RURAL.  NEW-YORKER 
1211 
Getting  Ready  for  Winter 
Mrs  Jane  Seymour 
Starting  To  School. — I  wonder  how 
mitny  mothers  are  sorry  it  is  so  near  tie- 
school  season.  I,  for  one,  am  always 
sorry.  I  love  the  vacations  with  my 
boys.  f>o  many  mothers  serin  to  dread 
the  vacations  and  consider  their  children 
in  the  way.  How  many  I  hear  say  they 
will  be  glad  when  su-and-so  is  old  enough 
to  go  to  school!  They  are  ho  much  trou¬ 
ble  at  home.  Now  let  me  say  right  here, 
if  you  can’t  get  along  with  tin-  little  tot. 
Heaven  help  you,  when  lie  grows  up  into 
his  teens.  I  don’t  start  mine  to  school 
until  they  are  seven.  The  schools  have 
too  long  hours  for  the  little  ones,  and 
in  starting  them  in  at  the  age  of  five  or 
even  six,  they  soon  become  nervous 
wrecks.  I.ot  them  be  out  of  doors  and 
become  healthy  and  strong.  ^o  few 
teachers  have  the  time  or  desire  to  study 
the  individual  child,  and  treat  them  all 
alike,  consequently  the  nervous  one  is  a 
completely  worn-out  child  by  the  end  of 
the  school  year.  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
one  first  and  second  grade  teacher  told 
me  last  year  that  slu*  had  one  very  ner¬ 
vous  little  fellow  of  five.  In  the  morn¬ 
ing  he  was  all  right,  blit  1>>  afternoon  he 
could  not  sit  still.  Instead  of  forcing  him 
she  let  him  go  out  doors  and  play  and  do 
just  about  as  he  pleased.  By  forcing  him 
to  study  liis  work  amounted  to  absolute¬ 
ly  nothing.  There  are  very  few  teachers 
like  her.  I  wish  there  were  more  if 
mothers  are  so  foolish  as  to  send  their 
haliies.  A  sixth  grade  teacher  told  me 
that  the  children  who  started  in  school 
at  the  age  of  five  or  six  were  harder  to 
teach  when  they  reached  the  fifth  and 
sixth  grades,  than  those  who  started  at 
seven.  I  am  a  firm  believer  in  educa¬ 
tion,  but  I  do  not  believe  in  pushing 
children  beyond  their  streugth. 
Work  On  The  Farm. — Now  the  same 
applies  to  working  on  the  farm.  On  page 
1105  In  The  U.  X.-Y.  are  letters  from  two 
farm  mothers.  I  do  not  wholly  agree 
with  either  of  them.  One  mother  lias 
two  hoys  aged  11  and  14.  and  asks  when 
do  sueli  hoys  get  sense.  I  am  afraid  from 
what  she  writes  that  she  expects  too 
much  of  them.  They  are  not  men,  but 
children,  and  should  be  treated  as  such. 
Unfortunately  their  father  has  to  he 
away  from  them  a  great  deal.  A  boy 
needs  his  father,  hut  a  mother  can  do  a 
great  deal  with  him  if  she  goes  at  it 
the  right  way.  Our  oldest  children  are 
111  and  10  years.  They  do  a  great  deal 
of  work,  but  not.  alone.  A  child  cannot 
work  alone.  Their  father  goes  with 
them  in  the  garden,  They  are  like  three 
boys  together,  and  not  only  have  a  fine 
time,  but  accomplish  a  great  deni.  Now 
this  poor  mother,  instead  of  doing  all  the 
weeding  herself  and  scolding  the  boys  for 
not  helping  or  doing  it  alone,  should  try 
being  a  chum  with  them,  and  she  will  find 
the  work  goes  along  easily  and  well. 
They  will  he  willing  to  help  her  in  every 
way.  It  may  possibly  be  that  they  arc 
growing  too  fast,  and  have  not  the 
strength  or  ambition  to  work.  Such  has 
been  the  case  with  my  oldest  boy  until 
this  Summer.  Now  he  is  ready  and  will¬ 
ing,  mid  does  all  we  want  to  have  him. 
