THE STUDY OF THE FARM. 77 



nature of the knowledge already in hand, and his own habit 

 of mind. What I am about to say will simply indicato how I 

 should personally approach the subject, and will give some 

 idea of what I mean by the study of the farm. 



When a man has lived upon a farm for ten years, tiie 

 number of things which he knows about it is enormous. If il 

 is a small farm, tilled with his own hands, he can lie on his 

 bed and call to mind an infinite number of details: the slopes, 

 the different soils, the weed patches, the fruit trees, and even 

 insignificant details of the fence corners, clumps of brush in 

 the pasture, a stray thistle here and there, and a multitude of 

 things, some important and others of no consequence. If called 

 upon for any special item of information, the question will 

 suggest to him many other things not before thought of; in 

 short, he will himself be surprised at the number of details 

 which he has unconsciously absorbed, and which are ready 

 for his use so far as they have value. Of course men differ 

 wonderfully in their capacity for seeing; some see almost 

 everything, and others comparatively little. The latter class 

 will possess a great part of their knowledge as a rather hazy 

 impression, which they would find it very difficult to reduce 

 to words. For such men the first thing of all is to learn to see. 

 This habit is easiest acquired in childhood, when curiosity is 

 active and the eyes at their best; and the greatest benefit to be 

 derived from the study of agricultural science in the common 

 schools is the early acquirement of the art of seeing. 



A systematic study of the farm consists first in the separa- 

 tion in the mind of the important from the unimportant facts; 

 second, the formation of a mental judgment as to the relative 

 importance of each, and the reason therefor; third, acquiring a 

 clear perception of what essential knowledge is lacking, and 

 finally the acquirement and utilization of that knowledge. 



I will assume that a man has lived ten years on a farm 

 with ordinarily good health, and no serious misfortunes, such 

 as fire or pestilence, and yet has made no headway. If he 

 owed money at the beginning, he owes it still. He feels that 

 he has been prudent in expenditure, and knows that he has 

 been industrious, and yet has not got on. He now, having 



