The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-09-17
ON THRIFT
BY Sir Lauder Brunton, Bart. NJ D.. F. r. S.
With apologies this written for British publication

utuOSt tHc gain W cdCu IuulFluud
and to the nation will be so grea
: as to be almost incredible. Mus
. tard is small item in the expendi
, ture of household, but the resul
of want of economy in it is show
by the story of mustard manu-
facturer who had amassed larg
fortune. One of his friends remark
ed that it was extraordinary that h,
should have made so much none.
out of an article which people tool
in such small quantities. II did no
make my money" said the manu-
facturer, "out of what people ate
I made it out of what they left or
their plates" What happens tt
mustard happens to other things a:
we'll. Look at a breakfast table
after the family have finished. Or
one plate you may see half pat OF
butter, ON another spoonful of jan
or marmalade, on another piece oi
fish, and on another a half slice Of
bacon, while on several may be seen
broken pieces of bread or toast. II
there are small children clamouring
to be off, lest they may be late for
school, the anxious mother may give
to each a slice of bread spread with
butter or jam, or both, to be eaten
on the way. The child runs out
bites a mouthful or two out of the
slice, and then, meeting with some
of it's youthful companions, begins
to chatter with them, and throws
away the remainder of the slice.
The later meals of the day are no
better than breakfast. At each of
them we find the same want of
thrift. Slices of meat, portions of
vegetables, pudding, or other
sweets are often to be found. Though
fortunately it is rare to meet with
such an extreme case as that of the
guest who had apparently finished,
but began again just as the servants
were clearing away the plates. II
beg your pardon" said the distressed
hostess, II thought you had finish
ed" $50 had," answered the
guest, "but / just fan a doc in the
redd o. my plate" G have just
found a pigeon in the refuse on my
plate.) The Spartan discipline which
prevailed in Scotch houses half a
century ago not unfrequently COM
PEELED children to eat everything
that was on their plate and leave
nothing. This rule was not in
variably good, for an old friend of
mine, great authority on statistics,
was to great extent right in his
advice, II always tell my wife,"
said he, that the worst place into
which she can put anything she
does not want is her stomach"
Sometimes the Spartan rule caused
Indigestion, but when applied two or
three times it made the children
careful not to take more than they
really wanted, and so waste on the
plates was prevented, and habits of
thrift taught to the children, which
as they grew up influenced them in
other things. Waste occurs in the
kitchen as well as at the table, and
to an even greater extent. l have
been told of a young curate who had
to leave his charge in mining vii
lage because he had excited the in
1ignation of the women by telling
hem that they ought not to throw
away the water in which they had |
1oiled beef. The impertinence of the !
nan to try to teach them was more
than they could stand; and they |
lidn't! What contrast to cooking
n France. 1 once stayed at little
french hotel, and was much inter
,sted in the food. The first course
vas delicious soup, with lots of veg
tables and chunks of bread toasted
n the oven floating about in it. The
econd course consisted of beef boil
ID to rags and covered by most
'alatable sauce. Both courses were
most appetizing, but judging from
he coarseness of the fibres of the
eef l came to the conclusion that it
anne from an old bullock that had
rawn the plough until it could
york no longer. Roasted, or even
raised, it's flesh would have been
90 tough to be eatable, but when
oiled to rags it made excellent
CUP, and when all the taste had
cen boiled out of it the addition of ,
sauce made it very palatable. The I
erbs which favored the soup had i
cen grown in the little garden of s
he hotel, and the chunks of toasted /
read were probably the remnants I
objected at the table on previous 7
reals, and which had been baked ]
ard in the oven. One great rule |
nat should be kept in every house q
old is that no piece of bread, how /
YER small, should ever be thrown s
way; every scrap should be collect t