appreciation in her own home, if the men and 
boys are careless of mother and sisters, mak¬ 
ing the work heavier instead of lighter, it is 
no wonder the tired hands fail, and looking at 
other men in neighboring homes who do the 
same, the girl should determine to free her¬ 
self from such a life. Let the young men be 
more careful of their personal appearance, 
keeping as neat for an evening at home as 
if going to a village gathering, and they will 
find 
“Nor freck nor tan can hide the man, 
And see you not, my farmer, 
How weak and fond a woman waits 
Behind this silken armor.” 
The comic press, in gross caricature of coun¬ 
try people, has much to answer for this state 
of affairs, and yet the root of the matter is in 
the young mc^fchemselves. When sisters see 
their brothers reeking with the odors of the 
stable, bringing their filth-soaked boots under 
the dinner table beside them, they naturally re¬ 
sent it. All very well to say “Train them to 
change.” but who can control an impatient, 
hungry boy? True, he will “slick up” if a 
sister’s young lady friend is present, and try 
to make amends, but it is no use—the hair will 
not lie smooth in unaccustomed ways, the 
extra scrubbing of the face only gives it an 
extra shine, and he is not at ease in the unac¬ 
customed role, though he may wish to be ob - 
liging and kind, even attempt to be fascinat¬ 
ing. His red hands do not compare well with 
his citj rival’s, and are always in the way. He 
has no small talk, and if other lads of the 
neighborhood are in, they get into a little 
group and talk horses and cattle together. 
Country girls, as a rule, are not afraid of 
work: but they want refinement and compan¬ 
ionship, and as high-class books are cheap, 
and cleanliness is a desirable virtue, they re¬ 
quire these attributes in a husband. Too 
often they fail to sea the good qualities of the 
country boy—his sturdy honesty and solid, 
straightforward judgment. The little things 
of life have more weight with us all than we 
imagine, and the country girl’s reasoning 
faculties are often very sharp, and the little 
niceties of personal appearance cannot be ig¬ 
nored. I often think what a pity it is that we 
cannot always see the soul through the rough 
exterior, for in purity of mind and morals 
our country youth stand first. This fact girls 
seem slow to understand and appreciate, 
though now and then one is found sensible 
enough to see that “the white flower of a 
blameless life,” even it the exterior is rough, 
is far above the veneer that makes young men 
seem so polished. Like most things in this 
world, a little blending, a happy medium, 
would bring about better results. 
CITY ALLUREMENTS FOR COUNTRY 
GIRLS. 
FROM MRS. W. C. GIFFORD. 
It is, perhaps, owing to dullness of percep¬ 
tion that the question why farmers’ daugh¬ 
ters ever prefer city employment to country 
life seems somewhat ambiguous. If the “ever” 
is taken to mean “always,” then the answer 
is most emphatically, “They do not.” I know 
many bright young girls whom the allurements 
of city life could Dot charm away from their 
country homes, where the unconventionalities 
of nature give that freedom and vigor wholly 
incompatible with the brick and stone walls 
of cities. But if it is meant to ask “Why do 
they in individual instances choose the employ¬ 
ments offered in great towns?” the correct an¬ 
swers would be almost as numerous and as 
varied as the contingencies which gave them 
birth. If all the houses in which families are 
reared were true “homes,” there would be less 
leaving of the parental roof for the excitement 
and unknown dangers of the town. In many 
farmers’ homes the struggle with debt, pover¬ 
ty and toil is so constant and intense as to 
leave little room for the cultivation of the 
“small, sweet courtesies of life,” which 
are always attractive to the heart of 
every youDg girl. True, in many homes 
thus embarrassed, the presiding deity 
of the house, the mother, notwithstanding her 
never-ceasing round of duties, is constantly 
shedding her sweet influence to ennoble and 
refine, and the result shows itself in a noble 
family of sons and daughters so drawn by the 
cords of love and attracted by home influences 
that for them poverty and toil have fewer ter¬ 
rors than separation from the parental roof. 
But it is too often the case that both father 
and mother are so absorbed in making pro¬ 
vision for the bodies of their children, or it 
may be in the accumulation of wealth, that 
they may add more acres to their possessions 
or more money to their balance in bank, that 
they forget to make the home pleasant and 
attractive. 
