The Grange advance., 1873-10-29
WHY OUR YOUNG MEN DESERT
THE farm FOR THE TOWN AND

! Cl11. ~
1t is a well established fact that all over our
country the youth and often the most enterpris-
ing and intelligent of the farmers boys desert
lRg farm for the City and the Town. Quitting the
labors Of the farm in which they are bronght into
constant contact with the most beautiful and most
wonderful thought. of the great all Father, to
stand behind the counter Of gloomy store, or to
work in gloomy. dusty Office.
Now there are many reasons for this. First,
there is generally lack of education of kind
suited to make youth in love with the labors of the
farm. In other callings young men are expected
to pass through years of special study to prepare
them for their work. until the study of their trade
or profession becomes passiIn with them and
they get no greater pleasure from any source than
| from their daily preparation and work. Now there
Is no calling that furnishes wider field for study
and investigation than that Of agriculture: there
is the wonderful alchemy of nature in the
transformation of the soil, sunshine the dew RODS
and the rdin into plants; there are the different
combinations of the soil Necessary to the healthy
| growth OF the plant, the variety and nature of
! plants and Thousand other things to be studied
| There is no. only lack of preparation. an edu-
cation calculated to make the farm work pleasant
and successful aad to supply the intelligent
wants OF al active brain but from the first en-
trance upon school to the close Of the school life
education IN this country is generally of kind
to unfit the student for this noble pursuit
The training is all of the intellect and none cf
the muscle. the mental powers are oyertaxed t.
physical powers entirely neglected. an the student
comes out OF collegiate cours" ii NO; an invalid
at least wreck as 70 all physical energy life or
vlgor. with an an:tpathv to all manly muscular ex-
ertlon Not only this. but the education is sener-
ally s"ch as to give mental disrelish
for agricultural pursuits. Young men
are taught to read and admire the beau
tl1ui periods o! the orators and the 1nl-
imagery OF the poets of past ages and t., study the
dead languages in which they wrote. much more
than they are encouraged to study the laws which
govern their own being, or the means by which
their own wants are to be supplied. And if
stlmulous Is wanted to tagging ambition, the
offices OF public trust in the nation ar. pointed
out as the only goals worthy Of their highest ell
deavor to reach-as though worth or merit had any
thing to do with getting Office now.a-days-uut;l
the mania Of ofice-seekins has become more ruin
Gus to the young men OF the nation. than that of
gaming has to the people Of Spain.
Another thing that has driven and is driving
young men from agricultural pursuits is the little
attention paid to meeting the higher ;esthetica!
wants OF their natures OF contributing to the love
OF order, beauty and comfort. Farming is made
too much drudgery; farmers with improved Ia
bor-savlng machinery instead Of using ii to make
their work easr, use it only that they may accom-
psh the more work, and the farm house is LEFT
without beauty Or comforts unfurnished and with
out books, and the yard without s!lrub5sry or
towors, and youth come to look on farming a. a
hard dreary life.
Farmers live too distant, there is not
sufficient of association and interchange of
thought. Men arc social beings and naturally seek
and are improved by association with each other;
"As steel sharpeneth iron, so the countenancc Of
a friend sharpeneth that OF his frend' The brine
ing OF two minds together in conversation is like
bringing the opposite poles of e!acticlty together
flash is elected, wit sparkles forth. thought flows
ana there isa mutual improvement. have thought
sometimes that it would be beneficial! il farmers
could live in villages in the centers of small tracts
OF country and have their farms extending out in
every direction from their homes, that they might
nave more OF the refining influence of each others
society. the stimulous Of having their work con-
stantly under the observtion Of Others and the ben
ent OF haVihs the experiments Of their neiglbors
ana their different manners 0; conducting the af-
1alrs OF the farm constantly within and under their
observation
And last, but not least, farming does not occupy
the position that it should, for the reason that it
has come to be looked upon az unproAtabe. and
while as general rule this idea is false and aeri.
culture pursued with care, diligence and system
brings in this country greater returns for the
amount OF CAOita1 tod hon
and IN older countries farmers are the mos,
wealthy class OF men, yet on account Of the thrift
less manner in which farming is often carried on
IN ne" countries, it often becomes the most un
profitable. This carelessness does not ALWAYS nor
generally arise from lack of industry and enter
prise. but 1t comes from incxperience, from de-
sire 10 see Immediate gains and carelessness with
regard to those that are more remote, from under
taxing 100 much, from want Of habits, of system
and order In this western country when we look
ont over these broad prar1es, our minds get too
much expansion, and have thought sometimes.
that the old Roman law of allowing on,v sexan
acres to person would be good thing for this
country until our farms were brought up to their
highest productive ability. TIL. rule of "A little
farm we'll titled, little house we'll filled and a
little wife well wiled'' is capital one for farmers
Of small means.
But this is day of progress and many OF these
obstacles to the utmost sources of this pursu, are
being rapidly removed, Patrons of Husbandry ara
doing noble work and may yet lead on to the entire
elevation OF this noble calling. Agricultural pa
pers are taking high ground, agricultural col
leges are becoming more numerous and are more
generally attended. 1t has already come to this
that the educational system of State is not con.
sldered perfect until the State has an agricultural
coeese' or an agricultural department in their
State University.
Let such papers as the Avericau Agriculturist.