  with  a  reasonable 
amount  of  prosperity  and  good  management  offers  all  of  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  rural  Kving  with  most  of  the  hardships  of  former  days 
eliminated.    The  telephone  and  the  automobile  free  the  farm  family 
from  isolation.    Modem  machinery  for  farm  and  home  takes  the  drudg- 
ery from  kitchen  and  field.    Rural  engineering  has  mastered  the  prob- 
lems of  sanitation  for  the  farm  home.    Community  centers  make  possible 
wholesome  and  inspiring  social  contacts  and  mediums  of  self-expression. 
With  all  these  modem  resources  which  are  taken  advantage  of  and 
enjoyed  by  many  progressive  and  prosperous  farm  families,  there  is 
still  a  large  percentage  of  the  total  of  farm  homes  in  this  coimtry  which 
has  not  yet,  according  to  the  figures  of  the  survey,  felt  to  any  marked 
degree  the  influence  of  these  life-giving  factors.    It  is  the  reali2sation  of 
this  need  that  stimulates  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  state 
colleges  of  agriculture  to  offer  the  service  of  extension  work  with  women, 
a  work  which  would  not  be  needed  if  all  homes  had  reached  the  high 
state  of  comfort  and  efficiency  attained  by  the  few. 
.    Economic  importance  of  the  farm  woman.    The  survey  indicates  that 
much  loss  to  family  and  community  through  waste  of  woman  power 
could  be  prevented  by  a  reasonable  amoimt  of  planning  and  well  directed 
investment  in  modem  equipment. 


440  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

Eversrwhere  we  hear  of  the  economic  importance  of  a  contented  rural 
population  willing  to  stay  on  the  land  and  help  to  biuld  it  up.  Perhaps 
the  greatest  factor  in  bringing  this  about  will  be  the  healthy,  alert,  and 
expert  homemakers  who,  with  the  other  members  of  the  farm  family, 
will  see  to  it  that  a  part  of  the  increased  income  from  the  farm  is  directed 
toward  the  improvement  of  the  home  as  a  means  of  contentment  and 
stimulus  for  fann  work.  Economists  of  our  country,  seeing  the  steady 
migration Vty-ward,  recognizing  the  dearth  of  farm  labor  as  a  limiting 
factor  in  production,  and  connecting  this  with  the  isolation  and  incon- 
venience of  rural  living  conditions,  are  pointing  out  that  where  these 
exist  it  is  doubtful  business  policy  to  use  increased  income  to  buy  more 
land  with  heavy  interest  charges  against  it  rather  than  to  spend  part  oi 
that  income  in  raising  standards  of  living  so  that  farm  women  may  find 
contentment  in  comfortable  homes  and  young  people  will  not  go  to  the 
cities  in  search  of  attractive  living  conditions  and  a  satisfying  social 
Hfe. 

The  independent,  venturesome  spirit  of  American  youth  has  in  no  way 
expressed  itself  more  characteristically  than  in  the  thousands  of  farm 
boys  and  girls  who  have  turned  courageous  young  backs  upon  a  certain 
type  of  fann  life  which  offers  little  that  youth  craves.  This  may  be  a 
(i^guised  blessing,  as  the  coimtry  boy  or  girl,  who  struggles  free  of  one 
environment  for  another  which  seems  to  offer  greater  oiq>ortunity,  may 
be  a  factor  in  preventing  the  development  of  the  peasant  type  found  in 
countries  where  generations  of  one  family  live  on  the  same  plot  of  land, 
not  because  it  yields  a  satisfying  life,  but  because  of  the  diflkulties  and 
uncertainties  of  change. 

Hence  the  interest  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  the  returns  from 
these  studies  as  to  labor,  working  equipment,  and  compensations  of  the 
farm  woman  is  as  practical  and  as  coldly  calculating  as  its  interest  in 
farm  studies  regarding  the  labor,  machinery,  and  crop  returns  of  the 
fanner,  and  for  the  same  general  reasons. 

SOME  FACTS  FROM  THE  SURVEY 

Modem  equipmerU  brings  health  and  leisure.  A  walkout  mig^t  be 
foreshadowed  in  some  industries,  where  love  and  service  were  not  the 
ruling  motives,  by  conditions  brought  out  in  table  1  which  show  that 
the  average  working  day,  summer  and  winter,  for  over  9000  farm  women 
is  11.3  hours,  and  that  87  per  cent  of  8773  women  report  no  vacation 
dming  the  year. 


1920] 


THE  FASM  WOICAN^S  PKOBLEMS 

TABLE  1 
Lmgth  of  the  wariini  day  and  vacaHon  of  farm  women 


441 


woimr 

HATDfO 
▼ACAXKW 

LBHOXBOV 

Work 

Rest 

Work 

Rat 

Edstfsni ........,,  a .. .   . 

AMfff 

13.0 
13.2 
13.0 

1.6 

1.5 
1.8 

komn 

10.7 
10.5 
10.2 

AMffl 

2.4 
2.3 
2.4 

13 
12 

13 

12.4 

Ce&tnl 

10.8 

WcBtem 

16.4 

Avenge 

13.1 

1.6 

10.5 

2.4 

13 

11.5 

Number  of  records 

9530 

8360 

9164 

8164 

8773 

1241 

Table  2  shows  the  extent  of  certain  household  tasks.  Some  of 
these  might  be  eliminated  if  the  principles  of  modem  business  were 
applied,  and  labor  and  time  spent  on  others  might  be  lessened  if  the 
farmhouse  were  as  well  equipped  as  the  up-to-date  bam,  the  appliances 
of  which  the  farmer  looks  upon  as  so  much  currency  with  which  to  buy 
efficiency. 


TABLE  2 

loom 

lOft 

■lOVKB 
ID  COX 

torn 

mo- 

SBMB 

LAMFt 

DO  OWN 

WAn- 
oro 

DOfOWW 
UWIMU 

DAXLT 
IfSHD- 

nro 

nSAD 

Pcreeot- 
•99 

Dis- 
ta&ce 

baumo 

Eutem 

9.7 
7.7 
5.3 

1.3 

1.3 
2.5 

ptreeui 

79 
79 

77 

54 

68 

57 

23 
41 
65 

94 
97 
97 

Ptretmt 

86 
94 
95 

0.5 
0.6 
0.5 

P&re§mi 
89 

Central 

78 

Western 

97 

Average 

7.8 

1.6 

79 

61 

39 

96 

92 

0.6 

94 

9871 

9210 

9830 

6511 

6708 

9767 

9724 

8001 

9614 

Lighting.  The  installation  of  a  modem  lighting  system  would  release 
some  time  in  the  79  per  cent  of  9830  homes  where  kerosene  lamps  are 
used.  The  initial  cost  would  be  small  when  weighed  against  conven- 
iences and  comfort. 

Heating.  Nine  thousand  of  the  seven-room  houses  (average)  are 
supplied  with  from  one  to  two  stoves,  not  counting  the  kitchen  range. 
These  add  to  the  daily  work  of  54  per  cent  of  the  rural  women  who,  when 
heat  is  needed,  not  only  carry  into  the  house  the  coal  or  wood  to  feed 
these  stoves,  but,  according  to  their  statements,  kindle  the  fires  in  the 
morning  and  keep  the  home  fires  burning  throughout  the  day.    This 


442  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

condition  could  be  greatly  improved  by  some  type  of  modem  equipment 
placed  in  the  basement.  By  this  means  the  whole  house  could  be  kept 
comparatively  warm  and  usable  throughout  the  winter,  and  congestion 
avoided  which  results  when  the  winter  living  quarters  are  limited  to  the 
kitchen  and  one  or  two  other  rooms.  The  normal  town  dweller  keeps 
all  of  the  rooms  of  his  house  comfortably  warm.  Too  frequently  the 
farm  family  contents  itself  with  going  to  bed  in  chilled  rooms.  Breaking 
the  ice  in  the  water  pitcher  on  rising  in  the  morning  is  not  entirely  a 
matter  of  tradition.  The  family  sometimes  fails  to  connect  lack  of 
warmth  and  facilities  for  bathing  and  dressing  with  ailments  and  result- 
ant doctor  bills  which  expense  would  in  many  cases  pay  for  a  modem 
heating  system. 

Power.  As  power  on  the  farm  is  the  greatest  of  time  and  labor  savers 
for  the  farmer  so  power  in  the  home  is  one  of  the  greatest  boons  to  the 
housewife.  Of  the  total  number  answering  the  question,  48  per  cent 
reported  power  for  operating  farm  machinery.  When  we  consider  that 
it  is  often  a  simple  matter  to  connect  the  engine  used  at  the  bam  with 
household  equipment  it  seems  a  singular  fact  that  but  22  per  cent  of  the 
farm  homes  reporting  have  this  advantage.  Power  for  such  frequently 
recurring  tasks  as  churning  and  running  the  washing  machine  would 
greatly  relieve  the  farm  woman  and  give  her  a  satisfying  sense  of  modem 
efficiency.  The  eastern  section  reports  50  per  cent  power  on  the  prem- 
ises, and  12  per  cent  in  the  home.  One  state  reports  seven  per  cent, 
and  another,  the  lowest,  two  per  cent  of  power  machinery  in  the  home. 
Only  one  state  shows  a  larger  percentage  of  power  in  the  home  (24) 
than  on  the  farm  (19) .  One  state,  the  highest,  shows  47  per  cent  of  power 
in  the  home  and  72  per  cent  on  the  farm.  The  one  next  highest  shows 
44  per  cent  in  the  home  and  78  per  cent  on  the  farm. 

Running  water.  It  is  frequently  stated  that  running  water  is  the  pivot 
upon  which  much  modem  convenience  and  comfort  turns.  Of  those 
reporting,  but  32  per  cent  of  the  homes  have  running  water;  that  means 
water  drawn  from  a  faucet  and  implies  that  water  may  be  in  other 
rooms  besides  the  kitchen.  Sixty-five  per  cent  of  the  homes  have 
water  in  the  kitchen  only,  this  means  a  pump  or  possibly  a  mbber  hose 
attached  to  a  barrel  located  inside  or  outside  of  the  kitchen.  However, 
in  60  per  cent  of  the  homes  there  is  a  sink  with  drain  even  though  in  many 
cases  the  water  used  at  the  sink  has  to  be  carried  into  the  house  by  the 
pailful.  In  61  per  cent  of  the  homes  into  which  the  water  must  be  car- 
ried this  work  is  done  by  women.    Of  6784  women  answering  the  ques- 


1920] 


THE  FARM  WOMAN  S  PROBLEMS 


443 


tion,  20  per  cent  have  bathrooms  in  their  homes.  The  state  ranking 
highest  reported  48  per  cent,  and  the  one  ranking  lowest  3  per  cent 
of  homes  having  bathtubs.  No  one  single  thing  brings  so  much  relief 
to  fann  women  in  meeting  their  endless  tasks  as  does  the  use  of  running 
water.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  need  in  rural  home  life  today  on 
more  than  two  thirds  of  the  farms.  The  advent  of  the  bathroom,  the 
indoor  toilet,  and  other  conveniences  dependent  upon  running  water 
bring  not  only  imtold  release  from  drudgery  but  a  sense  of  pride  and 
ownership  which  is  as  important  a  factor  in  a  woman's  success  in  her 
daily  round  of  work  as  is  modem  machinery  for  the  success  of  the  farmer. 

TABLE  3 
Equipment  inform  homes  surveyed 


S£CTxoN  Of  couimy 


Eastern 

Central 

Western 

Average... 

Number  of 
records.. 


EUN- 

NINO 

WATER 

POWBK 

MACBZM- 

ERY 

WATia 

IN 
KUCHBN 

WASH- 
ING 
MA- 

CHINX 

CAKPET- 

8WKKP- 

ER 

SEWING 
HA- 

SCREEN- 
ED WIN- 
DOWS 
AMD 
DOORS 

OUT- 
DOOR 
TOILET 

BATH 

TUB 

• 

Percent 

39 
24 
36 

percent 

12 
29 
22 

percent 

85 
60 
45 

percent 

52 
67 
49 

percent 

58 

46 
29 

percent 

94 
95 
95 

percent 

95 

98 
91 

percent 

87 
93 
86 

percent 

21 
18 

23 

32 

22 

65- 

57 

47 

95 

96 

90 

20 

9320 

9080 

6092 

9472 

9513 

9560 

9667 

9580 

6784 

SINK 

AMD 

DRAIN 


percent 

80 

.  52 

44 


60 


9334 


Hired  kdp  for  the  homemaker.  The  survey  shows  the  passing  of  the 
''hired  girl/'  once  so  important  a  factor  in  the  economic  and  social  life 
of  the  farm  home.  The  answers  received  regarding  help  by  the  month 
and  by  the  day  are,  as  noted  earlier,  somewhat  ambiguous.  We  inter- 
pret them  to  mean,  however,  that  the  nimiber  of  homes  employing  hired 
women  the  year  round  is  almost  negligible,  while  about  14  per  cent  of 
the  8693  families  reporting  employed  hired  women  for  short  periods 
perhaps  during  the  peak  of  the  heavy  summer  work.  The  average 
period  during  which  such  assistance  is  available  is  3.6  months,  the  larg- 
est number  of  hired  women  and  the  shortest  term  being  in  the  eastern 
section,  the  smallest  nimiber  of  hired  women  and  the  longest  term  of 
service  being  in  the  western  section.  From  8  to  10  per  cent  of  the 
homes  seem  to  employ  women  to  help  by  the  day,  an  average  of  1} 
days  per  week.  This  assistance  seems  to  be  mainly  for  laundry  work 
and  cleaning.  The  percentage  of  homes  emplo}dng  such  help  by  the 
day  is  larger  in  the  eastern  section  than  in  the  central  and. western 


444 


THE  JOXTI^AL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS 


[October 


sections.  The  growing  scarcity  of  domestic  help  only  further  empha- 
sizes the  necessity  for  simplifying  the  housework  and  providing  the 
fann  home  with  all  modem  labor  saving  devices. 

Outdoor  work.  In  addition  to  her  various  duties  in  the  house  the  farm 
woman  is  a  productive  worker  on  the  farm,  as  evidenced  by  the  figures 
shown  in  tables  4,  5  and  6;  36  per  cent,  of  the  women  reporting,  help 
with  the  milking  of  the  family  herd;  56  per  cent  take  most  of  the  care 
of  the  garden;  81  per  cent  care  for  the  chickens;  25  per  cent  help  with 
the  livestock;  and  24  per  cent  help  in  the  field  an  average  of  6.7  weeks 
during  the  year. 

TABLE  4 

Women  hdping  in  outdoor  work  and  keepi$$g  accounts 


8XCX10M  OF  OOUNTET 


Eastern 

Centxal 

Western 

Avenge 

Number  of  xecords 


HELP  WXXH 
UVB8T0CK 

HELP  nr 

IIEID 

WEEKll 
PEE  YSAE 

CAEINOfOE 

EEEPDTO 
PABM 

Aoooums 

ptrunt 

24 
26 
27 

p€re«nt 

27 
22 
23 

8.5 
4.9 
6.7 

ptrutU 

41 

67 

57 

28 
34 
33 

25 

24 

6.7 

56 

32 

9365 

9179 

2196 

9526 

8730 

EEEPING 


Aocoums 

ptrcmtt 

23 
33 
34 

30 

8750 


TABLE  5 

Woman's  part  of  the  work  of  the  dairy 


SBCxioH  ov  oomn&T 


Eastern 

Central 

Western 

Average 

Number  of  records . . 


OOWB  PEE 
PAEM 

WOMEH 
HELP 
KZLE 

WOMEN 
WASH 
PAILS 

WASH 
TOR 

KAEB 

EBEP 

SBOOSM 

SBU 

fw  unt 

ptrunt 

percent 

percent 

pereemt 

perumt 

8.0 

24 

85 

50 

43 

22 

31 

6.8 

45 

93 

76 

66 

30 

33 

4.8 

37 

85 

63 

74 

36 

33 

6.8 

36 

88 

65 

60 

29 

33 

9670 

9342 

9361 

8817 

9190 

6356 

8498 

p$r  cent 

9 

9 

16 


11 


5354 


The  dairy.  Table  5  shows  that  33  per  cent  of  the  farm  women  report- 
ing make  butter  to  sell.  Since  butter  making  either  for  home  use  or 
for  sale  adds  one  item  to  the  farm  women's  overcrowded  schedule,  it 
would  seem  to  be  justified  only  when  a  good  creameiy  is  not  within 
reach.  Experts  advise  that  normally  the  best  utilization  of  milk  is  to 
send  the  surplus  to  a  creamery,  after  reserving  an  ample  supply  for 


1920] 


THE  FARM  WOMAn's  PROBLEMS 


445 


home  use,  as  the  Income  from  the  dairy  herd  is  usually  greater  when 
the  produce  is  handled  by  the  creamery  than  when  butter  is  made  at 
home. 

Poultry.  The  studies  of  poultry  specialists  parallel  the  figures  in 
table  6:  that  81  per  cent  of  all  poultry  flocks  in  the  country  are  cared  for 
by  women,  with  the  largest  per  cent  (89)  in  the  Middle  West. 

Accounts.  Getting  the  most  from  a  dollar  and  making  sure  that  the 
home  industry  pays  is  recognized  as  an  essential  part  of  good  business 
by  30  per  cent  of  those  answering  the  question  regarding  household 
finances,  who  stated  that  they  were  keeping  accounts  (table  4).  Thirty- 
two  per  cent  were  keeping  farm  accounts.  The  records  of  those  report- 
ing show  that  11  per  cent  of  those  selling  butter  and  16  per  cent  of  those 
selling  eggs  have  the  money  for  their  own  use. 

TABLE  6 
C<»9  of  pauUry;  records  iept  and  money  returns 


sxcnoH  or  oouimtY 

WOMXlf 

CASINO  rem 

POULntY 

AVBIAGB  SXO 

OFYLOCK 

WOMXN  HAV- 

DfOrOTJLTlY 

MQNXy 

WOMXlf 

SAVDIOBOO 

MOMSY 

WOKKN  KXIV- 
XNOKKOOIM 

Eastern ,, 

Ptrceni 

69 
89 
84 

90 

102 

71 

ttrctnt 

13 
25 
21 

ptrumt 

16 
16 
17 

p^remt 
38 

Ce&tial 

51 

Western 

41 

Avenge 

81 

90 

22 

16 

45 

Number  of  records 

9477 

9742 

8312 

8324 

8628 

Community.  Table  7,  indicating  an  average  distance  of  5.9  miles  to 
the  nearest  high  school,  2.9  miles  to  the  nearest  church,  and  4.8  miles 
to  the  nearest  market,  shows  that  country  people  are  far  enough  from 
the  center  of  trade,  social,  and  religious  activities  to  tempt  the  spirigof 
individualism  and  to  put  their  neighborliness  and  piety  to  the  test.^It 
points  to  the  importance  of  pooling  individual  interest  in  common  com- 
munity enteiprises  such  as  canning  kitchens,  buying  centers,  markets, 
laundries,  salvage  shops,  and  sewing  rooms  as  well  as  social  centers  for 
lectures,  community  sings,  dramatics,  and  games,  which,  if  properly 
handled,  break  down  the  isolation  of  country  homes  and  make  possible 
the  accomplishment  of  many  otherwise  difficult  tasks,  with  a  saving  of 
time  and  labor  for  the  housewife,  and  often  an  opportunity  for  increased 
income  as  well  as  recreation  for  the  entire  family. 


446 


THE  JOUSNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[October 


The  automobile  contributes  materially  to  community  life  by  reducing 
the  distance  factor.  It  will  be  noted  in  table  7  that  an  average  of  62 
per  cent  of  farms  of  the  9545  reporting  own  cars,  with  the  largest  (73) 
in  the  Middle  West.  The  telephone  also  helps  to  overcome  distance  in 
72  per  cent  of  the  9742  homes  reporting.  Again  the  Central  West  shows 
an  advance  with  85  per  cent  of  the  total  number  reporting. 

HeaUh.  Fortunate  is  the  farm  family  whose  members  know  the  rudi- 
ments of  caring  for  the  sick  and  have  an  emergency  kit  fitted  up  and  at 
hand. 

According  to  figures  in  table  7,  the  average  farm  home  is  more  than 
five  and  one-half  miles  from  the  family  doctor,  nearly  12  miles  from  a 
trained  nurse,  and  about  14  miles  from  a  hospital.    These  distances  are 

TABLE  7 

Distances^  automobiles^  and  tdephones 


sicnoH  or  oodiitby 


Eastern 

Central 

Western 

Avenge 

Number  of  xecorda. . . . 


h 

eg 

li 


1.2 
1.6 
1.7 


1.5 


9627 


4 


mUt 

4.3 
5.1 
9.6 


5.9 


9767 


S 


1.9 
2.6 

5.1 


2.9 


9726 


miles 

3.1 
4.6 
7.7 


4.8 


9708 


miUs 

3.5 

4.9 

10.4 


5.7 


9837 


pH 


p 


9605 


miles 

w^^9W^m 

12.8 

9.9 

12.7 

11.8 

17.7 

15.5 

13.9 

11.9 

9463 


8 


pereeni 

48 
73 

62 


62 


9545 


if 


percent 

67 
85 
56 


72 


9748 


shortest  in  the  eastern  section  and  longest  in  the  western  section.  This 
means  that  even  though  the  farm  home  be  provided  with  an  automobile 
and  a  telephone,  the  farm  family  may  be  obliged  to  act  unaided  in  case 
of  sickness,  childbirth,  or  serious  accident,  and  that  its  members  perhaps 
need  more  than  ordinary  training  to  prepare  them  for  such  exigencies. 

Twelve  to  jfifteen  per  cent  of  the  total  families  reporting  recorded 
at^least  one  person  entirely  or  partially  incapacitated  by  old  age  or  chronic 
illness,  although  on  this  point  there  was  some  ambiguity  in  the  answers, 
as  previously  stated. 

Along  with  proper  nutrition,  clothing,  and  ezerdse,  sanitary  condi- 
tions have  an  important  bearing  on  the  health  of  the  children  and  adults 
on  the  farm.  On  the  basis  of  9580  reports,  90  per  cent  of  rural  homes 
still  have  an  outdoor  toilet.    Only  20  per  cent  (6784  answering)  have 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOICAN'S  PROBLEMS  447 

bathtubs  and  this  does  not  necessarily  imply  hot  water  in  connection. 
Almost  universally  the  houses  are  screened,  as  indicated  by  the  96  per 
cent  of  9667  homes  reporting.  The  desirable  screened  kitchen  porch  is 
foimd,  however,  in  but  32  per  cent  of  the  9502  homes  reporting. 

Children.  Among  the  surprises  in  tabulating  the  surve)rs  was  the 
small  number  of  children  in  farm  homes;  7467  reports  show  an  average 
of  but  1.18  under  10  years  of  age  for  each  home,  and  but  0.89  between 
10  and  16  years  of  age  for  each  home.  It  may  be  of  interest  here  to 
note  that  the  number  of  children  in  rural  homes  of  the  East  falls 
below  the  countrjrwide  laverage,  the  report  showing  0.9  imder  10  years 
and  0.77  between  10  and  16  years,  on  a  basis  of  2573  reports, 
while  that  in  the 'western  section  is  the  highest,  with  1.4  under 
10  years  (1734  reports)  and  0.97  between  10  and  16  years  (1923 
reports). 

While  there  may  be  some  doubt  with  reference  to  the  figures  regarding 
children,  as  has  been  indicated,  in  any  event  child  life  is  an  important 
factor  in  rural  districts,  and  for  the  future  of  our  agriculture,  if  for  no 
other  reason,  an  intelligent  effort  should  be  made  and  as  much  money 
expended  to  safeguard  the  child  life  on  the  farms  as  to  safeguard  other 
life  that  has  to  do  with  building  up  the  farmstead.  A  campaign  to  bring 
the  child  life,  the  most  precious  on  the  farm,  up  to  standards  of  nutrition 
and  development  should  excel  in  intensity  campaigns  in  the  interest  of 
cow  testing  or  poultry  culling,  since  a  large  amount  of  the  underdevelop- 
ment and  malnutrition  in  rural  children,  irrespective  of  the  prosperity 
of  the  homes  from  which  they  come,  has  been  revealed  by  the  recent 
weighing  and  measuring  tests. 

The  entire  purpose  which  animates  the  work  of  the  cooperative  exten- 
sion service  as  it  pertains  to  the  home  is  to  help  the  homemaker  to  so 
arrange  the  varioiis  departments  of  her  housekeeping  that  she  may 
secure  for  herself,  her  family,  and  her  community  the  highest  possible 
d^ee  of  health,  hi^piness,  and  efficiency.  Hence  the  facts  in  this 
survey  become  a  challenge  for  increased  cooperation  with  the  farming 
people  in  placing  housekeeping  on  as  sound  an  economic  basis  as  farming 
itself. 

SiddigJUs.  Interesting  sidelights  revealing  what  was  really  in  the 
minds  of  some  of  the  farm  women  when  they  filled  out  the  blanks  of 
the  survey  are  shown  by  comments  written  as  footnotes  or  on  sheets 
attached.  These  original  and  intimate  expressions  of  opinion  and  con- 
viction, not  only  as  to  certain  specific  difficulties  or  advantages  in  an 


448  THE  JOURNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

individual  woman's  home  life,  but  her  analysis  and  philosophy  of  the 
bigger  issues  of  country  living  are  counted  among  the  most  precious 
records  received  by  the  Department. 

Briefly  stated,  here  are  some  of  the  points  of  view  expressed. 

Farm  women  love  the  country  and  do  not  want  to  give  up  its  freedom 
for  dty  life.  What  they  do  want  is  nonnal  living  and  working  condi- 
tions in  the  farm  home.  "The  country  offers  greater  opportimity  for 
satisfying  life  than  the  dty,  and  country  women  have  as  great  capadty 
as  dty  women  for  the  enjoyment  of  life,  but  are  more  handicapped  with 
routine  work  which  absorbs  their  time  and  strength." 

Because  of  the  shortage  of  help  prevalent  throughout  the  country, 
women  consider  it  espedally  important  that  modem  equipment  and 
madiinery  so  far  as  possible  do  the  work  which  would  otherwise  fall  to 
women. 

The  questions  are  asked:  "Does  the  farmer  lade  business  sagadty 
who  invests  in  the  sulky  plow,  used  only  during  one  season  of  the  year, 
and  puts  off  the  purdiase  of  the  washing  machine?"  "Is  it  an  error  in 
judgment  to  justify  outlays  which  result  in  better  crops  and  buildings, 
and  consider  home  investments  an  extravagance? " 

The  farm  woman  does  not  wish  to  put  up  with  today  in  the  antidpa- 
tion  of  something  better  tomorrow  or  in  her  old  age,  but  wants  a  chance 
to  enjoy  today  as  the  only  possession  she  is  sure  of.  The  woman  feels 
that  she  owes  it  to  herself  and  her  family  to  "keep  informed,  attractive, 
and  in  harmony  with  life  as  the  years  advance." 

Women  realize  that  no  amount  of  wise  arrangement  or  labor  saving 
appliances  will  make  a  home.  It  is  the  woman's  personal  presence, 
influence,  and  care  that  make  the  home.  Housekeeping  is  a  business 
as  sordid  and  practical  as  farming  and  with  no  romance  in  it;  homemak- 
ing  is  a  sacred  trust.  "A  woman  wants  time  salvaged  from  housekeep- 
ing to  create  the  right  home  atmosphere  for  her  children,  and  to  so 
enrich  home  surroundings  that  they  may  gain  their  ideals  of  beauty  and 
their  tastes  for  books  and  music,  not  from  the  shop  windows,  the  movies, 
the  bill  boards,  or  the  jazz  band,  but  from  the  home  environment." 

In  the  minds  of  many  women  is  the  thought  that  the  man  at  the  head 
of  the  house  lives  under  a  strain  of  hard  work  and  competition  and  that 
"for  him  to  have  a  comfortable  fireside  and  a  family  that  is  happy, 
healthy,  well  fed,  well  dothed,  well  sheltered,  and  contented  is  his  right 
and  his  greatest  boon." 

The  farm  woman  knows  that  there  is  no  one  who  can  take  her  place 
as  teacher  and  companion  of  her  children  during  thdr  early  impression- 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOMAN'S  PKOBLEMS  449 

able  years,  and  she  craves  more  time  for  their  care.  She  feels  the  need 
of  making  the  farm  home  an  inviting  place  for  the  young  people  of  the 
family  and  their  friends  and  of  promoting  the  recreational  and  educa- 
tional advantages  of  the  neighborhood  in  order  to  cope  with  the  various 
forms  of  dty  allurements.  She  realizes  that  modem  conditions  call  for 
an  even  deeper  realization  and  closer  contact  between  mother  and  child. 
The  familiar  term,  ^'  God  could  not  be  evers^where  so  He  made  mothers/* 
has  its  modem  scientific  application,  as  no  amount  of  education  and  care 
given  to  children  in  school  or  ebewhere  outside  the  home  can  take  the 
place  of  mothering  in  the  home.  ^'The  home  exists  for  the  child,  hence 
the  child's  development  should  have  first  consideration." 

Farm  women  want  to  broaden  their  outlook  and  keep  up  with  the 
advancement  of  their  children  ^^not  by  courses  of  study,  but  by  bringing 
progressive  ideas,  methods,  and  facilities  into  the  every  day  work  and 
recreation  of  the  home  environment." 

The  farm  woman  feels  her  isolation  from  neighbors  as  well  as  from 
libraries  and  other  means  of  keeping  in  touch  with  outside  life.  She 
coimts  her  favorite  farm  paper  or  woman's  magazine  among  her  valued 
aids.  She  believes  that  farm  women  should  come  together  more  often 
in  organized  groups  to  learn  from  each  other,  and  to  gain  a  mastery  of 
their  problems  through  united  effort.  "The  farmer,"  she  declares, 
''deals  much  with  other  men;  the  children  form  associates  at  school; 
but  we,  because  of  our  narrow  range  of  duties  and  distance  from  neigh- 
bors, form  the  habit  of  staying  at  home  and,  to  a  greater  degree  than  is 
commonly  supposed,  feel  the  need  for  congenial  companionship." 

Thus  the  farm  woman,  although  considered  conservative  and  inclined 
to  put  the  question  to  things  new  and  imtried,  expresses  an  openminded- 
ness  and  a  forward  looking  spirit.  When  she  is  aroused  and  convinced 
that  any  new  step  in  advance  is  for  the  best  interests  of  her  home  she 
will  be  foimd  progressive,  cooperative,  adaptable,  and  ready  to  make 
changes  no  matter  how  great  the  personal  effort  or  sacrifice. 

The  five  outstanding  problems  which  the  survey  would  indicate  call 
for  special  consideration  are: 

1.  To  shorten  the  working  day  of  the  average  farm  woman. 

2.  To  lessen  the  amount  of  heavy  manual  labor  she  now  perfoms. 

3.  To  bring  about  higher  standards  of  comfort  and  beauty  for  the 
farm  home. 

4.  To  safeguard  the  health  of  the  farm  family,  and  especially  the 
health  of  the  mother  and  growing  child. 


450  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [October 

5.  To  develop  and  introduce  money-yielding  home  industries  where 
necessary  in  order  to  make  needed  home  improvements. 
These  changes  may  most  speedily  be  brought  about  by: 

1 .  Introducing  (a)  improved  home  equipment,  principal  among  which 
are  running  water  and  power  machinery,  and  (b)  more  efficient  methods 
of  household  management,  including  the  rearrangement  of  the  incon- 
venient kitchen  and  the  installment  of  a  modem  heating  system  for  the 
whole  house. 

2.  Helping  farm  people  to  imderstand  and  apply  the  laws  of  nutrition 
and  hygiene,  through  home  demonstrations  in  (a)  child  care  and  feeding, 
(b)  food  selection  for  the  family,  (c)  training  in  the  essentials  of  home 
nursing,  and  (d)  the  installation  of  sanitary  improvements. 

3.  Cultivating  the  idea  that  investment  in  the  comfort,  beauty,  health, 
and  efficiency  of  the  farm  home  and  community  is  a  wise  and  Intimate 
expenditure,  and  perhaps  the  only  means  of  stopping  the  drift  of  young 
people  to  the  dty. 

THE  SUSVEY  AND  THE  EXTENSION  SERVICE 

The  composite  picture  here  presented  of  the  activities  and  environ- 
ment of  a  large  group  of  farm  women  naturally  raises  the  question  as  to 
what  steps  are  being  taken  to  relieve  these  women  of  some  of  their 
present  handicaps.  Replying  to  this,  it  may  be  stated  that  for  some 
years  the  home  economics  pioneer  has  given  her  service  to  the  house- 
wife. Since  the  passage  of  the  Smith-Lever  Act,  the  home  demonstra- 
tion agent  has  become  a  factor  in  extension  work  with  the  home.  The 
data  here  presented  serves  a  dual  purpose:  first,  it  offers  a  reliable  and 
much  needed  guide  to  extension  workers  in  their  service  to  the  home; 
and,  second,  it  points  out  to  the  farming  people,  and  others  interested, 
the  great  value  of  trained  assistance  to  farm  women  along  definite  lines. 

In  endeavoring  to  build  up  a  broad  educational  extension  movement, 
made  possible  by  the  Smith-Lever  Act,  the  state  colleges  of  agriculture 
and  the  States  Relations  Service  have,  up  to  this  time,  had  a  much  more 
limited  backgroimd  of  facts  on  which  to  base  plans  for  cooperation  with 
rural  housewives  than  with  fanners  for  the  reason  that  little  attention 
has  been  given  to  farm  home  problems,  although  the  fann  woman's 
work  has  as  great  economic  importance  and  calls  for  as  high  a  degree  of 
skill  and  as  wide  a  range  of  infonnation  and  judgment  as  does  the  woric 
of  the  fanner  whose  equipment  and  methods  of  farming  have  been  the 
subject  of  many  studies  made  by  our  agricultural  institutions. 


1920]  THE  J  ARM  woman's  PROBLEMS  451 

With  the  exception  of  the  investigations  of  the  Country  Life  Com- 
mission appointed  by  President  Roosevelt,  in  1908  (Senate  Document 
705),  and  the  inquiry  as  to  Farm  Home  Conditions  made  by  Secretary 
Houston  in  1914,  replies  to  which  were  compiled  and  interpreted  (Year- 
book 1914,  also  Reports  103, 104, 105,  and  106),  and  two  intensive  studies 
of  counties  made  by  the  States  Relations  Service  (Canyon  County,  Idaho, 
1916;  St.  Josq>h  County,  Mich.,  1916),  comparatively  little  has  been  done 
in  this  field  which  throws  light  on  conditions  in  the  North  and  West. 
Hence  the  importance  of  the  present  survey,  which,  resting  upon  informa- 
tion from  many  commimities,  probably  gives  a  fair  diagnosis  of  f ton  home 
conditions  and,  when  interpreted  by  extension  workers  and  farming 
people,  should  point  to  remedies  which  may  be  applied  through  organ- 
ized effort  and  local  leadership. 

The  farm  bureau.  With  the  introduction  and  development  of  the 
farm  bureau  idea,  now  nation-wide  in  its  influence,  promoting  as  it  does 
a  self-determined  program  of  activities  among  the  people  for  the  eco- 
nomic and  educational  advancement  of  rural  life,  the  farmer  and  his 
wife  are  destined  to  analyze  their  home  problems  more  and  more  and  to 
make  use  of  the  farm  bureau  organization  and  the  extension  service  for 
the  solving  of  those  problems. 

The  farm  is  subsidiary  to  the  home  as  is  the  home  to  the  fann.  Here 
men,  women,  and  children  form  a  working  unit,  with  common  interests 
and  aims,  and  the  farm  bureau  dealing  with  this  family  unit  and  with 
community  groups  views  home  work,  not  as  isolated  and  detached  from 
the  farm,  but  as  one  phase  of  the  problems  of  the  farmstead.  Men  and 
boys  work  primarily  with  production  in  the  business  of  farming  and 
women  and  girls  with  utilization  and  conservation  in  the  business  of 
housekeeping,  but  all  come  together  in  a  common  interest  and  for  a 
common  goal — ^homemaking.  Farming  and  housekeeping  are  not  ends 
in  themselves,  but  necessary  means  to  the  realization  of  this  goal. 

Proq)erity  on  the  farm  and  efficiency  in  the  house  in  their  last  analysis 
are  only  valuable  as  they  make  people  better,  wiser,  and  happier  by  cre- 
ating and  multipl3dng  opportunities  for  richer  and  more  satisfying  rural 
home  and  coromiimity  life.  Hence  all  extension  forces,  the  county 
agricultural  agents,  dub  agents,  home  demonstration  agents,  and  spt^ 
daUsts  are  working  in  their  respective  fidds  with  this  larger  aim  and 
purpose.  This  brings  about  constant  interdiange  of  effort  and  service. 
For  example,  the  farm  woman's  interests  and  activities  go  beyond  the 
threshold  of  her  house,  when  necessary,  into  such  work  as  poultry  rais- 


452  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

ing,  bee  keeping,  and  marketing  of  home  products.  In  this  she  fre- 
quently has  the  help  not  only  of  the  men  folks  at  home  but  of  the  coimty 
agricultural  agent,  the  club  agent,  and  men  specialists  from  the  college. 
She  may  also  call  upon  these  for  advice  and  assistance  in  looking  after 
the  water  supply  and  other  phases  of  home  improvement.  Women  exten- 
sion workers  also  frequently  go  out  of  their  special  field  of  home  economics 
work  to  give  advice  and  assistance,  thus  expressing,  it  is  believed,  the 
true  spirit  of  the  Smith-Lever  Act  which  drawn  in  broad  language  refers 
equally  to  the  service  of  the  farm  and  home  and  includes  all  phases  of 
work  that  effect  wholesome  farm  life. 

The  home  demansPraiian  agefU.  Women  are  everywhere  welcoming 
the  services  of  the  home  demonstration  agent  much  as  fanners  welcome 
the  agricultural  county  agent.  This  trained  home  economics  worker, 
employed  on  federal,  state,  and  local  funds  and  devoting  all  her  time  to 
the  advancement  of  home  efficiency  is  stud3dng  with  homemakers  the 
needs  of  individual  homes  and  communities  and  is  thus  able,  by  linking 
her  technical  skill  with  the  practical  knowledge  and  experience  of  the 
housewives,  to  cooperate  in  the  accomplishment  of  large  results  by  pro- 
viding a  channel  through  which  the  state  agricultural  college  and  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  can  deal  directly  with  rural  homemakers. 

Increased  moral  and  financial  support  of  local  coromunities  during 
the  present  fiscal  year  (1919-20)  for  the  three  hundred  agents  now 
employed  has  shown  the  belief  of  the  people  of  the  North  and  West  in 
home  demonstration  work  and  placed  it  on  a  promising  basis  which 
looks  toward  its  establishment  eventually  in  every  agricultural  coimty 
in  the  North  and  West. 

A  few  instances  are  here  given  to  show  the  methods  used  and  results 
secured  through  the  partnership  of  the  housewife,  the  home  demonstra- 
tion agent,  and  the  home  economics  specialist  in  solving  some  of  the 
live  problems  pointed  out  in  this  survey. 

Home  management.  A  large  family  lived  in  a  small  house  on  a  pros- 
perous farm;  little  thought  had  been  given  to  the  expendituro  of  any  part 
of  the  farm  income  for  home  convenience.  One  day  the  mother  in  this 
home  mentioned  to  the  home  demonstration  agent  that  it  was  difficult 
to  keep  the  kitchen  in  order  when  all  members  of  the  family  used  it  as 
a  place  to  ''wash  up."  The  agent  suggested  the  possibility  of  a  wash 
room  with  water  piped  into  it.  The  fanner  and  his  wife  became  inter- 
ested. A  caipenter  was  called  in  to  make  plans  and  before  he  had  fin- 
ished his  work  a  screened  porch  was  added.    The  wash  room  later  devel- 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOMAN^S  PKOBLEMS  453 

oped  into  a  bathroom  complete  with  modem  fixtures.  A  few  more  timely 
remarks  brought  forth  a  new  water  front  on  the  range  and  hot  water 
tank  and  sink  in  the  kitchen.  About  this  time  there  was  an  item  in 
the  farm,  bureau  coltmm  of  the  local  paper  regarding  convenient  kitchen 
arrangement.  Following  its  suggestions  this  homemaker  put  blocks 
under  her  kitchen  table  to  save  bending  when  at  work  and  moved  the 
cupboard  nearer  the  stove  to  lessen  steps.  Later  a  power  washing 
machine  was  bought  and  a  wash  house  built.  The  milk  sq>arator  was 
moved  out  of  the  kitchen  into  the  wash  house.  This  homemaker  was 
so  delighted  with  her  transformed  work  shop  that  she  called  in  the 
neighbors  to  see  it  and  as  a  result  five  more  women  rearranged  their 
kitchens,  two  put  water  in  the  house,  and  three  are  now  planning  to 
purchase  power  washers. 

The  annual  report  of  the  home  demonstration  agents  for  1919  indicates 
that  a  dedded  advance  was  made  last  year  in  the  business  side  of  house- 
keeping. One  hundred  sixty-six  counties  where  home  demonstration 
agents  were  employed  carried  on  some  sort  of  county-wide  campaign  for 
increased  home  efficiency. 

One  thousand  seventy-seven  farm  families  were  assisted  in  rearranging 
farm  house  or  kitchen  as  an  important  first  step  in  efficient  housekeeping, 
the  largest  number  reporting  from  Iowa. 

Home  economics  specialists.  Closely  associated  with  the  home  demon- 
stration agent  and  preceding  her  as  a  pioneer  is  the  home  economics 
extension  worker  who  goes  out  from  the  college  to  conduct  extension 
schools,  to  train  local  leaders,  and  in  various  other  ways  to  bring  to  house- 
wives the  best  methods  and  processes  resulting  from  laboratory  experi- 
mentation. Tjrpifying  this  is  the  work  of  the  Massachusetts  dothiog 
efficiency  specialist  who  personally  trained  268  local  leaders  in  courses 
of  clothing  efficiency.  These  women  passed  on  these  courses  to  over 
4000  of  their  neighbors  and  acquaintances.  As  a  result  4320  garments 
were  made  and  9802  remodeled,  with  an  estimated  saving  of  $56,998. 
This  work  done  in  cooperation  with  home  demonstration  agents  is  looked 
upon,  in  Massachusetts,  as  the  beginning  of  a  state-wide  drive  for  cloth- 
ing efficiency  which  will  meet  the  needs  of  every  rural  woman  of  moder- 
ate income  who  wishes  to  make  part  or  all  of  her  own  simpler  garments 
or  those  of  her  family. 

Replies  to  the  survey  indicate  that  92  per  cent  of  rural  homemakers 
do  a  large  part  of  their  own  sewing. 


454  THE  JOUHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [Octobei 

Anything  that  shortens  the  time  the  fann  woman  spends  on  the  family 
sewing  or  helps  her  to  make  or  select  garments  that  give  better  satisfac- 
tion for  a  given  expenditure  of  time  and  money,  and  especially  anything 
that  helps  her  reduce  clothing  expenditures  in  this  era  of  inflated  prices 
meets  a  real  need. 

The  annual  report  for  1919  shows  that  clothing  specialists  and  home 
demonstration  agents  aided  through  direct  teaching  and  training  of  vol- 
unteer leaders  in  the  making  or  remodeling  of  30,000  garments  at  an 
estimated  saving  of  $218,000.  The  following  lines  were  stressed:  reno- 
vating and  remodeling,  adaptation  of  commercial  patterns,  the  making 
of  dress  forms,  free  hand  cutting  and  drafting,  and  selection  of  textiles. 

School  lunch.  The  hot  school  lunch  project  in  which  extension  workers 
have  had  a  prominent  part  has  been  most  successful.  The  survey  indi- 
cates that  the  average  country  school  is  about  one  and  one-half  miles 
from  the  home,  which  makes  it  impossible  for  the  country  child  to 
share  in  the  hot  midday  dinner  prepared  for  the  family. 

An  examination  of  the  school  dinner  pail  often  reveals  that  too  fre- 
quently unappetizing  or  indigestible  foods  are  the  underlying  causes 
for  lack  of  appetite  and  restlessness  of  pupils.  Well  selected  food,  attrac- 
tively packed,  supplemented  by  one  simple  hot  dish  prepared  by  the 
pupils  at  school,  has  resulted  in  improved  health  and  better  school  rec- 
ords. It  has  also  proved  the  opening  wedge  for  the  study  of  food  selec- 
tion in  the  home  not  only  for  the  child  but  for  the  whole  family,  and 
has  increased  the  use  of  milk,  cereals,  and  vegetables  in  the  diet. 

In  Pirtleville,  Arizona,  where  malnutrition  was  prevalent  among 
school  children,  the  home  demonstration  agent  secured  the  cooperation 
of  the  school  principal,  the  school  nurse,  and  the  project  leader  of  the 
Farm  Bureau,  in  putting  on  a  child  feeding  demonstration.  At  the  end 
of  the  six  weeks  demonstration  the  children  showed  marked  gains  in 
weight  and  noticeable  improvement  in  school  work  and  deportment. 
The  county  was  awakened  to  the  benefits  of  proper  child  feeding,  and  the 
installation  of  school  lunches  in  a  number  of  outlying  schools  resulted. 

The  annual  report  for  1919  shows  that  practically  all  of  the  33  north- 
em  and  western  states  carried  on  some  sort  of  hot  school  lundi  activities 
and  that  more  than  3000  schools  introduced  school  lunches  through  the 
influence  of  the  home  demonstration  agent. 

Home  health.  One  of  the  outstanding  extension  projects  during^  the 
past  year  has  been  that  of  home  health.  This  has  included  demonstra- 
tion in  first  aid,  the  elements  of  home  nursing,  preparation  of  food  for 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOMAN^S  PROBLEMS  455 

sick  and  convalescents,  and  preventive  hygiene..  It  is  gratifying  to 
know  that  202  counties  have  adopted  a  home  health  project  and  that 
28,000  families  have  codperated  with  home  demonstration  agents  in  an 
endeavor  to  improve  their  own  and  their  neighbors'  health. 

In  Idaho  where  vigorous  health  work  has  been  carried  on,  several 
county  nurses  are  employed  on  state  funds,  this  work  being  under  the 
general  direction  of  the  state  home  demonstration  leader. 

Activities  outside  the  house.  The  service  of  the  home  demonstration 
agent  is  not  confined  to  the  house,  but  foUows  the  woman  into  the  garden, 
the  poultry  yard,  and  dairy  to  assist  her  in  outside  tasks  when  these 
contribute  to  home  comfort. 

Judgment  as  to  relative  values  usually  guides  the  homemaker  in  deter- 
mining the  amount  of  outdoor  work  it  is  profitable  for  her  to  do  either 
as  a  money  making  scheme  or  as  a  means  of  producing  food  for  the 
family  table.  Often  when  the  woman  lacks  even  small  resources  to 
bring  needed  comfort  and  beauty  to  the  home,  such  industries  as  poultry 
raising  and  gardening  provide  the  needed  increase  in  income  from  which 
all  the  family  may  derive  benefit. 

It  is  poor  business  from  every  standpoint,  however,  if  work  out  of 
doors  means  overstrained  nerves  and  muscles  resulting  from  an  attempt 
to  take  on  these  duties  without  releasing  any  household  tasks  or  if  it 
means  neglect  of  housework  or  sacrificing  attention  to  children,  thus 
lowering  instead  of  increasing  the  standard  of  living. 

Statistics  show  that  yoimg  women  are  leaving  the  rural  districts  for 
the  dties  in  larger  numbers  than  young  men.  Where  this  is  true  the 
influence  of  the  home  demonstration  agent  has  been  most  telling  in 
helping  young  women  to  feel  their  economic  importance  in  agricultural 
and  home  pursuits  and  in  discovering  ways  of  making  incomes  on  the 
land  equal  to  those  that  could  be  earned  in  shop  or  factory. 

Work  with  poultry.  Poultry  work  has  been  promoted  in  several 
states  through  demonstrations  along  lines  of  poultry  selection,  breeding, 
raising,  feeding,  housing,  culling,  canning,  preservation  of  eggs,  and 
co5perative  selling  of  poultry  products.  Many  flocks  have  been 
improved  when  farm  women  have  found  through  culling  demonstrations 
that  40  per  cent  of  the  average  flock  is  non-productive. 

Connecticut,  Delaware,  Idaho,  Illinois,  Missouri,  and  Vennont  car- 
ried on  intensive  poultry  culling  campaigns  in  which  the  home  demonstra- 
tion agents  played  a  prominent  part.  Schools  of  instruction  were  held 
so  that  those  trained  mig^t  not  only  eliminate  their  own  non-produdng 
birds  but  teach  their  neighbors  through  conununity  demonstrations. 


456  THE  J0X7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

In  Missouri,  73,765  birds  were  eliminated  from  1593  flocks  culled  with 
an  estimated  saving  of  $50,161.  In  the  codperative  buying  and  selling 
of  eggs  8  cents  per  dozen  more  was  received  than  on  the  local  markets. 

MUk  products.  Making  and  using  dairy  products  in  the  home  is  being 
stimulated  by  the  work  of  home  demonstration  agents  who  are  coop- 
erating in  milk  campaigns  for  increased  use  of  milk  and  milk-products  in 
the  home  and  the  home  manufacture  of  such  milk  products  as  can  be 
most  economically  handled  there.  Reports  of  these  agents  for  15  states 
for  the  year  1919  show  that  367,000  poimds  of  cheese  were  made  by  the 
housewives  to  whom  home  demonstration  agents  and  dairy  specialists 
had  given  assistance  in  the  best  methods  of  making  cottage,  American 
and  Cheddar  cheese  both  for  home  consumption  and  for  sale. 

It  is  claimed  by  those  who  have  made  investigations  that  25  per  cent 
of  country  children  do  not  drink  milk.  A  definite  drive  is  now  being 
carried  on  to  persuade  country  children  to  drink  more  milk,  and,  to 
this  end,  feeding  demonstrations  are  being  conducted  by  home  demon- 
stration agents  in  cooperation  with  parents  and  teachers. 

One  state  reports  the  increase  of  home  consumption  to  be  438,000 
quarts  daily;  another  state,  where  home  demonstration  work  was  carried 
on  in  only  six  coimties,  reports  279,000  quarts  daily  as  a  result  of  this 
work.  In  Indiana  one  home  demonstration  agent  in  co5peration  with 
the  school  nurses  and  doctors  proved  the  value  of  the  increase  of  milk 
in  the  diet  by  putting  on  a  child  feeding  demonstration  with  a  group  of 
undernourished  children.  At  the  end  of  six  weeks  an  average  gain  of 
7^  pounds  had  been  made  and  the  school  board  voted  funds  to  cany  on 
the  enterprise. 

Community  enterprises.  The  socializing  influence  of  the  many  war 
emergency  organizations  is  now  being  capitalized  by  home  demonstration 
agents  who  are  assisting  conmiunities  to  tie  up  these  temporary  enter- 
prises with  permanent  activities  in  connection  with  efficient  homemaking. 

Two  effective  means  of  reducing  home  drudgeiy  are  the  introduction 
of  such  modem  labor  saving  equipment  in  the  home  as  will  accomplish 
necessary  work  in  the  most  efficient  way;  and  the  removal  from  the  home 
of  such  activities  as  can  be  carried  on  as  cheaply  and  as  successfully 
through  coromunity  codperation  as  by  traditional  home  methods;  for 
example,  since  survey  replies  indicate  that  96  per  cent  of  the  women  do 
their  washing  and  ironing,  it  would  seem  that  such  an  activity  might  well 
be  removed  from  the  home,  releasing  each  week  many  hours  of  the 
woman's  time,  and  saving  her  from  one  of  the  heaviest  tasks  of  the 


1920]  THE  FARM  WOICAN's  PROBLEMS  457 

household.  Experiments  m  a  number  of  commimities  indicate  that  a 
codperative  laundry,  especially  when  run  in  connection  with  a  creamery, 
is  not  only  a  convenience  but  a  paying  investment. 

Recreation.  Communityworking  and  trading  centers  mean  much  to 
rural  women,  not  only  from  the  standpoint  of  economy,  time,  money, 
and  e£Fort,  but  as  a  means  of  persuading  the  stay-at-home  to  walk  through 
her  gate  and  down  the  road  to  join  her  neighbors  in  some  task  which  is 
made  Eghter  through  cooperation  and  from  which  she  returns  refreshed 
and  encouraged  with  new  ideas  and  plans,  not  only  for  her  own  house- 
keeping, but  for  the  larger  housekeeping  of  her  neighborhood.  No 
amount  of  socialized  work,  however,  takes  the  place  of  real  recreation, 
as  it  looks  too  earnestly  toward  a  finished  result.  Carefree  recreation 
for  the  delight  of  the  moment  eases  nervous  tension,  promotes  good  fellow- 
ship, and  is  as  necessary  for  the  mental  and  physical  poise  of  men  and 
women  as  it  is  for  bo3rs  and  girls.  Home  demonstration  agents  are, 
where  no  other  agency  is  meeting  this  need,  cooperating  with  farm  fam- 
ilies in  home  and  community  recreation  which  includes  games,  chorus 
singing,  dramatization,  and  pageants. 

