of Domestic

Influence with these conditions in a high degree of efficiency we require the
Science on
most perfect possible nutrition in order that each individual may
Social be raised to, and sustained in, the best condition physically, intel-
Conditions lectually, and spiritually for effective work without unnatural
-continued. and therefore destructive over-fatigue. The wear and tear' of

life results not from overwork, as is generally believed, but from
work under improper conditions. Most men and women work
at a rate under their capacity rather than over it. Men wear out
quickly because they are not properly nourished. They wear
out most quickly when they take unnatural stimulants to over-
come the lack of energy resulting from imperfect nutrition, and
thus force their enfeebled bodies to do work under pressure beyond
the natural fatigue point. Under these conditions the wear
and tear' is inevitable, because work then is an unnatural strain
on the physical and intellectual power, and because work
done beyond the
the fatigue point destroys the reactive
tendency to rest that results from fatigue under normal con-
ditions. The basis of intemperance is largely physical. The
nervous systems that are not kept in comfortable working
order crave something that for a time will bring exhilaration.
Unnatural exhilaration is always debilitating. Natural ex-
hilaration, resulting in appropriate and well-cooked food
eaten in proper quantities and at proper times, is always
productive of greater power along life's broadest and highest
lines of effort. When school children become nervous and irritable,
and feeble, the schools are continually blamed for these evil con-
ditions. Sometimes the schools have shared in the causes that lead
to such undesirable results by long hours and inadequate ventila-
tion, by the substitution of pressure for natural interest, by con-
tinuous sitting, and by lack of play; but the homes have done the
greater part of the wrong to childhood by failing to send children
to school in a proper condition for work. The true remedies for a
weak, nervous system are food suitable for nerve and brain building,
and physical exercise, especially free play. One of the fundamental
thoughts in Domestic Science is a new and higher ideal of the
higher meaning of digestion. Digestion should be regarded as
the transmutation of material things into physical, intellectual,
and spiritual energy. This function of elevating food into the
highest forms of human power is the true work of digestion, but
it has been almost universally degraded. The selection and prepara-
tion of foods has been regarded as one of the baser departments
of household economics. The systematic study of foods and their
scientific preparation for the table have been carefully conducted,
chiefly to provide gratification for unnatural appetite. The true
study of foods and their scientific preparation should be conducted
in order to find what foods are best for all conditions and ages of
humanity-for sickness and health, for infancy, childhood, vigorous
adult and declining age; for brain building, nerve strengthening,
muscle development, and bone growth; for promoting or retarding

the storing of fat, and for aiding the functional work of all the vital organs, and preserving the harmonious balance of man's powers. This study is now recognised as a most important depart ment of the science of human evolution. Domestic art is a necessary part of the study of scientific home-making. Our mental and spiritual conditions, and therefore our physical life, are directly influenced by the nature of our environment. Calmness or irritation, hopefulness or despondency, joyousness or moroseness, definiteness or carelessness, prospering ambition or lack of vital interest, may depend to a greater extent than is generally realised on the colour of the walls, the ceilings, and the carpets in our homes. The study of pictures and furniture, and furnishings, and gardens, and the beautifying of front yards, and especially of back yards, will lead to a true æsthetic culture, and promote the happiness and the broader and higher development of the race. The new century will elevate the character of household work, cleaning, cooking, and all departments of service, by making them more scientific and more systematic; and with this elevation of the service will come a corresponding elevation in the qualification of servants, and in the greater recognition of their rights."

I employ this lengthy quotation as my conclusion, because it Co-operation of the sexes is the accurate embodiment by a British subject of the sentiments essential to his prolonged personal acquaintance with the educational world of national the United States has led him to recognise as inspiring its leaders. well-being. I have also selected it because it is the expressed opinion of a member of that sex, which, in England, is disposed to release itself from any direct responsibility in the promotion of a higher level in home comfort and family life. Only by co-operation of the sexes can the ideal standard be attained. It has been well said that co-operation for a common aim creates a spirit of mutual helpfulness. The common aim of all who are concerned with the affairs of men, personal, domestic, communal, or national, is the physical, moral, and intellectual development of each child born into the world. Upon women, properly and naturally, devolve the care of the young and the right conduct of the home for all whom it shelters. Upon men, as naturally, devolve the provision and maintenance of such conditions in connection with, though outside, the home as shall secure the means without which women's special duties are seriously hampered or even rendered impossible of fulfilment. To this end boys and girls should learn together as they do in the United States the essentials to a healthy existence, and be familiarised with the broad, general principles upon which life and its functions depend for their continuance. In subsequent years, or even concurrently, girls are introduced to the processes of home making, which are indispensable to domestic well-being and happiness; while boys are encouraged to a study of the duties of citizenship, with all these mean with all these mean to the welfare of the community. At college, as at school, opportunities for this wise preparation for their future lives are offered to the young men

