The Mena weekly star., 1917-09-20
FARMERS WIVES
 WORK T00 HARl
Arkansas Farmers Should Give Thsn Wives Modern Household Machinery
 and Make Her Work a Pleasure.
By Sallie Chamberlain, Home Demon stration Agent, Extension Divis-
 ion, University of Arkansas.

Farmers have improved farm ma chinery and use the latest methods in making their crops, but they forget that it is possible to make the work of the housewife much easier by pay. ing a little attention to the arrange. ment of the kitchen and by furnish. ing labor-saving devices which can be made without a great deal of trouble or expense Too many men fail to recognize that it is economy to de. crease the burdens of the housewife by giving her modern equipment and labor-saving devices. They do not seem to know how easily her work could be made a pleasure and not drudgery, and they do not do their share to enable her to have some leisure time to enjoy the things which make more abundant life-books, mu- sic, etc. I would not place less em- phasis on the practical things of life. but somebody surely needs to stress The importance of doing houseworl with the least amount of time and energy.
 The lack of convenience in the home is the cause of great deal of tho woman's work Are the kitchens, pantries. dining rooms and porches as conveniently arranged as they might be? Are the floors all on the same level? One hardly realizes how tir- ing it is 10 step up and down from the kitchen to the porch or from the kitchen to the dining room Are there as many shelves. cupboards, hooks, nails, and tables as a housekeeper ] needs? Frequently the lack of these conveniences is due merely to the fact that no one has ever stopped to think of the need of them. They do not necessarily require money to get them, but it does take a little time and thought, combined with energy.
 A dry goods box containing shelves and placed just above the working ta- ble will save the housewife many steps. It is hard to estimate the num- Der of tables necessary in a kitchen. However, one should be covered with galvanized iron or zinc to stand near the stove on which the pots and ket- ties can be placed when removing at three cents each are good to set the kettles on, but pieces of board may be used to an advantage Above the working table hooks should be ar ranged on which to hang the smaller equipment, such as egg beaters, spoons, potato mashers, etc
 All tables and sinks must be tall enough to permit the woman to work comfortably at them without bending over, The ordinary sink should be raised from eight to ten inches
 toy rub board. costing ten cents is useful to slip into the sink or pan to rub out the cloths and towels after using them.
 roller-tray table is a very great l time-saver and convenience. One home-maker has said that it takes fifteen trips from the kitchen to the dining room to serve a meal, while with roller-tray it may be done by making two trips. There are several inexpensive varieties of these tables on the market, but good one can take small kitchen table, put shelf under the table, tack strips around the edges to prevent the dishes from sliding of, and put rollers on it.
 A handy towel rack should be found in every kitchen.
 The burdens of each housekeeper will be less if she will have place for everything and everything in it's | place." and a time for doing every thing, and do it in it's time"
 Too often the kitchen is not well equipped with the smaller and mex pensive conveniences. The woman who continues to beat eggs with fork instead of spending five cents for an egg-beater is wasting much time and energy.
 A potato ricer saves time when mashing vegetables and fruits or pressing curd for cottage cheese. These may be purchased for twenty | five cents.
 Wooden spoons. rolling pins. pota- to mashers, paddles for butter. and a long handled paddle for stirring jams, marmalades, etc, can be made at home from cedar
 Small, round wire sieves with han dies are useful for straining liquids, sitting small quantities of flour and removing rice. peas, etc, from the ket- tles
 Each kitchen should have two meas uring cups, either tin or glass. mark ed in thirds and fourths.
 Sharp knives of various sizes and kinds are necessary to the comfort of the housewife. The small pairing knives which cost from 10 to 25 cents may be used with more ease and skill in pairing potatoes, apples, etc, than the ordinary kitchen knife.
 A clock. a pair of scissors, a high stool, a box or drawer containing a hammer, nails. screws, tacks, and cord should be kept in some conven. | tent place in the kitchen.
 "Lifters" made of outing or any oth. CT soft material will keep the hot kettles and pans from burning the hands.
 l MaUn0Iia Balm