It is a common complaint that the farm and farm life are not appreciated
by our people. We long for the more elegant pursuits, or the ways and
fashions, of the town. But the farmer has the most sane and natural
occupation, and ought to find it sweeter, if less highly seasoned, than
any other. He alone, strictly speaking, has a home. How many ties, how
many resources, he has!--his friendship with his cattle, his team, his
dog, his trees; the satisfaction in his growing crops, in his improved
fields; his intimacy with nature, with bird and beast, and with the
quickening elemental forces; his co-operations with the cloud, the sun,
the seasons, heat, wind, rain, frost. It humbles him, teaches him
patience and reverence. Cling to the farm, make much of it, put yourself
into it, bestow your heart and brain upon it.
--_John Burroughs._
571