=What are some of the facts about clothing and health that a girl may learn, useful to herself and her family?= This is the question at the beginning of the first chapter. Do you not think that you can all give an answer to this question now? And would you not like to write a composition about it? Perhaps your teacher will have a gathering at the school of all the fathers and mothers; and maybe one of you can write a little play or pageant connected in some way with household arts for this closing party of the school year. Perhaps you are able now to design your costumes and make some of your garments or, at least, to select them more wisely. =And where is Pleasant Valley?= Perhaps you asked this question when you looked at the picture on one of the first pages. Pleasant Valley is your own home town; and, though it has really quite another name, it may still be Pleasant Rivers, or Pleasant Hill, or Pleasant Fields, or Pleasant Plain. Why not? In this wide country of ours there are many forms of natural beauty; and even in the dry sections, where trees are grown with difficulty, there are still the far reaches of the plains and the beautiful effects of cloud, sunrise, and sunset. If our own town is ugly and unhealthy, it is not Nature's fault; for the beauty and home-likeness and the healthfulness of any place depend upon its inhabitants. Even the simplest and plainest village or countryside has one kind of beauty if it is kept perfectly clean, and it costs but little money in many places to plant trees and shrubs and keep the grass green. You must see, however, that it is something more than beauty in the things about us that we have been studying together. You boys and girls in your school are to be the men and women who will make the homes and the town the best possible places for successful and happy living. Do you realize what it means to be citizens of a great commonwealth like this of our United States? Do you understand the meaning of the word "commonwealth"? It is a good old word that means a land where all the people share everything alike and work together for the good of all. We cannot succeed in doing this unless we begin in our home and in our home town. More and more must our country stand for democracy for ourselves and for the whole world, and you must bring to the problems of the future, bodies strong and clean, and strong hearts and minds. INDEX Adulteration: by combination, 280. by weighting, 279. in finishing, 281. Albatross, 210. Alpaca, 213. Ammonium phosphate for outing flannel, 9. Aniline dyes, 134. Apparel: choosing, 242.