Catharine Beecher’s 1841 Treatise argues that women’s domestic education and social position are essential to sustaining American democratic life. This deck covers her claims about young wives’ suffering, school use of the book, subordination, Tocqueville’s testimony, temperance, and democracy’s dependence on intelligence.
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Chapter 1 · Question
What three combined causes did Beecher blame for the suffering of young wives and mothers?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
The author was led to attempt the work by discovering, in her travels, the deplorable sufferings of multitudes of young wives and mothers from the combined influence of poor health, poor domestics, and a defective domestic education. She claims the number of young women whose health is crushed early in married life would seem incredible to anyone who has not investigated the subject.
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Introduction4 cards
What three combined causes did Beecher blame for the suffering of young wives and mothers?
The author was led to attempt the work by discovering, in her travels, the deplorable sufferings of multitudes of young wives and mothers from the combined influence of poor health, poor domestics, and a defective domestic education. She claims the number of young women whose health is crushed early in married life would seem incredible to anyone who has not investigated the subject.
Chapter 1
What remedy does Beecher say would most help this evil, and why?
The author argues the measure that would most remedy the evil is placing domestic economy on an equality with other sciences in female schools. She says it can be systematically taught as a science, like political economy or moral science; its knowledge is needed everywhere; it can never be properly taught until made a branch of study; and this method secures dignity and importance in girls' estimation.
Chapter 1
What did Beecher say was the main cause of this evil, and what did she predict about young women?
The writer became early convinced the evil results mainly from young girls, especially in wealthier classes, not being trained for their profession. Their school training produces great debility of constitution while physical and domestic education is neglected. She estimates there is probably not one chance in ten that young women of the present day pass through the first years of married life without prostration of health and spirits.
Chapter 1
How was the book used in schools, and what did the teacher Emmerson argue?
The volume was prepared as a text-book for female schools, was examined by the Massachusetts Board of Education and admitted to the Massachusetts School Library, and was adopted in some large female schools East and West. George B. Emmerson argued such things can be taught by books, asking why the laws of health or ventilation are less teachable than natural philosophy or arithmetic.
Chapter 1
CHAPTER I.4 cards
Why does Beecher say American women should feel a peculiar interest in democratic institutions?
Beecher argues that American women should take a special interest in democratic institutions because she holds that the maxim of America's civil institutions is identical with the main principle of Christianity. On this view, democracy and Christian duty reinforce each other, so women who value their faith have a stake in defending and shaping the nation's democratic order.
Chapter 2
Why are relations of subordination needful, according to Beecher, and how does a democracy decide them?
Beecher argues that relations involving subordination are needful, giving examples, and that in a democracy these relations are decided by a principle of equity rather than by aristocracy. She contrasts this with the principle of aristocracy, and holds that the equity of any law or institution is judged by this standard, which she ties to the interests of women.
Chapter 2
How does Beecher describe democracy's tendency toward women's interests, and whose testimony does she cite?
Beecher argues that democracy tends to favor the interests of women, and she illustrates this in the United States. She cites the testimony of De Tocqueville in support, and she disputes Miss Martineau's misrepresentations on the subject. She also asks in what respects women are subordinate and why, and wherein they are equal or superior in influence.
Chapter 2
How can American women rectify real disadvantages in the civil institutions, and what responsibilities follow?
Beecher asks how American women can rectify any real disadvantages involved in the civil institutions, and she invokes De Tocqueville's opinion on the influence and example of American democracy. From this view she derives responsibilities, especially those of American women, arguing that their influence and example carry weight in shaping the nation's democratic character.
Chapter 2
CHAPTER I.2 cards
How does Beecher say subordinate relations are justified in a democracy?
Beecher argues that certain relations involving subordination are needed for society to progress harmoniously, including magistrate and subject, husband and wife, parent and child, teacher and pupil, and employer and employed. These relations and their obligations should be determined not by the wishes of a few but by the general good of all, so each individual's interest and the public benefit are both secured.
Chapter 3
What does De Tocqueville say Americans believe about the proper roles of men and women?
De Tocqueville, quoted by Beecher, says Americans admit nature appointed wide differences between man and woman and hold that improvement consists in each fulfilling their respective tasks well, not in making dissimilar beings do the same things. They divide duties between the sexes so the great work of society is better carried on, tracing two distinct lines of action.
Chapter 3
I.3 cards
What does Beecher say about female responsibility regarding intemperance?
The chapter notes H. Martineau's views on intemperance were criticized in a note, and it distinguishes intemperance in eating from intemperance in drinking. It also assigns women responsibility regarding intemperance, framing it as part of their domestic and moral influence rather than a purely public matter.
Chapter 4
How does the chapter treat democracy's dependence on intelligence?
The index entry states that democracy depends on intelligence, tying the book's broader argument for female education to the health of republican government. The chapter presents this as a reason domestic and school instruction matters, not merely a private accomplishment. The author argues an informed populace is necessary for democratic institutions to function.
Chapter 4
What household tasks and provisions does the chapter associate with ironing and kitchens?
For ironing, the chapter lists articles to be provided, a settee, boards, and hints on the process. For kitchens, it covers taking care of them, their floors, oilcloths, and furniture. These entries show the book's practical attention to domestic labor and the equipment that supports it.
Chapter 4
CHAPTER II.4 cards
What law of moral action does Beecher say must be considered when judging American women's trials?
The author argues that a general law of moral action must be noted and applied when assessing difficulties. She holds that trials should be weighed with certain considerations in mind before judging their severity. She then applies this framework specifically to American women, contrasting their situation with that of women in aristocratic countries.
Chapter 5
How does Beecher contrast American women's position with that of women in aristocratic countries?
The author argues that American women's circumstances differ from those in aristocratic countries, and that this difference affects their interests. She treats the comparison as essential to appreciating the peculiar trials of American women rather than judging them in isolation. The contrast frames her later discussion of wealth and domestic service in this country.
Chapter 5
What effect does wealth in America have on domestic service and women's comfort, according to Beecher?
The author argues that wealth in this country affects domestic service in ways that bear on the domestic comfort of women. She links the American situation with wealth to reduced comfort for housekeepers, a point she develops as one of the peculiar trials of American women. The chapter treats this as a consequence of American conditions rather than of individual failings.
Chapter 5
What causes does Beecher identify as undermining the female constitution, and what remedy does she propose?
The author argues that mental excitement, a course of intellectual training, and the domestic taxation of American mothers and housekeepers undermine the female constitution. She proposes exercise and fresh air to balance mental excitement, and she notes a defect in American compared with English customs in this respect, citing the difference in health and youthful appearance between English and American mothers.
Chapter 5
CHAPTER II.4 cards
What two difficulties does Beecher say are peculiar to American women?
The author identifies two: the instability of domestic service, caused by a fluid society and a shortage of servants, which frustrates the system housekeeping requires; and a delicacy of constitution that makes American women early victims of disease and decay, attributed to neglected physical education. She argues both exceed what women of other nations face.
Chapter 6
Why does Beecher claim American women have more trouble securing domestic servants?
The author argues that in America wealth and status constantly shift, so fewer people are willing to enter service while more can afford to hire. Manufactories also draw female labor with better pay. She says that without poverty-stricken foreigners, the non-slaveholding states would lack a domestic for each family demanding one, and the gap must grow with prosperity.
Chapter 6
What physical cause does Beecher cite for the poor health of wealthier American women?
The author argues that mental excitement weakens the body unless balanced by exercise and fresh air. American women face intense commercial, political, and religious stimulation plus heavier intellectual schooling, yet get less walking, riding, and gardening than women elsewhere. She cites medical men reporting incipient curvature of the spine in many boarding-school young ladies.
Chapter 6
How does Beecher contrast English and American women's health and habits?
The author argues English women in the wealthier classes walk six to eight miles without fatigue, take regular outdoor exercise as a daily duty, and at thirty or thirty-five are still fresh and healthful. She says English visitors notice American ladies' inactivity, and asks where American mothers reach that age unfaded, blaming schooling without secured exercise.
Chapter 6
CHAPTER III.4 cards
What age does Beecher recommend before daughters are sent to school?
Beecher advises that, as a general rule, daughters should not be sent to school before they are six years old. Even then, she argues far more attention should be paid to physical development than is usual, with confinement at any employment limited to no more than an hour at a time, followed by outdoor sports.
Chapter 7
What does Beecher say should be a girl's principal education from ten to fourteen or fifteen?
Beecher argues that from about ten until fourteen or fifteen, a girl's principal education should be securing a strong, healthy constitution and thorough practical knowledge of all domestic employments. Intellectual culture should be altogether secondary during this period, and the heavy study demanded by the best female seminaries should wait until a vigorous constitution is established.
Chapter 7
Why does Beecher call the dearth of good domestics a substantial blessing?
The author argues that if all housekeepers with means could secure good servants, there would be little hope of reforming the domestic customs of the wealthy classes. Because of the natural indolence of mankind, healthful exercise will never be sought without necessity. The pressure of domestic troubles has already led many wealthy mothers to train their daughters to aid in domestic service.
Chapter 7
What institution does Beecher describe as a model for female education?
Beecher describes a Western State institution endowed by a single individual, governed by a self-perpetuating Board of Trustees. Its stone building houses ninety pupils and teachers, with thorough ventilation and forested grounds. Pupils spend about two hours daily on domestic work, including washing and ironing, while two hired domestics did the cooking, which was deemed inexpedient for pupils.
Chapter 7
CHAPTER IV.2 cards
Why does Beecher argue young ladies will not learn domestic duties at home?
She questions how many mothers are qualified to teach a proper, complete system, how many qualified ones have the energy and perseverance to do so, and how many actually do. She notes ill health, few domestics, and multiplied cares leave even intelligent mothers no time; doing work herself is easier than teaching a careless novice.
Chapter 8
How does Beecher answer the objection that domestic skills cannot be taught from books?
She questions the claim, noting young ladies learn from books to make hydrogen and oxygen, study pictures of furnaces and alembics, and learn mechanical processes as difficult as housekeeping, all recited in classes despite little practical use. She asks why the science and art a woman practices her whole life should not be studied and recited too.
Chapter 8
CHAPTER V.4 cards
According to Beecher, why should females learn the laws of health and the human system?
The author argues that a knowledge of the laws of health and of the human system is important for females, framing such knowledge as a practical necessity for young ladies at home and at school. The chapter presents this as the foundation for the care of health, then proceeds to describe the construction of the human frame, including bones, muscles, nerves, blood-vessels, and organs.
Chapter 9
What does the chapter say about the structure, design, and use of bones?
The chapter treats bones under three headings: their structure, their design, and their use, and includes an engraving and description of the human frame. It also discusses the spinal column with engravings of vertebræ, and stresses the exercise of the bones. The author presents the skeletal frame as deliberately designed rather than incidental, and links bone care to the broader care of health.
