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bettering of the manual and mental condition of the farmer than 

 has been done in a decade. 



Do all the farmers take or borrow agricultural papers? 



Have all the farmers of northern Illinois attended this dairy- 

 men's convention? 



Am I not safe in asserting that less than one-fourth of even 

 the farmers of Carroll county have availed themselves of the 

 opportunity of learning in a few days, what has cost years of 

 hard toil and mature experience? 



The intelligence and ability that have characterized these 

 meetings is indicative of better days in the near future for the 

 farmer. 



It is gratifying to know that at least one branch of agricul- 

 ture can be conducted successfully by co-operation. 



May we not earnestly hope that the day is not far distant 

 when every department of agriculture in this great common- 

 wealth will be thoroughly organized for effective and intelligent 

 work in everything pertaining to our welfare and prosperity? 



I am happy to say that in every community there are intel- 

 ligent farmers that are educated, and well informed in every 

 department of their calling. 



But it is the education of the farmer in general that is de- 

 manded by the active and intense competition of the financial 

 world. 



To accomplish this we must begin with the education of the 

 child. The adage that the child is father to the man is verified 

 by the truths of history. We boast of the privileges our chil- 

 dren have in the country schools. With pride we point to the 

 many school houses in the valleys and on the hill tops. 



Let us compare the privileges of the farmers' children of this 

 county, in the ungraded or country school, with that of the 

 graded school in the towns or cities. The same law of pro- 

 gress that applies to the child in the one is equally applicable to 

 the child in the other. 



Twenty years ago the teachers of the town and country 



