14 



work-shop will serve the double purpose of teaching- hah- 

 its of regularity and of furnishing a due amount of physi- 

 cal exercise. 



In what has been already said it may seem to some that 

 too much stress is laid upon one branch of industrial pur- 

 suits, v'li: that of mechanical engineering. To this I 

 would answer by saying that the principles of mechanics' 

 and the skill required in manipulating machinery enter 

 largely into every department of manual labor. Whether 

 a boy intends to be a maschinist, or a carpenter, or a black- 

 smith, or a farmer, the knowledge of mechanics and their 

 application to industry, as well ad the aptitude in handling 

 toolawill be indispensable requisites in the pursuit of their 

 chosen calling. We shall never have the best specimens 

 of farming till we have intelligent and well-trained farm- 

 ers. A practical and theoretical education in the princi- 

 ples of agriculture is as necessary to-day as in any profes- 

 sion or vocation. In understanding the nature and ingre- 

 dients of soils, in the art of breeding the best stock, in the 

 use of labor-saving machinery, in the due rotation of 

 crops, and in the improvement of farm buildings an edu- 

 cation based upon experience and practical training is- 

 imperatively demanded. And the same thing is true in 

 every department of industry. The world is making great 

 and rapid advancement in the cultivation of the arts and 

 sciences, and whoever wishes to be abreast of the times 

 must keep his eyes and ears open, and study diligently the 

 best methods of performing a given work. 



W^hen wc consider that the value of the railroad prop- 

 erty in the United States alone is over $500,000,000, or 

 more than half as much as the value of all the farm prop- 

 erty, and remember that this represents an immense body 

 of skilled workmen in all trades and industries, we can 

 see what a wide field is open for well-trained young men 

 to get steady and remunerative employment. If our com- 