Chapter 9
What roles do the chapter assign to muscles and nerves?
Muscles are described in their constitution, use, and connection with the bones, with an engraving and an account of how muscles operate. Nerves are described in terms of their use, and the spinal column is discussed again in connection with them. The chapter also covers distortions of the spine, with engravings and descriptions, treating nerve and spinal health as part of the care of health.
Chapter 9
What does the chapter say about the skin, perspiration, and cleanliness?
The chapter describes the skin's process of perspiration, including insensible perspiration, the heat of the body, and absorbents. It notes follicles of oily matter in the skin and nerves of feeling, and stresses the importance of frequent ablutions and change of garments. The author argues these practices matter because of how the skin actually functions, not merely as a matter of appearance.
Chapter 9
CHAPTER V.4 cards
What does Beecher say is the only truly effective way to prepare a woman to care rationally for family health?
The author argues there is no really efficacious mode except communicating knowledge of the body's construction and the laws of health—the basis of the medical profession. She does not expect women to undertake the minute, extensive investigation required of a physician, but to gain a general knowledge of first principles as a guide to judgment in emergencies when no other aid is available.
Chapter 10
How do bones change in composition from early life to old age, according to the chapter?
Bones consist of an animal part—a fine network called cellular membrane—in which mineral substances, mainly carbonate and phosphate of lime, are deposited. In very early life bones are chiefly animal matter, soft and pliant. As the child grows, phosphate of lime from food, carried by the blood, hardens them. In old age the hardest material predominates, making bones more brittle.
Chapter 10
What cause does Beecher give for curvature of the spine being common among American women?
The author argues inactivity softens and weakens the spinal bones, since exercise is indispensable to every part of the body. Prolonged positions that throw the body's weight unequally on parts of the spine then cause distortion. She names writing, drawing, playing guitar, harp, or piano, and sleeping on one side with high pillows as contributing positions.
Chapter 10
According to the chapter, why are nervous complaints like headache and spinal disease common among American women?
The author argues the health of the nerves depends greatly on exercise of the muscles, with which nerves are intimately connected. Inactive habits engender debility of the nervous system, and diseases such as headache, tic douloureux, and spinal affections follow as a consequence. She notes all pain is an affection of some portion of the nerves.
Chapter 10
V. Vegetable food, 99, 100, 220, 221.4 cards
What does Beecher say about the effect of light and darkness on vegetables?
The chapter's index entry lists "Vegetables, effect of light and darkness on, 124," pointing readers to page 124 for the discussion. The entry itself gives no details of the effect; it only records that the topic is treated there, alongside related headings such as Animal food and Food.
Chapter 11
What does the chapter say about drinking water?
The index lists "Water, on drinking, 111. Drinking too much, 112," directing readers to those pages for Beecher's treatment. It also cross-references Drinks and Stimulating. The entry records only where the topic appears, not the substance of the advice given there.
Chapter 11
What does the chapter note about washing woollens and calicoes?
The index entries list "Of calicoes, 287" and "Woollens, on washing, 289" under Washing, pointing to those pages for the methods. It also covers soda-washing at 287 and washing of various articles at 288. The entries give page locations only, not the procedures themselves.
Chapter 11
What does the chapter record about ventilation of schoolrooms and sick-rooms?
Under Ventilation, the index lists "Of schoolrooms, 223. Of sick-rooms, 237," along with sleeping-rooms at 129, 196, and 311, and general importance at 49, 196, 217, and 311. It cross-references Air. These entries mark where each topic is discussed rather than summarizing the guidance.
Chapter 11
CHAPTER VI.4 cards
According to Beecher, what naturally guides the quantity of food a person should eat?
Beecher presents hunger as the natural guide to how much food one should eat, describing it as a benevolent provision. She argues this guide can be perverted, producing a morbid appetite, and that overeating burdens the stomach. She also notes that people who have lost the guidance of hunger must regulate their food amount by deliberate rule instead.
Chapter 12
Why does Beecher say the stomach needs rest between meals?
Beecher explains that digestion involves peristaltic motion and that the muscles of the stomach need rest, so a proper interval must pass between meals. She notes exceptions for hard laborers and active children, who require food more often. She also warns that mental or bodily exertion right after a full meal is injurious.
Chapter 12
What does Beecher argue about stimulating food and condiments?
The author argues that stimulating foods are harmful and that condiments are needed only as medicine, so they should be avoided as food. She contrasts animal and vegetable food, reporting that medical men agree American diet contains too much animal food, and she cites medical writers on the point. She also says the most unhealthful articles result from bad cooking.
Chapter 12
Why does Beecher say soups are hard to digest?
Beecher explains that fluids are absorbed immediately from the stomach, and she cites the case of Alexis St. Martin. She argues highly concentrated nourishment is not good for health, and that soups are hard of digestion. She also praises unbolted flour as beneficial and mentions wheat scarcity under William Pitt's administration and its effects.
Chapter 12
CHAPTER VI.4 cards
According to Beecher, what determines how much gastric juice the stomach supplies?
Beecher states that experiment shows gastric juice supplied from the blood by the stomach's arteries is proportioned not to the amount of food put into the stomach but to the wants of the body. Therefore it is possible to put much more into the stomach than can be digested, and hunger is provided to guide and regulate the quantity taken.
Chapter 13
What general rule does Beecher give for spacing meals, and what exceptions does she allow?
Beecher's general rule is that three hours be given to the stomach for labor and two for rest, so at least five hours should elapse between regular meals, with eating between meals avoided. Exceptions include those whose exercise produces perspiration, strong laboring men who may eat whenever they feel the want of food, and young healthy children who exercise much and grow fast.
Chapter 13
Why does Beecher say quantity of food needed depends on muscular exercise?
Beecher explains that when muscles act, they compress blood vessels, hastening blood toward the heart; the heart and lungs then work faster, blood loses its nourishing properties sooner, and hunger returns. Thus the food actually needed depends on muscular exercise taken. A laboring man in open fields may throw off ten times the perspirable matter of a sedentary person and demands far more food and drink.
Chapter 13
What does Beecher argue about condiments and animal food in the diet?
Beecher argues condiments like pepper, mustard, and spices are stimulating rather than merely nourishing, benefit only debilitated states identified by medical men, and wear down internal organs in healthy people, especially children. She notes animal food is more stimulating than vegetable. She reports medical men agree Americans eat far too much animal food, and suggests meat once a day in small quantities would reduce fevers and other ailments.
Chapter 13
CHAPTER VII.1 cards
Why does Beecher consider hot drinks injurious, and what evidence does she cite?
The author argues warm drinks are not needful and hot drinks are injurious, citing their effect on the teeth. She illustrates the point with Mexican customs and their effects, and she cites the opinion of Dr. Combe on the subject. She distinguishes the stimulus of animal food from that of the stimulating drinks in common use.
Chapter 14
CHAPTER VII.4 cards
According to Beecher, what two evils result from using stimulating drinks?
The author identifies two evils: first, their positive physiological effect—they excite the nervous system, accelerate bodily functions, and invigorate the mind and spirits, but this temporary invigoration is always followed by diminished power in the stimulated organs. Second, the temptation they create: because the effect is agreeable and the harms distant, users tend to increase the excitement in frequency and strength, potentially becoming uncontrollable.
Chapter 15
What five stimulating drinks does Beecher say are commonly used in this country?
Beecher lists five forms in which stimulants are commonly used in the United States: alcoholic drinks, tea, coffee, opium mixtures, and tobacco. She argues these are all alike in their main peculiarity—imparting extra stimulus to the system that tends to exhaust its powers. She notes many Americans habitually use one of these and defend the indulgence with arguments she then rebuts.
Chapter 15
What argument does Beecher make against the claim that tea and coffee are temperate, healthful blessings?
Beecher argues that if perfect health can be secured without stimulants, and their effect is to diminish the system's power in proportion to the stimulation, then no truly temperate use exists—unless diluted so much as to lose all stimulating power, in which form they are seldom desired. She says such articles are designed for medicine, not common use, and any argument defending one stimulant equally defends alcohol, opium, and tobacco.
Chapter 15
Why does Beecher consider hot drinks a cause of early tooth decay, and what evidence does she cite?
Beecher argues drinks above blood heat are not healthful: frequent application of the stimulus of heat, like other stimulants, eventually causes debility, weakening teeth, throat, and stomach. She cites a traveler to Mexico who found almost everyone had only remnants of teeth, attributing it to the universal practice of drinking at nearly boiling point. She suggests this likely contributes to early tooth decay among American ladies.
Chapter 15
CHAPTER VIII.4 cards
Why does Beecher say infants should be washed in warm water and a warm room?
She argues that at birth circulation is chiefly in the skin's vessels, so cold exposure drives blood inward by contracting skin vessels, over-stimulating internal organs and causing bowel complaints, croup, or convulsions. She cites medical opinion that much infant mortality stems from mismanagement of fresh air, food, and clothing, and rejects plunging infants in cold water to strengthen them.
Chapter 16
What French registration evidence does Beecher cite about infant deaths and cold?
In some French districts every infant at birth had to be carried to the mayor's office to be registered. Deaths of newly-born infants were found much more numerous in cold than warm months, and a greater proportion occurred among those living far from the office than near it. Beecher says this proves exposure to cold strongly affects infant survival.
Chapter 16
What is Beecher's rule for safe covering of the body?
Cover the body enough to keep it entirely warm, but not so much as to induce perspiration anywhere. Perspiration from exercise is healthful because it increases appetite, but perspiration from excess clothing is debilitating. She applies this to beds and night covering, calling featherbeds unhealthful in warm weather, and says children should never be so clothed as to feel chilly or sweat.
Chapter 16
Why does Beecher oppose tight dresses, and what test does she give?
She argues constriction, not corsets specifically, is the danger, since a tight frock or belt can compress worse than a corset. Tight dress idles supporting muscles so they weaken, and impedes lung expansion, hindering blood purification and digestion. Her test: when sitting as in sewing, reading, or study, the lungs must inflate as fully and easily as without clothing.
Chapter 16
CHAPTER IX.4 cards
According to the chapter, what does the skin do besides perspiring, and why does that matter?
The chapter describes the skin as an organ that daily exhales a large amount of matter and can also absorb matter into the blood. Because the skin both releases and takes in substances, closing its pores with dirt or other matter is presented as harmful, and this dual function is the stated reason a daily ablution of the whole body is recommended.
Chapter 17
What does the chapter say happens when a person is chilled while perspiring?
The chapter uses an illustration to show that a chill striking the skin while it is perspiring produces harmful effects, and it links this to the danger of suddenly closing the pores. This is offered as the reason the chapter treats care of the skin and cautions about bathing as matters of health rather than mere tidiness.
Chapter 17
How does the chapter say one should decide whether cold bathing is useful?
