Excerpt from Transactions of the Housatonic Agricultural Society, Great Barrington, Mass;, 1882-1885

Let us now consider a few facts showing the advantages which country boys have over city boys. Some of you may remember the paper, showing the disadvantages of city boys, and the advantages of country boys, which I had published some time ago. In this paper it was shown that most of the leading men of Springfield were either born in the country or in small villages. Some may think that the list was unfairly made out, or they may think the case of Springfield exceptional. In regard to the first objection I will say that I made out the list as fairly as I could. I selected the leading merchants, lawyers, bankers and teachers. The selection was such that inthe majority of cases I could have made no exceptions. Whether Spring field is ah exceptional city is not so easily answered, but I have evi dence that it is not. In the city of Sandusky four-fifths of the lead ing men have had more or less of farm life or training. Some argue that the larger cities, such as Chicago and Boston, would show a dif ferent result, and that some of the boys raised in Springfield and Sandusky might be found occupying places of prominence in the great cities. But investigation, so far as it has been made, does not sup port this theory. A New York.merchant recently stated that of the successful business men of New York, fully seven tenths came from the country. It is also well to recollect that not one of the twenty one presidents of the United States was born in a city. Farms are the places to raise boys. If this statement is so, there is no better test than that'of success. Perhaps it is not true. The majority of successful men came from the farms. But what is success? The answer might be, material success the outstripping of competitors. The great characteristic of the men I have described is power. They have great physical power and firmness of will. They are almost al ways men oi great pertinacity. The bulldog element is strong in them. They often have other important characteristics, such as clearness of judgment nevertheless, the more I think, the more am I convinced that strenuousness of will is wanting. Frugality, especially in the financial world, is a second nature to such men as we have mentioned. Their wants are few. Even when they are wealthy, their personal requirements are simple, although they may allow their families to be extravagant. This faculty helped to give them an early start in life. Few men accomplish much who do not begin to save while they 'are young. It has been said by millionaires that it is harder to save the first.$1,000 than a For the young fellow who has to be gm m a small way and encounters constant temptations to spend, it 1s no easy task to save To sum up, the central qualities nec essary for success are physical vigor, strength of will and frugality.

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