taste with the expenditure of relatively small amounts of money.

Marketing is also very generally attended to in person by the housewife,
but she is using the telephone more and more frequently as a substitute
for a personal visit to butcher and grocer, and this is greatly to her
disadvantage. The telephone is a very convenient instrument, especially
in emergency, or for ordering things that do not vary in price. But when
prices depend upon the fluctuations of the market, or when the articles
to be purchased are of a perishable nature, it must be remembered that
the telephone is also a very convenient instrument for the merchant who
is anxious to get rid of his bad stock.

The remaining branches of housekeeping apparently do not interest
the modern housewife. She entrusts them very generally to her employees,
upon whose skill and knowledge she blindly relies. Unfortunately skill
and knowledge are very rare qualities, and if the housewife herself be
ignorant of the proper way of doing the work in her own home, how can
she be fitted to direct those she places in charge of it, or to make a
wise choice when she has to select a new employee? Too often she engages
women and young girls without investigating their references of
character or capability, and when time proves what an imprudent
proceeding she has been party to, she simply attributes the consequent
troubles to causes beyond her control. If the housewife were really
worthy of her name she would be able not only to pick out better
employees, but to insist upon their work being properly done. To-day
she is almost afraid to ask her cook to prepare all the dishes for the
family meals, nor does she always find some one willing to do the family
washing. She is obliged to buy food already cooked from the caterer or
baker, because her so-called "cook" was not accustomed to bake bread and
rolls, or to make pies and cakes, or ice cream, for previous employers,