830 BOARD or AGRICULTUEE. 



Our young men too often look upon the distasteful features of coun- 

 try life as things which can not be helped, which is a false conception, as 

 much of the isolation and monotony have been already overcome by the 

 telephone, the rural deliverj^ of mail and the organization of the farmers 

 into associations such as the Institutes and the Grange. 



Agriculture will never be taught in the rural schools till they are 

 centralized. One teacher can not possibly teach more than twenty-five 

 or thirty classes, as is the case in the country schools today. City school 

 children have drawing, music, needlework and nature study, while the 

 country children do not and never will till their schools are larger. There- 

 fore the immediate problem before us is to centralize our schools. It will 

 also enable us to employ more efficient teachers, the attendance will be 

 more regular, the health of the pupils better and they will do better work, 

 as there is enthusiasm in numbers. 



Young farmer, don't think that you don't need an education for your 

 calling. You know the standing of an uneducated doctor; we call him 

 a "quack." In all other callings the well educated man leads. And why 

 do the farmers feel satisfied with a common school or high school edu- 

 cation? The late Mr. Mahan said, "It is because they can make a living 

 so easily that they haven't felt the need of it." There is much truth in that 

 statement, despite the conception among many farmers that living in town 

 is like living in a bed of roses. Ninety-seven per cent, of the so-called 

 business men fail; only 3 per cent, succeed. I tell you, my friends, if 

 the farmer would put one-half the study and application to his business 

 that every successful city business man does the howl that "farming 

 doesn't pay" would become a whisper. How many farmers can balance 

 a ration? If you ask him about protein or potash, likely as not he will 

 begin to talk about habeas corpus or use a technical term of some other 

 business. Things well enough for him to know, but not essential to him 

 in his business.. How many farmers keep accounts so that they know 

 where every penny comes from and where it goes? They know they 

 make money, but they don't know except in a general way where it comes 

 from or where the leaks are. What does it cost to produce a pound of 

 pork? a bushel of corn? a pound of butter? How many pounds of pork 

 can be made from a bushel of corn? There is a farm in New York State 

 which can not supply the demand for butter at ,*?1 per pound. During a 

 three months' stay at the great fair at St. Louis, I met a young man who 

 owns an 80-acre farm within the limits of New York City who pays a 

 tax of .$30 per acre. He pays what we would call an exorbitant price for 

 labor, and yet cleared something like .$70 per acre this last year. 



The educated farmer profits by the experience of others. He doesn't 

 have to learn everything by experience and thus he can begin life several 

 years in advance of his uneducated brother. He appreciates and knows 

 how to utilize the information Avhich can be obtained from the agricultural 

 experiment stations. To the country boy who thinks he doesn't want to 



