272 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



are not slow to see simiJar openings in the flat prairie country, but 

 so far as I know there has been no special effort to establish cosy 

 farm settlements or divide unoccupied land in this state into small 

 and pleasant holdings for beginners, or those of little means and 

 not too ambitious desires, who may wish to return comfortably to 

 the soil again. 



This artificial swarming is often enough done in cities by too 

 hasty and feverish spells, and I see no reason why it cannot as 

 well be done soberly and methodically in the country, wherever 

 the requisite means and skill are at hand. 



In another New England State I once knew a doughty farmer 

 who made it his especial business to buy and improve small places 

 that had been mismanaged and run down. He was a tremendous 

 worker, and liked nothing better than to right up, underpin or 

 move and reorganize old or badly arranged buildings. He was a 

 great artist in restoring neglected fields, meadows, orchards, and 

 gardens. He did just enough, but not too much, and could never 

 live upon the improved property long before some purchaser 

 would be glad to pay him a profit upon his labor and give him the 

 means and time to move to the next inviting spot for his truly 

 heroic exploits. 



No one knows who has never tried it what weary, losing, trying 

 years occur, wearing away life and hope, where inexperienced 

 families, even with sufficient means to begin with, try to do all 

 these things for themselves. The lack of helpfulness in this re- 

 spect is one of the great mistakes of our time. Capital, instead of 

 helping agricultural settlements in the east, probably does much 

 by its coolness and indifference, or preoccupation, to drive out 

 many people who would be far happier here, among accustomed 

 scenes and associates, assisting in restoring our waste places. 

 These are people, too, that the commonwealth can ill afford to 

 lose. 



Sometimes a sort of wrecking spirit prevails, and unaccus- 

 tomed or enthusiastic people are induced by false lights to with- 

 draw their savings from banks and expend them at great disad- 

 vantage, waste, and perhaps ruin, in the country, to the scandal of 

 society and the ultimate loss of all concerned. 



Periods will continually occur, however, when the popular mind 

 is turned towards rural pursuits, and there is a demand for well- 

 ordered and comfortable small estates. This demand is legitimate 



