The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-08-01
HOW TO BE COMFORTABLE.


aeb IOTA lTUuHe.
When the farmer gets out his machinery
his mower and reaper and hay tedder-the
first thing he does Is to remove all dust that
may have settled on the mechanism, all oil
that may have gunned on 1t. Perhaps he
washes 1t with kerosene to make sure that
everything is clean. Then when he Is salts
fed that every part is clean and sound and in
good order, he oils 1t we'll and sets 1t up for
work. This process is repeated every time
he uses his mower, for he knows that the old
oil Is more or less filed with worn particles
of iron and steel and acts as file to wear
out the parts 1t rubs against.
But many farmer is better to his mower
than he is to himself. He will work all day
in the hot sun, with perspiration streaming
from every pore, and he will be at night COW
cred from head to foot with thin coating of
effete matter. This, If not removed, the ab-
sorbents take right up again and carry back
into the body, clogging the delicate machine
ry and acting exactly as old gummy oil does
on the mower. If he wears all night the
clothes be has worn through the day, por-
tion of the effete matter they contain will
be taken into the body.
Unless a farmer knows by theory or exper-
iment, too, that bathing and changing his
clothes is the surest and quickest way Of
resting and refreshing him, 1t Is hard to get
him to do anything else but sit down in the
nearest chair, or lie down on the nearest
lounge and rest when he comes In from work
ing all day In the field. 1t will be necessary,
therefore, for farmers wives who wish fresh
evening toilets to be made by their husbands,
to have everything arranged with exceeding
convenience for this purpose. A bath room
may be improvised on the first floor, the
nearer the back door the better, and in this
abundance of facility provided for the even
ing bath and toilet. Here the working
clothes nay be hung up at night, and here
the evening clothes may be hung up during
The day. Plenty of soap, water, towels,
and bathing tubs should be provided for all
who need them, fer hired men and children.
corner of the wosd shed makes . nice
bath house for q working man, since dozen
bricks and few dressed boards laid down
may keep the feet from the ground, and here
one needn't be afraid to make slop on the
floor. A few yards Of unbleached muslin
will make q screen.
Patterns for dressing gowns, blouses and
overalls are to be found in pattern books,
and with the aid of these most any farmers
wife can provide an easy evening dress for
her husband, and . suitable dress for work
In the day time. Slippers Of leather are bet
ter for farmers than those Of cloth, since
there will be times when they will be obliged
TO be In the dew more or less, and on the
damp ground.
Working men, not farmers, who live In
houses not provided with that luxury, . bath
room, may make one for themselves In the
corner of the yard, which will answer every
purpose during the summer time and be free
from the dangers haunting most bath rooms
In our city houses. "Cleanliness is next to
godliness." The quicker we get rid Of our
dead selves the more vital we are, the mere
We respect ourselves, the more We are re-
spected. Dirt and virtue do not abide to.
gether In any close union.
Bathing just before and just after eating
should be avoided, as the stomach needs the
blood for the digestion of food, and bathing
brings the blood to the surface. If the
worker bathes when he first come. in from
the field Tin tepid water If he is very warm),
and then dresses slowly aud rests few min
utes, he can eat without inconvenience and
be all ready for bed when his supper is di-
gested.