EXPERIENCE DEPAK
How Do Tou Manage to Make Life
Leas Burdensome and More Happy
to the Women on the Farm.
1st Premium.—There is no reason why
the life of a woman on the farm should
not be as pleasant as that of her sister in
the city or village. But in passing
throngh certain rnral districts, we have
wondered how life is at its best, endurable except to one whose sense of beauty
hai long been deadened. The farms
may have acres and acres of fine, fertile
soil, but oh, the array of tumble-down
outbuildings, mud-holes, rail fences, pig
pens and wallows, that one has to pass;
and then he sees an "exouse" for a dwelling honse set in a patoh of ground-
through which ohickens and geese run
riot. But the purpose of this letter ls to
describe not the disease but the remedy-
First, a few does and don'ts for the man
of the honse: Clean up, and straighten
up. Try to make your plaoe look like
the abode of a respeotable oltizen. Yon
say yonr wife doesn't oare. Try it, and
see. If you can't afford a new house,
paint and repair the old one; then build
a good fence around it to keep the chickens ont of the flowerbeds. If yonr wife
doesn't begin raising flowers, there is
something dreadfully queer In her makeup. If she asks you to mow the yard—do
It. Don't growl when the women folks
buy a pretty rug or pioture, and don't
consider money thrown away if invested
in a musioal instrument.
When you come in don't bring in more
than two or three pounds of soil on
eaoh foot. You need it all outside. Have
a little regard for the nerves of your
wife. When she wants an extra shelf
put up in the kltohen, or the cellar steps
repaired, don,t always say that yon
have'nt time.
I_3t your wife and daughters have all
the money they can make from their bnt-
ter,eggs, poultry, etc. Try a year's treatment of this kind, and watch results.
Now, to my lady, herself, don't work so
hard. Take time to read the newspapers,
the attractive ladles' magazines, and a
few of the many, many good books.
Keep up the praotioe in playing or singing that you had before you married
John. You say you have'nt time. Well,
instead ot preserving so muoh fruit try
preserving yonr health and good looks.
Attend the farmers' institutes and take
part. Call on yonr neighbors, and try to
disoues something besides the latest
scandal. If you are the wife and mother,
teach your ohildren to wait on you instead of vice versa. Try to be something
besides a sun-browned nnattraotive woman working hersalf into a premature
grave or an insane asylum. If you will
be true to yourself, your family, and
your God, the short time that you stay
on that little baokwoods farm, will not
have been altogether a burden.
Putnam Co. H. W.
2d Premium'—"Let thy day be to thy
night a letter of good tidings. Let thy
praise go up as birds go up, that when
they wake, shake off the dew and soar.
So take joy horns, and make a place in
thy great heart for her, and give her
time to grow, and cherish her. Then
will she come, and oft will sing to thee.
It is a comaly fashion to be glad—joy Is
the graoe we say to God "—Jean Ingelow.
To make farm life easy we must throw
oft as mnch of the burden as we can,
and try to find Joy and contentment, and
there Is much on the farm to bring us
happiness if we Just look about us. Not
long sinoe.I heard a woman of fifty
years say that she had never known
before that everything in nature was so
beautlfnl. We who live on farms know
that there are a number of different things to be done during
the     different    seasons,   and     if   we
are not careful we will soon beoome
overburdened. The question of onr topio
is how to avoid this. Well my experience Is this: Do not try to do too many
things, for if we just think a little we find
that we can drop a part and yet do jast as
well. When spring opens do not try
to rnn a poultry farm unless you intend to hire help enough to do so. And I
have dropped that other tiresome piece
of work—soapmaklng. I jast nse concentrated lye, and when I have a few
scraps I at once make them Into soap*
and onr ashes we nse about our fruit
trees and in the garden. In summer I do
what is needed for the day ii the forenoon, and then I have nearly all the afternoon for rest and reading, or whatever
I may wish to do. This afternoon while
I am writing, my husband with four
workhands are at work ln the potato
field and will be in at six o'clock for supper, but I am resting here by my sitting
room window as though I never intended
to cook any more; bat their supper will
be ready when they coma. I do not try
to run my work like clockwork, but
when I am ready to do a thing I do it. I
have no particular day to wash, but usn
ally twice a week I put the soiled garments to soak at night and wash them
early in the morning. Then I have no
Ironing day, only ironing fins shirts,
tableolotbs, napkins, dresses and aprons.