The chapter says cold bathing should be judged by its effect on the person rather than adopted universally, and it pairs this with cautions about the use of the bath generally. It also argues that warm bathing tends to prevent colds, and it gives reasons for that claim, along with guidance on when a bath should be taken.
Chapter 17
What does the chapter claim about Americans compared with other nations regarding care of the skin?
The chapter compares Americans with other nations on care of the skin, and the author argues that Americans fall short in this respect. The comparison is presented as the author's opinion rather than as a measured finding, and it supports her broader argument for daily ablution and attention to cleanliness of the whole body.
Chapter 17
CHAPTER IX.4 cards
According to the chapter, why is the maxim 'dirt is healthy' mistaken?
The author argues the maxim probably arose because children playing in the open air benefit from fresh air and exercise while getting dirty. It is the fresh air and exercise, not the dirt, that promotes health. The chapter uses this to correct the common belief that dirt itself is beneficial.
Chapter 18
What happens when a person overheats, sweats, then suddenly enters cold air?
The blood-vessels of the skin contract, blood is driven from the surface, and internal organs are taxed with double duty. If the constitution is strong, they manage; if one organ is debilitated, the weakest generally gives way and disease ensues—lungs, nerves, muscles, bowels, or kidneys, depending on which is weakest.
Chapter 18
Why should clothing worn next to the skin be changed and aired often?
The skin both exhales waste and absorbs particles from its surface. If pores fill with expelled matter pressed by clothing, the skin's exhaling is interrupted and absorbents take noxious matter back into the blood. Fresh air removes much of this effluvia from clothing, so articles worn next to the skin should be changed and aired, and bed covers thrown open.
Chapter 18
What rules does the chapter give for safe bathing?
Cold and shower baths suit strong, healthy constitutions; if bathing leaves debility and cold hands and feet, it is injurious. About ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit is right, and a blood-warm bath is safe for all if not over half an hour. Bathe no sooner than three hours after eating, not when weary, and not followed by severe exercise; rub the body afterward with a brush or coarse towel.
Chapter 18
CHAPTER X.4 cards
Why does Beecher call early rising American and democratic?
The author argues that aristocratic nations, especially England, treat labor as degrading and indolence as genteel, so the upper classes sleep by day and pursue pleasure by night, and subordinate classes imitate them. Beecher calls early rising democratic because it honors the laboring mass rather than a privileged few, and urges American women to lead in reversing this aristocratic custom.
Chapter 19
What physiological reasons does Beecher give against turning day into night?
Beecher cites the law that all living things flourish best in light, noting pale plants in cellars and stunted children in mines. She also explains that in daylight plants absorb carbon and expire oxygen, but at night they reverse this, exhaling carbonic acid, so daytime air is more healthful than night air, especially outdoors.
Chapter 19
How much sleep does Beecher say is needed, and what hours does she recommend?
Citing medical men, Beecher says six to eight hours suits persons in ordinary health, with eight as the maximum; more is needed for extra exertion, disease, or decayed constitution. She recommends rising between four and five and retiring between nine and ten in summer, and in winter rising as soon as one can see to dress, allowing no more than eight hours.
Chapter 19
What does Beecher claim about late rising and the wider community?
Beecher argues that most people in business and labor must rise early, and public appointments like schools and meetings accommodate the majority. Those keeping different hours are interrupted or interfere with others' rights. She says unpunctual scholars and those who waste business time are usually late risers, so late rising injures the person, the family, and the community.
Chapter 19
CHAPTER XI.3 cards
According to the chapter, what single cause produces the most delicacy and decay of the female constitution?
The author argues that want of exercise is a greater cause of these evils than all the other causes combined, including neglect of the laws of health, want of pure air, objectionable amusements, and sleeping by day. She stresses the importance of understanding how neglect or abuse of the muscular system affects the body.
Chapter 20
What two kinds of nerves does the chapter say both need exercise?
The chapter distinguishes nerves of sensation and nerves of motion, and states that both need exercise. This supports the author's broader argument that the muscular system must be used, not neglected, for the body to receive fresh strength and vitality in all its parts.
Chapter 20
What effects does the chapter attribute to school confinement and seats?
The chapter treats school confinement and seats as harmful to young girls' health, linking them to the neglect of the muscular system. It also cites an extract from the Young Lady's Friend and references Lady Montagu and the daughter of a French nobleman as illustrations of its concerns about exercise and health.
Chapter 20
CHAPTER XI.3 cards
How do the nerves of sensation and motion relate to health, per Beecher?
Citing Sir Charles Bell's experiments, Beecher explains each nerve contains two portions: one for sensation, one for motion, which can be severed separately. She argues nerves gain or lose strength with exercise. Continuous mental excitement overworks sensation nerves while motion nerves stay idle, causing morbid excitability and muscular debility. Health requires equilibrium, so occupations must exercise muscles and interest the mind together.
Chapter 21
Why does Beecher prefer useful domestic exercise over formal walks for young women?
The author argues interested exercise invigorates more than dull exercise: a weary shopper instantly walks a mile to meet a dear friend. Long formal walks do some good but would be triply beneficial as amusing sports or gardening. She claims young girls seldom value health enough to enjoy walking with no object, but domestic duties interest and cheer them through feelings of usefulness and duty.
Chapter 21
What rule does Beecher give for safe amounts of fatigue, and how should the inactive begin?
Beecher advises that habits of inactivity must be changed gradually, never with excessive fatigue, or weakness increases. She cites a distinguished medical gentleman's rule: a person is never too much fatigued if one night of repose restores usual strength. But disturbed sleep and waking weary and languid indicate excessive exercise. No more fatigue should be allowed than one night's rest will remedy.
Chapter 21
CHAPTER XII.4 cards
How does Beecher account for the coldness and reserve of Puritan descendants?
The author argues that the coldness and reserve of the descendants of the Puritans can be accounted for by their history and circumstances rather than being a natural defect of character. She treats this reserve as a known trait of that group and uses it to explain a perceived deficiency in American manners, framing it as something to be understood and remedied through domestic training.
Chapter 22
According to Beecher, where alone must Americans' peculiar defect toward women be remedied?
The author argues that the peculiar American defect in giving precedence to woman must be remedied in the domestic circle alone. She cites Miss Martineau's remarks on the universal American practice of giving precedence to woman, then insists the correction belongs to family training, with rules of precedence enforced in the home rather than left to outside instruction.
Chapter 22
What does Beecher say about teaching table manners to children?
Beecher lists rules for table manners among her conventional rules, but she adds a caution about teaching these rules to children. She also cautions that allowances must be made for those deficient in good manners. The author thus treats table rules as worth enforcing while warning against rigid or harsh application, balancing instruction in courtesy with forbearance toward those who lack it.
Chapter 22
How does Beecher compare English and American manners, and what does she predict for America?
Beecher draws on De Tocqueville's comparison of English and American manners. The author argues that America may hope to excel all nations in refinement, taste, and good-breeding, and she explains this hope through the effects of wealth and the equalization of labor. She also alludes to the manners of courts in the past century as a contrast.
Chapter 22
CHAPTER XII.4 cards
According to Beecher, what are good manners fundamentally?
Beecher defines good manners as the expressions of benevolence in personal intercourse, by which we promote the comfort of others and avoid giving needless uneasiness. She calls them the exterior exhibition of the Divine precept to do to others as we would have them do to us, saying by our deportment that others' feelings, tastes, and convenience are equal in value to our own.
Chapter 23
What two causes does Beecher give for American defects in manners?
Beecher traces the want of kindly expression to the stern Puritan forebears, who repressed feeling under suffering and privation and passed the habit to descendants. She attributes the want of courtesy to a reaction against aristocracy: because distinctions of birth and fortune were rejected, many wrongly concluded that all subordination is useless, producing disrespect toward parents, teachers, employers, and the aged.
Chapter 23
What democratic rule of precedence does Beecher lay out?
Beecher argues that in a democracy the same courtesy owed to one's own circle extends to every class, and distinctions should rest not on birth, fortune, or occupation but on relations the good of all requires. Precedence goes to superiors in age, station, or office over subordinates; age and feebleness over youth and strength; and the feebler sex over more vigorous man.
Chapter 23
Why does Beecher say good manners must be learned in early life at home?
Beecher argues good manners depend more on habit than anything else, and children who grow up without forming these habits rarely acquire them later. She calls the idea that home behavior does not matter if one behaves abroad fallacious: fixed habits of tone, manner, language, and movement cannot be suddenly altered, so the ill-bred at home violate propriety abroad without noticing.
Chapter 23
CHAPTER XIII.2 cards
What should a housekeeper calculate about her plans, and how should they be formed?
Beecher advises the housekeeper to deliberately calculate that her plans will be interfered with and to be prepared for the emergency. All her plans should also be formed consistently with the means at command. She adds that system, economy, and neatness are only valuable when they promote the comfort and well-being of the family.
Chapter 24
What final consideration does Beecher offer to help regulate temper?
The seventh and last consideration is a right view of a superintending Providence. The author argues that fretfulness and complaining are sinful, and that holding this view of Providence aids the housekeeper in regulating her temper and tones. It closes the chapter's list of considerations meant to support self-control in domestic duties.
Chapter 24
CHAPTER XIII.4 cards
What does Beecher say a housekeeper's cheerful temper does for a family?
The author argues that an equable, cheerful temper and gentle tones have the most abiding influence on family happiness. A habitually gentle, forbearing woman carries an atmosphere that makes it easier for everyone to do right under her administration, while a dissatisfied countenance and sharp tones destroy the comfort that system, neatness, and economy would otherwise produce.
Chapter 25
Why does Beecher say American housekeepers face unusual temptations to fretfulness?
The author argues their work is not limited to one department prepared for in advance, but consists of ten thousand disconnected items that cannot be fully systematized. Negligence or forgetfulness by others can disarrange a whole day, and the more a woman values time, system, and order, the more she is tempted to irritability and complaint.
Chapter 25
How does Beecher advise a woman to handle anger when her plans are suddenly crossed?
She says irritation may be unavoidable, but angry tones are always avoidable. A woman can resolve not to speak until she can do so calmly, and perfect silence is a safe resort when self-control is lacking. Beecher argues calm reproof is always better than anger, illustrating with a mistress who waited until guests left to correct a servant kindly.
Chapter 25
What final, most important method does Beecher give for a placid temper?
The author argues for a habitual view of a superintending Providence: all events, including burnt puddings, badly swept rooms, and forgotten errands, occur by God's permission, just as heavier afflictions do. Fretfulness over these minor trials is therefore complaining at God's appointments. She says daily seeking divine sympathy and aid makes this a perennial spring of peace.
Chapter 25
CHAPTER XIV.4 cards
What does Beecher say about the question of the equality of the sexes?
