434 BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. 



ashes to the trough. And with this lye all kinds of refuse fat and rind 

 of meat— through boiling in the big kettle which hung upon a pole out 

 of doors (preferably in March), we made our soap— not the fragrant 

 sweet-scented sorts that Jerusalem and Castile furnish— not the "Ivory," 

 the "Tar," or the varieties that give the foundation for those beautiful 

 illustrations of to-day in fashionable pei'iodicals — but strong, soft soap 

 or hard soap with which to cleanse our scanty wardrobes from the dirt 

 of the earth, from dust of the threshing floor, the sweat of the harvest 

 field and all outdoor labors, from the filth of the barnyard with which 

 there was daily contact, and to overcome the countless varieties of the 

 modern microbes, of which we knew all that is practically known to- 

 day, except their names— and the salaries they secure for a few. And 

 this soap making was woman's work. It could not be otherwise then, 

 and the March wind that fanned the fire and blew aside the smoke puffed 

 out the gentle flame of life of many a young wife and mother. 



After the spring plowing of the garden spot, the plantmg and cultiva- 

 tion of the same, and the gathering the products fell to the women — and 

 when the orchards gave their harvests — excepting the final roundup of 

 October gathering, the work of picking, peeling and drying, fell to the 

 same tired yet tireless hands. The blessed device of canning fruits and 

 vegetables, thus prolonging their seasons, had not come to our homes. 

 The limited space within doors made hospitality to visiting friends and 

 the wayfarers more laborious but not the less enjoyable than it would be 

 to-day. Beds and bed clothes could be piled ceiling high in the day time 

 and spread upon the floor at night for the extra company. And when 

 you recall that perhaps every article thus used was the product of the 

 mother's labor, either before or after marriage, and that it must be kept 

 clean and in repair without a convenient laundry to aid or a sewing 

 machine to facilitate such work, you can easily give credit for great 

 ability, industry and endurance in that line. 



After the early breakfast another special duty, that knew no vaca- 

 tion, no relief, on Sundays, rainy days, holidays, in sickness or health, 

 must receive attention— through cold and heat that work must be per- 

 formed, the calves must be suckled or fed and the cows milked. No well 

 built barns, no convenient stalls or stanchions, not even open sheds pro- 

 tected cow and milker from the driving storms— the excessive heat or 

 cold. And the women braved and performed this arduous task. What 

 followed, of straining the milk through simple methods, caring for the 

 same until fit to" skim the cream, caring for the cream until ripe for 

 chunxing, pounding the same in the old fashioned dash churn, which for 

 many produced yellow grease in hot weather and white foam often in 

 cold, was also a portion of woman's housekeeping in the long, long ago. 

 I am glad to note, however, that the blessings of a cool spring of water 

 aided many, myself among the number, in this last industry. The few 

 sheep the wolves and dogs permitted us to keep furnished wool and the 



