336 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



in mind who willingly spend weeks and months of time and give their whole 

 mind to the work of training their animals, but have allowed their boys to run 

 wild ! 



Now I will venture to affirm that the farmer who goes round whining all the 

 time and complaining in the hearing of his boys that farming is poor business; 

 that it don't pay; grumbling about the weather ; the shortness of the crops; 

 the depressed state of the markets, and the poverty and hardships of his call- 

 ing in general, and at the same time expatiating on the ease and luxury to be 

 found in other walks of life, will not be likely to put them deeply in love with 

 so wretched a profession. If those boys see their father come moping in from 

 his work at night "like a quarry slave scourged to his dungeon," th(jy will be 

 very likely to look forward to their coming of age as a happy release from 

 bondage : and indeed it will be a wonder if in many cases they do not take the 

 underground railroad and emancipate themselves long before that period. So 

 the first thing I would advise the farmer to do is to cultivate the habit of look- 

 ing on the sunny side of things, and if he cannot always feel cheerful, try to 

 appear so, and he will soon find that his example is infectious. Let him keep 

 his grumbling inside, and ten to one his boys will never know there was cause 

 for any. Let him remember that other occupations have toils, and troubles, 

 and disappointments as well as his, and that the only way to achieve success 

 and eminence in any line of duty is by a life of persevering labor and self- 

 denial. Don't let him consider it time misspent that is applied to the serious 

 consideration of this point, and the earnest and constant inculcation of this 

 great principle upon the minds of his boys. Work, work, is the common lot. 

 "By the sweat of thy brow shalt thou earn thy bread." If not with the 

 hands it is with the brain, and the latter is often the more exhausting and 

 burdensome of tlie two. He who tries to worm his way tlirough life dodging 

 this great law will require a special providence to preserve his honor, and pre- 

 vent hig being branded as a sluggard and dead beat. 



Then I say let him take a manly pride in his profession and take pains to 

 let his boys see it, always maintaining in their hearing its dignity and worth, 

 and it will not be long ere they will manifest a similar spirit. As soon as they 

 are susceptible to reason let him draw their attention to the advantages of farm 

 life, and never begrudge an hour's time or a few shillings to enable them to 

 reap the full benefit of these advantages. 



Moreover, let me suggest, my farmer brethren, that no effort should be 

 spared to make the farm home an attractive place to the young. I need but 

 to hint at a few of the thousand and one ways in which this can be done. 

 First let the boys, and girls, too, have the benefit of a good example constantly 

 before them. The farmer Avho fails to furnish that to his boys, has only him- 

 self to blame if they do not turn out well. Boys are imitative animals, and 

 during the first ten years of life are particularly impressible. If they are in 

 the habit of hearing rough, harsh and profane language, they will be very apt 

 to reproduce it. If they see the horses, oxen and cows cruelly whipped, kicked, 

 and cursed, you will soon find them in the barn-yard repeating the perform- 

 ance on the calves and pigs. Indeed, it is so much of a truism tliat it is hardly 

 worth while to state it; that if you wish to make a gentleman of your boy, 

 you must sliotu him how ; telling won' t do. Now, this is one way to make home 

 attractive and also pave the way for the best results in the way of education. 



Let an atmosphere of purity, kindness and genuine politeness pervade the 

 home life and, my word for it, nine times in ten your boy will prefer home to 

 any other place in the world. A little time and money would also be very 



