Training And Educating Farmers

It was once the prevailing conviction among all classes oí citizens that the tiller of the soil, froin the nature of his livelihood must bo uneducatcd, rado in speech, and uncultivuted iu maiiners - a mere "hewer of wood, and a drawer of water.!' In that twilighi of the " Dark Agot," the universal conviction was also that il' a boy or young man happencd t o be slow to lcurn, and not so brilliaut and nmbitious as is desiraLle, it wou d bc t'ie & ight oí folly to attempt to edúcate him lor any of the stations occupi.d by lawyerj, physiciaus and olorgymeu ; yet, he would niake a good farmer. But with tiie changes which have beenwrought by rovolviug years, and with tbo develop munts of sci nou and the improvements in tlio meohaoio arts, new views have suppkintcd ti") orroneous notions of many of our ancestors. Now, the impresión is prevalen t that the science and art of agriculture requiro young men and boys of enorgy and talent. With the change whieh time hns wronght, the once plodding killer of the soil has been clevaied in his oalling so that he sees and feela that niind, brains and education give him an uluuist irresistible power over the elements which hchandles. Instead of making a machine of his own delicatcly orgauized body, he now mounts an easy seat, and without enduring the fatigue incident to the wearitome hibor of a long and sultry day, accomplishes au equal task in less than ono hour. More auspicious times have dftwned on farmers. Thu problem has long ago been solved, that he who dircets the oporations of husbnndry, even if hia hands are callouscd aud his brow tanned, may be refincd in ianguage, a;.d courteoi.8 and polishcd in bis uiauners. No class of citizenscan have - and none do have - so much leisure aud so niariv excellunt onportunities to read, to write, to study, and to become wiser and better, than tilléis of the soil, if thpy will suizo the leisure moiuents. Every farmer and farmer's son may, if he will, appropriat) at least tiro to foor hours every d iy to reading, writiug and useiul study. Tt n hours is as long as any person cn labor profitably for any one. A manual laborer will perform more by working only ten tours daily during the season, than if ho ttempts to keep going fourtecn hottTB. Because a man has been laboring all day in the dirt, it doos not follovv that he must sit loungingly all thn evening in apparel of o diteher. A man can slip off his working dress, wash and lirush ur, and be dressod, ready for the sittingroom, in fifteon minutes. Young men and boys, who m;ist freqncntly labor at dirty work, should bo taught to dress according to their duties ; thon, when the day is ended, put on a suit that is not unbeciming in the reception-room. After boys have been led on in manual employment, they should he taught that they have delicate bodios to be cared for. An effort should be made to elévate thum in the scale of being to a higher and aobler manhood l)on't kejp boys on the go f'rom early dawn till bed time. Let the duties of the day be judiciously laid out, so that every one eau ne what i to be perfiBítt;d and how many hours may be appropiiated to every job. Farmers should strive to divest their sons of the notion that their livelihood is but an endless routine of irksome drudgory. Parents and guardiaus sbould make an effort to prevent the prevalent notion in the minds of mest faimers' boys, that almost any other place is more dosirable than home. Let suitable books be providcd for the young. Let them be taught that after a few hours have been spent in manual labor, they have important duties to perform by way of improving the niind and cu'tivating the rougli manhood, which will mould the boy who aseociates with uncouth laborers, if ho is not daily brought under tho refining and elevating restraints of oducation and refintd society.