In this connection it may be mentioned, that it is not necessary for any one to pay a premium for a youth to “learn farming” in Canada. If he is willing to work and of at least ordinary intelligence, however inexperienced he may be, a lad can earn his board and lodging and at least a few dollars during the busy months; and the money spent on the premium had far better be laid by to help the boy in starting for himself later. Usually the promised instruction in farming is given in much the same fashion as when a big boy begins to teach a little one to swim, by pushing him somewhat violently into the water. The farm pupil is plunged into any work at which he can be made useful, the farmer trusting to his learning the business by practising it; and usually he does learn much in this way. If possible, however, it is well for a boy thinking of farming in Canada to learn how to milk, and to attend to a horse before coming out. Milking is an especially useful accomplishment, and may very much aid him in getting a good situation and fair wages. If the newcomer is young, even though he may already be possessed of some capital, it is often a good plan for him to take a situation for a short time as “a hired man,” in the region where he proposes to settle, with a view to getting into the ways of the country; learning how best to adapt himself to prevalent conditions, including those of climate; and also how to estimate properly the values of land and stock in that particular district. A man does not need to fear that he will lose socially by working for a farmer, for, in the country, little attention is paid to the arbitrary social distinctions of older lands, and in most farmhouses a willing, obliging, courteous, adaptable “hired man” is trusted much like one of the family. Sometimes, indeed, it is difficult for him to fit happily into his strange environment; and there are cases (the facts must be faced) where a mean master endeavours to take advantage of the newcomer’s ignorance. In general, however, a man who is willing to work, is of good manners and character, and is not ashamed to learn will be treated with respect and kindness. In fact, his value will be speedily recognized, for there are two sides to this question, and the ideal “hired man” is perhaps as rare as the ideal employer. In the towns, especially in the older provinces, social conditions are more similar to those of England, and it is often asked what a man does and who his father was as well as what he is. Even in the centres of population, however, the way of a young man of character to a position of influence and comfort is more easily found than “at home.” No doubt the free educational system of Canada is a check on the snobbish spirit; for in their school days, at least, the children of the village magnate and of the most prosperous farmer of the neighbourhood meet on equal terms with those of the hired man, the mechanic, or the doer of odd jobs.