The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-21
The Need of Practical Education.
TSpringfeld Republican,


For future business men, less Latin
and Greek and more French and German /;
for future wives and mothers less Latin
and Greek and more cooking and practi-
:al knowledge in every way.
There Is more real practice of good
cooking and serving of food among the
daughters of the rich than there is among
the daughters Of our great middle class.
1t is recognized that woman must un-
1erstand all the branches commonly
known as "woman's work." no matter
what she intends to be in the world. If
she is to have the control of servants she
needs her knowledge quite as much as if
she is to do "her own work" all her life
This knowledge can seldom be given at
home, because although there are no peo-
pie in the world SO comfortable in circum-
stances as the Americans, there are none
who live,so far as their tables are concern.
ed, at once so expensively and SO unwhole-
somely. The want OF knowledge neces-
sary to give good cooking is serious evil.
No one thing troubles physicians SO much
in their practice as the inability of wife
and mother to cook plain food well.
How many women twenty years old
who read this article can make really
appetizing bowl of Cruel, or a loaf of
bread raised properly with brewers yeast
and not soda or yeast powder abomina-
ton? Not long ago woman talked over
family affairs with her physician pleaded
poverty.
"My husband earns only sixty dollars a
month-there is my husband and myself
and little girl: have son, but he earns
wages and pays his board"
"And you can't live on sixty dollars a
month";"
The answer was: "Our grocer's bill
alone is forty dolars-how can WEI"
"GraciousW said the doctor-one of our
best physicians-"my grocer's bill isn't SO
much as that"
In talking it over lie found that they
had pie, cake and doughnuts every day,
and for this horrible food they needed a
great deal of butter--the most costly item
on the grocers list as well as great deal
OF sugar.
The hard times have shown how rare
IS the ability to sew we'll. Here is one in
stance:
A woman was applied to for work and
gave it gladly. The applicant was a
Springfield girl who years ago attended
the high school. Her story was pitiful
and common enough; she was the daugh
ter of wellto-do mechanic, and had
married; her husband had deserted her,
leaving her with two children. She said
with tears, "If only had trade-if l
had only learned tailoring, as my sister,
could have plenty of work now, but moth
er always wanted me to teach" She was
asked. "Why don't your" ~ can't, l
never did like to study; ! only done it
cause they wanted me to home, | was
going to get married anyhow. l never
knew the first thing when was married,
and he said never could cook fit to eat..''
She certainly couldn't sew; her work was
brought home and paid tor-and picked
out again. Her family being unable to
help her, the poor women drifted away.
Wouldn't cooking school nave helped
her? Perhaps with better food che" might
have stayed at home, and she, with more
knowledge, would have spent her money
to better advantage and have had better
food for her babies and herself than dough-
nuts, hot soda biscuits and tea three times
day.