There is no danger but what the railroads and manufacturers and commercial people will get their share out of the produce from the farms; but it is absolutely sure that, when the farms fail to produce, then there is no profit for any of them, and the last man to starve out will be the farmer himself, for he can live on what he raises even though he has nothing left to sell.

We are all well.  My son Charles is still bookkeeping for a Richmond firm, but he is becoming greatly interested in my alfalfa, and says he sometimes wishes he had taken an agricultural course instead of the literary at college.  His grandmother says she reckons the agricultural college could give him about all the literature he needs keeping books for a hides and tallow wholesale company; and I am coming to believe that she is about right.  I still remember that the dative of indirect object is used with most Latin verbs compounded with ad, ante, con, in, inter, ob, post, pre, pro, sub, and super, and sometimes circum; but it would have been just as easy for me to have learned forty years ago that the essential elements of plant food are carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen; nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; magnesium, calcium, iron and sulfur; and possibly chlorin; and I am sure that the culture of Greek roots and a knowledge of Latin compounds have been of less value to me during the forty years than the culture of alfalfa roots and even a meager knowledge of plant-food compounds have been during the last three years.

Adelaide is teaching; Frank is in the academy; and the younger children are all in school.

We shall always be glad to hear from you.

Very respectfully yours,

CHARLES WEST.

“That is an exceptionally good letter,” said Mrs. Johnson, as Percy finished reading.

“Not for Mr. West,” he replied.  “His letters are always good, always helpful and encouraging, almost an inspiration to me.  Mr. West is in many ways a very exceptional man.  If he had not been tied down all his life to a so-called worn-out farm of a thousand acres, he might just as well have been the Governor of the State.  Even in spite of himself he has been practically forced to accept some very responsible public offices, but the financial sacrifice was too great to permit his retaining them very long.  I never realized until I was nearly through college that the trustees of our own University devoted a large amount of time to that public service with no financial remuneration whatever.  They are merely reimbursed for their actual and necessary travelling expenses.”

“Well, if I were a young man about your age, this letter would be an inspiration to me,” said his mother.

“You mean his suggestion about changing the name of our farm?”

“No, I mean his possible suggestion about changing the name of his daughter.”

Percy was silent.

“How can I tell anything from your blank face?  Why do you not speak?”