No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 333 



kuowledge to impiove the appearance of things, ornament. If you 

 possess kuowledge that will be helpful to another, and on which you 

 have no patent, pass it along and be thankful that you can help an- 

 other. And lastly, resolve to master a few of the sciences. 



THE TEOBLEM OF THE BOY. 



BY EDMUND S. FRITZ, Boyertown, Pa. 



READ AT BOYERTOWN INSTITUTE, BERKS CO., FEB. 11, 1901. 



Somebody has said, "that the greatest problem of the twentieth 

 century is the boy, with one exception, namely, the girl." I shall not 

 attempt to discuss the problem in all its length and breadth, but 

 shall confine myself to that portion of it which confronts the rural 

 districts of Pennsylvania. 



It is a trite saying that "The child is the father of the man;" but 

 it is equally true that the boy of to-day is the controlling citizen of 

 to-morrow. Society is crying for men and women of broad culture, 

 having a greater zeal in their endeavors tow^ard perfection in public 

 and private life, there is not, and never has been, a greater question 

 than the one that is presented to us in the boy. His successful train- 

 ing at present solves all questions, political, social and moral of the 

 future. The child, as the nucleus of the man, is laid at the gate of a 

 new world. 



A noted authority says: "That between the ages of eighteen and 

 thirty months, a child learns more of the material world, of his own 

 powers, of the nature of other bodies and other minds, then he ac- 

 quires in all the rest of his life." The impressions thus made on 

 the plastic mind or the associations once formed in childhood can 

 never be erased. It is for this reason that George Herbert says that 

 "A good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters.' 



For the boy there are three worlds: The world of home, the w'orld 

 of school, and the world at large. Every boy as he attains manhood, 

 must take his place and act his part in the great theatre of human 

 affairs, whether this part be prominent or obscure depends chiefly 

 upon the individual; but the nature of such prominence or obscurity 

 is largely decided by his early training at home. Dr. E. Higbee said: 

 "No worthier subject can engage the attention of the State than the 

 proper education of the children thereof." In the last century Alex- 

 ander Hamilton lamented the reluctance of our people on the subject 

 of education. He predicted that our nation could not attain great- 



