In the building of the house the kitchen and pantries should come as near as possible to the ideal in convenient and sanitary arrangement. This part of the house should be planned by the housekeeper herself. The plans should be worked out very carefully and always with thought of the worker in mind. Here is a suggestion as to the way to work out the plan. Let the architect draw a floor plan of the kitchen, pantries, dining room, and hall. Make a mental picture of the finished and furnished kitchen as you would like to have it. With a pencil indicate the position of windows, doors, sink, tables, range, etc. Now try to do work in this kitchen keeping in mind the relative positions of the kitchen to the pantries, dining room, hall, cellar, etc. Next try to do the work, keeping in mind the position of range, sink, pantries, and tables. See what changes you can make to save steps. You will have to rearrange a good many times before you are satisfied. If possible have windows on two sides that a cross current of air may be secured. Have the pantries on the cold side of the house, if you can. Bring the sink, table, pantries, and dining room into as close conection as possible. This will save many steps.

Place the sink by a window and the range where the light will fall upon it. Build a generous dresser in the kitchen, in which may be kept all the utensils and materials in daily use. This will reduce steps and fatigue at least one-half. Have generous table room. Have one low table on casters, which may be pushed under an ordinary table when not in use. With such a table it will be possible to do a great deal of work sitting down, such as preparing vegetables, fruits, meats, and beating eggs, batters, etc. One has only to try one of these tables to be convinced of their value in saving strength and nerves.

Now as to the finish of the kitchen and pantries. The walls, ceilings, and wood finishes should be made as plain, hard, and smooth as possible. There should not be one unnecessary groove or joining. The finish should be such that it may be washed when necessary. Varnish, shellac, and paint are all good for this purpose. The kitchen floor is a problem that as yet has not been fully solved. In the small household with the careful housekeeper, hard-wood floors, shellacked or varnished are satisfactory. Use white shellac or varnish for this purpose. If you want color stain the boards and put the clear shellac or varnish over the stain. For hard wear the oiled floor is the best. Soft wood should be painted or covered with a good quality of linoleum.

The invention of labor-saving and economical appliances for the kitchen have not kept pace with the inventions for agriculture and manufacturing industries. The most noticeable improvements along these lines have been in the construction of ranges of all classes. Some coal ranges that were so good that there seemed hardly anything more to be desired have been made more useful to the housekeeper by many improvements. The gas ranges have been perfected to such a point that, with intelligent management, all kinds of cooking can be done with them easily and economically. The complete gas range has every convenience for boiling, baking, roasting, broiling, and keeping food warm, all at the same time. This is not true of the small plain range and it is often difficult to warm the plates and serving dishes and to keep food hot while serving a meal. A closet of sheet iron, fitted with perforated shelves and a small gas jet, would be of great value in a kitchen where the plain gas range is used. The expense of having it made and set up would not be great.

As yet electricity is not employed to any extent in cookery. Electrical appliances and electricity are too expensive for any but the very rich. No doubt this will be overcome in time. The blue flame oil stoves are a great improvement on the old style oil stoves, and they are a great convenience in the country in hot weather.

Stoves for burning alcohol are made with a reservoir for the alcohol. The vapor of the alcohol mixed with air burns like gas and the heat is more intense than when the flame comes directly from the alcohol. Both stoves and alcohol are, as yet, too expensive to be used for general cookery. Even should denatured alcohol be reduced to twenty-five or thirty cents a gallon it would not be an economical fuel for general work. On the other hand, even at the present price of sixty-five or seventy cents a gallon, it is a most useful addition to the present fuel supply, particularly where gas is not available.

With a good alcohol stove it is possible to prepare all the lighter meals. This means a great deal in hot weather, and at all times it is a great convenience for people doing light housekeeping.

In estimating the value of a fuel several things must be considered, time and labor saved, economy in appliances and fuel. It must always be remembered that a generous supply of hot water is essential to personal and household cleanliness. When gas, electricity, alcohol, and oil are employed as fuel, the heating of the water must be estimated as a separate expense. When a coal or wood range is employed the water may be heated by the same fire that does the cooking. Of course, in an apartment where hot water is supplied this item need not be considered.

Gas and electricity are always ready and clean, so they economize time and labor. Alcohol comes next in economy of time and labor. Oil, wood, and coal require time to get them in working order; oil a very short time, wood a little longer, and coal much longer. Both oil, wood, and coal make dirt, so it will be seen that a good deal of time and labor is expended in getting these fuels ready for use and in cleaning the dirt they make. When conditions will admit of choice, the housekeeper should consider carefully what appliances and fuel are in her case the most desirable.

For the woman doing her own work, the fuel which means a saving of time and strength will be the most economical, even though the cost in dollars and cents may be greater than that of some other kind.

It must always be remembered that no one household appliance contributes so greatly to the smooth running of the household machinery and the comfort of the family than does the kitchen range or stove. A poor range leads to waste of time and materials, and is a source of continual friction and irritation. In this one appliance, it is invariably true that the best is the cheapest.