The  extension  department  of  Montana  State  College,  realizing  the 
importance  of  this,  employs  a  recreation  specialist  whose  work  is  stimu- 
lating a  fine  sodal  community  spirit  in  many  localities  in  that  state  where 
homes  are  so  far  apart.  Montana  is  thus  putting  into  practice  a  con- 
viction that  is  growing  in  the  minds  of  extension  workers  ever}rwhere 
that,  while  it  is  their  first  business  to  promote  efficiency,  this  should  be 
looked  upon  as  a  means  of  stimulating  a  richer  and  more  satisfying  rural 
life  by  freeing  the  homemaker's  time  and  energy  so  that  she  may  give 
attention  to  the  attractiveness  and  comfort  of  her  home,  the  training 
and  companionship  of  her  children,  the  enjoyment  of  books  and  neigh- 
bors, and  the  building  up  of  recreational,  sodal,  and  educational  life 
of  her  community.  Thus  will  increase  the  percentage  of  active,  thinking 
women  of  service  to  society  and  reduce  the  percentage  of  passive  slaves 
of  routine  whose  tasks  cease  only  to  begin  again  with  a  new  day. 

It  is  believed  that  the  survey  just  completed  by  farm  women  them- 
selves in  cooperation  with  home  demonstration  agents  is  but  the  first  of 
a  series  of  intensive  studies  which  will  from  time  to  time  be  made  not 
only  to  show  the  needs  but  to  mark  the  advancement  that  is  sure  to 
come  as  the  government,  colleges,  and  fanning  people  work  together  on 
a  conmion  program  for  better  agriculture  and  a  richer  rural  life. 


458  THE  J0X7RNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

GAS  UTILIZATION  WORK  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 

INTERIOR! 

OLGA  A.  ELIFRITZ 

Natural  Gas  Conservation  Agent,  Bureau  of  Mines 

Within  the  Union  there  are  23  states  using  natural  gas  as  a  fuel  to  a 
greater  or  lesser  degree:  West  Virginia,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  Kentucky, 
New  York,  Indiana,  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Texas,  Oklahoma,  and  Cali- 
fornia producing  98  per  cent  of  the  supply.  Till  within  a  few  years 
there  has  been  no  thought  of  the  possible  failure  of  natural  gas  and 
there  has  been  extreme  waste  that  has  brought  about  an  acute  shortage. 
Since  there  is  no  fuel  which  altogether  equals  nature  made  gas  in  heating 
value,  cleanliness,  convenience,  and  cost,  this  directly  affects  the  com- 
fort and  well-being  of  over  2,400,000  domestic  consumers,  not  to  mention 
the  industrial  user. 

A  National  Gas  Congress,  called  by  former  Secretary  Lane,  and 
attended  by  gas  officials,  geologists,  engineers,  and  others  vitally 
affected,  such  as  state  and  dty  officials  and  home  economics  workers, 
resulted  in  the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  ten  composed  of  one 
mayor,  one  geologist,  two  public  utility  commissioners,  an  engineer, 
four  gas  officials,  and  a  representative  of  the  American  Home  Economics 
Association,  with  the  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  acting  as  chairman. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines  was  the  appointment  of  a 
home  economics  worker,  spedaUzing  in  the  domestic  use  of  natural  gas, 
to  go  into  the  field. 

The  committee  was  divided  into  sub-committees  to  investigate  the 
losses  and  problems  of  production,  transmission,  and  utilization.  The 
reconmiendations  as  the  result  of  this  work  have  been  adopted  by  the 
public  utilities  commissions  of  the  several  natural  gas  using  states. 
Through  these  commissions,  an  effort  will  be  made  to  eliminate  the 
great  wastes,  especially  the  great  home  wastes  of  natural  gas  in  the  very 
low  set  burner  range  with  solid  top  and  the  coal  stove  with  gas  burner 
attachment,  and  to  create  a  demand  for  all  efficient  appliances. 

Since  the  Bureau  of  Mines  has  but  one  worker  in  the  field  it  asks  the 
great  group  of  women  working  on  home  problems  to  carry  the  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  gas  conservation  to  the  many  homes  that  need  it. 

^  Brief  summary  of  a  paper  presented  at  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Ameri- 
can Home  Economics  Association,  Colorado  Springs,  June,  1920. 


1920]  THE  EXTENSION  SPECIALIST  AND  FIELD  WORK  459 

THE  RELATION  OF  THE  EXTENSION  SPECIALIST  TO  FIELD 

WORK} 

NINA  B.  CRIGLER 
Extension  Divisian,  University  of  Illinois 

Any  specialist  in  projecting  her  work  throughout  the  state  should  have 
in  mind  a  definite  program  of  work  that  can  be  presented  in  a  clear  and 
tangible  manner  to  the  county  home  adviser,  to  the  people  who  direct 
the  enterprise,  and  to  the  individuals  in  their  homes. 

The  problem  of  feeding  the  family  needs,  today,  even  more  attention 
than  ever  before.  Feeding  the  family  must  be  carried  on  correctly,  that 
is,  according  to  scientific  and  economic  principles,  and  in  this  day  of 
efficiency  it  should  be  done  in  the  minimum  time  with  the  least  expendi- 
ture of  energy  and  money.  While  feeding  the  family  is  only  one  of  the 
series  of  occupations  in  the  home,  it  is  one  of  the  most  important,  since  the 
health  of  the  family,  the  happiness  of  the  family,  and  the  efficiency  of  the 
family  are  largely  dependent  upon  the  amount  and  kind  of  food  served. 

The  launching  of  the  meal  planning  project  is  not  as  difficult  as  it  has 
seemed  to  some,  and  the  carrying  on  of  the  special  work  or  the  following 
up  and  reporting  of  the  project  is  possible  when  a  suggestive  scheme  is 
printed  and  ready  for  distribution.  Two  things  are  necessary  besides  a 
definite  plan  to  make  a  project  workable  in  any  county:  an  instruction 
blank,  such  as  the  Food  Calendar;*  a  follow-up  blank  such  as  a  monthly 
food  calendar  sununary  sheet. 

The  Food  Calendar,  prepared  at  the  University  of  Illinois  last  fall, 
serves  throughout  the  state  as  an  instructional  blank.  The  calendar 
was  compiled  to  furnish  a  means  or  a  method  for  "getting  over"  subject 
matter — ^fundamental,  scientific,  and  economic  principles  which  have 
been  in  print  for  some  time  and  thoroughly  distributed  but  not  always 
read.  The  food  calendar  is  made  up  of  two  distinctive  features.  The 
right-hand  portion  of  each  page  is  devoted  exclusively  to  subject  mat- 
ter, and,  because  this  portion  of  the  instructional  blank  is  strictly  edu- 
cational, each  of  the  thirty-one  pages  is  quite  different  though  each  page 
is  not  a  unit  unto  itself. 

^  Presented  at  the  Thiiteexith  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation, Colorado  Springs,  June,  1920. 

s  See  page  461  for  reproduction  of  one  page  of  the  Food  Calendar. 


460  TH£  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

The  following  grouping  was  planned :  4  pages  to  food  programs,  choice, 
selection,  and  meal  building;  4  pages  to  weights  and  measures,  time 
tables  for  cooking,  and  temperatures;  3  pages  to  proportions;  4  pages  to 
the  school  lunch;  5  pages  to  milk  and  its  products;  4  pages  to  variety  in 
the  preparation  of  four  simple  foods;  5  pages  to  food  requirements,  ade- 
quate meals  for  adult  and  child,  corrective  menus,  and  feeding  the 
sick;  1  page  to  the  arithmetic  of  menu  making;  1  page  to  ''serving  is  a 
part  of  the  meal." 

Since  feeding  the  family  is  at  least  as  important  as  other  occupations 
and  the  time  required  to  select,  prepare,  and  serve  the  meals  for  the 
average  family  is  greater  than  that  necessary  for  any  other  phase  of 
home  making,  the  left-hand  portion  of  the  calendar  is  constructed  to 
make  record  keeping  and  reporting  as  easy  as  possible  for  the  busy  house- 
keeper and  to  require  a  minimum  amount  of  writing.  The  standard  is 
constantly  before  her  in  a  graphic  form  so  that  she  can  see  whether  or 
not  she  meets  the  standard  or  falls  short.  If  the  latter,  she  can  make  any 
necessary  changes  and  more  nearly  approach  the  standard  from  day  to 
day.  The  food  chart  will  help  her  whether  she  ever  reports  what  she 
does  or  not. 

The  plan  of  procedure  is  very  simple.  "To  use  the  food  calendar, 
place  a  check  opposite  the  food  served  for  breakfast  in  the  first  column, 
for  dinner  in  the  second  column,  for  supper  or  lunch  in  the  third  column." 
A  child  can  use  the  calendar  as  readily  as  an  adult.  To  the  child  par- 
ticularly it  is  a  game  and  because  of  the  story  it  tells  it  becomes  fasci- 
nating to  the  checker.  The  revelation  is  this:  "When  you  use  the 
food  calendar  you  will  be  able  to  see  at  a  glance  whether  you  are  omitting 
one  of  the  five  food  groups  from  your  diet,  whether  you  are  neglecting  one, 
or  whether  you  are  over-emphasizing  one."  The  amount  of  food  you 
need  from  each  group  can  be  easily  understood  and  calculated  by  study- 
ing page  30,  "The  Arithmetic  of  Menu  Making."  How  to  use  the  food 
chart  may  be  reduced  to  a  formula  with  a  proof.  There  are  two  steps 
to  this  formula  and  each  step  is  incomplete  without  the  other. 

The  first  step  of  the  formula:  "All  five  groups  should  be  represented 
in  the  diet  every  day."  The  ration  for  the  day  instead  of  the  single  meal 
is  considered  as  a  imit.  To  the  busy  housewife  this  has  a  decided 
advantage  over  the  balanced  meal. 

The  second  step  of  the  formula:  "In  selecting  the  foods  for  the  day's 
ration,  select  them  from  the  different  groups  and  in  the  following  pro- 
portions: 1  from  group  I;  1  from  group  II;  1  from  group  III,  or  2  from 


1920] 


THE  EXTENSION  SPECIALIST  AND  PIELD  WORK 


461 


FOOD  CALENDAR 

Daily  Recosd  Month Day  4 

All  Five  Gkoufs  should  be  rq)resented  in  the  diet  Every  Day 


GrottpI 

Foods 

chazBcterized 

by 

mineral 

substances 

and 

oiipnic 

aads 


Group n 

Foods 

characteiized 

protein 


GROITPin 

Foods 

characterized 
by 
Starch 


Group  IV 

Foods 

chanu:terized 

by 

sugar 


GroxtpV 

Foods 

characterized 

by 

faU 


BkVXRAGXS 


Spinach  or  lettuce 

Peas  or  string  beans. . 

Tomatoes 

Turnips  or  carrots 

Cabbage  or  onions. . . . 

Other  vegetables 

Apples  or  pears 

Oranges  or  grapefruit. 

Other  fruit 

Berries 

Fruit  gelatin 


Lean  meats 

Poultry... 

Fish 

Oysters 

Milk 

Cheese 

Eggs 

Dried  legumes. . . 

Nuts 

Cocoa  (beverage) 

Custaxd 

Icecream 


Flour  or  meal  mixtures. 

Bread 

Crackers 

Macaroni 

Rice 

Tapioca 

Cereal  breakfast  foods. . 

Other  cereal  food 

Potatoes 


Sirup.. 
Honey. 


Jellies 

Dried  fruits. 

Candy 

Sugar 

Frozen  ices. 


B 


LorS 


Butter 

Cream 

Lard 

Salt  pork 

Bacon...... .. 

Chocolate 

Vegetable  oils. 


Coffee. 
Tea... 


Building  a  Msal 
Five  things  to  remember: 

(1)  That  each  food  group  in- 
cludes expensive  foods  and 
cheap  fooos.  Expensive  foods 
are  usually  chosen  for  their 
particular  flavor  or  texture. 
Be  reasonable  and  sane  in 
your  selection.  Do  you  wish 
to  pay  for  flavor,  for  texture, 
or  for  food  value? 


(2)  That  you  may  substitute 
one  food  for  another  in  the 
same  group;  that  is,  fruits  for 
vegetables,  fish  for  eggs, 
cream  for  butter. 


(3)  That  if  you  wish  to  buy 
cheap  fuel  foods,  you  should 
select  them  from  the  cereal 
poup:  com  meal,  grits,  hom- 
my,  and  oat-meal.  The  other 
food  groups  furnish  fuel  also, 
but  the  starch,  sugar,  and  fat 
groups  are  those  on  which  we 
depend  most  for  fuel  in  our 
diet. 

(4)  That  a  well-rounded  diet 
includes  the  building  foods 
(Group  n).  Meat,  fish,  eggs, 
etc.,  are  more  valuable  as 
tissue  builders  than  as  fuel 
foods,  althoug;h  they  are  cap- 
able also  of  producing  both 
heat  and  energy. 

(5)  That  when  building  meals, 
all  three  meals  should  be 
carefully  planned  each  day 
on  the  baas  of  a  two-day  or 
a  week  meal  program. 
Emeigency  changes  may  be 
necessary — ^in  which  case  con- 
sult the  calendar  for  substi- 
tutes and  suggestions. 


Breakfast— B       Dinner— D       Lunch— L       Sappei^-5 
Name Address 


462  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [OctObct 

group  111]  1  from  group  IV,  or  none  from  group  IV;  no  more  from  group 
V  than  from  group  I,  except  when  butter  and  cream  are  used  in  small 
amounts  two  or  three  times  during  the  day/* 

To  prove  the  formula,  count  the  nmnber  of  checks  found  in  each  of  the 
five  groups  for  the  day.  Take  the  number  of  checks  found  in  group  11 
as  an  indicator  and  the  checks  in  the  other  four  groups  should  tally  with 
the  second  step  in  the  formula.  For  example,  when  group  11  has  5 
checks,  the  number  ''5"  is  taken  as  the  indicator,  and  the  number  of 
checks  in  the  other  groups  should  approximate  5.  That  is:  5  from  group 
11;  5  from  group  I;  5  from  group  III,  5  from  group  IV,  or  10  from 
groups  in  and  IV,  distributing  this  number  at  choice,  as  7  from  III  and 
3  from  rV;  5,  6,  or  7  from  group  V. 

The  coimty  home  adviser  carrying  on  a  project  in  her  field  must 
furnish  a  means  for  follow-up  work  or  some  method  of  keeping  up  with 
the  groups  of  individuals  or  the  individual  who  has  imdertaken  to  fol- 
low the  project.  This  may  be  done  by  distributing  the  instructional 
blanks. 

The  food  chart  furnishes  the  device  for  follow-up  work.  The  indi- 
vidual checks  the  food  chart,  imderstands  in  part,  diagnoses  or  analyzes 
the  case  in  so  far  as  she  is  able,  and  then  caiiies  the  calendar  to  the  meet- 
ings or  to  the  office  of  the  county  home  adviser,  or  sends  it  to  the  county 
office  for  comments,  suggestions,  or  criticisms.  This  she  does  for  her 
own  development,  and  it  promotes  and  stimulates  further  study  and  a 
willingness  to  actually  do  the  thing  in  the  home,  thus  making  the  project 
a  real  home  demonstration. 

When  is  the  logical  time  to  introduce  an  instructional  blank  in  the 
program  of  work?  When  the  specialist  and  the  adviser  have  (a)  studied 
it,  (b)  believed  in  it,  (c)  tried  it  out,  (d)  seen  the  possibilities  in  it  for 
presenting  many  different  phases  of  food  work,  study  work,  or  project 
work,  (e)  made  a  definite  plan  of  work  or  procedure  lasting  from  two  to  six 
months,  or  possibly  two  years,  (f )  interpreted  the  blank  into  words  which 
are  clearly  understood  by  the  individuals  in  the  homes,  (g)  made  a  prac- 
tical, adaptable,  and  useful  project  for  the  individual  in  the  home,  (h) 
conducted  preliminary  work  other  than  publicity.  This  type  of  prelim- 
inary work  is  carried  on  by  the  working  force  of  the  coimty  or 
community. 

To  further  the  work  of  a  program  or  to  launch  a  project,  preliminary 
work  is  essential.  The  development  of  a  program  of  work  depends 
upon  a  plan  of  work,  the  manner  of  carrying  it  on,  and  reporting.    This 


1920]  THE  EXTENSION  SPECIALIST  AND  FIELD  WORK  463 

may  be  accomplished  by  conferences  of  the  adviser  with  the  specialist, 
with  the  executive  committee,  and  with  the  advisory  council  of  the 
county;  the  adviser  and  the  specialist  holding  specially  called  confer- 
ences with  committees  and  holding  open  schools  in  the  county. 

Therefore  the  preliminary  work  is  most  important.  One  county  has 
accomplished  more  in  four  months  (two  months  devoted  exclusively  to 
preliminary  work,  two  months  to  launching  the  program  of  work  canying 
it  out  or  following  it  up)  than  other  coimties  which  have  spent  six  to  nine 
months.  The  county  home  adviser  should  plan  the  preliminary  work 
with  the  specialist,  since  the  actual  doing  is  based  upon  the  instruc- 
tional blank  and  the  report  blank  which  have  been  formulated  by  the 
specialist. 

The  follow-up  work  is  possible  ia  any  coimty  in  Illinois,  since  in  the 
office  of  each  of  the  county  home  advisers  in  the  state  and  in  the  state 
office  there  are  lists  including  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  who  have 
enrolled  in  the  project  or  who  have  purchased  calendars. 

Follow-up  work  has  been  carried  on  in  various  coimties  in  four  differ- 
ent ways:  through  regular  and  spedal  meetings;  by  questionnaires;  by 
round  table  discussions  and  individual  conferences  in  the  office  of  the 
coimty  home  adviser;  and  by  exchange  of  leaders  from  one  unit  to 
another  or  by  one  leader  serving  many  units. 

Reporting  of  project  work  by  the  county  home  adviser  to  the  state 
office  may  be  done  by  the  committee  reporting  to  the  adviser,  as  a  result 
of  a  questionnaire;  by  the  adviser  reporting,  using  the  food  calendar 
summary  sheet;  by  the  adviser  in  her  monthly  report  to  the  state 
office. 

The  results  reported  from  the  meal  planning  projects  include  changes 
in  diet  (food  habits),  improved  health,  saving  of  time  in  preparation  of 
food,  conserving  of  energy,  change  in  manner  of  selecting  food  for  meals, 
keener  interest  ia  feeding  the  family  correctly,  reduced  cost  of  food. 

The  instructional  blank  may  be  used  through  different  types  of  meet- 
ings, with  certain  advantages  and  disadvantages  for  each: 

(1)  Through  single  imit  meetings. 

Advantages.  This  reaches  a  greater  number  of  people  but  all  are  not 
seriously  thinking  or  ready  for  hard  work. 

Disadvantages.  It  is  a  form  of  entertainment.  No  preparation  or 
preliminary  work  is  possible  except  through  newspaper  annoimcements, 
letters,  and  bulletins.  No  results  are  available.  There  is  no  way  to 
follow  up  or  promote  the  project  and  manner  of  reporting.  This  type 
of  meeting  does  not  develop  leadership. 


464  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

(2)  Through  county  meetings  held  in  five  different  places  in  the 
county. 

Advantages.  This  may  reach  a  large  number  of  fairly  interested 
people. 

Disadvantages.  This  type  is  a  form  of  entertainment  since  no  one 
feels  the  responsibility  for  furthering  the  project.  This  type  of  work 
will  never  encourage  or  develop  leadership  among  the  local  women. 
This  type  will  never  develop  home  demonstrations. 

(3)  Through  coimty  meetings  held  in  two  central  places  in  the  county. 
Advantages.    This  type  is  a  representative  meeting  in  that  delegates 

from  most  of  the  units  in  the  county  attend  one  or  more  meetings. 
This  type  encourages  serious  thinking  and  a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs 
of  the  home. 

(4)  Through  county  meetings  held  in  one  central  place  in  the  county. 
Advantages.    Delegates  and  one  other  person  attend  all  the  meetings. 

All  imits  in  the  coimty  are  represented.  Delegates  serve  as  a  county 
committee  and  plan  the  work  for  four  to  six  months  with  the  county 
home  adviser. 

This  type  develops  leadership,  and  the  two-day  conference  with  the 
county  home  adviser  and  the  specialist  gives  the  women  "enough 
steam''  to  launch  the  project  in  the  right  way  in  the  coimty.  This  type 
of  meeting  gives  the  delegates  instruction  in  the  use  of  the  food  chart  or 
the  instructional  blank.  This  type  of  meeting  is  far  reaching  in  that  the 
influence  which  the  delegates  have  in  their  own  community  is  greater 
than  that  of  the  ordinary  listener.  This  type  of  meeting  encourages 
and  strengthens  the  home  demonstrations,  the  project  moves  more 
rapidly,  and  the  results  are  more  permanent. 

Disadvantages.  Numbers  attending  the  meetings  are  small;  however, 
those  in  attendance  are  representative  and  come  from  all  sections  of 
the  county  and  we  have  quality  rather  than  quantity. 


EDITORIAL 

A  Letter  from  the  Office  International^  De  L': 
Menager,  Fribourg  (Suisse),  to  the  Office  of  Home  Economics^ 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculturei  Washington,  D.  C. 

Fribouig,  June  15, 1920. 
Dear  Monsieur: 

La^t  March  we  sent  to  the  members  of  the  Federation  of  Allied  Countries, 
a  dicular,  in  order  to  obtain  their  opinions  on  the  subject  of  the  organization 
of  a  new  International  Congress  of  £b>me  Economics  Instruction. 

We  have  received  responses  from  all  the  countries  of  the  Entente. 

From  France.  M.  le  Chanoine  Dupin,  ahnoner  of  the  higher  normal  course 
of  home  economics  instruction  at  Paris,  tells  us  that  the  French  agree  that  a 
congress  be  organized  among  the  nations  allied  to  France  or  those  remaining 
neutral  during  the  war,  and  that  they  should  meet  at  Strassbourg.  He  adds, 
with  good  reason,  that  questions  of  education  are  the  last  on  which  one  should 
have  to  ask  light  from  Germany,  because  in  France  one  does  not  conceive  of 
home  economics  education  as  a  simple  initiation  into  the  things  of  practical 
life,  but  as  a  preparation  of  the  woman  for  her  triple  r61e  of  wife,  of  mother, 
and  of  mistress  of  the  house. 

Furthermore,  M.  Georges  Goyau  and  Mme.  Moll-Weiss  approve  also  the 
idea  of  a  new  Congress  and  propose  first  Strassbourg,  second  Paris,  as  the 
seat. 

Mme.  Delaage  also  desires  this  organizaticm  and  proposes  for  it  a  practical 
character  with  the  following  program:  Organization,  Science,  Work,  on  con- 
dition of  restraining  the  powers  of  action  and  of  leaving  wide  open  the  door 
to  private  initiative. 

From  Italy.  They  propose  Milan  as  the  seat  of  the  Congress,  because,  in 
this  country,  they  recognize  opportunely  the  development  of  the  domestic 
and  home  economics  sciences.  They  estimate  that  it  should  take  place  next 
autumn  and  they  propose  to  have  taken  up  there: 

1.  How  and  when  home  economics  instruction  should  be  given  to  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  people  and  in  the  higher  primary  schoob? 

2.  In  what  way  it  is  necessary  to  organize  the  courses  for  the  rational 
preparation  of  teachers  of  domestic  sciences.  That  last  question  is  greatly 
desired  and  of  the  highest  importance  for  Italy. 

465 


466  THE  jointNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

From  Holland.  They  propose  Amsterdam  as  the  seat  of  the  Congress, 
because  of  its  neutrality  and  of  its  advantageous  situation.  They  propose  to 
consider  there  the  following  questions: 

1.  How  the  home  economics  schools  are  conducted  and  how  they  existed 
during  the  war. 

2.  Have  they  been  supported  by  the  state  or  the  people? 

3.  How  have  the  home  economics  schools  adapted  themselves  to  circum- 
stances and  what  services  have  they  rendered  to  the  governments  and  to 
the  people? 

4.  Have  the  government  and  the  authorities  appreciated  these  services 
and  in  what  manner  have  they  shown  it? 

5.  What  refomfl  would  have  to  be  carried  out  in  home  economics  instruc- 
tion in  order  that  it  might  conform  in  a  lasting  fashion  to  actual  circumstances : 
(a)  for  the  prqMuation  of  housdceepers;  (b)  for  the  preparation  of  assistant 
housekeepers;  (c)  for  the  preparation  of  servants;  (d)  for  the  prqMuation  <d 
domestic  science  teachers. 

6.  In  what  measure  the  home  economics  schools  can  aid  in  the  relief  of 
social  conditions  from  the  point  of  view  of  housing,  of  food,  of  infant  hygiene, 
of  the  simplification  of  housework,  of  expenditure  and  cooperative  buying,  of 
excessive  prices,  of  the  adulteration  of  food? 

7.  Is  it  desirable  or  urgent  that  the  governments  procure  assistance  for 
home  economics  teachers? 

Prom  Denmark.  They  daim  that  the  organization  of  a  new  Congress  is 
still  premature  on  account  of  hard  times  and  of  the  difficulties  of  travel 

Bdgium  considers  very  (^portune  and  even  urgent  the  organization  of  a 
new  Congress  in  one  oi  the  allied  countries,  particularly  Strassbourg,  and 
not  a  town  of  Holland,  for  the  Dutch  are  not  friendly  with  the  Belgians. 

In  Belgium  they  foresee  that  they  will  have  a  new  adjustment  of  the  subject 
matter  of  home  economics  teaching  and  that  it  will  be  necessary  to  cut  down 
because  of  the  deamess  of  living,  to  foresee  the  scarcity  of  servants  and  to 
oiganize  their  houses  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  able  to  do  away  with  servants 
in  a  large  measure.    MUe.  Deleu  proposes,  further,  to  have  taken  up  there: 

1.  What  has  been  done  in  all  countries  during  the  war  for  the  benefit  of 
home  economics  teaching? 

2.  Should  this  instruction  be  required  in  the  bwer  and  middle  schools? 

3.  Should  not  courses  of  dcnnestic  science  be  organized  in  the  universities? 

4.  Is  it  not  necessary  to  attach  a  great  deal  of  importance  to  the  training 
of  the  teaching  personnel  of  the  schools  of  home  economics? 

5.  What  method  ought  to  be  adopted  in  order  to  make  this  teaching  really 
useful? 

6.  The  method  to  adopt— individual,  in  groups,  cooperative? 

7.  Is  it  necessary  to  have  a  special  department  in  each  school  for  giving 
this  instruction?    What  ought  this  department  to  be  in  the  country  schools. 


1920]  EDITORIAL  467 

in  the  dty  schools,  for  primaiy  schools  and  the  middle  schools?    What  ought 
this  department  to  be  in  the  hxxat  economics  normal  schools? 

8.  Would  it  not  be  useful  to  organize  home  economics  courses  for  boys? 

9.  A  large  number  of  parents  do  not  appreciate  this  teaching;  how  convince 
them  of  the  necessity  of  the  teaching  of  home  economics? 

10.  The  inspection  of  economic  teaching;  the  duties  of  inspection. 

From  Alsace,  They  are  afraid  that,  even  in  1921,  it  will  be  impossible  to 
organize  a  new  International  Congress:  hatred  is  still  too  bitter. 

In  Switzerland^  on  the  contrary,  they  find  that  they  will  have  an  oppor- 
tunity from  this  time  on  to  occupy  themsdves  with  preparation  for  a  Congress. 
They  suggest  Switzerland  as  the  seat,  because  this  country  lends  itself  better 
than  any  other  to  an  international  meeting.  They  would  like  to  devote 
special  attention  to  the  schools  of  agricultural  economics,  the  war  having  proved 
once  more  that  it  is  necessary  to  stay  in  the  country  as  much  as  possible,  cul- 
tivating the  earth.  Hiey  propose  to  treat  with  equal  importance  the  prac- 
tical teaching  of  dcnnestic  economy  and  housekeepnig  to  the  apprentices  of 
different  professions,  of  private  work-shops,  and  of  factories. 

To  sum  up,  the  great  majority  of  competent  pec^  to  whom  our  circular 
was  sent,  is  unanimous  in  recognizing  the  importance  of  a  new  International 
Congress  for  1921.  It  would  be  premature  and  insuffidentiy  prepared  for 
were  it  to  be  held  in  1920.  France  and  Belgium  wish  to  have  Strassbourg 
for  the  seat  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is  not  this  dty  chosen  as  having  a  great 
many  associations  not  only  for  Europe  but  also  for  America  because  of  the 
proximity  of  the  battiefields,  and  is  it  not  a  center  which  is  easy  to  reach? 

This,  my  dear  sir,  is  the  situation  in  which  the  question  of  the  future  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Home  Economics  Teaching  stands.  We  are  stiD  await- 
ing propositions  from  Canada  and  from  the  United  States.  We  hope  that,  in 
spite  of  the  distance  which  separates  us,  they  will  not  be  slow  and  that  the 
meeting  at  Colorado  Springs,  to  which  we  wish  the  greatest  success,  will 
declare  itself  in  favor  of  an  international  congress  in  1921,  in  one  of  the  coun- 
tries of  the  League  of  Nations. 

Finally,  we  wish  to  add  that  the  war  brought  to  an  end  the  contributions 
of  governments  and  of  large  sodeties,  as  well  as  the  assessments  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Federation.  The  Swiss  Association  alone  has  continued  to  remit 
to  us  our  usual  contribution,  which  has  enabled  our  office  to  exist  up  to  this 
time. 

Can  yovL  not  obtain  from  your  honorable  Association  a  contribution  and 
from  your  members  the  assessment  of  five  francs  a  year? 

Be  pleased  to  accept,  my  dear  sir,  the  expression  of  our  distinguished  and 
voy  devoted  sentiments. 

(Signed)       L.  N.  Genoux, 

Dkecior. 


468  THE  JOURNAL  OF  KOUE  ECONOiocs  [October 

In  response  to  this  letter  the  Council  of  the  American  Home  Economics 
Association  at  the  meeting  in  Colorado  Springs  voted  to  send  the  Inter- 
national Office  a  contribution  of  $25.00  and  to  urge  the  members  of  our 
Association  to  join  as  individuals  by  pa3dng  $1.00  a  year. 

For  more  reasons  than  one  it  is  desirable  for  us  to  imite  whole  heart- 
edly  in  this  international  movement.  We  need  to  know  more  about 
what  other  people  are  doing,  both  because  of  the  service  we  can  render 
and  the  help  we  shall  ourselves  receive.  There  is  no  better  way  to 
promote  the  international  understanding,  that  is  our  surest  protection 
against  international  differences,  than  to  work  together  for  a  common 
cause. 


The  Science  Section  arranged  programs  for  three  sessions  at  the 
annual  meeting  at  Colorado  Springs.  At  the  meeting  held  on  Saturday 
evening,  Dr.  Helen  B.  Thompson,  acting  as  chairman  of  the  section, 
presided.  Olga  Elifritz,  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  in  her  paper  on  Con- 
servation of  Gas,^  reported  the  work  being  done  by  the  Bureau  to  aid  in 
better  utilization  of  the  natural  gas  supply  and  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  literature  on  this  subject  may  be  obtained  from  the  Bureau 
of  Mines.  The  following  paper,  on  Comparative  Cost  of  Electricity  and 
Gas,  by  Martha  E.  Dresslar,  of  the  University  of  Washington,  dealt 
particularly  with  the  relative  efficiency  of  various  parts  of  the  electric 
stove,  and  was  illustrated  by  charts. 

Walter  G.  Sacket,  of  Colorado  State  Agricultural  College,  gave  a 
report  of  experimental  work  done  on  Vinegar  Fermentations.  Solutions 
were  given  for  many  of  the  problems  concerning  home  made  vinegars. 
Alice  Biester,  of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  reported  a  series  of  experi- 
ments dealing  with  the  Effect  of  Manipulation  and  Storage  upon  the 
Keeping  Qualities  of  Canned  Vegetables. 

On  Monday  morning  the  main  subject  of  the  general  session  was  nutri- 
tion. Miss  Bevier  presided  and  Dr.  Agnes  Fay  Morgan  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  California  gave  a  comprehensive  survey  of  the  literature  dealing 
with  European  Experience  on  Low  Diets.  Dr.  Helen  B.  Thompson  of 
Kansas  State  Agricultural  College  reported  extensive  experimental  data 
on  the  Effect  of  Alternate  Periods  of  Suppression  of  Growth  and  Ref eed- 
ing  of  Albino  Mice.  Dr.  C.  F.  Langworthy  led  the  discussion  on  nutri- 
tional problems  which  followed  this  meeting. 

^See  page  458. 


1920]  THE   OPEN  FORUM  469 

On  Monday  evening  Dr.  Morgan  presided  over  the  section  meeting. 
Dr.  Langworthy  reported  a  series  of  experiments  on  The  Digestibility 
of  Raw  Starch  by  Human  Subjects.  The  results  of  these  experiments 
are  of  interest  to  every  teacher  of  foods,  and  are  published  in  the  current 
series  of  the  Journal  of  Biological  Chemistry.  Dr.  Langworthy  also 
made  a  brief  survey  of  the  work  done  on  Expenditure  of  Energy  in 
Housework  the  results  of  which  have  been  published  in  the  Jime  number 
of  the  American  Journal  of  Physiology. 

A  paper  on  The  Preparation  of  Inulin  from  French  Artichokes  was 
presented  by  Anna  W.  Williams,  of  the  University  of  California. 

Dr.  Minna  C.  Denton,  of  the  Office  of  Home  Economics,  gave  experi- 
mental results  on  the  Economical  Management  of  the  Gas  Range,  and 
also  on  Grainy  Fats  versus  Creamy  Fats  in  Cake  and  Pastry. 

Alice  Blester  reported  results  of  experiments  on  The  Sweetening  Pow- 
ers of  Various  Sugars. 

At  the  dose  of  the  meeting  the  following  nominations  were  made  and 
accepted:  Chairman  of  the  Section,  Dr.  Minna  C.  Denton;  Secretary, 
Margaret  Sawyer.  A  motion  was  made  and  carried  that  a  Research 
Clearing  House  Committee  be  appointed,  and  the  chair  was  impowered 
to  appoint  such  a  committee.  A  motion  was  made  and  carried  to  refer 
the  proposed  change  of  the  section  name  to  the  Council. 

Submitted  by 

Anna  W.  Williams. 

THE  OPEN  FORM 

Some  Obsenrations  on  Food  and  Other  Conditions  in  Labrador. — 

Dr.  Vivia  B.  Appleton,  representing  the  Bureau  of  Sodal  Education 
of  the  National  Board  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  has  been  for  several  months  in 
Forteau,  the  Association  having  asked  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Grenfell  to  desig- 
nate how  she  could  render  the  greatest  service  to  their  mission  field  for 
the  period  during  which  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  was  able  to  place  her  in  Labra- 
dor. The  need  seemed  particularly  great  at  Forteau,  since  the  resident 
nurse,  after  several  years  of  continuous  service,  had  returned  to  England 
for  six  months  vacation. 

Dr.  Appleton  had  with  her  an  assistant,  Marjorie  Jackson,  a  trained 
Social  Worker,  formerly  district  supervisor  in  Red  Cross  Home  Service  in 
Chicago  who  was  also  furnished  by  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.,  and  could  supplement 
the  work  in  health  education  by  giving  practical  instruction  to  women 


470  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

and  gills  in  the  homes  they  have  visited  along  the  coast.  They  have 
traveled  by  dog  sled  and  have  accomplished  much  important  and  inter- 
esting work  in  the  nine  months  which  they  have  spent  in  Forteau. 
Special  attention  is  being  given  to  foods  in  relation  to  health  and  also 
to  the  better  use  of  the  local  food  supply. 

The  following  ezceipts  from  a  letter  recently  received  from  Dr.  Apple- 
ton  are  published  through  the  courtesy  of  the  Bureau  of  Sodal  Education 
of  the  National  Board  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

The  letter  and  bulletins  came  all  together,  by  the  winter  mail  via  Quebec 
by  dog  team,  and  made  an  inspiring  mail  uide6d  when  I  returned  from  Battle 
Harbor  the  end  of  March — the  first  mail  since  early  December.  All  this  new 
interest  gave  just  the  inspiration  we  needed  for  our  spring  program  and  we 
got  up  a  "Nutrition  Conference"  the  end  of  April,  uivitiog  delegates  from  all 
along  the  coast. 

Navigation  closed  December  eighth.  There  was  a  considerable  supply  of 
food  on  the  coast  but  vegetables  grew  scarcer  as  spring  ^>pn>ached.  The 
shiftless  went  on  a  diet  of  bread  and  tea  sometime  in  February,  the  thrifty 
had  vegetables  perhaps  until  sometime  in  ApriL  Nervous  break-downs 
increased  after  the  end  of  March.  Scurvy  and  stomatitis  came  latein  April 
but  there  are  few  cases.  Night  blindness  has  been  common  since  April  and 
lately  I  have  seen  a  whole  epidemic  of  beriberi  across  the  Straits.  In  rela- 
tion to  all  these,  I  have  tried  to  collect  as  much  data  as  possible  on  the  relar 
tion  to  diet.  Some  of  it  is  suggestive  and  much  very  confusing.  As  soon 
as  I  have  time,  I  shall  hope  to  get  it  in  more  tangible  form. 

Cod  livers  are  considered  a  delicacy  diuing  the  summer.  The  people  save 
very  little  oil  for  themselves  for  the  winter. 

Seal  meat  is  eaten  for  a  few  weeks  at  this  season  of  the  year  and  I  am 
encouraging  the  use  of  seal  livers  also. 

I  got  an  Alexander  plant*  for  you  yesterday.  We  have  not  eaten  it  yet 
as  it  is  scarce  but  have  eaten  the  ''dodk"  as  greens. 

^TUs  and  other  matters  pertaining  to  foods  and  food  supplies  had  been  disaissed  with 
Dr.  Appleton  before  she  left  for  her  work.  Tlie  specimen  of  Alexander,  which  she  men- 
tions, arrived  in  gtxxi  condition.  This  plant  has  bad  some  use  in  Labrador  as  a  pot  hcri>. 
The  use  of  the  young  shoots  for  this  purpose  is  mentioned  in  L.  C  R.  Cameron's  "WQd 
Foods  of  Great  Britain,"  Published  by  George  Routledge  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  London  (1917). 
P.  74. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 

HOME  ECONOMICS  SECTION,  ASSOCIATION  LANIM^RANT  COLLEGES^ 

Sfungtikld,  Mass,,  October  20  and  21 

wbdmzsday,  9  ajl 

OrganuatiQii  Among  Fann  Women— MetliodB  used  to  Develop  Leadershq>: 

Chainnan:  Abby  Marlatt,  Univeraity  of  Vnsconain 

Policies  in  the  South,  Ola  Powell,  States  Relations  Service,  South 

Ruxal  School  Supervisors,  Women's  Clubs,  and  County  Seat  Short  Courses 
Mrs.  Nellie  Kedzie  Jones,  University  of  Wisconsin 

Women's  Home  Bureaus,  Juliet  Lita  Bain,  State  Leader  Extension,  Illinois 

Farm  Bureaus,  Neal  Enowles,  State  Leader,  Iowa 

Discussion 
State  Policies  in  Measuring  Home  Demonstration  Work  in  Financial  Terms 

Agnes  EUen  Harris,  States  Relations  Service,  North  and  West 
Relation  of  Boys'  and  Gb^'  Qub  Work  to  Smith  Hughes  Work 

Gertrude  Warren,  States  Relations  Service,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Anna  Richardson,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education 
Discusskm,  Nancy  McNeal,  Boys'  and  Girls'  Qub  Wo^  Cornell  University 

WEDNESDAY,   1:30  P.M. 

CoSperation  Between  Home  Economics  Extension  Program  and  Other  Projects: 

Chairman:  Bess  Rowe,  State  Leader  of  Extension,  Montana 

Codperation  with  Public  Health  Nurse,  Margaret  Sawyer,  American  Red  Cross 

Codperation  with  Public  or  Private  Schools,  Treva  Kauff man 

Cooperation  with  Commercial  Projects,  Robert  Allen,  Research  Dept,  Ward  Baking  Co. 
The  Research  Worker: 

Courses  Pre-Requisite,  Dr.  Helen  Thompson,  Agr.  College,  Manhattan,  Kansas 

Need  for  Research  in  Home  Economics,  Dr.  Alice  Blood,  Simmons  College 

Legiriation,  Edna  White,  Merrill-Palmer  School  of  Homemaking 

THUXSDAY,  9  AJC 

Policies  in  Instructional  Counea— Training  for  Spedal  Fields: 

Homie  Demonstration  Agents — Round  Table,  Marie  Sayles,  Chairman 

Scope  of  Subject  in  College  Courses,  Martha  Van  Rensselaer,  Cornell  Univeisity 

Supervised  Field  Practice,  Discussbn  by  State  Leaders 

Round  Table,  Dean  Sarah  Louise  Arnold,  Simmons  College,  Chairman 
Vocational  Homemaking: 

Scope  of  Subject  in  Training  Courses,  Anna  Richardson 

Practical  Homemaking  Experience:  how  supervised — how  tested 

Discussion  by  State  Leaders 

Child  Welfare  Wo^  liirs.  Ira  Couch  Wood,  Elisabeth  McCormick  Fund,  Chicago 
Institutional  Economics: 

Spedal  Majors  (subject  matter),  Mildred  Weigley,  University  of  Minnesota 

Supervised  Post-Graduate  Experience,  Octavia  Hall,  Pteter  Bent  Bric^bam  Hospital 

^  There  will  be  a  meeting  of  the  Council  of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  at  7:30  Wednesday  evening. 

471 


472  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [October 

ANNUAL  MEETING  OF  THE  AMERICAN  DIETETIC  ASSOCIATION 

Hotd  McAlpin,  New  York,  October  25-28, 1920 

MONDAY 

Research  in  Dietetics,  Hilda  Croll,  Woman's  Medical  College,  Philadelphia 
Morning  Session:  Meeting  of  executive  committee 
Afternoon  Session:  Meeting  of  section  on  Administrative  Woik 
Chainnan:  Mabel  C.  Little,  Hospital  Dietitian,  Norwalk,  Ohio 
General  Subject:  To  What  Extent  can  Mechanical  Equ^ment  Replace  Employes? 
College  Dormitory,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Grider,  Cornell  University 
College  Dining  Room,  Cora  Colbum,  University  of  Chicago 
General  Subject:  Menu  Making — ^its  economic  aspect 
Dormitory,  Elsie  Leonard,  University  of  Wisconsin 
Hospital,  Marguerite  Deaver,  Mt.  Sinai  Hospital,  Cleveland 
Cafeteria,  Enmm  Baker,  Whittier  Hall,  Teachers  College 

Miss  Smith,  War  Risk  Bureau  Cafeteria,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Economical  Buying  for  the  Institution 
Evening  Session: 

Address  of  Welcome  by  the  President,  Lulu  Graves,  Cornell  University 
Address,  Dr.  Alonzo  E.  Taylor,  University  of  Pennsylvania 

TUESDAY 

Morning  Session: 

Marketing,  Susannah  Usher,  Boston 

Application  of  Business  Principles  to  the  Organization  of  Institutions 

Training  for  Positions  in  Cafeterias,  Roland  White,  The  Colonnade  Co.,  Cleveland 
Afternoon  Session:  Meeting  of  Section  on  Social  Service 
Chairman:  Blanche  M.  Joseph,  Field  Dietitian,  Michael  Reese  Hospital,  Chicago 

The  Supervising  Dietitian  in  State  Institutions,  Theresa  A.  Qough,  Springfield,  HI. 

Sodal  Service  in  Dietetics,  Fairfax  T.  Proudfit,  Univernty  of  Tennessee 
Evening  Session: 

Diet  and  Dentition,  Dr.  W.  J.  Gies,  Columbia  University 

The  Dietitian  in  Public  Health  Work,  Dr.  E.  A.  Peterson,  American  Red  Cross 

Diet  and  the  War,  Mrs.  Mary  de  Garmo  Bryan 

WEDNESDAY 

Morning  Session: 

Address,  Dr.  Katherine  Bement  Davis,  General  Secretary,  Bureau  of  Social  Hygiene 

Address,  Emma  Gunther,  Teachers  College 

Research  in  Dietetics,  Hilda  Croll,  Woman's  Medical  College,  Philadelphia 

Afternoon  Session:  Meeting  of  Section  on  Teaching 
Chairman:  Katharine  Fisher,  Teachers  College 
Dietetics  for  Nurses,  Lenna  F.  Cooper,  Battle  Creek  Sanitarium 
Teaching  Dietetics  to  Nurses,  Marion  Peterson,  Swedish  Hospital,  Minneapolis 
Review  of  Literature  on  Dietetics,  Dr.  Ruth  \^eeler,  Goucher  College,  Baltimore 

Evening  Session: 

Address,  Sarah  Louise  Arnold,  Dean  of  Simmons  College,  Boston 
Some  Dietetic  Problems  of  Infancy  and  Childhood,  Dr.  Roger  Dennett,  Assistant  Prc^ 
fessor  in  the  Diseases  of  Childrod,  Post  Graduate  Hospitid,  New  York 

THUKSDAY 

Morning  Session:  (At  Teachers  College) 

Economic  Aspects  of  Buying  Meats,  John  H.  Kelley,  Arthur  Dorr  Markets,  Boston 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

Vol,  Xn  NOVEMBER,  1920  No.  11 

VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  HOME   ECONOMICS— PART- 
TIME  SCHOOLS  AND  CLASSES^ 

ADELAIDE  STEELE  BAYLOR 
Feieral  Agent  for  Home  Economics^  Waskini^,  D.  C 

Vocational  education  in  home  economics  may  best  be  tentatively 
defined,  at  this  stage  in  its  development,  from  the  following  viewpoints: 

1.  The  interpretation  of  the  law  which  gave  the  term  general  use. 

2.  The  purpose  of  the  work  as  expressed  in  the  term  'Vocational.'' 

3.  Its  method  of  instruction. 

4.  The  group  of  people  for  whom  it  is  intended. 

The  law  limits  vocational  home  economics,  in  terms  of  time,  age  of 
pupils,  administration,  grade  of  work,  and  use  of  funds.  In  the  all-day 
school  one-half  of  the  time  must  be  given  to  vocational  subjects;  in  the 
part-time  schools  iustruction  must  continue  for  144  hours.  All  pufxils 
must  have  reached  their  fourteenth  birthday  or  have  the  maturity  of 
pupils  who  are  that  age.  The  schools  and  classes  must  be  under  pubfic 
control.  The  work  must  be  of  less  than  college  grade,  and  all  federal 
funds  must  be  matched  by  state  or  local  funds. 

From  the  standpoint  of  purpose  the  word  ''vocational"  really  defines 
itself  as  training  for  the  vocation  of  homemaking.  General  educa- 
tion, culture,  information,  skill,  are  more  remote  ends;  the  definite  pur- 
pose as  declared  by  the  content  of  the  term  itself  is  specifically  that  of 
training  for  a  vocation,  and  that  vocation  the  one  of  homemaking. 

In  its  method,  vocational  home  economics  works  from  without  into  the 
school  room  by  seeking  to  discover  the  information  and  various  skills 

^  Presented  at  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Asao- 
datkm,  Coloimdo  Springs,  June,  1920. 

473 


474  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOicE  ECONOMICS  [November 

necessary  to  successful  homemaking,  through  an  analysis  of  the  ''home- 
maker's  job/'  made  from  the  homemaker's  viewpoint,  and  her  actual 
duties,  rather  than  based  on  a  theory  evolved  within  foiu:  walls,  remote 
from  the  actual  vocation  itself. 

The  analysis  of  the  job  is  one  of  the  f  imdamental  steps  in  setting  up  a 
program  for  vocational  education,  and  was  first  started  in  trade  and 
industry.  Steps  have  since  been  taken  to  adapt  this  scheme  to  agri- 
culture, and  still  more  recently,  a  beginning  in  its  adaptation  to 
the  vocation  of  homemaking,  through  the  work  of  Zella  E.  Bigelow, 
then  Special  Assistant  in  Home  Economics,  Federal  Board  for  Vocational 
Education. 

The  aim  of  job  analysis  is  to  find  and  to  list  all  of  the  content  of  a 
given  activity  that  functions.  In  other  words,  it  is  a  classified  deter- 
mination of  the  job  content;  it  determines  what  is  to  be  "put  over"  to 
the  learner;  it  answers  the  question,  "What  do  we  need  to  know  to  do 
the  job  effectively;"  and  is  expressed  in  a  modification  of  Richard's 
formula,  jB  =  if  +  (r  &  /),  in  which  E  represents  equipment,  skill, 
and  knowledge  required  for  efficient  service  in  the  trade  to  be  taught, 
M  represents  manipulative  skill  required  either  with  tools  or  in  the  con- 
trol of  machines,  T  represents  knowledge  of  the  trade  technical  content 
of  the  particular  occupation  in  question,  and  /  represents  knowledge  of 
the  general  trade  content  which  can  be  shown  to  function  directly  in 
industrial  efficiency. 

The  analysis  of  the  job  serves:  (1)  as  a  checking  list  for  the  teacher, 
preventing  the  omission  of  important  things;  (2)  as  a  checking  list  for 
students;  (3)  to  show  what  functions;  and  (4)  to  show  what  should  be 
taught  and  what  should  be  told,  or  to  distinguish  between  instruction  and 
information.  It  also  aids  in  discovering  what  should  be  taught  and  what 
can  best  be  learned  "on  the  job." 

In  its  method,  vocational  home  economics  fiurther  endeavors  to  tie  up 
the  instruction  in  the  school  with  that  of  the  home  by  emphasizing  the 
value  of  the  home  project,  and  seeking  the  active  cooperation  of  the 
mothers,  that  the  homes  may  be  used  as  laboratories  in  supplementing 
the  work  of  the  school. 

By  the  home  project  method  the  learner  is  brought  into  contact  with 
the  vocation,  a  very  essential  condition  in  any  vocational  work.  It 
would  be  a  strange  education  that  trained  a  plumber  and  gave  him  no 
contact  with  his  job,  under  normal  conditions,  or  a  carpenter  who  worked 
wholly  with  models  and  artificial  devices  and  never  on  a  real  construction 
itself. 


1920]  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  475 

Through  the  home  project  a  supervised,  directed  piece  of  work  is 
done  under  normal  home  conditions.  Thus  contact  with  the  vocation 
s  secured.  It  calls  into  play  skill  and  information  acquired  in  the 
school,  and  demands  new  skills  and  information,  in  the  utilization  of 
which  the  student  must  exercise  both  judgment  and  initiative. 

A  plan  for  the  supervision  of  home  projects,  and  the  establishment  of 
tests  to  evaluate  results  of  such  work  are  still  to  be  developed.  This 
lack  is  an  obstacle,  at  the  present  time,  to  the  success  of  this  method. 

From  the  standpoint  of  groups  to  be  reached,  vocational  education 
in  home  economics  steps  out  of  the  common  school  practice  of  receiving 
in  a  grade  only  such  pupils  as  have  covered  all  the  work  in  the  preceding 
grades,  and  opens  its  doors  to  all  girls  and  women,  no  matter  what  the 
age,  condition,  and  previous  education,  who  can  profit  by  this  type  of 
instruction. 

While  opportunity  is  oflFered  for  electives,  vocational  education 
emphasizes,  in  addition  to  home  economics  subjects,  the  teaching  of 
civics,  English,  and  applied  science  and  art,  from  the  study  of  which 
great  benefit  may  be  derived,  without  acquaintance  with  a  large 
number  of  prerequisites. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  vocational  scheme  for  education  in  home  eco- 
nomics, the  organization  and  administration  of  certain  types  of  schools 
and  classes  are  necessary,  and  these  are  enumerated  here  in  the  order, 
as  I  conceive  it,  of  their  importance  for  vocational  education  in  home 
economics: 

1.  The  part-time  school  designed  for  girls  14  years  of  age  and  above, 
who  can  not  attend  the  full  school  time  either  because  they  are  employed 
in  a  wage-earning  pursuit  or  are  needed  at  home. 

2.  Evening  classes  for  young  homemakers  and  prospective  home- 
makers. 

3.  All-day  classes,  which  continue  the  full  school  day  during  the 
school  year. 

4.  Evening  schools  in  urban  communities  for  mature  homemakers. 

5.  Evening  schools  in  rural  communities  for  mature  homemakers. 
The  discussion  of  types  in  this  paper  will  be  limited  to  the  part-time 

classes  and  schools,  the  importance  of  which  in  a  program  of  vocational 
education  was  so  well  recognized  in  the  enactment  of  the  Federal  Law 
for  Vocational  Education  that  provision  was  made  for  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  Trade  and  Industry  fund  to  be  spent  on  this  t3rpe  of  school. 
This  stimulus  was  needed,  since  part-time  classes  are  often  most  diflScult 


476  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOiocs  [November 

to  initiate,  in  that  they  require,  for  many  groups,  the  cooperation  of 
employers  who  are  unwilling  for  employees  to  be  pursuing  on  employ- 
ment time  any  form  of  education  that  does  not  seem  to  contribute 
directly  to  wage-earning  power. 

Comptdsory  education  legislation,  then,  is  ahnost  a  necessity  for  es- 
tablishing successful  part-time  work,  and  the  spread  of  such  state  legis- 
lation in  the  past  two  years,  since  the  enactment  of  the  Federal  Law  for 
Vocational  Education,  has  been  almost  phenomenal.  In  1917  only  two 
states  in  the  Union  had  compulsory  part-time  laws;  at  the  present  time 
19  states  have  compulsory  part-time  laws,  ten  of  these  being  enacted  in 
1919  and  7  in  1920.  Six  of  these  19  are  Pacific  Coast  States,  four  West 
Central  States,  five  East  Central  States,  and  four  Eastern  States. 
Every  section,  then,  with  the  exception  of  the  South,  is  represented  in 
the  group  of  states  with  compulsory  part-time  laws,  and  the  delay  there 
no  doubt  is  due  to  the  fact  that  general  compulsory  education  laws  in  the 
Southern  States  are  just  becoming  effective  and  such  laws  logically 
precede  those  for  part-time  education. 

