,,household ,,administration  ,,its     
,,place ,,in ,,the ,,higher ,,education 
,,of ,,women   ,,edited ,,by ,,alice    
,,ravenhill ,,and ,,catherine ,j4       
,,schiff     ,,new ,,york   ,,henry     
,,holt ,,and ,,company   #aiaa          
,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson      
,,co4   ,at the ,ballantyne ,press1     
,edinburgh     ,,preface   ,the object  
of this book is threefold4 7#a7 ,it     
endeavours to define the importance and 
scope of household administration in the
 twentieth century1 which1 when analysed
 into its component parts1 is found     
intimately to concern the right conduct 
and domestic care of individual human   
lives1 from their inception to their    
close4 7#b7 ,it seeks to demonstrate the
 necessity of an adequate preparation   
for all who assume the responsibility of
 such administration2 particularly for  
those who1 in consequence of their      
parental responsibilities1 their wealth1
 their social status1 or their          
professional duties1 exercise           

far-reaching influence through their    
standard of life and example4 7#c7      
,finally1 it gives prominence to the    
fact that the domestic arts are no      
collection of empirical conventions1 to 
be acquired by imitation or exercised by
 instinct4 ,it is clearly demonstrated  
that the group of sciences upon which   
they rest is more comprehensive than    
most people suspect1 and that their     
contribution to the solution of pressing
 domestic problems has so far been but  
partially realised4 ,it is1 therefore1  
of considerable interest to observe the 
remarkable consensus of opinion on each 
of these points among the recognised    
experts in their subjects1 to whom were 
entrusted the preparation of the various
 sections of this book4 ,the writers of 
the papers1 untrammelled by editorial   
restrictions1 each writing from the     
fulness of her knowledge1 tested by ripe
 experience1 reached independently      
conclusions conspicuous for their       
unanimity4 ,it will be evident to the   

most casual reader that1 in the opinion 
of these thoughtful women1 blind        
instinct must yield place to trained    
intelligence1 if home life is to be     
preserved and modern conditions of      
existence adequately adjusted to human  
requirements4  ,progressive changes1    
social1 commercial1 industrial1 and1    
last but not least1 educational1 now    
require that this trained intelligence  
be fostered by organised instruction    
outside the home1 adapted to the needs1 
present or prospective1 of girls in     
every grade of society4 ,such           
instruction1 whether in the fundamental 
sciences or in the applied arts1 must be
 associated with individual practice in 
laboratory1 studio1 workroom1 and       
kitchen2 the details to be varied as    
circumstances dictate4  ,if1 however1   
consistent applications of such         
knowledge are to be made in order that  
desirable saving in time1 labour1 money1
 health1 or happiness shall be effected1
 graduate women of high attainments are 

urgently needed for the work4 ,it is    
they only who can bring to bear upon the
 problems of childhood and adolescence1 
of food1 of clothing1 of housing1 of    
domestic economics1 of occupation1 rest1
 and recreation1 the patient study and  
research in the interests of humanity1  
which men of similar standing have      
lavished upon the advancement of        
commerce and industrial processes4 ,it  
is by their skilled labour in the almost
 untrodden field of domestic science    
that the millions of homes will benefit 
which are committed to the charge of    
women who possess neither time1         
opportunity1 nor ability to carry out   
these indispensable investigations1 but 
who can yet effectively fulfil their    
responsibilities1 if they be supported  
by systematic training and organised    
common sense1 based on sound knowledge4 
,it is in the hope of forwarding these  
objects that this book has been         
prepared4    ,,alice ,,ravenhill4       
,,catherine ,,schiff4    ,nov4 #aiaj4   

,,contents     ,,introduction--,a       
,,brief ,,historical ,,sketch ,,of      
,,woman',s ,,position ,,in ,,the        
,,family                                
#aa      ,by ,,catherine ,,schiff1      
,officier d',academie    ,,the ,,place  
,,of ,,biology ,,in ,,the ,,equipment   
,,of ,,women                  #ce       
,by ,,wenona ,,hoskyns-,,abrahall1      
,m4,a4 7,dub47    ,,science ,,in ,,the  
,,household                             
#ga      ,by ,mrs4 ,w4 ,n4 ,,shaw1      
formerly ,lecturer of ,newnham          
,college1 ,cambridge4 ,author of ,first 
,lessons in ,observational              
,geometry4    ,,the ,,economic          
,,relations ,,of ,,the ,,household      
#aba      ,by ,,mabel ,,atkinson1 ,m4,a4
 7,glasgow71 ,lecturer in               
,economics1 ,king's ,college for ,women 
7,university of     ,london71 formerly  
,scott ,scholar in the ,university      
of ,glasgow2 ,research ,student at the  
,london ,school of     ,economics2 and  
,fellow of ,economics1 ,bryn ,mawr      

,college1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,author of ,local   
,government in ,scotland4    ,,some     
,,relations ,,of ,,sanitary ,,science   
,,to ,,family ,,life    ,,and           
,,individual ,,efficiency               
#bjg      ,by ,,alice ,,ravenhill1 late 
,lecturer in ,hygiene1     ,king's      
,college for ,women 7,university of     
,london71 c4     ,author of ,practical  
,hygiene1 ,some ,characteristics     and
 ,requirements of ,childhood1 ,elements 
of ,sanitary     ,law1 ,household ,foes4
    ,,modern ,,woman ,,and ,,the        
,,domestic ,,arts--      ,i4            
,,needlework ,,and ,,dressmaking        
#bie      ,by ,mrs4 ,r4 ,w4 ,,eddison1  
,gen4 ,hon4 ,sec4 ,yorkshire            
,ladies' ,council of ,education1 ,added 
,member of ,education     ,committee of 
,county ,council of ,west ,riding of    
,yorkshire1 c4      ,,ii4 ,,housecraft  
#cjh      ,by ,,maud ,r4 ,,taylor1      
,examiner in ,domestic ,science4     ,a 
,,brief ,,historical ,,sketch ,,of      
,,woman',s ,,position ,,in ,,the        

,,family  ,,by ,,catherine ,,schiff     
,the home must always claim the first   
place in the large majority of women's  
lives4 ,it has done so in the past1 it  
does so in the present1 it will continue
 to do so in the future4 ,but woman's   
activities are no longer to be merely   
confined to her own fireside1 though    
that must always hold a prominent place4
 ,the real problem of the day is the    
right conduct of the home on scientific 
lines4  ,in some ways the management of 
the home has never been more difficult4 
,the servant problem has never been more
 acute than to-day2 the cost of living  
and the standard of comfort is going up 
by leaps and bounds1 and the old recipe 
of ,feed the brute1 as far as the       
husband is concerned1 is no less        
inefficient4 ,it is essential to-day to 
know something about food values1 the   
arrangement of meals1 which avoid       
monotony1 and provide that requisite    
variety in nourishment1 on which the    
good health and ultimately the good     

temper of the household depend4  ,again 
we are realising the great complexities 
of all questions dealing with           
child-rearing and education4 ,we have   
travelled far from the self-complacency 
of the woman of thirty years ago1 who   
based her claims to a thorough knowledge
 of the up-bringing of children on the  
fact that she had buried ten4 ,this need
 for wider knowledge in all branches of 
housekeeping is equally important to the
 unmarried woman1 who is more and more  
being called upon to act as a           
foster-mother1 whether as a teacher or  
in some other capacity1 to the nation's 
children4  ,the care of the children is 
considered by all shades of opinion to  
be the clou of a woman's life1 and every
 day more and more responsibility is    
cast upon her in this respect4 ,how can 
she1 then1 fulfil these duties as they  
should be fulfilled if she is utterly   
ignorant of the laws of health and of   
child-life1 and how both are affected by
 environment and all the other grave and

 fundamental truths which lie at the    
root of the successful up-bringing and  
development of the child8 ,it is now a  
hackneyed saying that the child of      
to-day is the man or woman of to-morrow1
 but a whole world of truth lies        
enshrined in those words2 the children  
are the assets of the nation1 and if    
their up-bringing is not of the best    
they can never attain to that full      
heritage of development which is the    
right of every soul born into the world4
  ,scientific training in ,household    
,administration can alone save the      
sorely taxed housewife of to-day from   
becoming more than a slave to her       
domestic responsibilities4 ,it is only  
by being a mistress of her craft1       
whether ,china fall or no1 that she can 
make sufficient time to devote herself  
to necessary self-culture and recreation
 as well as to those ever-growing       
outside duties which the twentieth      
century is imposing upon her in the     
shape of public and social work4 ,if    

there is one thing which is becoming    
increasingly obvious1 it is that the    
help and advice of scientifically       
trained women are absolutely necessary  
in the management of hospitals1 the     
administration of the ,poor ,law1 and   
the general solution of social problems4
  ,at no other epoch in the history of  
mankind has woman stood on the same high
 plane as she does to-day1 and at no    
other period has so much been demanded  
of her1 intellectually1 morally1 and    
physically4 ,it is only within recent   
years that ,science has attempted to    
come to the aid of woman in helping her 
firstly to obtain1 and then to maintain1
 the position for which she was         
originally designed1 as the complement  
of man and as the chief element of      
preservation in human society4  ,if the 
history of mankind is traced back to    
primordial times1 we find that it was   
the female who possessed power over the 
emotional nature of man1 and it is      
becoming increasingly evident that the  

family owes its origin as a social      
factor to the ,mother1 not to the       
,father4 ,lippert is convinced that the 
idea of an exclusively maternal kinship 
at one time extended over the whole     
earth1 and ,mc,lennan says1 ,we shall   
endeavour to show that the most ancient 
system in which the idea of             
blood-relationship was embodied was a   
system of kinship through the females   
only4  ,occupation seems to have been   
the main factor in determining that the 
mother rather than the father should be 
the founder of the family4 ,agriculture 
originally appears to have been entirely
 the woman's industry1 while the men    
were engaged in hunting or looking after
 the cattle1 and wherever agriculture   
was the predominant feature of life we  
find that relationship is traced through
 the mother2 while on the other hand    
those tribes who were chiefly pastoral  
had a paternal system of                
relationship--that is to say1 that      
descent was counted through the males4  

,drummond1 in his book on the ,ascent of
 ,man1 places the ,evolution of         
,motherhood long before that of         
,fatherhood4 ,an early result1 partly of
 her sex1 partly of her passive strain1 
is the founding through the             
instrumentality of the first savage     
,mother of a new and beautiful social   
state--,domesticity--while ,man1        
restless1 eager1 and hungry1 is a       
wanderer on the ,earth1 ,woman makes a  
,home6 ,and according to the same       
authority we find that to ,man has been 
assigned the fulfilment of the first    
great function--the ,struggle for       
,life--,woman1 whose higher contribution
 has not yet been named1 is the chosen  
instrument for carrying on the ,life of 
,others4 ,nature took many aeons to make
 a mother1 whose gift to the world was  
,love and ,sympathy2 the evolution of   
the ,father came still later4 ,it was   
when man's mind first became capable of 
making its own provision against the    
weather and the crops that the          

possibility of ,fatherhood1 ,motherhood 
and the ,family were realised4 ,the     
,mother-age1 with its mother-right      
customs1 was a civilisation1 as ,i have 
indicated1 largely built up by woman's  
activity and developed by her skill2 it 
was an age within the small social unit 
of which there was more community of    
interest1 far more fellowship in labour 
and partnership in property and sex1    
than we find in the larger social unit  
of to-day4#a  ,in connection with this  
theory of the ,mother-age it is         
interesting to note that the ,etruscans 
traced their descent through the female 
line1 and it was from the ,etruscans    
that the ,romans derived nearly all     
their institutions2 thus many of the    
initiative forces of civilisation have  
come down to us from women4  ,it is     
believed that the patriarchal           
system--where the man was the head of   
the family1 as amongst the ,jews--which 
succeeded the ,mother-age1 grew out of  
the custom of capturing women belonging 

to other tribes1 this being succeeded   
later on by purchase1 and as soon as the
 woman ceased to be protected by the    
force of ideas1 as soon1 that is to say1
 as she lost her position as head of the
 family1 her downward path was certain4 
,but even among primitive people we find
 that it was an almost universal custom 
that a woman should be provided with an 
independent property1 ,mitgift1 though  
as time went on and the patriarchal     
system became more firmly established1  
it appears that this ,mitgift became the
 husband's property1 and that every     
bride was expected to bring a dowry to  
her husband1 whose property she became1 
thus losing all independence4  ,however1
 in ,greece the position of woman1      
during the ,heroic times was to a       
certain extent an independent one1 as is
 clear from the poems of ,homer and the 
treatment of ,homeric and ,heroic themes
 by the ,athenian dramatists4 ,but one  
has only to compare the ,nausicaea of   
,homer or the ,electra of the           

,tragedians with the women of the time  
of ,pericles1 to see how much the status
 of the female sex had deteriorated4    
,the ,athenian wife of that time was    
treated as a mere ,hausfrau1 expected to
 spend her whole time at home in the    
managing of the household1 while the    
husband satisfied his intellectual      
tastes by intercourse with the          
,stranger-women attracted to ,athens    
from other towns4 ,thus arose a most    
unnatural division of functions among   
the women of those days4 ,the           
citizen-women had to be mothers and     
housewives--nothing more2 the           
stranger-women had to discharge the     
duties of the companions1 but remain    
outside the pale of the privileged and  
marriageable class4#b ,to this          
artificial condition of domestic and    
social life may be partly attributed the
 downfall of ,athens1 for it is         
impossible to divide the functions of   
woman without serious risk to ,state and
 race4  ,in ancient ,rome the           

patriarchal system was the prevailing   
custom4 ,under the ,roman law the       
husband was the only member of the      
family possessing legal rights4 ,the    
family 7familia7 in its original and    
proper meaning is the aggregate of      
members of a household under a common   
head2 this head was the paterfamilias1  
the only member of the household who    
possesses legal rights4#c ,it is true   
that there were many honoured women     
under the ,roman ,republic1 such as     
,cornelia and ,portia1 the daughter of  
,cato1 but the lot of the majority was  
not an enviable one4 ,gradually1        
however1 the tutelage of women became   
less severe1 and ,justinian in revising 
the whole ,roman code placed married and
 family life on an altogether new basis1
 the husband lost his absolute control  
over his wife's dower1 and in case of   
separation he had to restore it entire4 
,women had been for so long under such  
strict tutelage that they were unfit to 
benefit by these new laws4 ,doubtless it

 will be remembered that the corruption 
of the women of the period is           
practically unparalleled in history1 but
 it must be also borne in mind that the 
whole system of ,imperial government was
 so vicious that it was almost          
impossible for women to escape from the 
widespread influence of vice and        
corruption4  ,christianity as a force   
began to make itself felt while woman   
was yet in this low moral state1 and it 
is not therefore surprising that to the 
leaders of ,christianity the freedom    
which women then enjoyed and the easy   
method of divorce obtainable were in a  
large measure responsible for the       
vitiated state of ,roman life4 ,in their
 eyes the only means of producing a more
 salutary state of affairs was to put a 
check on what they considered a menace  
to a ,christian society4  ,it is of     
interest to notice how the attitude of  
the ,early ,fathers towards women       
differs from that of ,our ,lord as      
recorded in the ,gospels4 ,there indeed 

are women highly honoured1 and it is to 
a woman that ,christ often gives a      
message of the highest import4 ,it was  
to ,mary ,magdalen that the ,risen ,lord
 first appeared and bade her tell the   
others1 and again it was the woman of   
,samaria who became the instrument of   
salvation to her people4 ,but to the    
,early ,fathers the ascetic ideal was   
the predominant one1 and in consequence 
thereof women were treated as the chief 
source of temptation to man4 ,woman was 
represented as the door of ,hell1 as the
 mother of all human ills4 ,she should  
be ashamed at the very thought that she 
is a woman4 ,she should live in         
continual penance on account of the     
curses she has brought upon the world4  
,she should be ashamed of her dress1 for
 it is the memorial of her fall4 ,she   
should be especially ashamed of her     
beauty1 for it is the most potent       
instrument of the demon4#d ,in fact a   
decree of the ,council of ,auxerre      
7,a4,d4 #egh7 forbade women to receive  

the ,eucharist in their naked hands     
owing to their impurity4  ,unfortunately
 the bigotry of the ,early ,christian   
teachers gave the first check to the    
tendency to freer institutions1 the next
 was given by the fall of the ,empire4  
,with the influx of the ,teutonic tribes
 we find a new code of ideas and morals1
 but eventually a compromise was        
effected between the ,germanic and      
,roman laws4 ,thus from very early times
 we find that it was a ,german custom to
 provide every bride with a dower1 and  
this is remarked upon by ,tacitus4      
,afterwards the ,church adopted this    
custom1 which was strangely enough both 
,roman and ,teutonic in origin4  ,from  
the time when the ,empire went down in a
 cataclysm which shook the foundations  
of the world1 until the beginning of the
 ,middle ,ages1 we hear but little of   
woman4 ,it was the ,sturm and ,drang    
period in the world's history1 in which 
woman had no real position4 ,the women  
of the upper classes were of necessity  

confined either to the castle or the    
convent1 and woman's sphere was         
therefore a small one2 man demanded     
nothing more than that they should      
minister to his physical wants in the   
short periods of peace he then enjoyed4 
,hallam says1 ,i am not sure that we    
could trace very minutely the condition 
of women for the period between the     
subversion of the ,roman ,empire and the
 ,first ,crusade 444 there seems however
 to have been more roughness in that    
social intercourse between the sexes    
than we find at a later period4#e  ,with
 the end of this stormy period comes the
 dawn of the ,age of ,chivalry1 and from
 that time forward until the            
,reformation1 woman enjoyed a portion at
 least of her rightful position4 ,it is 
said that ,chivalry not only bestowed   
upon the woman perfect freedom in the   
disposal of hand and heart1 but required
 of the knight who should win her1      
devoted and lengthened service2 this may
 be1 however1 a rather idealised view of

 the situation2 but there is no doubt   
that the ,court and the ,cloister became
 the two centres of women's lives1 and  
an intimate connection was maintained   
between the two4 ,nearly all women of   
gentle birth were educated in nunnery   
schools1 and by the eighth century we   
find that these schools had attained a  
high standard of learning1 which        
increased and developed in the          
succeeding centuries4 ,the convent      
afforded a shelter to the woman who did 
not marry and to whom the marriage state
 did not appeal2 there she was able to a
 certain extent to follow the career she
 desired1 at the same time her personal 
safety was assured4 ,the scholar1 the   
artist1 the recluse1 the farmer1 each   
found a career open to him2 while men   
and women were prompted to undertake    
duties within and without the religious 
settlement1 which make their activity   
comparable to that of the relieving     
officer1 the poor law guardian1 and the 
district nurse of a later age4#f ,it is 

perhaps of interest to us to note that  
the first hospital for lepers in        
,england was founded by a woman1 good   
,queen ,maud1 in #aaja at ,s4 ,giles' on
 the ,east4  ,the rule of an abbey or a 
priory called for no mean business      
capacity on the part of their heads1 and
 as a rule the abbess and prioress were 
women of great business and             
administrative ability4 ,before the     
,norman ,conquest nearly all the        
nunneries founded in ,england were      
abbacies1 subsequently priories were the
 most usual foundations1 as according to
 feudal law women were unable to hold   
property4  ,the latter half of the      
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are   
renowned throughout history for their   
women1 who1 occupying foremost positions
 in the government1 were clever1        
cultured1 and liberal-minded4 ,one has  
but to mention the names of ,margaret1  
,countess of ,richmond1 the ,lady       
,margaret of ,oxford and ,cambridge2 of 
,leonore d',este1 the mother of equally 

famous daughters1 ,isabella and         
,beatrice d',este2 ,marguerite de       
,valois1 sister of ,francis ,i41 and    
,isabella of ,castile1 to conjure up    
before one's eyes the whole procession  
of the proud and capable women of these 
days4  ,one and all have been fruitful  
as successive stages of growth1 yet they
 can never recur1 and only the fanatic  
or visionary could wish that they should
 recur1 for each is narrow and          
insufficient from the standpoint of a   
later age4  ,in ,england the women who  
were the mothers of the men who created 
the great ,elizabethan epoch were almost
 without exception brought up in nunnery
 schools#g and1 alas1 the destruction of
 the nunneries and the rise of the      
,puritan spirit sounded the death-knell 
of women's education4 ,after the        
,reformation the position of woman was  
peculiarly degrading2 in the eyes of the
 law she possessed practically no       
status1 and the old chivalrous feeling  
for woman seems to have faded out with  

the romance of the ,middle ,ages--she   
now figured as the legal property of    
man1 'the safeguard against sin1' the   
bearer of children ad infinitum4  ,so   
woman was left once more to sink back   
into a slough of despond1 until with the
 end of the eighteenth century there    
arose the humanitarian movement and the 
gradual awakening of woman to the sense 
of her responsibility1 with the         
inevitable corollary of her rightful    
position as the social equal of man4    
,if these ideals are to be realised1    
woman must recognise her                
responsibilities and act accordingly4   
,she has proved herself a more than apt 
student in all the liberal studies1 she 
has practically forced the door of      
nearly all the professions1 now she must
 realise that she must apply her higher 
learning to what is probably the most   
difficult profession of all1 the        
management of the home1 or in other     
words she must see that the knowledge   
she has acquired be adapted and turned  

to practical aims4  ,up to the present  
time the conduct of the home has been   
regulated purely by rule of thumb       
methods2 if however in the future it can
 only be administered with the same     
method and scientific exactitude as     
prevail in other great business         
enterprises1 the drudgery of            
housekeeping will diminish and woman    
will cease to be a slave to household   
duties4 ,she will have more time to     
devote to the cultivation of her own    
mind1 and thus1 while becoming a more   
real companion to man1 she will be free 
to take a more enlightened interest in  
the education and development of her    
children4  ,incidentally this may go to 
prove that a sound knowledge of the     
household sciences and arts may serve1  
not to tie a woman more to the storeroom
 and kitchen1 but to enable her to get  
better results with the expenditure of  
less time and energy1 by enabling her to
 apply to everything simple and complex 
within the household the master-mind1   

instead of the mind of the uncertain    
amateur4  ,her responsibilities are     
great not only as an individual but as a
 member of the community to which she   
belongs2 and if she is to fulfil these  
responsibilities in respect to the home1
 she cannot do so without a thorough    
scientific preparation4  ,the home is   
the cradle of life1 it was the          
birthplace of those industries which    
to-day form the great centres and       
constitute the means of livelihood for  
millions4 ,in some of these there is    
reason to believe that woman took her   
share as originator4 ,with the process  
of time1 these primitive practices have 
grown into the great industries and arts
 of to-day1 yet it is still to the woman
 that the call comes to cultivate and   
use her taste in these matters1 so that 
when it falls to her to be responsible  
for the decoration and furnishing of a  
house1 she may be able to choose in all 
departments of life what is the best1 to
 the everlasting benefit of herself and 

her family1 both physically and morally4
  ,if man be the producer and           
distributer of wealth1 woman is         
certainly the director of consumption4  
,on her rests the responsibility of     
expending wisely and well the money     
entrusted to her for the nutrition and  
clothing of her family1 and how can this
 be adequately fulfilled if she have no 
real knowledge of the subject beyond    
what she is able to pick up as she goes 
along1 a method detrimental to all      
concerned8 ,little would be thought of  
any business house which entrusted its  
most delicate operations to             
inexperienced buyers1 or of any         
municipality which allowed its affairs  
to be conducted by an amateur4 ,far less
 would be heard of misery1 poverty1 and 
ill-health if the art of buying and     
preparing food1 for instance1 were      
properly understood by those whom it    
most concerns4  ,again1 the chief racial
 responsibility falls on woman2 it is   
just in the most precious years of      

childhood that her influence is so      
potent1 and it is the mother1 who       
besides helping to sow all the ethical  
and spiritual seeds1 should safeguard   
the perfect physical condition of her   
children1 in order that an unimpaired   
vitality and constitution be handed on  
from generation to generation4 ,no      
proverb is truer than ,mens sana in     
corpore sano2 the two go hand in hand   
together1 and their accomplishment is   
the proud privilege of the woman4  ,from
 the family flows the life of the       
nation1 and the power to guide it aright
 lies largely in the hands of women1    
whether they be married or single4 ,with
 the married woman her own family comes 
first of all1 and then through it her   
duty as a citizen2 the unmarried woman's
 duties as a citizen are manifold1 and  
each year they increase and expand4     
,nearly all the activities of public    
life are open to her2 for instance she  
may sit on ,county ,councils1 ,municipal
 ,councils1 ,district ,councils1 urban  

and rural ,parish ,councils1#h ,boards  
of ,guardians1 c42 in fact in the       
growing field of social work1 her       
services are being more and more        
recognised as indispensable1 and it is  
impossible in a few words to enumerate  
all the possibilities of service which  
lie before her1 both professional and   
philanthropic4  ,consequently if a      
healthy nation is desired1 the women of 
a country must be educated both         
academically and scientifically4 ,if    
women are to be fit wives and mothers   
they must have all1 perhaps more1 of the
 opportunities for personal development 
that men have4 ,all the activities      
hitherto reserved to men must be open to
 them1 and many of these activities1    
certain functions of citizenship1 for   
example1 must be expected of them4      
,moreover1 whatever the lines may be    
along which the fitness of woman to     
labour will be experimentally           
determined1 the underlying position must
 be established that1 for the sake of   

the individual and race character1 she  
must be a producer as well as a consumer
 of social values4#i  ,now how is this  
most desirable end to be attained8 ,the 
succeeding papers will deal with the    
subject in extenso2 here can only be    
briefly indicated the scope and purpose 
of the majority4  ,an eminent authority 
tells us that the objects of nature may 
be designated as the objective point of 
view4 ,it is the standpoint of biology  
and affords the natural conditions for  
the successful investigation of the laws
 of life1 not only of the lower         
organisms but of the human race as      
well4#aj ,this immediately demonstrates 
the vital necessity that women should   
know something of these fundamental laws
 of life1 which biology alone can teach1
 in order that she may apply these to   
her ordinary daily life and recognise   
them as operating in all her            
surroundings4  ,the transition from this
 stage to the next is an easy one4      
,woman having learnt the laws of life1  

will immediately view her economic      
responsibilities with a clearer eye and 
fuller understanding4 ,it is true that  
throughout the ages woman has striven to
 acquit herself as best she could1 but  
until the present day it has mostly been
 a groping in the dark1 without the aid 
of any exterior agency4 ,now light is   
beginning to be thrown on many points   
hitherto obscure4  ,household economics 
has been well said to rest on two chief 
cornerstones1 the economy of wealth and 
the economy of health1 and encloses the 
groundwork of human happiness and human 
aspirations 444 even all departments of 
science must contribute to its          
development4  ,but a mere knowledge of  
biology and economics is useless without
 bodily efficiency1 and true bodily     
efficiency is only possible where the   
environment is favourable to growth and 
life4 ,it cannot be expected that full  
physical development can ever take place
 in ill-lighted1 badly ventilated1      
defectively drained or otherwise        

objectionable houses4 ,and it must never
 for a moment be forgotten that if the  
body be neglected1 then1 as an          
inevitable consequence1 the mind and    
spirit must also become warped4 ,it is  
not that we desire man to develop his   
physical nature at the expense of his   
spiritual1 but rather that we would see 
him placed in such a condition that he  
is able to apply those great faculties1 
which distinguish him from the brute    
creation1 to their highest and best use4
  ,the ancients recognised in very early
 times the need of sanitary precautions 
to protect themselves from the onslaught
 of disease and the consequent          
decimation of their race4  ,we find     
,mena1 ,king of ,egypt 7#ejjj ,b4,c471  
mentioning in his ,ordinances that      
offences in diet were one of the things 
through which the genius of death       
becomes eager to destroy men4  ,the     
,levitical ,laws contain many enactments
 of a sanitary character1 they are one  
of the oldest known sanitary codes1 and 

have many wise and necessary provisions 
for the health of the people4  ,rules   
for the conduct of rural life were      
formulated so far back as #ajj-ejj      
,b4,c4 in ,boeotia4 ,tarquinus ,priscus 
began and ,tarquinus ,superbus completed
 the great works for the drainage of    
,rome in the fourth and fifth centuries 
,b4,c41 of which the ,cloaca ,maxima was
 the most remarkable feature2 even      
to-day the ancient water-supply of ,rome
 and her system of baths are still a    
source of admiration to the modern      
world4 ,and to their credit be it said  
that the ,romans carried this knowledge 
with them to the countries which they   
conquered2 we find aqueducts at ,great  
,chester and ,lanchester1 an arterial   
sewer at ,lincoln1 and the well-known   
baths at ,bath4  ,from the destruction  
of ,rome until well-nigh ten centuries  
later was a period in which no advance  
in sanitation was made2 on the contrary1
 retrogression was the keynote of the   
time4 ,warfare1 religious segregation1  

and the spread of asceticism were the   
chief reasons for this2 the ideals of   
both ,christian and ,pagan were opposed 
to personal and public hygiene4 ,the    
ascetic violated all laws of personal   
hygiene1 the monastery's ideal was      
inconsistent with public hygiene1 and   
both glorified ,god by teaching         
submission to pestilence1#aa which from 
time to time swept over the country1    
devastating it from end to end4  ,but   
with the increase of trade it became    
necessary to adopt certain measures for 
the preservation of human life1 and in  
#acdh we hear of the first              
street-cleaning and quarantine in those 
two great centres of commerce1 ,venice  
and ,cologne4 ,it was in the same year  
that the most terrible plague which the 
world has ever known attacked ,britain  
and practically depopulated it1 finding 
its chief prey in the filthy streets of 
the ,city4 ,this led in #acgi to an     
,order in ,common ,council for keeping  
the streets clean4 ,but despite this1   

all through mediaeval times personal    
health was shamefully neglected and     
public health practically unknown4 ,the 
consequences are easy to trace2 the     
country was again and again swept by    
epidemics which were naturally followed 
by severe famines1 and thus on every    
side progress was checked4 ,the ,fire of
 ,london at least cleansed ,london of   
its filth1 and from that time forward   
matters began to improve4 ,all through  
the eighteenth century1 smallpox1       
typhus1 scurvy1 and ague were rampant1  
and it is not till #ahcd that we find   
the beginning of sanitary legislation4  
,in #ahcg the ,act for the ,registration
 of ,births and ,deaths was passed1     
which at once provided the indispensable
 foundation for reliable statistics2    
previous to that date all that there was
 to depend upon were the ,baptismal     
,registers and the more or less accurate
 ,bills of ,mortality4 ,this has been   
followed by a long series of ,public    
,health enactments concerned with       

practically every department of life4   
,in fact during the last fifty years the
 public conscience has been quickened to
 an extraordinary degree4 ,much however 
has yet to be done which cannot be      
touched by legislation1 and it is to the
 woman1 who has been trained in the     
right conduct of life both private and  
public1 that the world looks for the    
preservation of healthy human life1 much
 of which is now needlessly sacrificed  
on the altar of ignorance4 ,in many     
cases the woman is the only person who  
can prevent this1 therefore she must    
equip herself for her high and noble    
duty with all that ,science can provide 
and ,art can suggest1 neither must she  
forget that her own home must ever be   
the starting-point of every endeavour4  
,for the ,mrs4 ,jellabies of this world 
are not those who help forward its      
progress1 rather are they the clogs on  
its wheels4  ,not only charity1 but all 
other virtues begin at home4 ,so long as
 the first concern of a nation is for   

its homes1 it matters little what it    
seeks second or third4   ,,footnotes3   
#a ,karl ,pearson1 ,the ,chances of     
,death1 p4 #c4      #b ,donaldson1      
,woman1 p4 #eh4 ,longmans  ,co4      #c 
,greenridge1 ,roman ,public ,life1 p4   
#ah4 ,macmillan  ,co4      #d ,lecky1   
,history of ,european ,morals1 vol4 ii4 
p4 #ceh4      #e ,hallam1 ,history of   
the ,middle ,ages4      #f              
,eckstenstein1 ,woman under             
,monasticism1 p4 #ajf4      #g ,the     
,mediaeval ,education of ,women in      
,england1 ,journal of                   
,education1 ,june #aiji4      #h ,it is 
interesting1 however1 to note the       
following ,electoral                    
,disabilities for women in ,england and 
,wales1 which1 however1 do         not  
exist in ,scotland or ,ireland3--       
,no married woman can vote in any ,town 
,council election or in any             
,county ,council election outside       
,london4          ,no woman owner has   
any right1 in virtue of her ownership1  

to         vote in any local election4  
,until #ahid women owners1 as such1     
were entitled to vote in ,poor ,law     
,guardian elections1 but the            
,local ,government ,act of that year    
disfranchised them1 while               
enlarging the voting rights of men      
owners4          ,no woman lodger can   
vote in any local election1 although men
         lodgers can vote in ,district  
and ,parish ,council and ,guardian      
elections1 and in the election of the   
,london ,county and ,london             
,borough ,councils4          ,for women 
there is no service franchise--such as  
entitles men to         vote in         
,district and ,parish ,council and      
,guardian elections1 and         in the 
election of ,london ,borough            
,councils--i4e4 no occupation         of
 a dwelling as an official or servant   
7for example1 as matron         or      
caretaker7 entitles a woman to be placed
 on the ,register4          ,for neither
 men nor women is there any ownership   

franchise1         lodger franchise1 or 
service franchise for ,town ,council    
elections or for ,county ,council       
elections outside ,london4      #i      
,parsons1 ,the ,family1 p4 #cdf4     #aj
 ,lester ,ward1 ,dynamic ,sociology1    
vol4 ii1 p4 #abj4 ,d4 ,appleton and     
,co41 ,new ,york4     #aa ,sanitary     
,record and ,journal1 ,nov4 #bd1 #aijd4 
,,the ,,place ,,of ,,biology ,,in ,,the 
,,equipment ,,of ,,women  ,,by ,,wenona 
,,hoskyns-,,abrahall1 ,m4,a4 7,,dublin7 
,in considering what is the best mental 
equipment for women in civilised        
countries it is as well not to          
contemplate only the great general facts
 of life1 such as wifehood1 motherhood1 
and the woman's position in the         
household4 ,it is necessary to take into
 account also the special               
characteristics and circumstances of our
 own times and civilisation2 for1 unless
 a woman is prepared to meet these      
successfully1 she cannot be deemed      
adequately equipped1 even if from other 

points of view her education be ideal4  
,in the beautiful old-fashioned         
education of ,japanese women we have an 
instance of such ideal excellence1 which
 is yet proving unable to cope with the 
requirements of actual life in modern   
,japan4  ,the most striking1 and also   
the most radical and pervasive1         
characteristic of our time is1 of       
course1 the progress made in scientific 
knowledge4 ,month by month enormous     
numbers of facts are1 in every          
department1 added to the knowledge      
already acquired4 ,to let one's         
imagination range1 even in a cursory    
way1 over the work that is being done in
 chemistry and physics merely as they   
concern biology--to enumerate the       
subdivisions of these sciences1 or to   
look down a list of recent publications 
relating to research carried on in them1
 is enough to make one's brain reel4    
,this ceaseless widening of the borders 
of knowledge is1 we must gladly allow1  
most inspiriting2 and yet1 seen from    

another side1 it may well give rise to  
fears4 ,for it is fairly obvious that   
the progress of human happiness goes by 
no means pari passu with this progress  
of knowledge2 and1 on looking more      
closely1 we may even observe miseries   
and degradations which can be traced up 
directly to the practical application of
 some of those scientific discoveries4  
,to what must we ascribe this8 ,it would
 seem to be the outcome of two lines of 
tendency just now predominant4  ,the    
first of these is that very strong bent 
towards mere accumulation of fresh facts
 which may be noted in the most able and
 active workers all over the world4     
,just as1 in other times1 the best minds
 have flung themselves with enthusiasm  
upon art or literature or philosophy or 
statesmanship or war1 so now they fling 
themselves eagerly upon the discovery of
 more and more recondite truths in      
science--leaving the ordinary government
 of affairs1 on the whole1 to minds of  
the second order4  ,the next is the     

reckless way in which isolated          
scientific discoveries--more especially 
in physics and chemistry--are brought to
 a practical application and introduced 
into the scheme of everyday human life4 
,this is done without consideration of  
anything beyond ensuring some obvious   
superficial convenience1 and--what is a 
principal determinant--the opening up of
 new financial enterprises4 ,advantages 
of a sort no doubt are won--but often   
only at a fearfully disproportionate    
cost4 ,the game--if we would but look at
 it unconventionally1 from the          
standpoint of true biological           
science--is not worth the candle2 for it
 involves a sacrifice of life itself to 
what can hardly be considered even as   
the means of life4  ,thus the chemicals 
used to preserve food impair its        
nutritive qualities2 while other        
chemicals1 as well as a number of       
ingenious mechanical processes1 serve to
 facilitate adulteration4 ,we all know  
how difficult it is to obtain pure milk 

and butter1 or pure bread from pure     
flour1 or jams made with sugar from     
fresh and good fruit4 ,bread may be made
 from flour which has passed through no 
less than seven processes1--a sad       
contrast this to the old home-made      
bread1 the product of home-ground meal1 
whole and sweet as nature made it4 ,what
 is sold in enormous quantities to the  
people as sugar1 whether alone or as    
part of preserves1 turns out often to be
 glucose4 ,butter1 so-called1 is often  
only skilfully-treated fats1 the weight 
helped out by water4 ,these three       
articles of diet alone1 when adulterated
 as they thus often are1 mean serious   
deterioration in the food--and therefore
 in the physique--of the nation2 and to 
them we have yet to add the effect of   
the chemicals used for keeping fish and 
meat in place of the genuine1           
old-fashioned pickling1 salting1 and    
smoking4  ,machinery1 again1 growing    
ever more and more complicated1 has     
destroyed an incalculable wealth of     

traditional activity3 and therewith1    
generation by generation1 it tends to   
destroy the finest capacities of        
individual men and women1 whether       
producers or consumers of the finished  
product4 ,the consumers suffer through  
the lack of opportunity to acquire and  
exercise manual dexterity and           
resourcefulness--as well as through a   
great lack of experimental knowledge4   
,the producers suffer through the       
monotony and narrowness of their labour4
  ,we may take as other instances of    
recklessness our common use of          
unprotected illuminants--electric light 
and incandescent gas-mantles--which give
 off ultra-violet rays injurious to the 
eyes2 the use of portable electric lamps
 and switch lampholders1 which is by no 
means free from risk2 and again the     
extreme recklessness of the so-called   
medical electrician1 who will actually  
venture to give electrical massage to a 
patient immediately after wet pack4#ab  
,as a last example we may take the rage 

for speed1 and in particular the use of 
electrically driven motor-cars4 ,the    
exact effects upon the human frame of   
the rapid motion1 of the vibrations1 of 
the presence of the electric current and
 escaping gas have never been adequately
 investigated--though sundry ill        
consequences of motor-driving have been 
noted without any diminution of the     
practice4  ,a very cursory reflection   
may show us that1 while the progress of 
science is the great characteristic fact
 of modern life to which we all have to 
adjust ourselves1 we must be prepared   
not only to take advantage of the good  
it offers1 but also to discern and      
counteract the perils it brings with it1
 when applied to human life in our      
present somewhat random way4  ,the      
random nature of our proceedings may be 
illustrated from yet another side4      
,there are a number of facts and        
principles1 long since agreed upon as   
truly ascertained1 which have never1 or 
only very partially1 been brought to    

bear upon custom and daily life4 ,we all
 know that plenty of fresh air is a     
first condition of health and vigour2   
and are so far convinced of this verity 
that open-air treatment is generally    
accepted as the proper mode of attacking
 and mastering consumption4 ,yet we     
crowd together into cities3 our houses  
are often very imperfectly ventilated1  
and our public buildings--churches1     
theatres1 halls1 schools and            
institutions1 as well as our            
railway-carriages and tram-cars--provide
 only for the very minimum of change of 
air4 ,similar neglect of definitely     
ascertained facts may be seen in dress1 
in food and drink1 in furniture1 in     
occupations4 ,noise is well known to be 
injurious to the brain1 and destructive 
to thought3 more than that1 it has been 
discovered that it is harmful to the    
viscera4 ,we insist1 more or less1 upon 
quiet for the sick3 but no trouble is   
taken about quiet for those who are     
well4 ,our thoroughfares echo with      

noises of all kinds1 from the roar of   
traffic to the howling and whistling of 
errand-boys2 and the authorities would  
be much surprised if they were accounted
 specially negligent for not making some
 effort to suppress them4 ,yet to any   
biologically trained person this noise  
must appear not disagreeable merely1 but
 a real handicap to the health and      
energy of the community4 ,wherever      
faithfulness to scientific principle    
involves trouble without prospect of    
money-making1 it is likely to be        
shirked1 however great the benefits     
known to come from it4  ,this is not    
entirely due to laziness1 nor yet to    
ignorance1 it is due quite as much to   
circumstance and to the pressure of our 
present social institutions4 ,it is     
closely bound up with the great social  
question of the ownership of land1 and  
with the husbandry and use of the       
resources of the land1 our rivers and   
our sea-shore4 ,wasting a great measure 
of what these have to give us1 polluting

 them in different ways by our          
manufactures and by the refuse of our   
cities1 we are constraining whole masses
 of our population to look to the work  
and the products of other countries for 
the first necessities of life4 ,whole   
masses of our population are removed    
from direct contact with the soil1 which
 is the nursing-mother not only of the  
body1 but also of the mind of man2 the  
people and the land being thus alike    
impoverished4 ,inquiring how so         
dangerous an error can have arisen1 we  
may find at least part of its cause to  
lie in an ignorance of the fundamental  
principles of biology1 the science of   
life4  ,what1 it may now be asked1 is to
 be done to counteract these            
disadvantages and dangers8 ,and1 again1 
how does all this bear on the equipment 
of women8  ,taking the latter question  
first3 it is indisputable that an       
enormous proportion of our commerce and 
manufactures is concerned with food and 
with articles required for the home4    

,but things for the home are made to be 
dealt with and used by women4 ,in so far
 as science comes in and modifies this  
material it is imperative that women    
should be placed in a position1 not only
 to know what are the essentials for    
life1 but also to criticise and estimate
 accurately that which is offered to    
them as scientific improvement4 ,for we 
need1 in this connection also1 to       
remember that science can only be fought
 by science--that is1 by knowledge      
belonging to the same plane4  ,we have  
now in part answered our former         
question4 ,what we need is a central or 
basal science to which--for practical   
purposes and in regard to its practical 
application--the work done in other     
sciences can be brought to be accepted1 
or rejected1 or modified4 ,this central 
science can1 in the very nature of      
things1 be none other than biology3 the 
science1 that is1 which gives an account
 of the functions and inter-relations   
and structure of all living things1 and 

deduces therefrom those principles      
which1 in a rather loose way1 we speak  
of as the laws of life4  ,it would1 we  
think1 be a very happy turn of affairs  
if1 not all1 but some of that genius1   
which is now spending itself in the     
research for fresh facts1 could be      
diverted to the work of correlating with
 one another facts already known1 and   
bringing all those that are appropriate 
to be grouped as it were in order of    
service around biology4  ,but perhaps   
not less important than this is what we 
may call the practical synthetic work of
 women in their households4 ,there are1 
indeed1 two circumstances which would   
give the ordinary woman of average      
intelligence1 if she were but adequately
 instructed1 some advantage1 so far as  
the service of mankind goes1 over even  
the most brilliant man of genius4 ,the  
first is the vantage-ground of her      
position in the home--at the very point1
 that is1 where so many sciences thrust 
themselves up together to the surface of

 actual life--where in some way or      
other1 however roughly1 they have to be 
correlated1 compared1 their different   
claims adjusted4 ,the second is the     
natural inclination of the womanly mind 
towards synthesis rather than analysis1 
towards practice rather than theory4    
,we ought now to consider rather        
closely--exhaustively we cannot--what is
 included under the term ,biology4 ,it  
stood for some time chiefly to mean an  
account of the structures of animals and
 plants1 structure being pursued into   
ever further minuteness1 down to the    
cell and the constituents and parts of  
the cell4 ,with this has gone insistent 
inquiry into the process of reproduction
 and growth2 and more lately1 in        
bio-chemistry and bio-physics1 the      
conformity of living substance to the   
order recognised in non-living matter   
has been1 and is being1 most eagerly    
investigated4 ,and now a school of      
biologists is arising whose aim is the  
vindication of the claims of function as

 against the too exclusive study of     
structure4 ,function1 of course1        
involves activity2 and activity1 in a   
complex1 multicellular organism1        
involves the interplay of parts4 ,this  
interplay1 again1 cannot be studied     
without reference to the environment1   
and to the relations between the        
organism in question and others--whether
 of its own or of other species4 ,in    
this way it seems likely that           
biology--moving as it were in a         
spiral--will by-and-by return1 though at
 a much higher level1 to the standpoint 
of the older naturalists1 whose interest
 in plants and animals was focussed more
 upon their activities1 habits of life  
and special environment than upon their 
morphology--and even disdained not to   
consider their possible uses for man4   
,also1 more thoroughly and extensively  
than before1 the study of man himself is
 being caught up into the great web of  
,biology4 ,it is seen as an integral    
part of ,biology1 and pursued in the    

biological spirit4 ,whether we look to  
psychology on the one hand1 or to       
anthropology and its associated sciences
 on the other1 the present is a most    
propitious moment for drawing public    
attention to this vast science1 as being
 the true centre and foundation of that 
practical knowledge which is needed as a
 guide1 and also as a stimulus1 for     
practical everyday life4  ,it will1 of  
course1 be instantly objected that the  
subject is indeed vast--much too vast4  
,but not too vast1 surely1 if1 by means 
of a very simple principle1 we select   
out what is of immediate definite use1  
and necessary for everybody1 from what  
may be1 by the majority1 safely left on 
one side4 ,we shall then get1 on this   
side1 the highly specialised ,biology of
 the laboratory with its minute         
researches and nicely calculated        
experiments1 and1 on that1 what we may1 
for our present purpose1 call           
,common-sense ,biology4  ,just one word 
of explanation is perhaps needed at the 

outset4 ,common-sense ,biology does not 
mean anything like that slipshod dealing
 with miscellaneous phenomena of nature 
which sometimes goes by the name of     
,nature ,study4 ,it is a course of work 
systematic and strictly scientific1     
conducted as truly as any other in the  
scientific spirit4 ,it presents1        
however1 two points of contrast with    
special or analytical ,biology1 in that1
 whereas1 in analytical ,biology1 a     
beginning may be made practically       
anywhere1 with any series of facts one  
may prefer to take first1 in            
,common-sense ,biology there is only one
 right mode of starting1 and that of the
 utmost importance2 while1 secondly1    
,common-sense ,biology combines some of 
the characteristics of an art with the  
ordinary characteristics of a science4  
,,common-,,sense ,,biology  ,it is this 
latter form of the science--this        
science1 which is also an art--that we  
would advocate as essential for the     
equipment of women4 ,with this view let 

us examine it further4  ,and first1 what
 is its proper starting-point8 ,its     
proper starting-point is accurate       
instruction concerning the living things
 with which the student is1 or can      
easily be1 brought into immediate       
practical contact4 ,and1 again1 in the  
study of these living things--plants and
 animals alike--attention is directed   
first towards the organism in its       
totality and in its activities--towards 
function rather than towards structure2 
and also towards mode of life1 relations
 with environment1 and1 where possible1 
towards its use or danger to mankind4   
,structure will1 no doubt1 early have to
 be introduced1 but only in its larger  
details as explanatory of function1 for 
the sake of a better knowledge of the   
animal or plant as a whole4  ,what are  
to be the types and examples of         
organisms studied8  ,this is an         
important question1 and the writer would
 most strongly urge that the principle  
of selection should be that of locality2

 that the student should start with     
those plants and animals--both wild and 
domestic--which are to be found within a
 given radius of the place where she is 
living and working4 ,the first things to
 know about are habit1 activity1        
inter-relation and use to human beings4 
,in respect to these1 the presence of   
one organism will react upon others1 and
 therefore no plant or animal within the
 area should be lightly overlooked4     
,,the ,,importance ,,of ,,bacteriology  
,we must not1 however1 confine attention
 to the higher multicellular animals and
 plants4 ,one of the most important     
factors in the environment is the       
existence of bacteria2 and it is of     
great importance that an outline of     
bacteriology should be included in our  
course of ,common-sense ,biology4 ,this 
outline should be kept close to the     
common necessities of everyday life4    
,for the sake of making clear and real  
to the mind the manner in which bacteria
 multiply and the extreme rapidity of   

the process1 a certain amount of        
microscopical work ought to be done1 the
 examples being few1 but carefully      
chosen4 ,this kind of work1             
nevertheless1 should be kept            
subordinate4 ,the effects wrought by    
bacteria in water1 earth and air1 in    
stored foodstuffs1 and in the tissues of
 the living body are the important      
subjects for study2 and naturally1      
connected with these1 the conditions    
which permit the access of bacteria or  
which1 in the case of noxious bacteria1 
will best ensure protection4  ,the      
rationale of toxins and anti-toxins1    
with the relations of these to the      
blood-serum should also1 in a general   
way1 be known2 and moreover the student 
should be prepared to learn that many   
diseases1 which are at present very     
imperfectly understood--we may take1 for
 instance1 forms of insanity--have their
 vera causa in the action of toxins1 and
 require to be treated accordingly4     
,perhaps1 for those who cannot take more

 than the shorter courses of our        
,common-sense ,biology1 it will be      
sufficient to consider only those forms 
of inimical bacteria which we have to   
combat in our own islands4 ,but the     
writer would strongly urge that1 at     
least among women of the leisured       
classes1 this instruction should be     
extended to cover the bacterial and     
other minute parasitic forms of disease 
most prevalent in our colonies and in   
our foreign possessions4 ,the wives of  
officers1 civil servants and            
missionaries ought to know1 in a clear1 
scientific way1 the causes1 modes of    
attack1 and methods of prevention of the
 principal tropical diseases1 so far as 
these have at present been made out4    
,,method ,,of ,,study  ,what should be  
the method of this study8  ,the         
sketching out of a course would be far  
beyond the scope of this paper4 ,here it
 may only be said that the work must1 of
 necessity1 fall into two main parts4   
,there must be1 on the one hand1        

field-naturalist's work1 for the greater
 proportion of the animals and plants   
studied ought--so far as is in any way  
practicable--to be observed in their    
natural surroundings2 and there must be1
 on the other hand1 work allied to that 
of the gardener and farmer1 the rearing 
of selected plants and animals for      
purposes of experiment and of closer    
examination4 ,nothing worth mentioning  
can be done on either of these lines    
without some study of the food and      
climatic conditions required by each    
creature2 and this will involve a study 
of soils1 temperature1 atmosphere1 and  
so on--and also a study of the nutrient 
properties of those organisms which     
furnish forth the food of other         
organisms4 ,from this knowledge1 gained 
thus through direct observation and     
experiment1 would be deduced the general
 principles which--so to express        
it--govern life2 and upon it as         
foundation would be reared the more     
specialised knowledge of all that       

pertains strictly to the life of        
mankind4 ,throughout the aim should be  
to use books mainly for reference4  ,it 
is not necessary--as it might have been 
a few years ago--to show that a training
 on these lines is better1 as a         
preparation for life1 than that offered 
by the ordinary school and university   
curriculum2 but it may be worth while to
 show how far and why it is superior to 
a well-planned course in the analytical 
biology of the laboratory4 ,the         
superiority is surely twofold3 in that  
the kind of knowledge acquired is of    
greater practical utility2 and1 again1  
in that the development which it        
ensures1 to the powers1 bodily and      
mental of the student1 is more varied1  
thorough1 and effective4                
,,common-,,sense ,,biology ,,as ,,an    
,,art  ,as has been said1 this          
,common-sense ,biology partakes of the  
nature of an art4 ,now it is            
characteristic of any art that1 for its 
satisfactory exercise1 it demands not   