All other artlole?, suoh as sheets, pillow
slips and underwear are put through the
wringer, dried and folded away to be used
Many women I know of are wearing out
their eyes and fingers crotoheting and
making all kinds of fancy work, and they
will tell yon they never have time to
read; and I do not think their little children look any prettier with so much trimming, than those with their little plain
white gowns and a pretty sash or ribbon
or ornament.
One day my hnsband bronght the mail
jast as dinner was ready, and after the
meal he and the hands went out to work.
As there was eome important news in
the papers, I spread a oover over the
table, (now don't hold up your hands in
holy horror, for I really did not wash my
dishes until evening!) and went to the
sitting room to read; jast then two neighbors came in. I read to them a little
while, and we spent a very pleasant afternoon ; and the snpper was ready at the
usual hour. We sometimes go plonioing
when we have time, which is very pleasant pastime. In autumn it U very pleasant to spend a day In the woodland along
a stream. There are so many ways for a
farmers' wife to bs happy, and if she will
just look about her she can find them
better than any one can point them out
to her. Mrs. E. H.
Rnssiaville.
life. Do the milking, and do not let the
women do what really should be your
work. Save them all the steps you can,
and thus lighten their burden. Remember the old proverb,
'A man's wor* is from snn to snn,
But a woman's work Is never done."
Have good olothes for 3 our wife and
children to wear, and take them to
church and Sabbath school every Sunday. Do not lay your treasures up here
on earth, but lay them up in heaven. In
the long winter evenings, drive aronnd
with yonr sleigh, load in the family and
go spend the evening with your neighbor.
Be sociable and have the neighbors
gather in as they did in olden times.
Have good bcoks and papers to read and
music for the girls and boys. Above all,
remember the golden rule, and do unto
them as you would have them do unto
you. L A. S.
North Vernon.
3d Premium.—Be kind to your wife and
do all you can to make her happy. Don't
make a slave of her and make her think
that all she is fit for is work, but save her
as many steps as you oan. Have a good,
handy house and every thing fixed convenient around the honse. Have wood
house and smoke-house near the house.
Also have well and oistern close to the
kitchen door. Have plenty in the house
to make it look oheerfnl and pleasant.
Always have plenty of good dry wood
in the wood house, and bring in an armload as you oome to the house. Make the
wife a present now and then of some
money and make her feel that she owns
as mnoh as you do. When yon leave in
the morning say a few kind words before
you go, and when you return bring sunshine with yon. Don't oome in and
grumble abont yonr meals and find fault
with the cooking. Lst the women have
the bntter and egg money, and don't
spend it for tobacoo. I have known some
men do just that way. Provide well and
she will surely do her part. Too many
men spend their money for whisky while
their families suffer for the neoessaries of
First we exemplify the adage,
"Haaven helps those who help
themselves." If women would assert
their rights and expeot help with the
harder part of tbeir work, quitting when
ill, and when night overtakes them, as
we do, most husbands would gladly assist
or famish help when desired. Milk and
oream keep so cool ia our cellar we need
no better place to make firm butter. The
pantry between dining room and kltohen
has large transfer cupboard?, shelve?,
closets f„r groosries and cooking utensil?,
bins for flour, meal, sugar, etc., a cistern
pump with sink and drain?, one for waste
water and one for slops, two woodboxes
built in the wall so the wood is taken out
in the rooms opposite by sida of stoves.
Our kitchen range is supplemented in
summer by a gasoline "Home Comfort."
The swing churn, sewing and washing
machines and olothes wringer are a few
of the essentials. Whether I keep all
farm fences as well as I should, the lawn
is nioely graded, with gravel walks and
drive ways, kept neatly mowed, securely
fenced from stock and chiokens with
shade and fruit tree?, vines and flowers
in profusion, an arbor, rustic seats and
hammock?, presenting at all times an inviting place for wife and little ones, with
never a hint of mud in or about the
house. All this has taken mnch time
and hard work, but it pays many fold.
