It was Friday afternoon. She had just carried her work to her employer and received her pay of one dollar and sixty cents. She laid it on the table before me and said, “This is all I with my four children shall have to buy food with until next Friday--it is not enough to buy even bread and tea and that is all we have lived upon for the last three weeks.” She looked wan and hungry and cried bitterly. I sent for a little luncheon, and while she ate it, I devised the following plan: “Mrs. S----,” said I, “take this money and spend it as follows: Buy 7 lbs. corned beef $0.35 21 ” potatoes .25 14 ” cabbage .28 7 ” Indian meal .21 1 qt. molasses .15 7 loaves bread .35 Salt .01 ----- $1.60 “Boil the meat in twelve quarts of water until very tender. Divide the meat and broth in seven parts, also the potatoes and cabbage. Cook one portion of cabbage and potatoes each day in the portion of broth. Divide this stew into five equal parts for you and your four children. Do the same with the Indian meal, cooking one part every morning. Salt it well, and pour on it one-seventh part of the molasses--that is for your breakfasts. Use one loaf of bread each day for supper. Come again next Friday and let me know the result.” She promised to follow this written prescription, and did so. The ensuing Friday she again presented herself before me, looking less distressed having earned $1.70. She said she “was glad to have done so, as the children could eat more than the seventh part of the purchase, and it was hard for her to eat it herself and deny the children.” However, she had obeyed and was able to do more work having earned ten cents more that week, although she and the children “felt sorely the lack of tea.” I advised her to make a change in her purchases, spending the same amount of money for a fresh shin of beef and turnips or a salted shoulder of pork, and to use the ten cents for extra molasses. After two weeks, she came again to report to me. The change in her appearance was remarkable, and her account of her children’s condition was good. Also, she had been able to earn two dollars per week, which, however, was the utmost she could do in the time she could spare from the family work. At the end of another two weeks she came to me and asked permission to give to her husband a share of the dinner on the coming Sunday. He had smelled the stew when occasionally coming home and desired to partake of it. It was therefore agreed that he should add fifteen cents as his share for the cost of the dinner, which he did, and when Christmas came, she told me had done so regularly every day for the previous three weeks.