only knowledge1 but also intuition2--not
 only conscious volition1 reflection1   
and endeavour1 but also subconscious    
nervous and muscular activity1 and1     
together with that1 a certain emotional 
state--a trend1 tendency1 disposition of
 the whole being1 which likewise is     
chiefly subconscious4  ,without such a  
disposition to begin with you cannot    
have an artist4 ,neither will you get an
 artist1 if1 on the other hand1 this    
disposition is never given an           
opportunity for displaying itself and   
developing its capacities4 ,you cannot  
play an instrument properly if you have 
no music in you1 and the music in you   
will never come forth if you have no    
instrument to play upon4 ,when          
disposition and opportunity are happily 
met1 and the true artist arises1 it is  
in the subconscious that the chief      
riches1 gained by her work and          
experience1 are stored1 and from the    
subconscious that she draws her skill2  
while in the subconscious1 again1 lie   

the mysterious sources of original      
inspiration4 ,we all know well how      
over-consciousness spoils art1 as it    
spoils most kinds of action4 ,the       
happiest effects1 the loveliest deeds   
spring1 as it were1 spontaneously4      
,what is true of such arts as music and 
poetry is at least equally true of the  
art of living4 ,the rich and            
well-harmonised subconsciousness is the 
proximate source whence all that is     
strongest and most beautiful in human   
activity is derived4 ,the domestic arts1
 conversation1 power of rapid judgment  
at a crisis1 the care of the sick1 the  
care of children1 tactful daily dealing 
with one's fellows1 all these1 and so   
much else1 we recognise to be dependent 
for perfection upon practice2 and that  
is only another way of saying that they 
depend on the efficiency and the        
character of the subconscious4 ,but the 
character and efficiency of each        
person's subconscious being depend in   
their turn--not solely1 yet             

principally--first1 upon the knowledge  
she has acquired1 and secondly1 upon the
 actions she has habitually performed4  
,action and being1 as we all know full  
well1 are for ever acting and reacting  
upon one another4  ,action is a more    
potent influence upon the subconscious  
even than knowledge2 and when to mere   
activity there is added emotion--such   
emotion1 for instance1 as pleasure or   
love1 or solicitude1 or desire for      
truth--we may feel assured we have      
brought into play the most powerful of  
all the forces which1 in an ordinary    
way1 go to vivify and to form human     
character4  ,the subconscious is even   
more important for women than for men1  
because women have more calls upon their
 emotions1 and more need for intuition1 
and also more need for general          
resourcefulness and skill4 ,it is       
because the ,common-sense ,biology whose
 claims we are urging involves so much  
activity1 such care1 quickness of       
observation1 patience and ready wit1    

that it makes a better preparation for  
life than the more highly specialized   
work in the ,biology of the laboratory  
alone could be4   ,,the ,,gains ,,and   
,,losses ,,of ,,civilisation  ,is there1
 it may now be asked1 anywhere any      
definite evidence to bear out this      
contention4 ,there is3 and in abundance4
 ,for it1 however1 we must look away    
from civilised communities1 especially  
from the educated portion of their      
populations4 ,civilisation1 no doubt1   
gives much2 but it also takes much away4
 ,it has taken away much of the         
traditional lore of women1 and more and 
more of their traditional activities4   
,this does not merely mean that the     
practical ability and knowledge of      
civilised women is greatly restricted2  
it means also that the peculiar         
intuitive wisdom of women--the fruit of 
a richly-stored subconsciousness--is    
much diminished4 ,in capacity for pure  
thought the educated woman of civilised 
communities no doubt excels all the     

rest3 in most other respects the        
barbarian or savage woman will--with    
some few exceptions--probably be found  
her superior1 whether judged merely by  
her mastery of the conditions amid which
 she has to work1 or1 more broadly1 by  
the amount of her real knowledge and the
 range of her effective capacities4     
,take1 as an example1 the ,eskimo woman1
 who is considered to represent the     
woman of palaeolithic times4 ,as there  
is no ,eskimo ,board of ,education--no  
paraphernalia of ,primary1 ,secondary1  
,technical1 and other ,schools1 with    
their red tape and officialism--she is  
free to carry on the tradition of her   
ancestresses1 and to rear1 in the good  
old ways1 children who grow up to be    
sturdy men and women4 ,the preparation  
she had for her task was chiefly that of
 watching and imitating her own mother4 
,thus1 as a child1 she followed all the 
processes of turning the dead reindeer  
to account--learning thereby an economy 
and an unwillingness to waste which were

 essentially scientific--learning1 too1 
subconsciously4 ,she saw the flesh of   
the reindeer made into pemmican--cut    
into thin slices1 and dried in the sun  
or in the smoke of a slow fire1 then    
pounded between stones 7the use of      
stones is worth noticing7 and stored    
under a cover of melted fat1 poured over
 it in due proportion4 ,she saw the     
bones--after the marrow had been        
extracted from them--pounded down and   
boiled to get out the residual fat2 the 
horns set aside to make fish-hooks1     
chisels1 needles1 and fishing-spears1   
work for the long winter evenings2 the  
skin carefully dressed with a split bone
 and cut into shape to make clothing1   
and snow-shoes1 thongs1 bow-strings1    
fishing-nets1 and so on4 ,the very      
tendons make threads for sewing3 and the
 garments thus fashioned are not only   
strong and serviceable1 but beautiful   
with that particular beauty1 which may  
perhaps be called barbaric1 but which   
almost invariably denotes vigour and    

fulness of subconscious life4 ,the      
,eskimo women also make their own boats 
and their own tools2 they are good      
fishers and hunters4 ,their year's work 
comprises an exercise of dexterity and  
quick wit of which the ordinary         
,englishwoman can have no idea4  ,we    
might take as another example the ,north
 ,american ,indian woman1 with her      
varied forest-lore2 but1 since space is 
limited1 let us pass for one further    
illustration to the despised ,australian
 aboriginal4 ,she too knows and does    
things worthy of our admiration and     
imitation4 ,for instance the ,english   
housewife's preparation of the household
 food is nothing like so conscientious  
as the ,australian's1 whose proceedings 
have the keen disinterested             
concentration proper to a bit of        
scientific research4 ,thus1 to take but 
one example of the processes connected  
with the preparation of one form of     
food--a seed of a species of eucalyptus3
 ,with a hooked stick she pulls down the

 terminal branches of the tree and      
spreads them out to dry on a piece of   
ground cleared for the purpose4 ,after  
allowing them to lie there for a period 
determined by temperature1 she collects 
the distal ends of the branches1 damps  
them and brushes the seeds off into     
water4 ,for a period of two or more     
hours these seeds are kept soaking1 but 
the water is repeatedly changed1 so as  
to remove all traces of the 'gum4'      
,after this they are dried and ground on
 a stone4 ,again1 she builds their      
rough1 but wisely devised home most     
carefully according to ancient          
tradition4 ,she takes her little girl1  
armed with a miniature digging-stick1   
out to track the honey-ant with her1 and
 to learn by the way what are the birds 
and beasts and plants1 friendly or      
inimical1 which surround their          
home-camp4  ,alongside of this direct   
learning about nature goes the learning 
of the legends and traditions of the    
tribe1 together with the customary      

dances1 rituals1 and religious          
practices4 ,the activity of savage life 
is everywhere such that no anomalies    
like our physical exercises are         
needed1--for the physique of the young  
men and women is as graceful1 strong1   
and enduring as need be4  ,if we turn to
 savage or barbarian peoples higher in  
the scale we shall find their knowledge1
 abilities1 and accomplishments higher  
and also more varied4 ,but1 on the      
whole1 until we come to the average     
modern woman of a civilised community1  
we shall find that the women--through   
their happily developed                 
subconsciousness--are equal to the best 
the community requires of them4 ,they do
 not call their training ,common-sense  
,biology1 but that is what it           
practically is4 ,they know all about    
their surroundings1 and what to do      
therein4 ,and grace and beauty wait upon
 what they do4  ,this ideal is not1     
however1 quite without parallel among   
the more highly civilised peoples4 ,the 

,greeks conceived of ,athene1 the great 
goddess of wisdom and of war1 as also   
,athene ,ergane1 the ,workwoman1 the    
goddess of handicrafts in the home4 ,in 
our own country--to take examples near  
to us and familiar--the names of        
,caroline ,herschel1 ,jane ,austen1 the 
,brontes1 ,mary ,somerville1 and ,george
 ,eliot not only attest the fact that   
exquisite skill in domestic arts is not1
 in a woman1 incompatible with learning 
and genius1 but may also lead us to     
suspect that the exercise of this skill 
actually aided and furthered their      
better-known achievements4  ,in our     
civilised communities--from the point of
 view of the subconscious--women are in 
two ways at a disadvantage4 ,first1     
excessive division of labour1 with our  
dependence upon machinery1 has made the 
life of the ,state far more complicated 
than in former days2 and secondly1 the  
activity of the individual1 from the    
same causes1 is far more monotonous1 far
 less well-calculated to bring out all  

her powers and train her being as a     
whole1 than it used to be4 ,hence1 as we
 said1 women have lost a good deal      
subconsciously--even though1 in         
consciousness1 they may have gained4    
,there is nothing in which the character
 of the subconscious is more clearly    
seen than in a person's attitude towards
 the great mysteries of life3 towards   
birth and marriage and death on the one 
hand--towards religion on the other4 ,it
 is1 of course1 matter of common        
knowledge that in regard to marriage the
 customs of some savage tribes are what 
we should describe as licentious4 ,a    
truer understanding of the savage mind  
has1 however1 mitigated many of the     
judgments passed even upon the worst of 
these practices--at least in so far as  
they were taken to indicate gross inward
 depravity on the part of the women4    
,and among many peoples there are found 
laws and customs of real beauty and     
noble significance1 witnessing to       
reverence1 fine intuition1 and real care

 for the highest good of the tribe4 ,and
 in general of all savage races it may  
be said that whatever their laws and    
customs are--though perhaps born of     
ignorance and selfishness--they feel    
seriously about them as about sacred    
things1 and observe them scrupulously4  
,the better side is exemplified chiefly 
by the women4 ,when anthropological work
 is more largely undertaken by women1   
and when1 through their sympathy1 the   
jealously guarded secrets of the women's
 tradition1 now almost entirely unknown1
 are yielded up to us1 it is probable   
that our conceptions of savage life and 
thought will have to be radically       
modified4 ,however that may be1 it is   
even now sufficiently well known that   
the women do not leave the question of  
reproduction and marriage to chance in  
the education of their girls4 ,the girls
 are definitely1 carefully1 and it would
 seem often tenderly1 taught2 and if1   
among some peoples1 they are made to    
undergo great sufferings1 a closer study

 usually reveals in these the effects of
 the long subjection of the women to the
 cruelty and uncontrolled passions of   
the men4 ,all this should not blind us  
to the fact that the maternal instinct  
is here actively grappling with the     
great realities of life3 and we may     
contrast this with the ways of the      
modern woman who1 less developed in     
subconsciousness1 is not so forcibly    
impelled to make any such attempt1 and1 
for the most part1 practically lets the 
whole thing slide4 ,here1 as in other   
directions1 the fuller development of   
the subconscious would compel and also  
enable us to correct a grave omission3  
while the knowledge necessarily acquired
 concerning reproduction and birth in   
the course of biological work would fill
 up that which has hitherto often been  
wanting even in the best-inspired women 
who have dealt with this question4  ,it 
must by now have been made clear that   
our object in advocating this           
,common-sense ,biology is to recover    

what was excellent in the equipment of  
the women of the past1 and to unite it  
with what is most excellent1 and most   
germane to woman's life1 in the methods 
and knowledge of the present4 ,since    
modern household life is deficient in   
the requisite opportunities we are      
obliged to have recourse to definite    
educational schemes4 ,but education of  
this sort will assuredly continue to be 
necessary even after many improvements  
in the home have been brought to pass2  
because it will always be necessary to  
keep the knowledge and activities of    
women in correspondence with the advance
 of science4 ,at the same time it is    
worth while to remember that the earlier
 the child begins to observe living     
things1 to live with them1 learn about  
them1 and take care of them1 the better 
the final result will be2 while the     
ideally trained mother in the ideal     
home1 herself practical and active1 will
 be able to do more for her children in 
this regard than most people1 perhaps1  

would now dream of4   ,,the ,,influence 
,,of ,,common-,,sense ,,biological      
,,training ,,on ,,social ,,work         
,biological training of the order we    
have been considering is1 we believe1   
desirable for all women in the          
interests1 first1 of the home and of the
 rearing of children4 ,but it is equally
 desirable for the women who are not    
destined to be wives and mothers1 and   
particularly so as a foundation for any 
kind of university work1 even for the   
different literary or philosophical     
schools4  ,here it is1 perhaps1 worth   
while to urge upon women the claims of  
the other great division of ,biology1   
that of the laboratory4 ,a considerable 
number of women who go up to the        
universities have1 indeed1 intellectual 
abilities deserving special cultivation1
 yet abilities which show no very       
distinct inclination in any one         
direction4 ,these have been very        
commonly drafted into the study of      
history4 ,it may be questioned whether  

some branch of ,biology would not be    
better for them1 and more useful to the 
community4 ,women working at ,biology in
 the universities ought to serve1 and to
 aim at serving1 as the channels by     
which each fresh addition of scientific 
knowledge finds its way to1 and its     
appropriate place in1 the schemes of    
,common-sense ,biology generally        
obtaining4  ,in another field--the field
 of public work--it is to be hoped that 
ere long a knowledge of biology will    
come to be considered a sine qua non for
 women4 ,it would be superfluous to     
point out in how many kinds of public   
work women are gradually coming to the  
fore--in those especially which deal    
with education and with the care of the 
disabled4 ,already the influence and the
 peculiar gifts of women have in some   
degree made themselves felt2 but these  
might operate much more powerfully if   
they were more commonly associated with 
scientific knowledge--with a knowledge  
of those branches of biology1 more      

especially of bio-chemistry and         
bio-physics1 which bear most nearly upon
 humanity4  ,it would take up too much  
space to give an account of the many    
ways in which biology is here of        
service3 two great lines of utility may 
just be indicated as examples4  ,first1 
biology would lead to certain           
modifications of practice--particularly 
in our treatment of children1 and of    
persons deemed criminal or insane4 ,the 
biologist1 when anything was            
amiss--before she pronounced any one to 
be mentally or morally unsound1         
defective1 or bad--would presume1 to    
start with1 that there was some definite
 physical trouble to be set right1 not  
necessarily anything dangerous in itself
 or mysterious4 ,in ,new ,york they now 
make it a rule to examine for adenoids  
every young offender against the law1   
before punishing him2 and it is amazing 
how often adenoids are found1 and when  
removed carry the child's wickedness    
away with them4 ,adenoids and divers    

glands are responsible for a great      
proportion of youthful wrongdoing2 and  
yet other physical troubles will account
 for a great proportion of the rest4    
,the writer herself once came across a  
young girl who was1 in intention and    
attempt1 a murderess--yet was so only   
through the effect of a common physical 
condition1 easy enough to treat when    
once ascertained4 ,until our general    
conception of a child--or indeed of a   
human being--is a more truly biological 
one1 framed more closely upon the facts 
of its bodily life1 we shall have but   
little effective intuition into its     
state4 ,and such a sound biological     
conception is not to be had apart from  
some good measure of sound biological   
knowledge4  ,when1 however1 the most    
careful observation reveals no local or 
definite mischief to be dealt with in   
the person under consideration1 the     
biologist will still not hastily set him
 down as bad--or even as unsound or     
defective4 ,he will next suspect that he

 is one whose physical organisation is  
not fitted for its environment3 if he   
can be placed in a better environment   
perhaps he will grow better4 ,if this   
change is1 from whatever circumstances1 
impossible1 the biologist in treating   
him1 however troublesome he may be1 will
 still never regard him as wholly       
responsible for what he is1 will still  
try to ascertain the exact ways in which
 the environment presses injuriously    
upon him1 and to help him in those      
definite particulars4 ,if we desire the 
work of our reformatories and prisons   
and the disciplinary work of our schools
 really to be and not merely to appear  
effective1 it is only by such           
nicely-calculated methods that we shall 
attain our object4  ,this brings us to  
our second point4 ,biology1 when a      
knowledge of it is more widely spread   
among us1 will assuredly work a change  
in public opinion4 ,we have among us    
thousands of men and women whom we      
account failures in life2 whose         

existence constitutes our gravest social
 problem4 ,the drunkard1 the wastrel1   
the thief1 the prostitute--these are    
characters whom society thrusts out4    
,they have proved themselves unfitted   
for their environment2 they cannot act  
in it with any regularity or seemliness3
 its laws are not their laws4 ,and the  
assumption most generally is that these 
are beings of a lower stamp than the    
average1 unhappily surviving in1 or at  
war with1 an environment which          
postulates a nobler sort of men and     
women4 ,is it so8  ,the finer and more  
delicately poised a mechanism--whether  
it be chemical balance1 galvanometer1   
electroscope or what not--the more      
sensitive is it to its surroundings4    
,thus the instruments once at ,kew      
,observatory have had to be transferred 
to the wilds of ,scotland to ensure     
their perfect working--rendered         
impossible at ,kew by the noise and     
vibrations of encroaching ,london4      
,thus1 again1 the mind of ,darwin       

required for its proper functioning the 
quiet of a study at ,down1 in the heart 
of the country4 ,a ray of light will    
spoil a delicate experiment3 the        
presence in an observatory of one steel 
key will hinder the work of the         
instruments4 ,a boy commits suicide     
because of the noise of the factory in  
which he is compelled to work4 ,a girl  
drowns herself because the worries of   
her home are intolerable4  ,the point ,i
 would press is that these different    
examples belong fundamentally to the    
same category4 ,whether it be the       
instrument devised by man1 or whether it
 be the human nervous system itself1    
that which we are looking at is a       
mechanism too delicate for the cruel    
exigencies of an unyielding gross       
environment4 ,we have but to reflect on 
one organ alone--on the exceeding       
fineness of structure1 and nicety of    
adjustment1 and definiteness of         
sense-limit1 of the eye--in order to    
realise that the comparison between the 

human nervous system and the most       
delicate of our delicate instruments is 
more than justifiable4  ,how do we know1
 when dealing with any given drunkard1  
that we have not before us a fine1 fine 
nature1 to which the harsh and low      
conditions of our ,western civilisation 
have simply proved intolerable8 ,how do 
we know that1 instead of blaming him and
 trying to adjust him to the world1 we  
ought not rather to blame the world1 and
 try to make it a fit place for him to  
live in8  ,this consideration--strictly 
scientific as it is--ought to have very 
great weight in that new department of  
biological work which has been named    
,eugenics4 ,before lightly saying of any
 stock that it is not good to breed     
from1 or that it is good to breed from1 
pains should surely be taken to         
ascertain whether irregularities and    
disease evinced by members of that stock
 do not in reality proceed from their   
superiority to their environment and to 
the average men and women about them4   

,individually they may be irreclaimable1
 yet1 thrown out of gear1 miserable and 
wasted as they are1 they may be the     
carriers of the finest hopes of         
humanity1 of a promise for the          
fulfilment of which we are not yet      
ready4 ,perhaps there is a tendency to  
be a little over-hasty in our estimates 
of good and bad stocks to breed from4   
,perhaps we have not yet fully learnt   
either the significance of recessive    
characters or the importance of the mere
 fact that the unit-characters of a     
human being are immensely numerous1 and 
their inter-relations therefore         
extremely intricate4 ,and yet1 again1   
perhaps we are too intolerant of        
variety1 too eager for uniformity4      
,here in ,england we have a mixed       
population1 sprung from many diverse    
origins4 ,the differences between       
individuals are many and great4 ,yet the
 majority of the population is thrust   
into the grooves of one educational     
system1 and thereafter compelled to     

settle down to occupations and modes of 
life which are the same for thousands   
together4 ,any attempt to leave the     
common rut is looked at askance4 ,what  
wonder that there are rebels1 and that  
the rebels are unhappy6 ,a society      
constructed in conformity to true       
biological principles1 instead of       
suppressing variety would give it       
welcome as one of the most precious of  
national characteristics1 and would     
purposely adjust itself and its systems 
with more accuracy so as to give every  
sort and type of person the best        
possible chance for developing his or   
her peculiar gifts4 ,in a society so    
constituted1 very rare indeed would be  
the occurrence of insanity4  ,these     
considerations should have weight in yet
 another direction3 in determining the  
counsel which ought to be given to girls
 as to the choice of a mate4  ,the      
importance of soundness of stock has    
here too been well brought into         
prominence by the workers in ,eugenics2 

and perhaps it may not be amiss to make 
one or two suggestions with a view to   
obviating a too narrow application of   
the principle of the sound stock4  ,we  
must remember1 first1 that disease is   
not necessarily evidence of unsoundness4
 ,like some forms of moral obliquity1 it
 may be merely evidence of a quality in 
the stock which renders it unable to    
tolerate a given environment4 ,and this 
quality may be in itself an excellence  
of the most precious kind4 ,this would  
be the true account of many cases of    
insanity1 while others would be covered 
by the action of toxins on the brain4   
,heredity1 we are told in many instances
 of insanity1 is more probably a        
heredity of special liability to the    
production of toxins or to the action of
 toxins on the brain1 than heredity of  
insanity proper4 ,this view will        
naturally entail modifications in our   
methods of treating the insane1 as well 
as a considerable change in public      
opinion with regard to the significance 

of insanity4  ,and1 secondly1 we must   
remember the importance of the          
environment1 more especially of the     
human part of it4 ,a man of sound stock 
is very commonly brought up as a        
sportsman1 whose first idea is to kill2 
or as an idler1 whose chief occupations 
are eating1 drinking1 and smoking1 with 
travel and some amount of gambling      
thrown in by way of variety4 ,or he may 
easily be above all things a money-maker
 and a lover of money4 ,his habits of   
this sort will determine to a very great
 extent the early--and that is the      
critical--environment of his children4  
,the tendency in his family will be     
towards uniformity1 towards one level1  
and that not a high level1 of thought1  
activity1 and character4 ,his example   
and influence will go very far to       
counteract the advantages presumably    
ensured by the soundness of his stock4  
,on the other hand1 a man whose ancestry
 is eugenically not flawless may have   
such wide interests1 so many and such   

fine powers1 so much skill in different 
activities1 and so high and generous a  
personal ideal1 that the environment    
which his manner of life would make for 
his children--the inspiration he would  
be to them--might well be expected very 
largely1 if not wholly1 to counteract   
the disadvantages of defects in the     
stock4  ,no doubt this principle should 
be applied with all reasonableness and  
care1 but it is extremely important for 
the highest welfare1 for the development
 of the best possibilities of the       
people1 that it should be definitely    
recognised4   ,,anthropology ,a ,,branch
 ,,of ,,biology  ,a word must here be   
said as to the importance--more         
especially to the biological student who
 aims at social work--of some knowledge 
of ,anthropology4 ,biology is1 in fact1 
incomplete without anthropology2 for in 
its absence there is a danger of        
applying biological principles too      
summarily1 and therefore                
unscientifically1 to humanity4          

,anthropology1 of course1 goes behind   
art and history and the literary ideas  
current among civilised peoples4 ,it    
gives life and meaning to customs1      
legends1 handicrafts1 details of dress1 
ornament1 and furniture which otherwise 
go unheeded or misunderstood4 ,it helps 
to interpret for us the ways of         
contemporary peoples and classes which  
are on a level different from our own4  
,it gives a unity in infinite diversity 
to our whole conception of humanity4    
,when more widely studied1 there can be 
little doubt that it will cause us to   
reconstruct many of our judgments1 both 
concerning the history of the past and  
concerning the civilisations of the     
present day4  ,we cannot but believe    
that a time will come when it will be   
assumed of all women that they know the 
broad truths of biology1 just as it is  
now assumed that they know the alphabet4
 ,it will be taken for granted that they
 have mastered the essential domestic   
arts with their own hands1 just as we   

now take for granted they can write with
 their own hands4 ,we shall have reached
 then the beginning of a new era--an era
 which we may hope will unite the       
excellences1 moral1 aesthetic1 and      
hygienic1 of earlier times1 with the    
excellences1 more purely intellectual   
and scientific1 of our own day4         
,,woman',s ,,synthetic ,,powers ,,as    
,,an ,,instrument ,,to ,,efficiency     
,the most effective instruments for     
bringing this about are the synthetic   
powers of woman herself1 combined with  
her practical skill and her ready       
intuition4 ,as we have tried to show1   
the best chance for the eliciting and   
the disciplining of these powers of     
hers1 so as best to fit them for the    
struggle of modern life1 is afforded by 
biology4  ,it must be clear how many    
reforms--impossible to the nominally    
educated women of the present day--would
 flow easily from this better training  
of women2 for those so trained could    
certainly not endure the futility of    

some of our educational ideals1 nor that
 haphazard disregard of the nature and  
needs of the child1 which still         
characterises so much of our educational
 method4 ,they could not support the    
continuance of many of the common evils 
of modern life--the noise and dirt1 the 
brutality of manners1 the scamping of   
work1 the rush for pleasure4 ,these1    
however they may or may not affect the  
adult1 are plainly impairing the best   
promise of the children2 and that fact  
will be enough for the truly educated   
woman4  ,knowing1 too1 as she will1 more
 accurately and scientifically than     
women to-day generally know1 how largely
 energy and depression1 irritability and
 calm strength are questions of right or
 wrong food1 the educated woman may be  
trusted to find a means to put an end to
 the crying iniquity of adulteration4   
,directly or indirectly1 by the pressure
 of her determination that the race     
shall no longer be offered a sacrifice  
to ,mammon1 she will assuredly find a   

way to put an end to all not absolutely 
necessary dangerous trades4  ,the       
opposition of such women to what is     
wrong in social custom1 in government1  
in education1 will be a very different  
thing from the opposition of            
well-meaning but imperfectly instructed 
women on the one hand2 or1 on the other1
 that of a few thoroughly trained and   
informed ones working more or less in   
isolation1 scattered over the country4  
,it would mean a body of sound1         
enlightened1 disinterested public       
opinion1 so vast1 so far-reaching1 yet  
so intimately cognisant of all the      
little daily details of life in the     
home1 that it is difficult to see what  
other body of opinion could be found    
mighty enough to resist it4  ,if1       
unhappily1 this advance should not be   
made--if our present ,western           
civilisation be allowed to run unchecked
 down the groove into which it has      
sunk--there seems nothing before it but 
destruction4   ,,footnotes3     #ab ,the

 ,electrical ,resistance of the ,human  
,body4 ,gee and ,brotherton1            
,manchester ,lit4 and ,phil4 ,soc41     
#aiaj4     ,,science ,,in ,,the         
,,household  ,,by ,,mrs4 ,w4 ,n4 ,,shaw 
,the slow development of the demand for 
the training of girls of the middle and 
upper classes in the details of         
household management has been to a great
 extent due to the common observation   
that persons of imperfect education are 
frequently proficient in the domestic   
arts1 and to the assumption that good   
housekeeping consists entirely in the   
efficient exercise of those arts4  ,the 
fact that in the early ,victorian period
 girls living much at home learned1     
almost insensibly1 from their mothers   
the routine of daily duties in the      
house1 has made elder women look askance
 on the lectures dealing with domestic  
economy which appear to them so         
needless1 and has led them to foster the
 superstition that woman qua woman      
should be equal to any demand that may  

be made upon her as organiser of her own
 household4  ,that the housekeeping of  
to-day is more complex than that of half
 a century ago is incredible to the     
older woman who remembers the baking and
 brewing1 and divers other matters1 that
 demanded the attention of the notable  
housewives of the forties and fifties of
 the nineteenth century4 ,that the      
horizon of women's lives has widened1   
and that other interests than those     
appertaining to their immediate circle  
claim their attention1 is not acceptable
 to all2 it is however the claims of    
these outside interests that have       
awakened in the more thoughtful the     
desire so to order their households that
 they may in some degree free themselves
 from petty cares1 and be able to help  
in the amelioration of the lives of less
 fortunate persons2 or to pursue other  
branches of knowledge in which they have
 learned to take a keen intellectual    
pleasure4  ,it is a paradox that one of 
the difficulties with which the modern  

mistress has to contend is the fact that
 her house is replete with every modern 
convenience4 ,every labour-saving       
contrivance1 every mechanical           
convenience1 calls for vigilance to     
ensure its proper use1 and for knowledge
 as to the ways in which it may fail1   
and of the method of readjustment if it 
should happen to do so4 ,no apparatus   
which is not thoroughly understood by   
the mistress will be well used by the   
servants1 and servants will rarely if   
ever exercise any knowledge they possess
 to prevent the expense of calling in a 
workman4 ,if the mistress of a house can
 use such ordinary tools as a hammer1 a 
screwdriver1 a gluepot1 and a           
soldering-iron1 a great deal of expense 
may be saved in small repairs2 on the   
other hand1 ignorant meddling with      
scientific apparatus may be worse than  
useless4 ,there can be no doubt that a  
course of instruction in natural        
philosophy1 combined with work in a     
well-equipped laboratory and workshop1  

should find a place in the curriculum of
 every girls' school1 whether elementary
 or secondary1 as this training lays the
 surest foundation for a superstructure 
of experimental domestic science4 ,the  
argument against including the          
application of the physical sciences to 
domestic methods in the ordinary        
educational course of every girl1       
namely1 that she may not be called upon 
to keep a house of her own1 cannot be   
sustained2 there are no circumstances in
 which knowledge of the laws which      
govern the health and well-being of     
human beings can be useless4 ,we all    
live in houses1 either our own or other 
people's1 and we are all liable to      
disease and discomfort caused by the    
faulty construction of the house or the 
unhealthy practices of the inmates4     
,,the ,,aim ,,and ,,methods ,,of        
,,modern ,,education  ,the aim of       
education is to enable a person to act  
wisely in every emergency of life       
whatever his particular calling may be1 

but it is hardly possible to act wisely 
without some knowledge of the relation  
between cause and effect4 ,this is true 
whether we are engaged in the practical 
affairs of life1 in the pursuit of      
knowledge1 or in the effort to extend   
knowledge by research4 ,it is sometimes 
argued that a woman of trained intellect
 can easily acquire the art of          
housekeeping1 and this is no doubt the  
case if we limit the art to the choice  
and supervision of competent domestics1 
but there can be no doubt that there are
 many women of trained intellect who not
 only suffer themselves but entail      
suffering on others from inability to   
discern good housekeeping1 in our sense 
of the word1 from bad4 ,it must be      
remembered that courses of education    
should be framed for the training of    
unmethodical and unpractical minds1     
which may and often do accompany the    
highest forms of intellect1 as well as  
for those of a naturally orderly and    
practical bent4  ,we all consciously or 

unconsciously make use of the facts of  
science3 we do not send eggs by parcel  
post merely placed in a box1 we do not  
even send one egg in a box that exactly 
fits it1 we are careful to surround each
 egg with soft paper or some other      
elastic material in sufficient quantity 
to distribute the effects of the blows  
that we know the box will be subjected  
to in the post1 so that the eggs may not
 be broken2 if we place a tray of china 
on a table1 we are careful that it      
should not project beyond the table so  
as to fall when we let it go2 we do not 
pour hot water into cut-glass tumblers1 
and we do not mix effervescing drinks in
 wine-glasses4 ,we should call a person 
ignorant who was unaware of the probable
 results of doing the things enumerated 
above2 but if the accidents following   
want of knowledge were always so simple1
 ignorance would not be a matter of much
 importance1 and we might be willing to 
let our girls learn by experience4      
,unfortunately1 the neglect of a        

scientific law has led in the past1 and 
may lead in the future1 to much more    
serious1 even fatal results1 and        
,solomon has applied a not very         
complimentary epithet to those who have 
wisdom forced upon them by involuntary  
experience4 ,it is to the publication of
 statistics which show the alarming     
spread of such diseases as consumption  
and the terrible waste of infant life1  
that we owe the awakening of the public 
mind to the need for systematic training
 in science and scientific method4      
,,the ,,value ,,of ,a ,,scientific      
,,training  ,scientific method seeks to 
establish relations between isolated    
facts or phenomena1 and the relation    
generally takes the form of cause and   
effect2 so that persons with a          
scientific training are accustomed to   
examine the grounds for considering this
 relation of cause and effect in        
circumstances which are selected with a 
view to exhibiting the reality of the   
relation4 ,from that training it becomes

 possible for them1 when confronted with
 circumstances presenting some          
difficulty1 to form a better opinion as 
to what is the cause of the difficulty  
than they could if they were confronted 
with the same difficulty without the    
previous training4 ,any attentive       
observer of human nature will be struck 
by the fact that every person is        
accustomed to refer every event to some 
cause2 if it is an illness1 the occasion
 for contracting the illness is defined2
 if it is any unforeseen event in the   
domestic economy1 a reason is nearly    
always forthcoming2 the question which  
the housewife is called upon to decide  
is whether the reason offered is a real 
and sufficient one4 ,meteorologists tell
 a familiar story of an ,indian nabob   
who found that there was a deposit of   
moisture on the outside of his tumbler  
of brandy and water1 and tasting it with
 his finger1 remarked it was very       
curious that the water came through the 
glass but the brandy did not4 ,plenty of

 reasons offered for domestic incidents 
have no better ground of fact than the  
nabob's opinion that the water came     
through the glass4  ,a good deal of the 
comfort of a modern house turns upon a  
right judgment as regards cause and     
effect1 and therefore some preparation  
which will fit the housewife to         
appreciate the rights and wrongs of     
domestic reasoning is an indispensable  
qualification for success4 ,it is not   
always possible for the most profound   
student to offer offhand the true       
explanation of various facts of domestic
 life1 but it is possible to approach   
the consideration of these questions    
with some hope of deciding whether the  
explanation offered is a true or a      
fictitious one4 ,the ability for this is
 largely a question of habit of mind or 
training2 and for our purpose the       
training must include those departments 
of knowledge1 the laws of which find    
daily expression in the manifold        
experiences of domestic life4 ,the      

ultimate foundation for these laws is to
 be found in the study of ,physics1     
which deals with those changes in the   
state of matter which stop short of the 
alteration of its composition2 of       
,chemistry1 which deals with changes    
involving an alteration of the          
composition of the substances under     
consideration2 and of ,physiology1 which
 is the identification of the processes 
which take place in living animals and  
plants and their relation to the laws of
 physics and chemistry4 ,without a      
knowledge of the fundamental principles 
of these sciences and of the methods by 
which those principles are established1 
it is not to be expected that any person
 can deal adequately with the common    
experiences of life4  ,it is true that  
experience1 if it is sufficiently       
extensive and prolonged1 may lead to the
 formulation of a set of practical rules
 that will carry a housewife through the
 ordinary household round without       
discredit1 but the question which we    

have to put to ourselves is whether1 by 
organising and directing the experience1
 success may not be made certain and    
more instructive4 ,in these days        
domestic life is more complicated than  
it used to be2 at the same time         
experience is in a sense more           
restricted4 ,many of the instructive    
processes1 practical experience in which
 conveyed valuable if unconscious       
scientific training1 are now conducted  
on a large scale1 and are outside the   
range of domestic duties1 and the       
housewife has to supply1 by special     
training in scientific principles1 the  
judgment that in days gone by was       
acquired as a matter of habit4  ,it is  
impossible in the short space of a      
single article to set out the details of
 a systematic course of training        
sufficient to fit the housewife to use  
her judgment wisely in circumstances    
which require a knowledge of the        
principles of the fundamental physical  
sciences4 ,the most that we can attempt 

is to give a few examples which         
illustrate the application of the       
principles of physics and chemistry4    
,our purpose in doing so is to suggest  
illustrations which appeal to every     
householder1 and may create a desire for
 fuller knowledge rather than to supply 
a course of instruction4 ,what we aim at
 is not to provide the equipment of     
scientific training1 but to show that   
the scientific habit of mind will find  
opportunities for useful employment in  
many of the most ordinary affairs of    
life4 ,the problems that present        
themselves in the course of experience  
are sometimes difficult and intricate2  
patience and careful observation as well
 as knowledge are required for their    
solution4 ,sometimes this solution is   
beyond the immediate resources of those 
concerned1 and it is a part of          
scientific training to recognise when   
this is the case1 so that effort and    
money may not be wasted in endeavours   
which are foredoomed to failure4 ,we may

 cite a case in point where an extra    
bell was desired in a system of electric
 bells in a flat at a time when electric
 installations in private houses were   
somewhat rare1 and workmen with any     
knowledge beyond that necessary for     
carrying out instructions were not      
easily found4 ,to the confusion of the  
tenant1 the introduction of this extra  
bell caused all the bells in the flat to
 strike work4 ,a mathematical lecturer  
living in the same building was         
consulted1 and opined that the battery  
of two somewhat small-looking cells was 
insufficient1 so he obtained and added a
 larger cell1 but the bells were        
obdurate and did not resume work4 ,a    
lady with knowledge of physics examined 
the installations and discovered that   
the wire connections as altered were    
entirely wrong and did not connect the  
bells to the battery4 ,a plan of the    
correct connections was shown to the    
workman1 who a few days later reported  
that now all the bells rang at once1 and

 he had had to disconnect the battery6  
,he produced a sketch of the connections
 he had made1 and on his error being    
pointed out he was able to rectify it1  
and the bells answered to touch without 
the use of the extra cell4 ,generally   
speaking1 a failure on the part of      
electric bells is corrected by filling  
up the cells which compose the battery  
with water1 an operation which any one  
may undertake4  ,it is not safe1        
however1 for an inexperienced person to 
interfere with electric light fittings  
further than to remove a worn-out lamp  
and place a new one in the socket1 and  
even this operation may be attended with
 disaster4 ,a young friend of ours who  
was taking part in some private         
theatricals obtained the loan of a row  
of electric footlights4 ,it did not     
occur to any one concerned to ask the   
voltage of the lamps or of the current  
to which they were to be applied4 ,when 
the footlights were turned up they      
blazed for a brief period1 and then     

every light in the house went out6      
,electrical science for the housewife   
has been resolved into a knowledge of   
electric terms and of a few practical   
rules useful and interesting in         
themselves1 but not immediately suitable
 for our purpose of showing how         
scientific study may aid the housewife  
in her daily routine4   ,,physical      
,,science ,,in ,,the ,,household  ,we   
may for this purpose examine some of the
 laws of common physical and chemical   
phenomena1 neglect of which has resulted
 in much needless discomfort in daily   
life1 and even more serious             
consequences4 ,for instance1 the laws of
 expansion of gases and liquids with    
heat1 and their subsequent behaviour1   
are phenomena that are often imperfectly
 realised4 ,there is probably no person 
who is unacquainted with the law of     
gravitation1 but there are many persons 
who accept literally the statements that
 smoke rises and that balloons ascend4  
,a clear understanding of what actually 

takes place when gases and material     
masses appear to move in opposition to  
the law of gravitation is essential to  
any scheme for warming and ventilating  
the house4  ,a very simple experiment   
will serve to reconcile the apparent    
contradiction of the universal law by   
the observed fact4 ,suppose we have two 
fluids1 oil and water1 of which oil is1 
bulk for bulk1 lighter than water4 ,if  
the oil be poured into a glass beaker1  
it will be seen to rest at the bottom of
 the beaker2 if water be now poured into
 the same beaker the water will go to   
the bottom of the beaker and will       
displace the oil and lift it up so that 
the oil will float on the water2 the oil
 may be lifted to any height we please  
if sufficient water be poured in to lift
 it to that height4 ,if a single drop of
 oil be introduced into the water by    
means of a pipette and be liberated at  
the bottom of the beaker the water will 
close in under it1 and lift it up to the
 surface4 ,in both cases the oil rises  

through the water4 ,oil1 however1 has no
 tendency to rise by itself1 and in this
 case it lay motionless until it was    
lifted by the heavier fluid4 ,we may use
 colloquial language when describing    
phenomena if we bear in mind what is    
really taking place4  ,a balloon rising 
through the air is exactly analogous to 
the drop of oil in the water4 ,the      
balloon is1 bulk for bulk1 lighter than 
air2 the air therefore closes in under  
it and lifts it just as the water lifted
 the bubble of oil4   ,,effects ,,of    
,,changes ,,of ,,temperature ,,on ,,air 
,let us apply this to air4 ,air when    
warmed expands1 and therefore warm air  
is1 bulk for bulk1 lighter than cold    
air4 ,warm air behaves in the presence  
of cold air as the balloon3 it is       
displaced and lifted by the cold air1   
the result being an ascending stream of 
warm air1 which is called a convection  
current4  ,the movement of ascending    
smoke is essentially the same as that of
 the warmed air4 ,smoke is warm air made

 visible by the particles of soot with  
which it is laden4 ,the particles of    
soot would fall to the ground except    
that they are carried upwards in the    
stream of warm air4 ,dr4 ,w4 ,n4 ,shaw  
has called attention to the importance  
of these phenomena in his book on ,air  
,currents and the ,laws of ,ventilation1
 in the ,cambridge ,series of ,physical 
,text-books4 ,he there says3 ,the       
dominant physical law in the ventilated 
space is the law of convection4 ,it is  
at once the condition of success and the
 cause of most failures4 ,without       
convection1 ventilation would be        
impossible2 in consequence of           
convection1 nearly all schemes of       
ventilation fail4  ,the law of          
convection is the law according to which
 warmed air rises and cooled air sinks  
in the surrounding air4 ,its            
applications are truly ubiquitous4      
,every surface1 e4g4 a warm wall1 or a  
person warmer than the air in the       
immediate neighbourhood1 causes an      

upward current2 every surface colder    
than the air in contact with it causes a
 downward current4  ,ventilation would  
be much easier if warmed air or cooled  
air could be carried along at any height
 required2 but the law of convection is 
inexorable3 warmed air naturally finds  
the ceiling1 cooled air the floor4  ,it 
is true that the ventilation of a house 
is generally considered to be the       
business of the builder and architect1  
yet there are many unpleasant phenomena 
that come under the observation of the  
housewife which are due to this law of  
convection1 and it will be useful to    
consider a few of them4  ,let us take   
first the universal annoyance to        
housewives caused by the sight of dirt  
on the ceiling4 ,that all air is full of
 dust is seen when a stream of sunlight 
crosses a room2 the particles of dust   
are then clearly perceived moving       
rapidly in all directions in the air4   
,these dust particles1 when air is at   
rest1 constantly fall to the ground     

under the action of gravity1 and are    
deposited on shelves and ledges1 from   
which they have to be removed daily by  
the housemaid4 ,when air is warmed and  
ascends it carries the dust particles   
with it1 and these particles striking   
against any cold surface with which they
 come into contact stick to it4 ,this is
 the cause of the necessity for the     
periodical sweeping of chimneys4 ,the   
walls of the chimney are colder than the
 smoke that comes into contact with     
them1 and the particles of soot in the  
smoke striking against them are         
deposited on them4 ,in the house the    
effect of the bombardment of surfaces by
 dust-laden streams of air is seen most 
conspicuously over burning gas-lights4  
,burning gas does not itself produce all
 the dirt which is found on the ceiling 
above it1 but it causes upward streams  
of hot air1 which carry up the dust and 
deposit it on the ceiling4 ,the practice
 of suspending a shade over the         
gas-light does not lessen the amount of 

dust and smoke in the air1 but the shade
 serves to spread out the air over a    
larger surface1 and thus to render the  
dirt on the ceiling less apparent4 ,that
 the shade itself remains clean is due  
to the fact that it gets hot4 ,a heated 
surface promotes the activity of the    
motion of the air-particles in its      
neighbourhood1 and by this local        
activity the dust is repelled1 so that a
 surface remains clean or becomes coated
 according as it is more or less hot    
than the invading current4 ,the validity
 of this explanation may be tested by   
holding a cold spoon over a lighted     
candle when it will be seen that the    
spoon becomes blackened2 if a hot spoon 
be substituted for the cold one it will 
remain clean4  ,in order that the hot1  
vitiated air of a room may escape       
easily1 it has been in many cases the   
custom to place an exit opening for it  
in the chimney over the room fireplace4 
,the wall in the neighbourhood of this  
ventilator invariably becomes black2 but

 as this wall is warm it is not probable
 that dust is deposited on it by the    
outgoing air1 the explanation given by  
the housewife that the smoke from the   
chimney gets through the ventilator into
 the room is probably correct1 though   
these ventilators are supplied with mica
 flaps which should swing open when air 
from the room strikes against them1 and 
close when the air from the chimney does
 so4  ,when a house is heated by        
hot-water pipes and radiators1 the walls
 over these pipes are another source of 
trouble 7,fig4 #a74 ,a good deal of     
scientific ingenuity is required if the 
walls are to be kept clean4             
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #a4  ,that some   
ceilings appear striped with broad light
 and dark lines is due to inequalities  
in the temperature of the ceiling4 ,the 
light stripes are under the joists1     
which prevent to some extent the escape 
of heat from the ceiling1 and the dark  
correspond to the unprotected parts of  
the ceiling4 ,the dust rising from the  

room is slightly repelled by the        
currents from the warmer parts of the   
ceiling1 and sticks more readily to the 
colder parts4  ,let us take for our     
second example the apparently trivial   
matter of smells in the house4 ,smells  
may be of various kinds from various    
causes4 ,the best judge of the kind1 and
 therefore of the cause1 is the nose4   
,suppose the smell to be the common one 
in houses of all classes--the smell of  
cookery6 ,the smell of cookery in the   
house is generally a winter phenomenon4 
,the air in an inhabited house is always
 in a state of motion1 induced by the   
inequalities of temperature caused by   
the inhabitants themselves1 and to a    
greater extent by the fires1 of which   
there will certainly be one in the      
kitchen4 ,we must remember that cold air
 will get into the house through all    
available openings1 to take the place of
 the air which supplies the fires4 ,the 
most obvious available openings in an   
ordinary dwelling-house are the casual  

ones of the open chimneys of unused     
grates1 and the loosely fitting doors   
and windows4 ,in cold weather fires are 
lighted in the sitting-room grates2     
these fires when lighted should warm the
 air in the chimneys above them and     
cause an upward draught in the chimney4 
,sometimes however the chimney will be  
found to be occupied by a current of air
 coming down to feed fires in other     
rooms1 and so long as this goes on the  
smoke from the newly lighted fire comes 
into the room4 ,the down-draught can be 
stopped by opening a window to supply   
sufficient cold air to counteract it1   
otherwise we have to adopt special      
devices to make the smoke go up the     
chimney in the first instance4          
,sometimes a newspaper is burnt in the  
grate to give the necessary amount of   
warm air1 but this is a dangerous       
practice by which the chimney may be set
 on fire4 ,sometimes air is supplied by 
the bellows4 ,a newspaper is often held 
in front of the grate so as to close the

 opening above the fire and cause the   
cold air to pass through the fire1 thus 
promoting combustion and the supply of  
hot air in the chimney4 ,in any case1   
the warm air of the fire is carried up  
the chimney by the cold air of the room1
 and this cold air is drawn from the    
casual openings already referred to4 ,it
 has been demonstrated by laboratory    
experiments that the amount of draught  
in any chimney depends on the height of 
the chimney and the fire in its grate4  
,smells are conveyed about a house by   
the flow of air to feed the fires1 and  
they nearly always find their way from  
all parts of the house to the           
ground-floor sitting-rooms when the     
doors are left open and the fires are   
burning4 ,on their way they pass through
 passages and are therefore nearly      
ubiquitous4 ,the air of any room in the 
house is in communication with that of  
every other room1 and it is only by the 
nature of the smell that we can tell its
 probable source4 ,there are people who 

like when they open the bedroom door in 
the morning to know that coffee and     
bacon await them downstairs1 or on      
coming into the house from a cold       
winter's walk to meet a delicious smell 
of ,irish stew4 ,to other people all    
smell of cookery is abhorrent1 and they 
feel a sense of irritation that their   
guests should on entering the house be  
regaled with the odour of the           
preparation of food4 ,to many mistresses
 the only remedy that suggests itself is
 a message to the cook1 who is powerless
 in the matter and returns an answer    
that she is sorry1 but that she doesn't 
know why there should be a smell of     
cooking upstairs as there is none in the
 kitchen4 ,a visit to the kitchen will  
generally confirm the cook's statement  
as to that particular spot1 but a       
considerable smell will be encountered  
on the kitchen stairs4 ,we may inquire  
into the cause of this4 ,the usual      
equipment of the kitchen includes a     
closed range1 supplemented in many cases

 by a gas stove4 ,the kitchen fire draws
 a plentiful supply of air from casual  
openings1 and this air for the most part
 passes with the smoke up such flues as 
are open4 ,the oven is provided with a  
ventilator1 which carries off the odour 
of baked or roasted meats4 ,the odour in
 the hot air over the closed range has  
no escape except into the kitchen--the  
cook says that ever so slight an opening
 in the top of the range will prevent   
the oven from heating4 ,this odour-laden
 air therefore comes directly into the  
kitchen1 and being hot is directed to   
the ceiling1 thus escaping the cook who 
is in the draught of the fresh air      
supply4 ,travelling along the ceiling   
the hot air passes through the opening  
at the top of the door and mingles with 
the fresh air on its way upstairs4 ,the 
same thing happens when the gas stove is
 in use4 ,the only remedy is to provide 
some exit for the hot air of the kitchen
 which will be more easily accessible   
than that by way of the door1 for the   

hot air will travel by the easiest path4
 ,a considerable knowledge of science is
 required to achieve this object4       
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #b4  ,closely     
allied with the smell of cookery is the 
smell of the gas stove4 ,many persons   
consider that the use of a gas stove    
either in the kitchen or in a bedroom is
 inseparable from the peculiar odour of 
partially consumed gas4 ,it may         
therefore be useful to consider how the 
gas supplied to stoves and incandescent 
lights differs from that of an open gas 
fire or that of an ordinary burner4 ,gas
 stoves and incandescent lights get     
their supply of gas through what are    
known as ,bunsen burners1 so called     
after the ,german chemist whose         
invention they are4 ,in an ordinary     
burner the gas mixes with atmospheric   
air at the opening at which it burns2   
the supply of air obtained in this way  
is insufficient for complete combustion 
until the outer layers are reached2 the 
interior part of the flame is bright and

 smoky4 ,in the ,bunsen burner the gas  
issues from the main through a nozzle   
which opens inside a bulb4 ,the bulb is 
perforated to allow of the ingress of   
atmospheric air2 the gas and air mix in 
the tube which is a prolongation of the 
bulb1 and the mixture is lighted at the 
top of the tube4 ,fig4 #b shows a       
representation of the ,bunsen burner as 
applied to a gas stove4 ,in this the gas
 escapes from the main at the nozzle n1 
into a bulb of which the tube ,a is a   
prolongation1 air is admitted to the    
bulb at the openings a a1 and the mixed 
gas and air is burnt at the openings in 
the tube ,a4 ,the amount of air supplied
 is regulated by the size of the        
openings a a and the holes where the gas
 is lighted4 ,the gas thus supplied with
 air is completely consumed where       
combustion begins1 and a clear1 blue1   
non-luminous flame is the result4 ,if   
the holes through which the mixture of  
gas and air issues are partially closed 
by rust or by accretions from the       

boiling over of saucepans it is evident 
that1 the gas supply being unchanged1   
less air can be drawn through them2     
consequently the gas will not be        
entirely consumed1 and acetylene        
7,c#b;,h#b1 one of the products of      
partially consumed coal gas7 will pass  
into the atmosphere and will give rise  
to the peculiar odour associated with   
gas stoves4 ,this product of partially  
consumed gas is very poisonous1 and all 
gas stoves should be furnished with     
chimneys to carry off the fumes to the  
open air4 ,the phenomenon known as      
burning back1 that is1 the ignition of  
the gas at the nozzle in the bulb1 is   
caused by the pressure of gas being too 
small for the supply of air4 ,the gas   
should at once be turned out and        
relighted till it burns at the proper   
places4 ,the simple remedy for smell    
from a gas stove is the cleansing of its
 burners1 unless indeed the kettle is   
too close to the holes from which the   
gas issues for complete combustion to be

