farmers' institutes, 689 



world possesses. But we are glad to note that the fanner never strikes. 

 He toils on year after year at the hardest kind of labor, endeavoring at 

 any rate to provide food for his own family. All through the spring, 

 summer and autumn he may be seen in his fields tilling the soil, sowing 

 or reaping. As compensation he has the blessed satisfaction of seeing 

 his granaries tilled to overflowing with provisions for his stock. In his 

 cellar there is an abundanc-e of potatoes, apples, etc. In another place 

 hundreds of pounds of meat, which has been killed and cured in the best 

 possible condition. Plenty of flour, milk, butter and eggs are provided, 

 and the farmer lives well. He looks out for himself first, then if there is 

 anything left it goes onto tlie market, and the one who manages success- ' 

 fully will always have a surplus over and above his living. 



But someone asks. "What has the wife been doing all this time? 

 Has she been sitting idly liy. enjoying the balmy breeze on the front porch, 

 or perhaps strolling in the orchard or some other cool place when the 

 thermometer registers 100 degi-ees in the shade, and she. having no part 

 in this toil enjoys the ideal country life which is painted to us by novel- 

 ists?" I emphatically say •"No." Slae has her hardships of life, and 

 every true wife, whether on the farm or in the city, will do her part 

 bravely. She finds employment for every moment of her time. From 

 early dawn till dark and many houi's of the evening she is found toiling 

 for those she loves. It has been truthfully said that 



"A man works from sun to sun, 

 But a woman's work is never done." 



The farmer's wife (I know her best) must wash, iron, scrub, bake and 

 churn at least once every week. Then she must cook three times a day, 

 wash dishes three times a day, besides make beds, sweep and dust, pre- 

 pai-e dinners and assist the children in getting ready for school and keep 

 the faces clean of those who remain at home. Then there is the sewing, 

 the mending; all of this and much more must be done every week and in 

 every season of the year. During the summer months so much more is 

 crowded upon us that we hardly know which way to turn. I speak now 

 of those of us who do our own worli with no hired assistance. There is 

 the fruit to gather and prepare for present and future use, the corn to dry 

 or can, the pickles to gather and put away, the poultry to raise and care 

 for. tlie garden to oversee or worlc it lierself, and, who knows where to 

 stop when we begin to enumerate the many things there are to do, the 

 "wife's share" of toil on the farm. So busy is she kept that there is little 

 time left for rest or recreation. 



But occasionally Ave see a wife, a mother who finds or takes time to 

 assist in outdoor work. She goes out into the field and labors from morn- 

 ing till night, day after day, leaving the children to get along the best 

 they can. Her own work is neglected all day which must be brought up 



44— Agriculture. 



