The floor. It may be smoothed off, and painted or oiled. A floor covering that is expensive at first, but that lasts for many years, is an inlaid linoleum or cork car- pet ; it is warm and soft to the feet, keeps out damp, and is easy to keep clean. This is something for which to save up money, if you believe in cleanliness and com- fort. Begin with having it in the pantry. Let it lie on the floor to stretch from use for a month or two ; then cement it along the edges. This ought to keep out mice and ants. The walls. Paint is the very cleanest and best finish. It costs less in the end than paper because it lasts longer. The sink. Whatever the sink is made of, have it open underneath. This is the only way to be sure that ^ Rag rugs and strips are in fashion again. Mollie Stark's grand- mother makes them for her friends. I90 FOOD AND HEALTH it is really clean around the sink. If there is a closet underneath, it may be damp, and we may " tuck away "' things, and then feel too tired to clean the closet out. ' Here is a picture (Fig. 84) of a sink hung from the wall. This is made of enameled iron. If the sink is hung in this way, it can be placed high enough so that Mother's back is in proper position. On page 136 is a Courtesy of J. Mott Co. Fig. 84. — An enameled iron sink hung from the wall. picture of a sink that is too low. When the sink rests upon legs, these come of a standard height, incon- venient, and harmful for tall people. If you have a wooden sink, plan to change it for something else as soon as you can. Plain iron is better than wood. Saving steps. One day, after school, Marjorie Allen with a foot rule in her hand began to follow her mother round the kitchen, measuring her footsteps behind her, instead of helping with the supper as usual. Then she THE HOME BREAKFAST 191 DINING IIOOM l^ ^il L TABLE '/ X fy»MTiiY U. S. Departmem of Affrictdture, Farmers' BuUetin, No. 607. drew a plan of the kitchen, with lines to show where and how far her mother walked in getting supper, like Fig. 85. Mrs. Allen was amused at first, but, when Marjorie told her how many miles she traveled a year, she was interested ; and after sup- per, they all sat down to calculate what could be saved by changing some Fig. 85. — a large kitchen with incon- thingS in the kitchen. All ^^"^^"' arrangement. the girls had been reading at school the bulletin about the Home Kitchen ; ^ and, although Miss James warned them not to trouble their mothers that night by turningthe kitchen "topsy- turvy," they could hardly wait until Saturday to try some change. See if you can save steps by changing movable things about at home ; of course, if your mother is willing. ^ See U. S. Department of Agri- culture, Farmers' Bulletin, No. 607. M fv. \ I I \ { — -•> MNTWr TABLE v^ m U.S. Department of AgrieuUure, Farmer^ Bulletin. No. 607. Fig. 86. — The same kitchen has been improved. 192 FOOD AND HEALTH A kitchen cabinet. You are fortunate if you have a large and well-aired pantry for keeping food ; but it saves time and strength to have some materials at hand all the time. When Marjorie began to talk about buying a cabinet, her brothers decided to make something that would do nearly as well. Figure 83 shows what they did in the way of putting shelves around the kitchen table. The flour and sugar are near by, you see ; and all the little things, too. Then they put casters on another smaller table, and nailed on strips of wood around the top. This was for running dishes and food in and out of the dining room, kitchen, and pantry ; for their rooms were large.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The floor. It may be smoothed off, and painted or oiled. A floor covering that is expensive at first, but that lasts for many years, is an inlaid linoleum or cork carpet ; it is warm and soft to the feet, keeps out damp, and is easy to keep clean. This is something for which to save up money, if you believe in cleanliness and comfort. Begin with having it in the pantry. Let it lie on the floor to stretch from use for a month or two ; then cement it along the edges. This ought to keep out mice and ants. The walls. Paint is the very cleanest and best finish. It costs less in the end than paper because it lasts longer. The sink. Whatever the sink is made of, have it open underneath. This is the only way to be sure that ^ Rag rugs and strips are in fashion again. Mollie Stark's grandmother makes them for her friends. it is really clean around the sink. If there is a closet underneath, it may be damp, and we may "tuck away" things, and then feel too tired to clean the closet out. ' Here is a picture (Fig. 84) of a sink hung from the wall. This is made of enameled iron. If the sink is hung in this way, it can be placed high enough so that Mother's back is in proper position. On page 136 is a Courtesy of J. Mott Co. Fig. 84. — An enameled iron sink hung from the wall. picture of a sink that is too low. When the sink rests upon legs, these come of a standard height, inconvenient, and harmful for tall people. If you have a wooden sink, plan to change it for something else as soon as you can. Plain iron is better than wood. Saving steps. One day, after school, Marjorie Allen with a foot rule in her hand began to follow her mother round the kitchen, measuring her footsteps behind her, instead of helping with the supper as usual. Then she DINING IIOOM l^ ^il L TABLE '/ fy»MTiiY U. S. Departmem of Affrictdture, Farmers' BuUetin, No. 607. drew a plan of the kitchen, with lines to show where and how far her mother walked in getting supper, like Fig. 85. Mrs. Allen was amused at first, but, when Marjorie told her how many miles she traveled a year, she was interested ; and after supper, they all sat down to calculate what could be saved by changing some things in the kitchen. [illustration: Fig. 85. — a large kitchen with inconvenient arrangement.]. All ^^"^^"' arrangement. the girls had been reading at school the bulletin about the Home Kitchen ; ^ and, although Miss James warned them not to trouble their mothers that night by turningthe kitchen "topsyturvy," they could hardly wait until Saturday to try some change. See if you can save steps by changing movable things about at home ; of course, if your mother is willing. ^ See U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin, No. 607. M fv. \ I \ { — -•> MNTWr TABLE v^ m U.S. Department of AgrieuUure, Farmer^ Bulletin. No. 607. Fig. 86. — The same kitchen has been improved. A kitchen cabinet. You are fortunate if you have a large and well-aired pantry for keeping food ; but it saves time and strength to have some materials at hand all the time. When Marjorie began to talk about buying a cabinet, her brothers decided to make something that would do nearly as well. Figure 83 shows what they did in the way of putting shelves around the kitchen table. The flour and sugar are near by, you see ; and all the little things, too. Then they put casters on another smaller table, and nailed on strips of wood around the top. This was for running dishes and food in and out of the dining room, kitchen, and pantry ; for their rooms were large.

Food and health