Home Economics

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

a broad term covering all the sciences and arts performerly known taining taining to the home, econas household economics, domestic omy, domestic science, etc. Like agriculture, it is a complex science, including of cooksuch subjects as the chemistry ing, dietetics, hygiene, house decoration, declothing, sewing, etc., all subject to kinds of schools. sultory instruction in all Cooking, sewing and housekeeping were taught in the public schools of the United and later States as far back as 1876, were taken up more scientifically by a few western universities, notably in Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. The object was especially to educate the wives or daughters of the farmers to become more proficient as homemakers by giving them a fundamental knowledge of the sciences pertaining to the home. As an instance, taught a knowledge of physiology soon the farmers that hot biscuits, cooked with a large quantity of saleratus, was the cause of much of the dyspepsia which in those was so prevalent among them proper cooking, rather days, and that than pills or drugs, was the real cure. Hygiene, teaching them that sleeping with closed windows, propagated the tuberculosis germ, gave practical results in a reduction of the number of deaths from this one cause. The advantages of preserving foods according to the schools recipes of the cooking or classes soon convinced the more ignogrounded theoretical rant that wellknowledge was superior to household to practices handed down from mother further daughter, and so created a demand for this class of instruction. This demand was most distinctly articulated by the farmers' organizations, such as the Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange, which emphasized instruction in dem home economics. This demand, in its specializaturn, brought about a higher tion among educators and made of the departarts of homemaking a distinct The subject ment of science by itself. branches is now taught in and its various nearly 150 colleges throughout the counnormal try, and in a large number of and high schools. Generally it is divided into two distinct phases: cultural and such technical. The former includes branches as house decoration, furniture designing and embroidery; the latter has cooking to do with the chemistry of , drainage, dressmaking of the plainer sort, food preserving, etc. The technical , branches of home economics, naturally are more widely taught, and in many communities in the rural districts classes of adults are taught by special instructors sent out by the Federal and State Departments of Agriculture, by the farmers' lyceums and state granges. Instruction in home economics is now a feature of educational courses in schools and colleges abroad, as well as in this country, as may be judged from the fact that an International Bureau of Home Economics has been established in Fribourg, Switzerland, which acts as a clearing house of literature and general information on the subject in general.