gg BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



homos, you will know what they arc, out in the avenues of life in 

 the city of Boston. So, I say, wo ;u(\iust what ouu homes are. 



Now, we are^ bound to improve every moment of our lives. I 

 hold that the man who has not this conviction on his mind, that it 

 is his tlnty to God and to his follow-mon to be constantly improv- 

 ing, is, 1 was about to say, God-forsaken, but I do not believe He 

 ever forsakes us ; but it is our duty to learn to do something bet- 

 ter and to he better every monuMit. Do not entertain the idea that 

 knowlcdgo is to be lost to us when wo are done liore ; that is 

 always g'oing- with us, ami it is so much clear gain if we lay it up 

 in this world. 



All these things that we are trj'ing to do, and that we come here 

 to learn from you and yon iVom us, are civilizors ; they are ele- 

 vating us in the scale of being every day. The very arctics you 

 have on your feet are civilizors. The kitchen cooking stove is one 

 of the greatest civilizers in the land. Take it away when you get 

 home, and see what a row there will be in the family to-morrow 

 morning ! 1 don't believe there are many of you who would dare 

 to do it. \Vhv, it is one of the most erraccful thino-s there ever was 

 in the wcu'ld. Thev shine like a crow's wine* under a neat woman's 

 hautl. ' She can do three' times as much work with a stove as she 

 could wiUi the old-fashioned open fire-place. Is it not acivilizer? 

 It gives her time for reading and intellectual culture, time to mend 

 the clothes, and wIumi ilu>- cliiUlren come home from school and sit 

 down at night to puzzle out the hard sums, the father or mother 

 can help them, for the work is all done and everything cleared 

 up, — because thev have the cooking stove ! I say again, it is a 

 civilizer. 



So it is with the sewing machine. Tell me what has ever done 

 80 much to advance the welfare of the women of your household 

 as the sewing machine ? We lu^ver could have got through with 

 the rebellion as we did without the sewing machine. Our soldiers 

 would liave perished for want of clothing ami the comforts of life. 

 So it is with the reaping machine and mowing machine. Tliere 

 are many men who almost broke their backs when they were 

 young, in mowing too much, who now live comparatively easy, 

 and make money faster than they ever did before, because they 

 have got the mowing machine on their farms. And yon must not 

 forget that you are doing the world good as well as yourself when 

 you use them. You are increasing your profits. I do not want 

 to leave that out of sight. Every one of these things puts money 



