The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-16
A Plea for Good Rural Cooks.

LII isn't often SO many good sugges
| tons on housekeeping are so well con
| densed as in the following from the
| Household:
Among the many qualifications in
| dispensable to the good housekeeper
stands pre-eminent that of a good cook;
| because that, more than all else, affects
| the health and spirits of the entire fam
| lily. A growing family is no small re-
sponsibility, as every mothers heart
will own, and in order that the children
| may become strong and robust their
food should be as carefully selected and
prepared as a doctors prescription. 1t
should be regularly served at stated
hours and placed on the table in an at
tractive form ut all times, rs outward
appearance forms no small part in the
enjoyment of the meal. The viands
served in each household are SO various
no rules can or should be given. except
that in all eases simple, wholesome food
is far preferable and really more pala-
table than the indigestible dainties so
often placed on the table. Therefore,
mothers should teach their daughters
that great and truly beautiful accom-
plishment, the secret of being n cook.
Order and cleanliness may well come
OI1 tIiC housekeeping 1871. 1OA inc shASO
have no small part to play in the har-
mony of the family and the enjoyment
of the household. Every cupboard,
pantry and drawer should be subject to
frequent cleansing and STRENGTHENING
UP process, sufficient to keep them in
perpetual order, otherwise, by a lfttla
neglect, the houeekeeper will find her
burdens doubled and her work sadly dis
arranged, Only by extreme care. where
there is but one pair Of hands 1T the
helm, can the management of a house
hold be sustained with comfort, allow
ing few hours for rest and reading
In such household everything should
be done as simply as possible; no extra
tucks on the pillow shams or cases, few
er ruffies to flute, tables painted TO avoid
securing, etc Rutlies. tucks and fancy
work may look well but not half SO well
as a happy, contented mother, whose
face is not marked with lines of care
and WEAKNESS. Little will the babies
care how many tucks were in their tiny
dresses, when they become men and wo-
men. Better a thousand fold will be
the sight of a bright mother face than
one wearied and fretful, grown cross
and morose, or, it may be, gone for
ever, with quiet, folded hands resting at
last.
Too many women who have been
bright, merry maidens, sink into dull,
stupid fault-fnding wives and mothers.
Why Is it? Some NAV fancy because
the duties are beyond their weak bodies.
And so they are Sometimes the hus-
band is responsible in driving his bus
mess and work, and paying no heed to
his wife's help and conveniences; but in
a larger number of cases the wife her
self Is really at fault. In nearly every
household the work can be cut down
and simplitied; that is, can be, if we but |
overcome some of the old housewives |
notions in regard to work. If they |
would only realize that house can be |
kept. and neatly and prettily, too, with
out such an immense load of quilts as
required months, and even years to ac-
Cheap spreads that are
easily washed. nice new comforts and
blankets are far preferable-an what a
gain for hours of reading, rest and i'm
provement; and this IS only one in
stance. there are many more.
The poem that delighted the maiden
should no less please the matron; the
lowers that were gathered upon her
native hills in 9irlhood should be pluck
I'd as joyously when accompanied by
her own children. England's Queen is
noted for her simplicity of dress and
also for the sensible way in
which she reared her children. How
many American wives and mothers fall
below her high standard of woman's
rue duties. Take the lesson to heart. :"