farmers' institutes. 823 



body could not or would not go fast enough for the impatient brain? 

 This is the "haste that makes waste" and brings heaviness of spirit and 

 oldness of body. It shows that woman is not master of her work, but 

 that her work masters and drives her. 



There is an Arab proverb which well says that "Hurry is the devil." 

 Worry is worse. Let us keep serene and free from the malign influence 

 of his Satanic majesty. Calmly wait until we reach the bridge before 

 we cross and trust a higher hand to lead us through our difficulties. 



It is in the actual movements themselves, the constant succession of 

 liftings, beudings, reachings, and so on, that make up housekeeping, that 

 the valuable physical training lies. To make them wrong means that 

 work is drudgery. To make them right means not only that housework 

 itself becomes easy and interesting, but in a short time every other move- 

 ment made will be done in the same easy manner. 



It is but natm-al to expend all of one's energy in the duties of the 

 house, and stop only when weariness compels it. The wise woman will 

 not fail to take a few minutes for rest several times during her busiest 

 and most taxing day. The very best way is to lie down for a whUe, 

 even five minutes is much gain. Or, lose yourself a few minutes in a 

 book; forget your work and duties in what you read. 



To the woman who considers her duty to her family the main 

 point, these suggestions doubtless seem nonsense. Nevertheless, it is 

 body-saving, good, common sense. Duty to one's self should lead women 

 to save the health and strength before the necessity to save it arises, 

 while there yet remains a fund to draw from. The aging of the body 

 is not a matter of years. It is rather a matter of condition, and the way 

 one habitually uses the body largely determines what its ultimate condi- 

 tion will be. If to lie down when not sick, would be to brand oneself 

 shiftless, try stretching the muscles in ways different from customary 

 use. Stretch and relax alternately, for one or two minutes, take long, 

 deep breaths often and yawn whenever you can. 



A dejected phj-sical attitude tends to develop a dejected mental 

 state. On the other hand there is nothing more effective for ridding 

 oneself of the blues, than to stretch the body to its full height, to breathe 

 deeply and to express lightness and joy in bodily action. Recall some 

 witty saying and laugh over it. "Laugh and the world laughs with you. 

 Weep and you weep alone." Do you laugh enough? Sing a bit of some 

 merry song, or go out and talk to the chickens, cows or horses. They 

 are appreciative friends if you but think so. Don't forget all the things 

 you loved before you married and "settled down." That settling down, 

 physically and mentally, is perhaps the thing of all things to avoid. 



We speak of persons bowed down with grief. Trouble of all sorts, 

 if yielded to, does bow the body down, and a depressed mental state has 

 an involuntary restrictive effect upon the vital processes. To be blue 

 or sad is to have the breathing and circulation less than normal. The 

 muscles relax, the chest sinks, the head droops and the feet drag. 



