ENTHUSIASM WILL DO IT. 43 



me, even to the feeding of swine. I could take an enthusiastic 

 interest in that — to see how I could do it in the best way. If 

 you can only succeed in inspiring the farmer with an enthusiastic 

 devotion to his profession, depend upon it he will never give it 

 up. That is what we want, and not the dry details — not the 

 mere drudgery — showing a man the dark side of everything, and 

 not permitting him to see the glorious light that shines upon his 

 profession. A man said to me the other day : " What is there 

 to attract a man to farming — what literature ? I never read a 

 book on agriculture." "It only shows your ignorance," said I. 

 " There have been more books written on the subject of agricul- 

 ture than any other, probably, except theology, that you can 

 name." Let a man get interested in the study of some specific 

 subject, and follow it up, and see what different authors have 

 said upon it, and he gets inspired with enthusiasm ; and the 

 moment he gets enthusiastic in his work he will go to books and 

 to intelligent men to find out all that can be learned about it. 

 This is the great thing. A man wants to be filled with enthu- 

 siasm ; and I will say to all interested, that this will carry a 

 man to the farm if anything will. I believe that if .the college 

 goes on — and we trust it will — if the first class graduates twenty 

 men, nine-tenths of them will go on to farms, and at once their 

 services will be sought for and valued. Let a man go on to a 

 a farm and be thus enthusiastic, and what does he do ? Why, 

 his enthusiasm is capable of inspiring all about him with enthu- 

 siasm ; and where men work with a will, how different it is from 

 where they work under compulsion. It is all the difference 

 between a freeman and a slave. The man thus educated will 

 command his price, and then the money motive comes in. 



On this whole matter of agricultural education, it seems to 

 me that the more I look at it the less I know, and the more I 

 am convinced of the difficulties of the subject ; and for this 

 reason — the whole thing is in an unformed state. The first 

 great difficulty that Massachusetts has in establishing such a 

 college is the work of organization. There are few or no prece- 

 dents. The only successful precedent, so far as I know, in this 

 country, is the college of Michigan, and that has had a good 

 many pullbacks and difficulties. I don't know but that is tbo 

 most successful institution we have. The one in Pennsylvania 

 which Professor Pugh carried on for a few years* is now. being 



