ything. She
may can the fruit and make the pickles, jellies and preserves. She will
certainly take care of the chickens. In spite of all this she will never
seem tired. She will go to the woods and bring ferns and put them into
pots to set about the house. She will bring wild flowers and carry them
with all sorts of dainties to neighboring houses where there is illness.
Her dress is invariably changed in the afternoon; and she always goes to
prayer meeting. She is a great reader and stays up after the family have
gone to bed to read the church paper and the farmers' magazine. She is
full of life and fun and can talk intelligently on any subject. Every
evening after her work is done she may walk to a neighbor's to visit, or
if the village is near enough she will go every night to bring the mail.

This woman of the rural realm is a super-woman in the farm environment;
her discouraging example cannot be taken as a rule to be followed by
others, since few can equal her in strength of body or mind. She is one
who has in some way become possessed of a mental training above the
average; her intellectual outlook has been brought to such a point that
she can take pleasure in many of the resources of culture. She has
learned to read,--really read--a thing accomplished by but few of the
many who can glibly reel off the words from the printed page. This woman
of the farm gathers the ideas and enjoys the fancies that lie behind the
mere alphabetical letters. She is one who can gain solace from her hour
of reading whenever it is possible to have one; and this keeps her young
and buoyant. Then she has also a real interest in everything around her,
the garden, the making of the jelly, the missionary cause, all the great
wonderful world--everything has attraction for her. Moreover as a result
of her mental and inner poise, she has the power to systematize the work
of her home and so to get the best results in the shortest time. Does
her husband appreciate what a wonderful woman fate has assigned to him?
If not, if he never acknowledges the economic value of this woman's
courage and gay spirit, as well as of her mere hand-work and its
efficient system, then there may be a sore spot underneath that will
never be cured in all her life. Many a farmer husband has said
affectionately to his wife that he could never have made a financial
success of his farm without her help. But it will take more than
assurances like that to satisfy the mind an