Work was considered a form of therapy. The farm afforded excellent occupation for a large number of men patients. The hours were confined to one to three hours in the morning and about the same in the afternoon. Work was not compulsory, although the "Insanity Law" of 1903, required the Medical Superintendent of each asylum to "use every proper means to furnish employment to such patients as may be benefited by regular labor suited to their capacity and strength." Patients were not asked to work on Saturdays or legal holidays. In time, both men and women patients worked on the farm; the men performing the planting and cultivating of crops and tending to the care of the horses, cows and pigs and the women harvesting the fruits and vegetables. The success of farming at the Michigan Asylum established in 1859 was precedence for the establishment of farms at any asylums that would be built at any future time. Following this precedence, when the asylums at Pontiac (The Eastern Michigan Asylum), Ionia (The Ionia Asylum for the Criminally Insane) and Traverse City (The Northern Michigan Asylum) were established, farms also became a part of their operations. In 1912, the Board of Trustees stated: "that it was their aim to develop a model farm. Dairying, gardening and orcharding have been carried on in a conservative, but up-to-date way, and the fruits, vegetables, farm products, and the stock have received more than favorable mention. Wherever shown either at home or abroad. It has been our object to effect a plain practical achievement of the very best achievement in horticulture and agriculture and in general farming. It is a notable fact that the farm is worth several thousands a year to the State. Its development however has not cost the people a cent, because the necessary labor has been almost entirely furnished by able-bodied men patients. We would also point out that the farm is the great natural workshop for men patients, and indeed for many women patients as well." As the farming operation grew it actually became a conglomeration of several operations-- the grounds, greenhouses, gardens, and the orchards.
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