336 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



Knowledge. 



A thorough knowledge of the business of the farm is of the 

 highest importance. Thorough knowledge involves a great 

 deal. It not only includes the lessons of past experience, 

 but also the lessons which each day brings with it. Every 

 man should be posted in his particular line of farming up to 

 date. In that way alone can he hope to keep in the front 

 rank. He must read, he must think, he must act. Agri- 

 cultural newspapers and experiment station bulletins bear to 

 him the advanced thought of the day, and the latest results 

 in the way of experiments. He must glean from these 

 with rapidity and unerring accuracy the results which are of 

 use to him in his business ; and, if there is anything that 

 comes to him which will aid him, it is not enough for him to 

 say, " I ought to apply this to my business," but he must 

 get right down to work, and apply it, — be the first man, if 

 possible, to reap the benefit in a practical way. If these 

 things are of use to anybody, they are of use to those who 

 are first to apply them. 



A thorough knowledge of the commonest details of farm- 

 ing are of vital importance. A man ought to be able to 

 perform any and all kinds of farm labor in the best possible 

 manner. He is then able not only to work to advantage 

 himself, but also to show his men how to work to advantage. 

 To-day a knowledge of mechanics is highly essential to 

 successful farming. The use of farm machinery is on the in- 

 crease every year, and it takes a mechanic to run a machine 

 economically. From want of knowledge on this score a great 

 amount of waste occurs upon our farms every year. Many 

 repairs can be made by farmers themselves, thus saving- 

 many dollars which would otherwise go into other hands. 

 Knowledge is indeed power. 



Perseverance. 

 The class of which I was a member in the Agricultural 

 College had for its motto " knowledge, perseverance, 

 success." If I were to write this essay in three words, I 

 would use my old class motto. Perseverance is indeed an 

 essential to success. It has fought the noble battles of life 



