In the up-to-date home some of the things that receive the most serious consideration are sanitation, food, and working appliances that shall give good results, reduce labor, and be sanitary.

The object of this chapter is to help the housekeeper to reach a clear understanding of what is comprehended in these subjects and to suggest methods by which she may attain the best results along these lines.

Each year the cost of living becomes more of a problem to people of moderate or limited means. In this problem of living the cost of food holds an important place. For years the cost of animal foods and animal products have increased steadily. Perhaps this has not been an unmixed evil, for it has led people to think more seriously of food values and to use more vegetables and less animal foods in the daily menu. However, when vegetable foods replace animal foods it is of the greatest importance that the vegetable foods selected shall contain a proper proportion of the elements necessary for growth and repair. Many of the vegetable foods are rich in these elements, while in others there is a great deficiency of them. The body is made up of living cells and the products of these cells. In young and growing people new cells are being formed all the time; in the young and old the cells are constantly wearing out. If there is not a proper supply of nitrogenous food for the growth and repair of these cells the system will break down. Naturally active, hard workers, and growing people will require more of the building and repair materials than will grown people and light workers.

The growth and repair elements are known as nitrogenous substances. They are to be obtained in their most digestible and concentrated forms in lean meat, fish, eggs, and milk. Nearly all vegetable substances contain more or less nitrogenous matter. Beans, peas, and lentils are rich in nitrogenous matter, but not easy of digestion unless carefully cooked. Wheat in the form of well-made and well-baked bread supplies a certain per cent of the necessary nitrogen in the daily food. Some kinds of nuts are rich in nitrogenous matter.

Starchy foods, fats, and sugar, also mineral matter and flavors are essential to a well-balanced diet.

The starch, sugar, and fats are oxidized in the body (that is, slowly burned in the body) and yield heat and energy, but these substances do not make tissue and cannot be used in the body for growth and repair. Flavors of the right kind, while they cannot be classed as nutrients, are a valuable adjunct to food, making it more appetizing and hence more digestible.

Variety in the food materials and in the methods of preparation are of great importance. A sameness in food (no matter how good it may be) palls upon the appetite. Improvements in methods of agriculture and in the quality of seeds have resulted in a greater variety and better quality of fruits and vegetables. The prices, too, are comparatively reasonable, making it possible for the housekeeper to provide a varied and wholesome menu, even when she can afford only a small amount of animal food. This is an age of fads, and food fads are very much in evidence. There is hardly a food that has not been condemned by some one. It is true, that owing to some idiosyncrasy or disease, there are foods that do not agree with some people, but these are exceptional cases. The majority of people can eat any kind of good food, if it is properly cooked, and properly served. The housekeeper will do well to exercise common sense when considering these fads.

The woman who would provide her family with sanitary, nutritious, and appetizing food should study the principles of nutrition, the principles of cookery, and the proper combination of food materials.

Twenty-five years ago there were practically few opportunities for such studies, but to-day no one within the reach of a post office need be in ignorance of this knowledge, which is so essential to the best physical, mental, and moral condition of the race.

For many years the U. S. Department of Agriculture has been making scientific studies in the principles of nutrition. Practically all the agricultural colleges and experiment stations have made studies in food and dietaries. In many of our public schools, as, also, in other educational institutions, food values and cookery are taught.

A great deal of literature on this subject is published by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and much of it is free to any one who will write for it. It is impossible to estimate the debt of the Nation to the Department of Agriculture for the work done along these lines. But much more of the same kind of work needs to be done, and we hope that Congress will each year make a generous appropriation for it. Here is a list of a few of the Circulars and Bulletins that would be very helpful to the housekeeper. Circular No. 46, "The Functions and Use of Food." Farmers' Bulletin No. 142, "Principles of Nutrition and Nutritive Value of Food." Farmers' Bulletin No. 112, "Bread and the Principles of Bread Making." Farmers' Bulletin No. 121, "Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes as Food." Farmers' Bulletin No. 256, "Preparation of Vegetables for the Table." Farmers' Bulletin No. 203, "Canned Fruits, Preserves, and Jellies." Farmers' Bulletin No. 125, "Protection of Food Products from Injurious Temperatures." These are only a few of the government publications that would be valuable to the housekeeper. However, I think they are enough for the beginner.

Although so much progress has been made in the study of food and nutrition, very little has been done in the chemistry of cookery. Until the chemistry of cookery is studied in the same thorough manner in which nutrition is being studied, it cannot be said that we have a knowledge of the sanitary preparation of food. We may hope for more progress along these lines in the future, when the scientific world realizes the great loss in human efficiency, as well as suffering, that comes through the unsanitary preparation of food. The study of the chemistry of cookery is very expensive in time and materials, and few chemists have interested themselves in its most elusive form, that is, the development of gases under the influence of high temperature and their effect on the food, and on the health of the consumer.

I am satisfied that much of the digestive trouble from which people suffer comes from the reabsorption of the gases that are liberated during the processes of cooking. If there is plenty of ventilation the gases pass off during the process of cooking, leaving the food sanitary and digestible, if other conditions are right. The housekeeper should keep this in mind and be careful not to adopt methods that do not admit of ventilation during the cooking of most food materials.