In  the  yeai  1918-19,  27  part-time  schools  in  home  economics,  enrolling 
4278  pupils  and  employing  74  teachers,  were  reimbursed  from  federal 
funds,  while  in  1919-20,  325  part-time  schools  in  home  economics, 
enrolling  10,913  pupils  and  employing  313  teachers,  were  reimbursed 
from  federal  funds.  This  ranarkable  increase  in  the  number  of  schools 
in  so  short  a  space  of  time  is  no  doubt  due  in  large  measure  to  the 
enactment  of  the  compulsory  part-time  laws,  thus  overcoming  the  diffi- 
culty of  organizing  this  type  of  school  without  such  laws. 

There  are  three  types  of  part-time  schools  in  which  home  economics 
may  be  taught,  each  one  of  which  must  continue  for  at  least  144  hours 
during  the  school  year,  usually  distributed  on  a  basis  of  four  hours  a 
week  for  36  weeks. 

a.  General  continuation  classes  or  schools,  in  which  less  than  50  per 
cent  of  the  time  is  given  to  home  economics  subjects,  and  the  ranainder 
to  such  general  subjects  as  will  promote  the  dvic  and  vocational  intelli- 
gence of  the  pupils.  These  schools  are  classified  imder  Trade  and  In- 
dustry, and  reimbursement  is  made  from  that  fimd.  Such  classes  are 
designed  especially  for  girls  from  14  to  16  or  17  years  of  age. 

b.  Part-time  home  economics  classes  in  which  50  per  cent,  or  more, 
but  not  all  of  the  time  is  given  to  home  economics  subjects,  and  the 
remainder  devoted  to  general  education  subjects.  These  classes  will 
reach  girls  14  to  18  years  of  age. 


1920]  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  477 

c.  Part-time  home  economics  classes  in  which  all  the  time  is  given  to 
home  economics  subjects.  The  work  here  is  arranged  in  a  sequence  of 
short  units  and  may  deal  with  any  phases  of  homemaking.  Many 
girls  from  16  to  20  years  of  age  may  benefit  especially  by  these  classes. 

The  pupils  found  in  the  part-time  classes  have  dropped  out  of  school 
at  various  stages  of  their  educational  career,  less  frequently  from  eco- 
nomic pressiure  than  from  a  distaste  for  the  study  and  discipline  to  which 
they  have  been  subject.  They  have  had  varied  experiences  in  the 
worlds  of  employment  and  non-employment,  and  often  look  with  grave 
suspicion  on  the  school  they  are  forced  to  attend. 

The  yoimger  groups  are  found  in  the  general  continuation  schools, 
where  the  aim  is  to  promote  the  greatly  needed  dvic  and  vocational 
intelligence  of  the  American  child.  These  young  people  present  a  very 
distinct  problem  with  their  limited  education  and  fairly  large  experi- 
ence in  the  world  of  affairs,  therefore  the  program  that  meets  their 
needs  is  a  imique  and  special  one.  For  this  reason  great  care  is  neces- 
sary that  the  school  does  not  follow  too  closely  the  lines  of  general 
education  in  the  public  schools  or  vocational  education  in  the  trade 
preparatory  and  trade  extension  classes. 

Quoting  from  Mrs.  Mary  Eastwood  of  the  William  Penn  High  School, 
Philadelphia,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Educational  Congress  in  Har- 
risburg,  November  17  to  22,  1919:  "These  children  expect  much  as  a 
result  of  the  operation  of  the  law  and  should  not  be  disappointed.  They 
feel  that  in  giving  eight  of  their  working  hours  to  school  instruction  they 
will  be  greatly  handicapped  in  advancement  in  industry  unless  the  sub- 
jects are  of  real  value  to  them Those  paid  for  piece 

work  object,  for  their  pay  envelope  is  smaller  by  $1.00  to  $2.50  per 
week;  even  an  additional  carfare  used  in  coming  to  school  is  mentioned 
as  an  inconvenience.  Some  think  advancement  in  their  work  and  in- 
crease of  salary  less  possible  because  of  eight  hours'  absence  from  work." 

Such  subjects  as  dvics,  English,  arithmetic,  vocational  intelligence, 
commercial  subjects,  shop  work,  and  home  economics,  when  rightly 
presented,  make  a  strong  general  continuation  school  program. 

If  the  hours  are  eight  per  week,  the  following  distribution  of  time  to 
subjects  is  found  successful: 

Approximately  60  minutes  to  English  and  civics  respectively;  90  min- 
utes to  physiology,  hygiene  and  sanitation;  45  minutes  to  arithmetic; 
45  minutes  to  geography;  90  minutes  to  vocational  guidance;  and  90 
minutes  to  home  economics.  The  time  element,  of  course,  will  be  varied 
to  meet  the  needs  of  individual  pupils  and  groups. 


478  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOiiE  ECONOMICS  [November 

Reimbursement  for  such  a  program  would  be  made  from  the  Trade 
and  Industries  fund,  as  for  any  part-time  program  where  home  econom- 
ics instruction  consumes  less  than  50  per  cent  of  the  time. 

The  home  economics  extension  type,  with  part  of  the  time  given  to 
other  subjects  but  with  50  per  cent  or  more  of  the  time  devoted  to 
home  economics  subjects,  reaches  a  somewhat  older  group  of  girls  and 
young  women  whose  general  education  has  been  more  extended  or  for 
whom  marriage  is  not  remote. 

On  an  8  hour  a  week  basis  for  this  group  at  least  4  hours  would  be  given 
to  home  economics  subjects  with  a  suggestive  equitable  distribution  of 
the  remainder  of  the  8  hours  as  follows:  physiology,  hygiene  and  sanita- 
tion, 60  mins. ;  commimity  civics,  60  mins. ;  English,  45  mins. ;  arithmetic 
or  geography,  45  mins. ;  electives,  30  mins. 

The  other  type  of  home  economics  extension  classes  is  one  in  which 
the  entire  time  is  given  to  home  economics  subjects.  This  reaches  a 
group  of  prospective  brides,  young  homemakers,  girls  in  the  wage  earn- 
ing field  or  at  home,  who  want  to  center  their  time  and  attention 
for  a  few  hours  a  week  on  such  subjects  only  as  train  directly  for 
homemaking. 

The  content  of  the  homemaking  courses  in  these  part-time  schools 
should  be  close  to  the  immediate  needs  of  the  individual  girl. 

For  the  younger  groups  and  those  for  whom  marriage  is  remote,  the 
content  should  center  upon  their  present  food,  clothing,  and  shelter 
needs;  their  present  expenditures  in  these  lines  and  how  these  can  be 
modified  to  better  meet  their  needs  and  incomes;  how  and  where  to  pur- 
chase the  most  wholesome  meals  at  least  expense;  what  to  prepare  at 
home  and  how  best  to  do  this;  how  to  select,  purchase,  wear,  care  for, 
and  repair  all  clothing,  including  hats,  shoes,  hose,  and  gloves;  available 
and  suitable  houses  or  rooms  in  the  commimity,  for  family  or  indi- 
vidual use,  sanitary  and  with  rentals  within  their  income. 

There  is  probably  not  a  single  community  that  can  not  furnish  girls 
and  young  women  for  these  part-time  classes,  although  the  school  records 
are  still  as  a  rule  very  incomplete  on  the  whereabouts  of  girls  no  longer 
on  their  lists. 

The  survey  to  secure  data  on  commimity  needs  for  education  of  vari- 
ous types  has  up  to  this  time  been  a  formal  expensive  piece  of  work  cover- 
ing a  large  field  and  often  disappointing  in  the  returns  to  the  commimity. 
The  local  participants  in  the  survey  have  either  failed  to  appreciate  their 
responsibility  on  the  constructive  side,  been  unable  to  secure  the  coop- 
eration of  the  community  in  setting  up  a  program,  or  have  removed  to 


1920]  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  HOME  ECONOMICS  479 

Other  fields  leaving  the  reorganization  of  the  schools  along  the  line  of 
survey  recommendations  to  a  successor  who  is  either  not  in  S3anpathy 
with  the  proposed  changes  or  who  becomes  so  submerged  with  other 
problems  in  the  new  administration  as  to  let  the  survey  program  drop 
entirely  out  of  sight.  Plans  for  informal  preliminary  surveys  for  small 
communities  or  sections  of  large  communities  are  greatly  needed.  Such 
survey  may  not  go  further  than  the  organization  of  a  good  school  attend- 
ance department,  co5peration  with  the  school  assessors  to  secure  certain 
data  on  the  enumeration  blanks,  a  tabulation  of  material  already  compiled 
by  different  departments  and  organizations  in  the  state  or  community. 

A  committee  was  appointed  in  May,  at  the  Denver  Regional  Confer- 
ence of  the  Federal  Board  for  Vocational  Education,  to  develop  ques- 
tionnaires and  other  necessary  forms  for  such  a  survey.  This  conmiittee 
is  working  in  co&peration  with  a  national  committee  appointed  at  the 
National  Conference  at  Chicago  to  work  on  the  community  survey.  Alice 
Loomis,  State  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  is 
chairman  of  both  committees. 

The  location  of  the  plant  for  part-time  classes,  that  it  may  be  easily 
accessible  and  thus  save  time  and  money,  is  very  important.  The 
place  may  be  a  school,  factory,  store,  residence  or  other  building  that  is 
adaptable  to  such  classes,  and  where  the  necessary  equipment  is  available. 

In  organizing  the  subject  matter  for  instruction  in  the  part-time 
schools,  the  short  imit  course  is  becoming  more  and  more  the  accepted 
form.  Such  a  course  is  well  adapted  to  the  instruction  of  the  groups 
foxmd  in  part-time  classes.  It  completes  a  single  problan,  eliminates  use- 
less matter,  is  definite  and  yet  flexible,  appeals  to  people  with  limited 
time,  centers  attention  on  the  individual  rather  than  the  group,  stimu- 
lates regular  attendance,  gives  definite  instruction  to  a  student  as  he  needs 
it  and  instruction  that  can  be  used  at  once.  Some  of  the  essentials 
of  a  good  short  imit  course  are  that  it  shall  be  reasonably  complete  within 
itself,  related  to  other  units  in  course,  allow  modification  to  meet  indi- 
vidual needs,  include  only  what  is  accepted  as  necessary  skill  and  infor- 
mation by  those  in  the  vocation,  related  to  popular  need  or  demand, 
based  on  proper  analysis  of  job,  and  tend  to  thorough  work.  In  organ- 
izing short  unit  courses  selection  of  content  should  be  based  on  an  analy- 
sis of  the  homemaker^s  job  and  the  needs  of  the  group.  The  selection 
of  steps  in  the  development  of  the  course  should  be  based  on  stages  of 
difficulty  in  learning,  previous  training  of  pupils,  standards  set  for  pro- 
duction, and  be  such  as  lend  themselves  to  the  unity  of  the  entire 
sequence. 


480  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOicE  ECONOMICS  [November 

Much  depends  on  the  proper  segregation  of  groups  in  classes  to  secure 
the  highest  interest  and  best  results.  While  group  instruction  will  be 
possible  and  should  be  used,  individual  instruction  will  have  a  promi- 
nent place  because  of  the  varied  educational  acquirements  of  the  part- 
time  pupils  and  the  varied  experiences.  Most  of  all  must  the  methods 
be  economical  of  the  pupils'  time.  Mrs.  Eastwood,  in  the  paper  referred 
to  above  also  declares  that  the  children  (in  part-time  classes)  are  very 
good  critics  of  class  room  methods  and  impatient  of  any  waste  of  time. 

In  these  classes,  as  in  all  school  instruction,  the  teacher  is  the  main 
element  of  success.  If  the  teacher  for  part-time  classes  is  rightly  se- 
lected, special  problems  of  preliminary  surveys,  organization  of  classes 
and  subject  matter,  and  methods  of  instruction  will  be  largely  elimi- 
nated. Emily  Griffith,  head  of  the  Opportunity  School  in  Denver,  sajrs 
that  she  has  no  volimteer  workers  in  her  school.  Her  teachers  must  be 
paid  and  held  responsible  for  the  work.  Always  encourage  pupils,  never 
discourage  them,  is  a  motto  for  the  teachers  in  the  Opportunity  School. 

The  teacher  in  the  part-time  school  needs  to  be  practical,  experienced, 
sympathetic  with  the  aims  of  instruction,  fanuliar  with  the  vocations  of 
the  pupils,  their  conditions  of  work  and  of  living.  She  must  be  capable 
of  thinking  and  speaking  in  simple  concrete  language,  and  have  at  the 
same  time  broad  social  views  and  vision,  with  neither  the  attitude  nor 
address  of  a  social  ''uplifter.'' 

Properly  tempered  enthusiasm,  quick  discernment  of  individual  needs 
and  good  judgment  are  more  important  for  this  tsrpe  of  school  than  pro- 
found scholarship  and  much  technical  information.  Sufficient  scholar- 
ship and  technical  training  of  course  are  needed,  but  other  qualifications 
are  equally  essential  to  success. 

Too  often  is  the  elementary  or  high  school  teacher  who  has  had  little 
contact  with  work-a-day  conditions  brought  into  the  part-time  school. 
The  teacher  who  has  had  contact  with  the  business  world  and  home- 
making  experience  makes  the  greatest  appeal  to  pupils  in  such  schools. 

One  reason  for  the  failure  of  elementary  and  high  school  education  to 
function  in  the  lives  of  boys  and  girls  is  because  the  minute  the  doors  of 
the  school  room  dose  behind  them,  they  are  entirely  lost  sight  of,  as 
far  as  the  school  is  concerned.  What  is  commonly  known  as  '' follow 
up"  work  is  becoming  an  accepted  part  of  the  vocational  school  program 
and,  in  the  future,  will  be  a  more  common  feature  of  all  school  procedure. 
The  organization  of  vocational  schools  and  departments,  calling  as  it 
does  for  information  on  pupils  dropping  out  of  the  elementary  and  high 
schools,  and  their  whereabouts,  will  necessitate  keeping  in  touch  with 


1920]  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION  IN  HOHE  ECONOMICS  481 

those  who  leave  school,  while  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  compul- 
sory education  laws  will  lead  to  the  establishment  of  well  regulated  school 
attendance  departments  in  daily  touch  with  employer  and  employed. 

An  essential  in  the  program  of  the  Denver  Opportunity  School  is  that 
of  ''follow  up''  work.  Points  of  contact  are  made  with  the  daily  routine 
of  pupils  when  they  first  enroll,  and,  if  employed,  as  most  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  school  are,  and  voluntary  attendants,  as  is  generally  the  case, 
since  Colorado  has  no  compulsory  part-time  law,  the  interest  of  the 
employer  is  constantly  held  by  reports  to  him  of  the  progress  of  his 
employees.  Again  when  the  unemployed  find  employment  the  school 
gets  in  touch  at  once  with  the  employer,  and  follows  the  career  of  stu- 
dents in  their  fields  of  work.  If  they  do  not  succeed,  teachers  are  sent 
to  help  "on  the  job.'' 

In  an  article  on  the  Boston  Continuation  School  in  the  Manual  Train^ 
ing  Magazine  for  June,  1920,  we  read: 

"An  academic  teacher  has  20  hours  of  teaching  and  uses  the  remainder 
of  the  time  in  making  follow-up  visits  to  the  pupils'  places  of  employ- 
ment or  homes,  in  order  that  information  may  be  obtained  as  to  the 
pupils'  individual  needs.  The  teaching  program  covers  32  hours  a  week. 
A  shop  teacher  now  has  28  hours  of  shop  teaching  and  the  remaining  four 
hours  for  the  upkeep  of  the  shop.  This  assignment  is  not  considered 
satisfactory.  Mr.  Evans,  formerly  principal  of  the  Boston  Continua- 
tion School,  says  that  20  hours  should  be  considered  a  proper  teach- 
ing program  for  the  shop  teacher  and  that  he  should  have  time  to  assist 
in  the  follow-up  work.  As  a  further  reason  he  sa}rs,  'This  will  enable  us 
to  use  the  valuable  industrial  acquaintance  of  the  shop  men  and  to 
place  our  bo}rs  to  better  advantage  when  they  reach  their  sixteenth 
birthday.'  "  Such  "follow  up"  work  relates  to  the  wage  earning  field, 
but  the  "follow  up"  work  that  discovers  conditions  of  employment 
and  of  the  home  life  gives  a  background  for  training  in  homemaking. 

In  the  next  few  years  in  vocational  education  in  home  economics  or 
training  for  homemaking,  the  part-time  school  will  unquestionably 
occupy  a  large  place  and  whether  it  shall  accomplish  the  specific  work 
intended  and  educate  the  groups  that  can  be  reached  by  no  other  type  of 
school  depends  upon  an  appreciation  of  the  needs  of  the  girls  from  14 
years  to  16,  18,  or  20,  and  how  to  meet  them.  The  kind  of  program 
carried  out  in  the  next  few  years,  in  the  19  states  with  compulsory  edu- 
cation laws,  will  determine  the  value  of  this  type  of  school  and  whether 
other  states  will  inaugurate  such  laws  and  set  up  similar  programs. 


482  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

FOOD  ACCESSORY  FACTORS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  TEETH 

PERCY  R.  HOWE,  D.D.S. 
Chief  f  Dental  Research,  Harvard  UniversUy 

The  effect  of  vitamine-deficient  diets  upon  the  teeth  and  gums  has 
been  noted  by  many  writers.  McCoUima  and  Pitz/  Cohen  and  Mendel,* 
and  others  have  observed  in  guinea  pigs  loosening  of  the  teeth  with  bleed- 
ing or  congested  gums  associated  with  vitamine-deficient  diet.  Mrs. 
May  Mellanb)r'  produced  irregular  teeth  in  pups  by  rachitic  feeding. 
Zilva  and  Wells^  examined  histologically  the  teeth  of  guinea  pigs  fed  on 
a  scorbutic  diet,  and  reported  degenerate  changes  both  in  the  teeth  and 
in  their  pulps. 

Now  the  most  generally  accepted  theory  of  dental  caries  is  that  of 
Miller.  Miller*  held  that  the  fermentation  of  carbohydrates  with  the 
formation  of  lactic  acid  was  the  cause  of  tooth  decay.  He  based  his 
theory  upon  the  following  experiment:  Teeth  were  placed  in  a  fermenting 
mixture  of  bread  and  saliva,  which  he  renewed  from  time  to  time  that 
it  might  not  become  alkaline.  After  three  months  he  obtained  effects 
upon  some  of  the  teeth  which  he  states  could  not  be  told  macroscopically 
or  microscopicaDy  from  true  decay.  By  zinc  crystallization  he  demon- 
strated the  presence  of  lactic  acid.  He  felt  that  he  had  proved  his 
theory.  Histologically  Miller  studied  only  the  carious  mass.  He  ig- 
nored the  condition  of  the  tooth  substance  immediately  in  advance  of 
the  decay.  Bacteriologically  his  work  was  limited,  and  he  found  no 
specific  organism  which  he  could  regard  as  the  etiological  factor  in  caries. 

We  repeated  and  extended  his  experiment.  We  placed  teeth  in  fer- 
menting mixtures  of  dextrose,  ir^'tose,  lactose,  saccharose,  and  of 
dextrin,  white  flour,  and  of  bread.  In  some  of  the  tubes  we  used  saliva 
from  individuals  that  had  extensive  tooth  decay,  in  others  saliva  from 
cases  of  no  decay,  and  in  still  others  saliva  from  mixed  cases.  After 
six  months  some  of  the  teeth  showed  an  etched  appearance,  some  a 
decalcified  effect,  and  in  others  no  change  was  discernible.  In  general 
the  effects  resembled  those  on  teeth  that  had  been  subjected  to  a  weak 

1  McCoUum,  E.  V.,  and  Pitz,  W.,  Biol,  Chem,,  1917,  XXXI,  236. 
»  Cohen,  B.,  and  Mendel,  L.  B.,  BioL  Chem.,  1918,  XXXV,  427. 
» Mellanby,  Mrs.  May,  Dental  Record,  1920,  XL,  70. 
*  ZUva,  S.  S.,  and  Wells,  F.  M.,  Proc,  Roy.  Sac.,  1919,  B.  90,  505. 
» Miller,  W.  D.,  Microorganisms  of  the  Human  Mouth,  S.  S.  White,  Dental  Mfg.  Co,,  p. 
196. 


1920]  POOD  FACTORS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  TEETH  483 

decalcifying  agent.  The  most  pronounced  thing  brought  out  was  the 
great  difference  in  structure  of  the  various  teeth.  Miller  himself  noticed 
this.  He  wonders  why  the  teeth  of  pigs,  which  feed  largely  on  ferment- 
able foods,  are  free  from  decay. 

If  Miller's  theory  is  soimd  it  should  be  an  easy  matter  to  produce 
tooth  decay  in  animals  by  fermentation.  We  have  fed  guinea  pigs  upon 
diets  containing  large  amoimts  of  the  sugars  and  starches.  These  diets 
were  continued  for  from  six  months  to  a  year.  The  sugars  were  readily 
eaten,  and  adhered  constantly  to  the  tooth  surfaces.  The  flora  of  the 
mouth  became  adduric  in  character,  but  no  effect  could  be  detected  in 
any  of  the  teeth.  We  fed  for  three  or  four  months  microorganisms  iso- 
lated from  caries.  The  growth  was  constantly  present  in  their  mouths. 
No  effect  upon  the  teeth  could  be  demonstrated.  The  animals  all 
appeared  to  be  in  good  condition  at  the  end  of  six  months,  and  even  a 
year. 

We  have,  however,  obtained  rather  extensive  effects  in  the  teeth,  in 
the  alveolar  process,  and  in  the  jaws  themselves  by  feeding  vitamine- 
deficient  diets.    (The  effects  are  not  confined  to  the  teeth  and  their 
adjacent  structures,  but  are  to  be  seen  to  a  certain  extent  in  the  skull 
bones  and  in  other  bones  of  the  body.)    We  fed  the  guinea  pigs  a  simple 
diet  of  rolled  oats  and  fat-free  milk.    They  received  about  25  cc.  of  the 
milk  daily,  and  all  the  rolled  oats  that  they  would  eat,  with  a  very  small 
piece  of  carrot  or  a  small  leaf  of  lettuce  every  other  day  or  every  third 
day.    The  animals  were  carefully  watched,  and  when  difficulty  in  the 
use  of  their  legs  was  manifest,  or  difficulty  in  eating  observed,  the  amount 
of  green  food  was  increased.    This  was  necessary  in  order  to  prevent 
death,  which  at  this  stage  ensues  rapidly.    Our  object  was  to  produce  a 
chronic  condition  in  which  the  lime  would  be  slowly  removed  from  the 
bony  structures.    Thus  our  experiments  extended  over  periods  of  from 
three  months  to  a  year.    When  the  onset  of  the  symptoms  was  so 
rapid  that  the  animals  were  imable  to  eat  green  foods  we  fed  them  orange 
juice  from  a  medicine  dropper.    They  took  this  with  great  avidity,  and 
its  beneficial  effects  were  quickly  evident.    They  were  soon  able  to  eat 
grated  carrot,  and  later  thin  slices  of  carrot  and  lettuce.    On  the  latter 
diet,  combined  with  whole  milk,  they  soon  regained  weight  and  appeared 
nearly  normal.    They  were  then  again  placed  on  a  diet  of  rolled  oats 
and  fat-free  milk,  the  green  food  being  reduced  to  the  lowest  possible 
quantity.    McColliun's  salt  mixture  or  calcium  lactate  was  usually 
added  to  the  diet,  although  the  milk  should  furnish  a  sufficient  amount 


484  THE  JOURNAL  GF  HOiCE  ECONOMICS  [November 

of  inorganic  constituents.  Agar-agar  was  also  added  for  its  effect  upon 
the  intestinal  tract. 

By  the  use  of  such  a  diet  we  were  able  to  produce  three  types  of  dental 
distiirbance.  First,  we  produced  a  very  marked  loosening  of  the  teeth, 
together  with  an  extensive  absorption  of  the  alveolar  process.  If  the 
effect  was  brought  about  slowly,  and  continued  for  about  four  months, 
it  resembled  the  alveolar  absorption  of  senility.  If  it  was  brought  about 
with  more  rapidity  and  severity  the  appearance  was  more  like  carious 
bone.  In  some  instances  the  gums  bled,  and  a  copious  flow  of  pus 
occurred.  These  conditions  closely  simulate  the  various  forms  of 
pyorrhea  alveolaris. 

Second,  the  teeth,  particularly  in  yoimg  guinea  pigs,  were  regularly 
decalcified.  A  distinct  bending  of  the  teeth  was  seen.  They  could  be 
bent  with  the  fingers.  A  sharp  instrument  would  penetrate  them  with 
ease.  When  brushing  the  bones  with  a  soft  brush,  in  the  process  of 
cleaning  specimens,  large  portions  of  the  teeth  were  often  removed. 
The  tips  of  the  teeth  seemed  to  soften  first.  Distinct  cavity  formation, 
accompanied  by  a  brown  discoloration  of  the  affected  structure,  appeared 
in  two  cases.  If,  as  Miller  believed,  dental  caries  is  primarily  a  process 
of  decalcification  of  the  tooth  structure,  then  we  appear  to  have  taken 
at  least  the  first  steps  in  the  production  of  true  caries.  This  was  brought 
about  not  by  the  fermentation  of  sugars  and  starches  in  the  mouth,  but 
as  one  result  of  a  profound  metabolic  disturbance  induced  by  the  feeding 
of  a  vitamine-defident  diet. 

Third,  many  irregular  arrangements  of  the  teeth  were  brought  about. 
For  example,  the  lower  incisors  of  one  young  guinea  pig  broke  off  while 
he  was  on  a  deficient  diet.  As  the  guinea  pig  is  a  rodent,  the  teeth  grew 
out  again,  but  because  of  the  softened  condition  of  the  supporting  struc- 
tures became  crossed  like  the  letter  X.  About  this  time  the  pig  was 
placed  on  a  diet  of  whole  milk  with  plenty  of  green  stuff,  and  its  general 
condition  rapidly  improved.  When  the  skull  was  examined  it  was  foimd 
that  not  only  had  the  teeth  become  fixed  in  the  crossed  position,  but  the 
anterior  part  of  the  lower  jaw  had  a  wrinkled  and  thickened  appearance, 
showing  that  there  had  been  a  period  of  decalcification  followed  by  recal- 
cification. 

It  should  be  stated  here  that  the  given  diet  was  deficient  in  all  three 
of  the  known  vitamines.  It  may  be  found  on  further  experimentation 
that  the  same  effects  can  be  produced  by  a  deficiency  of  only  one  or  two 
of  the  accessory  food  substances,  but  such  a  result  would  not  lessen  the 


1920]  FOOD  FACTORS  IN  REIATION  TO  THE  TEETH  485 

importance  of  any  of  the  other  factors  in  the  diet  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  general  health.  It  is  of  course  not  possible  to  draw  definite  con- 
clusions regarding  human  teeth  from  experiments,  however  conclusive, 
on  the  teeth  of  guinea  pigs,  but  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  it 
would  seem  that  those  foods  which  are  important  for  growth  and  the 
preservation  of  good  health  are  also  largely  concerned  in  the  formation 
and  preservation  of  sound  teeth.  Such  foods  are  those  which  are  recom- 
mended by  McCoUum  and  many  other  writers, — ^whole  milk,  fresh  vege- 
tables, particularly  of  the  green,  leafy  varieties,  fresh  fruits  and  whole 
grains. 

It  has  been  noted  many  times  in  dental  writings  that  the  teeth  of 
aboriginal  or  primitive  races  are  practically  free  from  decay.  Dr. 
Ottofy,*  on  examining  the  teeth  of  Igorot  children  in  the  Philippine 
Islands,  foimd  that  68  per  cent  of  them  had  perfect  teeth,  and  that  the 
imperfections  in  the  teeth  of  the  remaining  32  per  cent  were  so  slight  that 
they  would  have  escaped  the  notice  of  a  layman.  The  Esquimaux  are  a 
caries  free  people.  Wells'  reports  that  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland  are 
comparatively  free  from  dental  decay,  but  that  the  people  living  in  the 
Lowlands  have  much  decay.  Speaking  of  the  excellent  dental  condition 
of  the  Hi^iland  Scotch  he  sa}rs:  ^'This  is  largely  accounted  for  by  their 
simple  diet  of  natural  foods."  On  the  other  hand  he  says  of  the  ex- 
tremely poor  dental  condition  of  the  Lowlanders:  ^'The  great  reason  for 
this  is,  to  my  mind,  the  diet  of  more  refined  foods." 

Every  dentist  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  many  of  the  Swedish  girls 
who  come  to  this  coimtry  as  domestics  have  excellent  teeth  when  tiiey 
arrive,  but  that  after  eating  our  refined  and  cold  storage  foods  their 
teeth  decay  rapidly.  When  we  consider  that  city  milk  has  the  lowest 
amoimt  of  fat  allowed  by  law,  that  butter  substitutes  are  extensively 
used,  that  our  flour  is  deficient  in  water-soluble  vitamines,  and  that  we 
do  not  have  an  abundance  of  fresh  and  raw  vegetables,  we  can  readily  see 
that  there  is  considerable  groimd  for  the  belief  that  not  only  for  full 
growth  and  development,  but  for  sound  teeth,  a  full  quota  in  our  diet 
of  vitamine-containing  foods  is  essential. 

•  Ottofy,  L.,  Denial  Cosmos,  1908,  L,  676. 

'  Wells,  P.  M.,  Dental  Record,  1919,  XXXDC,  348. 


486  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOiCE  ECONOMICS  [November 

STANDARDIZED  TESTS  IN  TEXTILES  AND  CLOTHING 

MABEL  B.  TRILLING  AND  FLORENCE  WILLIAMS 

The  UtUversUy  of  Chicago 

I.  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  TESTS  AND   SCALES 

The  common  method  of  evaluating  children's  abilities  is  a  matter 
of  judgment  and  personal  opinion  with  instructors.  There  have  been 
various  investigations  which  show  that  the  judgment  of  the  most  expe- 
rienced and  best  trained  teachers  concerning  children's  abilities  is  not 
reliable.  One  such  investigation  is  reported  in  "Measurements  of 
Certain  Elements  of  Hand  Sewing"  by  Dr.  Katharine  Murdoch.  The 
judgments  of  teachers  with  similar  training  and  experience  vary  to  a 
large  extent.  Two  marks  given  by  the  same  teacher  on  the  same  piece 
of  work  but  at  different  times  may  also  vary.  All  teachers  experience 
difficulty  in  marking  work  accurately.  Opinion  wavers  as  to  what  mark 
should  be  given.  Should  the  mark  be  A  or  A — ,  or  should  the  term  grade 
be  C  or  B?  The  teacher's  passing  mood  or  frame  of  mind  may  dedde 
the  question.  The  need  for  an  accurate  and  objective  means  of  measur- 
ing abilities  is  obvious.  Standardized  tests  and  scales  offer  this  objec- 
tive means  of  measurement.  All  sciences  have  developed  and  use  meas- 
uring instruments.  Temperatures  are  measured  by  thermometers. 
Weights  are  measured  by  scales.  Such  instruments  have  made  possible 
the  progress  of  science.  Education  is  fast  becoming  scientific  in  its 
nature.  In  order  to  put  education  upon  a  really  soimd  and  scientific 
basis  we  must  have  instruments  to  measure  the  results  of  our  teaching. 
If  the  teacher  of  clothing  and  textiles  is  to  improve  her  technique  of 
teaching  she  must  have  an  accurate  means  of  measuring  and  comparing 
results.  The  need  for  standardized  tests  and  scales  in  clothing  and 
textiles  is  as  great  as  in  any  other  school  subject. 

Development  of  tests.  In  order  to  develop  tests  and  scales  in  textiles 
and  clothing  it  is  necessary  to  analyze  the  subject  matter  in  terms  of 
the  mental  processes  involved.  The  subject  matter  involves  much  the 
same  types  of  learning  as  that  of  any  other  study.  For  example,  a 
clothing  and  textile  course  includes  the  acquisition  of  skill,  the  exercise 
of  problem-solving  abilities,  the  acquisition  of  information,  and  the  de- 
velopment of  appreciation.  Hand  and  machine  sewing  require  skill, 
textile  study  requires  the  acquisition  of  information,  the  planning  of  a 


1920]  STANDABDIZED  TESTS  IN  TEXTILES  AND  CLOTHING  487 

garment  requires  judgment  and  discrimination,  and  the  choice  of  a 
style  requires  appreciation  of  line  and  color.  Before  we  can  measure 
accurately  the  results  of  instruction  in  clothing  and  textile  courses  we 
need  to  develop  tests  and  scales  that  are  so  constructed  as  to  measure 
the  mental  processes  involved.  The  specific  outcomes  from  a  course  in 
textiles  and  clothing  should  be  determined.  Then  tests  and  scales  can 
be  constructed  to  measure  abilities  in  these  specific  things. 

Description  of  tests.  Of  all  the  specific  outcomes  expected  in  a  course 
of  textiles  and  clothing,  skill  is  the  easiest  to  measure.  For  this  reason 
probably  the  first  attempts  at  standardized  tests  and  scales  in  the  field 
of  textiles  and  clothing  are  for  the  measurement  of  skill.  The  Murdoch 
scale  is  a  scale  for  the  measurement  of  six  stitches  in  hand  sewing.  It 
consists  of  photographic  reproductions  of  some  samplers  made  by  chil- 
dren. Fifteen  samplers  of  varying  degrees  of  excellence  were  photo- 
graphed and  have  been  assigned  numerical  values.  These  fifteen  sam- 
plers were  selected  from  sewing  done  by  1,212  individuals  and  judged  by 
many  judges.  A  scientific  and  statistical  procedure,  too  long  to  be  de- 
scribed here,  was  followed  in  order  to  select  the  fifteen  samplers  which 
show  equal  steps  in  degrees  of  excellence.  Unless  this  procedure  were 
followed  the  scale  would  be  of  no  more  value  than  a  scale  made  according 
to  the  opinion  of  one  teacher  and  from  samples  taken  from  one  class. 

The  Elnapp  and  Williams  Scale  is  a  scale  for  the  measurement  of  abil- 
ity in  machine  sewing.  A  long  careful  procedure  was  also  followed  in 
the  construction  of  this  scale.  An  attempt  was  made  to  analyze  the 
factors  which  contribute  to  the  excellence  of  machine  sewing.  Five 
factors,  spacing,  constructive  elements,  tension,  length  of  stitch,  and 
neatness,  were  decided  upon  as  the  elements  which  contribute  to  good 
machine  sewing.  The  scale  (not  yet  published)  consists  of  photographic 
reproduction  of  samples  showing  varying  degrees  of  excellence  in  each 
of  these  factors.  For  example,  three  qualities  of  excellence  are  shown 
for  spacing,  three  qualities  of  excellence  in  neatness  and  so  on  for  each 
of  the  five  factors.  Two  scales  were  made,  one  for  judging  the  use  of 
machine  stitching  in  the  construction  of  a  hem  on  a  straight  edge  and 
the  other  for  the  use  of  machine  stitching  in  a  French  seam. 

To  use  either  the  Elnapp  and  Williams  or  the  Murdoch  scale  the  work 
to  be  judged  is  compared  with  the  samples  shown  in  the  scale.  The 
work  to  be  judged  need  not  be  a  sampler,  made  in  the  same  way  as  those 
shown  in  the  scale.  The  hand  sewing  stitches  or  machine  made  hems 
and  French  seams  as  used  in  garments  can  also  be  judged.    A  difference 


488  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOicE  ECONOMICS  [November 

between  the  two  scales  is  noted  in  that  usin^  the  scale  for  hand  sewing 
one  judges  for  general  merit  and  in  using  the  one  for  machine  sewing 
one  judges  separately  each  of  the  factors  contributing  to  good  machine 
sewing. 

The  Trilling  and  Bowman  Tests  have  been  designed  to  test  the  acqui- 
sition of  information  and  the  ability  to  reason  in  situations  involving 
the  use  of  material  presented  in  a  textile  and  dothing  course.  The  fol- 
lowing exercise  is  an  example  taken  from  these  tests. 

I.  To  test  material  for  wool,  check  the  best  test  to  use  from  the  follow- 
ing list. 

1.  Examine  the  sample  imder  the  microscope. 

2.  Bum  samples  of  both  warp  and  woof  threads,  noticing  the  odor 
and  type  of  residue. 

3.  Boil  the  sample  for  a  few  minutes  to  remove  sizing. 

II.  To  test  a  material  for  true  and  artificial  silk,  check  the  test  in  the 
following  list  which  it  would  be  best  to  use. 

1.  The  burning  test. 

2.  The  microscopic  test. 

3.  The  breaking  test. 

The  following  exercise  is  an  example  taken  from  the  reasoning  test 
on  dress  design. 

I.  If  you  had  plenty  of  money  to  buy  yourself  a  school  dress  for  next 
winter  would  you  buy: 

1.  A  velvet  dress. 

2.  A  serge  dress. 

3.  A  broadcloth  dress. 

4.  A  taffeta  silk  dress. 

II.  You  are  to  design  a  party  dress  for  a  very  tall  girl  of  about  your 
own  age.    Should  you  use: 

1.  Striped  material  with  panel  drapes. 

2.  Plain  material  with  ruffles,  shirring,  or  horizontal  tucks. 

3.  Embroidered  material  with  a  wide  girdle  and  plaited  skirt. 

n.  TESTS  AND  SCALES  AS  AN  AID  IN  THE  REORGANIZATION  OF  COURSES 

Need  for  rearganizoHan  of  courses.  The  tests  and  scales  described  in 
the  foregoing  can  be  of  great  aid  in  the  organization  and  teaching  of  home 
economics.  In  a  recent  investigation  conducted  by  the  Department  of 
Home  Economics  in  the  University  of  Chicago,  some  specific  reasons  for 


1920]  STANDAHDIZED  TESTS  IN  TEXTUES  AMD  CLOTHING  489 

the  reorganization  of  home  economics  courses  were  brought  to  light. 
First,  there  is  no  general  practice  as  to  the  distribution  of  topics  through 
the  grades.  For  example,  it  is  just  as  probable  that  the  same  material 
in  textile  study  will  be  introduced  in  the  fifth  as  in  the  ninth  grade. 
Second,  there  is  no  established  basis  for  the  sequence  of  topics.  Third, 
there  has  been  practically  no  attempt  to  establish  minimal  essentials 
or  standards  of  attainment. 

Distribution  of  topics.  It  is  interesting  to  note  how  tests  and  scales 
can  be  an  aid  in  determining  what  the  general  practice  should  be  in 
regard  to  these  points.  First,  there  is  no  general  practice  as  to  the 
distribution  of  topics  through  the  grades.  For  example,  we  do  not 
know  in  what  grade  or  at  what  age  machine  sewing  should  be  introduced. 
Many  of  us  have  opinions  as  to  the  proper  time  but  after  all  is  said  it  is 
mere  opinion.  An  examination  of  courses  of  study  shows  that  in  some 
sdiools  it  is  introduced  in  the  sixth  grade,  in  others  not  until  the  seventh 
and  eighth,  and  in  still  others  not  until  the  high  school.  Obviously  the 
opinions  of  teachers  vary  in  this  respect.  All  these  opinions  can  not  be 
correct.  There  must  be  one  period  of  the  child's  development  when 
machine  sewing  can  be  taught  most  efficiently  and  economically.  By 
means  of  tests  it  would  be  possible  to  determine  this  period.  Machine 
sewing  might  be  taught  to  sixth  grade  classes  and  continued  when  the 
classes  become  seventh  grade  classes.  At  the  end  of  this  time  the  classes 
could  be  tested  and  their  score  compared  with  the  score  made  by  classes 
which  were  taught  machine  sewing  only  in  the  seventh  grade.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  latter  would  make  the  higher  score.  By  delasdng  the  in- 
struction in  machine  sewing  for  a  year  the  children  may  gain  the  ability 
to  acquire  a  skill  more  rapidly  and  at  the  same  time  more  effectively. 
Of  course  it  would  be  necessary  to  control  the  conditions  carefully  so 
that  the  results  would  have  real  meaning. 

By  such  experimentation,  testing,  and  comparison  of  results  it  should 
be  possible  to  tell  where  many  other  topics  should  be  introduced.  For 
example,  the  clothing  course  requires  the  cutting  and  fitting  of  a  gar- 
ment. This  cutting  and  fitting  of  a  garment  requires  the  exercise  of 
those  mental  processes  known  as  reasoning,  judgment,  and  discrimina- 
tion. By  means  of  tests  and  experimentation  it  should  be  possible  to 
determine  at  what  period  girls  best  develop  this  ability.  This  does  not 
mean  that  at  one  age  we  would  turn  our  attention  entirely  to  the  devel- 
opment of  skill,  at  another  age  to  the  development  of  the  reasoning 
faculties,  at  still  another  time  to  the  acquisition  of  information.    Learn- 


490  THE  JOURNAL  OB  HOicE  ECONOMICS  [November 

ing  can  not  be  so  organized  and  pigeon-holed.  However,  by  experimen- 
tation we  could  determine  at  what  age  to  emphasize  certain  phases  of 
subject  matter.  For  example  learning  to  sew  on  the  machine  is  largely 
a  matter  of  skill  although  it  involves  discrimination  and  judgment.  The 
study  of  textiles  can  be  made  chiefly  a  matter  of  the  acquisition  of  in- 
formation or  of  the  exercise  of  problem-solving  abilities.  It  is  a  matter 
of  emphasis  and  the  emphasis  should  depend  upon  the  period  of  the 
child's  development. 

Sequence  of  project.  A  second  specific  need  for  the  reorganization  of 
courses  is  the  lack  of  an  established  basis  for  the  sequence  of  projects. 
Again  tests  can  be  an  aid  in  this  reorganization  of  courses.  Everyone 
should  agree  that  projects  should  be  arranged  upon  a  basis  of  steadily 
increasing  difficulty.  Yet  one  course  of  study  states  that  the  girls  may 
choose  between  the  making  of  a  towel  and  napkin  and  a  child's  dress. 
All  sewing  teachers  would  agree  that  a  dress  is  more  difficult  than  a  towel 
and  napkin.  Of  course  this  is  an  extreme  example  yet  other  courses  of 
study  show  very  little  attempt  to  organize  projects  so  that  they  are  of 
increasing  difficulty.  Many  courses  of  study  make  such  statements  as 
the  following:  ''Much  the  same  outline  in  the  eighth  as  in  the  seventh 
only  more  theory/'  '^ Continue  the  work  of  other  grades/'  "Seventh 
year  chiefly  reviews/'  or  "Scope  of  the  work  in  the  sixth  grade  much 
the  same  as  in  the  fifth."  Such  statements  do  not  indicate  that  there 
is  a  basis  upon  which  projects  are  chosen  which  wiU  make  for  progress  in 
learning.  Again  it  is  a  matter  of  opinions.  Even  the  more  experienced 
teachers  can  not  really  tell  what  projects  are  most  difficult  for  learners. 
For  example,  in  using  the  tests  on  machine  sewing  described  above  it 
was  discovered  that  the  hem  is  more  difficult  to  make  but  the  French  seam 
is  more  difficult  for  the  girls  to  imderstand.  A  question  arises  as  to 
whether  projects  should  be  selected  on  a  basis  of  increasing  difficulty  in 
technique  or  increasing  difficulty  in  comprehension.  However  it  is  not 
the  purpose  of  this  article  to  discuss  this  question  but  to  point  out  how 
tests  and  scales  can  be  an  aid  in  establishing  a  basis  for  the  sequence  of 
topics. 

Minimal  essefMals.  A  third  reason  for  the  chaotic  condition  of  cloth- 
ing and  textile  courses  as  revealed  by  the  investigation  is  the  failure  to 
establish  minimal  essentials.  Every  sewing  teacher  has  her  opinion  as 
to  what  her  girls  should  be  able  to  do  at  the  end  of  a  sewing  course. 
Yet  it  is  only  her  opinion  and  it  can  not  be  of  as  much  value  as  a  stand- 
ard set  by  the  testing  of  a  large  number  of  children.    For  example,  if 


1920]  CLOTHING  PURCHASING  HABITS  491 

the  Trilling  and  Bowman  Content  Tests  were  given  to  several  hundred 
children  the  score  made  by  the  majority  would  be  the  standard  of  attain- 
ment that  could  be  expected  from  other  children  of  the  same  age  who  had 
been  given  the  same  work.  If  tests  were  designed  for  the  various  phases 
of  subject  matter  and  a  standard  set  in  this  way  the  tests  would  be  of 
great  help  to  the  class-room  teacher.  She  could  determine  how  her 
children  compared  with  the  standards  set  by  the  majority  of  children. 
She  could  also  detect  weaknesses  in  her  own  teaching  and  emphasize 
her  work  accordingly. 

In  order  to  make  most  effective  our  courses  in  clothing  and  textiles, 
we  need  careful  and  scientific  reorganization.  Standardized  tests  and 
scales  are  tools  which  may  be  used  for  this  purpose.  It  is  not  claimed 
that  by  means  of  tests  alone  can  this  be  accomplished,  but  tests  and 
scales  should  play  an  important  part.  First,  we  need  tests  which  will 
measure  specific  results  accurately.  Second,  there  should  be  widespread 
use  of  the  tests  and  a  comparison  of  results.  Third,  courses  should  be 
organized  and  taught  according  to  the  conclusions  drawn.  In  this  way 
tests  and  scales  may  be  an  aid  in  organizing  our  clothing  and  textile 
courses  on  a  sound  and  scientific  basis. 


A  STUDY  OF^GLOTfflNGiPURCHASING  HABITS^ 

ETHEL  L.  FHELPS 
Division  of  Home  Economies,  UnhorsUy  of  Mimtosoia 


In  presenting  this  report  of  a  study  of  purchasing  habits,  acknowledg- 
ment is  made  of  the  generous  cooperation  by  many  busy  people  in  obtain- 
ing the  material  used.  It  is  not  a  report  of  work  done  by  any  one  person, 
but  summarizes  the  work  done  in  Minnesota  only.  The  reports  of 
service  dresses  from  other  states  confirmed  the  inferences  drawn  from 
this  Minnesota  work,  which  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  whole  survey  of 
the  central  committee  on  standardization,  of  which  Miriam  Birdseye  is 
chairman. 

The  information  collected  concerning  service  dresses  may  well  be  used 
as  a  specific  illustration  of  an  intensive  study  of  purchasing  habits,  the 


*  Presented  at  the  Thirteenth^Aiinual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Eoonomics  Ano- 
dation,  Cokiado  Springs,  June,  1920. 


492  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

type  of  gannent  being  one  quite  generally  used.  In  this  study,  the 
term  ''service  dress"  is  used  by  the  committee  to  indicate  the  type  of 
dress  worn  by  the  business  woman  daily,  and  on  the  street  by  the  home- 
maker,  excluding  garments  for  formal  social  wear,  or  for  house  woik. 
It  was  found  necessary  in  some  cases  to  include  the  wool  or  silk  suit  under 
this  head,  as  many  women,  including  homemakers,  use  the  suit  skirt 
and  a  blouse  in  place  of  such  a  dress. 

Material  for  this  particular  study  was  gathered  by  several  groups, 
under  the  direction  of  Marion  Weller,  chairman  of  the  advisory  commit- 
tee on  service  dresses.  These  groups  included  the  clothing  and  textiles 
sections  of  both  the  college  and  state  home  economics  associations  in 
Minnesota.  Approximately  1500  to  2000  questionnaires  were  sent  out, 
many  by  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  and  many  others  by  the 
secretary  of  the  local  Division  of  Women's  Activities  of  the  Department 
of  Justice.  As  a  result,  there  are  represented  in  this  report  teachers, 
university  students,  clerks,  and  homemakers  from  small  towns  as  weU 
as  cities.  The  student  association  canvassed  the  students,  staff,  and 
clerks  of  the  college.  A  large  niunber  of  Minneapolis  teachers  were 
reached  through  a  group  meeting  of  all  home  economics  teachers  in  • 
the  public  schools  of  that  dty.  The  data  from  homemakers  were  chiefly 
obtained  through  the  cooperation  of  the  women's  clubs,  questionnaires 
having  been  taken  to  the  club  meeting,  explained,  filled  out,  and  col- 
lected. The  results  obtained  in  this  way  were  rather  more  accurate  and 
satisfactory  than  would  have  been  the  case  had  the  blanks  been  distrib- 
uted promiscuously,  and  a  much  greater  niunber  were  returned.  All 
of  the  teachers,  students,  and  clerks  have  been  grouped  together,  and 
the  club  women  divided  into  two  groups — those  living  in  the  three  larger 
cities  of  Minnesota  (Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  and  Duluth),  and  those 
living  in  some  65  smaller  towns  scattered  throughout  the  state. 

The  total  niunber  of  questionnaires  returned  was  876,  of  which  approx- 
imately one-sixth  were  from  club  women  in  the  three  cities,  one-third 
from  club  women  in  smaller  towns,  and  one-half  from  teachers,  students, 
and  clerks.  About  one-tenth  were  either  blank  or  incorrectly  filled  out, 
so  that  the  actual  number  of  reports  used  was  789,  a  number  sufficiently 
large  to  be  considered  a  fair  sample.  It  is  to  be  regretted,  however,  that 
this  sample  omits  certain  important  groups  having  markedly  different 
purchasing  habits,  namely,  those  living  on  restricted  incomes,  and  the 
wealthy.  It  might  well  be  said  that  the  results  of  this  study  are  true 
only  for  persons  with  medium  incomes. 


1920]  CLOTHING  PURCHASING  HABITS  493 

The  questionnaires  used  asked  people  to  state  the  materials  purchased 
in  the  last  two  years  for  wool  and  silk  service  dresses,  indicating  those 
purchased  by  the  yard,  and  those  bought  ready  made.  It  was  foimd 
necessary  to  change  this  description  to  materials  now  in  use,  for  the 
reason  that  many  women  stated  that  they  had  bought  nothing  in  the 
last  two  years.  This  information  made  it  possible  to  study  not  only 
the  materials  used,  but  also,  with  sufficient  accuracy,  the  extent  to  which 
they  were  used.  When  reports  began  to  come  in,  it  was  at  once  evident 
that  many  persons  do  not  know  by  name  the  fabrics  they  wear  day  by 
day,  as  was  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  terms  wool  or  silk  in  place  of  the 
fabric  name. 

The  following  observations  were  made: 

First.  Wool  is  used  more  widely  than  silk  for  service  dresses  in 
Minnesota,  91  per  cent  reporting  the  use  of  wool,  and  61  per  cent,  the 
use  of  silk  for  this  puipose,  some  reporting  the  use  of  both  wool  and 
silk,  thus  clearly  showing  the  predominating  importance  of  wool  for  such 
garments  in  a  northern  climate. 

Second.  The  munber  of  kinds  of  fabrics  used  for  service  dresses,  com- 
bining those  purchased  by  the  yard,  and  those  purchased  ready  made,  is 
large  and  variable;  34  for  wool,  and  30  for  silk,  the  munber  of  materials 
used  by  the  yard  being  greater  than  the  munber  bought  ready  made. 
The  professional  group  use  the  largest  munber  and  the  dty  club  women 
use  the  fewest.  This  may  possibly  be  explained  on  the  basis  of  the 
apparent  correlation  between  the  number  of  persons  reporting  in  each 
group,  and  the  munber  of  kinds  of  materials  used  by  each  group,  the 
teachers  being  the  largest  and  the  city  club  women  the  smallest  group. 

Third.  All  fabrics  are  not  equally  popular.  A  very  few  lead  with  an 
astonishing  majority;  perhaps  one-third  to  one-half  are  used  with  suf- 
ficient frequency  to  be  significant,  and  the  rest  are  used  only  occasionally. 
To  illustrate  this  point,  we  need  only  to  note  that  55  per  cent  of  all  wool 
dresses  reported  are  made  of  serge,  and  approximately  50  per  cent  of 
silk  dresses  are  made  of  taffeta  or  satin,  taffeta  being  used  slightiy 
more  than  satin.  Furthermore,  two  other  wool  fabrics,  tricotine  and 
jersey,  are  used  for  21  per  cent  of  the  wool  dresses  in  addition  to  the  55 
per  cent  made  of  serge,  making  a  total  of  76  per  cent  of  the  wool  dresses 
made  from  only  three  fabrics.  Four  others,  poplin,  broadcloth,  gabar- 
dine, and  velour,  have  a  moderate  amount  of  use,  while  the  remaining 
27  kinds  of  materials  are  used  for  only  6  per  cent  of  all  the  wool  dresses. 
The  same  situation  exists  in  regard  to  choice  of  silk  fabrics.    Only  10 


494  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

per  cent  of  the  dresses  are  made  of  21  of  the  30  kinds  of  silk  listed,  while 
7  others  hold  an  intermediate  position,  in  addition  to  satin  and  taffeta, 
which  were  used  for  SO  per  cent.  In  other  words,  the  purchasing  habits 
of  these  people  lead  them  to  use  only  about  six  different  materials  for 
about  nine-tenths  of  their  wool  or  silk  service  dresses.  This  general 
statement  holds  true  approximately  in  this  study,  for  each  group,  as 
well  as  for  the  whole. 

Fourth.  Equally  accurate  information  is  not  at  present  available 
concerning  purchasing  habits  from  the  point  of  view  of  either  whole- 
sale or  retail  sales.  An  attempt  was  made  to  approximate  this 
information  by  interviews  with  department  managers  and  buyers  in 
retail  stores.  One  wholesale  establishment  was  visited.  All  agreed  on 
the  preeminent  position  of  serge,  as  a  material  purchased  by  people 
living  on  moderate  incomes,  for  service  dresses,  but  beyond  that  there 
was  no  agreement,  short  time  fluctuations  in  sales  somewhat  clouding 
their  informal  verbal  reports.  Were  it  possible  to  make  a  similar  study 
of  sales  records  in  one  or  two  representative  stores,  an  interesting  and 
valuable  check  for  this  study  would  be  provided. 

