Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-10-10

The following is from an article by Pre-.
ident Eliot of Harvard college m the AN
gust Centur, The figures which .he gives
could he matched iu many household iu
the bill. towns of inland New England
The cost OF bringing up a family of five
or six children comfortably in the town of
Mount Desert does not exceed $3.50 "a wear
if the house. "a garden patch and a COW
pasture boz already provided from savingS
of the husband aud wife before marriage.
and ii the family a. "a whole. have normal
health and strength Very few heads of
families earn more than that sum IN wear
for. although "a day wages 900 summer b.
commonly $40. work is scarce. the win
ter is long, aud few men can get more than
tive months employment at these wages m
"a year The man and boys of family can.
however. do much for the common support.
even W hen there Is no work at wage. Co boz
had They can catch aud cure fish dig
claims, trap HOLSTERS pick the abundant
blueherries on the rocky hills Boz August
and shoot ducks at the seasons of migra
tiou. Wild nature still yields t. the skill
tul seeker a considerable quantity of food
without price
jewellers IN a city may wonder how it IL
there is no mystery about It There is no
rent TO pay the schools are free water
costs nothing the garden patch yields po-
tatoes aud other vegetables. and the pss
ture milk and butter two kerosene lamps
and a lantern supply all the artificial light
needed. at a cost not exceeding s. a year
the family do ali their own work without
waste there is but one fire. except on rare
occasions and that single fire Is ~ a stove
which delivers all its heat into the house .
the wife and daughters knit the family
stockings mitteus and muitiers, mend all
the clothes and for the most part make all
their own. The ready made clothing which
the men buy at the stores Is very cheap
$50 to SO "a suit. being made of cotton
with but "A small admixture of wool The
cloth ls strong and warm. and looks fairly
well when new. but soon fades and wears
shabby For children the old clothes of
their elders are cut down. the wear being
thus brought on new places
The Hesslan country girl wears proudly
her grandmother wooden petticoats. and
well she may. for they are lust as good and
handsome as they We're sixty wears ago a
Scotch shepherd all wool plaid withstauds
the wind and the rain for lifetime The
old swiss porter who Is carrying the
mounted Traveller s. NaIl~e over Lnt iremlll.
puts on thick wooleu Jacket of rich
brown color when the shower begins. with
the remark, The rain won't wet me, sir
this coat has kept me dry for twenty five
years The American farmer and laborer
use mo- such good materials as these. and
therefore they and their children look shah
by most of the time but their clothes are
very cheap iu first cost, and. like the cot
ton clothes of the Chinese. they answer the
main purposes of all clothing In "A city
the best clothes of the family must be often
put ON. IN the country but seldom Shoes
and boots must be bought for the whole
household. but these articles are also very
cheap iu New England and tine cuarser
sorts are durable iu proportion to their
price For protection from rain the Mount
Desert man who }, obliged to be out of
doors IN bad weather uses, IN sailor fashion.
not rubber clothing, but suits of oiled cot
ton cloth, which keep out not only water
but wind. last long and cost little 50 To 81
"A suit However hard 1t may be for city
people To understand 1t. the fact remains
that S3ju "A year Is "a sum adequate To- the
comfortable and wholesome support of "a
family of seven or eight persons IN the
town of Mount Desert provided that a
house. a garden. and pasture are secured
TO them