Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1866-04-20
farm, Gardfn & glollsehold,
AGRIcuLTuRAL EpueATIoN- WoRK


AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION WORK
That the book worm will make poor far
mer, as a general rule, every body knows.
However, he has certainly little wisdom who
discards book-gained knowledge. To be a
successful farmer the boy must be early train
ed to independent observation. and Judgment,
to reliance upon himself, and to see that
success or failu.e results from causes. which,
if he knows enough, be may regulate. This
can never come satisfactorily without a thor
ough knowledge of work. Every farmer viii
agree with as in this, and we have rarely
known one who did not put the leork theory
into practice often with most indiscreet
energy. Boys are ambitious and delight in
praise. They begin tough and hearty they
scorn the light work very soon;-they aspire
to do the work Of q man Ito be worth
more to their fathers than any men they can
hire they learn quickly how to do every
kind of work. They hoe, and rake. and bind.
and swing the AK, and fodder the stock, and
look after the hired men; they save the farm
ers many steps, for--the boys never get ont
of breath, or never say so. They do harder
work, and aspire to dc the hardest Al 16,
they take their places with the mowers at
II, they are expert Graders and pitchers, and
do every kind of work SO well that their
praise is on every body's lips, and the horney
handed men look ON in astonishment to see
the feats OF strength and endurance which
they show. The result is in gqqjority Of
cases that the boys break down; they strain
themselves and grow out of shape, have fits
of tainting in the field, headache, giddiness,
blindness grow thin and pale, and take to
their books, perhaps to novel reading; lose
interest in the farm, and so after all their
brilliant.promise, go into some other business
or make very poor farmers. We can name
score of very much such cases.
There is remedy and it is simple one,
namely more 6rain-acork and less hand
lc0rk.
This is easier stated than carried out, for
he ambition of a good boy to work is con-
family excited on the farm, by the results of
what work does, continually before his eyes,
and by the presence ef laborers who viii in
eyitably encourage the greatest outlays Of en-
ergy and strength on his part He has no
such indictments to study on the farm, and in
fact, much work and much study are entirely
i incompatible. The weary body demands rest,
in which the mind must participate. Never
theless, the evil of oYerworking boys IS so
great that we must, even again and again,
caution parents, and the boys themselves,
against it, as one notable cause of SO many
inferior farmers.
But very few farmers can afford to give
their sons anything more than what is called
"a Common School Education that is, as
r egards book learning. Almost, none how
ever, are so Strengthened in means that they
c an not have good books and papers They
can throw upon their sons the responsibility
of learning what other people think and say
about this or that crop, or practice, or way of
tre ating crops, or about the insects which
may ammo y them, and about thousand and
one things which may be made the subjects
of investigation upon the tarm
Besides, a farmer needs knowledge of
many other kinds of work-not straightfor-
ward farming and the young farmers win
ters can hardly be spent to better advantage
than in acquiringlfamiliarity with one or NOR
trades. The writer well remembers thee
months spentin the cabinet makers shop in
learning the use of tools. He was not os
much use to the cabinet maker, but the
knowledge gained has been worth great
deal to him ever since. We advise any
young farmer who can get such place to
give two or even six months labor gratuitous-
ly to the blacksmith in his shop, or to the
carpenter, or to the sadler, or to the wheel
wright, and to do so every winter, until a
good insight is gained of these trades. In
stony country, where wall laying is an impor-
tant accomplishment, time should be taken
to learn this, and there is some opportunity
almost every season, to learn practically the
principles of framing houses, or Joiuer work.
The use of this practicul education in differ
ent kinds of work does not make farmer a
Observation-Disclosures" but it makes him at
least better judge of other mems work, and
much better and handler farmer
american Agricaltaist.