Fifth.  The  relation  of  style  to  the  choice  of  material  for  service  dresses 
could  not  be  ascertained.  This  also  would  best  be  determined  by  a 
study  of  past  sales  records,  combined  with  a  study  of  style  variation. 
The  relation  of  the  present  vogue  of  serge  to  the  widespread  use  of  that 
material  was  noted  by  the  merchants  as  a  difficult  question  to  answer. 

Sixth.  The  use  of  trade  marked  fabrics  for  service  dresses  is  very  lim- 
ited, only  two  such  being  observed  out  of  about  1150  instances  of  wool 
used,  and  30  from  over  750  instances  of  silk.  There  are  many  more 
trade  marked  silks  available  than  similarly  marked  wool  fabrics  which 
probably  accounts  for  the  difference  between  wool  and  silk. 

A  nmnber  of  points  may  also  be  noted  which  have  a  bearing  upon  the 
teaching  of  textiles  and  dothing.  The  need  for  more  wide  spread  knowl- 
edge of  standard  fabrics  is  very  clearly  pointed  out.  It  is  of  basic  impor- 
tance that  the  consiuner  should  buy  knowingly,  if  she  is  to  buy  wisely 
and  economically.  Such  an  ideal  could  be  realized  with  greater  com- 
pleteness, were  there  more  standardization,  both  of  fabrics  and  of  names 
of  materials,  than  is  to  be  foimd  at  present.  Certain  standard  grades 
of  undermuslins — approximately  equivalent  in  specification,  name,  and 
price  throughout  the  coimtry  before  the  war — could  be  dted  as  illustra- 
tions of  these  points.  Competition  has  fostered  the  production  of  many 
novdty  materials  of  unknown  standard,  and  has  also  given,  in  some 


1920]  CXOTHING  FUKCHASING  HABITS  495 

cases,  more  than  one  name  to  materials  which  are  identical,  except  for 
the  fact  that  they  are  the  product  of  competing  manufacturers.  An 
illustration  of  this  confusing  situation  is  to  be  observed  in  the  loose  and 
varied  use  of  the  terms, — gabardine,  tricotine,  and  Poiret  twill,  as  well 
as  nainsook  and  batiste  in  undermuslins. 

The  work  with  service  dresses  included  one  part  which,  while  it  is  not 
strictly  a  study  of  consumption  habits,  is  intimately  related  to  them  and 
of  great  importance,  namely,  the  listing  of  desirable  characteristics  for 
some  of  these  widely  used  materials,  which  was  called  for  under  division 
II  of  the  general  plan  for  the  survey.  A  detailed  discussion  of  this  mat- 
ter can  not  be  given  at  this  time,  other  than  to  mention  its  stimulating 
effects  in  dass,  but  it  should  be  noted  that  the  demands  made  by  the 
consumer  as  to  characteristics  and  wearing  qualities  of  fabrics  must  be 
reasonable  if  they  are  to  do  good,  and  not  harm  the  cause.  It  surely  is 
not  reasonable  to  ask  that  jersey  shall  not  stretch,  when  the  very  nature 
of  the  knitted  fabric  makes  that  one  of  its  most  marked  characteristics. 
Likewise,  it  is  a  waste  of  time  to  ask  for  serge,  or  wool  poplin,  or  any  other 
worsted  fabric,  made  of  combed,  tightly  twisted,  closely  woven  yams, 
that  will  not  "shine."  The  "shine"  is  the  inevitable  result  of  the  com- 
bination of  these  greatly  to  be  desired  qualities,  plus  the  wear  which 
they  make  possible. 

In  conclusion,  more  should  be  known  concerning  the  purchasing  hab- 
its of  different  groups  of  people  as  regards  clothing,  and  concerning  the 
basic  reasons  or  causes  underl}ring  a  variation  of  these  habits  among  such 
groups.  This  study  has  given  some  information  as  to  what  people  buy, 
none  as  to  why  they  buy,  or  what  they  ought  to  buy — ^for  this  more  is 
needed.  Information  from  groups  having  lower  incomes  is  desirable, 
but  some  method  other  than  the  general  questionnaire  must  be  devised 
in  order  to  obtain  such  data.  There  is  a  practical  necessity  for  knowing 
the  purchasing  habits  of  different  groups,  because  of  the  many  types  rep- 
resented in  textiles  and  clothing  classes.  For  a  similar  reason  definite 
information  might  be  desirable  concerning  groups  living  in  different 
geographical  regions,  for  example,  Minnesota,  California,  Florida. 

The  entire  survey  of  which  this  study  is  a  part  indicates  that  there 
is  still  a  place  for  emphasis  on  fabric  study  in  textiles  and  clothing  dass 
work,  especially  on  standard  fabrics,  and  the  relation  between  their 
properties  and  use.  The  whole  hearted  response  and  widespread  inter- 
est in  this  piece  of  work  should  prove  to  be  sufficient  encouragement 
for  further  investigation  along  similar  lines. 


496  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

PARENTS'  MEETINGS  IN  THE  NEW  YORK  SCHOOLS 

AGNES  DALEY 
Home  Economics  Department,  New  York  City  Schools 

"Are  we  discouraged?"    "No,  not  we." 

This  slogan,  used  so  much  by  our  soldiers  in  the  late  war  when  guns 
and  ammunition  played  the  all  important  r61e,  might  well  be  applied 
to  another  kind  of  warfare,  that  which  is  being  waged  on  malnutrition 
with  its  ammunition  of  right  food  facts,  fired  by  means  of  mothers' 
meetings.  Our  reports  show  that  attendance  at  these  meetings  begins 
at  zero  and  runs  the  gamut  to  500.  We  might  quote  the  teacher  who 
after  very  special  effort  to  reach  the  mothers  and  much  preparation  to 
make  the  meeting  pleasant  and  profitable  did  not  have  a  single  one  at- 
tend, but  undaunted  called  another  meeting — "The  mothers  seem  hard 
to  get,  but  this  week  we  had  four;  they  seemed  interested  and  promised 
to  come  again."  Another  reports  only  two  present  as  a  result  of  70 
invitations  to  an  informal  tea  to  meet  the  dass  teachers,  adding,  "Rain- 
ing hard."  She  sent  34  invitations  for  the  following  day  with  five 
responses.  She  adds  "We  hope  in  time  to  have  a  meeting  to  which  all 
the  mothers  will  come."    Oh  no,  we  are  not  discouraged  1 

Two  others  appeared  at  one  school  in  response  to  a  widely  sent  invi- 
tation. One  of  these  announced  upon  her  arrival,  "I  have  raised  six 
children  to  be  self-supporting,  you  can't  teach  me  how  to  feed  my  chil- 
dren, but  I  thought  I  would  come  and  find  out  what  you  had  to  say." 
She  remained  an  hour.  The  teacher  talked  in  the  most  informal  way 
with  these  two  mothers.  When  they  were  leaving,  the  skeptical  mother 
admitted  that  she  had  learned  a  good  many  things. 

The  means  used  to  get  the  mothers  together  have  been  many  and 
various.  One  of  the  best  has  been  cooperation  with  the  kindergarten 
teachers.  We  find  that  the  mothers  of  little  children  will  respond  to  an 
invitation  and  we  find,  too,  that  we  usually  get  more  of  the  younger 
mothers.  Those  joint  meetings  are  held  sometimes  in  the  kindergarten 
and  sometimes  in  the  school  kitchen.  The  kindergarten  teachers  look 
after  the  social  side  of  the  meeting  and  the  cooking  teachers  give  a  well 
prepared  talk  illustrated  with  tjrpical  meals  for  children.  These  meals 
have  been  prepared  by  children  and  arranged  on  tra}rs.  Posters  also 
are  used  to  help  visualize  the  facts  taught  and  some  literature  is  distri- 
buted. We  have  found  that  after  one  of  these  meetings  the  women  are 
eager  to  talk  and  gather  in  groups  about  the  teachers  present. 


1920]  parents'  meetings  in  new  york  schools  497 

The  following  illustrations  will  serve  to  show  the  interest  that  has 
been  awakened:  At  one  of  the  gatherings  a  mother,  dressed  in  mourning, 
told  the  cooking  teacher  she  had  recently  lost  her  husband  of  tubercu- 
losis, and  that  she  had  a  little  daughter  who,  she  feared,  had  inherited  a 
tendency  to  this  disease.  She  was  most  anxious  to  do  the  right  thing 
for  her  child.  The  cooking  teacher  then  and  there  made  an  appointment 
to  go  to  her  home  where  they  could  quietly  talk  over  the  child's  diet 
and  general  care.  Another  mother  said  that  her  little  boy  refused  to 
eat  breakfast;  what  could  she  do?  Again  the  teacher  came  to  the  rescue, 
telling  her  she  would  see  the  boy  and  do  all  that  she  could  to  show  him 
the  importance  of  eating  good  food  before  coming  to  school. 

There  has  been  an  opportunity  for  originality  on  the  part  of  the  teach- 
ers holding  these  meetings.  Plays  have  been  written  and  staged  to  the 
delight  of  the  children  and  the  interest  of  parents;  stories  have  been 
told,  with  illustrations.  Personal  invitations,  many  hundreds,  even 
thousands,  have  been  sent  into  the  homes.  Children  have  written  invi- 
tations, each  to  his  own  mother.  Several  teachers  have  used  graduation 
day  to  further  the  food  mission,  for  on  this  day  there  was  no  trouble  in 
getting  both  mothers  and  fathers,  who  were  invited  to  visit  the  kitchen 
after  the  exercises.  One  teacher  closed  her  door  when  the  room  was 
filled  and  gave  a  five  minute  talk.  She  say^,  ''The  crowd  outside 
waited,  sure  they  were  missing  something,"  and  reports  that  240  moth- 
ers and  fathers  listened  to  her  litle  talks. 

When  the  schools  were  having  peace  pageants,  there  was  an  unusual 
opportunity  for  food  meetings.  Numbers  of  parents  visited  the  schools 
and  were  asked  to  visit  the  kitchens  before  leaving,  and,  once  there, 
the  cooking  teacher  seized  the  opportunity  to  talk  on  the  kind  of  food 
needed  by  their  children. 

There  has  been  fine  cooperation  between  school  nurses  and  cooking 
teachers.  Joint  meetings  have  been  held  at  which  mothers  were  en- 
couraged to  cook  tjrpical  dishes,  and  this  tjrpe  of  meeting  furnished  a 
social  element  as  it  gave  opportunity  for  friendly  discussion  of  the  work 
in  hand.  Sometimes  the  children  cooked  meals  while  mothers  looked 
on;  this  always  begets  a  lively  interest,  for  mothers  like  to  see  their 
children  do  things.  Parents'  organizations  have  been  helpful  in  this 
work.  They  have  conducted  food  meetings  at  which  the  domestic 
science  teachers  have  had  the  program.  One  such  organization  fur- 
nished scales  to  the  school  and  planned  with  the  principal  for  regular 
meetings  for  the  discussion  of  malnutrition. 


498  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

The  Child  Health  reels  furnished  by  the  Government  have  made  pos- 
sible the  advertisement  of  a  ''movie"  for  parents'  meetings,  and  this  is 
usually  a  drawing  card. 

At  Mothers'  meetings,  in  the  past,  it  has  been  a  very  general  custom 
to  have  tea  and  crackers  or  some  simple  cake.  We  find  now  in  a  number 
of  reports  sent  us  that  com  and  potato  chowder  is  becoming  the  typical 
refreshment  offered. 

Effort  has  not  been  confined  to  schools  in  which  home  economics  is 
taught.  Very  successful  meetings  have  been  held  in  other  schools,  due 
in  a  large  measure  to  the  interest  shown  by  the  principals. 

We  are  looking  for  greater  results  this  year. 


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STUDENT  CONTRIBUTIONS 

HOME  ECONOMICS  DAY 

MAIDA  JOHNSON 
Iowa  State  CaUeg9 

Home  Economics  day!  Girls  at  Iowa  State  College  had  their  long- 
cherished  dreams  come  true  when  the  deans  set  aside  half  a  day  for  a 
department  celebration. 

Of  course  the '' Ags"  and  Engineers  had  always  called  on  the  girls  for 
help  in  their  campfires,  carnivals,  and  St.  Patrick's  day  celebrations,  but 
never  before  had  the  girls  had  a  chance  to  run  such  an  affair  themselves. 

Immediately  every  home  economics  student  in  school  set  out  to  make 
plans  for  the  day  which  would  insure  its  success  and  a  granting  of  a  day 
every  year  for  this  purpose.  The  home  economics  building  became  a 
buzzing,  busy  place,  all  toward  the  same  end — a  truly  successful 
"H.  Ec"  day. 

A  tag  day  was  held  on  which  tags  were  sold  for  a  small  sum  to  all  who 
wanted  to  come;  the  money  to  cover  the  expenses  for  the  day. 

On  the  appointed  day  the  whole  college  started  out  to  satisfy  its  curi- 
osity— ^particularly  the  men,  for  they  were  rather  skeptical  as  to  any- 
thing the  girls  might  manage. 

Strong  armed  police  women,  decked  out  in  regular  ''cop"  coats,  stars, 
and  clubs,  guarded  the  right  of  way  and  kept  the  "mob"  on  a  move 
around  a  designated  route. 

In  the  first  room  were  samples  of  art  work  and  two  small  rooms  cur- 
tained off.  One,  as  a  shining  example  of  what  a  room  should  be,  was 
beautifidly  decorated  according  to  all  rules  of  color,  proportion,  and  order. 
The  other  was  most  interesting,  being  the  faithful  reproduction  of  the 
usual  college  girl's  room — decorated  wonderfully  with  dance  programs, 
life-size  men's  pictures,  and  drapes,  pincushions,  and  couch  covers  of 
varied  hues. 

The  next  room  showed  the  development  of  cooking  equipment,  from 
the  mortar  and  pestle  to  the  most  modem  of  electric  outfits.  Girls 
dressed  to  suit  the  different  periods  demonstrated  the  different  utensils. 

499 


500  THE  jouHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

Told  to  "keep  moving  please"  we  wandered  on  to  see  the  development 
of  clothing.  Here  were  models  decked  out  in  dresses  of  every  period  from 
the  dress  of  leaves  to  the  extreme  1920  gown. 

After  viewing  all  these  things  we  then  pushed  onward — ^literally  pushed 
and  were  pushed — and  soon  we  were  to  discover  the  reason,  for  on  the 
floor  above  was  food.  Real  home  economics  food — sandwiches,  coffee, 
individual  mince  pies  topped  with  ice  cream,  and  popcorn  balls.  When 
these  booths  were  reached  even  the  most  critical  succmnbed  and  pro- 
noimced  the  day  a  success. 

While  all  this  was  going  on  in  the  home  economics  building,  there  was 
a  continuous  program  being  put  on  by  the  girls'  physical  culture  depart- 
ment. Three  special  features  were  put  on  during  the  afternoon  in  the 
girls'  gymnasium,  the  tags  admitting  the  holder  to  only  one  of  the  three. 
Baseball,  volley  ball,  and  basket  ball  games  were  played  between  picked 
teams.    The  enthusiasm  over  these  events  exceeded  all  boimds. 

Over  in  the  art  studios  were  special  exhibits  prepared  by  the  art  de- 
partment. Here  the  applied  design  and  houseplanning  classes  displayed 
their  work. 

In  the  evening  two  shows  of  vaudeville  were  staged  by  the  actresses 
among  the  "H.  Ec"  students.  Clever  and  original  stunts  won  the 
wholehearted  approval  of  the  two  packed  houses  which  viewed  them. 

The  work  of  the  day  was  divided  among  the  various  girls  organiza- 
tions on  the  campus.  The  Home  Economics  Club  was  in  charge,  while 
Omicron  Nu,  Theta  Sigma  Phi,  Mortar  Board,  and  Jack  O'Lantem  had 
their  duties. 

Needless  to  say,  hereafter,  "H.Ec"  day  will  be  an  annual  affair. 


ANSWER  THE  RED  CROSS  ROLL  CALL,  [November  11, 
Armistice  Day,  to  November  25,  Thanksgiving. 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

THE  USE  OF  MALTOSE  SIRUP  FOR  CANDY  MAKING 

Successful  use  of  maltose  sirup  as  a  substitute  for  a  part  of  the  sugar 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  ice  cream  and  certain  soft  drinks,  and  in 
candy  making,  has  been  demonstrated  by  experiments  by  the  Bureau  of 
Chemistry  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture.  Experi- 
ments in  the  use  of  maltose  sirup  in  canning  fruits  and  vegetables  are 
now  under  way. 

Maltose  sirup  is  prepared  usually  from  com,  but  sometimes  from  rice, 
by  the  action  of  a  small  proportion  of  barley  malt.  For  the  reason, 
however,  that  the  process  necessary  for  its  manufacture  calls  for  the 
use  of  expensive  equipment  which  is  not  available  in  the  home,  it  has  not 
been  found  possible  to  make  this  product  successfully  on  a  small  scale  on 
the  farm  or  in  the  home.  A  number  of  large  manufacturers  are  now 
supplying  maltose  sirup  to  commercial  bakers,  confectioners,  and  soft 
drink  manufacturers.  Certain  manufacturers  have  already  placed  mal- 
tose sirup  upon  the  retail  market  in  small  packages  for  the  use  of  the 
housewife  and  it  is  anticipated  that  the  sirup  will  be  more  generally 
available  to  the  retail  trade  in  the  near  future. 

Much  of  the  information  on  the  use  of  maltose  sirup  in  candy  making 
is  not  yet  ready  for  publication,  but  a  few  of  the  recipes  developed  by 
the  Bureau  of  Chemistry  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  follow: 

Candy  Squares.  Sugar,  11  ounces;  maltose  sirup,  4  ounces;  water, 
6-7  tablespoonfuls. 

Put  the  sugar,  water,  and  sirup  in  a  small  saucepan  of  twice  the  capac- 
ity apparently  required  for  the  mixture;  stir  over  the  fire  and  boil  to 
"soft  ball"  (238**F.);  remove  from  the  fire,  let  stand  for  5  minutes;  then 
stir  and  cream  by  rubbing  the  sirup  against  the  inside  of  the  kettle  with 
a  wooden  paddle.  (An  8-inch  paddle  is  a  good  size  to  protect  the  hand 
from  bums.)  During  this  operation  the  batch  can  be  colored  and  flav- 
ored to  suit.  After  about  5  to  7  minutes'  stirring  and  creaming  the 
batch  will  appear  milky  and  creamy,  when  it  should  be  poured  out  on 
greased  or  waxed  paper  laid  on  wood,  the  paper  being  confined  with  strips 

501 


502  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

or  bars  of  wood,  or  other  material,  to  make  a  space  5  by  10  inches.  Let 
the  batch  stand  till  set;  scratch  with  the  point  of  a  knife  in  squares,  and 
break  apart  when  cold.  The  customary  flavors  are:  mint,  white;  win- 
tergreen,  pink;  lemon,  yellow;  orange,  orange;  chocolate.  A  few  drops 
of  flavor  is  generally  sufficient.  For  chocolate,  shave  1  ounce  bitter  choco- 
late and  add  after  the  candy  has  boiled. 

Cocoanut  kisses.  Sugar,  8  ounces;  maltose  sirup,  3  ounces;  water,  6 
tablespoonfuls;  cocoanut  (dried),  3  ounces  (dried  cocoanut  moistened 
with  3  teaspoonfuls  of  water). 

Boil  sugar,  water  and  sirup  to  soft  ball  (240^F.),  remove  from  fire, 
let  stand  for  5  minutes,  then  stir  and  cream  for  4  minutes;  add  cocoa- 
nut  and  desired  flavor  and  color;  continue  creaming  until  batch  gets 
thick  and  mushy,  when  it  can  be  poured  and  treated  like  the  candy 
squares,  or  get  the  batch  quite  stiff  and  spoon  out  in  kisses,  about  the 
size  of  one's  thumb,  on  waxed  or  greased  paper  laid  on  wood.  Customary 
flavors  and  colors  are:  vanilla,  white;  strawberry,  pink;  chocolate.  For 
the  chocolate  kisses  add  one  ounce  of  bitter  or  baking  chocolate. 

Molasses  kisses.  Molasses,  6  ounces;  maltose  sirup,  6  ounces;  butter, 
1  ounce. 

Stir  and  boil  to  hard  ball  (254^F.) ;  test  as  for  caramels;  pour  on  greased 
cold  slab  or  pan;  when  firm  enough  to  handle,  add  teaspoonful  of  vanilla 
extract  and  pidl  till  lig^t  and  fluffy  (on  hook,  large  nail,  or  spike) ;  when 
well  pidled  spin  or  stretch  in  sticks  about  as  thick  as  one's  thumb,  cut  in 
pieces  with  scissors  and  wrap  each  piece  in  waxed  paper.  Com  starch, 
flour,  or  4X  sugar  will  prevent  candy  from  sticking  to  hands  or  table. 

Caramds.  Sugar,  8  ounces;  maltose  sirup,  11  ounces;  evaporated 
milk  or  cream,  11  ounces;  butter,  3  ounces. 

Dissolve  sugar  and  sirup  in  one-third  of  the  milk  over  the  fire;  boil, 
stirring  continuously  until  batch  becomes  thick;  add  more  milk,  cook 
again  until  thick,  and  repeat  until  all  the  milk  is  used;  add  butter. 
When  the  batch  appears  very  thick  or  stiff,  remove  from  fire,  and  test 
by  spreading  a  teaspoonful  on  a  greased  cold  plate  or  by  dropping  in 
cold  water.  When  ready  to  pour,  the  batch,  on  testing,  should  be  very 
stiff  yet  easily  chewable;  it  too  soft,  boil  a  little  longer;  if  too  hard  stir 
a  little  milk  or  water  into  it.  When  the  right  degree  of  stiffness  is 
obtained  add  vanilla,  mix,  and  pour  on  a  greased  cold  slab  or  pan  and 
set  in  a  cool,  dry  place.  When  cold,  the  candy  can  be  cut  with  knife  or 
scissors  into  pieces  and  wrapped  in  waxed  paper.  Nut  meats  or  bitter 
chocolate  (2  to  3  ounces)  may  be  added  with  the  vanilla. 


1920]  THE  VALUE  OF  AN  ALLOWANCE  503 

It  is  best  to  use  a  good-sized  paddle,  10  to  12  inches  long,  in  order  to 
prevent  bums  from  the  foaming  and  spattering  while  the  candy  is 
cooking. 

SaU  water  taffy  kisses.  Sugar,  2  ounces;  maltose  sirup,  8  ounces; 
butter,  1  ounce;  water,  2  tablespoonfuls;  pinch  of  salt. 

Boil  sugar,  water  and  sirup  to  hard  ball,  stining  sufficiently  to  prevent 
scorching;  add  and  stir  in  salt  and  butter;  test  as  for  caramels;  pour  on 
greased,  cold  slab  or  pan;  finish  like  the  molasses  kisses. 

This  candy  can  be  made  any  color  and  flavor  by  adding  coloring  and 
flavoring  just  before  or  during  pulling. 

For  chocolate  kisses  add  1^  ounces  bitter  chocolate. 


THE  VALUE  OF  AN  ALLOWANCE 

ThefoUcwing  staiement  of  the  child's  paint  of  view  in  regard  to  an  allow- 
ance was  written  by  a  high  school  sophomore  in  Wisconsin  as  reported  in 
"Homemaking  in  Wisconsin.^'  Parents  should  read  it  with  care. — 
Tee  Editor. 

A  child  likes  to  have  some  spending  money  that  is  really  his  own. 
He  likes  to  know  that  it  is  his  to  spend  as  he  will,  and  that  he  may  save 
some  of  it  if  he  can,  and  so  start  a  bank  account  of  his  own.  The  child's 
parents  may  furnish  a  means  of  gratifying  this  desire  by  giving  him  an 
allowance. 

The  allowance  may  be  given  weekly  or  monthly,  whichever  way  seems 
better.  If  the  allowance  is  a  small  one,  it  must  not  be  expected,  of 
course,  to  cover  the  child's  clothing  expenses,  but  only  to  cover  the 
school  and  miscellaneous  expenses. 

The  value  of  an  allowance  is  great.  It  teaches  the  child  to  carefidly 
manage  his  finances,  and  not  to  go  beyond  his  means.  He  knows  that 
when  his  allowance  is  gone,  he  can  have  no  more,  until  the  next  ''pay 
day"  comes.  He,  alone,  will  be  responsible  for  the  way  he  spends  his 
money,  and  the  parents  should  advise  him  not  to  spend  it  foolishly. 
Another  benefit  derived  from  an  allowance  is  that  the  child  will  appre- 
ciate the  value  of  money,  and  should  then  leain  to  spend  it  wisely.  He 
will  probably  try  to  save  a  little  of  his  allowance  every  week,  to  put  into 
the  bank,  and  this  is  a  habit  which  should  be  encouraged,  as  it  teaches 
him  to  make  provision  for  the  future. — Helen  Wind. 


504  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

COST  OF  LIVING  IN  CANADA 

NORMAN  S.  RANKIN 

Based  upon  the  figures  of  the  Labor  Gazette  of  Ottawa  a  comparative 
chart  of  the  cost  of  living  in  the  fourteen  principal  dties  of  Canada 
has  been  prepared  by  the  VancouiDer  Sun,  which  furnishes  a  very  inter- 
esting record.  After  careful  computation  the  average  family  is  taken 
to  consist  of  five  persons,  and  the  weekly  family  budget  includes  meats, 
groceries,  fuel  and  light,  clothing  and  rent.  Following  is  a  Est  of  dties 
in  their  order  of  high  prices:  Regina,  St.  John,  Winnipeg,  Toronto, 
Ottawa,  Hamiljton,  Calgary,  Halifax,  Quebec,  Montreal,  Vancouver, 
Victoria,  Westminster. 

For  the  families  studied,  rent  in  1919  was  highest  in  Regina,  with  an 
average  of  $8.08  per  week,  and  lowest  in  St.  John,  with  $3.46.  The 
largest  increase  in  rent  during  the  period  was  in  the  dty  of  Vic- 
toria where  the  weekly  amount  rose  from  $3.23  to  $4.61,  or  $1.38. 
Halifax  rose  $1.15,  Toronto  0.92,  Westminster,  0.82,  St.  John,  0.46, 
and  Hamilton,  0.30.  Other  dties  remained  the  same  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Ottawa  which  registered  the  only  drop,  one  of  0.23. 

Fuel  and  light  were  highest  in  Regina,  where  they  formed  an  average 
item  of  $3.43  in  the  family's  weekly  expenditure,  and  lowest  in  Cal- 
gary amounting  to  the  sum  of  $2.09  per  week.  The  average  increase 
throughout  the  fourteen  dties  was  42  cents.  The  only  drop  in  ex- 
penses of  this  kind  was  one  of  13  cents  in  Hamilton,  where  this  item 
in  the  weekly  account  fell  from  $3.51  in  1918  to  $3.38  in  1919. 

The  grocery  bill  in  1919  came  highest  in  Victoria  with  an  item  of 
$10.23  in  the  family  weekly  account,  though  Halifax  ran  a  dose  second 
with  $10.14.  Groceries  were  apparently  lowest  in  Hamilton,  with 
$8.09  only  being  deducted  each  week  from  the  family  income  for  the 
grocery  bill.  The  average  increase  in  the  cost  of  groceries  per  week 
over  the  fourteen  dties  was  nearly  65  cents,  the  highest  increase  being 
$1.30  in  Wiimipeg  and  the  lowest  41  cents  in  Calgary.  Halifax  and 
Victoria  also  saw  increases  of  more  than  a  dollar  in  this  item. 

The  weekly  family  expenditure  for  the  items  given  ranged,  in  1918, 
from  a  minimum  of  $19.17  in  Victoria  to  a  maximum  of  $26.49  in 
Regina,  and  in  1919,  from  a  minimum  of  $21.85  in  Westminster  to  a 
maximum  of  $28.55  in  Regina. 


1920J  MUSIC  IN  THE   HOME  SOS 

MUSIC  IN  THE  HOME 

The  Peabody  Conservatory  of  Music  in  Baltimore  has  conducted  a 
class  in  chorus  singing  for  children,  meeting  each  Saturday  morning  dur- 
ing several  seasons.  The  spontaneity  and  joy  of  the  children  who  flock 
to  this  class  and  the  fact  that  many  who  show  some  talent  and  can  give 
more  time  are  found  in  the  advanced  class  the  next  year  are  evidence  of 
the  success  of  the  plan.  Mrs.  Henrietta  Baker  Lowe,  the  instructor,  in 
a  talk  before  the  Child  Welfare  Club,  suggested  the  following  ways  in 
which  the  musical  taste  of  children  might  be  developed,  and  gave  a 
valuable  bibliography. 

Have  a  musical  "grace"  at  meals.  Sing  a  musical  good  night " round." 
Give  musical  books  and  books  on  music  for  presents. 

Let  the  elders  set  the  example  of  singing  eversrwhere,  especially  while 
busy  about  the  house.  Let  the  elders  discuss  music,  go  to  the  music  store 
and  buy  music  and  records. 

Have  the  children  learn  new  songs  beautifully  for  surprises.  Encour- 
age the  older  children  to  teach  new  songs  to  the  younger. 

Have  the  several  members  of  the  family  study  different  instruments 
so  as  to  make  a  family  ensemble. 

Sing  at  picnics  and  while  walking.  Use  singing  games  for  the  younger 
children. 

Have  a  talking  machine  with  good  records.  Sing  Softly  with  talking 
machine  with  a  good  voice  record. 

See  that  children  sing  what  they  have  learned  at  school. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY* 

I.  For  singing  to  young  children  and  for  children  to  learn: 

Mother  Goose's  Nurseiy  Rhymes.    Elliott,  50  cents. 

Songs  for  a  Little  Child's  Day.    Eleanor  Smith.    Milton  Bradley  Co.    $1.50. 

Records.  Mother  Goose,  Victor  No.  17004;  Baa,  Baa,  Black  Sheep,  No.  17937,  85 
cents;  Lilts  and  Lyrics,  No.  17686,  85  cents.  Sing  softly,  pitch  high,  sing  rhyth- 
mically and  rather  fast. 

Marching  and  Free  Movement: 
Rhythm  and  Action.    Norton.    Oliver  Ditson,  $1.00. 

Records.    Victor  18216  and  64201.    March,  hop,  run,  skip,  fly,  just  as  music  sug- 
gests. 

Singing  Games. 
Children's  Old  and  New  Singing  Games.    Mari  Hofer.    Flanagan  Co.,  Chicago. 
Record.    Mulberry  Bush,  1 7 104  (see  above) . 

*A  list  of  books,  records,  and  suggestions  has  been  compiled  and  will  be  mimeographed 
for  distribution.  If  100  people  want  it,  it  can  be  done  at  little  cost,  five  cents  a  copy 
probably.    Write  to  Mrs.  Lowe  at  the  Peabody  Conservatoiy. 


506  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

II.  Songs  for  older  children  to  sing: 

Grammar  School  Song  Book.    Famsworth.    Scribner  &  Co.,  75  cents. 

Songs  of  Camp  Fire  Girls.  Neidlinger.  Camp  Fire  Outfitting  Co.,  32  W.  24th 
St.,  N.  Y.,  25  cents. 

Songs  for  Beginning  Alto  (Records  on  request).  Congdon  Primer  No.  IV. — Charles 
H.  Congdon,  200  5th  Ave.,  N.  Y.  Let  mother  or  older  friends  at  first  sing  the 
alto,  with  children  singing  soprano  softly  so  as  to  hear  both  voices. 

Boy  Scouts  Book.    C.  C.  Birchard  &  Co.,  Boston. 

III.  Songs  for  the  family  (children  singing  choruses  and  easy  parts). 

Twice  55  Songs.    C.  C.  Birchard  &  Co.    Buy  a  half-dozen  so  that  each  person  has 

one. 
Songs  with  Violin.    Half  Dollar  Series.    Ditson  &  Co. 
Hymnals  for  American  Youth.    Century  Co. 
Children's  Hymnal.    Eleanor  Smith.    American  Book  Co. 
College  Songs.    Ditson  &  Co. 
Sample  Records: 

89093    Fiddle  and  I,  $2.00 

45064    Spring  Song,  $1.00    '  From  songs  with  violin. 

17532    Six  Songs,  $0.85       j 

45135    (2  songs)  $1.00 

45114    (2  songs)  $1.00 
Community  Singing  Records  (see  Victor  Catalog)  are  good  accompaniments  to  sing 

with.    There  are  five  records  containing  from  2  to  4  songs — each  85  cents.    The 

music  is  in  "Twice  55  Songs." 

See  also  Boola  Song  (16860) — 85  cents. 
rV.  Family  music  collections  and  books  about  music: 
Family  mulic  book.    Schirmer,  $2.50. 
Half  Dollar  Series  (collections  of  all  kinds).    Ditson. 
Home  Circle  (collections  of  all  kinds).    Fischer. 
Books  of  Musical  Knowledge.    Elson.    Houghton  Mifflin,  $3.50 
Making  the  Family  Musical.    Famsworth.    MacmiUan. 


From  buttoning  shoes  to  washing  dishes,  there  is  an  easy  and  an  awk- 
ward way  of  doing  all  work.  Recent  experiments  made  by  the  Office  of 
Home  Economics  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  show 
that  the  easy  way  actually  saves  energy. 

It  was  found  in  the  homely  everyday  task  of  dish  washing  that,  when 
a  woman  washed  dishes  on  a  table  so  low  that  she  was  obliged  to  bend 
over,  her  energy  output  was  30  calories  per  hour.  Washing  dishes  on 
a  table  that  was  a  little  too  high  for  comfort  required  25  calories  per 
hour,  while  only  21  calories  were  used  when  the  working  surface  was 
of  the  right  height. 


EDITORIAL 

The  Textile  Section  contributed  the  following  papers  and  reports 
as  part  of  the  program  of  the  meeting  of  the  Association  at  Colorado 
Springs. 

Miriam  Birdseye,  chairman  of  the  standardization  committee,  pre- 
sented the  general  plan  made  by  this  committee  and  a  review  of  the 
excellent  work  accomplished  by  them  during  the  year,  including  the 
large  scale  test  for  silk  (petticoats  made  of  standardized  silk) ,  the  small 
piece  of  silk  test,  cotton  and  serge  testing,  and  the  purchasing  habits 
questionnaires. 

Paul  T.  Cherington,  of  Boston,  discussed  textile  legislation,  includ- 
ing the  five  textile  bills  introduced  in  the  last  Congress;  the  present  pow- 
ers of  the  Federal  Trade  Commission  to  protect  the  consiuner;  state  laws, 
now  operative,  affecting  textiles;  the  type  of  legislation  needed  and  rea- 
sons for  needing  it;  and  how  home  economics  women  can  help  with  textile 
legislation. 

A  discussion  of  cooperation  between  the  textile  laboratory  and  the 
mercantile  world  was  presented  by  Grace  Denny  of  the  University  of 
Washington. 

Ethel  Phelps  of  the  University  of  Minnesota  gave  the  report  of  a 
study  of  clothing  purchasing  habits. 

The  need  of  teaching  design  in  home  economics  was  presented  by 
Virginia  Alexander  of  the  College  of  Industrial  Arts,  Denton,  Texas. 

A  discussion  of  short  cuts  in  teaching  clothing,  by  Celestine  Schmidt, 
was  illustrated  with  lantern  slides. 

A  paper  on  the  conduction  of  heat  by  textile  fibers  and  the  relative 
rate  of  absorption,  and  the  rate  of  evaporation  of  water,  was  presented 
by  Florence  Caton  of  the  University  of  Missouri. 

A  report  from  the  committee  on  research  on  textiles  was  presented  by 
Mabel  Trilling  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  chairman.  The  mono- 
graph on  analysis  of  home  economics  texts  and  courses  of  study  yrill  be 
available  as  soon  as  arrangements  can  be  made  for  printing.  Several 
interesting  topics  were  annoimced  on  which  research  work  is  at  present 
being  done. 

507 


508  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

A  report  of  the  committee  asking  cooperation  of  moving  picture  pro- 
ducers, in  improving  the  quality  of  home  interiors,  was  sent  by  Florence 
Winchell  of  the  Lincoln  School,  New  York  City,  chairman.  It  was 
decided  to  ask  Miss  Winchell  to  continue  this  work  and  to  report  further 
progress  at  the  next  annual  meeting. 

Lillian  Peek,  State  Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Texas,  reported 
a  summary  of  a  girls'  clothing  contest,  successfully  carried  out  in  Texas, 
in  connection  with  which  it  was  possible  to  establish  a  demand  for  shoes 
with  sensible  heels  for  school  wear. 

Work  for  the  coming  year  as  outlined  by  the  Section,  includes  an 
effort  to  establish  cooperation  with  merchants  in  furthering  textile 
standardization,  and  the  continuation  of  some  unfinished  work  started 
by  the  standardization  committee  during  the  past  year. 

The  officers  for  the  coming  year  are:  Chairman,  Lillian  Peek,  State 
Supervisor  of  Home  Economics,  Austin,  Texas;  Secretary,  Ethel  Phelps, 
University  of  Minnesota. 

Ethel  L.  Phelps, 
Secretary^  Textile  Section. 

THE  OPEN  FORUM 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Journal: 

As  a  grateful  reader  of  Mrs.  Max  West's  valuable  and  timely  article 
in  the  August  number  of  the  Journal,  I  desire  publicly  to  thank  her  for 
bringing  into  the  open,  with  so  much  tact,  a  matter  of  national  impor- 
tance. The  question  she  asks  in  "If  Not,  Why  Not,"  may,  it  seems  to 
me,  be  summarized  under  three  heads:  What  is  the  real  purpose  of 
education?  Should  that  part  of  it  carried  on  in  schools  and  colleges 
be  identical  for  the  sexes?  For  what  reason,  at  the  present  moment, 
are  yoimg  people  crowding  into  colleges  and  universities?  In  submitting 
these  questions  for  our  consideration  Mrs.  West  illuminates  them 
with  many  suggestive  comments,  to  which  I  venture  to  oflfer  a  modest 
contribution,  in  the  hope  of  arousing  a  discussion  which  shaU  result  in 
a  well  considered,  productive  revision  of  some  existing  and  outworn 
conventions. 

The  whole  matter  seems  to  me  primarily  to  depend  uijon  the  correct 
adjustment  of  certain  values,  to  which  an  essential  preliminary  is  the 
training  of  public  opinion  to  a  better  balanced  comprehension  of  their 
relative  worth. 


1920]  OPEN  FORUM  509 

First,  must  come  the  realization  that  education  is  a  tripartite  process 
(body-mind-spirit),  life  long,  and  continuous. 

Second,  to  this  must  be  linked  the  conviction  that,  as  home  and  social 
life  are  more  iJotent  as  character  forming  influences  than  are  teachers, 
schools,  or  colleges,  preparation  for  their  right  conduct  and  direction 
must  constitute  an  imiK)rtant  element  in  any  educational  curriculum. 

Third,  the  fact  must  be  grasped  that  the  real  purpose  of  education  is 
not  book  learning  or  dollar  earning,  but  the  balanced  development  of 
each  individual,  organized  training  in  the  light  of  the  world's  experience 
in  the  control  of  self  and  of  environment  and  in  respect  for  the  rights  of 
others.  The  tendency  for  years  past  has  been  to  foster  an  unbalanced 
curriculum  in  schools  and  colleges,  unduly  concentrated  on  "bread  and 
butter"  ends  (under  multiple  disguises  it  is  true),  and  to  overlook  the 
essential  coimterpoise  which  is  found  in  the  study  of  rightful  conditions 
of  domestic  and  social  life,  in  the  absence  of  which  successful  bread  earn- 
ing suffers  a  serious  and  too  often  fatal  handicap.  An  ill  balanced 
curriculimi  results,  of  course,  in  an  ill  balanced  product.  Individualism 
is  exaggerated  and  yet  coexists  with  an  ahnost  morbid  gregariousness. 
Individual  independence  (miscalled  liberty)  is  quaintly  coupled  with 
dependence  upon  "crowd"  conditions  and  slavery  to  public  opinion. 
The  attainment  of  "civic  worth,"  in  its  turn  dependent  largely  on  home 
standards,  should  be  the  ultimate  aim  of  educational  institutions,  but, 
so  much  confused  are  educational  values  today,  that  self  advancement 
by  means  of  financial  independence  counts  for  more  in  the  eyes  of  the 
masses.  Hence  the  anxiety  felt  by  the  thoughtful  as  to  whether  ade- 
quate opportunities  to  correct  this  misapprehension  by  those  who  scheme 
the  curriculum  are  offered  to  the  adolescent  population  who  crowd  col- 
lege class  rooms. 

To  what  degree  the  real  purpose  of  education  is  ignored  by  the  aver- 
age parent  is  well  brought  out  by  Mrs.  West,  when  she  refers  to 
the  handing  over,  at  five  years  of  age,  to  "young  girls,  irresponsible, 
inexperienced,  untrained,"  those  little  bundles  of  unsolidified  habits,  our 
future  citizens  in  the  making.  If  to  understand  and  respect  the  rights 
of  others  be  a  primary  object  of  education,  it  is  obvious  that  so  far  it 
has  not  been  attained;  or  the  rights  of  these  children  would  be  respected 
in  this  among  other  matters  of  enduring  importance.  To  right  this 
wrong  calls  for  a  readjustment  of  values  by  means  of  a  truer  conception 
of  human  development  and  its  needs,  to  which  greater  prominence 
ought  to  be  given  in  college  courses.    Perhaps  the  recent  rapid  growth 


510  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

of  interest  in  child  welfare  will  result  in  the  revision  of  existing  text 
books  of  anatomy  and  physiology;  so  that  the  conventional,  ageless, 
sexless  presentation  of  their  subject  matter  may  give  place  to  new  edi- 
tions, in  which  a  recital  of  the  numerous  subtle  divergencies  which  dis- 
tinguish the  mature  male  and  female  bodies  may  be  preceded  by  a 
review  of  the  widely  different  and  ever  changing  tissues  and  proportions 
of  the  infant  and  child.  Such  knowledge  floods  with  light  existing 
problems  of  child  life  in  home  and  school,  and  thereby  emphasizes  the 
importance  of  parents  as  the  nation's  most  nimierous  and  influential 
educational  agents.  A  further  result  would  also  surely  be  a  wider  dif- 
ferentiation in  the  educational  curriculum  of  boys  and  girls  after  ten 
years  of  age. 

A  careful  study  of  the  play  interests  of  school  children,  which  I  car- 
ried out  some  years  ago,  brought  me  convincing  but  unforeseen  evidence 
of  the  ever  increasing  differentiation  of  interests  and  of  attitude  towards 
environment  which  occurs  in  boys  and  girls  after  the  fifth  or  sixth  year, 
in  more  marked  degree  with  each  succeeding  year.  I  gravely  question 
whether  the  tradition  of  coeducation  makes  adequate  allowances  for  the 
development  of  such  normal  divergencies  of  powers  and  interests. 
The  male  and  female  organisms  are  complementary  to  each  other;  to 
dovetail  their  parts  into  a  compact  whole  calls,  not  for  uniformity  in 
development,  but  for  intelligent  diversity.  It  was  essential  for  women 
to  prove,  during  their  struggle  to  regain  the  right  of  equal  educational 
opportunities  with  men,  that  they  could  follow  the  same  college  courses 
and  attain  to  the  same  degree  standards  as  their  brothers.  Happily, 
having  proved  their  case,  this  demonstration  is  no  longer  necessary. 
But  women,  being  the  most  conservative  element  in  the  world,  are  slow 
to  perceive  this  fact,  and  the  majority  of  the  favored  few  to  attain  to 
college  advantages  seem  content  either  to  follow  courses  schemed  to 
equip  men  for  their  various  careers  or  merely  to  utilize  freshman  and 
sophomore  work,  designed  for  such  ends,  as  more  or  less  tmsatisfactory 
bases  for  their  own  sj)ecial  caUings.  This  undignified  position  of  "hang- 
ers on"  is  detrimental  alike  to  the  race  and  to  the  individual;  to  the  race, 
because  it  detracts  from  the  dignity  and  enormous  influence  of  woman's 
share  in  national  well-being  and  her  powerful  claim  to  have  every  con- 
ceivable assistance  in  preparation  to  fulfill  her  national  duties;  to  the 
individual  because  at  this  stage  of  her  development  a  girl  is  liable  to 
hold  in  low  esteem  the  relatively  few  courses  conventionally  offered  to 
women  only  and  to  consider  as  of  poor  quality  the  special  studies  con- 


1920]  OPEN  FORUM  511 

cemed  with  that  vast,  comprehensible,  and  highly  exacting  subject — 
the  right  care  of  human  life  in  the  home.  The  inevitable  monotony  and 
usually  solitary  methods  of  its  domestic  practice  do  not  appeal  to  that 
common  t3rpe  today  which  finds  stimulus  only  in  company  and  pleasure 
outside  the  home  circle. 

I  cannot  but  believe  that  were  the  fundamental  importance  of  all 
branches  of  home  economics  once  grasped  (I  here  refer  to  its  many  ex- 
pressions in  trade  and  municipal  undertakings  as  well  as  in  the  home), 
its  future  exponents  would  be  offered  the  amplest  opportimities  for  its 
study  in  every  institution  for  higher  education;  and  courses  in  chemistry, 
physics,  biology,  sociology,  and  so  forth,  organised  for  students  of  agri- 
culture or  engineering,  would  not  be  considered  abundantly  adequate 
for  the  "moulders  of  nien"  in  the  nation's  homes.  The  records  of  his- 
tory afford  a  wealth  of  sound  evidence  that  the  quality  of  human  life 
and  the  character  of  the  homes  in  which  it  is  reared  and  maintained 
xmderlie  every  international  struggle,  as  well  as  every  local  industrial 
crisis  or  social  problem. 

The  causes  for  the  unpopularity  of  homemaking,  reflected  in  these 
condoned  conditions  are  too  numerous  and  intricate  to  analyze  here  and 
now.  The  obscurity  in  which  the  homemakers'  enormous  economic 
worth  to  the  nation  is  Involved  bulks  largely  among  these.  The  census 
classes  them  as  imemployed,  a  dire  sarcasm  in  truth,  yet  shared  by 
the  vast  majority  of  the  population.  The  position  of  "hired  help"  is 
still  enounbered  by  feudal  tradition;  the  whole  question  of  house  serviqe 
is  a  tangle  of  economic  origin,  which  women,  the  victims,  whether  33 
served  or  server,  are  too  cowardly  to  unravel,  and  merely  bewail  what 
their  own  inertia  is  content  to  countenance.  Why  do  not  the  leaders 
of  the  Home  Economics  Movement  "grasp  the  nettle"  and  weave  it 
into  the  mantle  which  shall  neutralize  the  spite  of  the  malignant  fairy 
godmother  of  discord  and  strife  through  the  readjustment  of  fake  values? 
Incidentally  I  am  convinced  our  whole  presentation  of  home  economics 
must  be  far  more  from  the  sociological  side  than  hitherto;  and  in  all 
courses  in  sociology  there  should  be  more  attention. given  to  the  wide- 
reaching  influences  on  national  health  and  industrial  prosperity  of 
women's  exacting  duties  and  economic  contributions  in  the  home.  Apai^t 
from  the  intelligent  cooperation  of  men,  women's  burdens  of  national 
responsibilities  in  matters  domestic  become  unbearable;,  and  therein  lies 
another  reason  for  the  growing  eagerness  of  our  girls  to  pursue  less  onerous 
callings. 


512  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [November 

Here  I  shall  be  reminded  of  the  right  of  all  women  to  qualify  in  some 
self  supporting  calling  and  of  the  diversities  of  human  gifts,  which  with 
equal  justice,  demand  special  training  for  their  highest  development. 
My  recognition  of  both  claims  is  as  sympathetic  as  it  is  whole-hearted. 
Civilization  itself  depends  upon  the  skilled  contributions  of  every  form 
of  himian  capacity,  apart  from  the  unwholesome  social  and  economic 
conditions  which  exist  where  a  nation's  women  folk  are  condemned  to  a 
life  of  crippling  dependence  on  the  earnings  of  one  section  of  the  com- 
munity. It  is  just  here  that  the  problem  propounded  for  us  by  Mrs. 
West,  appals  us  by  its  myriad  ramifications.  Are  we  therefore  down- 
hearted as  to  its  solution?  No — emphatically  no.  Let  us  start  in  at 
once — some  of  us — to  formulate  it  first;  seek  out  and  classify  its  sources; 
then  carefully  consider  their  best  form  of  removal;  finally,  present  our 
case  to  the  presidents  of  colleges  and  imiversities  so  that,  with  the 
strength  of  their  cooperation,  we  may  appeal  to  the  public  for  its  indis- 
pensable aid  in  that  readjustment  of  values  which  shall  recognize  that 
the  uplift  and  betterment  of  human  life  is  the  real  aim  of  education. 

Essential  as  it  is  to  earn  a  living  and  important  as  it  is  to  equip  the 
youth  of  a  nation  for  this  purpose,  the  living  will  lack  satisfaction  unless 
the  quality  of  the  livers  be  A  1.  This  quality  depends  on  home  stand- 
ards ;  a  C  3  population  is  the  product  of  C  3  homes.  To  attain  the  A  1 
standard,  our  girls,  who  are  the  coming  administrators  of  home  life, 
need  the  best  training  our  best  colleges  can  afFord  in  the  sciences  and  arts 
upon  which  domestic  crafts  are  supported;  the  process  of  effective  prepa- 
ration abounds  in  opportimities  for  "brain  stretching"  as  well  as  for 
individual  development  along  a  wide  variety  of  lines.  It  only  remains 
for  us  who  believe  to  shake  off  our  inertia,  our  tacit  acceptance  of  what 
is,  and  give  ourselves  no  rest  until  we  have  materialized  the  "what  might 
be."  It  is  not  for  economic  competition  with  their  brothers  that  we 
urge  girls  to  attend  college;  it  is  not  for  immediate  economic  independ- 
ence and  relief  from  the  restraints  of  the  family  circle  that  the  doors  of 
our  universities  have  been  thrown  open  to  them;  but  to  afford  them 
rightful  opportunities  for  self  development  on  the  one  hand  and  of 
essential  equipment  for  their  highly  dignified  national  responsibilities 
on  the  other.  If  their  ideals  are  faulty,  if  their  sense  of  values  is  defec- 
tive, let  us  ask  ourselves  with  whom  does  the  fault  lie,  imder  whose  influ- 
ence did  their  sense  of  relative  values  develop? 

Alice  Ravenhill. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


The  American  Home  Diei.    By  £.  V.  Mc- 

CoLLUM  and  Nina  SniMONDS.    Detroit, 

Mich.:  Frederick  C.  Mathews  Co.,  1920, 

pp.  237.    $3.50. 

The  authors'  aim  in  this  book  is  to  present 
in  non-technical  language  for  the  housewife 
the  modem  theories  of  nutrition.  In  Part  I 
considerable  space  has  been  given  to  a  de- 
scription of  the  results  of  faulty  diets  as 
observed  in  animal  experimentation  and  in 
human  nutrition.  Reasons  are  given  "for 
the  superiority  of  certain  combinations  of 
foods  over  others"  and  evidence  offered 
"that  the  regular  use  of  proper  combinations 
of  our  common  foodstuffs  is  the  keynote  to 
the  successful  feeding  of  the  family."  It  is 
this  definite  and  easily  understood  state- 
ment of  the  senior  author's  theories  of  diet 
that  has  made  them  so  widely  accepted. 

One  chapter  is  given  to  the  discussion  of 
the  "Dietary  Properties  of  the  More  Impor- 
tant American  Foodstuffs."  Another  chap- 
ter, "Dangerous  Foods  and  the  Care  of  Food 
in  the  Home,"  includes  such  subjects  as 
mushroom  poisoning,  oxalic  add  in  plants, 
sources  of  food  infection,  care  of  milk,  im- 
pure water,  botulism,  canned  milk  and  milk 
powders,  dangers  from  raw  food,  safety  and 
esthetic  standards  in  food. 

Special  consideration  is  given  to  the  feed- 
ing of  young  children,  pregnant  women,  and 
nursing  mothers. 

Part  n  of  the  book  contains  menus  for 
365  days  of  the  year.  Illustrations  are  also 
given  of  menus  unsatisfactory  for  the  pro- 
motion of  health  and  of  ways  of  modifying 
these  by  the  addition  of  "protective  foods — 
milk,  eggs,  and  leafy  vegetables."  It  might 
be  questioned  whether  some  of  the  changes 
suggested  in  the  menus  are  necessary.  For 
example,  would  the  small  amounts  of  milk 
and  egg  added  when  salmon  croquettes  are 
served  instead  of  plain  canned  salmon  give 


an  increase  in  food  value  commensurate 
with  'the  labor  involved?  Would  not  the 
cream  of  com  soup  served  in  the  same  meal 
be  sufficient,  especially  if  served  in  generous 
portions? 

The  following  of  such  a  schedule  of  menus 
would  probably  be  inconvenient  in  most 
households.  It  would  seem  that  a  state- 
ment of  the  approximate  amounts  of  "pro- 
tective foods"  deemed  necessary  would  be 
even  more  helpful  than  the  menus.  If  the 
ordinary  practice  of  serving  small  portions 
of  the  vegetables  and  salads  were  followed, 
even  the  use  of  these  menus  might  not  pro- 
vide a  satisfactory  diet. 

