160 ANNUAL REPORT 



on these prairies here in Minnesota, and the only way we can 

 educate a boy to become interested in the home, is to give him a 

 part of it; I don't care if it is not more than a turkey's leg — give it 

 to him— give him something so that he feels he has a responsibil- 

 ity, and then you have got him. If he takes good care of the leg, 

 give him a part of the turkey, ami so on until he gets a whole one, 

 and in that way he becomes interested, and he will feel that part 

 of the home is his, and he will soon love it. We have discussed sev- 

 eral times at our farmer's club at Red Wing how to get the boys to 

 remain on the farm. Someway or other it has been wheat, hogs 

 and cattle, the boys get tired of it, and push west. Some of us 

 are adopting a different plan. I have a little family of my own at 

 home, and I am going to keep them there just as long as I can. 

 My oldest daughter made up her mind that she must be doing 

 something for herself. That was all right, of course, and it was 

 proper that she should. I said to her, " Now we have plenty of land, 

 finely located, and our strawberries are paying pretty well, pitch 

 into it, have all the land you want; go into it and try it, for an ex- 

 periment." She took hold of it with aw T ill and is doing w T ell. My 

 next, the youngest daughter, said, "Father, I haven't anything." 

 " Well," I said, "How much capital have you?" She said she had 

 seven or eight dollars, and I told her to buy a sw T arm of bees. 

 The thought struck her at once; she did so, and is now doing w r ell 

 with her bees. My boy took a notion to attend a Commercial 

 College and educate himself for the city. He tried that awhile. 

 I said to him, "Cjme home and I will give you an interest in the 

 garden." He has done so, and we are working together there. We 

 fail if we don't give the boys and girls something to do; they feel 

 they must get out and do something for themselves. I think the 

 greater training should be on the farm; teach them to enjoy the 

 farm and its surroundings, and they will become attached to it, 

 and will make better citizens. 



REMARKS BY MR. HARRIS. 



I do not want to occupy the time but I do want the floor 

 long enough to highly endorse those ideas that Mr. Barrett 

 has advanced to us. I have been at work in Minnesota, in this 

 horticultural line, over half my life; I came to Minnesota just to 

 make a living. I soon saw that the state was in a very sad con- 

 dition. Most of the people said you can't grow fruit here. I 

 pitied them. I made up my mind that I would devote all the 

 money that I could make, and all the energies I had in trying to 

 educate my fellow men up to that point which would place Min- 



