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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Farm Boys and Girls, by William Arch McKeever
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Farm Boys and Girls
+
+
+Author: William Arch McKeever
+
+
+
+Release Date: April 19, 2012  [eBook #39483]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Barbara Watson, Pat McCoy, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Canada Team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
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+      See 39483-h.htm or 39483-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39483/39483-h/39483-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39483/39483-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text in italics is contained within underscores,
+      i.e.: _italics_.
+
+      Additional notes can be found at the end of the text.
+
+
+
+
+
+The Rural Science Series
+
+Edited by L. H. Bailey
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rural Science Series
+
+
+  THE SOIL.
+  THE SPRAYING OF PLANTS.
+  MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS.
+  THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING.
+  BUSH-FRUITS.
+  FERTILIZERS.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. 15th Ed.
+  IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE.
+  THE FARMSTEAD.
+  RURAL WEALTH AND WELFARE.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE-GARDENING.
+  FARM POULTRY.
+  THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS.
+  THE FARMER'S BUSINESS HANDBOOK.
+  THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS.
+  THE HORSE.
+  HOW TO CHOOSE A FARM.
+  FORAGE CROPS.
+  BACTERIA IN RELATION TO COUNTRY LIFE.
+  THE NURSERY-BOOK.
+  PLANT-BREEDING. 4th Ed.
+  THE FORCING-BOOK.
+  THE PRUNING-BOOK.
+  FRUIT-GROWING IN ARID REGIONS.
+  RURAL HYGIENE.
+  DRY-FARMING.
+  LAW FOR THE AMERICAN FARMER.
+  FARM BOYS AND GIRLS.
+  THE TRAINING AND BREAKING OF HORSES.
+
+  _Others in preparation._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: PLATE I.
+
+FIG. 1.--At least once each day the busy farm father may think of a way
+to combine his work with the children's play.]
+
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+by
+
+WILLIAM A. McKEEVER
+
+Professor of Philosophy
+Kansas State Agricultural College
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York
+The Macmillan Company
+1913
+
+All rights reserved
+
+Copyright, 1912,
+by the Macmillan Company.
+
+Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1912. Reprinted
+August, 1912; January, June, 1913.
+
+Norwood Press
+J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
+Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO THE SERVICE OF THE
+  TEN MILLION BOYS AND GIRLS
+  WHO ARE ENROLLED IN
+  THE RURAL SCHOOLS
+  OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In the preparation of this book I have had in mind two classes of
+readers; namely, the rural parents and the many persons who are
+interested in carrying forward the rural work discussed in the several
+chapters. It has been my aim to give as much specific aid and direction
+as possible. The first two chapters constitute a mere outline of some of
+the fundamental principles of child development. It would be fortunate
+if the reader who is unfamiliar with such principles could have a course
+of reading in the volumes that treat them extensively. Nearly every
+suggestion given in the main body of the book is based on what has
+already either been undertaken with a degree of success or planned for
+in some rural community.
+
+I am very greatly indebted to the following persons and firms for their
+kindness and generosity in lending pictures and cuts for illustrating
+the book: E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
+Topeka, Kansas; J. W. Crabtree, Principal State Normal School, River
+Falls, Wisconsin; George W. Brown, Superintendent of Edgar County,
+Paris, Illinois; O. J. Kern, Superintendent of Winnebago County,
+Rockford, Illinois; Miss Jessie Fields, Superintendent of Page County,
+Clarinda, Iowa; A. D. Holloway, General Secretary, County Y.M.C.A.,
+Marysville, Kansas; Dr. Myron T. Scudder, of Rutgers College; Doubleday,
+Page & Company, Garden City, New York; _Rural Manhood_, New York City;
+_The Farmer's Voice_, Chicago, Illinois; _The American Agriculturist_,
+New York City; _The Oklahoma Farmer_, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; _The
+Inland Farmer_, Lexington, Kentucky; _The Farmer's Advocate_, Winnipeg,
+Canada.
+
+My thanks are also due _Successful Farming_, of Des Moines, Iowa, for
+permission to use excerpts from President Kirk's article on the model
+school, and portions of a series of brief articles written for the same
+magazine by myself.
+
+The references given at the close of the chapters have been selected
+with considerable care. It will be found in nearly every case that they
+give helpful and more extended discussions of the several topics treated
+in the preceding chapter.
+
+  WILLIAM A. McKEEVER.
+
+  MANHATTAN, KANSAS.
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+
+      I. BUILDING A GOOD LIFE                                        1
+           What is a Good Life?                                      2
+             1. Good Health                                          3
+             2. Usefulness                                           3
+             3. Moral Strength                                       4
+             4. Social Efficiency                                    5
+             5. Religious Interest                                   5
+             6. Happiness                                            6
+           Is the Human Stock comparatively Sound?                   7
+
+     II. THE TIME TO BUILD                                          12
+           What of the Human Instincts                              12
+           The Dawning Instincts                                    12
+           Social Sensitiveness Helpful                             19
+
+    III. THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT                   26
+           What Agencies build up Character?                        26
+             1. Play                                                27
+             2. Work                                                30
+             3. Recreation                                          33
+           Moving to Town for the Children                          36
+           A Back-to-the-country Club                               38
+
+     IV. THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN                        41
+           Poor Conditions of Women                                 42
+           For the Sake of the Children                             44
+             1. Surplus Nerve Energy                                44
+             2. A Rest Period                                       45
+             3. The Home Conveniences                               46
+             4. The Mother's Outings                                47
+             5. The Home Help                                       48
+             6. The Children shield the Mother                      49
+             7. Planning for the Children                           50
+             8. A Common Conspiracy                                 51
+
+      V. CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING                          54
+           Plans and Specifications not Available                   55
+           What appeals to the Children                             57
+           The House Plan                                           59
+           How One Farmer does It                                   60
+           Outbuildings and Equipment                               61
+           Human Rights prior to Animal Rights                      61
+           The Children's Room                                      64
+           The Evening Hour                                         67
+
+     VI. JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM HOME                       69
+           How Good Thinking grows up and Flourishes                70
+           Types of Literature                                      72
+           A Selected List                                          75
+           Literature on Child-rearing                              79
+             1. Periodicals on Child-rearing                        80
+             2. Books on Child-rearing                              80
+
+    VII. THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE                      82
+           Decadence of Rural Life                                  83
+           Work for the Ministry                                    84
+           The Country Minister                                     86
+           A Mistake in Training                                    89
+           Rural Child-rearing                                      90
+           The Churches too Narrow                                  92
+           Constructive Work of the Church                          93
+           An Innovation in the Rural Church                        95
+           Spiritualize Child Life                                  97
+           A Summary                                                98
+
+   VIII. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL                    101
+           Radical Changes in the View-point and Method            102
+           All have a Right to Culture                             103
+           Work for a Longer Term                                  105
+           Compulsory Attendance Laws Needed                       106
+           Better Schoolhouses and Equipment                       107
+             1. Location                                           108
+             2. The Water Supply                                   109
+             3. Size and Adaptation of Grounds                     109
+             4. Improvement of School Grounds                      110
+           A Model Rural School                                    112
+           The Cornell Schoolhouse                                 115
+           Help make a School Play Ground                          117
+           General Instruction in Agriculture                      120
+           Domestic Economy and Home Sanitation                    122
+           Consolidation of Rural Schools                          123
+           More High Schools Needed                                124
+           Better Rural Teachers Needed                            125
+
+     IX. THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION              129
+           Boys leave the Farm too Young                           130
+           Purposes of the County Young Men's Christian
+             Association                                           131
+           How to organize a County Organization                   132
+             1. Select a Good Leader                               133
+             2. Local Leaders Necessary                            134
+             3. A Committee on Finance                             134
+             4. Little Property Ownership                          135
+           How to conduct the Work                                 136
+             1. Local and County Athletic Clubs                    136
+             2. Debating and Literary Clubs                        137
+             3. Receptions and Suppers                             138
+             4. Educational Tours and Problems                     138
+             5. Camping and Hiking                                 139
+             6. Exhibitions                                        139
+           Spirituality not lost Sight Of                          141
+           Work in a sparsely Settled Country                      143
+
+      X. THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS OF THE YOUNG           146
+           Preparation for the Service                             147
+           Work persistently for Social Unity                      149
+           Corn-raising and Bread-baking Clubs                     150
+           Other Forms of Contests                                 151
+           The Improvement of the School Situation                 152
+           Home and School Play Problems                           154
+           A Neighborhood Library                                  156
+           Holidays and Recreation for the Young                   158
+           Many over-work their Children                           160
+           Federation for Country-life Progress                    161
+           The Vocations of Boys and Girls                         162
+           Other Local Possibilities                               164
+           The Boy Scout Movement                                  165
+           Rural Boy Scouts in Kansas                              166
+
+     XI. HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY                         171
+           See that the Work is for the Boy's Sake                 172
+           Not Enforced Labor, but Mastery                         174
+           Provide Vacations for the Boy                           176
+           A Tentative Schedule of Hours                           178
