Farm Boys and Girls

by William A. McKeever

But the things just named will not nearly always be accessible. Throughout many of the commonwealths there are vast stretches of level plateaus with scarcely a hill or woodland in sight, and yet covered with a rich, tillable soil. These places may for good reasons be selected for the site of a dwelling. But they demand more work and heavier expense of money and time before the best material surroundings of an ideal home for boys and girls may be realized. Before the house is scarcely laid out in such a place, the shade and ornamental trees should be planted, selecting for part of the planting a quick-growing species that may be removed later after more permanent and more valuable trees have reached a suitable height. Of course, a stream of water cannot always be diverted so as to make it pass the place, but a fair substitute may be had by the construction of a pond. And this thing should be accomplished at the earliest possible moment. If there be a small dry ravine, dam it up with concrete and catch it full of surplus water during a rainy season. It is a positive injustice to boys and not a little unfair to girls to require them to grow up without any access to open water of some kind. And it is almost a matter of criminal neglect to require children to live permanently in a home about which there are no trees growing. So it is recommended, even if the house construction must in part be delayed or cut off, that the surroundings just named be sought in all earnestness.

The house plan

In planning and arranging the house, the matters to be thought of in addition to those named above are convenience and comfort. While it is somewhat important that the house look well to those who may be passing upon the highway, it is vastly more important that it be good within and serve such needs of the home-maker and the children as will conserve the strength of the former and render the lives of all happy and contented. In addition to the matters just named, that of placing the dwelling to face in the right direction will be thought of. That is, arrange the house so as to take advantage of the morning sunlight, the evening shade, the winter blasts and the summer breezes. While for the sake of entertainment it may be well to place the rural dwelling near the public highway, rather than sacrifice the child-developing factors of shade trees and streams and the like, it is often better to build back from the road and make a private lane leading thereto.

In arranging for the heat and light in the house, think first of all of the health and sanitation of the family. Ordinarily, the windows of the farmhouse are too small; while worse still, many of them, even in the bed chambers, are permanently nailed down. So, if the health and the general well-being of the boys and girls, as well as the parents, are worth anything at all, attend religiously to these small and inexpensive conveniences, not neglecting to provide most carefully for keeping out flies and other insects. The wise farmer will find the secret of getting along with his own household and of rearing a strong, healthy family to lie in the strict attention he gives to just such small matters as these. The things that overstrain the physique, that try the temper and patience of the housewife, must especially be looked after and something of a better nature substituted for them.

How one farmer does it

Mr. W. F. Mottier, living in Ford County, Illinois, gives in Farmer’s Voice his plan of providing for the children, as follows:—

“I have always tried to farm intelligently. One of my favorite ideas in regard to farm life is that of making the home as attractive as possible for the children. So I put on the place all the modern improvements that I can afford, in order that the children may not feel that town life is the best. And our children do not have any desire to go to town. It would bring a sad thought to me to hear my children talk against the farm life or home life on the farm.”

Outbuildings and equipment

With few exceptions, the money available for building the home should be expended first in putting the house into the ideal condition just named. After that, if any means remain, the outbuildings may be constructed. Otherwise, crude, temporary arrangements may easily suffice. There is one thing, however, that must be provided with scrupulous care and that is the water for the household use. It must be, first of all, wholesome and comparatively free from impurities. Then, if at all possible, it should be cool and taste well. Actual records have shown that one will not drink enough water to satisfy the demands of his health in case the taste be in any degree unpleasant to him. So the ideal water for household use is comparatively soft, is cool, highly pleasing to the taste, and is free from disease-carrying germs. This comparatively simple matter of providing the water will prove most important in relation to the well-being of the household and the up-building of the family life. See to it at any cost that the well be situated out of the way of seepage from any barn or outbuilding, even though it may from such necessity be placed somewhat out of the reach of convenience.