No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 429 



(Ireu devolves upon the iiionier. The biisiiioss icliilioiis of I lie 

 father are such that the child does not learn to know hiui. 



But what man, great in his generation, or worthy of honorable men- 

 tion, does not honor and revere the name and memory of his mother. 

 And well he may, because the best thing on earth is a good, kind, 

 educated. Christian mother. When I hear a boy or young man speak 

 unkindly, or disparagingly of his mother, to me it displays a lack of 

 understanding, a want of common sense. She maj' not be the best 

 woman, but being his mother, is worthy of his highest tribute of 

 respect. 



The boy should also be taught to be a man. In part this must nec- 

 essarily be done in the home. Principles of honesty, integrity and 

 morality can be instilled into the youthful mind, by a careful selec- 

 tion of good books. When taught to lose himself in the minds of 

 others in 3'outh, prepares him for the enjoyment of good company in 

 his maturer years. The child is an imitator. It forms ideals early 

 in life. Uaviug spent the better part of my life in the school room, I 

 could readily see the home through the child in its conduct upon the 

 play ground and in the class room. The home should give to the 

 child a name of which it need never be ashamed. Upon this rock 

 rests the superstructure of a life. This shall play an important part 

 in securing recognition in the contest for individual supremacy. A 

 name above reproach at home, is ''like seed sown upon good ground 

 and may bring forth fruit an hundred fold." 



Education, according to Spencer, is the preparation for complete 

 living. We may honestly differ as to the means of preparation em- 

 ployed. The ultimate end of education is culture, character and 

 citizenship. The man must represent these three. To form, in edu- 

 cation, is a greater principle than to reform. Formation of character 

 is more desirable and more in evidence than reformation of criminals. 

 And yet that Christian woman directing the minds and morals of 

 half a hundred children receives a meager salary in comparison with 

 the warden of the penitentiary. 



It is not the province of these lines to criticise. 'Tis not the selec- 

 tion of a primary teacher that occupies the attention of the school 

 board. And yet it is the more important. Genius goes where the 

 money flows. Time was when any fool could farm. Likewise most 

 anybody could teach the little ones. Easier said than done. By way 

 of illustration, Elias Howe invented the sewing machine. He had" 

 his own trouble with it. Only one thing wrong with it. It would not 

 sew, until he reversed the thing, by putting the eye in the sharp 

 point of the needle. A little reversing would be beneficial to our 

 schools. I will not say that two much money goes to the top, but 

 that too little finds its w^av to the bottom. Too much to the head, not 

 enough to the heart. Get the eye nearer the sharp point of the 



