360 Our Farming. 



for a month as oil costs for a year. Water costs its nothing on the 

 farm. It would not cost much less than $100 to keep a horse in 

 the city, I think. If you do not keep one, livery bills and street 

 cars eat up money pretty fast. You can have your own vegetables 

 on the farm, and often your meat, largely, fuel, etc., etc. Your 

 clothes cost much less. Taxes are less than half. We made up 

 our minds that, take it all around, $1,000 a year on our farm 

 was as good as $2,000 in a large city. The farmer misses the 

 lectures, concerts, contact with the world, etc., that can be got in 

 the city, but one can well afford to pay his fare in occasionally to 

 something of this sort, if he lives within reasonable distance. 

 We need more granges, farmers' clubs, etc., in the country. 

 Young farmers should look out for this. One who goes around 

 much cannot help but see that communities where such exist are 

 ahead of the average. Contact with each other is good for us. 



I have read that there were only 13,000 people in New York 

 City who own their own homes. I had rather own a farm home, 

 and make less, than be a tenant in a city for life. Kven if I went 

 at something else to earn the first $1,000 or $2,000, as, perhaps, 

 may often be wisest, I would invest it in good land and make 

 that my life business. This, after trying it twenty -three years, 

 and having a hard pull to get started, too. 



I would not try to keep all young men on the farm. If you 

 have decided tastes in other directions, you had better, perhaps, 

 follow them. Nor \vould I have you understand that most 

 farmers live as nicely, and are as comfortable fixed, as I have been 

 talking about. I am sorry, but I fear they do not. But I believe 

 you can do this, my intelligent young friend, and in time make 

 yourself just as nice a home as I have pictured, and live a quiet, 

 peaceful life, with a very fair share of the real comforts and 

 luxuries that it is given us mortals to have. I believe you can do 

 it, and help yourself and help up agriculture a little by your 

 example. It will not be easy, but the greater the obstacles over- 

 come, the sweeter the victory, and the stronger the man. You 

 will not find it easy to get a home of your own, and a business 

 where you can be your own boss in town or city. 



All this to the young men, and not a word to the young 

 ladies ! Well, to them I say, that I do not believe you can do 

 better than go in partnership with wideawake, up-to-the-times 

 young farmers, on the platform given in Chapter XXXVIII. Are 

 you a little bashful, young men, and hardly know how to get a 

 partner ? Let me tell you of a little incident. Some years ago, 

 a young man and his best girl sat before me at an institute when 

 I was talking on the wife's share. I gave them about the same 

 platform as you will find in this book. The young man, I sup- 

 pose, had hardly mustered up courage before to propose, or had 

 not known just how to go about it. But my talk gave him a hint. On 

 his way home with his girl, he asked her how she liked my ideas, 