+           Think out a Reasonable Plan                             179
+
+    XII. HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL                        183
+           A Balanced Life for the Girl                            185
+           Work begins with Obedience                              186
+           Working the Girls in the Field                          188
+           Some Specific Suggestions                               189
+           Do you Own your Daughter?                               190
+           Difficult to make a Schedule                            191
+           Teach the Girl Self-supremacy                           192
+           Summary                                                 194
+
+   XIII. SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND GIRLS                   197
+           A Happy Mean is Needed                                  197
+           A Social Renaissance in the Country                     199
+           Conditions to guard Against                             200
+             1. The Social Companionship of Girls                  201
+             2. Bad Companionships for Boys                        202
+             3. Secret Sex Habits                                  204
+             4. The So-called Bad Habits                           205
+           A Center of Community Life                              207
+           Invite the Young to the House                           208
+           How to conduct a Social Entertainment                   209
+           What about the Country Dance?                           211
+           Additional Forms of Entertainment                       212
+             1. The Social Hour at the Religious Services          212
+             2. A Country Literary Society                         213
+             3. The Social Side of the Economic Clubs              215
+           Some Concluding Suggestions                             215
+
+    XIV. THE FARM BOY'S INTEREST IN THE BUSINESS                   220
+           What is in your Boy?                                    220
+           Much Experimentation Necessary                          221
+             1. Willingness to Work                                222
+             2. Ability to Save                                    223
+           Start on a Small Scale                                  224
+           Give your Son a Square Deal                             225
+           Keep the Boy's Perfect Good Will                        226
+           Some will be retained on the Farm                       227
+           The Awakening often comes from Without                  229
+           An Awakening in the South                               229
+           Partnership between Father and Son                      231
+           Summary and Concluding Suggestions                      232
+
+     XV. BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL                    235
+           Is the Country Girl Neglected?                          236
+           Why the Girl leaves the Farm                            237
+           Certain Rules to be Observed                            239
+             1. Teach the Girl to Work                             239
+             2. Teach her Business Sense                           240
+             3. Train her to transact Personal Business            241
+             4. Make her the Family Accountant                     242
+             5. Miserliness to be Avoided                          243
+             6. Teach her to Give                                  244
+             7. Teach the Meaning of a Contract                    245
+             8. Prepare her to deal with Grafters                  246
+           Should there be an Actual Investment?                   247
+
+    XVI. WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY BOY HAVE                250
+           Changes in Rural School Conditions                      250
+           The Boy a Bundle of Possibilities                       252
+           Classes of Native Ability                               253
+           The Great Talented Class                                254
+           Round out the Boy's Nature                              256
+           Other Important Matters                                 257
+           Develop an Interest in Humanity                         259
+
+   XVII. WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY GIRL HAVE               262
+           Special Problems relating to the Girl                   262
+           Protecting the Girl at School                           263
+           Lessons in Music and Art                                265
+           The Reward will come in Time                            267
+           The Mother's Office as Teacher                          268
+           Home-life Education                                     270
+           Education for Supremacy                                 271
+           An Outlook for Social Life                              272
+
+  XVIII. THE FARM BOY'S CHOICE OF A VOCATION                       275
+           Should the Farmer's Son Farm?                           275
+           Impatience of Parents                                   276
+           What of Predestination?                                 277
+           Three Methods of Vocational Training                    279
+             1. The Apprentice Method                              280
+             2. The Cultural Method                                280
+             3. The Developmental Method                           281
+           The Farmer Fortunate                                    282
+           What College for the Country Boy?                       283
+           The Foundation in Work                                  284
+           Clean up the Place                                      285
+           Money Value of an Agricultural Education                286
+           A Successful Vocation Certain                           287
+
+    XIX. THE FARM GIRL'S PREPARATION FOR A VOCATION                290
+           What is the Outlook?                                    290
+           Desirable Occupations for Women                         292
+             1. May teach the Young                                293
+             2. May take up Stenography                            294
+             3. May do Social Work                                 295
+             4. May secure Clerkships                              296
+           A College Course for the Girl                           298
+           Associations with Refined Young Men                     299
+           Make the Daughter Attractive                            300
+           Summary and Conclusion                                  301
+
+     XX. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE OUTLOOK                             306
+           Strive for Preconceived Results                         306
+           Consult Expert Advice                                   308
+           Meet Each Awakening Interest                            310
+           Work for Social Democracy                               311
+           The Outlook very Promising                              312
+           The Modern Service Training                             314
+           The State doing its Part                                316
+           The New Era of Religion                                 319
+           Final Conclusion                                        319
+
+   INDEX                                                           323
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  PLATE
+
+      I. Fig. 1. At least once each day the busy farm
+           father may think of a way to combine his
+           work with the children's play                _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+     II. Fig. 2. Canadian boys breaking young oxen                   6
+
+    III. Fig. 3. An attractive Kansas home                          28
+
+     IV. Fig. 4. A day nursery in the country                       42
+
+      V. Fig. 5. A rural home in the South                          56
+
+     VI. Fig. 6. A well-equipped farmhouse                          64
+
+    VII. Fig. 7. Children playing under the shade trees             72
+
+   VIII. Figs. 8-9. Rural church, Plainfield, Illinois              86
+
+     IX. Fig. 10. Village church at Ogden, Kansas                   92
+
+      X. Fig. 11. Corn Sunday in an Illinois church                 96
+
+     XI. Fig. 12. A country schoolhouse in California              108
+         Fig. 13. Type of model rural school used in
+           Kansas                                                  108
+
+    XII. Fig. 14. Model rural school at Kirksville, Missouri.
+           Normal                                                  112
+
+   XIII. Fig. 15. Rear view of the Kirksville school               114
+
+    XIV. Fig. 16. Using Babcock tester                             120
+
+     XV. Figs. 17-21. Consolidated school and those it
+           displaced                                               124
+
+    XVI. Fig. 22. The Cornell rural schoolhouse                    126
+
+   XVII. Fig. 23. A.Y.M.C.A. play club                             132
+
+  XVIII. Fig. 24. Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio                      138
+
+    XIX. Fig. 25. Jerry Moore, champion corn raiser                150
+
+     XX. Fig. 26. A lonely schoolhouse                             164
+
+    XXI. Fig 27. Tennis in the country                             180
+         Fig. 28. Country play festival                            180
+
+   XXII. Fig. 29. Industrial exhibit in rural school               192
+
+  XXIII. Fig. 30. Agricultural and domestic science club           208
+
+   XXIV. Fig. 31. School and church in Canada                      212
+
+    XXV. Fig. 32. Kansas prize winners                             230
+
+   XXVI. Fig. 33. Girls' doll display                              238
+
+  XXVII. Fig. 34. Boys whittling                                   252
+
+  XXVIII. Fig. 35. Study of corn                                   256
+
+    XXIX. Fig. 36. School gardeners                                270
+
+     XXX. Fig. 37. Country schoolgirls                             290
+
+    XXXI. Fig. 38. A girls' class in sewing                        300
+
+   XXXII. Fig. 39. Girl sowing seed                                312
+          Fig. 40. Boy thinning vegetables                         312
+
+
+
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_BUILDING A GOOD LIFE_
+
+
+If you were about to begin the construction of a dwelling house, what
+questions would most likely be uppermost in your mind? If this house
+were intended for your own use, you would doubtless consider among other
+important matters those of comfort, convenience of arrangement,
+attractiveness of appearance, strength, and durableness. The great
+variety of dwellings to be seen on every hand is outwardly expressive of
+the great variety of ideals in the minds of the people who construct
+them. No matter what means there may be available for the purpose, it
+may be said that he who builds a house thereby illustrates in concrete
+form his inner character.
+
+With practically the same quality of materials, one man will construct a
+house apparently with the thought that its chief purpose is to be looked
+at. Much work and expense will be put upon outer show and embellishment,
+while in its inner arrangements it may be exceedingly cramped and
+thoughtlessly put together. Another will erect his building with a
+thought of placing it on the market. Cheap workmanship, weak and faulty
+joinings, and the like, will be concealed by some thin covering meant to
+last until a profitable sale has been made and some innocent purchaser
+caught with a mere shell of a house in his possession. Occasionally,
+however, there is found a man whose plans conform to such ideals as
+those first named.
+
+
+WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE?
+
+As with the construction of a house, so it is in some measure with the
+building of a character. Some lives apparently are constructed to look
+at; that is, with the thought that outer adornment and a mere appearance
+of worth and beauty constitute the essential qualities. Other lives are,
+in a sense, made to sell. Not infrequently parents are found developing
+their boys and girls as if the chief purpose were to place them
+somewhere or other in the best possible money market. A life is worth
+only as much as it will bring in dollars and cents, is apparently the
+predominating thought of such persons. And then, occasionally, a life is
+built to _live in_; that is, with the idea that intrinsic worth
+constitutes the essential nature of the ideal character.
+
+But what _is_ a good life? And why is not this precisely the question
+for all parents to ask themselves at the time they begin the development
+of the lives of their own boys and girls? Assuming a fairly sound
+physical and mental inheritance on the part of the child and the given
+environment as the raw materials of construction, what ideals should
+parents have uppermost in mind before undertaking the tremendously
+important and interesting duties of constructing worthy manhood and
+womanhood out of the inherent natures of their children?
