The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1854-05-20
agricultural.
;.
WOMEN AND GARDENING.


1nT have muscle invigorating EXERCISE, is a
physiological matter Of fact. All who ne
g'c,t to take it are punished with weakness
and torpor of both body and mind, and indie
tinablc feeling of misery and wre:chedness;
ale soon oppressed by disease, decline and
memaiurcly, and fail in the attainment
cr every great end of life. And the amount
of muscular cNcrtion required by every hui
MAJ, being in order to the fullest develop
tnpnt Of all his powers of body and mind, is
g~cat-iar, very far, beyond what is usually
taken. That laborerS sometimes work be-
yond their strength, is admitted, yet the great
majority al least Of most of those who remain
mostly within doors, do not take even one
tjSe water curc, cat simple food, and fulfil
the other physiological laws, yet err funda-
mentally in not taking anything like enough
,vcr,iae. lc to dwell ON the almost infinite
v,rsal deficiency, is not our present purpose
but on how rJm'in can. obtain it.
That woman requires il as well as man, is
reyftc'ly obvious. Not to take il, is as fatal
10 hex as him. And nearly all American
woman ave almost spoiled for want Of it. H.
tinit,ly better for the race that, like Tartar
and tlrcasSian women they should Ito even
AL the ut.door work, than take no exercise
u, too many do NOW. Especially better, that
Ike German women, they work in the field,
than shut themselves up indoors like most
Anlcri AN women. This female incrtncsS is
":lr Of our. greatest evils, and the source Of
many More. See how miserable physically
how Sicltly, poor, f c'lc, wrctched and ncrv-
OTIS, is almost every American woman. Con-
fined i'll school at the period when nature cs-
taAli;lcs T. c muscles, they become disciplined
into lame inactive state OF course their
c:nldron inherit this muscular incrtness. and
arc lazy by nohre. Nor can II woman who
takes lalc exercise possibly bear strongly
organized children.
y muscular body is indispensable to a Wig
orous brain, and an impressive mind.-Thc
mental powers and stamina Of our nation are
fast waning, because our women take almost
10 real muscle developing exercise. Even
those who do keep house, get but the mcrest
noittv Of real exercise in cooking dinner,
washing dishes, &C., and get their washing
about the Only work that gives real CXor
ciSc--donc by an Irish servant or widowed
ncighbor, thereby robbine themselves. Be-
loll how very small. and still more lax, the
muscles Of even our working women. See
low yery few have an arm not ridiculously
Smdl, or Shamcfllly ilabbd. How could they
hc otherwise, considering their muscular
"alif,lcS$npss ?" Yet this is said not in re-
proa,'h, but to remore the evil. They arc Not
to Flamc. Chained within doors, and les-
iurlfror work by a false custom absolute
~ ty"anni"al, they deserve rather pity than
ceuSlre. Society considers it unpardonably
vulgar fora woman to do any thing hut needle
work. Whoever washes is unfashiGnablc.
And here men are most in Eault. They have
paid Il matrimonial premium on those ladies
loo gcntcu to do any thing but sit at the
iano Or at needle work. And a blighting
curse is coming over the race itself, as the
f.ayfui penalty. Half our children dying be-
fore fyc years old! And the other half barely
capable Of being raised, even with the utmost
care and hardly worth the raising t e., be-
eau C like the moth +, so dictate out upon
tais anti-work ing slaughtor-machinc 1t is
time sensible women, and especially physiol-
o.irm women, dcSpscd and defined this anti
working custom. 1t is time that inyalids
rcsortcd to the worang-curc-thc most ctlcc
tual Of all. A western institution has become
most celebrated for cf!Gcting astonishing cures
Of bod ridden and invalid woman. Yet no
medicine is used, not even watcr.-The eHrc
+ a1cc is on rr';fiSe. Not even diet is re-
ga.i,d. Only exercise, EXERCISE, EXERCISE!
How much more, then, if all were employed.
70 this exercise cure alone the most obstinate
and chronic complaints and weaknesses of
the sex yicld.-Women disabled for years, 90
home well Cured by exercise alone. That
same exercise taken at home, would cure as
clrctua!ly. Taken before they become disa-
hlcd, it would have kept them we'll. Amcri-
can women, make up your minds to take
many times more exercise hereafter than now,
OF else to lingcr on in cnnui in nervousness,
in pain, unloving, unlovely, and crippled and
corrupted by palalyzing and disgusting dis
eases, Preaching woman's rights till dooms-
day will do little good, till woman's Grercisc
is preached and praclsed. Not that we OBJ
iect to the former, but insist on the latter.
Exercise or suffer. Work or die, is natures
stern decree Choose which.
1--WE know all this. We feel this yawning
inanity this listless care-for-n nothing collse-
qu,nt On our do. nothing life. We feel all these
evils, but can we avoid them ?--If we work
in doors il does us little real good, and often
damage, because it consumes energies without
fresh air to replace them, thus leaving us all
the worse. If we work in the cotton mill,
bindcry, printing office, or any indoor work,
see how sallow and poor we become! If we
don't work, we die.-And if we do work. we
arc hardly better off. Can you point out a
dclivcrancc from this ruinous dilemma 60