Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1922-05-18
ION EASY STREET"
Women "Farmerettes" Make
Money in Western Canada.
Many Are Taking Advantage Of the
Opportunity offered by the Fer
tile Land and Fine Climate.

In many parts of Western Canada
are to be found women owning and
running farms for themselves, and
what Is more, making them pay. May
Hazlett, an English girl, who lived on
a farm In the Touchwood hills, In Sas-
katchewan, for the past four years,
looking after her stock and cultivating
her land, Is one Of these. The farm
was originally her brothers. homestead,
at which time Miss Hazlett was q
stenOgrapher. Her brother was killed
while fighting with the Canadian forces
mt Vimy Ridge. Neighbors advised
Miss Hazlett to sell the farm, but she
decided that she was tired Of the
''eternal pounding" and became farm
erette.
Mrs. Mary J. Blackburn, a pioneer
woman farmer Of Alberta, has just
added 100 acres to her farm near
Hardisty. Coming from Eastern Can
ada, Mrs Blackburn homesteaded a
quarter section In 1902. She had two
Holstein heifers, bull, and SIT In
cash. She lived In a tent the first
summer and in a sod shack In the
she tells the story, ION Easy street."
In ten years she had a herd of go
pure-bred Holstein cattle and was OPP
Grating a prosperous dairy. A fine
residence has supplanted the sod hut.
II MIXED my cows, raised my cattle,
cut hay and stacked 1t all by myself"
said Mrs Blackburn. 81 started on
bare prairie with no money, and made
good. worked hard, but the expert
snce was wonderful"
1t has generally been conceded that
farming Is a mans job. 1t has long
been considered that a woman's place
on the farm was in the house. with a
few attendant duties, looking after the
chickens and the garden. But times
are changing.
Demonstrative of the present femi-
nine initiative, there are two young
ladies farming extensively and with
good profit too, in Western Canada.
Some years ago a family located a 160-
acre farm in the Oak Lake district,
Manitoba. Later the father died, leav-
Ing his two daughters and aged wife a
mortgaged quarter section. Instead Of
selling the effects and moving to town
to take employment, the girls decided
to work the place.
While the mother looked after the
household duties the daughters did the
farm work. They did the blowing har-
rowing, seeding, haying, harvesting,
stocking, feeding and other farm oper-
ations. Except at threshing time, the
getting out of wood, the help of man
was never sought Instead Of q 100
acre place, with seven horses and ten
cattle, which they started with, they
have a 1,120-acre farm, twenty-five
head of heavy horses and nearly q hun
dred head of cattle, mostly pure-breds.
Their farm buildings, equipment and
well-kept fields would be objects of
pride to the owners in any country
Their accomplishment has not only
been profitable but pleasant, and they
have enjoyed every home advantage.
They are two entertaining and bright
girls, and have all the feminine charm
Of womanhood. Their manlike occupa.
ton has not given them a masculine
character or appearance, as some of
the older generations might imagine.
Their gallant struggle for success sig
nifies the truth in the oft-repeated
maxim of Western Canada, "a little
assistance and the soil, with its natur-
al richness and Gods sunshine will
soon pay for the land itself"
If you wish to learn more of what
Western Canada can do, write for
copy Of Canada West" which will be
mailed to you free by your nearest
Canadian government agent.-Adver-
tisement.