216 HOW TO LIVE IN THE COUNTRY 



country home life. Going by the door one day, as 

 the engine snorted gas through the exhaust pipe, I 

 said to my boy, " With your other inventions, try 

 for something to prevent this confounded noise." 

 The result was a muffler which he is now constructing 

 on a large scale, and which seems likely to make his 

 occupation for some years to come. I am not sure 

 but all this while, the literary culture of my children 

 was slightly suffering; and yet I led them, with tu- 

 tors, through a very thorough course of history and 

 language giving them mathematics as they needed 

 it. Only this was apparent, that they valued knowl- 

 edge mainly for what they could do with it. A 

 storage of information did not seem to be attractive. 



For a college bred man, rather strongly addicted 

 to literary pursuits, I had made quite a divergence 

 from conventional methods of training young people. 

 It soon became evident that through the shop I was 

 likely to lose not only from literary pursuits, but 

 from horticultural, at least two of my boys. How- 

 ever, I looked out for it that they should carry off 

 with them a thorough training in agriculture and such 

 a love of Nature that they could not become alien to 

 the country. 



Meanwhile the young folk are kept at home by 

 the variety that is offered to the mind and the hand. 

 Frequently the girl in the family will prove to be 

 the keenest mathematician and the best mechanic. 

 Intimacy with tools will bring out power, sharpen 

 intellect, smooth passion, and sweeten the disposition 





