The Ohio Farmer's Home Guide Book (Classic Reprint)

Book excerpt: Excerpt from The Ohio Farmer's Home Guide Book This word has a comparatively narrow signification in this country; generally it is used to denote a dwelling place. The English attach a far deeper meaning to it. To them it means the place where the heart is, the one place on earth where, above all others, the affections are centered - father, mother, brother, sister, are all concentra ted in that one word. To make our dwelling place a home it must be made attractive; it need not be fashionable; it must be neat. Do not shut out the sunshine; it may fade the carpet, but it will preserve the health of the inmates, and give an air of cheerfulness all through the house. Do not be afraid of a little fun. If you want to ruin your sons, let them think that all mirth and social enjoyment must be left on the threshold when they come home at night: When once ahome is regarded as only a place in which to eat, drink and sleep, the work is begun that ends in gambling houses and reckless degradation. Young people must have fun and relaxation somewhere; if they do not find it at their own hearth-stones, it will be sought at other and perhaps less profitable, places. Therefore let the fire burn brightly at night, and make the homestead delightful with all those little arts that parents so perfectly understand. Do not te press the buoyant spirit of your children. Half an hour of merriment around the lamp, in the firelight of a home, blots out the remembrance of many a care and annoyance of the day; and the best safeguard children can take with them into the world is the blessed influence of a bright little domestic sanctum. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.