fl/W/J® <5" mi I % l j A North Dakota State Normal and Industrial School BULLETIN Ellendale, North Dakota Food and Clothing Problems TILDA R. NATWICK Domestic Science L. MAUDE FINLEY Domestic Art JANUARY, 1920 Volume 15 Number 1 Published by the STATE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL Ellendale, North Dakota \ Entered £ Ag ; 8, 1907, at Ellendale, N. D., under Act of Congress July 16, 1904. / God give us eyes to see that what we eat Fits us for service and achievement meet; That food is life! Show us in fruit of orchard and of field What in our souls will surest profit yield; For not alone the body grows more fair, The very soul is nourished by good fare; The answer to high calls that each soul makes May lie within the food the house wife bakes: Food is a weapon keen, a knife; Food is a trusty buckler in the strife; Food is what we are — food is life. C. Houston Goudiss. “The well-dressed woman picks out her gowns, her adorn- ments, simply because they make her appear more pleasing, not because other people are wearing that style. * * * There is only one motto for the well-dressed woman, and the old Romans expressed it in one word, decorum, which means, that which is suitable.”— Paul Poiret. •v.v' Page Three FOOD PROBLEMS OF THE HOME Tilda R. Natwick Last August the Director of the Council of National Defense presented to Congress, a report containing a careful study of the reasons for the high cost of living and some suggestive remedies. The report shows an estimate of the increase in prices from July 1914 to June 1919 for all commodities taken together, as approxi- mately 107 per cent. Food which constitutes from 35 to 45 per cent of the total expenditure of typical wage earning families in- creased in price 111 per cent. In cases where increase in wages has not kept pace with increased cost of living, it means a tendency towards the lowering of standards of living. This means that the housewife more than ever needs to know how to feed her family adequately as well as economically. Thus we find that the prob- lem of nutrition is one of growing importance not only because of the increased cost of food but because more and more we are coming to realize that a healthy body is man’s greatest asset. What a person who plans meals ought to know is that different classes of foods serve different uses in the body and how best to choose those which will serve all these uses without waste. Food is fuel for the human machine, but how shall we know how much to supply? When we use coal for fuel for an engine we purchase it by weight, that is by the bushel or the ton. When we use gasoline we buy it by the quart or the gallon. 'When we use electricity, it is measured by the kilowatt hour. In the same way we have a measure for our foods and as efficient, modern house- wives we must learn to think calories as we think yards or pounds. As we measure cloth in yards and sugar by the pound so we measure the nutriment of food stuffs in calories. The scientific definition of a calorie tells us that it is the amount of heat required to raise four pounds of water 1 degree Fahrenheit. It is not necessary to remember this definition. We do not try to define yard and pound and gallon every time we use the terms. The important thing to know is that foods may be measured and com- pared and that when we speak of caloric value of foods, we mean their fuel producing value to the human body. For practical purposes we may think of a calorie as simply the amount of food that it takes to lift one hundred pounds thirty feet. One may push a hundred pounds on a lawn mower and drive it thirty feet Page Four along, one may climb stairs, make beds, wash dishes or play the piano. No matter what one does, when he has worked as hard as he would work to hoist one hundred pounds thirty feet he has used up one calorie of food and the food by means of which we do a calorie’s worth of toil is also said to have one calorie of fuel value. As a matter of fact, of course, most of our work and most of our food, goes where it doesn’t show. Our heart pumps twenty-four hours a day against the friction of the blood vessels. We pull a good many muscles just to keep from falling down. It takes one or two hundred calories of food each day to digest the rest. One thing with another, most of us do more than two thousand calories worth of labor in each day; an amount which if all went into straight lift would elevate a ton weight more than half a mile. Working, living and keeping warm are not the only results of eating our meals. Some of us in addition grow. If we are young and add- ing to our bone and muscle, it takes, according to circumstances, a thousand or fifteen hundred calories of food to make a pound of youngster. Food then must fulfill certain