The evening times., 1898-08-04
LIFE in a
LOG CABIN
How Two Women Are Spend
ing Their Vacation.
Cows Are "Divine," Pigs @Beauti-
full" Bees "DarIings" and Farm
inS Too Lovely to Talk About.

newspapers. But they were both sure
they could no: afford 1t. and. besides.
they could not think OF any vacation
that would suit them. Accordingly. they
discussed the matter long and often with
out being able to arrive at any decision.
and without having any expectation OF
doing SO. until one day in April Miss
Marjorie leaned over the reporters table
at Soross and remarked to Miss Lucy
that she had something to say to her
after tbs meeting was over. This some
thing proved to be plHa for camping out
during the Summer: not in a tent. but
in log olS,n. which could be rented,
Miss Marjorie said. for I, a month.
She had had the good fortune, she ex-
planned. to be born in one of the lone
soonest places in creation. and ehe cabin
was situated In this neighborhood. She
had ascertained that 1t was unoccupied.
and she was sure It was just what they
wanted. Furthermore, she Thought that
the furniture of her studio would be am
ply sufficient to meet the exigencies of q
camp. mad that with few dishes to sup
plement her blue teacups they would
manage beautifully.
The cost Of living in these Elysian
fields. where eggs were 10 cents a dozen
and the best butter 16 cents a pound.
would not be more than 81 a week, she
stated. and il they could get away In
time 10 have little garden they could
make II even less. The principal ex-
pense would be that of getting there. as
the place was long way from New
York: but this would be more than
counterbaianced by the fact that, in the
wilderness. one needs no new clothes.
VI course II was not possible for any
sane individual to find fault with such a
beautiful plan as this. The young women
decided then and there that they would
take their vacation in this cabin. and
pefore the middle of May :hey were in
IT. embosomed in hills. with nothing TO be
heard but birds and cowbells and not a
neighbor in sight.
The first thing that had to be attended
to on their arrival was the garden, and as
the women were little late in getting at
II they did not feel at liberty to take
their time to do the work At the same
time they refused 10 allow anything to in
terfere with the culinary department of
their menage: for what had they come
TO the country for If it was not 70 eat?
so between their elaborate cooking, with
no gas range or running water to make IL
easy. and their unskilled gardening, they
often worked from o'clock in the morn
ing until at night. It was not exactly
their idea of rural bliss. but they nut on
brave faces. and assured each other at
frequent intervals that they were deIiri-
ousiy happy. 1t is no harder than tramp
Ing the streets of New York all day and
writing half the night. Miss Majorie as
serts. and she would rather WELD a hoe
than pen any Cay.
And We get enough to eat, too" added
Miss Lucy. feelingly.
Aifer couple of weeks of gardening.
another two weeks Of somewhat less ar
duous labor was put on the house and
the remainder of the Summer might have
been passed in rest and quietness had not
the camp meanwhile been gradually
transforming itself into what the camp
ers proudly called farm"
There are two acres of land attached to
the place. and although much of il is
rocks there is plenty of grass to pasture
COW one The reporters thought 1t was
a pity TO have all this going to waste. and
as they found 1t difficult TO get milk and
Impossible TO get cream they rented a
COW for the Summer. Miss Lucy having
previously learned to milk The animal
gave a gread deal more milk than two
people could possibly use, although they
mad no difficulty in dispOsing of the
cream and to prevent the milk being
wasted they got a pig. Then they thought
IL would De nice to have their own eggs.
ana SO they secured a few hens. Finally
because they thought bees nice li,tJe in.
sects, and the country was a good one
Tor agriculture. they bought a colony Of
bees. "a
All this stock naturally made consid-
eraoie work. and was none the less of n
.lai oecause the caretakers were so in
experienced. The hens hid their ecps and
nours were spent in looking for them: the
60" wouldn't stand still to be miIked. and
LOT time showed alarming symptoms ~
gong dry and the bees swarmed cont;n,,-
any. Moreover. the young women had
their own ideas of the way domestic amt
hais snouid De treated, and Miss I.ucv ha-
slowed more care on her cow than mos,
farmers Ia think necessary She curried her
hhe morse, gave her baths with tar so,n
10 keep the flies away. and washed har
uuuer oeiore each miiking-to all OF which
a. 'he unsrateful beast RESPONDED
py walking all over the estate ube,, st,,
was being milked. switching ber to,, g.,
the mixers face and making renaat., -
Iorts TO demolish the fences nd 90. 49,
to her old companions oaeK
Inc oees were even more troublesor,o
tnan the cow. II the reporters had know,
anything about apiarian pursuits tha,,
wouid nave secured a colony of the cur.
,eh. year IN order that they might not
oe .roupied with swarming: but two days
after the bees arrived they swsrmaJ
Their new owners tackled them hra,.e,,.
ana worked hard for three hours trvine
10 keep them hived. Then they sent for
oee-keeping neighbor who remarked
that the insects were "quiet brutes ;.
and he soon had them safely under cover
After this came eleven days of peace
ana then second swarm came. which
was an entirely peaceable and a we'll
behaved one, however. and went into
It's hive without the slightest protest. The
reporters supposed that this ended the
matter. but only three days had ELAPSED
before a third swarm issued and settled
on top branch of one Of the highest
trees on the place. 1t was not an easy
thing to get 1t down. but the girls man.
aged 1t entirely without assistance and
were so proud of the achievement that
they were not at all disturbed when thew
went into the house again to find the hens
in the drawing-room and the COWS in the
woodshed.
Two days later came the fourth swarm
and hiving new colony came to be al
most part OF the regular work of the
farm.
But in spite OF all these tribulattons
the fair farmers like their animals. and
are in the habit of speaking of them as
the "dear bees" the divine COW" the
beautiful pig" etc.
They never for a moment repent hay-
ing chosen to spend their vacation in
this peculiar way, and they have come
TO the conclusion that agriculture Is
much superior to Journalism as a pro-
fession for women. They say that If
they can make 500 a year profit they will
settle there permanently.-New York
Tribune.