POTATO CULTURE. 187 



that any one can afford to buy and find time to read, would 

 have several hundred large pages in it. Again, in my writ- 

 ing and institute work, the aim has been, not to tell a man 

 every thing, but, rather, to rouse him up, set him to think- 

 ing on the right track, so far as I know, but leave a little 

 something for him to work out, even though I might tell him 

 myself. Men take more stock in something they help work 

 out. True education consists in drawing out and leading out 

 the student, not in stuffing him with what you know. Well do 

 I remember, when, about 16 years old, going to my teacher 

 (Milo Clapp, now of Warren, O.), with a hard problem that 

 I was working over. He had given us some general hints 

 in the class how to go to work at it, and left us to fight it 

 out for ourselves. Friend Clapp looked at me very kindly 

 and said something like this : 



" Now, Theodore, I can easily show you ; but that won't 

 do you any good. I would conquer that matter myself, un- 

 aide;l, if I were you/' 



Well, I did, sitting up most of the night when our folks 

 thought me in bed. That doing for myself that night was 

 worth hundreds of dollars to me. Now, I think we are 

 all students as long as we live, or should be. I am studying 

 now on farm problems as never before. I get help and sug- 

 gestions from others ; but many things 1 do and must dig 

 out for myself. Friend Bonham lately wrote me exactly 

 the same thing in regard to his management of our Ohio 

 institutes, that it was his aim to help the farmers just 

 enough to lead and encourage them to help themselves. 

 Friend Root is a busy man, and has no time to study out^ 

 matters ; but still he did, you see, and now he will remem- 

 ber and think about it ten times as much as if it had been 

 all made plain. Probably by this time he has thought out 

 Avhat I shall say now- Why, I have many times studied to 

 make statements that would provoke men into studying 

 and figuring to try to show I was wrong. What we want is 

 more thinking and studying over our business. Now see, 



