recompense for her own discomforts in having her children free from the bad habits of the city, and in knowing that the chances of life and success are all in their favor.

An aged woman, whose sons are now prominent men of the nation, told me, not long since, that she lived on a farm when her boys were small, and that those were the happiest days of her life. Such is the testimony of many.

The very isolation of the farmer's wife makes her duties less arduous, and these are rarely so severe but that, if wisely arranged, she can find time for rest and improvement. A woman, not far from where I live, cheered the loneliness of her first winter west by reading a large number of French and Latin books. I know some women who, with children to take care of, regularly set aside a portion of each day for reading or study, and these women are not the least busy of their class. Even the poorest may now have the best books in these days of cheap literature.

With ordinary health and industry the farmer is sure to have a measure of prosperity. Though all the forces of nature seem to combine against him, he has learned to so plan and vary his plans that he cannot be defeated on every side, and his wife may reasonably comfort herself with the hope of better times, and expect immunity from poverty in age with far more certainty than the wife of a mechanic or day laborer; and such are the vicissitudes of American fortunes, that even the wife of a mercbant or banker has hardly a better chance.

Farm life is often picturesque. It furnishes the finest background for painting, poetry and legend. What enchantment in the story, could we linger over it, of the huskings, the quilting bees, the raisings, the sugar boiling, the harvest home merrymakings, the slow succession of the seasons with their varying labors and pleas ures, and the long, delightful winter evenings, when

"All friends shut out, the housemates sit

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed

In a tumultuous privacy of storm."

But leaving the fascinations of the farm to the poet, the ques tion is asked, are there any remedies for these ills which sadden

the lives in so many homes in our land? Swedenborg said: 'Hunger is an aggregate of very many little hungers, or losses of blood by the little veins all over the body." How shall these little hungers that drain the vitality from the life of the soul be so satisfied that the whole being shall grow symmetrically until it reaches the "stature of the fulness of a perfect man." The most obvious answer is: by education, first, of a practical kind, and then as opportunity offers and the desire grows, by a more general culture. As an economic measure of the highest importance, agricultural colleges should be established in every agricultural state, where tuition should be free, and where attendance should be induced by rewards. These colleges should be open to men and women on the same terms, for the census of 1870 showed there were twenty thousand women in the United States engaged in the pursuits of agriculture, besides over five million farmers' wives now described as being employed in no gainful labor. There should also be colleges of domestic economy for girls, similar to that advocated by Sir Henry Cole, at the congress at Manchester, some years ago, where the proper preparation of food, care of the health and dwelling, and household thrift, should be taught. The state should make attendance at these colleges profitable, compel it if necessary, and the money thus expended would return into its coffers ten-fold, from the fruitful fields and well-kept houses.

The better educated the farmer is, the more likely will he be to recognize the rights of his wife; her right to as pleasant a home as his means will afford; her right to social intercourse; to a control over the house and personal expenditures; to an opportunity for improvement; to an understanding of all matters of interest to himself, and to a share of his time and affectionate consideration. The cultured man the farmer no less than other men - respects himself so highly that he considers nothing too good that is within his means to obtain for the woman he has chosen to rule his home and to be the mother of his children. The educated woman will recognize the physical and spiritual rights of her family. She will manage more economically, govern more wisely and work more advantageously, besides having a better time in doing it. "My mind to me a kingdom is," said William Byrd, and she who has

an elevated mind may be happy under any circumstances, and instead of being degraded by her work, will lift it up to the level of her own intelligent thought.

Once the farmer's wife spun and wove all the house linen and family clothing. The time for this has passed away, and the time for fine quilting, useless and hideous fancy work is rapidly going. Men's clothing is now rarely made by women, and helpful machinery is finding a place in the farmer's home.

And what does this relaxation from the ancient toil mean, save that farmers' wives did their share, when the nation was young, to increase its material resources; and now their old duties are in part falling away to give room for new and more important responsibilities. God and the world are calling on them to aid in bringing the world to wisdom and righteousness; to give birth to nobler sons and stronger daughters; to be themselves in harmony with the onward march of all things, material and spiritual; to be the worthy mothers of the men of the millenium.

