FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 27 



should be made the best place for our children's entertainment. I wish 

 to emphasize that word entertainment for it has a strong and important 

 bearing direct upon this question of farm life for our boys. Educate 

 children to love good reading, have magazines and papers that interest 

 tl^em, have books of travel, history and fiction that will interest them, 

 cultivate their taste for good music. A good phonograph with a num- 

 ber of records can be procured for the price of a good cow. We should 

 encourage our children to entertain their friends at home, cards and 

 dancing are incidents to their social life and pleasure. 



If boys are bound to smoke let them smoke at home if they are 

 drinking have them do it at home, but discourage these things, but do it 

 with reason and sense. Encourage the boys to bring their best girls 

 home and introduce them into the family, have the daughter feel 

 anxious to introduce her "best and only" to her home people. Emphasize 

 the fact that the home is for them and for their entertainment. Let 

 the boys go with the girls and the girls with the boys. Emphasize the 

 fact that good company is always a credit to one and bad company 

 a discredit. Always cultivate the best if possible of stock, fruit or grain. 

 Educate the boys to excel in the line of farming you follow. Attend- 

 ance on our fairs. Farmers' Institutes, Horticultural Society and In- 

 ternational stock shows are incentives to the boy to stay at home, but 

 encourage him to acquire the best stock, fruit or grain. 



The question of profit is one that has many phases, — land fertility, 

 markets and business management all are essentials to the actual profit 

 of our farms. I believe the average farmer would receive more home 

 encouragement and actual profit if the sons and daughters were more 

 intimate with the alfairs and finances of the farm, viz., its profits, 

 losses, expenses, debts, in fact an acquaintance with the farm economy. 

 Boys should be allowed to buy and sell the i)roducts and stock on the 

 farm, if they make a mistake explain the error and let them try again, 

 for this is simply part of their education and the economy of busi- 

 ness is one of the most important phases of life. The farm boys should 

 be encouraged to save their money and wlien using it be judicious and 

 careful. The reason why many boys leave the farm is this question of 

 money. If they work hard they should be compensated then their in- 

 terest is encouraged. Money is ac(|uired by labor and truly 'iabor 

 should be rewarded," the saving and the judicious expenditure of money 

 is a matter of experience. Many times the over-stating the "hard times" 

 story leaves a very unfavorable impression ui)()n the boy. Dinah was 

 wrong when she said, "It beats de dickens in dis world we hab to 

 work ourselves to def to keep the bref of life in us." 



This question is too broad a one to adequately consider in a paper of 

 this kind. It is a fact that farm life today is becoming more attractive 

 by the use of improved machinery, modern built houses with bath- 

 rooms, gas and electricity, phonographs that we may enjoy the best 

 music in the world, automobiles, rural free delivery, telephones, and 

 one of the most important advantages to our rural life is the improve- 

 ment of our highways. 



The conservation of our soil fertility is a very important and much 

 needed improvement as combined witli gi'owing demand for better 



