EDUCATION. 143 



husband " a better marriage portion by far than ordinary 

 marriage portions " (" une dot plus precieuse que les dots 

 ordinaires "). 



One may hope that the present generation of country 

 women will find their way back to certain appropriate 

 branches of field and farm, as well as house, work such as 

 their grandmothers were far from despising. But that is 

 not the question here. The question here is this, to provide 

 teaching facilities for women upgrowing and adult — for our 

 adult generation possess none too much of the requisite know- 

 ledge — in what may be recognised as the special provinces 

 of woman's activity in the management of a farm, that is, 

 poultry keeping and dairying, and the like, and, above all, 

 improved housekeeping and cooking. What an entirely 

 different world would our rural community be if women of 

 the humbler class only knew how to cook well, how to render 

 dishes tasty, economise material and make the home 

 thoroughly comfortable ! The unfortunate uncertainty 

 of their tenure of their cottage, and all the restrictions 

 imposed upon their humble families by our confining 

 system place serious difficulties in the way. However, such 

 obstacles, we may now be confident, will be made to give 

 way under the spirited denunciation and the long stored 

 up but distinctly growing discontent of the great bulk 

 of the Nation. It is the want of knowing how to do things 

 that makes country women wasteful and negligent and 

 inefficient in what they perform. Only instruction can 

 remedy this ; but it can do so effectively. We want a 

 regiment of " Lady Barkers " for the country, as well as 

 a good many more " Lady Warwicks." But we want much 

 more. Government attention is now given to this matter 

 abroad, practically in all countries. For, if Germany 

 boasts about its 100 Ldndliche Haushaltungsschuleii, and 

 a special service for women teachers, and Switzerland 

 probably about as many, the Scandinavian countries are 

 not idle, being chronologically in advance, and the instruc- 

 tion given in the Danish " High Schools " — which receive 

 alike young men and young women — is of the best. 



France likewise has a good record in the matter. For 