requirements. It must pro- vide for growth, maintenance and repair and it must also provide energy for the activities of the body. We need to think of the body as taking in and giving off energy. In fact a well-trained man is the most efficient energy transforming machine of any. The finest motor is only 30 per cent efficient and a well made engine only 20 per cent, while a man in good condition is capable of 33 Vi per cent of efficiency. True it is that our grandmothers brought up large families without any knowledge of food requirements save tradition and trusted in Providence for results. Science, however, has made us aware that both knowledge and care are required to maintain health, strength and efficiency. If you use a cheap quality of gasoline in your automobile all may go well for awhile but sooner or later there is trouble. The majority of people think too much of their auto- mobiles to try poor fuel on them, yet we will continue to pile our bodies full of anything we happen to like, and then when the machine doesn’t work the right way, we feel mighty sorry for ourselves and very seldom realize or admit that we are getting ex- actly what is coming to us. We must learn to eat for efficiency, not for satiety. Food selection is a science and to know that the members of Page Five the family are adequately provided for, you must let needs not whims govern their food habits. Learn to know the needs of each member of the family and plan your meals to meet these needs, under all or any circumstances, and not plan them to satisfy per- verted appetites. The amount of work which a person does is the greatest factor in determining food requirement. The requirement varies with age, size, sex, climate, weight and activity of the individual. It requires careful computation to determine the exact amount. Children require less than adults but because they are so very active and because they are growing they require more in propor- tion to their weight. An elderly man requires less than his younger, more robust son. We need a certain number of calories each day to maintain each of the pounds which our height will justify accordng to our age, weight and activities. Infants require as much as 40 to 50 calories per pound each day, and older children require as much as thirty or forty calories per pound Adults who work at hard physical labor need twenty or so calories per pound each day, while sedentary workers, getting mild exercise are better off with only fifteen calories for every justified pound of weight. In general the total daily requirements are as follows: (а) For the average man (154 lbs.) At sedentary occupation 2000-2800 calories Standing or walking .2700-3000 calories Moderate muscular work 3000-3500 calories Severe exercise 4000-6000 calories (б) For the average woman (128 lbs.) Sedentary occupation . 2000-2200 calories Standing . 2200-2500 calories Moderate muscular work 2500-3000 calories The protein should provide about one-tenth of the total daily requirement. Fats about three-tenths of the total requirement, and carbohydrates about six-tenths of the total for the day. Protein is essential in our diet as it is the one source from which the body can obtain uitrogen and nitrogen is very essential for the growth and repair of tissues. When proteins are digested they are broken up into nitrogeneous substances known as amino acids. Some proteins are known as complete proteins, which means that they supply all the -amino acids necessary to build Page Six- i body protein. Other foods are known as incomplete proteins which means that they are lacking in one or more of the amino acids. Meat should not be depended upon too largely for the supply of nitrogen as we find associated with it certain substances called “purins” a substance which in part gives meat its flavor. Purins are not nutritious but are transformed in the body to uric acid, to be carried off as waste thus overtaxing the powers of the kidneys. Uric acid also accumulates in the system circulating in the blood and depositing in the joints causing gout. These dangers may be avoided by supplying the greater part of the protein from other protein sources. Here are several reasons why meat should not be introduced into the diet of the child until he is eight or nine years old ; 1. The higher flavor of the meat tends to displace milk and milk is much richer in ash constituents than is meat. In fact meat is exceedingly deficient in calcium while milk is its most important source. Every child under twelve years of age should have at least a quart of milk a day provided in his diet. 2. The sensitive growing organism of the child should not be whipped up by stimulants such as is found in the extractives of meat. 3. While meat is rich in iron it is not more so than many