AGRICULTURE IN NEW ENGLAND. 21 



Not that I would restrict man to the gratification of his 

 absolute wants, and counsel him to let his aspirations be 

 satisfied here. He has an intellectual and a moral, as well as 

 a physical, nature to be gratified, and every man is bound to 

 make an effort to do all in his power that these natures also 

 may be cultivated. 



Let your aspiration be that the world shall be the better 

 for your having lived in it, that your children shall be better 

 than their fathers, and that progress shall l)e stamped on your 

 homes, your farms, your stock, your implements and your 

 products. Thus by example will you induce your sons to 

 follow your occupation, instead of drifting away from the old 

 homestead, exposed to temptation and all the fascinating 

 allurements that beset the young man who prematurely slips 

 from the apron-strings of a watchful mother. And your 

 daughter also will practise the economy and industry of her 

 mother, bake, brew, milk and churn, instead of one continu- 

 ous round of gossiping and novel-reading, as well as cheer- 

 fully, in the light of early dawn, practise at the wash-tub, as 

 she can gracefully, after the labors of the day are done, at 

 evening twilight, animate the family circle, or entertain your 

 friends by her skilful touch of the piano. 



I want to urge on every farmer to make the effort to be a 

 better one. I care not how good you may have been ; you 

 have not reached perfection. There is room for improvement. 

 You have toiled with your muscles, now put more brains into 

 your work. Physical labor is power, but combine it with 

 brains and you increase it a thousand-fold. What distin- 

 guished Agassiz from the common laborer, who can only 

 throw mud from a ditch, or sand on a gravel-train? The 

 muscle of the one is better developed, but the brain is dor- 

 mant, and he can do nothing else, while the other, by his 

 brain-force, stopped little short of infinity. Study your 

 business. A mass of facts lies concealed, and the more you 

 investigate, the more you will be interested. You cannot 

 help being made better agriculturists. By investigation new 

 views will open to you, new phases will be presented, you can 

 better appreciate your vantage-ground, and be more and more 

 convinced that nothing is more honorable than agriculture, 

 and no occupation higher than that of the farmer. 



