THE FARMER'S EDUCATION— WHAT HE CAN DO FOR HIMSELF. 493 



What college could have instructed a Newton in mathematics, a Davy in 

 •chemistry, a Franklin or an Edison in electrical science? They passed by 

 their own efforts, beyond the ken of colleges, into the realm of the unknown. 

 The path in which they trod, and by which they reached results so beneficial 

 to themselves and to humanity, is a road royal enough for any one — a road 

 in which no man need be ashamed to walk. 



But to be successful in this work some qualifications are necessary. 



The first and most important is an overmastering desire for knowledge, a 

 thirst which is never slaked, a hunger never satisfied ; which makes present 

 -attainments but a stepping-stone to higher results and more active progress, 

 and gains with every advance a broader view and a more determined purpose. 

 Without this desire the numberless objects which attract the attention and 

 pass away the time will leave no opportunity for study. 



A word of caution may be needed just here. He who, to gain knowledge, 

 deprives himself and his family of the enjoyments of home, who can find no 

 time to romp with his children or visit with his friends, who values learning 

 above religion, and starves his soul to feed his brain, makes a false estimate 

 of life, and pays too high a price even for knowledge. 



Another qualification of great value, if not a necessity, is contentment, the 

 ability to look upon the bright side, to make the most of one's circumstances 

 and surroundings, and though life may not be what the dreams of youth had 

 pictured it, a willingness to accept the situation, and out of disappointment 

 wring success. 



A third qualification much to be desired is the power of concentration ; the 

 ability, when a leisure moment comes, to drop business or pleasure, and give 

 the whole mind to the work. Let no one be discouraged because he does not 

 possess this, for it is a result of study, rather than a requisite for the begin- 

 ner. 



Dickens says: "The one safe, serviceable, remunerative, attainable qual- 

 ity is the quality of attention. It will grow in the poorest soil, and in its 

 good time, will yield both flowers and fruit." 



Having resolved to do what you can for yourself in education, there are two 

 practical rules which you must follow to be at all successful : 



First: Begin. 



Second: Keep at it. 



Obedience to these simple rules insures a degree of success dependent, of 

 course, upon the mental ability of the student; the quicker the perceptions 

 And the stronger the intellectual grip the more rapid the progress. 



But when and where begin? 



There is no better time to begin than your first leisure minute. Busy 

 people have very few hours to give this work ; all depends upon the right use 

 ■of the minutes. 



There is no business which gives so many opportunities for thought and 

 study as farming. The winter with its long evenings and dark mornings is 

 especially favorable, aud much of the work in summer becomes, by constant 

 repetition, mechanical, allowing the mind to be busy with its work while the 

 hands are doing theirs. While following the plow or the harrow, how many 

 outlines of history may be mentally or audibly reviewed. 



The use of the voice is quite an aid to the memory. If any one should 

 hear you, he may think: ''That crazy fellow is talking to himself," but 

 (what of that? 



