Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-01-06
How to Make Farming Attractive.

Much has been said and written of late
about boys leaving the farm and seeking
EMPLOYMENT elsewhere, which does not,
upon the whole, speak well for the pros
perity of American agriculture. IL Is
certainly true that our young men become
less inclined TO stick TO the farm In pro-
portion as more profitable and more con-
genial fields OF labor are opened to them.
but this only proves that farming, as
profession, is either sinking below or has
not been brought up To q standard that
meets the wants and tastes OF intelligent,
industrious young men o. the present day.
In other words, IL farming is not sufficient.
lv attractive 10 create love for il in those
who know ii best from close acquaintance,
there must be something radically wrong
within, and the remedy, ii ever found,
will have TO come from the same source.
If those following other callings Cypress
the farmer, as is so frequently asserted, it
is simply because he has been negligent in
learning as well as in asserting his rights.
Ii the farm is less attractive held OF
labor than the counting-house, the law
Office or the medical school, il must be
owing to the failure of the agricuIturist
TO make il so.
As d rule, the op. ortunities for making
great fortunes are not as numerous In
agriculture as in more speculative call
ings, but the chances of total failures are
also very considerably less; consequent
ly balance might be struck between the
two without any great loss TO either
party Only about ten meE out OF every
hundred who commence business IN our
cities succeed, and the ninety are obliged
20 accept some mental position, where
they barely exc out miserable existence
by daily toll. Poor as farming may be
as a business, IL cannot show so large
proportion of utter failures as the learned
professions, which appear TO have so great
AN attraction TOR farmers sons at the pres
ent day.
II is usually asserted by writers on this
subject that our young men leave the
farm because the chances of making
money are better in other cahings; but
we do not believe this Is the true reason,
because, TO admit it, would be TO attribute
{, our farmers sons sordid motives which
few OF them possess. But from an ex-
tended personal observation we have come
10 the conclusion that young men seek
cities and villages more for the knowledge
they can obtain there than from any other
motive. Ii is certainly not 10 get rid OF
labor, for the successful city man gener-
ally works q greater number of hours per
day than the farmer; and II is doubtful If
the kind Of labor Is any the less exhaust
ing But the country boy finds in the city
opportunities for obtaining knowledge OF
men and things in general, from which he
is declared on the farm, and these help TO
fill up and make his life complete. Ii be
is naturally inclined 10 evil he can find
il at hand in every shape and more
abundant in cities than in the country and
the same is true in regard TO literature,
the arts and sciences.
Now we hold that the true remedy for
this departure of farmers sons and daugh-
tiers 10 cities and villages is 10 make farm
life more attractive 10 young people. The
country is natures great laboratory and
the place of all others where the study OF
the natural sciences can be most agree
ably and profitably pursued but there
must be teachers before we can expect To
have many scholars The very branches
Of natural science, knowledge OF which
would doubtless be the most beneficial 10
the farmer, are the ones most generally
neglected. Time and again our scientific
men have thought the day had arrived
for periodicals devoted entirely 10 botany,
entomology, microscopy anu KINDRED
branches OF natural science, nut nearly
every attempt to publish them has been
met with cold indifference or with utter
refusal on the part Of our farmers 70 give
them the least support.
Still we find hundreds and thousands
of farmers sons who have found homes
In our cities, where they come in contact
with museums, cabinets and works on
natural history, becoming either eminent
as naturalists or at feast intensely inter-
ested in such subjects. The farmers
sons or daughters will never become in
terested in botany, entomology or any
other branch Of natural science by read
ing Baxterfs Saints Rest or Millions
" Paradise LOST and however good
these works are in their way they are not
calculated 10 lead to the study Of the bo-
tanical characteristics OF wheat, oats OF
any of the thousands Of different species