The Lansing state Republican. [volume] (Lansing, Mich.) 1855-1874, 1865-04-12
qarituItural unA Dunlrstit.
Har5ships Of Farmers Wives.
:. d. =. Z 8. As..:a..ar.. aspar. .sr I.ss.

q -.-lJ--4i, 49,
e. ,,itv bv design. but f1r want u maj con 4
s-ie---io- fbe very absence OF Which. IL i
mo- - The VIE Or 2 man'- youth IS q .
.--.,s l. perhaps sale 20 say ilA- o. .
$500 farms out 81 four the wife worzs
hsr.ler. endUres more, than any other on /
ne place; more than the husband more
d f. the -iarn-rl-l, more tnln Tie ''nlrea i
uei37 Ofthe kitchen. Nauy . L-FIAer SPEAKS /
10 80 wife h41l-ualy il terms more impe.-- .
o.. impatient and pe-u'alt than ~ F-l-- 4
r-s 20 The sclll4Ol u tie kitchen OF u " /
hired man.
In another way 2 farmer inadvertently /
frereases the hardslips d lis VIE; max =, 1
B. -ueakiug % her W treating Aer l-sfe- I
s5.ctfuily u tue presence Of me servants I
o~ children. TIE man Is naturally tN- fl- /
u.g spirit VI the household anu j. 80 ialis .
to row % bis wife, on all OCCASIONS t-4t F.
,ar! sruess. affection. All -yec-- which =
se- lust due. i l. instantly noted On the
t.-t Of mella.s. and children TOO. and t-ey /
ye-v easily glide Into he same wee am IL
rar1ret = a. Oh encouragement 10 s-s-l
her authority. - ullervalle her judgment
~ - lover that nigl standard u respec-
-..sh oil r.ght oelou-ss 70 her AID "a TIE
s r. has the servants and children always
sby1. her. ald - unler the necessity O
.ivioy hourly instructions lie want Vi Z
+-rtv and DrOmptuess - these .5 slLiclen-
ID lerange the w11.e household, and utterly
..rar, That regularity and system, T4ih0u-
- ,h tlere is 10 domestic enjoy Melt, 4ll
by lil,le thrift On Tie farm.
The lndisnuta5.e truth y that there 3 ID
o.aer item Of superior, OF perhaps equal IN
ylr-ance. .l the happy aud profitable man
aEemel- 0f any farm, great or small Than
rh4- every person on % should be made 70
understand that difference and respect and
yr1myr and faithful obedience should De
paid under al circumstances, ~ Tie vile,
re mother. and the mistress, tAe larger tie
farm the greater interests there are al STAKE.
II Door. then lie less ability = there - run
the risk Of losses which are certain 10 occur
"a the failure 0i proper obedience. An J.
lastrat.Ou. o tarly meal lniaiiivly fuLleS
tie temper Of the wOrkuen, and TOO often
CT the husband; yet al the "iie Or1srs
.rere given ia time; bu. the boy Aas Jagged
IN bringing wood. W The CIR. i.l.eI - pat
Der loaf " bake ll selsOl. because they ia
not fear tie u stress, and tho master vas
known not 70 De very particular % enforce
bis wiies authority. ]. 0y these causes
dinner is thrown back half an hour. 10 means
the very considerable difference between
working pleasantly aud grumDlLgiv the re-
maiuder vi tie day; 4 means, ia harvest
tine. ID sL0wery weather .he Joss % loads
~ hay Or grain.
2. Time and money anl health. and even
life itself are not unireqnentiy .os. by want
OF pr0mpIituie on the par- oi the farmer
in making repairs about the house, IN pro-
curing needed things ia time. aud 10 falling
20 have those little cOnveniences which, al
although their cost is evsn contemplate,
are In q measure practically invaluable.