other foods listed in a table which follows and the intestinal putrefaction of meat interferes seriously with its use of iron. In the process of the digestion of proteins certain acids are formed and to keep the body safely alkaline, foods which supply alkaline material should be included in the diet, such as milk, 'cream, molasses, almost all dried and fresh fruits, including lemons, oranges and grape fruit. Thus the acid forming foods, as cereals, bread, meat, eggs, plums, cranberries and prunes should be care- fully balanced by those having an alkaline reaction in the body. Sugar has been revealed as a neutral food. The carbohydrates and fats supply the principal sources of energy. Of these the fats are most concentrated and furnish two and one-fourth times as much fuel as an equal weight of car- bohydrate. Fats digest more slowly than the carbohydrates and give to the food “a staying” quality. Both carbohydrates and fats leave a harmless residue when burned in the body and when more is taken 'than the body demands it is kept in reserve and Page Seven stored chiefly as body fat. If at any time not enough fuel is eaten the body draws upon this reserve and converts it into energy. Thus people who are underweight or overweight may remedy the condition by decreasing or increasing the amount of sugar, starch or fat in the diet. But the problem of a properly balanced diet is not solved by providing protein, fat and carbohydrates. A balanced diet must contain mineral salts or ash yielding an abundant supply of iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon, sodium, sul- phur, chlorine, iodine, and flourine. The principal minerals to be considered in choosing food are calcium, phosphorus and iron. The small amounts of the others which are required are certain to be included if foods furnishing the above named are supplied. A lack of calcium will cause weak bones and bad teeth. A lack of phosphorus results in a general retardation of growth. It is not only combined with calcium to form the bones of the body but is also an essential constituent of every cell. The iron requirement is highly important, principally as a constituent of the red corpusles of the bood which carry oxygen. Babies are born with a store of iron to last for several months, but the adult has no reserve supply and must see that the food fur- nishes an adequate supply daily. It is also essential that we supply a certain amount of roughage or bulk in the diet as it is so important in the regulating processes of the body. Fruits and vegetables are the chief sources for this Ailing material. Another requirement in balancing the diet is to make sure that vitamines are present. So far three substances have been identi- fied; the “Fat Soluble A” the “Water Soluble B” and the anti- scorbutic or the “Water Soluble C” vitamine. A list of the foods containing the vitamines are given in a table which follows. The effect of a deficiency of the “Fat Soluble A ” vitamine is first, a failure to grow, followed by a disease of the eye called xerophthal- mia, known as night blindness. Butter fat is the most important source of this vitamine and while very little may be supplied in oleomargarines, it is entirely lacking in nut margarines and vegetable oils and this is one thing that makes whole milk, butter and vegetables so indispensable for children. The “Water Soluble B” vitamine has a much wider distri- bution as is shown in the table. Dr. McCarrison’s studies show Page Eight that where this vitamine is lacking, miscellaneous infections are frequent and the whole body liable to be overcome by a rank growth of bacteria. He also shows a similarity between a lack of this vitamine and the great increase in tuberculosis abroad during the war. The antiscorbutic vitamine is present in largest amounts in fresh fruits and green vegetables and is also found in small amounts in other foods named in the table. Raw cabbage is probably the best antiscorbutic and orange juice ranks next. Cooking foods diminishes or entirely destroys this vitamine efficiency. Canned tomatoes seem to be an exception, possibly because of their acid content together with the original richness in the substance. Milk looses its antiscorbutic properties when pasteurized and in- fants fed pasteurized milk should always have it supplemented by orange juice, or if economy is necessary, tomato may be used. Most of us probably use butter, milk or leafy vegetables to supply the “Fat Soluble A” adequately, enough vegetables of all kinds and whole cereals to get “Water Soluble B”, and enough uncooked or little cooked foods for “C”. Dr. McCollum attributes all sorts of common languors, inefficiencies and susceptibilities to many mis- cellaneous inflections, with a shortage in vitamines. Thus with proper