No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 311 



for several years at long range. He is an eminent success. Be- 

 cause of this he was asked ■ to do some lecturing ; in fact he did prac- 

 tically a whole winter's work. Needing some one in his particular 

 line, and knowing he had the first requisite and feeling the experi- 

 ence he had would warrant it, in an unguarded moment I engaged 

 him for three months. Later I was told that he was not a success 

 as a teacher, but feeling that I could help so worthy a man, who had 

 in him so much good sense, by timely counsel, I started in with high 

 hopes. At the start I saw he lacked j^reparation, and I suggested 

 an outline, which suggestion he gladly received, but alas, the longer 

 1 had him the worse he got. He wandered from Dan to Bersheeba 

 and when he had occupied more than his allotted time had often not 

 touched upon the very things the people wanted. I never had 

 a man get on my nerves so before. The truth was that he could 

 do, and did do, well the things that he had undertaken on the farm, 

 but his mental processes were too slow ever to be a teacher. I 

 was ready to sing the Doxology, when business matters compelled 

 him to retire from the force. The pity of it was that he was a 

 likable fellow and so far as he knew, he tried hard. It is the audi- 

 ence I am always thinking of. With another man, an eminent suc- 

 cess in his line, but so slow and sleepy that after we had him out 

 a week, I had a note sent up from the floor reading, "For heaven's 

 sake stop that insect and save the audience." 



Ability to teach is to a great degree a gift, but there are those 

 things which will materially assist if one will heed them. Of these 

 I will speak later on. 



A GOOD MORAL CHARACTER 



Though a man may have the two requisites mentioned, yet he 

 falls far short of the full stature of a good institute instructor if 

 he is not a man of good morals. 



Eight here I want to stop and bear testimony to the fact, that 

 with very few exceptions, the institute men with whom I have 

 worked — and they are many — have been Christian gentlemen. The 

 purpose of the institute is to teach agriculture, not to discuss politics, 

 finance or religion. But the institute that has not left a little higher 

 standard of morals and ethics in a community has not done all it 

 ought, and might. After all the main thing back of a man's teach- 

 ing, is what he is. Too often in rural communities the moral stand- 

 ards are none too high, as evidenced by the lewdness and profanity 

 which abounds in ordinary conversation. Often an evidence of a 

 deficient vocabulary and a lack of knowledge — that does not indi- 

 cate a high type of manliness. Or the patronage received by local 

 saloons, or — by courtesy — hotels. I do not mean to say that this is 

 confined to farmers. It is considered part of the stock in trade 

 of a local minister to advise against these things, but when there 

 come into their midst, farmers whose hands are calloused, and who 

 are familiar with farm work, which mark them as men of like pas- 

 sions with themselves, with good red blood in their veins who ab- 

 stain from such things; and as opportunity offers — without osten- 

 tation — take a stand for rightiousness, and are not ashamed to 

 pay tribute, and own allegiance to the church, they leave an impress 

 not soon forgotten. All of which dignifies agriculture. Unless the 

 farmer can be made a better — broader man, it will, in the last 



