ration and identification of digestion products, being carried out pari passu with studies in the nutritive values and comparative cost of food materials. Calculations of the actual food consumption of the class for a day are made the starting point in dietary work, after which typical rations for typical conditions (of childhood, old age, emaciation, obesity, etc.) and for the family group are calculated and the food prepared and served in the laboratory. The general purpose is to give a clear conception of the body as a working machine; of food as the source of energy, building material, and body regulating substances; and of the way in which the materials are made available to the body. Parallel with the course in dietetics, or following it, two courses are offered which extend the work in two directions. Nutrition and food economics, largely a lecture course with some supplemental laboratory practice, enables students to make a more intensive study of the principles of nutrition, and then consider in detail disorders, due to disturbances and disorders of nutrition, special dietaries for such conditions being worked out in the laboratory. Laboratory methods in nutrition, a course of the same length as that of nutrition and food economics, affords opportunity for first-hand study of some of the common methods of nutrition investigation. A special chemical laboratory, suitably equipped, is used in connection with the dietetics laboratory. Diets are calculated according to estimated individual requirement, the food prepared, sampled, and eaten, and analysis made of urine and feces to determine coefficients of digestibility, nitrogen balance, and special points of interest in connection with the problem in hand. The accompanying lectures treat of typical methods of studying digestion and metabolism, the main aim of the course being to give the student more concrete notions of the basis upon which the science of nutrition rests and some criteria for judging the relative value of various kinds of experimental evidence.

For students wishing to specialize still further in nutrition, two still more advanced courses are offered; one, a seminar, in which the field is reviewed in the light of recent contributions to the subject; the other, a research course in which special problems are assigned to individual students for investigation. The department believes that in a school of home economics emphasis is fittingly laid on the human aspects of nutrition, and that not only chemistry and biology, but also psychology, economics, and sociology, must contribute their quotas to elucidate the principles involved in satisfying man's requirements for maintenance, efficiency, and happiness in so far as they can be satisfied by feeding.

PROBLEM COURSE-MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Prof. Agnes Hunt furnishes the following statement:

A course in "household problems and demonstrations" has been offered to senior women in the home economics department of the Michigan Agricultural College as an elective in the spring term. It requires six hours of laboratory work per week, and the work comprises the collecting of material and working out of an original problem with a demonstration of the results at the close of the term.

The course is organized not so much with the idea of perfecting a problem, as the time is too short for that, but rather to acquaint the student with ways and means of collecting material for herself, both from reference reading and experimental work. It has not been felt necessary to confine the work to this department alone, but has been found quite satisfactory to have the student

carry on the problem study in a laboratory in some other department where equipment was more convenient. For example, one problem on the causes of shrinkage in canning fruits and vegetables was carried on in the bacteriological laboratory, where incubators, sterilizers, etc., could be handled quite easily. Another problem on deterioration of different kinds of dry and moist yeasts was worked on in the same department to determine how rapidly CO2 was given off under varying conditions of age, temperature, etc. One problem on testing of bread flours was worked out in the new laboratory especially opened for such work in the chemistry department.

We have found that in some cases a group of two or three students working out different phases of the same problem have been able to accomplish better results than one student undertaking the whole field.

Some of the problems taken up in the last three years have been:

Effects upon freezing mixtures by using varying proportions of ice and salt.
Utilization of cheaper cuts of meat.

Comparison of various kinds of lunch baskets and lunches for same.
Comparison of flour, cornstarch, and egg as thickening agents.

A study of spring and winter wheat breads made from compressed yeast, yeast foam, and liquid yeast.

A study to determine the difference between the fireless and pressure cookers regarding cost, economy of time and labor, and the best results of the cooked material with reference to flavor and texture.

Utilization of dried fruits.

Various ways of using cheese.

TECHNICAL COURSES IN COOKERY.