The author argues the question of the equality of the sexes is frivolous and useless. She instead emphasizes the relative importance and difficulty of the duties a woman is called to perform, arguing those duties are not trivial and are more difficult than those of the queen of a great nation.
Chapter 26
What foundation does Beecher say a habit of system and order must rest on?
The author argues that Christianity is to be the foundation of a habit of system and order. She also holds that intellectual and social interests should be preferred to gratification of taste or appetite, with the latter placed last in our estimation.
Chapter 26
How does Beecher treat neglect of health, and what does she say about rest?
The author argues no sacrifice of health is allowable and that neglect of health is a sin in the sight of God. She states that a regular season of rest was appointed by the Creator, and she discusses divisions of time and regular employment for each member of a family.
Chapter 26
What does Beecher recommend regarding children and family work?
The author argues children can be of great service and that boys should be taught family work, citing advantage to them in afterlife. She also recommends older children take care of infants of a family, and urges systematic arrangement of house articles and conveniences.
Chapter 26
CHAPTER XIV.4 cards
According to Beecher, what common assumption about women's duties does she reject?
The author argues against the widely held idea that woman's business and cares are contracted and trivial, and that her duties demand less expansion of mind and vigor of intellect than men's pursuits. She attributes this view to women being educated without reference to their most important duties, while their least valuable employments were regarded as their chief concern.
Chapter 27
What general principles does Beecher say should guide a woman's apportionment of time?
She bases them on Christianity: seek first the kingdom of God, treating food and raiment as secondary; devote time to charity and others' comfort; prefer intellectual and social interests to mere gratification of taste or appetite; place appetite last when something must be sacrificed; and never sacrifice health, since risking one's own life violates the command against killing, with emergencies as exceptions.
Chapter 27
What weekly schedule of domestic tasks does Beecher describe as adopted by some housekeepers?
Monday is for preparing for the week's labors: extra cooking, purchasing articles, sorting clothes for the wash, and mending. Tuesday is for washing, Wednesday for ironing, and Thursday for finishing ironing, folding clothes, and attending to the mending basket. Friday is for sweeping and housecleaning, and Saturday, especially the last Saturday, for remaining tasks.
Chapter 27
How does Beecher say one can tell weak minds from strong minds?
The author argues that nothing so distinctly marks the difference between weak and strong minds as whether they control circumstances or circumstances control them. Without a systematic employment of time, she says, most women are driven along by daily occurrences, becoming the mere sport of circumstances rather than the intelligent regulators of their own time.
Chapter 27
CHAPTER XV.4 cards
What four considerations does Beecher lay out for deciding how to give charity?
Beecher lists four considerations: first, the object for which we are placed in this world, namely self-denying benevolence; second, that natural principles should be regulated and controlled, not exterminated, since all constitutional propensities are good and designed to be gratified, with their abuses guarded against; third, that superfluities are sometimes proper and sometimes not; and fourth, that no rule of duty can be right for one person and not for all.
Chapter 28
According to Beecher, how should physical gratifications rank relative to other advantages?
The author argues that physical gratifications should always be subordinate to social, intellectual, and moral advantages. She also holds that intellectual and moral wants are more necessary to be supplied than physical ones, and that there is not much need of charity in supplying physical wants in this country.
Chapter 28
What does Beecher say about indiscriminate charity?
Beecher states that indiscriminate charity is, as a general rule, very injurious to society, though she allows exceptions. She also recommends a system of associated charities, in which many small sums are combined, and advises against judging the charities of others.
Chapter 28
Whom does Beecher identify as our neighbors, and who should be relieved first?
Using the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Beecher asks who our neighbors are and concludes that those most in need should be first relieved. She also holds that intellectual and moral wants are more necessary to be supplied than physical ones, and that physical wants in this country have little need of charitable supply.
Chapter 28
CHAPTER XV.4 cards
According to Beecher, what is the grand peculiarity of Christ's character?
The author argues that the grand peculiarity of Christ's character was self-denying benevolence. He did not seek His own but went about doing good, which was His meat and drink—sustaining His mind as food sustains the body. Beecher holds that by taking Christ as example and daily imitating Him, a selfish person can form a temper in which doing good becomes the chief source of enjoyment.
Chapter 29
What distinction does Beecher draw between two kinds of self-denial?
Beecher distinguishes self-denial aimed at mere self-mortification from self-denial exercised to secure greater good for ourselves and others. She argues the first underlies monasticism, penances, and all asceticism, while only the second is what Christianity requires. The distinction matters because it rules out needless deprivation as a duty and ties self-denial to beneficial ends.
Chapter 29
Why does Beecher reject the rule that all superfluities should be given up for charity?
Beecher argues no rule of duty should be kept unless it would be right for all to follow. If two million conscientious Americans gave up everything not necessary to life and health, it would throw half the community out of employment and beggar manufacturers, mechanics, merchants, and agriculturists. She concludes superfluities to a certain extent are as indispensable to industry, virtue, and religion as direct giving.
Chapter 29
What three-head accounting method does Beecher propose for regulating expenses?
Beecher advises a woman to keep a year's account of spending for herself and family under three heads: first, food, raiment, rent, wages, and conveniences; second, education, books, and intellectual advantages; third, benevolence and religion. Comparing the first account's necessaries and superfluities with the second and third yields data for judging the past and regulating the future.
Chapter 29
CHAPTER XVI.4 cards
What proportion of their time did the Jews devote to God's service, and through what institutions?
The chapter states that three sevenths of the Jews' time was devoted to God's service, through the Levites, the weekly Sabbath, and the Sabbatical Year. Christianity removes these restrictions laid on the Jews, yet the author argues it still demands all our time be devoted to our own best interests and the good of our fellow-men.
Chapter 30
What practical methods does the author recommend for economizing time?
The author recommends system and order, uniting several objects in one employment, and employing the odd intervals of time. She also holds that we are bound to aid others in economizing time. The stated ultimate end of all pursuits should be some practical good, and enjoyment is connected with the performance of every duty.
Chapter 30
What does the author say about buying cheap articles and by wholesale?
The author argues cheap articles are not always the most economical, and that buying by wholesale is economical only in special cases. She also condemns penurious savings made by getting the poor to work cheap, and says beating down prices is improper for wealthy people. Carelessness of expense, she argues, is not a mark of gentility.
Chapter 30
What does the author say about education of daughters away from home and nice sewing?
The author argues that educating daughters away from home is injudicious, and that nice sewing should be done at home. She urges young ladies to early learn to be systematic and economical, and says every one is bound to do as much as she can to secure system and order.
Chapter 30
CHAPTER XVI.2 cards
According to Beecher, what constitutes the true economy of time?
Beecher argues that true economy of time is not simply filling every hour with labor or devotion, but the right apportionment of time among sleep, food, livelihood, intellectual improvement, exercise, amusement, social enjoyments, and benevolent and religious duties. Time spent in rest or amusement, she says, is often as usefully employed as time devoted to labor.
Chapter 31
What general principle of economy in expenses do all housekeepers agree on?
Beecher says that despite disagreement in minor matters, all unite in sanctioning one general principle: care must be taken to know the amount of income and of current expenses, so that proper proportion is preserved and expenditures never exceed the means. She notes few women can do this thoroughly without keeping regular accounts.
Chapter 31
CHAPTER XVII.4 cards
According to Beecher, what physical cause can bring on mental disease?
The author argues that mental diseases may arise from a want of oxygenized blood, making fresh air absolutely necessary. She also links brain excitement to improper stimulants taken into the stomach, which then affect the mental faculties, citing the example of a person who had lost a portion of his skull.
Chapter 32
What does Beecher say about unusual precocity in children?
The author argues that unusual precocity in children is usually the result of a diseased brain, and that parents generally add fuel to this fever. The outcome is often idiocy, or the precocious child sinks below the average of mankind. She notes this evil is still prevalent in colleges and other seminaries.
Chapter 32
What religious attention does Beecher say is wrong, and who should watch for it?
The author argues that such attention to religion as prevents the performance of other duties is wrong. She says teachers and parents should look to this, warning that excessive exercise of the intellect or feelings is itself a cause of derangement.
Chapter 32
What third cause of mental disease does Beecher identify, and what example illustrates it?
The author names the want of appropriate exercise of the various faculties of the mind as a third cause, quoting Dr. Combe. She offers the example of wealthy ladies, and points to the beneficial results of active intellectual employments as the remedy.
Chapter 32
CHAPTER XVII.4 cards
According to Beecher, what causes mental disease from a lack of properly oxygenated blood?
Beecher states that confinement in close or crowded rooms deprives the atmosphere of oxygen, interrupting blood purification. The unprepared blood passes into the brain, producing languor, restlessness, and inability to exercise intellect and feelings. She argues that schoolrooms, meeting rooms, and sleeping apartments should be contrived to secure a constant supply of fresh air.
Chapter 33
What warning sign of mental disease from over-study does Beecher describe in pupils?
Beecher reports that over-action of the brain is often shown by increased clearness of mind and ease of mental action. She describes a pupil who demanded more studies and planned improvements, insisting she felt better than ever, while actually on the verge of derangement. Only complete cessation of intellectual effort saved her.
Chapter 33
What does Beecher say about religious attention that prevents daily duties and relaxation?
Beecher argues that religious attention preventing daily duties and needful relaxation is dangerous, tending to produce a brain state that makes correct feeling and judgment impossible. She cites a pupil who brought her Bible everywhere until morbidly sensitive and unreasonable, saved only by change of scene, exercise, and amusement. Clergymen and teachers should guard against this danger.
Chapter 33
According to Dr. Combe, whom does inactivity of intellect and feeling most frequently victimize?
Dr. Combe states that women of the middle and higher ranks, especially those of nervous constitution and good natural abilities, are the most frequent victims. From ill-directed education they possess only accomplishments and no materials of thought or occupation demanding attention. Their liability to melancholy, hysteria, and hypochondriasis depends on brain irritability from imperfect exercise.
Chapter 33
CHAPTER XVIII.4 cards
What qualities does Beecher say American women most need for managing domestics?
The author argues that no subject requires more wisdom, patience, principle, and self-control from American women than the care of domestics. She frames its difficulties as necessary evils, contrasts them with the miseries of aristocratic lands, and urges conforming to actual circumstances rather than resisting them.
Chapter 34
How does Beecher say employers should judge and treat their domestics?
She advises judging domestics correctly and treating them as one would expect to be treated under similar circumstances. She notes that when labor is scarce its value increases, and argues domestics should be regarded with sympathy and forbearance rather than fault-finding.
Chapter 34
How does Beecher propose remedying instability, pride, and insubordination in domestics?
The author argues instability can be remedied, and that pride and insubordination can be addressed by convincing domestics of the appropriateness of different degrees of subordination. She claims they are easily convinced, and can be induced to be respectful in deportment and appropriate in dress. She also says forewarning is better than chiding and preventing better than finding fault.
