the necessity for purchasing bins and molding board.  Our friend, the white table oilcloth, tacked smoothly in place, gives a dainty top which is easily kept clean with a damp cloth—­another labor-saving device, which stands between cook and scrubbing brush.  A zinc table cover is preferred by some housewives, as it absorbs no grease and is readily brightened with scouring soap and hot water.  Separate zinc-covered table tops can be had for $1.50.  The marble-topped table is not desirable, for, though it undoubtedly is an aid to the making of good pastry, it stains easily, dissolves in some acids, and clogs with oils.  The easiest way to keep the table clean and neat is simply to—­keep it so.  When the mixing of cake, pudding, etc., is in process, a large bowl should be near at hand, and into it should go egg beater, spoons, and forks when the cook is through using them, after which they, with all other soiled utensils, should be carried to the sink, washed, dried, and put away.  Never lay eggshells upon the table nor allow anything to dry on the utensils.  If, as occasionally happens even in the best-regulated kitchens, one is baking in too great a hurry to observe all these precautions, a heavy paper spread on the table will catch all the droppings and can be rolled up and burned.  Jars containing sugar, spices, etc., which have been in use, should be wiped with a damp cloth before returning to the pantry.

THE CHAIRS

The first aid to the cook should be at least one comfortable chair, neither a rocking chair nor one upholstered, both of which are out of place in the kitchen; but one low enough to rest in easily while shelling peas or doing some of the numerous tasks which do not require the use of the table.  A chair of this kind has a cane seat and high back and can be purchased for $1.25, the other chair to be of the regulation kitchen style at 55 cents.  The second aid is a 24-inch office stool at 85 cents, for use while washing dishes, preparing vegetables, etc.  This sort of a stool is light, easily moved about, and means a great saving in strength.  Though it has sometimes been dubbed a “nuisance” by the uninitiated, the woman who has learned its value finds it a very present help and wonders how she ever did without it.

THE KITCHEN CABINET

Occasionally it happens that a house is built with such slight regard for pantry room that we are constrained to wonder if, at the last minute, the pantry was not tucked into a little space for which there was absolutely no other use, and there left to be a means of grace to the thrifty housewife, whose pride it is to see her pots and pans in orderly array and with plenty of room to shine in.  At this point there comes to her rescue the kitchen cabinet, which not only relieves the congestion in the pantry, but adds in no small measure to the attractiveness of the kitchen.