The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-10-25

Cities.
Cooking as taught in the public schools OF
the District forms one of the most interesting
branches of manual training. Miss e. S.
Jacobs is general directress, and 1t is under
her efficient management that the system in
vogue has chiefly been evolved. The Wash
fngton method of teaching cooking has many
original points about 1t. Miss Jacobs is a
Washingtonian and public school girl going
from the primary school up through the
different grades, through the High and
Normal schools. She is good looking and
carries herself with the dignity of manner
as the directress Of SO important branch
of industry should She is slight, tall, and has
finely penciled brows and blue eyes.
The cooking schools are located in the
buildings most central in the district in which
they are situated and all are large airy, we'll
lighted rooms. A HERALD representative has
been making tour of inspection of these
model institutions. Brains in the kitchen are
as productive of good results as anywhere
else. What will be said of one kitchen can be
said of all. The rooms selected for the cook
Ing classes have around the walls blackboards
just as in any other schoolroom. On these
blackboards are outlined beef, a pig, a
sheep, or deer, each divided by lines locating
the ''cuts'' as they will be carved into steaks,
roasts, or boiling pieces by the butcher 1t
is an object lesson which, with little
instruction, soon enables young girl to
know porterbouse from loin or rib steak
which is more than half the "help" In Wash
ington kitchens seem to do. long table in
the centre of the room has benches around it,
and the classes from the Seventh and Eighth
grades come and go all day long, taking
lessons of one hour and half each. On the
day of the reporters visit the girls, and oc-
casfonallya boy, sat round the table and wrote
down tho important things that good cooks
must remember. The big stove was well
polished and ready for work. 1t takes about
three of the first school weeks for the little
cooks to learn the A, B, c of kitchen lore.
They are always impatient to begin TO brew,
boil, or bake, but they soon come to see that
they must first know how to build fire and
some other things The little cooks compared
wood, coal, coke, each OF the hard or soft kinds,
and had learned all about draughts and dam
pers and a lot of important information. They
were all excitement now for at last here was the
day when real cooking would begin. The
girls gather round the teacher. While one
has laid the fire in the stove all the rest lay
little imitation heaps of kindling on the table
before them to see If they, too, can build
fire. match is applied to the stove heap
and the combustion begins with flash.
Dressed In gngham or white aprons and wear
ing half sleeves to match, they are ready for
the first lesson. Miss Jacobs, the directress,
is giving this lesson In the Jefferson where
there is a new teacher. The girls gather
round her to see her break eggs without
breaking yolks. Then the little cook for that
lesson tries her hand at 1: and the egg goes all
In muss. She tries again and succeeds Tho
eggs are dropped into rings In boiling water,
and the toasting of the bread is being done by
the housekeeper and her assistants. 1t comes
OF the fire beautifully brown, and when but
Tered tered Is ma in the warming oven to keep hot,
While those slippery eggs, just done until the
yolk is set, can be taken up. Miss Jacobs
shows how is done and the little cook takes
the spatule and tries her skill. 1t looks very
easy, but 1t proves slippery thing and slides
OIL between the pieces of toast and refuses
to be lifted to its place without breaking.
There 1T lies, the remains OF the first days
lesson in cookery. There is always special
housekeeper, a cook, dishwasher and knife
washer at these cooking lessons each taken
join in and take taste Of the dish cooked
and generally pronounce 1t good. Although
once in while something will get left out
like pinch of salt or q bit of seasoning.
Then the dish has to be gone over again in
another lesson
Only the Seventh and Eighth grade girls
are taught cooking except the High School
classes which enter upon still more compli-
cateu course OF cooking than these lower
grades
AS said before the Washington method is
different from that of other cities. 1t is un-
like the Boston method, which is scientific;
and it is unlike the methods of home teaching
which was going by measure, without know
ing why. for anything done. Miss Jacobs
teaches always why thing is done as it is,
and great deal about what foods are most
nourishing and why. She tries to instil in the
mind of each pupil that good, plain cooking
for everyday dinners is better knowledge to
have than of fancy cooking. Still, the girls gem
orally prefer to make loaf of cake to one of
bread, to roast a turkey rather than piece of
beef. Miss Jacobs says "The girls who take hold
with the most intelligent interest are generally
those who have some household duties to
perform at home. have had some interesting
experiences. One of my girls lost her mother
not long since, and there were number OF
brothers and sisters in the home. The father
was discouraged and did not know what to do.
He talked of taking his family to board, but
his daughter of IA years, one of our little
cooks, said: Papa, will attend to the cook
ing If you will get some one to do the other
work so that / won't have to stay out of
school, The father gladly took his daughters
advice. She now conducts the housekeeping,
cooks many of the meals herself, and still goes
on with her studies at school. There are