56 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



active member of the farmers' club, and help support the 

 church. 



Every farmer should keep some tools for repairing imple- 

 ments : it will often save time and money. Let him look 

 over the farming-tools in the month of March, and repair 

 and paint if need be. Let him make it a point to take an 

 inventory of all the property, both real and personal, once a 

 year, cash value, and all debts against him. In this way he 

 can tell if he has made or lost in the year's operations. 



The question is often asked. Is it safe for a young man to 

 run in debt for a farm ? I answer. It is not only safe, but 

 advisable, to a limited extent, say, one-third of the value of 

 the farm. It will have a tendency, as a rule, to make him 

 more prudent and industrious when he has a payment to 

 meet, and less liable to form bad habits with the money by 

 him for wliich he has no particular use. But he should have 

 but one debt, keeping all small bills paid, cash down. 



Now, it is not advisable for a man to overwork, and break 

 down young. It does not follow that the man who works 

 the hardest makes the most money. It is the man who man- 

 ages best who is sure to succeed. He should devote a proper 

 time for recreation, — such as attending the sociable with his 

 wife, playing croquet with his family and friends ; and by all 

 means he should arrange and put in order the most lovely 

 spot on the farm for a flower-garden for his wife to display 

 her skill in cultivating the choicest flowers to gladden the 

 hearts of her household. He should be a liberal contributor 

 to the annual fair, take his family with him, listen to the 

 speeches, and see what practical knowledge he may gain. 



It is true, farming is a slow but sure way to accumulate 

 money. But what profit is it for a man to accumulate a 

 large fortune in an unhealthy business in twoscore years, and 

 become a sickly invalid the rest of his days? The very 

 nature of the farmer's business is to promote health. The 

 pure out-door air which he breathes, the good, pure milk, 

 and fresh vegetables and fruit, with which his table is sup- 

 plied, all conduce to health, happiness, and long life. It is 

 equally true that the farmer has no time or money to go to 

 the fashionable watering-places, as many do who prove to be 

 defaulters or bankrupts, and oblige their honest creditors to 

 take up with ten cents on the dollar. 