and women; it speaks well for the influence of the teaching profession that the numbers of those glad to seize these opportunities show annual increase. Public (and parental) opinion is gradually giving intelligent heed to the growth of a movement which promises, if wisely controlled and intelligently fostered, to yield a harvest of rich national results; for, to quote Mrs. Browning's wordsthe "multitude of leaves " will hold

"Loves filial, loves fraternal, neighbour-loves

And civic-all fair petals, all good scents,

All reddened, sweetened from one central Heart,"*

inspired with the belief that "man is made in God's image," and as such must be freed from all conditions which hinder the expression of his inherent powers.

It now remains for me to express, though most inadequately, my deep sense of gratitude to those whose generous response to inquiries, ready sacrifice of valuable time for the promotion of my object, and sympathetic interest in my commission are mainly responsible for its execution. Their number is so large, the evidences of their cordial co-operation so numerous, that individual acknowledgment becomes impossible. The debt of gratitude which stands in my name would be overwhelming in its extent were it not rather a national than an individual liability. Not to the Commissioner of small account, but to the old Mother Country, was the gift of experience, experiment, theory and practice so freely tendered. Though social and other diverse conditions necessarily militate against any proposal to adopt or to imitate in this country methods of proved worth in the United States, it is nevertheless of immense advantage to all concerned with the public health and prosperity of Great Britain to become acquainted with the measures designed to promote these objects in other thriving communities. That this necessarily imperfect Report of the educational means devoted to these ends in the United States should achieve even a partial degree of success or of completeness, is entirely the outcome of the stimulus and assistance received from my generous friends in that country.

I have spared no pains in the effort to be impartial, accurate, and consistent in the sifting and employment of the mass of material I collected; if, therefore, there be misrepresentation, exaggeration or culpable omission in the preceding pages I would offer my sincere apology to those whose cause I may thus most unintentionally wrong. That some errors of observation and of comprehension should have occurred in the course of my compulsorily short visits to a large number of centres in the Eastern and Middle West States appears to me to be inevitable. In spite of much concentrated effort on my part and of most valuable assistance rendered me in the form of personal and written explanations and of printed matter, it would be presumptuous

"Aurora Leigh," IX., 884. E. B. B.

to imagine I could grasp in a few hours all the points in courses of study, the evolutions which have constantly cost years of thought and experimental practice, and which are also adapted to social conditions diverse from our own. For all these reasons I have abstained from critical analysis, preferring to present my Report in a descriptive form, in which I hope it may, in spite of its many shortcomings, prove stimulating and suggestive.

Of all my readers I will ask for kindly forbearance and for lenient judgment on a work which has been fraught for me throughout with a lively sense of responsibility, not alone towards those by whom the commission was entrusted to me, but towards those whose aspirations and attainments were given into my hands to present, as well as to my fellow teachers whose methods in practice or whose estimate of another nation's educational standards may be influenced by the perusal of the preceding pages.

May, 1903.

ALICE RAVENHILL.

APPENDIX A.

EQUIPMENT FOR GRADE SCHOOL COOKERY COURSES.

The following exhaustive list of the equipment recommended for use in Cookery Courses is reproduced by kind permission from "The Economics of Manual Training" Teachers' College Record. Vol. II., No. 5. November, 1901. It is presented as a model; considerable modifications are compatible with efficiency, and discretion would dictate suitable selection according to the class and grade of school for which equipment is to be provided. The United States of America Coinage has been converted for convenience into English money.

COOKING.

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT.

£ s. d.

Table for 15 pupils, with drawers for provisions and
materials: cupboard, closed with roll-front, sliding
board, and tiled top made of quartered oak, about 100 0 0
Table for 15 pupils, with one drawer for each pupil,
made of Georgia pine, white pine or stained white-
wood, from
£31 5s. Od. to

Kitchen tables may be used where funds are extremely
limited, but are not advisable, about
Individual stove equipment for tables

Coal or Gas ranges

52 1 8

£6 to

60G 15 12 6