THE FARMER'S CALLING. 45 



entertained by a few waltzes or polkas upon tlie piano, but' 

 might consider the entertainment ended if they had poor l)read 

 for tea. Let farmers' daughters learn the duties assigned them 

 first — learn to cook, to make butter and cheese, and do general 

 work — then the accomplishments. And they should not be 

 deprived of participathig in the study of the sciences. Their 

 gardens, their flowers, the making of cheese and butter, and the 

 general superintendence of a farmer's mansion requires a good, 

 liberal education. 



Many women have been eminently successful as farmers' 

 wives, who have not had such advantages. We know of hun- 

 dreds such, and we are proud of them. But perhaps they might 

 have been more successful under other circumstances. The 

 general appearance of a farm tells the story — it gives you the 

 character of the farmer, and the appearance of the kitchen gives 

 you the picture of the wife. The observing merchant wlio buys 

 your butter, learns very soon who are neat, and who are not. 

 He knows who do their work in season, and who out of season, 

 and tlie wives and daughters ought to so understand it. It 

 costs no more to make good butter than poor : it costs no more 

 to be neat than to be dirty. I am glad to believe that the 

 farmers' wives and daughters of this society are of the better 

 class. The splendid specimens of butter and cheese which have 

 been exhibited in this vicinity, have furnished abundant proof 

 that wives and daughters perform their part well. Berkshire 

 cheese has gained an enviable reputation in market, and our 

 reputation will not suffer by reason of southern Vermont join- 

 ing us ; for the old Green Mountain State is not only noted for 

 its fair women and brave men, but also for their unrivalled 

 butter and cheese. 



The business of tilling the ground is the most ancient of all 

 kinds of business. The first man, Adam, was a farmer, com- 

 manded to till the ground by his Creator. And its usefulness 

 and necessity have never been questioned. Honorable, profita- 

 ble, and dignified — worthy the attention of the greatest and best 

 men the world has ever produced — it is the foundation of society, 

 the basis upon which all other kinds of business rests, and must 

 rest. 



The business of farming will be found by statistics, carefully 

 prepared, to be the most profitable in the aggregate of all kinds 



