Inducements Offered By Farming. 359 



flowers, etc. He could have his house as comfortably warmed 

 and as brightly lighted. He could not have the gas, but he 

 could have as much light at one-twelfth the cost. Kvery real 

 comfort and convenience that I saw in that refined home of 

 wealthy people, a young farmer may get in his country home, and 

 more. They did not have my earth closet or fruit garden, not by 

 considerable. How many times have you heard farmers object- 

 ing to improvements, because they could not sell out and get 

 their money back ? Don't you worry about this. Select a good 

 farm, in a good locality, and, as fast as you can, pay as you go, 

 improve it. You don't want to sell out. I could not probably 

 sell my farm for any more than the buildings cost, but what do I 

 care. It is my home for life. There are two things, in particu- 

 lar, that my town friend had that I miss street cars and good 

 roads. We may never have the former ; we must work until we 

 get the latter. It will greatly help country life. 



On the farm we can have pure water ; the farmer can control 

 this. In town he cannot, oftentimes, and this is not a small mat- 

 ter. When I am traveling, winters, I always carry a lot of 

 oranges with me, as in many places I find the water entirely unfit 

 to drink. After speaking, I am thirsty and go to my room and 

 eat an orange or two, if I am afraid of the water. At meal time 

 I get along with the boiled water tea and coffee. But I do not 

 drink these at home. The water is no safer at many farm homes, 

 but it might be ; the farmer can control it. I know our water is 

 pure, with no slop drains or other accumulations of filth on the 

 place, except manure in yard or stable, which cannot leach down, 

 as there is a cement floor under the one and a roof over the other. 

 These, with our earth closets, etc., give us pure water. Did you 

 ever notice how little appetite city people usually have ? They 

 certainly do not enjoy their meals like a farmer, who has been at 

 work in the sun and pure air. Nor do I believe they sleep as 

 soundly and sweetly, as a rule. 



One reason farmers fail to see any profit in their business is 

 because they do not consider how much less it costs to live on 

 the farm than in town, nor how much the farm furnishes them 

 that people in town have to pay money for. I believe I said in 

 another chapter that I would tell you, before I got through, some- 

 thing about why we thought we could not afford to go to the city 

 and live on a salary of something over $2,000 a year, and leave 

 our little farm. Well, it comes right in naturally now. Wife and 

 I talked it over and inquired cost of living in the city. We 

 found that a house as good as we had on the farm would cost us, 

 in any nice part of the city, some $400 a year, and then not have 

 anything approaching as nice grounds as we have. We could 

 not buy the fruit that our fruit garden furnishes for $150, and 

 then it would not be as nice and fresh. It would cost us, say, $60 

 to keep a cow, which is nothing here. Gas would cost as much 



