OCR Text |
Show m The Present Cult of Sawing Wood !9 I T is Indeed true that girls who keep W abreast with their day have nccepted 5 B the present cult of Fawing wood. From W. 'eng an occupation relegated to woods-Ji woods-Ji m lien and farmers wood sawing has belt be-lt m 'ome the one sought by girls of delicate 9 mil luxurious breeding. It has pushed IB iirwnnl as a topic of conversation in the w V Irawuig room, where the details of tho nit and the best methods of its pnrsu- g met' aro as eagerly discussed as the h atfMt party or the prevailing mode in MIS. It acems to bo exclusively girls who J iave made It their pleasure to saw wood. "heir brothers or boy Jfrlends may, per-5 per-5 -bailee, look on as they work, but tliey d , ff'r no assistance, no mutter how strong jg 'f he promptings of Kullantry. They know j veil that their aid is not desired. For girls I m not sawing wood merely to see the I )Z- fjll apart. Behind their acts there j '(. iff reusons galore and much determina- ion of purpose. The primary reason that yonng girls : rie for sawing wood is that it improves hi'ir health, or rather that it keeps them y i tine trinu The exerclt is, in fact, their .rawing for tennis, squash, golf and other, . ui iiis of sport. They declare that to saw w no I hardens certain muscles that other- 1 wi'xl' would have a tendency to grow soft ! d weak. The quality of muBcle encour- accd by wood sawing is not coarse, but! fine and strong. Tho practice makes such muscle as Is needed for success in ath- lerios. It is, moreover, asserted that to paw wood regularly not only hardens and refines the muscles but gives such vigorous I . ontrol over them that it ceases to b a ' ; burden to keep the shoulders back or to t milk with a firm, light troad. XJnneccs- r ; .ary flesh in made to- vanish by'means of J; the cult, and the circulation of the blood jgl . ! undoubtedly stimulated. The eyes of Hm, th ' lrhs wh0 8aw wood brighten; the color I deepens in their checks. Elasticity is given V) their whole froince. The best time to Indulge in wood anwina tf in the spring and early Hummer. MM. -dimmer is usually too tirm for euehl , strenuous cxerciso, although girls that go j to cool places for that period of the year i keep up tho practice with unabated zeal Wood sawing has, fortunately, np stated I hour at which it must be done, nor docs It make excessive demands upon the 'time, lince it Is not customary to pursue It for tnoro than forty-five minutps each- day. The implements it requires arc simple and aot nt all costly. Usually young girls provide themselves with two strong wooden horses or benches, i ww and the inevitable tree stem. Then nheu the log is placed on tho horses and! lttacked by a mlas wielding a saw the end k in sight. It is shortly converted into Jcveral pieces for tho fireplnco, neatly cut it a desirable aize. This is tho -work that should be done pre-eminently In the open air. Town life has( mostly oTertrodden tho love of wood carving, although Huvcrnl bark yards of the metropolis havo reeentlyshoWu much! ut up wood, and fair misBcs too earnestly' "it work to bfcd Hip mnn smilhic faces that appeared at tho windows of the! houses to walch their progress. It is nevertheless more of a joy to paw wood in the country, for the feeling ' there of being out in the air and of working work-ing in banuonj- with nature is greater than it can ever be in a city back yard. The wood pile, moreover, is a regular institution in-stitution in the couutry. In a city back 'ard the accumulated wood can bo, left standing but temporarily, as there is no i shed to shield it from rain. The pieces have to be carried into the house and put I away snugly in the cellar. A few young j girls have even complained that they jhiive sawed more wood thnu is required by their households, and that tho prob-ilem prob-ilem of its uso and disposition has become serious. The benclit to a family is tin-'donbtcdly tin-'donbtcdly appreciated when one of its members saws the needed fuel. But it is slightly embarrassing when the supply so far exceeds the demand that the worth of her achievement is -questioned. This melancholy stato of things is not ns apt to occur iu the country, where wood fires are general, and where the wood pile, snugly housed, is never heard to groan under its increased size. In town It frequently fre-quently happens that whole stems of trees have to bo specially ordered for the benefit of the saw loving miss; but in the country they can be secured with slight trouble and a much lighter expense. The dress that misses wear when about to saw wood is something like that chosen for basketball. Stays aro abolished, and canvas shoes, without heels, are accepted. Exceedingly short skirls are tho prettiest to wear, and they should bu made cither jOf heavy mohair or of colored linens that are readily laundered. The accentuated point is the choosing of a material of smooth, lustrous aurface. from which the sawduot cau be shaken thoroughly. A loose sweater is also worn and drawn over the skirt. Preferably it should be made of gray worsted. The reason for choosing such a warm upper garment is that the body may be brought, while exercising, ex-ercising, to as great a stat,o of heat as (possible, exuding abundant perspiration, Afterward a warm bath is taken, followed fol-lowed by n cold shower. Many misses are hatless when they saw wood, since they believe that the action ac-tion of tho sun and the nir is beneficial to the hair. Other girls prefer to sacrifice the good of tho hair to protect their faces from tan and possible freckles. They are the ones that wear enormous htraw hats of turned down brims, In truth the hats of farmers. Sawing wood makes most girls very thirsty. They therefore provide themselves them-selves with oatmeal water, such as is carried car-ried to men in the field, to drink during moments of rest. It is about tho care and the make of the saw that devotees of this cult often show their true enthusiasm. One girl uses a small, simple tool, another chooser a large bucksaw, .still another manipulator both kinds, on accoiini of tin different nuitoiis IHioy require. Thuir teeth' are kt;pt '6ry bharp and their stool I made to glisten as rlie armor of kmglits of old 1 |