82 
AMEBIC AN AGRICULTURIST. 
innocent things, will surely become interested 
in vicious ones. 
We never see a coop of fowls on their travels 
at the express office, but it gives us a sensation 
of pleasure. We know that some one is going 
to be made happy when the chickens arrive— 
for a time at least—and that improvement is 
thought of in the neighborhood of their pro¬ 
posed sojourn eying. 
To breed a good chicken, pigeon, duck, goose, 
turkey—a good animal of any kind—requires 
thought, skill, observation, study, genius. Not 
so much of either, perhaps, as to be a finished 
sculptor or painter ; but breeding perfect mod¬ 
els in form, grace, plumage, is an accomplish¬ 
ment in the fine arts, as well as to perpetuate 
their similitudes in marble, or fix them on can¬ 
vas. 
Ho, then, for the Poultry Society! We give 
it the right hand of fellowship, and wish it un¬ 
bounded prosperity. No longer will the pro¬ 
duction of our beautiful improving feathered 
companions be confined to decayed spinsters 
and crippled serving-men; but, elevated, count¬ 
ed at their worth, appreciated as things of 
beauty and of taste, they will take their due 
position with the noble horse, the stately Short¬ 
horn, the sleek Devon, and all the other favored 
creatures of the farm. In rearing and training 
them into the matchless perfection which our 
late exhibition has demonstrated they are sus¬ 
ceptible, our young boys can improve-their lei¬ 
sure hours, learn that their homes, although're¬ 
tired, have charms to attract them over all other 
places, our daughters have beautiful objects to 
look upon, and a new source of interest and 
happiness be created for the whole household. 
-»* •- 
Written for the American Agriculturist. 
REMINISCENCES OF A FARMER’S DAUGHTER. 
No. V. 
BY MINNIE MYRTLE. 
There came a change in the old farm-house, 
as I said, and she who was installed as its pre¬ 
siding genius, was a lady of the olden time, one 
who w r ould have made a good heroine in the 
days of the revolution, or have won a crown in 
the days of martyrdom. 
Living at the time she did, she was only a 
farmer’s wife, but I have thought sometimes, 
that she was not the less a martyr, for the revo¬ 
lution which she effected, required a hero’s cour¬ 
age and a martyr’s fortitude. A house and a 
family were to be revolutionized. She must 
bring order out of chaos, and establish dis¬ 
cipline and good government, where all had 
been confusion. Those who doubt the inven¬ 
tive and creative genius of woman, should have 
seen how bare walls and gloomy recesses were 
made bright and genial, under her transforming 
hand. 
Her husband, though a man of excellent 
sense, and right ideas upon many subjects, 
and though an old-fashioned substantial man, 
had some old-fashioned notions upon the rights 
and privileges of woman, which would be dis¬ 
creditable to the dark ages. He thought—and 
oh, how many I have known who thought like¬ 
wise—that it was no _part of a woman’s right, 
or privilege, to know her husband’s income, or 
any thing concerning the state of his business 
affairs. He meant to be very kind and indul¬ 
gent, but it was such an indulgence as is be¬ 
stowed upon a valued and faithful servant. His 
wife toiled; yes, performed more labor in one 
week, than he did in a month, but unlike a good 
servant she had no control over the wages 
which should have been the reward of her toil. 
“A woman should not have the diposal of 
moneyand when the butter and cheese which 
she had made were sold, not a penny was con¬ 
sidered hers, to spend as she pleased. It all 
went into the coffers which were kept locked by 
a very stern hand. This is a sort of bondage 
to which many women are subjected, and it is a 
most cruel and oppressive bondage, such as 
should not be imposed upon a'galley-slavc. It 
destroys confidence and crushes affection. We 
cannot' love those whom we do not trust; and 
it is equally impossible to love those who do 
not consider us worthy of trust. 
But our energetic farmer’s wife was not to be 
thwarted in her plans for improvement, by locks 
and keys, yet how it was she contrived to ac¬ 
complish so much in the way of polishing and 
furbishing, with her limited means, must re¬ 
main a mystery to every body else, as it ever 
was with me—I could never solve it. I only 
know what was done, for I was a child, and 
looked on in amazement to see a house which 
was scarcely comfortable, assume so pleasant 
an appearance, and a table from which the pigs 
might have gone away in disgust, made at¬ 
tractive, with scarcely any additional expense. 
She had a place for every thing and every thing 
in its place; a time for every thing and every 
thing in its time. 