attention to this matter throughout the year we may have fruits and vegetables take the place of “blood medicines” and we may expect to be as healthy in the spring of the year as at any other time. We must all learn to think of foods in terms of calo- ries of carbohydrates, fats, minerals, proteins, vitamines, 'and cellulose or bulk. Page Nine Below is given a table pf foods which may prove a guide to the housewife in the planning of her three meals a day. In the first place take the day as a unit in planning rather than the single meal, or better still plan for the week or the month, and thus avoid a feast of calories one day and a famine the next. Foods Rich in Value Meat beans cheese Fish peanuts Eggs milk complete proteins and fats 1. tissue building and repairing material 2. fuel Peas cornmeal Oatmeal walnuts Wheat Incomplete pro- teins and carbo- hydrates 1. partially effi- cient as tissue builderw and re- pairers. 2. fuel a. Starchy vegetables as potatoes and corn b. Cereal grains as found in flours, meals, breakfast foods, macaroni, rice tap- ioca. c. Sugar-as found in cane, beet, fruit, supplied by honey, candy, molasses, ripe fruits. d. cellulose-as found in fruit and vegetable fibre. Carbohydrates 1. Fuel 2. Forming fatty tissue Butter, cream, fat of meat, oilve oil, vegetable oils, egg yolks Fats 1. Fuel 2. forming fatty tissue Page Ten Calcium milk egg yolk cheese buttermilk cauliflower celery lettuce spinach radishes string beans asparagus turnips rhubarb cabbage almonds oatmeal graham bread whole wheat bread white bread chicken lean beef lean veal frog's flesh pike haddock herring strawberries lemons oranges figs Foods Supplying Phosphorus buttermilk milk cheese egg yolk lean beef % lean veal chicken ham frog’s flesh peanuts almonds walnuts oatmeal rye flour whole wheat peaned barley currants cherries grapes figs peaches strawberries raspberries cauliflower cucumbers asparagus green corn onoins parsnips turnips rhubarb radishes spinach lettuce celery Iron milk egg yolk peanuts lean beef salmon halibut oatmeal graham bread whole wheat bread string beans asparagus beets turnips onions spinach lettuce celery cabbage radishes tomatoes carrots potatoes prunes figs dates raisins grapes strawberries Page Eleven Foods Supplying “Fat Soluble A” Vitamines “Water Soluble B” Vitamines “Water Soluble C“ or Antiscorbutic Vitamine butter yeast (richest known) raw cabbage milk spinach (next to orange juice egg yolk yeast) grapes cream lettuce and all green lemon juice cod liver oil leaf foods carrots (raw or cooked whale oil cabbage young) fat fish potatoes tomatoes (raw, canned liver tissue carrots or dried) kidney tissue turnips potatoes (if not cooked glandular organs beets too long) spinach tomatoes raw milk (moderate cabbage navy beans value carrots peas fresh meat (moderate bananas germ of the cereal value) yellow corn grains 1 sweet potatoes unpolished rice milk slightly Page Twelve Comparison of the number of calories yielded by twenty-five cents worth of different foods, as worked out by students in the Dietetics class at the Ellendale State Normal and Industrial School. The prices given are those of the Ellendale markets on Feb. 5th, 1920. Also shows the fuel value of milk as compared with other foods. Material Weight Measure Price per lb. Total Calories Milk 4 lbs 2 qts $ 0634 1350 Rolled Oats 2% lbs 1234C 10 4 504 Beans Navy 2% lbs 10 3910 Crisco 10 2-7 oz 204-7 T 38 8-9 3428 4-7 Lard 12 oz 1%C. .35 3062.4 Sugar 134 lbs. * 2 C. .20 2721. Rice 134 lbs. 2J4C. 16% 2386. Cream of Wheat 20 oz. 2KC. .20 2050. Macaroni 1 14 lbs. 7% C. .20 2030. Oleomargarine 5-9 lb. 1C. .45 1895. Peanuts lib. 1 % qts. .25 1877. * Almonds 5-8 lb. .40 1835. Grape Nuts 15 oz. 1 box 3 oz. .24 1579.6 Potatoes 4% lbs. .053 1450. Butter 6 2-13 oz. 12 4-13 T. .65 1340.9 Bacon % lbs. 7 slices .50 1298.5 Milk, Condensed 1 lb. 6 oz. 1 34 cans .18 1040.6 Prunes 5-6 lb. .30 968.3 Porterhouse Steak... . 5-7 lb. .35 958.6 Cheese 8 oz. .50 944. Figs %lb. l%pkg. .65 898. Dates 9.4 oz. 1 box .58 813.3 Beet Meat Shank 2 lbs. .10 782. Cream 5-6 lb. 1%C. .30 734 1-6 Smoked Ham 5-8 lb. 1 sm. slice .40 670.5 Apples 234 lbs. 12 ,10 535. Beef Round 9 oz. .35 487.8 Rutabaggas 3% lbs 4 .06% 483. Pineapple, canned ... % lb. 3 % slices .37 464. Walnuts 8% oz. 28 .45 455.6 Bananas 134 lbs. 6 16% 435. Eggs 5-8 lb. 5 eggs .40 420. Oranges 234 lbs. 4 12. 359. Salmon 6 oz. VsCr !64 257.5 Peas 15-16 lb .26 235.5 Oysters 341b. Vs C. .50 111.2 Head Lettuce 2 17-24 lb. 1 % head .113-10 195. Celery 5-6 lb. 1% bun. .30 56.6 Cucumbers 15-32 lb. 54 cucumb. 53.