Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-01-10


was one half. He thought it would be
wise for farmers to improve their stock
He thought the good grade stock was fully
equal to thoroughbred for many purposes
Thoroughbred stock put on a farm and
given same care as high grade, will fire.
quently fall behind the grade. A large
proportion of fancy stock growers have
made failure of it.
Institute adjourned to 1:15 P. m.
AFTERNOON SESSION
The afternoon session was opened by the
singing by the choir, of the anthem enti-
titled, Sons of Zion
The first exercise was an interesting
essay by Miss Mercy j. Griffith, of Mt.
Pleasant, Ohio, entitled "The farm home
and that which truly adorns and beau
titles it." 1t was an excellent paper,
and was well received by the audience.
1t will appear in full in the CHRONICLE
next week.
The paper was followed by singing of
quartette by Messrs. LoDgley and
Carson ard Mrs. Thompson and Miss
Nellie Anderson, entitled "On the
mountain life is free"
The next topic on the programme,
Farmers Boys" was opened by an ex-
cellent address by Prof. l. n. Vail, of
Barnesville, which we regret our ina
bility to give in full. Mr.. Vail said
be thought it likely no one wished to
discuss this subject, because ii had been
80 much discussed before. No age since
the Adamite has been free from that
resistless tide of change that has its
Genesis of action in the nature of man
TO rise. As the oak plumule bursts
from the soil. and advances inch by
inch. so the human family asadvanced
from barbarisn To the light of to-day.
We all can see the Importance of making
the surroundings of our boys such that
will tend to their being reared Alright.
The Intelligent child reared amid saw
age Surroundings, will tend to retro
grade toward barharism, and the savage
child reared in intelligence, advances in
intelligence. He grows as coral, a
chrysalis, according to plan of Nature,
unchaDging and Interchangeable. The
world knows that Romanism, Buddhism,
etc, never did and never can develop
the human thought; the world knows
that the progress of this Christian com
monwealth is ever onward and upward,
and it stands in wonder as We push to-
ward the goal The speaker referred to
the hills and rivers of Eastern Ohio, as
part of the physical influences under
which our intellectual ideas are ad-
vanced. Thus Nature has placed her
influences around the farmers boys, and
we must do our share.
The untold minerals concealed in the
soil tell farmers they must be mineral
lists, meteor0logists, ETC.; the vegetables
sprineing from the soil tell us we must
De botanists; The foods that wash away
our fences, Sc, teach US that We must
be engineers-we must be planners,
architects and thinkers. This is the
school In which the farmer boys of
Eastern Ohio are placed. How shall we
conduct our affairs So that our boys
shall reap the advantages, should be a
principal point. We would shudder to
think that we were in danger of falling
into the pauperizing of our country, like
unto that of the Old World. There is
no standing still, We must rise or fall.
1t is not necessary to always follow the
style and plans of our fathers. Variety
is the spice of life, and | will go farther
and say it is necessary for the develop
mont of true manhood. would teach
my boys To talk with the mysterious
sward as the plowshare turns it over
to converse with the elements of the
soil would have them to read a SER
mon in stones. | would make them
partners in the toll, and give them an
insight into all that was going on, on
the farm. This is my ideal home for the
boy. Let us contrast IL with the
boy who sees nothing in the soil, or
stone. aud does nothing. without 1t calls
d frown from the Cd man. He knows
nothing of the farmers plans and learns
to care nothing for them. He soon tires
of the farm. and is not fit for it, nor is
be fitted for anything else. l have a
family in my mind. The boy asked for
the horse to GO To a sleighing party, and
was refused and went to bed with curses
in mis- heart. Afterward he got up, and
slipping out of the house, took the horse
and went anyhow. returning and slip
ping back into the house. Now, is it
not shame that after the boy had the
honor to ask for the horse. that he
should be refused and have to go and
steal it? The boy left the farm at an
early dav, and it was then the old mans
time to curse To illustrate this, the
speaker gave An aneclOte of an old lady
on d train, who kept asking the conduc
tor when they would be al Poughkeep
sic Arriving there the conductor had
unfortunately forgotten the old lady, and
pulled out from the station. when MOTTO
lug her. he had the train brought back
to the plat form, when she said she did
not want to get off. but her "darter" hal
told her to take another pill at that
place. Had this been a farmers boy
he would most likely have been cuffed,
kicked and cursed many farmer boys
are treated this way to-day. He is led
to have disgust for the farm. He is
the party who does the hard work
around the barn and wOOd-hOuse; he is
the one who has to drive the blind horse
to the mil. rhe simple fact is we must
trust cur boys or they won't trust US !;
we must care for our boys, or they wOn's
care for us. There can be no lOvelier
sight IN the world than the boy taking
care OF childish old age. Let him have
the sharp ak and good hoe. Every farmer
should be able to teach his boy botany,
physiology; nay, he should be a6le to
teach him grammar. If the farmers
should wake up to this, they would raise
an army of boys whose shout would be
heard around the world. We should tie
the boy to the farm by making home
attractive. ETC.. and get the popular lit
erature of the day, and strain it-strain
out the bad We can contrive thou
sand ways to make home attractive;
when | look around me and see SO much
indifference l almost despair. Men shut
their eyes on what is going on around
them. 1t puts me in mind of the old
mans first ride on the railroad car. He
was accompanied by his son, and the
train went suddenly into tunnel, and
when it came out again, the farmer was
seen standing up in the car rubbing his
eyes, and he called to his son, saying
that something was the matter with