BY
The time has come, the Aggies said,
To talk of many things,
Of what to eat, of calories,
Of cabbages and kings,
Of vitamines and sausages,
And whether costs have wings.
Journal of Home Economics,
November, 1917.
“FOOD IS FUEL FOR FIGHTERS. Do not waste it.Save WHEAT, MEAT, SUGARS AND FATS. Send more to our Soldiers,Sailors and Allies.”
The patriotic housewife finds her little domestic boat sailingin uncharted waters. The above message of the Food Administrationdisturbs her ordinary household routine, upsets her menus and putsher recipes out of commission. It also renders inoperative some ofher usual methods of economy at a time when rising food prices makeeconomy more imperative than ever. To be patriotic and still liveon one’s income is a complex problem. This little book wasstarted in response to a request for “a war message aboutfood.” It seemed to the author that a simple explanation ofthe part which some of our common foods play in our diet might beboth helpful and reassuring. To change one’s menu is oftentrying; to be uncertain whether the substituted foods will preserveone’s health and strength makes adjustment doubly difficult.It is hoped that the brief chapters which follow will make iteasier to “save wheat, meat, sugars and fats” and tomake out an acceptable bill of fare without excessive cost.
Thanks are due to the Webb Publishing Company, St. Paul,Minnesota, for permission to reprint three of the chapters, whichappeared originally in The Farmer’s Wife.
TEACHERS COLLEGE, Columbia University, New York City.
December 1, 1917.
(Reprinted from The Farmer's Wife, bypermission of the Webb Publishing Company.)
There is a quaint old fairy tale of a friendly pitcher that cameand took up its abode in the home of an aged couple, supplying themfrom its magic depths with food and drink and many other comforts.Of this tale one is reminded in considering the place of the milkpitcher in the home. How many housewives recogni