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Annual Report of the 
cation under this, or my theme will be much too broad. Farmers 
are very destitute of economy, and so, in part, lose the condition of 
growth. 
Economy in farmiug I am prepared to discuss. 
There is a good deal of what we call parsimony, stinginess, 
among farmers, but there is very little economy. Stinginess is 
compatible with great waste, but economy is not. Farmers are 
accustomed to hard work and small gains, and these sometimes 
lead them to small ways, which may properly be called stingy. 
This fact is not at war with the assertion that farmers are the most un¬ 
economical and wasteful of classes, and that the want of fore¬ 
thought involved in this waste, and the waste itself, are most serious 
and general obstacles to progress. An ordinary farmer on a mod¬ 
erate sized farm can waste, and often does waste, as much as he 
makes. It is not possible for a carpenter, a blacksmith, or a mason 
to be as wasteful as a farmer may and usually is. 
Economy has two branches; that of saving, preventing the need¬ 
less loss of things actually won, harvesting the entire crop such as 
it is; and the higher branch of sufficient and wise outlay to secure 
the full result of what is done, to make the crop what it ought to 
be. In both of these particulars, a thrifty, intelligent farmer is 
characterized by economy, and in both of them, as a class, farmers 
are signally deficient. They often mistake what I have ventured 
in plain words to call stinginess, for economy; when it is not 
economy nor at all allied to it. It springs from quite another spirit, 
and often interferes with economy. I address intelligent farmers, 
and their intelligence will make them patient with plain statements. 
Economy, a frugal husbandry of means, and yet a wise, sufficient 
adaptation of them to ends, so that the largest results may follow 
from the least labor, this, which is the knack of wealth-making, is 
our present exhortation, and we proceed to deal with particulars. 
My first specification is tools. It is astonishing how much has 
been done for farm-tools in the past twenty years. No other lead¬ 
ing branch of industry can show equivalent progress. . On the well 
provided farm, the farmer mounts one seat after another, from his 
plow to his reaper and rake, and makes a royal progress through 
the season. Yet, it is surprising how many poor tools are still used 
by farmers, and how good ones are abused by them. It is charac¬ 
teristic of a skilful, thrifty workman, that he will not use poor 
