Country life and the country school: a study of the agencies of rural progress and of the social relationship of the school to the country community

Book I Copyright N°._

C0JMRIGHT DEPOSHV

COUNTRY LIFE

AND

THE COUNTRY SCHOOL

A Study of the Agencies of Rural Progress and of the

Social Relationship of the School

to the Country Community

BY

MABEL CARNEY

DIRECTOR OF THE COUNTRY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT IN THE ILLINOIS STATE

NORMAL UNIVERSITY, NORMAL; FORMERLY COUNTRY TRAINING

TEACHER OF THE WESTERN ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL

SCHOOL, MACOMB

CHICAGO ROW. PETERSON AND COMPANY

Good Books For Teachers

Methods of Teaching — Charters $1.25

Principles of Teaching — Harvey 1.25

Reading in Public Schools — Briggs & Coffman 1.25

School Management — Salisbury 1.00

The Theory of Teaching — Salisbury 1.25

The Educational Meaning of Manual Arts and Industries — Row 1.25

The Personality of the Teacher — McKenny 1.00

The Psychology of Conduct — Schroeder 1.25

Copyright, 1912 ROW, PETERSON AND COMPANY

To the spirit of the little country school that gave it being, and to the country teachers of Illinois whose loyalty and earnest effort have been a chief inspiration in its undertaking.

Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress

Preface

This book is for farmers and country teachers, written not about them, but to them. It takes form as the direct outgrowth and personal need of eight years' work in country teaching and the training of country teachers. Many of its pages were written within the walls of a country schoolroom, and practically all of its suggestions have been tried with success in average country communities.

The fundamental line of thought here maintained unfolds as follows :

First, that the chief relief for the present undesirable conditions of country life is to be realized through the cooperative endeavor of farmers and the upbuilding of local country communities.

Second, that the country school of all rural social institutions makes the best and most available center for upbuilding the rural community, and bears at present the greatest responsibility for socializing country life.

Third, that to realize this social service of the country school country teachers must become local community leaders.

And fourth, that to fulfill this office of leadership efficiently country teachers must be afforded special training through state normal schools and other institutions of learning.

The discussion thus presented views the country school as an immediate agency for rural progress, and to this end seeks especially to stimulate and assist country teachers to local leadership. In realizing this purpose a twofold task has presented itself. It has been necessary, in the first place, to reveal the social-service responsibility of the country school; and second, to lay down a practical line of action, or program of

v

VI

PREFACE work, showing concretely how this responsibility may be discharged by the individual teacher. In furthering the latter end it has been necessary to include, also, considerable definite information concerning the various agencies of farm life with which the country teacher must cooperate in seeking to upbuild the rural community. This information covers only what all country teachers who aspire to community leadership and service must possess, and what every progressive farmer should know. It is this body of data and discussion which will make the book, it is believed, one of direct value for farmers as well as for country teachers.

It has been the hope throughout this attempt to present a new vision of country teaching. If this has been done, and if the country teachers who read this book are stimulated to renewed action and encouragement for their many difficult tasks, the effort lying behind its realization will be fully compensated.

Normal, Illinois, September, 1912. M. C.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To insure accuracy and practicability in the treatment of the various phases of country life discussed in this book, different chapters have been read and criticized by specialists in the lines to which they refer.

Special acknowledgment for this generous service is here gratefully extended to : Mrs. H. M. Dunlap, president of the Department of Household Science of the Illinois Farmers' Institute, for reading the chapter on the farm home; to Dr. Warren H. Wilson and Miss Anna B. Taft, Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of the Department of Church and Country Life of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions, for reading the chapter on the country church ; to Secretary Albert E. Roberts of the International Committee of the Young Men's Christian Association, for reading the section on this organization; to Mr. Oliver Wilson, Master of the National Grange and editor of the Xational Grange Monthly, for reading the chapter on the Grange; to Farmers' Institute Specialist John Hamilton of the United States Department of Agriculture, for reading the chapter on farmers' institutes ; to Mr. Arthur J. Bill, editor of the Farmers' Voice, Bloomington, Illinois, for reading the section relating to the agricultural press and for the use of numerous photographs ; to Mr. A. X. Johnson, State Highway Engineer of Illinois, for reading the chapter on roads; to Dr. Ernest Burnham, director of the Rural School Department of the Michigan State Normal School at Kalamazoo, for reading the chapter on the training of country teachers; to County Superintendents O. J. Kern and George W. Brown, of Winnebago and Edgar Counties in Illinois, for reading the chapter on supervision; and

vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

to Miss Lillian K. Sabine of the Illinois State Normal University, for a careful literary editing of the entire manuscript.

