The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-08-04
Farmers Boys Their Practical Instruc-
e ton. j@i

In looking over a farm there is no
more interesting portion OF 1t than that 4
ass gned to the boys for garden; es
pecially is this Soft the farmer himself
takes an interest in his boys, and rea-
Lies the importance ofencoufaging and
insisting them in their efforts to bS4ome
practical gardeners. l1aq M F
Farmers too often have so many,
chores fol-. their boys to do that they do
not give them half time enough for rec
reation, and therefore. no time to plant
garden of their own. This Is all
wrong. The farmers boy should not
be required to work any more hours
than the mechanics boy; he should have
time for recreation and for doing some
work for himself. There is no better
way to drive a boy from the farm than
to overwork him; and there is no better
way to keep him on the farm than to
manifest an interest in his welfare, give
him time for recreation, and make that
recreation as far as possible elevating
and instructive. The boy who, when
out of school, Is required to spend every
hour at work for his father dropping
corn in a large field. wedding long rows
Of onions, digging potatoes in q field so
large that il seems to have no end, and
husking corn from n heap that is en-
larged from the field before it is ex-
hausted, has no desire or courageto add
to his labors by having o gardenlof his
own, or in fact to stay on the farm
single moment after he has become his
own master. But q boy who Is not re-
CURED to become one of the farm hands
as soon as school is out, who works
only MS volunteer, can very readily
become Interested in a small garden of
bis own, and work in 1t for recreation
| and instruction.. We have seen boys as
Interested in their gardens as their
fathers were in their farms, and as
proud to show them 10 visitors. Such
boys not only learn habits of industry,
without compulsion, but they also learn
by practice the wants of growing plants,
and at the same time learnsto become
4 Interested in farm life. "A boy will tend
his own. garden with altogether different
feelings from those called up by tend
ing his fathers garden Ownership has
Wonderful power over the feelings Of
BOYS as we'll as men. Ea A
The boy that commences early in life
4 to- practices agriculture fors himself on q
4 small scale, becomes interested in OBJ
tanning the best results with the least
expenditure of money, and not only
learns many practical lessons which are
of great value in after life, but he be-
comes so strongly attached to the farm
that he has no desire to leave it. In fact
the boy who begins to gather up practi-
cal knowledge relating to the best meth
DDS of producing farm crops, and con-
tinues itnp TO manhood, learns one of
the most reliable trades that man has
1 ever vet followed. Give the boy q few
rods Of land to cultivate and then en-
courage, and if necessary, assist him to
make it the most productive portion OF
the farm; in few years he viii begin to
realize that farming is an occupation
which requires quite as high intelli-
| gence as any other occupation, and also,
that the profits of the farm depend in a
great measure on the intelligence OF the
farmer. AS soon as he realizes this, he
will entertain higher respect for the
occupation, and will feel desire TO be-
come, not simply practical farmer, but
TO be able to direct the practice with the
highest scientific intelligence.
If we are to keep our boys on the farm
we must try to make the farm more at
tractive, and make them feel more indie
pendent by giving them ownershipi i
they can have a garden and raise small
fruit or vegetables, and have theprivilege
of selling what they raise, they will be-
come donbly interested in farm life. A
few dollars that boy earns by his own
labor, will do him more good than a
large number that may be given TO him,
for if eAened by the sweat of his own
brow he is able to realize their truo
value, and will be very likely to spend
them more iudiciously than he would if
earned by another's labor. Mdssdcha.
sets Rlo9QhnaaA