160 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



ship of the Spirit of Play and his little dog, Wolf, would stroll away 

 and forget the dull cares of life. Over his wife. Dame Van Winkle, 

 the Spirit of Work held relentless sway— so her days were passed 

 in ceaseless toil and from morn to night she knew no rest of either 

 body or tongue. 



Can we find somewhere between these two extremes the real 

 spirit of home making, the happy mingling of both work and play? 



As a profession, home making is at the head of the list, if the 

 woman at the helm can grasp the full situation and is herself a 

 business woman. In formulating her system, the home maker 

 needs first to know her own weak and strong points and see that 

 every effort is first given to having this dynamo, the home, perfectly 

 adjusted in order to keep the machinery running smoothly. There 

 will be a constant demand made upon her for oiling the many com- 

 plicated parts, but proper care and foresight will save friction and 

 many possible breakdowns. Conservation of effort and strength 

 she will hold paramount ; she will need to think well with her head 

 before executing with her hands, and though hard work may meet 

 her at every step, the home maker is fortunate in that she can set 

 her own pace. In her home she is sheltered from the physically 

 depressing competition, which is a part of the outside world, and 

 lives in an atmosphere far more airy, sunny and wholesome than 

 is found either in shop or office; but while in the home she needs 

 to study how to accomplish maximum results with a minimum ex- 

 penditure of time, labor and money. 



If women are the spenders, and three-fourths of the income 

 goes for feeding and keeping the family, it is a problem that requires 

 judgment and self-restraint in marketing and shopping in order to 

 finance the home making economically. She should seek accurate in- 

 formation as to general market conditions, thus getting a standard 

 of comparison by which to measure up the local market. One clever 

 and economical home maker has successfully put this method into 

 practice. She first studies the needs of her household, looks up the 

 general market, then visits her local grocer, tells him just how 

 much she intends to spend in one wholesale purchase, compares his 

 figures with the city market, and finds that in counting in freight 

 and delivery she gets just as good rates, besides seeing the quality 

 of her goods. This judicious buying means much to her family 

 and very much to her town by keeping that amount at home. 



This same guiding hand must now add a new phase to her 

 home making, and Miss Tarbell says, in her recent book, "The most 

 essential obligation in a woman's business is establishing her house- 



