Nch 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 729 



. WHY EDUCxVTE THE FARM BOY? 



By PROF. U. H. MASON, Hartstmvn, Fa. 



The subject that has been assigned me is, "Why Educate the Farm 

 Boy?" I will eudeavor to give some reasons, although they may not 

 be as good as the Irish woman's reasons for not liking the ministers 

 sermon. The story goes that a minister on entering an Irishman's 

 cottage said: "Grood morning, Janet. I am sorry to hear that you 

 did not like my preaching on Sunday. What was the reason?" "I 

 had three verra guid reasons, sir," replied the woman. "Firstly, ye 

 read your sermon; secondly, je did na read it well; and thirdly, it 

 was na worth reading at all." 



A man might put a long coat on his back and tuck a Bible under 

 his arm, but he would have no right to the prefix, "Rev.," to his 

 name and could not get a license to preach until he had acquired a 

 special education. A man might have a skeleton behind the door, 

 a few roots on the shelf and a little court plaster in the drawer, but 

 he can lay no claim to the title of "Dr.," and cannot get a license 

 to practice medicine until he has acquired a special education. A 

 man might own a case of razors and a bar of soap, but he is not a 

 barber until he has acquired a special education. A woman might 

 possess a grand piano and a voice that rivaled a nightingale, but 

 she would not be worthy of the title, "musician," until she had ac- 

 quired a special education. A man who owns a farm is not a farmer, 

 and has no right to the honorable title of farmer, until he has ac- 

 quired a special education. 



Allow me to ask one question. ^Vhat was the first special educa- 

 tion God gave to man? The first special education God gave to man, 

 was an education in farming. Why was an education of this kind 

 necessary? Open your Bibles at Gen. 2d chapter and read: "Thus 

 the Heavens and the earth were finished," * * ♦ '<And there 

 was not a man to till the ground." * * » ''And the Lord God 

 formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils 

 the breath of life; and man became a living soul ♦ ♦ * <<And the 

 Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress 

 it and to keep it" Allow me to repeat one sentence. "And there 

 was not a man to till the ground." Of what assurance is a rainbow 

 in the sk}' if no one sees it. Of what use is a well of Avater if there 

 were no person to drink it. Of what use w^ould a field of pota- 

 toes be if there were no Irishmen to eat them. Land would be 

 of no uise if there were not a man to till it. Hence, a special 

 education in farming was necessary. It is a nice thing to know 

 how to grow water-melons large enough to frighten a President. 

 Some friends have told the story that President Roosevelt on be- 

 ing presented with a mammoth water-melon, was afraid to open it 

 for fear it should contain an office seeker inside. It is a nice thing to 

 understand the nature of grass, for if the story be true, a lack of this 

 knowledge was once mortifying to a college student. The story goes 

 that an old darkie was cleaning the ground and burning a pile of 

 rubbish on a college campus. A college student came along and 

 thus saluted him. "Hello; Sambo! you better keep off the grass 

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