38 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



everywhere, and to assist in comprehending the conditions 

 which govern is the duty of every speaker at every insti- 

 tute. Speakers must keep close touch with what is legiti- 

 mately practical, every-day topics and standards, if they 

 are to aid in extending the scope of the institutes. There 

 is no occupation in the world where man cannot be master 

 of the situation, because he may control all the events which 

 enter in. The boys do not stay on the farm, because we 

 have not shown them the possibility of the farm. This is 

 the work of the boards of agriculture, — to inspire them, 

 and prove, as we may, the possibilities for the largest, 

 truest, deepest manhood upon our New England farms. 

 There is no other opportunity offered in the country for a 

 better development of manhood than can be found here. 



Again, we have become familiar with the composition of 

 our fertilizers, with fungi and fungicides, insects and insect- 

 icides, and the different forms of bacteria that are all about 

 us, and the terms roll off our tongues easily, and we know 

 what we are talking about. Does that young man under- 

 stand and appreciate ? How many men, busy all the week 

 with the manifold duties of the farm, skilled in regular 

 lines of work, using fertilizers freely, seeking to destroy 

 the pests in field, orchard or barn, have the time to give to 

 a close study of terms and the strict meaning of scientific 

 names ? Keen and bright in intellect the line of study has 

 been along the how and why, rather than to become familiar 

 with scientific terms and phrases. The man who uses these 

 terms may not be as intelligent as the man who is after 

 information, but who sometimes loses the thought in the 

 effort to get the exact meaning of the word. Is there not a 

 demand for what may properly be denominated the practical, 

 divested of heavy-laden scientific terms? The sole purpose 

 of the institute is to assist ; and plain, simple language will 

 always lend power and force to the thought of any speaker. 

 The man who waits to grasp the fufl meaning of a word or 

 term loses the significance of a sentence. This does not 

 indicate any dropping of the standard of thought or method 

 of instruction, but simply the putting of things in a pleasing 

 and interesting manner, without which there can be no 

 influence. 



