The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-04-09
FARMING FOR WOMEN.

We nave III Clay county i IauE farmer
| who, by her own efforts, has clearly demon
strated the fact that successful farming is
| not at all beyond the reach of woman, in
Texas, and that there are no good grounds
whatever for reasonably regarding it as
something outside of woman's sphere. She
settled there with no particular line OF
business in view, and to keep time from
hanging heavily upon her hands she started
small flower garden, mostly roses, for
personal qualification. The plants re-
sponded so well to her care that she be-
came much interested in them; indeed, she
soon found herself falling i'll love with
Texas soil and the results of its capabilities.
Finally this led her to purchase lands and
enter upon general farming and fruit cul-
ture. She now owns a farm of about 200
acres and is making it as good a success as
| could be asked. Everything in the way of
management had to be worked out by her
own good sense, for before embarking in
| the business she knew nothing whatever of
farming In 4 letter to US last fall she eX-
pressed much regrets over there not being
an agricultural college for women, adding
that should such college be established
she might be depended upon for becoming
one of the first students.
These remarks We're suggested by the
following extract from an address lately de-
| livered before the Massachusetts horti-
cultural society by Mrs. Sarah J. Smith:
What we want for woman now is an edu-
| cation in horticulture and the things of farm
life that shall make happier girihoOd j;
happier because hands are full and bodies
| healthy, and brains less strained for book
| lore; more alive TO natures truths and
| vivified with practical knowledge OF what
| goes TO make health, happiness, home and
wealth Among all the schools of our land
| there is not one to offer our girls this.
| Every avenue in life now seems broadly
| opening to women, excepting that opening
| in the cultivation of the land. The woman
| who owns a farm and carries it on does it
| shylv and as if she had no right 10 do it
| and the girl VINO is quite at home in her
| fathers greenhouses, understanding the
! culture and knowing the botanical names OF
| all the plants is a wonder to her COM
| panionS and seems not quite one OF them.
| Yet how many weary heart-slck girl.
| whose whole life has been spent amid
brick walls, longs for work in the green
fields. How many woman who breat hes
| flush tells of life almost spent, wishes
| she could have been taught work that
should bring her daily nearer to nature,
| a work she dare not, cannot learn by her
| self, the risks are SO great. She can
catch up the broken threads in the loom
and scarce give them a thought; the
| great machine seems to her to work
I of itself But the tender plants, the open
| ing buds. the flowers, the bees, the soft lit
| tie chickens-how dare she, untaught, han
| die these things, direct from heaven? Might
| she not destroy life given to cheer and
| brighten world? And she looks with won
| der, and feels shame for girls who inherit
| the opportunity TO know all this. yet flee
from it in their ignorant contempt of it.
! Our Clay county farmeress was not one
of those who dared not dare. She dared
and succeeded.
While we have pointed to this particular
case because of our familiarity with it, and
especially because of the fact that the lady
started in without any previous knowledge
of the business, and yet speedily pushed il
into profitable undertaking, we may add
that there are many lady farmers in Texas
more than in any other state, perhaps.
| So very generous are our Texas soils and
other conditions favorable to agriculture
that intelligent management extended to
| them cannot fail Of success, and there
would be no good sense in supposing that
the necessary intelligence should not exist
| with the ladies as well as with the other