684 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



child as you have; if of everything else in this world you make a success, 

 and your hoy or girl goes astray, your life has been a failure; for while 

 looking after the temporal things of this life you have allowed the treas- 

 ure (the soul of your child), intrusted to you, to be lost, the foundation of 

 their whole life depends upon you; then those that have had the founda- 

 tion of their lives laid by any one but that loving mother cannot have a 

 stone whereon to build; and of course will not fill so well any public 

 office. Lincoln said, "All that I am or ever expect to be I owe to my 

 mother," and that mother was a country mother. The way to teach our 

 children was given us by Christ. We were told to lead them by our own 

 example, and how can we do that if we have them not under our watchful 

 care. Teach your children that if they would be great and good men and 

 women, to be true to themselves, stand by their own character; and be 

 sure their calling in life in a good one; then think, plan, work and live 

 for it, throw into it their whole mind, strength, heart and soul; then no 

 matter what their work is, if it be the planting of a nation, or a patch 

 of potatoes, they will do it with honor to themselves; and be able to fill 

 with credit any position to which they may be called. How many brave 

 men were called from the plow to silence the angry tumult in the Civil 

 War? Washington could wield alike sickle and sword. Our heroes are not 

 men that have been raised in the lap of luxury; but are men whom neces 

 sity has compelled to spend many long days in the scorching rays of the 

 sun; it is by darkness and storm that heroism gains its greatest develop- 

 ments, then it kindles the black clouds into a blaze of glory. Now we 

 would ask what makes the great man? I would answer physical bodies, 

 moral and religious character — and all these are gathered from the farm. 



ARE WE, AS FARMERS, MAKING THE PROGRESS THAT WE 



SHOULD? 



Mrs. Blake Cole, before the Mitchell County Farmers' Institute. 



A short time ago your program committee man interviewed me and 

 requested that a paper be prepared for this institute on the subject, "Are 

 We Improving?" He made no explanation as to whether that we, he and 

 I as individuals, or we of Mitchell county, we Iowans, or whether it should 

 include all the nations and peoples of this great terrestrial ball. 



Then there are such varied opinions as to what improving is. The 

 great, tall, stalwart woodsman would tell of his physical conquests and 

 his son would have advanced only as he could outdo his fathers, with the 

 ax or in the fight. 



With the scholar, mind is paramount and intellectual progress alone 

 is improving. 



Then there is moral progress, religious progress, financial progress, 

 political progress, social progress and so on aclinfinitum. 



