FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK - PART VIII. 579 



of work. We can all cite instances of armer boys who, beginning at the 

 bott'om, climbed gradually, but steadily, and by means of their own 

 energy, perseverance and stick-to-it-iveness stood at last high on the 

 ladder of fame. 



Some object to the work because they are not interested in it. Now, 

 we Imow that all men are not cast in the same mould. Tastes differ. 

 All men would not do equally well at farming, and our civilization is far 

 too advanced to demand that the sou shall follow the same calling as 

 his father before him. We leave room for the development of individu- 

 ality, and if a farmer's boy shows more interest in the use of tools It 

 may really be the best thing to let him be a carpenter or a mechanic; or 

 he may have some other bent of mind which it will be wise to let him 

 follow. 



But. often the boy oould be interested in the work of the farm if his 

 father would take a little pains. Wouldn't he take more interest in stork 

 if the father would give him a calf and allow him to care for and feed it, 

 and even allow him to experiment with different feeds? Or, suppose the 

 father gives the boy a colt and he cares for it and trains it as he pleases. 

 Will he not take more interest in the field work if he now and then carries 

 a load of grain or corn to market and is required to figure up the amount 

 it comes to? Let him take the course in stock judging. Send in his 

 name for Bulletins from the experiment station at Ames. 



As the boy grows older and more capable and begins to have ideas of 

 his own about larming, why not let, hi mexperiment, or at least use his 

 own ideas instead of being obliged to do just as his father has always 

 done? I knew a boy who, after he became of age, wanted to try his own 

 way of doing things, but the father said, "No. I'm running this farm, 

 and although I am no longer able to work in the fields, I want things 

 done my way — the same as they have always been done." "But, father/' 

 urged the boy, "let us try. Just rent the farm to us two boys for one 

 j'-ear and let us see what we can do." But, no, the father wouldn't yield 

 or give up his authority in farm matters, and the result was the boy left 

 home. 



If the farmer intends to buy a new corn plow, a new binder or hay- 

 loader, why not let the boy help select it? There are cases where his 

 judgment might be just as good as his father's. Will not such a course 

 arouse in the boy a more active interest in affairs and give him a sense 

 of responsibility and of self confidence? 



Sometimes boys get the idea that other callings are nobler or fur- 

 nish greater exercise for brains. To rid them of these false ideas, farmers' 

 clubs and farmers' institutes are a step in the right direction. Almost 

 every class of workers nowadays have their conventions or gatherings of 

 that sort. A teacher working alone and never attending institutes or 

 conventions would not be half so interested in her work or so valuable to 

 the school as one who, by attending such gatherings, has come to consider 

 lierself as not toiling alone, but one of a great army of workers in one of 

 the noblest callings one can follow. Farming is a noble employment, 

 too. It is said that "he who causes two blades of grass to grow where 

 only one grew before has been by so much a blessing to humanity." 



