134 BOARD OF AGKICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



born, if not a depleted, soil. We know that during the 

 past fifty or seventy-five years the Xew England farmer in 

 many cases has been forced to the wall by his western com- 

 petitor. I did not fully appreciate, until I came into New 

 England, to what extent the New England farmer has had 

 to endure a severe and constant competition from his own 

 sons, wdio have gone into the rich and fertile west, there to 

 make their fortunes on that splendid soil. It is diHicult for 

 the New England farmer to get farm labor. This crying 

 need is prevalent all over the country, but I suppose it is 

 peculiarly present in New England. 



Moreover, the call of the city, which has been heard every- 

 where, and which has taken to our cities some of the strongest 

 and best of our country-bred youth, has been unusually 

 strono- in New England. Thousands and tens of thousands 

 of the young men and women of the farm have gone to the 

 cities and villages. And I suppose these things have led to 

 a condition which the presence of this audience of interested 

 and progressive farmers before me would seem to disprove, 

 but which I am sure does exist, because I have seen so 

 many instances of it, — that is, the spirit of discourage- 

 ment. I tell our farmers in Rhode Island that I believe that 

 the greatest difficulty in Rhode Island agriculture is the lack 

 of faith in agriculture on the part of the farmers themselves. 

 There are so many who are not believers in rural progress, 

 because they think it cannot be brought about. They are 

 discouraged, and many times that leads to a still worse con- 

 dition, — a lack of enterprise, a willingness to follow the 

 old paths, a feeling that the young fellows out west can do 

 this or that, or that the young men oi" the college can do 

 this or that, but it is no use for the " ordinary farmer" to 

 try. I wonder if you have any such men in Massachusetts? 

 I fancy they are found all over New England. Now I know 

 I am going to touch a tender spot, but we nmst face the 

 further fact of the decadence and deterioration of some of 

 the New England hill towns. I know that unwise and hasty 

 and unfiir generalizations as to the general conditions of 

 New England agricultui-e have been mad(! from superficial 

 examinations ; but I know, also, that there are altogether 



