Note.—I am indebted to the Italian Ambassador at Washington, his Excellency Mayor des Planches, for permission to use the following letter. The translation was made for me by Mr. Teofilo Petriella, of Cleveland, Ohio, an Italian journalist.—J. S.

The school year, 1904–1905, just over, was the fifth since the school lunch (refezione scolastica) was introduced in our City Elementary Schools, at the complete expense of the Municipality.

The school lunch is distributed every day during the whole school year. Limited, at the beginning, only to the city schools, it has been extended, since the school year 1901–1902, to the suburban and rural schools.

To-day, therefore, all the male and female pupils of all the classes of all the elementary schools, in both city and suburbs, take part in the lunch. There are 65 schools with 91 classes, attended by an average of 2500 boys and girls.

The lunch consists of bread with another victual (pane e companatico). Each pupil gets a very good loaf of first quality wheat bread, weighing 140 grammes for the IV and V classes;^[K] 120 grammes for the III class; and 100 grammes for the first two classes.

The victuals served with the bread are: On meat days, raw salt meat (salame crudo) in rations of 14 grammes, alternated with cooked salt meat (salame cotto) in rations of 20 grammes.^[L] On fish days, cheese (either Bernesa or Fontina alternated) in rations of 20 grammes. All is of first quality, and this is daily ascertained by an inspection on the part of the Steward and the Officer of the Board of Health.

Each ration costs from seven to eight cents of a franc.^[M]

Every school morning each teacher, within 15 minutes of the commencement of school (from 9 to 9.15), ascertains the number present by roll-call, fills out an order in three copies, keeping for himself the one attached to the stub and sending, by the ushers, the other two to the City Steward.

The Steward keeps one of these duplicate copies for the office accounts and registrations, while sending the other back to the teacher, along with the requested rations in a closed basket.

The office of the Steward, after having received all the requests from all the teachers, as above said, and after having classified same by degree, locality, and number, sends the orders of purchase to the different supply-contractors.

At 10 o’clock, in a suitable place, under the direction and supervision of the City Steward, the baskets are made up, one for each class. The baskets, once ready, are automatically padlocked—the teacher having the necessary key—and forwarded by proper servants to the several suburbs, while others take the rest, on pushcarts, to the city school buildings.

The School Trustees of the respective boroughs, the Principal and the Steward in the City School, visit the different classes to make sure of the regular and exact proceeding of the beneficent institutions.

So much, answering your favor of August 15th.