S3 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



fahrs' gtjjarlniciii. 





OTFLTTENCE OF WOMiVN IN OUR SOCIAL IMPROVE- 

 MENT. 



The lamented Powning well observes in one of 

 lis elei^aut leaders in the Horticvllurist, that the 

 'Fanning class in America is not a rich ola?s — but 

 leither is it a poor one — while it is an independent 

 jlass. It may and should wield the lary;est influence 

 n the ir^tate, and it might and should enjoy the most 

 lappiness — the happiness belonging to intelligent 

 Minds, j)eai:erul homes, a natural and inde])endent 

 position, and high social and moral virtues. We have 

 said mui-h, alreadj', of the special schools which the 

 fxirmer should have to t^aeh him agriculture as a 

 practical art, so that he might make it compare in 

 protit, and in the daily application of knowledge 

 which it demands, with any other pursuit. But we 

 nave said little or nothing of the farmer's home edu- 

 sation and social iniuences — though these perhaps 

 to at the very root of the whole nuitter." 



We are not ignorant of the powerful influence of 

 A'oman in any question touching the improvemeat 

 jf our social and home education- In fact it, is she 

 r/ho holds all the power in this sphere ; it is she, who 

 realiy, but silently, directs, controls, leads and gov- 

 trids the vvliole social machine — whether among far- 

 mers or others, in this country. To the women of 

 the rural districts — the more intelligent and sensible 

 jf the fanners' wives and daughters, we appeal, then, 

 for a better und ^standing and a more coriect ap- 

 preciatiua of their true position. If they will but 

 study to raise the character of the farmer's social 

 life, the whole matter is accomplished. But this must 

 De done truthfu ly and earnest!)', and with a profound 

 faith in the true nobility and dignity of the farmer's 

 callh g. It must not be done by taking for social 

 growth the iiuery and gloss of mere city customs 

 and observances. It' is an improvement that can 

 uever come from the atmosphere; of boarding schools 

 and colleges as they are now constituted ; for board- 

 ing schools and colleges pity ths farmer's ignorance, 

 and despise him for it. It must, on the contrary, 

 come from an intellijient CGnviction of the honesty 

 and dignity of rural Wh ; a onviction that as agri- 

 culture enihraces the sphere ot God's most natural 

 and beautiful operations, it is the best calculated, 

 when rightly understood, to elevate and engage man's 

 faculties ; that as it feeds and sustains the nation, it 

 is the basis of all material wealth ; and as it supports 

 all other profcssiogs and callings, it is intrinsically 

 the parent and superior of them all. Let the Ameri- 

 can farmer's wife never cease to teach her sons, that 

 though other callings may be more lucrative, yet 

 there is none so true and so safe as -that of the 

 former, let her teach her daughters that, fascinat- 

 ing and bKiUiant as many other positions ap})ear out- 

 wardly, there is noue with so much intrinsic satisfac- 

 tion as the life of a really intelligent proprietor of 

 de soil, and above all, let her show by the spirit 

 of intelliu'ence, order, neatness, taste, and that beauty 

 of propriety, which is the highes |^'eauty in her home, 

 that she really knows, understaiias, and enjoys, her 

 position as a wife and mother of a farmer's^ family. 

 Let us have but a few earnest apostles of this kind, 

 ftad the coaditioa a'\d prosperity of the agricultural 



class, intellectually and socially, will brighten, a.s the 

 day brightens after the first few bars of golden liglii 

 tinge the eastern horizon. 



HINTS FOR HOIFSEWIVE& 



Cheap Dye. — Chestnut bark boiled in water, io 

 an iron vessel, makes a kind of stone color more per- 

 manent for either cotton or woolen goods than some 

 more expensive dyes. Dip the goods in a solution 

 of copperas and alum, in water, then in the dye; stii 

 constantly until the color is deep enough, and dry 

 before washing. 



Apple Pudding.— Put a pint of sonr, sliced ap 

 pies in a small pudding dish, and cover with a batter 

 made of one cup and a hall of sour cream, one egg, 

 two cups and a half of Hour, and a tea-spoonful ot 

 saleratus. Bake three-quarters of an hour; eat witk 

 cream and sugar. 



White Cup Cake. — One cup of white sugar, one 

 half cup of butter, the whites of four eggs, half a 

 cup of sour cream, half a tea-spoonful of saleratus, 

 and three cups of fiour. Or, one cup of S-igar, one 

 of butter, the whites ot eight eggs, and one cup of 

 flour. 



To MAKE Yellow Butter inWintef.. — Put into 

 the cream, jusf. before churning, the juice of grated 

 carrots, and it will improve not only the color, but 

 the quahty of the butter. 



Fried Cakes. — One cup of sugar, one of soar 

 cream, two eggs, a tea-spoonful of saleratus dissolved 

 in half a cup of boiling water, and a little cii»-amon 

 or nutmeg. 



BucEWHEAT Cakes. — Buckwheat cakes are im- 

 proved by soaking and mashing fine the cakes left 

 at one meal, an i putting them into the batter for the 

 next. H. M. D. — Gansevoorts, JY. 7. 



How TO make Fap.m Life Attractite. — "What 

 can mothers and daughters do to make farm life at- 

 tractive to their sons and brothers, and prevent them 

 from leaving the farm to engage in mercantile or pro- 

 fessional pursuits ?" 



r>y manifesjng an interest in all their business. 

 By holding up before them, at all times, a preference 

 for a good farmer, before any other profession. By 

 inciting in them a love for the beautiful — the beauty 

 of flowers, the grandeur of a tree — and at all times 

 speaking of it as most conducive to good health as 

 well as good morals, and as being the most congenial 

 to reflection, religion and study, as well as every part 

 that is manly and noble. 



By manilesting a love for the domestic animals, 

 remarking on the handsome parts of this horse, and 

 that cow, fineness and beauty of wool, and of the 

 sheep, &c. 



^By making little coteries, or visiting parties, intro- 

 ducing historical and benevolent societies,_ and invit- 

 ino- th°era to join you; for, many times, it is the lack 

 ouxcitement, in the quiet, every-day routine of life 

 that makes them dissatisfied. 



Coleman informs us :hat English ladies do all ths 

 and much more, and that the happiness and resppcia- 

 bility loJ- which the English Farmers are proverbial, 

 are attributed to the inteiest women manifest in the 

 profession. ^- °- ■^- 