Tie writer was in q farmers house one
nlght where the wife and twO daughters
we're plying their needles iu0us-riousiy by
the dim light Of q candle, the wick o. which
was frequently clppei IF Jy pair o. scs-
sOrs. And yet this man owned SIX hundred
acres Of line grazing lands, and every inch
paid for. I once called on an old friend,
man Of education and " "a family loved
and hOnOrcG all over his native state. His
buildings were Of brick, in the center OF An
inherited farm Of several hundred acres.
The house was supplied with the purest,
coolest and best water from "a well in the
yard; the facilities for obtaining which were
q rope, one end OF which was tied 10 a post.
the other 20 an old lin pan literally. The
discomfort AMI unnecessary labor involved
In these two cases may be estimate h} Tie
reader az his leisure
know il 70 be the case, and have seen
Il on many western farms. when firewO0l
vas wanted. tree was cut down ami hauled
bodily 20 the door Of the kitchen. and when
4. was all gone another was drawn % supply
place, giving the servant and the wife green
wood with which 10 kinde and keep up
heir fires.
There arc thousands Of farms IN this
country where the spring which supplies all
the water for drink and cooking IS from Il
quarter 10 halt = mile distant from the
house, and q "paiifur IS brought ~ a time
Involving tive or ten miles walking i'm day
Tor months or years together. when little
mechanical ingenuity OF few dollars eX-
pense. would bring the water 20 the door.
How many weeks Of painful and expensive
sickness; how many lives have been lost Of
wives and daughters and servants. by be-
ing caught i'm a shower between the house
and the spring, while in state Of perspi-
ration or weakness from working over the
nre, cannot be known, but that they may
be numbered by thousands wall not be intel
Ngihly denied
Many time . pane Of glass has been
broken out, or a shingle has been blown
from The roof aud the repair has not been
made for weeks or many months together;
and for want OF il have come agOniZing neu-
ralgias, or 4 child has been walked up in the
night with the Group. TO get well only with
doctors bill, which would have paid
twenty times for the repair. even II first
born has no, died, 20 agOnize q mothers
heart 70 the latest hour OF life; or the leal.
In the roof has remained requiring the pla-
cling Of bucket or the washing OF the
floor ~ every rain.
Cruelties are th0ushtlessly sometimes,
and sometimes recklessiy perpetrated by
farmers on their wives. as follows: A child
or other member Of the family is taken sick
In the night; the necessary attention al
most invariably falls on the wife. 20 be ex-
tended through the greater part, il not the
whole night Wearied with the previous
days duties, with those solictudes which
always attend sickness; with the response
bilities OF the occasion. and q loss OF reGu-
site rest, the wife Is many times expected
20 ''see 10 breakfast" IN the morning. IS II
nothing had happened The husband goes
70 his work. soon becomes absorbed IN il.
and fOrgets al about the previous nights
disturbance. meets his wife ~ the dinner
table notices not the wOrn-out expression
on her face. makes no inquiry Is 70 her feel
ings, and Il anything on or about the table
Is not just exactly IS IL ought 20 be, il is
noticed with Z harshness which would be
scarcely excusahle If il had been brought
about with deliberate calculation.
The same thing occurs multi,uies OF
times during the nursing periods Of mo-
Tiers. How many nights a mothers rest is
broken hall dozen times By a restless.
crying, or aiiing infant. every mother AM
observant man knows In such cases the
farmer goes into another room and sleeps
soundly until the morning; and Yet, in TOO
many cases, although this may be. and Is
repeated several nights in succession. the
husband does not hesitate 20 wake his wife
up with the information that il i nearly
sunrise, the meaning OF which is. that he
expects her 70 get up and attend 10 her du-
ties. No wonder that in many Of our lu-
natic asylums there are mere farmers wives
than any other class; for there i no fact in
medical science more positively ascertained
Than that insufficient sleep IS the most
speedy and Certain road 70 the madhOuse
Let no farmer, then. let no mechanic. let
no man. who has any human sympathy
still LETT, allow his wife 10 De walked up in
the morning except from very urgent eau
seS; and further IL, them give every nom