St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-08-02
IT WAS NEEDED.
Women on the Farm Should Not
Work as They Did in the Olden

Time.
Special to the Globe.
FOUNTAIN, Mimi, July 26.-There
must have been very heavy rain north
and northwest yesterday afternoon;
when it reached this part of the country
it was apparently nearly over, yet it
came down with great force, accom-
panied by some wind and electrical dis
play that was felt at least by some one
not far away, as the light of flames of
fire proved that lightning had struck
somewhere. After all, the rain was
welcome, and the cool air circulating
this morning is simply delightful. The
weather has been very oppressive
with the really dry heat for the
past week or more which proved bad
weather for horses in the harvest fields,
to say nothing about the men that were
obliged to follow the binder. The
pastures have been good nearly all the
time from the frequent showers that
have blessed this section, but there was
need of thorough drenching rain, and
so when it came just at shutdown yes
terday, was hailed with gladness, and
no one would have complained if it had
lasted through the night, instead of two
hours or more.
There are some people who say this
county never had better crop
prospect than old Fillmore county
has now ripening in its fields.
The only danger feared was for root
crop and the corn that might suffer for
want of rain enough to reach the roots
of all. The hnckwheat and flax are
very promising crops, the latter crop is
very tall and even-standiDg, and pre-
sents fine appearance. never saw
A FIELD OF FLAX
until this season, and in looking at its
height. and thinking of the length the
fiber would be, and all left wasted as it
would be, it seemed as if something
should be done to save what was so
much used in manufacture and wanted
in every household of the land. Away
back in the past l had great adj
miration for the old farmer that
used to bring to the home
of my parents the fruit and other farm
products needed in the family. He al
ways wore homespun, homemade linen
clothing, so cool and white and SO spot
less that it excited much of my child
hood fancy for the rich old farmer dur
ing the summer, or the season for wear
ing such clothing. and even now / can
not get accustomed to the ''jeans' the
farmers wear in its place, clean and
comfortable as 1t appears. There al
ways come up the apparltion of the rich
old farmers of central New York in
their white linen or "tOWclOth" clothing
during the season for wearing thin
clothing-forgetting that IN these
what it is to make up the cloth into
clothing that has been purchased from
the merchant, and why should they,
when the ready-made clothing is so
cheap? After all, the farming commun-
ity of these Western states are nearly
all from tile workshops of the East. and
the farmereSS is not from the farm, and
neither one are acquainted with the old
fashioned mode of the great mass of
what in the past was considered part
and parcel of what q woman on the
farm should know of her work as help
meet i'll the struggle for life and all of
its benefits as an Independent far
mer and an insulated family ought to
know what to do, and when to do their
work betimes, and as the years rolled
around wealth came to them as nat
ural consequence of their toll and frugal
ity. There seems little need of the
WOMEN ON THE FARM
as all they require is these day is much
cheaper, and there can be but little
money saved now by the old ways which
were long days taken from needed
hours of rest. If we take into account
the many ways that farm labor has been
made almost playing game of life to
what it used to be, then we may say it's
the easiest life man can possibly
live; full of toll as it is for him and his
family-he is his own master and can
do as he will. But this is not the say
ing of the flax fiber that seems to be
something that should not be lost, but
utilized into the manufacture of goods
in some way that will add something
more to the farmers profits. We are
sure that after this fax will form one
of the crops that will begrown more and
more in time to help out in diversifying
the crops raised, and it is essential that
every farmer should grow everything
he can that will add to his income.
Mrs, MARTHA CRANDALL.