18 Middle-Class Education. 



such accounts fixes thing's upon the mind, induces habits of 

 observation, and keeps the hand and head in some kind of 

 training. If this appear to some to be only useless trouble, I 

 can only say, that without it young men may remain for years 

 upon a farm, and really learn scarcely a single thing ; many 

 have found out this afterwards and regretted it. Working with 

 the hands is a very suitable method of learning a good deal of 

 farming. Unless a learner has a pretty large fortune to start 

 business with, after serving an apprenticeship, he should do 

 some work ; if he does not he will never be really practical, 

 and consequently will just require a larger fortune to enable him 

 to bear greater losses, or to be satisfied with a smaller profit 

 than a thoroughly practical man, who had less means to start with. 

 Besides an idle youth, with a horse to gallop about the country 

 frequently gets into scrapes, and there is always a risk that Satan 

 will find mischief for idle hands to do ; he had better work, or 

 if idle had better walk — a walking-pace is quite fast enough 

 for getting into scrapes. It is a good plan for farmers to ex- 

 change sons to serve an apprenticeship. 



A farm out of order and in course of being put into order, 

 is the best in general to learn farming' upon. Some who attempt 

 to learn how to farm on their own account, by going to highly 

 cultivated park-farms, and such like, may be at fault when set to 

 bring a sour, undrained, unlevel, foul farm into a good state of 

 cultivation. 



However, the cultivation of the mind stands first, and I do 

 sincerely hope that as union is strength, landowners, farmers, 

 and all others interested, specially and generally, may be able to 

 start a good set of schools for the future generation of farmers, 

 who ought to have as much mental training as the members 

 of other middle-class professions, now so eagerly striving after 

 scholastic improAemcnt, The subject of education is endless, 

 therefore without entering into more details I shall conclude Avith 

 Cowper's lines : — 



"To follow foolish precedents, and wink 

 "With hoth our eyes, is easier than to think ; 

 AtkI such an age as ours balks no expense, 

 Except of caution, and of common sense ; 

 Else such notorious fact, and proof so plain 

 Would turn our steps into a wiser train." 



Burcott Lodge, Felruari/^ 18G5, 



