ladies’ department. 
287 
Cabks’ ^Department 
FARMERS’ WIVES. 
We do not know whether it is a proved fact, that 
the atmosphere surrounding a farm necessarily changes 
the female sex into iron machines, capable of any 
amount of strength and labor, or whether when a 
farmer takes to himself a wife, he considers that he 
is only securing another domestic beast of burden, to 
rank in point of utility with his horse and ox; but 
we do know that in too many instances he lives and 
acts as if prompted by just such principles. 
I do not intend by these expressions, any dis¬ 
paragement whatever to farming, as an occupation, 
for I consider it the noblest employment a man can 
engage in, the most healthful, the most conducive to 
morality and expansion of intellect, as well as the 
one, when properly conducted, best calculated to se¬ 
cure the greatest amount of happiness to his wife 
and children, and I speak from experience. But it 
must be confessed, it is sad as well as amusing, to 
look over the various agricultural periodicals and 
mark how multifarious the labors which a farmer’s 
wife is bound in duty to perform ; labors, the third, 
nay, the greater part of which, if imposed upon the 
wives of any other class of men, would be stigma¬ 
tized as outrageous and absurd. In the first place, 
with a family twice as large as her next door neigh¬ 
bor’s, whose husband is not a farmer, she is allowed 
but half the number of domestics—happy, indeed, if 
she secures more than that anomaly in the shape of 
help —a maid of all work. Then, it is argued, that 
nothing can prosper unless performed under her im¬ 
mediate supervision, and everything in the house, 
cooking, baking, washing, ironing, sweeping, scour¬ 
ing, dusting, with all the thousand other ings neces¬ 
sary, require her presence to ensure their proper 
performance. Next, and we will suppose in mercy 
that her children are not numerous, all the clothing 
for herself and family she must make and keep in 
repair; and it is hinted that it would be a very fine 
thing if farmers’ wives would spin and manufacture 
their cloth, before they fashion it for use. They 
must, of course, make the sausages, try out the lard, 
cure the hams, and dry the herbs; while her hus¬ 
band is advised that if he gives the poultry-yard into 
her care, he will be much more likely to secure a 
good stock of chickens against Christmas, as well as 
more eggs for market. It is also asserted as a moral 
impossibility, that butter and cheese cannot be good, 
unless she scalds the pans, sets the milk, and skims 
and churns all with her own hands. And last—for 
I shall tire with these enumerations, though not half 
through the list, she is urged to cultivate her mind ; and 
it is enforced as the highest duty, that she considers 
the education of her children entrusted to her charge. 
Now l would ask where is the most willingly dis¬ 
posed woman to find time for all these things, laying 
aside the health and strength necessarily requisite for 
such unceasing toil. That she should endeavor to be 
a good housekeeper is allowed ; that she should en¬ 
deavor, as far as possible, to be an assistant to her 
husband, is right; but if it is admitted that the in¬ 
struction of her children (and the capability for that, 
presupposes the culture of her own intellect), is a 
paramount duty, why should she be obliged to utterly 
neglect such an important matter, and waste so much 
of the precious time that might be given to them, in 
doing and overseeing things which others can as well 
do and oversee for themselves. I have heard it re¬ 
marked of such and such farmers, that they did not 
get along well, and the suggestion thrown in that 
they had not the right kind of wives, they did not 
“ see to things” enough, when the truth was, the 
poor wives “ saw*’ to things altogether too much, so 
that for them, the old adage of “ too many cooks 
spoil the broth,” might be more aptly rendered by too 
many employments spoil the cook. 
This unjust taxation upon a woman’s time and 
strength, arises no doubt, in a measure, from the fact 
that the greatest annual outgo upon a farm is for 
hired labor, and the farmer, seeing this is the most 
obvious drainage from his purse, strives in every way 
to prevent it. And he generally commences in the 
house, thinking what is done there, being only “wo¬ 
man’s work,” cannot amount to much, never observ¬ 
ing, that his method is giving his wife a round of 
never-ending duties, which is the lot of no other upon 
the place, while the amount thus saved is more than 
spent again, in repairing the perpetual accidents that 
will constantly occur, where there is only one to do 
the work of half-a-dozen, as well as in medicine and 
doctor’s bills ; for although many men think that when 
their wives are continually moving about, they are 
only taking exercise, yet exercise carried to excess is 
as injurious as perpetual inaction; and though a degree 
of fatigue is allowed to be beneficial, yet, to have the 
faculties constantly on the stretch and wearied, is as 
much a violation of the laws of physiology, as to 
neglect the use of them altogether. But chapters 
might be written upon this, and I will pass on to 
some illustrations drawn from life, not fictitious— 
I wish some of them were. 
Mr. A. is the possessor of a farm containing some 
three hundred acres, which was left him by his 
father, together with a small sum of money, suffi¬ 
cient to make him w'hat is called “ better oil” than 
the generality of working farmers. He married a 
young, intelligent, healthy, country girl, the daughter 
of a farmer, and one who had been accustomed to a 
part in the household labor, from childhood. She 
had also been accustomed to seeking daily exercise 
and amusement in the open air, and to passing a por¬ 
tion of her leisure in reading and study, of which she 
was very fond. She married with high anticipations 
of enjoyment; but time soon proved them delusive. 
She found it was the height of folly for a farmer's 
wife to think of rambling in the woods for flowers, 
and that it was perfectly useless to inhale the fresh 
air, unless she ran out in a great hurry to see what 
was the matter with the chickens, or to look up eggs 
for some purpose of cookery. There was no time 
for books, as every thought must be given up to that 
one of work! work! work! from morning till 
night. Still she had one dream left, and that was, 
when her little ones were old enough, she could 
begin to teach them, and thus renew her own know¬ 
ledge ; but when they had grown old enough, where 
was the time when she could be spared even to teach 
the youngest of the group its A, B, C.*s? As this 
hope departed, much anxiety was added to her many 
burdens, and the health which had long been giving 
way, failed faster and faster. Still she must work 
while she could, till at last nature could hold out no 
longer, and the first words that met the ear of the now 