 possible4  ,there is another winter    
phenomenon which is very                
disagreeable--the presence of fog in the
 house2 and the perplexed housewife     
asks1 ,where does the fog get in when   
all outside doors and windows are       
closed8 ,we have already pointed out    
that the sitting-room fires must have   
air1 and that that air will be drawn    
from casual openings4 ,among these      
openings are the chimneys of fireless   
grates2 the greater part of the fog in  
the house comes down these chimneys4 ,on
 a foggy day it is wise to close the    
chimneys of fireless grates and provide 
some other opening for the supply of    
air2 but all air from the outside is    
full of fog4 ,the problem of how to let 
in air and keep out fog suggests the    
question1 ,what is fog8 ,fog consists of
 material particles 7dust or smoke7 on  
which vapour has condensed2 if these    
particles can be removed the air will be
 clear4 ,the problem for the housewife  
is how to free a sufficient quantity of 

air from these particles4  ,a smell of  
gas in any part of the house may be very
 dangerous if no one on the premises has
 any scientific knowledge1 for it may be
 premised that the escape of gas is not 
where the smell is first perceived4 ,gas
 being lighter than air is carried      
upwards1 and the smell is at first above
 the place of escape2 it may even be in 
a room over where the gas is escaping4  
,the only safe detector of the source of
 mischief is the nose2 the mixture of   
coal gas and atmospheric air is         
explosive1 and no light must be struck4 
,the upper sash of the window should be 
pulled down to allow the gas to escape1 
and if the accident is at night time    
must be allowed before searching for the
 source of escape further than can be   
done by feeling the taps in the dark or 
following the scent by the nose4        
,further illustration of the effect of  
convection currents in the air of a     
dwelling-house are needless1 but the    
student may profitably spend time and   

thought in considering how fresh air may
 be introduced into a room without      
causing cold air to lie on the floor or 
hot1 vitiated air to cling to the       
ceiling4 ,it is the old problem 7with a 
difference7 of teaching a grandmother to
 suck an egg4 ,he may also interest     
himself in seeking answers to the       
questions 7#a7 ,what action is expected 
to take place when a poker is placed    
against the bars of a grate to make the 
fire draw8 and 7#b7 ,does the sun put   
the fire out1 and if so how8 ,in        
connection with the expansion of air    
with heat he may consider the popular   
fallacy that an inverted empty pot in a 
pie keeps in the juice4   ,,effect ,,of 
,,changes ,,of ,,temperature ,,on       
,,water  ,accidents have occurred in    
houses owing to ignorance of the full   
effects of heating or cooling water from
 its ordinary temperature4 ,water at any
 ordinary temperature expands when      
subjected to the action of heat2 it     
contracts on cooling till it reaches a  

temperature seven degrees above the     
freezing point2 from this temperature it
 expands until it becomes a solid mass  
of ice4 ,at still lower temperatures ice
 contracts4  ,let us consider first the 
effect of heating water4 ,if water at   
the ordinary temperature be poured into 
a vessel which is placed on a fire or   
other source of heat the water at the   
bottom of the vessel will be warmed and 
will expand2 it will therefore be       
lighter1 bulk for bulk1 than the water  
nearer the top of the vessel4 ,the cold 
water will therefore descend1 and the   
warm water will rise4 ,all ordinary     
water contains air2 presently the air in
 the water will become visible as small 
bubbles which rise to the surface of the
 water and escape noiselessly into the  
atmosphere4 ,as more heat is applied    
some of the water in the bottom of the  
vessel will be formed into steam1 and   
bubbles of steam will expand and rise   
into the cooler water above and collapse
 there with a rattling noise which is   

characteristic of the state known as    
simmering4 ,these bubbles of steam      
rising and bursting aid the convection  
currents in stirring and mixing the     
water so that it presently becomes of   
even temperature throughout4 ,when this 
occurs the bubbles of steam rise to the 
surface and burst explosively into the  
atmosphere1 throwing the water violently
 about2 the water is then boiling4 ,it  
is an important point to remember in    
cookery that boiling water will not     
become any hotter with the application  
of more heat1 but it will boil away2    
that is1 it will be completely converted
 into steam4 ,the steam resulting from  
any volume of water occupies a space    
#agjj times that of the water from which
 it is produced1 but what concerns the  
housewife most seriously is that the    
change of water into steam is           
accompanied with the evolution of       
tremendous mechanical force that will   
burst any vessel in which the water is  
enclosed4 ,it is the fact of this       

tremendous exercise of mechanical force 
that has led to serious accidents when  
hot-water bottles have been put into the
 oven to keep warm4 ,it has been assumed
 by some people that if the hot-water   
bottle be not completely filled1 that if
 what they consider to be sufficient    
room is left for the expansion of the   
water1 no harm can result from putting  
the bottle into the oven1 but no        
arrangement can make such a course safe4
  ,the bursting of the kitchen boiler is
 an accident resulting from disregard of
 the phenomena of heated water4 ,it     
sometimes happens that the hot-water    
supply of the various taps in the house 
fails4 ,if the boiler supplying the     
water is a hand-fed one some one whose  
duty it was to fill it has neglected    
that duty4 ,an empty boiler with a      
removable lid will do no harm1 but it is
 not advisable to leave it empty1 as the
 heat of the fire will destroy the iron 
of which it is made4 ,no attempt1       
however1 should be made to fill the     

boiler while it is hot1 as the result of
 pouring cold water into it will be the 
sudden and violent conversion of the    
water into steam1 and the person pouring
 in the water will assuredly be scalded4
 ,if the boiler be one that is filled   
automatically1 one of two things has    
probably occurred3 either the pipes are 
blocked by fur--that is to say by       
sediment from the boiled water--or the  
supply-pipe is frozen4 ,in neither case 
is it safe to light the fire4 ,if the   
pipes are blocked by fur steam will be  
formed in the boiler and it will burst2 
if the supply-pipe is frozen the heat   
may thaw the ice1 and the inrush of cold
 water will at any rate crack the       
boiler4  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 #c4      
,when water expands with heating        
convection currents are formed in it1   
and the hot water rises to any height we
 please if cold water be available to   
take its place4 ,this law of convection 
is applied to maintain a circulation of 
hot water in pipes used for warming a   

house4 ,the general arrangement of such 
a system is shown in ,fig4 #c4 ,the     
furnace heats a boiler in the basement  
or on the lowest storey of the house2   
,,hb and ,,hl' are parallel vertical    
pipes connected with a horizontal pipe  
,h',h at the top of the house2 ,c is a  
small cold-water cistern which is       
furnished with a ball-tap to maintain   
the supply of cold water to the pipe    
,h',l if any water is drawn off at any  
part of the circuit4 ,the short pipe ,a 
acts as a valve for the escape of air   
from the pipes4 ,the pipes ,h',l1 ,h',h1
 and ,,hb are filled with water4 ,when  
the fire is lighted in the furnace1 hot 
water is driven up the pipe ,,hb by cold
 water descending through ,h',l1 and    
this circulation goes on so long as a   
difference of temperature is maintained 
in the pipes2 that is1 so long as the   
fire is burning4 ,any number of coils of
 pipes may be introduced into the       
circuit between the boiler and the top  
of the pipe ,,hb4 ,in filling the pipes 

with water allowance is made in these   
coils for the expansion of the water    
with heat and for the air which we have 
seen escapes from heated water1 and a   
tap is fixed in each coil for letting   
out any air that may have lodged in it4 
,if free air remains in the pipes the   
circulation of the water will be        
hindered and the boiler may become      
dangerously overheated4 ,it is therefore
 necessary when the heating apparatus is
 in use to examine these taps and see   
that water and not air escapes from     
them4  ,the installation of a heating   
apparatus in middle-class houses is     
fairly common1 and where one is not     
found many persons use gas or oil stoves
 in the passages in the winter1 for it  
is now realised that it is not possible 
to heat rooms by means of open fires    
without creating cold draughts in them  
from the cold passages into which they  
open4 ,and1 moreover1 the constant      
change of temperature encountered in    
passing from one warm room to another   

through cold passages is not only       
disagreeable1 but is not found to be    
conducive to health4  ,let us turn to   
the cooling of water4 ,water expands    
about one-eleventh of its volume on     
becoming ice4 ,this change of state1    
like that of change into steam1 is      
accompanied by the evolution of         
tremendous mechanical force4 ,if water  
freezes in pipes it bursts the pipes1   
and on a thaw taking place the pipes are
 found to leak4 ,the appropriate remedy 
for this state of things is to protect  
the pipes from cold or to empty them    
when a frost is apprehended4 ,in all    
properly built houses there is a tap by 
means of which the water supply can be  
cut off from the house1 thus allowing   
the pipes to be emptied on a frosty     
night4 ,the custom of leaving the taps  
dripping is effective1 because the pipe 
is generally liable to freeze at some   
particular point where it is in         
immediate contact with the cold air1    
probably in the unclosed chink where the

 pipe passes through the wall2 keeping  
the water moving in the pipe prevents   
any part of it getting cold enough to   
freeze1 but the practice should not be  
resorted to1 as it wastes water4        
,,radiant ,,heat  ,illustration3 ,,fig4 
#d4--,section of a ,convex lens4  ,it is
 pleasant on a dry1 still day in winter1
 when the ground is covered with crisp  
snow or glistens with hard frost1 to    
feel the warmth of the sun's rays1 and  
it is becoming quite a fashion for      
people of leisure to spend the winter   
months at the pleasure resorts amid the 
snow-laden mountains of ,switzerland4   
,it is a matter of some interest to     
inquire how it happens that the sun's   
rays are warm when the thermometer tells
 us that the temperature of the air is  
below freezing-point4 ,there is an old  
and pretty experiment in which a burning
 glass is made of ice2 it is not a      
difficult thing to do4 ,if the scale-pan
 of an ordinary balance be made hot and 
be pressed against a slice of ice 7the  

concave side of the scale-pan towards   
the ice71 first on one side of the slice
 and then on the other1 the ice can be  
formed into a convex lens 7,fig4 #d74   
,if now this lens be placed in the path 
of a sunbeam and the light be brought to
 a focus1 that is1 to a bright spot on a
 piece of paper1 the paper will be      
heated and will take fire while the lens
 through which the heat passes remains  
ice4 ,from this we may surmise that the 
heat of the sun does not affect the     
medium through which it passes4  ,clerk 
,maxwell suggested yet another          
experiment in illustration of this law4 
,by means of an ice lens he collected   
the sunlight to a focus in the middle of
 a basin of clear water1 and observed   
that no effect was discernible in the   
water4 ,he then directed the focus 7the 
spot of light7 on to a mote in the      
water4 ,the mote became hot1 the water  
was agitated1 convection currents were  
formed1 and the mote was carried up in  
them4 ,this showed that rays of light   

from the sun do not affect the          
substances through which they can pass1 
and that they heat bodies through which 
they do not pass4 ,it has been          
demonstrated by laboratory experiments  
that all hot bodies emit rays of heat1  
whether we see the rays or not4 ,when we
 see the rays the bodies are said to be 
red or white-hot4 ,the process by which 
heat passes from one body to another    
without warming the intervening medium  
is called radiation4 ,radiation takes   
place only through transparent bodies4  
,rays of heat1 like rays of light1 pass 
through transparent bodies2 whereas they
 are absorbed by1 that is they make hot1
 opaque bodies4 ,heat rays travel in    
straight lines and are reflected from   
polished surfaces2 their intensity      
varies inversely as the square of the   
distance of the object on which they    
fall from their source4 ,the heat of an 
ordinary fire is radiant heat2 when we  
sit round the fire we act as opaque     
bodies and absorb the heat1 and are what

 we call scorched if the fire is very   
bright4 ,if we move away from the fire1 
still letting the same firelight shine  
on us1 we are not scorched2 this is     
because the heating power of the rays   
varies inversely as the distance from   
their source1 therefore if we move away 
double the distance we receive one      
quarter of the heat that we received    
before we moved4 ,if we draw our chairs 
to one side we are not scorched1 because
 the rays of heat do not travel round a 
corner4   ,,conduction ,,of ,,heat  ,we 
have seen that the ice-lens was not     
affected by the passage of heat through 
it4 ,if we now take hold of the lens we 
shall experience a feeling of cold1 and 
the lens will begin to melt4 ,heat has  
passed from our hand into the ice4 ,the 
process by which heat passes from one   
body to another in contact with it is   
called conduction4 ,the fundamental law 
of conduction is1 that heat always      
passes from a warm body to a cold one4  
,clerk ,maxwell illustrated this law in 

a series of very simple experiments4 ,he
 placed a silver teaspoon in a cup of   
hot tea1 and noted that the handle      
became warm gradually from the hot tea2 
the heat passed from the bowl of the    
spoon in the tea to successive parts of 
the handle until the whole spoon was    
hot4 ,his second experiment was to put  
two cold spoons1 one of silver and one  
of ,german silver1 into the tea1 when he
 found that the same phenomenon took    
place1 but that the silver spoon became 
hot much more quickly than did the      
,german silver one4 ,he then put three  
spoons into the tea1 made respectively  
of silver1 of ,german silver1 and of    
bone4 ,in the result1 he found that when
 the other two were hot1 the bone spoon 
hardly showed any sign of heat at the   
end of its handle4  ,the conclusion to  
be drawn from these experiments is that 
heat passes at different rates through  
different substances4 ,substances       
through which heat passes quickly are   
called good conductors of heat4 ,the law

 of the conductivity of heat is that in 
a homogeneous body the flow is          
continuous1 and is from the region of   
high temperature to the region of low   
temperature1 and that it continues until
 the body is of uniform temperature     
throughout4 ,the law is the same for    
bodies of different materials when in   
contact one with another4  ,the         
conduction of heat is in operation in   
every department of domestic life4      
,people live in houses and are clothed  
to protect them from the vicissitudes of
 the weather1 including the cold of     
winter and the heat of summer2 use is   
made of the phenomenon in warming the   
house and in the preparation of food4   
,in selecting materials for various     
purposes1 account has to be taken of    
their conductivities1 for in some cases 
it is desirable that the transfer of    
heat should take place slowly1 and in   
others that it should take place        
quickly4 ,it might be thought that the  
conductivity of a substance could be    

estimated by touch1 but a little        
reflection will show that this cannot be
 the case4 ,the flow of heat between two
 bodies depends upon the difference of  
temperature between them1 and if there  
should be no difference of temperature  
between them at the moment of touch     
there will be no flow of heat1 though   
both are bodies of greater or less      
conductivity4 ,let us take1 for example 
of the uncertainty of estimation by     
touch1 a well-known experiment4 ,suppose
 we have a basin of hot water and a     
basin of cold water1 and place a hand in
 each for a few moments2 suppose we     
withdraw the hands and plunge them into 
a basin of tepid water1 we shall find   
that the tepid water feels cold to the  
hand that was in the hot water and warm 
to the hand that was in the cold water4 
,luckily1 it has been found possible in 
the laboratory to refer substances to a 
common standard and to assign numerical 
values to them in order of their        
conductivities1 so that substances can  

be compared and a selection made for any
 desired purpose4 ,pure silver has the  
highest conductivity2 other useful      
materials take the following order3     
copper1 zinc1 lead1 iron1 steel1 marble1
 glass1 brick1 slate1 wood1 fur1 cotton1
 flannel1 water1 air4 ,fur and wool no  
doubt owe much of their warmth to the   
fact that they consist of fibres which  
enclose a good deal of air1 but as a    
matter of fact the warmth of loosely    
woven woollen and knitted articles in   
general is often overrated2 they are    
very warm as under garments or in calm  
weather1 but in windy weather the air in
 them is rapidly changed and the cold   
seems to blow through them4 ,if for any 
purpose we select a material from its   
place in a table of comparative         
conductivities1 and use it without      
reference to the law of conduction of   
heat1 we shall probably be disappointed 
with the result4 ,we know that cotton   
burns easily2 if we stretch a cotton    
handkerchief over the back of a gold    

watch and place a red-hot cinder from   
the fire on the handkerchief on the     
watch1 the handkerchief will not be     
burnt4  ,many interesting problems      
present themselves when a house has to  
be built or rented4 ,there is often     
opportunity for some choice of material 
in walls or roof1 and some peculiarities
 to be considered4 ,are the top rooms of
 a thatched cottage warmer or colder    
than the top rooms of a house covered   
with slates8 ,is a wooden or an iron    
building warmer8 ,what difference does  
it make if the iron building is lined   
with wood8 ,if the iron walls were twice
 as thick1 what would be the effect     
inside the room8 ,would the walls of    
such a building be always dry inside8   
,it sometimes happens that the end wall 
of a row of houses is covered with      
slates to preserve it from the effects  
of storms of wind and rain2 will that   
inside wall be always dry8  ,but the    
housewife is probably more interested in
 those articles in use in the house     

which it is her business to provide4    
,shall the stoves be of slate or iron8  
,in olden days warming-pans were made of
 copper4 ,what change in the manner of  
use justifies making them of earthenware
 or ,india-rubber8 ,the slow            
transmission of heat through thick      
woollen materials has been applied to   
the construction of ,norwegian          
cooking-stoves 7,fig4 #e74 ,these stoves
 consist of a wooden box1 lined with    
well-padded felt4 ,the cooking vessels  
are of metal2 the food when at boiling  
point is placed in these vessels and the
 lids put on1 a thick padded felt is    
placed on the vessels and entirely fills
 the wooden lid of the box which is then
 closed2 the heat is preserved so that  
the cooking is continued without further
 attention4 ,would it be possible to use
 the ,norwegian stove as a refrigerator8
 ,would it keep an ice pudding cold     
without any alteration8 ,in connection  
with this we may ask why freezing       
machines have the inner vessel in which 

the freezing takes place of zinc1 and   
the outer vessel which contains the ice 
and salt of wood8 ,what would be the    
effect of interchanging the materials8  
,illustration3 ,,fig4 #e4  ,it is       
possible that the excellence of some    
continental cookery is due to the       
extensive use on the continent of       
earthenware cooking utensils through    
which heat passes very slowly4 ,the     
growing fashion of using enamelled      
cooking vessels must have some effect on
 the food cooked in them as heat        
certainly passes quickly through them4  
,reference has been made to them simply 
to demonstrate the universality of the  
application of physical laws1 and we may
 now return to the house and its        
arrangement for the comfort of the      
inmates4   ,,methods ,,of ,,domestic    
,,heating  ,the two methods of warming a
 house are by radiation and conduction4 
,we may surmise that in any case both   
methods will be in use1 but the one will
 predominate2 for instance1 in heating  

by an open fire radiation will          
predominate1 and in heating by stoves   
and radiators conduction will           
predominate4 ,in planning a house a     
decision must be made between the two4  
,this decision being made there is the  
further consideration of where the      
source of heat shall be placed4 ,in the 
case of an open fireplace shall it be in
 an end wall1 in a corner1 in an outside
 wall1 and so on1 the object being to   
make the greatest possible use of the   
heat that passes up the chimney and of  
that which radiates into the room4 ,the 
same consideration must be paid to the  
situation of the closed stove2 where    
will it pass heat by conduction to the  
greatest volume of air1 and where can   
its radiant heat be utilised8  ,in a    
room heated by a stove there is         
frequently a vessel of water placed by  
or on the top of the stove4 ,if we ask  
what is the purpose of this water we    
shall be told that the stove dries the  
air in the room4 ,now1 it is impossible 

that the heat of the stove should remove
 any moisture from the air2 we must     
therefore seek an answer to the         
question1 ,what is dry air8 ,the        
sensation of the dryness or moisture of 
the air does not depend only upon the   
amount of vapour in the air but upon the
 ratio of the amount present to the     
amount that the air is able to hold at  
the given temperature4 ,the warmer the  
air is the more vapour it can hold1     
hence when the air is warmed the        
percentage of water present to the      
possible amount in it is lowered2 that  
is its humidity1 which is the percentage
 amount1 is lowered1 and we feel it to  
be dry4 ,the question may arise why we  
should feel this when the room is heated
 by a stove and not when it is heated by
 an open fire8 ,it may be that in a room
 with an open fire we are warmed by     
radiation and give out heat to the      
surrounding air which is constantly     
changed by convection currents1 so that 
the air we breathe is colder than we    

ourselves2 and that in a room warmed by 
a stove we receive heat from the air and
 are constantly breathing air that is   
warmer than we ourselves4 ,but it is    
more than probable that the custom of   
providing a source of moisture to the   
air persists from the suggestion of a   
single person in seeking to relieve the 
disagreeable feeling attending the      
breathing of air laden with the         
poisonous products of half-consumed gas1
 and that it has no real scientific     
foundation4  ,how to estimate           
temperatures4--,whatever method is      
adopted for warming a room1 the         
housewife may be assured that the       
resulting temperature will not be       
pleasing to every member of the family4 
,one will find it too warm1 and another 
will at the same time find it too cold1 
and this not from any wilful            
captiousness but from the cause that we 
have already alluded to1 that the       
feelings are a very uncertain test of   
temperature4 ,it is therefore advisable 

to keep the air of the room as far as   
possible at a standard temperature4 ,to 
do this it will be necessary to have a  
thermometer in the room1 and to know    
what its readings indicate4 ,when the   
thermometer registers #cb deg4 ,fahr4 or
 less1 water will freeze in the room1   
and the vessels in which it is kept will
 burst2 it is therefore wise1 when it is
 anticipated that the temperature will  
fall below #cb deg4 ,fahr41 to empty the
 ewers and bottles that may be in the   
room4 ,from #cb deg4 ,fahr4 to #dj deg4 
,fahr4 the room will be very cold1 up to
 and including #eh deg4 ,fahr4 it will  
be too cold to be pleasant2 the standard
 temperature may be taken as between #fb
 deg4 and #fd deg4 ,fahr4  ,it may      
appear a simple matter to hang up a     
thermometer and read it1 but a little   
thought will show that it is not so easy
 as it seems4 ,if1 for instance1 the    
thermometer is placed in front of the   
fire at a distance1 say of four feet    
from it1 what will its reading indicate8

 ,will it be the temperature of the air 
of the room or the temperature of the   
fire1 or if neither1 what will it be8   
,suppose we have two identical          
thermometers1 and hang them on adjacent 
walls1 one of which is an outside wall1 
which of the two readings shall we take 
as that of the temperature of the room8 
,it is not an easy matter to decide4 ,in
 a sick-room1 where one person's comfort
 only has to be considered the doctor   
will order the thermometer to be hung at
 the bed-head1 but we cannot adopt this 
plan in a general sitting-room4         
,,chemical ,,science ,,in ,,the         
,,household  ,in our endeavour to       
establish the claims of the science of  
chemistry to a prominent place in the   
educational equipment of women1 all     
reference to those most interesting and 
important chemical phenomena that       
accompany the exercise of the           
physiological functions will be omitted2
 as also those which are most           
immediately concerned with the          

preparation of food4 ,attention will be 
confined to some of the common          
occurrences of daily life1 the methods  
of dealing with which are typical of the
 method adopted in considering more     
important and abstruse problems4        
,perhaps one of the most disappointing  
experiences of the novice in            
housekeeping is the rapidity with which 
everything assumes a shabby aspect4     
,bright paint grows dull1 dull paint    
wears away1 curtains and fabrics fade1  
and very soon mistress and maids alike  
feel that the house no longer repays the
 trouble incurred in the spring-cleaning
 that it must still undergo4 ,this      
spring-cleaning1 the primary object of  
which is the preservation of the beauty 
and substance of the house and its      
appointments1 is in the result the cause
 of much of their deterioration4        
,cleaning consists in removing dirt by  
means that are partly physical and      
partly chemical2 for instance1 the      
removal of dust by sweeping1 shaking1 or

 brushing is a physical operation1 and  
the removal of dirt and grease by       
dissolving them in soapy water involves 
their change by a chemical process4 ,if 
the surfaces or materials to be cleaned 
include a substance on which the        
cleansing agent can operate the agent   
will not confine its work to the removal
 of the dirt only2 in washing coloured  
fabrics we know how often the colour    
comes out with the dirt4 ,knowledge     
therefore1 not only of the composition  
and properties of cleansing agents1 but 
also of the surfaces and materials to   
which they are to be applied1 is        
essential1 and we should find that it is
 not always the powder or paste which   
makes the greatest show of cleanliness  
in the shortest time1 with least        
expenditure of labour1 that is the most 
to be desired4  ,the use of             
alkalies4--,the most common cleansing   
agents are hot water1 soap1 and soda4   
,hot water is itself a detergent2 that  
is1 it has the power of dissolving dirt4

 ,it does not1 however1 dissolve grease1
 and all household dirt is more or less 
greasy1 hence we cannot do our cleansing
 with water only1 and we are accustomed 
to add to it soap or soda4  ,it is not  
easy or even possible to discuss the    
chemical properties of substances       
without the use of chemical terms4      
,substances are classified for chemical 
purposes in groups1 every member of     
which exhibits the same chemical        
property1 and we shall require to       
distinguish between the group called    
acids and the group called alkalies4 ,it
 will be sufficient for our purpose just
 now to know that acids have a sour     
taste and that alkalies counteract      
acids4 ,from this definition lemon-juice
 will easily be recognised as an acid4  
,if we add soda to lemon-juice there    
will be a brisk effervescence and the   
lemon-juice will no longer be sour1     
hence soda is an alkali4 ,alkalies have 
another well-known chemical             
property--they dissolve grease and oil  

and enable them to mix with water4 ,if  
we have some hot water in a tumbler and 
pour oil into it the oil will float on  
the water1 and if we stir the two       
together the oil will break into        
globules but will still float on the    
water2 we cannot mix them together4 ,if 
we dissolve some soda in hot water and  
pour in oil we shall find on stirring   
that the mixture becomes milky or soapy 
in appearance and the oil and water are 
no longer discernible as different      
fluids4 ,moreover1 on standing the oil  
will not again separate from the water2 
it has been emulsified4 ,oils themselves
 have the chemical power of dissolving  
resins4 ,resins are hard1 bright        
vegetable gums which will come under our
 notice when we consider the composition
 of varnishes4  ,all hard soaps are made
 from soda1 grease1 and resin2 the      
cheaper soaps contain free soda1 the    
dearer ones contain an excess of fat4   
,yellow scrubbing soap contains about   
eight per cent4 of free soda4 ,both soap

 and soda can be dissolved in water1 and
 are so dissolved for cleaning purposes4
 ,knowing the constituents of our       
cleansing agents1 we can consider their 
action on paint and varnish4 ,paint     
contains white-lead1 linseed-oil1 and   
colouring matter4 ,it is not very hard  
when dry and can be easily scratched    
with the nail4 ,varnish is made from    
linseed-oil1 resin1 and turpentine4     
,when dry it should be very hard and    
bright4  ,the whole of the painted      
woodwork of the house is subjected to   
spring-cleaning whatever its appearance 
with regard to dirt may be4 ,the        
operator throws into a pailful of hot   
water a handful of soda1 soaks a        
scrubbing-brush in the mixture1 rubs it 
well with soap1 and uses it to brush the
 somewhat soft paint or harder varnish4 
,the soda and soap1 aided by the heat1  
soften the paint and the brush removes a
 quantity equal to about a coat of      
paint4 ,the effect is certainly pleasing
 for the time being1 but there will be  

no difficulty in understanding that the 
process can only be repeated until the  
paint and varnish grow shabby or        
disappear4  ,it is not wise for the     
inexpert housewife to trust to          
unscientific friends for advice as to   
the best materials to use when cleaning 
paint4 ,a foreman painter once gave1 as 
a recipe for this purpose1 an           
instruction to add a tablespoonful of   
salts of tartar to three-quarters of a  
pailful of water4 ,the result was a very
 rapid and complete removal of dirt from
 the paint1 but the housewife1 being    
dissatisfied with the rather dull       
appearance of the white varnish1 stroked
 it with her finger and found that it   
was covered with a fine white powder4   
,the maid's assurance that this was all 
right and only needed to be removed by  
dusting did not satisfy her1 and she    
began to wonder what chemical action was
 to be expected from salts of tartar4 ,a
 first search for information revealed  
that salts of tartar was an old name for

 potassium carbonate1 but the housewife 
knew no chemistry and had never heard of
 potassium carbonate1 so this           
information was useless to her4 ,she    
had1 however1 had some scientific       
training and was not satisfied to rest  
in ignorance4 ,a search in a book on    
elementary chemistry disclosed the      
further truth that the commercial name  
for potassium carbonate is pearlash6    
,she then remembered that being desirous
 at one time to remove the paint from   
some oak carving said to be two hundred 
years' old1 she had successfully used a 
solution of pearlash painted on with a  
brush4 ,the paint when dry from the     
application had been scraped off in     
long1 tough ribbons4 ,of course the     
mixture had been very much stronger than
 that prescribed by the painter1 but the
 effect had been very much more         
apparent4  ,acids and alkalies are to   
some extent responsible for the fading  
of fabrics in the wash when these       
fabrics owe their colour to vegetable   

dyes4 ,acids turn vegetable blues red1  
alkalies turn vegetable blues green and 
vegetable yellows brown4 ,it is easy to 
illustrate this action of acids and     
alkalies on vegetable colours4 ,a blue  
liquid can be obtained by boiling a red 
cabbage in water4 ,if we take two       
portions of this water and add any acid1
 say lemon-juice1 to one portion we     
shall obtain a red liquid2 if we add any
 alkali1 say soda1 to the other portion 
we shall obtain a green liquid4 ,if we  
go a step further and add lemon-juice to
 the green liquid and soda to the red   
liquid we may approach very nearly to   
our original blue liquid4 ,these        
experiments suggest a remedy for the    
change of colour in fabrics on washing  
with soda1 but the dyes most commonly   
used are not vegetable dyes1 and the    
fading of the fabrics is due to chemical
 changes1 into which we have no space to
 enter4  ,strong acids and alkalies act 
as caustics2 that is they destroy       
fabrics4 ,continued washing in strong   

soda and water not only tends to        
destroy1 but also spoils the appearance 
of all kinds of wearing apparel and     
household linen4 ,white silk and wool at
 once become yellow on being washed with
 soap that contains free soda1 and linen
 is affected in the same way though not 
to the same extent4  ,the widely        
advertised pastes and liquids for       
cleaning metal-work1 particularly brass1
 often contain acids or alkalies that   
are injurious to metals4 ,if after      
cleaning there should be a green deposit
 on brass or copper it will be wise to  
inquire into the composition of such    
deposit1 and to discontinue the use of  
that paste or liquid4 ,when brass pans  
are used for boiling fruit for jams1 it 
is usual to rub them inside with a slice
 of lemon before putting in the fruit4  
,a careful housewife will consider the  
reason for this custom4 ,we remember    
once seeing a copper pan1 that had been 
provided for the preparation of oatmeal 
porridge1 with a band about an inch wide

 of green crystals on the inside4       
,inquiry elicited that the cook had     
thought it a convenient pan in which to 
prepare the fish 7salt haddock7 for     
breakfast4 ,ignorance of the chemical   
action of salt and acids on metals may  
lead to very serious results4 ,the      
common name for the green deposit on    
brass and copper is verdigris1 and most 
people know that verdigris is a         
poisonous compound2 the difficulty is   
that1 not knowing its chemical          
composition1 they do not recognise      
verdigris when they see it4 ,the cook   
thought that the complaint made had     
reference only to the misuse of the pan1
 and said that it was quite easy to     
clean the green deposit off6   ,,the    
,,chemistry ,,of ,,the ,,body  ,it is to
 the science of chemistry that we owe   
our knowledge of the composition of the 
various foodstuffs from which dietaries 
are selected1 as well as of the several 
parts of the human body which relies for
 its sustenance on those dietaries4 ,but

 the adjustment of dietaries to the work
 they have to do is a more complex      
problem than those we have hitherto     
considered4 ,we learn from the science  
of physiology that the human body is a  
laboratory in which certain juices are  
secreted for the digestion of foods1 and
 that in this laboratory foods must be  
reduced to the consistency necessary for
 their passage through animal membranes2
 for it is by passage through membranes 
that the nutritive parts of food find   
their way into the general circulation  
of the blood which carries them to all  
parts of the system4 ,very few          
foodstuffs are available for use in     
their natural state1 and the majority of
 them are prepared for consumption in   
the first place by more or less         
elaborate processes included in the art 
of cookery4 ,when thus prepared they    
should be in a fit state to undergo in  
the body the physical changes comprised 
in mastication1 and the chemical changes
 associated with the process of         

digestion4  ,it might be surmised by the
 thoughtful parent that as the child's  
body lacks some of the external features
 of the adult body1 such as hair and    
teeth1 so there might1 and probably     
would1 be corresponding lapses in the   
internal economy1 and that therefore the
 food prepared for the adult would be1  
even in the smallest quantity1 unsuited 
to the child4 ,physiologists tell us    
that this is so1 and in particular that 
the secretions which in adult life are  
called saliva and pancreatic juice and  
which have the function of preparing    
starch for digestion1 are at this time  
scanty in amount and deficient in       
chemical action4 ,but these secretions  
are essential for the digestion of      
starchy foods1 and chemists tell us that
 starch abounds in the vegetable kingdom
 from which most of the food of children
 is derived4 ,it is therefore a matter  
of some importance that every person in 
charge of an infant should have that    
amount of knowledge of chemical         

reactions which is requisite to enable  
them to detect whether a food does or   
does not contain starch4 ,a child fed   
entirely on starchy foods suffers from  
malnutrition of so serious a character  
that death may1 and often does1 ensue4  
,even if other suitable food1 such as   
modified milk1 be given1 the internal   
economy of the child will be seriously  
disturbed4  ,the names by which patent  
foods are advertised are very often     
misleading to unscientific persons1 and 
invalids have suffered much from the    
mistaken idea that jellies and meat     
extracts are foods4 ,meat extracts have 
their use1 but any invalid fed on       
extract of beef only would die sooner   
than one left with no food at all4 ,the 
reason for this can be learned from the 
knowledge of the constituents of beef   
extracts and the part they play in the  
human organism4   ,,conclusion  ,if we  
have seemed to lay stress on the value  
of a knowledge of the sciences of       
physics and chemistry to the exclusion  

of the mention of others1 our           
justification of the fact is that space 
is limited1 and that we believe that    
physics and chemistry underlie all the  
other sciences and are of paramount     
importance to students of all other     
subjects4 ,in the sciences of biology1  
physiology1 botany1 geology1 c41 little 
advance can be made without a knowledge 
of the fundamental laws of nature4 ,the 
physical laws control movement1 and the 
chemical laws control growth1 whether of
 animate or inanimate nature4 ,physical 
and chemical phenomena are concerned in 
the upheaval of rocks and mountains     
which govern the contour of the         
continents of the world4 ,these contours
 influence climates and peoples2 as the 
contours change the people change4 ,the 
dwellers in the mountain regions differ 
in character from the dwellers in       
valleys and plains2 the inhabitants of  
cold districts differ from the          
inhabitants of warm districts2 but it is
 people who make history1 and historians

 cannot afford to pass by natural       
environments and natural laws4  ,if a   
foundation of the fundamental sciences  
be laid at school the student can       
subsequently build upon it the special  
science that is suited to his career4   
,it matters little what the calling in  
life of any person may be2 if he aim at 
success in that calling he must acquaint
 himself with the laws by which he has  
his being1 and by which he must perforce
 be guided in all his actions as well as
 in his intercourse with his fellow-men4
  ,the many avenues now open to women   
for public work entail on them the      
responsibility of fitting themselves for
 that work4 ,they as much as1 if not    
more than1 the housewife need to study  
the sciences which treat of the         
safeguarding of human life4 ,as         
councillors dealing with sanitary and   
building laws1 as inspectors of         
workrooms1 of institutions1 and of the  
conditions of child-life1 they owe it to
 themselves and to the community they   

serve not to undertake those duties     
without adequate knowledge4 ,adequate   
knowledge must be taken to mean         
scientific knowledge of those matters of
 which1 by offering themselves for such 
appointments1 they assume an expert     
knowledge4 ,it is an irony that         
scientific training should be willingly 
and even eagerly acquired when it is a  
question of qualifying for a salaried   
post for work among strangers1 and that 
a mother should be content to bring to  
bear on the well-being and lives of her 
own circle unscientific and amateur     
experience4  ,we have only been able to 
touch the skirt of a great subject1 but 
our end will have been achieved if we   
have succeeded in pointing the way for a
 fuller realisation of the aims of      
earnest men and women for the saving of 
child-life and the mitigation of        
disease1 and if we have shown how great 
that subject is--how much too great for 
anything but the most superficial       
treatment in a single article4     ,,the

 ,,economic ,,relations ,,of ,,the      
,,household  ,,by ,,mabel ,,atkinson1   
,m4,a4 7,,glasgow7   ,i4 ,,introductory 
,the household has been treated by      
economists with curious negligence4 ,the
 founder of political economy showed so 
little insight into the real nature of  
the work carried on there as to class   
those whom he described as menial       
servants with unproductive labourers4#ac
 ,the later classical economists have   
followed his lead4 ,marshall1 it is     
true1 shows throughout his books an     
appreciation of the position and        
responsibilities of the housewife and   
the mother which is foreign to most of  
his colleagues4#ad ,but he has never    
attempted to analyse the economic       
functions of the household1 or to show  
its varying relations to the rest of the
 community2 neither has he pointed out  
the peculiar factors which differentiate
 the position and remuneration of the   
women employed in domestic activities   
from those of all other workers4 ,on the

 other hand1 the more modern school of  
economists1 those who devote themselves 
to the history of economic development  
in the past or to the intensive study of
 special economic institutions in the   
present1 have equally failed to discuss 
with any adequacy the organisation of   
the household4  ,the economic historians
 describe with minuteness the rise and  
fall of gilds and chartered companies1  
the workings of different methods of    
education and of poor relief in         
successive epochs4 ,they rarely indicate
 how the various forms of industrial    
organisation translated themselves into 
the domestic expenditure of the people4 
,it would1 for instance1 be very        
difficult to extract from the pages of  
the economic historians an answer to the
 question1 ,what were the conditions    
determining the supply of domestic      
servants at the close of the ,middle    
,ages1 in the eighteenth century and in 
the nineteenth century respectively8 ,it
 is not easy to answer definitely even  

simpler and more fundamental questions  
than these4 ,it is often stated1 for    
example1 that the household arrangements
 of the serfs on the mediaeval manors   
were rude and uncomfortable to the last 
degree1#ae but it is certain that this  
is not so universally true as has been  
thought4 ,some at all events of the more
 prosperous inhabitants of the manors   
possessed household furniture and       
equipments of a kind not inferior to the
 outfit of the casual labourer to-day4  
,sheets1 for example1 are mentioned     
several times in extant inventories4    
,but much more investigation than has   
yet been possible would be necessary    
before it could be determined whether   
these instances of a higher standard of 
comfort are or are not exceptions to a  
general rule4  ,to take other instances 
of unsettled problems3 ,how was pottery 
made in the ,middle ,ages--by travelling
 potters as in the ,east to-day1 by     
gilds of potters1 or by the inhabitants 
of the manor directly for their own use8

 ,or again3 ,when did the custom of     
building houses to let on rent first    
become general in ,england8 ,it is clear
 that the habit of living in rented     
houses has and must have the most       
profound influence on family life and   
national character4 ,but so far1 neither
 from economic histories on the one hand
 nor from histories of architecture on  
the other1 have ,i been able to obtain  
any reliable information on this point4 
,when one turns to even more important  
questions--such1 for instance1 as the   
industrial position of women at         
different epochs--it is equally         
difficult to obtain precise and detailed
 knowledge4 ,without a very lengthy and 
elaborate investigation of the extant   
original materials1 many of them        
scattered in municipal chambers in      
distant parts of ,england1 it would be  
quite impossible to say on what terms   
women were admitted as members of the   
gilds and fraternities which extended   
over the whole area of industrial life  

in the ,middle ,ages4 ,the character and
 organisation of the household and the  
position of women in the ,middle ,ages  
are subjects still practically untouched
 by the economic historians4#af  ,when  
we turn to modern times1 a little more  
material has been collected4 ,there is  
an investigation by the ,board of ,trade
 into the wages of domestic servants1   
and a book on domestic service by       
,professor ,lucy ,salmon of ,vassar     
,college4 ,it deals of course mainly    
with ,american conditions1 but cannot be
 neglected by any ,english student of   
the economic relations of the household4
  ,humanitarianism has prompted studies 
more or less elaborate of the dietaries 
and housing conditions of the working   
classes1 especially in towns1#ag but it 
would be idle to pretend that there has 
been yet more than a beginning made of  
the task of determining how for each    
class of the community its share of the 
national income as stated in money is   
translated into the necessaries1        

comforts1 and luxuries of life1 into    
house-room1 fuel1 food1 cleanliness1    
clothing1 insurance1 domestic service1  
recreation1 and culture4 ,the           
generalisations available are of the    
most meagre description4 ,we can1 for   
instance1 say with tolerable certainty  
that the agricultural labourer spends   
three-fourths of his income on food1 the
 town labourer two-thirds1 the artisan a
 half1 the middle-class man from a third
 to a fourth2 but there is practically  
no reliable information with regard to  
very large incomes1 or to sums spent on 
clothing in any section of the          
community4  ,moreover1 there is one     
class--large1 growing in importance1 and
 an essential element in modern         
civilisation--about whose domestic      
expenditure we have no scientific       
knowledge at all4 ,this is the class    
which may be named the routine          
brain-workers1 the people who as clerks1
 book-keepers1 salesmen1 typists1 c41   
are responsible for the routine         

administration of modern commerce4 ,they
 have been compared to the nervous      
system1 for like that system in the     
animal body they serve for the          
communication and the mechanical record 
of the life of the community on its     
industrial side4 ,with them may be      
classed elementary school-teachers1     
reporters1 and the lower ranks of the   
,civil ,service1 though ,i should not be
 prepared to say that some of           
these--especially the teachers--ought to
 be regarded as performing only routine 
brain-work4 ,but all these workers can  
be conveniently studied together in that
 their labour is carried on under       
somewhat similar conditions--it is      
sedentary1 highly regimented1 exhausting
 to the brain and nervous system1 and is
 generally remunerated by a fixed       
salary1 c4 ,they earn an income larger  
than that of the manual labourer1 but   
considerably less as a general rule than
 that of the professional man4 ,there is
 a total absence of information as to   

the domestic expenditure of this class4 
,it is sometimes declared that its less 
well-paid members suffer as severely    
from poverty as do sections of the      
working-class1 and that the poor clerk  
is really much more to be pitied than   
the well-to-do trade unionist1 the      
skilled manual worker4  ,but no one has 
yet attempted to test the truth of this 
view by the only scientific means1      
namely1 by the collection of precise    
details as to the domestic expenditure  
of the routine brain-working class1     
showing what sums are spent on          
house-room1 food1 clothing1 c41 and what
 kind of accommodation is obtained for  
the money spent4 ,in short1 the         
investigation of domestic expenditure   
has never yet been carried out in a     
purely scientific spirit solely for the 
sake of the resultant knowledge4 ,it has
 always been undertaken with some       
special practical problem in view1 and  
is consequently always fragmentary and  
frequently biassed4  ,yet if it is      

important to know how the wealth of the 
country is produced1 it is of equal     
importance to know how it is consumed1  
and that whether the consumption takes  
the form of porridge and flannelette for
 the child of a dock-labourer1 of drink 
and admission to a football match for   
the miner or cotton-operative1 or of a  
gardener1 and a holiday in ,switzerland 
for the hard-working doctor or          
stockbroker4 ,domestic expenditure      
should be investigated as impartially by
 the economist as are the variations of 
plants or animals by the biologist4 ,his
 one aim should be the discovery and    
statement of truth1 as complete and as  
unbiassed as he can make it4  ,hitherto1
 as ,i have said1 this field of research
 has remained comparatively untouched4  
,in the first place1 economists have    
generally been men1 and have naturally  
devoted their energies to the           
elucidation of the problems of industry 
and business which concern men most     
closely4 ,few women1 on the other hand1 

have until recently received any        
training in economics1 and it has never 
occurred to them that the familiar and  
wearisome problems of the rent1 the     
butcher's bill1 and the children's      
clothes1 together with the difficulty of
 finding a satisfactory cook1 may have a
 wider aspect than the narrow and       
personal one4 ,but even as it is1 the   
few women who have distinguished        
themselves in the sphere of economics   
have in a note or a casual remark       
pointed out distinctions between        
household management and other branches 
of industry which cast a flood of light 
on the whole subject4 ,there is a       
paragraph in the second volume of       
,industrial ,democracy#ah which lays    
down the difference between the         
underlying principles of business and of
 the administration of the home in a few
 words which might serve as the text for
 a volume4 ,it is precisely this        
difference1 first clearly indicated by  
,mrs4 ,webb1 which constitutes the      

second ground for the common neglect of 
this branch of economics4 ,a factory or 
a shop is run for profit2 a household   
simply to provide comfort and           
convenience for its members4 ,to put it 
in technical language1 in the world of  
industry we are concerned with exchange 
values1 but in the home with use values 
alone4 ,from this distinction1          
overlooked by reason of its obviousness1
 there flow a large number of           
consequences which will be discussed    
later4 ,at present we are only concerned
 to show that economists1 with their    
eyes fixed on trade and the mechanism of
 trade1 very naturally neglected that   
section of life in which values1        
material and immaterial1 were being     
continually created1 but for use alone1 
not for commercial purposes4  ,the wife 
who cooks her husband's dinner1 or      
caters1 organises1 and keeps accounts   
for him1 is really engaged in work which
 in any rational interpretation of the  
word has far more right to be called    

productive than is much of the labour   
employed in manufacture or business4    
,but the work accomplished by the wife  
in the household has never yet received 
its full acknowledgment from the        
economists4 ,the truth is that1 although
 they constantly warn students to avoid 
the vulgar error of confusing money     
wages with real wages1 they themselves  
have been so biassed by the commercial  
conception of profit-making that they   
have almost completely overlooked even  
the purely economic value of much work1 
such as cooking1 cleaning1 and          
clothes-making1 which is carried on     
within the home1 not for profit-making  
or for a salary1 but as part of the     
duties attaching to the status of wife  
and mother4 ,it is acknowledged by the  
economists themselves#ai that although  
in theory they have set aside a section 
to be devoted to the discussion of      
consumption as other sections deal with 
production and distribution of wealth1  
yet in practice the treatment of        

consumption has been meagre and         
ineffective4 ,this1 perhaps1 is         
inevitable--it is certainly             
regrettable--and women economists would 
be performing a most useful work if they
 were to undertake a careful and        
detailed investigation into the         
consumption of wealth at different      
epochs and by different classes of the  
community1 and one1 moreover1 for which 
their connection with housekeeping1     
which is only the practical application 
of the science of the consumption of    
wealth1 would have already partially    
prepared them4  ,there is still another 
reason why a scientific treatment of the
 consumption of wealth has been delayed4
 ,it could not be developed until       
medicine and hygiene had provided us    
with satisfactory standards of the needs
 of the human body4 ,when food1 for     
example1 was still regarded purely as a 
matter of individual likes and dislikes1
 it was impossible to discuss at all    
adequately the sufficiency or           

insufficiency of the food consumption of
 a given class4 ,but now that we know   
that the varying tastes simply express  
in different ways the need for so much  
proteid1 carbo-hydrates and fats1 we    
have a firm basis on which to work4 ,it 
is true that it is not yet quite so firm
 as we could wish2 the scientists have  
not yet succeeded even for a single     
class in fixing a dietary standard which
 would be accepted by all in particular1
 and recently the investigations of     
,professor ,chittenden have suggested   
that the amount of proteid hitherto     
thought essential may be excessive4     
,moreover1 little attention has yet been
 paid to the need of different food for 
different work4 ,yet it seems probable1 
to say the least1 that the sedentary    
worker1 using his brain and not his     
muscles1 may require lighter and        
daintier food than the labourer in the  
fields or the docks1 and may really     
suffer as seriously if that better food 
be denied him as does the latter if he  

fails to secure a sufficiency of coarser
 and cheaper nutriment4 ,this question  
would be of great importance in         
investigating the expenditure of the    
clerk class4 ,but although the          
scientists have here failed to provide  
the students of domestic expenditure    
with all the data required1 yet there is
 sufficient knowledge of the general    
principles of dietetics to enable us to 
base our study of food consumption on a 
fairly sound basis4  ,in the same way a 
standard of housing accommodation       
establishing the minimum of space per   
head necessary for health is generally  
recognised2 and on these and similar    
calculations1 correlated with the cost  
of house-room and commodities1 it will  
be possible to build up a science of    
consumption which will be really a      
science and not a series of guesses and 
vague generalities4  ,it is true1 again1
 that it is easier to deal with the     
grades of society practising the        
roughest and least-skilled labour than  

with those engaged in the higher forms  
of brain-work1 but we can at all events 
set ourselves to discover what is the   
average distribution of the expenditure 
of men earning ,l#ajjj a year1 and can  
afterwards appeal to the hygienists to  
decide for us what kind of food1        
house-room1 and recreation is essential 
for a man who makes his living by the   
higher activities of the intellect4 ,a  
very close connection between economics 
and hygiene is essential if the division
 of our subject that deals with         
consumption is to be adequately treated4
  ,so1 then1 a scientific study of the  
economics of the household would fall   
into two divisions--7#a7 an endeavour to
 describe the industrial development of 
each country as it affects family life1 
house-room1 food1 and clothes2 and 7#b7 
a descriptive account of the domestic   
circumstances and the expenditure#bj of 
each class of the community at the      
present time4 ,under each of these      
headings special sections should treat  

domestic service1 the work of woman     
beyond the household1 and the           
organisation of household work as       
compared with different branches of     
industry and administration4 ,finally1 a
 supplementary section should set forth 
the practical applications of the       
conclusions arrived at1 and should      
endeavour to help the housewife or1 it  
may be1 the superintendent of an        
industrial school1 college1 or boarding 
house in the administration of the      
income at her disposal4  ,but much more 
careful investigation into the question 
of how incomes actually are spent is    
essential before we can deal            
satisfactorily with the even more       
difficult problem of how they ought to  
be spent4 ,and there is1 too1 another   
factor which must be taken into         
consideration4 ,economists in defining  
wealth commonly admit nowadays that it  
includes collective and immaterial      
well-being of various kinds4#ba ,but    
having made this admission1 they        

straightway put it aside and proceed to 
discuss wealth as though it consisted   
exclusively of material exchangeable    
commodities4 ,yet clearly the real      
income of a family is increased if the  
children have easy access to good free  
schools or to ample open spaces4 ,it    
will not be possible to estimate        
precisely the money value of            
opportunities of this description4 ,but 
we should at least notice their presence
 or absence for each class and for each 
stage of national development4 ,it is   
clear that in the present paper no      
attempt can be made to deal with the    
problems of the economics of expenditure
 or of the household save in the merest 
outline1 and therefore the following    
pages are to be taken simply as a sketch
 to be filled in by more extensive and  
more throughgoing investigation later   
on4   ,,ii4 ,,historical ,,sketch ,,of  
,,the ,,position ,,of ,,the ,,household 
,,in ,,england  ,english industrial     
history has been divided into three main

 epochs with intervening periods of     
transition4 ,these are 7#a7 the         
mediaeval period1 7#b7 the period       
extending from ,elizabeth's reign to the
 reign of ,george ,,iii41 and 7#c7 the  
modern period4  ,in the first1 the      
typical economic institutions are the   
manor and the gild2 in the second1      
domestic manufacture and convertible    
husbandry are predominant2 and in the   
third the factory system and capitalist 
farming take their places4#bb ,trade1   
too1 undergoes a similar evolution4 ,in 
the first period it is intermunicipal   
rather than international4 ,in the      
second period1 within each nation trade 
is free and unfettered1 and a           
considerable amount of territorial      
division of labour and regional         
specialisation results4 ,but external   
trade is regulated by governments on the
 principles of the mercantile system4   
,in the third period1 with the increase 
and improvement of the means of         
communication1 international trade      

