Mother's Remedies, Thomas Jefferson Ritter [reading well .TXT] 📗

drain. Before using bottles, always rinse again with hot water. With this care there should be no trouble with sour or cloudy bottles.

Moulded by Circumstances.—In all our reasonings concerning men we must lay it down as a maxim that the greater part are moulded by circumstances.—Robert Hall.

Forming Habits.—The trouble with most bad habits is that they are so quickly formed in small children. The mother relaxes her care for a day or two, and a new trick appears, or the work of weeks on an old one is undone. What is true of physical habits is equally so of the moral habits. A tiny baby of a few months old knows very well if the habit of loud crying will procure for it what it wants, and if not cheeked will develop into the irritable whining adult we are all acquainted with. Habits of disrespect, of indifference to the rights of others, of cruelty, may all be irresistibly formed or dispelled in the first few years of life.

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Chains of Habit.—The diminutive chains of habit are seldom heavy enough to be felt, till they are too strong to be broken.—Samuel Johnson. Unique Table Protector.—Many mothers prefer to bring their young children to the family table on ordinary occasions when there are no guests. At the same time they dislike to mar the appearance of their table with the tin waiter which is usually set before the children to protect the cloth against the depredations of dropped bread and milk. A clever device for this purpose is made of two oblong pieces of butcher's linen sewed together in the form of a case, with an oilcloth interlining. The linen is hemmed neatly so that it looks like an oblong napkin, and while it protects the cloth and the table it protects the table underneath; being white, like the cloth itself, it does not spoil the looks of the table. When soiled the oilcloth is slipped out and wiped off with a damp cloth, and the linen case goes with the tablecloth and napkin. Several of these cases will be needed, for the ordinary enterprising baby, but one piece of oilcloth will be sufficient for a long time.

Banish Tears.—Banish the tears of children; continual rains upon the blossoms are hurtful.—Jean Paul Richter.

Folding Bathtub.—The thing most desired by a young mother in these days is a bathtub for the baby made of sheet rubber that is attached to a campstool foundation. It can be folded up and put out of the way when not in use, and it telescopes into a small bundle when one wants to travel.

Flowers.—Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.—Henry Ward Beecher.

Correct Length of Clothes.—In making long clothes for the baby it is well to remember that the correct length for long dresses is one yard from the shoulder to the hem. The petticoats should be made the same lengths as the dresses, or perhaps a half inch shorter.

Life.—A pendulum betwixt a smile and tear.—Byron.

[DOMESTIC SCIENCE 817] DOMESTIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.

The Theory and Practical Methods of Preserving Foods.
MARMALADES AND BUTTERS. CANNING. JAM
JELLIES. PICKLES. CHAFING DISHES.

By EDNA GERTRUDE THOMPSON,

Director of Domestic Science Department, Thomas Normal Training School,
Detroit, Michigan.

Theory and Practice of Domestic Science.—Domestic Science has come to be considered one of the most important factors in our public school education of today. We have just awakened to the fact that our daughters should receive training in those things which will best fit them for housewives and mothers. While many of our girls are earning their own livelihood, the majority ultimately settle into homes of their own. Many girls have an excellent opportunity to get the training they need as homemakers from their mothers, but many of the children in this country lack this home training. There are two reasons for this neglect on the part of the mothers: first, the mother may not know how to do these things herself; and, second, she may be a wage-earner and of necessity cannot train her daughter.

Its Moral Influence.—In the early life of the child it is susceptible to influences which may be brought to bear upon it, and if the homemaking instinct is instilled early much is done toward moral growth of the child. The public school is expected to develop the child along these lines and consequently the cookery class, together with the class in housekeeping, has a mighty influence toward developing noble women. All the home duties are developed and made a pleasure and not a duty to the child, so that the home is looked upon with favorable eyes.

There is an old saying that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." This contains much more truth than it would seem on the surface. Investigators who have made careful research into the divorce question, which has assumed such large proportions, state that if women knew more of the science of home making there would be fewer homes broken up. What man or woman either would not be utterly discouraged to come home day after day to poor meals and untidiness everywhere, conditions which in time bring poor health and disease. The public school aims through domestic science to teach the importance and dignity of being a good housewife.

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Economy of Domestic Science.—Then again, domestic science makes a plea for recognition on the ground of economy. Many times debt and trouble come to homes, not through lack of sufficient funds, but through lack of knowledge on the part of the dispenser of the funds. One of the principles which domestic science emphasizes in its teaching is to show how some of our cheaper foods furnish more nutriment to our systems than do some of our more expensive articles of diet. With this fact thoroughly established and understood domestic science tries to develop new and simple methods of cooking such foods and of making them attractive and appetizing. It is a well-known fact that it is not the amount of food we eat but the amount that we digest that gives nourishment to our bodies, and it has been proven that food that is not attractive and palatable to us gives only one-half the value to our bodies as when it is made attractive and palatable.