The  statement  that  there  is  "no  danger 
that  a  normal  person  in  health  will  fail  to 
eat  enough  where  food  is  available  and  pre- 
sented in  an  attractive  form"  is  not  true  in 
the  case  of  many  children,  as  the  mothers 
well  know.  It  sometimes  requires  much 
patience  and  ingenuity  to  teach  children  to 
eat  vegetables,  and  even  to  drink  milk.  Fre- 
quently, if  left  to  themselves,  they  would 
eat  too  little. 

The  book  will  be  exceedingly  valuable  to 
housewives  and  to  those  who  are  interest 
in  giving  popular  instmction  in  the  selection 
of  food.  The  material  is  presented  in  a 
simple,  definite,  and  interesting  manner. 

Elizabeth  W.  Muxes. 

Dietetics  for  High  Schools.    By  Flosence 
WiLLASD  AND  LucY  H.  GnxETT.    New 
York:  The  Macmillan  Company,  1920,  pp. 
201. 
.    This  book  is  a  distinct  contribution  to  the 
very  small  group  of  elementary  textbooks  in 
nutrition.    It  is  unique  in  being  the  first 
book  to  give  a  scientific  presentation  of  die- 
tetics especially  for  high  school  students.    It 
contains  a  clear  and  concise  description  of 
"our  dependence  on  food"  (Chapter  I);  "a 

513 


514 


THE  JOUHNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[November 


standard  for  measuiing  food — the  calorie" 
(Chapter  11);  and  discusses  very  simply  and 
practically  energy  requirements  in  general 
and  the  sources  and  functions  of  proteins, 
fats,  carbohydrates,  mineral  elements,  and 
vitamines  (Chapters  III-V) .  Adjustment  of 
diet  to  different  ages  and  conditions  is  pre- 
sented under  the  general  heading  Feeding 
the  Irving  Family,  which  consists,  besides 
father  and  mother,  of  a  baby  a  year  old, 
three  boys  aged  three,  seven,  and  ^sixteen 
years,  respectively,  and  two  girls,  one  ten 
and  one  fourteen  years  old .  These  children's 
individual  needs  furnish  the  keynote  for 
separate  chapters  on  Food  for  the  Baby; 
Food  for  Chfldren  from  One  to  Five  Years 
of  Age;  Food  for  School  Children  and  Adults. 
Planning  the  meals  for  the  whole  family  is 
presented  as  Mrs.  Irving's  problem,  which 
involves  the  market  order  and  general  econ- 
omy in  buying  food.  The  appendix  includes 
Diet  for  Abnormal  Conditions  (a  section 
better  omitted  from  a  book  of  this  type) 
and  a  few  brief  tables  of  food  values. 

The  work  is  accurate  and  up-to-date.  The 
points  are  supported  and  illustrated  by  suit- 
able tables  and  charts  in  such  number  as  to 
constitute  a  unique  feature  of  a  beginner's 
book  in  nutrition.  Through  these  the  quan- 
titative aspects  of  nutritional  problems  are 
fully  emphasized  and  a  distinctly  scientific 
attitude  maintained.  Some  of  the  tables 
(e.  g.,  pages  57,  92,  116  and  117)  are  rather 
complicated,  and  will  require  careful  treat- 
ment by  teachers  to  secure  their  interpreta- 
tion and  use  by  the  student.  Practical 
problems  to  be  assigned  to  students  are  lib- 
erally interspersed  throughout  the  text  and 
a  few  carefully  selected  reading  references 
are  given  at  the  end  of  each  chapter. 
.  This  book  is  designed  for  serious  study 
and  depends  upon  this  intensive  work  for 
its  interest.  The  "popular''  feature  of  the 
Irving  family  does  not  mitigate  the  fact  that 
the  book,  taken  as  a  whole,  is  technical  and 
leaves  the  teacher  abundant  opportunity  to 
furnish  illustration  and  inspiration.  One 
specially  commendable  feature  is  the  fact 
that  it  may  be  used  quite  as  appropriately  as 
a  textbook  for  boys  as  for  girls. 

Maky  Swartz  Rose, 
Teachers  College. 


Mother  and  Child.  Vol.  1,  No.  1,  June, 
1920.  Published  by  the  American  Child 
Hygiene  Association,  1211  Cathedral  St., 
Baltimore.  $2.00  a  year;  25  cents  a 
copy. 

This  new  magazine,  .concerned  with  the 
health  of  the  mother  and  child,  is  of  interest 
to  all  home  economics  woikers.  Its  purpose 
is  to  present  information  on  what  is  being 
done  on  special  needs  and  problems  in  the 
field  of  child  hygiene. 

The  articles  in  the  first  number  include: 
Supervismg  the  Child  of  Pre-School  Age, 
Robert  D.  Curtis,  M.D.;  A  Fairy  Health 
Teacher,  Mrs.  John  Collier;  Neo-Natal 
Mortality,  Sir  Arthur  Newsholme,  M.D.; 
Pre-Natal  Clinics  in  Paris,  Fred  L.  Adair, 
M,D. 

Financial  Record  Book,  By  Maky  Ceasing 
AND  Edythe  p.  Hexshey.  Published  by 
the  University  of  Texas,  Austin,  Texas, 
1919. 

This  home  account  book  gives  a  form 
which  provides  for  a  completely  classified 
and  itemized  record  of  the  income  and  out-go. 
In  order  to  obtain  this  end  the  book  is  of 
necessity  larger  and  more  cimibersome  than 
the  ordinary  household  budget  and  account 
book. 

Instead  of  the  common  columnar  form  of 
classification  the  record  is  classified  by  pages, 
using  the  following  headings:  Income;  Sav- 
ings; Housing;  Operating  Expenses;  Food; 
Clothing;  Health;  Donations;  Education; 
Recreation;  Incidentals;  and  Summaries. 
Each  page  has  columnar  divisions  to  take 
care  of  subdivisions  and  items. 

The  book  has  the  advantage  of  being  loose 
leaved.  By  discarding  parts  of  the  book, 
the  keeping  of  the  details  of  expenditure  may 
be  eliminated  and  only  the  more  general 
summaries  used.  The  book  is  flexible  and 
can  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  various  kinds 
of  households,  but  the  question  always  arises 
as  to  how  much  time  the  busy  housewife  can 
give  or  will  give  to  making  these  adaptations. 
The  book  is  most  usable;  it  is  not  complex 
and  it  can  be  made  to  meet  the  needs  of 
almost  all  households. 

Sarah  J.  MacLeod. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


A  Health  Campaign  Launched.  In  the 
fall  of  1919  the  girls  of  the  Home  Economics 
Department  of  the  Southeastern  High 
School,  Detroit,  Mich.,  became  interested  in 
the  EUen  H.  Richards  Memorial  Fund. 

In  order  to  send  a  contribution  to  the 
fund  the  Home  Economics  Department 
served  two  teas,  had  a  candy  sale,  and  made 
pies  and  orange  marmalade,  raising  $34.77. 
Out  of  this  they  bought  a  large  sepia  picture 
of  Mrs.  Richards,  and  contributed  the  rest 
to  the  fund. 

In  April,  1920,  the  advanced  home  science 
class  voted  to  organize  a  club  called  the 
EUen  H.  Richards  Club.  Hiis  is  a  service 
club  to  the  school,  like  the  Hi.  Y.  dubs  of 
boys.  The  girls  are  living  up  to  their  motto 
''Eugenics  and  Euthenics" — bright  living  and 
right  thinking.  During  the  week  of  June  7 
to  11  they  carried  on  a  health  campaign,  with 
the  aid  of  Charlotte  Keen,  faculty  advisor, 
and  the  honorary  members,  Doris  Jean 
Holloway  and  Mr.  Corns,  principal  of  South- 
eastern High  School. 

A  number  of  charts  and  posters,  collected 
from  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Detroit,  were 
displayed  in  the  various  grade  rooms  and 
corridors.  The  girls  changed  them  around 
daily  so  that  the  pupils  could  see  all  of 
them.  The  subjects  of  these  charts  were: 
"Increased  Us^of  Daiiy  Products,"  "Proper 
Food  Combination,"  "Regularity  of  Meals," 
"Sleep,"  "Care  of  the  Teeth,"  "Posture," 
and  "Flies." 

The  dub  girls — Rachd  Bailey,  Dorothy 
Brown,  Marjorie  Feucht,  Althea  Gordon, 
Alice  Harley,  Georgia  Kephart,  Winifred 
Reid,  and  Florence  .Wixson — gave  talks  to 
advertise  the  campaign  in  their  respective 
grade  rooms. 

Club  luncheons  were  made  from  the  week's 
daily  menus  obtained  from  the  cafeteria 
and  placed  on  the  boards  daily. 


Something  new  was  planned  for  each  day. 
The  first  day  opened  with  an  exhibit  in'  the 
cafeteria  of  a  well  and  a  poorly  selected 
luncheon  from  that  day's  menu.  The  fol- 
lowing evening  the  dub  gave  a  movie  con- 
sisting of  two  reels  ol  pictures  with  health 
suggestions  and  also  a  Vivian  Martin  pic- 
ture. This  was  attended  by  the  students 
and  their  parents.  A  table  set  for  break- 
fast, lunch,  and  dinuQr,  showing  a  day's 
diet  for  a  high  school  girl  was  placed  in  the 
corridor  on  the  third  day.  The  boys  re- 
ceived their  exhibit  of  a  day's  diet  in  the 
same  manner  on  the  next  day. 

For  a  girl's  "crowning  glory"  the  dub 
had  an  experienced  hair  dresser  come  out 
and  give  a  talk  and  practical  demonstration 
on  the  care  of  the  hair  and  the  dressing  of  it 
for  various  shaped  faces. 

This  is  the  first  campaign  of  health  car- 
ried on  in  the  school  and  the  dub  is  very 
grateful  for  the  cooperation  of  Mr.  Corns, 
the  faculty,  and  the  various  dubs  of  the  dty 
who  so  kindly  helped  to  make  this  first  ven- 
ture a  success.  The  dub  is  justly  proud  of 
this  achievement  and  hopes  to  do  bigger 
things  in  the  future. 

The  Department  of  Home  Economics 
of  the  University  of  Missouri  has  been 
moved  to  temporary  quarters  in  four  differ- 
ent science  buildings  on  one  of  the  main 
campuses.  The  new  home  economics  build- 
ing has  been  started  and  will  be  ready  by 
September,  1921. 

The  regular  faculty  has  been  retained  for 
this  year  and  the  following  new  members 
have  been  appointed:  Dorothy  Arnold, 
Instructor  in  Applied  Art,  and  Frances  Foi^ 
bush,  Assistant  in  Trade  Dressmaking,  who 
were  appointed  last  winter;  Bertha  Whipple 
who  came  to  us  last  summer  just  after  receiv- 
ing her  M.A.  degree  from  the  University  of 

515 


516 


THE  JOURNAL   OF   HOME   ECONOMICS 


[November 


Chicago;  Susan  Blakey,  who  has  had  charge 
of  the  work  at  the  University  of  Colorado  and 
comes  to  us  this  fall  as  assistant  professor. 

The  University  of  Cincinnati  is  offer- 
ing a  new  course  dealing  with  the  problems 
of  sex  education  that  includes  a  study  of 
the  function  of  the  home  and  other  social 
institutions. 

Although  e^ecially  and  primarily  in- 
tended for  teachers,  the  course  is  also  open 
to  other  groups,  such  as  advanced  students, 
social  workers,  ministers,  leaders  of  boys' 
and  girls'  clubs,  persons  preparing  for  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  positions,  recreation 
leaders,  and  leaders  of  parent-teachers' 
groups  and  mothers'  clubs. 

The  University  of  Maryland  offers  this 
year  a  two-year  course  in  addition  to  the 
regular  four-year  course  in  home  economics. 

Applicants  for  this  course  must  be  gradu- 
ates of  an  approved  high  school.  Upon 
completion  of  the  required  work  they  will 
be  granted  a  special  diploma  and  will  be 
eligible  to  receive  a  teacher's  certificate 
from  the  State  Department  of  Education, 
entitling  the  holder  to  teach  home  economics 
in  the  high  schools  of  the  state. 

Edna  McNaughton,  Professor  of  Home 
Economics  Education,  is  in  charge  of  the 
new  course. 

A  Home  Economics  School  has  been 
established  at  Campden,  Gloucestershire, 
England,  by  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  for 
teaching  students  and  housewives  how  to 
preserve  vegetables  and  fruits.  Canning, 
drying,  crystalizing,  and  jam,  jelly  and 
marmalade  making  are  included,  as  well  as 
methods  of  brining  and  pickling  and  the 
manufacture  of  pickles,  sauces,  chutneys, 
and  fruit  sirups  and  liqueurs.  Two  courses 
are  offered:  one  for  homemakers  and  one 
for  commercial  purposes;  the  former  lasts 
two  weeks,  the  student  being  required  to 
select  the  processes  in  which  instruction  is 
desired.    A  charge  of  £2  10s.  ($12.50)  is 


made  for  tuition  and  materials.  A  syllabus 
has  been  prepared  for  a  teachers'  course, 
which  deals  with  the  processes  of  fermenta- 
tion, decomposition,  partial  and  complete 
sterilization,  pasteurization,  refrigeration, 
and  other  similar  questions. 

NOTES 

Edith  M.  Thomas  has  recently  been  ap- 
pointed State  Supervisor  of  Home  Econom- 
ics in  North  Carolina  to  succeed  Edith  Coith 
who  is  now  Mrs.  George  Atkinson  of  Salis- 
bury, N.  C. 

Florence  Powdermaker  has  resigned  from 
her  position  in  the  School  of  Hygiene,  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  to  become  Specialist  in 
Nutrition  for  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

The  U.  S.  Civil  Service  Commission  will 
hold  a  competitive  examination  for  domestic 
science  teachers  for  the  Indian  Service  on 
Nov.  17  and  Dec.  15,  1920.  For  further 
information  write  to  the  U.  S.  Civil  Service 
Commission,  Washington,  D.  C. 

An  All-America  Conference  on  Venereal 
Diseases  is  to  be  held  in  Washington,  Dec- 
6  to  11,  1920,  under  the  auspices  of  the  U.  S. 
Interdepartmental  Social  Hygiene  Board, 
the  U.  S.  Public  Health  Service,  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross,  and  the  American  Social 
Hygiene  Association.  The  problems  of  edu- 
cation and  of  social  influences  in  the  control 
of  disease  and  in  relation  to  marriage  will 
fonn  part  of  the  program. 

The  Manchester  Guardian  of  Friday, 
Aug.  13,  1920,  reports  that  the  English 
Ministry  of  Agriculture,  with  the  approval 
of  the  Treasury,  has  appointed  Dame 
Meriel  Talbot,  D.  B.  E.,  to  be  Woman 
Adviser  to  the  Ministry.  The  object  of  this 
appointment  is  that  the  fullest  use  may  be 
made  of  women's  experience,  interest,  and 
work  in  the  agricultural  and  rural  life  of  the 
country. 


THE 


Journal  of  Home  Economics 

f 

Vol.  Xn  DECEMBER,  1920  No.  12 


THE  FOOD  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT  IN  RELATION  TO  HEALTH* 

MICHAEL  M.  DAVIS,  JR.  AND  BERTHA  M.  WOOD 

The  Boston  Dispensary 

DIETARY  BACEGR0X7NDS 

Most  of  our  friends  from  other  countries  come  to  America  in  the  very 
cheapest  way,  and  are  unaccustomed  to  travel.  They  leave  home  with 
many  of  their  cooking  utensils  in  a  cloth  bag  and  continue  their  house- 
keeping on  shipboard  in  the  steerage,  feeding  their  children  and  them- 
selves from  stores  brought  from  home.  Almost  their  first  thought  on 
landing  is  something  to  eat,  and  this  fact  places  food  in  the  first  rank  of 
importance  in  our  plans  for  Americanization.  Their  first  impression  of 
America  is  often  gotten  in  a  poorly  housed  restaurant,  whose  proprietor 
is  of  their  nationality.  From  him  they  learn  where  to  get  some  of  their 
native  foods,  both  raw  and  cooked. 

Usually  they  establish  their  homes  in  neighborhoods  or  colonies  of 
their  own  country  people.  Here  there  is  no  opportxmity  to  know  about 
American  foods,  raw  or  in  combination,  or  the  kind  and  amount  of  foods 
needed  in  a  day's  dietary  under  the  new  living  conditions.    Even  they 

^  This  material  in  somewhat  altered  form  will  appear  as  part  of  a  book  on  Immigrant 
Health  and  the  Community,  to  be  published  shortly  by  Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  as 
pait  of  the  Americanization  Series.  It  is  printed  in  the  Jousnal  by  permission  of  Hazper 
&  Brothers.  Chapters  on  the  diet  of  the  Poles,  the  Italians,  and  the  Jews  will  follow  in 
succeeding  numbers  of  the  Jousnal. 

The  series  represents  but  a  part  of  the  material  collected  by  Miss  Wood  in  connection 
with  the  study  made.  The  entire  result  of  the  study  will  appear  in  book  form  at  an 
early  date  with  the  addition  of  the  following  racial  groups:  Hungarians,  Portuguese  and 
Mexicans. 

517 


518  THE  jouHKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

come  from  countries  in  which  the  climate  is  very  different  from  this, 
they  make  no  change  in  diet;  or  if  their  occupation  here  is  more  strenuous 
or  less  so,  they  do  not  take  this  into  consideration.  They  have  always 
eaten  certain  kinds  of  foods  prepared  in  certain  ways.  Why  change? 
There  is  no  one  to  tell  them;  no  one  to  show  them  which  of  theirs  to  keep, 
and  which  of  this  country's  to  adopt  nor  how  to  prepare  them.  They 
are  probably  more  willing  on  their  arrival  than  they  will  be  at  any  later 
time  to  accept  American  help  and  suggestions. 

Their  housing  conditions  are  changed,  their  style  of  clothing  must  be 
changed ;  many  of  their  social  customs,  as  well  as  some  of  their  religious 
ideals,  must  be  given  up;  the  only  habit  and  custom  which  can  be  pre- 
served in  its  entirety  is  their  diet.  This  is  made  possible  because  they 
find  in  America,  as  in  no  other  country,  all  their  native  raw  food  materials. 

All  hiunan  beings  are  naturally  gifted  with  more  or  less  ability  to  pre- 
pare food  for  themselves  when  occasion  requires.  This  aptitude  does 
not  necessarily  help  them  to  adjust  their  diet  to  new  conditions.  They 
are  willing  to  learn,  but  who  will  teach  them?  Who  knows  their  foods?* 
How  many  and  which  ones  shall  they  continue  to  use  to  meet  their  daily 
needs  and  new  financial  condition  and  responsibilities?  Where  shall  they 
buy  them?  Even  the  cooking  dishes  are  of  a  different  type  from  those 
which  they  have  used.    Which  kind  produces  the  familiar  results? 

There  is  much  that  we  may  learn  from  these  people  with  profit,  and 
equally  much  for  them  to  learn  from  us.  If  we  then  study  their  ways  and 
customs  and  acquaint  ourselves  more  and  more  with  their  foods,  we 
shall  be  better  able  to  help  these  foreign-bom  to  adjust  themselves  to 
new  conditions  with  as  few  changes  as  possible. 

During  the  influenza  epidemic  of  1918  it  was  plainly  demonstrated 
that  neither  district  nurses,  settlement  workers,  nor  visiting  dietitians 
knew  much  about  the  foods  of  the  foreign-born  patients.  Gallons  of 
American  soups  and  broths  were  served  to  these  people  only  to  be 
imtouched  and  thrown  out.  This  was  at  a  time  when  diet  might  have 
meant  much  in  furnishing  resistance  to  the  disease.  In  our  hospitals  and 
dispensaries  we  usually  find  only  American  foods  prescribed  for  diets. 
Often  it  has  been  said,  ''They  should  learn  to  eat  American  foods  if 
they  are  to  live  here."    We  may  not  all  agree  with  this,  but  at  least  we 

*  A  search  of  the  literature  of  the  Dietetics  of  Foreign  Peoples  of  the  United  States  was 
made  for  this  Study  by  Miss  Margery  M.  Smith  of  the  Department  of  Home  Economics, 
Simmons  College.  The  text  citations  and  footnotes  to  these  chapters  include  all  she  found. 
Its  meagemess  is  apparent. 


1920]  THE  FOOD  OF  THE  IMMIGHANT  519 

will  agree  that  when  a  person  is  ill  and  needs  a  special  diet,  it  is  no  time 
to  teach  him  to  eat  new  foods.  It  is  like  hitting  a  person  when  he  is 
down.  Our  milk  soups  are  nutritious  but  so  are  theirs;  why  not  learn 
what  they  are  and  prescribe  them?    The  same  is  true  of  other  foods. 

It  is  much  easier  for  the  dietitian  to  learn  the  foods  of  the  foreign-bom 
than  for  these  people  to  adjust  their  finances  to  a  new  dietary.  Often 
their  income  is  insufficient  to  buy  their  own  foods  which  they  know  they 
like.  Can  we  wonder  that  they  hesitate  to  invest  in  food  about  which 
they  are  xmcertain? 

A  Bohemian  family  of  father,  mother,  and  six  children,  who  were 
patients  at  a  di^ensary,  were  living  (or  staying)  here  on  an  income  of 
twelve  to  sixteen  dollars  a  week.  It  was  necessary  to  get  milk  and  cereals 
into  the  diet  of  the  children,  but  who,  without  a  knowledge  of  Bohemian 
foods,  dare  disturb  that  very  Umited  amoimt  available  for  food? 

Mrs.  Angelo's  husband  is  a  printer,  who  earns  seventeen  dollars  a 
week.  They  have  seven  children,  the  oldest  a  boy  of  eleven.  Barbara, 
five  years  old,  was  very  bowlegged  and  had  to  have  her  legs  broken  to 
straighten  them.  Three  younger  children  were  sent  to  a  dispensary 
food  clinic  for  diet  to  prevent  their  being  bowlegged.  It  was  necessary 
to  have  not  less  than  two  and  one-half  quarts  of  milk  added  to  their 
food  each  day.  The  income  was  too  small  to  allow  for  this,  so  the  man 
got  extra  work  at  night  to  pay  for  the  milk.  This  shows  that  they  were 
willing  to  go  at  least  half  way  in  changing  diet  habits.  There  are  certain 
diseases  prevalent  among  the  foreign-bom  people,  due  largely  to  their 
change  of  diet.    When  the  diet  is  corrected  the  disease  may  be  overcome. 

In  the  four  chapters  which  follow  a  brief  account  is  given,  for  each  of 
four  important  race  groups,  of  the  conditions  and  dietary  habits  of  the 
people  in  their  own  country,  and  of  their  food  problems  here,  with  some 
changes  needed  for  health.  Special  reference  is  made  to  a  few  diseases 
in  which  diet  is  a  factor  and  which  are  most  frequently  noted  among 
the  group  by  physicians,  nurses,  and  social  workers. 

Diets,  for  these  diseases,  and  recipes  are  given  for  each  nationality. 
These  recipes  use  our  American  raw  materials  and  many  of  the  dishes 
made  from  them  resemble  ours  so  closely  that  only  slight  changes  are 
necessary  in  the  rules  to  produce  a  welcome  diet  for  these  people. 

A  dietitian  has  never  been  so  honored,  in  college  or  out,  as  she  will  be 
by  these  foreign-bom  people  when  once  she  talks  to  them  of  their  familiar 
foods.  An  Armenian  storekeeper  foimd  a  fellow  countryman,  a  chef  in 
an  Armenian  restaurant,  who  was  suffering  from  indigestion.    He  said 


520  THE  jousNAL  OF  HOKE  ECONOMICS  [December 

to  him,  ^'You  come  with  me.  I  take  you  to  the  smartest  woman  you 
ever  knew.  She  knows  our  foods,  she  tell  you  what  to  eat,  you  fed 
better." 

THE  NEAR  EAST    (ARMENIANS,   SYRIANS,   TURKS,   AND  GREEKS) 

These  inter^ting  peoples,  with  their  love  for  friend  and  neighbor, 
producers  of  works  of  art,  dwellers  in  God's  out-of-doors,  taking  shelter 
only  when  occasion  demands,  have  much  to  give  to  any  coxmtry.* 

Most  of  those  who  come  to  America  have  lived  in  the  open  coimtry 
among  the  foothills  of  the  mountains  or  on  the  high  table-lands.  A 
minority  dwelt  in  the  smaller  cities.- 

Early  in  March,  in  the  home  coimtry,  the  families  change  their  mode 
of  living  from  indoors  to  out  in  the  open.  This  is  the  season  for  plowing 
and  planting;  meals  are  prepared  and  eaten  out-of-doors  and  the  eve- 
nings are  spent  imder  the  great  canopy  of  blue  and  gold,  with  all  the 
family  and  relatives  telling  the  news  of  the  day  or  exchanging  stories. 
Some  of  these  stories  have  been  related  many  times  before,  but  their 
familiarity  makes  them  even  more  interesting.  These  people  practically 
live  out-of-doors  imtil  late  in  November,  working  in  the  fields  or  har- 
vesting their  supplies.  Then  they  change  their  occupations  to  different 
lines  of  craft  work.  Many  of  their  most  interesting  pieces  of  copper  and 
brass  are  tooled  and  etched  during  the  winter  months.  Some  of  tlieir 
wonderfully  beautiful  rugs  are  woven  then.  A  pleasant  pastime  for 
the  older  women  is  the  dyeing  of  the  yam  from  the  vegetables  gathered, 
a  little  of  this  color  and  a  little  of  that  color  being  mixed  to  get  just  the 
shade  desired  to  harmonize  with  the  one  artistic  design  in  the  mind  of 
the  weaver.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  work  and  recreation 
among  these  people.    So  much  of  life  is  beauty  to  them. 

During  the  fanmng  season  they  raise  sheep  for  food  and  clothing; 
goats  and  cows  for  milk,  butter,  and  cheese;  chickens,  ducks,  and  geese 
for  eggs;  and  grains,  vegetables,  fruits,  and  berries  in  abundance.  Their 
wheat  is  thrashed  in  the  fall,  then  taken  to  the  one  neighborhood  caldron 
where  it  is  boiled  ''imtil  all  germs  are  killed,"  then  spread  out  on  great 
sheets  of  cloth  to  dry  in  the  sun.  After  it  has  dried,  it  is  groimd  between 
two  great  stones  to  different  degrees  of  fineness,  according  to  its  future 

*  Comparison  at  some  points  in  this  chapter  may  be  made  with  the  Mexicans,  whose 
dietary  problems  deserve  special  study.  See  "Dietary  Studies  of  Mexican  Families  in  New 
Mexico."    (Office  of  Experiment  Stations  Bulletux  40,  1897.) 


1920]  THE  FOOD  07  THE  IMMIGKANT  521 

use,  thai  stored  for  winter  or  until  next  harvest.    This  grain  is  used  in 
many  different  ways;  it  is  even  burned  as  incense. 

Olives,  both  ripe  and  green,  are  pickled  and  some  are  salted.  Wines 
and  raisins  are  made  from  grapes  and  the  leaves  of  the  grape  vines  are 
salted  to  be  used  later  in  wrapping  dohnas.  Figs  and  dates  are  pre- 
served in  sugar  with  other  fruits.  Potatoes,  squashes,  onions,  garlic, 
and  other  vegetables  are  put  in  pits  in  the  ground,  and  at  least  three 
lambs  are  salted.  In  the  Orient  lamb  is  the  principal  meat  used.  Rice 
has  a  large  share  in  the  daily  menu.  The  use  of  nuts  with  rice  and  meat 
adds  an  attractiveness  to  the  diet  '^Pine-cone  seeds''  or  fustuck,  hazel 
nuts  or  fanducks,  chestnuts  or  kestanch,  pistachio  nuts  and  coriander 
seeds  are  many  of  the  seeds  referred  to  in  Oriental  recipes;  cardamon 
seeds  are  frequently  added  to  coffee. 

Chick  peas  or  nohond,  a  product  of  Greece  and  Turkey,  and  f  ava,  pakla, 
or  horse  beans  are  two  of  the  leguminous  plants  of  high  food  value. 
There  are  various  wheat  preparations  in  which  the  grain  appears  in 
different  forms. 

In  Eastern  cookery  not  a  single  dish  is  dependent  on  the  extravagant 
use  of  expensive  and  various  ingredients  which,  when  coimted  up,  make 
food  very  expensive,  but  is  dependent,  and  very  much  so,  on  the  flavor 
of  each  different  article  used  in  the  making.  Oriental  food  is  not  highly 
spiced  or  flavored,  but  is  a  very  fat  diet.  Butter  is  not  eaten  on  bread, 
the  fat  in  the  food  preparations  being  sufficient.  The  breakfast  of  these 
Easterners  consists  of  black  coffee  and  bread  for  the  adult,  and  goat's 
milk  and  bread  for  the  children.  In  some  families  cracked  wheat  is 
used  as  a  cereal  boiled  with  milk. 

The  noon  meal  may  be  matzoun  or  curdled  milk,  with  a  ''dressing" 
of  pilaf .  Matzoun  or  yoghourt  b  the  famous  beverage  or  soup  of  the 
Orient.  It  is  served  either  hot  or  cold  or  sweetened  with  sugar.  It  is 
as  valuable  in  their  diet  as  buttermilk  in  ours. 

For  the  dinner  or  evening  meal,  shish  kibab,  lamb  cut  in  walnut  sized 
pieces  and  roasted  on  skewers,  is  a  favorite  form  of  serving  meat.  All 
vegetables  are  first  fried  in  a  small  amount  of  olive  oil  or  other  fat,  then 
boiled  in  meat  stock.  Sometimes  tomato  is  added  to  give  more  flavor. 
Okra  is  never  slimy  and  vegetables  lose  their  ''green"  taste  when  first 
cooked  in  oil  or  other  fat. 

When  these  people  settle  in  America,  their  dietary  customs  are  con- 
tinued to  a  large  extent,  but  milk  becomes  a  luxury  and  fruit  is  not  so 
plentiful.     The  amount  of  milk  used  when  there  are  children  is  gener- 


522  THE  J0X7SNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

ally  insufficient  because  of  the  expense.  It  is  rarely  if  ever  bought  in 
their  home  cotmtries,  and  when  it  is  the  cost  is  only  a  few  cents. 

A  Syrian  woman  who  had  tubercular  glands  was  advised  to  use  one 
quart  of  milk  a  day.  After  being  treated  for  some  time,  she  showed  no 
improvement,  and  it  was  discovered  that  she  had  not  had  the  milk. 
When  questioned  why  she  did  not  take  it  she  said,  "The  milk  come  in  a 
bottle — I  get  it  from  the  goat  in  my  country.  The  doctor  ordered  milk 
and  I  do  not  know  what  else  is  in  the  bottle;  there  must  be  something 
besides  milk  to  make  it  cost  so  much."  After  all  was  explained  and 
milk  ordered  for  the  patient  for  a  month,  she  began  to  improve,  and  then 
she  was  convinced  that  although  we  have  an  expensive  way  of  obtaining 
it  milk  has  the  same  virtue  as  in  her  own  country. 

Wheat  is  used  extensively,  either  whole  or  cracked,  cooked  in  water 
until  nearly  done;  then  milk  is  added  for  the  last  few  minutes'  cooking. 
It  was  interesting  to  find  during  the  war  that  these  people  were  still  able 
to  secure  wheat  in  its  different  degrees  of  coarseness.  Even  the  candy, 
or  sweetmeats,  called  "Medley"  is  made  with  wheat  in  it. 

Many  of  our  finest  fruit  stores  are  owned  by  Greeks,  Armenians,  or 
Syrians.  The  men  are  seldom  laborers;  ahnost  all  choose  commercial 
occupations,  usually  starting  with  a  push  cart  of  fruit,  frequently  bana- 
nas, and  gradually  working  up  a  trade,  buying  a  horse  and  wagon,  then 
establishing  a  small  store.  Others  are  waiters  in  restaurants  or  have 
shoe-blacking  stands.   Some  sell  antique  rugs,  and  dean  and  repair  them. 

In  the  majority  of  these  homes  the  men  return  for  the  mid-day  meal. 
There  are  comparatively  few  Eastern  women  over  here.  Often  an 
Easterner  and  his  wife  run  a  restaurant  and  board  a  number  of  men. 
Sometimes  a  bulletin  board  is  himg  in  these  places  upon  which  letters 
received  from  folks  at  home  are  posted  for  others  besides  the  recipient 
to  read.  Eating  at  these  restaurants  is  a  very  social  occasion;  the  food 
is  well  cooked,  although  the  service  lacks  some  of  the  conventionalities 
of  this  country. 

Because  of  the  indoor  occupations  of  these  people  their  incomes  are 
more  regular  than  the  incomes  of  those  who  are  laborers,  or  do  other 
seasonal  work. 

While  among  the  Syrians,  Armenians,  Greeks,  and  Turks,  we  usually 
find  the  children  well  nourished,  with  plenty  of  growth  material  and  min- 
eral matter  in  their  diets,  milk  is  not  given  in  as  large  quantities  as  it 
should  be  and  fruit  is  also  found  by  them  to  be  expensive.  The  under- 
nourished children  especially  need  more  nulk  in  their  diet. 


1920]  THE  POOD  OP  THE  lUMIGSANT  523 

A  Greek  boy  was  a  patient  at  a  dispensary  and  referred  to  a  Food 
Clinic  for  a  constipation  diet.  When  questioned  about  the  delicious 
orange  compote  the  Greeks  usually  have  two  or  three  times  a  day  on 
their  tables  in  Greece,  he  said,  "O  yes  I  My  mother  makes  it  but  she 
keeps  it  for  company.  When  she  is  out  I  crawl  in  the  window  and  eat 
some  on  my  bread.    Oranges  cost  a  lot  for  boys,  my  mother  says." 

Fruits  prescribed  may  be  dried  ones  as  well  as  fresh,  but  should  be 
given  as  compotes,  not  '^  stewed"  fruits. 

The  green  leaved  vegetables  are  not  used  in  cream  soups,  but  are 
cooked  in  stock.  This  must  be  remembered  in  planning  diets  for  chil-r 
dren.  When  vegetables  are  prescribed,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the 
Oriental  cooks  them  with  olive  oil.  They  are  known  as  basdis  and  are 
used  extensively  with  meat,  or  cooked  in  olive  oil,  or  both.  One  of  the 
best  dishes  for  a  patient  with  constipation  is  cabbage  with  meat — 
Lohano  Basidi-Kelom. 

Nephritis  seems  ahnost  unknown  among  these  people.  A  patient 
may  have  any  of  their  cereal  dishes  made  of  wheat  or  rice  and  any  of 
their  green  vegetables  cooked  in  olive  oil. 

Because  of  the  large  amount  of  rice  and  wheat  used  in  the  preparation 
of  the  Oriental  foods  it  is  difficult  to  give  a  diet  list  for  a  diabetic  patient. 
In  prescribing  noncarbohydrate  vegetables  cooked  in  olive  oil,  and  lamb 
and  chicken  cooked  on  skewers,  one  is  able  to  feel  sure  no  rice  or  wheat 
is  used. 

The  tuberculosis  patient  needs  milk  added  to  the  diet  to  be  used 
instead  of  black  coffee. 

Tzouvatzegh,  the  Armenian  egg  milk  toast,  is  very  good.  Another 
common  milk  dish  is  bread  buttered  and  served  with  a  pitcher  of  hot 
milk.    This  is  eaten  as  we  eat  bread  and  milk. 

The  national  dish  of  the  Turks  is  ''Pilaf,"  of  the  Armenians  ''Herissa." 
Both  are  good  foods  for  the  children. 

The  Near-East's  knowledge  of  food  combinations  and  possibilities 
seems  greater  than  that  of  any  other  peoples.  It  is  generally  supposed 
that  their  cookery  is  spicy,  but  it  will  be  noticed,  in  looking  over  their 
redpes,  that  the  cooking  is  rich  because  of  the  number  of  ingredients 
and  not  because  of  the  use  of  condiments. 


524  THE  jousNAL  OP  HdCE  ECONOMICS  [December 

TEACHING  AMERICAN  TABLE  SERVICE  TO  AMERICANS 

S.  DEBORAH  HAINES 
Professor  of  Foods  and  Cookery,  Oklakoma  CoUegefor  Womm 

Some  phases  of  home  economics  teaching  have  not  been  thoroughly 
Americanized.  Meal  serving  has  been  taught  in  the  past  using  very 
largely  the  English  and  Russian  service,  such  as  are  in  vogue  in  the  best 
hotels  in  those  coimtries,  as  the  pattern.  There  the  servant  plays  an 
important  rdle.  Too  little  time  has  been  spent  upon  teaching  home 
table  service  where  there  is  no  attendant.  Such  service  is  used  in  many 
of  the  best  homes  of  our  country.  Let  us  call  it  by  its  right  name — 
American  Table  Service. 

The  domestic  service  problem  has  a  distinct  bearing  upon  the  form  of 
table  service  used  in  the  American  home  today.  Since  eighty  to  ninety- 
five  per  cent  of  our  homes  today  have  no  outside  help,  it  is  pertinent  to 
ask  if  home  economics  teachers  should  hold  up,  as  ideal,  the  home  having 
one  or  more  household  employees.  In  teaching  foreign  service  chiefly 
we  are  consciously  or  unconsciously  doing  so.  The  pecuniary  and  ethi- 
cal gains  from  having  no  employee  in  the  home,  though  many,  need  not 
be  discussed.  The  outstanding  fact  is  that  the  great  majority  of  families 
either  do  not  want  or  cannot  get  such  assistance.  The  practice  house,  as 
it  is  being  conducted  in  so  many  schools  throughout  the  United  States, 
is  meeting  this  condition  in  a  practical  way.  Here,  among  many  other 
things,  the  students  are  preparing  and  serving  meals,  under  conditions 
quite  similar  to  those  in  their  own  homes.  Is  this  not  a  worthy  ideal  to 
hold  before  students?  As  a  general  educational  policy,  it  is  agreed  that 
learning  mxist  be  based  upon  the  processes  which  will  function  in  the 
student's  life  now  and  which  connect  with  the  situation  in  which  the 
student  has  been  and  will  be  living.  It  follows  that,  although  it  is  proper 
for  students  to  have  an  understanding  of  foreign  table  service,  it  is  more 
important  to  understand  how  to  prepare  and  serve  a  meal  oneself,  and  at 
the  same  time  play  the  part  of  hostess  at  the  table. 

What  is  the  teacher's  part  in  this  kind  of  a  plan?  When  she  taught 
foreign  service,  she  usually  gave  rules  for  the  particular  service  used; 
she  may  have  ordered  the  supplies  and  announced  the  menu  to  be 
served.  Sometimes  instead  of  simplifying  the  meal  by  lessening  the 
number  of  dishes  served,  she  tried  to  multiply  them  in  order  to  have 
enough  work  to  keep  the  entire  class  busy.    In  teaching  American  table 


1920]  TEACHING  AMESICAN  TABLE  SERVICE  525 

service  she  will  divide  the  class  into  groups  of  not  more  than  eight,  so 
that  conditions  will  be  more  like  those  of  a  family.  There  will  be  plenty 
of  duties  to  keep  all  occupied,  since  the  time  is  proportionately  shorter 
for  a  large  group.  When  several  groups  are  working  in  the  same  labo- 
ratory, each  group  preparing  a  meal,  a  comparison  of  results  is  helpftd. 

As  teachers  of  home  economics,  we  too  often  think  that  the  student 
will  acquire  the  easy  way  of  doing  things  well  after  finishing  school,  and 
we  spend  our  time  teaching  the  difficult  way  of  doing  elaborate  and  often 
unnecessary  things.  What  practical  suggestions  or  general  principles 
should  the  teacher  give  to  the  cookery  class  that  will  help  the  students 
meet  actual  home  problems?    A  partial  outline  follows: 

Menu  making.  The  number  of  different  kinds  of  food  shotdd  be  fewer 
than  are  often  served,  and  the  one-dish  meal  (nevertheless  a  balanced 
ration)  should  be  more  studied  and  used. 

Frequently  two  or  three  green  vegetables  are  served  at  the  same  time. 
This  robs  the  following  meals  of  variety  and  makes  extra  work.  An 
ertra  serving  of  the  same  dish  gives  equally  good  results.  The  same, 
in  general,  is  true  of  starchy  foods. 

The  nutritional  requirements,  and  not  the  individual  eccentricities, 
should  be  studied. 

The  number  of  courses  served  should  be  smaller,  usually  not  more 
than  two. 

Convenience  in  the  home.  Houses  shotdd  be  planned  so  that  meals 
may  be  served  near  the  place  in  which  they  are  prepared.  The  break- 
fast room  with  its  printed  doilies  has  come  to  stay  and  is  rightly  used 
for  other  meals  besides  breakfast. 

The  wheeled  tray  helps  when  serving  must  be  done  less  conveniently 
to  the  kitchen.  It  is  also  a  convenience  in  changing  plates.  Soup  dishes 
may  be  removed  to  the  tray  before  the  second  course. 

Waiting  upon  the  table.  A  large  amount  of  waiting  upon  the  table 
may  be  eliminated  by  forethought  in  laying  the  table,  and  in  planning 
the  menu.  Whatever  is  needed  should  be  provided  as  quietly  and  as 
inconspicuously  as  possible. 

Hospitality.  The  feeling  of  mutual  responsibility  in  the  family  group 
for  the  success  of  the  meal  is  one  of  the  tests  of  an  ideal  family.  This 
feeling  is  the  foundation  upon  which  American  table  service  fails  or 
rises  to  its  perfection.  Hospitality  is  the  natural  outgrowth  of  sharing 
family  responsibility.  Greater  simplicity  when  entertaining  will  make 
it  possible  to  have  guests  more  frequently. 


526  THE  jouitNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

What  should  be  the  duties  of  the  class  if  they  are  studying  American 
table  service?  When  studying  English  or  Russian  service,  the  class  was 
taught  how  to  place  and  remove  dishes;  emphasis  was  upon  serving.  In 
American  service,  the  emphasis  shifts  to  good  management  which,  in  the 
last  degree,  means  the  minimum  amount  of  waiting  upon  the  table, 
because  the  imity  of  the  group  is  preserved  when  there  is  little  interrup- 
tion. What  is  to  be  prepared,  how  it  is  to  be  served,  and  how  much 
it  will  cost,  are  the  perplexing  questions  which  sometimes  kept  the 
teacher  awake  at  night,  prior  to  lessons  on  meal  service  Russian  or 
English  style.  When  teaching  American  service  the  class  does  the 
planning  instead  of  the  teacher,  for,  after  all,  is  not  the  planning  the  real 
problem?  The  class  are  told  how  much  they  may  spend  upon  a  given 
meal.  After  consulting  the  supplies  on  hand,  they  make  out  their  mar- 
ket order  and  send  a  committee  marketing  if  necessary.  They  prepare 
as  well  as  serve  the  meal  and  they  grade  their  work. 

The  following  tentative  plan  has  been  found  helpful  in  judging 
results,  letting  the  individual  class  decide  upon  the  detail  of  percentages 
awarded : 

A.  Food — 40  per  cent. 

Was  the  food  attractive?    In  taste?    In  seasoning?    * 

Was  the  food  ready  to  serve  at  the  appointed  time? 

Was  the  food  served  at  its  best? 

Were  there  few  enough  dishes  so  that  one  person  could  prepare 
them  for  a  regular  meal? 

How  long  a  time  was  involved  in  the  total  preparation? 

Were  the  phjrsical  needs  of  different  members  of  the  group  con- 
sidered? 

What  was  the  total  cost? 

B.  Service — 25  per  cent 

Was  the  table  attractive? 

Was  anything  forgotten  that  should  have  been  placed  upon  the 

table? 
Did  all  the  members  of  the  group  contribute  to  the  success  of  the 

meal? 
Was  the  meal  served  with  dispatch  yet  without  hurry? 

C.  Atmosphere  and  hospitality — ^20  per  cent 

Was  happiness  evident? 

Was  the  meal  eaten  in  a  proper  manner?  Was  there  table 
etiquette?    Poise?    Unhurried  eating?    Real  conversation? 


1920J  PUBUaXY  WORK  OF  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  527 

Were  the  needs  of  the  guests  and  others  foreseen  and  supplied 
by  members  of  the  group? 
D.  Final  disposition — 15  per  cent 

How  long  did  it  take  to  dean  and  put  equipment  in  order? 
What  and  how  much  was  wasted? 
What  duties  were  neglected? 
Since  it  is  our  aim  to  train  girls  to  be  good  managers  in  the  future, 
should  we  not  use  the  opportunity  to  give  practical  ejqperience  in  man- 
agement now?    When  this  type  of  table  service  is  taught,  there  will  be 
more  time  to  study  nutritional  requirements.    Laying  the  covers  and 
placing  the  food  on  the  table  will  be  done  with  equal  nicety.    And  hos- 
pitality, the  glory  of  America,  will  grow,  because  the  homemakers  under- 
stand ordering  the  day's  work. 


THE  PUBLICITY  WORK  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF 
AGRICULTURE  IN  RELATION  TO  HOME 

ECONOMICS* 

HARLAN  SMITH 
In  Charge  of  Informatipn,  Untied  States  Department  of  Agrictilime 

I  take  it  that  the  thing  you  are  most  interested  in  tonight,  the  thing 
you  came  to  this  session  to  get,  is  some  practical  working  knowledge 
of  how  you  can  better  carry  out  your  publicity  obligation  to  the  people 
whom  you  serve.  And  it  is  an  obligation.  I  wonder  if  you  feel  that  way 
about  it.  I  wonder  if  you  fed  that  your  work  is  finished  after  you  have 
developed  some  new  results  of  research  in  home  econondcs,  or  after  you 
have  gathered  information  about  better  household  practices  in  a  survey, 
say.  I  wonder  if  you  feel  that  there  is  nothing  more  for  you  to  do  after 
you  kave  written  a  report  of  your  work  in  a  letter  or  in  a  bulletin.  Real 
publicity  about  the  work  you  are  doing  begins  just  about  where  you 
think  your  work  is  ended.  The  bulletin  or  report  does  not  dismiss  the 
publicity  obligation.  It  forms  a  part  of  the  basis  for  publicity.  That 
is  all. 

^  Presented  at  the  Thirteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation, Colorado  Springs,  June,  1920. 


528  THE  jousNAL  OF  HOiCE  ECONOMICS  [December 

How  many  people  have  an  opportunity  to  read  the  bulletins  you  pub- 
lish? The  number  of  copies  printed  in  the  initial  editions  of  Farmers' 
Bulletins  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  30,000.  Suppose  there  is 
a  bulletin  on  some  home  economics  subject  and  that  every  one  of  the 
30,000  copies  is  well  placed  in  the  hands  of  some  woman  who  can  use  it. 
What  are  30,000  copies  among  25,000,000  women?  That  means  one 
copy  for  every  800  women.  I  presume  the  editions  of  your  state  bulle- 
tins are  larger  in  comparison,  but  you  can  see  how  inadequately  the  field 
is  covered,  even  assmning  that  every  woman  who  gets  a  bulletin  reads  it. 
And  I  think  that  is  assmning  a  good  deal,  judging  from  the  appearance 
and  contents  of  some  of  the  bulletins  on  home  economics  that  come  to 
my  desk. 

You  have  heard  it  said  many  times  before,  perhaps,  but  I  say  it  again, 
that  most  of  the  bulletins  written  for  popular  consumption  shoot  above 
the  heads  of  eighty  per  cent  of  the  people  for  whom  they  are  intended. 
I  wonder  why  it  is  that  when  most  of  you  sit  down  to  write  a  bulletin 
you  forget  all  about  your  popular  audience — ^your  readers.  The  next 
time  you  try  it  put  an  imaginary  group  of  every-day  women  out  in  front 
of  you  and  write  as  if  you  were  talking  to  them,  as  if  you  were  giving  a 
demonstration  to  them.  I  have  seen  few  bulletins  in  as  simple  language 
as  most  of  you  use  in  talking  to  groups  of  women,  and  yet  the  bulletin 
language  should  be  simpler  because  it  lacks  the  advantages  of  personal 
expression  and  accent. 

Not  long  ago  a  manuscript  for  a  Farmers'  Bulletin  came  in  to  the  edi- 
torial office  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  from  one  of  the  bureaus. 
It  had  been  passed  by  the  bureau  editor  and  the  bureau  chief  as  a  fit 
publication  for  farmers.  The  Department  editor  could  not  understand 
much  of  it  so  he  went  to  the  writer  of  the  bulletin  to  find  out  how  it 
happened.  He  wanted  to  find  out  through  what  mental  processes  the 
author  traveled  in  divesting  himself  of  all  the  things  the  editor  found  in 
the  manuscript.  He  said  to  the  author:  "You  wrote  this  for  farmers?'* 
The  author  replied:  "Certainly,  that  is  a  Farmers'  Bulletin,  it  says  so 
on  the  manuscript."  "I  know  it  was  writtea  for  farmers,"  the  editor 
said,  "but  it  doesn't  seem  to  have  been  written  to  farmers.  I  don't 
think  you  would  write  any  of  these  things  in  a  letter  to  a  farmer  or  that 
you  would  say  them  to  a  farmer  in  conversation.  I  wonder  if  you 
wouldn't  tell  me  frankly  whom  you  had  in  mind,  whom  you  thought 
about  while  you  were  writing  it."  And  the  author  replied:  "Well,  to 
tell  the  truth  about  it,  I  had  in  mind  Richard  T.  Ely  and  Frank  W. 


1920]        puBUcrry  work  of  department  op  agriculture  529 

Taussig" — and  he  named  several  other  economists.  He  saw  economists 
looking  over  his  shoulder  instead  of  farmers. 

I  realize  the  great  work  that  is  being  done  to  carry  your  results  and 
good  practices  to  housewives  through  the  home  demonstration  forces 
and  I  am  not  belittling  the  value  of  bulletins.  But  the  press  and  other 
publicity  channels  offer  such  bigger  opportunities  for  reaching  more 
people  that  I  hope  you  will  give  more  attention  to  the  possibilities  that 
lie  there.  For  instance,  if  we  send  out  a  story,  based  on  a  Farmers' 
Bulletin  which  has  an  initial  distribution  of  30,000  copies,  in  our  Special 
Information  Service,  we  get  a  circulation  of  approximately  15,000,000 
readers.  And  that  is  only  one  of  the  channels  in  which  we  could  put 
the  story. 

Your  obligation,  then,  I  think,  is  to  work  intimately  with  the  people 
who  can  help  you  take  advantage  of  the  assistance  of  the  press — ^the 
people  who  are  handling  publicity  in  the  various  institutions  where  you 
work.  Most  of  the  states  have  such  publicity  offices.  Where  they  are 
not  available  you  may  then  consider  how  you  can  learn  to  do  some  of 
the  work  yourselves.  But  I  hope  you  will  work  closely  and  sympa- 
thetically with  these  offices  established  for  the  piupose.  Don't  get  the 
notion  that  people  doing  publicity  work  are  queer.  You  may  yourself 
be  queer  to  them.  It  is  very  likely  that  they  know  their  business  or  they 
wouldn't  stay  on  the  job  very  long.  And  that  business  is  to  get  stuff 
printed  in  newspapers,  among  other  things.  It  is  very  likely  that  these 
people  know  more  about  that  business  than  you  do;  that  they  know  what 
newspapers  want  and  that  if  you  want  to  use  the  newspaper  as  a  means  of 
communication  with  people  you  must  give  the  editors  what  they  want, 
not  what  you  think  they  ought  to  have.  If  you  give  them  what  they 
want,  it  will  be  printed  in  their  pages.  If  you  give  them  what  you  think 
they  ought  to  have,  it  is  likely  to  get  nowhere  except  in  the  waste  basket. 

Of  course,  if  you  have  not  the  help  of  a  publicity  worker,  then  you 
may  well  consider  how  you  can  train  yourself  to  do  some  of  this  work 
yourself.  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you  that  anybody  can  leain  to  write 
successfully  for  the  newspapers.  In  the  first  place  I  don't  believe  it  is 
true  and  if  I  did  I  would  not  be  likely  to  say  so  in  this  public  way  because 
it  would  be  unprofessional.  There  are  a  lot  of  us  that  have  to  make  our 
living  at  this  business.    And  the  competition  is  already  keen. 

But  I  am  quite  willing  to  admit  that  there  are  a  lot  of  people  who, 
with  a  little  training,  can  write  copy  that  is  acceptable  to  newspapers 
and  thereby  increase  the  effectiveness  of  their  work.    I  know  of  no  bet- 


530  THE  jouBNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

ter  way  in  which  people  in  the  work  you  are  doing  can  so  broaden  their 
field  of  usefulness  and  extend  their  services  than  by  preparing  them- 
selves, at  the  expense  of  a  little  effort,  to  talk  directly  to  the  people 
they  serve,  through  the  press. 

I  want  to  tell  you  now  about  the  press  services  we  are  carr3dng  on 
through  the  Office  of  Information  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
The  Office  of  Information,  first  of  all,  is  a  service  bureau  to  the  press. 
It  is  the  point  of  contact  between  the  Department  of  Agriculture  and 
agricultural  and  trade  journals,  newspapers,  magazines,  the  press  asso- 
ciations, Washington  correspondents,  and  other  writers.  All  press  mate- 
rial about  the  work  of  the  Department  dears  through  the  Office  of  Infor- 
mation. A  number  of  regular  informational  services  to  the  press  are 
issued,  but  the  office  also  helps  outside  writers  to  develop  stories  about  the 
Department's  work;  it  searches  the  Department  for  photographs,  maps, 
and  charts  to  meet  particular  needs;  and  it  obtains  on  request  fixnn 
editors  special  articles  from  the  Department's  investigators  and  scien- 
tists, so  far  as  facilities  permit  the  writing  of  them. 

