shelter. In considering the question of providing food, the housewife
should set about to determine what three meals a day will cost, and in
this matter she should be guided by the thought that the meals must be
the best that can possibly be purchased for the amount of money allowed
for food from the family income and that their cost must not exceed the
allotment. To a great extent she can control the cost of her foods by
selecting them with care and then making good use of what her money has
bought. It is only by constant thought and careful planning, however,
that she will be able to keep within her means, and she will find that
her greatest assistance lies in studying foods and the ways in which to
prepare them.

4. A factor that should not be disregarded in the problem of food is
_waste_, and so that the housewife can cope with it properly she should
understand the distinction between waste and refuse. These terms are
thought by some to mean the same thing and are often confused; but there
is a decided difference between them. _Waste_, as applied to food, is
something that could be used but is not, whereas _refuse_ is something
that is rejected because it is unfit for use. For example, the fat of
meat, which is often eaten, is waste if it is thrown away, but potato
parings, which are not suitable as food, are refuse.

In connection with the problem of waste, it may be well to know that
leakage in the household is due to three causes. The first one is lack
of knowledge on the part of the housekeeper as to the difference between
waste and refuse and a consequent failure to market well. As an
illustration, many housewives will reject turkey at a certain price a
pound as being too expensive and, instead, will buy chicken at, say, 5
cents a pound less. In reality, chicken at 5 cents a pound less than the
price of turkey is more expensive, because turkey, whose proportion of