they are cheaper than good. It is always economical to keep up
one's health. Children who are stinted in proper food cost more in
the long run than those who are kept strong and well by generous
diet. But generous diet does not mean over-feeding. Swill-milk is
dearer than pure milk, although it may cost only half as much a
quart. Poor meat is dearer than good meat, although it may cost
only half as much a pound. A good housekeeper will soon learn
how much bread, meat, milk, tea, sugar and other comforts are neces-
sary for the household, and so be able to make a regular estimate
and allow so much money a week for living and no more. A good
housekeeper should keep an account book, entering every item, and
filing every receipted bill. Every bill should be examined carefully,
hcAvever sure one may be of the butcher's, baker's and grocer's hon-
esty, because honesty is no guarantee against occasional mistakes in
arithmetic. In order to avoid waste, all remainders should be utilized
as much as possible. This is how the French poorer classes live better
than those of other countries. They make soup of the scraps and
bones instead of throwing them away.
In clothing, the cheapest goods are not the most economical, be-
cause good cloth and silk and cotton will last so much longer and
wear so much better than bad that the difference in price is very soon
made up. Ill-fitting clothes are always dear because they tear and
crease, to say nothing of " looks," which ought always to be con-
sidered. Yet people often boast of having saved a few dollars by
buying goods of an inferior quality when in fact they lose by it, be-
cause they will want two suits instead of one during the winter or the
summer.*^
Very few people are to be trusted to make purchases, and those
are especially not to be trusted who think themselves great hands at
making bargains. A man or woman goes into a store to buy one
thing and sees another thing which is offered very cheap. The idea
of making a good bargain, like the propensity of the gambler to try
his luck, is too strong to be conquered. The article they want to
buy and which they need is bought, and with it something which
ECONOMY IN THE HOME. 221
they do not want, and which therefore is no bargain to them, how-
ever cheap in itself. On this false notion of making bargains house-
keepers will often buy a larger supply of some article of food than
they want, and they only discover their mistake when they have to
throw away what is spoiled and will not keep. The reduction of price
which induces them to purchase more than they can use is not econ-
omy, yet many people think that by buying " wholesale," as they
call it, they will make a great saving, instead of which it is a "whole-
sale " waste and loss to them. Whenever you buy anything which
you have no use for because it is cheap, you commit an extravagance.
It is ' best, therefore, before you enter a store to decide beforehand
precisely what you are going to buy and how much money you can
afford to spend. Summon up your resolution, and when you have
bought the article you came for, do not begin pricing everything you
see, for it is the business of the tradesman to persuade you to pur-
chase whatever he sees you take a fancy to.
Page 141
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
they are cheaper than good. It is always economical to keep up one's health. Children who are stinted in proper food cost more in the long run than those who are kept strong and well by generous diet. But generous diet does not mean over-feeding. Swill-milk is dearer than pure milk, although it may cost only half as much a quart. Poor meat is dearer than good meat, although it may cost only half as much a pound. A good housekeeper will soon learn how much bread, meat, milk, tea, sugar and other comforts are necessary for the household, and so be able to make a regular estimate and allow so much money a week for living and no more. A good housekeeper should keep an account book, entering every item, and filing every receipted bill. Every bill should be examined carefully, however sure one may be of the butcher's, baker's and grocer's honesty, because honesty is no guarantee against occasional mistakes in arithmetic. In order to avoid waste, all remainders should be utilized as much as possible. This is how the French poorer classes live better than those of other countries. They make soup of the scraps and bones instead of throwing them away.
In clothing, the cheapest goods are not the most economical, because good cloth and silk and cotton will last so much longer and wear so much better than bad that the difference in price is very soon made up. Ill-fitting clothes are always dear because they tear and crease, to say nothing of " looks," which ought always to be considered. Yet people often boast of having saved a few dollars by buying goods of an inferior quality when in fact they lose by it, because they will want two suits instead of one during the winter or the summer.*^
Very few people are to be trusted to make purchases, and those are especially not to be trusted who think themselves great hands at making bargains. A man or woman goes into a store to buy one thing and sees another thing which is offered very cheap. The idea of making a good bargain, like the propensity of the gambler to try his luck, is too strong to be conquered. The article they want to buy and which they need is bought, and with it something which
they do not want, and which therefore is no bargain to them, however cheap in itself. On this false notion of making bargains housekeepers will often buy a larger supply of some article of food than they want, and they only discover their mistake when they have to throw away what is spoiled and will not keep. The reduction of price which induces them to purchase more than they can use is not economy, yet many people think that by buying " wholesale," as they call it, they will make a great saving, instead of which it is a "wholesale " waste and loss to them. Whenever you buy anything which you have no use for because it is cheap, you commit an extravagance. It is ' best, therefore, before you enter a store to decide beforehand precisely what you are going to buy and how much money you can afford to spend. Summon up your resolution, and when you have bought the article you came for, do not begin pricing everything you see, for it is the business of the tradesman to persuade you to purchase whatever he sees you take a fancy to.