The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-09-06
HOME INSTRUCTION IN SEWING AND
COOKING.

Home training in sewing or cooking,
which has not yet become "oldfashIon-
ed" in sensible families, may receive a
greater usefulness from incorporation
INTO its best feature of the more scienti-
tic methods of the public courses of the
sewing or cooking school. instruction
at home in these useful branches is apt
to be so desutory and inefficient that
some mothers have given up their duties
to the public school teacher or have an
unsatisfactory course at home; but if
they should devote thought in prepara-
ton and time in patient lessons, there is
no reason why the modern little girl
should not become as fine in needlework
as her grandmother who practiced upon
a sampler, and equally skilled in cook
ing,
II public school, in which this part
of the manual training system is in
vogue, is convenient for visiting pur-
poses. a mother would gain many sug.
gestions from study of the teachers
methods. Among school exhibitions
here are none more attractive tEan
those of sewing and cooking The little
girls in their best gowns, welcoming
their mothers with faces beaming with
pride, show their achievements on long
tables spread with dainty clothes or well
prepared articles of food. There are
among the garments, all sorts of under
wear and even white and colored gowne,
handkerchiefs ard bags, pieces of fancy
work and piles of table linen made with
stitches, perhaps not so fine as those of
the experienced sewing woman, but ex
hibiting earnestness and patient effort.
Or the tables may be spread with loaves
of white bread, cakes, PIES and other
dishes, showing the work of the cooking
course. They look delicious and are
evidences of eagerly learned lessons.
The most evident suggestion to be de-
rived from the professional sewing
school is its system. The child is in
StruCted at regular hours, not according
to seasons of her own moods; and IN
adapting herself 10 a system, she re-
ceives valuable moral discipline. There
exists much prejudice against the old
fashioned "stent,' but its revival would
doubtless be beneficial in many families;
and with all its iTksomeness, it is more
desirable than an unsystematic way of
working. Another admirable profess
sionai feature is order with cleanliness.
Each child has her own scissors, ,thimble
and other sewing utensils and bag in
which her work is placed, so that she
need not borrow from others nor COM
PLAIN of losing her materials; and she is
Obliged to have clean hands and asked
to wear white apron. There is method
in the course of instruction, so that the
pupil may progress naturally and grad
ually, 1t is found profitable to begin
with making bag, since that work
many kinds of sewing such as
sewing ''oyer and over, run
ming, and even button-hOle making.
From the bag as foundation, the pupil
is led gently and patiently through many
kinds of work, until at last, she is able
10 perform the great result of making
shirt for father or suit for the little
brother, The most valuable lesson
learned is that of self reliance, one in
which home training is apt to be partic-
ularly deficient. The sewing teacher
requires her pupils to do their own bast-
ing, thread their needles, make their
knots and feel responsibility for their
work, but the mother sometimes lacks
the patience necessary for insisting upon
these duties, There is nothing sweeter
than the mother and her little daughters
engaged upon the same, pleasant occu-
patton IN which the one acts as Instruc-
tor to the others. No school training
can equal this communion, for home
love and confidence are being developed
during the hour of sewing; and many
lessons are learned besides stitches. The
more valuable it becomes, when, with
the home influence, is added a scien-
Litc knowledge of the subject.
Cooking schools gives many sugges-
lions to family instruction. The little
cooks in white caps and aprons are Civ
en receipt books and little memoranda;
each has attacked to her belt holder
for removing kettles from the fire and
clean cloth for wipiug dishes. A care
fully arranged system of instruction,
partly adapted from that in the English
schools enables the pupil to learn all
grades of her department from making
! fire to preparing difficult entree.
When a girl cooks at home, she is apt to
make cake and Charlotte Russo and
salads with ncity and to neglect plain
cooking; but scientifically instructed
pIpil begins first with soap-making and
then learns the way to make bread or
breakfast rolls; to broil steak, to pre-
pare oatmeal and other cereals and to
cook plain dinner. She has an intelli-
gent appreciation of her work, for she
the chemical properties of
food and the cost of each article; she
cooks with neatness, accuracy and daint-
mess, With thought and care, the home
cook with even better opportunities
might attain equal skill = Good House
keeping,