AMERICAN FARMS. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



It is not necessary to recount the many experiences, 

 the various mental evolutions, which have carried me on 

 to a resistless desire to solve one of the most, if not the 

 most important problem of the day — to wit : " What is 

 the trouble on the old farms ? Why is a disease taking 

 hold of agriculture in America ? 



I do not here allude to any technical question of 

 agriculture, but to a burning economic and social diffi- 

 culty which, it would appear, has been gradually creep- 

 ing upon this new world for many years. 



As I attempt to note my thoughts on this matter, I 



find myself among the best of farms, in . I have 



been familiar with their history for many years. Their 

 changes, on the one hand, and their lack of changes, on 

 the other, have impressed me most seriously. 



The grandsires of the present occupiers were the real 

 pioneers in the settlement of this district. They pros- 

 pered ; settled their sons round them in comfortable 

 homes. The fathers of the present generation also 

 prospered in a high degree ; though from this point 