The organization of instruction in the technique of cookery is well illustrated by the following titles of courses in the department of foods and cookery at Teachers College, Columbia University, offered separate from other courses in organic and household chemistry, biological chemistry, and nutrition and food economics: Technology of cookery-aiming to develop technique by studying principles, processes, materials; elements of cookery-a survey course for those not specializing in cookery; elementary food preparation-general principles; experimental cookery-the purpose of which is to put cookery on a scientific basis and to systematize methods, to emphasize the quantitative aspects, comparative recipes, costs an undergraduate and a graduate course; home cookery and table service-study, planning, and cooking of breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, suppers, also table service; demonstration cookery-practice in public lectures and demonstrations in cookery, also in preparation of articles for publication; demonstrations in advanced cookery-more complicated processes, variety of flavorings, seasonings, and materials; cookery for social workers-problems of family at margin of subsistence, for visiting housekeepers, settlement workers, and others; cookery for invalids; institutional cookery-large-quantity cooking for hospitals, lunchrooms, restaurants; catering and general cookery-problems of tea rooms and catering establishments; and the history of cookery.

Section 5. COLLEGE COURSES IN TEXTILES AND CLOTHING.

Instruction in textiles and clothing is based on the principles of design. It involves social and economic considerations of importance. Certain aspects of the subject may be approached by the tests of the laboratory.

COURSES ON DRESS-OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.

Miss Maud C. Hathaway furnishes the following statement:

The course in dress in Ohio State University covers a period of two years. One year's work is required of all first-year students in the home economics department. The rest of the work is elective at any time after the first year, and either a half year's or the whole year's work may be taken, as desired. Students taking first-year dress must also take a year of general design in the art department, two hours per week. Another half year of design is required before taking the advanced work in dress. Next semester we are to have for the first time a course in costume design, which we hope to have made a requirement of the dress course.

The first year's work consists of -one laboratory period of two hours and a one-hour lecture period per week. In the laboratory, cotton and linen are used in the making of undergarments, waists, and wash dresses. Hand and machine sewing are taught, and the use and adaptation of the commercial pattern. In the lectures the general subject of textiles is treated-the history and development of their manufacture; their chemical and physical properties. Finished fabrics are examined and studied for cost, quality, and use; economic and social problems related to the textile field are discussed; clothing budgets are prepared; and the care and the hygiene of clothing considered.

In the second year's work, laboratory periods of two hours each and a onehour lecture period are required. In the first semester wool is the material used. Patterns are drafted and designed, and there is pattern modeling. Simple dresses are made. The lectures have thus far dealt largely with problems of design, but with the introduction of a course in costume design, the aim will be to try to relate the work in dress to as many important economic, social, and artistic problems as possible.

In the work of the fourth semester, silk dresses are made. Pattern modeling and designing are continued, and the use of the dress form introduced. In lectures an outline of the history of costume is given.

The general point of view in the instruction is that of the whole course in home economics-that is, it is an effort to make better home makers. Emphasis is laid particularly on those features of the clothing problem that will make the girl a wiser purchaser and consumer, both from the economic and the artistic standpoint. Her relation, as a home maker, to the social problems arising from this field of industrial work, as well as to something one may call, perhaps, the morality of dress, these are things we try to teach, rather than mere technical skill, though that is by no means neglected.

TEXTILE TESTING-TEACHERS COLLEGE.

The following statement regarding the work in textile testing as given in Teachers College, Columbia University, is furnished by the

instructor, Ellen Beers McGowan. (See also "Textiles," Woolman and McGowan, Macmillan.)

The aim of the course is twofold:

1. To bring to the attention of the students standards in textiles and market conditions as affecting the consumer, leading to the question of the necessity for textile legislation.

2. To increase the student's ability to judge materials and to purchase wisely. This aim is best accomplished by grouping the students in as small sections as possible, to allow for individual work. Each student in the group may, if she wishes, investigate any line of material in which she is interested. The results of each investigation are discussed and shared by all; so that if the section is made up of 15 students, each one has at the end of the course the nuclei, at least, of 15 studies of textile materials.

The following are a few of the questions which suggest themselves as the motives for these studies:

In this line of dress goods, ranging from 39 cents to $3 per yard, what can be considered the standard material? Is there a fixed relation of price to value? Can the consumer depend upon the statement of the retailer as to the content of the material?

What should one pay for a serviceable grade of linen toweling, table damask, etc.? What are the claims of mercerized material as a substitute for linen damask?

How much is actual weave and quality concealed by dressings-in table linen, for example?

To what extent is cotton used as a substitute for linen and made to resemble it? What is the relation of weighting to price and wearing quality in silks?