To these and to the many state superintendents, county superintendents, country teachers, and rural life workers, who have courteously and kindly assisted me throughout the investigations spent upon this study, I offer my sincere appreciation. Special mention should be made also of the assistance of President Kenyon L. Butterfield of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture, whose thought and suggestion, as expressed in books, lectures, and personal conference, has been a fundamental guide in fostering any elements of worth that may exist in the conclusions here presented.

But more than to all others, gratitude is due to Dr. Frederick G. Bonser of Teachers College, Columbia University, formerly of the Western Illinois State Normal School, who has not only read practically the entire manuscript of the book and given invaluable advice as to its organization and expression, but has inspired and encouraged the undertaking throughout its accomplishment.

CHAPTER I The Farm Problem and Its Solution PAGE

The problem stated I

Its significance 3

Cause : isolation in country life 4

Solution of the farm problem 7

Country community building 9

Cooperation the keynote in the solution of the farm

problem 10

Agencies for the upbuilding of the country community. . 12

Chief functions and needs of rural social institutions. . 12

Overlapping of agencies in function and effort 14

Federation of community agencies 16

Platform for the improvement of country life 16

CHAPTER II The Farm Home The farm home as an agency for country life progress. . 18

Present conditions in farm homes 19

The improvement of farm home life 24

The decrease of household labor 25

Vocational education for country women 29

The participation of farm women in community affairs ... 30

The spiritualizing of farm home life 31

The farm home as the center of rural interests 33

ix x CONTENTS

CHAPTER III The Country Church PAGE

The country church as an agency for rural progress. ... 39 The present status of country churches : Digest of country church information from the replies gathered by the Country Life Commission 40

What Is Being Done for Progress

Church federation 47

Special training for country ministers 51

The Department of Church and Country Life of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions 53

County work of the Young Men's Christian Association. . 57

What Might Be Done for Progress

General lines of progress 60

Possibilities for progress in the individual local church; story of the DuPage Presbyterian Church in Will

County, Illinois 62

The country teacher's attitude and relation to the church

question 6j

The coming unity among churches 69

CHAPTER IV The Grange as an agency for country life progress 72

Origin and purpose of the Grange y2

History 75

Organization 76

Work and influence 78

The subordinate Grange at work; Magnolia Grange,

Putnam County, Illinois 81

CONTENTS x i

PAGE

Words of warning to the Grange 85

Farmers' clubs 85

Cooperation between the Grange and the country school . . 88

CHAPTER V Farmers' Institutes and the Agricultural Press

Farmers' institutes as an agency for country life progress 90

Origin and history of farmers' institutes 90

Organization of farmers' institutes 93

Present status and progress 96

The agricultural press as a rural socializing agency 100

Farmers' institutes and the country school 102

CHAPTER VI Roads as an agency for country life progress 108

The road problem a national issue 108

The road system of France as a type of efficient highway organization no

Organization of the American highway system 113

Some defects of the American highway system 114

Suggestions for an improved highway system 117

Some progressive road movements and reforms: legislative improvements 1 18

State aid and increased revenue 119

Developments in road science 119

Increased road sentiment and cooperation 122

Road beautifying 125

Road education 126

The country school and the road problem 129

Roads of the future I 3 I xii CONTENTS

Chapter VII

The Country School as an Agency in the Solution of the Farm Problem

PAGE

Function of the country school defined 133

The school as a center for the building of the country community 134

Advantages of the country school for rural institutional

leadership 136

Leadership of the school largely a temporary function. . 138

Needs of the country school 139

The one-teacher country school system and its defects. . 140

The country school system of the future 145

Consolidation the fundamental need of country schools. 148

CHAPTER VIII Consolidated Country Schools Definition and types 149

Possibilities of consolidation; The John Swaney Consolidated School of Putnam County, Illinois 150

