PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUMMER MEETING. 113 



PAPERS AND DISCUSSIONS. 



ADVANTAGES OF LIVING ON A FRUIT FARM. 



BY MR. J. A. DONALDSON OF ST. JOSEPH. 



The man who owns a small farm of good soil, in a favorable location, 

 well set vrith the various kinds of fruit and ornamental trees and shrubs, 

 well cared for, comes as near having an ideal home as it is possible to 

 have; and if he is situated where he can get his perishable products to 

 market in proper time, he has good reason to feel contented. For, 

 although he can not indulge in the hope of acquiring great wealth, he 

 will come nearer realizing a happy life than those who make slaves of 

 themselves to accumulate fortunes. 



It is the first lesson that one needs to learn, who is in pursuit of happi- 

 ness, to be contented with an average share of the goods of this world, 

 and that the dwelling in "marble halls"- does not add so much to a per- 

 son's happiness as the many inexpensive things within reach of people 

 with moderate incomes, and the pleasant, trivial incidents that accom- 

 pany every moment of one's existence. 



The benefit that children derive from a rural home, both moral and 

 physical, should be considered a very great advantage. At such a home 

 the best foundation is laid for the usefulness of men and women; for, 

 instead of spending their time on the streets of cities, because their 

 parents have no employment for them, they are brought up with habits 

 of industry. It is a notable fact that a large percentage of the men who 

 are conspicuous in this country for great achievements originated on the 

 farm. Had these same men been reared in a large city, their physical 

 development would probably not have been as good, and some of them 

 might have been ruined in early life by the temptations that beset the 

 ^ outh of cities. Of the fortv-four men chosen from the citv of Chicago 

 for directors of the World's Fair, a very small portion were raised in 

 cities. A few were natives of Chicago, but Chicago was youthful and 

 innocent when they were born. 



Another advantage that attends the business of fruitgrowing is. that 

 it is less liable to the serious reverses that often ruin people in trade. If 

 a man has an unincumbered farm to begin with, and understands his 

 business, is industrious, prudent, and of good habits, and favorably 

 located, his chances of losing his farm are very small ; for although there 

 will be years of more or less failure, his average income can be made to 

 ■exceed his expenses, even with the present low prices of fruit, 

 15 