+
+1. _Good health._--It is a difficult task to develop a sound, efficient
+life without the fundamental quality of good health. So it may be well
+to remind parents of this fact and to urge them especially to avoid in
+the lives of the children, first, the beginnings of those lighter
+ailments which frequently grow into menacing habits--for example, the
+diseases that become chronic as a result of unnecessary exposure to the
+weather--and second, those various contagious diseases which so often
+permanently deplete the health of children, such as scarlet fever and
+whooping cough. It is now held by medical authority that every
+reasonable effort should be made to prevent children from taking such
+infectious ailments--that the so-called diseases of children can and
+should be practically all avoided.
+
+2. _Usefulness._--The newer ideals of character-building call for the
+early training of all children as if they were to enter permanently upon
+some bread-winning pursuit. Such training is a most direct means of
+culture and refinement, provided it be correlated with the proper amount
+of book learning and play and recreation. Such uniform and
+character-building discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of the
+race, and to acquaint all the young with the thoughts and feeling of the
+great productive classes. It may be this is now regarded as both a
+direct means of culture and of leading the young mind into an intimate
+acquaintance with the lives of the masses. Such training is regarded
+also as one of the best means of preserving our social democracy.
+Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth the child may
+apparently be destined for a life of comparative ease, even then there
+is every justification for teaching him early how to work as if he must
+do so to earn his own living. Much more will be said about this point
+later.
+
+3. _Moral strength._--In the construction of a good life, moral strength
+must be estimated as one of the important foundation stones. But this
+quality is not so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an
+acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through merely hearing
+about it, but it must come as a result of a large number of experiences
+of trial and error. The child acquires moral self-reliance from the
+practice of overcoming temptation in proportion to his strength, the
+test being made heavier as fast as his ability to withstand temptation
+increases. As will be shown later, it proves weakening to the character
+of the growing child to keep him entirely free from temptation and the
+possible contamination of his character in order that he may grow up
+"good."
+
+4. _Social efficiency._--The good life is not merely self-sustaining in
+an economic way, but it is also trained in the performance of altruistic
+deeds. In building up the lives of the young it will be necessary and
+most helpful to think of the matter of social efficiency. Therefore, it
+will be seen to that the child have practice in assuming the leadership
+among his fellows, in taking the initiative on many little occasions,
+and in some instances to the extent of standing out against the combined
+sentiment of his young associates. Of course, during all this time he
+will be backed strongly by the advice and the insistent direction of his
+parents, the idea being to induce him to think out his own social
+problems and to carry forward any suitable plans of a social nature that
+he may devise.
+
+5. _Religious interest._--Few parents will deny that religious
+instruction is just as essential to the development of a good society as
+is intellectual instruction. Indeed, there is much evidence to bear out
+the conviction that religion is a deep and permanent instinct in all
+normal human beings. This being the case, it is fair to say that such an
+instinct should have some form of awakening and indulgence in the life
+of the child. However, there is no thought or intention of prescribing
+any particular form of religious faith. He might at least be sent to
+Sunday school and to church regularly where he may be led to do a small
+amount of religious thinking on his own account.
+
+6. _Happiness._--The good life is a happy life. But nearly all the
+students of human problems seem to think that happiness eludes the grasp
+of the one who seeks it in a direct way. "I want my children to be happy
+and enjoy life," is often the remark of well-meaning parents. They then
+proceed as if joy and happiness could be had for money. It is true that
+during his early years of indifference to any serious concern or
+personal responsibility, the child may be made extremely happy by giving
+him practically everything his childish appetites may call for and
+allowing him to grow up in idleness. But there comes a time when the
+normal individual begins to question his own personal and intrinsic
+worth. The instincts and desires of mature life come on and if there be
+not available the means for the realization of the better instinctive
+ambitions, then bitterness and woe are likely to become one's permanent
+portion.
+
+However, it may be put down as a certainty that happiness and
+contentment will naturally come in full measure into the life that has
+been well built during the years of childhood and youth. If the good
+health has been conserved, a life of usefulness and service prepared
+for, moral strength built into the character, social efficiency looked
+after continuously, and something of religious experience not
+neglected--it will most certainly follow as the day follows the night
+that the wholesome enjoyments and the durable satisfactions of living
+will come to such an individual.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE II.
+
+FIG. 2.--These Canadian lads are enjoying their first lessons in
+live-stock management. We call their conduct play, but surely no one
+was ever more in earnest than they.]
+
+
+IS THE HUMAN STOCK COMPARATIVELY SOUND?
+
+There are now among the students of the home problems many who are
+seriously interested in the matter of breeding a better human stock.
+Many noteworthy conclusions have already been reached, and ample proofs
+have been produced to show that the human animal follows the same
+general lines of evolution as do the lower animal orders. It is shown in
+general, for example, that little or nothing that man has learned or
+acquired during his life is transmitted to his offspring. That is, even
+though a man devote many years to the intensive study of music or
+mathematics or the languages, such study will not affect the ability of
+his child in the study of the specialized subject. The same unaffected
+result obtains in respect to any other form of expertness of the merely
+acquired sort. For example, the fact that a man through long practice
+becomes expert in the use of the typewriter does not affect the
+character of the child in respect to such ability. It is a no less
+difficult task for the child to learn to master the use of the
+typewriter keyboard.
+
+On the other hand, it is shown very conclusively that physical and
+mental characters inborn in the life of a parent tend at all times to be
+transmitted to the child, although many traits are known to be wanting
+in the first generation of children and to appear in the second or
+successive generations. According to the law of Mendel, the traits of
+the parents are transmitted to the child about as follows: one-half of
+the elements of one's physical and mental natures are inherited from his
+parents, one-fourth from his grandparents, one-eighth from his
+great-grandparents, and so on. In any given case, however, there might
+be great variation from this rule of the averages, just as actual men
+and women vary more or less widely from the average human height of so
+many feet and inches.
+
+There is no thought here of discussing the intricate problems of
+eugenics. The purpose of this brief dogmatic sketch is that of
+attempting to induce parents to believe that the great mass of our
+American-born children are comparatively sound in their physical and
+mental inheritances. The pathologists profess to be able to prove that
+nature is most kind to the new-born child in respect to inheritance of
+disease. In fact, it is shown that very few diseases are directly
+transmitted through the blood, and that many once so regarded are now
+found to be infectious in their natures. There is considerable
+indication, however, that the children of the diseased--tuberculous
+parents, for example,--inherit a weakened power of resistance for such
+disease. But this matter is somewhat foreign to our present discussion.
+
+Best of all, for our present consideration, is the great mass of
+evidence sustaining the theory that about ninety-nine per cent of our
+new-born infants are potentially good in an economic and moral sense.
+That is to say, this great majority of the young humanity have latent
+within their natures at the beginning of life the possibilities of
+development into sound, self-reliant manhood and womanhood.
+
+So, the writer of these lines would gladly lead rural parents to the
+point of being very courageous and optimistic about their infant
+children. He would have them see in the latter all the possibilities of
+good and efficiency that they may care to attempt to bring out by
+thoughtful and conscientious training. For that matter, it can be shown
+that many of the leaders of men are constantly springing up out of the
+ranks of the common masses and from those of humble parentage. Some of
+these great leaders, it is true, are what may be called accidental
+geniuses in respect to their native strength and their persistent life
+purposes. But many others, and perhaps the majority of them, are merely
+men and women who have been reasonably sound at birth and who have been
+trained from childhood to maturity in a manner that best served to build
+up strong, efficient character.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The references given at the close of each chapter are meant
+    to direct the reader to specific treatment of the topics
+    named. It is thought that nearly every chapter or book
+    referred to will be found helpful and instructive to such
+    persons as may naturally become interested in this volume. In
+    some instances a line of comment is given to make clearer the
+    contents of the reference.
+
+    Must Children have Children's Diseases? Newton. _Ladies' Home
+    Journal_, April, 1910.
+
+    _Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette._ Gazette Publishing Company,
+    New York. $1 per year, monthly.
+
+    The Miracle of Life. J. H. Kellogg, M.D. Good Health
+    Publishing Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Read especially pp.
+    363-388, "How to be Strong."
+
+    Our Duty to Posterity. Editorial. _The Independent_,
+    February. 1909.
+
+    Relation of Science to Man. Professor A. W. Small. _American
+    Journal of Sociology_, February, 1908.
+
+    Character Building. Marian M. George. A. Flanagan Company.
+    Treats the ethical problems of the home.
+
+    Through Boyhood to Manhood. Ennis Richmond. Chapter 1,
+    "Usefulness." Longmans.
+
+    Making the Most of Our Children. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D.
+    Chapter IX, "Keeping the Boy on the Farm." McClurg.
+
+    Youth. G. Stanley Hall. Chapter XII, "Moral and Religious
+    Training." Appleton.
+
+    The Contents of a Boy. E. L. Moore. Chapter VI, "Social
+    Interests." Jennings & Graham, Cincinnati.
+
+    Mind in the Making. E. J. Swift. Chapter II, "The Criminal
+    Natures of Boys." Scribners.
+
+    The Young Malefactor. Dr. Thomas Travis. Chapter II, "The
+    Child born Centuries Too Late." Crowell.
