228 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



lent size for the door than a smaller one). Never have a step to go up 

 or down between rooms. Have the dish cupboard open from both the- 

 dining-room and kitchen. In going from one room to another, if there 

 is anything to carry, take it with you and save steps. 



Worry tires more than work. 'Fret not thyself,'' says the Psalmist, 

 and another has said that "To a fretter everything goes wrong. The 

 whole mechanism of society is thrown out of gear; and, instead of moving 

 smoothly, as when lubricated by the oil of kindness and charity, its cogs 

 clash, and its pivots all grate harshly." The spirit in which our work is 

 done, lightens our labor or adds to its burdens. Use common sense with 

 your labor. There is no saving in steps or time, in slighting work that 

 ought to be done well; if we do our work temporarily, we will always 

 have temporary work to do, at a loss of both ttme and steps. There are 

 some things that can and ought to be slighted, and happy is she who 

 finds what they are. Ruskin says, "There are many little things which 

 to do admirably is to waste both time and cost; and the real question is 

 not whether we have not done a thing given as well as possible, but 

 whether we have turned a given quantity of labor to the best account." 



The home is a little universe, and to keep its sun, moon, and stars all 

 moving in harmony, requires wisdom and foresight. There is no place, 

 or profession, that needs a wider range of knowledge, to be successful, 

 than in our calling; much may be learned from skillful teachers, but 

 some have a knack to turn off work, that others are never able to acquire. 

 If we would profit by the experience of others who have lived before us, 

 and those who are to follow us would profit by the experience we leave 

 to them, all would be benefited; but, alas, for the perversity of human 

 nature! 



Economy is commendable, and a judicious housewife should be pru- 

 dent, but prudence does not always consist in saving a few pennies, at 

 the expense of health, and paying, to a doctor, dollars for the pennies 

 saved. The law of compensation holds good in the household as well as 

 in all other places. If one borrows strength from over-taxed nerves, it 

 must be paid back with usury, for they are a Shylock who will demand 

 the pound of flesh, and if the drafts are many and frequent, and the 

 strain too great, the vital cord will break. It is a sad thought that 

 "We'll all be forgotten a hundred years hence." "Who could choose, 

 without a struggle, to be swept away from all remembrance, and have 

 part no more with living rfien?" and yet, what does it matter, if we have 

 done our part while here, to help build ur> character, and raise the stand- 

 ard of excellence to the point God designed. Every step in the rigljt 

 direction leads us one round higher in the ladder of life, (rood actions 

 and noble deeds should go with us, step by step, to the end of life's jour- 

 nev, that when our pilgrimage is ended we mav hear the welcome words, 

 "Well done." 



