76 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



come out to settle, and the other quickly replied, with an em- 

 phasis which told more than the words, " Come from New 

 England, where the sun shines all the year, to this country ! " 

 Their farms were large and productive, their stock abundant, 

 but I must confess the sunshine of comfort did not surround 

 their homes. In contrast with the prairie farmer, the New 

 Englander has a hard row to hoe ; but there is large compen- 

 sation for his toil. The very obstacles he encounters call out 

 his energies and make him strong and self-reliant. I glory in 

 the rugged hills and beautiful valleys. And they are not so 

 unproductive as some may think. We now raise more corn 

 to the acre than Illinois. No State in the Union raises so 

 much corn per acre as bleak, mountainous Vermont. This is 

 the triumph of mind over matter. We wish to see still greater 

 triumphs. Who shall put a limit to the productiveness of an 

 acre of land ? It used to be thought a thing incredible that 

 an acre should produce one hundred bushels of corn. Now our 

 figures run much higher than this. Eight hundred bushels of 

 carrots, worth half as many dollars, seem a large product for 

 one acre. We can easily raise one thousand. Who shall say 

 to the live Yankee, with determining power of the will inher- 

 ited from Miles Standish, and taught by Jonathan Edwards, 

 " Thus far thou can go, but no farther." His answer would 

 be, " I'll see if I can't." And when he wills to do a thing he 

 does not wilt in the attempt. 



I have endeavored thus briefly to inculcate the value of mind, 

 especially to the New England farmer, in the cultivation of the 

 soil, feeling confident that if the farmer is developed mentally 

 the farm will show it, the stock will show it, home will sliow it. 

 If any one feels stimulated to increased mental culture I shall 

 feel rewarded for my labor. 



