Foods and home making

If water cannot be carried from home, bring juicy fruits such as oranges. Use these fruits to quench your thirst at a picnic rather than water which you do not know to be safe. What foods may be prepared at home for a picnic ? Although it is great fun to cook a lunch in the woods, there may be times when it is better to prepare picnic foods at home and eat them in the woods. For such a lunch, sandwiches are often made. The suggestions given on page 230 can be followed in making sandwiches for a picnic quite as well as for a school lunch. For a picnic lunch, the desserts mentioned on page 231 are suitable. Besides fresh fruit beverages and hot cocoa, milk is a wholesome picnic beverage and food. It can be carried as suggested on page 227. Sandwiches and other picnic foods may be conveniently packed in boxes. The hints for packing foods given on page 23 1 should be kept in mind. How shall you leave the picnic grounds? Considering the rights of others is one of the qualities of citizenship. The person who mutilates a public building or litters up a public park is not considering the rights of other persons. The boy or girl who leaves papers and waste food in the woods or park is not prac- ticing citizenship. There are other persons who will want to have a picnic where he has had a good time. These persons should be considered when leaving a picnic. The boy or girl who is a worthy member of his home will not scatter paper or waste food either in his home or in his yard. He should feel the same responsibility about keeping the woods and parks clean and neat. It is a pity to spoil the beauty of woods and brooks with picnic litter. There are at least two things a picnicker should do upon leaving a picnic : (1) see that all papers and food waste are re- moved or destroyed, and (2) see that all fires are put out. If a Picnic Lunches 545 fire has been built, it is easy to burn up paper and bits of waste food. By waste food is not meant left-over edible food, but parts of food such as fruit peelings which must be discarded. If no fire has been built, it is well either to burn waste paper and food or to carry them home. Forest fires destroying property and endangering human life have been caused by careless picnickers. A fire may be put out by pouring water on it or by piling earth upon it. How can you have a class picnic? Your teacher may plan to have the class prepare in the school kitchen sandwiches and other foods suitable for a box lunch. These foods may be packed by members of the class in lunch boxes or other suitable contain- ers. The class may go to the woods after school and use the box lunches for refreshments. If all or most of the class bring their lunch to school another plan for a class picnic is possible. Each member of the class should select and pack a box lunch and bring it to school on a certain day. A committee or the teacher may number each box. Then numbers corresponding to those on the boxes may be placed on slips of paper. Each pupil may then draw a num- ber, which will entitle her to the box of corresponding number. She may then open and exhibit the contents of the box. The class will criticize the box, pointing out both its good qualities and defects. The foods may then be replaced in the box and eaten later by the owner. Such a picnic may be held either at lunch time or after school.