% 29.3 Page Thirteen A Class in Millinery Cooking Laboratory used by the Ellendale Normal School students Page Fourteen CLOTHING PROBLEMS OF THE HOME L. Maude Finley In former times the material for the clothing of the family was made in the home, and the best products went into the making of them. As economic conditions changed, this work was taken from the home until now practically all material for the clothes is made in factories. Woman is no longer the producer, but she is the con- sumer. Ninety per cent of all the purchasing is done by the women. In earlier days when home-spun and home-woven ma- terials were used, all wool cloth was all wool, and all linen cloth was not half cotton or in some other way adulterated. Since modern devices in the manufacture of cloth have been invented, it is possible to make one fiber take the appearance of a more ex- pensive one, thus deceiving the buyer. As a result of this, women have more or less depended upon the word of the clerks who are often just as ignorant as themselves along this line It has been learned by experience that this method cannot be depended upon. Today with the enormous increase of prices, the woman should know how to obtain the best for the money she has to spend. In dividing the income, it has been found that from 12 per cent — 17 per cent is the proper amount to be spent for clothing. To do this intelligently, the buyer should have some knowledge of the different fibers that are used in making cloth. She should be able to tell whether or not she is getting what she asks for. The price oi cloth now is no indication of its real value, oftentimes inferior goods are sold under the name and price of more expensive mater- ials. Buyers should know the characteristics of the different fibers, the method of adulteration, and the ways and means of detecting the same. There are four common textiles: cotton and linen, which are vegetable fibers; wool and silk, which are animal fibers. COTTON Cotton fiber from which cotton cloth is made is the soft, white, downy substance, which encloses the seeds of the cotton plant. Under the microscope it shows a flat, ribbon-like fiber with thick edges and a slight twist at intervals throughout its length. It has less lustre than linen, and the surface of cotton cloth is fuzzy. Adulterations. Page Fifteen The adulterations of cotton are not numerous or difficult to distinguish. It is the cheapest fiber and for that reason it is never adulterated with any other fiber. By the use of starch or clay, the spaces between the threads are filled, and the cloth is made to appear heavier and firmer than it really is. This sizing does not increase the wearing quality of the cloth, but in many cases it has a tendency to decrease it. If this sizing is present in large quanti- ties, the cloth ioses greatly in weight and firmness in the first wash- ing. A certain amount, however, is necessary to give the cloth a good finish and to make it firm while being handled upon the coun- ter. Another method that is used is in imitating embroidered Swiss. Here the designs are printed on the cloth in heavy paste instead of being embroidered. Tests for Adulterations. When cloth that has been adulterated is held to the light, the meshes are seen to be filled with sizing. In heavier materials, rubbing the cloth briskly between the hands will remove the sizing, and the cloth will appear much thin- ner and less firm. Washing or boiling a sample thoroughly will remove the sizing. Paste designs printed on the cloth will, disappear either in washing or turn brown when ironed with a moderately hot iron. LINEN Linen or flax fiber is obtained from the flax plant. The fibers vary from twelve to thirty-six inches in length. They have a high lustre, are stronger than cotton, but have no twist. Under the microscope, the fiber appears to be cylindrical, with lines cross- ing at intervals. On account of the high value placed on linen, also the scarcity of the fiber, it is often adulterated. Adulterations Linen is often adulterated by the addition of cotton fibers, or in some cases the entire substitution of cotton fibers. The lus- trous effect of linen is produced on the cotton cloth by passing it between hot rollers, yet the material will be stamped and soli as pure linen. The combination of linen and cotton is good for cer- tain purposes, and is sold as such cannot be called an adulteration. For the absorption of water cotton is not as good as linen. For beauty in table linen, the mixture of cotton is very detrimental, Page Sixteen as pure linen has a lUstre and snowy whiteness that cannot be ob- tained in a material where cotton is used. Large quantities of sizing are sometimes added to poorer grades of linen to make it appear as a better quality. Tests for Adulterations. Linen threads break with an uneven, pointed end, while the cotton breaks with a tufted fuzzy end. The linen thread is much stronger than the cotton, and has more lustre. Place a drop of olive oil or glycerin upon