CHANGES IN FARMING. 343 



nay hundreds who sink into darkness and misery. They see not 

 the numberless pitfalls of city life into which they sink, nor the 

 terribleness of the wreck to both body and soul of the great ma- 

 jority of the unfortunate young men who are thus deceived. 



It is our duty to do all that in us lies to undeceive them. Every 

 consideration of Humanity and of Christianity urges us to set be- 

 fore them the real facts. We can prove by statistics that in such 

 coses the failures greatly outnumber the successes, that of a thou- 

 sand who quit the farm for an easier life in mercantile pursuits a 

 very small fraction succeeds, while of those who remain on the 

 farm it is only the small fraction who make disastrous failure. 

 We can show that the chances for health and competence and all 

 that makes life desirable are vastly greater in the country than 

 in the town. Nor do we faithfully discharge our duty to such 

 unless we endeavor to show them the hollowness and f emptiness 

 and unsatisfying nature of wealth of mushroom growth ; and that, 

 in the very instances which have most dazzled them, the money 

 bags have brought more of real misfortune and discomfort than of 

 any rational enjoyment whatever. 



Let me now turn from this digression which seemed possibly 

 needful to prevent misapprehension ; for as yet I have scarcely 

 touched upon what chiefly occupied my thoughts when I sat down 

 to arrange them in order for presentation, but have taken up your 

 time with saying what, for the moment, crowded to the front. 



• Occupying the trust which, by your flattering preference, has 

 been held for a series of years, it has often been a puzzling ques- 

 tion for me to decide, whether to hammer away continuously upon 

 any given point felt to be of great importance, until its force 

 seemed to be appreciated, to iterate and reiterate the same truth, 

 to follow line with the same line, and precept with the same 

 precept; or, to say once what seemed to be needful to be said, as 

 clearly and forcibty as might be, and quietly and hopefully wait 

 for its germination and growth and fruitage while busy with set- 

 ting forth other truths which might be later still in being accepted 

 and acted upon. 



The thought most prominent in my mind in connection with one 

 leading theme of our discussions at this session was, the need of 

 introducing correct business principles into the prosecution of agri- 

 culture ; in other words, of pursuing agriculture as a business, 

 which should yield profits, in distinction from pursuing it as an 

 occupation by means of which a man might earn a living. It is a 



