Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-12-29
The Scientific Housekeeper.

Housekeeping, which is the most
natural occupation Of women, and
by far the most important, has been
practiced by them without any scien-
tific training, and, indeed, without
! suspecttng that any was necessary,
since the days when Eve catered to
Adams comfort in the Garden of
! Eden.
But now a change has come. Per-
sons who are rich enough to hire a
managing housekeeper desire to have
one who is as carefully trained for
the position as lawyer or minister
is trained for his work.
This training must be obtained in
special schools, of which there are
several in the United States. Some
of them, indeed, are not schools
merely, but well equipped colleges,
with a thorough course in domestic
science of four years in length.
If means permit 1t is we'll to take
the full four years course. Tuition
varies in the different schools and
colleges, but $3.50 a year may be
considered a fair estimate. Books
will cost from $40 to $25. These
items are, of course, exclusive of the
cost of living.
When this expense makes a four
years course impossible, young
women may prepare themselves ade-
quately In special courses of two or
three years; and 1t Is even possible
10 In, I,n o1n
of the Young Women's Christian AS
sociations, and such institutions as
the Cooper Union or the Pratt Insti-
tute, knowledge Of the science of
housekeeping which Is sufficient to
secure a position.
The Science of housekeeping" en-
braces many things. The studies in
clude domestic architecture, with
special reference to the arrangement
of rooms and their equipment; sani-
tary science; cooking, including the
chemistry, cost and proper prepara-
ton of food; dietetics; household
management; sewing; home nursing;
sloid. And all these general subjects
are subdivided into multitude of
subordinate branches.
The schools which afford these
courses make 1t a business to find
openings for their graduates.
The demands are of two kinds.
One is from rich people with many
servants who desire competent per-
son who can take all the responsible
ity of conducting the house. The
other results from the necessity of
having such persons at the head of
boarding schools and many public in
stitutions, The duties vary with the
kind of position which the house
keeper is called upon to fill.
In private house the housekeeper
hires. pays and discharges the SER
wants, usually decides upon the menu
and orders the food, and the linen
and kitchen utensils when they need
replenishing, She must also assign
the servants to their various duties,
and see that those duties are properly
performed, She inspects the plumb
Ing at suitable intervals and super
Vises the cleaning of the traps. If
her training in sloid has been suffi-
Client, she may even put up a shelf
or mend broken chair. In some
families the houskeeper is made zone
Of the family" eating with the other
members and having a room in the
main portion Of the house. In fami-
lies where the social lines are more
closely drawn, she will have her
meals served in her room.
The wages of trained housekeep-
er range all the way from $25
month--this, of course, in very small
families-to $4,000 a year and a pri-
yate carriage-although this, too, is,
of course, exceptional. From $40 to
$50 a month Is an average salary
Whatever her earnings may be, they
are net, except for the cost of clothes
The housekeeper is at no expense
for food or lodging, and both are
usually good. Moreover, her sur
roundings are generally pleasant and
wholesome, and the life of which she
becomes a part is one which affords
opportunity for meeting people of
cultivation and refined tastes.-Ed-
ward Williston Frentz, In the Youths
Companion.