Some of,our most treasured plants, and
flowers,vines, etc, represent our jjur-
neyings both near and far. Many are
natives from the near woodlands, others
are souvenirs from loved friends, while
others represent hard cash. The milking
is done according to the time of year and
circumstances, by whiohever oan attend
to it best. I either help wash or furnish
the best boy, as long as wife will acoept
his services. The churning is so easy she
needs no help. When she is orowded
with work I keep fruits and vegetables
supplied; otherwise she prefers foraging
for herelf. When oalled to meals, if I do
not find them ready, I lend a hand, especially if there are visitors. I place the
chairs, get fresh water, ont the bread,
amuse baby, whatever needs being done;
bnt if 1 oannot help and must read the
paper, I select artloles that will interest
her and read aloud, no matter it she is
dodging between the^table and pantry; I
only read the louder, and I know she
hears from her little cackle now and
then. Tired? Well yes, often, but what
of her who began work when 1 did, after
worrying with baby throngh the night
and has been on the j amp ever since,
with two steps to my one perhaps and
with a greater variety of work to dlstraot
her, in addition to the little ones. Oar
homes are what we make them, if we apply the golden rule, they should be a
little kingdom where woman reigns
queen. When the fire is kept bright on
the altar of love, most women are happy
and no effort is too great whioh seoures
that resnlt.   Onoe that fire smoulders, no
true woman oan be happy, however
bravely she. maintains her wifely duties.
My wife has free aooess to the family
purse and is helped and encouraged to go
whenever and wherever she desires. I
I do not wish her to degenerate into a
mere drudge, but stimulate mental
growth by furnishing good books, maga- •
zlnes and literature suited to her taste
and needs and I help her read and enjoy
them. We attend church,socials, leotures
and other entertainments where we meet
our friends, dressed without the suggestion of antiquity or rusliolty. We enjoy
entertaining friends but with the mercury loitering around among the nineties
in the shade we forget the conventionalities of our "at homes" and to avoid a
general collapse we bundle the little ones
into the most commodious vehiole, strap
tent poles, oamp chair?, hammooks, music
box and light literature, and lose ourselves to civilization by some cool grassy
brookside for recuperation. If some city
cousins are pining for the freedom and
country air of our pleasant home, we
banter them to j_in ns and rival if they
can onr melons, fruits, vegetables, ice
cream and pressed ohicken with the best
the oity can furnish and together we exchange the treadmill of sweeping, dusting, dish washing, arranging and rearranging toilets for the enjoyments of this
short playhouse existence. But I am
forgetting the "dear little mamma" who
is patiently awaiting my return to join
her on a botanical expedition through
nature's flower gardens along the hillsides and through the cool ravines of
Buck Creek. Woman's Friend.
Central. 	
REVIEW.
I jast now oame in from the gravel pit,
tired all over with grimy hands and yellow shoes, and as I dropped into a chair
to rest a minute, I said, "Well, well, I
guess we'd better suggest the topio/*How
to make life easy for the man," and we
men will all jump up and say, "Send the
women to the gravel pit and to hnsk corn
and—-'Now jast, stop right there," said
my wife, with a projecting index finger.
"You trade a while if yon wish and try
woman's endless job, with no periods. If
you drop down for a nap the work is
grinning at you; and before the nap is
out the baby oomes crying for you. As
you fix the children off to school with
one hsnd the morning's work i3 waiting.
Wash day, sure as death and taxes,
comes onoe a week with a few extras
between. Men never think it amounts
to anything to stand on your feet all day
and iron. Try it onoe, and if you don't
think soraping out gravel is fun at the
end of one week I'll trade with you.
Ed, it isn't the work, it's the endless
routine, the tedious littles. The cast-oft
ooats, the care of baby, the everlasting
standing and running and worry. An old
balky, noisy sewing maohlne, a leaky,
broken washer, a pump that has to bs
primed, the stairs, cellar and above. Ed
half of woman's bnrdens are unnecessary. If we ever bnild another house I'll
have the water level with the kltohen
floor and all floors. I'll have an above
ground cellar level with the floors and
touching them. I'll have only three
apartments. The first will be on the first
floor, the second on the flrst floor and the
third on the same floor."
"Yes," I said, "we mustn't build it on
the highest hill we own, either,but at the
foot, so if I come home from work stiff
and half dead of hunger I oan roll down
to lt. Baild it level with the road if that
means on Pike's Tjak, and level with the
floor of the schoolhouse and churoh.
There are enough ups and downs in life
without artificial ones."
Well, friends, 1 have exaggerated the
above a little, but Ib it not true that half
of the burdens of many women might be
spared them?   1 don't believe the saying
CmmUmue* om lathpeigtu