Evening star., 1924-08-10
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

Not much attention was given so
years ago to the training of children
| in the domestic arts outside of such
education as they were enabled to OBJ
Cooking Schools Urged home. This
as Necessary. m ster.
how e YER
was being discussed, as is to be noted
| in The Star of August 4, 1874:
The Baltimore Sun thinks we
ought to initiate England in the mat
ter of cooking schools and include
| among other female accomplishments
the knowledge of the culinary art.
There Is no doubt that n general
knowledge of this kind would ma
terially enhance our comfort and
healthfulness. AS a rule Americans
are too careless about what they put
into their mouths, and generally eat
so rapidly that they are unable to
judge whether their food is properly
prepared or not. AS rule, we eat
much faster than our English cousins
and are in too much of hurry to
criticise the cookery, provided II be
simply palatable. In too many cases
cooking Is left altogether to ignorant
and slovenly servants, when the fe-
| male head of the house should super
wise il and at least see that the ves-
sells used are clean.
Prof. Blot, who is supposed to be
good authority, says ne knows of no
country where there is so much ex-
cellent material for food and where
so much is thrown away or spoiled in
its preparation as in America and all
because the people do not realize the
great importance of cookery. There
TC 7r al h~Nu dxy-
pepsia and other diseases have their
origin in the kitchen. In New York
the Free Training School for Women
Is about to organize a cooking class
and practical lessons will be given
twice a week. 1t will be desirable II
similar schools could be established
in every school in the country. We
can hardly hope for this, however,
until girls are brought up to under
stand the importance of acquiring
such knowledge and its bearing on
their future lives"
The following in The Star of Au-
gust 7. 1874. will bring back to mem
ory the name of a steamboat that
once piled the Potomac and was IA
miGar to every
Steamer Mary washi nstonian
Washington. half century and less
ago:
The building and placing on the
Potomac of the steamer Mary Wash
ington is an event of much more i'm
portance to Washington and the
country below than 1t might seem to
most persons than a mere announce
ment of the fact. Intended to ply
regularly between the city and the
| landings on the river as far down as
point below Mount Vernon, 1t Is the
first and e much needed step toward
bringing into direct communication
the consumer in town and the pro-
ducer whose rich fields and orchards
line the banks of the Potomac and
Its numerous estuaries. 1t insures to
| the former fresher and cheaper fruits.
| vegetables and milk than he has yet
been able to obtain from that pro-
| ouctive locality. and II secures for
the latter better and more certain
| market than he has heretofore been
| respect alone the new enterprise can
\ be made of fnestimable advantage:
/ but its benefits need not stop here.
| Being sure Of cheap. sure and con-
| venient means OF transportation, peo-
pie living in the city will be induced
| to buy sites and build for summer
use. IL not for permanent occupancy,
residences on the commanding hills
| and beautiful slopes lying on both
sides Of the river, thus adding to the
value to the land in the neighbor-
| hood. Viewing the matter in this
| light, we trust that the projectors of
the enterprise will meet with all the
success they hope for and that the
Mary Washington Is only a pioneer of
| other prosperous ventures of the
same character yet to follow"
For many years the Mary Wash
| ington piled the river and was popu-
lar as an excursion boat, in addition
| to serving as a freight carrier for the
river landings. Later she was sue
| ceeded in the excursion service by
| the w. w. Corcoran, which was
burned about IS years ago.