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Primer 3 — THE AMERICAN FRUGAL HOUSEWIFE · Lydia Maria Child
$5.00
About the Text
Lydia M. Child was an abolitionist, women’s rights activist and the author of “Hobomok,” “The Mother’s Book,” and the poem “Over the River and Through the Wood,” &c. Originally self-published in 1822. The text is taken from Project Gutenberg.
16 pages; 4×7; Saddle-stitched
Read excerpts
Wash the eyes thoroughly in cold water every morning. Do not read or sew at twilight, or by too dazzling a light.
Clean teeth in pure water two or three times a day; but, above all, be sure to have them clean before you go to bed.
Have your bed-chamber well aired; and have fresh bed linen every week. Never have the wind blowing directly upon you from open windows during the night. It is not healthy to sleep in heated rooms.
Let children have their bread and milk before they have been long up. Cold water and a run in the fresh air before breakfast.
Furniture
The prevailing evil of the present day is extravagance. I know very well that the old are too prone to preach about modern degeneracy, whether they have cause or not; but, laugh as we may at the sage advice of our fathers, it is too plain that our present expensive habits are productive of much domestic unhappiness, and injurious to public prosperity.
ODD SCRAPS FOR THE ECONOMICAL
Look frequently to the pails, to see that nothing is thrown to the pigs which should have been in the grease-pot.
Look to the grease-pot, and see that nothing is there which might have served to nourish your own family, or a poorer one.
See that the beef and pork are always under brine; and that the brine is sweet and clean.
Count towels, sheets, spoons, &c. occasionally; that those who use them may not become careless.
See that the vegetables are neither sprouting nor decaying: if they are so, remove them to a drier place, and spread them.
Examine preserves, to see that they are not contracting mold; and your pickles, to see that they are not growing soft and tasteless.
As far as it is possible, have bits of bread eaten up before they become hard.
Attend to all the mending in the house, once a week, if possible.
Make your own bread and cake.
Primal Primers are offered for entertainment and enlightenment purposes only. This work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