The  regular  informational  services  of  the  Department  are  as  follows: 

Weekly  News  Letter.  This  journal,  the  official  publication  of  the  De- 
partment, serves  a  two-fold  purpose.  It  is  a  news  service  in  that  it 
carries  official  statements  by  the  Secretary  and  by  the  various  bureaus 
of  the  Department,  and  stories  reporting  the  progress  and  results  of 
Department  investigations.  It  is  a  house  organ  for  the  Department's 
large  staff  of  employees  and  official  cooperators.  It  strives  to  keep  them 
informed  of  new  work  begun,  the  progress  of  various  campaigns,  and  to 
present  ideas  that  will  help  them  in  their  work.  It  is  our  purpose  to 
print  in  the  Weekly  News  Letter  only  such  matter  as  is  of  wide  interest 
and  while  we  try  to  prepare  most  of  the  items  in  a  form  suitable  for  pub- 
lication, it  is  realized  that  the  chief  value  to  editors  of  certain  articles  is 
to  present  the  Department's  views  on  various  subjects  and  to  provide 
information  for  such  use  as  the  editor  sees  fit  to  make  of  it.  Frequently 
we  carry  special  departments  on  the  work  of  the  Department  of  interest 
to  women  and  in  support  of  the  bojrs'  and  girls'  club  work.  We  are 
always  very  glad  to  give  space  to  tell  about  experiences  of  communities 
or  individuals  whose  methods  could  be  employed  elsewhere. 

The  Weekly  News  Letter  is  sent  free  only  to  employees,  official  coop- 
erators, and  the  press.  It  can  be  obtained,  however,  from  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Documents,  Government  Printing  Office,  at  the  subscription 
rate  of  50  cents  a  year.    Its  total  circulation  is  142,000. 


1920]  PUBLICITY  WORK  OP  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE  531 

Special  InformaUan  Service.  This  is  an  illustrated  weekly  syndicate 
of  eight  colimms  for  daily  newspapers.  It  is  issued  as  a  proof  sheet 
several  days  in  advance  of  its  release,  and  it  is  made  up  of  four  depart- 
ments of  two  columns  each,  as  follows:  ''Growing  Food  on  the  Farm, 
In  the  Yard;"  "Agriculture's  Other  Half— Marketing;"  "A  Bird  in  the 
Hand"  (poultry);  and  "The  Housewife  and  Her  Business."  Cuts, 
mats,  and  photographic  prints  of  the  illustrations  were  lent  for  the  use 
of  newspapers  until  a  year  ago,  when  reduced  funds  made  it  necessary 
to  discontinue  the  cut  and  mat  service.  Only  photographic  prin^  of  the 
illustrations  are  available  now.  This  service  is  sent  to  3200  daily  and 
weekly  newspapers  that  have  asked  to  receive  it. 

Food  and  Farming  Weekly.  This  is  a  press  clipping  sheet  released  every 
Monday.  It  carries  eight  to  twelve  short  stories  of  results  and  progress 
of  the  Department's  work,  including  results  of  investigations  or  research 
bearing  on  women's  problems.  It  is  a  running  account  week  by  week 
of  what  the  Department  of  Agriculture  is  doing.  This  service  attempts 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  editors  for  brevity,  telling  its  stories  in  the 
fewest  words  possible.  It  is  sent  to  5200  publications  of  all  classes  that 
have  requested  it. 

Home-Garden  and  Canning-Drying  Series.  To  stimulate  home  gar- 
dening and  home  preserving  of  foods,  seasonal  articles  on  these  subjects 
are  issued  as  a  series  to  newspapers.  They  are  made  up  of  short  "how* 
to-do-it"  items  and  stories  of  successful  experiences  that  contain  helpful 
ideas.  Until  this  year,  cuts,  mats,  and  photographic  prints  of  the  illus- 
trations used  in  the  service  have  been  furnished  to  newspapers,  and  the 
articles  grouped  on  printed  proof  sheets  in  suggested  layouts  with  illus- 
trations. Because  of  a  reduction  in  our  printing  fimds,  no  illustrations 
could  be  used  in  these  services  this  year,  and  they  are  being  issued  in 
mimeograph  form.  Four  himdred  daily  newspapers  asked  for  the 
sefvice  this  year.  Last  year,  when  cuts  and  mats  were  lent,  1241 
newspapers  asked  for  it. 

Plate  Service.  One  of  the  ways  in  which  the  office  makes  contact  with 
the  weekly  and  small  daily  newspapers  in  the  country  is  through  the 
plate  and  readyprint  service  of  the  Western  Newspaper  Union.  Twenty 
to  twenty-five  columns  of  matter  with  illustrations  are  furnished  to  this 
concern  weekly.  In  1918  more  than  62,000  columns  of  agricultiural 
material,  practically  all  of  it  furnished  by  this  Department,  were  dis- 
tributed by  the  Western  Newspaper  Union.  The  Department's  part  in 
this  form  of  distribution  is  only  in  furnishing  the  material.  The  plate 
and  readyprint  matter  is  sold  at  a  nominal  price. 


532  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

Mimeograph  Service.  News  matter  requiring  immediate  distribution 
is  issued  in  numeograph  and  sent  generally  or  locally,  according  to  its 
applicability  and  interest.  By  this  means  the  office  supplies  its  "spot'' 
news  to  press  associations,  Washington  correspondents,  agricultural 
journals,  trade  journals,  and  newspapers. 

Special  Articles.  The  Department  is  glad  to  furnish  on  request  special 
articles  by  its  writers  or  specialists.  Obviously  it  can  not  offer  an  unlim- 
ited service  in  this  respect  because  men  and  women  in  scientific  and 
investigational  work  who  are  called  upon  for  articles  frequently  are  in  the 
field  or  are  engaged  upon  other  duties  requiring  their  full  time  for  the 
moment. 

Other  Activities.  Other  activities  of  the  Office  of  Information  include 
the  preparation  of  posters  and  circulars  for  use  in  support  of  the  various 
educational  campaigns  carried  on  by  the  Department. 

The  Office  of  Information  has  shown  the  value  of  conducting  publicity 
campaigns  in  the  field.  It  was  found  that  local  or  regional  campaigns 
in  which  the  Department  was  interested  in  many  cases  required  local  or 
regional  publicity.  The  office  sent  its  representatives  into  the  field  to 
meet  editors  personally  and  ''sell"  them  an  idea,  and  to  gather  first- 
hand information — ^local  interest  stories  and  stories  of  individual  experi- 
ence having  ideas  worth  telling  elsewhere.  The  tick  eradication  cam- 
paign in  the  South  has  been  greatiy  aided  by  field  work  of  this  sort. 

The  Office  is  placing  an  increasing  amoimt  of  material  in  the  maga- 
zines. In  recent  months  special  articles  prepared  by  its  writers  have 
been  accepted  by  such  magazines  as  The  Saturday  Evening  Post,  Collier^ Sy 
The  Outlook,  The  Ladies'  Home  Journal,  Pictorial  Review,  The  DeUneaUor, 
Scientific  American,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Popular  Mechanics,  LH- 
erary  Digest,  and  Leslie's.  We  are  endeavoring  to  work  this  field  not 
only  in  preparing  articles  ourselves,  but  by  ''selling"  ideas  for  stories  to 
editors  and  inducing  them  to  assign  their  writers  to  the  subjects.  As  our 
force  of  writers  is  small,  and  the  time  which  they  have  for  preparing 
magazine  articles  is  limited,  we  are  making  greater  use  of  the  alternative 
method  of  inducing  editors  to  have  articles  written  by  staff  writers  with 
our  assistance. 

Distribution  of  Press  Material.  Every  effort  is  made  to  give  the  wisest 
possible  distribution  to  our  press  material  so  as  to  place  it  only  where 
it  will  be  of  interest  and  to  avoid  waste.  With  the  regular  informational 
services  of  the  office  the  policy  has  been  adopted  of  sending  tiiem  only 
to  publications  that  request  them.    The  only  exception  to  this  is  the 


1920]  PUBUaTY  WORK  OF  DEPARTHEMT  OF  AGRICULTURE  533 

Weekly  News  Letter,  which  is  sent  to  nearly  aU  publications.  We  have^ 
however,  queried  the  daily  newspapers  and  are  sending  the  News  Letter 
only  to  some  800  that  ordered  it.  Effort  is  made  through  form  letters  to 
induce  editors  to  ask  for  these  services,  but  no  publication  is  listed 
without  the  specific  request. 

I  think  you  should  know  something  about  the  printing  situation  in  the 
Department  of  Agriculture.  I  think  this  Association  should  know  why 
the  Department  is  not  able  to  meet  its  obligations  to  the  people  of 
this  coimtry  in  getting  out  information  though  millions  of  dollars  are 
spent  every  year  in  gathering  it.  I  think  you  ought  to  know  because  I 
believe  as  an  association  you  can  be  of  help  in  remedying  a  serious  situa- 
tion. The  fimds  for  printing  allowed  the  Department  are  wholly  inade- 
quate. The  Congress  appropriates  some  $30,000,000  a  year  for  the 
investigations  and  other  work  of  the  Department  and  then  does  not 
provide  sufficient  money  to  carry  the  residts  of  that  work  to  the  people. 
As  a  result,  the  Department  has  a  large  number  of  useful  manuscripts  on 
hand  which  it  cannot  publish.  One  reason  for  that  lies  in  the  fact  that 
the  printing  appropriation  is  handled  not  by  the  agricultural  conmiittees 
of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  which  pass  on  our  other  appropriations, 
but  by  a  subcommittee  of  the  House  Committee  on  Appropriations. 
That  committee,  of  course,  is  not  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  Depart- 
ment— ^its  chief  concern  is  to  keep  down  expenses.  The  printing  funds 
have  not  kept  pace  with  the  amount  of  money  appropriated  for  the  vari- 
ous other  activities  of  the  Department.  We  needed  $225,000  last  spring 
to  publish  the  manuscripts  then  on  hand,  but  economy  at  all  costs 
was  the  slogan  in  Washington  this  year  and  so  we  cut  down  our  esti- 
mates for  $225,000  to  $125,000,  planning  to  establish  a  priority  list 
among  the  267  of  our  manuscripts  then  awaiting  publication  at  the 
Government  Printing  Office.    We  got  $75,000  after  a  good  deal  of  effort. 

Some  of  these  267  manuscripts  represent  the  life  work  of  scientists. 
Some  of  them  cover  investigations  made  at  considerable  expenditure  of 
money.  Most  of  them  bear  on  subjects  about  which  there  is  immediate 
need  for  information.  Farmers  and  business  men  demand  the  results 
of  investigations.  They  know  the  studies  are  completed  and  they  won- 
der why  they  can  not  have  the  results.  They  blame  the  Department 
for  inefficiency.  The  situation  is  a  very  embarrassing  one  to  the  Depart- 
ment. The  Office  of  Home  Economics,  for  example,  has  manuscripts 
that  it  has  been  holding  for  ten  years  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
print.  Not  only  that,  but  we  have  not  money  enough  to  reprint  the  old 
bulletins  of  that  office  which  are  stiU  in  demand. 


534  THE  jouxNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

I  understand  that  this  Association  has  a  committee  on  legislation. 
I  hope  it  may  see  in  this  an  opportunity  to  help,  for  I  believe  it  could  be 
of  considerable  assistance.  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  how,  but  I  believe 
it  can  find  a  way.  Do  you  know  I  would  be  violating  the  law  if  I  should 
stand  here  and  urge  this  Association  or  any  individual  to  write  to  his 
Congressman  about  this  matter?  If  I  should  write  a  letter  on  official 
stationery  about  it,  if  I  should  do  anything  directly  or  indirectly  or  any 
other  way — the  law  is  ironclad — ^I  would  be  violating  the  law.  All  I 
can  do  is  to  give  you  the  information  about  the  situation. 

I  think  the  Association  would  be  interested  in  knowing  also — and 
many  of  you  do  know  already — how  severely  the  Department's  appro- 
priations for  other  activities  have  been  reduced  for  next  year.  In  the 
face  of  increased  costs  for  carrying  on  our  work,  and  in  the  face  of  the 
need  for  new  work  on  new  and  vital  problems  in  the  field  of  agriculture, 
we  will  have  $2,185,000  less  next  year  than  we  had  this  year.  You  will 
be  concerned  to  know  that  more  than  60  major  activities  of  the  Depart- 
ment must  be  abandoned  or  curtailed,  including  the  work  to  encourage 
the  keeping  of  family  milk  cows.  You  know  one  farm  in  six  in  the 
United  States  has  no  milk  cows. 

Appropriations  for  enforcing  the  Food  and  Drugs  Act  were  reduced  by 
$30,000,  and  yet  the  administration  of  the  act  is  mandatory.  Does  not 
this  interest  you?  It  means  that  adulterated  products,  both  imported 
and  home  manufactured,  will  find  easier  access  to  the  tables  of  the 
Nation.  Appropriations  for  investigating  the  handling  and  trans* 
portation  of  poultry,  eggs,  and  fish  were  reduced  by  $10,000.  Those 
are  only  a  few  of  the  items.  A  bare  summary  of  them  made  7  pages.  A 
Texas  editor  complained  when  he  received  a  copy  of  the  smnmary.  He 
said  it  was  too  long  and  we  ought  to  know  better  than  to  send  out  such 
lengthy  statements  when  paper  is  scarce  and  space  in  newspapers  at  a 
premium.  I  replied  that  the  responsibility  for  its  length  was  not  ours 
and  that  he  could  guess  whose  it  was.  I  told  him  we  were  giving  the 
information  in  the  briefest  form. 


1920]  STATUS  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  AMENDMENT  535 

THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  HOME  ECONOMICS 

AMENDMENT  TO  THE  VOCATIONAL 

EDUCATION  BILL 

LOUISE  STANLEY 
Chairman,  Legislative  Committee^  A.  H,  E,  A, 

Many  inquiries  have  come  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Legislative  Com« 
mittee  as  to  the  present  status  of  the  Home  Economics  Amendment  to 
the  Vocational  Education  Bill,  generally  known  as  the  Fess  Bill.^ 

This  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House  January  26,  1920,  by  Repre- 
sentative Fess,  chairman  of  the  Education  Committee,  was  read  twice 
and  referred  to  the  Education  Committee.  In  general,  the  members  of 
this  committee  seemed  favorable  to  this  bill,  but  the  calendar  was  so 
full  during  the  last  session  that  it  did  not  seem  wise  to  report  the  bill 
out  at  that  time.  For  this  reason  we  were  asked  last  spring  to  stop 
sending  letters  to  the  members  of  the  Education  Committee.  At  no 
time  has  the  legislative  chairman  asked  that  all  work  on  this  bill  be 
stopped,  but  urged  that,  during  the  recess,  pressure  be  brought  to  bear 
on  the  state  representatives  to  assure  a  favorable  vote  when  the  measure 
came  on  the  floor. 

The  Fess  Bill  was  proposed  at  the  request  of  the  American  Home 
Economics  Association.  It  is  our  bill,  the  first  bill  introduced  into  the 
National  Congress  at  our  request.  As  president  of  the  Association, 
Miss  White  was  untiring  in  her  efforts  for  this  bill  and  we  are  assured  of 
the  equally  hearty  support  of  Miss  Sweeny.  The  desirability  of  addi- 
tional appropriation  for  vocational  home  economics  has  been  endorsed 
by  the  following  national  organizations,  in  addition  to  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association:  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs, 
National  League  of  Women  Voters,  National  Society  for  Vocational  Edu- 
cation, National  Grange,  National  Coimdl  of  Administrative  Women, 
and  National  Congress  of  Mothers  and  Parent  Teachers'  Associations, 
besides  numerous  state  organizations. 

Especial  attention  should  be  called  to  the  work  of  the  League  of  Women 
Voters  for  this  bill.  Due  to  their  efforts,  clauses  advocating  addi- 
tional appropriations  for  vocational  home  economics  were  written  in 
three  of  the  party  platforms.    Unless  the  writer  is  mistaken,  this  is  the 

1  The  Feas  Bill  is  H.  R.  12078  and  is  a  bill  "amending  the  Smith-Hughes  act  by  adding 
sections  appropriating,  for  vocational  home  economics,  swns  equal  to  those  appropriated 
for  agriculture  and  trade  and  industrial  education  and  regulating  their  ezpendituxe." 


538 


THE   JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[December 


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STATUS  OF  HOME  ECQNOinCS  AUENDHENT 


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THE  JOITRNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[December 


The  following  table  indicates  the  funds  that  will  be  available  for  voca- 
tional home  economics  under  the  new  bills,  as  compared  with  the  amoimt 
available  under  the  Smith-Hughes  Act  as  it  now  stands: 


Amounts  available 


FISCAL  YBAK  SMDZNO 

UKDXE 

UNDXK 

JUMXiO 

SKXTK-HUOHIS  ACT 

THX  rxmroH  BiiL*t 

uin>n  TB  RM  BIU*t' 

1921 

$255,600 

1922 

305.000 

1200  010 

$500,000 

1923 

354.400 

350.000 

750.000 

1924 

403.800 

500.000 

1.000.000 

1925 

511.200 

650.000 

1.250.000 

1926 

610.000 

800.000 

1.500,000 

1927 

610.000 

950.000 

1.750.000 

1928 

610.000 

1.100.000 

2.000.000 

1929 

610.000 

1.250.000 

2.250,000 

1930 

610.000 

1.400.000 

2.500,000 

1931 

610,000 

1.550.000 

3.000.000 

1932 

610.000 

500,000 

3.000.000 

^ 


*  \^th  certain  additional  amounts  to  guarantee  the  minimum  for  each  state, 
t  Since  the  biU  was  not  passed  June  30,  1920,  the  first  appropriation  cannot  become 
available  before  1921-22;  on  this  account,  the  maximum  is  readied  in  1932  instead  of  1921. 

Now,  will  you  not  back  up  the  Association  and  do  your  part  to  help 
secure  the  passage  of  this  bill  as  soon  as  possible? 

First,  public  opinion  should  be  educated  in  regard  to  the  need  for  this 
bill.  You  can  do  this  through  personal  interviews,  newspaper  notices, 
and  discussions  before  groups,  particularly  in  the  Citizenship  Schools 
now  being  formed  by  the  League  of  Womcin  Voters. 

Second,  every  Representative  and  Senator  should  know  that  his 
constituents  are  back  of  this  bill.  Tell  them  so  and  write  them  so,  and 
have  others  do  the  same.  Have  the  organizations  in  your  community 
pass  resolutions  endorsing  the  bill  and  send  copies  to  your  Congressmen. 

Third,  we  want  to  know  where  every  man  in  the  National  Congress 
stands  on  this  bill.  Put  this  question  squarely  up  to  your  representa- 
tives and  let  the  women  of  your  district  know  how  they  stand  on  it. 

Fourth,  if  there  is  any  question  in  your  mind  in  regard  to  this  bill,  or 
if  any  question  is  raised  which  you  cannot  answer,  will  you  not  write  to 
the  president  of  the  American  Home  Economics  Association,  or  to  me 
as  Chairman  of  the  Legislative  Committee. 

This  is  the  psychological  time  to  pass  the  bill.  Get  in  touch  with 
your  State  Legislative  Chairman  and  see  where  you  can  best  help. 


FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

GENERAL  RULES  FOR  CHOOSING  OVEN  TEMPERATURES* 

MINNA  C.  DENTON 
Experimental  Kitchen^  Office  of  Home  Economics,  United  States  Department  of  Agrictdture 

It  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  no  one  method  of  baking  any 
given  product  which  can  be  expected  to  prove  invariably  superior  to 
all  others;  there  are  usually  at  least  two  wajrs  of  baking  it,  if  not  more. 
Popovers,  for  instance,  are  often  put  into  a  hot  oven  (about  400°  to 
450°  F.)  which  is  then  reduced  in  temperature  about  50°,  or  perhaps 
much  more;  yet  equally  delicious  popovers  can  be  made  by  putting  them 
into  a  cold  oven  and  heating  them  gradually  to  a  moderate  temperature, 
though  in  the  latter  case  an  hour  or  more  will  be  required  to  bake  them, 
instead  of  35  minutes  as  in  the  first  method.  Siinilarly,  bread  may  be 
allowed  to  rise  until  it  has  somewhat  more  than  doubled  its  bulk,  and 
then  be  put  into  a  hot  oven  (400°  F.  or  a  little  more),  and  the  temperature 
subsequently  much  reduced;  or  it  may  be  put  into  a  moderate  oven 
(350°  to  375°  F.),  before  it  has  risen  quite  so  much,  and  allowed  to  com- 
plete the  rising  process  in  the  oven,  while  the  oven  is  being  heated  up 
to  400°  or  a  little  higher,  after  which  the  temperature  is  reduced  to 
complete  the  baking  process.  Results  are  equally  good  in  either  case, 
if  the  procedure  has  been  properly  managed. 

Again,  the  results  of  the  baking  operation  are  not  exactly  the  same  in 
different  ovens  of  varying  sizes  and  construction,  even  though  the 
thermometer  may  record  the  same  temperature  in  every  case.  A  large 
or  heavy  oven  (coal  range  or  heavy  "fireless"  gas  range)  will  "roast" 
a  joint  or  bake  a  cake  or  loaf  of  bread  quite  as  well  at  a  temperature 
which  is  at  least  50°  F.  lower  than  that  used  when  the  same  work  is 
performed  in  a  smaller,  thinner  walled,  gas  range  oven  through  which 
a  blast  of  hot  air  is  rapidly  circulating. 

When  a  range  of  temperatures  is  suggested  as  being  suitable  for  baking 
any  given  product,  choose  the  temperatures  with  the  following  principles 
in  mind: 

^  Published  by  permission  of  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

541 


542  THE  jouBNAL  OB  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

1.  The  larger  sizes  of  loaves,  rolls,  muffins,  or  potatoes  usuaUy  require 
lower  temperatures  for  longer  periods  than  the  smaller  sizes  which  must 
have  higher  temperatures  and  shorter  periods,  other  things  being 
equal. 

2.  The  shape  of  the  loaf,  roll,  or  roast  is  also  important.  A  half 
pound  sponge  cake  or  angel  food  cake  baked  in  a  turk's-head  pan  (center 
tube)  presents  a  different  baking  problem  from  that  offered  by  the 
same  weight  of  cake  baked  as  an  ordinary  loaf. 

3.  The  composition  of  the  batter  or  dough  governs  the  baking  tempera* 
ture  to  a  large  extent.  A  loaf  cake  comparatively  high  in  flour,  baking 
powder,  and  liquid  and  comparatively  low  in  egg,  sugar,  and  fat  (i.e., 
a  "cheap"  cake)  requires  greater  care  and  a  more  gradually  applied 
heat  than  does  a  richer  cake;  it  should  therefore  be  put  into  a  cool  oven 
at  first,  with  very  gradually  rising  temperature  if  the  best  result  is  to 
be  obtained. 

4.  The  small  portable  gas  oven  (especially  if  uninsulated)  requires 
somewhat  higher  temperatures  in  order  to  secure  the  results  attained 
in  a  larger  oven  by  very  moderate  temperatures;  particularly  is  this 
difference  apparent  when  the  comparison  is  made  with  a  large  heavy 
"firdess"  or  electric  or  coal  range  oven,  which  has  very  little  ventilation 
or  none  at  all. 

Measuring  oven  temperatures.  If  the  oven  is  provided  with  a  glass 
door,  one  may  use  a  mounted  short  thennometer*  which  stands  in  the 
oven  and  is  read  through  the  glass  panel  without  opening  the  door. 

In  case  of  a  "fireless"  oven  or  other  oven  provided  with  heavy  door, 
it  is  not  very  convenient,  and  may  indeed  prove  disastrous,  to  open  the 
door  every  few  minutes  in  order  to  read  a  thennometer.  In  such  cases 
it  is  better  to  purchase  a  chemical  thermometer*  reading  to  600°F. 
(or  about  325^C.).  These  thermometers  have  long  stems  and  may  be 
inserted  into  a  cork  which  is  fitted  into  a  drilled  opening  through  the 
top  of  the  oven.  The  bulb  of  the  thermometer  should  be  near  the  center 
of  the  oven;  or  better  still,  as  near  as  possible  to  the  food  being  baked, 
yet  without  touching  any  object  whatever.    The  temperature  during 

*  Such  a  thennometer  may  be  puxchased  from  the  Taylor  Instrument  Company,  Roch- 
ester, New  York;  or  from  The  Cooper  Oven  Thermometer  Company,  Pequabudc,  Connecti- 
cut; or  from  many  hardware  dealers  who  cany  these  and  other  thennometers. 

*  Taylor  Instrument  Company,  Rochester,  New  York;  any  firm  selling  supplies  for  the 
use  of  chemical  and  physical  laboratories.  Many  hardware  dealers  cany  candy  thennom- 
eters, and  a  few  even  cany  oven  thennometers.  However,  the  ordinary  candy  thennom- 
eter does  not  read  higher  than  300**?.,  consequently  it  would  break  if  put  into  a  hot  oven. 


1920] 


RULES  POR  CHOOSING  OVEN  TEMFEHATURES 


543 


baking  is  read  on  the  stem  which  emerges  above  the  cork.    Any  hard- 
ware dealer  can  provide  a  man  to  drill  the  hole  and  fit  the  cork. 


TemptraH»re$  appropriate  for  baking  differefU  products 


KAMOX  01  TKHPnATDU  OVBE  WHICH  IT  HAT  BB  SAKXD 

Biscuits,  baking  powder 

Bxtad 

AOXTF.  to  SOffF. 

SSOI^F.  to  iSO'^F.    (Begin  k>w  and  raise  temperatuie  np- 
idly,  reducing  again;  or,  begin  high  and  reduce  sharply) 

30(fF,  to  400  ^.,  according  to  sixe.  Or,  put  a  six-egg 
cake  (turkVhead  pan)  into  4007.  oven;  when  it  begins 
to  brown,  turn  gas  out  for  5  to  10  minutes;  then  raise 
to  aJO'T.,  then  at  last  to  STO^'F.  (These  temperatures 
are  approximate  and  cannot  be  expected  to  fit  all  cases 
exactiy) 

375*F.  to  400*F. 

Cakes 
Angel  food 

Cmkm 

Cud  cakes 

300*7.  to  400*F. 

3707.  to  4007. 

Layer  cake 

3007.  to  4007.    (Begin  low,  raise  gradually) 

Loaf  cake 

2807.  to  3757.    (Bc^  low,  raise  tcmpeiature  veiy 
3007.  to  4007.    (See  angel  food) 

Sponffe  cake 

Custard 

2507.  to  3507.    (Or,  set  in  pan  of  hot  water,  and  use 

350*F.  to  4507.  oven  temperature) 
4007.  to  5007.,  then  3507.  to  2507.    (Sear  at  the 

Meat,  roasted 

Muffins 

highest  temperature  mentioned  or  else  in  heavy  kettle 
or  skillet  on  top  of  range;  reduce  sharply  and  finish  at 
a  lower  temperature) 
4007.  to  4507. 

Pastry  (no  fiUins ) 

450*F.  to  5507. 

Pies  (with  uncooked  filling) 

Popovezs 

4507.  to  4007.    (Put  into  hot  oven,  lower  when  it  begins 

to  color) 
4507.  to  3507. 

^tatoes 

4007.  to  5007.  (Or  at  lower  temperatures,  inrreasing 
the  time  according  to  the  reduction  in  temperature) 

3507.  to  4007.  (H  high  in  eggs  or  milk,  bake  like 
custard) 

4007.  to  4507. 

Puddings 

Rolls 

Sft^iflfJ^  , 

3507.  to  4007.    (See  custaid) 

544  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

IS  IT  THE  MANY  OR  THE  FEW  WHO  HAVE  CHANGED? 

So  many  times  during  the  last  year  we  have  been  told  the  story  of  extrava- 
gant  spending  that  it  is  pleasant  to  have  the  Savings  Division  of  the  Treasury 
give  us  this  more  cheerful  word.  It  has  taken  some  courage,  at  times,  to  refuse 
to  buy  because  too  much  has  been  charged  for  an  article,  but  if  this  refusal 
has  been  even  a  small  factor  in  lowering  prices  the  sacrifice  has  been  well 
worth  while. — ^The  Editor. 

No  fact  is  more  significant  at  this  time  than  the  changed  attitude  of 
the  American  consumer  in  the  purchase  of  the  everyday  needs  of  life. 
A  year  ago  the  public  was  bujring  everything  in  sight  regardless  of  the 
cost.  Most  of  us  were  so  influenced  by  the  price  mark  on  the  goods  that 
unless  the  price  was  high  we  looked  upon  the  article  with  suspicion,  and 
refused  to  take  it,  but  the  public  has  been  doing  some  thinking  lately, 
and  thinking  is  still  the  individual's  chief  weapon  of  economic  defense. 

Women  have  been  going  to  market  in  the  old-fashioned  way  with 
market  baskets  on  their  arms.  They  have  picked  up  the  cantaloupe, 
the  berries,  and  the  cuts  of  meat  and  looked  them  over.  If  the  quality 
and  the  price  were  not  satisfactory  they  refused  to  buy.  They  have 
gone  into  department  stores  in  a  similar  way.  If  they  found  the 
price  exhorbitant  and  the  quality  ordinary,  they  have  had  the  courage 
to  walk  out.  If  they  could  not  find  what  they  wanted  at  a  reasonable 
price  they  decided  to  forego  the  purchase  and  to  wait  until  the  price 
came  down. 

Women  have  been  figuring  out  how  much  they  are  justified  in  spending 
for  the  maintenance  of  the  home.  They  have  been  budgeting  their 
incomes  and  keeping  an  account  of  their  expenditures.  They  have  been 
studjring  the  value  of  foods  and  clothes,  realizing  that  the  greatest  busi- 
ness of  the  nation,  namely  the  purchase  of  food  and  clothing  and  other 
household  necessities,  must  be  run  on  the  same  business-like  principles 
as  a  conunercial  enterprise. 

In  the  face  of  an  awakened  public  conscience  the  price  of  conunodities 
must  be  justified  by  the  fundamental  economic  principles  which  should 
determine  prices.  The  producer  or  dealer  who  would  violate  these 
principles  and  profiteer  upon  the  people  cannot  continue  to  do  business 
with  the  American  public. 

The  essential  thing  now,  in  view  of  the  recent  tendency  to  reduce 
prices,  is  that  the  public  should  be  fair  both  with  themselves  and  with 


1920]  SCORE  CASD  TOR  FARM  DWELLINGS  545 

business.  If  people  rush  in  and  over-buy  because  goods  are  being  re- 
duced, or  if  they  expect  prices  to  be  reduced  below  the  point  of  normal 
profit  to  producers  and  dealers,  they  will  create  another  economic  con- 
dition as  unfortunate  as  the  one  from  which  we  are  just  emerging. 
While  we  are  protecting  our  private  pocketbooks  against  the  American 
tendency  to  extravagance  and  against  unscrupulous  profiteers  we  must 
not  lose  confidence  in  legitimate  business.  Business  must  be  supported 
in  order  to  live.    It  must  be  liberally  supported  in  order  to  be  healthy. 

The  American  public  has  in  its  efforts  to  reduce  prices  during  the  past 
few  months  shown  a  large  degree  of  economic  sanity.  It  is  important 
that  the  same  degree  of  sanity  be  practiced  now  in  this  new  condition 
which  the  reduction  of  prices  is  bringing  about. 


A  SCORE  CARD  FOR  FARM  DWELLINGS 

ALICE  POULTER 

Formerly  of  the  Division  of  Extension^  Kansas  Agricultural  College 

Women  in  rural  communities,  now  that  renewed  attention  is  given 
to  building  and  remodelling  farm  houses,  may  find  of  value  such  a 
means  of  judging  their  own  and  other  dwellings  as  is  given  by  the  use 
of  a  score  card.  Although  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  find  score  cards 
for  other  buildings,  score  cards  for  farm  dwellings  do  not  seem  to  exist. 
Perhaps  it  would  not  have  occurred  to  me  to  prepare  such  a  card  had 
not  the  need  arisen  in  connection  with  an  auto  tour  for  Kansas  farm 
girls,  undertaken  in  Montgomery  coimty.  The  tour  is  described  in 
The  Breeder* s  Gazette  by  "One  of  the  Tourists"  somewhat  as  follows: 

For  a  number  of  years  it  has  been  the  custom  in  many  places  for 
county  agricultural  agents  to  conduct  bo3r's  hikes,  in  which  a  group  of 
bo3rs,  accompanied  by  one  or  more  agricultural  authorities,  visited 
various  farms  to  observe  improved  methods  of  handling  different  farm 
problems.  The  agricultural  agent  of  Montgomery  county  in  Kansas, 
thinking  that  the  girls  of  the  county  deserved  as  much  consideration 
as  their  brothers,  planned  three  auto  tours  of  one  day  each  for  them, 
thus  giving  the  girls  an  opportimity  of  learning  something  of  the  con- 


546  THE  jousKAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

veniences  to  be  found  in  the  modem  homes  of  their  own  county,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  secure  a  broader  understanding  of  matters  relating 
to  the  home. 

Each  day's  trip  was  in  a  different  part  of  the  county,  and  each  group 
was  accompanied  by  the  county  agent  and  the  home  economics  specialist 
from  the  Division  of  Extension  of  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College. 
The  itinerary  of  each  day  included  a  visit  to  a  standard  rural  school, 
a  farm  where  good  beef  cattle  are  produced,  a  modem  dairy  farm,  a 
poultry  plant,  several  modem  homes,  and  other  points  of  general  interest. 
Each  girl  provided  her  own  dinner,  and  each  was  asked  to  take  with 
her  a  note-book  and  pencil,  and  to  make  a  brief  written  report  to  the 
county  agent,  describing  the  best  dairy,  the  best  sewage  disposal  plant, 
the  best  water  supply  system,  the  best  poultry  plant,  and  the  best  farm 
kitchen,  giving  the  reason  why  each  was  the  best,  and  a  description  of 
a  modem  rural  school. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  da/s  work  each  group  was  given  suggestions 
as  to  points  to  be  considered  when  studying  the  farm  house,  and  a  score 
card  was  devised  in  order  to  have  a  xmiform  basis  upon  which  to  work. 
The  housewife  was  asked  to  criticise  her  own  house,  giving  reasons  for 
her  criticism,  and  many  points  were  mentioned  which  the  girls  might 
otherwise  have  missed.  Discussion  with  the  user  often  has  more  force 
than  anything  teachers  may  say.  Special  attention  of  the  visitors  was 
called  to  devices  for  securing  a  convenient  water  supply,  and  disposing 
of  waste,  and  to  the  lighting  and  heating  facilities  in  many  of  the  homes. 

The  home  economics  specialist  answered  questions  relating  to  home 
management  and  home  sanitation,  and  explained  the  action  which  takes 
place  in  the  septic  tank,  the  points  to  be  considered  in  the  making  of 
good  butter,  the  value  of  the  tuberculin  test  in  the  dairy  herd,  and  other 
subjects  of  special  interest.  Others  who  accompanied  the  girls  gave 
talks  about  canning,  poultry  raising,  storing  meat  for  summer  use, 
favorite  home  conveniences,  and  various  topics  of  vital  interest  to  the 
young  people,  using  the  things  seen  on  the  trip  to  emphasize  and  illus- 
trate the  various  points.  The  county  agent  discussed  the  judging  of 
beef  and  dairy  animals,  calling  attention  to  the  location  of  the  different 
cuts  of  meat,  and  each  girl  was  asked  to  judge  a  group  of  dairy  cows. 

The  score  card  for  dwellings  calls  to  mind  the  following  paragraph 
from  the  life  of  Ellen  H.  Richards  by  Caroline  L.  Hunt: 

"In  the  summer  of  1908  I  was  visiting  at  her  house  when  she  received 
from  Professor  John  R.  Commons  an  advance  copy  of  his  Score  Card 
for  Houses,  with  a  request  that  she  criticise  it.    She  handed  it  to  me 


1920] 


SCORE  CARD  POR  PARM  DWELLINGS 


547 


and  asked  me  to  score  her  own  house;  and  having  made  the  necessary 
examination  and  measurements,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  handing  it  back 
to  her  with  a  perfect  score  marked  upon  it." 


A  scare  card  far  farm  dwdlings 


Location , 

Drainage 

Exposure 

Relation  to  other  buildings 

Construction 

Foundation 

Durability  of  material 

Suitability  of  form  and  weight  for  the  building 

Cellar 

Size  suited  to  use 

Depth 

Finish 

Roof 

Material 

Durability 

Inflammability 

Style 

Body  of  house 

Material 

Interior  construction,  wall  and  wood  finish 

Arrangement 

Relation  of  rooms  to  each  other 

Relation  of  rooms  to  outside  buildings 

Lighting   and   ventilation,   windows,  artificial  lighting, 

arrangement  of  same 

Water  supply  in  kitchen,  in  bath  room,  in  laundry 

Sewage  disposal 

Equipment 

Kitchen  (modem  conveniences) 

Bath  room 

Laundry 

Other  rooms 


2 
1 


2 
3 

1 
2 
2 


3 
2 


5 

5 

10 


5 
5 

10 

5 
5 

10 

5 

10 

5 


100 


20 


20 


30 


30 


100 


Note:  In  connection  with  ''relation  to  other  buildings''  under  "location,"  attention 
should  be  given  especially  to  the  poultry  and  dairy  buildings,  and  in  case  of  outdoor  toilet 
to  that  building  also,  keeping  in  mind  the  direction  of  prevailing  winds  and  the  comfort  of 
the  worker  as  well  as  economy  of  time.  This  also  enters  into  the  relation  of  rooms  to  outside 
buildings  under  "arrangement."  Under  "laundry  equipment''  consider  power,  heating 
facilities  for  water  and  irons,  disposal  of  waste  water,  provision  for  drying  clothes  in  bad 
weather. 


548  THE  jouitNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

EIGHT  HOUR  SERVICE 

At  a  Conference  on  Group  Living  held  at  Lake  Placid  in  May  it  was 
thought  worth  while  to  spend  one  afternoon  on  the  discussion  of  the 
eight  hour  service  for  households,  both  large  and  small. 

The  scarcity  of  supply  of  household  employees,  and  the  abnormal 
situation  induced  by  the  bidding  and  over  bidding  of  employees  ofifers 
sufficient  reason  for  considering  changes  in  the  system  of  household 
employment.  From  the  employees  point  of  view  the  reasons  for  the 
shrinking  supply  are  foimd  in  the  significant  lack  of  standards  of  working 
conditions  in  household  employment  as  compared  with  other  industries 
and  forms  of  business;  and  the  desire  for  freedom  from  restraint  imposed 
in  many  instances  in  resident  service.  The  opportunity  to  live  in  a 
home  of  one's  own  choosing  with  all  the  attending  social  compensations, 
regular  hours  of  employment  and  more  systematized  planning  of  work, 
and  the  opportunity  for  recreation  at  hours  corresponding  to  those  of 
friends  in  other  occupations  would  mean  a  change  in  attitude  toward 
domestic  work. 

One  of  the  many  experiments  tried  has  been  that  of  the  Employment 
Department  of  the  Central  Branch  of  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  in  New  York  City, 
which  has  experimented  for  the  last  year  or  more  in  placing  home  assist- 
ants, that  is  nonresident  workers,  oh  an  eight-hour  day  and  forty-four 
hour  week.  Regular  holidays  or  equivalent  time  free  with  full  pay  and 
paid  vacation  on  the  basis  of  a  minimum  of  two  weeks  for  a  year  of 
service  are  to  be  given  by  employers.  Any  work  may  be  required  except 
heavy  washing;  the  employee  lives,  sleeps,  and  eats  away  from  the  place 
of  employment  (or  when  necessary  carries  a  luncheon)  and  is  called  by 
her  last  name  and  title.  The  wages  are  on  a  sliding  scale,  not  falling 
below  the  current  minimum  wage  standard,  and  the  car  fare  is  paid 
by  the  employee. 

A  consulting  station  has  been  established  where  information  and 
assistance  may  be  obtained  by  housewives  who  are  considering  or  using 
eight  hour  service.  Charts,  schedules,  and  time  studies  compiled  by 
housewives  who  have  tested  them  and  proved  them  to  be  practical, 
are  available. 

Boston  and  Worcester,  Mass.,  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  Providence, 
R.  I,  are  experimenting  in  the  same  direction. 


1920]  A  LESSON  IN  COSTUHE  DESIGN  549 

A  LESSON  IN  COSTUME  DESIGN* 

The  Home  Economics  Class,  High  School,  BridgenUe,  Ddaware 

For  a  tall  thin  girl  dressed  in  a  tight  dress  with  long  lines  and  stripes: 
There  was  a  young  lady  from  Ljmn 
Who  was  so  unusually  thin, 
In  vertical  lines  she  resembled  the  pines, 
In  circular  lines  she  would  win. 

For  a  stout  short  girl  who  wears  ruffles : 

Now  here's  a  young  lady  from  Pratt 
Who's  inclined  to  be  rather  fat. 
Now  ruffles  are  found  to  make  her  look  round 
But  she's  never  thought  about  that. 

Illustrating  some  angles  at  which  hats  are  worn: 
I  am  pretty  but  not  very  wise, 
My  gown  by  itself  takes  the  prize. 
But  I  wear  my  chapeaux  right  over  my  nose, 
And  extinguish  my  fetching  bright  eyes. 

These  hats  that  are  worn  too  far  back. 

Rest  about  where  you'd  carry  a  pack. 

Now  wouldn't  you  love  just  to  give  them  a  shove. 

And  procure  them  the  style  that  they  lack. 

A  lesson  in  fitting  hat  crowns  to  the  head  size: 

Behold  my  hat  is  much  too  small 
Although  it's  just  the  rage  this  fall. 
On  some  folks  here,  'twould  look  quite  dear, 
But  me  it  does  not  suit  at  all. 

This  lady  is  pretty  and  trig. 

But  the  crown  of  her  hat  is  too  big. 

It  makes  her  look  small,  when  she  wants  to  look  tall, 

And  spoils  the  effect  of  her  rig. 

'  Given  before  the  Woman's  Club  of  Bridgeville,  DeL 


EDITORIAL 

The  Journal  of  Home  Economics  believes  it  has  the  honor  of  being 
practically  the  last  magazme  in  the  United  States  to  raise  its  price.  It 
fought  against  the  evil  day  as  long  as  possible,  but  increased  cost  of 
paper,  printing,  and  labor — ^you  know  the  tale — has  forced  it  to  yield. 
The  printer's  bill  constantly  grows  larger.  Even  the  cost  of  printing 
advertisements  has  come  dangerously  near  the  receipts  from  them. 
So  from  January  first  the  price  must  be  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  a 
year. 

The  Journal  has  ambitions.  It  wants  to  double  its  space,  to  triple 
its  advertising,  to  quadruple  its  number  of  subscribers,  and  to  multiply 
indefinitely  its  value.  It  presents  its  acknowledgments  to  those  who 
have  contributed  to  its  colimms,  to  the  many  who  have  sent  kind  letters 
of  appreciation,  perhaps  most  of  all  to  its  critics.  But  if  its  ambitions 
are  to  be  realized  it  must  have  still  more  help.  If  its  space  could  be 
doubled  there  would  be  fewer  complaints  that  one  or  more  interests 
are  not  adequately  represented.  One  letter  says  that  too  much  of  the 
JoxTRNAL  is  especially  for  teachers,  another  letter  that  there  is  not  enough 
for  teachers.  One  letter  asks  that  more  space  be  given  to  institution 
work,  another  wants  more  individual  research,  another  wishes  educa- 
tional material.  If  the  Journal  could  contain  one  hundred  pages  a 
month  it  would  be  much  more  possible  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  each 
individual  interest. 

Another  thing  is  necessary  to  satisfy  these  demands.  Material  repre- 
senting these  diflFerent  interests  must  be  sent  to  the  Journal.  Often 
the  criticism  that  comes  is  fundamentally  not  a  criticism  of  the  Journal 
but  of  home  economics  workers.  Institutional  workers  must  contribute 
institutional  material.  No  one  else  can  do  it.  Teachers  must  send  the 
material  most  useful  for  teachers.  There  are  surely  many  who  could 
give  most  valuable  help  who  simply  do  not  think  of  writing  for  the 
Journal. 

To  run  such  an  enlarged  Journal  would  take  more  money.  Unless 
the  Journal  can  be  endowed,  more  money  must  come  from  more 
advertising  and  more  subscribers.  It  would  be  comparatively  easy  to 
550 


1920]  THE  OPEN  F0RI71C  551 

get  more  advertising  if  we  had  more  subscribers.  More  advertising 
would  also  react  to  bring  more  subscribers^  particularly  if  the  advertising 
were  of  equipment  and  utensils  about  which  the  home  economics  workers 
may  not  readily  learn  otherwise. 

If  as  a  small  beginning  each  reader  of  the  JoxTimAL  will  endeavor  to 
get  at  least  one  new  subscriber  during  the  coming  year,  if  she  will  see 
how  she  can  contribute  to  the  value  of  the  JoxTimAL  by  sending  even 
a  question,  a  news  item,  or  a  letter  to  the  Open  Forum,  if  she  cannot 
contribute  an  article,  the  Journal  will  have  made  a  fair  start  toward 
greater  helpfulness  and  better  success. 

The  Journal  wishes  all  its  readers  a  Merry  Christmas  and  a  Happy 
New  Year — and  it  is  so  bold  as  to  ask  that  it  may  be  placed  on  the 
Christmas  list  of  each  one  to  receive  a  subscription,  a  contribution,  or 
even  a  letter. 

Home  Economics  Publicity.  The  attention  of  every  home  eco- 
nomics worker  should  be  especially  given  to  the  statement  in  Mr.  Harlan 
Smith's  article,  in  this  number,  in  regard  to  the  need  of  funds  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  for  printing  material  that  is  already  pre- 
pared. One  cannot  visit  the  Office  of  Home  Economics  without  being 
impressed  with  the  value  of  unpublished  charts  held  for  lack  of  money, 
with  the  bulletins  that  have  been  prepared  and  not  published,  with  the 
work  whose  recorded  results  are  inaccessible.  Much  helpful  material 
in  that  office  can  be  available  at  present  only  for  those  who  are  able  to 
visit  the  office  in  person. 

The  American  Home  Economics  Association  is  certainly  the  asso- 
ciation above  all  others  that  should  take  up  this  matter,  and  that  should 
see  that  in  this  next  administration,  that  will  undoubtedly  be  one  of 
economy,  a  true  economy  is  exercised,  not  the  wastefulness  of  making 
useless  a  large  amount  of  valuable  work  that  has  already  been  accom- 
plished and  that  should  be  made  usable  for  every  worker  in  the  field. 


THE  OPEN  FORXJM 

A  Household  Science  Honor  Society. — It  may  be  of  interest  to 
readers  of  the  Journal  to  know  that  a  local  honor  society  in  household 
science  has  been  in  existence  at  the  University  of  California  since  1915. 
This  society  is  called  Alpha  Nu,  and  elects  to  its  membership  seniors  in 
their  last  term  and  graduate  students  in  household  science.    Only  the 


552  THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS  [December 

scientific  phase  of  home  economics  is  thus  included.  This  division  fol- 
lows from  the  division  in  instruction  in  this  institution  into  the  two 
departments  of  household  science  and  household  art. 

The  Alpha  Nu  honor  society  has  as  its  chief  object  the  promotion  of 
interest  and  progress  in  all  scientific  fields  which  may  be  made  of  value 
to  the  household.  The  most  important  and  fully  developed  of  these 
fields  are  of  course  the  chemistry  of  food  and  nutrition,  physics  and  chem- 
stry  of  cooking,  bacteriology  of  food  preservation,  engineering  prob- 
lems of  lighting,  heating,  ventilation,  labor-saving  devices,  and  work 
routine. 

It  has  become  the  custom  of  the  Alpha  Nu  society  to  select  year  by 
year  some  topic  from  one  of  these  fields  for  detailed  discussion,  organi- 
zation, and  representation  in  written  form  to  the  members  and  to  others 
interested  in  these  matters.  Self-conducted  seminar  meetings  are  held 
fortnightly  throughout  the  year  for  this  purpose. 

The  first  problem  undertaken  was  that  of  the  so-called  ''household 
chemistry"  course  often  considered  a  valuable  part  of  the  high  school 
student's  training.  During  three  semesters  the  seminar  meetings  were 
devoted  to  the  preparation  of  a  syllabus  for  such  a  course,  to  consist  of 
one  term  of  general  introduction  in  the  principles  of  chemistry,  and  one 
term  of  applied  organic  or  domestic  chemistry.  This  syllabus  was  multi- 
graphed  and  distributed  in  the  spring  of  1917. 

The  second  problem  attacked  was  that  of  a  similar  syllabus  of  a  course 
in  household  science  for  the  high  school,  to  include  the  principles  of  food 
preparation,  dietetics,  and  home  management,  with  an  assumed  pre- 
requisite or  parallel  course  in  general  chemistry.  This  work  was  begun 
in  the  fall  of  1917,  and  completed  in  the  spring  of  1919  and  was  neces- 
sarily carried  on  by  a  number  of  different  groups.  This  syllabus  also 
has  been  multigraphed  and  distributed. 

The  society  is  now  engaged  in  the  similar  preparation  of  a  detailed 
outline  of  experiments  possible  for  use  in  a  high  school  course  in  dietetics. 

Open  meetings  are  occasionally  held  by  the  society,  and  a  semi-annual 
news  letter  is  circulated  among  its  members. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  know  whether  conditions  are  favorable  in 
any  other  institutions  for  a  similar  organization. 

Agnes  Fay  Morgan. 


BOOKS  AND  LITERATURE 


Household  ArUkmeik.    By  Caiheune  F. 

Ball  and  Miriam  £.  Wxsr.    Edited  by 

B.  R.  Andrews.    PhDa.:  J.  B.  Lq>piiioott 

Co.,  1920,  pp.  271.    $1.48. 

The  problemB  of  this  Household  Arith- 
metic have  been  selected  from  the  home 
economics  field,  and  the  contents  have  been 
based  on  the  family  budget.  Thus  the  sub- 
ject matter  falls  in  six  divisions. 

The  fizst  division  takes  up  budgets  and 
accounts,  both  peisonal  and  household.  The 
problems  are  good  live  problems  which  ought 
to  interest  any  giri  in  the  eighth  or  ninth 
gnuies.  This  division  of  the  book  should 
be  given  fint.  The  other  five  divisions  may 
be  taken  in  any  order  desired.  If  a  dass 
were  studying  foods  with  their  home  eco- 
nomics teacher,  the  fourth  division  on  foods 
mic^t  well  be  used  in  the  arithmetic 
dass. 

The  second  divisbn  deals  with  the  cost 
of  shelter,  bringing  up  the  discussbn  of  home 
ownership  versus  renting,  the  cost  of  repairs, 
with  many  practical  problems  in  plastering, 
painting,  and  flooring. 

The  third  division  is  on  cost  of  operating 
expenses.  Its  problems  concern  the  cost  of 
fuel,  how  to  read  a  gas  and  an  electric  meter 
and  compute  the  bill,  the  cost  of  up-keep  of 
furnishings,  and  practical  problems  on  the 
cost  of  service. 

The  division  on  clothing  starts  out  with 
planning  a  clothing  budget  for  the  different 
members  of  the  family,  with  problems  that 
should  appeal  to  the  average  girL  The 
conq>ari8on  of  homemade  versus  ready-made 
clothing,  as  to  the  cost  of  material  and  the 
time  required,  is  made.'  The  illustrations 
in  this  chapter  show  how  to  apply  patterns, 
how  to  cut  bias  strips  of  cloth,  and  the 
amount  of  bias  that  may  be  obtained  from 
different  widths  of  cloth. 


The  chapter  on  foods  gives  a  short  dis- 
cussion of  househi>ld  weights  and  measuresi 
tabulated  in  clear  condse  tables.  Some 
sinq>le  marketing  problems  bring  home  the 
actual  cost  of  foods,  not  only  on  a  calorie 
but  a  quantity  basis.  The  discussion  of 
fundamental  dietary  principles  is  brief  and 
to  the  point.  The  iriiole  of  this  chapter 
mic^t  well  be  used  by  any  high  school  dasa 
in  dietetics. 

The  last  chapter,  on  higher  life,  brings  in 
methods  of  business  life  about  which 
every  giri  should  know.  The  difWTiasion  of 
saving  and  investment  shows  how  rapidly 
interest  amimulatfs  on  small  deqpodts;  dif- 
ferent methods  of  savings  are  discussed,  such 
as  postal  savings,  savings  accounts,  stocks, 
bonds,  and  life  insurance,  with  a  statement 
as  to  what  life  insurance  means,  how  the 
policies  differ,  and  the  value  in  dollars  and 
cents  of  these  different  kinds  of  policies. 
Other  topics  indude  buying  a  home  as  sav- 
ing, how  money  may  be  borrowed  on  a 
home  and  on  notes,  and  some  practical  prob- 
lems in  improving  health  conditions.  This 
section  also  deals  with  higher  life  as  related 
to  recreation  and  education,  showing  how 
the  earning  capadty  of  a  girl  is  increased  by 
education.  It  shows  the  actual  cost  of 
equipment  for  such  sports  as  tennis,  and 
takes  up  problems  which  bring  home  to  the 
g^  what  simple,  healthful,  outdoor  recre- 
ations cost,  as  compared  with  recreation  of 
a  less  valuable  character. 

The  book  is  valuable  both  in  the  upper 
gnuies  and  b  the  high  school  Indeed  it 
was  woriced  out  experimentally  by  its  au- 
thors in  their  own  high  school  work.  Indi- 
vidual chapters  might  well  be  used  by  home 
economics  teachers  as  a  source  of  interesting 
problems  to  introduce  into  classes  in  food, 
clothing,  and  twanygffwgnt, 

FXANCXS  R.  ESLLY. 