becomes more and more important1 markets
 are immensely widened1 and the economic
 organisation of society reaches the    
complexity possessed by it to-day1 which
 reacts in many half comprehended ways  
on the household and on family life4    
,the main characteristics of these      
divisions of ,english industrial history
 are1 on the whole1 clear and           
well-marked4 ,but the transition periods
 are more difficult to describe4 ,it has
 often been pointed out that the two    
industrial revolutions1 as they have    
been named by some writers1 bear a      
certain resemblance to each other4 ,both
 involve a reorganisation of industry   
which results in increased productivity 
on the one hand1 but in the             
demoralisation of certain classes of the
 workers on the other hand4 ,both       
therefore require a revision of the     
system of providing for the destitute4  
,both1 too1 produce the most            
far-reaching effects on home-life and   
the economy of the household1 and       

influence profoundly the position of    
women4 ,both1 too1 are alike in that it 
is not easy to fix dates to the periods 
within which the revolution in industry 
takes place4#bc ,but roughly we may     
regard the late fifteenth century and   
the early part of the sixteenth as a    
time of stress and strain1 due to the   
appearance of new methods both in       
agriculture and in industry1 especially 
in the wool trade2 and in the same way  
the end of the eighteenth century and   
the beginning of the nineteenth was a   
period of sudden and violent economic   
transition4 ,in both cases alike the    
changes in agriculture preceded somewhat
 the changes in industry1 and the       
revolution made itself felt in different
 ways and at different times in the     
various districts of the country4 ,there
 are still backward areas in the south  
of ,england and in the west of ,scotland
 where life has been very little        
affected1 notwithstanding trains and    
steam-engines1 by the alterations in    

industry which have produced the roaring
 mills and clattering shipyards of      
,lancashire and the ,clyde4  ,the task  
before us1 then1 is to sketch as clearly
 as possible from the scanty material   
available the main features of domestic 
life at each one of these epochs1 and to
 show how the changes in industry       
reflected themselves in the life of the 
household4   7a7 ,,the ,,household ,,in 
,,the ,,mediaeval ,,period  7#a7 ,the   
,serf--his ,position and ,domestic      
,arrangements  ,in the mediaeval period1
 outside the small and scattered towns1 
the prevailing form of economic         
organisation was the manor4 ,we have to 
imagine the surface of ,england dotted  
over with stretches of cultivated land1 
with areas of waste1 moorland or        
woodland intervening4 ,each stretch of  
arable land was cultivated more or less 
in common by groups of serfs1 who lived 
generally in one long village street1   
with the church and the lord's hall near
 at hand4 ,usually1 in addition to the  

arable land worked on the complicated   
three-field system soon to be described1
 there were also hay-meadows down by the
 river1 sometimes permanent pasture held
 in common1 while the waste was         
available for extra pasturage1 and for  
cutting turf and wood for fuel4 ,each   
serf possessed1 besides1 a small croft  
attached to his house1 and sometimes an 
orchard and rude garden4 ,the arable    
land was divided into three large       
fields1 not shut in as are our fields by
 hedges1 but lying open4 ,each field1   
again1 was partitioned into numbers of  
strips more or less regular in shape1   
and each serf possessed a certain number
 of these1 not1 however1 all lying      
together1 but intermixed mingle-mangle  
with the holdings of his neighbours4 ,he
 was not allowed to cultivate these1 or 
indeed any of the land save his own tiny
 croft1 as he pleased1 but was compelled
 to follow the traditional method of    
farming according to the customs of his 
manor4 ,usually the rotation was wheat  

or rye in the first year1 oats or barley
 in the second year1 fallow in the third
 year1 while the other two fields       
followed the same course a year and two 
years later2 so that in each year one   
field was fallow1 one grew wheat or rye1
 and the other oats or barley4 ,the     
animals belonging to the serfs and their
 lord were pastured on the arable fields
 when the crops were taken off1 and on  
the fallow field4 ,the lord of the manor
 also possessed strips in the common    
fields1 and was regarded as the owner of
 the common and waste1 subject to the   
pasturage and fuel rights of the        
tenants4 ,he did not receive rent quite 
as we understand it1 but each serf owed 
him dues calculated in labour1 in kind1 
and occasionally in money4  ,for        
instance1 on the manor of ,tidenham1 in 
the time of ,edward ,i41 one serf worked
 for the lord for five days in every    
alternate week for thirty-five weeks in 
the year1 two and a half days every week
 for six weeks in the summer1 and three 

days every week for eight weeks during  
,august and ,september 7the three       
festival weeks of ,easter1 ,christmas1  
and ,pentecost were holidays74 ,then1 in
 addition to this regular weekly work1  
he could also be required for extra     
work1 commonly called boon-works or     
precariae4 ,he made one precaria called 
churched1 and he ploughed and harrowed a
 half acre for corn and sowed it with   
one bushel of corn from his own seed1   
and in the time of harvest he had to    
reap and bind and stack the produce1    
receiving one sheaf for himself on      
account of the half acre4 ,and he had to
 plough one acre for oats4 ,in addition1
 there were dues in kind--one hen at    
,christmas1 five eggs at ,easter1 eight 
gallons of beer at every brewing1 and   
also small payments in money1 commuted1 
one would conjecture1 for payments in   
kind1 i4e4 one penny for every yearling 
pig1 and one halfpenny for those only of
 the half year4#bd  ,in other cases the 
tenants paid dues of lambs1 of fish1 of 

honey1 of clews of net yarn1 of straw1  
c4 ,one of the tenants of the great     
monastic establishment at ,glastonbury  
had to find thirty salmon1 each as thick
 as a man's fist at the tail4#be ,a     
curious form of labour due is described 
in the ,boldon ,book4 ,the tenants of   
certain manors in ,durham had to build  
each summer a hunting-lodge for the     
bishop and his retinue when they came to
 take their pleasure in the moors in the
 west of ,durham4  ,at different periods
 and in different districts the         
subdivisions of the tenants vary        
greatly1 and for complete details the   
reader must be referred to the special  
works on the subject4 ,but two classes  
can usually be distinguished--7#a7 the  
villeins1 who possessed oxen and worked 
the larger holdings 7often about thirty 
acres--called virgates or yard lands72  
and 7#b7 the cotters1 who held about    
five acres1 and whose domestic animals  
consisted of pigs and poultry4 ,in      
addition there were often found socmen1 

who were personally free2 and1 at the   
other end of the social scale1 slaves1  
who1 largely through the influence of   
the ,church1 were manumitted before the 
end of the ,middle ,ages4  ,the most    
striking feature about the manors is    
that each was almost completely         
self-supporting4 ,each manor provided   
corn1 meat1 eggs1 milk1 cheese1 poultry1
 c41 for its own inhabitants4 ,fuel1 and
 perhaps game and rabbits1 came from the
 waste4 ,the furniture was of rude wood1
 and the clothes would be sheep-skin and
 coarse cloth spun and woven from the   
wool grown on the sheep that were fed on
 the manor lands4 ,the ordinary serf    
would very rarely either receive or     
spend coin of the realm4 ,salt he would 
buy and the metal pots and pans used for
 cooking1 and1 as ,ashley suggests1     
tar4#bf ,but the greater amount of the  
goods required for himself and his      
family would be produced under what the 
economists call natural economy1 i4e4   
they were made by the people who        

intended to use them1 directly1 without 
the intervention of money or any        
mechanism of exchange4  ,together with  
this self-sufficiency would go a        
considerable amount of co-operation4    
,economists are not yet agreed as to the
 precise extent to which co-operation   
was used in the manorial village4 ,but  
we know that tenants frequently lent    
their oxen to one another to make up the
 necessary team2 that in some of the    
,durham manors there was a communal     
smith1 who received payment in the      
possession of a strip of land2 and that 
the tenants owned a common oven4 ,it was
 customary1 too1 for one shepherd or    
swineherd to guard the sheep or the pigs
 of the whole community4 ,the village   
mill1 when first established1 was also a
 common boon to the whole body of serfs1
 but later on the obligation to grind   
their corn at the lord's mill and to pay
 the dues came to be regarded as an     
onerous burden4  ,a curious and         
important person on the mediaeval estate

 was the bee-keeper4 ,particulars are   
given of his duties and rewards in one  
,durham manor by the ,boldon ,book4#bg  
,he does no regular weekly work1 the    
care of the bees apparently taking the  
place of this1 but he must take part    
with the other serfs in the boon-works  
necessary at harvest and other times of 
pressure4 ,as honey was almost the only 
source of sweetness in early mediaeval  
cooking1 it can be understood why the   
bee-keeper ranked only a little below   
the shepherd4 ,the ,boldon ,book1       
unfortunately1 since its aim is to      
define the relations between the        
villeins and their lord1 does not tell  
us whether he superintended the bees    
belonging to his fellow tenants4 ,on the
 analogy of the shepherd and swineherd1 
we should assume that he did4  ,how1    
then1 are we to describe the domestic   
life of the various sections of rural   
society at this time8 ,unfortunately1   
very little material exists on which to 
draw for the account of the household   

arrangements of the serfs4 ,they have   
naturally left no account-books2 they   
enter rarely into the literature of the 
period2 there are no remains of their   
houses or clothing1 and it is1 in fact1 
far from easy to decide how they did    
live4 ,but it seems probable that a rude
 and dirty plenty1 procured by long     
hours of toilsome open-air labour1 was  
the prevailing characteristic of the    
serf household4 ,the house would be of  
clay or wattles or wood1 probably       
without windows--and those certainly    
unglazed--and with a hole in the middle 
of the roof to let out the smoke1 the   
fire being placed in the centre of the  
floor4 ,the furniture must have been    
rough but solid1 its most valuable items
 being the brass or iron cooking-pots4  
,on the other hand1 ,i do not believe   
that1 in the more prosperous villein    
households at all events1 the level of  
domestic comfort was so low as has      
sometimes been represented4 ,rough cloth
 was probably woven or sometimes bought4

 ,there is one case on record where1 in 
return for a small piece of land1 one   
family undertook to do the weaving for  
another1 and ,gasquet mentions#bh that  
to the common ,christmas feast on one of
 the ,glastonbury manors some of the    
tenants brought their own napkins1 if he
 wanted to eat off a cloth4 ,i see no   
reason to doubt that some at least of   
the villein households were provided    
with coarse coverings for bed and table4
 ,on the other hand1 it seems doubtful  
whether any form of artificial light was
 commonly used in the poorer households4
 ,the food1 too1 would show what to us  
would seem strange contrasts of plenty  
and of poverty4 ,it would include       
neither tea nor coffee1 neither sugar   
nor spices1 nor yet potatoes4 ,on the   
other hand1 there was probably1 save at 
times of famine1 a sufficiency of       
bread1#bi and eggs and dairy produce    
would be used in quantities now quite   
beyond the reach of the ordinary        
working-man4 ,the butter1 it is true1   

was not of a high standard1 for it was  
usually liquid1 but the children must   
have had milk to drink and cheese and   
eggs to eat4 ,even the poorest serfs    
apparently kept a few fowls1 since their
 dues are so often payable in eggs1 and 
some of the eggs and the chickens would 
be available for family consumption4    
,but their meat must have been much     
poorer than ours4 ,fresh mutton and beef
 were rarely eaten1 except in the case  
of animals who had died a natural death4
 ,the others were much too valuable for 
draught purposes1 for milk or for wool4 
,among the maxims of an old             
agriculturist of the thirteenth century 
we find the following remark3 ,if a     
sheep die suddenly1 they put the flesh  
in water for so many hours as are       
between midday and three o'clock1 and   
then hang it up1 and when the water is  
drained off they salt it and then dry   
it4 ,but ,i do not wish you to do       
this4#ca ,in the autumn1 animals which  
it was impossible to keep during the    

winter1 owing to the absence of         
root-feeding1 were killed and salted    
down4 ,occasionally1 however1 fresh pork
 would be used1 and no doubt every now  
and then a wild beast or bird from the  
common or waste would find its way into 
the housewife's iron pot4 ,the food1    
then1 would be rough and sometimes      
unwholesome1 but on the other hand it   
contained many most desirable forms of  
nourishment which are absent from the   
labourer's diet to-day1 and which are1  
it might be observed1 those specially   
suitable for children4#cb  ,the fuel    
used was wood or peat1 or in some cases 
dried cow-dung4  ,on the whole1 then1   
the household arrangements of the       
mediaeval serf were primitive1 and in   
times of famine he and his family must  
have endured great hardships4 ,the      
winters1 too1 when the tracks were deep 
in mud and artificial light was absent  
or scarce1 must have been recurring     
times of considerable suffering4 ,but on
 the other hand1 fresh air and easy     

access to the land were benefits hardly 
valued until in later times they have   
been lost to whole sections of the      
population4   7#b7 ,the ,lord of the    
,manor--his ,house and ,household       
,there is more material available for   
the description of the household of the 
lord than of his serf4 ,account-books1  
directions for household administration1
 and in the fifteenth century very      
curious rhymed rules of behaviour and of
 precedence are available4 ,naturally1  
however1 it is of the king's household  
and of the households of the nobles and 
of the great monasteries that we know   
most4 ,very little can now be discovered
 of the details of the domestic         
arrangements of the master in possession
 of one manor only1 and it is not       
certain that we should be justified in  
supposing that what we find to be true  
of the great household will necessarily 
hold also for the smaller one4 ,for     
example1 in the families of which we    
have records the great majority of the  

servants are men1 cooking in particular 
being in the ,middle ,ages a masculine  
vocation4 ,but is it safe to assume that
 the same would be the case in the      
household of a simple knight8 ,it must  
therefore be clearly understood that    
what follows has reference mainly to    
royal and noble families4  ,the domestic
 buildings of all manors were on a more 
or less uniform plan4 ,they were grouped
 round a quadrangle1 one side of which  
consisted of the great hall where dinner
 was served1 business transacted1 and   
where servants and the humbler guests   
slept at night4 ,the door was at one    
end1 usually protected by screens1      
behind which was another door leading to
 the buttery1 and above which the       
musicians' gallery was often placed4    
,opposite the door was a raised dais1   
where stood the table reserved for the  
master1 his family1 and important       
guests4 ,in the body of the hall dinner 
was served to the rest of the household4
 ,a private chamber called the solar or 

bower1 reached by a staircase either    
inside the hall or placed in the        
quadrangle outside1 was kept for the    
special use of the lord and his family4 
,there occasionally they took meals1    
though it was regarded as a sign of     
luxurious self-seeking to avoid the     
formality and bustle of the meals in the
 great hall4 ,in the solar1 too1 beds   
were placed for important guests1 and   
any particularly valuable articles of   
furniture would be kept there4 ,on the  
other sides of the quadrangle were the  
chapel1 granaries1 storehouses1 dairies 
and bakehouses1 and the kitchen4 ,this  
was often placed at a little distance to
 guard against fire4 ,the cooking was   
usually carried on at an iron grate     
placed in the middle of the floor1 and  
pictures show us that sometimes it was  
even done in the open air4 ,refuse was  
carried off by an open drain running    
across the centre of the kitchen4  ,as  
an illustration let me quote an account 
of a typical manor-house of the twelfth 

century4 ,the manor-house of ,ardleigh  
consisted of a hall with bower annexed4 
,also a kitchen1 a stable1 a bakehouse1 
two stores for corn 7granges7 and a     
servants' house4 ,in the hall were two  
moveable benches1 a fixed table1 and a  
buffet4 #cc  ,in course of time other   
rooms were added1 and the furniture and 
equipment became more elaborate4 ,but   
until ,elizabeth's reign the great hall 
where master and servants dined together
 was the central feature in the wealthy 
,english home4  ,the food was derived   
from the manor1 and purchases were only 
made of such things as could not be     
produced in ,england1 notably red       
wine1#cd spices1 almonds and rice1 all  
much used in mediaeval cookery4 ,sugar1 
too1 would be bought1 when it replaced  
honey for sweetening purposes4 ,but the 
corn1 meat1 milk1 cheese1 and eggs would
 be all home-grown1 and as it was easier
 in the state of transport at that time 
to bring the family to the food than the
 food to the family1 part of the duties 

of housekeeping consisted in so         
arranging the sojourn of the household  
as to draw food-supplies from each manor
 in the most convenient way4 ,the great 
,bishop of ,lincoln1 ,robert            
,grossetete1 gives elaborate directions 
on this head to a widowed friend of his1
 ,margaret1 ,countess of ,lincoln4      
,every year at ,michaelmas when you know
 the measure of all your corn1 then     
arrange your sojourn for the whole of   
that year and for how many weeks in each
 place according to the seasons of the  
year and the advantages of the country  
in flesh and in fish1 and do not in any 
wise burden by debt or long residence   
the places where you sojourn4  ,i advise
 that at two seasons of the year you    
make your principal purchases1 that is  
to say1 your wines1 your wax1 and your  
wardrobe4#ce  ,and there follows a list 
of the fairs recommended by the pious   
bishop4  ,the materials of mediaeval    
food1 then1 would be similar to the diet
 of the serfs already described1 but    

would be used in greater plenty and     
would be supplemented by luxuries       
imported from the ,east and bought at   
the fairs4 ,if we keep in mind these    
conditions1 as well as the leisure and  
the large supply of labour available1 we
 shall understand why mediaeval cooking 
was so elaborate2 for1 contrary to      
ordinary opinion1 it was distinguished  
by a large number of complicated made   
dishes4 ,small birds were commonly      
roasted1 but other forms of meat were   
stewed or minced4 ,they would in this   
way both be more easily dealt with at   
the open fire of the mediaeval kitchen1 
and more easily served in the mediaeval 
dining-room1 where knives and spoons    
were the only implements in common use4 
,moreover1 there was what seems to us an
 extraordinary liking for violent and   
mixed flavourings and brilliant         
colouring4 ,bucknade1 for instance1 was 
made of meat hewn in gobbets1 pounded   
almonds1 raisins1 sugar1 cinnamon1      
cloves1 ginger1 onions1 salt and fried  

herbs1 thickened with rice-flour and    
coloured yellow with saffron4 ,here1    
again1 is the recipe for mortrews1 a    
dish mentioned in ,chaucer's ,canterbury
 ,tales4  ,take hennes and pork and     
seethe them together4 ,take the flesh of
 the hennes and of the pork and hack it 
small and grind it all to dust4 ,take   
bread y-grated1 and add thereto and     
temper it with the self-broth#cf and mix
 it with yolks of eggs1 and cast thereon
 powder fort1#cg and boil it and do     
thereto powder of ginger1 saffron1 and  
salt1 and look that it is standing1#ch  
and flour it all with powder of ginger4 
,the lavish use of eggs1 pork1 and      
chickens in this recipe could be        
paralleled in many others1 and is       
evidently to be connected with the      
custom of receiving manorial dues in    
kind at stated intervals4 ,hundreds of  
eggs would be sent in by the tenants at 
,easter1 and the problem of the         
housekeeper would not be how to lessen  
the consumption of eggs in order to keep

 down the bills1 but how to get through 
those in store before they were         
hopelessly spoiled4  ,for the earlier   
period menus are not available1 but a   
curious rhymed treatise on servants'    
duties dating from the middle of the    
fifteenth century1 entitled ,john       
,russell's ,boke of ,nurture1 has been  
reprinted by the ,early ,english ,lent  
,society#ci in the volume entitled      
,meals and ,manners of the ,olden ,time1
 and from it ,i extract the following3--
    ,furst set forth mustard and brawne 
of boore1 the wild swine1   ,suche      
pottage as the cooke hath made of       
herbis1 spice1 and wine1   ,beef1       
mutton1 stewed feysaund1 swan with the  
chawdyn#dj   ,capoun1 pigge1 venisoun   
bake1 leche lombard1#da fritter1 viant  
fine1   ,and then a soteltie4#db        
,maydon ,marie that holy ,virgin   ,and 
,gabrielle greeting her with an ave4    
,this is followed by two other courses  
rather lighter in character1 though     
still including venison1 peacocks1      

quails1 c41 and then comes dessert3     
,after this delicatis mo1   ,blanderelle
 or pepins with caraway in confite1     
,wayfurs to eat1 hypocras#dc to drink   
with delite4  ,the service in the       
wealthy mediaeval manor was as elaborate
 as the cooking1 at all events in the   
later period4 ,the ,bishop of ,lincoln  
finds it necessary to warn the ,countess
 of ,lincoln not to permit slovenliness 
among her retainers4 ,she is not to     
allow old tabards1 and soiled herigauts1
 and imitation short-hose4 ,but even    
this widow lady is served with          
considerable pomp4 ,command that your   
panter#dd with the bread and your       
butler#de with the cup1 come before you 
to the table foot by foot before grace  
and that three valets be assigned by the
 marshal each day to serve the high     
table and the two tables at the side    
with drink4 ,and at each course call the
 servers to go to the kitchen1 and they 
themselves to go always before your     
seneschal as far as you until the dishes

 be set before you1 and see that all    
servants with meats go orderly and      
without noise to one part and another of
 the hall to those who shall be assigned
 to divide the meats1 so that nothing be
 placed or served disorderly4#df  ,in   
the ,boke of ,nurture1 which refers of  
course to a much later period1 the      
service is even more elaborate1 and we  
gather indeed that the dinner was a     
social function at which all classes of 
the community met together4 ,even the   
poorest were not forgotten1 as there was
 a special officer whose business it was
 to distribute alms of broken meats to  
the beggars waiting at the door4 ,the   
rules of precedence were most elaborate1
 and the serving seems on special       
occasions to have risen almost to the   
rank of a solemn ritual4 ,in addition1  
dinner was accompanied by music and     
sometimes enlivened at intervals by     
pageants and shows4  ,domestic service  
in these great households was very      
different from what it is to-day4 ,there

 was1 in the first place1 no fixed line 
drawn as there is now between the menial
 and the non-menial classes of the      
community4 ,the higher servants were    
often people of nearly the same social  
rank as those whom they served4 ,sir    
,william de ,mortimer was the           
head-steward of ,bishop ,swinfield1 ,sir
 ,gilbert ,brydges the steward of       
,gloucester ,abbey4#dg ,young men who   
entered the service of a lord might one 
day be called on to carve or serve wine1
 and the next day might sit at meat in  
the same room4#dh  ,through the         
account-books and the household         
ordinances of the period1 we can trace  
four grades of household                
servants--squires or gentlemen1 valets  
or yeomen1 grooms1 and pages4 ,the last 
grade had been recently introduced into 
the royal household in ,edward ,,iv4's  
time1 and they did not eat in hall4 ,a  
page etyth in his office or with his    
next fellow1 not in the halle at noe    
place1 taking dayly one lofe1 one messe 

of great meate1 half a gallon of ale2   
one reward quarterly in the             
counting-house1 twenty pence of clothing
 when the household hathe at every one  
of the four feasts1 one napron of one   
elle and part of the ,king's great      
rewards given yearly amongst them in    
household4#di  ,the last quotation      
illustrates also the method of          
remuneration4 ,the money received was a 
very minor and unimportant factor4 ,the 
servants were paid mostly in kind1 and  
the share of each in food1 fuel1 and    
clothing is very fully and carefully    
stated4 ,the chief porter of the ,abbey 
of ,gloucester1 for instance1 had a     
chamber next to the abbey gate4 ,his    
weekly allowance was three white loaves1
 called myches1 and two called holyers1 
with seven loaves of squire bread2 for  
ale every quarter #cs4 #d;d4 ,on every  
flesh or fish day he had a mess of flesh
 or fish of the first course1 as much as
 was set before two monks4 ,he had a    
gown every year of the suit of the      

gentlemen of the ,lord ,abbot1 and in   
addition #acs4 #d;d4 per annum4 ,these  
fixed rations of food clothing c41 are  
called livery1 a term now restricted to 
clothing alone4  ,it is noticeable that 
these servants are almost all men4      
,washerwomen 7lotrices7 are women1 and  
there are occasionally notices of young 
girls in attendance on the lady of the  
house4 ,but so far as our information   
goes1 cooking and cleaning and serving  
are carried on by men1 though mention is
 made of women pastry-cooks who in      
monasteries1 to avoid scandal1 had to be
 accommodated in a separate kitchen1    
called the pudding-house4#ej ,but in the
 ,middle ,ages domestic service was not1
 as it is now1 regarded as a menial     
occupation to be left1 save in some of  
its higher branches1 exclusively to     
women4  ,i can find no trace at this    
period of any difficulty in obtaining   
service4 ,bishop ,grossetete assures the
 ,countess of ,lincoln that she can     
easily obtain servers if she needs them1

 and the young men addressed in the     
rhyming exhortations preserved in ,meals
 and ,manners evidently regard it as    
promotion almost beyond their hopes to  
become members of a lord's household4   
,whether this would be equally the case 
if we had information about the smaller 
households1 it is not easy to say4 ,but 
when we remember that the alternatives  
were laborious and monotonous work at   
agriculture or the chance of finding a  
place in the gilds or fraternities which
 monopolised the trade in towns at that 
period1 we can believe that the         
plentiful fare1 the lively society1 and 
the not too strenuous#ea work required  
of a serving-groom or yeoman would be   
regarded as a prize worth striving for  
and worth keeping4  ,it would be        
interesting1 had ,i more space at my    
disposal1 to discuss mediaeval town life
 and the domestic arrangements of the   
monasteries1 which are very fully and   
interestingly described in ,abbe        
,gasquet's book1 ,english ,monastic     

,life4 ,but ,i must content myself      
solely with one or two extracts         
illustrating the household furniture of 
the mediaeval town-dwellers4  ,in #acjc1
 a certain ,alan de ,bedeford1 a baker  
of ,london1 was sold up for arrears of  
taxes1 and the following were the goods 
seized by the inexorable tax-gatherer3  
,one brass pot weighing #ah lbs41 value 
#bs4 #f;d41 and another brass pot       
weighing #ac lbs41 value #ba;d41 and one
 kettle value #ad;d41 the total whereof 
amounts to #es #e;d4#eb  ,in #accg1 an  
inventory was preserved of the goods of 
a felon4 ,it was probably exhaustive1   
and may therefore be taken as indicating
 with tolerable precision the standard  
of household comfort of a ,london       
burgess at that time4 ,it is too long to
 quote in full 7the list of garments in 
particular is rather tedious71 but it is
 interesting to note that it includes a 
mattress1 three feather-beds1 five      
cushions1 six blankets1 seven           
linen-sheets1 four table-cloths1 six    

whole brass pots of varying value and   
one broken one1 one candlestick and two 
plates of metal1 two basins and one     
washing-vessel1 a spit1 a frying-pan1   
and a funnel4#ec  ,further study of     
wills and inventories would yield a     
fresh store of information with regard  
to mediaeval household equipment1 and   
might not improbably upset some         
preconceived ideas as to the ordinary   
standard of life at that time4   7b7    
,,the ,,position ,,of ,,the ,,household 
,,from ,,the ,,fifteenth ,,to ,,the     
,,nineteenth ,,centuries   7#a7 ,the    
,first ,industrial ,revolution and its  
,effects  ,the fifteenth century and the
 beginning of the sixteenth century were
 marked by great economic changes4 ,the 
manorial system1 modified before this   
period by the gradual commutation of    
labour dues and especially by the       
catastrophe of the ,black ,death1 was   
replaced on the one hand by enclosures  
for sheep-farming and on the other by   
convertible husbandry1 when the farmer  

possessed or rented his own separate    
holding and managed it as he pleased1   
using the same land alternately for     
pasturage and as arable4#ed ,at the same
 time1 the gild organisation of industry
 was replaced by the system commonly    
known as domestic manufacture4 ,this    
spread largely in the country districts1
 and profoundly influenced home life and
 the position of women4 ,at the same    
time both home and foreign trade greatly
 increased1 and natural economy was     
almost entirely replaced by money       
economy1 the necessities of life being  
no longer produced by the family for    
their own use2 men worked instead for   
payment1 and then with the money so     
earned bought in the market the goods   
they required4#ee ,these changes1 like  
the corresponding changes at the end of 
the eighteenth century1 brought greater 
wealth and pomp to some classes1        
increased comfort to the bulk of the    
people1 but called into existence a new 
class of landless labourers1 whose needs

 and importunities finally led to the   
establishment of the poor-law4  ,it     
would require a volume to describe how  
these changes reflected themselves in   
the daily life of the people1 and at    
present ,i must content myself with     
noting very briefly the main effects of 
this first industrial revolution4  ,in  
the country two classes appeared3 the   
labourer1 who1 although he might possess
 a small piece of land of his own#ef or 
at the least had grazing rights over a  
neighbouring common1 yet depended for   
his livelihood on the wages paid by his 
master4 ,so far ,i have not discovered  
any reliable source of information with 
regard to the family expenditure of this
 class4#eg  ,next there was the farmer  
either renting or owning a farm4 ,very  
often farming would be combined with    
spinning or weaving wool4 ,agriculture  
of this kind1 partly for subsistence and
 partly for the market1 supplemented by 
the practice of domestic industries1    
remained the dominant type in ,england  

until the introduction of capitalist    
farming in the eighteenth century1 and  
indeed can still be found in backward   
districts4 ,the part played in it by    
women can be illustrated by a curious   
account of the duties of the wife of a  
husbandman given in ,fitzherbert's ,book
 of ,husbandry 7#aecd74  ,first in a    
morning when thou art waked and         
purposiste to rise1 lyfte up thy hands  
and blesse thee4444 ,and when thou art  
up and redy1 then first sweep thy house1
 dress up thy dysshe-board1 and sette   
all things in good order within thy     
house4 ,milk thy kye1 suckle thy calves1
 sye up thy mylke1 take up thy children 
and array them1 and provide for thy     
husband's brekefaste1 dinner1 souper1   
and thy children and servants1 and take 
thy part with them4 ,and to ordayne corn
 and malt to the myll1 to bake and brue 
withal whanne need is4 ,and meete it to 
the mill and fro the mill1 and see that 
thou have thy measure again beside the  
toll or else the miller dealeth not     

truly with the or els thy corn is not   
drye as it should be4 ,thou must make   
butter or cheese whan thou maist1 serve 
thy swyne both morning and evening1 and 
give thy poleyn#eh meat in the morning1 
and when tyme of the year cometh1 thou  
must take heed how thy duckes henne and 
geese do lay and to gather up their eggs
 and when they wax brodie to get        
them4444 ,and in the beginning of ,march
 or a little before is time for a wife  
to make her garden and to gette as many 
good seedes and herbes as she can and   
specially such as be good for the potte 
and to eat4 ,then come lengthy and      
technical directions for sowing and     
working up flax and hemp and thereof may
 they make shetes1 bordclothes1 towels1 
shirts1 smocks and such other           
necessaries and therefore let thy       
distaff be always ready for a pastime   
that thou be not idle4444 ,it is        
convenient for a husband to have shepe  
of his owne for many causes1 and then   
maye his wife have part of the woll to  

make her husband and herself some       
clothes4 ,and at the very least way she 
may have the locks of the sheep either  
to make clothes or blankets or coverlets
 or both4 ,and if she have no wool of   
her own1 she may take wool to spyn of   
cloth-makers and by that means she may  
have a convenient living4444 ,it is a   
wife's occupation to wynowe all manner  
of corns1 to make malt1 to wasshe and   
wrynge1 to make haye1 shere corn1 and in
 tiyme of nede to help her husband to   
fyll the muck-wain or dung-cart1 drive  
the plough1 to load hay1 corn or such   
other4 ,and to go or ride to the market1
 to sell butter1 cheese1 eggs1 chekyns1 
capons1 hennes1 pigs1 geese1 and all    
manner of corns1 and also to bye all    
manner of necessary things belonging to 
the household and to make a trewe       
reckoning and account to her husband    
what she hath paid4 ,and if the husband 
go to the market to bye or sell1 as they
 oft do1 he then to show his wife in    
like manner4  ,it is interesting to note

 in this extract the mixture of natural 
and money economy1 the appearance of    
domestic manufactures1 and the energetic
 co-operation of the wife in the work of
 the farm4 ,the sixteenth century would 
have had little sympathy with the       
sentimentalists who hold that womanhood 
in itself is a burden so heavy that all 
active occupations should be forbidden  
to the married woman4  ,according to    
,harrison#ei the standard of comfort    
among the agricultural classes rose     
markedly at this time4 ,chimneys became 
common1 pewter plates and silver or tin 
spoons are used in place of tinn        
platters and wooden spoons4 ,a farmer   
thinks his gains very small if he have  
not a fair garnish of pewter on his     
cupboard1 with so much more in odd      
vessels going about the house1 three or 
four feather-beds1 so manie coverlids or
 carpets of tapestry1 a silver salt1 a  
bowl for wine if not a whole nest1 and a
 dozen of spoons to furnish up the suit4
  ,food1 too1 according to ,harrison1   

was plentiful and varied4 ,the increase 
in pasture farming and the decrease in  
arable land had made meat 7often1 it is 
true1 salted7 cheaper and corn-stuffs   
dearer1 at least in proportion4 ,this   
tendency can be traced in the menus and 
accounts of the period1 and certainly   
appears in the following extract3#fj    
,the artificers and husbandmen make     
greatest account of such food as they   
may soonest come by and have it         
quickliest ready4 ,their food also      
consisteth principallie in beef and such
 meat as the butcher selleth2 that is to
 saie1 mutton1 veal1 lamb1 pork1 whereof
 he findeth great store in the markets  
adjoining1 besides souse1#fa brawn1     
bacon1 fruit1 pies of fruit1 fowles of  
sundrie sort1 cheese1 butter1 eggs4 ,a  
little lower down he notes that venison 
and a cup of wine are luxuries reserved 
for special occasions4  ,it is not easy 
to estimate the worth of ,harrison's    
testimony to the social habits of a     
class which he did not probably know    

intimately4 ,it is certain1 too1 that he
 was not speaking here of the poorest   
class of labourers1#fb those who later  
recruited the class eligible for        
poor-law relief4 ,but even making these 
admissions1 his words seem to be        
evidence of a standard of comfort higher
 in some respects than could be attained
 by the corresponding classes to-day4   
,chicken1 for instance1 practically     
never forms part of the dietary of even 
the well-to-do urban artisan of the     
present time4  ,in the organisation of  
the wealthy household1 the economic     
changes of the time produced important  
alterations4 ,the increase in buying and
 selling made the landlords more anxious
 to dispose of their surplus produce in 
the markets1 and on the other hand      
provided new luxuries on which money    
could be spent4 ,there resulted a       
tendency1 which can be traced in all the
 household books of the period1 to limit
 the numbers of servants and retainers4 
,at the same time there was a growing   

desire for privacy1 and a widening gulf 
between the upper and the lower classes 
of society4 ,hence the hall1 the general
 assembly-place for the entire          
household1 lost its importance2         
dining-rooms and withdrawing-rooms for  
the exclusive use of the family and     
guests1 took its place1 and the servants
 were relegated to their own part of the
 house4 ,partly as cause of this1 partly
 as effect1 domestic administration     
ceases to be a career for men of better 
social rank1 a tendency which would of  
course be intensified by the fact that  
in commerce1 in literature1 in          
exploration1 c41 new opportunities were 
perpetually being opened up4 ,hence     
,elizabeth's reign is a turning-point   
for the history both of domestic service
 and of domestic architecture4 ,it was  
probably about this time that women     
superseded men as cooks and cleaners1   
and it is certain that the increase in  
,elizabeth's reign of industries worked 
for profit must have diminished the     

production for use in the household of  
many articles of common domestic        
utility4#fc   7#b7 ,life in the ,stuart 
,period  ,for #aej years after the death
 of ,elizabeth no startling changes     
occur in the organisation of the        
household or in its economic relations4 
,the marked feature of this period is   
the existence of domestic manufactures1 
engaging the head of the household and  
his family1 one or two apprentices1 and 
sometimes a journeyman or two4 ,it was  
common1 indeed all but universal1 for   
the small master manufacturers to board 
and lodge their employees1 as it was    
common for farmers to board and lodge   
their labourers4 ,the larger households 
carried on at home many of the          
operations--baking1 brewing1 washing1   
jam-making--which have now passed to the
 factory4 ,there was a steady growth of 
domestic luxury and of convenience4 ,the
 development of commerce made available 
new commodities1 such as tea1 coffee1   
cocoa1 and thereby influenced social    

life4 ,furniture became more elegant1   
and perhaps at the same time more       
stuffy4  ,it would require much reading 
and research to elaborate the details of
 this progress1 and for our present     
purpose it is hardly necessary1 as it   
involved alteration in particulars but  
not in the general organisation of      
household economy4 ,the difficulties of 
finding domestic servants begin1        
however1 to make themselves felt1 and   
are amusingly discussed by such writers 
as ,defoe and ,swift4 ,it is at some    
time during this period that houses are 
first built in terraces and squares on  
an identical plan for letting purposes4 
,but there are no sweeping changes1 such
 as mark the eighty years before the    
accession of ,victoria4   7#c7 ,the     
,influence of the ,second ,industrial   
,revolution on the ,home  ,in the last  
half of the eighteenth century          
agriculture and industry were once more 
revolutionised1 the former by the       
introduction of capitalist farming1 the 

rotation of crops1 and the further      
enclosure of common fields1 commons1 and
 wastes1 the latter by the introduction 
of machinery and mechanical motor power4
 ,for a detailed account of the enormous
 changes consequent on these new methods
 of production1 ,i must refer the reader
 to the special treatises on the        
subject1#fd but we must spend some time 
in considering the ways in which the    
home1 family life1 and the position of  
women have been modified by these       
industrial developments4  ,in the first 
place1 the introduction of machinery    
meant the growth of the factory system1 
and in consequence work left the home1  
which ceased to be the institution where
 productive industry was carried on1 and
 became instead a centre solely of      
emotional and domestic life4 ,at the    
same time1 the alteration in the land   
system made it impossible any longer to 
combine home weaving1 spinning1 c4 with 
subsistence farming2 the worker becomes 
an employee in a business where the     

capital is owned by his employer1 and he
 depends absolutely on the skill of his 
own hands for his livelihood4  ,nothing 
could be more curious than to contrast  
,defoe's celebrated picture of the      
wool-weaving districts of ,yorkshire#fe 
with those districts in their present   
condition4 ,then the workers1           
semi-independent1 farming small         
enclosures of two to six or seven acres1
 laboriously produced cloth by hand     
processes in their own houses4 ,now they
 work in enormous factories1 fitted up  
with machinery which can spin and weave 
wool both easier and better than in     
earlier days4 ,they return to their     
homes for rest and leisure alone4 ,work 
for wages and the home are now          
separated1 and1 unless the use of cheap 
electrical power brings about a         
counter-revolution1 are likely to remain
 so4 ,at the same time1 since mobility  
is in modern economic conditions of     
prime importance1 it is becoming less   
and less common for the manual worker1  

or indeed for the citizen of any class1 
to own his house1 and therefore the new 
trade of the speculative builder comes  
into existence1 its place being taken in
 some cases1 specially in mining        
districts1 by the company houses        
provided by masters for their employees4
  ,these alterations in the framework of
 society inevitably influenced home     
life1 which was still further affected  
at a later period by an analogous       
movement4 ,not merely the work done for 
wages left the home1 but also many of   
the commodities formerly produced for   
its own use by each household came to be
 made by outside labour4  ,a very       
interesting and quite untouched field of
 inquiry here awaits the economist4     
,why1 for instance1 is it customary to  
bake bread at home in some districts and
 to buy it from a shop in others8       
,probably the explanation is to be found
 in the relative cheapness of fuel4     
,yorkshire and the ,north of ,england   
are close to abundant coalfields1 and in

 the days before cheap and quick transit
 the difference in the price of coal in 
the ,south and ,north of ,england must  
have been even greater4 ,at a time1 too1
 before the improvement of ovens1 owing 
to the introduction of the iron range   
and kitchener1 the amount of fuel used  
for baking bread would be even larger   
than at present4 ,therefore in the south
 there grew up a race of housekeepers   
and servants unskilled in the making of 
the delicious1 crusty home-baked loaf1  
while in the north1 even though         
conditions have changed1 the tradition  
still remains1 and the weekly or        
bi-weekly baking day is a regular       
institution4 ,but this theory does not  
explain why bread is not baked at home  
in ,scotland1 even in ,glasgow and the  
districts near it1 or in ,fife1 which   
are all situated right in the           
coal-bearing areas4  ,and at present    
there is little material for describing 
how brewing1 jam and cake-making1       
biscuit-making1 the making and the      

washing of clothes1 the cleaning of     
furniture and carpets1 c41 passed from  
the household to the factory and        
laundry4 ,it is a process which has     
evidently been much quickened by the    
growth of town life1 itself one of the  
most important effects of the industrial
 revolution4#ff  ,the aggregation of    
population in towns in the first place  
made the space available for household  
operations much smaller than was the    
case when the kitchen was supplemented  
by rows of outhouses1 a green and a     
garden4 ,in modern conditions1 washing  
at home results in the discomfort of the
 whole family1 whether that family lives
 in a single room or in a decent        
middle-class house of ten or twelve     
rooms4 ,in the second place1 the massing
 into a comparatively small area of a   
homogeneous population makes it easy to 
arrange for other methods of cleansing  
clothes1 either in the working-class    
districts by the provision of municipal 
washing-houses1 or in the more          

well-to-do suburbs through the          
appearance of steam laundries4 ,in the  
same way1 when each household possessed 
a garden it was natural to pick the     
fruit and make it into jam4 ,it is a    
different thing to buy fruit specially  
for the purpose4 ,many housewives find  
that when the cost of the fruit1 sugar1 
and extra fuel is calculated1 taking    
into account also the dislocation of the
 regular routine of the household caused
 by the extra work1 it pays them better 
to buy the jam ready-made4 ,on the other
 hand1 the use of machinery1 the        
existence of cheap methods of transit1  
and the multiplication of grocers' shops
 makes it increasingly possible to      
produce jam in large quantities actually
 cheaper than it can be made at home1   
and to distribute it quickly to the     
consumer4  ,the same cause1 acting      
within and without the home in different
 ways1 is resulting in a steady         
transference of these domestic          
avocations from the household4          

,moralists often lament this tendency1  
and attribute it entirely to increased  
love of ease and leisure among women4   
,but it is no more possible to draw an  
indictment against a whole sex than     
against a whole people1 and an          
alteration in custom so widespread as   
this which we are discussing must have  
deeper roots than a personal defect of  
laziness in particular individuals4     
,this removal of production for domestic
 use from the home operates1 however1 in
 very different ways in different cases4
 ,sometimes the article is produced much
 more cheaply outside the home than     
within1 owing to the lower cost and     
greater efficiency of large-scale       
methods of manufacture4 ,but this is not
 invariably the case4 ,laundry-work1 for
 instance1 is probably done more cheaply
 in the private household4 ,the few     
attempts hitherto made to provide hot   
cooked food from a central kitchen at a 
reasonable price have not been          
successful4 ,on the other hand1 no      

individual household could hope to rival
 ,messrs4 ,huntley  ,palmer as producers
 of biscuits4 ,the factors which prevent
 the full economies of the large-scale  
method of production from being realised
 in the making of certain commodities   
are twofold4 7#a7 ,some goods are of    
such a kind that they must be consumed  
where they are produced4 ,jam or even   
plum-puddings can be made in a factory  
in the ,north of ,england and afterwards
 transferred to ,london4 ,but roast     
beef1 omelettes1 and rice-puddings must 
be eaten within at least a hundred yards
 of the place where they are cooked4    
,this obvious fact effectually retains  
the supremacy of the home in the        
provision of hot cooked food1 and       
disposes once and for all of the cruder 
arguments for co-operative housekeeping4
 7#b7 ,certain commodities must be made 
for or returned to individual owners4   
,if1 for instance1 we did not trouble to
 receive our own sheets and towels from 
the laundry1 but simply made a contract 

that each week we should be supplied    
with a certain number1 then the washing 
and sorting could be done wholesale at a
 much cheaper rate4 ,if we sent our own 
fruit to the factories to be made into  
jam1 jam would be much more expensive4  
,thus the household will compete        
successfully with outside agencies1 in  
the case of all commodities which must  
be consumed on the spot1 and the outside
 agencies will have only a small        
advantage--will do the washing or       
dressmaking more conveniently1 but not  
much cheaper--when wholesale methods are
 forbidden by the personal interest of  
each consumer in one special portion of 
the commodities dealt with4#fg  ,still1 
regarding the matter from the general   
economic standpoint1 it cannot be denied
 that the result of the industrial      
revolution has been to transfer many    
branches of production both for profit  
and for use from the home to the        
factory4   7#d7 ,the ,position of ,women
 as ,affected by the ,industrial        

