Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-04-08
From Prairie Farmer,
Shall We Encourage Boys 10
STAY on the Eir,nf

BY all means, il they want to stay;
if they have a taste for farm lite, and
take to it more kindly than to any
other pursuit. Ii a boy takes IN hon
est pride in turning straight turrow,
rearing fine calves and building fine
hay stacks, doubtless the farm is
the place for him. Ii he prefers to 60
to the county fair to attending Dan
Rices circus, if he selects the PRAIRIE
farmer, that came in the same mail
with the New York Ledger, that boy
has taste for farming that it will do
well to encourage.
But how about the other boys, to
whom farming is IN uncorgenal en-
ployment, and whose only lively step
in the field is taken when the trumpet
calls to dinner? Shall we encourage
them to stay on the farm, with the
fact staring us in the face that they
have no natural aptitude for the bust
ness, and consequently will never be-
come good farmers? Much as we re-
spect and honor the pursuit OF agri
culture, we think we should not. We
cannot see how either the farm or the
boys are to be benefited by the pro
cedure. The fact is, We have too many
poorly managed farms, and too many
poor farmers to hold out inducements
for increasing the number Of them.
1t would be much wiser course
every way, to find out what a boy is
good for, if, indeed, he is good. for any
thing in particular, before you encour-
age him to adopt any particular call
ing. Ii the only good boy ever did
about the farm was to repair the
pumps, hang gates, make mole-traps
put in rake teeth, file the saw and
hang the grind-stonc, and he did these
things well, obviously the farm is not
the place for him, but machine shop
is.
II boy will walk half dozeI
miles, after the days work is done, t.
hear political speech, If he take. time
from his play to attend trials befor,
a justice OF the peace, and sets up bal
the night, when he is going to school
to learn declamations which bring
down the house at spelling school
most likely he will do the world more
good if you put law book and not {
manure fork into his hand.
1t he earns more money trading iacl
knives and fsh-lnes on "a ny days
than he does hoeing potatoes and cut
ting grain in fair weather, give him ;
chance TO handle yard-stIck, am
not have him around troubling Other
boys who are handling horse-rakes
and pitch-torks, and like the employ
ment.
Again, if boy is skillful in skin
ming small animals and stufiing birds
if he practised making pills of mud
when he was child and extracted
teeth from the jaws OF dead horses
with pincers when he got older; if h,
reads physiologies when his brother
are engaged i'll perusing Robinson
Crusoe, he will be tar more likely t,
succeed with lancet than with
scythe.
1t has become very fashionable late
| ~ to exhort farmers to encourage
their boys to stay on the farm irrespec
tive of their ability or taste to becom
good farmers; but we cannot see tn
propriety Of it. On the other hand
We see many good reasons why boy
who do not promise to become goo,
farmers should be encouraged to tr,
their hands on something else Will,
they are still young, Because DO,
! was born on farm il is no reason
why he should always stay there if ma
ture gave him gifts for sonnet hing else
but denied him the Inherent tacultie.
for becoming successful farmer. II
India persons are born into Caste
but can never get out of it, III an
Gent Egypt children were obliged te
follow the occupation OF their parents
to the latest time. But we have never
heard Of any good, but have heard
Of q good deal OF evil, coming from it
The farm is good place tor boys te
stay on unless they have, at tnc came
time, strong inclination to so into
some other kind OF business thai i.
more congenial to him; in which case
We think he had better 60 his way,
and the sooner the better