History and status of the consolidation movement 159

Advantages of consolidation 170

Difficulties involved 171

Some phases of the question of transportation 171

The cost of consolidated schools. 174

The consolidated country school compared with other

types of rural high schools 176

The need of a county system of districting for consolidation 181

The consolidated school as a community center and in the

future development of country life 184

CONTENTS xiii

CHAPTER IX The Leadership of the Country Teacher

PAGE

Scarcity of rural leaders and its effect 188

Opportunity and advantages of the country teacher for

community leadership 189

Requirements for leadership on the part of country

teachers 190

True leadership explained 192

Difficulties of country teaching. 193

Tribute to country teachers 195

Examples of country teacher leadership 196

Country life creed 203

CHAPTER X The Country Teacher's Problem and Its Attack

The problem stated 205

The method of its attack 206

I. Improving the Physical Environment of the Country School

The

Defects of country school buildings 206

Heating and ventilation 210

Lighting 214

Interior finish and decoration. . . 216

Seating 219

Sanitation and care 221

The grounds — Beginning yard improvement 224 xiv CONTENTS

PAGE

What to plant 225

Walks and fences 227

Summer houses, arbors, and arches 228

Outbuildings 228

II. Socializing the Country School and Making It an Institution

of Community Service

Personal leadership of the teacher ; visiting among people 229

Social activities of the children ; boys' and girls' clubs 230

Making the school a center for the community; schoolhouse meetings 232

Developing cooperation between the home and school;

parents' clubs 234

Other agencies for the socialization of the country school ;

newspapers; exhibits; educational excursions 235

A country life club the best social organization for the

country school 237

Cooperation of the school with other community institutions and agencies «... 238

III. Vitalizing and Enriching the Country School Course of

Study

The redirection of old subject-matter 240

The introduction of new courses 242

Elementary rural sociology in the country school. ....... 245

IV. Improving the Administration of the School and Teaching

the Necessity of a Change of System, or Consolidation, FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLS

The beginning, of a consolidation campaign 248

General educational campaigns 249

Township or community organization 249

Outspoken consolidation campaigns 250

CONTENTS xv

CHAPTER XI The Training of Country Teachers The need for properly prepared country teachers 252

Necessity for the special training of country teachers . . . 252

Kind of special training needed by county teachers 254

Special training now offered for country teachers: in

high schools 255

In county normal schools 256

In state normal schools 258

The new spirit of country teachers 273

A suggestive outline for country school departments in

state normal schools 275

Trained teachers not the only need for solving the country

school problem 280

CHAPTER XII Country School Supervision Importance of country school supervision 281