,revolution  ,this in its turn affected 
the position of women1 and is probably1 
if not the sole1 at least the most      
important reason for the discontent and 
unrest to be traced among women of many 
different classes in the nineteenth     
century4 ,but the women belonging to the
 manual labouring class and the women   
belonging to the upper classes were     
influenced in different ways4  ,the     
former had always been accustomed to    
work for their living1 indirectly if not
 directly4 ,on the little farms they    
looked after the cow1 the hens1 and the 
garden4 ,they did the carding and the   
spinning of flax and of wool4 ,true1    
these industries were carried on at     
home1 and probably the decent           
manufacturer1 then literally a          
hand-worker1 would have regarded himself
 as disgraced had his wife or daughters 
needed to go outside his home to find   
work4#fh ,but when the factory system   
came1 with the horrible sufferings      
caused by the transition from one system

 of industry to another1 the women and  
children always accustomed to toil at   
home followed their work to the factory1
 and there1 owing to the new methods of 
competition and to the absence of any   
regulation of industry1 they suffered   
hardships of overwork and underpayment  
which seem to the present generation    
nearly incredible4  ,home life for a    
time almost disappeared1 and the        
suffering and degeneration was only     
checked by the series of ,factory ,acts1
 imposing ever fresh and fresh          
restrictions on the treatment of women  
and children4#fi ,the policy underlying 
these acts was much criticised at the   
time1 and was indeed not fully          
comprehended until recently4 ,but it is 
now all but universally admitted that   
the ,factory ,acts have in the main     
achieved their object1 and have greatly 
improved the position of women in the   
districts most affected by them2 and    
reformers are constantly urging their   
extension to fresh trades4  ,this       

movement was not understood1 and was in 
consequence opposed by the women of the 
middle-classes1 whose position was      
affected quite differently by the       
industrial revolution4 ,they too found  
their occupations within the home to a  
large extent destroyed4 ,and in other   
ways their situation was altered4 ,for  
some reason not yet explained1 there    
appeared in the middle-classes a surplus
 of women4 ,this is no doubt partly due 
to the colonial expansion of the period1
 which sent young men out to ,australia1
 ,canada1 and ,south ,africa1 while     
their natural mates remained behind in  
,england4 ,it is not easy to give       
precise statistics1 as our statistical  
tables make no distinction of classes1  
but common observation and the          
description of social life in the novels
 of the nineteenth century afford       
evidence of this fact4 ,some statistics 
bearing on the subject can be found in  
,miss ,clara ,collet's#gj article1      
,prospects of ,marriage for ,women1 and 

also in ,die ,frauenfrage1 by ,lilie    
,braun1 pp4 #aeg ff4 ,frau ,braun1 whose
 book is marked throughout by           
characteristic ,german thoroughness1    
sums up3#ga ,es hat sich gezeigt1 dass  
die ,zunahme der allein stehenden       
,frauen1 die ,abnahme der               
,heiratsfrequenz und die wirtschaftliche
 ,not als ,ursache der ,frauenbewegung  
in aller ,laende anzusehen sind4  ,but  
it was not merely the decreased chance  
of marriage which made the lives of     
middle-class women difficult in the last
 century4 ,there was also a change in   
the position of the fathers1 which      
decreased their opportunity for         
providing for their unmarried daughters4
 ,the middle-class man is now less and  
less frequently at the head of a        
business of his own1 and is more and    
more frequently a salaried clerk1       
manager1 or engineer4  ,formerly the    
shop or farm when it passed to the      
eldest son was burdened with the charge 
of the spinster sisters1 who often would

 help in the dairy or behind the        
counter4 ,now1 when a middle-class man  
dies1 his hold on the industrial world1 
so to speak1 passes away with him1      
unless he has been at once able and     
willing to lay by savings out of his    
salary1 a duty too often neglected4     
,briefly1 therefore1 the unmarried woman
 of the middle-classes is less likely to
 marry1 has less to occupy her at home1 
and cannot so easily be provided for by 
her father if she remains a spinster4   
,is it then to be wondered at if women  
insist1 in increasing numbers1 upon a   
thorough education as well as the right 
to enter a profession in which they can 
be self-supporting8#gb ,but the first   
women who decided that a way must be    
opened by which they could earn for     
themselves honourable maintenance not   
unnaturally fell into what we cannot but
 regard now as regrettable mistakes1    
however unavoidable these errors may    
have been at the time4 ,their great     
difficulties were to win admission to   

the universities and permission to      
practise what had hitherto been regarded
 as men's professions4 ,therefore they  
dreaded all restrictions liable to be   
laid upon the entrance of women to      
occupations1 and were led in consequence
 to oppose the ,factory ,acts1 designed 
for the protection of women of the      
working-classes4 ,it is only to-day and 
only partially that the woman teacher1  
doctor1 or journalist has come to       
understand that the position and        
problems of the factory-hand are very   
different from her own1 and that        
confusion is created if she insists on  
judging them from her own standpoint4   
,in the next place1 they were almost    
forced to become masculine and          
aggressive in their manners and outlook 
upon life4 ,in particular1 the need of  
conformity to a system of education     
framed for men and not for women led to 
an undervaluation of domestic pursuits4 
,it was not realised that in managing a 
household and in bringing up children   

there was scope for the most developed  
character and the finest education4     
,but with the twentieth century1#gc     
college-trained women themselves are    
coming to see that their previous       
neglect of those principles of science  
and economics which underlie household  
administration was unwise and           
unwarranted4 ,of that change of         
attitude1 the new courses in home       
science at ,king's ,college are the     
firstfruits1 and this book is a small   
contribution to a movement which is     
destined1 perhaps1 to revolutionise     
housekeeping1 as a band of devoted women
 succeeded some few years since in      
revolutionising the profession of       
nursing4  ,the main lines on which the  
influence of the industrial revolution  
on women's position has operated can be 
but briefly indicated in this very      
summary sketch4 ,want of space prevents 
me from doing more than allude to other 
aspects of the question1 such as the    
employment of married women1 the status 

of women in government offices1 women's 
trade unions1 homework and sweating1 the
 prevention of infant mortality1 the    
work of women in the administration of  
charity and in local government1        
together with many other developments of
 the one cause--the alteration between  
the relations of the home and of society
 due to the changes in our commercial   
and manufacturing system4  ,i must turn 
now to a study of the economics of the  
household as it actually exists to-day4 
,,iii4 ,,the ,,present ,,organisation   
,,of ,,the ,,household  ,to begin with1 
it is perhaps worth while to notice     
certain broad distinctions which        
differentiate the household1 considered 
merely as an economic institution1 from 
other agencies engaged in the production
 of commodities and services4  ,one main
 difference is1 as was noticed earlier1 
that the household produces use-values1 
and all other organisations 7save some  
public bodies7 exchange-values4 ,or to  
put the same thing in another way1 the  

industrial world is run to make a       
profit2 the household1 on the contrary1 
is kept up by the contributions of its  
members1 and exists to provide for them 
the necessaries and comforts of life4   
,none the less is the work of cooking1  
cleaning1 and serving of real economic  
value when carried on within the        
household1 as people discover when they 
have to pay for the organisation of the 
same services in hotels or              
boarding-houses4  ,the second great     
distinction is that while any other     
business may expand to meet the demands 
of a growing market1 and as a result of 
the increasing competency of its        
organiser and work-people1 the household
 is definitely limited in scope by the  
numbers of the family included within   
it4 ,biscuit-makers or jam-makers1 to   
put the matter concretely1 may succeed  
by skilful management in enlarging their
 businesses until they supply their     
goods to hundreds of thousands of       
people1 and earn a large profit by doing

 so4 ,but the most efficient housekeeper
 continues all her life to organise and 
cater for the same number of people1 and
 her reward for her good management does
 not consist in a raised salary or      
increased profits4 ,it is1 in fact1 not 
pecuniary at all1 but is the increased  
well-being of those whom she serves4    
,important consequences follow from     
these two distinctions1 some of them    
desirable1 others the reverse4 ,the     
household is preserved1 as it were1 as a
 little oasis in the midst of the       
surrounding commercialism4 ,there at    
least exists no temptation to           
adulteration or sophistication1 or to   
shoddy work intended to sell but not to 
last4 ,no housewife would be such a fool
 as to put alum in the bread baked at   
home1 to use decaying fruit in the      
tarts1 or questionable meat in her pies4
 ,she can have no object save to provide
 the best she can for her family with   
the means at her disposal4 ,this is an  
enormous advantage1 the value of which  

it is hardly possible to overrate4  ,but
 the absence of profit-making has       
certain disadvantages4 ,it means that   
while other economic organisations are  
being constantly spurred to increasing  
efficiency by the stimulus of           
competition1 the household remains      
backward4 ,a manufacturer knows to-day  
that he must use the most up-to-date    
machinery and employ the most skilled   
management or be beaten in the race for 
commercial supremacy4 ,but housekeepers 
may continue 7and do continue7 to use   
old-fashioned ranges or antiquated      
systems of hot-water heating without any
 reference to the proceedings of their  
neighbours4 ,without doubt it results   
that new inventions make their way much 
more slowly in housekeeping than in     
profit-making industry4 ,how rare1 for  
instance1 it is to find properly        
constructed grates outside very wealthy 
households4 ,how badly the kitchen1     
larder1 and scullery are planned in     
relation to one another4 ,in how few    

cases is any attempt made to utilise    
electricity for cooking or removing     
dust1 for both of which purposes        
admirable machines are already on the   
market4  ,but there are other factors   
which also contribute to the            
backwardness of domestic engineering4   
,the smallness of the household is one4 
,it pays a large hotel1 for instance1 to
 buy special machines for cleaning      
knives1 or to instal superheated steam1 
for washing plates and dishes4 ,but     
neither the initial expense nor the cost
 of running could be met out of the     
funds at the disposal of the small      
household4 ,another reason exists in the
 fact that the average housewife does   
not distinguish between annual and      
capital outlay4 ,unaccustomed to        
finance1 and keeping accounts--if she   
keeps them at all--in a very amateurish 
fashion1 she fails to understand that   
capital expenditure1 let us say1 on one 
of the little electric vacuum cleaners  
now on the market might pay for itself  

in a short time by saving the wages of a
 charwoman4   7a7 ,,the ,,organisation  
,,of ,,the ,,household ,,as ,,affected  
,,by ,,the ,,housing ,,question  ,then1 
finally1 few people own their houses1   
and are therefore disinclined to make an
 outlay which would benefit their       
successors rather than themselves4      
,landlords 7who are frequently retired  
tradesmen or elderly ladies depending on
 the rent of a row of houses for their  
sole income7 are in their turn          
unprogressive and unenlightened4 ,it is 
often hard to induce a landlord of the  
type indicated to consent to structural 
changes even if carried out at the      
tenant's expense4 ,the builders of new  
houses1 again1 are not1 to put it       
mildly1 educated in the best schools of 
household architecture and domestic     
engineering4 ,it is true that in some   
suburbs1 largely under the influence of 
the more competent architects employed  
by the garden city organisations1 a     
marked improvement in domestic building 

is noticeable4 ,but only too often the  
hot-water system is inefficient1 the    
ventilation poor1 the grates wasteful1  
and so on4 ,i have never yet heard of a 
speculative builder who deliberately    
planned the laying out of the streets in
 the area which he was developing in    
such a way that the living-rooms might  
have a maximum and the larder and       
pantries a minimum of sunlight4 ,the new
 roads are usually all set at right     
angles to the main street1 and the      
houses rigidly planted square to the    
roads1 regardless of the points of the  
compass4  ,all these factors1 acting    
together1 prevent that general          
improvement in the construction of      
houses which is noticeable in other     
branches of industry4 ,progress does1 of
 course1 take place4 ,the pressure      
exercised by the local health           
authorities leads to improved drainage  
and plumbing2 lighting1 owing to the    
recent competition between gas and      
electricity1 has become both cheaper and

 better4 ,but an intelligent application
 of science and investment of capital   
when a house is under construction could
 easily effect still further            
improvements4  ,since1 however1 the     
household is not influenced by the      
ordinary processes of competition1      
advance will probably depend on some    
form of co-operation among tenants4 ,the
 principle of tenant co-partnership has 
hitherto been applied only to the       
construction of working-class houses1   
but there seems to be no reason why it  
should be not equally useful among the  
middle classes4 ,the advantages of the  
organisation are that it secures to the 
tenant a well-built house1 sometimes    
specially constructed to meet his       
wishes1 while his complete mobility is  
not interfered with as it is by         
ownership of his dwelling4 ,these       
apparently opposed results are obtained 
by the formation of a company which is  
the legal owner of the land and the     
houses2 but no one is allowed to rent a 

house until he invests a certain amount 
of money in the company4 ,thus there are
 two classes of shareholders--tenant    
shareholders and ordinary shareholders4 
,if a man wishes to move from the       
neighbourhood1 then he ceases to be a   
tenant and becomes only an ordinary     
shareholder1 and if he needs the money  
he can always sell out4 ,rent is paid in
 the ordinary way1 and so too are       
dividends on the shares4 ,thus groups of
 people are enabled to control the      
conditions under which they are housed1 
without being hampered by the possession
 of a dwelling-house1 which in an       
emergency they may be forced to sell at 
a serious loss4 ,minor advantages are   
greater cheapness of construction owing 
to wholesale buying of materials1 and   
the provision of a more liberal repair  
fund than is contemplated by the        
ordinary landlord4 ,it is possible1 too1
 to provide common tennis courts1       
children's playgrounds1 pleasure        
gardens1 c41 which are kept up out of   

the general funds of the company4#gd    
,the co-partnership tenants' villages at
 ,bournville1 ,hampstead1 ,ealing1 c41  
are all doing well1#ge and we may       
venture to hope that if the same        
principle were applied to the housing of
 the middle classes1 the worst horrors  
of the dreary and yet pretentious       
suburbs constructed by the speculative  
builder would soon be checked4   7b7    
,,the ,,problems ,,of ,,domestic        
,,service  ,the position of the domestic
 servant is the next subject which      
demands consideration4 ,it is a question
 which has aroused much acrimonious     
controversy1 mistresses accusing maids  
of ignorance and inefficiency1 maids    
objecting in their turn to the menial   
position and lack of freedom involved in
 domestic service4 ,yet it is curious to
 notice that the conditions of this     
branch of work have been little studied 
by the economist4 ,the number of        
domestic servants as enumerated in the  
census of #aija was #a1ccj1ghc1 the     

largest single occupation in the        
country4#gf ,but while dozens of books  
and blue-books could be named discussing
 the position of the textile worker or  
the agricultural labourer1 not more than
 three or four investigators have       
concerned themselves with the domestic  
servant1 on whose efficiency our health 
and comfort absolutely depend4  ,another
 curious anomaly is that domestic       
servants are becoming fewer in          
proportion to the population1 although  
the level of their wages is very high in
 comparison with the usual payments for 
women's work4 ,between #ahha and #aija  
female indoor servants increased from   
#a1bcj1djf to #a1ccj1ghc1 an increase of
 #h4b per cent41 while the population   
increased #be4b per cent4 ,actually1    
then1 there was a smaller proportion of 
the population engaged in domestic      
service in #aija then in #ahha4gg ,what 
is still more remarkable is that at the 
younger ages the number has actually    
decreased4 ,between the ages #ae-bj1    

there is a decrease of #g4c per cent41  
while in the number of females living at
 those ages there is an increase of     
#bh4a per cent4 ,this suggests that the 
difficulty of finding servants will     
intensify as time goes on1 as is indeed 
borne out by observation4 ,other women's
 industries are growing very rapidly4   
,the number of female clerks more than  
trebled between #ahia and #aija4 ,in the
 same period1 female elementary school  
teachers increased by over #ej per      
cent41 and the women engaged in hospital
 and institution service and in         
workhouses and workhouse infirmaries by 
#da per cent4 ,these facts indicate that
 domestic service is becoming less and  
less popular and is losing ground1 while
 other women's industries are gaining4  
,it is our duty then to consider the    
causes of this state of things1 which   
cannot be regarded with equanimity4 ,our
 steadily increasing wealth ought to    
make it more and more possible and      
desirable for more women to specialise  

in those basic industries of cooking and
 cleaning1 which are of the utmost      
importance for the right ordering of    
life4  ,the question must be treated in 
reference to the general industrial and 
social changes of our time4 ,many       
ladies1 knowing nothing of economics1   
discuss the matter as one of personal   
relations only1 and when they find      
themselves annoyed with one incompetent 
servant after another1 content          
themselves with blaming the servants as 
individuals without inquiring whether   
the difficulty has any deeper root4 ,or 
they take up a reactionary attitude1 and
 declare that the lower classes are     
over-educated and too well off1 and are 
in consequence refusing to perform their
 natural duties4 ,but neither personal  
blame nor the semi-feudal belief that   
the one and only rightful destiny of    
daughters of bricklayers1 coal miners1  
or small clerks is to become cooks or   
housemaids in the service of their      
betters will avail to throw any light on

 the difficulty of obtaining competent  
domestic workers4 ,we must study        
carefully and without bias the          
conditions of that industry as compared 
with other industries1 in order to solve
 the problem4  ,in the first place1 we  
may note the advantages of domestic     
service4 ,it is1 as has been already    
observed1 well paid4 ,some              
investigations carried out by a group of
 my students last year led to the       
conclusion that the ordinary cook1      
housemaid1 or general servant in        
middle-class households costs her       
employer in wages1 food1 house-room1    
heating1 lighting1 and insurance about  
,l#ej a year4#gh ,i have been informed  
by a lady accustomed to deal with       
servants in a wealthy household1 that   
board wages are usually #ads4 #f;d4 for 
men servants1 and #abs4 #f;d4 and #ajs4 
#f;d4 for women servants4 ,when we      
remember that in the ranks from which   
servants are drawn1#gi a workman is     
comparatively well off if he is earning 

#ces4 a week for the support of himself 
and his family1 and that a woman who    
makes ,l#a a week is a rarity1#hj we    
should expect to find domestic service  
one of the industries in which the      
supply outruns the demand4 ,again1 there
 is no period of apprenticeship or      
training necessary4 ,the servant earns  
from the first day she enters service1  
and is often carefully trained by a     
mistress in cooking or waiting at table1
 only to leave that mistress for a      
better situation the moment she         
thoroughly understands her duties4      
,again1 in many households the maids    
share in the family holidays4 ,they     
spend a month at the seaside or in the  
country1 having all their travelling    
expenses paid as a matter of course4    
,their allowance of personal holidays   
may not be large1 but at all events     
their wages run on without interruption4
 ,these advantages are the more         
remarkable1 when it is considered that  
they have been attained without the aid 

of any trade organisations at all4      
,trade unions for domestic workers have 
been formed from time to time1 but their
 life has been ephemeral and their      
membership of the smallest4 ,high wages1
 practically continuous employment1 food
 and lodging usually of a standard much 
above that in the servant's own         
home--all these are to be found in      
domestic work4 ,why1 then1 does it      
remain unpopular8  ,in the first place1 
the hours are long and irregular4 ,a    
domestic servant1 especially in a place 
where only one or two are kept1 is on   
duty for at least fifteen hours a       
day--from #g ,a4,m4 to #aj ,p4,m4 ,even 
meal-hours are not free from            
interruption4 ,the thoughtful mistress1 
it is true1 will not summon her maids at
 dinner-time or supper-time if she can  
help it1 but all mistresses are not     
thoughtful1 and in any case there is the
 doorbell to be answered4 ,much of the  
work is not hard2 in a well-managed     
household there should always be an hour

 or two of comparative leisure in the   
afternoon and again in the evening4 ,but
 the average maid is never sufficiently 
free through the whole day to go out    
without asking leave1 or to lie down for
 an hour should her morning work have   
been unusually heavy4 ,of some          
households a much blacker picture could 
be painted4 ,not merely do the maids    
have no leisure1 but they are actually  
hard at work washing1 cooking1 ironing1 
serving meals1 washing up1 carrying     
coals and hot water1 c41 for even a     
larger period than the fifteen hours    
which1 as noted before1 is the minimum  
of time on duty4 ,these hours compare   
very unfavourably with the six or seven 
hours' day of the elementary            
school-teacher1 the eight hours' day of 
the ,civil servant1 and the nine or ten 
hours worked in factories and in        
offices4  ,next1 there is the lack of   
personal freedom4 ,this may seem a mere 
sentimental objection not to be weighed 
in the balance for a moment by sensible 

persons as against the solid advantages 
of domestic work4 ,but sentimental      
objections count more decisively with   
women than with men4 ,miss ,b4 ,l4      
,hutchins points out in a recent article
 that respectable girls of the working  
class often accept quite low wages1     
provided only their employment is light1
 clean1 comfortable1 and affords        
abundant hours of leisure4 ,and women   
enter on domestic service exactly at the
 age at which freedom and some amount of
 leisure seem more valuable than high   
wages4 ,doubtless in later years many   
sweated drudges have wished that they   
had become servants instead of entering 
the jam-factory or the steam-laundry4   
,but at sixteen and seventeen1 when the 
choice was made1 the situation appeared 
very different4 ,i have very little     
doubt that one of the greatest          
objections to domestic service is that  
it removes the young woman from her own 
class just at the marriageable age1 and 
therefore decreases her chances of      

marriage1 while in some ill-governed    
households and in hotel and restaurant  
service she may be subjected to severe  
temptation4 ,the widening of the gulf   
between rich and poor and their         
segregation into distinct districts     
increases this disadvantage4  ,again1   
there is the fact that domestic service 
is strangely enough regarded as a       
peculiarly menial occupation1 in itself 
a mark of a lower social grade4 ,this is
 indicated by the use of the ,christian 
name1 the insistence on a uniform1 and  
the commonness of contemptuous terms    
such as slavey4 ,refined people are     
careful to avoid the use even of the    
word servant1 replacing it by maid1 so  
strong is this connotation of           
inferiority4 ,here again we are on      
sentimental grounds4 ,but it certainly  
seems undesirable1 in view of the spread
 of doctrines of social equality1 that  
this suggestion of a low social status  
should cling around the person who      
undertakes such important duties as     

cooking and washing4  ,another          
disadvantage is the loneliness of       
domestic servants4 ,in other occupations
 women have colleagues and companions4  
,the general servant1 coming as she does
 from a lively even if poor             
working-class home1 with neighbours at  
hand for gossip in moments of           
relaxation1 may find it very hard to    
bear up against the restraint and       
unnatural quietude of her first         
place1#ha and often ends by returning in
 haste to the factory industry she had  
been persuaded to abandon1 when she will
 find the gaiety and lively society of  
girls and young men of her own age4     
,even when two maids are kept1 they may 
not be congenial to one another1 and one
 cannot deny that to share work1 meals1 
and often bed with a woman whom one has 
reason to dislike1 is a fate we would   
all wish to avoid4  ,girls of higher    
status and more intelligence are often  
turned from domestic service by the fact
 that it affords little or no           

opportunity for self-improvement or     
recreation1 or for promotion inside its 
own ranks4 ,servants cannot go to       
lectures or evening classes4 ,the       
servant's piano or bicycle is a common  
theme for jesting in the comic papers4  
,in a large household or in a hotel     
promotion may be obtained1 but the maid 
who becomes a general servant or a      
single-handed cook reaches the limit of 
her increase in income at an early age4 
,many of the disadvantages noted do not 
apply to large households4 ,there       
companionship is to be found1 and       
promotion may be looked for4 ,the hours 
are more regular1 meals less            
interrupted1 and free time easier to    
obtain4 ,hence ,i was not surprised when
 ,i questioned proprietors of clubs1    
residential hotels1 and the mistresses  
of wealthy households to learn that most
 of them considered the servant         
difficulty to be greatly exaggerated4   
,the housekeeper of one suite of        
residential flats told me she had no    

trouble at all in getting servants1 and 
that she sent them off at a week's      
notice if they proved unsatisfactory4   
,even if ,i cannot get a maid to live in
 at once1 she added1 ,i can always      
supplement the work of the others by an 
extra charwoman4 ,there are any number  
of outworkers to be had4 ,in another    
residential hotel all the women servants
 had two evenings a week free from #e to
 #aj4cj4 ,here1 too1 there was never    
much difficulty in obtaining workers4   
,another disadvantage of the small as   
opposed to the large household is that  
the management is often inefficient1 and
 the equipment poor4 ,in these          
residential flats1 for instance1 each   
suite had its own bathroom and lavatory1
 and consequently the work of carrying  
water was reduced to a minimum4 ,i      
think1 too1 that the regularity of the  
discipline is often liked by girls1 who 
find it hard to keep to good ways when  
they work alone4  ,on the whole1 then1  
,i see no reason to believe that        

domestic service is unpopular because   
cooking and cleaning are regarded as    
disagreeable occupations in themselves4 
,it is the conditions under which it is 
carried on that are disliked1 and if    
mistresses desire to have better        
servants1 those conditions must be      
altered4 ,some of them1 it must be      
admitted1 are inherent in the present   
organisation of the household4#hb ,some 
form of co-operation might obviate      
certain of these defects2 in groups of  
associated homes1 the domestic equipment
 could certainly be improved1 skilled   
supervision and proper discipline could 
be more easily carried out1 and the     
maids would have the advantages of      
shorter and more regular hours and of   
companionship with their equals4 ,here  
again it may be possible to apply the   
co-partnership tenants' organisation4   
,many people1 however1 not unnaturally  
dread the lack of privacy and           
independence which such a mode of life  
would1 they think1 entail1 and would    

prefer to endure the disadvantages of   
the present system rather than lose     
control over their own kitchen and their
 own servants4 ,it is too soon yet to   
express an opinion4 ,fortunately1 at    
,letchworth1 at ,brent ,lodge1          
,finchley1 and elsewhere1 experiments in
 the provision of associated homes with 
a common kitchen and a common staff of  
servants are shortly to be tried4 ,if   
successful1 they will no doubt prove a  
boon to many people4  ,in the meantime  
one can only suggest that mistresses    
must endeavour individually to mitigate 
some of the disadvantages of domestic   
service4 ,it is not higher wages that   
are needed1 but more leisure and more   
society1 and an absence of the foolish  
snobbery which regards it as an amusing 
joke that a servant should wish to      
possess a bicycle or go to a meeting or 
concert4  ,the suggestion has sometimes 
been made that distressed gentlewomen   
might find a refuge in domestic service4
 ,but lady servants or mothers' helps   

only rarely prove a success4 ,their     
presence is inevitably a hindrance to   
the full enjoyment of family privacy1   
and often enough their gentility is an  
excuse for incompetence4 ,but in special
 cases lady servants turn out well1     
especially as children's nurses4 ,the   
most interesting attempt to introduce   
them into general domestic service is   
that started by the ,guild of the ,dames
 of the ,household at ,cheltenham4 ,a   
short period of training is insisted    
upon1 while on the other hand certain   
privileges not usually conceded to maids
 must be granted1 in particular1 a      
period of two hours each day free from  
duty4 ,in small and quiet households1   
specially in those composed of ladies   
only1 a ,dame would be welcomed in place
 of the incompetent general servant1 or 
two ,dames might take the place of the  
regulation cook and house-parlour maid4 
,but it would not be easy to have one   
,dame demanding special privileges and  
imbued with different traditions in a   

larger household4#hc  ,nor do ,i see any
 reason to expect that increased        
provision for domestic training alone is
 likely to improve the lot of mistresses
 who want maids4 ,the training in the   
elementary schools is often given to    
children too young to profit by it1 and 
is besides designed rather to enable    
them to be of use in their own homes    
than to qualify them to become cooks or 
housemaids in middle or upper-class     
households4 ,again1 the girls who attend
 at the special domestic economy schools
 are not usually available for ordinary 
domestic service2 the greater number of 
the students are being prepared either  
for teaching or for positions as        
housekeepers and matrons4 ,while        
untrained girls can find a place and    
wages without any difficulty1           
working-class parents are not likely to 
spend money on training for domestic    
service2 and the numbers for whom       
scholarships are provided must naturally
 be limited4  ,improvement is much more 

likely to result from alterations in the
 condition of domestic service4 ,if1 as 
regards leisure and social status1 that 
occupation could be put more nearly on a
 level with other women's trades1 the   
outlook would be much brighter1 and then
 training in domestic economy in        
continuation schools or trade schools   
for girls from fourteen to sixteen would
 be valuable4  ,failing these reforms1  
mistresses will probably continue to    
find themselves obliged to put up with  
cooks who cannot cook1 and housemaids   
and laundresses who are both ignorant   
and incompetent4 ,the irk and irritation
 of living all day long at close        
quarters with an impertinent and        
inefficient person1 which often severely
 tries the nerves of the women of the   
professional classes1 will continue4    
,these things are inevitable so long as 
domestic servants do not choose their   
occupation because they wish to follow  
it1 but because they have been failures 
in other directions4 ,therefore no      

improvement would be attained by        
shutting other avenues of employment to 
women and forcing them back into this4  
,such a line of action is1 of course1   
quite impracticable1 whatever be the    
difficulties of mothers of families and 
mistresses of households2 factories1    
offices1 shops1 elementary schools and  
post-offices will continue to offer     
employment to women4 ,but even if it    
were practicable it would fail of its   
aim4 ,work is only well done when it is 
chosen for its own sake1 not when it is 
unwillingly accepted because the worker 
is fit for nothing else4 ,and a genuine 
improvement in domestic service can only
 come about by an alteration in its     
conditions4  ,a systematic investigation
 into ,english domestic service similar 
to that carried out in ,america by      
,professor ,lucy ,salmon of ,vassar     
,college would be most useful at the    
present juncture1 and may possibly be   
undertaken by the household economics   
class at ,king's ,college4 ,professor   

,salmon issued #ejjj schedules to       
employers and #ejjj to employees1 and   
received in all #agdd answers4 ,on the  
answers received she based the          
conclusions arrived at in her book1     
,domestic ,service1 which are not       
dissimilar to those set forth in the    
preceding paragraphs4 ,conditions in    
,america are1 however1 so unlike those  
in ,england that a separate             
investigation for this country would be 
most valuable4   7c7 ,a ,,discussion    
,,of ,,domestic ,,budgets   7#a7        
,working-,class ,budgets  ,i have left  
myself very little space for dealing    
with another important section of       
household economics1 namely1 domestic   
budgets4 ,unfortunately the material for
 a satisfactory study of the actual and 
the advisable division of household     
expenditure is only abundant in certain 
classes4 ,there are a considerable      
number of investigations into the cost  
of living among the working-classes4#hd 
,from these it is clear that we must    

make a very marked line of distinction  
between the domestic circumstances of   
labourers and of artisans4 ,the former  
spend at least from #ge to #hj per cent4
 of their income on food and lodging    
alone2 yet if the family is of ordinary 
size and none of the children are       
earning anything1 they are commonly     
under-nourished and badly lodged4 ,the  
remainder of the income is devoted to   
fuel1 clothes1 savings1 insurance1 and  
recreation4  ,members of this class     
commonly wear second-hand clothes1 and  
live in tenement houses1 originally     
built for a wealthier section of the    
community4 ,it is they who send their   
children to work at any employment that 
turns up at the earliest moment allowed 
by the law4 ,the burden laid on the     
women of this class is peculiarly heavy4
 ,they must work for wages if possible1 
for every extra shilling adds immensely 
to the family comfort4 ,hence they go   
out charing2 they undertake ill-paid    
home work2 and at the same time all the 

toil of keeping the house and children  
clean and of doing the cooking and      
washing falls on the mother4 ,add to    
this the fact that if the food supply   
runs short1 then the children and the   
husband have their share first and the  
mother takes what may be left4 ,it has  
been calculated#he that this class      
amounts to about one-third of the       
population1 and is the source whence    
comes the greater part of the pauperism 
with which the country is afflicted4    
,the artisan class was found by ,mr4    
,rowntree to comprise about one-half of 
the working-class population4 ,its      
domestic circumstances differ in several
 respects from those of the class       
already described4 ,food and housing    
were adequate2 and1 save in the textile 
districts1 the wife commonly remains at 
home and the children stay longer at    
school4 ,it is this class that is the   
backbone of trade unionism and the      
co-operative movement2 it is in fact the
 true middle-class of ,britain4  ,lady  

,bell in her book ,at the ,works gives a
 very sympathetic sketch of the home    
life of the ironworkers of              
,middlesborough1 pointing out that the  
monotony and narrowness of the lives led
 by the women and the ugliness of the   
surroundings of the workers' houses are 
the main defects from which they suffer4
 ,roughly half their income goes on     
food1 which is plain but adequate4 ,the 
proportion of rent varies very much from
 district to district4 ,in ,york it was 
#ab4h1 but in such crowded towns as     
,london and ,glasgow it would be higher4
 ,there is1 however1 a surplus          
sufficient for clothing1 saving1        
holidays1 and reasonable recreation4    
,it is conjectured that the excessive   
expenditure on drink in the ,united     
,kingdom#hf must be largely due to this 
class4 ,but the evidence is insufficient
 to show whether the labourer or the    
artisan is the more guilty4   7#b7      
,lower ,middle-,class ,budgets  ,the    
next class which should be examined is  

that made up by the clerks and routine  
brain-workers4 ,as already noted1 there 
is little or no material available for  
the study of the budgets of this class4 
,the ,economic ,club published a few    
years ago a collection of family        
budgets1 four of which might be taken as
 illustrating the home life of this     
important section of the community4     
,from these and from the rather         
unreliable divisions of income given in 
some of the smaller women's papers1 ,i  
have come to the conclusion that food   
absorbs #cj to #dj per cent4 of the     
income1 and rent #ae to #bj per cent4   
,the expenditure on clothing is much    
more liberal1 and ,i am inclined to     
believe that the poorer clerks are      
sometimes insufficiently fed4  ,it      
should be noted that in this class the  
cost of education tends to be borne by  
the parent and not by the ,state2 no    
doubt there is here a genuine grievance1
 one1 however1 which the provision of   
municipal secondary schools is gradually

 removing4 ,but a thorough and accurate 
study of the circumstances of the lower 
middle-class would be of the utmost     
value at the present time4 ,it is       
certain that its needs and demands are  
to some extent at all events overlooked 
through the increasing power of         
organised labour on the one hand and the
 increasing wealth of the upper classes 
on the other4   7#c7 ,the ,budget of the
 ,well-to-do  ,probably it is in the    
budgets of these wealthier classes that 
the reader of these pages will be most  
interested from a personal standpoint4  
,under this head there is very little   
scientifically collected material2 but  
on the other hand the ladies' papers and
 the housekeeping handbooks afford      
considerable information of somewhat    
varying value4  ,it is in this class    
that service becomes an important item2 
it is in this class that the artistic   
side of life1 the enjoyment of physical 
and intellectual luxury1 first becomes  
possible4 ,in a sense the study of      

expenditure here is both more useful and
 more interesting4 ,a fraction of the   
income would suffice for the            
satisfaction of the mere physiological  
needs1 and there is a real choice       
possible in the disposition of the      
surplus4  ,therefore1 in the case of    
these larger incomes1 ,i propose to     
discuss rather the general principles of
 expenditure than the statistical facts4
 ,the latter are not thoroughly         
reliable1 and at the same time the      
circumstances of the class in question  
are better known to my readers4  ,the   
fundamental principle1 as ,marshall#hg  
states1 is that the marginal utility of 
each separate division of expenditure   
should be equal4 ,he means by this that 
our income should be so distributed that
 the last sixpence we spend on clothes  
should yield us the same amount of      
pleasure as the last sixpence expended  
on food or on books4 ,and he rightly    
remarks that to the housekeeper the     
value of keeping accounts lies precisely

 in the fact that it makes the          
application of this principle easy4  ,if
 we know exactly how money has been     
spent1 then it is possible to see that  
expenditure has been wrongly balanced1  
that impulsive extravagance on hats or  
on out-of-season delicacies has unduly  
curtailed the amount spent on holidays1 
books1 or concerts4 ,it is for this     
reason that itemised tables are more    
useful to the housekeeper than is the   
ordinary creditor and debtor method of  
account-keeping4 ,she should of course  
be able to present an accurate statement
 of the money spent and received1 but   
she should not be content with this4    
,she should further show for each       
quarter the amount spent on rent1 food1 
fuel1 c4  ,,quarterly ,,summary ,,of    
,,household ,,expenditure    ,columns3  
,a  ,food and ,cleaning ,materials4   ,b
  ,household ,washing4   ,c  ,service4  
,d  ,coals4   ,e  ,gas4   ,f            
,electricity4   ,g  ,rent4   ,h  ,rates4
   ,i  ,garden4   ,j  ,miscellaneous4   

,k  ,total4   ,l  ,guests4#hh   ,m      
,remarks4                               
----------------------------------------
--------   ,weeks     ,a  ,b  ,c  ,d  ,e
  ,f  ,g  ,h  ,i  ,j  ,k  ,l  ,m        
,ending4                                
----------------------------------------
--------   ,jan4   #i                   
#af                                     
#bc                                     
#cj                                     
,feb4   #f                              
#ac                                     
#bj                                     
#bg                                     
,march  #f                              
#ac                                     
#bj                                     
#bg                                     
,april  #c                              
----------------------------------------
--------   ,,total4                     
----------------------------------------
--------   ,weekly                      
,average4                               

----------------------------------------
--------  ,the table appended has been  
in actual use for some time1 and has    
served on more than one occasion to     
check expenditure which was unduly      
increasing4 ,it could easily be modified
 in various ways4 ,food could be further
 subdivided1 and headings for dress and 
other personal expenses could be added4 
,probably1 however1 it will be found    
better to keep one card for the         
quarterly household expenditure1 and    
others for the personal expenditure of  
the separate members of the household4  
,the amount of trouble involved is      
comparatively small1 provided that the  
different items are summed up and       
entered regularly each week when the    
household books are examined4 ,if the   
quarterly cards are then filed in order1
 they afford a most valuable record of  
household management in a small and     
easily handled form4  ,when deciding on 
the amount of money to be allotted to   
the separate items1 the first thing to  

be kept in mind is the necessity of     
preserving efficiency2 and brain-workers
 ought to remember that thorough mental 
alertness and competency can only be    
secured by well-chosen1 well-cooked1 and
 daintily served food1 by sufficiency of
 sleep1 by frequent intervals of rest   
and recreation1 and by thoroughly       
invigorating holidays4 ,extravagance    
should of course be avoided1 but the    
journalist or scientist who is niggardly
 of expenditure on these items will     
probably later on be obliged to spend   
his savings on doctor's bills or a rest 
cure4 ,a high standard of comfort and   
efficient work is the cheapest way of   
living in the long run4 ,whether1       
however1 all the conventional           
necessaries now included by custom in   
the upper middle-class expenditure are  
really essential to the brain-worker's  
standard of life is perhaps another     
question4  ,the simple life which       
consists in doing without all the       
conveniences of civilisation has been   

proved a failure by many experiments1   
but a simple life which accepted the    
comforts of electric light1 gas stoves1 
and laid-on hot water1 but abolished    
heavy curtains and carpets and that     
multiplicity of ornaments and of dishes1
 which increases the complexity of life 
without adding to its beauty1 might turn
 out to be a success4 ,in many cases1   
however1 conventional expenditure is    
essential for professional advancement4 
,the doctor1 for instance1 must live in 
a house of a certain size and           
importance2 the high school teacher or  
woman journalist must be well dressed4  
,expenditure of this character is really
 of the nature of advertisement1 and it 
is foolish to endeavour to curtail it4  
,after the claims of efficiency have    
been met1 saving and insurance come     
next4 ,life insurance is of course      
almost universal among the salaried     
classes1 and is a duty imperatively laid
 on every man whose death would leave   
his family without means4 ,but it is    

curious that other forms of insurance   
are not more practised4 ,a small yearly 
payment for each child1 commencing at   
its birth1 would provide a convenient   
sum for its education1 its start in     
life1 or1 in the case of a girl1 for her
 trousseau and dowry4 ,insurance against
 illness also is much rarer among the   
upper middle class than among the       
working-classes4 ,possibly this is due  
to the fact that1 save in the case of   
prolonged disease1 salaries are paid    
during illness1 while wages cease as    
soon as the worker is compelled to stay 
at home2 also partly no doubt to the    
fact that provision for contingencies is
 made in other ways4  ,saving and       
insurance will be less necessary in the 
case of those whose income is derived   
from land or from invested capital1 but 
should be considered absolutely         
essential by all those in receipt of a  
salary4 ,in addition a small sum saved  
and invested in some easily realisable  
security will be most valuable to meet  

special emergencies4  ,if after all     
these needs have been met1 i4e4 7#a7    
full efficiency and conventional        
expenditure 7including1 of course1 such 
an education for the children as will   
prepare them in their turn to earn an   
income in the same rank of life as their
 father71 and 7#b7 saving and insurance 
to provide against all contingencies    
that may reasonably be anticipated--if1 
then1 a surplus still remains1 its      
disposition must be a matter of         
individual choice1 and it is impossible 
to lay down general rules4  ,in some    
cases it will be saved1 in others it    
will be used to provide more material   
and conventional luxuries1 in others it 
will supply the needs of what ,american 
writers rather unpleasingly call the    
higher life4 ,certainly the claims of   
generosity1 charity1 and culture should 
first be met1 and it is the right and   
wise disposition of this surplus income 
which might well tax the highest powers 
of any human being4 ,it is commonly     

supposed to be a difficult thing to earn
 money1 but a simple matter to spend it4
 ,on the contrary1 to spend with wisdom 
and discretion is always hard1 and is   
hardest when the income is so elastic   
that a slight deviation from the best   
method is not immediately visited on the
 head of the person who has offended4   
,the artisan's wife has no easy task1 it
 must be confessed1 but the results of  
any mistakes she may make fall at once  
upon herself or her children4 ,but if   
the mistress of a large household is    
careless or incompetent1 then she may   
cause untold waste1 inefficiency and    
degeneration among her servants and     
tradespeople1 and may never even be     
aware of it4  ,a recent book by ,mr4 ,a4
 ,ponsonby#hi gives some extraordinary  
instances of unnecessary expenditure on 
food4 ,mr4 ,ponsonby is not1 of course1 
to be taken as an unprejudiced          
investigator2 he is writing rather from 
the standpoint of the preacher than from
 that of the unbiassed sociologist4 ,but

 his figures are not likely to be       
absolutely false1 and it is safe to say 
that if in a household containing four  
in family and fourteen servants the food
 bills amounted in a week when there was
 little entertaining to ,l#fj1 #abs4    
#g;d4 7,l#c1 #gs4 #d;d4 per head71#ij   
either the servants were being fed in a 
way that was quite absurdly lavish1 or  
much of the food was absolutely wasted1 
or there was dishonest collusion between
 the housekeeper and chef and the       
tradespeople4 ,in any case1 the         
ignorance and negligence of the mistress
 of the house were corrupting to her    
staff4   7d7 ,,conclusion  ,in short1 in
 place of regarding the household as    
standing in no special relation to the  
rest of the community1 it ought to be   
understood that the function of the     
housewife is of the utmost importance1  
not only to her own family1 but to the  
whole nation4 ,it is she who is finally 
responsible for the education of the    
children2 it is she who1 in the quiet   

and restful charm of the home1 provides 
7or should provide7 for her husband and 
grown-up children the recreation and    
refreshment which they need4 ,if she    
employs many servants1 then the example 
of her household will influence for good
 or for evil the homes of many          
working-class couples4 ,it is the demand
 of the household that determines       
whether the labour of this country shall
 be employed on debased articles of sham
 luxury or on well made and artistic    
goods4  ,the conscientious housewife    
could also to some extent discourage    
sweating1 if she refused to buy products
 which to her knowledge were made under 
bad conditions4 ,the responsibilities of
 the housewife place her at every turn  
in economic relations to the rest of the
 community1 and therefore it is only    
right that coming housewives should be  
trained not alone in the manual crafts  
of cooking and laundry-work1 but also in
 the general principles of economic     
science which underlie the development  

and present organisation of the         
household4 ,we may perhaps hope too that
 the principles of household management 
may in turn react on economic science1  
and may show to its professors that     
value in use1 though more difficult to  
detect and estimate than value in       
exchange1 has been unduly neglected both
 in theory and practice4  ,if to the    
management of our towns--which are1     
after all1 only our homes on a larger   
scale--were applied the principles used 
by a good housekeeper in ordering her   
home1 then cleanliness1 beauty1 and     
convenience would increase around us4 ,a
 science of economics so modified would 
recall to a scholar the original meaning
 of the word2 for what1 after all1 did  
the craft of oikonomike1 as first       
developed by ,xenophon and ,aristotle1  
mean but just the management of the     
home8   ,,footnotes3     #ac ,smith1    
,wealth of ,nations1 edited by ,j4 ,s4  
,nicholson1 pp4 #ace and         #bhj4  
,it is of course true that ,adam ,smith 

meant by this merely         what is in 
a way true1 that domestic servants earn 
no profit for         their employers4  
,he does not deny 7p4 #acf7 that their  
labour         has a certain value4     
,but1 like all the economists who       
followed         him1 he is content to  
dismiss domestic workers with this      
cursory         treatment and to        
identify labourers with the workers     
hired for         profit-making         
purposes4     #ad ,see ,principles of   
,economics 7#dth ed471 pp4 #aib1 #ggb4  
#ae ,marshall1 ,principles 7#dth ed471  
p4 #gfd3 ,the working classes had       
then no other beds than loose straw1    
reeking with vermin and         resting 
on damp floors4     #af ,thorold ,rogers
 is a partial exception4     #ag e4g4   
,rowntree1 ,poverty3 a ,study of ,town  
,life2 portions of         ,booth's     
,life and ,labour of the ,people2       
reports to the ,board of         ,trade 
on the cost of living4     #ah ,webb1   
,s4 and ,b41 ,industrial ,democracy     

7cheap edition71 p4 #fgd4     #ai       
,marshall1 ,principles of ,economics1   
vol4 i4 p4 #aei4     #bj ,there is an   
assumption here which needs perhaps some
 discussion1         i4e4 that          
expenditure or consumption of goods can 
be most         conveniently studied on 
the basis of family life4 ,this is      
obviously the case with house-room1     
food1 fuel1 cleanliness1         c41    
less so with regard to clothes or       
recreation2 it was truer         of the 
past than of the present1 and is truer  
of the poor than         of the rich4   
,in some classes1 e4g4 the professional 
class1         where marriage is        
commonly delayed and a considerable     
period may         intervene between the
 end of education and the establishment 
of         a fresh household1 it may be 
necessary to supplement the study       
of family expenditure by a consideration
 of the standard of         living of   
unmarried men and women4 ,attempts1 too1
 must be made         to deal with the  

various forms of institutional life1    
varying         from prisons and        
workhouses on the one hand to expensive 
boarding-schools and hotels on the      
other4 ,but when all these              
necessary deductions have been made1 it 
remains true that in         order to   
study expenditure we must in the great  
majority of         cases take the      
family as our basis of investigation4   
,consumption         is organised on a  
family basis4     #ba ,see ,marshall1   
,principles1 book ii4 chap4 ii4     #bb 
,ashley1 ,economic ,history1 vol4 i4    
part ii4 p4 #bfb4     #bc ,the economic 
historian must always be prepared to    
acquiesce in a         certain vagueness
 in the matter of dates4 ,he is not     
dealing with         definite events1   
such as battles and the enactment of    
special         laws1 but rather with   
social tendencies1 each constituted by a
         large number of small events2  
such as1 for instance1 the              
replacement of hand labour by machinery1

 the appearance of         limited      
liability companies in the place of the 
single employer1         or the         
determination of middle-class girls to  
earn their own         living instead of
 remaining dependent on father or       
brothers4         ,tendencies such as   
these appear at different times in      
different         industries and in     
different parts of the country1 and only
 a         misleading precision can be  
gained by any mention of definite       
dates4     #bd ,summarised from         
,seebohm1 ,village ,community1 pp4      
#aef-aeg4     #be ,gasquet1 ,english    
,monastic ,life1 p4 #aig4     #bf       
,economic ,history1 vol4 i4     #bg     
,surtees ,society1 ,boldon ,book1 p4    
#bh4     #bh ,english ,monastic ,life1  
p4 #aih4     #bi ,the ,english were     
famed in the ,middle ,ages for their    
preference for         good bread4 ,they
 would eat no bread                     
,that beans in come1           ,but of  
cocket#cj or clerematyn#cj or else of   

clean wheat4              --,piers      
,plowman1 ,a4 vii4 #bib4     #cj ,better
 kinds of bread1 but not the best       
7wastel74     #ca ,walter of ,henley1 p4
 #bi4     #cb ,apparently1 it is only   
within the last hundred years that the  
cow         has ceased to be a normal   
possession of the agricultural          
labourer4 ,see ,slater1 ,english        
,peasantry and ,common ,fields1 pp4     
#abb-abh4     #cc ,eddy1 ,english       
,house1 p4 #acc4     #cd ,england at    
that time possessed her own vineyards1  
e4g4 near         ,gloucester1 and      
produced white wine4     #ce ,rules of  
,s4 ,robert as given in ,walter of      
,henley1 p4 #ade4     #cf ,broth in     
which the meat had been boiled4     #cg 
,pepper4     #ch ,stiff4     #ci ,meals 
and ,manners of the ,olden ,time1 p4    
#afd4     #dj ,kind of sauce4     #da   
,pork1 eggs1 cloves1 currants1 dates1   
sugar boiled in a bladder1         cut  
into strips and served with hot rich    
sauce4     #db ,a soteltie was an       

elaborate confection of pastry painted  
or         adorned with paper to        
represent a saint or a figure of spring1
         summer1 c4     #dc ,spiced     
wine4     #dd ,panter and pantry1 from  
pain4     #de ,butler  bottler4     #df 
,rules of ,s4 ,robert in ,walter of     
,henley1 pp4 #ach-adj1 passim4     #dg  
,webb1 ,essay on ,gloucester ,abbey1 p4 
#ac4     #dh ,meals and ,manners1 p4    
#gd4     #di ,libes ,niges ,domus1 p4   
#fe4     #ej ,gasquet1 ,english         
,monastic ,life1 p4 #baa4     #ea ,the  
maintenance of a large retinue was one  
of the easiest ways         available   
for indicating the possession of surplus
 wealth4 ,this         fact1 coupled    
with the almost absurd over-elaboration 
of the         details of serving1      
incline me to believe that in the       
mediaeval         castle servants were  
numerous and not overworked4     #eb    
,riley1 ,memorials of ,london1 p4 #dh4  
#ec ,riley1 ,memorials of ,london1 p4   
#aii4 ,there is1 unfortunately1 no      

indication of the social standing of    
this felon1 ,hugh le ,bevere         by 
name4 ,the list of clothes suggests that
 he was fairly         well-to-do1 in   
which case his equipment of cooking and 
table         utensils is certainly     
meagre4 ,it is curious that pottery is  
not         mentioned2 it can hardly be 
urged that although in use it was       
too unimportant for a place in the      
inventory1 since room is         found  
for one small canvas bag1 value #a;d4   
#ed ,hence the name convertible         
husbandry4     #ee ,this is1 of course1 
a very summary statement of changes     
which it         took centuries to bring
 about4 ,on the one hand1 money economy 
existed in the mediaeval town2 on the   
other1 subsistence farming              
continued in ,england to some extent    
until within a hundred years            
ago4 ,yet it is roughly true that in the
 fifteenth and sixteenth                
centuries production for the market and 
not for use markedly and                

suddenly increased4     #ef ,by an ,act 
of #aehi1 it was ordained that four     
acres of land should         be attached
 to every cottage4 ,cf4 ,hasbach4       
,english         ,agricultural          
,labourer1 p4 #dj4     #eg ,see         
,cunningham1 ,english ,industry and     
,commerce1 vol4 ii4 p4 #dj         7#dth
 ed474     #eh ,poultry4     #ei        
,description of ,england1 p4 #bch ff4   
#fj ,op4 cit41 vol4 i4 p4 #aej4     #fa 
,pickled pork4     #fb ,this class is   
never described by him4     #fc ,see    
,cunningham1 ii4 p4 #gh1 ,issue of      
,patents for making ,soap and           
,vinegar4     #fd e4g4 ,slater1 ,english
 ,peasantry and the ,enclosure of the   
,common         ,fields4 ,hasbach1      
,history of the ,english ,agricultural  
,labourer4 ,toynbee1 ,the ,industrial   
,revolution4 ,hobson1         ,evolution
 of ,capitalism4     #fe ,near ,halifax4
 ,after we had mounted the third hill1  
we found the         country one        
continuous village 444 hardly a ,house  

standing out         of speaking        
distance from another1 and as the day   
wore on we         could see at every   
,house a tenter1 and on almost every    
tenter a         ,piece of ,cloth1      
,kersey or ,shalloon1 which are the     
three articles         of this country's
 labour4444 ,then as every clothier must
         necessarily keep one horse at  
least to fetch home his wool and        
his provisions from the market1 to carry
 his yarn to the         spinners1 his  
,manufacture to the fulling mill1 and   
when finished         to the market to  
be sold and the like2 so every one      
generally         keeps a cow or two for
 his ,family4444 ,nor is the industry of
 the         people wanting4444 ,though 
we met few ,people without ,doors1 yet  
within we saw the ,houses full of lusty 
fellows1 some at the         dye-vat1   
some at the loom1 others dressing the   
cloths1 the women         and children  
carding or spinning4 ,all employed from 
the youngest         to the oldest4     

,scarce a thing above four years old1   
but its         hands were sufficient   
for its own support4 ,defoe1 ,tour      
through         ,great ,britain 7#agfi71
 vol4 iii4 p4 #adf4     #ff ,the        
increase of urban areas can be gathered 
from the ,census         ,reports4 ,in  
#ahea 444 the population of such areas  
amounted         approximately to       
#i1jjj1jjj1 or #ej per cent4 of the     
total         population of ,england and
 ,wales2 by #ahha the population of     
urban         sanitary areas1 as defined
 by the ,public ,health ,acts1 #ahgb and
         #ahge1 was #ag1fjj1jjj1 or #fh 
per cent4 of the aggregate              
population2 by #aija 444 the population 
of boroughs and urban         districts 
amounted to #be1jjj1jjj1 or #gg per     
cent4 of the         aggregate          
population4--,blue ,book on ,public     
,health and ,social         ,conditions1
 p4 #f ,cd4 #dfga of #aiji4     #fg ,it 
should be noted1 too1 that the          
advantages of the large-scale           

method of production are greatly        
diminished by the dangers of            
adulteration4 ,cf4 p4 #agg4     #fh ,in 
the absence of an efficient system of   
police1 it probably was         not safe
 for women to walk or travel alone4 ,in 
the security         provided for us by 
paved and lighted streets1 guarded by   
trained         constables1 and in the  
complete safety of modern methods of    
travelling1 some of us are apt now to   
forget these elementary                 
considerations1 once of supreme         
importance4     #fi ,for the whole      
subject1 see ,hutchins and ,harrison1   
,history of         ,factory            
,legislation4     #gj ,in ,educated     
,working ,women1 by ,clara ,e4 ,collet1 
#aijb4 ,miss ,collet         says3 ,were
 statistics available it might perhaps  
be shown that         the unmarried     
women are to a large extent the         
daughters of         clerks and         
professional men4444 ,emigration is     
probably more         frequent in the   

salaried class2 and where the sons are  
obliged         to emigrate1 it         
frequently happens that the daughters   
have to         work for their living4  
,in this class ,i believe the inequality
 of         the sexes is greatest and   
the chances of marriage least 7pp4      
#cg-ch74     #ga ,p4 #aga4     #gb ,i   
cannot refrain at this point from       
inserting the following                 
quotations from ,shirley 7chapter       
xxii474 ,charlotte ,bronte's            
genius illumined the situation of many  
girls even in her time1         and of a
 larger number since4 ,caroline is      
speaking4 ,old maids1         like the  
houseless and unemployed poor1 should   
not ask for a         place and an      
occupation in the world2 the demand     
disturbs the         happy and rich2 it 
disturbs parents4 ,look at the numerous 
families of girls in this neighbourhood4
 ,the brothers of these         girls   
are every one in business or in         
professions 444 their         sisters   

have no earthly employment but household
 work and         sewing4444 ,men of    
,england6 look at your poor girls1 many 
of them         fading around you1      
dropping off in consumption or decline2 
or1         what is worse1 degenerating 
to sour old maids1 envious1             
backbiting1 wretched1 because life is a 
desert to them2 or1 what         is     
worst of all1 reduced to strive1 by     
scarce modest coquetry         and      
debasing artifice1 to gain that position
 and consideration         by marriage  
which to celibacy is denied4     #gc ,i 
am not suggesting here that the pioneers
 of women's higher         education    
were wrong in the attitude they adopted4
 ,to win for         women intellectual 
freedom was the most important duty for 
them1         and that could only be    
achieved by women submitting to the same
         intellectual tests as men4 ,but
 the problems which call for            
solution by their successors of a later 
generation have assumed         a new   

form4     #gd ,see ,raymond ,unwin1     
,housing and ,town-,planning4     #ge   
,in ,june #aijh1 the value of the       
property of the various tenants'        
companies was only a little short of a  
quarter of a million         pounds1 and
 their operations have since then been  
extended in         various directions4 
#gf ,for comparison3--                  
,number of           ,occupation4       
,persons ,employed4                     
,agriculture                #a1aig1ibb  
,textile fabrics            #a1aee1cig  
,professional occupations     #fjf1bfj  
#gg ,owing to a change in the system of 
enumeration which alters the            
basis of comparison1 the year #ahia     
cannot be used in our                   
calculations4     #gh ,the competent    
single-handed maid is meant here1 not   
the little         slavey who assists   
her mistress in the rougher part only of
         the work4     #gi ,a further   
inquiry is needed into this matter4 ,i  
am not at all         clear whether     

servants are derived from the class of  
the fairly         prosperous artisan or
 from the unskilled labouring class4    
#hj ,there are unfortunately no reliable
 statistics as to the average           
wages earned by women workers1 but1     
speaking from a large                   
experience1 ,i estimate that the average
 wage of the manual woman               
worker1 taking into account slackness1  
sickness1 c41 is         certainly not  
more than #gs4 #f;d4 all the year       
round4--,trade         ,unions1 by ,mary
 ,macarthur1 in ,women in ,industry from
 ,seven         ,points of ,view1 p4    
#ff4     #ha ,stephen ,reynolds in ,a   
,poor ,man's ,house paints this         
situation         with great            
psychological insight4     #hb ,compare 
,salmon1 ,domestic ,service1 pp4 #ade-f4
     #hc ,compare ,englishwomen's       
,year-book for #aiaj1 p4 #fi4     #hd   
e4g4 ,rowntree1 ,poverty3 a ,study of   
,town ,life2 ,liverpool                 
,economic and ,statistical ,society1    

,how the ,casual ,labourer              
,lives2 ,study of the ,diet of the      
,labouring ,classes in                  
,edinburgh 7published by ,otto ,schulze 
,co41 now out of print72         ,recent
 ,blue-books on the ,cost of ,living1 c4
     #he ,rowntree1 ,poverty3 a ,study  
of ,town ,life1 pp4 #aag1 #bih ff41 as  
to inadequacy of diet of labourer1 pp4  
#bce and #cjc4 ,mr4         ,rowntree's 
conclusions have been impugned by       
several critics1         and it may be  
that his dietary standard is too high4  
,but even if         it turns out that  
only a quarter and not a third of the   
population are in receipt of incomes    
insufficient for the         expenditure
 necessary to secure bodily efficiency1 
the fact is         serious enough4     
#hf ,calculated by ,messrs4 ,rowntree   
and ,sherwell to amount to #fs4 #aj;d4  
per family of the working-class         
population4 ,temperance ,problem        
and ,social ,reform 7#gth ed471 p4 #bj4 
#hg ,principles 7#dth ed471 p4 #aid4    

