Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-04-20
A MAN IN THE KITCHEN.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BETTY"
 AND THE OTHER KIND.

Potato Peelers of the Masculine Gender Can Sometimes Make Themselves Very UsefuI-The Genuine "Betty," However.
 Is a Regular Bull in a China Shop.
 Most women heartily despise Betty" by which is usually meant man who pokes his nose into the details of household affairs, dabbles in the work of the kitchen and irritates the house. wife by assuming, regularly or occasion ally, functions which she deems exclu- sive to herself The dislike of women for this kind of man is in the main well grounded. The average man is, unfor- tunately, unable to make himself useful himself, also, more or less nuisance A question of this kind has, however many sides.
 THE WOMEN ARE RESPONSIBLE.
 The women who are most jealous of their prerogatives in the kitchen are not always possessed of the best capacity for maintaining them; and some of the most perfect housekeepers the writer has ever known. easy mistresses of the arts and systems that make up the various de partments of household management and industy, have been most indulgent and appreciative of the efforts of hus- band. son or brother to help about the house, even encouraging original expert ment along the lines which have brought into being the scornful epithet above quoted.
 In their households the men were never spitefully ordered to Let things alone" told to Keep out of my way" or requested to mind their own busi- ness," because, in the first place, the housewife respected herself too much to use such expressions or their equivalents, and because, in the second place, the men had acquired such familiarity with the ins and outs of the kitchen that they were not likely to hinder rather than help when they had occasion to turn their hand to this, that or the other mat ter of housework. This touches the secret of the whole matter, and little thinking along this line will suggest a query whether women are not, generally speaking, to blame for the fact that the average man is a nuisance in the kitchen.
 A mother carefully taught her sons many details of work usually considered the sole province of girls and concerning which boys generally grow up in utter ignorance. They washed and wiped dishes, learned to prepare plain meals had practice in sweeping and dustine and putting to rights, and were taught to patch and darn neatly and to sew or buttons. Some of them learned some thing of the "higher branches" Wher they went out into the world they hac frequent occasion to bless the mother for these useful accomplishments; anc when they became heads of households they had an intelligent practical knowl edge of the details of the work of whicl their wives had charge and were able t< 1 make tho burden easy in many way. where another man would have made il | heavier.
 | THE REALLY GOOD HUSBAND. l No man worthy of the name permitl his wife or any woman in his house t perform the heavy drudgery of carrying coal and wood. caring for furnaces anC stoves. moving stoves or heavy furni ture, beating carpets, and so on. Blu this need not be the limit of mans use fulness about the house. There is ni reasonable reason why man should no be able to broil steak, boil or bake DO ] tatoes. cook an ;egg. make coffee or te: and prepare other artseles of food should an emergency arise to make it desirablt 1 (and such emergencies do often arise) and do it too without turning tn, kitchen and dining room topsy turvy il the operation. Some men can and d. accomplish such work, and even mak, biscuits. griddle cakes and the like.
 A woman whose husband is in tn, habit of taking hold" when needed il housework has been heard to say tha | she would rather have him to depend ol in case of indisposition or other emer l gency than any girl that could be hired He does not interfere when there Is nc cause for it, but he saves labor for hi wife and expense for himself, and h. is not at all ashamed of doing 1t no afraid to undertake 1t. No man neet be; rather, any man should be ashamed of unwillingness and should regret in ability to perform any ordinary house hold task on occasion.
 Some men have or profess horror o all housework. It is often grounded il laziness. They will go to great expens and trouble rather than turn their hand to anything in the house. even to making a fire. The "Bettys" do not come iron that class. Neither are they recruite, from the husbands of common sense tact and judgment, who know "how t do thinks" and know when to do then and when to refrain. The genuin
 Betty" is a genuine meddler. who's zeal is without knowledge, whose helr fulness is without discretion, and who's ofiiciousness and conceit neutralize wha might be useful in his make up. Won ankind is excusable for detesting him Let her. however, accept these lines as plea for withholding the opprobriou title from men who do not deserve il and for an honest recognition of th | right usefulness oi a properly taught an sensible man about the house, and eve in the Eitchen.-One oi tho "den Folks ill Good Housekeeping.
 I A Clock with Many Faoes.
 ! M s. Al.