The Penn's Grove record., 1897-05-28
A Lesson To
The President Of Che state Board OF
Agriculture urges them to Keep
The Boys at Home

In the twenty fourth annual report
of the State Board of Agriculture, re-
ceiyed at the State House recently,
President, D. D. Denise discourses at
length upon the subject of keeping the
boys on the farm, and in doing SO ne
reads a lesson to the farmers themselves.
"Of late years The widespread DISPOSE
ton among boys to quit the farm and
flock to our towns and Cities" says the
president, ''has attracted the earnest
attention Of thoughtful men. The wide
range of discussion which the subject
has taken shows the exodus is not only
a grave problem, but n OF difiicult
solution. 1t is neither wise nor deslr-
able to keep all boys on the farm.
Where nature has distinctly marked a
boy for a different calling it Is both
wrong and cruel to compel that boy to
follow farming. We, as representa-
tives of the farm, are responsible Tor
the boys not liking to live on the farm
We talk to them of the hard times we
used to have and are having and we IN
spire the thought that the boys have a
bard time, and they want to go to the
city. There is no place in life that Is
so good as the farm. If there is any
thing raised the farmer has the first
slice, and he has more leisure hours
than the business men.
ALTHOUGH prices may be low, it is
not TO the advantage of the farming in
terest of the State to cry hard times,
but, on the contrary, instead of wait
ing for something to turn up, to go to
work and turn something up. The
farm will pay, and we have. enjoyments
that are not found anywhere else.
"Every business in the world rests on
the farmers of our country. If the
farmers lag, every other business lags.
1t has been the fashion among farmers
to take the best boy and make a lawyer
or doctor of him. That has been the
understanding to he the appropriate
thing to do. Education is a good thing
for the farmer, and the good time is
coming when he will get his education
in q school that will not take him away
from the farm
In discussing the sort of education
necessary to make the boys prefer the
farm TO focking to the crowded cities
ito HUSTLE" President Denise says:
"a growing interest in regard to
making agriculture a common school
study is evinced by the current discus.
sion of the subject in the agricultural
press. 1 have given some thought to
the matter, and the more l reflect upon
it the more 1 realize its Importance.
Perhaps it is we'll to be conservative in
new propositions of the magnitude of
this n and to observe the trend Of af-
fairs, go that when one alights he will
stand firmly on the right side of the
fence"
"Rat a goodly number Of educated,
experienced and capable agriculturists
have studied this question thoroughly,
and are quite unanimous in the opin-
ion that something ought to be done
to give the farming youth a better start
in their own vocation than the common
schools now furnish. - -
81 want to see the way opened Tor
farm children to receive such forms of
instruction as will be of the greatest
value to the future farmers of the land.
The only hope of better farming with
the masses rests with the youth. Give
them Just a little start now in the right
direction, impress ur on their minds the
evils of wrong ways and the benefits of
correct methods; get them to thinking
and studying about it. The impress.
sions will be lasting, and they will con-
tiBue their Investigations for life and
will supply themselves with the aid of
books and papers bearing upon their
everyday practices.
''Science alone leads from the farm;
applied science keeps the boy upon the
farm. But he must be taught how to
apply when young, or he will never
know. Some say there is no suitable
text book; If they look about a fittle
they will find one lately issued from the
press for this special purpose and adj
mirably adapted to it, whose author is
a farmer, scientist and chemist. The
book is Professor Voorhees, First Prin-
ciples of Agriculture
"Any teacher, male or female, who
is capable of teaching the various
branches in our common schools can
understand and teach 1t. Each day
develops the fact that education and
training pay on the farm as they pay
elsewhere in life, and, other things be-
ing equal, the young man who fortiies
himself by a thorough agricultural
education will succeed much better
than he who neglects the precaution."
The Constitutional convention has
formed a new constitution for Delaware
and now thav are discussinu uhathar tn