No  matter  how  poor  you  may  be,  try  not 
to  make  work  a  drudgery  to  your  chil¬ 
dren.  It  will  spoil  them  if  you  do.  This 
mother  objects  to  tin*  hoys  saying  they 
do  the  work  for  her.  T  don’t  agree  with 
her  there.  What  is  more  beautiful  thau 
to  have  a  child  feel  that  what:  he  does 
to  help  is  for  father  or  mother?  Why 
train  them  to  feel  that  they  only  are 
working  for  their  own  benefit  ?  What 
selfish  men  you  are  making.  A  hoy,  if 
taught  from  the  very  start  to  do  things 
for  mother  or  father,  will  he  pretty  apt 
to  make  a  mighty  good  husband  and  fath¬ 
er.  Did  you  ever  stop  to  think  of  that? 
Laying  Children.-  Our  children  have 
their  pets  and  we  give  them  money  once 
in  awhile,  but  it  is  not  done  as  pay  for 
wlmt  they  do  for  us.  A  mother  was  call¬ 
ing  on  me  with  her  throe-year-old  and  she 
asked  the  child  to  do  something  for  her. 
As  quick  as  a  flash  the  child  said  she 
would  do  it  if  she  paid  her  a  penny.  The 
mot  her  than  told  me  she  had  to  pay  the 
child  for  every  little  help  the  child  did 
for  her.  She  wondered  why  the  little 
girl  was  that  way.  1  was  thinking  she 
herself  was  to  blame  by  starting  in  the 
very  first  time  saying,  “If  you  will  do 
so  and  so  I'll  give  you  a  penny.”  The 
parents  are  the  ones  who  make  the  chil¬ 
dren  what  they  are  to  a  great  extent. 
Sell-'  Control. — I  find  we  can  give 
way  to  our  feelings  very  easily,  but  if  we 
really  make  up  our  minds  we  can  control 
ourselves  easier  each  day.  I  have  been 
terribly  tried  and  have  given  way  to  my 
feelings  in  a  way  that  made  me  very 
much  ashamed  afterwards.  If  the  moth¬ 
ers  would  only  feel  the  responsibility  of 
their  children  more  and  train  them  ac¬ 
cordingly!  It  so  often  happens  that  a 
hard-working  mother  expects  too  much  of 
her  children  at  a  very  lender  age ;  conse¬ 
quently,  they  turn  out  altogether  wrong, 
and  the  rich  woman  simply  pays  Home¬ 
body  else  to  bring  up  hers,  who  doesn’t 
care  whether  tlu-y  have  good  morals  or 
not.  We  should  make  a  study  of  raising 
children  as  well  as  pigs  and  chickens. 
Books  on  the  subject  and  a  great  deal  of 
common  sense  are  a  splendid  combination. 
No  two  children  are  alike  in  the  same 
family,  so  we  must  study  each  one  and 
train  them  acordingly. 
Deeerence  To  Elders. — 1  think  one 
of  the  very  first  things  to  teach  the  child 
is  respect  for  his  elders.  The  old  fash¬ 
ioned  politeness  lms  been  done  away  with, 
and  I  think  it;  a  great  mistake.  The  chil¬ 
dren  of  today  don’t  seem  to  have  the  least 
respect  for  older  people.  Who  is  to 
blame?  The  parents  of  course,  Now  I 
don’t  mean  that  a  great  deal  of  empha¬ 
sis  should  lie  laid  on  politeness,  but  on 
respect.  If  your  child  has  the  proper 
respect:  the  politeness  will  take  care  of 
itself.  I  know  one  boy  whose  manners 
are  almost  perfect,  but  not  having  been 
really  luught  to  respect  his  elders  he  is 
more  or  less  a  sneak  when  away  from 
home.  Do  l  make  my  meaning  dear? 