It is not pleasant, neither is it an easy mat¬ 
ter to enter into details, especially the details of 
housewifery; but it is true that there is a great 
necessity for instruction in this branch of wo¬ 
man’s education. Each house-keeper is too 
willing to think that her way is best; and 
there is a prejudice, too, against book-house¬ 
keeping as strong as against book-farming. If 
it is suggested that domestic economy may be 
taught young ladies in school, and that many 
valuable ideas and hints may be obtained from 
books and teachers, it is answered that girls had 
better learn these things at home—that their 
mothers can furnish this portion of their educa¬ 
tion, where it will cost no money to obtain it. 
It would be dangerous informing them in many 
instances, that this is just what their mothers 
are not capable of doing, having never learned 
themselves; and it might be as impossible to 
convince them that there is no danger in learning 
a hundred ways of doing a thing, for we may 
then judge which is best. I once heard a house¬ 
keeper say, that from the most ignorant Irish 
servant she ever employed, she learned some¬ 
thing valuable. 
A woman who has a knowledge of chemistry, 
and obtained it with reference to applying her 
knowledge, can make better cheese, butter, and 
soap, than one who is ignorant of the chemi¬ 
cal nature of acids and alkalies. I have seen 
soap boiling in the cauldron day after day, and 
a poor woman, weary and worn, trying experi¬ 
ments with ley, and water, and ashes, till she 
was in despair; and sometimes throwing it 
away, or consigning it to barrels for the family 
supply during the year, as unfit for use as the 
ley itself, when a knowledge of the simple rules 
of proportion in mixing her materials, would 
have saved her the labor and anxiety of a 
week. 
It is the same with many other things; much 
time and toil are expended in making experi¬ 
ments and remedying evils, which a little book- 
knowledge, practically applied, might have en¬ 
tirely prevented. I remember to have often 
heard her, who, called upon to rc-model, renew, 
and replenish in the old farm-house, say that 
there was nothing so corroding as dust; and no 
one would doubt this was her firm belief who 
saw her wield the duster! After she had once 
fairly cleansed and put in order her rooms and 
furniture, there was never again a particle of 
this corrosive substance to be seen upon any 
article in her'house; for hers was the old Scotch 
maxim, that “ any gude wife may clean, but 
she is the neat one who keeps clean.” 
She also asserted that the dishes might be 
ever so handsome with which a table was laid, 
but if they were not arranged handsomely and 
orderly, the table could not look well, and the 
food did not relish as well .either; and she in¬ 
sisted that, though those who dined were coarse, 
hard-working men, it was no reason why there 
should be no pains taken with the preparations 
for the meal. The dishes were arranged with 
the same care every morning, noon, and night, 
as if the Governor were expected; and it did 
not take any more time to place them orderly 
than disorderly. One might at any time have 
eaten each meal in the dark with little difficulty, 
for every plate, knife, and fork, and every vari¬ 
ety of meat and vegetable had its appointed 
place, from which it never departed. It was 
also required that those who sat at table should 
cat and drink with the same propriety as those 
who are not hurried by toil. Those who came 
from the field and work-shop, were allowed time 
to make themselves neat; and while at table 
they were waited upon as politely as so many 
guests from city drawing-rooms would have 
been. This would have been called a waste of 
time by many, for they could have helped 
themselves, and eaten after a clownish fashion 
in half the time, and thus been sooner at their 
work again; but our farmer’s wife thought, as 
I do, that it is not all of life to work and hoard 
money. 
They lived in a secluded country place, with 
little society ; and if they did not cultivate 
habits of order and politeness among them¬ 
selves, in their daily intercourse, they would be 
clowns indeed. Her children were daily and 
hourly associating with the workmen and work¬ 
women of the farm, and they were taught, and 
practised, every species of work themselves; 
they must therefore be especially careful to cul¬ 
tivate dignity and self-respect, and require it 
from those around them, that the false senti¬ 
ment concerning the deteriorating and humilia¬ 
ting influence of labor might not take root in 
their minds. 
There were many in the neighborhood to 
ridicule this new standard ; to taunt the child¬ 
ren with feeling grand, because they attempted 
to be courteous. She, however, who guided 
them, was not governed by caprice but by prin¬ 
ciple; and she steadily persevered in her system 
of training, till there were many who fully ap¬ 
preciated her course and followed her example; 
and far and near, the change in many a house¬ 
hold might be traced to the quiet leaven which 
she kept ever at work; and which, if it did not 