553 


SS4 


THE  JOURNAL  OP  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[December 


MassackuseUs  Household  AccoutU  Book. 
Prepared  by  Latt&a  Giffosd,  Mass.  Agr. 
College,  Amherst,  3rd  ed.,  1919,  pp.  40. 

Budget  Planning  in  Social  Case  Work.  Re- 
port written  by  Emma  A.  Winslow,  Com- 
mittee on  Home  Economics,  The  Charity 
Organization  Society,  105  £.  22nd  Street, 
New  York  City,  1919,  pp.  31.    $0.15. 

Modern  Magic.  By  Cako  D.  Coombs. 
Boston:  Whitcomb  and  Barrows,  1920, 
pp.  60.    $0.50. 

Tlie  Massachusetts  book  presets  a  very 
simple  form  for  the  keeping  of  household 
accounts.  The  sheets  have  the  columnar 
divisbns  and  the  headings  used  are:  Meat 
and  Fish;  Milk,  Cream,  Butter;  Fruits, 
Vegetables;  Other  Groceries;  Guests;  Cloth- 
ing; Household  Furnishings;  Operating 
Expenses;  House  and  Heat;  Health;  Inci- 
dentals; Benevolences;  Advancement;  and 
Recreation. 

In  the  introduction  a  full  subdivision  is 
given  so  that  there  is  no  question  as  to  what 
the  various  headings  are  intended  to  include. 
Food  is  particularly  stressed  in  this  book;  it 
is  the  only  classification  which  is  subdivided, 
and  also  in  the  introduction  there  are  several 
suggestive  sentences  imder  the  heading, 
"Money  Spent  for  Food." 

The  book  b  simple,  dear,  and  concise 
and  should  appeal  to  the  housekeeper. 

Budget  Planning  in  Social  Case  Work  shows 
the  need  and  advantage  of  a  full  analysis  of 
the  resources  and  expenditures  of  the  family 
who  cannot  make  its  income  reach.  Miss 
Winsbw  points  out  very  forcibly  the  fact 
that  particular  needs  alter  the  budget  decid- 
edly and  that  there  is  no  standard  budget 
that  can  be  applied  to  all,  but  that  each  case 
must  be  studied  and  prescribed  for  individ- 
ually. 

Tlie  dear  exposition  of  the  factors  enter- 
ing into  budget  making  brings  out  many 
points  which  a  person  without  wide  expe- 
rience in  the  adjustment  of  famfly  expendi- 
tures is  apt  to  overlook. 

The  pamphlet  is  intended,  as  its  title  im- 
plies, as  an  aid  to  budget  making  for  de* 


pendent  families,  but  the  general  principles 
which  are  set  forth  would  also  be  of  great 
value  in  adjusting  the  finances  of  independ- 
ent families  on  any  income  leveL 

Modem  Magic  treats  budgeting  and  ac- 
counting from  a  most  happy  viewpoint  Its 
optimism  is  so  convincing  that  after  reading 
it  one  feels  quite  sure  that  a  budget  will 
go  a  long  way  towards  materializmg  one's 
wants  and  desires. 

The  arrangement  of  the  account  sheets  is 
a  Mt  different  from  usual.  A  double  page 
takes  care  of  food  and  ice  for  each  month 
and  another  double  page  allows  for  the  en- 
tries of  rent,  housekeeping  txpeDoes,  doth- 
ing,  and  personal  expenses.  The  allotment 
of  space  is  well  planned  for  the  usual  num- 
ber of  entries  for  each  classification  and 
division  of  the  income.  After  keeping  ac- 
counts in  this  book,  a  glance  will  show  what 
one  wants  to  know  about  expenditures. 

In  Modem  Magic,  Miss  Coombs  has  given 
us  not  only  a  very  practical  and  usable 
accoimt  book  but  also  a  most  stimulating 
i^roach  to  the  budget. 

Household  Weights  and  Measures.  U.  S. 
Dept.  Commerce,  Bur.  of  Standards,  Mis- 
cellaneous Publication,  No.  39,  April, 
1920. 

As  if  in  answer  to  the  perplexed  house- 
keeper's inquiries,  "How  many  tablespoons 
are  there  in  a  cup?"  and,  "How  much  does 
a  cup  of  flour  weigh?"  the  Bureau  of  Stand- 
ards has  compiled  this  kitchen  card  and 
had  it  printed  for  free  distribution.  In 
addition  to  the  tables  of  common  kitchen 
measures,  approximate  wdghts  of  some 
common  dry  commodities  and  other  mate- 
rials, a  brief  explanation  of  the  international 
metric  system,  and  common  rules  of  meas- 
urement, it  contains  .a  table  of  heights  and 
weights  of  children,  furnished  by  the  Chil- 
dren's Bureau  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Labor.  The  card  is  printed  espe- 
cially for  household  use,  so  it  states,  but 
home  economics  workers  in  many  fields  will 
find  it  a  useful  addition  to  their  reference 
material. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  FIELD 


The  Ohio  Home  Economics  Assocla- 
tlon  at  its  meeting  with  the  State  Teachers' 
Association  at  Cedar  Point,  Ohio,  June, 
1920,  Edna  Endly,  president,  presiding, 
endorsed  the  ''French  Truth  in  Fabrics  Bill" 
now  pending  in  congress. 

In  a  discussion  of  the  value  of  survejrs  to 
home  economics,  Edith  Dickson,  who  had 
charge  of  the  School  Lunch  Survey,  made 
the  following  recommendations:  (1)  That 
no  lunch  be  run  under  private  management, 
and  that  funds  from  the  lunch  room  be  not 
Epeat  for  irrelevant  equipment.  (2)  That 
there  be' follow  up  work  so  that  the  value  of 
the  lunch  to  the  school  child  shall  be  known. 
When  the  lunch  work  is  started  the  health 
record  of  the  children  should  be  kept  and 
at  intervals  the  children  should  be  weighed, 
and  special  emphasis  laid  on  the  normal 
development  of  each  child.  (3)  Sanitation 
and  hygiene  should  be  applied  and  health 
habits  established  as  part  of  the  school 
work.  There  should  be  careful  supervision 
of  the  sanitary  conditions  of  the  lunch  room 
and  kitchen  and  medical  examination  of 
the  employees.  There  should  be  proper 
facilities  for  the  children  to  wash  their  hands 
before  lunch  and  these  facilities  should  be 
used. 

Tkeva  £.  Kanffman  spoke  on  the  survey 
as  applied  to  home  economics  instruction 
in  public,  private,  and  religious  schools,  social 
centers.  Red  Cross,  and  commercial  insti- 
tutions, and  the  following  recommendations 
were  made:  (1)  That  all  phases  of  home 
economics  education  be  emphasized  and  that 
the  work  be  not  confined  to  merely  cooking 
and  sewing.  That  the  home  project  be  used 
as  an  effective  method  of  teaching  home 
making.  (2)  That  well  trained  teachers  be 
provided,  who  have  a  viewpoint  on  the  voca- 
tion of  homemaking.  (3)  That  more  ade- 
quate equipment  be  provided.    (4)  That 


more  provision  be  made  for  giving  short 
courses  in  homemaking  to  girls  and  women 
through  the  part  time  and  evening  schooL 

From  the  results  of  the  survey  as  applied 
to  the  food  served  in  such  institutions  as 
the  county  jail,  county  prison,  homes  for 
the  aged,  children's  homes,  there  was  the 
recommendation  that  there  should  be  better 
supervision  with  trained  people  in  charge,  or 
a  state  or  county  dietitian  to  supervise  the 
planning  of  meals  in  all  public  institutions, 
thus  making  for  economy  and  efficient 
nutrition. 

The  opportunities  that  open  before  the 
home  economics  teacher,  and  the  future 
psssibilities  of  the  State  Association  were 
presented,  and  the  general  session  resolved 
itself  into  Round  Tables  for  the  more  inti- 
mate discussion  of  pressing  problems. 

Pratt  Institute.  Helen  Hollister  is 
serving  this  fall  as  acting  director  of  the 
School  of  Household  Science  and  Arts  at 
Pratt  Institute.  No  permanent  appoint- 
ment has  been  made  to  fill  the  place  made 
vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Isabel  Ely  Lord^ 
who  for  ten  years  has  been  the  Director, 
and  who  has  been  a  member  of  the  Institute 
for  seventeen  years. 

During  her  service  she  accomplished  suc- 
cessfully the  difficult  task  of  reorganizing 
the  School  of  Domestic  Science  and  the 
School  of  Domestic  Arts  so  that  the  work 
of  both  mlc^t  be  conducted  as  a  sinf^e  school, 
and  at  the  same  time  raised  the  educational 
standard.  All  who  have  been  associated 
with  Miss  Lord  at  the  Institute,  regret  her 
loss  and  join  in  extending  to  her  the  most 
cordial  good  wishes,  and  those  who  have 
worked  with  her  in  home  economics  hope 
that  the  new  work  she  chooses  may  be  in 
the  same  field. 

555 


556 


THE  JOUItNAL  01  HOME  ECONOIOCS 


[December 


University  of  Illinois.  Prof.  Isabel 
Bevier  received  the  honoiary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Science  from  Iowa  State  College, 
Ames,  at  the  June  commencement.  Miss 
Bevier,  who  resigned  from  the  University 
of  IlUnois  at  the  end  of  the  last  academic 
year,  consented  to  remain  in  chaige  of 
the  Department  of  Home  Economics  until 
February  1,  1921. 

The  Chicago  School  of  Civics  and  Phi- 
lanthropy has  always  stood  in  close  rela- 
tion to  the  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation, partly  because  we,  like  many  other 
social  agencies,  have  a  common  object — ^the 
bettennent  of  the  home,  and  partly  because 
one  of  our  honored  members  has  been  one  of 
the  directors  and  founders  of  the  school. 
That  school  has  now  become  a  part  of  the 
University  of  Chicago  as  a  Graduate  School 
of  Sodal  Service  Administration.  Dr.  S.  P. 
Breckinridge  and  Dr.  Edith  Abbott  have 
been  ^pointed  associate  professors  in  the 
school,  Erie  F.  Young  an  instructor,  and 
Elizabeth  S.  Dixon  has  been  made  Super- 
visor of  Fieki  Work. 

Phi  Upsilon  Omicron.  The  Jouxmal  is 
happy  to  extent  to  Phi  Upsilon  Omicron, 
one  of  the  national  professional  home  eco- 
nomics fraternities,  the  same  courtesy  that 
has  already  been  given  to  Omicron  Nu  in 
publishing  items  of  fraternity  news.  Phi 
Upsilon  Omicron  issues  a  publication  of  its 
own,  The  Candle — ^that  has  been  noted  in 
the  JousNAL,  but  asks  the  opportunity  of 
keeping  in  closer  touch  with  the  American 
Home  Economics  Association  and  the  read- 
ers of  the  JOUSNAL. 

Phi  Upsilon  Omicron  held  its  annual  con- 
clave in  Colorado  Springs,  last  June.  Aside 
from  routine  business,  the  conclave  program 
included  the  consideration  of  several  matters 
of  importance  both  to  the  fraternity  and  to 
home  economics. 

There  were  many  evidences  that  the  fra- 
ternity is  making  progress  in  its  aim  to  pro- 
mote the  profession.  Two  chapters.  Alpha 
and  Epsilon,  maintain  fifty  dollar  scholarships 


in  their  respective  institutions,  available  to 
students  in  home  economics.  Tlie  two  chap- 
ters maintaining  fraternity  houses  showed 
ways  in  which  these  houses  contrilmte  to 
the  Home  Economics  Department.  A  third 
chapter  is  about  to  open  such  a  house. 
Ganuna  chapter  reported  having  given 
twenty-five  dollars  to  the  fund  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  chair  of  home  economics  in  the 
Woman's  College  at  Constantinople.  The 
conclave  recommended  that  each  duster 
contribute  to  this  fund  not  later  than  Novem- 
ber first.  Acknowledgment  was  received 
from  Dr.  Andrews  of  a  contribution  to  the 
Ellen  H.  Richards  Memorial  Fund  made  from 
the  interest  on  the  f ratemitsr's  national  per- 
manent fund. 

One  of  the  best  addresses  of  the  session 
was  that  given  by  Edna  N.  White,  president 
of  the  A.  H.  E.  A.  and  an  honorary  member 
of  the  fraternity,  on  "  Professional  Attitude." 
A  resume  of  the  address  will  be  printed  in 
Ths  Candle. 

Every  active  and  alumnae  organization 
sent  its  full  quota  of  delegates,  and  other 
members,  active,  alumnae,  and  honorary, 
attended  in  sufficient  numbers  to  more  than 
double  the  official  representation  of  the  chap- 
ters and  every  one  remained  in  Colorado 
Springs  at  her  own  expense  to  attend  the 
American  Home  Economics  Association 
meetings. 

Oh  July  3,  Eta  chapter  of  Phi  Upsilon 
Omicron  was  installed  in  the  State  Manual 
Training  Normal  School,  Pittsburg,  Kansas. 
The  charter  members  are  young  women  of 
the  big,  professionally  minded  type,  and  are 
sure  to  be  a  source  of  strength  to  the  frater- 
nity. The  infant  chapter  launched  out  at 
once  to  share  in  the  fraternity's  oldest  piece 
of  national  professional  work  by  giving  100 
per  cent  subscription  to  The  Candle, 

The  American  Home  Economics  Asso- 
ciation will  hold  a  meeting  in  oouiection 
with  the  meeting  of  the  Division  of  Super- 
intendence, N.  E.  A.,  at  Atlantic  Qty, 
February  26  to  March  3,  1921. 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XII 


Abxl,  Maky  Himman.  Public  Kitchens, 
263 

Absorption  of  fat  by  fried  batters  and 
doughs,  111 

Accounting:  See  Budget 

Add-base  balance  and  disease  (Ed.)»  186 

After  the  war— in  Germany,  79 

Alimentary  hygiene  and  rational  alimenta- 
tion in  the  3rear  3000,  169 

American  Dietetic  Assn.*  142,  472 

American  Home  Economics  Association 
Meetings:  Atlantic  Dty,*  556;  Cleve- 
land, 47,*  88  (Ed.),  236;  Colorado 
Springs,  142,*  192*  (Ed.)  234,  273, 421 

Americanization:  See  Diet;  Social  Work; 
Study  and  Teaching 

Annual  Meeting:  See  A.  H._E.  A. 

Ark.  H.  E.  Assn.,*  47 

Assn.  Amer.  Agr.  Colleges  and  Exp.  Sta- 
tions,* 93, 471 

Assn.  Land-Grant  Colleges,*  93,  471 


B 


powder:  See  Cookery 

BAUtows,  Anna.  Fire  and  water  in  the 
class  room,  110 

Baylor,  Adelaidb  Sisele.  Vocational 
education  in  h.  e. — part-time  schools 
and  classes,  473 

Bbacb,  Dokothea.  Practice  houses  a  real- 
ity, 308 

Bsvier,  Isabel.    Dietary  studies,  63 

Bibliography  of  h.  e.:  91,  139, 190,  283,  427 

BiGELOW,  ZsLLA.  Suggestions  for  a  dem- 
onstration on  the  selection  of  clothing, 
69;  The  hygiene  of  cbthing,  253 

Bills— Senate  and  House:  See  Legislation 


Blunt,  Kaihasine.    The  present  status  of 

vitamines,  1 
BoNSES,  FtSDESiCK  G.    Educational  re- 
search in  the  practical  arts,  241 
Book  Reviews: 

Account  books   (household  and  per- 
sonal), 279,  554 

American  home  diet,  513 

American  marriage  laws  in  their  social 
aspects,  89 

Bobbins  of  Belgium,  425 

Book  of  ice  cream,  334 

Care  and  feeding  of  infants  and  chil- 
dren, 425 

Children's  garments,  334 

Dietetics  for  high  schools,  513 

Every  step  in  canning,  333 

Family,  The,  334 

Financial  record  book,  514 

Food  inspection  and  analysis,  426 

Garments  for  girls,  137 

Hotel  St.  Francis  cook  book,  138 

Household  arithmetic,  553 

Household  weights  and  measures,  554 

Infancy  and  childhood,  425 

Manual  of  canning  and  preserving,  333 

Material  for  permanent  painting,  138 

Meats,  poultry,  and  game,  426 

Mess  officers'  manual,  333 

Mother  and  chQd,  514 

Report  on  present  state  of  knowledge 
concerning  accessory  food  factors,  280 

Scientific  problems  of  alimentation  dur- 
ing the  war,  138 

Teachmg  h.  e.,  137 

Twenth-f our  little  French  dinners,  280 
Botulism:  (Ed.),  84 
Boys  and  girls  club  work,*  336 
Bread:  See  Cookery 
Bkyan,  Geokge  S.    Notes  on  early  New 

England  eating,  193 


Note:    A  star  indicates  news. 

Abbreviations  used  are:  Ed.— Editorial;  h.  e.— home  economics:  O.  F. 
Q.  B.» Question  Box. 


'Open  Forum; 
557 


558 


THE  JOURNAL  07  HOME  ECONOiaCS 


[December 


Budget:  Budget  infomiation  buzeau,*  48; 
Card  system  of  household  accountiiig, 
37;  Household  budget,  270;  Is  there  a 
standard  budget,  175;  Minimum  wage, 
39;  Value  of  an  allowance,  503.  See 
also  Cost  of  Living. 


Cake:  See  Cookery 

Cal.  H.  £.  Assn.,*  47 

Candy,  Use  of  maltose  sirup  for  making,  501 

Canning  and  Preserving:  Some  home  can- 
ning costs,  178 

Card  system  of  household  accounting,  37 

Caxsuth,  Ella  Kaiser.  A  card  system 
of  household  accounting,  37 

Central  Assn.  of  Sd.  and  Math.  Teachers,* 
94 

Chautauqua  School  of  H.  £.,*  192 

Cheerful  compromise,  81 

Chicago's  experiment,  411 

Chicago  Sch.  of  Civics  and  Philanthropy,* 
556 

Child  care  in  the  Ore.  Agr.  Coll.  practice 
house,  348 

Children:  Child  care  in  practice  house,  348; 
Child  health  conference,  354;  Coopera- 
tive nursery,  73,  (0.  F.)  277;  Courses 
on  child  care,*  286;  Food  rules  for  school 
children,  182;  Training  children  as  lab- 
oratory work,  28.  Su  also  Nutrition; 
Social  Work 

Clothing  and  Textiles:  Bibliography,  139; 
Clothing  infonnation  bureau,  325; 
Demonstration  on  selection  of  cloth- 
ing, 69;  Homemade  vs.  ready-made 
clothing,  230;  How  an  eighth  grade  class 
made  their  own  course  of  study,  153; 
Hygiene  of  clothing,  253;  Lesson  in 
costume  design  (rhymes),  549;  Price 
and  value  of  textiles,  359;  Research,  58; 
Shoes,  40;  Shop  methods  in  sewing 
laboratory,  260;  Standardized  tests  in 
textiles  and  clothing,  486;  Study  of 
clothing  purchasing  habits,  491;  Study 
of  wool  fabrics,  150;  Teaching  textiles 
in  elementary  and  high  schools,  217; 
Work  of  standardization  committee, 
101,  221,  223.  Su  aiso  Legislation; 
Study  and  Teaching 


Clubs:  See  ETtmsion  Work 

CoLWBLL,  Rachel.  The  waste  of  natoial 
gas,  225 

Comment  and  Discussion:  Committees  def- 
inition of  h.  e.,  45;  Mercantilism,  46 

Community  motion  picture  bureau,*  336 

Community  WoriL:  See  Social  Woik 

Comparative  study  of  h.  e.  courses  in  col- 
leges, 249 

Conference  on  natural  gas,  141,*  225,  458 

CoNKLiN,  Hester  M.  One  woman's  solu- 
tion, 375 

Conservation:  Fire  and  water  in  the  cL  bs 
room,  110;  Is  it  the  many  or  the  kw 
who  have  changed,  544;  Waste  en  rgy, 
506;  Waste  of  natural  gas,  141  *  225, 
458;  Women  and  present  day  prices,  75. 
See  also  Cost  of  living 

Constantinople:  Amer.  College  for  girls 
(Ed.),  86;  Constantin<^le  Fund  (Ed.), 
86, 183, 384 

Consumption,  The  science  of,  317 

Cook,  Rosamond  C.  How  an  eighth  grade 
class  made  their  own  course  of  study,  153 

Cookery:  Absorption  of  fat  in  frying.  111; 
Cooking  prunes,  36;  Effect  of  beating 
cake  made  with  different  baking  pow- 
ders, 42 ;  General  rules  for  oven  tempera- 
tures, 541;  Recent  advances  in  food 
selection  and  preparation,  15;  Use  of 
maltose  sirup  for  candy  making,  501 

Cooperation:  Cooperative  buying,  369;  Co- 
operative nurseiy,  73;  Public  kitchens, 
263.    See  also  Social  Work 

Coss,  MiLucBNT  M.  Shop  methods  in  the 
sewing  laboratory,  260 

Costof  Living:  Cost  of  living,  35,  in  Canada, 
504;  Family  living  expenses  (0.  F.),  332; 
High  cost  of  living  (verM),  43;  Women 
and  present  day  prices,  75.  See  also 
Budget;  Conservation 

County  agent,*  95 

Course  for  practice  in  homemaking  adjust- 
ments, 133 

Courses  on  child  care,*  286 

Ckanor,  Kaiherine.  Homemade  vs.  ready 
made  clothing,  230 

Creed,  Prof es8U>nal,  498 

CsiOLBE,  Nina  B.  The  relation  of  the  ex- 
tension specialist  to  field  work,  459 

Ceoihess,  Samuel  McChokd.  ^Quotation 
from,  81 


1920] 


INDEX  TO  V0LX7KE  XH 


559 


Daisy,  Aones.  Parents'  meetings  in  the 
N.  Y.  schools,  496 

Davis,  Maxgxtebiix.  Observations  on  vit- 
amine  oontent  of  foods,  209;  Value  of 
feeding  experiments,  206 

Davis,  Michael  M.,  Jr.  The  food  of  the 
immigrant  in  relation  to  health,  517 

DxMTON,  MiMNA  C.  Absoiption  of  fat  by 
fried  batters  and  doughs.  111;  General 
rules  for  choosing  oven  temperatures, 
541;  What  constitutes  research  in  h.  e., 
58 

Diet:  Add-base  balance  and  disease  (Ed.), 
186;  Dietary  studies,  63;  Food  and  fare 
in  Canada,  329;  Food  idiosyncrasies 
(Ed.),  275;  Food  in  Labrador,  469; 
Food  of  the  immigrant,  517;  Is  the 
Chinese  diet  adequate,  289;  Low  protein 
diet  (Ed.),  274;  Notes  on  early  New 
England  eating,  193;  Kadal  and  other 
differences  in  dietary  customs,  396; 
Vegetables — their  fat-soluble  vitamine 
(Ed.),  377.    See  also  Food  Values 

Dietary  studies,  63 

Dietetics:  See  Diet;  Food  Values;  Institu- 
tion Management;  Nutrition 

Dietitians  section,  Phila.  H.  E.  Assn.,*  335 

Digestion:  See  Diet 

Disease:  For  relation  of  food  to,  see  editor- 
ials, 82,  84,  86,  134,  186,  274,  275,  424. 
See  also  Nutrition;  Vitamines 

Domestic  Art:  See  Clothing  and  Textiles 

Domestic  Service:  Eight  hour  service,  548; 
Keeping  servants  (quotation),  328; 
Teaching  table  service,  524 


Economics:  The  science  of  consumption, 
317.  See  also  Budget;  Cooperation; 
Cost  of  Living 

Editorial:  Add  base  balance  and  disease, 
186;  Cleveland  meeting,  236;  Colorado 
meetmg,  234,  273,  421;  Diabetes  and 
the  war,  424;  Disinfection  of  bathing 
suits,  277;  Fess  bill,  87;  Food  idiossm- 
ciasies,  275;  Fund  for  Constantinople 
coll^;e,  183;  H.  e.  abroad,  184;  H.  e. 
publicity,  551;  How  long  does  it  take 


to  print  a  journal,  186;  Intemational 
Office  of  H.  E.,  465;  Iodine,  135;  Is 
botulism  a  present  danger,  84;  Is  the 
calrium  of  vegetables  of  value,  238;  Jour- 
nal of  H.  E.,  550;  Lake  Placid  confer- 
ence on  group  living,  44,  235,  424;  New 
departure,  82;  New  measurement  in 
metabolism,  82;  Randdity  of  fat,  185; 
Results  of  low  protein  diet,  274;  Rdle 
of  antineuritic  vitamine  in  the  artificial 
feeding  of  infants,  84;  Science  section, 
468;  Sending  h.  e.  abroad,  86;  Textile 
section,  507;  Vegetables — ^thdr  fat-sol- 
uble vitamine,  377;  Yeast  as  a  food,  a 
medicine,  a  laboratory  reagent,  134 

Education:  See  Study  and  Teaching 

Educational  research  in  the  practical  arts, 
241 

Effect  of  beating  cake  made  with  different 
baking  powders,  42 

Efficient  arrangement  in  cooking  labora- 
tories, 201 

Egg  substitutes,  77 

Eight  hour  service,  548 

Eighty  hour  day,  43 

EuFRiTZ,  Oloa.  Gas  utilization  work  of 
the  Dept.  of  the  Interior,  458 

Ellen  H.  Richards  Club,^  515 

End  of  an  80  hour  day,  43 

Equipment:  Effident  arrangement  in  lab- 
oratories, 26;  One  woman's  solution 
(electrical  equipment),  375 

Errata,  136 

Estimating  food  costs,  178. 

Experiment  in  socializing  h.  e.  education,  26 

Extension  WoriL:  Extension  specialist  and 
field  work,  459;  Farm  life  studies,  159; 
Farm  woman's  problems,  437;  Score 
card  for  farm  dwellings,  545.  See  also 
Social  Work;  Study  and  Teaching 


Farm  life  studies  and  their  relation  to  h.  e. 
work,  159 

Faim  woman's  problems,  437 

Fat:  Randdity  of  fat  (Ed.),  185;  See  also 
Cookery 

Fellowships:*  Fleischmann,  286;  U.  of  Chi- 
cago, 48,  192,  286;  Women's  Educ.  and 
Indus.  Union,  142 


560 


THE  JOUENAL   OP   HOME  ECONOMICS 


[December 


Fifteen  points  of  a  professional  creed,  498 
Fire  and  water  in  the  class  room,  110 
Food  accessory  factors  in  relation  to  the 

teeth,  482 
Food  and  fare  in  Canada,  329 
Food  of  the  immigrant  in  relation  to  health, 

517 
Food  rules  for  school  children,  182 
Food  Selection:  See  Food  Values 
Food  Values:  Calcium  in  vegetables  (Ed.)i 
238;  Estimating  food  costs  (per  100 
calorie  portion),  178;  Minimum  food 
allowance,  319;  Practical  application  of 
food  study,  188;  Recent  advances  in 
food   selection   and   preparation,    15. 
See  also  Diet;  Nutrition 
Food  work  in  the  single  period,  246 
Foreign  Diet:  See  Foreign  Family 
Foreign  Family:    See  Diet;  Social  Work; 

Study  and  Teaching 
Future  administrative  problems  in  voca^ 
tional  education  in  h.  e.,  299 


Galpin,  C.  J.  Farm  Ufe  studies  and  their 
relation  to  h.  e.  work,  159 

Gas:  See  Conservation 

Gas  utilization  work  of  the  Dept.  of  the 
Interior,  458 

GsDDEs,  Snt  Auckland.  Recent  changes 
in  British  education,  429 

Gen.  Fed.  Women's  Clubs,^  240 

General  rules  for  choosing  oven  teii^)era- 
tures,  541 

Germany— after  the  war,  79 

GzBBS,  WzNiFKBD  Stuast.  Intention  street 
(verse),  318 

GiLLETT,  Lucy  H.  A  mmimum  food  allow- 
ance and  a  basic  food  order,  319;  How 
can  our  work  in  foods  be  made  more 
vital  to  the  health  of  the  child,  385 

Gladish,  Nancy  G.  Chicago's  experiment, 
411 

Glanton,  Louise  Phxlups.  A  study  of 
wool  fabrics,  150 

Gleason,  Aones.  Tea  room  management 
from  the  manager's  point  of  view,  145 

Gloucestershire  h.  e.  school,^  516 

Goiter  (Ed.),  135 

Gbeely,  Hugh  P.  The  physician  and  the 
dietitian,  162 

Group  living  conference  (Ed.),  44,  235,  424 


Haines,  S.  Deborah.  Teaching  American 
table  service  to  Americans,  524 

Haluday,  Evelyn  G.  Effect  of  beating 
cake  made  with  different  baking  pow- 
ders, 42 

Handiwork,  Youthful,  from  Italy,  297 

Health:  Disinfection  of  bathing  suits  (Ed.), 
277;  Food  rules  for  school  children,  182; 
Health  campaign,^  239;  Hsrgiene  of 
clothing,  253;  Is  the  average  home 
sanitary,  130.  See  also  Children;  Cloth- 
ing and  Textiles;  Nutrition 

Health  campaign  launched,*  515 

HiCKMANS,  Evelyn  M.  The  price  and  value 
of  textiles,  359 

H.  E.  Abroad:  Albania  (0.  F.),  379;  Arme- 
nia, 131;  Australia,*  556;  Belgium  (Ed.), 
330;  Constantinople  (Ed.),  86,  183, 
384;  England,*  516;  Foreign  visitors 
rPAX  184;  India  (Ed.),  330;  Interna- 
tional (Ed.),  465;  Labrador  (O.  F.), 
469;  New  Zealand,*  556;  Switzerland 
(Ed.),  '•65. 

H.  E.  Club,*  239,  515 

H.  e.,  Committee's  definition  of,  45 

H.  e.  day,  499 

H.  e.  in  a  primitive  Armenian  village,  131 

H.  e.  school,  Campden,  Eng.,*  516 

Homemade  vs.  ready-made  clothing,  230 

Home  project  work  in  Utah,  67 

Hospital  health  clinic,  312 

Household  budget,  270 

Household  Management:  See  Budget;  Con- 
servation; Co5peration;  Domestic  Serv- 
ice; Economics;  Equ^nnent;  Kitchens 

Household  science  honor  society  (O.  F.),  551 

How  an  eighth  grade  class  made  their  own 
course  of  study,  153 

How  can  our  work  in  foods  be  made  more 
vital  to  the  health  of  the  child,  385 

Howe,  Percy  R.  Food  accessory  factors 
in  relation  to  the  teeth,  482 

Howell,  Laura.  Racial  and  other  differ- 
ences in  dietary  customs,  396 

H.  R.  12078,  127 

HuBBAXD,  Gwendolyn  Stanton.  A  hos* 
pital  health  clinic,  312 

HuBBELL,  Stella  M.  Food  work  in  the 
single  period,  246 

Hygiene  of  clothing,  253 


1920] 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  Xn 


561 


If  not  why  not,  537 

Information  bureaa  (dothing),  325 

Ingeasoll,  Blanche.  A  plan  for  reducing 
expenses  in  a  school  lunch  room,  172 

Institution  Management:  Dietary  studies, 
63;  Group  living  conference  (Ed.),  44, 
235,  424;  Hospital  health  clinic,  312; 
Institution  bureau,^  142;  Physician  and 
dietitian,  162;  Tea  room  management, 
145.  See  also  Luncheon;  Practice 
Houses 

Intention  street  (verse),  318 

Iodine  (Ed.),  135 

Is  it  the  many  or  the  few  who  have  changed, 
544 

Is  the  average  home  sanitary,  130 

Is  the  Chinese  diet  adequate,  289 

Is  there  a  standard  budget,  175 


Jenkins,  Hestes  D.  Home  economics  in 
a  primitive  Armenian  village,  131 

Johnson,  A.  Gxace.  Child  care  in  the 
Ore.  Agr.  ColL  practice  house,  348  ;^v: 

Johnson,  Maida.    H.  e.  day,  499       t-  ^-^ 

Jones,  Hesschel  H.  Cottperativt  buying, 
367 

Journalism,  Training  h.  e.  students  for,  419 


Kitchens,  327;  Public  kitchens,  263 

KoLL,  Maky.    Women   and   present   day 

prices,  75 
KsuEGEs,  Jean.    A  comparative  study  of 

h.  e.  courses  in  colleges,  249 


Laboratories,  Efficient  arrangement  in,  201 
Lake  Placid  Conference:  See  Group  Living 

Conference 
Legislation:  Barkley  bill,  101,  221;  Fess  bill, 
87, 127, 535;  French-Capper  bill,  222;  H. 
e.  education,  87  (£d.>,  127,  535;  Krdder 
bill,  222;  Longworth  bill,  101;  Rogers 
bOl,  222;  Textile  legislation,  101,  221 
Lesson  in  costume  design  (rhymes),  549 
Lewis  Hotel  Training  School,^  335 
Lunch  room  management  course,*  95 


Luncheon:  Lunch  room  management,*  95; 
Luncheon  as  a  project,  415;  Plan  for 
reducing  expenses  in  school  lunch  room, 
172 

M 

McAttley,  Faith.  The  science  of  consump- 
tion, 317 

MacLeod,  Sasah  J.  The  household  budget, 
270 

Malnutrition:  See  Children;  Nutrition 

Maltose  sirup  for  candy,  501 

Meetings:  See  under  names  of  assns. 

Mendel,  Alice  P.  Alimentary  hygiene 
and  rational  alimentation  in  year  3000, 
169 

Menus:  See  Cookery,  Diet 

Mercantilism,  46 

Mesxon,  Helen.  A  project  in  household 
arts,  415 

Metabolism,  82 

Mich.  H.  E.  Assn.,*  47 

Minimum  food  allowance  and  a  basic  food 
order,  319 

Minimum  wage,  39 

MoKTON,  Chauxxre  A.  Efficient  arrange- 
ment in  cooking  laboratories,  201 

MxTDGE,  Gertrude  Gates.  A  nutrition 
class,  49 

Mttxlin,  John  R.  What  we  have  learned 
in  dietetics  from  the  army,  97 

Music  in  the  home,  505 

N 

Nat.  Academy  of  Sd,.^  239 

N.  E.  A.,*  240 

Nat.  Research  Council,^  239 

Nat  Soc.  for  Voc.  Educ:  Chicago  meeting,* 
47, 93, 191 

Nesbitt,  Flosence.    Cost  of  living,  35 

New  England  eating.  Notes  on  early,  193 

New  England  H.  E.  Assn.,*  191,  286 

N.  Y.  child  health  conference,  354 

N.  Y.  State  H.  E.  Assn.,*  192 

News  Notes  (other  news  items  are  starred 
throughout  the  index):  All-America 
conference  on  venereal  diseases,  516; 
Bevier,  Isabel,  556;  Editor  of  Journal, 
192;  Gleason,  Margaret,  48;  Gold- 
thwaite,  Nellie,  142;  Ky.  home  demon- 


562 


THE  JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 


[December 


gtration  agents  and  fann  and  home 
convention,  142;  Lunchroom  manage- 
ment, 240;  Merrill-Palmer  school,  48; 
National  women's  organizations,  48; 
N.  Y.  Assn.  of  Dietitians,  240;  Powder- 
maker,  Florence,  516;  Problems  in 
mining  towns,  48;  Thomas,  Edith  M., 
516;  U.  S.  Civil  Service,  516;  White, 
Edna,  48;  Woman  Adviser  to  English 
Ministry  of  Agr.,  516;  Woolman,  Mary 
Schenck,  192,  336;  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  142 

Norton,  Alice  P.  Is  there  a  standard 
budget,  175 

Norton,  Maroaset  Goodrich.  A  cooper- 
ative nursery,  73 

Not  bread  alone,  41 

Notes  on  early  New  England  eating,  193 

Nutrition:  Alimentary  hygiene,  169;  Anti- 
neuritic  vitamines  and  artificial  feeding 
of  infants  (Ed.),  84;  Food  accessory 
factors  in  relation  to  the  teeth,  482; 
Food  of  the  immigrant  in  relation  to 
health,  517;  Hospital  health  clinic,  312; 
Learning  dietetics  from  the  army,  97; 
Nutrition  class,  49;  Present  status  of 
vitamines,  1;  Value  of  feeding  experi- 
ments, 206;  Vitamine  content  of  foods, 
209;  Work  in  foods  made  more  vital 
to  health  of  child,  385;  Yeast  (Ed.),  134. 
See  also  Children;  Diet;  Food  Values 


Ohio  H.  E.  Assn.,*  93,  555 

Omicron  Nu,*  96, 143,  224,  287 

One  woman's  solution,  375 

Open  Forum:  Albania,  379;  Cooperative 
nursery,  277;  Family  living  expenses, 
332;  Food  in  Labrador,  469;  Household 
science  honor  society,  551;  Plea  for  the 
teacher,  187;  Practical  application  of 
food  study,  188;  Response  to  Mrs. 
West's  article,  508 


Parents'  meetings  in  the  N.  Y.  schoob,  496 
Parsons,  Helen  T.    New  York  child  health 

conference — ^impressions  and  reactions, 

354 
Partridge,    Pauline    D.    One    woman's 

solution,  375 


Personal  queries  on  h.  e.  work,  258 

Petticoat  lane  to  prosperity,  223 

Phelps,  Ethel.  A  study  of  clothing  pur- 
chasing habits,  491 

Phi  Upsilon  Omicron,^  556 

Phila.  H.  E.  Assn.,^  141,  335 

Phillips,  Velma.  Racial  and  other  di£Fer- 
ences  in  dietary  customs,  396 

Physician  and  the  dietitian,  162 

PitUburg  (Kan.)  Normal  School,^  239 

Place  of  the  general  course  in  h.  e.,  289 

Plan  for  reducing  expenses  in  a  school  lunch 
room,  172 

Positions:  See  Possibilities  in  h.  e.,  166 

Possibilities  in  h.  e.  woriL,  166 

Pottlter,  Alice.  A  score  card  for  farm 
dwellings,  545 

Practice  Houses:  Practice  houses  a  reality, 
308;  Tiaming  children  m,  28,  348 

Pratt  Institute,^  555 

Present  status  of  misbranding  acts  and 
other  textile  legislation,  221 

Present  status  of  the  h.  e.  amendment  to  the 
vocational  education  bill,  535 

Present  status  of  vitamines,  1 

Price  and  value  of  textiles,  359 

Pritchett,  Louise.  Absorption  of  fat  by 
fried  batters  and  doughs.  111 

Project:  See  Study  and  Teaching 

Public  kitchens,  263 

Publicity  work  of  the  Dept.  of  Agr.  in  rela- 
tion to  h.  e.9  527 


Question  Box:  Vinegar  bees,  378 
Quotations  (not  otherwise  listed):  174,  182, 
328 


Racial  and  other  differences  in  dietary  cus- 
toms, 396 

Rankin,  Norman  S.  Cost  of  living  in 
Canada,  504 

Ration:  See  Diet 

Recent  advances  in  our  knowledge  of  food 
selection  and  preparation,  15 

Recent  changes  in  British  education,  429 

Recent  work  of  the  committee  on  the  stan- 
dardization of  textiles,  101 

Relation  of  the  extension  ^>ecialist  to  field 
work,  459 


J 


1920] 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  XU 


563 


Reseaich:  Educational  research  in  the  prac- 
tical arts,  241;  What  constitutes  re- 
search in  h.  e.,  58.  See  also  Clothing 
and  Textiles;  Cookery;  Food  Values 

Resolutions:  See  A.  H.  £.  A.  meetings 

Richards:  See  Ellen  H.  Richards 

RiCHASDSON,  Anna  E.  Future  administra- 
tive problems  in  vocational  education 
in  h.  e.,  299 

Rose,  Maky  Swaktz.    A  nutrition  class,  49 

Rural  Work:  See  Extension  Work 


Sanitation:  5e0  Health 

Saskatchewan  Teachers  Courses,*  335 

School:  See  Study  and  Teaching 

Science  of  consumption,  317 

Score  Cards:  Farm  dwellings,  545;  Table 
service,  524 

Sections  of  A.  H.  E.  A.:  Science  (Ed.),  468; 
Textile  (Ed.),  507;  See  also  A.  H.  E.  A. 
meetings 

Selless,  Masie.  Training  h. 'e.  students 
for  journalism,  419 

Service:  See  Domestic  Service 

Sewing:  5ee  Clothing  and  Textiles 

Shoes,  40 

Shq>  methods  in  the  sewing  laboratoiy,  260 

Smiih,  Haklan.  The  publicity  work  of 
the  Dept.  of  Agr.  in  relation  to  h.  e.,  527 

Snydeir,  Melissa  Farsell.  Possibilities 
in  h.  e.  work,  166 

Social  Work:  Clothing  information  bureau, 
325;  Course  in  homemaking  adjust- 
ments, 133;  Experiment  in  socializing 
h.  e.  education,  26;  Food  of  the  immi- 
grant, 517;  Hospital  health  clinic,  312; 
Minimum  food  allowance,  319;  Not 
bread  alone,  41;  Nutrition  dass,  49; 
Parents'  meetings  in  schoob,  496;  Racial 
and  other  differences  in  dietary  customs, 
396.  See  also  Americanization;  Chil- 
dren; Extensbn  Work 

Some  home  canning  costs,  180 

S.  Carolina  H.  E.  Assn.,*  240 

Southern  H.  E.  Assn.,*  285 

Standardization:  See  Budget;  Clothing  and 
Textiles;  Cookery;  Research 

Standardized  tests  in  textiles  and  clothing, 
486 


Stanley,  Louise.  The  present  status  of 
the  h.  e.  amendment  to  the  vocational 
education  bUl,  535 

Student  Contributions:  H.  E.  day,  499 

Study  and  Teaching:  Administrative  prob- 
lems in  vocational  h.  e.,  299;  Compara- 
tive study  of  the  h.  e.  courses  in  colleges, 
249;  Course  in  homemaking  adjust- 
ments, 133;  Educational  research,  241; 
Efficient  arrangement  in  laboratories, 
201;  Experiment  in  socializing  h.  e. 
education,  26;  Food  work  in  the  sin^^ 
period,  246;  Home  project  work,  67; 
How  an  eighth  grade  class  made  their 
own  course  of  study,  153;  If  not  why 
not,  337;  Outline  of  general  course  in 
h.  e.  for  high  schools,  411;  Parents' 
meetings  in  schools,  496;  Personal 
queries  on  h.  e.  work,  258;  Place  of  the 
general  course  in  h.  e.,  294;  Project  in 
household  arts,  415;  Recent  changes  in 
British  education,  429;  Sh<^  methods 
in  sewing  laboratoiy,  260;  Standardized 
tests  in  textiles  and  clothing,  486; 
Teaching  table  service,  524;  Teaching 
textiles  in  elementary  and  high  schools, 
217;  Training  children  as  laboratory 
work,  28;  Vocational  education  in  h.  e., 
473;  Work  in  foods  made  more  vital 
to  health  of  child,  385 

Study  of  clothing  purchasmg  habits,  491 

Study  of  wool  fabrics,  150 

Substitutes,  Egg,  77 

Subway  bakery  in  Verdun,  374 

Suggestions  for  a  demonstration  on  selec- 
tion of  clothing,  69 

Suggestions  for  teaching  textiles  in  elemen- 
tary and  high  schoob,  217 

Surveys:  Clothing  purchasing  habits,  105, 
^1;  Farm  life  studies,  159;  Farm  wom- 
an's problems,  437;  Positions  in  h.  e., 
166;  Practice  houses,  308 


Tea  room  management,  145 

Teachers  College,*  239 

Teaching:   See  Study  and  Teaching 

Teaching  American  table  service  to  Ameri- 
cans, 524 

Teeth,  Food  accessory  factors  in  relation  to, 
482 


564 


THE  JOURNAL  OP  HQHE  ECONOMICS 


[December 


Tebsul,  Bsrtha  M.    The  place  of  the 

general  course  in  h.  e.,  294 
Textiles:  5e«  Clothing  and  Textiles 
Thrift:  See  Budget 
TonzN,  Roger  L.    Personal  queries  on  h. 

e.  work,  258 
Training  h.  e.  students  for  journalism,  419 
Training  of  children  as  part  of  laboratory 

work  in  home  management,  28 
TuLUNO,  Mabel.    Standardized  tests  in 

textiles  and  clothing,  486 

U 

Univ.  of  Cincinnati,^  516 

Univ.  of  111.,*  556 

Univ.  of  Md.,*  516 

Univ.  of  Mo.,*  515 

Use  of  maltose  sirup  for  candy,  501 


Value  of  an  allowance,  503 
Value  of  feeding  experiments,  206 
VsRioLm,   Elizabeth.    The   training   of 
*  children  as  part  of  laboratory  work  in 
home  management,  28 
Vinegar  bees  (Q.  B.),  378 
Vitamines:    Quotation    (verse),    174.    See 

also  Nutrition 
Vocational  Education :  See  Study  and  Teach- 
ing 

W 

Waite,  Chablotte.  Suggestions  for  teach- 
ing textiles  in  elementary  and  high 
schools,  217 


Wang,  Cbi  Che.  Is  the  Chinese  diet  ade- 
quate, 289;  The  present  status  of  vita- 
mines,  1 

Waxd,  Flobence  £.  The  farm  woman's 
problems,  437 

Washington  (State)  H.  E.  Assn.,*  335 

Waste  of  natural  gas,  225 

Wbllman,  Mabel  T.  Recent  advances  in 
our  knowledge  of  food  selection  and 
preparation,  15 

Wenoel,  Edith.  Absorption  of  fat  by 
fried  batters  and  dou^.  111 

West,  Mbs.  Max.    If  not  why  not,  337 

What  constitutes  research  in  h.  e.,  58 

What  we  have  learned  in  dietetics  from  the 
army,  97 

Willabd,  Mebibl.  Suggestions  for  teach- 
ing textiles  in  elementary  and  high 
schools,  217 

WiLLiAics,  Flobence.  Standardized  tests 
in  textiles  and  clothing,  486 

WiNCHELL,  Flobence  E.  Suggestions  for 
tfarhing  textiles  in  elementary  and 
hic^  schools,  217 

WiNSLOW,  EiocA  A.  An  experiment  in  so- 
cializing h.  e.  education,  26 

Women  and  present  day  prices,  75 

Wood,  Bebtha  M.  The  food  of  the  immi- 
grant in  relation  to  health,  517 

WooDBUBY,  Mabion.  Some  home  canning 
costs,  180 


Yeast  (Ed.),  134 

Youthful  handiwork  from  Italy,  297 


VOL.   All       "Xi    »  ^^  JAWUAKI,    iSZU 


THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  VITAMINES 
KATHARINE  BLUNT  AND  CHI  CHE  WANG 

ADVANCES  IN  FOOD  SELECTION  AND 

PREPARATION 

MABEL  T.  WELLMAN 

TRAINING  CHILDREN  AS  LABORATORY  WORK 
ELIZABETH  VERMILYE 

FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

HOUSEHOLDJACCOUNTING 

ELLA  KAISER  CARRUTH 


PUBLISHED  MONTHLY 

THE  AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOCIATION 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 

r  Marcb  25,  IfflO.  it  the  Post  OtRm  ■(  BaJtimonr 

MBilinEKteperialiaMDfpMtwe  provided  for  i 

October  3,  1BI7.    Authoriied  on  Ootober  iS,  ItlS. 


I  nni  1 7  jU.4  «U.»Vlr3«^-(  A^;£3K.4  A^;£9£4  A^/£st<f.<  J^JSs>»A  A^JSs>»A  J^J^  V7^ 


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Thrift ! 

A  Penny  Saved  is  a' Penny 
Earned 

PERSONAL  AGGOUNT  BOOK 

Whether  the  income  is  an  allowance  from  father,  small 
change  for  helping  mother,  or  s  salary  from  a  regular 
position,  it  is  not  too  large  or  too  small  to  be  budgeted. 
The  Personal  Account  Book  provides  for  a  statement 
of  all  receipts  and  all  expenditures,  and  its  constant 
use  means  frugality,  prudent  mansgement  and  a  well 
balanced  life. 

Pocket  Size,  10  Cents 

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with  pages  for  the  year's  summary,  month  by  month, 
and  columns  for  annual  income  and  expenditure.  The 
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a  tixcd  income  stretch  to  cover  rapidly  advancing 
prices  for  r.ecessities  and  luxuries. 

Net  75  Cents 

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The  Dietetic  Kitchen 

offers  a  post-graduate  course  in  admiDistra- 
tive  and  medical  dietetics  to  graduate 
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Four  months  of  practical  training  in  quan- 
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For  further  particulars  addren 

HELEN  M.  WEAVER,  Director 

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For 

Advertising  Rates 
Apply  to 

American  Home  Economics 
Association 

1211  Cathedral  St. 
Baltimore,  Md. 


IQVXSAh  OF  HOUR  BCOKOUICS—ADYEXTtSEMBNTS 


1)03/01 

mFmLS 
the  Shu 


DO  you  h 
food  i 
sendng  an  ii 
ment  of  ov« 
—  the  eannt 
— luinuins 
Wuhingtot 
laboratories 
tvelytothc! 

of  preserving  foods  through 
sterilization  r 

These  laboratories  of  the 
National  Canners  Asmcik- 
tion  are  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.W.  D.  Bigelow,  for- 
merlywiththeFederal  Bur- 
eau of  Chemistry, anda  close 
associate  of  Dr.  Harvey  W. 
Wiley  on  the  Board  of  Drug 
and  Food  Inspection  of  tke 
United  States  Government. 
Dr.  Bigelow  and  his  sulf 
.  of  scientists,,  ^duates  of 
many  of  the  foremost  scien- 
tific institutions,  carry  out 
the  exhaustive  research 


National  Canncn  ^ 


•  tinuatly  travelling,  and  giv- 
ing canners  everywhere 
first-hand  co-operation. 
Dau  is  exchanged  mth  other 
eminent  laboratories  (in. 
eluding  those  maintained 
by  leading  individual  can- 
ners), and  findings  are 
spread  broadcast  to  all  can- 
ners for  the  benefit  of  the 
industry  and  the  public. 

In  both  chemical  and 
bacterioli^ol  research  the 
National  Canners  Assod- 
ation  leaves  no  stone  un- 
turned in  perfecting  the 
multitude  of  products  now 


,  Washington,  D.  C 


so  successfully  marketed  in 
cans.  To  visit  these  labo- 
ratories is  to  have  new 
respect  for  the  mighty  in- 
dustry now  celebrating  its 
one  hundredth  birthday. 

No  other  country  in  the 
world  equals  the  United 
Sutes  in  the  production  and 
consumption  of  canned 
foods.  To  guard  closely, 
therefore,  the  conditions 
surrounding  their  manu- 
fiuture  is  a  service  which 
the  canners  of  America 
gladly  render  to  the  people 
of  this  country. 


In  |Wiiting  advertisen,  please  mention  Journal  of  Home  Economics 


Devoted  to  Home  Betterment 

FROM  time  to  time  I  shall  use  this  page  to  talk  to  the  thought- 
ful, progressive  readers  of  the  Journal  of  Home  Economics. 
If  you  are  interested  in  new  ideas  for  serving  more  attractive  and 
more  economical  salads  and  desserts,  you  are  invited  to  write  me  for 
suggestions.  Naturally,  we  will  talk  about  the  wonders  of  Knox 
Sparkling  Gelatine,  its  endless  uses  and  economy,  many  of  which, 
perhaps,  you  do  not  know. 

For  instance:  By  combining  a  can  of  salmon  with  a  cupful  of  rice  and  a  table- 
spoonful  of  Knox  Sparkling  Gelatine — it  has  been  my  experience  that  the  salmon 
will  make  twice  as  many  servings  as  when  served  alone.  Try  this  delicious  Salmon 
and  Rice  Loaf.  You  will  be  delighted  not  only  with  its  appetizing  appearance 
but  with  its  economical  features  as  well. 


1  Ubltspoonlul  of  Kqoi 
i  oupf  ufof  oold  WBter 
1  tsupaonf  ul  of  ult 


SALMON  RICE  LOAF 

Spuklinc  Gf  latine  ]  cu 


Watt.-    Ant  olt^  M  or  mat  mag  U  wW  to  pUa  »(  Setmm. 

KNOX  the  "4-to-l"  Gelatine 

Did  you  know  that  experts  call  Knox  the  "Wo-l"  Gelatine?  That  is  because  it  goes  four 
times  farther  than  re at!y -prepared  packagea  which  serve  only  aix  people,  compared  to  twenty- 
tour  eervingg  which  you  gpt  from  one  package  of  Knox. 

Mrw.  Knox  Spteial  Home  Scroice.  If  you  would  like  to  know  how  to' have  a  greater  variety 
of  economical  desserts  and  salads  for  your  home  table,  or  know  the  secret  of  making  left- 
overs into  new  and  attractive  dishes,  write  me  for  my  recipe  books  "Food  Economy"  -"'* 
"Dainty  Desserts,"  which  I  will  send  you  free  if  you  will  tell  me  f- 


if  your  grocer. 


"  KNCSC  ' 

1  QtLATld 


Any  domestic  science  teacher  can  have  suffi- 
cient gelatine  for  her  class,  if  she  will  write  me 
on  school  stationery,  stating  quantity  and 
when  needed. 

KNOX  GELATINE 

Mrs.  Charlei  B.  Knox 


104  KnoK  Avmue 


John«town,  N.  Y. 


JOURNAL  OP  SOME  ECONOMICS— ADVERTISEMENTS 


BOTANICAL  Abstracts 

A  monthly  serial  furnishing  abstracts  and  citations  of  publications  in  the  international 
field  of  botany  in  its  broadest  sense,  beginning  with  the  year  1918 

PUBLISHED  MONTHLY 

UNDER  THB  DIRECTION  OF 

THE  BOARD  OF  CONTROL  OF  BOTANICAL  ABSTRACTS,  INC. 

