10 



While there is no remedy for the length of the days oa 

 the farm, and the occupation is somewhat confining, never- 

 theless, to the laborer who clings to the farm with its 

 tranquil calmness, away from the temptations and evil 

 associations of city life, success is certain. And to him no 

 credentials are more valuable when seeking employment 

 than a testimonial that he has previously made good use of 

 his earnings. My experience justifies me in stating that 

 as a rule such men are worth from twenty-five to fifty per 

 cent, more for labor than is the spendthrift. 



When we consider that so many industries must draw 

 (indirectly if not directly) their sustenance through differ- 

 ent channels from the products of the soil, it should infuse 

 in the farmer's mind a dignified sense of the trust which 

 is confided to man to-daj'" to keep and dress iiis garden as 

 God commanded Adam as of yore. And to faithfully 

 maintain the supremacy of this first command to man, is 

 also the dutv which the farmer owes to his fellowmen, who 

 in the pursuit of other employments, look to him whose 

 occupation is to bring forth from the soil by his skill and 

 knowledge, its inert and dormant qualities, to help crown 

 the earth with verdure and furnish our tables and the 

 markets with its fruits in abundance. And it should be au 

 incentive to increase our desires for participation in fur- 

 thering the interests of every improvement, wiien we 

 consider that he who makes any fixed reformation toward 

 increasing the productiveness of the land intrusted to his 

 care, is a public benefactor. 



Is agriculture keeping pace witli other pursuits ? 



Are our farmers equal to the responsibilities which de- 

 volve upon them ? 



