670 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



skirts and tight clothing. Dress is one of the most potent factors 

 that tend to debar woman from outdoor activities. And the lack of 

 outdoor life is among the most powerful reasons of the lack of 

 vitality in women. And yet if the average girl had not been taught 

 from babyhood to put this matter of clothing the body to the fore- 

 front of all other considerations, she would be able to think sanely 

 and give it the right value. Children especially should be dressed 

 so as not to interfere with their activity. The little girls should be 

 allowed as much freedom in muscular activity as the boys. Romp- 

 ers are very good but there are other simple dresses which may be 

 used, especially for older girls. 



All articles of wearing apparel should be kept in places where 

 they will be out of sight and out of dust. A closet or a wardrobe 

 will be needed for every bedroom. If a room is not provided with 

 this convenience, a wardrobe may be built of matched boarding and 

 finished to correspond with the woodwork of the room ; or it may be 

 made of burlap or of denim stretched tightly over a wooden frame- 

 work, with a curtain at the opening. An ingenious home-made 

 device can always be fitted up for a closet, care being taken to make 

 it as dustproof as possible. A closet should be at least two feet deep 

 and should be provided with a rod supplied with coat and skirt 

 hangers for the various garments. Clothing may thus be kept in 

 shape and free from wrinkles, and more articles can be hung in a 

 given space than by any other arrangement. A long, narrow closet 

 prepared in this way will furnish more hanging space than will a 

 square closet of greater size. A shelf above for hats and another 

 below for shoes will complete the outfit. A closet that one reaches 

 rather than steps into may be provided with a strip at the threshold 

 to keep out the dust. The closet should be finished white or very 

 light inside, so that garments may be easily seen and selected and 

 moths may be detected. Closet space may be supplemented with 

 boxes of any desired size, covered with cretonne or matting, fitted 

 with hinged lids and made the height of a seat, thus answering two 

 purposes. (Cornell Reading Course for Farmers' Wives, Vol. I, No. 

 7, Farm Home Series; Mo. Exp. St. Cir. 30; Canada Rept. of 

 Women's Institutes, 1912.) 



DOMESTIC RELATIONS. 



Nothing gives zest and interest to housekeeping so much as the 

 intelligent application of principles that save time and labor. 

 Housework without thought is drudgery ; with it, there is delight in 

 the accomplishment of those duties that transform housekeeping 

 into home-making. The housewife is often an all-round intelligent 

 worker who must perforce crowd into her busy day work belonging 

 to a dozen different professions. The gracious lady who receives her 

 guests with a heartsome welcome is also the capable cook, the ex- 

 quisite laundress, and the artistic housekeeper. 



The most useful life may be made up of these details. The 

 spoke of a wheel is only one stick of wood, the hub a larger piece 

 fashioned to receive the spokes, the tire -but an iron band to hold all 

 in place. Without the spokes, the wheel lacks strength; without 



