Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-11-26
soUgHERN sERVANTs. n. N g..
The sdrvaiit Question from aisouthcrn
Standpoint,


Anterior 10 1851, ssonthern, farmers
and planters like the centurion of old,
had seryante nnde tiben. 10. whom they
said go, do thus and SO, and it Was done.
This AUTHORITY ended With The war, but
the lesson taaght has not been commit
ted to memory, nor have We attetdpted
to forget this peculiar but lost privilege.
,Aseryant 20 black my boots as well as
to harness my horse, to fetch me pitch-
or OF water, pr to build me. d fire, to 90
on errands, or other wise consume yalu-
able time, u q perplexing luxury too
frequently inaulged in by men meen who con
fess their poverty, and are ever ready to
lament their condition. To be waited
upon is ngSmal arrangement of south.
ern life. The cost Of such INDULGENCE Ia
an afterthos ght, aud is seldom calcui-
lated. FroSn seven to ten dollars, o
month and shis board (the latter often
considered the scraps from the table), is
Thought to be the sum total of the cost,
whilst the 0ecraps," If vigilant economy
were habitEally practiced, would be
found ito exceed in value the monthly
wages, and the countless perquisifies Of
his position would amount to more than
both wages and board. These employees
are eyerywhere among farmers, and they
are expensive superf1uities. . Should
they be discharged at Christmas, and
the farmers resolve to do this worktheni-
selves during 1875, one year experience
will teach them how extrayagant and
useless are such attaches, 'ii't t5te, !.;eal
This ubiquitous servant frequently
has o wife, who is the cook or washer
woman, with an attendant tribe of littls
ones. These must be fed, and thew
too, seemingly get |" scraps, !" which are
oftener thrown to the dogs md pigs,
because the perquisites of Office SUPPLY
much more dainty food. But wood must
be cut and hauled, and fires built to keep
these brats swarn, for negro children
seldom wear clothes nowadays; and
here begins another lack OF economy.
II the farmers house is OIL the road
side, the wood-pile is on the opposite
side, the kitchen as far in the rear of
the house, thewell ofwater is away off
at the horseaot, and the "cabin" is per-
haps still further off in the woods, or
beyond the spring. But time costs moth
ing, and the cook spends hers hunting
up wood and.iwater, and looking after
her "chilluu, except when standing
over the kitchen FIRE, built of cord Of
wood, q. q hot enough for a. smelling
t.t t7 -
Let ua systemize q little Just there
the kitchen within twenty feet of the
pantry, connect the two by shed, un-
der which have the we'll or pumps, with
the woodshed hard by filled with sea-
soned wood and why should not the
farmers own daughter be the cook?
The wholesome exercise of kneading
the dough with her own tiny fingers,
and plying the improved stove, would
develop her into a matronly robustness,
the very envy of many hot-house plant.
And other beneficial results would fol-
low this change, not the least of which.
would be neat and tidy Kitchens. Are
southern Kitchens provefbially clean !?
Not more 80 than negro cooks, who are
systematically filthy. eThey are adopts
at hiding cleanliness with dirt, and con.
eequently most housewives are ashamed
ever to have visitor think of stepping
for moment into their kitchen. South
ern farmers, look inspectingly into the
conduct ofyonr cooks for one week. See
them throw the coffee grounds here ont
of the door, there slop through the
cracks, yonder pile mp egg shells and
bones on the shelf in the corner; now
securing table all smeared with filth
with dirty rag, and then. sousing the
same rag into pot of dirtier water to
rinse it, and then cleaning ont with it
the pan or oven into which the food is
Immediately dropped that is to grace
yonr table, or tickle your palate within
lin hour. Is it any wonder that each of
us eats his peck of dirt before we reach
our teensP And yet negro cooks are q
universality at the south, and our daugh-
ters are seldom taught to perform this
daintlest OF all work.-D Wyatt Aikin
in Rural Cdrolinian.
i Z New Cause of Toothache.
The researches made by DR.. Sillin,