WOMEN'S WORK IN FARMING.

Clutha Leader, Volume IX, Issue 494, 30 March 1883, Page 2

WOMEN'S WORK IN FARMING.

A certain wicked but witty jurist, whenever a culprit was brought before him for trial, invariably asked : ' Who is the woman in this easel' A slight measure of truth underlies this repartee, as indeed, must-be the, case under all satires on weak human nature, else they would not be so keenly felt. Tho broader and more comprehensive truth in this connection is, that woman is really the basis of most that is good and successful. There is scarcely a leading business man in any vocation who will not gratefully acknowledge his success as being in large part due to his wife. In no occupation is this more apparent than in that of the farmer. All over the country the men who have succeeded in accumulatingcompetency or wealth in" farming have had sensible, industrious, and economical wives. Because woman does not work in the fields is no reason that her services are not important. On large farms the master himself often does, little of the manual labor. He can have it performed nearly as well as he can do it himself, while his services in overseeing the proper performance of the work are worth far more than anything his own hands are capable of performing. In this labor of supervision the wife's services are quite as effective as those of her husband. There are several leading department 1 ? which, by common consent, are relegated to the sphere of the wife. Embraced in her special department is. the management of the household expenses, and, unless dairying is madethe chief business of the farm, she has usually the entire care of the dairy. A story is told of one of the early pioneers in a new country, who, with his wife, commenced farming on a tract of 100 acres of wild land, only partially paid for. Year after year they prospered, the 100 acres were paid for, in large part, by the hard earned money which the wife had secured through sales of butter and cheese.. Again and again the question was asked by the husband, * Shall I buy another 100 acres?' and the answer by his good wife was always the same : 'Get me 15 more cows and you may safely buy the land.' When, in their old age, a fine farm of 500 acres werepaid for, the wife could rightfully boast that it was her labor, quite as much as that of her husband, which had paid for their broad acres. The law, which has been called the perfection of human reason, partially concedes tho rights of woman in securing one-third of all real estate to the widow for her use during life, and making it impossible for a married man to alienate their home, by sale or mortgage, without his wife's free signature. More men would have remained prosperous owners of farms, now lost through bad management or other improvidence, if they had listened to the advice of their wives. A faithful wife is in every situation the best counsellor her husband can have. In farming she, is usually the conservative partner in direction, dissuading againt extravagant expenditures and doubtful experiments. It may bo and doubtless is otherwise in cities, but girls born in the country and accustomed at their fathers' firesides to hear the" failures and successes of their neighbours discussed, are often more economical than their husbands. - Tho latter, associating 'with other men, often have their heads turned, if they are not themselves misled into questionable and extravagant habits. It mayseem to the farmer, as he reluctantly counts out the dollars, which his wifehas often to fairly beg of him, that his better half is very extravagant. In nine cases out of ten, however, if he' will figure up the useless j\nd often injurious expenses included' by himself the sum will amount: to more than his wife's allowance for necessary personal expenses. The fact that the husband is more frequently away fvoui. home than the wife perhaps- gives greater occasion for the expenditure of .rapnej-, yet wen. this dees not change the importsn,ce of a nttxtjUal unde.rstandiijgv concerning money ifcatters.'-"- Aiuwicnj> v v Exchange, " '"•'-