AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION. 
399 
American farmer, but sometimes he is so nearly a living machine, 
that he will stand powerless to act because of some change in the 
conditions of his work; whereas the more intelligent, self-reliant 
American would have been at once able to see and remedy the dif¬ 
ficulty. It would be better if the American could equal the other 
in his manual skill, but if he lack either, better by far that he 
should have the greater general intelligence. This same typical 
English plowman would probably be utterly ynable to do at all, 
many things which his American fellow could do as well as he 
could plow. As before, if either must be lacking, let it be the 
manual skill. Fortunately, the possession of superior intelligence 
is no bar to the possession of superior manual skill, and is a help to 
its acquisition, as it is a help to the gaining of any practical knowl¬ 
edge. The trained eye will see many things which would be passed 
over by the untrained; the trained mind will also see and under¬ 
stand and make use of many things which the more ignorant would 
not notice, or see but to idly wonder at. I would give to all stu¬ 
dents of agriculture practice in the field, but I would never make 
this the chief end in their instruction. If skill here be all that is 
desired, there are other and cheaper, as well as equally good schools 
for the purpose on thousands of farms in the state. Let the parent 
or the boy decide whether he wish a practical and liberal education 
in agriculture, or whether he wish to serve an apprenticeship to 
learn simply the practice of farming, but let him not suppose these 
are the same or equal things. 
It should be borne in mind that constant, severe labor, especially 
if accompanied with anxiety, tends to unfit one for study; especially 
for the beginnings of study. Previous study and the knowledge 
gained by it tends to make labor less irksome and acts as an incen¬ 
tive to further study. If there were no direct gain in money re¬ 
turn for his labor, the increased interest he would take in his vrork 
would be abundant reason why one purposing to be a farmer should 
as thoroughly educate himself as practicable in advance of his ac¬ 
tual practice. This is true of a child. liOng before he ought to be 
placed at hard labor, he may learn much which will make his work 
seem less of mere drudgery. 
I would, then, have the student of agriculture learn all he can of 
the soil he tills; have him learn of its chemical and equally of its 
physical elements. I would have him know, so far as is known, the 
