Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1866-08-28

good stout hands could do that. 1t
all did very well, perhaps, in those
quiet old times, when one generation
trudged on afteranother oblivious Of
the existence OF elements in water,
earth and air, that were waiting but
the electric touch Of science to make
them burst forth into the blaze Of
light, flash after flash of which has
startled the agricultural world with
new developments almost number
| s. during the past ton or twenty
years.
How obstinateIy the mass of those
old-time farmers shut their eyes
against the light They had their
hands their hoes and nloughs and
oxen, what use had they for brains
or brain work in books or paper
They closed their doors against
knowledge and put up their bars and
4 padlockcd their gates against science.
1t was work they wanted Of the girls
in the house, and work they wanted
o. the boys in the fields. And the
boys and girls did work, but they
were listening and looking too-and
thinking Listening to the sounds OF
new lite Weakening in their bosoms to
the world without, looking with
great longing toward the distant and
forbidden lights, and thinking, not
rs they should have been taught to
DO, how they might kindle new fires
on their own hearthstones not how
they might open the gates of prcju~
dice to let in something of the life
that so tempted them from without.
but only Of the day when they
should be legally free from parental
control, and at liberty to turn their
backs upon the old homestead and the
monotonous drudgery Of farm life
together and forever.
This has been what thousands Of
farmers sons and daughters have
done, and is what thousands more
will do, till farmers as a class are
willing to welcome Improvement, to
seek for light, and use it when they
get it. They are learning tc do SO
gradually, Individually, The good
leaven thrust into the old meal tubs
by diligent and earnest thinkers is
working and spreading. Men see
that only in the light Of science can
labor such US the farm requires be
made attractive and eIcvating. It'll
true, men and boys can dig and pillow
and SOW and reap in the old way,
and make living at it but the fur
Their behind the times are, the more
frequent Will be the dcsertone from
their ranks of the young and strong,
who bend toward the excitement of
change and improvement rs young
plants bend toward the light OF day.
! Changes, innovations, improvements
are going on everywhere else; why
not in the fields and household Of the
4 farmer as well.
Another way in which great wrong
has been done the boys is through
the habit many parents and sisters
have Of treating them IS interiors.
Il is habit thoughtlessly practiced,
but for all that, not the less unjust
and cruel in its results. 1t is very
common thing in farmers families to
see great partiality shown the girls
in regard to attentions bestowed up
on personal appearance, and time
and opportunities allowed for the
cultivation Of those little accomplish
ments which give young people ease
and confidence in society and in
themselves. 1t is not thought that
the boys q ot rough fellows, with
their big hands and rusty boots, have
any need Accomplishments. What
company fit to be admitted into the
parlor would ever wish 10 see them,
or could anybody expect that they
could be made fit to be seen in the
parlor Those boys with their coarse
dusty clothes, and rough air, no, in~
deed; nice chairs and lounges and
carpets were not made for such as
they When company comes to spend
the evening, the girls can brush their
hair, slip on new dress, and assist
their parents In entertaining them ],
but the boys are seldom thought Of
as part Of the family on such oc-
casions.
\ case in point was where Che Wis
itOr at Il wealthy farmers house had
withdrawn witt the farmer and his
wife and two daughters to the par
lor after supper. They were social
pleasant people, and the Girls eXertod
themselves to make the evening pass
oheeg1ully One of them gave some
passable music on the melodeon but
remarked, looking wistfully at her
mother that her brother George
played and sung so much better than
She It was pity he could not come
in. This was met by the reply that
If one of the boys came in all the
rest must follow, and they were so
rough the kitchen was the only place
iii fer them.
SO the boys stayed in the kitchen
with the hired man, not because
they were not as smart and intelli-
gent rs their sisters, bug because as
they were only boys, the parlor was
too nice for them. They were par
ticularlv noticed next day, and as
far as fine forms moved by active
limbs, and good features lighted up
by bright yes could &c, to make
sons to be proud of, there certainly
was cause for parental pride in them
but they were shy ofbeing spoken to,