PREPARING TO FARM. 31 



the close and thoughtful attention of your few leisure 

 hours ; keep your eyes wide open, and set down in a 

 note-book or pocket-diary each night a minute of 

 whatever has been done on the farm that day, making 

 a note of each storm, shower, frost, hail, etc., and 

 also of the date at which each planted crop requires 

 tillage or is ripe enough to harvest, and ascertaining, 

 so far as possible, what each crop produced on the 

 farm has cost, and which of them all are produced at 

 a profit and which at a loss. At the year's end, hire 

 again to the same or another good farmer and pursue 

 the same course ; and so do till you shall be twenty- 

 ftnir or twenty-five years of age, which is young 

 enough to marry, and quite young enough to under- 

 take the management- of a farm. By this time, if 

 you have carefully saved and wisely invested your 

 earnings, you will have several hundred dollars ; and, 

 if you do not choose to migrate to some region where 

 land is very cheap, you will have found some one 

 willing to sell you a small farm on credit, taldng a 

 long mortgage as security. Your money assuming 

 that you have only what you will have earned will 

 all be wanted to fix up your building, buy a team and 

 cow, with the few implements needed, and supply 

 you with provisions till you can grow some. If you 

 can start thus experienced and full-handed, you may, 

 by diligence, combined with good fortune, begin to 

 make payments on your mortgage at the close of 

 your second year. 



I hate debt as profoundly as any one can, but I do 



