I can think of no other sphere into which, with less hesitation, I would wish my daughter to enter. I would take exception however, to her marrying a farmer still employing old methods. A man, well versed in agriculture, willing to keep abreast of the times and to take advantage of the resources at his command, is bound to make a success of farming. Selecting a particular branch of farming to be chosen with due consideration of the section of the country and of his own abilities, and concentrating his efforts in a systematic way, he will evolve maximum results with minimum hardship.
We farmers' wives of today have few of the problems of a century ago to contend with. Modern conveniences such as sanitary plumbing, the telephone, lighting and heating systems have made her home as comfortable as any of those in or near cities.
The problem of a child's education was, in the past, always a trying one. Where farms were situated far from towns and well-organized schools, a child's training was apt to be desultory. If a rural school were near, it was probably more or less inefficient. It was a difficult question to decide whether the advantages a child gained from a healthy out-door farm life with its opportunities of learning the innermost workings of nature, outweighed the handicaps of being deprived of a regulation education. Today the question has been practically obliterated by a better supervision of schools and the greater possibilities of keeping in communication with towns due to the ever-increasing use of automobiles.
To the lot of an enterprising farmer's wife no longer falls the task of assisting with milking cows, harvesting and other outside work, added to her already sufficient task of housekeeping if she has her definite duties, such as attending to the creamery or to the poultry, the labor thereof is minimized by the proper utensils and proper places in which to work.
I would not under any circumstances consider the marriage of my daughter with any but a progressive farmer, a man aware of the fact that he has a three-fold duty to preform to make life pleasant and profitable for his family, to keep in touch with the affairs of his community and to avail himself of all advantages being introduced into his special branch of farming.
From my own experience I know of no happier life than that of a well-organized, well-equipped farm, where a girl is certain of getting out of life all that she puts into it. The freshness about her keeps her young. She can give to her children their righteous heritage. She soon becomes her husband's unfailing helper and companion. She finds a combination unequaled in any city, the joys of nature coupled with the available pleasures of the world. She is not far enough away to be isolated, nor near enough to be contaminated.