]35T. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



361 



The writer mentioned one man in Massachusetts 

 who married an Irish girl, because he could no* 

 support both an American wife and an Irish girl 

 also. The writer, I should judge hy his remarks 

 on the subject, thought it ail proper, but I must 

 say, if the said writer was a man, (no gentleman) 

 he can be in reality no better, nor have any higher 

 motive than, '-it costs too much!'' But if a woman, 

 I only hope she may save enough, and have work 

 enough ! Poor thing, don't judge every one l)y your- 

 self! At any rate, did the writer th^nk what the 

 motives were with regard to his marrjing the girl, 

 so much out of place as it seemed she was ? Did 

 he marry her to make both her and himself happy? 

 To make their life in this world pleasant, and teach 

 their children to do so also? Will that tender, holy 

 feeling exist between them that ought ? Will they 

 both love and respect each other ? 



No ! he probably married the girl who could per- 

 form the most labor without assistance, and who 

 would "cost" the least in the end to supjiort ! Such 

 a man has no right to be married, or he ought to 

 live among the Mormons, where he could have as 

 many wives as he wished, and have them changed, 

 if they "cost" too much ! I pity the poor girl, from 

 the bottom of my heart, whom he has married for 

 the mere bodily labor she can perform. What will 

 it be when she grows too weak for service ? Lord 

 only knows, poor woman! Better that you had 

 died ere you were united to such a man ! 



How much better it would look to see each try 

 to help the other. If the father of a family would, 

 instead of laying up the unnecessary amount every 

 year, try to add the few more comforts to his fami- 

 ly. I am not speaking of our wealthy men, but 

 those who are neither poor or rich. The poor 

 woman that marries a poor man, expects to labor. 

 She is willing to do so generally; the love of her 

 husband and family is sufficient compensation for 

 her toil. But when a man is able, when he only 

 allows his wife to toil, simply because it "costs" too 

 much to hire a domestic; then he must expect his 

 wife, in order to take her place in society where 

 she ought, to desire some assistance in her labors, 

 that she might take that time for other things. 



The writer of the article on "Woman," as I said 

 before, says "the wife ought to greet her husband 

 vrith smiles, on his return home." Of course! es- 

 pecially when that wife has not seen the inside of 

 a neighbor's house for months, when she has toiled 

 day and night for her family, with an infant in her 

 arms, "<o save" till she has grown thin and pale by 

 hard labor. Of course, she ought to smile when 

 her kind and loving husband returns home, only to 

 scold and fret, because "dinner isn't ready soon 

 enough." " 'Tis no matter, if he does pull half a 

 dozen ears of the children round her, because they 

 laugh a little too loud ! No matter, if he does not 

 speak a word to her for a week, except to scold be- 

 cause something is wasted ! Yes, such a man is 

 the very one to preach woman's duties ! The more 

 a man is heard to talk of the gentleness of woman, 

 the greater tyrant he is in reality. 



Some men's only thoughts are money; they 

 would sacrifice every thought and feeling, to grati- 

 fy that insatiable thirst for money ; money is in re- 

 ality their only god. Thank heaven for the few 

 that are not so ! What better off is he who lives 

 all his life only to save, allows no "female help," 

 because it "costs" too much ! and when his children 

 are grown old enough, they seek another home, 



and almost always, as is the case, spend the more, 

 iiow much happier would he feel to add the few 

 liitle comforts to his family, (in accordance with his 

 means,) and have that freedom and love with his chil- 

 dren he ought, bringing them up with some other 

 ideas of money, than simjily to hoard it up ! lead 

 them to think their money was given them to do 

 good with it, to make others happy by it. I would 

 wish to say to the writer of "Female Help," that, as 

 a general thing in the New England States, to 8;;y 

 the least, there is not great waste of money in hire- 

 ing help. I only wish there ivas more. 



I think it would be as well, not to make his re- 

 marks quite so general. There is, I admit, a cer- 

 tain class of ladies who would be benefited by a 

 little exertion on their ])art. And I would wish to 

 say also, there are hundreds of women, who are 

 toiling daily, where a little of the "female help" 

 would lengthen their days in this world, (simi)]) )o 

 gratify their miserly husbands' love of gold,) 



One thing more ; I would not wish any one to 

 think the writer of tliis is advocating the much-de- 

 testal)le idea of "woman's rights," for she truly ab- 

 hors the doctrine. She simply wished to say, that 

 there is another class of beings, besides "men." 

 Neither do I wish them to think it was written by 

 a woman who has seen these things by experience. 

 Not so, she is a "looker-on," not yet caught in the 

 web of matrimony, neither quite old enough to 

 wish to be. The experience of others is enough to 

 make her careful. I hope Mr. "Female Help," 

 will have work enough for his wife to do, if it was 

 a man who wi'ote it ; if not, I hope the woman wont 

 judge others by herself. s. 



Bangor, May, 1857. 



HAY CAPS. 



The accompanying letter is from one of the largest 

 and most thorough farmers in New England, Col. 

 J. W. Pierce. 



Greenland, JV. H., June 8, 1857. 

 Amos A. Lawrence, Esq., Beooklihe, Mass. 



Dear Sir : — There is now a prospect of a great 

 crop of grass the present season, and if this uncer- 

 tain, showery weather continues, there will be an 

 unusual demand for hay caps, and I am so sensible 

 of their great utility, after seven or eight years' ex- 

 perience, that I cannot help recommending them 

 to my brother farmers. To be available, they must 

 be prepared before hand ; it will be too late to look 

 for them when the shower is coming on the half- 

 made hay. 



The advantages of hay caps are so obvious, that 

 I only wonder that the use of them has not already 

 become universal. It is not an unusual sight, not 

 a hundred miles from this place, upon an emergen- 

 cy, to see the beds of the family stripped to save 

 the hay ! Hay caps not only save the labor of dry- 

 ing the wet hay, which is equal to the whole labor 

 of making when not wet, but they save the good 

 qualities of the haj', which are lost by wetting. If 

 it will be of any use, I will send you one of mir.c 

 to show the fashion of making and using them. 

 Your most obedient, S:c,, J. W, Pierce.. 



I have tried the hay caps for six years, and think 

 they have paid for themselves more than once. 

 They require care to prevent mildew, and they E.ui?t 

 not be laid away in piles when wet. 



A. A. Lawrk.nck. 