This  sneaking  way  will  he  the  result  of 
being  too  overbearing  with  your  chil¬ 
dren,  too. 
Don’t  Nag. — Don’t  he  such  a  fine 
housekeeper  that  their  lives  are  made 
miserable  the  minute  they  enter  the  door. 
It  isn’t  necessary  to  nag  them  all  the 
time,  and  if  you  go  at  them  the  light 
way,  you  will  find  they  do  not  really 
dirty  the  house  as  much  as  litter.  And 
why  nag  every  minute  because  of  a  lit¬ 
tle  clean  litter?  You  are  spoiling  your 
own  disposition  as  well  as  that  of  the 
children  by  doing  it.  The  result  is  that 
at  an  early  age  they  begin  to  want  to  go 
away  from  home  every  night  in  the 
week;  anywhere  but  home,  and  you  won¬ 
der  why.  Last  night  we  were  coming 
home  after  10  o’clock  and  passed  three 
hoys  on  the  street  apparently  not  think¬ 
ing  of  going  home,  and  they  couldn’t  have 
been  over  Id  years  old  if  that.  Soon 
after  passing  those  hoys  we  came  upon 
some  girls  of  the  same  age.  If  their  par- 
cut  8  had  done  their  duty  from  early 
childhood  they  would  have  lmd  no  desire 
to  he  on  the  street.  It  is  surprising 
how  quickly  they  respond  to  a  little 
youthful  attention  from  their  parents. 
Be  a  chum  of  your  children,  and  keep 
their  confidence.  It  will  do  you  good 
too.  Don't  let  yourself  grow  old. 
The  Children  In  The  Way. — One 
mother  in  my  neighborhood  made  the 
remark  a  few  days  ago  that  she  would  bo 
glad  when  school  began,  as  the  children 
were  always  into  something.  This  wom¬ 
an  spends  so  much  time  chasing  dirt  that 
she  hasn’t  a  minute  for  her  family.  And 
yet  she  wonders  why  they  do  as  they  do. 
She  is  a  great  woman  for  sending  her 
children  to  church  and  Sunday  school 
and  seems  to  think  her  duty  ends  there 
towards  them.  Many  expect  the  Sunday 
schools  and  outsiders  to  do  for  their 
children  what  they  should  learn  at  home. 
Remember  that  the  early  training  is  the 
one  that  counts.  Don’t  wait  until  it  is 
too  late. 
Vacation  Months, — I  find  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  to  he  done  in  the  training 
line  through  the  Summer  months  to  get 
our  children  ready  for  the  long  Winter 
season.  In  school  they  are  thrown  in 
with  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry,  and  quickly 
learn  the  things  they  ought  not  to  know. 
It  is  surprising  the  influence  children 
have  over  each  other.  I  feel  as  the  Sum¬ 
mer  is  drawing  near  its  close  that  we 
have  had  a  much  stronger  influence  over 
our  children  than  ever  before,  and  that 
they  are  in  hotter  trim  for  their  school. 
We  can  say  (without  meaning  to  brag) 
that  wo  have  good  children  and  they 
never  have  reason  to  lie  to  us.  Do  you 
know  what  will  make  them  lie  quicker 
than  anything  else?  When  we  lie  to 
them. 
Deceiving  The  Little  Ones. — Moth¬ 
ers  start  in  to  lie  to  their  children  when 
they  are  only  babies.  For  instance,  slip¬ 
ping  away  without  the  baby  seeing  you 
for  two  or  three  hours  in  town.  You 
think  baby  doesn’t  know.  But  by  and 
by  he  begins  to  take  notice  that  he 
doesn’t  know  you  are  going,  but  knows 
you  have  been  away  when  you  get  home 
again.  At  last  Home  day  you  will  tell 
him  you  are  only  going  in  the  hack  yard 
for  something,  but  when  you  are  gone 
so  long  his  little  mind  reasons  it  out 
that  you  have  lied  to  him.  You  think 
this  is  impossible,  hut  sonic  day  your 
little  tot  of  two  or  three  years  will  lie 
to  you,  and  wlmt  a  shock  it  will  be.  It 
is  the  little  things  that  grow  to  be  so 
big  with  children.  Another  thing  that 
will  make  them  lie  is  to  have  a  strap 
hanging  ready  to  whip  with  for  the  least 
offense.  If  you  can't  get  a  better  start 
with  your  little  ones  than  that  I  am 
very  sorry. 