But, without doubt, the most potent influ¬ 
ence of all, which is educating our young 
country girls to discontent with their 
lot, and a desire to see more of the world, is 
the result of the trashy, sensational reading 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
with which they too often fill their heads— 
newspaper stories and dime novels, stories of 
heroes and heroines, of impossible situations 
and combinations, which never did and never 
can happen. It would be well for the world 
if the page devoted to stories in most newspa¬ 
pers were left blank, or, better still, if the 
mother could by her advice and counsel so in¬ 
fluence her children that they would have no 
taste for that kind of reading. 
It is the mother’s own fault that she often 
does the heaviest and most disagreeable tasks, 
though there are perhaps rare exceptions. The 
little daughter may be weakly, and of neces¬ 
sity tenderly reared, and so from long habit 
the mother never calls on her to perform any 
except the lightest tasks; but where the 
daughter is healthy and well grown, if the 
mother drudges in the kitchen while the 
daughter does fancy-work in the parlor, the 
former has only herself to blame for the hard¬ 
ship to herself and the injury done her 
daughter in bringing her up to a life of shirk¬ 
ing, inefficient selfishness. Such conduct is as 
great a mistake—to call it by no harsher name 
—as it is to put all the new clothes and finery 
on the girls, while the mother, who largely 
earns them,goes dressed too shabbily for decen¬ 
cy. Let the mother and daughters share the 
hard work, the ease, the pleasure, and the 
good clothing. Then there will not be lack¬ 
ing the self-respect which is the foundation of 
mutual-respect. 
The remarks about weak, trashy literature 
would no doubt be quite as applicable in an¬ 
swering the question why the city chap is so 
attractive to the country girl as they were the 
first one. In fact, this is, in many respects, but 
a correlation of the first one. The young man 
from the city is usually more polished in man¬ 
ners, more seductive in his address, knows 
more of the ways of the world, can talk more 
about nothing, and the young, inexperienced 
girl sees nothing but the outside, is not capable 
of penetrating beneath the surface, and too 
many times her reading has been so badly se¬ 
lected and her home training so deficient that 
she forgets that “all is not gold that glitters.” 
Many times, too, she is encouraged by the in¬ 
judicious mother, to whom added years have 
not brought added wisdom. Truly there would 
be fewer silly gins in the world if there were 
not so many silly mothers. 
To the question, why is it that many coun¬ 
try girls say they will never marry farmers, 
perhaps a sufficient answer may be gleaned 
from what is said above. 
If it were within the means of every farmer, 
and he had the desire and the taste to render 
the home attractive by surrounding it with 
fruits and flowers; if the house could be well 
furnished and filled with good books and pic¬ 
tures; if the hours of toil could be shortened, 
and, above all, if the children were trained to 
love the country, such a declaration would not 
be heard; but the young girl thinks she sees 
in a city life exemption from all that is un¬ 
pleasant upon the farm and the realization of 
her fondest dreams of pleasure in a city home, 
and forgets the thousands of abodes of 
wretchedness and poverty within the precincts 
of a great city. Let her peruse Mrs. Helen 
Campbell’s “Prisoners of Poverty,” and real¬ 
ize that a residence in a city may bring her 
down to this very degradation and suffering, 
and she will thank God that she breathes the 
free air of the farm. 
CONSIDERATIONS ON TOWN AND 
COUNTRY LIFE FOR FARMERS’ 
DAUGHTERS. 
MAY MAPLE. 
The reasons why farmers’ daughters often 
prefer city to country life are more numer¬ 
ous than one would at first imagine. Most 
girls are fond of reading stories that are “just 
splendid.” Of course, the heroine is always 
tastefully dressed, with an abundance of rib¬ 
bons, laces and jewelry. What girl can read 
such glowing descriptions of personal adorn¬ 
ment without a desire to array herself in like 
beautiful apparel. But it is too often the case, 
in a farmer’s home, that there is not the shad¬ 
ow of a chance for one really good dress, 
and often enough when a request to replenish 
the purse is made, it is simply an impossibility 
to comply with it, or if it is granted it is in 
such an ungracious manner (not designedly so) 
that the daughter mentally resolves to be in¬ 
dependent of papa and earn her own pin- 
money. No sooner is this resolution made 
than her thoughts turn city-ward; for her 
most attractive heroes and heroines have been 
portrayed as living in cities. And there are 
but few girls, even though they live on 
farms, who have not an inward presentiment 
that the time is not distant when the “prince” 
will come, and great good fortune will be 
theirs. If a situation in town can be obtained, 
the girl is sure of almost perfect bliss. Of 
course, the work will not be very hard; she 
can have the most of the afternoon and all 
the evening to go calling, and have 
a nice time. There will be so many girls in 
the same neighborhood that she will never get 
lonely. Girls are like sparrows, they whirl 
about in flocks, with perhaps one or two chums 
who are especially sympathetic. And there 
will be no cows to milk, no milk-pans to wash, 
and no churning to be done every alternate 
day; and a consideration not of secondary 
importance is the thought that there will be 
no restraint. Mamma will not be heard fret 
ing about her wild ways, and what she earns 
she will have to spend as she likes. Possibly 
she will not have to “workout” very long be¬ 
fore some noble specimen of manhood who is 
a “splendid catch” will take her to his heart 
and beautiful home, amid luxurious surround¬ 
ings, where she will be a happy bride and 
have servants to obey her commands. 
