114 VERMONT AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



cess of natural ability, but the trained mental faculties which 

 give professional men the advantage over those who work 

 with their hands. It may be that the farmer is naturally as 

 able as his brother, who is a preacher, or a professor, or a 

 lawyer, perhaps. In fact it has been said that it requires 

 greater ability to successfully manage a farm than to make a 

 successful lawyer, for the lawyer has to do only with the laws 

 which man has made, while the farmer is continually dealing 

 with the laws which God has made, and it takes a mighty 

 smart man to interpret the Almighty. The farmer should 

 take advantage of the research and experiment which are con- 

 stantly being made at his expense, that is, at the expense of 

 the government, state and national. 



The agricultural experiment station bulletins, reports of 

 the board of agriculture and of the state dairymen's associa- 

 tion contain a great deal of practical information and may be 

 had for the asking. The government year books and a long 

 list of agricultural publications can be had either free or at a 

 merely nominal cost. Our books are our most valuable tools; 

 we can not afford to be without them. Let us make a contin- 

 ual study of our business, adopting the methods of the suc- 

 cessful, and avoiding the mistakes of the unsuccessful, Lai 

 us search out our own mistakes. One branch of our business 

 may be taking away the profits of all the rest. The labor 

 problem, the power question, insurance extortion, taxes, cot*- 

 veniences and improvements, — these and many other subjects 

 may be profitably considered. 



The law of compensation is as firmly established as is the 

 law of gravity. We shall succeed as we deserve. Let us 

 learn to work intelligently, and to get the best results from 

 our efforts. 



