Wipe the shell of the squash, cut it into pieces for serving, remove the seeds and stringy portion, place in a dripping-pan, and bake in a slow oven for three quarters of an hour (until tender). Serve at once. _Steamed Squash_ Prepare the squash as for baking, put in a steamer over boiling water, and cook for 30 minutes or until soft. Then scrape the squash from the shell, mash, and season with butter, salt, and pepper. METHOD OF WORK Discuss the composition and structure of the potato. Read over and discuss the recipes that are to be used. Make assignments of work. After the potatoes have been put on to cook, have the class examine a raw potato, following the directions given.[A] [A] Squash is another vegetable containing a high percentage of carbohydrate. The recipe for squash can be used at this time or in some other lesson. If one of the recipes requires the use of the oven, be careful to have the potatoes for it prepared first and as quickly as possible. It may be necessary to proceed with another class, assigning one pupil to take charge of the baking. Special attention should be given to the careful serving of the potatoes. _Home assignment._--Before the next lesson, each pupil should be able to report that she has cooked potatoes at home, using the recipes learned in class. LESSON IV: FRUITS AND VEGETABLES _Food value and use of fruits. Reasons and rules for canning. How to can and use such vegetables as beets, beans, tomatoes, and carrots, and such fruits as figs, grapes, apples, and peaches. The drying of fruits and vegetables._ SUBJECT-MATTER Fruits impart palatability and flavour to other foods and exercise a favourable influence upon the digestive organs, though their food value is low. They contain a high percentage of water and only a small percentage of nutrients. Most fruits are eaten raw and are exceedingly valuable to the body because of the fresh acids they contain. Cooking softens the cellulose of the fruit and, therefore, renders some fruits more easy of digestion. The cooking of fruit is of value chiefly for the purpose of preservation. _The drying of fruits._--Fruits are dried so that they may be preserved for use. Bacteria and moulds, which cause the decay of fruits, need moisture for development and growth. If the moisture is evaporated, the fruits will keep almost indefinitely. Fruits and vegetables can be easily and inexpensively dried. When dried fruits are to be used for the table, they must be washed thoroughly and soaked for several hours, or overnight, in water, so as to restore to them as much water as possible. They should be cooked, until soft, in the same water in which they are soaked.