There is never a thought that the “prince” 
may be a poor man, and need the closest 
economy pertaining to household matters. 
The district school system is no encourage¬ 
ment to farmers’ children to remain on the 
farm. There is nothing pertaining particu¬ 
larly to the farm or household taught in the 
schools. The students are all expected to fit 
themselves for teachers, bookkeepers, clerks, 
merchants, professionals in general. Hereto¬ 
fore the farmer has been left out of the 
“higher walks,” so-called, of life; and the 
daughters have often felt their cheeks tingle 
with shame, because they were connected with 
the rural district, and in many localities this 
is still the case, and this is another reason for 
a preference for town life. Heretofore farm¬ 
ers, as a class, even though well-to-do, have 
not cared to acquire even the very common 
courtesies in their every-day manners. Farm¬ 
ers’ daughters sometimes visit the homes of 
their classmates whose parents live in the vil¬ 
lage and belong to the “gentry,” where they 
find politeness as an every-day affair, and 
they wish it was so at home; but if they try 
to set an example there, they are ridiculed 
for their pains. Thus the absence of the lit¬ 
tle amenities of life that should make home 
upon the farm the dearest spot in the world, 
make it the most undesirable. 
Undoubtedly it is the mother’s fault if she 
does the heaviest work. I notice that the lit¬ 
tle folks, almost invariably, love to help 
mamma just as long as she will kindly accept 
their assistance, and very proud are they of 
every new achievement. But when she begins 
to send them out to play, because she does not 
want to be bothered with them just then, she 
begins to bear unnecessary burdens, and to 
bear them alone; and she sows the seed of sel¬ 
fishness on soil that will prove fertile in pro¬ 
ducing prolific weeds in the hearts of her 
children. Child nature is sympathetic, and as 
long as a mother keeps in sympathy with her 
children, there is no task too hard for them to 
undertake. And a thoughtful, judicious 
mother will have the assistance of both daugh¬ 
ters and sons, to help her through the disa¬ 
greeable tasks and to be burden-bearers with 
and for herself. And they will not think less 
of her for being called upon to do home du¬ 
ties, if they are shown in a pleasant way how 
to do them indhe best possible manner. Scold¬ 
ing, fretting and constant fault-finding will 
not be likely to give good results. I often wish 
mothers could all read “John Halifax, Gentle¬ 
man,” and take Mrs. Halifax for an example 
in child culture. If mothers followed her exam¬ 
ple I am sure the coming generation would 
sooner come up to our ideal of perfect woman¬ 
hood than it will under the present fashion, 
when the mother often says “I’d rather do the 
work myself than have them around in my 
way;” or, “I want my children to get an educa¬ 
tion, and they can’t do that and help me; 
which last is a great mistake. As a nation we 
are educating too much in text books,theories, 
etc., and not enough in practical work. If 
only half the time each day was devoted to 
books and the rest to house work, we would 
have happier and better homes, and mothers 
more cheerful, because healthier and wiser 
in practical life. A “mixed” education is as 
much better for the individual as. mixed hus¬ 
bandry is for the farmers. 
The glamour that surrounds the city dude 
in the eyes of the would-be country dudine is 
the same that surrounds the peacock—it is 
due to the plumage he wears, the spotless linen, 
the perfect fit of his coat and trousers, the 
stupendous seal ring on his little finger, the 
gold or gilt watch and glittering chain, with 
its brilliant charms, the well-trimmed hair and 
waxed moustache, the soft, white hands and 
well cleaned, shapely nails, the No. 8 foot fit¬ 
ted into a No. G boot. As an accompaniment 
to the plumage, there are the soft words of 
flattery taught him in infancy for effect; the 
little nothings said with such a lisping, flow¬ 
ing grace, and so much apparent earnestness, 
and, according to certain writers, he has such 
beautiful and expressive ways of reading 
poems, particularly Tennyson’s love passages, 
though, in point of fact, one seldom finds a 
wandering city chap who can read even a 
“local” intelligently. But, then, country girls 
are not very critical in such matters. More’s 
the pity! 
