Boys who intend to be farmers are now sent to agricultural colleges, and the wise farmer takes in good agricultural papers and reads agricultural books. He has organized himself into granges and other associations and is fast learning the value of co-operation. All this tends to elevate his calling, a calling which is naturally more dignified than any other, and to make himself and his labor of more real value to himself and to his fellows. But even yet there is too much haphazard arrangement of the farmer’s work, and for this reason he is always struggling and finding little leisure. It is partly due to the lack of organization in his work. If he has not too much land, and if every month has its appointed tasks, the farmer will move along from task to task, with at least as much leisure as his city brother. So get your work mapped out, and attend to things as they need attention, instead of leaving a lot of small things to pile up and in the end cause hurry and confusion. Plan your work and work your plan. In the month of JANUARY prepare for spring work in your garden. Whether you devote your plot to vegetables or fruit, lay it out now in your own mind or, better still, on paper. Get catalogues from seedsmen who advertise. Most of them get their catalogues out in January. They are business men and know the value of an early start. Make up your mind what you want to grow, being sure to plan for plenty of the things you eat,—and then select the things you mean to experiment with during the coming year. Follow a well-arranged planting-table, such as was published in _Suburban Life_, of New York City, in March, 1908. If you have fruit trees on your plot, this is a good time to begin to spray them. If you don’t get ahead of insects and diseases, they will soon get ahead of you. If you intend to do any grafting, secure the scions now and keep them buried in sand in a cold cellar, or even out of doors, until the sap begins to rise in the trees. Then you are ready to work without loss of time. If there are holes in the trees, clean them out and fill with cement. You won’t have time for this in the spring, and the gypsy-moth, or some relative of his, will select the hole as a ready-made breeding-place. Paint all wounds or breaks in the bark with good paint or tar. On warm days do the necessary pruning. Look out for your live stock, even it if be only the family horse and cow. They will serve you better for careful attention. Warm the bit on cold mornings before putting it in the horse’s mouth, and look out for signs of possible toothache. He suffers from that as well as you. Have him sharp-shod for slippery weather. If the barn is cold, blanket your cow as well as your horse, give her plenty of warm bedding and see that she and the horse have salt at hand at all times. Don’t give either animal ice-cold water to drink. Take the chill off it. A hot mash will not do either of them any harm on a cold day. You like hot food in winter.