46 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



First among the conditions of the farmer's life which are fa- 

 vorable to the best growth of the man, is the fact that the work 

 itself is more conducive to bodily health than almost any other 

 occupation. " A sound body " is indispensable to the highest 

 manliness. Some men contrive, with weak and ailing bodies, 

 to live creditable lives, but their physical infirmities are no help 

 to their spiritual growth. Bodily vigor is to be desirable, not 

 only because it helps us to live better lives, but because it is in 

 itself beautiful and valuable. And the life of the farmer is more 

 likely than almost any other manner of life to preserve and con- 

 firm the health of those who engage in it. It is true that by 

 overwork and exposure, and unwholesome diet farmers do some- 

 times impair their physical strength ; but the general health of 

 the farming community is better than that of the mechanical 

 and professional classes. And this gives the farmer a great ad- 

 vantage in the pursuit of manhood over his fellow-workmen in 

 other callings. It is much easier for one whose digestive organs 

 are sound, whose circulation is perfect, and whose nerves are 

 steady, to be a good and true man or woman, than it is for one 

 who is dyspeptic, thin-blooded and nervous. 



Another condition favorable to the development of high char- 

 acter on the farm is the quiet and repose which it secures. " In 

 quietness and in confidence shall be your strength," was the 

 motto of the great Luther ; and there is a strength of purpose 

 and a depth of conviction which rarely come to those whose 

 lives are spent in the bustle of town life. Indeed, the great want 

 of our American character is repose. We are an active, hurry- 

 ing, restless race ; we are quick to seize a truth, or to throw our- 

 selves into an undertaking ; and we often suffer from the lack of 

 deliberation. Our work is marred, our thinking is spoiled, our 

 dignity is damaged by this undue haste. We are getting more 

 and more every year to be a feverish, eager, giddy people ; 

 nervous diseases are becoming fatally prevalent; body as well 

 as mind is giving way under this high pressure of our American 

 life. This bad tendency of our civilization is fostered and 

 strengthened by town life, but the farm-life gives an opportunity 

 of resisting it. There are hurrying times of year on the farm, 

 and seasons when the farmer must have all his wits about him, 

 and work with all his miglit ; but after all this strain does not 

 often come ; and it is quite a different sort of hurry while it 



