The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1872-04-04
From the Southern Farm and Home.
Household Economy.

From the Southern Farm and Home.
Household Economy.
| "Gather up the fragments that remain, that
nothing be lost" These words were spoken by
the Great Master, at whose wish bread and
meat were furnished to the hungry multitudes,
without money and without price, They con-
tain the sum and substance of all household
economy The correct mode of management,
to avoid waste in every department., is the de.
sideratum SO much to be desired in household
affairs, The dream of life is to make home a
regained Eden, to wreathe it with joy and glad
ness and to spread around it the radiance OF
peace and happiness. Yet how often, from
mismanagement, does the reality become but q
torturing and tormenting nightmare.
A few plain rules, drawn from long expe.
rience, without entering much into detail, will
form the subject of this paper. The first rule
we shall give is this:
Take good care of all we have; see that
nothing is lost from want Of proper care and
attention.
How often are our garments moth-eaten, and
our provisions moldy, for want of few hours
are yearly wasted from not being gathered and
dried at the proper time. Often we are forced
10 sup thin, watery broth for soup, in winter,
when okra, tomatoes, beans, ETC., are withered
and dried on their luxuriant summer stems.
A Northern lady once said that Southern
family threw away more, in the course of a
year, than Yankee one would subsist upon
for that length of time. IF we would examine
into this matter, we would see the correctness
of the assertion. Why are we forced, year by
year, to buy Northern garden seeds z We live
in far more fertile latitude, We are blessed
with longer seasons and a more genial climate,
yet we must have northern supplies, when our
own vegetables are falling to the ground, from
whence they sprung, nnnoticed and uncared
for. Carrying this same survey into our fields
and farms, how much greater and more serious
becomes the waste. Tons of hay suffered to
bleach and wither away, our cattle perishing
for want of winter supplies, and we grumbling
upon us ! How we neglect our Masters COM
mand, Gather up the fragments, that nothing
be lost"
Our second rule is, Buy only what we need,
and at the time we need it:
We live in world where "moth and rust
doth corrupt, and where thieves break through
and steal" How often do we realize our short
sightedness in this matter, when our supplies
become musty from standing, and our boarded
goods grow small by degrees, and, if not beau
tifully, at least wonderfully less No specific
rule can be given on this matter, as convenience
to market, and other things, will differently af-
feet different households. ~.
Our third rule is: Buy always the best arti-
cles that we can afford. 1t is the poorest econ
omy to buy cheap and Indifferent goods, either
for food or clothing The physicians bill, and
the repeated demand for new supplies, will
make the chap bargains by far the most costly
in the end.
| O.. c.L s,,1.-;, 4 -,1ooo For ovorvth;no
and everything in its place.
from the Master. The disciples, on coming to
His tomb, found the grave clothes folded and
laid away and the napkin that was about His
head, not lying with the linen clothes, but
wrapped together in place by itself How
touching is the lesson of order enforced by
this his gh example; how important that we en-
deavor to profit by it, Who can calculate the
amount of time and labor lost by misplaced
articles? Suppose o mathematical calculation
was made of the number of hours lost to a
housekeeper by mislaid keys, the reckoning
would be incredible. We have often known
half of the day consumed in looking for tools,
utensils, clothing, etc. When our first parents
lost their pure and sinless state, this blight
seemed to have fallen upon all earthly posses.
sions, and now half of every careless lifetime
| IL COuSuuleu III lVohluS iOi Wuoe 10 iooS VI AiiS
laid. The only way to avoid this dreadful
waste of time and labor, is to have place for
everything, and be sure to keep everything in
its place..
Our fifty and last rule is. A time for every
thing and everything in its time. The saying
of the wisest of men, that there was time for
everything, is particularly true in household
affairs, and if things are not done at the proper
time all the management in the world will
never set them right again. A systematical
division of the labor of the household is abso-
lutely important. The continual clashing of
employments is the surest way to produce dis
order and confusion. Regular hours for meals
should be closely observed. How much grum-
bling and complaining will this annually save
A word here to the female heads of families.
Never put your cook to other work, to the neg
lect of breakfast dinner and supper. If you
do take my word for it, you will have frown-
ing husband and complaining household;
Let il be our constant endeavor to keep oil
around us in good humor, and happy faces and
pleasant smiles will be our daily reward. AL
though our homes may never again be the
abodes of luxury and ease that once they were,
yet it is still in our power, by correct manage.
ment and economy, to make them delightful
and happy homesteads, where, from the morn
ing and evening altas, will arise sacrifice to
God, acceptable and well pleasing in His sight.
l.. RUTHERFORD.
u, ~, .>-n, Avn D,ru,,,o>-r Avn Y>y,,