#hh ,a special charge was made for      
guests in this household1 and the       
amount received was deducted from the   
weekly food bill4     #hi ,the ,camel   
and the ,needle's ,eye4     #ij ,the    
,camel and the ,needle's ,eye1 p4 #aec4 
,,some ,,relations ,,of ,,sanitary      
,,science ,,to ,,family ,,life ,,and    
,,individual ,,efficiency  ,,by ,,alice 
,,ravenhill   ,among the many notable   
characteristics by which the last half  
century has been distinguished1 there   
are two which bid fair permanently to   
colour its records and materially to    
influence the future of our country4 ,i 
refer in the first place to the         
scientific study of man1 his nature1 his
 needs1 and his potentialities2 and in  
the second to the growing appreciation  
of the fact that the centre of ethical  
gravity must be shifted from absorption 
in the sole concerns of self to an      
intelligent interest in the affairs of  
others--that is to say1 that selfishness
 must yield to well organised and       

discriminating social service4   ,i4    
,,man',s ,,place ,,in ,,nature  ,it is  
of course no new thing for questions    
upon the real nature of that complex    
creature1 man1 to force themselves upon 
the attention of the observant1 and from
 time immemorial the philosophical have 
spent themselves in efforts to solve    
this problem by theories designed to    
detect1 even if not to account for1 the 
agencies active in the formation of the 
human mind and body4 ,the records of    
older civilisations bear testimony to   
their labours1 and are familiar to most 
students of ancient literatures4 ,but it
 was not till the resources of modern   
science forged new tools for the        
inquirer that it became possible to     
chisel out from the bedrock of fact the 
main features of man's physical and     
social history4  ,with admirable        
patience and infinite skill1 the        
scientific craftsmen of recent times    
have laboriously pieced together the    
scattered chips of biological research1 

of human tradition1 of tribal customs   
and of world-wide folklore1 until the   
dignity and power1 the beauty and the   
possibilities of human nature have      
emerged from the dust of ignorance and  
the veil of superstition4 ,the result is
 that it is no longer permissible to    
deplore in pessimistic tones the        
inevitable degradation of the race1 nor 
to accept with supineness the threatened
 deterioration of a population4 ,the    
forces by which humanity is moulded are 
no longer unknown2 the principles which 
underlie social stability have been     
identified2 the means by which the arts 
may be developed1 which make life not   
only tolerable but healthful1 are ready 
to our hands4  ,the far-reaching        
significance of these facts in          
connection with human health and        
progress become apparent when considered
 in more detail4 ,observers throughout  
the ages have gradually noted1 and      
subsequently turned to practical account
 in garden1 meadow1 and farmyard1       

certain characteristics common to all   
known forms of vegetable and animal     
life4 ,by due consideration of these it 
was found possible to improve breeds1 to
 strengthen and lengthen life1 to avert 
disease1 and generally to enhance       
economic value4 ,it may now appear      
simple enough1 to extend and apply these
 observations to the betterment of human
 life2 but many generations of human    
beings slipped away before the facts1   
dimly discerned by ,aristotle and       
,lucretius1 by ,buffon and ,lamarck1    
were clearly focussed by ,darwin1#ia    
,wallace1 ,spencer1 and ,huxley1 through
 whose skill and labours the continuity 
of the web of life was first displayed  
to the world at large4 ,the design may  
here be almost elementary in its        
delicate simplicity2 there its subtle   
intricacies well-nigh baffle            
description4 ,the variety of pattern is 
marvellous indeed1 as ,nature weaves    
with ceaseless industry the woof of     
progressive development4 ,but the warp  

of this wondrous web is nevertheless    
continuous throughout its length1       
uniting the whole into one vast fabric4 
,this basic unity of all manifestations 
of life has been further substantiated  
by another group of                     
scientists--,schleiden1 ,schwann1       
,koelliker1 and ,virchow1 for           
instance--who gradually and conclusively
 proved the identity1 in their simplest 
form1 of those living bricks 7i4e4      
microscopic particles of protoplasm7    
from which the whole vast edifice of    
life is constructed4 ,the capacity they 
possess for differentiation in their    
functions and in modes of combination   
long masked recognition of the fact that
 each commonwealth of cells1 whether    
plant or animal1 is developed in the    
first instance in orderly progression   
from a similar minute speck of          
protoplasm1 acceptation of which has    
sufficed to bring about a complete      
revolution in the scientific world4 ,to 
these discoveries were shortly added    

,pasteur's conception of the nature and 
causation of infective diseases2 a      
knowledge which brought with it a great 
accession of power over hitherto        
mysterious and uncontrollable           
conditions4 ,and finally1 man's eyes    
have been opened to the comprehension of
 ,nature's means of self-defence against
 the micro-organisms of disease4 ,thus1 
while humanity is by these means armed  
with most potent weapons against the    
inroads of infection1 decay1 and death1 
the light thrown upon the mystery of the
 origin of each individual life has     
shown man his true place in the kingdom 
of nature4 ,the application of these    
great discoveries1 together with        
increased opportunity for and accuracy  
in their utilisation1 constitute the    
basis of the modern methods of hygiene4 
,it must be borne in mind that until    
less than a century ago it was man's    
custom to dissociate himself wholly from
 the less highly developed animals and  
plants which he employed so freely for  

his support and convenience4 ,he set    
himself on the highest pinnacle1 as it  
were1 of the edifice of life1 believing 
himself to be independent of the        
influences by which the rest of the     
building was dominated4 ,and thus       
through countless ages he suffered1     
languished1 and died1 unconscious that  
the forces he had learned more or less  
to control in husbandry and farmyard    
were in their turn controlling him in   
the conduct of his life4 ,ignorant alike
 of the influences of his own inherited 
nature or of those of his environment1  
he paid no heed to the responsibilities 
of transmitting the torch of life       
undimmed to succeeding generations1 and 
gave no thought to utilising to his own 
personal perfecting the resources of    
,nature1 which he habitually employed to
 increase his wealth or to improve his  
crops and stock4  ,it was indeed to the 
control of his surroundings that man    
first gave more or less careless heed4  
,the fact that environment can either   

stimulate or stunt both physical and    
mental powers1 thrust itself too        
persistently on his attention to be     
ignored2 but the influence of a good    
parentage or of sound ancestry was less 
obvious1 and for generations received   
little or no attention4 ,vague talk on  
family temper1 family habits1 family    
voices was common enough1 but no more   
than a passing curiosity was aroused as 
to their hidden import1 nor was their   
profound significance suspected4  ,thus1
 though half a century has passed since 
,darwin placed man#ib in his proper     
position in the sequence of biological  
forms1 during which interim enormous    
strides have been made in applying to   
the betterment of human existence the   
principles found to hold good in the    
case of lowlier type of life1 public    
sentiment has so far only supported     
sanitary reforms directed to the        
promotion of improved environment4 ,and 
this in spite of ,sir ,francis          
,galton's#ic first appeal in the cause  

of eugenics more than forty years ago4  
,the distinguishing characteristics of  
progressive races and the right of every
 unborn child to be the offspring of    
healthy1 self-respecting1 virtuous      
parents have been repeatedly pointed    
out2 while attention is drawn to the    
accumulating evidence in favour of the  
fact that of all influences upon the    
individual his inherited nature is the  
most powerful4 ,yet the public ear      
remains deaf to the cry that the present
 generation is largely responsible for  
the weal or woe of their children's     
children4  ,this is not the place in    
which to discuss ,darwin's theory of    
heredity nor its subsequent elaboration 
and amplification by his contemporaries 
or successors4#id ,but the time is come 
when emphasis must be laid upon the duty
 of gaining some general acquaintance   
with the subject and its applications in
 the case of an ,imperial people4  ,it  
may be also well to point out that      
pessimism is not necessarily associated 

with the fruits of the studies carried  
on by our students of inherited         
qualities1 such as ,sir ,francis ,galton
 or ,professors ,thomson1 ,bateson1     
,karl ,pearson1 and others2 only their  
results give us reason to pause1 for    
they cannot lightly be disregarded4     
,they tell us that we hold in our hands 
to-day the mental vigour and bodily     
powers of an untold number of           
descendants1 therefore it behoves us to 
consider our ways and be wise while     
there is yet time4 ,for our             
encouragement also be it known1 that    
while the lamp of modern hygiene        
illuminates the errors of the past1 it  
sheds its bright rays over the paths of 
the present1 and penetrates to some     
extent the dim twilight of the future4  
,,ii4 ,,factors ,,adverse ,,to ,,human  
,,progress  ,it is a matter for regret  
that the sympathetic consideration for  
the sufferings of others1 which found   
such grand exponents in ,john ,howard1  
in ,elizabeth ,fry1 and in thousands    

more since modern methods of            
philanthropy were initiated in the      
eighteenth century1#ie has tended       
latterly to lose its virility4 ,it is   
giving place to a maudlin               
sentimentality1 which seeks not only to 
preserve life at all costs1 but to      
permit1 nay to encourage1 the production
 of a quality of human life1 so         
defective1 so devitalised1 that it      
threatens to minimise the multiplication
 of the fit1 by taxing them to their    
detriment with the care and support of  
the unfit4 ,so to smooth the path of the
 weakly and unsound as to put a premium 
on their fertility is false philanthropy
 and faulty hygiene2 for it is well to  
remember that reasonable exertion is    
beneficial to health2 that to overcome  
obstacles is stimulating to the         
energetic2 that some struggle for the   
means of livelihood calls forth         
resourcefulness and adaptability in the 
intelligent4 ,success in the battle of  
life comes to those made of stuff equal 

to the wear and tear of daily existence1
 and possessed of the qualities which   
conduce to progress4 ,these are they who
 are competent to perpetuate the best   
qualities of a good stock2 these should 
be the chosen bulwarks of a nation's    
progress2 nor must their numbers be     
swamped by the ailing1 the crippled1 the
 defective1 and the insane4  ,a         
proportion probably of some of the      
deeply seated1 complicated1 social      
problems which have presented           
themselves1 unperceived and almost      
unconsciously1 are the outcome of a     
one-sided study of hygiene3 these1      
combined with the slow growth of social 
science1 and a sickly1 easy-going       
susceptibility1 have been allowed to    
obscure the real issues of many         
well-intentioned but unwise and         
ill-considered philanthropic measures4  
,the necessity1 the urgent necessity1   
has now1 however1 arisen for the bold   
and scientific solution of these social 
problems4 ,the work of biologists1      

sociologists1 and students of history   
during the last ten years has           
illuminated the whole question of race  
progress and public health with a light 
so powerful and clear that even he who  
runs can read the signs of the times by 
its clear rays2 while to the millions of
 parents and guardians whose lives are  
spent in the care of children and home1 
its brilliance throws into high relief  
the dignified responsibility of their   
work1 its far-reaching worth and        
enduring influence1 as well as the fact 
that for its adequate performance       
something more is necessary than a      
bowing acquaintance with modern sanitary
 science4  ,for what is the message of  
scientific hygiene to the parent and    
householder of the twentieth century8   
,dr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,burnham1 of ,clarke       
,university1 ,u4,s4,a41 a world-wide    
authority on the subject1 has formulated
 this message for us into three terse1  
but telling and suggestive1 commands4   
,the first gives solemn warning to      

beware of fads and of the many popular  
doctrines which are mediaeval in their  
crudities and damaging by their         
unconsidered acceptance4  ,the second   
preaches the gospel of work and         
self-control1 which must be practised in
 this as in every other connection where
 progress and good results are desired4 
,the third enforces the doctrine of     
cleanliness to a degree as comprehensive
 as it is unusual--cleanliness in       
person1 dwelling1 and food2 in air1     
water1 and decoration2 in occupation1   
environment and morals2 the work of home
 hygiene being to secure for each family
 conditions which will permit normal and
 unhampered functioning for all the     
organs of each one of its members2      
elasticity and pliancy in the functions 
being a primary characteristic of       
health4  ,if once it be accepted that   
health1 capacity1 endurance1 and energy 
are more powerful weapons for a         
progressive people than are sword or    
gun1 obedience to these commands will be

 general and their results enduring4    
,the pages of history teach us that each
 nation in turn has exhibited these     
qualities at its zenith of success1     
whether it were the relatively highly   
civilised inhabitants of ,greece and    
,rome1 or the barbarian hordes under    
,attila4 ,they characterise equally each
 group of successful pioneers1 whether  
they be the ,pilgrim ,fathers of the    
sixteenth1 the ,huguenots of the        
seventeenth1 or the successful colonist 
of the nineteenth century4 ,when however
 their cultivation is neglected the     
force of the life current of a people or
 community is lost2 the mighty river of 
a nation's prosperity dwindles to an    
insignificant streamlet of mere         
existence1 soon to be lost to view in   
the morass of oblivion4  ,to what       
general causes may such deterioration be
 attributed8 ,among the more prominent  
must be mentioned ignorance of man's    
physical nature and of the nurture      
essential to his welfare2 subtle forms  

of self-indulgence2 lowered standards of
 morality2 enervating luxury1 or1 in    
some cases1 so severe a struggle for    
existence among the salt of the         
population 7the upper1 middle1 and      
professional classes1 superior mechanics
 and artisans71 that even patriotism    
does not justify a quiverful of         
children4 ,but the persistence of these 
causes is a national calamity4 ,it is   
the science and art of hygiene which is 
emphasising their disastrous            
consequences4 ,no longer in its infancy1
 no longer a mere collection of fads1   
questionable statistics1 and empirical  
doctrines1 hygiene is prepared to inform
 us how to promote human efficiency in  
every relation of life--domestic1       
occupational1 social1 and imperial4 ,its
 tenets are firmly based upon a goodly  
group of sciences1 and their utilisation
 call into play a whole range of arts4  
,its theories find confirmation in the  
social problems of the day1 and the     
experience gained from their tentative  

and partial application affords sound   
evidence of their worth to the world4   
,the expectation of life1 for instance1 
has been extended ten years in half a   
century2 in twenty years the death-rate 
has decreased thirty per cent4 ,disease 
has been found in most instances to be  
controllable1 and has been controlled2  
unhealthy occupations have had their    
dangers curbed if not entirely banished1
 and the lot of many has been           
immeasurably brightened4 ,yet the weak  
joints in the nation's harness are      
gaping1 and the vigour and virility of  
the masses appear to be diminishing4    
,again we ask1 ,why8   ,,iii4 ,,stages  
,,in ,,the ,,growth ,,of ,,sanitary     
,,science  ,the answer may be found by  
reference to the late ,professor de     
,chaumont's now classical outline of the
 stages to be identified in the hygienic
 education of a race4 ,he divided these 
into three periods1 of which he         
described the first as merely           
,instinctive1 for efforts after sanitary

 practice were dictated solely by the   
personal discomfort associated with     
their neglect4 ,in those far-off        
prehistoric days1 ,professor ,boyd      
,dawkins tells us that primitive man1   
then in his nomadic stage1 would dig    
runnels to carry off the rain water from
 the near neighbourhood of his shelters1
 or would move on to fresh pastures when
 his family and herds had fouled the    
nearest stream1 or change his camping   
ground when the accumulated refuse of   
his food and his prowess as a hunter    
interfered with convenient access to his
 dwelling2 but he took no precautions to
 prevent the recurrence of these        
discomforts1 and his efforts to remove  
their consequences were purely          
temporary4  ,to this there succeeded    
what ,professor de ,chaumont designated 
the ,supernatural period1#if which      
extended over many thousands of years1  
during the dawn of which ,eastern rulers
 often combined in their own person the 
triple callings of priest1 prophet1 and 

physician4 ,whether it be in ,china or  
in ,persia1 in ,egypt or in ,india1     
among the ,greeks1 the ,arabs1 or the   
,hebrews1 the practice of physical      
morality and of personal cleanliness1 of
 restrictions of diet or protection from
 infection1 were closely woven into the 
religion of the people4 ,reasons of     
health and sanitary advantages permeate 
the rules of more faiths than that of   
the ,jews--whose ,lawgiver embodied in  
the ,pentateuch health maxims now known 
to have been derived from earlier       
civilisations4  ,but1 remarkable and    
interesting as are the ancient sanitary 
codes to a generation which professes to
 believe in the necessity for hygienic  
practice1 their usage was tinctured from
 the first by a mass of superstition4   
,tradition and fatalism hampered true   
consistency between faith and works2 the
 often sound regulations suffered from  
their empirical foundations4 ,constant  
warfare1 varied by alternations of      
luxury with asceticism1 combined to     

absorb men's minds and to pervert their 
common sense1 so that plague and famine1
 disease and penury1 were               
superstitiously regarded as discipline  
from the ,deity1 not to be averted or   
avoided1 but rather to be accepted as a 
chastisement prompted by love4 ,the     
creed that to save suffering to the vile
 body might risk the salvation of the   
soul1 cost ,europe far dearer than is at
 all generally recognised2 for the      
noble1 the pure1 the high-minded1 the   
intellectual1 segregated themselves for 
centuries in monastery and convent1 in  
the firm faith that by denying to       
themselves the joy of parenthood they   
promoted the spiritual welfare of their 
country4 ,ignorant of their racial      
responsibilities1 they left as          
progenitors of the next generation the  
less refined and ruder elements in the  
population4 ,it is no cause for         
surprise1 therefore1 that progress in   
sanitation moved slowly4 ,domestic and  
urban conditions were permitted of a    

character well defined by the facts     
that1 in mediaeval times1 a man of      
forty-five or fifty was considered long 
lived1 and that first attempts to       
control disease were based upon         
commercial convenience rather than upon 
the saving of life4  ,to this long night
 of superstition succeeded the third and
 last period1 known as the ,rational1 of
 which the first dawnings can be        
detected even in ,plantagenet days4 ,in 
this period it is desirable further to  
differentiate three stages of           
progress--7a7 that of ,development1 when
 uneasiness made itself felt1 but from  
absence of knowledge efforts at reform  
and control were crude1 though often    
intelligent2 7b7 the stage of           
,legislation1 and 7c7 the stage of      
,freedom4#ig  ,in the first of these1   
for instance1 ,henry ,,iii4 effected an 
improvement on any former practice by   
bringing water to the city of ,london in
 pipes1 made by boring or burning a     
channel through the trunks of large     

trees4 ,half a century later1 in        
#abig-h1 laws were promulgated upon the 
subjects of offensive trades1 food      
adulteration1 and wandering pigs2 while 
,richard ,,ii4 imposed penalties upon   
those guilty of fouling rivers and      
ditches4 ,out of sight out of mind1     
however1 was the sanitary creed of this 
and many succeeding generations1 so that
 too often the apparent gain of the     
moment sowed the noxious seed of        
intensified subsequent ills4  ,sir ,john
 ,simon has pointed out that it was not 
until the early part of the eighteenth  
century that hygiene in its modern      
significance loomed on the social       
horizon with clearer outline and more   
definite aims4 ,a gradual transformation
 took place in the next hundred and     
fifty years1 when the national records1 
as well as the reports of philanthropic 
organisations1 indicate the gradual     
growth of a public opinion which        
presently sought its sanitary salvation 
in legislation4 ,the nineteenth century 

saw1 as a consequence1 the accumulation 
of a huge mass of public health laws1   
designed to accomplish reforms where    
philanthropy or self-interest had failed
 to influence habits4  ,the suggested   
designation1 namely1 the ,legislative1  
is therefore peculiarly appropriate for 
this1 the second stage of progress in   
the third period of our country's       
hygienic education4 ,to legislation men 
pinned their faith as the most potent   
weapon of reform4 ,from the first most  
inadequate and ineffective ,factory ,act
 of #ahjb until the enactments of the   
last parliamentary session1 each year   
has seen substantial additions made to  
the growing mass of sanitary            
legislation1 which has become unwieldy  
in bulk and intensely complicated in    
machinery4  ,any attempt to enumerate   
even a few of the public health laws    
which crowd our statute books would here
 be tedious and out of place1 though the
 community in general ought to be better
 acquainted than it is with its powers  

and obligations4 ,for1 truth to tell1   
fifty years of public health            
administration has proved that human    
beings are not yet consumed with a      
sufficiently strong desire for health   
and efficiency to be willing to change  
objectionable or unwholesome habits or  
to sacrifice their conception of comfort
 at the suggestion of officials4 ,indeed
 the sterner measures of compulsory     
conformity were so necessary to the     
education of the public in the elements 
of healthy living1 that the year #ahff  
saw the commencement of a new era in    
,public ,health ,department of the      
,government4 ,the grammar of common     
sanitary legislation1#ih writes the     
historian of our ,english ,sanitary     
,institutions1 then first acquired the  
novel virtue of an imperative mood4     
,must was substituted in some laws for  
may1 and though the permissive has not1 
even in fifty years1 entirely given     
place to the peremptory1 the efforts to 
effect individual reform by ,act of     

,parliament have1 since the formation of
 the ,local ,government ,board in #ahgb1
 assumed more importance and vigour4    
,since that date the reports of health  
committees all over the country record  
the substantial results of persevering  
work in the interests of hygiene1       
qualified by the fact that the          
experience of other nations has been    
abundantly confirmed by our own1 namely1
 that it is futile to legislate in      
advance of public opinion4 ,until the   
populace has been impregnated with a    
knowledge of what is right1 right       
action1 though demanded by its          
legislators1 will be perverted by       
ignorant intention or by resentful      
indolence4 ,even those who have served  
the cause of sanitation most loyally    
recognise that coercion is but a poor   
yeast with which to leaven measures for 
the public weal2 the product is liable  
to become sour and worthless rather than
 wholesome and effective4 ,one higher   
grade must be passed by the nation under

 the tutelage of a sanitary reform      
before its education can be called      
complete4  ,the final stage in this last
 long period is described by ,professor 
de ,chaumont as that of ,freedom1 of    
which the attainment is not possible    
until action is based on intelligent    
individual conviction4 ,then and then   
alone there will be a general           
recognition that rights are inevitably  
associated with responsibilities1 and   
that true liberty is followed not by    
license1 but by self-control and respect
 for the rights of others4   ,,iv4 ,,why
 ,,the ,,ideals ,,of ,,modern ,,hygiene 
,,are ,,not ,,attained  ,and so it has  
come about that1 with this ideal in     
view1 the methods of modern hygiene are 
directed to awaken the nation's sanitary
 conscience and to stimulate the growth 
of true civic freedom4 ,these methods   
may be fairly defined as the working of 
common sense aided by the results of    
scientific research1 in their turn      
supported by very carefully tested      

applications4 ,necessarily it is assumed
 that each individual will accord to    
them intelligent1 personal support and1 
where necessary1 will be willing to sink
 unreasonable likes and dislikes in the 
sea of social service4  ,examples of the
 enormous benefit inseparable from      
well-considered sanitary legislation    
could be multiplied2 though1 on the     
other hand1 it is also necessary to     
check optimism by many illustrations of 
the grievous harm still being wrought by
 want of thought4 ,hindrance to possible
 progress is also associated with the   
ignorance of those whose development has
 not yet attained the level when freedom
 of action can be permitted4 ,it is some
 of the results of this ignorant        
indolence which cause the minds of the  
thoughtful and far-sighted to be tense  
with anxiety for the welfare of their   
country1 and arouse a wish for further  
and more stringent public health        
enactments4 ,nevertheless1 again it must
 be said that to legislate in advance of

 public opinion is futile4 ,only after  
stupendous exertion1 for instance1 has  
the serious and continued mortality     
among infants excited general attention2
 and the curious1 widespread            
indifference to the recommendations of  
recent ,royal ,commissions on the ,poor 
,law and the ,care of the ,feeble-minded
 indicates that1 were infant mortality  
controllable by legislation1 such       
legislation would still fail of its     
object unless it were also realised that
 a child's hold on life is practically  
dependent upon parental care1 and is    
intimately associated with maternal     
nutrition before its birth4  ,or again2 
the law relating to the protection of   
the public food supply is approaching a 
high pitch of excellence2 the penalties 
on adulteration or on the sale of       
diseased or otherwise unwholesome       
foodstuffs are severe and quite         
frequently inflicted2 but these         
regulations are powerless to influence  
the errors of nutrition constantly      

reflected in the features of our        
population at each age period1 neither  
can they stem the tide of               
self-indulgence1 emotionalism and luxury
 which enervate and deteriorate         
thousands of our people4 ,vain indeed   
are their endeavours to disguise by     
alcoholism and drugs the traces of their
 misfortunes4 ,stern ,nature is         
relentless2 her laws are as those of the
 ,medes and ,persians2 the children's   
teeth shall be set on edge by the fruits
 of the reckless folly and intemperance 
of their ancestors4  ,is sanitary       
legislation therefore a failure1 or by  
what means can light from the sun of    
knowledge penetrate this dense mass of  
ignorance and apathy8 ,for what reason  
has it opposed such a resistant surface 
to the manipulations of the reformer or 
to the coercions of the official8 ,these
 questions do not1 unfortunately1 admit 
of concise or conclusive replies4  ,each
 political party in turn points the     
finger of reproach and derision at its  

opponents for the modest success by     
which their legislative efforts at      
social reforms are attended4 ,disease1  
malnutrition1 alcoholism and overwork   
continue to hamper their efforts1 and   
will continue so to do1 until a sanitary
 conscience is awakened in each breast1 
at an age when habits and ideals are    
still unformed4  ,there is no royal road
 to the solution of these serious       
problems4 ,they call for infinite1      
patient and untiring tact1 while they   
also demand the employment of many and  
varied well-considered methods1 based on
 a sound foundation of sanitary and     
social science4 ,the day for reform by  
theory is over2 the moment for practice 
by individual example and co-operative  
effort has arrived4   ,v4 ,,some        
,,characteristics ,,of ,,man',s         
,,physical ,,nature  ,before proceeding 
to suggest some means by which to       
increase the stability of the national  
health through the agency of family     
life1 it will be advantageous to recall 

the advice given to students of any form
 of life by ,professor ,arthur          
,thomson3--that they should1 before     
attempting to form conclusions as to its
 nature1 submit its constitution to     
analysis1 with the assistance of what he
 described as the biological prism4     
,this1 he says1 will throw light on the 
inherited nature of the creature--the   
capital1 so to say1 with which it is    
endowed at birth4 ,it will illuminate   
the functional nature of its parts1 and 
will reveal what it does in the course  
of its ceaseless activities--nervous1   
muscular and organic4 ,further1 the     
prismatic rays will render visible the  
results of some of the influences       
dependent upon the environment with     
which it is surrounded1 which play upon 
it before and after birth4              
,unfortunately these rays1 when directed
 to human nature1 cannot penetrate so   
deeply nor divulge so clearly the       
secrets of this the highest and most    
complex form of life1 as they do when   

directed to its simpler manifestations4 
,all ordinary difficulties are enhanced 
by our human capacity for racial        
admixture and the creation of an        
artificial environment4  ,this much1    
however1 is clearly revealed by a       
partial analysis4 ,human beings1 in     
common with all life1 are distinguished 
by the power of movement1 and are       
sensitive to many forms of external     
stimulus3--heat1 cold1 electricity1 or  
pressure4 ,they pass their lives in     
rhythmic alternations of activity and   
repose2 they breathe2 they absorb food  
to supply energy and to maintain        
unimpaired the substance of their       
bodies2 they excrete waste products4    
,they share with plants and animals an  
intrinsic tendency to continue their    
growth for a certain period and up to a 
definite amount1 while1 at the close of 
the most pronounced period of growth1   
ability to transmit life absorbs the    
energy hitherto utilised for personal   
development1 by which means the         

perpetuation of a species is secured4   
,research shows1 also without           
possibility of question1 that certain   
similar characteristics distinguish the 
mechanism of every type of animal life2 
though the machinery be in some cases of
 the simplest1 in others highly complex4
 ,thus have been revealed many secrets  
of man's physical nature2 as1 for       
instance1 the knowledge that1 in the    
earliest stages of their existence1     
higher forms of life recapitulate more  
or less imperfectly certain far-off     
ancestral phases of development1 of     
which living specimens are still to be  
found on the lower branches of          
humanity's huge genealogical tree4 ,by  
means also of the close and detailed    
observation of these lowlier organisms a
 clearer conception has been formed of  
the intricacies of growth and the       
prolonged process of development in     
mankind4 ,just how human beings have    
come to be what they are1 mentally and  
morally as well as physically1 is a     

still unsolved problem4 ,there are1 of  
course1 many missing chapters in the    
long story of life1 though so far no    
contradictions have been detected in its
 arguments4 ,the sad side of this       
biological lore exists in the now       
ascertained fact that the highest       
intellectual and moral powers1 those    
last to develop1 are the first to suffer
 arrest or to die away when the organism
 is subjected to premature exhaustion or
 to precocious responsibility4          
,predisposing causes are found in       
disease1 dissipation1 or defective      
nurture4  ,another of the more important
 lessons to be learnt from the pages of 
this book of life's history is the      
conservative influence of the law of    
inherited nature2 a law which makes for 
the preservation of racial types by     
suppressing wide deviations from the    
normal4 ,a familiar illustration of this
 may be found in the fact that the      
children of parents of great height or  
of very short stature usually revert to 

the average of the race4 ,the           
significance of this genetic relation in
 maintaining an efficient people was    
unrecognised until quite recent times1  
and though valuable evidence is         
accumulating on the descent of          
hereditary character in mankind1 no     
definite conclusions have yet been      
reached on the intensity of the         
transmission of qualities4 ,it is1 of   
course1 a subject of intense complexity1
 the full discussion of which is here   
impossible4 ,in the interests of future 
generations it is1 however1 to be wished
 that more thought were given to the    
conclusions it is allowable to draw4    
,if1 for instance1 says a recent writer1
 instead of allowing the race to mate at
 random we selected both parents for    
some one quality1 we could raise the    
intensity of inheritance and establish  
gradually1 by continued selection1 a    
strain in which the quality reached a   
value much higher than the average in   
the original mixed race4444#ii ,thus    

could a race be strengthened for life's 
calls1 or1 on the contrary1 until and   
unless the people are awakened to the   
existence and bearing on their national 
security of such fundamental hygienic   
influences1 it can be emasculated4 ,no  
such selection is likely ever to        
dominate human marriages1 but an        
appreciation of these and similar facts 
is fundamental to national progress2 and
 in time the dissemination of such      
knowledge will be considered a parental 
duty1 the more urgent since the         
resources of civilisation and           
ill-regulated sympathy have combined to 
brush aside the sterner laws of nature1 
so that the deteriorated threaten to    
become the chief progenitors of the next
 generation4  ,during the process of    
studying the abundant evidence of life's
 progress from the simple to the        
complex1 it becomes also apparent that  
it is affected by forces other than     
heredity4 ,recognition of the           
ever-present influence of these potent  

but often disregarded forces makes for  
harmonious living1 whereas their neglect
 is associated with heavy penalties4 ,i 
refer to the capacity for individual    
variation from the racial type2 to the  
modification of each individual by his  
or her surroundings2 and to the personal
 predisposition1 technically described  
as diathesis1 which influences the      
reaction made to every form of stimulus4
 ,of these three forces1 the first is   
the result of an inborn tendency to     
deviate from the ancestral type2 an     
orderly process with a definite         
intention1 by no means a mere chance    
fluctuation4 ,this certainly makes for  
progress as well as for interest in     
life1 though it enhances the            
difficulties of education1 because it   
demands the adaptation of conditions to 
each individual's requirements4 ,the    
second1 the law of modification1 takes  
into account the influence of           
environment upon inherited nature2 the  
effects of climate1 and food1 for       

example1 or of forms of occupation4     
,predisposition is1 of course1 a        
personal quality--a factor of primary   
importance in our susceptibility to or  
power to resist disease or in our       
capacity to withstand adverse           
conditions4 ,this property is           
responsible for the greater or less     
degree of adaptability to new conditions
 possessed by each of us1 and is        
concerned with our power to live in tune
 or at discord with our surroundings4   
,another biological law1 that of        
periodicity1#ajj or of rhythmic         
alternations of activity and rest1 has  
hitherto often suffered among human     
beings more in the breach than in the   
observance of its tenets2 though        
unquestionably conformity to its        
requirements makes for health and       
stability4 ,throughout nature habits of 
rhythmic1 organic activity are too      
familiar to attract attention4 ,of      
these1 the periodic return of the       
seasons1 for instance1 or the daily     

tides1 the flowering of plants and the  
ripening of fruit1 the migrations of    
birds and the hibernation of certain    
insects and animals1 are obvious        
examples4 ,these rhythms have been      
proved by experience to be advantageous 
in the world4 ,they make for efficiency 
and economise energy1 and1 from their   
high degree of development in man's     
nature1 it may be fairly assumed that to
 him their observance is of great       
consequence4 ,many of them are beyond   
his control2 such1 for example1 as the  
diurnal variations of his body          
temperature1 the beating of the heart1  
the call of hunger1 or the rhythm of    
growth4 ,others he can observe or abuse 
according to his pleasure2 sleep1 for   
instance1 or the rhythm of work1 or the 
daily discharge from his body of its    
waste products4#aja ,it is the work of  
hygiene to demonstrate how to combine   
obedience to all these laws with the    
demands of modern existence1 and it is  
the duty of man to conform reasonably to

 modes of life based on these           
demonstrations4 ,more especially does   
responsibility for the establishment of 
certain rhythms1 such as sleep1 devolve 
upon the organiser of a child's early   
life4   ,,vi4 ,,the ,,origin ,,of       
,,family ,,life ,,and ,,its             
,,relationship ,,to ,,sanitary ,,science
  ,further researches into the records  
of the past1 and a closer study of the  
underlying principles upon which        
humanity has formulated many generally  
adopted customs1 indicate how           
unexpectedly intimate is the relation   
between the growth of a social          
organisation and the origin of primitive
 efforts after the preservation of life 
and health4 ,the world at large is so   
accustomed to the widespread existence  
of family life that curiosity is rarely 
aroused as to its origin1 intention and 
worth2 consequently to ignorance of its 
significance must be attributed the     
assertion that the custom is well-nigh  
obsolete and the proposal of some       

would-be reformers to abolish the       
institution and to instal the ,state in 
loco parentis4  ,professor              
,mc,dougall#ajb assures us that such is 
the social importance of the family that
 all who have given serious attention to
 the question are agreed that the       
stability of the family is the prime    
condition of a healthy state4 ,this     
opinion is supported by other           
writers1#ajc who have emphasised their  
conviction that the healthful           
development of the individual--even the 
possibilities of racial progress--depend
 to a large degree upon maintaining     
intact the integrity of family life4    
,their conclusions are based upon recent
 researches into the sciences of        
biology1 sociology1 and economics4  ,the
 origin of this relation is apparently  
traceable to one of the many forms of   
human association which have proved     
advantageous in the struggle for        
existence1 when the value to a man and  
his wife of so protecting their         

offspring during childhood that there   
should be later on an array of lusty    
sons and industrious daughters thrust   
itself on their notice4 ,the division of
 strenuous work1 for instance1 the      
pursuit and preparation of food1 the    
effective defence of their rude shelters
 against the depredations of their foes1
 were substantial advantages to be      
derived in primitive times from the     
possession of a large group of children4
 ,upon the youthful vigour and strength 
of their family the parents could rely  
also when overtaken by the weakness of  
old age or by accident or disease4      
,these economic and sociological        
advantages were so early appreciated and
 are so widely adopted that traces of   
family life are to be detected in the   
history and customs of every tribe or   
community hitherto investigated4 ,the   
bond thus formed1 even amongst the      
lowest savages1 first developed1 then   
strengthened the ties of natural        
affection between a mother and her      

children and prolonged its emotional    
existence4 ,in the case of the paternal 
parent1 it is probable that the motives 
which incited him to make the efforts   
necessary for the protection of his     
helpless infants might more probably be 
found in the desire to leave an avenger 
on individual enemies and a feeling that
 funeral rites would be duly performed  
after his death1 as well as his tribe   
strengthened in war4  ,the gradual      
development of the human home has been  
admirably described by more than one    
writer1 who has associated its evolution
 with the gregarious instinct1          
recognised in many of the higher forms  
of animal life4#ajd ,within reason1     
associated numbers represent            
power--power to preserve the progeny1   
therefore to maintain the numbers1 which
 again in reason make for social support
 and independence4 ,power for defence1  
power to secure an adequate supply of   
food and ability to differentiate       
occupations1 thus dividing labour1 so   

that while the men of a family group    
were engaged in war or the chase1 their 
womenkind devoted their attention to the
 creature comforts which promote health 
and efficiency--these are all factors   
which make for progress4   ,,vii4       
,,woman',s ,,vocation ,,in ,,home ,,and 
,,family ,,life  ,and so it came about  
that to some extent woman's special and 
privileged vocation as a home-maker     
began even in prehistoric times4 ,upon  
her it devolved to rear the children she
 bore2 to cook1 to mend1 to make1 to    
spin and dye and weave2 to prepare a    
welcome for the victor and to minister  
to the sick or wounded4 ,no sense of    
menial limitation in their duties was   
apparent among the notable women of the 
past4 ,they were skilled workers1       
capable and respected managers1 under   
whose direction men as well as women    
carried out the details of daily work1  
to whose care in later centuries castle 
and garrison were entrusted in the      
absence of their lords1 and who most    

evidently assumed this responsibility   
with confidence and success4  ,the      
changing conditions of the last three   
centuries1 however1 reacted in many ways
 to the detriment of women's domestic   
energies and sapped their pride in the  
vocation of housewife4 ,industrial      
developments took much occupation out of
 their hands1 and they were not         
apparently concerned to undertake others
 more in consonance with modern life4   
,as concentration of the population in  
large centres undermined the last       
survival of feudal conditions1 the      
strong conservative instinct of women   
made it hard for them to adapt          
themselves and their households to      
revised methods3--to substitute new     
lamps for old1 so that gradually it     
seems women became split up into two    
parties1 somewhat out of sympathy one   
with the other4 ,adherence to the       
traditions of the past and the          
attractions of social life distinguished
 the one party2 a restless desire to    

give scope to their whole nature and to 
work out their own salvation on         
unconventional lines possessed the      
other4 ,in the one case there was no    
desire for domestic reformation4 ,what  
methods could be better than their      
great-grandmother's6 ,in the other1     
glimpses of what seemed a far wider and 
more intellectual life than that of the 
ordinary housewife diminished interest  
in the physical needs of human nature1  
which it was thought made no claims on  
mental faculties1 and of which the daily
 care was constantly associated with    
irksome restrictions and a position of  
financial dependence4  ,it is not       
possible here even to outline the       
numerous social and commercial          
innovations which have modified every   
side of daily life for the last two     
hundred years2 but1 when inclined       
harshly to rebuke women for some of     
their now almost inexplicable blindness 
to these changes1 it is well to remember
 that the flood of new discoveries1 new 

inventions1 new modes of transit1 new   
forms of occupation and amusement1 new  
means of money-making and fresh         
excitements imposed an enormous strain  
upon nervous systems1 still but slowly  
adapting themselves to the stir and     
stress of the modern world4 ,that eyes  
should be temporarily dazzled by the    
brilliance of the wonderful century2    
that the first results of freedom from a
 period of unnatural restraint should be
 intoxication with liberty1 is not      
surprising4 ,full of encouragement is1  
however1 the fact that an increasing    
number of women of all ranks are engaged
 to-day in efforts to direct the light  
of modern knowledge to the betterment of
 human life2 the movement speaks for the
 innate soundness of their womanhood and
 for their realisation of their imperial
 responsibilities4 ,many of these       
efforts are still unsystematised1 many  
good intentions are held to be of equal 
worth with organised practical          
knowledge2 many women are alive only to 

the needs of the least favoured of the  
community and are dead to the urgent    
calls for intelligent reforms in their  
own domiciles4 ,but if the willing mind 
be there1 the direction of the work into
 desirable channels will slowly though  
surely follow4 ,it is most certainly    
unnecessary to pour every girl into the 
mould of a conventional ,german hausfrau
 in order that she may perceive the     
inner meaning of family life4 ,god      
fulfils ,himself in many ways1 and      
diversity of training and of interests  
is as beneficial as it is desirable4    
,neither can the women of a country     
single-handed conserve this great       
institution of family life4 ,the loyalty
 of boys and the co-operation of men are
 imperative to its preservation4 ,they  
as well as their mothers1 wives1 and    
sisters must realise its                
responsibilities and opportunities1 and 
must maintain the dignified position of 
those who preside over this unit of     
community life2 they also must respond  

to the crying need for its adaptation to
 the requirements of modern             
civilisation4   ,,viii4 ,,the ,,function
 ,,of ,,the ,,family ,,in ,,national    
,,life  ,mrs4 ,bosanquet#aje has told us
 that the most important economic       
function of the family to-day is its    
direct control of the prosperity or ruin
 of nations2 for here alone are found in
 combination the forces which determine 
the quantity of the population with the 
forces which determine its quality4 ,to 
control these forces offers1 to say the 
least1 a life-work for countless men and
 women4 ,both parents must safeguard the
 character of their children's inherited
 nature2 both sexes are more or less    
directly or remotely concerned in the   
provision of a suitable environment for 
human lives1 infant or adult4 ,under the
 circumstances it may well be a matter  
for surprise that we have been so slow  
to perceive that the right performance  
of these duties demands a preliminary   
study of the art of preserving health   

and promoting progress1 and we marvel at
 the placid spirit of content which has 
sanctioned the conversion into a        
stronghold of empiricism1 the very place
 where a sound knowledge of progressive 
sanitary science is of primary          
importance4  ,in the book to which      
reference has been already made1 ,mrs4  
,bosanquet also enumerates the causes   
which in her opinion militate most      
actively against the continuance of     
family life at the present day4 ,among  
others she mentions evasion of          
responsibility1 self-indulgence 7with   
which we are very familiar71 reliance   
upon external sources of maintenance1   
and the unequal distribution among the  
members of a family of the burden of    
support4 ,further1 she refers to the    
unfortunate failure among parents to    
realise that the old ,roman customs of  
parental possession and filial          
submission are out of date to-day1 and  
calls upon the wise guardian to         
substitute others which lead to loyalty 

and love4  ,the new movement for a study
 of the characteristics of childhood and
 adolescence should materially          
contribute to the realisation that this 
parental attitude of dominant authority 
must be now associated with and modified
 by a more balanced understanding of the
 phases of youthful development and of  
the intricacies of individual           
temperament4 ,convenience has hitherto  
encouraged the customary regulation of a
 group of young lives as if they were   
one and the same individual1 no         
allowance being made for variation in   
character or in age1 in propensities or 
in health4 ,each nursery party or infant
 school serves to illustrate the point4 
,individual tendencies to cold or to    
fatigue1 to nerve storms or to          
indolence2 individual capacities in     
diet1 occupation or exercise1 must be   
intelligently respected if              
potentialities are to become            
actualities4  ,in the well-conducted    
home1 for example1 a study of individual

 character must in the future replace   
cast-iron discipline or easy-going1     
child-spoiling indulgence4 ,the fact    
that the early cultivation of good      
habits makes for healthful happiness    
must be generally appreciated2 and the  
duty of the home to provide opportunity 
for the exercise of personal tastes1 the
 importance of training as a relief to  
nervous strain and as the best means to 
develop resource and skill1 must be     
perceived4 ,it will be by this constant 
understanding supervision in early      
years1 and later by the cultivation of  
an intimate sympathetic comradeship with
 his children1 that the modern parent   
will retain for his country the         
cementing force of family life4   ,,ix4 
,,the ,,meaning ,,of ,,infancy  ,the    
great discovery of ,john ,fiske as to   
the reasons for the long continuance of 
childhood in man must not be overlooked 
in this connection2 it bears so directly
 on health and efficiency1 and is       
closely associated with the importance  

of the family to the individual as well 
as to the nation4 ,why1 it may be asked1
 is man's period of helplessness so     
prolonged2 why1 when his brain          
development reaches so high a standard1 
is he for years in a position of entire 
dependence1 whereas snakelet and chick  
are practically self-supporting from the
 hour of hatching8 ,when the lower forms
 of animal life are compared with       
mankind1 the non-existence in their case
 of any such stage as infancy is at once
 apparent4 ,they are brought into the   
world able to take care of themselves   
and to live an independent individual   
existence4 ,young pigs run almost as    
soon as they are born1 young swallows   
fly directly they are fledged4  ,now1 if
 the structure of lower animals be      
examined1 it will be found that they    
have no central warehouse corresponding 
to the human brain for the storage of   
new sensations or for an elaborate and  
original response to them4 ,each such   
animal repeats the life of its parents2 

each responds in exactly the same way to
 the contact of air1 of earth1 of food1 
or of water4 ,their activities1 it is   
true1 are distinguished by accuracy and 
despatch1 but the offspring of a hen of 
the twentieth century has no larger     
capacity for the variation of these     
activities than has the chick which was 
hatched out six thousand years ago4 ,the
 guinea-pig of to-day1 for example1     
remains mentally at the level of his    
thousandth ancestor4 ,wherein then lies 
the difference between the pig and the  
baby8  ,as animals rise in the scale1 as
 their brains become more subtle1 more  
elaborate in structure1 their actions   
become correspondingly more numerous and
 complicated1 more varied1 more         
individual4 ,the nervous systems of such
 animals are characterised by an        
increasing complexity of development1   
and this provides the machinery         
necessary to the performance of an      
increasing number of muscular and mental
 co-ordinations2 they can adapt         

themselves to unfamiliar surroundings   
and possess much enhanced advantages in 
the struggle for existence4 ,but1       
associated with these advantages1 is a  
much longer period of immaturity1       
because1 where the capacity for         
flexibility and progress is great1 the  
antenatal period is insufficient for the
 establishment of the necessary nervous 
connections or even for the development 
of the brain cells between which these  
connections will be formed4 ,the chick  
will have its full plumage in ten weeks1
 but mentally it is far below a dog or a
 monkey1 whose period of immaturity is  
much longer4 ,similarly1 the dog attains
 his maturity long before the monkey1   
who is infinitely his superior in       
fertility of resource1 power to learn   
through imitation1 and capacity for     
attention4 ,the infant in its turn is   
far longer in a dependent condition than
 the highest ape4  ,relatively large in 
bulk at birth1 and reaching usually its 
full mass in the first fourteen years of

 life1 the human brain possesses        
throughout childhood vast silent areas1 
big with future potentialities1 areas in
 which the cells are slowly ripening to 
function4 ,even after full growth in    
size is reached1 many more years must   
pass before capacity for the higher     
mental functions or for the complete    
control of such functions has developed4
 ,it must be borne in mind that1        
throughout this period of immaturity1   
errors of nutrition or defective        
stimulation may interfere with function4
 ,one of the most important duties of   
the home is to provide the suited       
environment for its child occupants     
during these long and anxious years4    
,how long they are has been emphasised  
by ,dr4 ,clouston1#ajf who has said     
that1 of all the periods of brain       
growth1 the most important1 as regards  
the development of our highest moral and
 mental potentialities1 is that between 
eighteen and twenty-five years of age1  
when the capacity for self-control      

should be coming into function in its   
highest relations1 and when failure to  
ripen in due course is fraught with most
 serious consequences for the future4   
,there is no such thing1 therefore1 as  
infancy or parental care in the lowest  
orders of animal life2 of which1 one    
result is a gigantic mortality among    
their offspring4 ,enormous numbers of   
eggs are laid to ensure the preservation
 of the species when left to fend for   
themselves4 ,the turbot1 for instance1  
must deposit millions of minute glassy  
ova or the species would become extinct4
 ,even among frogs the destruction of   
tadpoles is so great that provision must
 be made to allow for this loss4 ,the   
fostering care of birds for their young 
at once permits a great reduction in the
 number of the offspring2 but1 though   
birds give evidence of some capacity for
 parental care1 infancy1 as such1 is    
really confined to mammalian young4     
,even here it is curtailed in a vast    
number of species2 but wherever it      

exists it stands for power to progress1 
and represents capacity for benefiting  
by1 indeed depending upon1 education1 if
 only in the simple form of learning by 
imitation--a form familiar to readers of
 such books as ,long's ,schools of the  
,woods4  ,plasticity is the hall-mark of
 progress2 educability indicates a brain
 more or less competent to assimilate1  
to remember1 to compare1 to             
discriminate4 ,this door of progress has
 been merely set ajar for even the      
higher apes2 it is open to man only4    
,the period of plasticity is evidently  
prolonged in proportion to the degree in
 which conscious intelligence has       
superseded mere brute force in promoting
 successful survival--that is to say1   
the transmission of mental ability      
rather than of physical strength        
postpones maturity4 ,man alone possesses
 in full the powers of selection and    
adaptation1 of reason and of emotion1 of
 memory and of mental originality1 which
 are included in his rich heritage of   

life4 ,if he is to realise his full     
potentialities1 he must have protection 
for years after birth and an extended   
time for development4 ,the immature     
infant must be fed1 sheltered1 and      
stimulated1 if the inherent powers of   
adjustment to surroundings are to       
develop normally4 ,but so great is the  
instability associated with human       
immaturity and future potentiality1 that
 arrested development is too often the  
heavy penalty paid by the child for the 
ignorance and carelessness of his       
parents4#ajg ,faults of food and        
clothing1 insufficient warmth1          
cleanliness1 or exercise1 premature work
 or precocious responsibility and       
independence1 prolonged overstrain or   
insufficient stimulation of mind and    
body1 are the prevalent causes by which 
a child's normal growth is warped and   
prejudiced4 ,where this occurs he never 
enters into his birthright of power2 it 
has too often been thoughtlessly        
bartered by his natural guardians1      

literally for a mere mess of pottage4   
,x4 ,,causes ,,which ,,menace           
,,healthful ,,infancy ,,and ,,childhood 
,perhaps one of the greatest            
inconsistencies of an inconsistent      
nation lies in the fact that the        
extraordinary ignorance of the          
elementary needs of a tender infant is  
not confined to one section of society2 
it is found in ,belgravia as well as in 
,bermondsey4 ,thus1 though the chief    
sources of the tuberculosis which is    
responsible for the presence of #de per 
cent4 of the children in the ,london    
,invalid ,schools are confined to the   
homes of the poorer classes1#aji        
inquiries into the incidence of rickets 
among children in ,glasgow show a higher
 percentage of cases in the families of 
mechanics than of labourers#aaj--;a     
clear illustration that ignorance and   
not poverty is here the predisposing    
cause4 ,impure air and stuffy1          
ill-ventilated rooms are concerned in   
the susceptibility to both diseases1 as 

is also malnutrition with its associated
 diminution of the innate powers of     
self-protection4 ,but1 in the one case1 
inability to provide suitable food is   
the general cause2 while in the other1  
inexcusable ignorance of the right forms
 in which food should be supplied to    
young children is a certain source of   
the evil4  ,the thought is pathetic1 for
 the causes are wholly preventable4     
,pitiful also1 because less excusable1  
is the grievous injury to health        
associated with a mouth full of rotten  
teeth1 permitted as it is among families
 possessed of sufficient means to meet  
the cost of cure1 who prefer to spend   
their money upon dress and amusement1 or
 among the members of which necessary   
endurance of a trifling shock has not   
been cultivated4 ,were the foulness of  
the discharge from a carious tooth to be
 externally visible1 the aesthetic      
instinct among the refined would clamour
 for prompt treatment2 but1             
unfortunately for health1 the results of

 the disease are concealed1 and         
consequently condoned4  ,again3 light1  
sunshine and quiet are now known to be  
essential to physical development and to
 the possession of a sound nervous      
system2 the statement amounts to a      
platitude1 for is not every wealthy     
invalid despatched to complete          
convalescence by the sea or in the      
country1 and is not the custom of a     
general annual holiday due largely to   
the conscious benefits derived from an  
open-air life far from the bustle of    
towns8 ,yet physical morality is so     
poorly developed that the atmosphere of 
suburban as well as urban districts is  
permanently obscured by the preventable 
and wasteful results of imperfect       
combustion1 though the detriment is     
incalculable to those whose lives see no
 change of air4 ,the ceaseless rumble of
 noisy traffic1 allowed to disturb the  
rest of thousands1 or more probably of  
millions1 of our population1 is another 
factor responsible for the prevalence of

 unstable nerves and of ill-balanced    
brains4 ,it assumes great gravity when  
it is realised that among these sleepers
 are numbered the children whose hours  
of rest are already most seriously      
curtailed4  ,another sin against        
childhood bears long enduring fruits4 ,i
 refer to the terrible results upon the 
lives of those infants who survive      
efforts to prevent their birth4 ,the    
fact ought to be1 if it is not1 common  
knowledge2 yet the sale of the infamous 
drugs1 necessary to the crime1 by       
pennyworths1 in every drug-store1 is    
tacitly sanctioned by the community4    
,professor ,sadler's#aaa determination  
to direct attention to the requirements 
of our adolescents has aroused such     
response1 that excuse is now impossible 
for ignoring the detrimental effects    
upon young people of unskilled1         
exhausting blind alley work1 or of      
removing prematurely the restraint of   
moral discipline and systematised       
training4#aab ,statistics show not only 

the economic disasters which result from
 the unsatisfactory methods of past     
years2 they bring home also the steady  
increase in the percentage of the       
proportion of nervous instability as    
well as of anaemia1 which interfere with
 the form of brain growth so rapid in   
adolescence 7namely1 increase in        
complexity of association1 and in power 
to inhibit1 to reason1 and to           
concentrate74 ,another result of these  
investigations is to draw attention to  
the increase in organic heart disease1  
which has been shown to occur in more   
than thirty per cent4 of the ,london    
errand boys who are engaged in prolonged
 work on ,saturdays1 as well as in      
out-of-school hours during the week4#aac
  ,should not parents inform themselves 
diligently on these matters8 for there  
are warnings and to spare from physician
 and educationalist upon this reckless  
wreckage of the nation's most valuable  
asset4 ,it was pointed out ten years ago
 that the imposition of adult duties    

upon the child1 or even upon the young  
adolescent1 is the most effective       
machinery for the manufacture of the    
unemployed and the unemployable4 ,only  
now1 however1 are bye-laws being        
sanctioned which impose at all adequate 
restrictions upon child labour4 ,for a  
longer period the steady migration of   
the rural population from country to    
towns has been bemoaned1 as coupled with
 the risk lest the deterioration of the 
individual decline into the degeneration
 of the race4 ,nevertheless1 in spite of
 the sustained efforts of the ,rural    
,housing ,association and of private    
individuals1 the housing problem still  
lies at the root of some at least of    
this exodus4 ,miserable and inconvenient
 as are hundreds of our cottages1 their 
number is still insufficient in many    
places to meet the demand2 so perforce  
the young people of marriageable age    
must go1 or the elementary code of      
decency must be violated4  ,the curse of
 alcohol1#aad too1 lies heavy on our    

land2 it shortens life1 incapacitates   
for work1 impoverishes and degrades2    
visits in innumerable forms the sins of 
the parents upon their innocent yet     
grievously afflicted children2 promotes 
crime and perverts judgment4 ,each year 
brings more statistical and biological  
evidence of its enduring and            
deteriorating effects upon humanity4 ,it
 seems strange1 therefore1 that the law 
to insist upon the provision of an      
adequate water supply for every dwelling
 remains entirely insufficient to meet  
the most urgent needs of many town      
streets as well as country villages4    
,cleanliness is consequently impossible1
 and the public-house must be perforce  
frequented1 for it provides a beverage  
more palatable and perhaps as wholesome 
as the cottager's nearest supply4       
,,xi4 ,,the ,,source ,,of ,,these       
,,causes ,,to ,,be ,,found ,,in ,,faulty
 ,,administration ,,of ,,the ,,home     
,may not the causes of some considerable
 proportion of this apathy be traced to 

a want of popular faith in the teachings
 of hygiene8 ,is not one source of the  
prevalent unbelief in its tenets to be  
found in the widespread ignorance of the
 right administration of human life in  
the home1 which turns out therefore a   
product of unhealthy1 inharmonious      
citizens1 who are a source of weakness  
to their country and a menace to        
civilisation8 ,how could it be          
otherwise8 ,if the cradle of life be    
defective1 and its occupants be         
debilitated1 it is not the nurslings    
alone upon whom the penalties will fall2
 whereas if home administration be      
guided by intelligence1 and the quality 
of the inmates be high1 individual and  
national prosperity are assured4 ,the   
burden of responsibility or the         
privilege of promoting progress         
7according to the spirit in which       
obligations are assumed7 rests with     
those who propose to be or already are  
parents2 they being influenced in their 
turn by the educational and social      

conditions of their surroundings4       
,parental care and intelligent home     
management are thus intimately concerned
 with the physical evolution of the     
race1 as well as with its moral         
development4 ,they must1 therefore1     
assume an increasing rather than a      
diminishing importance1 if the full     
development of potentialities is to be  
insured in the rising generation1 and   
racial progress promoted4 ,any          
proclivity to depreciate the dignity or 
to undermine the influence of these     
institutions must be carefully examined 
and1 if necessary1 sternly repressed4   
,the fact that such tendencies show     
signs of sprouting is1 it seems to me1 a
 serious reflection upon the parental   
and domestic methods of the day4 ,there 
is no smoke without fuel2 faults are    
rarely all on one side2 the young are   
not necessarily always in the wrong2    
therefore1 a course of self-examination 
into their methods and motives may be a 
wholesome and fruitful discipline for   

those who are responsible for the nature
 and nurture of our children1 and for   
the stability and efficiency of         
adolescent and adult4 ,the absence of   
elasticity and adaptation to modern     
requirements among the elders of a      
family is often responsible for         
miserable homes1 and for much arrested  
development in their inmates4   ,,xii4  
,,harmonies ,,and ,,disharmonies ,,in   
,,human ,,life  ,such a condition of    
affairs is1 however1 no longer to be    
tolerated2 for the result of research   
carried out during the past and present 
centuries has opened up a hitherto      
unsuspected vista of progress to        
mankind1 if and when he is intelligent  
enough to establish an harmonious unison
 between himself and his environment4   
,once the jarring discords of debility1 
disease1 and deterioration have been    
modulated into the major chords of      
health--moral and physical--the latent  
potentialities of his higher life will  
be quickened into productive activity4  

