FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 1^^ 



simply drudgery. No wonder women get "fagged out," condemn men, farms and 

 all, and hate farm life. The outside work tasks them, soul and body; puts the house 

 duties in a jangle, and— saves their husbands 25 cents, maybe. 



What is the outside gain to the inside loss? If system marks the indoor work, 

 woman has time for outdoor work when she comes to it; then, it is recreation, not 

 drudgery. 



To weed in the vegetable garden, make a circuit of the barnyard, see after the 

 biddies and "mother up" some stray or crippled creature is a sort of outing. A real 

 womanly woman on the farm "mothers" almost everything on the premises. 

 All the odd chickens, hapless lambs, horses, cows and even the farm-dog, chirk up 

 when the women appear. To comfort and coddle the dumb friends of the farmer's 

 family, then, is pleasurable duty. 



The cultivation of flowers— for flowers and women should never be far apart— is 

 pleasant, restful labor. The gathering of fruit for table and canning purposes. is 

 another avenue of taking in "fresh air fund." 



One does not grow weary of real hard work as soon as of "puttering 'round." 

 It takes more strength to vacillate, more grace to "putter," than to work syste- 

 matically all day. Let no woman on the farm have "trotting days;" a good trotter 

 doesn't walk well. 



In closing: If a man on the farm desires his wife to look tidy, young and cheer- 

 ful, he should see to it that she does not carry the water from a "pocket" several 

 rods from the house, split the wood, pick up his tools after him continually or go 

 half a mile for potatoes for dinner. He should see to it, also, that she need not 

 spend half the forenoon of three days in the week preparing dyspepsia doses to 

 tickle his palate and distract his stomach. 



The less pastry, the better the woman's nerves, the better the man's stomach. 

 And, of course we all know the way to a man's heart lies directly through his 

 stomach. 



PRESERVATION AND PROPAGATION OF FORESTS. 



E. T. MERRILL, Reed City, at OSCEOLA COUNTY Institute, Reed City. 



It is now established without a doubt, that all cut forest lands will reforest them- 

 selves, if fire and all kinds of stock can be kept out. But in nearly all of the 

 northern counties, and along arid at the head of all of the principal rivere, there 

 are now vast tracts of stump land- with from 10 to 20 years of young growth of tim- 

 ber upon them. Therefore, if the following laws were passed, Michigan would soon 

 have a forest reserve. 



First, that all lumbermen and others that are cutting timber shall at the proper 

 season of the year, and at a time when it shall not endanger the growth upon other 

 lands, burn and destroy all brush and refuse upon their cut lands. If this law had 

 been passed 30 years ago there would have been but few great forest fires in 

 Michigan. 



Second, that between the first day of April and the first day of November, any 

 hunters, fishermen, campers, or others that start an outdoor fire of any kind or for 

 any purpose whatever (except in clearing lands, and burning refuse at times 

 that fire will not run, and according to law), shall before leaving the spot en- 

 tirely extinguish all fire, and if they shall go away leaving any fire or live coals, 

 shall be subject to $1,000 fine or one year imprisonment, or both. 



Third, All lands held by the State as tax lands should be held as a forest reserve 

 and all lands that can be secured by donation from lumbermen or others should be 

 added to such reserves. 



Fourth, Any private owners of lands in Michigan, who will set them apart for- 

 ever, as forest lands, the cutting of timber thereon to be subject to the laws of the 

 State, no timber to be cut except of a certain size, and all refuse from said cutting 

 to be removed from the laud, and one-fifth of the stumpage value to be paid to the 

 State when cut, will be exempt from all taxes upon said lands. All taxes heretofore 

 assessed upon said lands must be paid up to date, before such lands can be set 

 aside. 



Fifth, That each county and township where these timber reserves are located, 

 shall be exempt from State tax in the proportion that they lose taxable lands, so 



