Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1859-07-08
From the Country Gentleman.

HELP FOR THF House wIFE.-A writer IN
the Country Gentleman has given its
eaders his ideal Of a farmers home It
should be a home Of taste, - should haee the
outside attractive and elegant, the inside as
handsomely furnished as his means will per-
NIT, while well filled bookcases. musical in
strumcnts, etc, should be added to elevate
and refine the members of the household.
This is all as it should be. and the farmer Of
the present day is enabled to do this with
much more ease than when the farmer had
"to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow
He can avail himself Of the labor-saving ma
chimes which the inventive genius Of man is
producing SO constantly. Compare these
late machines with the heavy plow, almost
the only thing known formerly with which
to cultivate the ground. Look NJ the PIC
ture ID the old spelling book, showing the
slow and unsatisfactory way Of sowing seed,
scattering it from the hand. 1t Is not true
now, as the children have it in the familiar
play, .thus the farmer sows hi seed.
Now the seed is sown by a machine. and in
stead Of the plow-boy following with weary
STEPS all day the heavy plow, your "culhva-
tor will turn up the soil much more effect
uallv, and in far less time. Every number
Of your paper gives Its readers beautiful
illustrations Of these different machines. They
are multiplying every week, and the inven-
tors of many OF them see their fortunes ac-
cumulatinc rapidly. 1t is apparent TO every
one that all thtse inventions are Of Incalcula-
bic benefit to the farmer. His life 50 much
less laborious, his work all despatched in 50
much less time. that if "tme is money be
can now embellish hishom9, and provide ev-
erv com fort. But while the farm work is
done 50 easily and quickly we do not hear of
anv inventions that will Tighten the
toll of the housewife. No machines for max
ing bread, cheese, butter, washing of floors,
&c, the thousand things that must be done by
the hands of the farmers wife and daughters.
There are the three meals of the day, wash
ing Of dishes, the butter and cheese to make,
and the numberless things that fill up the
dav from early dawn till late at night-the
long, hard-working day in the farmhouse.
Of what avail then are the well filled ''bOok-
cases" and the "musical instruments to
the wife or daughter. if she is too weary, or
has not the time to enjoy them ? They are
only 50 many more articles Of furniture re-
quiring her care and attention. For when
the active duties of the househol1are finished
and the wife and daughter join the rest Of
the family in the family room" the writer
enjoy books or music, or social intercourse?
No, the sewing of the family, including the
mendinr, no small item Of the work, must be
done, and she must sit and ply the needle
till head and eyes ache, and she closes the
day to begin another alike toilsome and
laborjous.
But blessings on the head Of theinventor)
we have what is of priceless value to our sex,
4 -, Ii m
inc. This is an Indispensable article of
furniture in the farmers "home of taste ~
a great burden would be taken from the
females of the house if this We're provided.
Visions of garments to be made, mountain
high, of work baskets, whose depths were
never sounded, shall all fade away when once
this busy creature becomes an inmate OF the
family. No one of those ''musical instrum-
ents'' shall give such delightful music as this,
for it will cause the heart of the weary house
wife to ''sing for joy" Suppose there is
but an hour or TWO in the course of the day
that can be devoted to sewing, how little can
be accom- plished in the old way of sewing by
hand If the machine will take for you
one thousand stitches minute, will not all
those taken in an hour tell wonderfully on
the whole amount of work? You may say,
with all your expenses, the purchase OF
the machines necessary for the out-of-door
work, and the hired help" you provide for
indoor work, You cannot afford it. Better
dispense with +" Bridget's" services in the
house and have sewing machine. To be
sure, it will not do many things Bridget can
do, but it surely is economical in one way,
for it will do the work of many hands, while
II does not " eat of your bread,' nor ever
tries your temper by carelessness or stupidity.
The clothing of a farmers family must
necessarily be of heavy material, and sub
iected to great wear, so that the sewing Is
yery laborious. In years experience with
a family of six persons, most OF the time
without a servant, l have found sewing
machine of inestimable value. All the sew
ing of the family has been done without
hiring any, thing gneveraccomplished before
even with competent servant. Let every
! farmers house, then. have this KIND OF soTing
machine, which shall soU the seeds of good
nature, good health and long life /; and even
while the husbandman sleeps "s shall sow
tares'' also, but in such a way that he shall
never say, an enemy hath done this But
let the machine be good one, not one of the
cheap ones that are worthless. Having used
machine for more than year for all kinds
Of family sewing, and having the opportunity
to see the working of different kinds OF ma
lines I should unquestiono5ly give the pre-
ference to Wheeler L Wilson's It's simple
in mechanism, running quietly and easily
economical in the use OF thread, MAKES