The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-11-19
Is YOUR HOME READY FOR
WINTER?
You Have Fixed Up the Barns So the
Stock Can he Comfortable, How
About the Wife and Children?

Most of my letters are addressed to
the woman on the farm; but in this
wish 20 speak to Mr.. Farmer him
self. And the subject is a very i'm
poTtant one.
With the coming of winter there
is a whole lot Of fixing up" that
needs to be done on most farms, not
only about the barns and in the poul-
try yard and around the potato shed,
but also, and more especially, in and
about the house.
Is Your Winter Stove Wood Ready?
A whole lot of winter comfort de-
ponds upon the fuel supply. Most OF
our Southern farmers burn wood;
and everybody knows that dry wood
burns better than wet wood. The
wood should have been cut long
enough ago to be getting dried out
by this time. If 1t was not 1t may
a least yet be put under shed. To
have to go out in the rain or snow to
get wood isn't a pleasant job; and
when the wife has to go out in such
weather for stovewood, and then find
none cut or else find 1t all wet and
"sobby''-well, we can only say no
good farmer should allow such Car
ryin'-ons" at his home.
How About the Water Supply?
A more serious problem is often
the water supply. Too many farm
houses depend upon spring or we'll
away from the house for their water;
and the women and children have to
go out after it in all sorts Of weather.
This is a shameful state of affairs.
Many houses could have water
pumped into them by hydraulic
ram or a windmill without any ex-
cessive outlay to begin with; and
with positive profit when two or
three years of water carrying or
pumping are considered. The time
will come when a supply of water in
the house will be regarded as essen
tial to comfort In the country, just
as it now is in the city.
Kitchen COunveniences Worth Con-
sidering.
Then it is worth while to think
a little about the conveniences of
| the kitchen and the facilities the
wife and daughters have there for
| doing their work. No good farmer
would expect to get along without
the use of improved tools and ma
chinery, or to keep his stock in I'M
| comfortable sheds or barns during
the winter. But many men seem to
think that an old ramshackle stove,
seven sizes smaller than their appe-
tite, an old up-and-down dasher
churn, and a back-breaking wash
board, are all the conveniences their
i wives need. She may have to stay,
| too, in little, insufficiently lighted
and poorly ventilated kitch en-, that
is dark on cloudy days. intolerably
hot in summer, and the coolest place
in the house in winter.
1t may be away up off the ground
with no underpinning so that the
wind can blow under it and cool of
the feet of the unlucky cook with
out any restraint. No one would
expect a cow or a horse to do well
under such conditions; but women
you know, can stand a great deal.
The Necessary Ministry of Beauty.
! Mere physical comfort is not all
either. There are many houses that
have a general aspect Of forlorn di.
lapidation, and look like places il
which misery was meant to dwell
little patching up, little paint, e
walk or two, a few shrubs or vines
or shade trees will often make &
world of difference in the appear.
ance of place, and in the feeling
OF home-likeness that goes with it
| The inside of the home is too Otter
equally neglected. The boys ant
girls on some farms are not so vel
cared for as are the pigs and calves
They may be fed well, just as the
pigs and calves are; but children
require something more. Can yol
call that place a home for the child
which makes no provision for hi.
mental ana spiritual development!
The Rights of the Child.
| Every child has certain individual
rights which even his parents ma,
not violate-which they, in fact, ar,
under sacred obligation to secure
to him. Among these is the RICH
to share in the beauty and Joy O
life. The man who will not max,
any effort to make his home beauti
full, who cares nothing for grass ant
flowers outside or for pictures with
in, who regards music as a waste o
time and books as unnecessary lux
uries, is wronging his children a
surely as If he failed to feed O
clothe them sufficiently.
Make the home attractive. Whel
you sell the crop do not regard it a
extravagant to brighten up the oil,
house little, to get some new book
for Johnny or piano for Mary. You
life and the lives of all about 70,
will be happier for the association
with the wit and wisdom Of the bes
books, for the sweetness of music Il
your home and for the beauty O
'sward and shade and bloom about il