434 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



pate trying something new? Sit down and figure it out and see 

 where tou are going to land. It may aid you in avoiding more trop- 

 hies and disappointments than you ever dreamed of. When manu 

 facturers contemplate a new scheme they first figure out the cost. 

 They call in architects to get up plans. They get estimates on the 

 outlay. They know about where they are going to land before they 

 jump. The same thing can be done in farming operations or busi- 

 ness enterprises connected with them. One of the most successful 

 farmers I know has a complete survey of his farm. Each field is 

 measured, mapped and numbered. This cost him something, but 

 it has been worth every cent it cost each year since it has been done. 

 Besides this he has figured out just what rotations are best to keep 

 up the fertility of his farm and produce the best crops. If field No. 

 1 had a good coat of manure last year No. 2 gets it this year. If No. 

 3 has recuperated under a good coat of grass for three or four 

 years it goes into corn and No. 4 takes the rest cure. His rotations 

 are figured out de "nitely, recorded carefully and carried out to a 

 nicety. ^Vith him it is corn, oats, wheat and grass, with enough im- 

 proved live stock on the place to consume it all and keep all the 

 fertility, and there isn't a manufacturer or merchant in the United 

 States that is making a larger per cent, on capital invested than this 

 man, and none of them are having a happier, pleasauter life. 



Illustrations showing how figures on the farm pay well might be 

 carried on indefinitely. 1 am aware of the fact that I am speaking 

 to men who know all about it, and probably are carrying it out 

 successfully. 



I cannot overlook the fact that the great majority of the farmers 

 of this grand old Commonwealth do not attend these meetings. 

 They believe that to make a success at farming they must "live like 

 a hermit and work like a horse." How to reach them and lift them 

 up, God only knows, I don't. Farmers' Institutes are doing most 

 excellent work, but the audiences attending these meetings are made 

 up by men who are wide-awake and often do not n(^ed the knowl- 

 edge imparted. The Agricultural Press of the country is doing 

 its full share to help spread the gospel of better methods, but they 

 fall into the hands of the better and more enlightened classes. It 

 is the mediocre and lower classes that need the help. When the 

 problem of reaching the struggling masses who are striving to 

 better their condition and do not know how it is solved, when the 

 latent spirits of the men and women of Pennsylvania is awakened 

 and fanned into new life, then, and not until then, will the problem 

 of "What Constitutes a Practical Education for the Farmer?" be 

 answered. You who are leaders in the profession which you have 

 chosen, you who are teachers and preachers among your brethren 

 must remember that you cannot get away from the question pro- 

 pounded by the first tiller of the soil: "Am I my brother's keeper?" 



