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Wisconsin Dairymen's Association / Eleventh annual report of the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association : held at Elk-horn, Wis., January 31, and February 1 and 2, 1883. Report of the proceedings, annual address of the president, and interesting essays relating to the dairy interests
(1883)
Smith, J. M.
Pleasant homes made happy ones, pp. 63-70
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Page 69
WcoNsI DAntYm's ASOCATIO. 69 each a nice bouquet of roses, which are now in their glory, and they leave this pleasant home, saying they will give their parents no rest until they can have such good and beautiful things around their own homes. Think you the boys or girls will be in haste to leave such a home? Should they do so, you may be sure they will gladly return to it satisfied and contented. I have not re- ferred to the cultivation of apples, because that will come up by itself. Neither have I referred to the details in the cultivation of any of the smaller fruits, as it would make this paper too long. My object has been simply to awaken an interest in our homes. I tell you, my friends, we can not afford to live any longer as too many of our farmers live. They are doing injustice to themselves, their wives and their children, and in fact to our entire profession. I am not plead- ing for extravagance and folly. On the contrary I believe in and practice both industry and economy. Allow me a mo- ment to illustrate my idea. Many years ago, and not long after we began to have fine crops of strawberries, when they were more of a novelty than now, we had many visitors du- ring the berry-season. We always wish our friends to have a good time when they visit us, but we were then less able than now to bear so much extra expense. My wife said to me one day: "How shall we manage to give all the friends who visit us a real good time and yet keep the expense from becoming a burden?" I replied: " We have plenty of ber- ries and plenty of good cream, milk and butter of our own. We can afford to buy some extra sugar, and if you will keep a good supply of nice biscuit on hand, we will give our friends plenty of nice berries with sugar and cream and nice biscuit and butter and a cup of tea. Our friends all know that we are poor, and the sensible ones will be satis- fied, and as for the rest, if they are not, they can go else- where next time." We adopted the rule and adhered to it strictly, and'I doubt if we were ever more successful at any time since in entpjtaining our friends. My friends, large sums of money are not necessary to make a pleasant and happy home. Let us make the most of what we have, and not make slaves of our bodies while we starve our minds and destroy all the better and finer im- 69
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