THE SOURCE OF SUCCESS. 15 



demon of intemperance be entirely abolished from our state 

 and nation ! 



The question' may arise, How can a young man without 

 capital or experience get his farm ? I reply, Work for others. 

 Working steadily, honestly, and perseveringly, he will soon 

 have the trade, and, if he is prudent, will save as much 

 money, on the average, at tliis as at any other business. 

 Let him begin with a small farm in a careful way, not ex- 

 pecting too large profits ; perhaps by leasing one for a term 

 of years he can acquire the requisite skill and capital. He 

 should plan eventually to own his farm ; for a man is twice 

 the man every way who owns the land he works upon. A 

 man of my acquaintance who had lived upon a farm for 

 several years, and afterwards bought it, said, after he owned 

 his place the very stones of which he built his- fences seemed 

 lighter than before. 



A farmer to succeed should be in earnest, should be entJiu- 

 siastic in his work. In what other business can one excel 

 without enthusiasm ? But you may reply, " These are hard 

 times ; milk is down to the lowest figure ; butter, cheese, 

 pork, and beef command only the lowest prices: what is 

 left after the potato-bug, the canker-worm, the cabbage-fly, 

 and the onion-worm, is hardly worth marketing." My friends, 

 if half the time which is spent in grumbling were devoted to 

 earnest, cheerful work, times would have been better than 

 they are, before this. Perhaps this may be true of other 

 professions than farming. 



A friend and neighbor of mine, having recently failed in 

 the mercantile business, went immediately back to his former 

 occupation, took charge of a small schooner, and, as it were, 

 began life anew. Being asked if he could make any thing, 

 he replied, " Perhaps not ; but I shall be all ready and in 

 business when the good times do come." So with us farmers: 

 we cannot afford to let our farms go to waste, to let our 

 trees die of neglect and be eaten up by insects. We should 

 be up and doing : the " good times " will come before we are 

 aware of it. More than half of the farmers in this county 

 with whom I have any acquaintance have money in the sav- 

 ings bank. Which is the best investment, — money in the 

 Five Cents Savings Banks, and railroad shares, or in beautify- 

 ing and making comfortable our own homes, in under-drain- 