How can I increase the fastness of light-hued summer material to light and washing?

Materials selected for study may be: Dress and lining silks, waist and other flannels, mohairs, shepherd checks, novelty goods, serges, corded materials in wool and silk, linens, cotton material for sheetings, etc., upholstery goods, and many other lines of material.

Small pieces of material are bought, just sufficient for testing and dividing among the class as samples. The samples are mounted on cards, together with the results of the tests made, and other data.

The laboratory work consists of:

1. Microscopic study. The microscopic appearance of the important fibers is learned and applied to the identification and determination of quality of the fibers in the materials to be studied.

2. Chemical testing. Elaborate tests requiring much apparatus are avoided. Simple practical tests, many of which can be performed at home, are emphasized. Identification tests for all principal fibers and differentiation tests for combinations of materials are made, together with tests for mercerization, dressing, and weighting. These tests are applied, quantitatively when possible, to the particular studies of material.

3. Laundry. A brief time is devoted to the proper treatment of fibers in the laundry and to the fastness of colors and removal of stains.

4. Dyeing. Nothing of a technical nature is attempted. The emphasis is placed on learning the best class of dyestuff for a given material, which involves a discussion of classes of dyes, properties, and methods of application. Practice is given in mixing colors. After preliminary dyeing of skeins, the students apply their knowledge to the dyeing of cheesecloth for color effects, to tied work, to dyeing feathers, scarfs, ribbons, and dress materials.

COURSES IN TEXTILES AND CLOTHING-UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN.

The department of home economics furnishes the following statement regarding its courses in clothing and textiles:

Hand and machine sewing.-Given as a teacher's course in the summer school. Required as a prerequisite without credit for home economics 11 (next below). In either case it does not count in degrees toward graduation. It includes the making of all the fundamental stitches: Knitting, crocheting, darning, patching, and simple embroidery. The use of the sewing machine and its attachments. Fancy stitches done on the sewing machine. Practice in the drafting, cutting, and making of lingerie for ladies and children: Chemise, nightgown, drawers, corset cover, combination drawers and corset cover, silk and cotton petticoats, guimpes, shirt waists, flannel underwear, bathing suits, children's underwear.

Manufacture and selection of clothing.-Costume designing, economic problems of construction of clothing in the home, as compared to the commercial product, hygienic factors involved in clothing, and economic and sociological phases of the clothing industry.

Advanced dressmaking.—Laboratory work includes costumes: The drafting, cutting, and making of cotton dresses, woolen tailored suits (Peter Thompson style), fancy silk and crêpe dresses, tailored linen suits.

Millinery.-Aims to fit students for teaching millinery in the high schools; designing and drafting of patterns for hats; construction of frames; buckram covering; willow and wire covering, and finishing the hat with velvet, straws, etc.; making and placing of trimming; making of ribbons, flowers, and accessories of dress; renovating of millinery; children's millinery; baby bonnets; fur sewing, the making of muffs and collarettes.

Textiles. Two lectures, three 2-hour laboratory periods per week, for one of which no credit is allowed.

The lectures cover, first, the study of the textile art in the early stages of civilization, illustrated by material gathered together in the historical museum; the progress of the industry through the period of the domestic system in Europe and America; the period of the industrial revolution, the study of expansion in recent years.

Second. The culture of the raw material of the textile fibers, the various machine processes necessary to the production of cloth, the bleaching, dyeing, printing, and finishing of cloth.

Third. The study of specialized parts of the industry, as the knitting industry, lace making, tapestry weaving, rug making, both domestic and foreign.

Fourth. Design and color in textile materials from the artistic standpoint; the possibility of securing an adequate label for purity in textile materials; the work of the consumers' league.

The laboratory work is devoted to learning the stitches and seams used in plain sewing; the parts, and the working of the sewing machine; the drafting and making of a shirt waist. The laboratory work includes:

First. Hand-loom weaving, from the processes of setting up a loom, making a warp, threading the loom, to the weaving of a rug and a table runner or bag. Second. The study of the macroscopic characteristics of the principal textile fibers, their microscopic appearance, their physical and chemical properties and chemical composition; the problems of laundering, such as bleaching, shrinking, bluings, removal of stains, effect of detergents on the tensile strength.

Third. Dyes and dyeing.