ity_ is the great boon in life. To the ambitious young man the
carpenter's trade offers a field for venturing into the learned
professions by a route which cannot be equaled in any other pursuit. In
his work he daily enters into contact with problems which require
mathematics of the highest order, geometry, the methods of calculating
strains and stresses, as well as laying out angles and curves.

This is a trade wherein he must keep in mind many calculations as to
materials, number, size, and methods of joining; he must remember all
the small details which go to make up the entire structure. This
exercise necessitates a mental picture of the finished product. His
imagination is thus directed to concrete objects. As the mind develops,
it becomes creative in its character, and the foundation is laid for a
higher sphere of usefulness in what is called the professional field.

A good carpenter naturally develops into an architect, and the best
architect is he who knows the trade. It is a profession which requires
not only the artistic taste, but a technical knowledge of details, of
how practically to carry out the work, how to superintend construction,
and what the different methods are for doing things.

The architect must have a scientific education, which gives him a
knowledge of the strength of materials, and of structural forms; of the
durability of materials; of the price, quality, and use of everything
which goes into a structure; of labor conditions; and of the laws
pertaining to buildings.

Many of these questions will naturally present themselves to the
carpenter. They are in the sphere of his employment, but it depends upon
himself to make the proper use of the material thus daily brought to
him.

It is with a view to instil that desire and ambition in every young man,
to make the brain do what the hand has heretofore done, that I suggest
this course. The learned profession is yours if you deserve it, and you
can deserve it only through study, application, and perseverance.

Do well that which you attempt to do. _Don't_ do it in that manner
because some one has done it in that way before you. If, in the trade,
the experience of ages has taught the craftsman that some particular way
of doing things is correct, there is no law to prevent you from
combating that method. Your way may be better. But you must remember
that in every plan for doing a thing there is some particular reason, or
reasons, why it is carr