476 FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 



In the first place the mature mind is not altogether satisfied with the con- 

 ditions of life, and in many places the farms are being annexed to large hold- 

 ings and turned over to tenants. Evidently we must improve upon the con- 

 ditions of farm life, making it pleasant and profitable, if we expect the young 

 to be satisfied with it. 



The desire, on the part of the children, to leave the farm is not the result 

 of viciousness, it is not because the young are unwilling to labor, or are less 

 enduring than their parents, but because they dimly see the great possibility 

 in life, and having outgrown the old ways, they are looking for something 

 better. They are seeking a higher standard oi intelligence, a nobler man- 

 hood and womanhood, and it will be impossible to make them happy and 

 contented unless we widen the possibilities of rural life. 



The great want, and among the first things to be provided to amuse and 

 instruct the young, are books. Judiciously selecied books will make the 

 leisure time pass pleasantly and profitably, and as the mind becomes stored 

 with useful knowledge, a vast amount of nonsense will be crowded out. 

 Eeading circles should be established in every neighborhood, and all books 

 read be thoroughly studied and discussed. 



On many large farms, where the buildings cost thousands of dollars, where 

 the cattle are numbered by the score, and the granaries are overflowing, the 

 children's rights are overlooked, and the home is without books. This is 

 wrong. The young people ui)on farms need books far more than those who 

 live in towns and cities. They cannot have as many chances for improve- 

 ment by coming in contact with the world's great men and minds. TJ^ey 

 have fewer opportunities for hearing learned lecturers and eloquent speakCTS, 

 therefi re it will be well to give them a thorough course of reading. 



So in seeking to amuse the young, don't forget the books. The hardest 

 persons to amuse, and the children most annoying to parents, are those who 

 never read. Try to have the children acquire a taste for reading, because 

 when poor health and old age come, when they are past active pursuits, this 

 is an unfailing pleasure. In the arts and sciences, in inventions, modes of 

 tilling the soil, and manner of living, and in everything which increases the 

 sum of human happiness, this age is rapidly advancing. 



Xow. while the y<iung are eager to march with the advance guard, we shall 

 make an irreparable mistake if we lag grumblingly in the rear. We should 

 walk side by side with them, making farm life pleasant, intellectual and 

 worth living. The country school should be made as good as the town 

 school, with a graded school for advanced scholars in every township. If 

 this were placed in the center of the township every child in the country 

 could have the benefit of these and still be restrained by home influences, at- 

 an age when they are most apt to fall a prey to alluring vices. 



Such schools would bind cammunities together, elevate society, and give 

 the young more amusements and social pleasures. Knowledge is the great 

 fascinator, the foundation of true happiness and amusements. Thus, if we 

 give the young a chance to become acquainted with the world and its great 

 minds it will be comparatively easy to amuse them. 



In the rush and hurry of the present age, doubtless some of the young-^ 

 people expect to jump into place and position, without first taking the- 

 *' regular course." Now the first item in the regular course to success is- 

 labor. Mental or manual labor must go before every achievement. 



Every invention which lightens toil and increases the power of mind over- 