Chapter 34
How does Beecher say deficiencies in domestics' qualifications should be handled?
She argues deficiencies should be remedied through forewarning rather than chiding, and prevention rather than finding fault. Faults should be pointed out in a kind manner. She criticizes employers who think it is their office and duty to find fault, and instead urges sympathy and forbearance toward domestics.
Chapter 34
CHAPTER XVIII.4 cards
According to Beecher, why do American women face peculiar trials with domestic servants?
The author argues these trials are necessary evils connected with America's valuable civil blessings. If Americans cannot secure the submissive, well-trained servants of aristocratic lands, they should be consoled that they escape the oppression attending that state of society. She urges women to conform cheerfully to actual circumstances, remedy what they can control, and patiently submit to what is beyond their power.
Chapter 35
How does Beecher defend domestics who demand high wages?
She applies the universal law of labor and trade: an article is valued according to its scarcity and demand. Just as farmers raise wheat prices when scarce, domestics may charge market value, which rises as the country grows rich and the number willing to serve declines. The author argues this view can reduce hard feelings toward domestics wrongly seen as exacting.
Chapter 35
What remedy does Beecher propose for domestics offended by being called servants?
She urges allowance for their feelings, since American children are trained to abhor slavery and many associate servitude with degradation. Employers should kindly give correct views: labor is not degrading here, subordination exists in all classes, and separate entrances and tables secure neatness and order rather than marking inferiority. She cites one lady who let a domestic dine with the family until she preferred the kitchen.
Chapter 35
How should an employer handle a domestic who lacks proper training?
Beecher says many domestics were never taught, often because their parents were unqualified, so employers must make allowance for past lack of instruction and remedy it with kind, patient teaching. A mistress or daughter should go round with a novice for two or three days showing exactly how work is expected, and this supervision may be specified in the agreement to prevent resentment.
Chapter 35
CHAPTER XIX.4 cards
According to the chapter, what causes nearly half of infant deaths in the first two years?
The chapter states that nearly one half of deaths occurring during the first two years of life are ascribable to mismanagement and to errors in diet. It notes the newborn stomach is feeble and unaccustomed to food, so its cravings are easily satisfied and frequently renewed, making feeding practices a central concern.
Chapter 36
What does the chapter say about feeding schedules for a newborn?
The chapter says there should be no fixed time for giving nourishment at that early age, since the stomach cannot be thus satisfied; the active call of the infant is a sign that need never be mistaken. Care must be taken to distinguish crying from pain or uneasiness from the call for food, and giving food just to stop cries often increases suffering. After a child satisfies hunger, two to four hours should pass before another supply.
Chapter 36
Why does the chapter oppose giving infants medicine, and what does it recommend instead?
The chapter warns strongly against administering medicines to infants, since their delicate frames and slight causes make proper treatment hard to judge. Dr. Combe is quoted that where a child is well managed, medicine is rarely required, and a constant demand for medicine in a nursery signals something essentially wrong in the children's treatment. Instead, the chapter urges preventive measures: careful food, fresh air, warmth, skin care, and cool bathing.
Chapter 36
How does the chapter say an infant's skin and head should be cared for?
The chapter says the skin should be washed all over every morning, followed by gentle friction with the hand to the back, stomach, bowels, and limbs, as nothing prevents disease so effectually. The head should be thoroughly washed daily and brushed with a soft hair-brush or combed with a fine comb; egg yolk applied with the finger removes accumulated dirt. The head should be kept cool, since too much warmth increases nervous irritability, which is why medical men forbid caps.
Chapter 36
CHAPTER XX.4 cards
What does Beecher say about the human teeth and stomach regarding a flesh diet?
The author argues that the formation of human teeth and stomach does not indicate man was designed to live on flesh. She cites the opinions of Linnæus and Cuvier in support, and disputes popular notions that animal food is necessary for full physical and intellectual development, pointing to groups such as Laplanders, Scotch Highlanders, Arabs, and Africans.
Chapter 37
What does Beecher say about children eating at short intervals?
She calls the practice of allowing children to eat at short intervals deleterious. The chapter treats this as a harmful habit of physical management, grouped with her broader discussion of diet, where she questions the necessity of animal food and cites medical opinions such as Dr. Combe's and examples like the Albany Orphan Asylum.
Chapter 37
What three habits does Beecher call most important to form in early life?
Submission, self-denial, and benevolence are named as the three most important habits to be formed in early life. She warns against extremes and recommends a medium course, and she stresses that parents and governors must control their own impatience and set an example, since example is more effectual than precepts.
Chapter 37
How does Beecher say governors should gain children's confidence and affection?
The author argues that those who govern children should join in their sports, which is the best way to gain their confidence and affection, though older persons should never lose the attitude of superiors. She also says it is impossible to govern children properly without appreciating the value they attach to their pursuits and trifles.
Chapter 37
CHAPTER XX.4 cards
What did Dr. Clarke say about giving children animal diet early?
Dr. Clarke, Physician in Ordinary to the Queen of England, called early animal diet "no greater error in the management of children." He argued overstimulating food irritates digestive organs, diminishes secretions (especially bile), and makes children liable to fever and inflammation, with measles and other childhood diseases generally more severe. The chapter says most physicians would coincide with this view.
Chapter 38
What evidence does the chapter give against animal food being necessary for strength?
The chapter cites Laplanders and Kamtschatkans, living almost entirely on animal food, as among the smallest, weakest, and most timid races; Scotch Highlanders on milk and vegetables as brave, large, and athletic; South-Sea Islanders on fruits and vegetables as superior to English sailors in strength and agility; and robust African tribes and active Arabs living solely on vegetable diet.
Chapter 38
What happened at the Albany Orphan Asylum after its management changed?
For three years the asylum used meat once a day, fine bread, and bathing once in three weeks; four to six children were continually sick, a physician was called two or three times weekly, and thirty to forty died. After daily ablutions, unbolted-flour bread, and banishing all animal food, the nursery emptied, and for two years no sickness or death occurred.
Chapter 38
What two extremes in forming obedience does the chapter warn against?
One extreme is stern, unsympathizing authority demanding constant obedience without convincing the child of the requisitions' propriety or showing tenderness for difficulties; children then fear rather than love parents, and valuable character traits are chilled or blasted. The opposite extreme treats children as equals, letting them judge every requisition; this breeds disputing, forwardness, conceit, disrespect, and resentful yielding.
Chapter 38
CHAPTER XXI.4 cards
According to Beecher, what is the grand cause of most diseases?
The author argues that excess in eating and drinking is the grand cause of most diseases, and she presents fasting as useful. She supports this with extracts from Doctors Burne and Combe. This claim frames her broader argument that women should understand the nature and operation of common medicines and use discretion in directing care of the sick.
Chapter 39
What does Beecher say is absolutely necessary when nursing the sick?
Beecher states that fresh air is absolutely necessary, and that frequent ablutions are important. She also stresses cleanliness, noting that nothing is more annoying to the sick than a want of it. These directions appear alongside practical instructions such as dressing a blister and making arrangements beforehand when practicable.
Chapter 39
How does Beecher say a nurse should treat a physician's directions?
Beecher insists that physicians' directions be well understood and implicitly followed. She also emphasizes that kindness, patience, and sympathy toward the sick are important. Alongside this, she warns about the impositions of apothecaries, suggesting a woman should understand common medicines well enough to exercise discretion rather than accept every recommendation blindly.
Chapter 39
What practical safety rule does Beecher give about drugs?
Beecher directs that drugs be locked up from the access of children. This rule sits among her practical nursing directions, which also include dressing a blister, preparing food properly for the sick, and making arrangements beforehand when practicable. The emphasis throughout is on forethought and cleanliness in the sickroom.
Chapter 39
CHAPTER XXI.4 cards
According to Beecher, what are the two great causes of ordinary slight illness in a family?
The author identifies sudden chills, which close the pores of the skin and affect the throat, lungs, or bowels, and the excessive or improper use of food. For chills she recommends bathing the feet, an aperient drink to induce perspiration, and sometimes a slight cathartic; for illness from improper food or overeating, she says fasting for one or two meals is the safest remedy, trying fasting before a gentle cathartic.
Chapter 40
What does Dr. Combe say is the first step when constipation arises from lack of muscular assistance?
Dr. Combe says the first step is to solicit the aid of the abdominal and respiratory muscles again: first remove impediments to free respiration such as stays, waistbands, and belts; second, use active exercise to call the muscles into full regular action; third, proportion food to the wants of the system and condition of the digestive organs. Persisted in, these means rarely fail, with little aid from medicine.
Chapter 40
Why does Beecher warn against piling up doses for a cold affecting the lungs or throat?
She notes that everything entering the stomach must first be absorbed into the blood before reaching the diseased part, so there is danger of injuring the stomach or other parts through such a variety of doses. Many of these doses are probably directly contradictory in nature and thus neutralize any benefit they might separately impart. She also warns that purgatives are unnatural stimulants that exhaust secretions and debilitate the system.
Chapter 40
What does Beecher say about obeying a physician's directions and about labeling medicines?
She instructs the nurse to understand the physician's directions and obey them implicitly; if someone is supposed to know the case better than the physician, dismiss the physician and employ that person instead. She also advises consulting the physician on where to buy medicines and showing the articles before use, since adulterated drugs are sold. Vials should be labeled and kept from children, and all white powders especially labeled, as poisons are easily mistaken for harmless ones.
Chapter 40
CHAPTER XXII.4 cards
How does the chapter distinguish arterial from other bleeding, and what is the immediate response?
The author states arterial blood is bright red and spirts in regular jets at each heartbeat. The bleeding end of the artery must be held or tied up until a surgeon comes. If the artery cannot be found, or for bad cuts on limbs, apply compression: a very tight bandage above the wound if it is below the heart, and below if the wound is above the heart, twisted with a stick as tight as can be borne.
Chapter 41
What does the chapter recommend for a bad burn where skin is removed?
The author argues the great aim is to keep the injured part from the air. Sprinkle on flour, or apply a liniment of equal parts linseed oil and lime-water; sweet-oil on cotton is good and with laudanum alleviates pain, though many skins cannot bear raw cotton. Once a dressing is put on, do not remove it, since that admits air and protracts the cure.
Chapter 41
What is the chapter's treatment for opium poisoning, and what follows once the stomach is emptied?
Induce vomiting without delay using ten grains of ipecac and ten grains of sulphate of zinc (white vitriol) in a small quantity of water, repeated every fifteen minutes until the stomach is empty; three or four grains of blue vitriol may substitute. After emptying, and not before, give alternately every ten minutes an acid drink and very strong coffee, plus cold water on the head, friction, and constant motion to prevent sleep.
Chapter 41
What does the chapter claim about the protective range of a lightning rod?
