32 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
did a certain amount of work at the ex¬ 
pense of a certain amount of energy. The 
thinking-mechanism was scarcely called 
into action. Under such conditions it 
is no wonder that our young men and 
young women sought relief by migrat¬ 
ing to the business centers. The evidence 
from history is that our foremost states¬ 
men, our foremost men and women in 
literary pursuits, as well as our foremost 
business men, were in the majority of 
cases raised in the country. This migra¬ 
tion to the business centers still continues. 
It is not surprising to those who have 
studied the matter, and who perceive 
somewhat clearly the cause. You cannot 
blame a young woman for hesitating to 
accept the position of a wife in the coun¬ 
try, when laborious drudgery, from early 
morning until late at night, is the only 
prospect in view. You cannot blame the 
young man for shrinking from a life of 
six days constant toil, and a Sunday of 
only half rest. Under such conditions 
we find even the fathers ancl xiiothers, 
who have spent possibly a half century 
of constant vigil on the farm, moving to 
the town or city to retire and spend the 
rest of their lives in comfort. This 
move to the city would never have been 
contemplated if they had been perfectly 
contented on the farm; or if the farm 
were the ideal place it ought to be. They 
move to town because their money will 
there buy them the comforts that were 
not obtainable in the country. 
MIGRATION TO THE FARM AT PRESENT 
IMPOSSIBLE. 
I have called attention to the fact of 
history that a larger percentage of our 
leading men and women were raised on 
farms than was due to the rural popula¬ 
tion. There must therefore be some vir¬ 
tue in the country as such for producing 
superior intellects, sturdy manhood and 
womanhood. Let us for a moment look 
at the extreme negative of this question. 
In the tenement district of New York 
City, which is the most populous center 
in America, there hangs a diagram show¬ 
ing the number of people to the acre of 
ground. It is calculated that at the same 
rate of crowding the world's population 
could be placed in the State of Delaware. 
An accompanying diagram shows that 
the average boy and girl in this crowded 
section is far below the normal size. 
These facts are so well known to my 
hearers that it is useless for me to en¬ 
large upon them. My speech has recalled 
to you the well known fact that we have 
a constant stream of migration from the 
country to the town, and no counter-cur¬ 
rent to the farm. It speaks volumes for 
the thrift and strength of those who re¬ 
main that this condition could have gone 
on for decades. The stream has been all 
one way—toward the town. It should 
not be understood that I would raise an 
argument against migration to the city. 
It very often happens that a very poor 
farmer would have made a first-class mer¬ 
chant, lawyer, preacher, or doctor. No 
two of us are endowed with the same 
talents and tastes combined in the same 
manner. We cannot readjust the ele¬ 
ments that make up our talents and intel¬ 
lects, but it is our divinely-appointed duty 
to seek and find the vocation for which 
we have been best endowed. 
BACK TO THE FARM. 
Thousands of people, possibly hun¬ 
dreds of thousands, in the United States 
find out when too late to change, that 
they have taken up the wrong vocation. 
The following is a composite of scores 
