42 TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



FAEMER'S BOYS AND GIRLS. 

 BY HAERT G. BRYANT, PRIXCETON. 



Nature has said that if man wishes to enjoy life to its fullest 

 extent, he must possess a healthy mind and body. Nowhere can we 

 attain this so well as on the farm. 



How healthy farm life is ! How well we can enjoy such life 

 and its surroundings — breathing the pure air of heaven, uncontam- 

 inated by the smoke and dirt of the cities, with plenty of exercise to 

 develop the physical powers to their fullest degree, — and after our 

 day's work is done, we have the time and opportunity to improve our 

 minds by reading ; not trashy, cheap literature — there is far too 

 much of this done already, — to its door can be laid much of the dis- 

 satisfaction for farm work and life. It poisons the mind and 

 conveys to the person starting out in life a wrong impression, which 

 takes the best years of his or her life to find out it is false. 



But let your reading be standard works, such as will elevate 

 and improve the mind. Here we should not leave out the Agricul- 

 tural and Horticultural papers. Each family should take one or 

 more of the best of these, as they can afford, and not only take, out 

 read them ; for much can be learned in this way that will aid us 

 greatly in improving our ways and means of farming. 



With improved tools and machinery, we are enabled to do our 

 work much more easily and quickly than in the past, and I hope 

 that in the near future as much improvement may be seen in the 

 farmer's home surroundings and life as is now seen in the tools with 

 which he does his work. 



There is no need of so many farmers living as they now do, 

 with uncomfortable homes, the yard overgrown with weeds, and 

 used by the chickens, calves and hogs as common property. We 

 can find hundreds of examples of this all over the country. This 

 state of affairs could be avoided by a little care and attention at the 

 proper time. Should we wonder that the boys and girls who live 

 on such a place as this, dislike farm life and long to go to the city, 

 or, in fact anywhere, where neatness and order prevail. No one has 

 any more right to enjoy the luxuries of life than the farmer, or has 

 more opportunities so to do. He can raise his own fruit and vegeta- 

 bles without much trouble, by caring for them at the right time. 



It seems to me that in every family some one should see that 

 there are enough trees, plants and seeds planted to yield a sufficient 

 supply of fruits and vegetables for the family use during the year. 

 These will not need much ground and can be planted in rows and 

 cultivated with the same tools used for corn. 



The front yard should also receive attention in order to give 

 the place a neat appearance. The grass can be easily cut with a 

 mower and trimmed with a scythe. 



