Ontario Teachers Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools | Page 8

regard to out-of-door closets will, of course, be taken when the girls are alone with the teacher.
METHOD OF WORK
Discuss the disposal of waste, the care of garbage, etc., in the home and the school. Talk over the care of waste from the school lunch and discuss methods of keeping the school in a sanitary condition. Follow this by a general cleaning of the school-house.

LESSON V: MAKING SOAP
SUBJECT-MATTER
Home-Made Hard Soap
6 lb. fat 1 can lye 1 pt. cold water 1 tbsp. borax
Melt the fat slowly. Mix the lye and water in a bowl or kettle (do not use a tin pan), stirring with a stick until the potash dissolves. Add the borax and allow the mixture to cool. Cool the fat and, when it is lukewarm, add the lye, pouring it in a thin stream and stirring constantly. Stir with a smooth stick until about as thick as honey, and continue stirring for ten minutes. Pour the mixture into a box and allow it to harden. Cut into pieces the desired size and leave in a cool, dry place for ten days, to ripen before using.
When making the soap, be careful not to spill potash or lye on the hands, as it makes a bad burn. If the hands are burned, rub them with grease at once. Do not wet them.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
Some time before this lesson is given ask the pupils to bring scraps of fat from home. See that these are in good condition, and weigh them, to determine the portion of the recipe that can be made. Ask one of the pupils to bring sufficient borax for the recipe.
METHOD OF WORK
Let the pupils look the fat over and put it on to melt, watching it carefully. While it is heating and cooling, discuss the process of soap-making, the cost of materials, the care necessary in the making of soap, and the importance of its use. Get ready the other materials, and a box for moulding the soap, and let the pupils work together. After the soap has hardened and been cut, have it put away on a shelf to dry.

LESSON VI: SETTING AND CLEARING THE TABLE
SUBJECT-MATTER
The following points must be remembered when a meal is to be served: The dining-room must be clean, well aired, sufficiently lighted, and in good order.
The table must be perfectly clean and covered with a clean white cover (table-cloth, doilies, paper napkins, or oil-cloth).
A vase of flowers or leaves or a small potted plant, in the centre of the table, will help to make it attractive.
The table should be prepared with everything necessary for serving the meal, but only those foods should be placed on it that will not be spoiled by standing. If there is danger of the food attracting flies, cover it carefully.
Plates for everyone who is to partake of the meal should be arranged at equal distances from one another, and half an inch from the edge of the table.
The knife should be placed at the right of the plate with the cutting edge toward the plate, and one inch from the edge of the table.
The fork should be placed at the left of the plate with the tines turned up, and one inch from the edge of the table.
The spoon should be placed, bowl upward, at the right of the plate, to the right of the knife. It should be placed one inch from the edge of the table. Spoons and forks for serving should be placed at the right and left of the dish to be served, or in another convenient position. No one should have to use the personal fork or spoon for serving.
The napkins should be folded simply and placed at the left of the fork.
The tumbler should be placed at the upper end of the knife.
The cups and saucers should be placed at the right of the plate with the handle of the cup toward the right.
The bread-and-butter plate, if used, should be placed at the upper left hand of the fork.
The salt-cellars and pepper-shakers should be placed near the centre of the table or at the sides, where they can be conveniently reached. Individual salt-cellars, if used, should be placed immediately in front of the individual plate.
The chairs should be placed at the table after it is set. Care should be taken not to put them so close to it that it will be necessary to move them after they are occupied.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
If possible, arrange to give this lesson before Lesson VIII in the series of "Twenty Lessons in Cooking" is given; then the emphasis in that lesson may be put upon the food to be served, proper combinations, etc., while this lesson gives the drill in the arrangement and handling of the dishes.
It is desirable to give the pupils a thorough drill in table