Difficulties 281

Systems of rural supervision employed in the United States 886

Methods of selecting county superintendents 287

Qualifications required of county superintendents 288

Increasing the efficiency of the county superintendency. . 289

The proper method of selecting county superintendents. 294

Leadership of the county superintendent 295

Inspiration and help for county superintendents 296

The chief need 298

The duty of teachers to county superintendents 300

Some other legislative measures needed for country

schools 300 xvi CONTENTS

CHAPTER XIII The Country Life Movement PAGE

Character of the Country Life Movement 302

Some Developments of the Country Life Movement

Work of the State College of Agriculture 303

Influence of machinery 305

Business organization 306

Agricultural legislation 306

The Country Life Movement in the South 307

The Country Life Movement in the East 309

The Country Life Movement in the West 309

The Country Life Movement in the Middle West 310

The International Institute of Agriculture 312

The Country Life Commission and its work 312

Needs of the Country Life Movement

Concreteness 313

Federation of rural forces 316

Leadership 321

Idealism 323

Concluding summary 326

PAGE

I. Outline of a course in country school teaching for

country teachers 329

II. Outline of a course in rural sociology for country

teachers 336

III. A country teacher's schoolhouse plan 340

IV. Furnishings and equipment for country schools. . 346 V. Educational helps and sources for country teachers 350

VI. A workable country school program 358

VII. Seatwork in country schools and some principles

underlying it 360

VIII. Pictures that portray farm life 363

IX. Some country life literature 365

X. Country school music and farm life songs 368

XL A minimum list of manual training tools for country schools 372

XII. A minimum equipment for the teaching of domestic science in country schools 373

XIII. A selected list of twenty-five books for the use of

country teachers 374

XIV. Suggested problems of country school teaching for

the attack of individual country teachers .... 376

directory of rural progress 384

XVil

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Country life in America 3

Corn is king 4

Mud-stuck days are still a reality 5

An abandoned country church 8

Friends' Church, Clear Creek Community, Putnam County, Illinois. 11

Diagram of a country community center 15

An ideal farm home 20

An inferior farm home 24

Office in a farm home 27

Home Makers' School, University of Illinois, Urbana 30

Domestic science in the country school, Macon County, Illinois 36

Church and manse, Rock Creek Community, Menard County,

Illinois 4 1

Play in the Rock Creek Community 44

Federated church, Proctor, Vermont 49

Exhibit of the Presbyterian Department of Church and Country

Life 55

County work of the Young Men's Christian Association 58

The DuPage Presbyterian Church, Will County, Illinois 63

Lecture course audience at the DuPage Church 66

Oliver H. Kelley, founder of the Grange 73

Centerville Grange picnic, Winnebago County, Illinois 75

Farmers' club, Logan County, Illinois 79

Magnolia Grange fair, Putnam County, Illinois 82

Harvesting picnic, farmers' clubs of DeKalb County, Illinois. 86

Midsummer farmers' institute, Illinois College of Agriculture,

Urbana 92

Interurban exhibit cars from the Illinois College of Agriculture. ... 95 Household Science Department at the National Corn Exposition,

Columbus, Ohio, 191 1 9$

The Grout encampment for farm boys 99

Boys' corn class, farmers' institute, Mercer County, Illinois 104

The road problem I0 9

A French highway 112

Avenue of Trees. Hobbema. . ll S

xix xx LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

An automobile ravaging a road 120

Marking the route of the Iowa River-to-River Dragged Road 124

A noble sentinel 126

A properly dragged earth road 128

The road of the future 132

The country school as a community center. 135

An average country school 137

An ancient landmark of learning , 139

Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago County, Illinois 141

Domestic science in the Harlem Consolidated School 144

An expensive establishment 145

School float, Harlem Consolidated School 147

The John Swaney Consolidated School, Putnam County, Illinois.. 149

Barn and janitor's house at the John Swaney School 150

Teachers' Cottage, John Swaney School 151

Stock judging class, John Swaney School 152

Horticultural class pruning trees, John Swaney School 153

Baseball field, John Swaney School 154

Girls' Chorus, John Swaney School 155

Domestic science kitchen and chemical laboratory in the John

Swaney School 157

Mr. and Mrs. John Swaney 159

Track team, John Swaney School 160

Map of Indiana showing extent of consolidation 161

Consolidated School, Lewiston, Minnesota 164

Consolidated School, Enumclaw, Washington 167

The old and the new in Louisiana 169

Consolidated school wagon 173

Township High School, Princeton, Illinois 177

Map of Olmsted County, Minnesota, showing proposed consolidated

districts 183

School garden, John Swaney School 185

On the campus, John Swaney School 186

A country school prepared for community leadership 191

When first we go to school 193

Procuring the necessary kindling 195

Cedar Oak School, the scene of Miss Mary's endeavors 197

Closing day picnic in District 23 201

An old type of country school building 207

A new type of country school building 211

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxi

PAGE

Library room, Peru School, Macon County, Illinois 217

Cultivating minds and spirits through flower gardens 224

A monarch of the prairie 226

A disgrace to the community 228

Girls' club ready for the Thanksgiving minuet 231

Chorus cast, Peru School, Macon County, Illinois 233

Play festival, Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago County,

Illinois 235

Agricultural College excursion, Edgar County, Illinois 237

Practical Arithmetic 239

A sand-table farm 243

Country school gardening in Massachusetts 245

The Harvest — Training school children of the Western Illinois

State Normal School 247

Play-day masque, Illinois State Normal University 251

Teachers' Training School, Dunn County Wisconsin 255

Dramatization of Hiawatha, Rural Observation School, Kalamazoo,

Michigan 259

Country teachers at the Illinois State Normal University 263

Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal

School before improvement 267

Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal

School after improvement 271

First annual meeting of the Country Teachers' Association of

Illinois, Macomb, July, 1908 2^^

Full of difficulties for the county superintendent 283

Manual training in Whatcom County, Washington 286

County Superintendent Jessie Field, Page County, Iowa 291

Complimentary float to Superintendent O. J. Kern of Winnebago

County, Illinois 293

School directors' convention, Goodhue County, Minnesota 297

A subject for school legislation 299

Conference of Rural Social Workers, College of Agriculture.

Amherst, Massachusetts 303

The cotton harvester 305

Dr. Seaman A. Knapp 308

Rural Life Conference, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 311

National Corn Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, February, 191 1 315

Country community exhibit displayed at the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress, July, 1912 Z l 7 xxii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The poetry of country life 321

The end of day 325

A country teacher's schoolhouse plan:

Front elevation 341

Rear elevation 341

Right side elevation 342

First floor plan 343

Basement plan .■ 345

Chapter I The Farm Problem And Its Solution

The Problem Stated. There is an American farm problem. The whole nation is astir with it; its significance is commonly acknowledged; and remedies for its solution are proposed on every hand. In the interpretation of this problem, however, opinions differ.

