276 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 



question will first demand an answer. The tenta- 

 tive reply to it is this : The farmer's son, or any other 

 man's son, should follow that calling for which he is 

 best suited by nature and in which he will thereby 

 have the greatest amount of native interest ; provided 

 it be practicable to prepare him for such calling. 

 Some farm boys are destined by nature for me- 

 chanical pursuits, others for social or clerical work, 

 others for captains of industry, and so on. Like- 

 wise, the city boys may reveal in their natures a great 

 variety of instinctive tendencies and interests which 

 will be found of great worth in guiding them into a 

 successful life occupation. 



Yes, the farmer's son should by all means take up 

 his father's business ; provided that at maturity he 

 may have both native and acquired interest in the 

 same and that to a degree predominating any other 

 native or acquired interest. 



IMPATIENCE OF PARENTS 



It can be proved that the country boy matures 

 more slowly than the city boy. For example, at the 

 age of sixteen, he is behind the latter in height, weight, 

 school training, and sociability. But while the city 

 boy matures more rapidly, the country boy makes 

 up for the loss by a longer period of development. It 

 is the author's firm belief that this fact of slow growth 

 proves a tremendous advantage to the country youth 

 in that it allows for greater stability of character, 