+
+    The Family Health. M. Solis-Cohen, M.D. Chapter I, "The
+    Preservation of Health." Penn Publishing Company,
+    Philadelphia.
+
+    The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Dr. Charles W. Eliot.
+    Crowell. Points out ably the higher way.
+
+    The Study of Children. Francis Warner, M.D. Chapter IV,
+    "Observing the Child. What to Look at and For." The
+    Macmillan Company.
+
+    What makes a Liberal Education. Editorial. _The Independent_,
+    July 1, 1909.
+
+    Relation of the Physical Nature of the Child to His Mental
+    and Moral Development. George W. Reed. _Annual Report
+    National Educational Association_, 1909, p. 305.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_THE TIME TO BUILD_
+
+
+We shall continue to assume that the reader, if a parent, is thinking of
+his child as being in the position of one whose character requires
+constant attention in order that it may be built up through the right
+sort of training and the right sort of practices. Just as certainly as
+there is a best time in the season to plow corn and also a time not to
+plow, as there is a time to plow deep and another time to plow shallow,
+so there is unquestionably a best time to give the child any particular
+form of training or to withhold it. In general, it may be said that the
+most effective training in respect to the human young is that which
+centers most closely around the childish interests and instincts.
+
+
+WHAT OF THE HUMAN INSTINCTS
+
+By observing critically for a few days the conduct of an infant child,
+one may notice two or three pronounced instincts at work producing
+helpful results in the little life.
+
+1. There is the instinct to nurse, which is so fundamental in securing
+the food with which to sustain and build up the body.
+
+2. There is the accessory instinct of crying, also often necessary as
+nature's signal for another intake of the food supply. Associated with
+these two instincts are a number of reflexes which take care of the
+important organic processes, such as digestion, assimilation, and
+excretion. Now, we have practically all there is to the "character" of
+the human infant. He has, as yet, no instinct for fighting, for sexual
+love, or for business. And any effort to arouse and make use of the
+last-named dormant qualities would be futile as well as ridiculous. In
+respect to a vast majority of the things to be learned, the child is a
+mere bundle of potentialities, all of which must bide their time for an
+awakening. In short, wise parents soon learn that the center of life in
+the infant child is in the stomach, and that if he be fed rightly, kept
+much in the open air, clothed comfortably, and bathed frequently, the
+body-building processes will usually go on in a satisfactory manner.
+
+3. Although the little life seems so tiny and the daily round of
+infantile activities so simple and monotonous, the character-developing
+processes are already making their subtle beginnings. For example, the
+first lessons in habit are being inculcated through the comparative
+rhythm in the infant's life. It will be found both conducive to good
+health and helpful to character-development to attend to all the
+infant's needs with strict regularity. Let us follow the new-born child
+around his little cycle and see what happens. First, he is given a
+hearty meal, which is followed at once by perhaps two hours of profound
+sleep. Then, there is a gradual waking, the body writhes and wiggles
+slightly, and then more, and then still more, until a loud cry is set
+up. Under healthy conditions the crying should go on for a very few
+minutes, as it helps to send the good blood through every part of the
+body, purifying and building up the parts and carrying out the effete
+matter. The function of excretion is not only thus much aided, but the
+nervous equilibrium is completely restored. The little life has now
+swung completely round to the beginning point of two hours previously
+and it is ready to start on another journey with the intake of another
+hearty meal.
+
+It will be found that the life circle described above continues with
+slight variations for the first few weeks, the child sleeping probably
+twenty to twenty-two hours out of twenty-four, if it be in a natural
+state of health. But slowly the conduct of the infant will become more
+complex, and that in response to the growths and changes taking place
+within his body. It will be found that he can take a heartier meal, can
+stay awake longer, kick harder, wriggle more, and cry louder as the days
+multiply. In a month or so his eyes will be seen following some
+brilliant or attractive moving body, while the impulsive movements of
+the hands will begin to suggest some slight definition of their conduct.
+Not long thereafter, the baby smile will break out in a reflex fashion
+and the hands will likewise grasp objects placed in the little palms.
+Coördinate with these new activities, nature is at work storing up new
+nerve structures and cells, especially in the region of the spinal cord
+and the cranial centers.
+
+4. The child is all the while learning. As yet, there is little for the
+caretaker to do other than to feed the infant with exceeding care and
+regularity, and to enjoy the awakening of the new infant activities. In
+four to six months, the young learner will lead a much more complex
+life,--sitting alone, holding things in his hands, and looking about the
+room. But it must be understood that he still hears and sees very few
+things in a definite way. Then, in the next two or three months he will
+first creep,--he should in time be induced to do so if possible for the
+sake of his health,--at length he will stand upright, and finally walk.
+None of these processes must be hastened, although they may be aided
+when the inner prompting and strength warrant such conduct.
+
+5. During the second year there will probably break out with sudden and
+surprising strength the new instinct of anger. It has been latent there
+all the time, but the low degree of intelligence and of nerve structure
+has not given it proper support and indulgence. But on an occasion there
+is perhaps taken from the child some cherished plaything, when he
+suddenly flies into a rage, yelling, screaming, kicking, and growing red
+in the face. This outburst of rage is a most interesting and enjoyable
+aspect to the parent who rightly understands children, although some
+ignorantly make it a matter of deep concern, regarding it as significant
+of a vicious character in the coming boy and man.
+
+The purpose of this present discussion is to illustrate how the human
+instincts come into their functions at various times during the life of
+the growing child. And the further purpose is to urge that such thing be
+_watched for and met with just the sort of training necessary for
+permanent and helpful results_.
+
+Now, let the little child fly into a rage two or three times and have
+his anger appeased through indulgence in the thing he cries for, and he
+has acquired his first lesson in the management of the parent or nurse.
+He has learned that if he wants a thing, all he needs to do is to squall
+or yell and the desired results will be forthcoming. But this childish
+rage really furnishes the occasion for the beginning of some
+disciplinary lessons. "Should I give the child everything he cries for,
+or withhold the desired object until he quits?" asks an anxious parent.
+Neither rule is necessarily the right one, and yet both, on occasions,
+may be correct. Suppose, instead of the infant you have a five-year-old
+boy who cries for a loaded revolver he happens to see in your hand.
+Would you give it to him to stop his crying, or withhold it? Suppose
+again he should cry for the return of his own plaything which some one
+unjustly snatched from him. Would you return his plaything to stop his
+crying, or let him cry it out? Now, here is implied the correct answer
+in dealing with the outburst of anger in the infant. It is all a matter
+of justice and fairness. If some agency, human or otherwise, snatches
+his food from his mouth, and the child squalls for its return, indulge
+the infant at once. If he has been well fed, comfortably clad and
+bathed, and under every proper consideration should lie still and behave
+himself, then do not run and take him up because he happens to be trying
+your patience with his squalling. Hold him to it and let him bawl it
+out. There is really nothing better coming to him if you are thinking of
+the development of his character--and your own.
+
+6. So, somewhat later on you will find this same instinct of anger
+showing itself in the various forms of fighting and quarreling. The
+parent who understands the true natures of healthy children will not
+worry for a moment because the children show natural dispositions for
+contention and combativeness. On the other hand, it will be understood
+that these very tendencies furnish the occasion of many a lesson in
+social ethics. How can the child ever learn to be just and fair to his
+mates or square and considerate in his dealings with adults unless it be
+through the give-and-take experiences that come from attempting to get
+more than his share,--and failing much of the time,--and from attempting
+to over-ride the rights and privileges of others, and having such
+attempts properly thwarted? Indeed, it may be regarded as a great
+misfortune to the child if he has to grow up as the only one in a home
+and is denied the daily companionship of those of his own age from whom
+he may learn justice and fairness as a result of his attempts to get
+more than is just and fair for himself.
+
+7. The watchful parents will observe that perhaps some time during the
+second half year, and with some pronounced repetitions later, there will
+be clear manifestations of the instinct of fear on the part of the
+child. Again, there is nothing for deep concern other than to meet this
+instinct in a general way as has been observed for the others named and
+to give the proper training. Fear must have been a human necessity
+during many years of savagery and barbarism. It still has its positive
+and negative values in the development of character. It serves as a
+deterrent from dangerous and criminal acts. It is also found to deter
+the growing infant from doing many a thing which he ought to be learning
+to do. Fear shows its most interesting aspects in the form of what has
+been called social sensitiveness; that is, bashfulness, shyness,
+reticence, and the like.
+
+Parents should by all means watch closely the various childish and
+youthful tendencies to fear, allowing those fears which promise to be
+helpful to remain in the life or to die out slowly through counteracting
+conduct; and eliminating those other forms which would seem to serve no
+useful purpose. Examples of the latter sort would be the fear of
+ferocious animals and of murderers. Such mortal enemies are so uncommon
+in this civilized land that fear of them will probably be of no service
+to life. On the other hand, it may stunt and deter the development of
+courage. Especially do such fears tend to induce the habit of
+unnecessary concern and deep worry, thus destroying the peace and
+happiness and cutting off the length of years of many members of our
+society.