I believe country girls who say they will 
not marry farmers may be put in two classes: 
first, those who are too shallow to appreciate 
true worth, and, second, those who have seen 
and experienced the dark side of some shift¬ 
less farmer’s life. I once entered a famier’s 
home and found the mother arrayed in gar¬ 
ments “bedraggled,” ragged, and glazed with 
dirt, with unkempt hair, and hands begrimed 
and stained, finger-nails worn to stubs and 
shapeless; shoes and stockings worn and slip¬ 
shod. Altogether she had a forlorn look, except 
that she had a cheery face at which I much 
wondered, considering the surroundings. The 
farmer sat by the stove which was well dusted 
with ashes from repeated stirrings of the fire, 
smoking the stub of a very black and very 
ancient day pipe. On his head was an old, 
greasy, slouch hat. His shirt was badly di¬ 
lapidated and buttonless, therefore open the 
length of the bosom; ragged overalls and ox¬ 
hide shoes fastened with large iron buckles, 
finished his every-day costume. The floor 
was covered with a very dirty and badly de- 
lapidated rag carpet; a bed was in the room, 
but had not been made up since the occupants 
left it in the morning, although it was then 
long past midday. No end of articles had 
been thrown upon it, and the lounge was in 
the same state of confusion. There was scarce¬ 
ly a chair that was not broken or rickety and 
other bits of furniture harmonized with the 
chairs; and this was the best room 1 A peep 
into kitchen, pantry and bed-rooms was still 
more sickening. The house and hovel for the 
horses, in one inclosure, were surrounded by a 
broken rail fence. Nothing pleasant greeted 
the eye within or without, and yet a beautiful 
daughter was growing up in this badly kept 
home. She was her parents’ idol, and of course 
was sent to school. When she might have 
been at home making the house presentable, 
she was either spending the time with her 
schoolmates, or in some out-of-sight place 
reading “such a splendid story.” Would 
her surroundings call forth any love for 
the farm, or for being a farmer’s wife? 
She knew that their farm never yielded 
them half a living. She did not know that it 
was never half cultivated. She also knew that 
the fences were often in a dilapidated condi¬ 
tion, and that she and her mother had fre¬ 
quent races across the lots to drive out stray 
cattle, when her father was in town. And 
many times this must be done even though 
the winds blew and the rain fell, for men al¬ 
ways go to town on stormy days. Then the 
wood-pile was often left for her mother or 
herself to replenish, which was far from be¬ 
ing agreeable. All these and many more dis¬ 
agreeables were fouud at .this farm-house; 
and there are many such, though they are 
not examples of the average farmer, only ex¬ 
amples of a certain class; and it is the 
daughters of this class who declare they will 
not marry a farmer; and they are really un¬ 
fitted for farmers’ wives. They are air-castle- 
builders. When they marry, they imagine 
it will be with some of the professional gentry 
who always keep hired help, and whose wives 
have nothing to do but dress and do fancy 
work. Such girls never seem to think that 
there are poor doctors and poor lawyers and 
poor mechanics, and that the majority of 
townsmen live on a from hand-to-mouth prin¬ 
ciple, and when a lull in business comes, or 
sickness enters the door, alas, for the castle¬ 
building wife! Where are the bread and but¬ 
ter to come from? Is it any wonder that there 
are always in town numerous paupers whose 
homes are pictures of squalor and misery? 
Thrifty, well-to-do farmers’daughters love the 
farm, and seldom care to leave the beautiful 
country, so far as my observation goes. 
ILLUSIONS AND REALITIES. 
MARY MANN. 
Very briefly, I should say that farmers 
daughters prefer town to country work be¬ 
cause they don’t know when they are well off 
and this answer would be true in nine cases 
out of ten. But the question is too important 
to be dismissed thus hastily. The desire for 
independence is, I believe, the main reason 
why so many leave comfortable, if not luxur¬ 
ious homes, to try the uncertainties of life in 
the city. Farmers’ daughters, as a rule, are 
very independent creatures. No matter how 
hard they may work, they can seldom look 
forward to any sure income or much freedom 
of action while they remain at home. Though 
they may receive as much in board and 
clothing as other girls obtain who work in 
factory or shop, it comes in such a way that 
they do not realize their benefits. If when 
daughters become women their parents were 
to pay such regular wages as they could afford, 
and let the money be used with freedom, there 
would be less shirking of duties, and much 