The author states a well-pointed lightning rod that runs deep into the earth is a certain protection to a circle around it whose diameter equals the height of the rod above the highest chimney. It protects no further than this extent. In thunderstorms, the chapter also advises shutting doors and windows and names the room's centre, or a featherbed, as safest.
Chapter 41
CHAPTER XXIII.3 cards
What general rules does Beecher give for judging which amusements are proper?
Beecher says every person needs some recreation but amusements should be avoided if they cause pain, injure health, endanger life, interfere with important duties, or are pernicious in their tendency. She names horse-racing, circus-riding, theatres, and gambling as examples to avoid, and argues that dancing as now conducted harms rather than helps health of body or mind.
Chapter 42
What is Beecher's view of dancing, and what alternative does she recommend for grace?
The author argues that dancing as currently conducted does not conduce to health of body or mind but the contrary, though dancing in the open air is beneficial. She acknowledges social benefits of dancing but says ease and grace of manners are better secured by a system of calisthenics, citing her own experience. She also notes balls are going out of fashion among more refined circles.
Chapter 42
How does Beecher treat social enjoyments, hospitality, and the main object of life?
The author argues social enjoyments are not always counted among duties, yet the main object of life is to form character and family friendship should be preserved. She describes a plan adopted by families of her acquaintance, urges kindness to strangers and hospitality, notes communities' character regarding hospitality has changed, and says hospitality should be prompt and strangers made to feel at ease.
Chapter 42
CHAPTER XXIII.4 cards
According to Beecher, what is the only legitimate object of amusements?
The author argues that the only legitimate object of amusements is to prepare mind and body for the proper discharge of duty. Therefore any amusement that interferes with regular employments, induces excessive fatigue, wearies the mind, or invades the proper hours of repose must be sinful. She also notes that children, whose bodies are rapidly growing and nervous systems tender, need much more amusement than mature adults.
Chapter 43
Why does Beecher object to dancing despite conceding it may be harmless in itself?
She concedes dancing is not a sin in itself, was once part of sacred worship, and might promote health and grace if properly regulated. But she objects on the same ground as horse-racing, card-playing, and theatres: we must judge amusements as they are, not as they might be. Given weak moral obligation and little self-control in society, regulation fails. She adds that dancing as actually conducted harms health and ends conversation.
Chapter 43
What rules does Beecher give for selecting amusements?
Beecher lists binding rules: avoid amusements that inflict needless pain, including tricks causing fright or vexation and sports causing animal suffering; hunting and fishing for mere sport can never be justified. Avoid recreations that endanger life or interfere with important duties, since amusements should promote health. Also avoid amusements experience shows to be exciting and tied to many temptations, such as horse-racing and circus-riding, which are excluded on that ground.
Chapter 43
How does Beecher say fiction reading should be regulated for the young?
She argues no specific rules can define novels, since Scripture's parables and allegories show fiction is lawful and useful. Works glorifying vice or giving false views of life should be banished. As a general rule, the young should not read such works until solid education is secured and a taste for elevated reading acquired, except the dull and phlegmatic. Parents may require consent before any story-book.
Chapter 43
CHAPTER XXIV.4 cards
What five particulars should guide house construction, according to Beecher?
Beecher lists five: economy of labor, economy of money, economy of health, economy of comfort, and good taste. She treats economy of labor first, arguing that the housekeeper's health and capacity and the availability of domestics should be the very first consideration when deciding a house's size and style.
Chapter 44
Why does Beecher favor a square house shape over wings and projections?
Beecher argues a perfect square encloses more rooms at less expense than any other shape, has less surface exposed to external cold, and can be most easily warmed and ventilated. The farther a house departs from this shape, the more expense increases. Wings and kitchens built out beyond the house raise costs for both building and warming.
Chapter 44
What health problems does Beecher attribute to outside doors in sitting-rooms?
Beecher says an outside door for common use in a sitting-room, frequent at the West and South, harms health. Children at play or people laboring work up a perspiration, the door is thrown open, a chill ensues, and fever, bowel complaints, or bilious attacks follow. She recommends long windows reaching the floor, used as doors in summer and tightly closed at the bottom in winter.
Chapter 44
Why does Beecher say piazzas and porticoes are poor economy?
Beecher argues piazzas and porticoes are very expensive, and their cost would secure far more comfort if devoted to additional nursery or kitchen conveniences. She notes many porticoes cost as much as an additional room. She reports an architect told her he could build the two-story house without a piazza for the same sum as the cottage with one.
Chapter 44
CHAPTER XXV.4 cards
What fireplace design does Beecher recommend for saving wood and increasing heat?
The author advises a shallow fireplace, which saves wood and gives out more heat than a deeper one. In a deep fireplace, a false back of brick may be put up. She also recommends hooks for shovel, tongs, hearth-brush, and bellows, brass knobs to hang them on, and an iron bar across the andirons to keep the fire safe and in good order.
Chapter 45
How should wood be selected, mixed, and stored for winter use?
Beecher advises using green wood for logs and mixing green and dry wood for the fire so the woodpile lasts longer. Walnut, maple, hickory, and oak are best; chestnut or hemlock is bad because it snaps. Avoid loads with many crooked sticks, learn to measure solid contents to avoid being cheated, and split and pile all wood under cover, sorted into separate piles.
Chapter 45
What safety practices does the chapter require when quitting fires at night?
When quitting fires at night, never leave a burning stick across the andirons or on its end without quenching it. See that no fire adheres to the broom or brush, remove all articles from the fire, and keep two pails of water in the kitchen where they will not freeze. Ashes should go in a brick bin, never in wood.
Chapter 45
Why are stoves potentially unhealthy, and how does Beecher say to remedy this?
The author states that rooms heated by stoves should always have some opening for fresh air, or they will be injurious to health. The dryness stoves cause should be remedied by placing a vessel of water on the stove or hooking a long narrow pan of water in front of the grate; otherwise lungs or eyes may be injured. A large number of plants also prevents dryness.
Chapter 45
CHAPTER XXVI.2 cards
What does Beecher say happens if hot water is poured on clothes before soaking?
Beecher instructs that clothes be sorted and put in soak the night before, and warns never to pour hot water on them, because hot water sets the dirt. She also directs sorting into four lots: flannels, colored clothes, coarse whites, and fine clothes, each washed separately.
Chapter 46
How does Beecher test the strength of homemade ley?
Beecher says to try the ley's strength with an egg: if the egg rises so as to show a circle as large as a ten cent piece, the strength is right; if it rises higher, weaken the ley with water; if not so high, the ashes are not good and the process must be repeated with fresh ashes. Oak ashes are best.
Chapter 46
CHAPTER XXVII.4 cards
How is starch prepared according to Beecher's recipe?
Mix four tablespoonfuls of starch with enough water to remove all lumps, then add half a cup of cold water. Pour this into a quart of boiling water and boil for half an hour, adding a piece of spermaceti, or a lump of salt or sugar as large as a hazelnut. Strain it, add a very little blueing, and thin with hot water.
Chapter 47
How does Beecher say laces should be done up nicely?
Sew clean muslin around a long bottle and roll the lace on it, pulling out the edge so it turns in and is covered. Fill the bottle with water and boil it an hour in suds made with white soap. Rinse in blued water, dry in the sun, and stiffen with thin starch or gum Arabic if desired. When dry, fold and press between white papers in a large book.
Chapter 47
What does Beecher recommend for ironing silk and calico?
The author directs that silk be ironed on the wrong side, when quite damp, with an iron that is not very hot; light colors are apt to change and fade. Calicoes should be ironed with irons that are not very hot, and generally on the right side, since they thus keep clean for a longer time.
Chapter 47
What order does Beecher give for ironing a frock and a shirt?
In ironing a frock, first do the waist, then the sleeves, then the skirt; keep the skirt rolled while ironing the other parts, and use a chair to hold the sleeves while ironing the skirt, unless a skirt-board is used. In ironing a shirt, first do the back, then the sleeves, then the collar and bosom, and then the front.
Chapter 47
CHAPTER XXVIII.4 cards
How does the chapter say scorched articles may be whitened?
The chapter says scorched articles can often be whitened by laying them in the sun wet with suds. If that fails, it offers alternatives: boiling the article in a gallon of milk with a pound of white soap, or applying a paste made from the juice of two onions boiled with vinegar, white soap, and fuller's earth, then washing it off in fair water.
Chapter 48
What does the chapter warn about the oxalic acid stain-mixture?
The chapter describes a stain-mixture of half an ounce of oxalic acid in a pint of soft water, kept in a corked bottle, calling it infallible for removing iron-rust and ink-stains, including indelible ink. It warns that the mixture is very poisonous and that the article must be washed afterward, or the mixture will injure it.
Chapter 48
How does the chapter say grease should be removed from silks and worsteds versus white articles?
For white articles, the chapter directs a ball made of fuller's earth, pearlash, and lemon-juice, rubbed on the greased spot after wetting with cold water, then dried and rinsed in fair cold water. For silks and worsteds, it instead recommends French chalk, scraped on the spot and left a day and night, renewing it until the spot disappears; Wilmington clay-balls are called equally good.
Chapter 48
What process does the chapter give for whitening straw and Leghorn hats?
After removing grease, stains, and dirt, the hat is tied wet with suds on cords stretched across a barrel, which is inverted over a dish of coals with slowly burning roll brimstone and a chip under one side to admit air. This continues until the bonnet is white; it is then aired, stiffened with isinglass or gum Arabic applied inside, and pressed.
Chapter 48
CHAPTER XXIX.4 cards
Which carpets does Beecher recommend for rooms in common use, and why?
Beecher advises close-textured ingrain and three-ply carpets as best for common use, since they are durable and economical. Brussels does not wear as long because it cannot be turned, Wilton wears badly, and Venetian is good only for halls and stairs. She also warns that buying cheap carpets for much-used rooms is poor economy.
Chapter 49
How does Beecher say carpets should be washed, and which types cannot be?
Carpets are best washed on the floor: shake them, clean the floor, then stretch and nail them down. Scrub with cold soapsuds containing about half a teacupful of ox-gall per bucket, rinse with a cloth in fair water, and air the room for two days or more. Imperial Brussels, Venetian, ingrain, and three-ply can be washed this way; Wilton and other plush carpets cannot.
Chapter 49
What does Beecher recommend for cleaning and protecting mahogany and varnished furniture?
Beecher states mahogany furniture should be made in the Spring and stand some months before use, or it will shrink and warp. Varnished furniture should be rubbed only with silk, occasionally with a little sweet-oil wiped off carefully. Unvarnished furniture takes beeswax softened with sweet-oil, rubbed in with a hard brush and polished with woollen and silk rags.
Chapter 49
How does Beecher advise hanging pictures and cleaning their glass and frames?
