704 ANNUAL REPORT OP THE Off. Doc. 



peaceful night's rest and breathe the sweet scented air of the country 

 in place of the sewer smells and smells of dirty alleys. 



In the evening when the sun is slowly sinking in the weat and the 

 stars begin to pet^j, he can feel sure of his night's repose, for the 

 world around him is growing silent. Mother Nature yet offers 

 music to lull him to dreams, not in the form of heavy bustling wagons 

 and noisy crowds, but in the rippling of the little meadow brook, and 

 the singing of the breezes as they shake the leaves and grasses. 



How pleasant and delightful in the spring and summer to hear 

 the leaves rustling under the pressure of the gentle summer breezes, 

 hear the birds calling to their mates in the early morning, or singing 

 a good-night song in the leafy bower of some blossom-laden tree. 

 Then when the grain and clover are in bloom and the roses sending 

 forth their perfumee, when the bees hum in and out eager to enjoy 

 their wealth, what more is wanted to gladden the heart. These are 

 the works of God direct from his hand. 



No painter can paint a picture that speaks more of content then 

 when the warm sunshine lights uj) the atmosphere with a back- 

 ground of deep blue. How entrancing to imagine a summer evening 

 in the country, when the day is drawing to a close and the heat gives 

 place to cooling evening breezes, when the setting sun gives forth 

 its good-night rays in a welcome and glowing splendor as if bidding 

 us have a cheerful countenance till its return. 



It is claimed by some people that farmers as a class do not live 

 well. The farmer not only deserves the best the land can produce, 

 but he can also have it. Think of the city people being forced to 

 pay for every speckled apple and withered peach they eat. They 

 have to pay for fruit that the farmer would not pick from the ground. 



This is enough to make us content, even if we do not have ice 

 cream and chicken every day. 



One of the greatest pleasures of living on the farm is the pure 

 air and water that is always found there. True is the saying: ''If 

 you wish to live long and happj^, spend your first years on the farm, 

 it will give you a constitution that privation can not harm." 



If one wants to find health, freedom from harassing things con- 

 nected with the cramped up city life, and a chance to live in the 

 truest sense of the word, let him stay in the country. 



It is from the farm and country districts that the brain power of 

 the country comes and is to come in the future. The development 

 for growth has nothing to check it when one can look with earnest 

 eyes from nature up to nature's God and study history, science and 

 economics with the world's great teachers. There is soundness of 

 core and intelligence in the back country of this nation of ours that 

 people who live in the cities, and think themselves wise, never knew. 

 The backbone of this country rests in the country and on the 

 farm. 



To those who love the farm; who see in each recurring day a new 

 beauty; to whom the arms of nature are ever open; who can feel the 

 life blood coursing and pulsing even beneath the brown and sear 

 leaves; who are enraptured with the song of bird, the buzz and 

 drone of bees; to whom the clouds and rain bring solemn thoughts, 

 whose hearts leap for joy at the beautiful sights a bountiful spirit 

 showers upon them, to those as they value health and happiness, 