The farm problem of America is not, as is sometimes asserted, the task of increasing the fertility of the soil, of improving staple crops, or even of conserving our food, forests, and other natural resources. It is not the problem of increasing the skill and business efficiency of the modern farmer ; nor, as he himself sometimes thinks, of adding to his store of worldly goods. Neither is it the problem of making country life easy and comfortable, though this, in degree, is highly desirable. All these are constituent parts of the real issue; they have their bearing and relationship, but they are not the problem itself.

The most serious condition of present country life is the silent but startling migration of the rural population to towns and cities. To the ambitious country boy the city has always proved alluring. It seems to offer a larger field of social activity and conquest. That this conquest is for the few, he has usually failed to realize, and has mercilessly, though often successfully, thrown himself into the thickest of the fray, forgetful and unconscious of the many neglected opportunities in the home community. This inflowing current of fresh blood and vigorous strength toward our great commercial centers has had, and still has, its place in our national development. In New England and other over-populated and unproductive agricultural sections it has even proved desirable. But it has gone too far. Rural migration no longer means only the occasional shifting of a few brilliant sons to the city, as formerly. It now implies the uprooting and withdrawal of whole families whose members, for the most part, represent the highest idealism and ambition of the country community. As a result, leadership has been extracted from rural localities, agriculture has declined, and country life has lost prestige both socially and economically. Fortunately we are now in the period of a new awakening, when the tide of interest begins to ebb from the rush and strife of the city, and to turn, with relief and satisfaction, back to the country.

The problem of keeping the youth of the present generation upon the farms and of preparing them for country life in its fullest and richest sense is an issue of fundamental concern in our national welfare. By this it is not implied that all children born upon the farm should stay there. Few fallacies could be more wasteful and destructive of human efficiency than this. In this age of specialists country children naturally inclined to enter the so-called "trades and professions" should have the opportunity. Yet, at the same time, adequate care must be given to those who remain upon the land if we are to maintain an efficient class of citizens in our rural communities and desirable averages in our national life.

The farm problem, then, in its most fundamental aspects, is the problem of maintaining a standard people upon our farms. Or, as more choicely put by Professor Liberty Hyde

THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION s

o

Bailey, it is the problem "of developing and maintaining on our farms a civilization in full harmony with the best American ideals." When this end is attained, all other issues of agriculture and country life, questions of education, "of better business, better farming, and better living," will obviously find adjustment as a matter of consequence. 1

Country Life in America

Its Significance. That the farm is the corner-stone of our national prosperity is a trite but true estimate. Since the days of Cain, farming has been the foundational industry of static society. It matters little, all worthy politicians to the contrary, whether we choose a Republican or a Democrat for the next president, but whether we have enough rain to mature the corn, wheat, and cotton crops spread in vast acres over our bountiful land is a matter of universal concern — one that affects not only the wealthiest banker and the shrewdest broker but the most ragged newsboy as well. "Corn is king," and a monarch who never resigns his golden scepter.

1 For this interpretation of the rural problem and much of the general thought of this chapter readers will observe an indebtedness I gladly and gratefully acknowledge to President Kenyon L. Butterfield of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture, author of Chapters in Rural Progress and of The Country Church and the Rural Problem,

The true significance of the prosperity of country life is appreciated, however, only when we reflect that one-third of our entire population gain a living directly from the soil, and that indirectly all depend upon it for the sustenance of life. Whatever affects the country is therefore of national concern, not only because of the material dependence of society upon farmers but because of the social, educational, and moral influence of so large a percentage of the general population.

"Corn is King"

In this connection the hypothesis that rural welfare is significant and desirable only because of its contribution to urban prosperity demands thorough condemnation. Farm life must become adequate for its own sake, and the sake of those who live it, not for the purpose of sending the city more or better recruits or for any similar reason. The city has long prospered at the expense of the country. We must now build up a country life that shall be satisfactory from its own viewpoint. When this is done it will be found that the city has benefited also, and that there is no clash between urban and rural welfare in their best realizations.

