Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1888-12-06
The average boz who Is well treated

10 imagine. He can be made conlented
with reasonable care and attention.
We have already alluded To- the necessi-
ty Of furnishing him books and papers,
and pleasant room Ia which TO spend
his evenings. He should also be well
clothed and furnished with what spend
ing money he needs Coarse clothes
can, and should, be worn while al work,
but every farmers boy should have
good clothes in which be can go into
company without being ridiculed or
feeling that he is unsuitably dressed.
de ought never TO be obliged TO over
work, and his home life and surround
ings should be made as pleasant as
possible. The girls must be taught to
respect farming as an occupation, and
be required TO help their mothers in the
work of the house and the dairy
When farmers educate their girls in a
manner which will bit them to become
farmers wives, and teach them that
farming is one Of The most honorable
Of sill occupations. and that the girl
who marries farmer does fully as we'll
as one who marries merchant or law
yer, they will thereby do great deal
towards keeping their boys on the
farm. The idea that because young
lady has married farmer she has
thrown herself away is one of the
most perposterous ones which ever
found expression 10 civilized society.
The girl who will reject man simply
because he is 3 farmer shows that she
has q very shallow, or else sadly un-
cultivated mind, and heart which is
incapable of deep affection. And the
farmer who will advise his daughters
to reject honest and intelligent farmers
in the hope Of securing clerks, business
or professional men, thereby shows his
own lack OF good judgment as well as
proves that he has no genuine respect
for the Ceiling by means OF which he
oblaines his bread. Tie mother who
advises her daughters to "look higher"
than the young men who are farmers is
thereby doing great wrong. There
may be reasons why certain farmers
boys are not suitable companions for
certain farmers girls, but the mere fact
that the men are farmers should weigh
in their favor rather than against them.
We are we'll aware that many farmers
wives have been terribly oyerworked,
and we can sympathize with the mother
who desires an easier lot for her dear
child. But we know that this excessive
labor Is not an absolute necessity, and
that with the aid of the labar-saving
implements of the present day farmers
wife can live as easily as the wives of
men engaged In many other pursuits.
There is very general misconception
upon this point, but those who seek the
truth soon find that the wife of the
farmer does not need to overwork, and
she can have many comforts which
other mems wives must purchase at
high prices or else do without. The
wife Of the farmer ought to be willing
to work in order to help him, and II the
man Is what he should be he will see
TO 1t that she does not 60 beyond her
strength. And any and every girl may
rest fully assured of the fact that man
who would make her his slave II be
were farmer would also require her to
work extremely hard If he engaged In
another occupation.
One OF the ways in which the boys
can be strongly Influenced TO choose
farming as an occupation, Is by giving
them the use Of small piece Of land
each season.
Let each boy who Is old enough take
q plot of land each spring, and plant it
With such seeds as he chooses. Give
him time to guilty ate the crop. and
allow him TO use the team when he
needs it. The money obtained from the
sale Of the products Of this piece of
ground should be his own to use as he
chooses (desires). Such course will
prove beneficial in several ways 1t
will lead the boy TO take deep interest
In thorough farming, and induce him to
study the best methods Of cultivation in
order that he may obtain as large a
sum of money as possible,
It will show him the real worth of a
dollar, and lead him to spend 1t wisely.
Look where we will, we can find men
who have neglected the best of chances,
because. by the (best) dazzling light Of
far away, their eyes were
closed to the benefits by which they
were fairly surrounded. In looking
over his past life many man can see
where he made q terrible mistake in
seeking fortune in the distance and the
future, instead of accepting the oppor-
tunities which were close at hand. And
as human nature remains the same,
we find that the same scenes are con-
stantly being re-enacted. The young
do not always learn from the experience
of the old. They prefer TO push out
into life for themselves. They insist
upon drinking the bitter water before
they will acknowledge that it is uu-
pleasant and unwholesome. This is
the case with too many Of our young
men Of today, But there are many
who are open to reason, who will listen
to argument, and who will harken to
instruction.
Many boy has ''soon run OUT fine
property left him by his father, because
he had no clear comprehension Of the
difficulty Of obtaining Ct) money. The
father who gives his boy spending money
does great deal better than the one
who never allows him to have any, but il
is by far the best plan to have the boy
earn the money which he spends.
The boy who earns dollar by growing
fruit or grain understands that the
dollar represents certain amount OF
labor. He appreciates the money and
knows its actual worth far better than
the boy whose father gives him some
outright. Such plan will enable the
boy 10 buy books, or take papers, with
his own money. 1t will tend TO make
him industrious and frugal, and may be
made the means of great good to the
boy, and indirectly, prove an almost
equal benefit to the father. If it is not
convenient to allow the use of land, the
farmer may give bis boys the entire
care of the poultry, requiring them to
pay for the food which is consumed,
and allowing them to retain the money
received from the sale Of chickens and
eggs. Or two or three sheep may be
given to a boy to care for, be paying
the cost Of keeping, and having the
money obtained from lambs and wool
for his own. In some such way the
boy NAV be inspired with love for the
farm, and induced to lay good founda-
ton for q successful business career
thereon. The father who desires his
bows to become farmers should take
them into his confidence, aud consult
with them in regard TO the work.
Father's-"If you want to make your
son like his business. place him in re-
sponsible places, trust him, consult him
about the work he is to do. Let him
do part of the thinking. Give him
nearly the sole care or responsibility OF
,o.s,.th;,cr an tho form fha fowls the