By Janet M. Hill

Any part of a house in disorder and confusion is a source of mental distress to a neat and conscientious housekeeper, and often an occasion for slurs from other members of the family. The number of steps to be taken and the motions to be made, each day, to keep a house in order and set three meals upon a table are often overlooked or largely underestimated. We are speaking now of the homes of the "four-fifths," where little help outside of the family is available. Mothers are thought "slow and poky" by the younger members of the family, who are inclined to value the slight and irregular assistance which they give more highly than it deserves. There are members of the family, perhaps, who should keep their strength, mental and physical, for their work away from home; but in general the young people should be trained to take a part in the responsibility of the housekeeping and home-making. If boys and girls, as soon as they are old enough, be taught to open their beds for airing, hang up their clothing and leave the bowl and bath tub in suitable condition for the next occupant of the room, the mother can prepare the breakfast and begin the work of the day without fret as to the condition of the upper part of the house, or without the mental fatigue that comes where there are so many things to be done at once that one knows not where to begin.

Often where one maid is kept, too much is expected of her, even by the house-mother. With the advent of a maid, the dishes multiply and time is spent in dish washing that should be given to the larger affairs of the housekeeping. For the mother or one maid the washing of dishes must be regulated to make the work an incident and not the event of the day. We are not protesting against a change of plates, or forks, etc., for the dessert; but extra dishes for vegetables, the plate underneath the plate, both handled and therefore to be washed, much glassware that requires careful washing and polishing, all tend to prolong the time at the sink. Such work may be increased at will, when some one is hired for this special purpose, or when the daughter of the family is willing to take the responsibility of it. For the mother or the one maid, day in and day out, more necessary duties must eliminate some of the niceties of table service. We should not be "more nice than wise."

We believe in work; it is the refuge and the safeguard of the race: but there must be times for relaxation and repose, and, that this be possible for each member of the family, there must be a division of labor. If one individual be a drone, some one else is obliged to work for him. We wish to emphasize the necessity of systematic training, in the doing of these daily duties, of the young people in a family. Let each child be held responsible for a certain amount of work each day. It will not burden the normal child, but will give satisfaction and a feeling of being of use in the world. No better time than this, the vacation season, can be found for putting in practice the idea herein suggested.

We are admonished by many innovations that times have changed. The fact that graduates from Colleges of Home Economics are taught to see the subject in "its broad relations, both to science and to practice," and that every graduate is expected "to have a fair working knowledge of the household-arts" and be able to cook a meal or make a dress, has given the practice of the so-called homely arts an impetus that will do much for the betterment of the race. Cooking and sewing have had a renaissance. To be able to cook well is a desideratum to be desired, and rivalry in pleasing and artistic tea-rooms, "cake and cooky shops" and places for the sale of cooked food is abroad in the land. We look to see this same pleasing rivalry displayed in dressmaking rooms and laundries, where fine work can be essayed. These private and small enterprises, which might grow into larger ones, should furnish a generous return for the time and money invested and an increase in the happiness of those employed as well as of those whom they serve. All of these ventures are at once a source of independence to the serving and the served, and give an opportunity for self-direction that argues well for their permanency.

Earthen dishes for cooking, which conserve heat and answer for serving as well as cooking, are to be commended at all seasons; but in hot weather, when it is eminently desirable to limit heat and work, they are more than ever a source of pleasure and comfort. Not so very long ago all such ware was imported, and the duty, added to the first cost, placed it in the list of luxuries, but now the dainty contours of all these casseroles, ramekins, terrines, au gratin dishes, etc., are duplicated in American ware, and at a price that puts the goods within the reach of all. In the seasonable recipes for this issue, terrine of chicken and ham, green corn au gratin in ramekins, and pears BÉatrice are cooked in Guernsey earthen ware. An extremely useful dish in this ware is the mixing bowl in which Kugelhopf kuchen, ready for shaping, is shown. Nothing daintier for mixing purposes than this bowl of smooth and highly polished interior can be imagined; from such a surface any mixture can be rinsed with ease, and thus the labor of dish washing is lessened, which is a strong point in favor of any utensil.