some to a very bad one; and hence for some the fruits of life are meager, for others poisonous. We do not want to select a barren tree, nor do we want one that bears evil fruit. In choosing the vocations of life we need to follow that which suits our talents and peculiarities of genius; and if we make a mistake at first, we must search for the right tree until we find it. Many a good farmer has only made a second-class lawyer or doctor; and many a splendid mind has wasted its energies behind the plow-handles-a place, however, where wasted genius has never done any harm. Some men debauch life and talent behind the counter of a bar-room; but this is choosing a bohun-upas beneath which to die yourself, and beneath which you draw others to circle, center, and die. The great point in life is for one to choose what he can best do, and then stick to it until he succeeds; and herein lies a great lesson for teachers, parents, and preachers to learn, since they have so much to do in molding the mind and shaping the destiny of the young. I knew a prominent and wealthy lawyer once, who had a son possessed of a mechanical genius of extraordinary development. He educated his boy in that direction, and finally gave him to an apprenticeship in a machine-shop, where he worked hard for years. That boy is now the master mechanic in one of the great railroad shops of this country, filling an honorable and lucrative position. His father first encouraged him to study law; but the boy's native bent chose the mechanic bush, and his life, perhaps a failure in law, has proved a success and blessing in the direction of native capacity and qualification. Often we make mistakes in choosing the right bush, and as often we see fitful, spasmodic, and unsuccessful lives. Sometimes we see men who

are shifting all the while from bush to bush, never succeeding at any thing-Jack-at-all-trades, and good for nothing," fulfilling the old proverb that “a rolling stone never gathers any moss."

The great misfortune of this labor-saving age lies in the fact that too many people are hunting professions and soft places who would do infinitely better on the farm or in the machine-shop. The consequence is— in the South especially, where the negro rents and runs and ruins the "old plantation"—our lands are going to rack, with but little exception, while our boys are all going to the city, and as many of the negroes as can get there. The agricultural bush, the most beautiful and essential, is left to wither and perish, whereas a first-class agricultural education would turn many a genius into the channel of its greatest usefulness, and make our sunny land the garden spot of the world. We do pretty well on guano at the hands of novices and soil-annihilators; but what a country we could have if we had the universally educated farmer! shall have to wait for the German and the live Yankee; while our farmers rent out their beautiful lands to negroes, go a-fishing in spring-time, run little stores, and sit around small towns whittling sticks or running for office. O for a splendid class of farmers educated to scientific toil, and anxious to stick to the agricultural bush! Our country places would spring up from dilapidation; our gullied hills would grow green again with grass and clover; fine cattle would low and graze upon a thousand hills; schoolhouses would dot the land; good country Churches would cease to starve poor preachers; and law and order and culture would refine and develop the oldfashioned country home, as we used to have it. Boys

We

and girls, more of you stick to the old farm bush and make it grow.

Having found the right bush in life, the great point is to stick to it. Continuity and tenacity-" stickability," as it is vulgarly called-is one of the prime elements of success. A man may possess every other quality and qualification; but, this wanting, the grandest talents and gifts will prove a failure. Genius consists in ability, motive, and will, coupled with energy, zeal, and system; and when such a genius can hold on, hold fast, and hold out, in the proper calling of life, nothing but disease and misfortune can bring failure. Opportunity will never be wanting; for tenacity will always find an opportunity for success in the generous course of time. I remember, twenty years ago, a youth in a certain city who secured a paper-stand in the corner of a post-office front. He had a taste for books and papers; and, in connection with his little stand, he sold pea-nuts, candies, and other trifling articles of merchandise, exercising a rigid economy over his paltry means. In a year or two he had laid up some money, and he rented a small store-house, when he enlarged his business and increased his capital. In a few years more he rented a larger house, and set up a bookstore of grander proportions. It was not long until he owned the store and was doing a flourishing business. He now owns several stores, an opera-house, and a considerable amount of real estate in the city. He stuck to his bush-went in at the little end of life's horn, and he is coming out at the big end, while thousands try to go in at the big end only to come out at the little end. So thousands have done in business; and our greatest men in all the callings and professions