Show WISE TO SKIMP ON THE TABLE housewives had better pay butch ers than doctors subtle poisons sometimes lurk in cheap attract tive looking articles for the table fruit the foundation of a good table avoid monotony in choice of breakfast foods dinners may be simple and inviting djup whets the appetite and aids di gestson good food better than fine clothing BY MARGARET E sangster rR I 1 was sitting one day in a ferry boat and 1 could not avoid hiring the co of the women who were my fellow passengers of them wai very baut lully dressed and h r irien 1 seemed impressed with the e esancy of her costume on which she mad admiring comment par brals ing the richness of th material ani tb exclusiveness of the style you don t get style like this said the first unless you pay for it 1 went to mme X and her priced are frightfully high but I 1 was wil ing to meet them for I 1 had made th subject of dress a study and was determined to look as well as an one in the town I 1 seo by your ex pres slon that you are wondering how I 1 managed it on edward s salary 1 did it by economy I 1 never go bayon 1 my means I 1 make it A rule to sav on my table edward and the ahll dren get along quite well on cheap cuts of meat and on codfish and pota toes as they would on beet steak and chops such as you have on your table all the while the other woman shook her head john would never allow saving on tho table he insists that the children must be nourished with the best food and that he would rather pay the butcher than the doctor the boat bumped against the dock and as our custom Is in this hurrying country we all rushed together to make the landing with what speed we and to start on our several ways of my neighbors in the cabin I 1 saw no more but I 1 had my priva conclusions about a wife and mother whose vanity was so pronounced that tor the sake of personal adornment rich garments and costly finery she deliberately abridged tho supplies of her table I 1 had a vision of her bus band somewhat scantily fed and of her children and pallid in or der that she might hold her own witti the ches of wealthier men than ed ward I 1 had great respect tor john of the sturdier hber and tor his sen sible wife it is misnamed economy that puts the emphasis of living on dress and spends so much for cl othin that neither body nor bralic can be furnished with a diet that makes gool red blood and maintains physical strength at the highest point of excel lence I 1 do not think that many american women make this egregious blunder the alphabet of frugality la so little understood by most of a that we ex pend far more than we need on tha table the rate of lavishness run ning straight through aa our dally conduct and through the ordering of our homes everyone has heard the oft repeated observation that a fam fly in france can live comfortably on what in an american kitchen Is habit bally thrown away undoubtedly there Is some truth in this many women having had no training taking care of leftovers left overs and of odda and ends and others having not tha faintest idea of what and how to buy A course in marketing should be a part of every young woman s education and a course in catering would do few girls any harm the ordinary cook and housemaid survey with scorn the mistress who keeps tally ot the sugar butter and eggs that are used in the kitchen aal regards with disfavor the thrifty babi of keeping on the back of the range that pot au feu into which every housekeeper in france puts the scraps and bits that combine to make a satorv A good table Is one on which a every meal appetizing and nourishing food Is placed in sufficient variety to tempt the palate and build up family from the baby to the grand father in health and vigor we hear a great deal in these days about food adulteration and it Is safe to say that people who depend largely on canned goods and prepared foods should buy only of the best manufacturers ani avoid those whose wares cannot batani the test of chemical analysis to say that all such foods are adul aerated Is to speak foolishly and to ut ter a sweeping censure that Is not dc served there are firms whose very names guarantee their responsibility and whose imprint on any brand of meat or vegetables may be instantly and fearlessly accepted here there Is peril in choosing what Is offered at a bargain the cheapest stands on the grocer s counter are not invariably the best probably Tro bably a day Is coming when foods of every kind will be submitted as milk and cream now are to critical inspection so that homes may be guarded from the subtle poisons that lurk under the disguise of attractive articles for the table what constitutes a good tabled the answer will be made in accordance with our different tastes nature pro vides liberally for hunan sustenance in delicious fruits succulent vegetables and grains that are abundant in varl ety and full of nutriment we 1 begin the day with fruit either in the natural state or well cooked here there is large room tor choice baked apples and stewed prunes would la many cases shut the door on bitter pills and potions once considered in evitable as part of the diet ot childre i Is there anywhere a man or woman growing old who has not disagree abi recollections of nauseous doses forced upon reluctant lips in ch was once a brew compounded of senna and manna that had a peculiarly odi sus flagor and as tor syrup of rheu arb squalls paregoric and castor ol 01 ere the boys and girls who wera I 1 ata A ail 1 it not in former days compelled to take tham as the price of health fruit in its season doea away in the main witt the necessity tor such doses and la therefore the foundation of a good U next to this come cereals of avei kind the chief requirement for th housekeeper in selecting her grain and meals and flakes being to frequently to change so that the tab be not monotonous for people wt do not go forth to dally labor a light breakfast Is preferable to a heavy on but a man whose luncheon must L slight or a child to should have fish eggs or meat in ad dialon to fruit and cereal grown pe p e may haie good tea and good cot fee as an accompaniment of thel meals and plenty of breid and butte must not be omitted for children alij young people milk Is beiter than efm elating coffee and tea luncheon is more or lesa a feast whether it be taken at mid da or later here the dpn of a hous hold can conveniently come home t a noon day dinner the ideal conditions tor health obtain but a majority ot families find the late dinner Indi spen sable it should begin with soup 0 broth for what reason so many housekeepers look upon soup as ampro to an elaborate dinner but su in a simple one Is a kroblen I 1 have never been able to solve one establish the habit of preparing and serving soup every day ond it will be found that this Is as easy and simell as any other course As an introduction to dinner a sous with meat as a basis or with a bisque of vegetables and milk is an admira ble aid to digestion and acts as a seui spui when one Is too weary immediately tc assimilate more solid food A roast 01 a broil of beef mutton or chicken fol lowing soup accompanied by two vege tables sufficiently fills the bill tor an ordinary dinner after this may coma a salad or a sweet according to choice in the dally menu these are not feces sary at the same time although when the dinner Is a function to which guests have been asked neither ot these courses can be omitted in some departments of the home there must always be constant consideration of ways and means since mos incomes are limited and no single in can do everything that he or she would like in the view of anai prudent it Is wiser to dispense with clothing than with good food as we still want for the dally work what the ancients prized above all things a sound mind in a sound body copyright by joseph bollea |