Agriculture is not to attain to true practical dignity by the borrowed

lustre that eminent names, ancient and modern, may have lent to it, any
more than the earth itself is warmed and made fruitful by the aurora
borealis of an autumn night
Agriculture is not to attain to true practical dignity by the borrowed
lustre that eminent names, ancient and modern, may have lent to it, any
more than the earth itself is warmed and made fruitful by the aurora
borealis of an autumn night. Our system of public instruction, from the
primary school to the college, rests mainly upon the public belief in
its importance, its possibility, and its necessity. It is easy on a
professional holiday to believe in the respectability of agriculture;
but is it a living sentiment, controlling your conduct, and inspiring
you with courage and faith in your daily labor? Does it lead you to
contemplate with satisfaction the prospect that your son is to be a
farmer also, and that your daughter is to be a farmer"s wife? These, I
imagine, are test questions which not all farmers nor farmers" wives can
answer in the affirmative. Else, why the custom among farmers" sons of
making their escape, at the earliest moment possible, from the labors
and restraints of the farm? Else, why the disposition of the farmer"s
daughter to accept other situations, not more honorable, and in the end
not usually more profitable, than the place of household aid to the
business of the home? How, then, can a system of education be prosperous
and efficient, when those for whom it is designed neither respect their
calling nor desire to pursue it? You will not, of course, imagine that I
refer, in these statements, to all farmers; there are many exceptions;
but my own experience and observation lead me to place confidence in the
fitness of these remarks, speaking generally of the farmers of New
England. It is, however, true, and the statement of the truth ought not
to be omitted, that the prevalent ideas among us are much in advance of
what they were ten years ago. In what has been accomplished we have
ground for hope, and even security for further advancement.