EDITORIAL  BOARD 

Burton  E.  Livingston,  Editar^n-Chief 

The  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Maryland 

BuBTON  E.  LxviNonoN,  Johns  Hopkios  Univeraity^  Baltimore,  Md.,  Editor  for  MtioellAneouB,  unolaadfied 

pubhoatioQS 

JoHH  Hmnouit  Barnrart,  New  York  Botanical  Gar 


den.   New   York  City,   Editor  for   fiiblio^apAy, 
Biography  and  BiaHary. 

Edward  W.  Bbrbt,  The  Johna  Hopkina  Univenity, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  Editor  for  Paleobotany  and  Evo- 
luiionary  autory, 

J.  H.  GouRLBT.  New  Hampahire  Collece,  Durham, 
N.  H.,  Editor  for  HortieuUurg. 

H.  C.  CowLit,  The  Univeraity  of  Chioaso,  Chicago, 
111.,  Editor  for  Boclogy  and  Plant  Geography. 

B.  M.  DuoQAR,  Miaeouri  Botanical  Garden,  St.  Louia, 

Mo.,  Editor  for  Physiology. 

Alrxamdhr  W.  ETAirt,  Yale  Uniyersity,  New  Haven, 
Conn..  Editor  for  MctphoHogy  and  Taxonomy  of 
BryophyUt. 

C.  Btoart  Gagbr,  Brooklyn  Botanic  Garden,  Brook- 

lyn, N.  Y.,  Editor  for  Botanical  Eduealion. 

J.M.  GRBBNMAN.MiBsouri  Botanical  Garden,  St.  Louia, 
Mo.,  Editor  for  Taxonomy  of  VoKular  Planta. 

Hbhrt  Kraburr,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor. 
Mich.,  Editor  for  Pharmaceutical  Botany  and 
Phannaeognoey. 


E.  W.  OuTR,  Brooklyn  Botanic  Garden,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  Editor  for  Morphology  and  Taxonomy  of 
Fungi,  Bacteria  and  MyxomyeoUt. 

C.  V.  PipRR,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  Waahlnf - 
ton,  D.  C  Editor  for  Agronomy. 

Donald  Rrddxcx,  Cornell  University,  IUimr,  N.  T.« 
Editor  for  Pathology. 

J.  R.  ScHRAUu,  ComeD  University,  Ithaoa,  N.  T,* 
Editor  for  Morphology  and  Taxonomy  of  Algao. 

GnoROR  H.  Shdll,  Prineeton  Unlv«rslty«  PjrlaMtOB, 
N.  J.,  Editor  for  GnMfiet. 

E.  W.  SzNNorr,  Conneotiout  AfricaHiml  CoQen 
Storrs,  Conn..  Editor  for  MorpMogy,  Anahmy  and 
Hiatohgy  of  Vaeeidar  Plontt, 

J.  J.  Skinnrr,  U.  8.  Bozeau  of  Plant  Industry,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Editor  for  SoU  Seionea. 

GiLBBRT  M.  SiCTTH,  University  of  V^soonidn,  Madison , 
Wis.,  Editor  for  CyMogy, 

Rapsail  Zov,  U.  8.  Forest  Senrioe,  Washimton,  D.  0. 
Editor  for  Forett  Botany  and  Forettry, 


North  American  Botanical  Organizations  Represented  on  the  Board  of  Control  of  Botan- 
ical Abstracts,  Inc. :  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Section  G,  Botany. 
American  Genetic  Association.  American  Microscopical  Society.  American  Phytopatho- 
logical  Society.  Americfin  Society  of  Agronomy.  American  Society  of  Naturalists.  American 
Conference  of  Pharmaceutical  Faculties.  Botanical  Society  of  America.  General  Section. 
Physiological  Section,  Taxonomic  Section.  Ecological  Society  of  America.  Paleontologicai 
Society  of  America.    Society  of  Horticultural  Science.    Society  of  American  Foresters. 

The  prime  purpose  of  Botanical  Abstracts  is  to  supply  citations  and  abstracts  of  all 
papers  dealing  with  botanical  subjects,  wherever  published,  just  as  soon  as  possible  after 
they  appear.  Every  effort  will  be  made  to  present  complete  and  correct  citations  of  all 
papers  appearing  later  than  January  1,  1918. 

Published  monthly,  beginning  September,  1918,  two  volumes  a  year,  each  volume  contain* 
ing  about  300  to  325  pages. 

Back  Volumes.  Subscription  price:  Vols.  I  and  II  (Sept.  1918  to  Dec  1919,  inc.),  and 
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other  countries.    Prices  are  net,  postpaid. 

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Order  today  while  the  first  volumes  are  available 

In  writing  advertisers,  please  mention  Journal  of  Home  Eoonomics 


JOUBXAL  OP  SOUR  BCONOMICS—ADVEXTISSMESTS 


How  did  the  ancient  Egyptians 
raise  their  dough  r 

Four  thousand  years  ago  the  many  new  methods  of  leavening 
Egyptians  leavened  their  bread  but  the  latest  chapter  is  baking 
with  soul  dough  left  from  the  last      powder,  and  the  final  development 


baking — dough  full  of  all  manner 
of  yeasts  and  bacteria  from  the  aii. 

This  has  been  proved  by  micro- 
scopic examination  of  barley  bread 
found  in  the  tombs  of  ancient 
Egypt.  Not  the  least  interesting 
part  of  this  is  that  the  same  primi- 
tive method  has  persisted  for  liter- 
ally thousands  of  years  —  and  is 
even  today  in  use  in  sections  of 
Europe  and  the  countries  of  the 
southern  hemisphere. 

Since  that  time  there  have  been 


in  baking  powder  is  Ryzon.  It  is 
made  of  pure,  healthful,  econom- 
ical   ingredients,   combined   with 

scientific  accuracy. 

Ryx-an  ii  packed  in  full  16  Qunet  ptimdi 
— alia  25(  and  JSc  paciagti.  Tht  new 
RyxBH  Baking  BttiUrigmalprice  Sl.OO), 
naleinittg  250  prailiial  rtcipti,  luill  bi 
mailed,  poiipaid  uptii  Tempi  of  30c  in 
ilampi  tr  coin,  txapl  in  Canada.  A 
pound  Htt  ef  Ryxtin  tvill  be  itni  fnt. 
Postpaid,  IB  any  dtmeilic  iiience  leather 
luAa  lurilei  hi  bd  ichaol  Itaticntry,  giv- 
ing official  potition. 


GENERALCHEMICALCa 

FOOD  DEPARTMENT 
NEW  YORK 


The  Ryuia  ^P^    fl  l^'' 


®' 


THE   PERFECT   BAKING   POWDER 


Id  writing  advertisen,  please  mentioD  Joumal  of  Home  EcoDomics 


Vol.  Xn.  No.  1  Januahy,  1920 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

For  those  interested  in  Homemaking,  Institution  Mansigement, 
and  Educational  Worlc  in  Home  Economics 

lfif.AuGBP.N0BTC»r,Aditor  KxturabE  BAUnmr,  JwiMw  BMtor 

BdUtHalBMfi 
Mif.MAByH.ABBL  C  F.  Lanowobtht  Etbblwiji  Millbb  RutbWhbblbb  AmDAMnu 

A»Oil(<»  Jf Mii«rr— Edna  N.  Wbitb.  President  Ameikui  ^me  Eooooinkt  Atfocimtion 

Elsib  Lbomabo,  ChaimuB  Io«titutk>ii  Eoonomkt  Section 
Katbaunb  Blumt,  ChBinnaa  Sdence  Section 
Mamxb  Bumch,  CbAirman  Extension  Ediicstion  Section 
Mabbl  Tulum o,  Cliainnan  Textile  Section 

C»t»h0nt»r9—Tht  Officen,  Members  of  the  Coandl,  nnd  Adrisors 


CONTENTS 

The  Present  States  or  Vitamines Katharine  Blunt  and  Chi  Che  Wang  1 

Recent  Advances  in  our  Knowledge  of  Food  Selection  and  Preparation 

Mabd  T.  Wellman  15 

An  Experiment  in  Socializing  Home  Economics  Education    ....    Emma  A.  Winslow  26 

The  Training  op  Children  as  a  Part  of  Laboratory  Work  lv  Home  Management   .    . 

Elizabeth  Vermilye  28 

For  the  Homemaker 

Cost  of  Living Florence  Nesbitt  35 

To  Cook  Prunes  without  Heat  or  Sugar 36 

A  Card  System  of  Household  Accounting Ella  Kaiser  Carruih  37 

Minimum  Wage 39 

Shoes 40 

Not  Bread  Alone 41 

Effect  of  Beating  Cake  Made  with  Different  Baking  Powders    Evelyn  G.  Halliday  42 

The  End  of  an  80-Hour  Day 43 

Editorial 44 

Comment  and  Discussion 45 

News  from  the  Field 47 


Tbb  J  oubval  ov  Hokb  EcoNOMici  is  publislicd  month^r  bar  tae  American  Home    conomics  Assocmt  on. 

I2.M  A  YEAR.    FOREIGN  $2.35.    CANADIAN  $2.3t.    SINGLE  COPIES  25  CENT9 

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AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOCIATION  121 1  Cathedral  St.,  B altimoib,  Md. 

Tbe  Joubmal  ov  Hokb  Economics  is  on  sale  at  John  Wanamaker's,  Philadelphia;  The  (Hd  Cocner  Book  Store,  Boston; 
A.  C.  McCluig's,  Chicago;  Baltimore  News  Company.  Baltimore;  Woodward  and  Lothrop,  WMhmgton 


JOURNAL  OF  BOMB  BCONOUJCS—ADVBBTISBMBNTS 


r^REAM   OF   TARTAR,  which  is 
derived   from   grapes,    makes   the 
highest  quality  baking  powder. 


That  is  the  reason   it  is  used  in 


ROYAL 
Baking  Powder 


Absolutely  Pure 


FIFTY  YEARS  PRE-EMINENT  FOR  MAKING 
THE  FINEST  AND  MOST  WHOLESOME  FOOD 


Royal  Contains  No  Alum — 

Leaves  No  Bitter  Taste 


In  writing  advertisen,  pleaae  mention  Journal  of  Home  ii>>«/>mMt 


JOUKNAL  OF  BOMS  SCOSOMlCS—ADVBKTISEtlRllTS 


Why  make  such  expensive  cakes? 

T^HERE  is  really  no  need  to  use  expensive  butter  in  cakes, 
■*■  since  you  can  make  even  the  most  delicate  cakes  taste  as 
if  made  with  butter,  just  by  using  Crisco  -plus  extra  salt — 
one  level  teaspoonful  of  salt  for  every  cupful  of  Crisco. 

Not  only  does  Crisco  cost  only  about  half  as  much  as  butter, 
but  less  is  required,  because  Crisco  is  100%  richness — a  solid 
cream  of  wholesome  vegetable  oil — while  butter  is  part  water, 
salt  and  curd. 

You  always  can  depend  on  Crisco,  because  it  is  made  by  a 
special  process  so  that  it  is  always  the  same.  It  does  not 
turn  rancid.  It  is  always  pure,  fresh,  colorless,  tasteless,  and 
odorless.  White  cakes,  enriched  with  Crisco,  have  a  snowy, 
light-as-a-feather  tenderness  that  is  as  delightful  as  their 
delicate  flavor.  ■ 

Criaco  U  tu  good  for  frying  and  pattry 
making  a*  it  i$  for  cake 

Critcou  a  better,  aU-purpose  cooking  fat.  Flaky  jne- 
crust,  light  biacuita,  and  crisp,  grcaseless  fried  foods 
that  are  as  digestible  as  they  are  good,  reward  the  cook 
who  uses  nothing  but  Crisco  in  her  kitchen.  Get  Criaco 
at  your  grocer's. 


■oaking  in  "Tbc  Why,  of  CoakiDi 
t  Hill,  founder  ot  Tbt  Bottcoi  C. 


TSf  lu  Crui»  ukA  by  Jmni 

v  recjpc*.    lOB  pwi. 
Iteu  Dcputnunt  V-1. 


JOPMUdl  OF  BOMB  BOmOMICa—ADfEMIISEltanS 


Dn-MAKE,No.  lOO—ExcepCMmallrwdl-Buide 
OBif MU  of  tMW-whUe  Kxie  Ootk.    Price,  S6.00 

DDKMAKB 

UNIFORMS 

The  keynote  to  the  success  of  &  nurse  is  her 
dependability  and  it  is  this  sftroe  quality 
thatBhedem&ndsin'heruniforms.  Foryears, 
experienced  nurses  hare  cultivated  the  habit 
of  we&rinK  Diz-Maka  uniforma.  They  ap- 
predste  the  quality  they  represent,  the  care- 
ful tailoring  and  Gt  and  the  correct  style 
that  are  assured. 


On  sale  at  the  leading  department  stores. 
Catalog  W  sent  upon  request,  also  folder  of 
house  and  porch  dressee  together  with  list 
of  dealers. 

HENRY    A.    DIX    &  SONS    CO. 

DIX  BUILDING.  NEW  YORK,      U.S.A. 


Bread  is  your 

Best  Food 

You  can  save  much  moaey  by  using  it 
freely  in  preference  to  other  higher-priced 
foods. 

Our  book  "U  Dclicioua  Diaba  Madt  with 
Bcoid"  will  uiiat  you  to  b«tt«r  maiM  at 
lufl  flOAt.   Get  ftcopy  fr«c  from  your  luker 

or  croceror  direct  from  ua. 

The  Flelschmann  Ck>. 

YourClty 


A  Nourishing  Food  of  Proper 
Caloric  Value 


tution  of  diibei  prepared  with  Eagle 
Brend  to  Ukc  the  place  of  many  of  thoN 
Gontainint  cxpeiuivc  animil  ftti.  Ea^ 
Bnmd.  rich  in  carbohydntei  and  protein 
element*,  lupplie*  the  neceuary  fuel, 
energy  and  tiuue  building  element*  at 
comparatively  low  coit. 
E*sle  Brend,  compoied  of  pure  tnilk  and 
*ut«r,  copdenKd  together  add*  real  nour- 
iihmctit  to  ill  diihe*.  Plan  on  uting  it 
in  the  menu  where  pouible — whenever 
the  recipe  calli  for  milk  and  nigar:  tko 
■t  the  table  on  cereili,  deuerti.  and  fruit*. 
Eal^e  Brand  addi  to  their  food  value, 
make*  them  go  fartho'.  and  improve!  their 
flavor  with  it*  own  dcIiciouioeM. 
Every  can  hermetically  and  iinitarily 
lealed— handy — dependable,  economical. 
For  ulc  everywhere. 

THE  BORDEN  COMPANY 

Eitabli*hed  1857 

BORDEN  BUILDING 

NEW  YORK 


1EAI5LE  BRAND 


In  writing  advertiKis,  plea 


JOVKITAL  OF  BOME  ECONOMICS— ADrEXTISEMBlTTS 


r  Tcir  HM  A  -yj-iT  a 


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B  BCOSOlilCS—ADVBRTlSBUBNTS 


The  Value  of  Cocoa 

As  an  article  of  food  depends  upon  the  quality  of 
the  cocoa  beans  used  and  the  process  of  manu- 
facture; the  flavor  and  palatability  depend  largely 
upon  the  blending  of  the  products  gathered 
from    the    different    parts    of    the    tropical   world. 

THE  WALTER  BAKER  COMPANY 

Has  had  an  unsurpassed  experience 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  forty  years 
in^the  selection  and  blencHng  of  the 
world's  products.  The  process  of 
manufacture  used  in  their  mills  is 
purely  mechanical,  and  perfectly  pre- 
serves the  delicious  natural  flavor, 
the  attractive  rich  red-brown  colcv 
and  great  nutritive  qualities  of  high- 
grade  cocoa  beans.  Their  prepara- 
tions, both  Cocoa  and  Chocolate,  have 
an  imezcelled  reputation  for  purity, 
quality  and  flavor — attested  by 

57  HIGHEST  AWARDS 

from    International    and  Local  Ex- 
ii«fau«do.s.p.i™toffi«  positions    in    Europe   and  America. 

A  very  attractive  recipe  hook  smlfree  to  any  address 

WALTER  BAKER  &  CO.  Ltd. 

Established  1780  DORCHESTER,  MASS. 


In  writing  advntiaeis,  please  mention  Journal  of  Home  Econonua 


Domestic  Science  Instructor's  Table 

A  table  convenient  in  size  and  equipment  for  the  domestic  science  instructor.  The 
gas  stove  is  the  "Kewaunee"  paUera.  An  dectric  plug  fs  set  in  the  right  end  rail  for 
eipenmenting  irith  various  electrically  heated  t»ble  and  cooking  appliances.  The  lowet 
shelf  is  deainUe  for  setting  ntenals,  packages,  etc,  out  of  the  way  while  eq>aiments  aie 
bdng  carried  on. 

Write  for  a  copy  of  Ike  Kewaunee  Book. 


UtthRocfc 


LABORATORY       FURNITURE  ^^EXPERTS 

KEWAUNEE,  WIS. 

New  T«ik  Office        -  -        70  FifA  Avenne 

Chicago  Office,  30  B.  Jackson  Boulerard 

BRANCH  OFFlCESi 

r-         AttaaM  Dallu 

eiPuo 


Kevanaee  Spring  Bok  Top  Conatrnctiui  u  SpemDy  Patented 


They  Couldn't  Wait 

because  they  know  hat  cake  is 
always  even,  fine-grained  and 
delicious  since  ske  commenced  using 


IFQI 


The  Wholesome  Baking  Powder 

Housewives,  everywhere,  who  are  the  best  cooks  are  more  and  more  com- 
!  lo  make  Rumfoid  their finalandregularchoice  because  they  have  learned 
by  experience  that  Rumford  is  the  best  baking  powder  at 
die  price  and  there  is  no  better  baking  powder  at  any  price. 
Get  a  can  from  your  grocer,  today;  try  it  and  everydiing 
you  bake  will  be  fine-grained,  light  and  delicious— per- 
fectly leavened — used  over  quarter  of  a  century  Rumford 
has  never  spoiled  a  baking. 

Fr«GxAB«k.  Utu,«M,dy«you.copy«(J«..tMcJC™eHiir.WfAil»d 
icrslmi,  coot  b™k  •TheRumio.dW.y  of  CooImj  iikI  Houieliold  E«o»oi»T. 

Rumford  Companjr     D.pi.17      Proridence,  R.  L 


Vol.  XII  DECEMBER,  1920 


HOME 
ECONOMICS 


i 


THE  FOOD  OF  THE  IMMIGRANT 

MICHAEL  M.  DAVIS,  JR. 

BERTHA  M.  WOOD 

AMERICAN  TABLE  SERVICE 
S.  DEBORAH  HAINES 

PUBLICITY  WORK 
HARLAN  SMITH 

FOR  THE  HOMEMAKER 

CHOOSING  OVEN  TEMPERATURES 

MINNA  C.  DENTON 


PUBLISHED  MONTHLY 

THE  AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOCIATION 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 

natlsrMirehU.  1910,  ■ 

c  for  iinu]ini  St  special , „-  ,-- 

0«aber3.  1SI7.    Anlhoriied  on  October  26,  l»8. 


EVERY  IHING  cat.  be  washed  In  the  1900, 
ffoni  baby  clothes  lo  blankets.  'Ihecleansing. 
soapy  water  rushes  back  and  forth  ihroueh  the 
cloihes  in  that  magic  hgiiteS  tnovemem,  swishinj; 
through  them  with  every  motion  of  the  hib  !  This 
figure  K  movement  is  an  exclusive  feature. 


And  there  are  no  pans  in  the  tub  to  cause 
wear  and  tear,  or  to  wrench  off  buttons.  ITie 
swinuing  reversible  wringer  works  electncallv. 
and  the  entire  cost  of  running  the  1900  is  only 
a  few  cents  an  hour.  When  you  think  of  the 
19(10  remember  that  magic  figure  8  ! 


Wriit  >^ij 


<i  book,  GEORGE  BRINTON'S  WIFE, 


1900  CATARACT  WASHER 


THE  1900  WASHER  COMPANY,  209  Cli 
B  Facaryand  Office:  Canadian  19I)U  Washi 


1  St..  Bingliamton,  N.Y. 
t  Co.,  357  Yonge  St.,  Toronto 


n© 


JOURNAL  OF  BOMB  BCONOiiJCS^ADYBRTISBUBNTS 

New  material  for  classes  in 

Domestic  Science 

Gef  motion  pictures^  slides^  charts^  lectures^  leaflets^  and 
specific  answers  free  from  our  Domestic  Science  Department. 


Facts  that  will  interest 
your  students 

^011^  to  buy  good  meat 

economically. 
What  constitutes  a  **bal' 

anced*'  meal. 
How  to  make  the  table  most 

attractive. 
Menus  for  every  day. 
♦        ♦ 

How  other  teachers 
value  our  service 


"l  want  to  thank  you  and  year  comi>any 
for  the  meat  charts.  For  shears  I  have 
wanted  just  such  charts  to  use  in  my 
cookiuff  classes— the  inrls  all  seem  to 
understand  the  different  cuts  so  much 
better  with  the  colored  charts. 

"Re^na  Spellman.  Home  Economics. 
"3316  Troost  St.,  Kansas  City,  Mo.'* 

"I  nm  returninif  the  slides  for  the 
'IfCctureon  Domestic  Economy.*  About 
forty  students  and  three  teachers  at- 
tended the  lecture.  I  am  sure  the  slides 
were  most  helpful  in  fizinff  in  the  pupils' 
minds  the  elements  needed  in  the  body 
and  the  places  of  certain  foods  in  the 
diet. 

"Abby  McCardall.  Thurmont  Hiffh 
"School.  Thurmont.  Md." 

"The  Wilson  Meat  Charts  have  certainly 
been  a  joy  to  our  cookery  classes.  They 
are'  the  best  charts  of  the  kind  obtain^ 
able. 

"Mildred  L.  Swift.  The  Schools  of 
"Oshkosh.  Oshkosh.  Wis." 


1 


I 


F  YOU    teach   or  are   interested   in   domestic 
science,  this  offer  will  help  you. 


You  are  welcome  to  use  the  experience  and  expert 
knowledge  of  Wilson  &  Co.,.  who  set  the  "Certi- 
fied** standard  of  excellence  in  food  selection. 

Write  to  Miss  Elleanor  Lee  Wright,  director  of 
our  department  of  domestic  science.  She  can  furnish 
you  recent  information  on  vitamine-content  of 
various  foods,  calories  and  specific  nutritive  values. 
You  can  get  her  latest  facts  on  cooking  by  temper- 
ature, and  other  questions  encountered  in  your 
daily  work. 

Use  the  Co-operation  of  Our 
Domestic  Science  Department 

Your  students  will  take  greater  interest  in  subjects 
illustrated  by  our  stereopticon  lectures  on  food 
preparation..  It  is  easier  to  instruct  with  pictures 
in  natural  color,  showing  various  meat  cuts  and 
their  location.  Teachers  get  much  valuable  material 
from  our  reprints  on  "The  Economic  Dietetic 
Value  of  Jams  and  Jellies — Canned  Fruits — or 
Canned  Meats."  The  answers  to  numerous  ques- 
tions on  home  economics  and  domestic  science 
will  be  gladly  given  you.  Write  for  the  information 
you  wish — it  is  supplied  free. 


IVrite  a  letter  or  mail  the  Coupon 

Dietitians,  teachers,  housewives,  schools,  are 
finding  our  help  invaluable.  Send  us  your 
needs — we  will  meet  them  to  the  best  of 
our  ability  without  cost  to  you. 

v^    r\    n 


V. 


WILSON  a  Co 


V    \y 


WILSON  h  CO.,  Dept.  1251,  41st.  and   Ashland   Ave., 
Chicago  111. 

Please  send  me  information  on  article  checked  below; 

D    leaflet  on 

G    Meat  Charts. 
[")    Wilson's  Meat  Cookery. 

G    Information  about  teachers'  material  for  instruc- 
tion i:» 


Name . . , 
Address , 


(If  you  wish,  write  a  letter  outlininir  your 
needs  in  more  detail.) 


In  writing  advertiaen,  please  mention  Journal  of  Home  Economici 


JOURHAL  OF  EOUE  ECOXOUICS—ADVBRTISEUENTS 


Perfect  Bon  Bon  Fondant 

The  choice  of  the  utensil  in  candy  making  is  as  important  as  the 
quality  of  the  materials  used. 

Unless  the  utensil  takes  (he  heat  evenly,  "sugaiing"  results  and  the 
fondant  is  spoiled.     Because  the  metal  used  in 

"Wear-Ever" 


Write  for 

«l 

and    tee 

for 

yourself 

hat 

■Wear-Ever"  | 

tskea 

he 

heat  quickly  | 

and  hold 

.... 

Aluminum    Cooking    Utensils 

is  a  remarkable  conductor,  all  parts  are 
heated  almost  instantly  and  maintain  a 
uniform  temperature. 

Replace  uteniii*  that  wear  out 
with  uteniiU  that  "Wear-Ew" 

L«Ht/<>r'V"H'nir-£car"(nii^inaij(i>nfJbctolfDms/<acAirfCAI((, 

The  Aluminum  Cooking    Utensil  Co. 

[>*pt.  23.  Naw  KeiuinnoB,  P>. 

In  C.n.d.-N<irt>,f„n  Aluminum  Co..  Lid..  Toronto,  Onl. 


WEAR-EVER 
ALUMINUM 
TRADEMARK 

M/U}EIN  U.S.  A. 


In  writing  advertisers,  please  □ 


D  Journal  uf  Home  Economics 


Vol.  Xn,  No.  12  December,  1920 


THE 

Journal  of  Home  Economics 

0 

For  those  interested  in  Homemakinft,  Institution  Management, 
and  Educational  Work  in  Home  Economics 

MiB.  AucB  p.  NoKXON,  Editor  ELstuiah  £.  Baldwin,  Busituts  Editor 

BdilaHol  Ba^rd 

Mbs.  Makt  H.  Abxl  C.  F.  Lanowoiihy  Amr  Damibj  Ruth  Wheslbe  ^  Violet  Rtlbt 

Ex-dfieU  Mmbtn~^yLABY  E.  Swebnt,  Pmident  Amedcan  Home  Eoonomici  AModatioD 

NoLA  Tkxat,  ChainnAii  Imtitiidon  Eoonomfci  Section 
MiMNA  DsHTOir.  CheimiAii  Sdence  Sectkm' 
Ola  Powell,  dudniian  Exteiuion  Educatkm  Section 
LnuAM  Peek,  ChaimiAn  Textile  Section 

Ctilabani0n— The  Officert,  Memben  of  the  Cooadl,  and  Adviion 


CONTENTS 

The  Food  of  the  Immigrant  in  Relation  to  Health 

Michael  M,  Davis,  Jr.  and  Bertha  M.  Wood  517 

Teaching  American  Table  Service  to  Americans - .    .   5.  Deborah  Haines  524 

The  PuBLiaTY  Work  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  in  Relation  to  Home  Economics 

Harlan  Smith  527 

The  Present  Status  of  the  Home  Economics  Amendment  to  the  Vocational  Education 

Bill Louise  Stanley  535 

For  the  Homemaker 

General  Rules  for  Choosing  Oven  Temperatures   ......     Minna  C,  Denton  541 

Is  it  the  Many  or  the  Few  Who  Have  Changed? 544 

A  Score  Card  for  Farm  Dwellings AUce  PouUer  545 

Eight  Hour  Service 548 

A  Lesson  in  Costume  Design 549 

Editorial 550 

The  Open  Forum  ' 551 

Books  and  Literature 553 

News  from  the  Field 555 


The  Joubmal  or  Home  EooHomcB  it  publiahed  monthly  by  the  American  Home  Economica  Anwdation. 
I3.M  A  YEAR.    FOREIGN  92J5.    CANADIAN  |2JM.    SINGLE  COPIES  25  CENTS 

HOW  TO  REMIT.    Remittances  should  be  tent  l^  Check,  Ezpreia  Order  or  Poetal  Money  Order,  payable  to  the 
American  Home  Economics  Association.    Currency  unless  mailed  in  a  registered  letter  is  at  the  sendo's  risk. 

NOTICE.    When  payment  is  mad«(by  check  no  receipt  will  be  sent  unless  requested. 

CHANGE  IN  ADDRESS.    Notice  of  chanie  in  address  should  be  sent  two  weeks  before  the  date  of  issue  on  whfcfa 
the  change  is  to  take  effect.   The  subscriber's  Old  Address  should  be  clearly  indicated  in  addition  to  the  New  Address. 

AMERICAN  HOME  ECONOMICS  ASSOaATION  1211  Cathedral  St.,  Baltdiore,  Md. 

The  Joubmal  or  Hoke  Ecohokxcs  is  on  sale  at  John  Wanamaker's,  Philadelphia;  The  Old  Corner  Book  Store,  Boston; 
A.  C.  McClurg's,  Chicago;  Baltimore  News  Company,  Baltimore;  Woodward  and  Lothrop.  Washington. 


JOVRNiL  OP  aOilS  KON0UICS~ADVIUtriSBMSl/TS 


In  wridDg  advcTtiMii,  pleue  mention  Jounul  of  Hosm 


JOURNAL  OP  BOItE  ECOSOUICS—ADVERTISEUESTS 


Why  have  fried  food  taste  of  the 
cooking  fat 

when  Crisco  fries  perfectly  without  adding  the  sHghtest  flavor 
of  its  own  ? 

Until  you  try  it,  you  can't  imagine  how  much  this  delicate, 
tasteless  frying  fat  betters  fried  food — how  it  lets  you  enjoy 
every  shading  of  natural  flavor  in  fruity  fritters,  spicy  dough- 
nuts and  toothsome  croquettes. 

It  is  better  from  the  health  standpoint,  too,  because  it  is  a 
strictly  vegetable  product.  Perfectly  digestible  itself,  foods 
fried  in  it  are  digestible. 

It  is  economical,  because  it  quickly  forms  a  crisp  crust  on  the 
food  and  does  not  soak  in,  and  because  you  can  use  what  is 
left  again  and  again.  It  does  not  carry  the  taste  of  one  food, 
even  fish  or  onions,  to  the  next  thing  fried. 

Use  Crisco  for  tender,  flaky  pastry,  delicious 

biscuits,  and  butterlike  cakes.     It's   always  I 

pure,  white,   fresh  —  gives  you  the  -utmost 

quality  and  richness  for  every  cooking  purpose. 

Which  requires- hotter  fryingr  fat,  doughnuts  or  croquettes — and 
how  should  you  test  it? 

Learn  &tl  about  eaay  Crisco  trying  in  the  practical  cookbook.  "Recipes  for  Everyday,"  pre-  |l 

pared  by  the  famous  cook.  Janet  McKenzle  Hill,  for  users  of  Crisco.     The  founder  of  the  11 

Boston  Cooking  fx-hool,  and  editor  of  ^niarican  Cookery  also  gives  many  de-  i 

licioixs  recipes  suitable  tor  everyday   family   use.     Well   bound;   illustrated   in  I 

color.     One  copy  mailed,  postpaid,  oq  receipt  of  10  cents  in  stamps.    Address  /i^il^%, 

Department  V-14,  The  Procter  &  Gamble  Company,  CiDcinuati,  Ohio. 


JOVBSAl  OF  BOMS  BCOSOUICS—ADVERTISBMSKTS 


The  Hazards 

are  eliminated  by  the 


Guessing 
at  oven 
temperatures 
spoils  the 
baking 


Cooke,  young  and  old,  ci 
guesswork  when  it  comes  ti 
Tbi!>  often  spells  disaster. 

The  difference  of  a  [few  degrees  in 
temperature  in  the  oven  makes  the 
distinction  between  "lucky"  ano  "un- 
lucky" baking. 

Not  enough  heat  fails  to  produce 
the  necessary  chemical  reaction  of  the 
ingredients.  Too  much  heat  precipi- 
tates them.  Both  mean  failure — 
spoiled  bakings. 

The  "Lorain"  Oven  Heat  Regulator 
gives  the  cook  exact,  measured  heat 
for    all    requirements    and    eliminates 


"/  n«ter  hue  failures  im  my 
baiinf  sine*  I  boHgMt  mtj 
'Loraia'-tqtUpped  lUnt." 


guesswork  in  cooking,  insuring  suc- 
cess. 

It  makes  cooks  already  expert  un- 
failingly successful  cooks — because  it 
removes  the  hazards  of  cooking. 

Famous  cookery  experts,  such  as 
Mrs.  Rorer,  Dr.  Goudiss  and  many 
others,  have  recommended  "Lorain" 
with  enthusiasm. 


mAM' 


OVEN  HEAT 
REGULATOR 


In  writing  wtTcrtlien,  pleue  nmtiaii  Jotuaal  of  Btaoe  Bcoaomlci 


JOVXNAL  OF  SOUS  OJONOUICS—ADYERTISBMBSTS 


of  Cookery 

"Lorain"  Oven  Heat  Regulator 


What  low  temperature  cooking 
means  to  women 

Low    temperature    cooking    by   the  3,  4  or   5-hour  cooking,  makes  possi- 

"Lorain"     method     has     emancipated  ble   man)'  hours  of  spare  time  a  day 

thousands  of  women  from  the  drudg-  for  the  woman  who  keeps  house.     Its 

cry  of  "pot- watching."  results    far   exceed   the   most   success- 


ful   uses   of    Dutch   ovens   or   fireless 
cookers. 


Its  results  are  a  constant  source  of 
'  amazement  to  those  who  witness  a 
"Lorain"  demonstration.  ^^Y   '^^   "^o^   ^^^   y°"   interx:sting 

information      about     "Lorain"  ?      We 
"Lorain,"    which     sets — and     main-        shall  be  glad  to  do  so,  if  you  will  write 
taing*-exact    oven     temperatures     for        to  us. 

AMERICAN  STOVE  COMPANY.  1212  Chontean  Ave.,  St.  Lonia.  Mo. 

Largett  Makmra  of  Cat  Itangea  in  thv  World 
Only  these  six  famous  gas  ranges  are  equipped  with  "Lorain" 

CLMtK  IWWElr-  NBW  FROCESS— 

Ocorgt  H.  CUA  &  Co.  Mt.,  Chleafta,  III.  Naw  Procaa  Ston  Co.  INt,,  Ondand,  Ohio 

DANGLER-  QUICK  HEAI^ 

Dmntlw^tcnaCa.  DlT.,CI«muid,  Ohio  Quick  HmI  Stora  Co.  DIt  ,  St.  LoBil,  ko. 

DIRECT  ACTION—  RELIABLE— 

M■L^(■tl•><>■l  Stan  Ca.  DIV.,  LoralD,  Ohio  RallabU  Scot*  Co.  DIt.,  Clanland,  Ohio 

•*    -  WdnmnufactunoU  ■ndeoalatoTaafar  UMwhanaasU  Dotanllalila 

In  writing  advertiMTS,  please  mention  Journal  of  Home  Eoonomics 


JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECaS0MICS—AD7SXTISSUBllTS 


/%L.4^ 


"nous  ra 


a^ 


A  Christmas  Dessert  and  Candy 

A  FTER  eating  &  hearty  Christmas  dinner  have  you  ever  felt  that  the  Plum 
-"-  Pudding  was  just  a  Uttle  too  much?  I  have,  and  began  experimenting  on  a 
recipe  that  yrauld  avoid  the.,  heaviness  of  the  meal  and  yet  be  so  palatable  and 
attractive  that  it  would  add  iust  the  finishing  touch  to  it. 

I  have  found  that  this  fruited  Plum  Pudding,  which  requires  so  httle  time  and 
trouble  to  make,  and  saves  standing  over  a  hot  stove,  is  the  very  thing  that 
appeals  to  all  members  of  the  family.  Decorated  with  a  bit  of  holly,  it  carries 
out  the  spirit  of  Christmas,  and  while  I  call  it  a  Christmas  Plum  Pudding,  you 
will  find  it  suitable  for  any  dinner. 

I  am  also  giving  you  a  recipe  for  Christmas  candy  that  I  am  sure  you  will  find 
'■  dainty,  delicious,  and  which  will  add  pleasure  to  your  day. 


CHRISTMAS  PLUM  PUDDING 

I  enveloM  Sntu  Spu-klinciilBtiiu        1  cupHededrmiuu  llsquKiBcboc 

I  cup  fiud  wmter  i  cup  datA  or  fisi  tabtcapooni  o 

leupiuxu  (  cup  ilicwl  citiDD  or  Duti      PlDChorutt 

i  tnapoontul  Tssilli  f  cup  ouirantJ  1  pintof  milk 

Softk  Uia  leUtinein  H>1d  nter  for  five  miputda.    Put  milk  is  do 

been  ■tirred  to  ■  puts  in  ft  litth  nt«r.  nod  wfaep  (uldiiw  | 

RuBon  tmn  fin  and  wbeo  mlitun  becini  to  thickeu  add  vani 

gold  mta,  ud  ihill.    Hamove  to  terriot  diah  and  mriiigh  w 

Bhvimd  with  nalll*. 

CHRISTMAS  CANDY 

1  eavelope*  Kddi  Spuklina  Gelatina  It  oup*  boilinc  nter 

4  eupi  iTkaulBtsd  aucsr  1    oup  cold  waUr 

.    Addthabwlinantv.    Wbea  diMolveduldtheBusvandboUilowlr 

1*.    When  aomeiABt  cooled  itdd  to  one  pant  one  teupoonful  ennet  M 

.. jAlf  teaspoobf  u]  vxtrvrt  of  clovee.    Pour  into  fthkUow  Una  that  hmvv  been  dipped 

H-  nif  bt:  turn  out  and  cut  into  ■qunrea.    Roll  in  fine  inaulktwl  or  povdnsd  lutu  niulM 

^ -     ._,  ^y  uiinjv  different  flavortHUDhaa  lemon,  oran^,  peppermint.  wint«rgnen,  etc,,  mnd  diffo^ 

cu(  ooton,  nddini  cbopptid  nule,  dktee  or  fi(B. 

OTHER  CHRISTMAS  SUGGESTIONS 

ir  JOB  would  like  lUMntioiu  lor  *  HARSHUAIXOW  ROAST  *nd  otber  deliciou*  candy  noipH,  write  for  apKul 

ChtktBiM  euootioni.    Our  booklet*  "Dainty  DfwrU"  and  "Food  Etonomy"  containinc  recipn  lor  Deaeerta, 

Salad*,  lee  Cnams,  etc.,  will  alio  be  aantfiee,  if  you  en- 


Mr*.  Charln  B.  Knox 

KNOX  GELATINE 

104  KnoK  Avenu*  Johnstovm,  N.  Y. 

In  writing  adveituen,  plcaie  mention  Journal  of  Home  Economics 


JOVnSAL  OF  BOUE  ECOHOUICS—ADVERTISEUEXTS 


In  writlog  adveitisers,  please  mention  Jounul  of  Home  Ecooomica 


JOURNAL  OP  BOUB  SCOItOUKS-ADVBRTISBliSllTS 


HE  E 


•tfujbffd  product  that  hrings 
geetmay  ie  0imy  mmo/. 


»1E     »ou»    iuuiuj.,    jiw»«a. 

brown  donghnata  made  popu- 
lar bf  the  SolTstion  Ann^ 
"Over  There",  becanae  she 
la  mskiiig  them  vith  Hzbx. 
Since  we  published  a  year 
ago  the  famous  recipe  by 
Margaret  Sheldon,  the  origin 
nal  "doughnut  lassie,"  thou- 
sands of  mothers  have  used 
it  and  expressed  their  de- 
light. One  of  them  writes : — 
"1  have  tried  yoor  recipe  for 
donghnute  and  from  the  rush 
on  the  cookie  jar,  I  feel  safe 
in  saying  they  are  the  best  I 
have  ever  made." 


for  all  cooking  purposes  and 
for  nse  in  coffee.  Foods  pre- 
pared with  it  are  improved 
in  taste  ht"^  textore  and  are 
made  more  nourishing. 
Hebk  is  pure  skimmed  smilk 
evaporated  to  double  strength 
enriched  with  cocoanut  fat. 

Teachers  of  cooking  and 
domestic  science  will  find 
valuable  suggestions  in  the 
Hebe  Becipe  Booklet  for 
economica],  nntritioas,  well- 
balanced  meals.  Address 
the  Home  Economy  Depart- 
ment, S2 1 4  Consumers  Bldg., 
Chicago. 


THE  HEBE  COMPANY 


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JOURSAL  OP  BOHR  BCONOUICS—ADVERTISBMBKTS 


lb 


THE  BUREAU  OF  APPLIED  ECONOMICS 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

STANDARDS  OF  LIVING:  A  Compitation  of  Budgetary  Studies. 
Revised  Editioo,  1080.      166  pages.    In  paper,  S2.S0,  in  cloth,  $3.00 


This  volume  contains  summaries  oi  .  „       ,     „ 

titles  and  costs  of  the  items  necessary  to  maintain  a  family  at  aproper  leverof  living.    

teen  of  such  studies  are  covered  including  the  early  studies  of  Chapin  and  More  aa  well  ae 
the  recent  ones  of  the  National  Industriar  Conference  Board,  the  U.  8.  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics  and  the  Philadelphia  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research. 


Infomutloii 


THE 
WEST 
NEEDS 
TEACHERS 


S.  R.  BOYER,  ll«r.  B<U  Tdcptaona:  GarUUftU 

Beyer's  TEACHERS  Agency 


10600  Euclid  Aveoue 


CLEVELAND 


Established  to 
solve  the 

"TEACHBR  PROBLBM" 


CLINE  TEACHERS'  AGENCY 

COLUMBIA,  MO.  CHICAGO,  ILL. 

Atttaut  B.  CUiw.  Ur-  tllS  OnlnnlEr  An.,  M.  F.  Ford,  Ugt. 

BOISE,  IDAHO  SAN  DIEGO,  CAL. 

Gbhc  F.  Goraw.  U|r.  126  Ovt  BaUdtsf,  W/nnc  S.  Suitf.  Iffr. 

The  west  is  ofFering  the  highest  salaries  ever  paid  teachers. 
ENROLL  FREE 


In  writing  advertisers,  plea 


A  Journal  of  Home  Economics 


JOURNAL  OF  BOUE  ECOSOMICS—ADVBSTISEUEIVTS 


For  real  food  value 
—eat  cAlmonds 


The  chart  »bove — an  adap- 
tation of  a  table  appearing  in 
Dr.Kellogg'fboolt  "The  Itin- 
erary of  a  Breakfa*t" — shows 
concliuively  how  almond*  aur- 
pau  other  Maple  articled  of  the 
diet  in  calory  value. 

Almondi  with  their  high  percentile 


there 


,e  d.ily  di 


Foe  bighat  quilic)'  inait  upon  Blue 
DlAMOHli  Cilifbnui  Almpniii — the 
loft-ihcllcd,  fnll-mBted  kind— the  fin- 


ALMOHD  CROWBRS  BICKANCH 
T.C.Tuekei.VM-r" 


wmiir.     1    twimi    lm(    tnnet    or 
n  evtw    1  eusMDiat)  ^m*)  «>7- 

>  elHiiiKd  owkad  Bnt.    PinI*T. 

root  wattr  Into  ■  wuhdia.  iprlnU*  Id  QaU- 


Tbera  itra  uiy  aamber  ol  otlwr  waja 
In  *hirh  to  un  Coi'i  QdUina  to  main 
Toar  cooking  better.  The  andirlriw  •«- 
cnt  of  Buny  ■  dalntr  and  nnunal  nlmd 
and  rich,  deUcloiu  ikuert  li  one  ot  the 
ilctle   chwkarboard    psekaan   ol    Cox'* 


X  Book  of  GeUtloa  Rcelpa 
I  AurprlalnalT  Taxied  -mmy* 
:'■  Gelatine,  psrc,  anOa- 
nr«e(«]«d.    will    hBLpron 


GELATINE 


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JOBKHAI  Of  BOU&  BCOHOUtCS-ADYSXnSSltEHZS 


A  better  spread 
for  any  bread; 
an  aid  to  better 
cooking  and  baking, 

Swiffs 
Premium  Oleomargaiine 

Sweet  Pare  Clean 


EAT  MORE  BREAD! 

iniyp»d  ia  iw|Mrf  yap-wl    KVP  mnd  pap«  la  Had  by 
Spvdal  Household  Whin  Wusd  Paper 

nibd  Id  a  MOliaiMiBlmtUi  10  ttal  th*  boanrlfa  ^V 
MwoaaBTitoaptmdwIraJ  a«eedw»l«ht.tti»Ba^JT 
wand  toitvrj  whHiBM  iilifat  ImObc  Jajartawat 
BBd  IIMWT  itona  far  Wa.  Aak  tor-'Dianll?^  Writa 
fanuaoIaT. 
KalaaaMo  Va|elabl«  PaickneBl  CoaipUT 


In  writiait  advertben,  pleaw  mentioii  Joonul  of  Home  EcoiMimiei 


JOURNAL  OF  HOUR  BCONOMICS^ADVBRTISBMBSTS 


LEADING   TEXTBOOKS 

kinneandCooley:  CLOTHING  AND  HEALTH |1« 

Kinne  and  Cooley :  FOOD  AND  HEALTH 120 

KinneandCooley:  THE  HOME  AND  THE  FAMILY 1J20 

Elementary  texts  that  deal  chiefly  with  problems  of  the  rural  home. 

Cooley  and  Spohr:  HOUSEHOLD  ARTS  FOR  HOME  AND  SCHOOL.    Vols- 1  and  H.. .    IM 

Homemaking  in  a  simple  home  or  a  city  apartment.    Texts  for  the 
upper  grammar  grades. 

KinneandCooley:  FOODS  AND  HOUSEHOLD  MANAGEMENT 1.4d 

Kinne  a^d  Cooley:  SHELTER  AND  CLOTHING 1.40 

Practical  aspects  of  home  management— cooking,  clothing,  house 
decoration  and  furnishing.    Popular  texts  for  high  schools. 

Willard  and  Gillett:  DIETETICS  FOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 1.4S 

Principles  of  nutrition  applied  to  the  feeding  of  a  family. 

McGowanindWaite:  TEXTILES  AND  CLOTHING 1.32 

A  textbook  for  high  schools. 

Writm  for  our  doMcripttoe  catalog  of 
BOOKS  ON  HOMEMAKING 

THE    MAGMILLAN    COMPANY 

New  York  Dallas  Boston  Atlanta  Chicago  San  Francisco 


J.  B.  LIPPINCpTT  COMPANY 

Announce 

HOUSEHOLD  ARITHMETIC 

By  KATHERINE  F.  BALL,  M.A.. 
Vocational  A  dTteer  for  Women,  UnlTsralty  of  lOnnMOta,  md 

MIRIAM  E.  WEST.  M.A.. 
TMchcr  of  Mathematics,  Glrla  Vocational  High  School,  Mlnneapolto, 

99  lUustratlona.    $1.48; 

An  aritlmietio  for  prU,  oonstnicted  to  meet  the  special  problemB  of  the  home  and  to  accustom  them  to  the  aolof 
tion  thereof.  Reeognuing  that  the  experiencee  of  men  are  not  those  of  the  home,  the  authors  here  pnaent  a  tsaf. 
drawinc  ittf  material  from  the  common  experience  of  the  home  maker,  and  building  up  through  the  familiarity  of 
these  ezpenencee  a  command  of  the  essentials  of  sriihmetio. 

The  text  is  arranged  according  to  the  phases  of  home  economics  and  correlates  perfectly  with  home  courses,  vUeh 
makes  arithmetic  much  more  attractive  to  the  girl  because  the  problems  dealt  with  are  those  with  which  she  comes  in 
contact  in  everyday  life.  The  pedagogy  is  modem  and  sound ;  although  in  a  sense  a  review  arithmetio,  the  book  pve- 
sents  its  topics  m  the  simplest  and  most  thorough  manner.  It  is  possible  to  divide  the  book  into  the  parts  of  anth- 
metio  lying  within. certain  definite  household  fields— see  table  of  contents. 

CLOTHING 

CHOICE,    :CARE,     COST. 

By  MARY  SGHENGK  WOOLMAN,  B.S. 
ninstrated,  389  paftes.  Including  appendix,  hIbUography,  glossary,  and  Index.   Itew.    t3.M 


Mhers  of  home  economics  and  extension  workers  will  spprroiste  this  remsrksbly  complete  and  informative  vol- 
I  clothing.  Its  clunce,  care,  end  cost.    It  is  the  took  to  recommend  for  general  reading  and  study  as  the  author 


Teachers 

has  the  knack  o^piaking  her  subject  iDtenrely  perEonsl  snd  prsctical  in  a  value-getting  and  money-maUngL 
This  book  will  hel^  to  solve  the  home  problem  of  eecuring  clothing  to  please  the  eye.  to  stand  the  wear  of  dsSy 
s  nd,  at  a  cost  within  resson . 

in  addition  to  complete  information  on  clothing  materisls.  their  properties,  vslues  snd  prices,  then  are  aho 
chapters  on  the  care,  repair,  and  renovation  of  clothing,  dyeing,  laundering,  snd  spot  removal,  and  many  other 
valuable  suggestions  and  nints.  . 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 


East  Washington  Square,  PhUadelphla,  Pa, 


3126  I4tdrfe  Avenue,  GhIcato,'Ill. 


14 


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JOURNAL  OF  BOMB  BCONOUICS^ADVRRTISEMBNTS 


Wiese  Laboratory  Furniture   Company 

ENGINEERS  AND  BUILDERS 

Educational  and  Technical  Fumiture  for 

Physics,  Chemistiy,  Agriculture,  Biology, 

Household  Economics. 

The  art  of  building  laboratory  fumiture  is  as  definite  and 
exact  as  science  it^.  The  Wiese  factory  is  prepared  to 
furnish  durable,  satisfaction-giving  laboratory  equipment 
of  standard  design  or  special  order. 

Without  cost  or  obligation  tc  you,  we  extend  the  services 
of  our  engineering  department  in  planning  your  labora- 
tories. To  make  sales  is  not  enough— we  want  to  make 
friends. 

Write  for  our  new  catalog  No.  23 

Wiese  Laboratory  Furniture  Company 

Sales  Office:  Factory: 

20  £.  Jackson  Blvd.,  Manitowoc, 

Chicago,  Illinois.  Wisconsin. 


SPECIAL  OFFER 

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Journal  of  Home  Economics 

mi  CSntlMdiml  StTMt,  BBltlmora,  lid. 

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JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS^ADVERTISEMBNTS 


Publications  of  American  Home  Economics 

Association 


JOURNAL  OF  HOME  ECONOMICS 

FUe  for  1909,  $5.00;  1910,  $2.00;  1911,  $5.00;  1912,  $1.00;  1913,  $1.00;  1914, 
$2.00;  1915,  $3.00;  1916,  $2.00;  1917,  $2.00;  1918,  $3.00;  1919,  $2.00;  1920,  $2.00. 

PROCEEDINGS  LAKE  PLACID  CONFERENCE 

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1907,  $0.50;  1908,  $0.50. 

Papera  presented  at  Administration  Section  Meeting,  1912 |i.50 

Papers  from  the  Institution  Economics  Section  Meeting,  1914 29 

Papers  from  the  Institution  Economics  Section  Meeting,  1915 .50 

Proceedings  of  the  Annual  Meeting,  1916 M 


Richards  Memorial  Fund  Publications 

Life  ot  Ellen  H«  Richards,  by  Caroline  Hunt,  329  pp.       ...    $1.3S 

Life  of  Ellen  H.  Richards,  8  pp •!• 

First  Home  Economist  (Xenophon),  2  pp ;     .     .    .  .M 

First  Home  Economics  Book,  Catherine  E*  Beecher,  3  pp.     .    .     .IB 

Biographical  Sketch  of  Count  Rumf  ord,  8  pp.    ••••••     .    M 

Fofo^  aboom  rmjnrinta  in  one  ordmr  $9M 

Prince  Caloric  and  Princess  Pieta  (A  play  suitable  for  Home 

Economics  Day),  15  pp ••«.  ^JB 

Fivm  eojfiea  in  onm  ordmr  $1M 

America's  Gifts  to  the  Old  World.    A  pageant  for  Home  Eco- 
nomics Students,  by  Helen  Atwater  and  C.  F.  Langworthy  IO.SI 

Fi09  or  mof  eopim»,  SOM  maeh 

Thrift  by  Household  Accounting  (contains  record  forms)      •    HJKS 

Twenty-fi9m  or  mors  copimM,  $0m20  each 

Lantern  Slides  of  Household  Account  Books,  14  in  set,  each  .    •  .48 

Report  of  Household  Aid  Company,  21  pp.,  paper 25 

Syllabus  of  Home  Economics,  69  pp.    .     .    paper     M;     cloth    1.0t 

Portrait  Catherine  E.  Beecher,  8x10 10 

Portrait  Count  Rumf  ord,  8x10 10 

Portraits  Ellen  H.  Richards  ....    SO.IO,  $2.00,  83.00,  $0.00,  S8.00 

American  Home  Economics  Association 

1211  Cathedral  Street  Baltfrnwe,  Md< 


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You,  too,  should  use  Rumford — 
preferred  and  endorsed  by  the  best 
cooks  everywhere.  Buy  it  now  for 
your  next  baking. 

RUMFORD  COHPAKT,  Dipt-         .   PnTidnn,   R.  1. 

RUMFORD 

The  Wholesome 

Baking  Powder 


re 


i 

I 


1 


r^ 


'o  avoid  fine,  this  book  should  be  returned  on 
*^e^ore  the  date  last  stamped  below 

iopfr-ty-4S 


\ 


Y  \ci 

BASEMENT