390 Report of Farmers' Institutes 



drawn the line sharply, not with the thoiTght of discouraging any- 

 one who is consumed with land hiuige*-, but that by such sharply 

 dra\\Ti lines I may point out the absurdity of one not country- 

 bred or farm-minded, utterly devoid of knowledge of the most 

 complex business on earth — of what I may call farm etiquette, 

 for there is such — to expect to succeed from an economic stand- 

 point when one to the manor born rarely makes more than a good 

 living. 



WHO SHOULD FARM 



As already stated, the man who has the means to gratify his 

 agricultural desires may buy land and play at farming, but let 

 him not call himself a farmer until he has demonstrated his ability 

 to live from his farm. Occasionally, some do. More often the toy 

 proves too costly and annoying, consequently there is a real, aban- 

 doned farm, left in such condition that no real farmer wants it. 



There is also the man who is farm-minded, in that -he knows 

 farm conditions, is willing to work and devote himself to his busi- 

 ness as any successful man must do in the city, who has enough 

 money for his investment and a working capital over, and who is 

 not wdse in his own conceit, realizing that the practices of the 

 neighborhood are usually the outgrowth of years of experience, 

 and, while susceptible of improvement, should not be lightly 

 ignored. 



The young man with very little capital or fann experience who 

 thinks at the beginning of his career that he would like to be a 

 farmer may make a success if he will gain his experience as the 

 employee of a real farmer, being willing to work for what he is 

 really worth, which at the outset will not be much. By so doing, 

 he can determine without financial loss whether he. reallv wants 

 to pay the price of being a farmer. All things worth while have 

 a price, and the more intrinsic w^orth they have the higher is the 

 price — most often not in dollars. He can gain an experience 

 that he must have and that cannot be obtained from any text 

 book or school. 



AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 



Unfortunately, an opinion seems to obtain that if a man takes 

 an agricultural course — short or long — he is bound to come out 

 a full-fledged farmer. No one holds an agricultural education in 