Cause: Isolation in Country Life. In the last analysis the cause of most of the difficulties of country life can be traced to its openness and isolation. In this respect country life in America contrasts strongly with that of Europe. American farms average about one hundred forty-five acres, and homes are often a mile or more apart; separated in many sections by a despondent stretch of mud and mire. In Europe, on the other hand, land holdings are small, and rural homes practically constitute scattered but continuous villages connected by good hard roads, centuries old. In America, especially during the winter and early spring, bad roads alone make hermits of many farm families. The snow-bound days pictured by Whittier in his charming idyl are no longer fre-

Mud-stuck Days are Still a Reality quent occurrences, but less poetic, mud-stuck days are still a reality.

Another factor of this isolation not to be disregarded is the fact that the farm home is almost complete in itself. Farmers produce their own food supply and can exist for days wholly cut off from their fellow-men. In case of severe storms or impassable roads, this state of existence may be continued for weeks, especially by women, and some families, unfortunately, are willing to tolerate a semi-exclusive mode of life even when circumstances become more favorable. Physical isolation and the economic independence of the farm home are thus two fundamental causes of social isolation which, in turn, results in conditions making the farm situation, as a whole, problematic. The effects of social isolation in country life are manifested in various ways.

The well-known conservative attitude of farmers on all new undertakings is the most noticeable of these. When not carried too far, this tendency is commendable as an attribute of sane level-headedness, but unfortunately it often runs to extreme lengths in a tenacious hold upon outgrown ideas. Conservatism among farmers is well illustrated by the hesitancy with which suggestions for the improvement of the country school are often received. A change in the program, text-books, or furniture, unless tactfully brought about, sometimes excites the opposition of the whole community. That such conditions exist, however, is not surprising. All the natural forces of country life — seed-time and harvest, seasonal change, and the annual cycle — tend toward quiet and routine, and so impress themselves upon the sub-consciousness of a people governed by them that their control cannot fail to influence character. On the other hand, isolation encourages the farmer toward a habit of deep and independent thought and has produced some of our most gifted thinkers.

A second result of the social isolation of the farm is manifested in an intense radicalism that occasionally sweeps through farm circles. No better illustration of this paradoxical outgrowth can be cited than the early interest manifested in the Grange some forty years ago. This organization was first taken up as a financial craze, and enthusiastic farmers, cutting loose from all moorings of precedent and caution, expected to sail forth on a wave of prosperity founded upon implement houses, sugar mills, and wholesale combines.

The tendency toward neighborhood strife is a third accompaniment of rural isolation. Scarcely a farm telephone system in the country has been installed without provoking local friction. Rural jealousy and the strong inclination toward indiscreet gossip are accountable for many of the unhappy relations existing in some communities. In more barbarous and primitive settlements this tendency is easily recognized, as in the long-standing feuds of mountain regions.

Another outgrowth of these conditions is the existing, though much exaggerated, provincialism of farmers. Since the installation of telephones, the rural delivery of mail, and improved methods of transportation have so revolutionized country life, this tendency is fast disappearing. Conditions that once merited the appellations of "back-woods," "hayseed," and "country," have vanished along with the moss-back farmer in blue overalls and slouch hat. That provincialism does still exist, however, is true. And nowhere is it felt more keenly than in the religious attitude of some farm communities. The feeling often manifested toward the teaching of such common scientific theories as evolution is an indication of this proverbial "narrow-mindedness."

A fifth and most far-reaching effect of the social isolation of country life is the lack of organization among farmers, with an accompanying scarcity of leaders. This is the chief cause of the failure of farm life in so far as it has failed. There is little organized procedure in the country. Rural progress for the most part is accidental development rather than constant, purposeful, and steady growth. More attention will be given to the seriousness of this condition later.

Solution of the Farm Problem. The solution of the farm problem — that is, the holding of a standard class of people upon the land — will be accomplished only when country life is made adequately and permanently satisfying. Partial satisfaction, even financial prosperity, does not suffice. The wealthiest agricultural states show even greater rural depletion during the last decade than poorer sections. In Illinois, which ranks first in farm values, rural population decreased in sixtyeight counties between 1900 and 1910. In Iowa, the total rural population decreased seven per cent during the same period. A significant aspect of this shifting of farmers is the rapid growth of tenantry and landlordism. Forty per cent of the farms in the United States are now operated by tenants. Deserted churches, poor schools, broken communities, and ofttimes poor farming, all declare the evils of this system. But it is not possible to discuss so large an issue here.