The Bulletin 47 



way of getting them. A farmer does not or should not put a new piece of 

 machinery on the farm until he is thoroughly capable of operating it and 

 can get value received, and the same is true of the home, for what good 

 would modern conveniences do if you did not know how to use them? just 

 about as much as your Virgil would when you wanted to mix a cake. There 

 is a solution to every problem, and when our girls study this problem of the 

 home it will be solved to a certain extent, but it must be studied. 



Now, some will say that this will cost money; but doesn't it cost money 

 to study Greek, German or Latin? Sure it will cost money, and much valu- 

 able time too, but it is well worth the price and will pay bigger dividends 

 than any other way it can possibly be invested. The fact that this is a very 

 effectual way influences your life for higher efficiency, and greater content- 

 ment in the rural home makes it invaluable. Now, girls, .make up your minds 

 to have a course in home economics; you can get it if you want it bad enough. 

 You will have some difficulties to overcome, but anything that is easily gotten 

 is not always worth having. If you cannot leave home, get some literature 

 and work there till you can. Anyone can obtain the government bulletins 

 for the asking, and they are very valuable if studied carefully. Then there 

 are good books and magazines which cost very little in comparison to what 

 you receive from them. Read more; that is what you need; read anything 

 that looks like a Progressive Farmer or Good Housekeeping magazine. Every 

 one of you should have some practical books relating to your work, and 

 should be continually on the watch for information. When you do not read 

 the same thing happens to your mind as does a once stout and hearty body 

 when it receives no more nourishment. Every minute that is not actively 

 engaged in work be feeding your mind, for as every thread of gold is valu- 

 able, so is every minute of time. An hour wasted daily on trifies or in in- 

 dolence would, if devoted to self-improvement, make an ignorant person 

 wise in a few years. 



I wonder how many of you know what a balanced ration is and what it 

 means to a sound body? If a hog, and a horse, and a cow need a balanced 

 ration, why does not a man? Is his welfare not as important as that of 

 these animals named? Look what progress the boys are making in agri- 

 culture now. You must not lag behind. I believe in equal — not "suffrage" — 

 but rights in education. 



One way in which you can make a start at home right now is to join the 

 girls' canning and poultry clubs; this is an open door for you. Think of 

 the knowledge you gain in agriculture in the study of your plants, and then 

 the experience in canning according to the best instructions, of all the good 

 times you can have with your girl friends during the canning season, and 

 what is better still, look at your profits. I know many girls today who are 

 buying their clothes and helping pay their own way to college with tomato 

 club money, and without it this would be impossible. 



Now I have been telling you all the things you ought to do; I want to 

 tell you one thing you ought not to do. 



You have heard the expression that "all work and no play makes Jack a 

 dull boy." It will make many a dull girl too. Do not neglect having a good 

 time on the farm, and pretty often, too, for time spent in vacation is not 

 lost. I fear the majority of you girls do not take the time for pleasure and 

 relaxation. Of course you will not like the farm if you do nothing but stay 

 at home and work, work, work. You are much better equipped for your 

 household work on common days if you get out and mingle with other girls 

 in some club or social. 



Now a few words to the mothers. If you mean to keep your girls in the 

 home with you, you must be their sympathetic companion. When a girl 

 feels that her mother has no sympathy with her aspirations and desires she 

 loses all interest in home life. Encourage her in everything new she at- 

 tempts. What a world of good a few words of encouragement will do if 

 only given in time. Give her time for recreation, give her good books, maga- 

 zines and papers to read; not some your grandmother used, but the latest 

 and best that are out. How can you expect the home-making element of a 

 girl's life to develop unless it is fed? Encourage in her the sense of owner- 

 ship by giving her something of her very own and from which she can re- 



