124 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



This we should not leave nil to ilio men. A certain amount of self- 

 confidence is needed and we can learn to trust ourselves if we only 

 will. Let us not measure our value by what we are able to shun in 

 the business of running- the farm. I believe we are to i)rone to do 

 this and it is the ex])lauation for so much discontent among farm 

 women. 



Any line of wholesome effort that gives needed exercise and builds 

 muscle and makes for a decided change helps to make women efficient 

 as well as men. 



Efficiency as Mrs. Hulst told us last evening, has come to be the watch- 

 word everywhere and in everything. This factor is especially essential 

 to enable a woman to cope with the farm problem. 



On the farm we are never at a loss for something to do. The nearer 

 we can do the 'better wai/ the greater Ihe gain, the less the effort also. 

 Women as a rule are in the habit of never getting their work done or 

 rather are always seeing more that needs attention, while most men have 

 schooled themselves to let their work dro]) at a seasonable hour and 

 forget about it until the next day. It is very hard for me to do this 

 but I am finding it does not pay to overdo. 



The success of the farm business does not rest in the idea of one 

 doing all, nor in the ])lan of securing more help to lighten the work — 

 but everything depends on one being able to direct the efforts of the 

 hands and means already at our service. Things must be thought out and 

 studied from all angles. We must be awake to the needs of the soil- 

 adaptability of certain crops to certain soils, selection and treatment 

 of seeds and plants, and the work must be well done, and so much 

 depends on being able to keep those working Avith us interested and 

 co-operating in our efforts. 



You have heard Mr. Cook speak at our institutes and he has told 

 you what we attempt to do. We are interested in the fertilization 

 l)roblem, in seed selection, in the poultry and in the marketing side 

 of all products, so I believe I Avill not take any more time, I thank you. 



Q. I would like to ask Mrs. Oook if she has succeeded in getting 

 outside hel]) that does what she considers necessary? 



A. I will say in re])ly to this question that I really did. I have 

 always found that men have a great deal of respect for women even if 

 she is out doing things with them. Today we have a man who came to 

 us last winter. I advei'tised for a married man to work on the farm — 

 I had no less than twenty-five or thirty applicants in one day. I met 

 five different men at the bank one day and talked with them all and 

 this one man who talked with me said he had never worked for p 

 woman and that he would not have his wife work in the garden. I said : 

 "Well, you had better not come to our house then, because I will 

 work with you." He answered: "Well, I guess I'll try it." He came 

 and I could not ask for a man to be more respectful to me than that 

 man. He often makes suggestions and I am glad of them and have often 

 followed them. For instance, the other day, we have built a storage 

 and we had not graded around the storage building and I thought I 

 wanted it banked and thought on this particular morning I would 

 have the men start this work so I went down to the barn and said: 

 "I want the team harnessed this morning and we will try to do that 

 work." He suggested waiting until spring. However, we moved the 