+
+8. There is no questioning the value of social sensitiveness in respect
+to the development of character in the young. Some degree of bashfulness
+and embarrassment in dealing with people, especially those regarded by
+him as of superior worth, may be considered an actual asset in the life
+of the growing boy. This bashfulness will give him a rich inner
+experience of doubts and fears, and of hopes and triumphs. Slowly, under
+proper guidance and direction, the sensitiveness wears away through
+repeated experience of a contrary sort, and such qualities as create a
+self-reliance take its place.
+
+On the other hand, it is doubtless a misfortune, especially for the boy,
+to become blasé--indifferent and unembarrassed in the presence of people
+of all ranks and conditions--while he is yet a mere lad. Under our
+present organization of society, the boy who would win the life race
+must have much experience of trial and error, of failure and success,
+and of tribulation and triumph; and all that for the sake of a
+self-reliant character. Now, the boy who has lost all sense of
+embarrassment in the presence of others is likely to be denied the
+stirring inner experiences just named, and to settle down in an
+indifferent, self-satisfied attitude toward the big problems of human
+conduct. It may be counted, therefore, as an indication of much promise
+and advantage that the country youth and the country maiden continue to
+be comparatively "green" and bashful during the period of their
+adolescence.
+
+9. The instinct of sexual love will manifest itself at the proper time
+and age. Before so doing, certain organic changes and inner nerve
+developments must take place. Parents may learn some lessons from
+observation of this instinct that will apply to practically all the
+others. For example, there should be no attempt to hurry the
+manifestation and the functioning of the instinct, nor should the
+training necessary for its development and refinement be denied or
+withheld. Of all the many inner awakenings that come to the developing
+human being, there is probably none that quite matches the surging
+energy of sexual love in healthy young manhood and womanhood. And to an
+extraordinary degree, opportunities for instruction and development of
+the character become present at this time.
+
+First of all, parents need to be reminded of the naturalness and
+wholesomeness of the sex instincts in adolescent boys and girls. They
+must be urged to provide carefully for its natural growth through the
+proper commingling of the sexes in a social way, and yet there must be
+preserved in the young lives just enough strangeness and mystery about
+the sex matters as to indulge the poetic and the romantic aspects of the
+unfolding natures. It need not, therefore, be a matter of worry and
+unusual concern to parents if their fifteen-year-old son and a
+neighbor's thirteen-year-old daughter show pronounced tendencies to be
+"crazy in love" with each other. However, this situation furnishes most
+fitting opportunities for teaching the boy courtly manners, gallantry,
+consideration for women of all ages; and that through and by means of
+his own personal experience. In fact, this stirring period of sex-love
+opens up in the mind of the boy reflections that tend to run out into
+every possible avenue of his future life.
+
+Likewise, the girl. That same little girl who shortly ago hated boys and
+declared she would never have anything to do with them is now
+manifesting much interest in the youth of her acquaintance. This thing
+cannot be laughed to scorn, or scolded away, or whipped out of the life
+of either boy or girl. Its roots are in the sex organs as well as in the
+heart. This first love period furnishes the rarest opportunities for
+teaching the girl proper lessons in respect to her comeliness, her
+purity of thought, and the sweetness of her own personal character. If
+during this time she be withheld entirely from wholesome association
+with boys and young men, there is a probability that she may become a
+drone or a mope, and especially that she may lose valuable training in
+the acquisition of those winsome ways so helpful to young women in the
+matter of their obtaining suitable life companions.
+
+Perhaps less need be said in respect to giving the growing son those
+forms of social training which make it possible for him to win to his
+side an attractive helpmate. But beyond the question of a doubt there
+can and should be much done by way of training the daughter in this
+respect. In addition to her good health, her moral self-reliance, and
+those other desirable qualities illustrated in a preceding paragraph,
+the young woman who is thoroughly prepared for meeting successfully the
+issues of life has had careful training in all the practices that refine
+and beautify her character.
+
+This duty of rural parents to the growing daughter is no less imperative
+than in the case of city parents. It may be considered as an excellent
+way of planning for the future happiness and well-being, not merely for
+one, but doubtless for an entire family, if the growing girl be indulged
+and directed reasonably in social matters during this period of
+greatest strength of her natural sex instinct. This thing cannot be
+safely put off a few years with the thought that the family will move to
+town and then the girl may have her proper opportunities of training.
+After such procrastination and neglect, it becomes too late ever to
+correct the many faults of omission.
+
+10. There develops somewhat late in the lives of young men and young
+women what might be called the "homing" instinct, which amounts to
+nothing other than a deep and pronounced prompting from within to set
+definitely about the matter of getting into a home of one's own and
+providing for and building it up. This is different from the mere sex
+instinct named above, although perhaps an outgrowth of it. It must be
+noted in passing that this homing instinct, when at its strongest,
+furnishes the proper occasion for instruction in respect to the home and
+the home-building affairs. Happy indeed is the young man or the young
+woman who, after a period of such instruction, may have the opportunity
+of settling down in a suitable dwelling place and there beginning the
+establishment of the ideal family life.
+
+11. Unquestionably there dawns in the life of normal young men--and
+perhaps to a milder degree in respect to young women--a pronounced
+instinct of a business and economic sort. This inner prompting is
+doubtless associated with the two last named. It may be observed by any
+person who knows how to study the lives of children and young people
+that some particular youth who a few months ago was a spendthrift,
+indifferent of his future needs and welfare, is now heard to declare
+emphatically again and again that he must get into business, must save
+and invest his means and provide for his future needs. So, there is not
+a little evidence in effect that we have here another inner development
+of the nerve mechanism. And the time is most fit and opportune for the
+parents to exhaust every reasonable effort to discover what the youth is
+best suited for as a life practice and to guide him on toward the
+realization of that purpose. Much more will be said in another chapter
+in respect to the choice of a vocation.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Rural parents who develop an intensive interest in the
+    child-training problems will find it most profitable to read
+    somewhat extensively in the texts that are not too direct but
+    that give a careful treatment of the fundamental principles
+    of child psychology. King's and O'Shea's books listed below
+    are of this special character. For a fuller list, see Chapter
+    VI.
+
+    The Child: A Study in the Evolution of Man. A. F.
+    Chamberlain. Chapter IV, "The Period of Childhood." Scribner.
+    A sound and somewhat scholarly treatment.
+
+    Boy Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter I, "The Awakening";
+    Chapter II, "Am I a Genius?" Forbes & Co., Chicago.
+
+    Education of the Central Nervous System. Reuben P. Halleck.
+    Chapter VII, "Special Sensory Training." American Book
+    Company.
+
+    The Moral Life. Arthur E. Davies. Chapter V, "Motive: The
+    Beginnings of Morality." Review Publishing Company,
+    Baltimore.
+
+    Psychology. J. R. Angell. Chapter XVI, "The Important Human
+    Instincts." Holt.
+
+    Essentials of Psychology. W. B. Pillsbury. Chapter X,
+    "Instinct." Macmillan. Rural parents will find this entire
+    text a non-technical and fundamental help.
+
+    Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XII, "The
+    Critical Period." Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Psychology of Child Development. Irving King. Chapter on
+    "Instinct." University of Chicago Press.
+
+    Your Boy: His Nature and Nurture. George A. Dickinson, M.D.
+    Chapter II, "Elements of Character." Hodder & Stoughton, New
+    York.
+
+    An Introduction to Child Study. W. B. Drummond. Chapter XII,
+    "The Instincts of Children"; Chapter XIII, "Instincts and
+    Habit." Longmans. The book is worthy an entire reading.
+
+    A Study of Child Nature. Elizabeth Harrison. Chapter I, "The
+    Instinct of Activity." Chicago Kindergarten College.
+
+    Observing Childhood. A. S. Draper. _Annals American Academy_,
+    March, 1909.
+
+    Are we spoiling our Boys who have the Best Chances in Life?
+    Henry van Dyke. SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE. October, 1909.
+
+    How to civilize the Young Savage. Dr. G. Stanley Hall. _Mind
+    and Body_, June, 1911.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT_
+
+
+That the farm home is an ideal place in which to build up the lives of
+growing boys and girls has become almost a trite saying. But that rural
+parents are yet failing to realize the child-nurturing possibilities of
+such a place may be exemplified in thousands of instances. When we point
+to the farm home as being the best possible place for rearing children,
+we mean that it contains all the crude materials for such work, and that
+there must be in charge of that work some one who is conscious of the
+many aspects of the problem. So we hope to show the fathers and mothers
+of the farm community, not what they might do if they were differently
+situated, but as specifically as possible what there is in the present
+rural home situation that can be made directly available in the
+construction of the lives of their children.
+
+
+WHAT AGENCIES BUILD UP CHARACTER?
+
+First of all, we must ask, What are the ordinary forces which need to be
+brought into service in the development of children? At the head of the
+list, we should name play, as furnishing a great variety of instructive
+activities; then, work and industry; after that, the recreation that
+comes properly after the performance of work. So, we have with all their
+implied meanings the three great child-developing agencies: play, work,
+recreation. Now the question naturally presents itself, Can the ordinary
+farm life be made to furnish in right amount and proportion these three
+essential elements of character development?
