so STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTUKE. 



life, — a (lurk as well as a bright one, — both of whicli must sometime meet his 

 view. Prepare him then for the emergencies and tlie ups and downs of stem 

 reality. "Gently down the stream of time," is beautiful in fancy; but in 

 reality, it is humbug. Xo one ever floated "gently" down the stream of time. 

 We don't go that way. We are pulling against the tide and constantly encoun- 

 tering shoals and rocks, against which our little bark is sometimes thrown with 

 great fury. But we riglit its course and i)ull hard again. And these obstruc- 

 tions are essential to our very existence. They strengtlien us to meet and over- 

 come the petty perils of life. They are the great teachers that guide iis to 

 success. Let the boy take a little trip alo)ig this route, — at first with a practi- 

 cal oarsman, — and you fit him for the great voyage of life, and teach him to 

 enjoy its deliglits and avoid its dangers. 



It will also help him to overcome that awkwardness peculiar to the farmer 

 boys, which so often points them out as desirable victims for the confidence 

 man. It will hardly be a reasonable excuse to say you can not spare him. 

 Make extra arrangements with this particular end in view. You spare your 

 horses at times when yoii most need them. You spare the various farm imple- 

 ments when you can scarcely do without them, even for a day; and you do 

 not expect them returned in better condition. You expend weeks and months 

 of earnest toil in fitting certain favorite stock for the fair. You are anxious 

 to have it said that you own the premium horses, cattle, and sheep. Are you 

 not just as anxious to have it said: "Yours is the premium boy?" Fit and 

 train him for a premium boy, and ho converses freely and intelligently upon 

 the ordinary to})ics of the day without being too forward, lie knows what he 

 talks about. He is fond of his book and his paper. In a word, he is a young 

 gentleman in the true sense of the term. 



Fit him for the fair. Take him with you upon your round of inspection. 

 Teach him the points of difference between good and poor animals. Lot him 

 hear the discussions and decisions of the judges, and, if possible, assign to 

 him some minor position of trust. He will guard it as faithfully as the sol- 

 dier-sentinel his jiost. You must trust him to make him trustworthy. In 

 addition to these advantages — which cost you but a trifle, and are of inestim- 

 able value to the boy — he requires special training and culture which neither 

 the home nor the district school can furnish. His field must be widened, his 

 facilities enlarged, his training reduced to a system. 



Our State has wisely provided an institution especially adapted to the wants 

 of the farmer boy. In it, he is at the same time on the farm and in the 

 college ; both muscle and brain are busily employed. There are opened to 

 him the many departments of industry, science, and art, managed by skillful 

 professors, whose lives are earnestly devoted to the grand work of moulding 

 minds and developing manhood physically, mentally, and morally. 



Give your boy the advantage of an education in this noble institution, 

 rather than send him to the lumber woods; and though it may seem to cripple 

 your resources at present, it will repay you an hundred fold by and by. 



I might have cited before this the fact in favor of the farmer boys that 

 their names nowhere appear upon our criminal records or loafer's list, showing 

 conclusively that you have acted wisely with reference to some of the rules or 

 safeguards which 1 have mentioned. And while we are glad that this is true, 

 ■we are anxious to record their names upon the pages of history as shining 

 examples of that broad, liberal culture, so necessary to elevate and adorn 

 human character. 



