Putnam patriot., 1909-05-21
TIE PUTNAM pAr,u,7 May sl rooe

tbe brook furnishes power and forces the wafer io cisiern on hili well atsoye The house. The brook failetb never, 70 we are happy. Next. the mortgage seemed to need attention, and l have paid F ts9 On that 10 date in s5CO insialIments. There haze been, beside the regular repairs incidental 10 maintenance, many ini- provements in the buildings and grounds. new machinery purchased, so that today the place Is in better e0ndi. ti0n than " hen took its care.
 have not said anything about dis couragements yei. On yes. There have been plenty oi them. One yeaF al the pigs died OecasiQnaily q COW passes away. The lightning struck the silo and made a riddle ol Il. T forgot to say lhat bniit siio, and am firm beiteser in the yaue of siiage Yeafs when especially wanted heifers io raise, all tbe calves were bulls. The striped bugs try to eat the sqaashes, ibc currant worms the currants, and the crows the cofn-human conditions are never perfect.
 am naturally strong and well and have taken care to keep so. i believe that the dyspepsia and "nefYes' of
 many country wtvnen are due to in- sufficient exercise in the open air. When became a real farmer ] began walking, taking every hour reason ably could for this purpose, never ; driving when had time to walk, in spite of the temptation 10 go 10 the door and call to one of the men to haf- ness "charIie." Steady nerves
 woald have, 50 walk 1 must. now walk ten miles without thought Of its being far, and up to twenty-five i without being at all oveT-tired. Three friends are likeniinded with me about
 walking, and every spring and fall We ' manage to get an occasional day of ' and, armed with bite Of lunch, start
 in the morning and tramp until late afternoon, taking wood roads, short cuts and generally exploring the eenn- try. Once feel the sense Of physical fitness the power to walk brings, and the habit will never be abandoned. keep three men inc year round, 7, and have chofe boy through the
 summer. The same foreman has been - with me since set up for farmer
 The other two men 1 have changed
 once, mol from any funpleasantness on :, either side, but because they had ,a chances to gel foremen's places.
 board these men and one, who has q :, family, occupies tenement across the garden. 1 try to make everyone whe
 works for me feel that they have AT
 interest in the place, and the best way
 To accomplish this Is to make them re II, sponsible, each in his own department - There is plenty of work through tn.
 winter To keep all busy. 1 sell practi
 caliy certified milk, which involves [
 lol of work in the care of twenty-five ;, COWS. Forty cords of wood k cut and
 worked up for kitchen range and opet iifeplaces--of which there are six " ice harvested, etc. The only work
 do myself outside the house is to talk ', care of my flower garden and the bees =, Frankiinis maxim is mine. "The ey' hands" One word about those bees
 They are fun. Three years ago
 bought two swarms and armed with
 bee book assumed charge. had som
 stings at first, but lots of honey later
 1 cannot understand why there are no ,,, few bee hives by the garden wal Q
 every farm, they are so little work. B' :, selling and giving away ! have kep s my apiary down to six or seven colo nies, because have no time to go Int |, IL extensively, but have all the hone, |, we can use and some extra every fal ,a to sell.
 In the house l have two girls II -, winter and four or five in summer, nc
 cording to my family. l make It habit, which seldom break, to be d
 home always in the morning; people coming on business know they will !. fiud me then, All meats and provi
 sions are brought to the door, and dt
 the ordering. Il is easy to keep busy
 about a large house as every house
 keeper knows. Certain things dt
 myself, in summer particularly, thing
 like to dc. or think l can do little = better than anyone else, such as mak'
 ing certain desserts, salads, made
 dishes and some preserving. plan tt :, finish my days work-Yith my hands--by noon. The oversight al everything takes time, and there srs
 the accounts. keep good set oi
 books, day book, ledger and cash ac. :" count, and this work is put into some
 part of the evening. When 1 sum uI
 my farming experience, l sec iots ol
 hard work and no very remarkable ', money profit, feel that for me pre-
 fer il to teaching and il brings an ele. mcnt of "own bossism very pleasant.
 count il great advantage to have a ' home to share for a day or year with :" friend, and an inestimahle privilege
 to live with all outdoors al ones door ' for a playground.
 T ELINoR R. MATHEWSoN. h Mindham County, Conn.
 A-
 $. State of Ohio, City of Toledo,