The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-27

1 end, the farm life of these women being one of pure drudgery.
 Think of one woman doing so much,
 l said to the dear old gentleman.
 That isn't so mueh,' he replied. ''There are plenty of women who do the same thing. It is the man who has the hard part in furnishing things to cook" Some of my neighbors are even more
 industrious, not only providing bread and butter and milk for their own family, but making enough butter to supply | other people who are either to indolent to make 1t themselves or too ignorant There | Is an art in butter-making, and the diet of cows is something that requires watch | ing if you want sweet butter and milk that Is nourishng. The dairies in this | part of the country are generally i'm maculate Those that I have seen are | lined with stone and rock, or If these i materials cannot be obtained cement
 which can be frequently whitewashed,
 makes a clean interior Some of the milk houses are built over g spring, and these
 are the most delicious looking interiors,
 the shining pans and bowls of milk and
 platters of creamy butter rewarding these
 hard-working women for the hours spent Tn scrubbing pans. l suppose 1t rewards
 them. It should fill their days with hap
 piness just to be able to make things
 shine like some of these pans.
 While l am regarding with admiration my neighbor who has shining pans for her milk, and who does the shining with her own hands, have another neighbor whose industry and talents have cropped out in the making of baskets.
 Some weeks ago I went through the
 corn field to see her.
 She used ta. work in the cotton mills but she lives now on a little farm of ten
 acres and both she and her husband work in the field. The bridge was down, and l I, called to her across the river Her hus-
 band had made q boat which he uses as
 a ferry and he came down to the water 8 edge and offered to ferry me across. Wis., ting under such circumstances is little
 too realistic and l suggested that he
 would ferry over with his wife on my side of the river.
 Since this first interchange of neighborly relations they have come to the bunga- low occasionally, and one day Mrs. Sze-
 more asked if I did not want some bas- kets. She said that she had learned how to weave baskets before she worked in the cotton mills, and that her husband could make chairs.
 She uses the native bark in the con- struction of the baskets. She strips the trees dries the bark and weaves strong
 and durable baskets of any size that you
 want They have such a solid look, as II | they would never wear out. But besides being durable they have an artistic beauty
 in the rather original shape she gives to them, and when they are lined with soft | silks they are far prettier than many or | the manufactured baskets. This woman Is l the only one for miles around who under | stands the beautiful art of basketry. and | yet she Is absolutely illiterate, and told
 me with a sad frankness that she had
 worked all her life in the mills until she | began working in the fields.
 Her husband is no less uneducated, but | he has learned what can be done with na- tive woods, and that trees can be made
 into chairs They are plain to look upon, l but possess the qualities of comfort and i durability. When in their natural color | they are even more attractive than paint | can make them. and the hickory furniture l combines both beauty and durability.
 Some of my neighbors have gardening
 accomplishments, which reveals itself In | In their lettuce and celery. and whenever l I make neighborly calls I am now pre- | pared for anything since I have learned
 their industrious habits and varied ae- l complishments.