Pictures should be hung so the lower part is opposite the eye. Cleanse picture glass with whiting, since water endangers the pictures. Gilt frames are better preserved by applying a coat of copal varnish, available with proper brushes from carriage or cabinet-makers; once dry it can be washed with fair water, and the brush washed in spirits of turpentine.
Chapter 49
CHAPTER XXX.4 cards
What does Beecher recommend for keeping a napkin assigned to each family member?
Beecher advises that each family member have a given number of napkins, numbered to correspond, or slipped into numbered ivory rings, so the same napkin is kept for the same person. A stranger receives a clean napkin at each meal. Napkins of diaper are laid by each person's plate to save the tablecloth and pocket-handkerchief during the meal.
Chapter 50
According to Beecher's rules, where should the caster and salt-stands be placed for dinner?
For dinner, the caster goes in the centre of the table, and the salt-stands at two oblique corners, the latter placed between two large spoons crossed. If more spoons are needed, they are laid on each side of the caster, crossed. The principal dish is set before the master of the house, with the carving-knife, fork, and steel beside it.
Chapter 50
How does Beecher say a waiter should present articles and pour water at table?
The waiter should go to the left side of the person when presenting articles, and never entirely fill the tumbler when pouring water. The waiter announces the meal to the mistress, stands by the door until all are in, closes it, and steps to the left side of the lady of the house. Covers are inverted before removal so steam does not drop on the tablecloth or guests.
Chapter 50
What does Beecher say about carving fowls, and why is carving considered an accomplishment?
Beecher argues it is an accomplishment for a lady to carve well at her own table, and that it is not proper to stand while carving. Fowls should be laid breast uppermost; the fork goes in the breast, and the wings and legs are taken off without turning the fowl, then the merry thought, breast slices, collar bone, side pieces, and carcass are cut.
Chapter 50
CHAPTER XXXI.4 cards
According to Beecher, how should a bedroom be ventilated at night?
Every mistress should ensure sleeping rooms actually are well ventilated at night, not merely that they can be. Where there is no open fireplace, a door should be left open into an entry or room admitting fresh air, or a small opening made in a window, taking care not to allow a draught to cross the bed. Beecher argues that childhood debility, lassitude of domestics, and family ill-health often result from neglecting pure air.
Chapter 51
What does Beecher say about using featherbeds?
Featherbeds should never be used except in cold weather. At other times a thin mattress of hair, cotton and moss, or straw should be placed over them, or a strip of broad straw matting spread over the bed. Beecher argues nothing is more debilitating than sleeping in warm weather with a featherbed pressing round most of the body. Side-pieces should be put in and the bed well filled so a person is not buried in a hollow.
Chapter 51
What directions does Beecher give for making a bed properly?
Open the windows and lay the covering on two chairs at the foot to air the bed. Shake the feathers from each corner to the middle, turn the bed over, and push feathers in place, making the head higher than the foot and sides even. Put the under sheet wrong side to the bed with the marking at the head, tuck in all around, add pillows with open ends to the sides, then the upper sheet wrong side to the blankets, marked end at the head.
Chapter 51
How does Beecher advise packing a trunk for travelling?
Put heavy articles at the bottom, covered with unprinted paper since ink rubs off. Place coats and pantaloons in linen cases with strings, and fill all crevices with small articles, because a loosely packed trunk shakes contents about and injures them. A thin lidded box the size of the trunk, strapped down from inside, holds light articles. Roll under-clothing tightly rather than folding it, and use bonnet-boxes of light wood with lock and key instead of paper bandboxes.
Chapter 51
CHAPTER XXXII.3 cards
How does Beecher say a kitchen oilcloth should be made cheaply?
Buy cheap tow cloth fitted to the kitchen's size and shape, stretch and nail it to the south side of a barn, and brush on a coat of thin rye paste. When dry, apply yellow paint and let it dry a fortnight, then a second coat, another fortnight, a third coat, and hang it two months. She warns to test whether paint dries well, since some never will, and says varnishing makes it last longer.
Chapter 52
What rules does Beecher give for washing dishes in order?
Scrape dishes, saving food and putting grease in the grease-pot and scraps in the slop-pail; save tea-leaves for sweeping. Wash the nicest articles first in hot suds with the swab or best cloth, wipe metal at once, rinse in hot water, and drain on a waiter. Then wash greasy dishes with their own cloth, and wash knives and forks being careful that handles are never put in water. Finally use fresh suds for milk-pans and tins, then the roaster, gridiron, pots, and kettles, and finish by scalding the slop-bucket and setting the fireplace in order.
Chapter 52
What does Beecher say causes disease in a cellar, and what should be kept there?
The author argues a cellar should often be whitewashed and have a drain to keep it perfectly dry, since standing water is a sure cause of disease in a family. She warns that leaving decayed vegetables is very dangerous and that many a fever has been caused by the poisonous miasm thus generated. Desirable items include a safe or moveable closet with wire or perforated tin sides, a refrigerator box lined with tin or zinc and packed with charcoal, and filtering jars.
Chapter 52
CHAPTER XXXIII.3 cards
What stitches should every young girl be taught, according to Beecher?
Beecher lists over-stitch, hemming, running, felling, stitching, back-stitch and run, buttonhole-stitch, chain-stitch, whipping, darning, gathering, and cross-stitch. She says each should be done "with propriety," and throughout the chapter gives specific technique rules for several of them, such as fitting and basting edges before over-stitching and using a paper measure for even hems and tucks.
Chapter 53
How does Beecher say buttonholes should be prepared and worked?
She advises buttonhole scissors, or a chisel and board for broadcloth. The best stitch is made by putting in the needle and turning the thread around it near the eye, rather than drawing the needle through and taking up a loop. A thread should first be put across each side and a stay-thread or bar at each end, kept as far from the edge as possible, with a small bar worked at each end.
Chapter 53
What does Beecher recommend for fitting and basting work before sewing?
She states that the neatest sewers always fit and baste their work before sewing, and they say they save time in the end by doing so, since they never have to pick out work on account of mistakes. She contrasts this with garments sewn so poorly that a nice sewer would rather pick out the threads and resew than see "grinning stitches" and suffer constant rips.
Chapter 53
CHAPTER XXXIV.4 cards
What soil mixture does Beecher prescribe for pot-plants?
One fourth common soil, one fourth well-decayed manure, and one half vegetable mould from woods or a chip-yard. The manure must be broken fine and sifted through a lime-screen or coarse wire sieve, and all materials thoroughly mixed. Sand is added when the common soil is adhesive, the proportion depending on the soil's nature.
Chapter 54
How does Beecher say a hot-bed should be constructed and managed?
Dig a pit six feet long, five wide, thirty inches deep, and set a sloped frame over it: back two feet high, front fifteen inches, with two glass sashes. Fill with fresh horse-dung not sodden by water, tread hard, then add ten to twelve inches of rich soil. Cover with glass for two or three days, then stir and sow. Admit air except in cold, and shade when the sun is strong.
Chapter 54
What does Beecher advise about thinning and transplanting seedlings?
When plants are an inch high, thin them out: leave one or two of a large plant like the Balsam, five or six of a medium size, and eighteen or twenty of the smaller size. Transplanting retards growth about a fortnight, though a plant moved without disturbing the soil around its root is not retarded at all. She also advises planting at two different times lest the first planting fail from wet or cold weather.
Chapter 54
How does Beecher say yards and gardens should be laid out?
Trees in a yard should be arranged in groups, never in straight lines or as scattered solitary trees, to imitate Nature and secure spots of dense shade and cleared turf. Beds can be cut out of turf and raised for flowers, with a trench around to stop grass running on them, shaped as crescents, ovals, or other fanciful forms. A pretty border can be made by planting common flax seed about three inches from the edge and trimming it with shears.
Chapter 54
CHAPTER XXXV.4 cards
How are plants propagated by cuttings, according to the chapter?
Select a side shoot ten inches long, with two inches of the preceding year's growth and the rest of the current season's growth. Set it out when the sap is running, place a piece of crockery at the bottom of the buried shoot, and ensure at least one eye is under the soil. Water it and shade it in hot weather.
Chapter 55
What makes grafting or budding succeed, and which fruits can be combined?
Success depends on placing the bud or graft so the sap vessels of the inner bark exactly join those of the stock, letting sap pass between them. Seed-fruit can be budded into any other seed-fruit, and stone-fruit into any other stone-fruit, but stone and seed-fruits cannot be mingled.
Chapter 55
What are the chapter's rules for pruning?
Remove dead wood and small twigs on main limbs, and thin branches to give light and ventilation inside the tree. Keep straight perpendicular shoots that bear little fruit; favor horizontal, curving shoots that fruit abundantly. Preserve the lowest shoots and those nearest the origin on laterals, remove crossing branches and root suckers, and prune when sap is in full circulation except grapes.
Chapter 55
How does the chapter say fruit should be thinned?
Leaves should not be removed except to mature wood or fruit; remove shading leaves gradually, in two stages, once fruit is ready to ripen. Thin fruit to increase size, flavor, and tree longevity: take off half at setting, revise in June and July. One very large apple per square foot is a guide, roughly two hundred large apples for a tree fifteen by twelve feet.
Chapter 55
CHAPTER XXXVI.4 cards
How should fruit seeds be planted in a nursery?
The chapter directs planting fruit seeds in autumn, an inch and a half or two inches deep, in ridges four or five feet apart, pressing the earth firmly over them. While growing, thin them out to leave the best ones a foot and a half apart, and keep the soil loose, soft, and free of weeds. Seeds should be planted in rich, well-dug soil dressed with well-decayed manure, protected from cold winds.
Chapter 56
How are non-bearing strawberry plants distinguished and handled?
Non-bearers have large flowers with showy stamens and high black anthers, while bearers have short stamens, many pistils, and less showy flowers. The chapter advises pulling out all non-bearers in blossom-time. Some think one non-bearer per twelve bearers should remain, but others pull them all. Many beds fail because every plant is a non-bearer.
Chapter 56
What is the proper pruning schedule for grapevines in their first two years?
The first year, prune to two main branches, removing all other shoots as they come. In November, cut both branches back to four eyes. The second spring, loosen the earth and allow only two branches, removing side shoots monthly. In November, cut the two main stems to eight eyes. After the second year, only reduce side shoots to increase fruit. All pruning except nipping side shoots must be done when sap is not running.
Chapter 56
How are currants and gooseberries preserved in bottles?
Gather them dry, selecting only solid ones, remove the stalks, and put them in dry junk-bottles. Set the bottles uncorked in a kettle of water and slowly raise it to boiling heat to drive out the air. Then take out the bottles, cork them, and seal them air tight. Keep them in a dry place where they will not freeze. Success depends on excluding air and water.
Chapter 56
CHAPTER XXXVII.4 cards
What does the chapter's title page list among the miscellaneous directions for women?
