Healthful Cookery
211
tired mother. Lead her to a seat in the parlor, and urge her to rest and
enjoy the society of her friends.
But the daughters are not the ones to be blamed wholly in this
matter. The mother is at fault. She has not patiently taught her daugh-
ters how to cook. She knows that they lack knowledge in the cooking
department, and therefore feels no release from the labor. She must
attend to everything that requires care, thought, and attention. Young
ladies should be thoroughly instructed in cooking. Whatever may be
their circumstances in life, here is knowledge which may be put to a
practical use. It is a branch of education which has the most direct
influence upon human life, especially the lives of those held most dear.
Many a wife and mother who has not had the right education, and lacks
skill in the cooking department, is daily presenting her family with
ill-prepared food which is steadily and surely destroying the digestive
organs, making a poor quality of blood and frequently bringing on
acute attacks of inflammatory disease, and causing premature death.
Many have been brought to their death by eating heavy, sour bread.
An instance was related to me of a hired girl who made a batch of sour,
heavy bread. In order to get rid of it, and conceal the matter, she threw
it to a couple of very large hogs. Next morning the man of the house
found his swine dead, and upon examining the trough, found pieces
of this heavy bread. He made inquiries, and the girl acknowledged
what she had done. She had not a thought of the effect of such bread
upon the swine. If heavy, sour bread will kill swine, which can devour
rattlesnakes and almost every detestable thing, what effect will it have
upon that tender organ, the human stomach?
It is a religious duty for every Christian girl and woman to learn
at once to make good, sweet, light bread from unbolted wheat flour.
Mothers should take their daughters into the kitchen with them when
very young, and teach them the art of cooking. The mother cannot
expect her daughters to understand the mysteries of housekeeping
without education. She should instruct them patiently, lovingly, and
make the work as agreeable as she can by her cheerful countenance
and encouraging words of approval. If they fail once, twice, or thrice,
censure not. Already discouragement is doing its work, and tempting
them to say, “It is of no use; I can’t do it.” This is not the time for
censure. The will is becoming weakened. It needs the spur of encour-
aging, cheerful, hopeful words, as, “Never mind the mistakes you have