+
+1. _Play._--The necessity of indulging and training properly the play
+instinct of the child is becoming so fully appreciated of late that many
+of the state legislatures, and even the national Congress, have seen fit
+to make it a matter of deep concern. In order that all children may have
+full exercise of the divine, inherent right to play and to learn through
+play, many so-called child labor laws have been passed. These enactments
+have prescribed conditions under which children will be permitted to
+work at gainful occupations, and in the majority of cases they have
+strictly forbidden such child labor below the ages of fourteen to
+sixteen.
+
+But the foregoing efforts in behalf of the young have been of a somewhat
+negative sort, merely guaranteeing the child the right to play. On the
+positive side, much is also being done. The scientific students of child
+life have been pointing to the great benefits of play and to the
+present need for larger means and fuller opportunities for play on the
+part of the masses of children. As an outcome of all this research and
+public agitation, there is now in progress a general movement which
+looks to the placing at the disposal of children everywhere the
+equipment and apparatus necessary for building up the character by means
+of play experience. The large cities are expending millions of dollars
+on municipal playgrounds, and the towns and rural communities are
+catching the spirit also.
+
+It has been shown beyond a question that adult life can be prepared for
+and enriched in many ways by means of scientifically provided play
+during childhood. Two or three results are especially sought through the
+playground training: (1) better physical health and increased power to
+resist disease; (2) enlarged opportunities for the outlet of the
+spontaneous activities through the use of the hands and other parts of
+the body; (3) the provision of a powerful deterrent of evil thought and
+deed and of juvenile crime; (4) the manifold opportunities for learning
+how to get along with one's fellows and to treat them in fairness and
+justice.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE III.
+
+FIG. 3.--This beautiful Kansas home, with its large orchard and many
+shade trees adjoining, was constructed "away out on the barren plains
+where no tree will grow." In this place an excellent family of nine
+children grew up.]
+
+It has already been urged that sound health constitutes one of the
+foundation stones of good character. Play is especially conducive to
+sound health. Some may think that work without much if any play will
+bring about the same results in the child life, but such proves not
+to be the case. The monotony and drudgery of enforced labor have been
+crushing the lives of children everywhere, especially until the wise
+legislation of very recent years prevented such thing. Strange to say,
+the same amount of exertion in spontaneous play may build up and
+strengthen the physical and mental life of the child. What is the secret
+of the striking difference in the result? Spontaneity! is the answer.
+The child goes at his play with a joy and an eagerness which are
+entirely absent from work--a sufficient guarantee that his nature is
+being fed upon the very stuff which his soul craves. It is true that
+children will play in a bare room containing nothing more than a pile of
+trash, but such a situation is woefully lacking on the side of
+instruction. Very little will be learned from a year of such
+ill-provided play.
+
+So, there is every necessary reason for urging that the farm home
+provide not only the time and the occasion for the play life of the
+children, but that the means and proper materials also be looked after.
+At a certain rural home in the state of Michigan, where two boys and one
+girl were growing up, were found the following nearly ideal arrangements
+for the play life: a small clump of trees, which afforded opportunities
+for climbing and ample shade during the warm weather; a swing hung
+between two of the trees; a pole serving as a horizontal bar between
+two others; and a ladder leading to a rude playhouse constructed between
+the forks of a branching maple tree. Thereabout were seen also a boy's
+wagon, two home-made sleds and other materials of this same general
+class, not to mention a fairly well-kept lawn, where the children could
+romp.
+
+Now the cost of all the foregoing materials would be trifling in a money
+sense and not very expensive in point of preparation and work, while
+they would pay for themselves a hundred-fold in their results for
+character-development. If necessary, it could even be shown how just
+such provision for the play of the boys and girls on the farm will in
+time add to the actual cash value of the place and to the money-earning
+power of the boys and girls whose lives are being served. It seems
+altogether fitting to remind rural parents of their duty in respect to
+their children even though the mortgage may not yet have been lifted,
+and even though some of the live stock may have to suffer a little, and
+some of the farm crops deteriorate slightly. Let there be provided,
+first of all, some adequate materials for the indulgence of the play
+instinct of the child.
+
+2. _Work._--This term implies a wide meaning, and deserves a lengthy
+discussion. In a chapter to follow under the title "How Much Work for
+the Country Boy," we shall give due attention to it. The purpose here is
+to advise the parent to make a study of the situation and to make
+provision for the amount and kind of work and industry necessary for
+the proper culture of the growing child.
+
+First of all, there must be appreciated the sharp distinction between
+work and play. The latter is spontaneous, allowing the child to follow
+his caprice of mind. He may take up one play activity and drop it at any
+moment that another appeals to him more strongly. But with work, the
+situation is different. The purpose is outside of and not within the
+performance, as in the case of play. The work looks toward some end
+necessary of achievement and carries with it the elements of sacrifice,
+of giving out of one's life something that is his very own in order that
+some other thing may be acquired. In the case of work the normal child
+probably at first finds almost any assigned task irksome. He feels that
+he is being more or less unfairly or unnecessarily driven to it and that
+when he grows to be a man, he will have a lot of money and hire somebody
+else to do the work.
+
+All natural, healthy-minded boys are at first somewhat stubborn and
+rebellious in regard to work. No matter how good their parents may be,
+if merely turned loose in the world without direction and the spur of
+authority, they will almost invariably avoid manual labor. So it might
+as well be put down at once as a rule that every boy who is to become a
+real worker and an industrious character must be set definitely at his
+tasks while a mere child and held strictly to their performance. After
+much persistent urging, the young worker begins to forget the thought
+of being driven to his duty and to acquire instead a habit of industry.
+By slow degrees he develops within a sense of obligation in relation to
+work, also a feeling of responsibility for tasks done or left undone.
+Finally, after years of this sort of experience, the young industrialist
+reaches a point in his life when he can throw himself enthusiastically
+into some sort of well chosen occupation. And then and there emerges
+from his inner consciousness the exceeding great joy known to so many of
+the industrious men and women whose worthy life-long devotion to work is
+constantly reconstructing this good world in which we live.
+
+It will be understood, of course, that the term work as here used
+includes the school training. The ordinary child regards the appointed
+duties of lesson getting in the nature of work and feels the same
+pressure of insistence and compulsion in relation to them.
+Unquestionably, the ordinary school course goes part way toward
+furnishing discipline in industry. The course of the newer schools about
+to be instituted throughout the country will reach still farther in this
+direction. It is very encouraging indeed to observe that the public
+school curriculum is destined to include, not only the study of books
+and the recitation of lessons learned from books, but also the many
+forms of manual labor and industry applicable to the character of the
+growing child. But until the public school authorities have provided
+such an ideal course of training, parents must see to it that the
+class-room duties be thoroughly supplemented with carefully assigned
+home tasks of the industrial training sort. In a later chapter specific
+attention will be given the question of the schooling of the country boy
+and the country girl.
+
+3. _Recreation._--What a vast amount of misunderstanding and misuse
+there is of this term! Observe, if you will, the real meaning of the
+term or of the kindred word, to re-create. It implies in this use that
+the body has been depleted, worn out, or fatigued by work and that there
+is to be a rebuilding of the same. But it is amusing--or would be if it
+were not so pathetic--to see how city parents often bestir themselves in
+an effort to provide recreation for their idle boys. Many of these boys
+who are seen loafing about the home town during practically the entire
+summer vacation period are given an outing in order that they may thus
+be furnished "recreation"--from indolence.
+
+But farm parents are inclined to err on the other side. That is, they
+tend to over-work their boys and not to give them enough outings to
+furnish proper recreation and renewed zeal for the work required of
+them. Hence, the need of carefully considering the matter of the outings
+for the farm boy and girl. It can most probably be shown, for example,
+that the boy who works on the farm five and a half days of the week and
+who is given the other half day for rest and recreation--that he does
+more work in the five and one-half days and does it better than he would
+do in six full days without the half-holiday. The question here is that
+of a balanced schedule. How long should the boy be held to his task
+before being allowed a holiday or recreation period?
+
+Just how can these half-holidays, outings, and the like, be worked into
+the farm boy's program so as to make them contributive to the
+up-building of his character? What of this sort can be done to cause him
+to return to his assigned tasks with greater zeal and enthusiasm? How
+can it be provided that the boy may look forward to these outings with a
+thrill of joy during the long days he has to spend behind the plow or in
+the harvest field? Finally, how can these recreation periods, large and
+small, be so associated with his work-a-day tasks that he may come to
+regard farm life as a wholesome type of vocation--one that he may follow
+with pleasure and profit for himself, and one in which he may succeed so
+well as to make his achievements constitute a living commendation of
+such a calling to others? In a later discussion there will be shown many
+methods whereby the recreation experience of the farm boys and girls may
+be properly looked after.
+
+Few persons seem to appreciate the value of solitude as a means of
+recreating and building up the inner life. Probably one of the greatest
+agencies in the development of many a powerful personality is the fact
+that its possessor was compelled by force of circumstances while young
+to spend much time in the company of his or her own thoughts. It is
+impossible to think intelligently while one is doing any body-straining
+work; for example, wood sawing or hay pitching. But there are many forms
+of occupation for boys and girls on the farm which permit of comparative
+rest of the body. So the foundations of many a worthy career have been
+laid in the silent reflections of the boy spending the day alone in the
+woods or on the prairies with his cattle and dog and pony, or sitting on
+the seat of the riding plow.
