A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



CHAPTER I 



A SELF-SUPPORTING country home 

 for persons whose income depends on 

 personal effort within the heart of a great city 

 will seem a Utopian dream unless I relate my 

 personal experiences as to its practical value, 

 which commenced ten years ago. Up to that 

 time I had been a city woman, striving, like 

 hundreds of others, to maintain appearances 

 on a housekeeping allowance which needed 

 coaxing over every little bump of hospitality, 

 to induce the two ends to meet. Through 

 all the petty warfare of bad times, one desire, 

 one hope, was paramount a country home 

 where plenty should make visitors an unal- 

 loyed pleasure. Chance, Fate, Providence, 

 or whatever name is preferred for the Power 

 which shapes our ends, led me to the Pet 

 Stock and Poultry Show, and there it suddenly 



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