112 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



FARMERS' EDUCATION. 



Delivered at Salisbury by John E. Gale, Guilford, Vt. 



There was once a time when if a farmer had two sons, 

 one bright and one rather stupid, the brighter one would be 

 educated for some profession and the other kept upon the 

 farm, as being good for nothing else; and it was not supposed 

 that a farmer had any use for an education. 



Farming was formerly regarded as a vocation, rather 

 than as a business ; as a mere servile occupation rather than 

 as a great and necessary industry. But now, in view of the 

 progressive state of all branches of the agricultural science, 

 the successful farmer must realize that he has a business en- 

 terprise on hand, and not merely an occupation. And as a 

 rule, it is in business management that we are lacking, rather 

 than in the ability to make our farms productive. 



It is one thing to produce a good crop, and another thing 

 to convert that crop into money. Farming for a living is one 

 thing, and farming at a profit is another. It must be con- 

 ceded that to successfully manage a farm requires the same 

 degree of business ability that is required for the successful 

 management of other branches of business. Therefore we 

 assume that the farmer who has carefully prepared himself 

 for the business in which he has engaged will achieve success 

 more readily than he who has gone into business without that 

 preparation. Now, there are two ways of getting into busi- 

 ness ; one may begin at the bottom and work up, or he may 

 begin at the top and work down. We will not consider the 

 latter, as the former method is the more satisfactory. 



Preparation for a farmer's life, then, requires some educa- 

 tion. What should this education comprise ? What is neces- 

 sary, or advisable, for him to know ? Let us begin with the 

 common schools, and let him pursue all the common school 

 studies, giving special attention to those in which he is par- 

 ticularly interested, and to those which immediately concern 

 him and his business. 



If I were to prescribe a course of study for the young man 

 who is to follow farming, I should recommend, in addition to 

 the common school studies, a short course in bookkeeping and 

 a course in business law. Bookkeeping is an essential part of 

 the proper conduct of all business, and its universal neglect is 

 one of the greatest mistakes of our farmers. No man can 



