The patron of husbandry. (Columbus, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1879-08-23
There is no consideration which SO

strongly appeals to the pride and the man
hood of farmers in the building up Of our
Order, as that which promises to promote
the happiness of their mothers, their
wives and their daughters, and to Tighten
! the duties which fall upon them. We
give below an article from a New Eng
land paper on "Woman's work on the
farm, - and though it may present pic
| ture different from that which exists in our
own section, yet it is too true that women
and children on the farm generally have
far too much work to do. Why is this?
Because the present system of business,
the oppressive laws enacted and enforced
in every State for the benefit of privileged
classes and the greed and dishonesty of
powerful moneyed corporations, rob the
farmers of the profits of their TOLL and
they and their wives and children are
compelled to make up their losses by hard
work and pinching self-denial. This state
of affairs, which bears down with such a
heavy hand upon the noble, self-sacrif-
cling women on the farms, can be changed
and improved if the farmers are true to
themselves and listen to the teachings of
experience and follow the example of 9TH
er classes. Let them become members of
the Grange, and work for its success with
the ardor of men who love liberty and APP
preciate the worth and excellence of fe-
male character. To Tighten the burdens
and promote the happiness of women and
children on the farm, should always be a
leading theme of discussion in the Grange.
Does the writer over draw the picture?
Let farmers answer:
'sWoMAN'S WORK ON THE FARM"
1t is the extra work which makes the
farmers wife the hardest worked woman
in America, and which produces a state
of affairs that no well educated woman
can endure with patience and meekness.
For she must not only rise early, dust, mop,
set tables, ETC., etc. to accomplish all the
little duties which make up the sum of
woman's work, which is never done-but
also bear the extra burden of SHRED men"
whose presence is often not only repul-
sive, but destroy all family privacy and
comfort, and turns the home into board
llOuSC lOI tllC lluIC
The winter logs can be cut and made
into boards, and the frame work of a small
house prepared, which can be quickly
finished off in early spring. Tarred or
felted paper can make it warm and cozy,
and, if needed, smooth boards can be used
for the inner walls and cheap cotton cloth
! stretched over them, upon which the wall
| paper can be hung while coat ofvarnish
and gum shellac will make native pine far
prettier than any coat of paint. Two hun
| dred dollars would doubtless build COM
| Portable little house if the farm can sup
ply the timber for it. The interest upon
| this amount would be rapid in rent, and
| the board of the ''hired men" would not
| amount to the doctors bill you are forced
| to pay for your own family on account of
| the overwork they endure.
We have little faith, in these days of la
Dor saving machines, in the idea that men,
in general, suffer from over work. There
are, doubtless, some individual cases
were farmers are made i'll by too constant
labors, but there are thousands of cases in
| New England alone, where women are
made either bed ridden, or insane, or are
completely ''used up" by their continued
exertions in the house. Every farming
| town furnishes such instances. You will
say: "Why, yes, there's Mrs. B., who
has not been able to walk step in years;
and Mrs. A was sent to the insane asy-
lum only last fall To be sure, over-work
was the cause of all their suffering, but
woman's work can be obtained at cheap
rate, and wives are staple commodity,
easily obtainable at all seasons. Mr. c..
has had three in eight nine years. His
/ is an unusual case, but he is breaking up
grass land, and had several hands in his
employ, so his wives were forced to work
very hard. Does not your wife work
harder than you do? Let us ask you that
question. And are her nights broken by
care of nursing baby, or by looking after
little children? Ifso, unless you desire to
shorten her days, think upon these things
and apply the lesson to your own case.
Roth fhR army worms and tbe hill