+
+Likewise, the farmer's daughter, during the performance of many simple,
+non-fatiguing tasks, reflects perforce upon the larger meanings of life
+and makes out in mind many plans for the time when she hopes to
+undertake the mastery of various trying and interesting problems. Lack
+of this enforced solitude and its attendant reflections--lack of the
+discovery of the joy of being at regular intervals alone with the great
+soul of Nature and with one's inner consciousness--doubtless contributes
+in some measure to the undoing of city boys and girls. The constant
+turmoil of the street, the excitement of the ever changing scenes and
+situations, give an over-indulgence to the senses, ripen the judgments
+too early, and rob the character of those soberer habits which later
+enable one to find good in the common situations and the common people
+of the world.
+
+It is, therefore, recommended that farm parents provide for a part of
+the sterner duties of the boys and girls such tasks as will allow for
+comparative rest of the body while the mind may tarry undisturbed with
+the reflections of the inner life.
+
+
+MOVING TO TOWN FOR THE CHILDREN
+
+The practice of the well-to-do farmer who moves to town to "educate his
+children" is an old story and is fraught with many a hidden tragedy, to
+say nothing of the impoverishment of the land and of the social order
+left behind. Why cannot the intelligent farmer remain on the home place
+and join a movement having for its purpose that of making the
+neighborhood a more desirable place of human habitation?
+
+One of the dullest places in the world is the country town which has
+been filled up with retired farmers. These are usually men who came into
+the place for the purpose of getting all the possible advantages at the
+lowest possible cost. In the typical case the new city dweller of this
+class secures a very good residence, and that often, if possible, just
+outside the city limits, in order to avoid local taxes. He takes little
+or no interest in the town's municipal affairs and votes against nearly
+all proposed improvements. He keeps his own cow, horse, chickens, and
+garden, and brings extra supplies in from the farm. Gradually he takes
+on a few of the city ways. That is, he uses less home produce and does
+some buying at the stores. But for want of stimulating employment he
+gradually grows stouter and mentally more stupid, sleeping away many of
+the hours of the day in his chair--an indication that he is dying at the
+top and that he is soon to be cut down. Really, the retired farmer is a
+nuisance to the town and the town is a bore to him.
+
+But what of the children whom he brought in to "educate"? They learn
+rapidly, soon taking on the city manners. The natural restraints from
+evil conduct, which the farm home furnished, are now wanting. The blare
+and bluster of the town both excite and delight them, while the parents
+have positively no rules or standards by which to govern and direct
+their young in the new situation. All the boys and girls need to do in
+order to gain parental consent for going out at night is to declare that
+"everybody is going" or that they are "expected" to be there, and the
+thing is settled. Thus the young ruralists newly come to town go dancing
+and prancing off into a veritable world of sweet dreams and
+delights--spoiled forever for any service that they might have rendered
+in building up the country community--and finally destined to become
+mere cogs in the ever grinding wheel of some city.
+
+
+A BACK-TO-THE-COUNTRY CLUB
+
+Nearly every town and city of the United States has had a so-called
+Commercial Club. This has been in reality a boosters' club bent first of
+all on bringing big business to the place and thus opening the way for a
+bigger population. Anything for the sake of more people has been the
+watchword. Now, I would reverse this order of things. Nearly every one
+of these towns and cities needs a club or committee that might have for
+its purposes: (1) to show the would-be retired farmer how to shift the
+burdens from his wife as housekeeper, how to provide better social and
+intellectual advantages for his children and yet _stay on the farm_; (2)
+to find means and methods whereby to plant in the rural community those
+persons of the city population who are not making a fair living in their
+present positions, seeking first of course to choose those who are
+capable of transplanting and then preparing them with care for the
+change.
+
+I am satisfied that this thing can be successfully thought out,--that
+is, how the worthy poor city family may be removed to the country and
+there through hard work gradually acquire enough land whereon to earn a
+fair living at least. This end will never be accomplished by merely
+driving out the poor families, but rather by means of scientific and
+sympathetic practice of re-establishing them. Well-conducted research
+shows that these poor people are nearly all constituted of good, sound,
+human stock. So, if transported under the conditions named, there may be
+expected to come forth in the second generation a splendid crop of rural
+boys and girls.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Report of the Commission on Country Life. Introduction by
+    Theodore Roosevelt. Sturgis-Walton Company, New York. A brief
+    but epoch-making book. The student of rural problems will
+    find it a splendid outline guide.
+
+    Cutting Loose from the City. E. G. Hutchins. _Country Life_,
+    Jan. 1, 1911.
+
+    Back to the Farm. J. Smith. _Collier's_, Feb. 25, 1911.
+
+    Value of a Country Education to Every Boy. _Craftsman_,
+    January, 1911.
+
+    Why Back to the Farm? Editorial. _Craftsman_, February, 1911.
+
+    The Country-Life Movement. L. H. Bailey. The Macmillan Co.
+    Contains a contrast of the back-to-the-land movement and the
+    country-life movement.
+
+    Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. J. M.
+    Gillette. _American Journal of Sociology_, March, 1911.
+
+    The New Country Boy. _Independent_, June 22, 1911.
+
+    Overworked Children on the Farm and in the School. Dr. Woods
+    Hutchinson. _Annals American Academy_, March, 1909.
+
+    Why One Hundred Boys ran away from Home. L. E. Jones.
+    _Ladies' Home Journal_, April, 1910.
+
+    The Country Girl who is coming to the City. Batchelor.
+    _Delineator_, May, 1909.
+
+    Play and Playground Literature. For most helpful and
+    inexpensive literature on this subject address: The
+    Playground Association of America, 1 Madison Ave., New York
+    City.
+
+    Conservation in the Rural Districts. James W. Robertson,
+    D.Sc. The Association Press, New York.
+
+    Education for Country life. Willet M. Hays. Free Bulletin,
+    U.S. Department of Agriculture. Treats ably consolidation
+    and rural agricultural high schools.
+
+    Child Problems. George B. Mangold. Ph.D. Book II, Chapters
+    I-II, "Play and the Playground"; Book III, Chapters I-V,
+    "Child Labor Problems." The last reference contains accurate
+    information as to child-labor legislation up to date of
+    publication.
+
+    Influence of Heredity and Environment upon Race Improvements.
+    Kelsey. _Annals American Academy_, July, 1909.
+
+    Burning up the Boys. Editorial. _North American_, September,
+    1910.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN_
+
+
+Greater attention needs to be given to the conservation of the farmer's
+wife. Although there are many other justifications for giving more
+thought to the care and the comfort of the country mother, the single
+fact of her very close relation to the children growing up in the home,
+and of her peculiar responsibilities as center of life there, warrant us
+in devoting a chapter to her interests. Recently, while passing upon a
+country highway, the author met a funeral procession. A little inquiry
+revealed a pathetic situation, one that has been repeated thousands of
+times throughout the length and breadth of this fair country. The
+deceased was the wife of a young farmer, both of them under thirty-five
+years of age, hard working and ambitious for success, but thoughtless of
+their own health and comfort. Their farm was somewhat new and
+unimproved, there were hundreds of things to do other than the routine
+affairs of home keeping and crop raising. Worst of all, there was a
+mortgage to be lifted. After all reasonable improvements were made and
+the mortgage paid off, then, according to their plans, they were going
+to take matters easy. But the delicate cord of life suddenly broke in
+the case of the wife, and left the young husband as overseer of the farm
+and home and sole caretaker of three little children.
+
+How can parents hope to produce a better crop of boys and girls in the
+farm communities so long as the typical farm wife is crushed into the
+earth with the over-weight of the burdens placed upon her? A few
+minutes' enumeration in this same rural neighborhood brought out the
+startling fact that in fully half of the homes a scene similar to the
+one just described had been enacted during the last score of years. That
+is to say, during the twenty years, fully one-half of the farm mothers
+living in that particular neighborhood had died before their time from
+one cause or another. In most instances the death occurred during what
+we usually speak of as the prime years of life, and at a time when the
+rose bloom should naturally be fresh upon the cheek. Fortunately, this
+serious condition, still present in some communities, is being gradually
+improved by the improved methods.
+
+
+POOR CONDITIONS OF WOMEN
+
+The report of the Country Life Commission makes the following
+suggestions:--
+
+"The relief to farm women must come through a general elevation of
+country living. The women must have more help. In particular these
+matters may be mentioned: Development of a coöperative spirit in the
+home, simplification of the diet in many cases, the building of
+convenient and sanitary houses, providing running water in the house and
+also more mechanical help, good and convenient gardens, a less exclusive
+ideal of money getting on the part of the farmer, providing better means
+of communication, as telephones, roads, and reading circles, and
+developing of women's organizations. These and other agencies should
+relieve the woman of many of her manual burdens on the one hand and
+interest her in outside activities on the other. The farm woman should
+have sufficient free time and strength so that she may serve the
+community by participating in its vital affairs."
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IV.
+
+FIG. 4.--A day nursery at the Country Social Center. It may be otherwise
+called "an institution designed to lengthen the lives of tired country
+mothers."]
