116 Thirty-Fifth Annual Report of the 



make a good foundation and use plenty of paint. We should dis- 

 pense with all needless fences. Make our fields as large as pos- 

 sible, and long instead of square. When ne,eded make good 

 fences. Better no fence than a poor one. The old rail and 

 board fences have had their day and the practical farmer cannot 

 afford them. Wire and woven fences have taken their place and 

 are better and easier to keep in repair. Get the best — it is the 

 cheapest. This is a safe rule to follow in every thing that we buy. 

 The highest priced article is not necessarily the best. A small 

 farm well cultivated is more profitable than a large one with the 

 farming half done. If we can grow three tons of hay on one 

 acre, is it not better than to go over three acres for the same 

 amount ? 



The practical farmer can find work to do throughout the 

 whole year. What other business will be successful if pursued 

 one half of the year and the other half spent in idleness? How 

 many farmers follow this method and then complain of hard 

 times. Success in any pursuit means every day. Success should 

 not always be measured by dollars and cents. It means more 

 than this, the only value that money has is what it will purchase. 

 The practical farmer will be liberal in the support of church, 

 schools and roads, without which our country would not be 

 worth living in. 



If I was an artist in the use of words I would draw a picture 

 of the "Practical Farmer of To-day" and his farm. Every- 

 thing around the farm betokens good management. Neat, well 

 painted buildings, nicely kept lawns with shade trees, large 

 gardens with all of the small fruits in their season. An orchard 

 of healthy, well pruned fruit trees loaded with apples and pears ; 

 clean road sides ; no unsightly fences covered with brush and 

 weeds ; clean fields, filled with crops well cared for ; well watered 

 pastures in which graze contented cows ; the house fitted with 

 all of the conveniences that lighten the work of wife and 

 daughter. Good reading and music tend to make life worth liv- 

 ing. The daily mail and telephone keep the family in touch with 

 the world at large. 



Interested in the affairs of his town, state and country, the 

 practical farmer is prepared to occupy positions of trust and 

 honor, and if need be defend his country in time of peril. 



Surrounded by a family of boys and girls, as he should be, 

 with the wife of his choice at their head, leading them in the 

 way that tends to pure and righteous living, who will dare to say 

 that his calling is not a successful one? Well may the over- 

 worked business man of our crowded cities envy the clean, 

 healthy home life of the "Practical Farmer of To-day." 



