The third year deals with the theory of foods, their source, selection and composition and economic value, and the practice of principles involved in different methods of preparation.
The fourth and final year covers the study of dietaries, including the arrangement of bills of fare for daily living, in which the expense is limited to fifty cents for each person, and dinners of three courses for six persons.
CLASS IN COOKING
In the school laundry the young women are taught the art of washing and ironing according to improved methods. Two washers, an extractor, a mangle, starcher, collar and cuff ironer, have been added to lighten the drudgery. Drying-rooms and ironing-rooms provided with excellent facilities afford means for thorough teaching. All of the washing for teachers and students, including bed and table linen, is done in this department. The course covers one school year.
It is the policy of the Institute to give special attention to the training of girls in all matters pertaining to dress, health, etiquette, physical culture and general housekeeping. The girls are constantly under the strict and watchful care of the Dean of the Woman's Department and the women teachers. Special rules governing the conduct of the girls are made known to each girl upon her arrival. In addition to the general training, they receive special practical talks from various members of the Faculty on such matters as relate to the care of the body, social purity, etc.
The course in household training includes such instruction as:—The location and sanitation of the home. Furniture: its purchase, arrangement, and proper care. Surroundings and their advantages. Cleaning: lamps, beds, bedrooms, and general weekly cleaning. The care of the dining-room: serving the table and the care of linen, silver, pantry, dishes, and towels. The duties and manners of the hostess. The furnishing and care of the kitchen. Marketing, and economy, punctuality, and regularity in preparation of food. The sick-room: its attractions and proper ventilation. Changing the patient's clothing and bedding. Feeding and visiting the sick. Yards and outhouses: how to keep clean and how to beautify. The housekeeper's personal appearance. Dress: what to wear and the colors suitable.
The hospital and training-school for nurses were organised to provide for the physical needs of the Tuskegee colony, and to equip young women for efficient service among their people. A beautiful two-story hospital building, with all modern improvements, has been finished, with enlarged facilities for the care of patients. The facilities for the training of nurses are excellent and the standard of admission high. Graduates from the hospital are doing good work, many of them holding excellent positions in the hospitals, schools and private infirmaries throughout the South. The five Tuskegee nurses sent to the front in the Spanish-American war were the only coloured female nurses employed by the Government. The course of study covers three years, but is so arranged that students of exceptional ability are able to complete it in two.