THE FARMER'S EDUCATION— WHAT HE CAN DO FOR HIMSELF. 495- 



questions or any thoughts that seem of value. Experience will suggest many 

 other methods of making the most of the minutes. Only, having begun, 

 keep at it. 



"But," says one, "I don't propose to make a slave of myself." Very welU 

 There is no compulsion. It is simply a matter of choice. But he who will 

 not pay the price must not complain if he fails of the reward. To one who 

 has a genuine thirst for knowledge, the toil itself is its own rewarcl. 



''I have no time for study," says another. But you found time to read a 

 two-column account of the latest murder, with all its sickening details of 

 crime and blood. May the time yet come when particulars of crime will be 

 left to courts of justice, and its soul-polluting stream no longer poison the 

 minds of the people! You found an hour the other day for gossip at the vil- 

 lage store ; and who knows how many hours you spent last week trying to 

 beat the champion at checkers? Innocent amusement perhaps, but how 

 much of value might be gained in the time thus wasted! 



Another objection is that one can never master so many sciences and 

 "ologies." But no one is expected to know everything. The day of walking 

 cyclopedias is passed. In fact, a man must consent to be ignorant of some 

 things in order to know anything thoroughly. Education does not depend 

 so much upon a smattering of everything, as upon a thorough mastering of 

 what is undertaken, not upon facts alone, but upon intellectual power. The 

 ability to think correctly, connectedly, and continuously is the true test of 

 education. 



The present century is noted for the extension of educational advantages 

 to all classes. It is an age of active thought, and of the sharpest competition. 



The farmer is perhaps the least aff,ected, but at every turn he is pushed 

 and jostled by the rush and tumult of the world around him. He who would 

 keep abreast of the tide must have every faculty alert, every power developed. 

 No amount of knowledge will come amiss, for in no pursuit is such a variety 

 of questions presented for decision. His early training may have been defec- 

 tive, but he may still do much for himself. Especially is this true of the 

 young men fresh from our schools, with a habit of study at least partly 

 formed. There is every motive to urge them to undertake the work. Talent 

 for success can no longer be measured by a lifting machine. Mind, not mus- 

 cle, takes the lead. 



The farmer's financial success depends more and more upon what he knows, 

 and the judgment with which he uses his knowledge. Science has become 

 his servant, and in every department gives him her aid. Toil he must; but 

 he must thinTc or his toil will be fruitless. 



Neither can he longer complain that all positions of honor and influence 

 are closed against him. Let him but have the training necessary, and doors 

 for usefulness will open before him in every direction. 



In national affairs his influence might and should be more potent than 

 it now is. Vast social problems whose solution will affect not only the present 

 but future generations as well, are calling for decision. The decreased pro- 

 duction over extensive areas of our country shows that, in his own province, 

 the farmer has yet much to learn. The withering blight of the liquor traffic^ 

 destroying the food value of farm products, and cursing humanity with its 

 poisonous compounds ; oily-tongued monopoly, laying its grasping hands 

 upon the profits of labor; socialism and anarchy, flaunting their blood-red 

 flag upon our shores, all threaten the very existence of our republican insti- 



