ILLINOIS DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 45 



Secondly: The^pupil who wishes to become a lawyer or a preacher is eas- 

 ily conviced that all his school work will be of value to him in his profes- 

 sional work. Not so with the future farmer. He sees comparatively few 

 points of contact between the labor in the school-room and the labor on the 

 farm. Unless special and well directed effort is made by the teacher, the 

 pupils will entertain the idea that the higher branches in the school course 

 are not for those who wish to become farmers. It may be true that all the 

 studies of the course would benefit the future farmer ; but so long as he re- 

 mains unconvinced of this, so long will he fail to do vigorous and hearty 

 work in the school-room. It requires the skill of one who knows something 

 of the science and art of agriculture to lead the farmer pupil to a proper ap- 

 preciation of the value of a course of study. Even while I was writing this 

 page a wealthy farmer from the town of Blackberry came to my room, and 

 said substantially as follows : " I have a son sixteen years of age. He is 

 somewhat backward, but says he does not wish to go to school any more. I 

 would be very glad to send him to school and pay the bills if he would go." 



''What are the objections," I asked, "to his attending school §"' 



The reply was, "He says he's going to be a farmer, and won't need any 

 more education." 



It is not enough that an abundance of plain intellectual food be provided. 

 It must be seasoned with such condim^^nts as will make it relish— as will 

 whet the appetite. The public schools provide these condiments for the fu- 

 ture lawyers and preachers. There are declamations, debates, little essays 

 on great questions, the study of biography, especially the biography of those 

 men who have excelled as poets, historians, statesmen, theologians and pol- 

 iticians. But such condiments as these are often nauseating to future 

 farmers. Says the young man who expects to gain his livelihood by tilhng 

 the soil: " What care I to learn to declaim and to make gestures ? I shall 

 be a farmer. I expect to pitch hay and husk corn. Practicing gesticulation 

 before b looking-glass will not give me muscle for this nor skill for that. 

 What care I to understand the various steps by which men have become 

 great poets and statesmen? There is no poetry in hog-raising, and it takes 

 patience, not statesmanship, to break a colt or milk a cow in fly time." 



But the young man in whom there is an ambition to stand in the pulpit, 

 on the rostrum, or in the senate, takes great delight in these studies. He 

 prepares his declamations and his essays with great care, for which he re- 

 ceives commendation from his teacher and applause from his schoolmates. 

 This to him is but a foretaste of the honor that he expects to receive from the 

 outside world in after life. He enjoys his school work and he'll " finish the 

 course." 



But what shall we do, what can we do to hold in the schools the future 

 farmers? I answer, introduce so much of agricultural science into our 

 courses of study as shall be necessary to make them realize that the school 

 course is for them ; that it shiill enable them to perceive more points of con- 

 tact between their school life and their farm life. 



Ko sooner do I make such a statement as this before a body of teachers in 

 this state than some teacher rises and afiirms with vigorous and appropriate 

 gesture that " the public schools are not designed to make farmers but men;" 

 and within a month he will resume his work of making lawyers. I quite 



