The Ploughboy 



and English farmers could put it to so much 

 better use. Where an Indian required thou- 

 sands of acres for his family, these acres in the 

 hands of industrious, God-fearing farmers 

 would support ten or a hundred times more 

 people in a far worthier manner, while at the 

 same time helping to spread the gospel. 



Mr. Mair urged that such farming as our 

 first immigrants were practicing was in many- 

 ways rude and full of the mistakes of ignorance, 

 yet, rude as it was, and ill-tilled as were most 

 of our Wisconsin farms by unskillful, inexperi- 

 enced settlers who had been merchants and 

 mechanics and servants in the old countries, 

 how should we like to have specially trained 

 and educated farmers drive us out of our homes 

 and farms, such as they were, making use of 

 the same argument, that God could never have 

 intended such ignorant, unprofitable, devastat- 

 ing farmers as we were to occupy land upon 

 which scientific farmers could raise five or ten 

 times as much on each acre as we did ? And I 

 well remember thinking that Mr. Mair had the 

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