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keeping of business records, the use of credit, etc. The next logical step Will be I active participation in formulating and cartgying out policies and programmes of concern'to emh selves and all farmers through organizations suc ‘ ederation of Agrtcu lure. I as'lEliiies Ifederation of Agriculture I am sure is well aware that recently (August 1960) the index 'of farm prices declined and yet the Consumer price index for September 1960 roseftnlctdentally it was the food component of this index ‘whtch showed the greatest gain. Your organization is very much aware of these economic indicators and their implications for the bustness aspects of agriculture. As farmers‘ wives you are aware that the prices you receive for your farm products rarely goes up while the prices of the multitude of things you buy as consumers rarely stops gotng upHave farm women faced these facts and worked with their husbands and their children ‘to plat! their own future adjustments as family untts? It Is only by attempting to understand the broader aspects of farming as a Part 0f the national econ" omy that we can get some conception of those forces which affect our lives now and in the future. We all know that the proportion of farm popu- lation to total population has declined steadily over the years. We not only have a proportionateâ€" ly small (about 17 per cent) rural pupulation but we have fewer farms. Yet we have farms of larger acreage. The trend is to a fewer number of farms and to larger sized farms. Why? One reason is that increased production is necessary to bring in the income which today is generally desired and needed by farm families. Not all families can expand or desire to expand their farm business operations. What is the alternative? What role can the farm wife play in making adjustments to these forces in the next ten years? The same role she has always played as a full partner with her husband in facing facts realistic- ally; and in continuing to seek the best possible life for the family. realizing that the traditional ways of doing this will not be adequate for the future. Some wives will have to keep the farm going while their husbands find off-farm employ- ment. Some wives will return to paid work to help the family finances, some families will move off the farm to the cities. Some will maintain the prosperous farms they now have. Over and above these adjustments there are many other ways the farm wife can broaden her contribution to her family and to society; She can encourage and enable her children to receive the formal and informal education and training needed both for economic survival as a full. time farm operator, as a part time farmer or In nontarm occupations today and tomorrow. She can keep alive in her family the attitudes and values which stabilize and bring happiness in family life. I She can and must be adaptable no matter what ltes ahead. She must be ready to learn more and more about homemaking and about farming as a business operation and to apply this learning to her own family and community. onfiggarg findings from the special study of rm Homes and Homemakers which to was initiated by the Ontario Department or is r- culture clearly shows that most of the (Mitzi-fir farm women of today want to remain on m: family farm. It is possible for some but no[ all families to do so. The challenge for those who wish to remain as farmers‘ wives is to help their husbands aurvwe economically as farmers. This requires Linear“ and increasing knowledge and application :«l am cultural technology and of business mcrlmisy h requires a recognition of the vital need for t trmeh to cooperate and not compete with one unn-lm in marketing their produce. It requires an “Malena; of the need for farmers in all parts of Cu .43 10 recognize their common interests and to rm,“ their point of view clearly and constaan U the 83 per cent of the population who depend : you to produce the food they eat. ' We are long past the days when people whip the Goddess Ceres or Demeter and ask it - help in producing an abundant crop. But \‘.l'i r he tells you so or not, the farmer of todu) . m and would not want to operate our typiu. 'gmu. than family farm without the feminine c: mum of agriculture â€" you, his wife. Care for Chror. rr Illness Letters to the Editor "Your editorial in the Fall number ‘ "Unit? and Country has given us an impressr. .lllFB of the need for hospitals for the chronic. '. In this regard and because modern item has been so effective in combating tubercu and reducing the need of sanitarium beds. ~ hing has been done by various Boards of Sn" t in cooperation with hospital boards and - the approval of the Ontario Department N 11th. The first was the Sanitarium at Corn“: inch was able to give up a floor of its large in i; to Cornwall General Hospital for the care it .rCLti- ment of chronic patients. Since then dirt sanitoria have given up portions of their 'mg3 for similar purposes. The eighth, the V Wk?! San. has been closed as a sanitorium i": Stir??- cular patients and will be used as a ho l W retarded children, thus relieving the over. dill.“ at Orillia.” L A\l ‘ll’ldn “Congratulations on the splendid edil 'l I" the Fall issue of Home and CountrY- D “m there is that great need for hospital cart [he chronically ill and your editorial issues ‘Jilill' lenge to the members to throw their trust {m the appeal for such branches of hosPllii"-“9“ Here at the Lakehead one such building “DE erected and it will serve the combined art . a» fat as possible and alleviate the overcrowding all lh‘ general hospitals to some extent.” Mrs. A. film” 1 HOME AND COUNYRY ’“mb-.