28 The Principles of Fruit-growing. 
ment, and sterling honesty. The man should not 
set before himself the single standard of money- 
getting, when entering upon a rural life. The end 
of life is happiness, and it may often be secured 
just as well on a moderate income as on a large 
one. It is pernicious to represent that the farmer 
can become rich, as that term is commonly em- 
ployed. It is one of the blessings which agriculture 
bestows upon both the individual and the nation, 
that it makes its devotees happy and comfortable 
without making them wealthy. Of all the leading 
occupations in whivh men engage, perhaps there is 
less mere scramble for money in agriculture than 
anywhere else; and for this very reason the farmer 
must forever remain a_ stalwart and _ conservative 
element in our national structure. Farming upon a 
modest scale is capable of yielding a competent in- 
come; but the larger part of the wealth of the 
small farmer is of a wholly different kind from that 
of the tradesman or manufacturer. 
It is indisputable that there is always a demand 
for the best. There is not enough of the best in 
any commodity. A man cannot make the best unless 
he has ability for it. It is more important, there- 
fore, that the first tillage and fertilizing and prun- 
ing and spraying should be applied to the man and 
not to the land nor the crop; and whilst the man 
is acquiring discipline for the direct prosecution of 
his business, he is at the same time opening his 
mind to all the sweetest pleasures of living. On 
the other hand, there is always a surplus of the 