,the misconception of humanity which has
 denied to it the power to rise above   
the level of present attainments1 which 
has dwelt insistently upon the hopeless 
degradation of the body1 has brought    
about a condition of enervating and     
passive fatalism1 based upon the        
conviction that all reforming efforts   
must be directed solely to the          
preparation of one part only of man's   
triune nature for another and future    
sphere of existence4 ,the duty and      
possibility of building a fit temple for
 man's spiritual nature here and now is 
the ideal of a minority to-day--in the  
future it will be that of an            
overwhelming majority2 for the proofs of
 human capacity for progress1 of man's  
power to control the forces of nature1  
are ever becoming more firmly           
authenticated1 and all that they imply  
will soon become far better understood4 
,though our knowledge of the subject is 
still incomplete and often tentative1   
much progress has been made1 for        

instance1 in a correct conception of the
 means by which the physiological       
balance of human life is adjusted1 since
 ,metchnikoff#aae drew attention to the 
interference brought about in man's     
normal development by certain           
fundamental disharmonies in his         
constitution1 of which the end is       
premature death1 if not a pathological  
old age4 ,it is quite evident that      
unjustifiable encroachments upon the    
reserve powers of the human body have   
been commonly permitted hitherto1 and   
though each year brings fresh proof of  
the extraordinary endowment which it    
possesses to respond to the demands made
 upon it1 yet each year also confirms   
the conviction that this reserve fund   
must in future be husbanded and used    
with economy4 ,when these powers are    
constantly drawn upon the body is       
necessarily reduced to a lower level of 
health4 ,if the metaphor be employed of 
the body as a building in course of     
erection1 it becomes obvious that if one

 of a group of converging thrusts be    
much weakened or withdrawn1 a skilful   
rearrangement of forces may meet the    
strain1 but the total strength of the   
structure is reduced4 ,in how many cases
 has the temple of a child's body been  
permanently damaged by such withdrawals1
 or how many adolescents are launched   
into life with their capital of health  
seriously diminished by premature calls 
upon its resources4  ,the duty to       
maintain so far as possible a condition 
of physiological equilibrium in         
ourselves and in our children amounts to
 an obligation2 for which reason health 
promotion during the plastic period of  
early life assumes a new importance4 ,of
 course1 a certain capacity for         
vicarious activity is associated with   
the various organs of the body in order 
to maintain their functions against     
temporary failure4 ,healthy tissues are 
furnished with power to respond to      
increased call for exertion4 ,how often 
are they most sorely abused and unwisely

 taxed8 ,even now1 when made aware of   
these facts1 we are slow to apply to the
 conduct of life the lessons thus taught
 us1 and continue to be filled with     
self-commiseration for the results to   
our bodies of overtaxing their capacity 
for accurate readjustment4  ,it is not  
possible1 much less desirable1 that the 
whole population should plunge into     
amateur studies of recent physiological 
advance1 nor even that it should dabble1
 as its units are too much disposed to  
do1 in pseudo-scientific pathological   
publications4 ,but it is both possible  
and desirable for all who assume the    
direction of their own lives or those of
 children to read1 mark1 learn1 and     
inwardly digest some fruits of the      
labours of others in the garden of      
health4  ,were there one fixed standard 
of health to which all could attain1 the
 practice of hygiene would be attended  
by a charming simplicity4               
,unfortunately1 modern science forces us
 to conclude that each individual can   

only reach his own particular standard  
of well-being4 ,the grades of health are
 consequently infinite in number1 and   
the task which devolves on parents and  
guardians to secure that the standard   
possible to each child under their care 
be attained is no light one4 ,so general
 is the blindness to these truths1 that 
the degree of health enjoyed is in most 
cases far below the possible standard2  
the results of ancestral vice1 of       
parental ignorance1 or of defective     
environment having sapped prematurely   
the springs of progressive              
potentiality4#aaf ,the mental and       
physical balance is thus rendered       
relatively less stable and the powers of
 resistance to adverse conditions are   
diminished4  ,happily1 by virtue of its 
inherent power1 but strictly in         
proportion to the vigour of this power1 
an organism is usually able to strike a 
new balance2 for the capacity to regain 
its equilibrium is exquisitely delicate 
in human nature1 if the change be       

neither too sudden nor too severe4      
,throughout life this process of        
self-adaptation to the presence of      
morbid influences is constantly         
exercising its protective power4 ,if1   
however1 the effort to overcome         
disadvantageous conditions be very great
 or much prolonged1 the life of the     
individual is never quite so vigorous   
and symmetrical as it might and should  
have been4 ,in a luminous address1      
delivered at the ,university of ,leeds  
some few months ago1#aag ,lord ,justice 
,fletcher ,moulton instituted a         
comparison between the human organism1  
which invariably tends to swing back to 
the normal whenever the balance of      
health is disturbed1 and a ship which   
has safely weathered a stormy voyage4   
,the ship1 he writes1 is not stable1 if 
stability means that she can defy the   
forces that bear on her to move her from
 her normal upright position1 for 444   
the slightest roll of the sea 444 will  
make her heel over4 ,but she is stable1 

because when made to lean over1 there is
 thereby generated a system of forces   
tending to return her to her place1     
which grows greater the greater is the  
displacement1 and thus ultimately       
becomes sufficient to overpower the     
disturbing forces4444 ,as the ship      
arrives safely1 her construction must be
 such that disturbances tend to right   
themselves when stability is seriously  
endangered4 ,some corresponding righting
 force also tends to bring back an      
organism to its normal state4  ,the     
caution may not be amiss that the       
amplitude of the swing of a human       
pendulum1 as well as the accuracy of its
 final balance1 depends not only upon   
inherited nature and the amount of      
reserve force possessed1 but will be    
stable or feeble1 durable or transient1 
according to the influence of           
environment4  ,in what way1 it will be  
asked1 can individual capacity for      
health be gauged8 to what degree can the
 power to progress or to resist         

encroachments be strengthened8 at what  
age is intelligent supervision most     
important8  ,no concise and conclusive  
answers can be given to these most      
natural inquiries1 but much light has   
been recently thrown upon the long      
duration of immaturity and associated   
instability in mankind2 upon the power  
of self-protection inherent in the      
body2#aah upon the influence thereon of 
its environment2 upon the penetrating   
power of heredity2 and upon the urgent  
importance of the adolescent period4    
,further1 it appears that the healthful 
body is equipped to withstand the attack
 of the bacteria of most diseases1      
though the mechanism of self-defence is 
of more kinds than one4 ,of the         
different pathological bacteria         
identified up to the present1 for       
instance1 some appear to be eminently   
sensible to one kind of action of normal
 blood fluids1 while they are in a much 
less measure sensible1 or are1 perhaps1 
entirely insensible to others2 a        

complication which enhances our         
respectful admiration for the marvellous
 and intricate system which provides for
 our bodily welfare4 ,obviously1 human  
nature would be practically immune from 
disease if this protective machinery    
were always in good working order3      
unfortunately this is not invariably the
 case--hence disease4 ,it is the duty of
 hygiene to insure constant physical    
equilibrium1 but the intricate tactics  
of ,nature are as yet so imperfectly    
understood that man is not yet an ally  
of great worth in her operations4       
,nevertheless1 the perception that the  
secret of individual health lies in     
fostering the resistant or protective   
elements1 which should be present in    
normal blood1 marks a great step in     
advance2 for from it have originated    
measures to curtail the course of an    
illness and to reduce the risk of its   
recurrence4 ,it is hardly ,utopian to   
forecast1 as ,sir ,almroth ,wright has  
done1 that the physician of the future  

will take upon himself a still higher   
role than he has hitherto assumed in    
this work of the prevention of          
ill-health1 for he will attempt1 by     
means of systematically strengthening   
individual capacity for resistance to   
disease1 to remove the necessity for    
curing those who have fallen victims to 
its attacks4 ,the gain in health1 in    
happiness1 in time and in money would be
 incalculable4 ,for instance1 had the   
death-rate all over ,england during     
#aijh stood at #ac4h per thousand1      
instead of at favoured places only1 no  
less than #cc1hca lives would have been 
saved4 ,of these deaths1 one-fifth were 
those of infants under twelve months    
old1 the majority of them wholly        
preventable4 ,what a reckless waste of  
racial and national capital2 what an    
unnecessary cause of bitter sorrow and  
disappointment2 what a source of        
unprofitable expenditure6 ,the          
calculation has been made that for each 
death there are at least six cases of   

more or less serious illness1 involving 
confinement to bed for a few days or a  
few weeks as the case may be4 ,a simple 
multiplication sum will enable the      
reader to estimate the amount of serious
 illness represented by the total       
arrived at3 the loss in time1 health1   
happiness and efficiency is             
incalculable4  ,the bright prospects for
 human health in the future1 therefore1 
rely largely upon the use which will be 
made of this protective machinery1 and  
the prospective gain to humanity lies in
 the hope that when family histories are
 kept systematically and the inherited  
tendencies of a child are far more      
accurately known1 the invading forces of
 disease will never get a footing1      
because precautions to strengthen the   
body's own defensive powers will be     
taken as a matter of routine practice4  
,the physiological balance being thus   
preserved from disturbance1 the great   
fund of energy now utilised to resist   
encroachments will be available for     

productive purposes4  ,so great a       
reformation cannot of course be brought 
about till shame is felt for the        
scandalously low standard of health now 
common among all classes1 nor until a   
general determination is developed to   
remove the minor miseries from which we 
all suffer more or less impatiently4    
,,xiii4 ,,the ,,importance ,,of ,,mental
 ,,hygiene ,,in ,,family ,,life  ,the   
result of a curious obtuseness to the   
economics of personal and domestic      
hygiene is also responsible for another 
serious dereliction of parental duty1 by
 which health and progress have been    
grievously1 though quite unnecessarily  
and constantly1 hampered4 ,i refer to   
the general failure to economise nervous
 energy or to take any interest in what 
is rightly called mental hygiene4 ,yet  
,press and people alike deplore the     
evident increase of mental              
abnormalities1 and anticipate the future
 with undisguised anxiety4 ,it has been 
well said that though men carry more of 

the wood1 women carry not less of the   
worries of life4 ,they may in some cases
 escape the physical toil which         
strengthens2 they do not escape the     
mental toil which demoralises and kills 
spirit and energy if not body and       
health4 ,now1 though the brain tissues  
do not create mental activities1        
nevertheless we all know that they are  
conditioned in some inexplicable way by 
that organ4 ,derangement in any part of 
the brain deranges or diminishes its    
functions2 non-development in any part  
of the brain can and does arrest mind   
growth4 ,chronic over-fatigue and       
exhaustion1 anaemia however produced1   
the circulation through the nervous     
tissues of impure blood1 alter the      
character of the mental processes4 ,the 
results of starvation may so distort    
them1 that the horrors of the ,french   
,revolution are attributed by some      
authorities to this particular cause4   
,that the imperfect lymph circulation   
associated with adenoid vegetations     

accounts for much so-called stupidity is
 one of the first fruits of the medical 
inspection of school children2 that a   
severe shock may destroy intelligence is
 a fact familiar to every expert in     
mental hygiene4 ,if it were generally   
known to parents that every impression  
received by this1 the most sensitive of 
all organs1 is stored up from early     
infancy1 albeit subconsciously1 and can 
at some future time rise up into the    
field of consciousness1 influencing both
 thought and action for good or ill1 a  
very different line of conduct would be 
taken towards the persons or the places 
which make up a young child's           
surroundings and most indelibly impress 
his brain cells4  ,it is surely time1   
therefore1 that some broad outline of   
the process of normal development of the
 whole nervous system should be         
possessed by all in charge of children4 
,every mother1 for example1 should know 
that the movements of a new-born baby1  
such as the facial contortions observed 

during sleep1 or the stretching and     
bending of the limbs in very young      
infants1 involuntary and automatic in   
character1 constitute the simplest form 
of nervous activity4 ,they are the      
necessary precursors of that            
intellectual ability1 to the development
 of which parental ambitions aspire1 and
 should merge into more advanced forms  
of nerve and muscle co-ordination1      
which1 rightly utilised1 are invaluable 
agents in infant education4#aai ,an     
intelligent nurse possessed of even this
 outline could begin quite early that   
training in physiological righteousness 
and in the strict voluntary control of  
the whole group of emotional            
expressions1 of which1 as a little      
reflection will quickly show1 good      
manners largely consist4 ,presently1 as 
the brain cells are stimulated into     
function by nutrition and a quicker and 
more extensive recognition of external  
sensations is acquired1 a child will    
perform instinctive movements1 such as  

sitting1 crawling1 standing1 walking1   
jumping and throwing4 ,though           
considerable latitude must be allowed   
for their wide individual variation1    
failure to display these evidences of   
mental progress should call for careful 
investigation4 ,later on1 skill in a    
hundred different forms of muscular     
activity should be displayed2 but many  
years will elapse before full control of
 the body in all its parts will be      
acquired1 and more years still must roll
 by before reasoned control of the      
mental and moral actions is developed4  
,the last years of this long period of  
development are1 perhaps1 the most      
critical of the whole2 though all depend
 for their favourable fruition upon an  
infinity of loving care and suitable    
provision for their appropriate         
activities4  ,there would be a marked   
reduction in exhausting disciplinary    
difficulties were every parent aware    
that1 to the almost vegetative character
 of the first few post-natal months     

7when sleep will or should absorb at    
least twenty hours out of the           
twenty-four71 will succeed a period of  
extraordinary activity1 which lasts till
 about eight or nine years of age1 when 
the mind is essentially an exploring    
organ2 imitative1 impressionable1       
retentive4 ,every legitimate opportunity
 for the liberal gratification of these 
characteristics should be provided1 as  
well as suitable surroundings for the   
eager1 inquiring brain4 ,elaborate toys 
are not necessary1 nor is premature     
book-learning permissible2 but freedom  
to investigate1 to experiment1 to test1 
to explore1 is the child's urgent need1 
as well as suitable arrangements for the
 intervening periods of profound sleep4 
,repressed activity is often responsible
 for breaches of discipline2 so is      
insufficient sleep1 following on        
over-excitement1 accountable for temper 
and passions4  ,the next phase of growth
 is still distinguished by this         
continued capacity for and dependence   

upon muscular activity1 but the mind    
becomes more reflective1 more           
productive4 ,the power to initiate      
should develop during this stage of     
development1 as well as increased power 
to control mental and bodily functions2 
and1 throughout each of these periods1  
there should be a steady1 unintermittent
 formation of good habits4 ,at first1   
the nature of these will be chiefly     
physical2 the habitual performance of   
the bodily functions should be          
safeguarded1 until their neglect is     
attended by discomfort and their        
violation becomes almost painful4 ,then1
 by degrees1 the moral and mental nature
 develops4  ,thus is the child prepared 
for the stress and turmoil of the long  
and anxious years of adolescence2 when1 
under the influence of new emotions1 of 
fresh temptations1 of unfamiliar powers1
 the character built on the sands of    
parental indulgence is undermined1 if   
not swept clean away2 whereas when built
 on the firm rock of good habits it     

emerges unshaken from the storm4  ,that 
childhood is an honourable estate must  
be now evident2 pregnant as it is with  
possibilities1 pathetic in the risks    
associated with its plasticity and      
dependence4 ,should it therefore be     
necessary in the twentieth century to   
point out that1 when the fund of nervous
 energy is constantly exhausted by      
deficient sleep and poor food2 when a   
demand on function in advance of what   
nature is prepared to comply with is    
persistently made1 as it has habitually 
been in our schools2 when exaggerated   
and pernicious stimuli are allowed to   
fatigue and to paralyse our child       
population2 when inadequate training in 
the right conduct of life is provided1  
and no information given on the dawning 
functions of potential parenthood2 when 
premature responsibility is imposed or  
precocious and unwholesome independence 
is permitted2 worst of all1 when1       
through parental disease or alcoholism1 
the brain tissue is of too poor a       

quality to resist the strain of modern  
life--it is no matter for surprise that 
mental instability and insanity are on  
the increase1 nor that degenerates      
hamper by their helplessness and crime  
the productive capacity of the normal4  
,the importance of mental hygiene calls 
for no more emphasis on my part2 though1
 did space permit1 further illustrations
 might be given of its scope4 ,it       
includes the methods in our nurseries1  
the curriculum of our schools1 the care 
of our adolescents1 the increasing      
differentiation of our industrial       
processes1 the character of our often   
miscalled recreations4 ,it is concerned 
with the warding off of nervous         
breakdowns1 and1 with ,goethe1 it would 
call the attention of all women to the  
fact that the secret of rest is found   
not in quitting a busy career1 but      
rather the fitting of self to one's     
sphere4 ,it views with anxiety the      
growing disregard of religious          
obligations and restraints1 and         

emphasises the grave antenatal          
responsibilities of parents for their   
offspring2 they who should be the most  
ardent advocates of a sound heredity1 as
 well as the promoters of a good home   
environment for their children4   ,,xiv4
 ,,woman',s ,,responsibilities ,,for    
,,home ,,administration  ,thus1 though  
the human constitution is still         
imperfectly understood1 though its      
intricacies and the details of          
environmental influences are still      
mainly undefined1 the women of every    
nation must nevertheless see to it that 
progress in the administration of the   
home keeps pace with modern demands for 
revised methods and less conservative   
practice1 in order to give every chance 
of normal health to their occupants4    
,it is a serious reflection upon many   
housekeepers that the hall-mark of      
progressive civilisation1 namely growth 
in power to organise1 is generally      
absent from their domestic methods4 ,the
 time will come when it will be to them 

a matter for the deepest searchings of  
heart that they are directly and        
inexcusably responsible for a mass of   
the disharmonies which disfigure the    
fugue of family life4 ,the fact is too  
certain to be denied4 ,homes have not   
developed in proportion to the          
opportunities offered1 and the chief    
opponents to progress have been their   
organisers4 ,the economic link they form
 between the physical economics of the  
individual and the social economics of  
the nation has been unnoticed4          
,reference to the hygienic significance 
of due economy of time1 of strength and 
of health1 as well as of money1 has     
hitherto been generally met with        
incredulous smiles2 and though home has 
been extolled as the place for children1
 how scant has been the attention       
devoted to their legitimate             
requirements1 and how few demands for   
special training have emanated from1 or 
been attempted by1 those who have       
undertaken the sole charge of young     

lives during their most important and   
impressionable years4  ,the new         
movement1 designed to foster the science
 and art of right living1 cannot gain   
strength and influence unless it        
receives the whole-hearted support of   
the millions of women whose lives and   
energies are absorbed in the care of    
man's physical needs4 ,it behoves them  
to recognise that intuition and tireless
 industry are insufficient              
qualifications for their imperial       
service1 and they must themselves       
promote the substitution of systematic  
training for rule-of-thumb anomalies4   
,this training must be varied and       
comprehensive4 ,no other profession is  
concerned with so many interests nor    
associated with more fateful            
responsibilities4 ,for those who can    
afford the time1 it should include a    
general acquaintance with the biological
 basis of life1 and should further      
direct attention to the vast mental and 
moral endowments which give pre-eminence

 to our race4 ,the products of          
literature and art and the records of   
natural and moral science afford ever   
present evidence of the extent of these 
endowments1 and of the executive        
capacity associated with their          
utilisation4  ,chemistry must play a    
prominent part in the training1 were it 
only for the insight it gives into the  
inviolable law of cause and effect6     
besides which physiologists tell us that
 the chief commerce of our bodies with  
their environment is chemical2          
therefore1 this subject becomes an      
indispensable element in any            
comprehensive course of domestic        
training4 ,without a working            
acquaintance with the physics of water1 
of heat1 or of air1 a housewife is at   
the mercy of her architect1 if not of   
her plumber and her servants4 ,in the   
absence of an introduction to           
bacteriology she lives in constant      
perplexity over the vagaries of her     
larder2 and is at a loss to understand  

the sources of fermentation or the      
methods of infection by the majority of 
known diseases4 ,without an insight into
 economics she is helpless in the hands 
of the advertiser or the vendor of      
patent preparations1 all of whose wares 
are warranted to perform impossible     
feats with an infinitesimal expenditure 
of trouble4 ,at their best these        
preparations are expensive1 and at their
 worst they are injurious to health4    
,some personal practice of the domestic 
arts is also advisable even for the     
wealthy2 it is indeed essential to a    
right adjustment of the daily duties in 
a home1 though naturally the degree of  
skill acquired will depend on the style 
of living4 ,a study of hygiene in       
sufficient detail is of course          
imperative1 and while it will remove    
difficulties by explaining common errors
 in diet1 habits1 and dress1 it will be 
found materially to lighten labour4     
,finally1 hygiene will render           
extraordinary assistance in the right   

rearing of children and in the general  
arrangements of family life4  ,the      
objections may here be advanced that the
 study of these scientific subjects is  
uncongenial to those whose temperaments 
are artistic or literary2 upon these    
people sanitary science has surely      
meagre claims1 while life is not long   
enough for all to pursue such exhaustive
 studies4 ,the reply to the first       
objection must be in the negative4      
,there can be no health under modern    
conditions of existence unless those who
 assume responsibility in the affairs of
 men possess a scientific acquaintance  
with its right regulation4 ,the subjects
 just enumerated are the very pillars   
which support the temple of ,hygeia4    
,but1 for the encouragement of these    
complainants1 be it added that the      
temple walls demand decoration2 the     
shelves must be filled with wholesome   
mental provender2 the gifts of both     
artist and author are therefore         
contributory to harmonious living1 and  

an unlimited scope is offered to their  
utilisation4 ,the building which        
shelters a healthy family1 for instance1
 should be characterised not only by    
advances on existing provisions for     
convenience but by symmetry in its      
parts4 ,the test of beauty 7use1 ease1  
and economy7 can certainly not be passed
 by a large proportion of modern houses1
 neither do they provide the space which
 gives to each occupant a chance to     
utilise his own gifts or to pursue his  
own hobby4 ,space needs in its turn     
regulation1 for the saving of steps must
 be considered and compactness is       
essential4 ,decorations and furniture   
should also be suitable in form and     
colour to their purpose1 not a mere     
heterogeneous confusion of inappropriate
 colours and articles1 out of tune one  
with the other4  ,the natural needs of  
normal children1 too1 must be more taken
 into account in the future than in the 
past1 and the conveniences offered by   
scientific progress must be far more    

generally introduced into the most      
modest homes4 ,here is a huge field for 
intelligent1 artistic work2 for true    
beauty and real utility are near of kin4
  ,it has been said that as in the world
 of life the localisation of function   
made the organ subsequently to become   
responsible for that function1 so may   
the differentiation of labour develop   
individual talents1 just as the exercise
 of our vital activities has led to the 
differentiation of parts in a house4    
,thus1 as satisfaction of hunger is a   
first necessity1 eating made the        
kitchen1 where means for the            
gratification of this instinct were     
localised4 ,by degrees the growth of    
men's social and intellectual demands   
led to the setting apart of a chamber   
for conversation2 that is1 the parlour4 
,storage of bread called the pantry into
 existence2 increased refinement        
necessitated a scullery for the washing 
of cups and platters4 ,centuries1       
however1 elapsed before the enlarging   

personality of the individual demanded  
privacy for the toilet and the right to 
isolate himself periodically from the   
bustle and publicity of group life4 ,the
 general provision of separate          
bedchambers for each unit of a household
 is not even yet habitual1 though most  
desirable in the interests of health4   
,reparation of the omission will mark a 
further phase of social evolution1 and  
will remove one disintegrating force now
 continually at work in home life4 ,here
 again the artist will most             
advantageously collaborate with landlord
 and with health authorities to devise  
means for the suitable satisfaction of  
this laudable demand4  ,further         
objections to the adoption of any       
comprehensive schemes for training      
housewives of all ranks are found in the
 apparent want of time available for the
 purpose and the prohibitive cost       
incurred if the period of education be  
prolonged4 ,the best answers to both    
objections are found in the movement now

 active all over ,europe and ,north     
,america to furnish more and fuller     
opportunities for this training1 and to 
extend1 not curtail1 its duration4 ,more
 than this3 this movement1 which        
generally originated in the desire to   
improve home life among the poorest1 has
 recently extended itself just as       
generally to institutions for higher    
education1 upon whose pupils and        
students its claims are now recognised4 
,there is no suggestion1 for instance1  
in ,germany or ,england1 ,norway or the 
,united ,states1 of restricting the     
education of girls by this movement or  
of prematurely enforcing upon them      
technical instruction4 ,the growth of   
public opinion is due rather to a       
belated realisation that the end of all 
education is the betterment of life1 and
 that suggested applications to the     
practical concerns of daily life in the 
course of a girl's general education    
make for the sounder assimilation of    
theory by the pupil1 and are thus       

contrived a double debt to pay4  ,the   
progress of preventive medicine has also
 introduced another incentive to the    
diffusion of this training2 for it      
affords convincing proofs that the      
foundation of the national health is    
laid in the home4 ,if1 however1 the     
foundation is permitted to be imperfect 
the edifice must necessarily be         
unstable4  ,among other influences      
prejudicial to family life1 the force of
 which was for a long time unsuspected1 
mention must be made of modern          
industrialism1 the reopening of         
professional life to women1 with its    
associated financial independence and   
the increasing seductions of society4   
,for a century past the tendency has    
been to discredit housekeeping as an    
unsystematised occupation1 which has    
emphasised the common and sometimes     
humiliating financial dependence of its 
representatives4 ,the first nation to   
perceive the importance of stemming this
 dangerous tide was the ,united ,states1

 where conclusive demonstrations are now
 offered of the fact that intelligent   
housekeeping calls for a high degree of 
capacity1 and that its problems demand  
the resources of a university for their 
solution4 ,by the recognition of        
housecraft as a profession1 ,american   
colleges accomplished even more than at 
first they anticipated4 ,a satisfactory 
proportion of their students return to  
home life convinced of its scope and    
importance1 and satisfied to perform the
 duties which there present themselves1 
instead of seeking outside occupations  
and divorcing themselves from family    
interests4 ,the ,king's ,college ,course
 for graduate students in ,home ,science
 and ,household ,economics bids fair to 
exercise an influence of as             
satisfactory1 though naturally of a     
slightly variant1 character4   ,,xv4    
,,the ,,functions ,,of ,,the ,,home  ,if
 the functions of the home are briefly  
enumerated under three heads1 no hint of
 exaggeration will attach to the        

assertion that by its atmosphere        
children are modified in soul and body1 
and that upon its outlook depends the   
ideals and health of all its occupants4 
,the first function of the home may be  
fitly defined as ,protective4 ,if its   
evolution be traced it will be found    
that home life originated in a craving  
for warmth1 safety1 and shelter2 in the 
desire for a place where the weary could
 rest and where security from ill was   
assured4 ,physical comfort1 sympathy and
 sanctuary are1 or should be1 primary   
characteristics of every home4  ,the    
second function of the home is          
,educational4 ,it is largely responsible
 for the systematic formation of good   
habits1 which should here be stimulated 
by example and precept1 and every       
advantage taken of the imitative        
instincts so powerful in early life4    
,within its precincts care can be       
exercised to afford opportunity for the 
development of individuality2 it is     
also1 par excellence1 the place for     

early training in the judicious         
expenditure of energy and in the        
acquirement of self-control4 ,such      
training improves brain power1 relieves 
nervous tension1 and obviates the       
tendency to mental and moral confusion  
and disorderliness which is associated  
with its absence4 ,in a good home the   
child's sanitary education should be    
fairly complete1 at least in its main   
principles1 before the infection of bad 
habits from without can interfere with  
automatic practice or weaken faith in   
home standards and conduct4 ,regular    
washing of the teeth1 for instance1     
should be early inculcated1 and rigid   
conscientiousness in matters of personal
 cleanliness3--external1 by bathing1    
rubbing1 and brushing2 internal1 by     
strict daily attention to the bodily    
functions4 ,slow and thorough           
mastication of food should be           
cultivated1 as well as good habits of   
posture1 of enunciation1 and of regular 
exercise4 ,last1 but not least1 habits  

of prompt and cheerful obedience1 of    
truthfulness1 and in due course of moral
 purity1 must be wrought into the very  
fibre of a child's being4 ,the          
discipline of home ought to be above all
 things consistent2 gentle1 though firm 
and well considered4 ,the virtues of    
obedience1 of self-restraint1 and of    
respect for others should become        
instinctive almost from infancy2 for    
they sow the seeds of physical morality 
in later life4  ,the third function of  
the home is ,social4 ,before the present
 era of only children1 the exaggerated  
individualism was uncommon1 of which    
many of them are now unfortunately the  
victims4 ,when large families were the  
fashion1 the give-and-take in nursery   
and schoolroom gave early training in   
the duty of participation in the        
interests1 the pleasures1 or the sorrows
 of others2 it rubbed off the rough     
angles of selfishness and gave          
invaluable lessons in consideration for 
those whose circumstances varied from   

immediate individual experience4 ,the   
wider social sphere1 for which much of  
the rough and tumble of family life was 
an excellent preparation1 was not       
familiar then to young children as it is
 now1 when the modern child's premature 
introduction to its attractions is not  
only a constant source of physical      
detriment and of mental exhaustion1 but 
tends to disguise its real character and
 to stimulate precociously the capacity 
to respond to its demands4 ,occasional  
glimpses of this larger life are a      
desirable part of home education2 but   
constant familiarity with its           
excitements is to be sternly deprecated 
in the causes of health and of mental   
stability4  ,where and when1 then1 are  
only children to receive this necessary 
social training1 occupants as they are  
of solitary nurseries2 or where are     
these qualities to be developed in the  
millions of children reared under       
circumstances of such acute overcrowding
 and poverty that the amenities of life 

are obscured by its fierce and          
exhausting conditions8 ,observation     
shows that the function of accomplishing
 this training is steadily devolving    
upon the school4 ,unfortunately1 though 
the school does offer necessary         
opportunities for social intercourse1   
this intercourse is relatively of an    
advanced type1 which presupposes some   
previous training in the more elementary
 principles of community life1 most     
fitly acquired at home4 ,this tendency  
to force the school to supplant instead 
of to supplement home training must be  
resisted1 as it involves loss to parents
 as well as to the children themselves4 
,the stress here laid upon the social   
function of the home may seem to some   
exaggerated1 and its association with   
the subject of this paper may appear    
far-fetched2 but to the writer its      
pressing importance calls for this      
emphasis1 for its connection with habits
 of sanitary practice within and without
 the home is of the closest4 ,the social

 spirit is the very essence of sympathy2
 it exercises the imagination1 it widens
 the horizon1 it quickens the sense of  
duty and of self-respect4 ,if graduation
 through the school of domestic1 social 
training be omitted in childhood1 the   
realisation of personal responsibility  
is too often indefinitely postponed4    
,consideration for others1 care for     
their welfare and personal sacrifice for
 their protection1 must ever bulk       
largely in importance throughout life1  
and must always be associated with      
self-respect and self-control4 ,when    
this sense of personal responsibility is
 habitual1 conduct which makes for      
limitations of health in self1 family1  
or neighbours will appear unjustifiable2
 and neglect of either domestic or civic
 duties will become as unpardonable as  
it is unpatriotic4  ,but antecedent to  
the attainment of this ideal1           
fundamental even to its entertainment1  
is the adjustment or readjustment of    
home influences or methods1 as the case 

may be1 to a higher standard4 ,a better 
understanding of the constitution of    
those for whose welfare the home is     
established must also be insisted upon  
as an integral part of general          
education4  ,it may be wise to point out
 that no proposal to sweep away in      
wholesale fashion all the domestic      
traditions and family methods of this or
 any other phase of civilisation is even
 suggested4 ,apart from the             
impossibility of such a holocaust1      
treasures of great worth have been      
handed on to us by our forebears1 of    
which the majority only need some slight
 readjustment to enrich many generations
 yet to come4  ,to take a somewhat      
extreme example4 ,the mention of such   
homely1 old-fashioned1 domestic remedies
 as black-currant tea for a bad cough1  
or soap and sugar plasters for a        
boil--genuine relics from our           
grandmothers--now usually excite a smile
 of derision2 nevertheless they have    
been instanced by one of our most able  

living pathologists#abj for their       
admirable adaptation to their purpose1  
and have been shown to rest upon a      
hitherto unsuspected basis of           
physiological therapeutics4  ,another   
illustration may be drawn from the      
nursery tradition that bad temper is    
often effectually cured by a dose of    
rhubarb4#aba ,carefully conducted       
observations upon children confirm the  
conventional connection of peevishness  
with disordered digestion4 ,it has been 
found that gastric indigestion produces 
oversensitiveness1 fretfulness1 and     
irritability1 while chronic constipation
 results in erratic conduct1 stupidity1 
languor1 headache1 and moodiness4 ,these
 effects may be so far-reaching that1   
for no other reason than chronic        
constipation1 children may lose a large 
proportion of the advantages provided in
 school life2 they may even run the risk
 of being classed as backward1 from the 
interference with mental progress of the
 food poisons reabsorbed into their     

circulation4  ,modern methods of child  
training lay great emphasis upon the    
prevention of these or kindred          
conditions by early formation of good   
habits2 or1 when carelessness           
necessitates curative treatment1 our old
 nurse's panacea of drugs is the last   
resort2 the first consists in attempts  
to re-establish normal functions by the 
more natural means of suited food and   
special exercise4  ,it is time1 too1    
that the so-called hardening fallacies1 
responsible for the maiming of countless
 lives1 were finally exposed and        
exploded4 ,the idea1 for example1 dies  
hard that beneficial endurance is       
cultivated by exposure to cold2         
therefore1 bare necks1 arms and legs are
 lauded as means of developing a        
,spartan spirit in young children4 ,now 
no profound study of hygiene is required
 to demonstrate the close               
interdependence of warmth with growth   
and nutrition1 or to show that the      
chilly and underclothed1 sedentary child

 is both stunted and starved2 whereas   
the suitably clothed and freely active  
child is able to carry on unhampered the
 necessary processes of growth and      
development4#abb ,so important is warmth
 to the infant1 that eighty per cent4 of
 the total energy derived from its food 
is utilised for the maintenance of the  
body temperature essential to growth and
 for the activities of the organic and  
muscular systems4  ,children1 in        
accordance with the law of the relation 
between mass and surface in a cube1     
have1 relatively to their mass1 about   
thrice the body surface possessed by an 
adult4 ,the greatest loss of heat occurs
 by radiation from the skin and by the  
evaporation of sweat1 therefore undue   
loss from this extensive area should be 
prevented by its suitable covering2     
otherwise the child is placed at a far  
more serious disadvantage than would be 
suffered by an adult similarly situated2
 for in his case growth as well as      
equilibrium must be maintained4 ,few    

parents realise the further fact that   
the power of heat regulation is very    
imperfect at birth2 indeed its slow     
development accounts for the instability
 of a child's temperature for many years
 after4 ,the fallacy therefore of       
seeking to strengthen a young life by   
inadequate clothing1 by enforced and    
prolonged inactivity1 or by abstinence  
from the source of all                  
energy--food--must be persistently      
exposed4 ,quite recently1 also1 ,dr4    
,eurich has advanced evidence to show   
that the quality of sleep is adversely  
affected where the sleeper is           
insufficiently protected from cold1 thus
 emphasising the injury to health       
associated with going to bed with cold  
feet4  ,all parents are ambitious that  
their offspring shall be distinguished  
by the energy1 the stability1 the       
endurance and the power which           
characterise the cream of humanity4 ,the
 lives of young people are carefully    
planned with this object in view4 ,the  

waking hours of most girls and boys are 
distributed in ordered sequence between 
what is intended to be concentrated work
 and vigorous more or less exciting     
play4 ,but the fact has been very       
commonly ignored that these young people
 are built up of young cells1 which     
cells are passing through almost every  
conceivable phase of instability in the 
course of development2 consequently     
recurring periods of leisure and rest   
are as important to nutrition and       
nervous stability1 more especially in   
the case of girls1 as are the most      
elaborate arrangements for exercise4    
,thus it comes about that many youths   
and maidens suffer from chronic though  
unrecognised fatigue1 while others are  
unable to employ pleasurably even a     
short space of time to themselves1      
finding no interest in occupations from 
which excitement is absent4 ,the        
habitual limitation of the hours of     
sleep among the rising generation is    
equally serious4 ,the loss which would  

be unbearable1#abc says ,dr4 ,acland1   
even among our most favoured children1  
were it not for the indulgence permitted
 them during their long holidays4 ,is it
 not a parental duty to insist upon the 
necessary provision for rest being made 
in every school1 and ought not          
inviolable rules upon the subject be    
laid down in their home circles8 ,sleep1
 be it remembered1 is the property of   
animals possessed of brains and endowed 
with consciousness2 it affords          
mechanical rest1 and is accompanied by a
 respite from the chemical changes which
 are particularly rapid during childhood
 and adolescence4 ,the intense activity 
of the child's waking hours must be     
counterbalanced by ample periods of     
entire rest4 ,habits of prolonged       
profound sleep are said to be the best  
investment against mental instability   
and insanity2 yet parents permit a      
constant loss of from two to four hours'
 sleep each night throughout the long   
period of immaturity4#abd ,our          

newspapers and lunatic asylums bear     
evidence to the price paid for this now 
inexcusable carelessness4  ,many more   
examples might be given of similar      
fallacies which apply to later periods  
of life4 ,how soon will a loving        
daughter allow herself to learn that the
 consumption of large quantities of     
highly nutritious food will not make for
 the prolongation of an aged parent's   
life8 ,the fact that abstemiousness and 
rigid conformity to the simple life are 
not coincidents of longevity1 but       
contributory to it1 should be now common
 knowledge4 ,when will the day come that
 the fact will be accepted that alcohol 
does not warm and protect the consumer1 
but actually lowers the temperature1 and
 by this means1 in cold weather1 renders
 him a more ready prey to the effects of
 exposure4 ,when will the value of good 
work cease to be measured by the        
exhaustion it brings about or the       
breakdown to which it conduces8 ,is it  
not1 time that the housewife should be  

abashed rather than self-commiserating  
when a bad cold runs through her        
household1 for observation of certain   
elementary principles of disinfection   
would go far to avert such a            
catastrophe8 ,when will the fallacy be  
destroyed which gauges the strength of a
 disinfectant by the pungency of its    
odour8 ,the knowledge now available on  
these and many other points only awaits 
assimilation by the housekeepers of the 
empire1 to serve as a powerful lever by 
which to raise the standard of health in
 its every part4   ,,xvi4 ,,home ,,life 
,,an ,,important ,,sphere ,,for         
,,sanitary ,,science  ,the urgent call  
for a more intimate acquaintance with   
these tenets of domestic sanitary       
science calls for no further examples1  
though at the risk of wearying the      
reader one or two more may be selected  
to illustrate their claims upon every   
member of a household4  ,it behoves the 
householder1 in the first place1 to     
choose his dwelling with care2 and1 in  

the second1 to maintain the health of   
its inmates by his own conduct and by   
compliance with the requirements of     
public health enactments4 ,he must be   
generally acquainted1 therefore1 with   
the essentials of a healthy home and    
with the obligations he must fulfil or  
the demands he may legitimately make    
upon local authorities and neighbours2  
otherwise he cannot insure that his own 
care is not frustrated by derelictions  
of duty on the part of others4 ,the     
selection and purchase of the family's  
food will probably devolve upon his     
wife1 but it rests with him to insist   
that this food is produced1 transported 
or distributed1 with due observance of  
cleanliness1 and that reliable          
protection from sophistication or       
adulteration is maintained4 ,if         
conformity to necessary standards as    
well as the good quality of their       
products is to be safeguarded1 the      
premises of dairy1 bakehouse1           
slaughter-house1 laundry1 market1 and   

local purveyor of goods should come     
under his intelligent inspection4 ,the  
surroundings as well as the conveniences
 of a house also call for careful       
consideration1 especially when some of  
its inmates are of tender years2 and the
 reminder that to the provision for     
light and air in its rooms must be      
assigned a greater prominence than the  
mere prettiness of external elevation is
 still necessary4 ,it is the householder
 who for some time to come must from his
 wider knowledge of economics personally
 safeguard his women-folk from          
unnecessary exertion and chronic        
fatigue1 by the provision of efficient  
fittings and equipment1 by a judicious  
expenditure upon labour-saving devices1 
and by insistence upon adequate rest1   
recreation1 and remuneration4 ,to the   
graduate in the school of personal      
experience the duty of public service   
will next arise1 in order that the      
advantages enjoyed in his own home may  
be extended to those for whom cheap     

housing must be provided4 ,civic claims 
must in the near future appear much more
 prominently than hitherto in the       
balance-sheet of duty4  ,the necessity  
for a study of child life and its       
requirements ought to be realised by    
both parents before the bitter results  
of inexperience have permanently        
shadowed their home4 ,this should be    
pursued by the man as well as the woman 
before marriage is consummated1 if their
 offspring is to be well born and well  
nurtured4  ,maternal care is of course  
the more conspicuous during the first   
ten years of a child's life2 but during 
the next fifteen1 more especially in the
 case of his sons1 it is the father's   
example1 sympathy1 and companionship    
which will steer them healthily through 
the stormy seas of adolescence1 which   
will safeguard them from pernicious     
habits and will extend a helping hand in
 moments of temptation4  ,to enumerate  
the opportunities for hygienic practice 
by the prime organiser of domestic      

methods--the mother--is almost          
superfluous at this point4 ,it is the   
foundation upon which depends the       
welfare of each member of a household2  
for it is the housekeeper who plans the 
food and is responsible for its         
character and suitability to age1       
season1 health1 and occupation4 ,it is  
she who superintends1 if she does not   
carry out1 the details of cleanliness1  
so arduous and discouraging in our great
 cities4 ,it is she who selects the     
clothing of her family2 who directs the 
order of their lives3--their work and   
play1 their rest and exercise1 their    
sleep and their habits4 ,it is her place
 to shake faith in popular patent       
preparations1 by good reasons and       
demonstrations of their exaggerated     
claims on purse and person4#abe ,it is  
her example which sets the tone in      
recreation1 pursuit of hobby1 or choice 
of literature4 ,it is her infinite1     
understanding patience which cements    
breaches in family love2 it is her      

skilful treatment which heals wounds1   
spiritual as well as physical4 ,it is   
her privilege to devise better methods  
for daily doings and to appreciate the  
principles of sound economics4 ,it falls
 on her to discourage futile expenditure
 of health1 time1 or temper2 to be alive
 to possibilities of progress2 to show  
by her deeds how profound is her faith  
in the dignity of a home-maker and her  
recognition of the extraordinary demands
 made by her profession on intelligence1
 moral capacity1 and mental attainments4
  ,it has been slowly dawning upon some 
minds for half a century at least that  
kitchen methods in many of their details
 fail to meet the requirements of       
sanitary science4 ,the ordinary cook    
does not even suspect what cleanliness  
means from the laboratory point of view2
 neither1 alas6 does her mistress1 in   
the case of #ij per cent4 of            
middle-class housekeepers4 ,both alike  
cheerfully ignore the relative value as 
cleansing agents of boiling as compared 

with scalding water2 and refer to the   
broad shoulders of the weather or1 quite
 frankly1 to bad luck1 the waste of food
 directly attributable to ignorant and  
uncleanly methods in market1 purveyor's 
cart1 or scullery4 ,yet no valid excuse 
can now be offered for ignorance of the 
real causes of the souring of milk1 the 
tainting of meat1 or the decay of       
vegetables2 neither is it permissible to
 entrust to the untrained the care of   
larder and refrigerator1 except under   
intelligent supervision4 ,it is of      
course a sign of progress that the      
modern housewife prides herself upon the
 delivery of the daily milk supply in   
bottles4 ,but a quite superficial       
acquaintance with bacteriology would    
show the imperfect character of such a  
protection4 ,the milk may still be      
poured by the cook from the unwashed    
mouth of a bottle1 grasped1 even if but 
momentarily1 by the hand of a milkman1  
which shortly before was caressing his  
horse or serving him as a substitute for

 a pocket-handkerchief6 ,when the       
numerous uses of paper in the kitchen   
are considered1 the advantage of a      
scientific acquaintance with its        
constituents and absorbent properties   
should hardly need emphasis4 ,but the   
laissez-faire attitude1 common in many  
households1 permits newspaper or        
brown-paper bags of questionable        
antecedents to be used indiscriminately 
for the lining of cake tins or the      
draining of fried foods4 ,should this be
 tolerated any longer8  ,a sounder      
knowledge of the risks to health        
associated with unwholesome food would  
surely check the growing disposition to 
purchase provisions over the telephone1 
instead of by personal inspection and   
careful selection2 for the risks        
associated with stale vegetables or with
 woolly fish would be recognised1 in the
 light of this fuller knowledge1 as too 
serious to be encountered by any one    
responsible for the health of a         
household4 ,again1 cold storage is so   

justly credited with the numerous and   
unquestionable benefits which it confers
 upon the housewife1 that she is apt to 
forget the coincident dangers2 only     
through tardily acquired experience does
 she become aware that foods which are  
thawed after freezing possess a singular
 faculty for rapid deterioration1 and   
undergo subtle and detrimental changes  
when so preserved over a long period4   
,no excuse for continued ignorance as to
 the changes responsible for such       
deterioration is now permissible2       
neither can it be condoned in connection
 with the flora of the refrigerator1 now
 known to be accountable for the        
unpleasant and all-pervading flavours of
 the food stored in such a receptacle1  
and itself the product of defective     
cleanliness4 ,the idiosyncrasies of     
different groceries1 as regards         
temperature and receptacles1 have       
hitherto received no attention1 though  
the art of preserving fruits1 fresh as  
well as dried1 is better appreciated    

than was formerly the case4  ,it would  
be easy to show1 too1 did space permit1 
what ample scope there is for the       
application of sanitary science in the  
storeroom1 as well as the true hygienic 
inwardness of frequent coats of limewash
 in larder and scullery1 not to mention 
the worth of impervious coverings to    
their wall surfaces and shelves4 ,this  
suggests the inquiry3 ,how many women   
to-day are versed in the external tests1
 simple as some of them are1 which can  
be applied to tins containing           
foodstuffs1 with the object of gauging  
the quality of their contents2 or who   
among our ordinary housewives           
understands the reasons for the         
employment of reliable1 domestic methods
 of preserving the contents of the      
larder1 such as sterilisation by the use
 of heat1 or why fat1 sugar1 salt1 or   
vinegar are preferable to the seductive 
yet questionable chemicals1 so          
attractive to the producer and purveyor 
of provisions8  ,a better understanding 

of the relation of sanitary science to  
daily life would also facilitate some of
 the painful steps which must inevitably
 be taken1 in order to bridge the gulf  
set between the feudal methods of the   
past and the modern problems of domestic
 service4 ,that the isolation from her  
kind of a general servant predisposes to
 anaemia is stated as a fact on good    
authority1 but it is certainly not      
generally known4 ,that absence of       
opportunity for recreation or social    
intercourse has led and may lead again  
to deception1 if not to worse1 is       
recognised unwillingly1 if at all4 ,that
 human nature is physiologically        
similar1 however diverse its external   
appearance and standards1 is very hard  
to realise or to act upon2 so the fact  
that suitable provision for bathing and 
wholesome sleep by dependents is not    
always made1 is apt to be ignored on    
economic grounds2 and the resultant     
complications are assigned to any but   
their real cause4  ,the solution of     

another of the acute problems of the day
 depends upon the women also of this    
country4 ,i refer to the character of   
the influence1 an influence of the most 
intimate1 to which young children are   
subjected during infancy4 ,in addition  
to vulgarities of conduct or            
enunciation1 actual moral harm may be   
suffered from want of care in the choice
 of a child's attendant4 ,bad habits1   
impossible to eradicate1 are to be      
traced to this source only4 ,their      
hygienic import calls for no further    
stress4 ,their prevention rests entirely
 with the child's parents4  ,another    
illustration of the need for a better   
acquaintance with hygiene is found in   
the general custom of entrusting the    
preparation and care of the daily diet  
to empirically prepared1 ill-informed1  
young women4 ,ascertained facts in      
connection with1 for instance1 typhoid  
carriers#abf should have surely created 
almost a panic in the households of     
,england2 but it is rare to learn that  

even one mistress has inquired into the 
personal habits of her cook1 or that she
 has concerned herself personally in the
 cultivation of most careful attention  
to necessary hand-washing by her        
household4 ,a mere tyro in sanitary     
science would take warning and be on her
 guard against this and other disgusting
 and preventable sources of domestic    
infection4  ,finally1 the protective    
function of the home must not be allowed
 to obscure the educational and social4 
,it is the right of all children to be  
trained in habits of social1 as well as 
of family1 sanitary service4 ,very early
 the love of ceaseless doing1 by which  
these little people are distinguished1  
can be taken hold of as an agent in this
 department of education4 ,habits of    
neatness and order1 of kindness and     
ready help1 of self-sacrifice and       
self-control1 become lifelong in their  
persistence and develop a physical as   
well as moral conscience which makes for
 public health4 ,but1 without           

appropriate stimulus this interest in   
others1 this sense of civic obligation1 
remains in abeyance4 ,therefore girls   
should be encouraged in the educational 
practice of the domestic arts about the 
age of thirteen or fourteen2 though     
instruction in the care of children may 
be postponed for a year or two4 ,always 
it should precede marriage and be       
adapted to the prospective social sphere
 of the pupils4 ,it would be            
advantageous to foster the interest of  
boys in social sanitation by the        
introduction of some equivalent training
 into their curriculum4  ,enough has    
been said to show that knowledge of     
household administration must soon      
become an indispensable qualification   
for any woman who undertakes the charge 
of human lives1 whether it be as wife or
 guardian1 as official or               
philanthropist1 as physician or         
educator1 as head of an institution     
7such as orphanage1 asylum1 hospital or 
prison71 or as almoner of public funds4 

