0 A FRUGAL HOUSE MOTHER; March 1912; Mrs. E. W., Kansas

Being a farmer's wife, we of course have no stated income, and can never tell what the amount of money will be that can be used in the home. But I always try to manage so the expense shall not exceed the income. Of course, we keep cows, and have our own milk and butter with some butter to spare to help out the grocery bill. We have a garden, but we do not always raise enough potatoes for our own use, and therefore we must buy. We try to sell enough of some other garden truck, that we have a surplus of, to pay for the potatoes. We keep chickens so that we have eggs and young chickens to use and sell. We have our meat and lard.

I have always tried to get what was needed about the house from the sale of poultry and eggs, or from garden truck. I have bought everything I have in my house with the money I made from the poultry, from a set of kitchen chairs to a $50.00 range and organ and my home is well furnished. Of course, I did not do all this in one year. We have a large family of children to clothe and send to school. I have kept them in school and last winter I put two of the eldest girls through a nine months' term in a city school, paying all their expenses from the proceeds of eggs alone.

I am obliged very often to exercise my wits in order to make a good appearance in matching up outgrown clothing for the little ones from the garments of the older ones; also in preparing food there is a great saving to be made, so that grocery bills shall not be charged at the store.

The farmer's income is very often much less than $40.00 per month and the saving and also earning pennies nearly always come from the good management of the house mother.