The chapter heading lists topics including taking proper care of domestic animals (a horse, a cow, poultry), cautions for winter, smoky chimneys, house-cleaning, parties and invitations, the comfort of guests, flower-baskets, fire-boards, water-proof shoes, earthen ware, and cements. These appear as a table of contents rather than developed discussion.
Chapter 57
What does the note following the miscellaneous directions section reference?
A note following the section points to cooking, with the page number 354. The chapter itself is largely a listing of headings and front/back matter rather than substantive prose, so the cooking note is one of the few concrete cross-references given.
Chapter 57
What do the listed engravings show regarding anatomy?
The list of engravings includes the human skeleton showing bone connections, the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar vertebrae, arm muscles, sections of the skull and spinal column, nerve ramifications, natural and distorted spines, the vascular system, the two sides of the heart separated and united, the heart with great blood-vessels, and organs of digestion and respiration.
Chapter 57
What kinds of cottage and house plans appear in the list of engravings?
The engravings include elevations and ground-plans of cottages of fine proportions, a two-story cottage, a larger house, and a very convenient cottage, plus a cottage of Daniel Wadsworth, Esq., near Hartford, Conn. They also cover accommodations for securing water with least labor, back-door accommodations, a latticed portico, a sliding closet or dumb waiter, a cheap couch, and a flower-bed plan.
Chapter 57
CHAPTER XXXVII. (part 1)4 cards
What daily care and exercise does Beecher say a stable-kept horse needs?
Beecher states a stable horse should be rubbed and brushed every day, and needs as much daily exercise as trotting three miles gives. The stable should be neither very light nor very dark, with a plank or soil floor rather than brick or stone, and cleaned every morning. Food or drink should never be given while a horse is very warm from exercise, as it causes disease.
Chapter 58
How should a cow be fed, watered, and milked around calving, according to Beecher?
Beecher advises watering a cow three times a day and feeding hay, potatoes, carrots, and boiled corn, with a handful of salt twice a week. Turnips and cabbages taint the milk. A cow should go unmilked for two months before calving, and her milk should not be used until four days after. The calf runs with her four days, then is shut away except three times daily.
Chapter 58
What causes smoky chimneys, and how does Beecher say each cause should be remedied?
Beecher lists several causes: short broad straight flues (a narrow flue with a bend draws best); large top openings that draw wind down, remedied by tapering the summits; a nearby taller house, remedied by raising the chimney; too large a fireplace throat, remedied by a false back or lowering the front with sheet iron. Shallow fireplaces give more heat and draw as well as deep ones.
Chapter 58
What does Beecher recommend for cleaning windows and for hosting company without exhausting the air?
For windows, Beecher says sponges are best, using clean water only, wiping first with linen then old silk; outside windows get a long brush and a rinse of water with a little saltpetre. She notes some friends prefer hard cold water with flannel and no soap, and says it is worth trying. For company, she warns lights and guests' breath exhaust the air's healthful principle, so avoid crowding guests into one room.
Chapter 58
CHAPTER XXXVII. (part 2)4 cards
According to the chapter, what are the three great annual Jewish festivals and what did each commemorate?
The chapter names the Feast of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, requiring all males to visit the Temple at Jerusalem. Passover commemorated the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt, when the destroying angel passed over their houses. Pentecost, on the fiftieth day after Passover, commemorated the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Tabernacles, celebrated under tents of green boughs, commemorated dwelling in tents through the wilderness and included thanks for earth's fruits.
Chapter 59
What does the chapter say about the Chinese practice of compressing female infants' feet?
The chapter states that in China it is the fashion to compress the feet of female infants to prevent their growth, so that the feet of all Chinese females are distorted and so small the individuals cannot walk with ease. It presents this under the heading 'Chinese belle, deformities of,' as an example of a beauty standard producing deformity rather than as a practice the author endorses.
Chapter 59
How does the chapter define and derive carmine and cochineal?
Carmine is described as a crimson color, the most beautiful of all reds, prepared from a decoction of powdered cochineal insect with alum and other substances added. Cochineal is a color procured from the cochineal insect (Coccus cacti), which feeds on cactus leaves and is supposed to derive its coloring matter from its food. Its natural color is crimson, but with a preparation of potash it yields a rich scarlet dye.
Chapter 59
What does the chapter say about the origin of Gothic architecture?
The chapter describes Gothic as a peculiar, strongly marked style sometimes called the ecclesiastical style, because it is most frequently used in cathedrals, churches, abbeys, and other religious edifices. Its principle seems to have originated in imitation of groves and bowers under which the ancients performed sacred rites; its clustered pillars and pointed arches are said to represent tree trunks and their interlocking branches.
Chapter 59
CHAPTER XXXVII. (part 3)2 cards
How does the chapter define stamen, pistil, and stigma in botany?
The stamen is the part of a flower on which artificial classification is founded, consisting of the filament or stalk and the anther, which contains the pollen or fructifying powder. The pistil is generally the central part of a flower, composed of the germ, style, and stigma, and receives the pollen. The stigma is the summit or top of the pistil.
Chapter 60
Who were the Puritans, and how does the chapter describe their treatment and migration?
The chapter describes the Puritans as a sect professing to follow the pure word of God against traditions and human constitutions. Under Elizabeth, some Protestants sought a simpler church government and worship than that established by law, hence the name. They grew in numbers, broke from the Church, adopted a Geneva service-book, were treated with great rigor by the Government, and many settled in Holland; some then embarked for America and were the first settlers of New England.
Chapter 60
L. Labelling powders, 239.4 cards
What does Beecher say about the nobility of labor and its relation to delicacy?
The index points to pages 55 and 147 on the nobility of labor, and to pages 61, 123, and 124 where Beecher opposes the idea that labor degrades a person. Page 62 adds that labor is not inconsistent with delicacy. The author argues for labor's dignity rather than treating it as beneath refined young ladies.
Chapter 61
What does Beecher cite as effects of light, and how should eyes be protected?
The index lists the effects of light at page 124, and screening the eyes from light at pages 217 and 283. Lightning and lightning rods both appear at page 243, and bleeding at the lungs is also indexed there. The chapter treats light as something with real physiological effects requiring deliberate management.
Chapter 61
What does Beecher's index say about longevity, diet, and the Laplanders?
Sinclair is cited on longevity at page 126, and longevity from vegetable diet appears at page 221. The Laplanders and their food are indexed at page 220, with Linnæus cited there as well. The author links diet to length of life and draws on named authorities and foreign examples.
Chapter 61
What does the index indicate about the lungs and tight dressing?
The lungs are indexed at page 89, and the effects of tight-dressing on the lungs at pages 90 and 117. Bleeding at the lungs appears at page 243. The author argues that restrictive clothing harms the lungs, treating dress as a health matter rather than mere fashion.
Chapter 61
C. Cakes, keeping till meal time, 223.4 cards
According to the chapter, what is the effect of cold on the circulation, especially in infants?
The chapter states that cold affects circulation in the skin of infants, and that cold has an effect on circulation more generally. It links exposure to cold with deficiency of clothing and warns of its effects on infants. The author treats cold as a real physiological influence on the body's blood flow, not merely a matter of comfort.
Chapter 62
What does the chapter say about the health of Catholics during Lent?
The index entry notes the health of Catholics during Lent, listed under that heading with a page reference. The chapter does not elaborate the point in the text provided; it simply records the topic as one treated in the volume. Readers should consult the referenced page for the author's actual discussion rather than inferring a conclusion from the index line alone.
Chapter 62
What guidance does the chapter give about children eating too often?
The chapter lists 'eating too often' among matters concerning children, alongside topics such as washing, early retiring and rising, and cultivation of good manners. It treats frequent eating as a habit requiring attention in child-rearing. The author's broader concern is regularity and self-control in children's daily routines rather than indulgence.
Chapter 62
What does the chapter say about giving charity, including indiscriminate bestowal?
The chapter covers charity extensively: giving in charity, difficulties respecting it, general principles, proper objects, charity for souls, furnishing the poor with means of earning support, associations for charity, and the problem of indiscriminate bestowal. It also discusses using tracts in distribution and warns against judging other people's charity. The author favors thoughtful, purposeful giving over careless handouts.
Chapter 62
D. Daffodils, 336.4 cards
According to the chapter, what does the success of democracy depend on?
The index entry for Democracy lists 'On what the success of, depends, 36.' It also cross-references the principles of democracy as identical with Christian principles (25, 34), its tendencies regarding the female sex (27), progress toward it (34), and the courtesy of manners connected with it (138, 140, 146). The chapter gives only these page pointers, not the argument itself.
Chapter 63
What does the chapter say about early rising and its effects?
Early rising is indexed at page 122, called 'democratic' at 123, with reasons at 124 and a time for it at 126. Longevity is linked to it at 126. Its effects are noted on a family (126), on the community (127), and on systematic duty (166). The chapter supplies only these index references, not the underlying explanations.
Chapter 63
What does the chapter indicate about the diet and digestion of Benjamin Franklin?
The index entry 'Franklin, Benjamin, diet of, 222' is the only reference to Franklin in this chapter. It points to page 222 under the broader topic of Food, which also covers conversion of food into nourishment (87), quantity graduated by exercise (97), animal versus vegetable food (99, 100), and foods easiest to digest (101, 104, 105). The chapter gives no details of Franklin's diet.
Chapter 63
What does the chapter say about the exercise of American women compared with others?
The index lists 'Exercise, comparative, of American women and others, 44,' alongside neglect of exercise (50, 244) and a method for securing it at the Monticello Female Seminary (54). Exercise is called indispensable to health of the body's parts (73, 97), with effects of its want on the spine (78, 80) and evils of want of exercise (129). The chapter gives pointers only.
Chapter 63
M. Mahogany furniture, 305.4 cards
According to the chapter, how far apart should meals be spaced?
The chapter states that meals should be five hours apart. This appears in the index entry under meals, alongside related notes that meals should be considered in terms of their nature and that the English keep a particular time for them. The five-hour interval is presented as the recommended spacing between meals.
Chapter 64
What does the chapter say about the nourishment in tea?
The chapter asserts that there is no nourishment in tea. It also claims tea and coffee cause nervous debility, that the love of them is not natural, and that black tea is the least injurious. It further argues that if tea is good for adults, it may not be for children.
Chapter 64
What does the chapter claim about stimulating drinks and the constitution?
The chapter argues there is no need for stimulating drinks, that they excite the nervous system, and that they debilitate the constitution. It notes temptation from using them and lists five forms of use. It also considers reasons given for using them and cites Dr. Combe on the subject.
Chapter 64
What does the chapter say about the health of nerves and muscular exercise?
The chapter states that the health of the nerves depends on muscular exercise, citing pages 78 and 130. It describes two kinds of nerves, discusses cutting off nerves, and notes that exercise and inactivity of nerves, along with debility of nerves, are covered. It also addresses excessive exercise of the muscles.
Chapter 64
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