In every profession there is progress. Every class of society is looking towards the light, and this is especially noticeable among women. The signs of the times are hopeful in that everywhere in the civilized world women are awakening to a desire for a better knowledge of their duties and capacities. It is the privilege of the more favored to see there are no stragglers. The farmer's wife must not be left behind. She must be helped to help herself. This may perhaps be aided by means of the local woman suffrage societies now forming all over the land. These should work in every cause where principle or the problems of home and society are involved. They should adopt measures for extending industrial knowledge, for encouraging co-operation, and for securing wise county legislation. Such societies might with propriety be headquarters for starting and maintaining rural clubs, and should occasionally send out competent women to lecture to the farmers' wives on hygiene, physiology and domestic science. If proper times and methods were chosen, organization could doubtless be effected, and would be as valuable for farmers' wives as for any class.

Farmers' wives should be stimulated to interest themselves in

the county agricultural societies, getting memberships, and then striving to have such work done by the society as would tend to the uplifting of the social conditions. These, as far as I have observed, are wholly neglected by agricultural societies, and the relative consideration for woman and her work is plainly shown by the prizes given at the annual fairs; as also by the slight touch, if any, which is allowed to woman in the annual address. Enough money is given in prizes to encourage the show of fine stock, and then woman's work is rewarded with diplomas, that there may be a purse made up for the horse-racing. State societies are conducted on the same contracted plan. There should be societies worthy of the name, in which men and women, being equally concerned, should be equal factors. Not only should the results be exhibited at the end of the year, but the ways and means for producing those results should be discussed at times and places suitable for creating interest and disseminating information. The society should be a guild, looking after the welfare of its individual members; it should consider no home or educational interest unwor thy of its supervision. The Grange might have been such a guild had it not undertaken to manage the politics and finances of the nation; yet even this has been a great educator to woman in districts where it has been successfully established.

There is no time to consider further means for benefiting this class. The work must be done by women, and plenty of ways will present themselves when it is begun.

Napoleon was once walking with a lady when he met a person carrying a heavy load. The lady ordered the man to get out of the way, but Napoleon turned aside, saying, "respect the burden, madam, respect the burden." Herein lies a moral. Woman must do what she can to elevate womanhood everywhere, and show that she respects it in every calling. Her interests are parallel with those of humanity, and all the forces of nature, science and religion are working towards her development. Nor will the husbands of our farmers' wives be often found to hinder or oppose. Margaret Fuller said, and it is truer now than when she said it: "Man is not willingly ungenerous. He wants faith and love, because he is not yet himself an elevated being. He

cries with sneering skepticism, 'Give us a sign!' but if the sign appears, his eyes glisten, and he offers not merely approval, but homage."

As according to Hindoo mythology, Vishnu follows Maya through all her transformations from the lower orders of animal life to the higher, he always being the male of her species, until she becomes the woman goddess and he the god man; so, woman in her ascent takes man and the race with her, until together they shall stand on the divine heights of immortal purity.

SIGNS OF PROSPERITY.

By Mrs. FANNie B. Dennett, Milton.

"Where spades grow bright, and idle swords grow dull;
Where jails are empty, and where barns are full;
Where church paths are with frequent footsteps worn;
Law court-yards weedy, silent and forlorn;

Where doctors foot it, and where farmers ride;

Where age abounds and truth is multiplied;

Where these signs are, they clearly indicate

A happy people and well governed state."

Our state has not yet attained to the degree of prosperity here indicated by the poet, yet, as a people, we are prosperous and happy. Peace reigns throughout the land, and our barns and storehouses are filled with an abundant harvest. Industries of all kinds are active and prosperous, and the arts and sciences are every year attaining a higher development. And for these hopeful signs our thankfulness should be unbounded to Him who has thus crowned the year with His goodness.

Upon no class are the signs of prosperity more marked, compared to its former state, than upon the agricultural class, both in business and intelligence; and to-day we meet as a society to discuss the business of our calling, and to devise new ways of promoting the interests of the same.

Talent and science have here lent their aid in discussion and demonstration, and the interchange of ideas here given will no doubt benefit all, as they again take up the work of the year.