BY BERTHA M. TERRILL, M. A. Professor of Home Economics, University of Vermont HOUSEKEEPING A PROFESSION 405 THAT right living should be the fourth “R” in edu cation. THAT home-making should be regarded as a pro fession. THAT health is the duty and business of the individual; illness of the physician. THAT most illness results from carelessness, ignorance, or intemperance of some kind. THAT as many lives are cut short by unhealthful food and diet as through strong drink. THAT on the home foundation is built all that is good in state or individual. THAT the upbringing of children demands more study than the raising of chickens. THAT the spending of money is as important as the earning of the money. THAT economy does not mean spending a small amount, but in getting the largest returns for the money expended. THAT the home-maker should be as alert to make progress in her life-work as the business or professional man. THAT the most profitable, the most interesting study for women is the home, for in it center all the issues of life. THAT the study of home problems may be made of no less cultural value than the study of art for literature and of much more immediate value. -American School of Home Economics CHEMISTRY OF THE HOUSEHOLD A Day's Chemistry EING an outline of the simplest and most evi Ben chemical dent chemical changes suggested by a day's work at home and a description of the various chemical substances of interest to the housewife. WATER The morning bath will introduce us agreeably to the wonderful chemical substance, water, and with this substance we will begin our study of a day's chemistry. The water for the house may come from the town supply, from wells, cisterns, or springs. It may be "surface water," from pond, lake, or stream, or it may be "ground water," from wells or deep springs. Cistern water is, of course, rain water. Water is present in many substances where we might not suspect it. All living things contain a large percentage of water. Of an athlete weighing 150 pounds, all but about 42 pounds is water. Wood, meat, vegetables, fruit, when dried, weigh from 50 to 98 per cent less. Many natural and artificial substances owe their crystalline form to Copyright, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1910, by Home Economic Association. Its Occurrence Natural Water Distilled CHEMISTRY OF THE HOUSEHOLD. water and when heated, give off this "water of crystallization" and crumble to powder. Common washing soda shows this effect, when exposed to the air, and soon gives off so much water that its crystalline character is lost. All water found in nature is more or less impure, that is, it contains substances in solution. It dissolves air and takes substances from the soil and rocks over which it runs. Often it comes in contact with animal and vegetable substances and dissolves something from them. Near dwellings the water in streams, ponds, and wells is very likely to become contaminated. Decaying substances give rise to materials easily dissolved in water, which may travel for a considerable distance under ground, so that the drainage from the house or barn is frequently carried to near-by streams or wells, making their waters quite unfit to drink. Fig. 1. The following experiment will illustrate that air is dissolved in water. Experiment. Place a tumbler of fresh well-water or tap-water in a warm place. After a time, bubbles will be seen collecting on the sides of the glass. This is air which was dissolved in the water. As the water grows warm, it cannot hold so much air in solution and some of it separates. Most of the impurities in water are less easily converted into vapor than the water itself; hence, when the water is boiled, they stay behind while the water "boils away". Water from almost any source can be made pure and clear by distillation. Distilled water is |