,to be practical and influential this   
comprehensive subject must be           
systematically acquired and securely    
based2 it must be accorded the support  
of men1 and it must receive the         
recognition due to its imperial         
importance4 ,thus sustained and         
fortified1 acquaintance with all that is
 comprehended in the domestic           
administration for good of human lives  
will lead our women to redeem their many
 shortcomings in the past1 and will     
stimulate them to assume with courageous
 confidence their weighty               
responsibilities in the present and     
future4  ,whether prepared or not for   
their discharge1 these responsibilities 
cannot be evaded4 ,upon their capable   
fulfilment depend human health and      
happiness4 ,health and good estate of   
body are above all gold1 said           
,ecclesiasticus1 and a strong body above
 infinite wealth4 ,seen in its true     
light this great1 beautiful1 responsible
 work becomes the highest form of       

consecrated service to the ,source of   
all ,life and to the ,giver of all those
 good things which humanity is intended 
richly to enjoy4   ,,footnotes3     #ia 
,darwinism and ,human ,life1 by ,j4     
,arthur ,thomson1 ,m4,a41 c4            
7,andrew ,melrose47     #ib ,the        
,descent of ,man1 by ,charles ,darwin4  
7,j4 ,murray47     #ic ,hereditary      
,genius1 by ,sir ,francis ,galton4      
#id ,heredity1 by ,prof4 ,a4 ,thomson4  
7,j4 ,murray47     #ie ,english         
,sanitary ,institutions1 chap4 viii41   
,the ,growth of         ,humanity in    
,british ,politics4 ,sir ,j4 ,simon4    
7,cassell  ,co47     #if ,les ,pouvoirs 
en ,matiere d',hygiene--,part i4        
,l',hygiene dans les                    
,legislations de l',antiquite4 ,alfred  
,filassier4 7,paris3 ,jules             
,rousset47     #ig ,english ,sanitary   
,institutions1 part i4 chap4 i4 ,sir    
,john ,simon4         7,cassell  ,co47  
#ih ,english ,sanitary ,institutions1   
part i4 chaps4 iii41 iv41 v41 vi4       

,sir ,john ,simon4 7,cassell  ,co47     
#ii ,the ,family and the ,nation1 chap4 
i4 ,whetham4 7,longmans47    #ajj       
,selected ,essays and ,addresses by ,sir
 ,james ,paget1 ,f4,r4,s4--,the         
,chronometry of ,life1 ,royal ,society  
,croonian ,lecture1 ,may #ahei4         
,edited by ,stephen ,paget1 ,f4,r4,c4,s4
 7,longmans  ,co47    #aja ,the ,diurnal
 ,course of ,efficiency4 ,howard ,d4    
,marsh4 7,the ,science         ,press1  
,n4,y47    #ajb ,social ,psychology1    
section ii4 chap4 x4 ,william           
,mc,dougall4         7,methuen47    #ajc
 ,the ,family1 ,lecture i4 ,e4 ,c4      
,parsons4 7,putnam47    #ajd ,the       
,family1 ,lecture ii4 ,e4 ,c4 ,parsons4 
7,putnam47    #aje ,the ,family1 part i4
 chap4 ix4 ,helen ,bosanquet4           
7,macmillan and         ,co47    #ajf   
,the ,hygiene of ,mind1 chap4 iv4 ,t4   
,s4 ,clouston4 7,methuen47    #ajg      
,report of the ,inter-,departmental     
,committee on the ,employment of        
,school ,children1 appointed by ,h4 ,m4 

,principal ,secretary of ,state         
for the ,home ,department1 #aija4       
,report of the ,royal ,commission on    
,physical ,training         7,scotland71
 #aijc1 ,neill  ,co41 ,ltd41 ,bellevue1 
,edinburgh4          ,report of the     
,inter-,departmental ,committee on      
,physical         ,deterioration1 #aijd4
          ,report of the                
,inter-,departmental ,committee on the  
,model ,course         of ,physical     
,exercises1 #aijd4          ,report of  
the ,inter-,departmental ,committee on  
,medical         ,inspection and        
,feeding of ,children attending ,public 
,elementary         ,schools1 #aije4    
,report of ,dr4 ,w4 ,leslie ,mackenzie  
and ,captain ,a4 ,foster on a           
,collection of ,statistics as to the    
,physical ,condition of                 
,children attending the ,public ,schools
 of the ,school ,board for              
,glasgow1 #aijg4          ,report of the
 ,royal ,commission on the ,care and    
,control of the         ,feeble-minded1 

#aijh4          ,report of the ,royal   
,commission on the ,poor ,laws and the  
,unemployed--,majority and ,minority1   
#aiji4ajh    #ajh ,in each case1 unless 
otherwise mentioned1 these ,reports are 
published by ,wyman  ,sons4    #aji ,the
 ,hygiene ,school of ,life1 chap4 viii4 
p4 #abi4 ,ralph ,h4         ,crowley4   
7,methuen47    #aaj ,journal of the     
,royal ,sanitary ,institute1 ,april     
#aije--,physical         ,inspection of 
,school ,children in ,relation to       
,public ,health         ,administration4
 ,a4 ,k4 ,chalmers1 ,m4,d41 ,m4,o4,h41  
,glasgow4    #aaa ,continuation ,schools
 in ,england and ,elsewhere4 ,m4 ,e4    
,sadler4         7,manchester           
,university ,press1 #aijg47    #aab     
,report of ,departmental ,committee on  
,employment of ,children ,act1          
#aijc4 7,wyman  ,son1 ,july #aiaj47     
#aac ,report to the ,l4,c4,c4 ,education
 ,committee of the ,medical ,officer    
7,schools71 ,march #ca1 #aijf4 7,p4 ,j4 
,king  ,son47    #aad ,the ,drink       

,problem1 edited by ,t4 ,n4 ,kelynack1  
,m4,d4 7,methuen47    #aae ,the ,nature 
of ,man1 parts i4 ii4 chap4 vii42 part  
iii4 chap4 xii4         ,metchnikoff4   
7,heinemann47    #aaf ,principia        
,therapeutica1 chaps4 ii4 iii4          
,harrington ,sainsbury4                 
7,methuen47    #aag ,some ,thoughts on  
,causation in ,health and ,disease4 ,an 
address         delivered to the        
,faculty of ,medicine1 ,october #aiji1  
by ,lord         ,fletcher ,moulton4    
#aah ,studies on ,immunisation4 ,sir    
,almroth ,wright1 ,f4,r4,s4             
7,constable47         ,immunity in      
,infective ,diseases4 ,metchnikoff4     
7,cambridge         ,university ,press47
 ,immunity and ,specific ,therapy4 ,w4  
d',este         ,emery4 7,lewis  ,sons47
    #aai ,infant ,education4 ,eric      
,pritchard1 ,m4,d4 7,kimpton74    #abj  
,studies on ,immunisation1 pp4 #bgi1    
#dfb4 ,sir ,almroth ,wright1            
,f4,r4,s41 ,m4,d4 7,constable47    #aba 
,addresses and ,proceedings of the      

,national ,education ,association1      
,st4 ,louis1 ,mo41 #aijd1 pp4           
#ieb-ifb--,the ,chicago ,hospital       
,school         for ,nervous and        
,delicate ,children1 by ,mary ,r4       
,campbell4    #abb ,children in ,health 
and ,disease1 p4 #da4 ,david ,forsyth1  
,m4,d4         7,murray47    #abc ,on   
the ,hours of ,sleep at ,public         
,schools4 ,a paper read before the      
,medical ,officer of ,schools           
,association1 ,may #aa1 #aije1 by ,t4   
,d4         ,acland1 ,m4,a4    #abd     
,some ,results of an ,investigation into
 ,hours of ,sleep of ,school            
,children4--,international ,magazine of 
,school ,hygiene1 vol4 v4         part  
i4 ,alice ,ravenhill4    #abe ,secret   
,remedies3 ,what they ,cost and ,what   
they ,contain4 ,british         ,medical
 ,association4 ,popular ,drugs3 ,their  
,use and ,abuse4         ,sidney        
,hellier1 ,m4,d4 7,werner ,laurie47     
#abf ,human ,carriers of ,typhoid and   
other ,zymotic ,diseases4--,the         

,sanitary ,record1 ,sept4 #h1 #aiaj1 pp4
 #bae-baf4     ,,modern ,,woman ,,and   
,,the ,,domestic ,,arts  ,,by ,,mrs4 ,r4
 ,w4 ,,eddison  ,,member1 ,,education   
,,committee1 ,,west ,,riding ,,county   
,,council1 ,,etc4  ,i4 ,,needlework     
,,and ,,dressmaking  ,,introduction     
,modern woman finds herself in the      
twentieth century heiress to an         
accumulation of domestic experience     
handed down from her primitive sisters1 
much of which originated in necessity1  
and survives from custom4  ,it is said  
that of the billion and a half human    
beings on the earth1 about #gjj1jjj1jjj 
are females1 and what share their       
mothers and grandmothers1 back to the   
remotest generation1 have had in        
originating and developing culture is a 
question which concerns the whole race1 
though allusion only can be made to it  
in this paper4  ,if1 from the study of  
anthropology1 we find that man was the  
hunter1 the killer of food1 it was woman
 who cared for it1 prepared it for use1 

tilled the ground1 cleaned1 dried1 cut1 
and sewed skins for clothing and        
shelter4 ,it is believed by many        
authorities that it was woman who       
invented and made many of the implements
 with which she worked1 and who spun1   
wove1 and dyed fibres of all kinds into 
strong1 useful1 and sometimes beautiful 
fabrics of varied and pleasing tints and
 colours1 from dyes of her own making1  
which she obtained from animal and      
vegetable sources4 ,the introduction of 
much plain and ornamental stitchery1 the
 forerunner of the needlework of the    
present day1 followed quickly upon the  
coming of textiles4  ,until the         
invention of machinery and the          
institution of the factory system1 the  
practice of a large number of arts was  
in the hands of women as part of their  
lives and homes4 ,now1 however1 women   
are no longer leather-dressers1 potters1
 or weavers in the home--these arts have
 become trades for men1 carried on in   
factories2 and even the more intimate   

arts of cooking1 cleaning1 and          
needlework are threatened from the      
outside4  ,the cheapness and readiness  
with which the products of the factory  
can be obtained1 whether for the        
purposes of food or of clothing1 has to 
a large extent removed the desire to    
exercise these arts herself1 especially 
from the woman whose time can be        
otherwise employed to her financial     
advantage in industrial pursuits4 ,it   
would almost appear that she has failed 
to perceive the intellectual and        
aesthetic enjoyment to be derived from  
them1 and has been content to permit the
 skill and knowledge she originally     
acquired and exercised to rust from want
 of practice as each generation succeeds
 its predecessor4 ,on the other hand1 as
 the accumulated profits from the       
factory have made it possible for       
well-off women to depute their own share
 of cooking1 cleaning1 sewing1 and the  
care of children by payments to their   
less financially fortunate sisters1     

usually untrained women of narrow       
education1 public opinion has shown a   
tendency to regard these arts as menial1
 and to some extent derogatory in       
practice to the educated and refined4   
,amongst this class of women1           
consequently1 knowledge of these arts   
has steadily dwindled1 until the        
home-made jams1 jellies1 cordials and   
pickles of our grandmothers1 the linen  
they spun1 wove1 and fashioned1 are no  
longer the glory of our storerooms and  
linen-presses2 while the home has come  
to be less and less regarded as the     
right and proper place for instruction  
in the domestic arts4  ,deep down1      
however1 in the modern woman's nature   
lies the old instinct for order1 for    
caring for things animate and inanimate4
 ,this instinct has found expression    
since the early seventies among more    
fortunately situated women in an        
endeavour to arrest the decay of what ,i
 have called the more intimate household
 arts1 to promote their revival and to  

raise their status in education--an     
endeavour due1 shall we say1 to         
something in the air1 a kind of ,zeit   
,geist--beginning more or less          
contemporaneously on the ,continent of  
,europe1 in ,great ,britain1 and in the 
,united ,states and ,canada2 an         
endeavour not to benefit themselves     
alone1 but to help their poorer sisters4
  ,it was soon agreed that the          
cultivation of the household arts       
belonged to education1 and that they    
might and should be taught in schools2  
but the questions--,what was their link 
with general education1 by what methods 
they could be most appropriately taught1
 and in the curriculum of what schools  
they should find a place--have been the 
basis of prolonged experimental effort4 
,it is now the opinion of a large       
section of persons of authority in      
education1 that these arts are neither  
sacred mysteries which can only be      
understood by patient life study1 nor1  
on the other hand1 can any woman1       

whatever her intellectual ability1      
master them without training4 ,it has   
been well said1 in effect1 that the     
former attitude leads to a contempt for 
the plain everyday things of life1 while
 the latter is responsible for the      
cultivation of a girl's head at the     
expense of her hands4  ,the arts of     
cooking and cleaning took the lead in   
order of experiment4 ,the results1 as   
recorded1 have proved their position to 
belong directly to the region of applied
 science1 and to be worthy of a place in
 a specially arranged course of         
household science and economics for     
women1 of university standard4 ,we may  
confidently expect that this result only
 anticipates a corresponding triumph1   
awaiting in its turn similar            
experimental work1 which has been       
carried on for some years in respect of 
the teaching also of the art of         
needlework4 ,these experimental efforts 
include the intelligent employment of   
the pencil1 the scissors1 and the needle

 in the production of garments1         
draperies1 napery1 and so forth4 ,the   
lines along which at the present moment 
this development is proceeding have     
regard indeed not only to the practical 
worth of needlecraft1 but to its        
intimate association with general       
education as well as to decorative and  
applied art4  ,when we inquire what have
 been the results of past methods of    
teaching needlework in our elementary   
schools1 and find that they are in no   
way commensurate with the time1 labour1 
and money spent upon them1 it surely is 
wise to call a halt and examine into our
 aims and methods4 ,the circular of     
,suggestions for the ,teaching of       
,needlework issued by the ,board of     
,education in ,august #aiji is not the  
first authoritative pronouncement of the
 ,board on this matter1 but is the      
outcome of the well-considered criticism
 invited upon their ,suggestions on the 
same subject issued in #aije1 which     
teachers and others were asked to       

consider as a challenge to independent  
thought on the subjects of which it     
treated4   ,,the ,,principles ,,of      
,,needlework  ,this challenge has       
resulted in the statement of certain    
important principles in the new circular
 and of the proper attitude of the      
teacher towards them1 viz43--    ,i4    
,the duplex aspect of needlework4       
#a4 ,as a separate branch of            
instruction1 the aim of which is        
proficiency4      #b4 ,as a means to an 
end1 other than 7but not excluding7 a   
certain proficiency1 i4e4 to develop the
 intelligence and even     to form the  
character of the child4    ,,ii4 ,the   
subject must be made interesting if it  
is to be   educational4 ,the making of  
specimens is not interesting1 and should
   be discouraged1 excepting for the    
practice of new stitches before   they  
can be used on a complete garment or    
article1 however small1   for the child 
herself or for others4    ,,iii4        
,correlation of needlework with drawing 

and arithmetic in the   higher classes4 
#a4 ,to train the eye in form and       
proportion4      #b4 ,to illustrate     
principles of arithmetic1 by measuring  
and     deciding upon quantities and by 
calculating cost1 introducing           
incidentally ideas of economy and       
thrift4    ,,iv4 ,needlework lessons are
 ordinarily uninteresting and wearisome 
to body and mind4 ,this need not and    
should not be2 if the subject is        
taught with the why and wherefore of    
things1 it should rather   stimulate    
intelligence and capacity4    ,v4       
,opportunity is afforded by the lesson  
for practically and   tactfully         
inculcating the charm of neatness1      
cleanliness1 and   tidiness in person   
and in clothing1 encouraging the child  
in   self-respect and to regard as a    
matter of shame that any girl should    
reach woman's estate without a practical
 knowledge of the use she   can make of 
the needle4  ,certain suggestions follow
 as a basis for a more detailed scheme1 

viz43--    #a4 ,classification of       
scholars as to age and capacity4    #b4 
,size of illustrations and use of       
blackboard4    #c4 ,instruction of      
weakly children1 and care of eyesight4  
#d4 ,exercises in knitting and various  
forms of constructive handwork   for    
very young children1 in preparation for 
definite instruction in   needlework at 
a later age4    #e4 ,condemnation of    
habit of counting threads4    #f4 ,order
 of teaching processes in needlework1   
from simple to   complex4    #g4        
,suitability of materials1 needles1 and 
threads to each other1 and   of the     
style of sewing to the garments which   
the children should   wear4    #h4      
,direction of attention to the fact that
 hands and eyes which have   been       
sensibly trained to execute plain work  
will acquire fancy   work quite readily 
later on if leisure can be found4    #i4
 ,new methods and stitches to be learned
 on waste material4    #aj4 ,importance 
of practice in mending at school and at 

home4    #aa4 ,importance of cutting-out
 and pattern-making4    #ab4 ,garments  
made to be worn1 not kept at school4    
#ac4 ,elaborate making-up of paper      
garments to be discouraged4    #ad4     
,rough sketches to train the eye to     
recognise the value to each   other of  
different parts of a pattern4    #ae4   
,importance of recognition of difference
 between a well-cut and   an ill-cut    
garment4    #af4 ,calculation of kind1  
quantity1 and cost of material to be    
worked   out in an arithmetic lesson4   
#ag4 ,note-books and records to be kept4
    #ah4 ,fixing to be done by actual   
maker of garment--not a joint           
production4    #ai4 ,use of sewing      
machine permitted for long seams and    
hems4    #bj4 ,no time to be wasted     
while waiting for teacher's help4       
,independent work to be encouraged4     
,knitting and other suitable work   to  
be at hand4  ,this excellent and        
sensible paper of suggestions means an  
offer of freedom on the part of the     

,board2 it remains1 therefore1 but to   
accept and adopt its conditions4 ,a     
practical difficulty1 however1 at once  
arises from the fact that1 after a long 
period of bondage to many ,regulations1 
it is difficult for the teaching        
profession in general to realise that   
independent judgment is now expected of 
them1 indeed is required1 though this is
 a phase temporary and evanescent1 which
 will quickly adjust itself4  ,for lack 
of time and space we must here pass over
 the important question of the relation 
of the domestic arts to the general     
school curriculum1 as well as the       
proportion of time to be allotted as    
between needlework and the other        
domestic arts1 and dwell for a moment on
 the relative qualifications of our     
teachers in different sections of the   
whole subject taken at its widest1 for  
these qualifications reflect the        
existing demands of the public4 ,taking 
,england1 for example--how do we stand  
with other countries in this respect8   

,speaking generally1 and as one who1    
though not professionally a teacher1 has
 for many years had a hand in the       
training of teachers1 and who has given 
much time and thought to the comparative
 study1 both theoretical and practical1 
of needlework and dressmaking1 it seems 
to me that1 as to sewing1 we are as     
good1 if not in some ways better than   
our neighbours1 though we have been apt 
to regard the perfection of our stitches
 as an end in itself1 which decidedly   
vitiates our conclusion4 ,we also appear
 to have much to learn1 or at least to  
practise1 in respect of suitability of  
materials1 needles1 and threads to each 
other1 and of the style of work to the  
purpose required4 ,as to cut and the    
hang of the thing1 and the root         
difference between an ill-cut and a     
well-cut garment1 ,i fear we make a bad 
third with ,france and ,austria2 but    
with our newly acquired freedom we can  
and we must change all that3 the public 
begin to demand it4  ,in the first      

place1 we must clear our minds of the   
indefinite cloud of detail in which they
 have been so long submerged2 or1 to    
change the metaphor1 whereas hitherto we
 have too often not been able to see the
 wood for the trees1 we must now learn  
clearly to distinguish between          
principles and methods1 which in        
practice are over frequently confused3  
then1 quite easily and naturally1 the   
teacher will derive resulting details   
from the few definite principles which  
are the basis alike of the simplest     
garment and the most artistic           
handicraft1 and the principles once     
understood1 in one instance1 the pupils 
will be able to make wider applications 
for themselves4  ,it is important here  
to emphasise that some elementary       
knowledge of hygiene1 physiology1 and   
anatomy is necessary for the intelligent
 appreciation of the requirements of the
 body as to clothing1 and of its        
alterations in shape when muscles are   
tense or relaxed4 ,by a reliable system 

of drafting from direct measurement1    
such as one of those in use in the      
,ecoles ,professionelles of ,paris1 a   
shaped bodice can be produced fitting   
the arms and figure easily and          
gracefully1 and from this pattern can be
 deduced further patterns of other      
garments1 whether tight1 loose1 or      
semi-fitting1 which hang from the       
shoulder or the waist4  ,when the theory
 of drafting has been learned1 and the  
shapes and proportions of a pattern and 
its derivatives are understood1 moulage 
or modelling on the figure in muslin1   
should be attempted2 though1 be it      
remembered1 moulage should not be       
regarded as a substitute for drafting1  
but as its necessary accompaniment1 for 
it affords opportunity for eye training1
 and for learning how and where at      
certain points the material should be   
stretched or held easily on the figure4 
,the pupil is thus prepared to handle   
the pattern intelligently when cut out  
in material4  ,i have seen it objected  

that only awkward and wooden lines can  
be obtained from drafting on paper      
because of its rigidity1 and because the
 pattern is built up upon a framework of
 straight lines at right angles to each 
other4 ,the objector cannot have        
understood that the rectangular         
construction lines have no connection   
with the outlines of the pattern1 except
 as affording points d'appui1 which are 
found by direct measurement4 ,these     
construction lines stand for the warp   
and woof1 or thread of the material to  
be used for the garment4 ,stress must be
 also laid on the fact that the grace or
 angularity of the pattern outline      
actually depend upon the eye training   
and perception of curves derived from   
drawing lessons1 which must1 for this as
 well as other reasons1 form a part of  
the scheme of instruction4              
,,conclusion  ,limits of time and space 
have only allowed me to touch the fringe
 of a fascinating and useful subject2   
but the frequent conferences of teachers

 now being held in different centres1   
and the new suggestions of the ,board of
 ,education are stimulating so much     
interest and discussion that ,i feel    
that the educational teaching of        
needlework in its broad sense in        
,england has a cheerful future4 ,there  
is already much excellent teaching and  
work done in some of the trade schools  
in ,london as well as in a few of its   
elementary schools1 and others          
elsewhere1 which leaves little to be    
desired from many points of view4       
,apart from the modern educational      
treatment of needlecraft and            
dressmaking1 though arising directly    
from it1 are the unquestioned advantages
 which may result to any woman of       
whatever rank or social position who is 
willing to devote1 in the first         
instance1 a little time and intelligence
 to mastering a few elementary          
principles introductory to their        
practical application1 either by herself
 or by any one in her employment1 to the

 cutting and making of her own garments 
from direct measurement1 modified by    
measurements of individual carriage or  
conformation4  ,when these modifications
 are clearly understood1 the proving of 
the flat pattern on the table after     
drafting should produce a well-shaped   
and correct lining1 without the misery  
of standing for hours in the ordinary   
way to be fitted on4 ,if finer touches  
are needed1 they are of the nature of   
moulage1 or modelling2 the different    
parts of the pattern retain their       
balance and relative proportions1 and   
the length of the operation is much     
shortened4  ,the majority of women1     
especially when past youth1 are not so  
happy as to possess the theoretically   
perfectly balanced and well-proportioned
 figure which has been so successfully  
adopted by the best business houses as  
the basis for cutting high-class        
ready-made garments4 ,happy indeed is   
the woman who can walk straight into    
them without the offered slight         

alteration which so often spoils the cut
 and brings bitter disappointment to the
 wearer4 ,there are few women who have  
not groaned under the waste of time and 
fatigue entailed by being fitted on     
under the hands of the little           
dressmaker1 or for that matter under    
hands of much greater pretension1 with  
no idea of principles in cutting1 who   
pinch and drag and smooth down by       
rule-of-thumb1 producing garments       
without balance or ease1 whose faults   
may be disguised by trimming or drapery1
 but whose discomfort is always present 
to the wearer4  ,women have in fact so  
long submitted to this tyranny of       
rule-of-thumb in dress-cutting1 as      
inseparate from it1 that1 as is their   
nature1 they continue to endure what    
they think cannot be cured4             
,nevertheless1 the discomforts and      
uncertainties of this rule-of-thumb     
misery may be entirely eliminated1 and  
it is for the modern woman to demand and
 insist upon its elimination4  ,let me  

especially recommend to ladies          
possessing the invaluable qualities in  
this connection of taste and style in   
dress1 who may be thinking of taking up 
dressmaking as a profession1 that as an 
important preliminary step they should  
master the principles of a good method  
of cutting4 ,let them make sure that the
 method can lay claim to this           
description2 that it is reliable and not
 altogether empirical4 ,thus they will  
render themselves to some extent        
independent of the possible vagaries and
 misfits of their cutters and workers4  
,the excellent courses of instruction   
now carried on in the trade schools     
already referred to should ere long     
create a supply of well-trained young   
women who will do their best work under 
an instructed head1 and will be able to 
carry out intelligently her ideas and   
directions4 ,under such conditions there
 should be no room for failure in a     
business of this kind4 ,as a result1 the
 arts of needlecraft and of dressmaking 

will be raised to the plane of          
scientific certainty and success which  
is their due1 instead of remaining at   
the often low level of the unorganised1 
empirical and inartistic occupations--a 
frequent source of financial disaster to
 their exponents and of perennial       
vexation to the helpless victims of     
their products4   ,,ii4 ,,housecraft    
,the position of modern woman towards   
matters domestic is somewhat undefined1 
and at best can hardly be considered    
satisfactory4 ,her attitude towards     
housekeeping is not one of enthusiasm4  
,the ,lancashire mill-girl is proud to  
have a house of her own1 but prefers her
 life at the mill to one spent in       
ordering that house2 the elementary     
school teacher considers housekeeping of
 so little economic interest that she is
 injured if she may not devote her      
married life to a profession demanding  
the best of her energy2 the university  
graduate pretends to a mind superior to 
physical comfort and welfare unless it  

can be produced by a creature less      
specialised than herself4  ,in the field
 of paid occupations for women1 educated
 and uneducated1 domestic work stands   
low2 not necessarily low in scale of    
payment1 but uninviting as a sphere of  
work and lacking the dignity of skilled 
employment4 ,that good housewives may be
 found in every grade of society is     
evident1 but the general trend of our   
social evolution demands that some      
organised effort shall be made to       
simplify actual work and to raise the   
appreciation of that work4  ,in history 
and philosophy1 the moral advantages of 
a good home have been acknowledged and  
extolled4 ,the physical advantages are  
only now being fully emphasised1 and    
there is an ever-increasing demand that 
women shall diligently apply their best 
efforts1 first to the problems of the   
individual household1 and then beyond it
 to those forms of housekeeping that    
fall to municipal and national control4 
,we need a different estimate1 a better 

realisation1 of the enormous            
responsibility that lies in feeding1    
housing1 and general hygienic           
conditions1 and such a realisation must 
work from the top downwards in our      
social and intellectual strata4  ,in the
 care of the sick we have seen a        
complete revolution4 ,even so recently  
as the days of our grandparents ,sarah  
,gamp was the general refuge--now her   
name is a byword4 ,the work of nursing  
and the care of an invalid's room1 be it
 home or hospital1 has been raised from 
mere manual labour4 ,intellect has      
established formulae and dogma on which 
workers can be trained1 and the work    
itself has been proved not alone a      
suitable means by which a woman can earn
 her living1 but also a profession      
demanding a dignified respect and       
admiration4 ,the researches of medical  
laboratories--the accumulated experience
 of the great physicians and surgeons of
 the world--are constantly placing      
valuable knowledge in the hands of      

nurses and those who train them4        
,elaboration and fuss have gone in      
favour of a simplicity of service based 
on scientific facts2 the influence of   
the trained worker has to some extent   
permeated the untrained service of home 
nursing4 ,great may still be our        
ignorance and great the need for a more 
adequate service1 especially in the     
homes of the poor1 but taken as a whole 
the care of the sick has been raised to 
what we may1 without ambiguity1 call a  
scientific art4 ,nursing may be popular 
from a love of such work and from its   
financial return1 but the real strength 
of the nursing world lies in its        
organised provision of skilled women    
sent out to their work with a knowledge 
of its detail and a training in routine1
 paid for by service during years of    
apprenticeship4  ,the changes that have 
been effected in regard to the care of  
the sick may not form a perfect analogy 
of what can be done in other forms of   
domestic work1 but they at least        

constitute a lesson in cause and effect1
 with many suggestions for the would-be 
reformer4 ,improvement in nursing owes  
its first impetus to a realisation of   
the part a nurse must of necessity play 
in curing or alleviating suffering1 and 
any real improvements in our general    
domestic work and conditions will only  
be seriously considered when they are   
properly appreciated in their relation  
to the health and efficiency of the     
nation4 ,to bring this home to          
individuals and classes must be the work
 of education4 ,let us magnify the      
office of the housewife unduly rather   
than leave it unrecognised4 ,we must    
demand something more than mere         
manipulative skill from the manual      
worker--a knowledge and interest from   
those who direct her work2 a place in   
laboratories and schools for the many   
problems worthy of elucidation4 ,to make
 lessons in housecraft a part of the    
curriculum of elementary and secondary  
schools has its own good2 to make       

lessons in sick-nursing also a part     
might be good2 but to leave both there  
would be only to patch1 not mend1 a rent
 in our social conditions4 ,the matter  
must find its way into universities and 
research schools for its physical and   
economic investigation--as in other     
kinds of work we need an aristocracy of 
brains to guide the democracy of hands  
to found an apprenticeship system that  
shall provide efficient workers to bring
 the mighty forces of chemical1         
physical1 and biological science to bear
 directly on such matters as selection  
of foods1 methods of cooking1 better    
apparatus for cleaning purposes1 and an 
evolution of house-planning and         
furnishing that shall reduce the present
 elaboration of service and cleaning4   
,it is not possible that every woman who
 cooks a potato shall be intimately     
acquainted with the structure of        
starch-cells or the effect of heat on   
those cells1 nor is it likely that we   
shall aim at a system that makes the    

cooking of our food as exact as a       
laboratory experiment1 but that         
thermometer1 microscope1 and test-tube  
have their own part to play is evident4 
,the use of a disinfectant by a nurse is
 a scientific operation1 the scope of   
which has only been made possible by    
many and careful investigations in which
 the specialised effort of the few has  
resulted in a definite formula and a    
handy preparation only to be used with  
intelligent appreciation of its purpose4
 ,she understands its use and abuse1 how
 to adapt it to circumstances1 and      
probably how to find a substitute for it
 if occasion requires4  ,it is much on  
these lines that many of the problems of
 kitchen and household interest must be 
attacked4  ,we need a simple and        
reliable classification of foods that   
shall be useful to the practical cook4  
,a quantitative analysis of proteid or  
carbo-hydrate qualities of wheat1       
lentils1 or milk may form excellent     
exercise for laboratory classes1 but    

even there it is too often taught       
without any relation to the assimilative
 properties of the average digestion and
 their consequent effect on food values4
 ,for ordinary use we want all this     
brought to a general outlook of the     
value1 and comparative value1 of such   
ordinary food as bread1 oatmeal1 eggs1  
and beef2 not only as to suitable       
proportions in our diet and to methods  
of cooking1 but also as a help in       
providing suitable substitutes for a    
particular commodity in time of         
scarcity4 ,beyond the inevitable victims
 of the ,irish potato famine1 many      
suffered quite unnecessarily for want of
 ability to replace the familiar potato 
by a possible substitute2 and to-day we 
are little more intelligent in our      
catering4 ,quantity and quality of the  
potato crop must each year to some      
extent make itself felt on small purses1
 and while not dependent on this one    
article of diet we might often help a   
meagre table by a good substitute such  

as rice1 hominy1 dumplings1 and an      
increased supply of fresh vegetables4   
,substitutes for butcher's meat too     
often suggest the purely vegetarian dish
 that to most people is but a pis aller4
 ,to replace part or even most of the   
meat in a dish with a food of           
approximate dietetic value would        
generally be more acceptable4 ,a dish of
 haricot beans cooked with a little     
minced beef is1 for example1 a very     
different dish from the vegetarian      
treatment of the same article4 ,pea-soup
 made with the addition of a ham or beef
 bone will generally win approval over  
its less tasty rival4 ,the value of eggs
 and the many ways of using cheese--the 
possibilities of oatmeal beyond mere    
porridge--are all matters worth         
understanding2 so also is the problem of
 our milk supply4  ,the fact that       
legislation is active in securing the   
hygienic conditions of the wholesale    
milk supply cannot excuse individual    
indifference to either its actual value 

or suitable treatment4 ,the inferiority 
of skim or separated milk to whole milk 
has been so emphasised that in many     
places a useful article is lying as a   
drug in the market4 ,that skim milk is  
as useful as many stocks and much better
 than water for making porridge1 maigre 
soups1 sauces1 for mixing bread and     
scones1 has yet to be appreciated1 and  
will only be so when the true economic  
use of food is removed from its present 
haphazard position among the instinctive
 arts6  ,the constructive consistency of
 meat1 fish1 and vegetables must be     
clearly set out if we are to understand 
the effect upon them of heat4 ,the      
primary methods of cooking and the      
standard proportions of ingredients may 
already be used with an intelligence    
that at least puts aside the recipe     
book2 but the research that can produce 
a satisfactory system of catering and   
cooking has yet to invade the higher    
education of men and women4 ,a          
suggestion of the scientific treatment  

of domestic matters too often presumes  
an elaboration of work rather than a    
reduction of it1 and yet we all realise 
the labour-saving and economic return   
that has been the result of science     
applied to commercial industries4 ,there
 must be a definite aim to simplify     
housekeeping and domestic work2 the     
conditions of life have gone that made a
 women find scope for all her energy in 
administering the affairs of her house  
or in employing others to that end4  ,to
 the uninitiated the various culinary   
processes seem endless1 and to arrive at
 a proper accomplishment of these is    
generally considered a matter of        
continuous practice4 ,a better          
understanding of the matter readily     
shows that while many processes can only
 be perfected by repetition1 there are  
even more that fall under science rather
 than art4 ,take1 for example1 the      
principles underlying the cooking of    
meat by stewing4 ,this is surely a      
process where manipulation is nil4 ,to  

make pastry or bread we must have a     
certain practice in the manipulation to 
give the deftness 7on which final       
success depends7 in addition to any     
understanding of the principles         
involved2 but with regard to stewing and
 many similar processes it should be    
possible to have one lesson made so     
explicit that the actual process was    
known for all time--the ,irish stew of  
an artisan's home or the dainty entree  
of the ,ritz being only an adaptation of
 given principles to different foods4   
,in order to reduce primary methods to  
such business-like proportions1 it is   
necessary to consider them in their     
effect on different foods1 having due   
regard to texture and to the effect of a
 moist or a dry heat4 ,it would be a    
matter of interest to know how the      
established methods of cooking meat and 
fish all really conduce to one end1 viz4
 to soften the fibres by steam formed   
from their own juices4 ,the rules for   
most methods of cooking these foods lead

 to this assumption1 though nominally   
based only on a means of retaining these
 juices in order to save a valuable part
 of the food4 ,the actual part played by
 the liquid in which foods are cooked is
 possibly very small1 but not to be     
ignored2 the presence of salt in the    
water in which beef or potatoes is      
cooked makes an appreciable difference  
in the flavour and probably in the food 
value4 ,the relation of the fat used in 
frying to the food fried in it is too   
often quite misunderstood1 and a        
dyspeptic patient consequently is       
ordered no fried food4  ,to fry in      
butter sounds well1 but it is           
practically impossible2 to saute in     
butter at a temperature allowing some of
 the butter to enter the food1 is quite 
a valuable method of cooking2 but to    
raise the temperature to a point at     
which frying can be done is to char the 
butter4 ,to fry properly1 the food      
should be immersed in fat so hot that   
the outside of meat is immediately set4 

,then allow the heating of the juices   
inside the meat to perform the necessary
 cooking4 ,the immersion of the cold    
food soon lowers the temperature of the 
fat and makes continued immersion       
possible4 ,the best kind of fat for this
 purpose and the relative temperature at
 which different fats may be used needs 
more investigation4 ,at present for     
ordinary kitchen use we have no more    
reliable test of temperature than to    
venture a bit of bread and judge by     
result4 ,one thing we may accept--frying
 is not a greasy or rich method of      
cooking4 ,the fat used is merely a means
 of excluding atmosphere and cooking    
food at a high temperature2 it bears no 
more relation to the food itself than   
does the atmosphere of the oven in      
baking4  ,this question of temperatures 
and their relation to the kind of food1 
as also to the various cookery          
processes1 needs careful handling2 we   
want not alone a definite dogma         
established on a scientific basis1 but  

we want the means to apply it brought   
within easy reach--reach of a limited   
purse and a limited intellectual        
capacity1 for we are not all scholars4  
,there is no reason why a thermometer   
should not become part of our kitchen   
equipment just as readily as that old   
sand-glass which regulated the boiling  
of an egg1 but1 before it is the case1  
many other matters must fall into line4 
,it is probable that a careful          
investigation of the best means of      
frying1 boiling1 stewing1 c4 would      
effect a considerable revolution in our 
household pots and pans4 ,is it         
impossible to produce a pan in which a  
given quantity of fat or oil should be  
easily brought to1 say1 #djj deg4       
,fahr41 and yet be unable to exceed that
 temperature8 ,it would so safeguard    
expense from burning that the most      
delightful frying medium1 olive oil1    
would be readily used by many people4   
,the matter of watching1 and waiting1   
and judging the exact minute for certain

 operations takes far more time than is 
generally supposed1 and the gloom       
surrounding the average kitchen range   
increases the difficulty4 ,the cook who 
understands the use of double pans for  
oven and range has done something to    
save both time and anxiety1 but it is   
evident that much more might be done to 
render many cookery processes almost    
automatic4 ,the science that controls   
the production of such commercial       
products as biscuits1 tinned foods1     
pickles1 and jam1 and turns them out to 
a uniform standard1 is at present remote
 from the household kitchen4 ,such      
scientific knowledge has been produced  
at a commercial value for commercial    
enterprise4 ,we need our problems       
brought into universities and colleges2 
into the channels where research is made
 public2 into the laboratories of       
schools1 where1 if no wonderful result  
may be proclaimed1 we have at least     
established a scientific method of      
approaching the work of kitchen1        

laundry1 and storeroom4 ,the ordinary   
teaching of the domestic subjects too   
often tends to magnify the difficulties 
in order to show how they may be        
overcome4 ,the simplification of methods
 by classification would do much1 and   
the evolution of possible devices for   
saving labour would do still more1 to   
establish a favourable view of          
housekeeping4 ,what is worth doing is   
worth doing well2 but it is doing       
unnecessarily that spells drudgery4     
,our attitude in considering household  
problems turns almost involuntarily to  
cooking1 but the need for an            
intellectual grasp of matters domestic  
is equally potent in methods of         
cleaning4 ,if the word hygiene1 which we
 use so glibly1 were really understood  
and appreciated1 the modern             
house-builder and furnisher would       
quickly be sent to swell the ranks of   
the unemployed1 and we should demand    
construction and fittings which would   
minimise the problems of dust and       

tarnish1 provide suitable storage for   
food1 and allow cleaning to be simple1  
straightforward1 and efficient4 ,the    
advent of the vacuum cleaner is less    
valuable in itself than in the          
establishment of a new principle for    
dealing with dust1 and one that may     
eventually revolutionise our            
house-cleaning4 ,we need a simple       
appliance of equal scientific value to  
reduce some at least of the labour      
entailed in washing-up4 ,pots and pans1 
plates and dishes may be economised in  
number by a careful worker1 but cleaned 
they must be1 and the average sink of   
scullery or pantry is little removed    
from the pristine incompleteness of its 
first appearance4 ,there is1 in the     
cloisters of ,gloucester ,cathedral1 a  
sink1 evidently used by the monks of the
 sixteenth century1 which is identical  
with those found in sculleries of       
to-day1 and yet chemistry and physics   
have revolutionised our industries and  
produced all sorts of scientific methods

 for cleaning1 lighting1 and heating on 
a large scale4 ,perhaps when the same   
woman who takes a ,d4,sc4 bestows some  
of her energy on the washing of dishes  
we shall get to something less primitive
 than washing each individual greasy    
plate with a mop or cloth4 ,the only    
scientific treatment of washing-up used 
at present seems open to criticism1 and 
is only suited to large establishments1 
but it should be possible to construct  
every sink with some sort of douche and 
general fittings suited to this work4   
,the question of the position of modern 
woman towards laundry-work seems to have
 resolved itself into one of income4 ,if
 she can pay for the services of a steam
 laundry she does so4 ,in the ,united   
,kingdom it is estimated that there are 
#cj1jjj public laundries1 but we have   
yet to find one that can produce a list 
of charges within reasonable limits of a
 small income4 ,in the homes that are   
run on incomes of ,l#ajj to ,l#djj      
a-year1 and where the laundry-work is   

done at the public laundry1 the amount  
of washing must be small1 or some other 
side of the expenditure must be         
seriously curtailed4 ,laundrying        
performed intelligently and under       
suitable conditions is neither difficult
 nor unpleasant4 ,to stand over a       
wash-tub rubbing each article by hand2  
to strain every muscle emptying that    
tub2 to dry garments on a rail across a 
kitchen and iron them near a blazing    
fire is not intelligent1 and can only be
 followed by women driven by custom to  
wash clothes at all4 ,perhaps in no     
section of household work are scientific
 methods within reach as in the laundry2
 the existence of the public laundry and
 the rivalry of different firms has     
produced an open market for appliances  
of all kinds1 and the exhibition of     
laundry utensils1 machines1 c41 has     
become an annual event4 ,though many of 
the inventions are destined for the     
power and general scope of the public   
laundry1 there are always a number of   

home appliances to be seen2 many more   
would be adapted if there were more     
demand4 ,any real scope for these must  
rest in the first place with architect  
and house-builder4 ,in the ,north of    
,england it is usual to build a small   
wash-house to nearly every house1 but   
the general construction of these       
wash-houses is such as to discourage any
 desire to use them4 ,only cold water is
 provided2 the boiler is arranged as a  
detached unit2 the possibility of a     
drying cupboard in connection with      
kitchen stove or hot-water cylinder is  
never considered1 and the economical    
heating of irons is generally           
overlooked4 ,the use of irons heated by 
gas1 charcoal1 and methylated spirit    
would be more general if these were more
 efficiently constructed and less       
expensive4 ,the provision of electricity
 at a cost within the reach of ordinary 
folk will simplify many things in       
laundry-work as in cooking and cleaning4
 ,instruction is1 to some extent1       

already available as to soaps1 detergent
 solutions and bleaching agents4 ,we    
need more appreciation of the part that 
may be played by the process of steeping
 and the minimum of handling with which 
clothes may be efficiently washed and   
finished4 ,the profit and loss in the   
matter cannot be estimated only in      
labour1 time1 soap1 and firing2 the wear
 and tear of fabric in public laundries 
compared with home handling and the risk
 of infection involved must both be     
taken into account4 ,if we make         
laundrying easy we do much to make a    
frequent change of garment possible to a
 section of the community inclined to   
economise in this direction1 and we     
should probably make fashionable those  
household materials that may be         
consigned to a wash-tub1 instead of     
paying a reluctant visit to the         
dry-cleaner--chintz1 cretonne1 and      
,bolton sheeting instead of serge1      
tapestry1 and plush4 ,we owe one debt of
 gratitude to the public laundry--it has

 raised a section of household work to  
the level of a skilled industry1 though 
as yet there seems no system of         
apprenticeship that turns out the       
complete laundress4  ,for the limits of 
a short paper these matters have perhaps
 been treated somewhat discursively1 but
 the object has been attained if1 by the
 few illustrations selected1 some       
attention has been drawn to the field of
 inquiry which lies open1 and the urgent
 need for a definite application of     
scientific minds to problems which1 amid
 all the advances of this progressive   
age1 seem to lag behind4 ,the inclusion 
of housecraft as part of the curriculum 
of elementary and secondary schools may 
do much to rouse interest and overcome  
some difficulties of cooking1 c41 but to
 any one familiar with these classes it 
is evident that their scope is very     
limited1 if only for the reason that the
 teaching so often treats the work of   
housekeeping as an imitative art1 based1
 for want of reliable scientific data1  

on rules and recipes that are           
practically organised tradition no more4
 ,in secondary schools1 the introduction
 of laboratory work has opened up fresh 
possibilities of a more reasonable      
treatment of housecraft1 for it is      
certain that1 when teachers are properly
 equipped for their work1 biology1      
physics1 and chemistry 7organic and     
inorganic7 can be successfully taught   
along lines that bring within the scope 
of school science such matters as food  
and feeding1 cooking and washing1 fuels1
 heating1 ventilation1 and hygiene4  ,to
 teach chemistry and physics in the     
usual academic manner and then tack on a
 course of cookery and laundry-work at  
the end of school life cannot possibly  
be of the same value as the co-ordinated
 courses2 we want scientific method even
 more than science for these schools    
girls1 who shall so soon be the         
housekeepers and home-makers4 ,we may   
say with ,stevenson1 ,a dogma learned is
 only a new error--the old was perhaps  

as good2 but a spirit communicated is a 
perpetual possession4 ,for those girls  
who pass on to a university or technical
 school we want an intelligence alert to
 all that may lie in further            
investigation of those problems         
suggested at school4  ,a certain        
jealousy may be pardoned that the       
possible evolution of housekeeping may  
be the work of women2 the leaders of the
 woman's movement have so often spoiled 
their work by following the lines of    
men's activities and aiming at a goal   
essentially masculine4 ,the things that 
go to housekeeping seem so intimately   
connected with motherhood and mothering 
that it must be hoped our most able     
women will bring their intelligence1    
their education1 and their sense of     
national responsibility to the task of  
housekeeping--to the simplification of  
its problems1 the reduction of the      
labour involved1 and the organisation of
 the paid service4 ,there is certainly  
scope for master-minds4  ,we touched on 

the organisation of the nursing service4
 ,if it is possible to duly care for the
 sick and at the same time train an     
efficient nurse1 it is surely possible  
to provide proper service in the huge   
caravanseries of our modern life1 and at
 the same time provide a suitable       
apprenticeship for the domestic worker4 
,good instruction at school1 followed by
 one or two years of definite training  
in a hostel or boarding-house1 should   
produce a class of skilled women workers
 who can be organised and employed on   
the same lines as those of the nursing  
service4  ,in many branches of labour   
the women are ousting the men2 unless we
 can make good the present breach in our
 home bulwark and train our army of     
defence1 we may find men ousting women  
in their own particular sphere4         
,america and ,canada1 realising that    
their coveted nationality must be       
founded on homes1 have brought into     
their universities the science of home  
affairs4 ,england1 in spite of the      

warning note sounded by inquiries into  
physical deterioration1 infant          
mortality1 and kindred evils1 has been  
content with a tradition of good homes1 
and has so far done little more than    
provide a smattering of cookery lessons 
for elementary school girls4  ,there is1
 however1 a promise of better things4   
,one university college has made a      
venture into home science1 and other    
universities would soon be at work if   
the necessary money could be secured4   
,oh1 for some silver-tongued evangelist 
to cry in the ears of our philanthropic 
millionaires all that might be done for 
this country by bringing its best brains
 to consider the material things that go
 to the making of a good home6     ,,the
 ,,end    ,printed by ,,ballantyne1     
,,hanson  ,,co4   ,edinburgh  ,london