Greatest Food Value from Proper Cooking.—Then also students along this line of study have discovered that some of our common foods lose much of their value to us through improper cooking and preparation.

If we are going to prepare food and use it as part of our diet, why should we not obtain the most of its value? Is that not true economy? For an example of this fact let us take eggs, one of our most common articles of diet. We commonly cook eggs to harden the white, or albumen, so as to make them more palatable. One common method of doing this has been to boil them. Through experiments it has been proven that boiling makes this albumen so hard to digest that our bodies get practically no value from it. The newer method advanced proves that the same results can be obtained by cooking eggs in water which is kept just below the boiling point, and eggs cooked this way are easily and readily assimilated by our bodies. Why should we not endeavor then to give to our bodies food so prepared that it gives the most nourishment. To take another example,—when salt is added to vegetables it draws out from them into the water their mineral salts and any proteid which will build tissue for us. In most vegetables the cooking water is thrown away so that much of the value of the vegetable is lost. Why should we not try to devise a method of cooking which will save for us this food value? Salt is added for flavor only, so why cannot the salt be added a short time before the cooking is finished so that it will not have time to draw out the food value?

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How to Save in Cooking Meats.—Again we cook different kinds of meats in different ways. Perhaps you think these different kinds of methods have simply come down to us through the ages. It is, however, interesting to know that our mothers probably developed these methods through thought. Tough meats, we know, require long cooking, but do we know why? The fibers and tissues have become strong through constant use on the part of the animal, and to be of use to us must be softened, so we cook tough meats long and usually with moisture to accomplish the softening. Tough meats are our cheap meats, but have you stopped to consider that they contain more nourishment than our tender meats. As has been stated, the tough meats are the parts of the body of the animal most used and consequently have been developed and nourished. Why not learn how to cook these pieces which give us more nourishment, and which are cheaper, in such a way as to be attractive and palatable? This is what the Domestic Science Course in our public school aims to teach our girls so that as housewives they can get the most value for the least money and be economical and intelligent buyers.

Our Winter Supply.—From an instinct, which ought to be common to all of us, in time of plenty we lay something aside for the time of need. As housewives this truth comes home to us, especially in the summer when we have an abundance of fruit which, without care, would soon become worthless. By reason of which fact we have developed methods of canning, preserving, etc., which at the present time have become so advanced that we can retain a very large share of the original color, flavor and shape of the fruit.

Preserving Foods.—All food products, on exposure to air, undergo certain changes which unfit them for use as food. It was once thought that these changes were due to oxidation, but they are now known to be caused by minute living organisms present in the air, in the water, in the ground and in the food itself. To preserve food two things are necessary; first, to either kill or render harmless those organisms already present; and second, to exclude others from entering. The first we usually accomplish by cooking, and the second by sealing. In order to live these organisms require three conditions; first, a particular temperature; second, a certain amount of moisture; third, the right kind of food. By taking away all or anyone of these requirements we may stop the growth or, in other words, we may preserve the food. For example: with the familiar method of cold storage the factor of temperature is removed; in the drying of the fruits and vegetables the factor of moisture is removed; by salting the factor of food is taken away.

The fruits and vegetables, commonly preserved in the home, are divided into five classes:

l.—Canning. 2.—Jellies. 3.—Jams. 4.—Marmalades and Butters. 5.—Pickles.

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CANNING.—Under this head there are four common methods:

1. Steaming.—By this method the fruit is put into the sterilized jars, the jars filled with boiling water and the covers loosely set on. Then the jars are set on small blocks of wood in a pan of cold water. Cover this pan and let the water come to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Remove the jars and fill them with boiling water, if necessary. Seal tightly. Small berries, such as strawberries and raspberries, retain their color and are especially good done in this manner. Whole tomatoes done in this way are especially attractive for winter salads, and corn will keep indefinitely.

2. Boiling in Syrup.—This is the common household method of preserving fruits, such as peaches and pears. A syrup is prepared of sugar and water, into this the fruit is dropped and cooked until soft; it is then put into sterile jars, sufficient syrup added to fill jar and the jar then sealed.

3. Preserving.—This is the same as boiling in syrup, except that equal quantities of sugar and fruit are used. Small fruits such as berries are usually done in this way.

4. Cold Water Process.—This is a simple and easy method to