Share  Their  Pee ascres. — Don’t  for¬ 
get,  he  young  with  your  children,  and 
really  enjoy  them.  Every  day  we  think 
we  have  had  a  better  time  than  ever  be¬ 
fore.  All  mothers  could  bo  the  same  way 
if  they  would  make  tip  their  minds  to.  1 
have  had  city  friends  tell  mo.  they 
wouldn't  he  tied  down  to  a  family  as  I 
am  for  anything.  What  do  I  tell  them? 
“No  more  city  for  me.  I  am  liring  with 
my  little  ones,  and  the  best  husband  in 
tlie  world,  while  you  simply  exist.”  We 
all  are  busy,  but  it  is  a  good  helpful  work. 
Teaching  a  Farm  Hand 
We  have  a  young  man  with  us  10  years 
of  age.  lie  is  nimble  to  read  much,  but  is 
quite  good  in  arithmetic.  He  would  like 
to  advance  himself  with  the  aid  I  could 
give  him.  What  hooks  would  you  advise 
him  to  use?  Ho  is  a  farm  band.  Would 
hooks  pertaining  to  farm  life  he  better, 
or  would  you  have  books  containing 
other  lines  of  work,  or  subjects?  Lit¬ 
tle  words  sueli  as  when,  then,  though, 
etc.,  seem  to  trouble  him,  although  he  has 
been  a  sixth  grade  pupil.  M.  J.  C. 
Connecticut. 
I  would  suggest  that  such  teaching  as 
you  are  about  to  undertake  requires  a 
large  amount  of  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil,  and  that  it  would  seem  to  me 
best  to  pursue  the  line  of  work  which  he 
has  already  taken  up  iu  the  earning  of 
his  living.  Something  along  the  line  of 
the  'Sixth  and  Seventh  Crude  Lessons 
in  Agriculture”  which  have  recently 
been  issued  in  book  form  as  a  bulletin  by 
the  Maryland  State  College  of  Agricul¬ 
ture  would  be  suitable.  This  bulletin  is 
sold  at  cost,  and  may  he  obtained  by 
forwarding  ”5  cents  to  the  Department 
of  Agricultural  Education.  Md.  State 
College  of  Agriculture.  College  Park,  Md. 
In  additiou  to  the  valuable  matter  which 
this  book  contains  there  are  a  large  num¬ 
ber  of  references  to  good  books  and  bul¬ 
letins  which  anyone  taking  sixth  and 
seventh  grade  work  could  read  to  ad¬ 
vantage.  I  believe  that  the  correct  use 
of  such  words  as  you  mention  will  be 
learned  almost  uueouscioiisly  as  he  be¬ 
comes  accustomed  to  them  in  the  course 
of  his  studies  along  farm  lines.  It.  u. 
Our  people  (the  women  in  particular) 
will  be  interested  in  Bulletin  271  of  the 
Wisconsin  Station.  Madison.  It  dis¬ 
cusses  “Rural  Clubs  in  Wisconsin,”  and 
tells  how  these  clubs  have  developed  farm 
communities  and  done  great  tilings  for 
the  farmers.  Two  women's  clubs  are  de¬ 
scribed — the  I. a  Orange  Aid  Society  and 
the  Home  Culture  Club.  Among  other 
things  the  last  named  club  has  compiled 
a  “Club  Cook  Book,”  and  organized  a 
co-operative  laundry.  This  bulletin  tells 
how  this  and  many  other  good  things 
were  clone. 
A  Company  of  Boys  Scouts  at  Sodus,  N.  Y. 
A  Little  Journey  Into  an  Unknown  Country 
