166 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



is a relation of co-operation in every activity and condition of the home 

 that results in the good of all concerned in that home. 



To-day women have not been trained for finance or business and men 

 have not been trained for or do not know anything about the many 

 professions that are wrapped up in a home when well conducted so that 

 at the very beginning of their home keeping they have not enough inter- 

 ests that are common to both to make them companionable and real 

 partners. I have always contended that equal suffrage would give such 

 an added relation and interest in the home between men and women 

 that it would prevent divorce instead of adding to it. The more inter- 

 ests they can have in common the greater and stronger the tie that will 

 bind in this God given work of creating a home. 



Since viewing so frequently the indifference of man to woman's varied 

 activities and responsibilities in the home I have often wished it were 

 possible for them to change places for at least one week and that might 

 be when the semi-annual period of house-cleaning is in full sway. I 

 have never seen it tried. Perhaps if it were possible women might have 

 an added regard for their husbands problems and difficulties that are 

 to be met in this business world of competition and grind. 



Tolstoy tells the story of a Eussian peasant and his wife. After a dis- 

 cussion as to which of them had the most and hardest work to do, this 

 peasant and his wife decided to change places for a day. The man 

 entered blithely on the task quite confident that he would be able to 

 show the woman a thing or two at the end of the day. So he listened 

 quite loftily to lier admonitions and instructions. He was to tie up 

 the hen and chickens so no hawk could get them; stake out the cow; 

 watch the pigs that they did not get into the garden; do the churning, 

 and above all have dinner ready on her return home. She retiirned at 

 meal time with her allotted work done to find her husband in a state 

 of confusion and distress and the house in a state of disorder. She 

 said : ''My task is clone but where is the dinner." "Dinner, how could 

 I get dinner — I forgot to tie up the hen with the chickens and the hawk 

 has taken most of the chickens. The pigs were in the garden, the dog 

 tripped me with the churn and the cream is spilt and gone and now 

 how could I have dinner ready — jon had only one thing to do at a time, 

 while I was supposed to do a dozen things all at once." The story goes 

 that from henceforth there was more consideration and co-operation 

 on the part of the husband than before on account of his experience. 



From my present-day experience as a home-maker I have found that 

 I need knowledge in part of fifteen to eighteen different professions to 

 meet the demands of the profession I entered thirty-eight years ago — 

 that of home-maker. Because of the lack of this knowledge regrets and 

 sorrow could mar my whole life if I would let them. Again, as I view 

 the matter to-day, it would have been, as well for the home, if my good 

 husband had known a part of some of these professions, that we could 

 have more readil}^ co-operated in bringing our home more quickly to 

 meet our ideals. 



I shall name them and briefly tell of their position in the life of 

 any home. First of all a financier and business manager. 



It is said women spend nine-tenths of all money earned — should they 