a sample of cloth that is to be tested and then lay the cloth between blotters. The cloth, if linen, will be translucent, but if cotton, it will appear opaque. The old test of moistening the finger and placing it under the cloth is not to be depended upon. Some cotton materials are so made and treated that the moisture comes through very quickly. If sizing has been used, the same tests as were used for cotton, may be applied. WOOL Wool comes from the coat or covering of the sheep. A singel wool fiber is a hair, fine and curly, varying in length from one inch to eight inches. Under the microscope, it is seen to have scales with pointed edges. This scaly surface gives wool the property of felting or the matting together of wool fibers by the interlocking of the projecting edges of the scales. Adulterations. Wool is commonly adulterated by the use of cotton. By the aid of certain machinery, this is done in such a way that it is difficult to detect it. Cotton threads dyed the same color as the wool are mixed in with the wool threads, then twisted. (Cotton threads are often used as a core and then veneered with the wool.) How- ever, if sold as part cotton it is not an adulteration. Mohairs and alpacas usually have a cotton warp, and do not command as high a price as an all wool cloth. Since the demand for raw wool exceeds the supply, old wool that is obtained from the odds and ends in the factory and the old worn-out garments are mixed with the new wool. This old wool is called shoddy. These odds and ends, and old clothing are torn to pieces, made into fiber, then mixed with the new wool and re-spun. This made-over wool gives a shorter fiber than the new wool, and Page Seventeen also makes it less expensive; however, it lacks the appearance and the endurance of the new wool. Shoddy is sometimes woven alone and sold under that name, and when sold as shoddy, it cannot be called an adulteration. Tests for Adulterations. Ravel a bit of cloth and burn separately the warp and filling threads. The wool threads burn slowly with a blue flame, and with the characteristic odor of burned feathers or hair, and leaves a black ash resembling a ball. This should be compared with the quick burning of cotton threads, its yellow flame, and the small amount of gray ash left as residue. The ends of broken threads of wool fibers will appear kinky, wiry, and uneven, while the cotton threads break with even tufted ends. Wool fibers pull apart when broken, while cotton fibers sn A so-called woolen material which has cotton in it will l more wrinkled when wet, than if it were all wool. SILK Silk is the finest and most lustrous of all fibe the silk worm as it makes its cocoon. Thi and is composed of one continuous th hundred to thirteen hundred yards long, the silk fiber appears as a smooth, struct regular in diameter and very transparent. Silk 1 is sold by the pound. Three thousand silk worms are required to spin one pound of silk and one to two pounds are required to make dress. By this it will be seen why silk is so expensive and why it i» so often adulterated. Adulteration. Cotton is .often woven with silk, especially in satins, velvets, and brocades, i these materials, the cotton may be entirely hid- den. ^ Mercerized Cotton — a cotton fiber so treated that it has a lustrous surface — is used in silk manufacture. Its glossy surface may easily be mistaken for silk fibers. Some pongee silks are made entirely of mercerized cotton. In order to have sufficient silk to meet the demand, the manu- facturers have used less silk fiber in materials, but have resorted to what is called weighting. This weighting or loading is usually done before the yarn or cloth is dyed. Tin, iron, or other mineral _ are added, and since silk absorbs these minerals readily, 50 pe* cent — 200 per cent of weighting can be taken up without arousing mur 7 suspicion, however, as much as 400 per cent is sometimes added. As a result of this weighting, the silk splits or falls apai before it has stood a reasonable amount of wear. When silk ma- terial is properly made, it is very durable. Tests for Adulteration. When burned, silk gives out the odor of burning feathers or hair, and leaves a black ash the shape of a balk ^ ^ilk is heavily weighted, when burned, the sample will leave . the size and shape of the original, but drops to pieces iched. General Suggestions and fch' ifully. shopping with a definite purpose; do not be lured into ’ ich you haasaJBlib lanned . ;y, and choose good materials for ear. ds in design and color. They soon i how much material you need. ^KTthat the thing you choose is becoming to you and ap- propriate to its purpose. Look for simplicity of line and decoration. Garments ex- treme in style are never economical and rarely becoming. & yf. j X X\ \ \ . f