9 



vested in, and whose labor is given to, this industry ; but for the 

 dairyman to possess himself of this valuable information " it re- 

 quires the most careful study for at least a day." Again I ask, is 

 there any business which can be successfully conducted if but a 

 day is given to the careful study of the fundamental principles 

 which govern it ? Think of the intense study and thought which, 

 not for one day. but for every day in the year, is given by the busi- 

 ness and professional men of this city to the details of their work. 

 We hear much said about the necessity that more of brain and 

 ;ess of hand labor be put into the work of the farm, and yet a 

 protest arises friendly it is trtte, but none the less a protest be- 

 cause the dairyman is called upon to devote two or three long 

 winter evenings to a careful study of the principles of his business. 



Think, too, of the effect upon our young men, who we hope 

 to see devoting themselves to what Washington declared to be " the 

 most noble, the most healthful, and the most useful occupation of 

 man," if to them the impression is to be given that their lives are 

 to be spent in a business demanding less of careful study and offer- 

 ing less reward for the highest exercise of their intellectual facul- 

 ties than other fields of labor. 



As for myself, after having spent many years of my life in 

 intimate association with professional men, college professors, 

 doctors of medicine, and scientists, with many warm friends among 

 the legal profession, and even among the clergy, I can truthfully 

 declare that I know of no profession, occupation, or business 

 which demands for its intelligent conduct and which offers greater 

 rewards to careful study than does agriculture in its several branches; 

 none more attractive to a man of well-rounded, symmetrical, in- 

 tellectual and physical development, totus, teres atque rotundus. 



Never, perhaps, in the history of the world has there been 

 such an intellectual awakening among those engaged in agricul- 

 tural pursuits as at this time. Agricultural papers abound, agri- 

 cultural colleges and experiment stations, farmers institutes and 

 clubs, the Grange, Alliance and numberless other agencies testify 

 to this great uprising. And yet with all this multiplicity of 

 sources of information there is reason to fear that our actual prac- 

 tice does not keep pace with our acquired knowledge. 



You remember the story of the old rector called in charge of 

 the new parish, who gave his charge a tremendous sermon against 



