Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1882-10-31


ings and the necessary expenses OF the
farmer, and partly matter OF pure iazl-
ness. 1t is the opinion of most exper-
fenced farmers that young man own
ing a quarter section of this land, good
team and his necessary farm Implements
will do well if he supports his family one
year with another without going in debt.
10 other words the struggle for existence
is as close, or even closer, here than 1t
was on a New Hampshire farm forty
years ago. There, in spite Of rocks and
Frost, a farmer with hundred acres and
his team and tools could expect by good
management to support his family and
have about a hundred dollars year left.
The superior fertility of the Iowa farm is
Offset by its distance from market and
its scarcity of fuel and lumber.
The one condition Of prosperity here
is economy. Accordingly the diet Is
confined mainly to the productions OF
the farm. No fresh meat is to be met
with beyond an occasional chicken.
Corned beef and pork are the meats In
use. A careful economy prevails in the
consumption o. sugar, tea, coffee and
other groceries foreign extraction. The
wearing apparel is plain. "Neat but
no, gaudy" is true of the Sunday dress
but for week days the first term must be
eliminated.
At intervals during the day we have
passed school houses. These are small
buildings, about fourteen or sixteen feet
square. The wonder is where the chill
dren come from. One S 1ch temple Of
knowledge we entered. 1t stood close
by the door of singularly dirty farm
house. in the midst Of an otherwise un-
inhabited prairie. 1t had been furnished
with benches, desks and teacher desk
of the approved school furniture pat
tern. One or two of the seats were
broken. The teachers desk was minus
two drawers, several knobs, and had
several broken PANELS. In the middle
Of the room was large and venerable
cooking stove, probably for heating. In
one corner the farmer had bed comPos-
ed of a straw bed and few comforts
on the floor. There was pie nty of black
board. The farmers sons and daugh-
iers were the only children who had ever
attended here. The scho oil was kept
open from eight to ten months OF the
year The farmer himself was commit
tee man and hired teachers to suit. IN
like many in this office, however, he did
no, pu, in relatives Of his own. but had
made it point, he said, to sec ure the
best teachers, relying upon the recon-
mendstion Of prominent educational eS-
per,s in the state. 1t is TO be- hoped
that they were as careful in avoiding
uepotism as the farmer himself. The
cost OF the school was betrayed by the
state fund, eked out by local taxation,
which fell mostly on the wild lands OF
non-residents. The salary OF the teach
err had ranged from s25 to $40 month.
He shared the luxury of the farmer s
home at reasonable compensation,
In undertaking a picture of prairie
farm life from the intellectual, moral and
aesthetic side, we need first to CLAN ce at
the PHYSICAL surroundings and daily rou-
tine of the farmer. His house Is COM
monty small-some-times no more thar
single room some sixteen feet BY twGn'
ty, which serves for kitchen, dining roo n
store room and parlor. The pantry con-
sists of few shelves ranged along the
wall of one side of the room. Even
where the furniture is exceedingly mea-
ger, the cooking stove and its furniture,
the dining table and dishes, clothes hung
against the wall, and one or two beds,
unite to impart crowded and unattrac-
tive appearance TO the place. Windows
are few and wall decorations are absent
or are represented only by few cheap
prints. The lighting at night is by a
single small kerosene lamp, affording in
sufficient light for reading, even if ii
were not in prime demand by the mother
of the family for the finishing touches to
her never ending household work.
If the house is larger it has two rooms
and possibly low attic. In the latter
are huddled two or three unattractive
beds. The down stairs department con-
sists of kitchen, also serving for dining
room, which is also the bedroom of the
head of the family.
The supply of books is always meager'
even in the wealthie, families, and as g
rule contains no recent publications, un.
less it may be few Of the sensational
subscription books, such as 1.-The Gui
teau Trial." "Life of General Grant,
etc.