46 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



some are fond of styling it, as ix. profession, but as a business. 

 And I would suggest to you, that it is still more as a businesj^ 

 that it should be conducted, in order to satisfy in it the longings 

 of your sons, possessed as they probably are, of that inborn 

 energy, that Yankee go-a-head-ativeness, which delights in over- 

 coming obstacles when tiie mind is once awakened, and fair 

 scope for its exercise is offered. Train them in the keeping of 

 your accounts ; and let each year's figures enter more fully 

 into detail, until there is no question that can come up, to 

 which the answer in black and white may not be found on 

 record. As you shall invest more capital in bringing up your 

 land and carrying out improvements, let them see the object in 

 view ; let them share with you the pleasure of working out a 

 successful result. A practical familiarity with the labors of 

 the field they must doubtless acquire, in order to be farmers ; 

 such an education as lies within your means, every American 

 father, thank God, gladly gives his sons : but, if you would 

 have them farmers worthy of the name, remember that there is 

 much beyond holding the plough or studying in the school-room, 

 that tends to mould the tastes of childhood, to direct its 

 thoughts, to arouse its spirit. You can not only show that you 

 are managing your business with the same precision and as 

 great mental energy and foresight as the merchant, but, more 

 than this, in every plot from the garden you give to childish 

 hands to till, you can encourage the effort to make the most 

 and best of what it yields ; in every pet from the poultry-yard, 

 or in the barn or field, you grant them for their own, you can 

 take care that it shall be a good specimen of its kind, of which 

 the youthful owner may be justly proud — in fine, you can in- 

 terest the child in reading' about the land he cultivates or the 

 animal he cares for, you can induce him to think, you can im- 

 plant in his mind the ambition to excel. In these three direc- 

 tions, moreover, lie the great deficiencies of our grown-up 

 farmers. 



Farmers of Massachusetts ! Grand as is the task of agricul- 

 ture in feeding mankind, and vast as are the interests of which 

 it holds the key, there is a level higher than that of our mate- 

 rial wants — beyond and above the sphere of bounteous harvests 

 and busy ships and peaceful homes, — of all that is transient 

 and perishable, — a level at which the dignity of your own and 



