Daily Republican., 1884-02-23
SATURDAY. FEBRUARY Is. 1854.
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Mechanical +. AIDES and Farming.

1ecu0DhcOe boueS omO F6rnlwR'
1t is very easy to use the common ex-
preston, every boy should learn some
useful trade" when he is old enough
to do so, but it is not such an easy mat
ter, in these days of labor unions, to get
a boy apprenticed to the leading branch
es Of industry, no matter how promis-
ing boy may be. A good trade is the
best legacy that man can give his son.
The man with trade is cosmopolitan,
for he can make himself useful any
where, and he can live anywhere. If
he can find anything that will pay bet
ter than his trade he can go to it, and,
II he does not succeed, he can drop
back to his trade again. Between the
average mechanic and the great manu-
tacturer or merchant prince, great num-
bers can be found who began as me-
chanics and who have taken positions
by their skill equal to that of the aver
age merchant, and far superior to that
of most clerks and professional men.
A young man, on entering upon his
trade, should have his eye on something
higher than ali aim to become a mere
journeyman, though that is an honora-
deposition to hold. He should look at
things from broad business basis, and
consider that some day he may rise to
the head of his business where he will
be required to study the relations OF
capital to labor, and to master the prin-
ciples Of business, 70 that if he should
form a partnership witha business man,
he will not be at his mercy, and SO that
If he choose, he may at any time enter
upon business himself, and not fritter
away his life in a vain effort to over
come by mechanical skill large fnan-
cial obstacles.
But there is still one difficulty in the
way. The bright side of the picture is
where man has good trade and is
making an easy and comfortable living
by 1t, but the dark side is where q
young man wants to learn trade and
he finds no door open to admit him to
an apprenticeship. Hundreds Of young
men falling to be accepted as appren-
tices become drivers of carts and
are compelled to work at common labor
though that is honorable too. Desira-
BILE as it may be to have good me-
chanical trade which under the present
relations Of capital and labor is hard
to get, the next best thing, probably
the very next best thing for a young
man to do, will be to acquire a good
knowledge of agriculture. There is
more demand now for intelligent farm
labor than for any other kind of labor.
We mean intelligent farm labor which
comprises a full knowledge of the rails
ing of crops, stock dairying and the cul-
ture of fruit.
There is never any danger of agricul-
tural products not being in demand,
though they may from the force of ex-
ternal circumstances be reduced to
very low price. Times may come
when there will be no special demand
for machinery and other manufactured
articles cf mechanical skill, but there is
always a market for grain, vegetables,
stock, fruit and all other articles of
agricultural products. Unfortunately
agriculture has been looked upon as a
menial occupation-a business that any
dolt can follow and hence the reluc-
tance manifested to engaging in that
business. This is a great mistake
Intelligent agriculture requires intel
ligent agriculturists. To be a success.
full farmer now requires knowledge
Of science superior to that required in
some of the leading industries. A man
may slip along and exc out an existence
by raising hominy and hog interspersed
with a patch Of wheat, lot of potatoes,
half cultiva' ed, and few heads of cab
bage, but this is not farming. The
wide awake, intelligent farmer is the
man, who, by a knowledge of chemis-
try, understands the nature of his land,
and knows how to feed it and the prop
er phosphates to use. He knows how
to temper his ground for wheat, for
corn, for potatoes, for different varieties
of fruit, yes and for flowers, too, for an
intelligent farmer cannot, it seems to
us, fail to have love for flowers. The
higher education that leads him to i'm
prove his crops, his lands and his build
ings, will lead him to beautify his home
with flowers Farming like this is
trade far above the common walks of
life, and is worthy of an apprenticeship
by worthy young men, who want to be
else than dolts and labor
in this busy, bustling, world
Clearly then agriculture offers an open.