+
+In discussing this same matter, Henry Wallace, a member of the
+Commission, says in his paper, _Wallaces' Farmer_:--
+
+"They have been saying that the mother is the hardest worked member of
+the family, which is often and we believe generally true. They have been
+saying that in the anxiety of the farmer to get more land, he not only
+works himself too hard, but his wife too hard, and the boys and girls so
+hard that the boys get disgusted and leave the farm, and the girls marry
+town fellows and go to town.
+
+"Now the farmer's wife is really the most important and essential person
+on the farm. As such she needs the most care and consideration. You are
+careful, very careful, not to over-work your horses. How much more
+careful you should be not to over-work the mother of your children. You
+rein back the free member of the team. You take special care of the
+brood mare, and the cow that gives three hundred pounds of butter. Have
+you always kept the freest of all workers, your wife, from doing too
+much? How about this?"
+
+
+FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN
+
+But this chapter, as well as the entire book, is being prepared in the
+interest of boys and girls. So we shall attempt to show a number of
+specific conditions that may be sought as tending to conserve the
+strength and the life of the rural mother, with a view to her continuing
+to be in every best sense of the word a caretaker and conserver of the
+lives of her own children.
+
+1. _Surplus nerve energy._--However it may be achieved, the thing to
+work for in this connection is a surplusage of nerve energy. If the
+child training is to go on in a satisfactory manner, the mother
+especially, and if possible both parents, must have stated times and
+occasions for looking after such training and for inculcating a series
+of important fundamental lessons. The first and best test of this
+child-rearing situation may be made at evening. If, after the work of
+the ordinary day, the mother is still fresh enough to take a real
+interest in the children's affairs, to read to them briefly and perhaps
+tell them a story or two, or to read for further preparations of her
+work with them,--then it may be said that her life energies are being
+conserved in a fairly satisfactory manner. The children will most
+certainly reap the benefits. But if the close of the ordinary day's work
+finds the farm mother suffering from physical and nervous exhaustion,
+cross and impatient with the other members of the family, depressed in
+spirit and gloomy as to the future, these are signs which should give
+alarm to the head of the household and arouse him to the point of
+looking into such distressful conditions, and setting them right.
+
+2. _A rest period._--How would it do to plan for the mother a daily
+period of rest and relaxation? Would not such a program furnish
+something of a guarantee of length of life in her own case and of peace
+and contentment in the home, and of improved well-being in respect to
+the children? How shall we state this question? Must the very lives of
+the rural mother and her children be run through the mill of over-work
+as a grist for the improvement and up-building of the farm animals and
+the farm crops? Or should all of these material things be valued only in
+proportion as they contribute to the happiness and contentment and the
+long life of the members of the family? Too many farmers seem to say, as
+expressed by their conduct: "I _must_ lift that mortgage this year! I
+_must_ market so many bushels of corn and so many head of live stock!
+So here goes my wife, and here go my children into the hopper! Perhaps
+they will have to give up their lives. At any cost I _must_ make this
+thing pay!"
+
+Then, how would it be to set apart an hour or more each day, regularly,
+for the rest and relaxation of the mother, and call it "Mother's hour"?
+During that time let it be the policy of the entire family to require no
+work, no assistance, no favors of her, unless it be in case of illness.
+During such a time of recuperation, the delicate organism of the
+ordinary woman would tend to regain its poise. The nerve energy would be
+more or less restored, while she would tend to view the better things of
+life more nearly from their right angle. Best of all, she would regather
+during the hour not a little strength to be used later in the caretaking
+of her children. Try it for a week.
+
+3. _The home conveniences._--This is not the place for a detailed
+discussion of what might or ought to be put into the house for the sake
+of the convenience of the home-maker. But if such materials be
+thoughtfully arranged, they may be made most effective, even though they
+be small and inexpensive. A little inquiry among the ordinary homes will
+show what is meant here, by either the presence or the lack of the
+things indicated. It is not so much a question of expense as it is one
+of thoughtful provision. The guiding principle of the home convenience
+is that of saving and conserving the strength of the housekeeper.
+
+There is especially one day in the week which might be appropriately
+called the "mother-killing day." That is the occasion of her doing the
+washing and ironing for the family. Not infrequently two or three days
+thereafter are required for the restoration of her normal strength and
+health. Now, it is clearly the specific duty of the farmer to take hold
+of just such matters as this and attempt seriously to put them right.
+Doing the washing for four or five, and that with the use of the wash
+tub, is a man's work so far as required muscular energy is concerned,
+and very few women are able to do it regularly and live out their
+allotted lives. Therefore, let the conscientious farmer see to it first
+of all that some kind of machinery be installed for lightening such
+wife-killing tasks as that just named. Let him provide such household
+helps and conveniences _first_, and for the sake of the house mother and
+her children. And then, if there be other means available, let him
+provide the man-saving machinery about the barn and the fields. In the
+chapter on "Constructing a Country Dwelling," fuller attention will be
+given to these matters.
+
+4. _The mother's outings._--The farmer who is seriously interested in
+providing for the care and comfort of his family, and for the
+instruction and intelligent direction of his children, will see to it
+that his life companion be allowed her share of outings. This matter
+must be just as much on his mind as that of marketing the produce. The
+usual habit of the farmer's wife is to give up willingly her rights and
+opportunities of this sort. But she cannot well continue to be
+spiritually strong and mentally well disposed toward the world unless
+she be permitted to get out among her friends and acquaintances at
+frequent intervals.
+
+So, arrange carefully a series of outings for the country mother. The
+beginning of such a program is to provide that there be available for
+her use and at her command a horse and carriage. This equipment need not
+be of the finest quality, and it may be used for other purposes, but
+when her needs appear, it should be given up to her purposes. At least
+one afternoon a week she should go away from the place and be free as
+much as possible temporarily from the cares of the household while she
+finds congenial company among some of the neighboring women, or at the
+library or elsewhere.
+
+5. _The home help._--The unending problem of the home life throughout
+much of the civilized world is that of obtaining adequate assistance in
+the performance of the household work. Much of the time such assistance
+from outside sources is practically unavailable. And yet something must
+be done to meet the situation. If there be young girls growing up in the
+home, the solution of the problem may, and should, be met by means of
+requiring the daughters to assist with the home duties. But in case
+there be no daughters it is seriously recommended that either the father
+or the boys do certain parts of the heavier housework.
+
+It is not necessarily beneath the dignity of the best and most brilliant
+man of this country for him to get down on his knees in his own home and
+help perform the menial work there which threatens to break the health
+of his life companion. If there be growing sons in the family, there is
+every justification for training them to assist in the housework in a
+case where such assistance is needed to shield the health and strength
+of the mother. It prepares for better manhood and for more sympathetic
+protection of his own wife to be, if the boy be required to do such
+things and thus to become intimately acquainted with what it means to
+perform the many burdensome tasks that tend to wear away the lives of so
+many good women.
+
+6. _The children shield the mother._--There will perhaps be no better
+occasion than this to remind parents of the necessity of carefully
+training the growing children to perform such deeds as will shield the
+mother in the home, and show a sympathetic interest in her welfare.
+These matters will not naturally be acquired by children. The country
+to-day is full of grown men whose mothers and wives have worked
+themselves to death; and yet these men did not detect the seriousness of
+the situation until it was too late. There are many men of this same
+general class who are willing and even anxious to protect the women of
+the home from the crush of over-work, but who know not how to do it.
+Such faults as we have just named might easily have been avoided had
+these men, during very early boyhood, been brought into an intimate
+acquaintance with the burdensome tasks of the household. Especially
+should they have been drilled time after time in the performance of
+deeds of love and sympathy in respect to their mother. It may seem a
+little thing for a younger child to rush to the table, call for and
+partake of the best the table provides and, inattentive to the wants of
+any other members of the family, hurry off to his play full fed and
+happy. And yet this very thing may be indicative of a serious lack of
+attention to the rights and requirements of others, such as may be
+carried over into his future home life and there amount to serious
+abuse. Again, it must be insisted that deeds of sympathy and altruism
+are acquired through the actual and continued practice of the
+performance of such deeds.
+
+7. _Planning for the children._--Among the other splendid results of the
+conservation of the nerve energy and the vital interests of the house
+mother may be mentioned that of her ability to plan thoughtfully for the
+instruction of the boys and girls. It is not an easy task to select
+appropriate stories and readings for the young. It is neither an easy
+nor a trifling matter for the parent to be able to read suitable
+stories to them and to interpret helpfully such stories. It is not a
+trifling matter for the parents to converse together an hour at evening
+and there plan as to the future home instruction of their young. When
+should this be introduced into the boy's life and when that into the
+girl's life? What is a fair allowance for the boy for what he does and
+for his spending money for the Fourth of July, Christmas, and the like?
+What is a fair allowance for the girl with which to purchase her clothes
+and for her pin money? When should each of them be told this and that
+about the secrets of life, and where may helpful literature thereon be
+obtained? Just when and how much should the boy and girl be allowed to
+go among the young people of the community? When we consider the
+far-reaching results which their solution may mean for the developing
+young lives, these and many other such questions become exceedingly
+important.
+
+8. _A common conspiracy._--In many a farm home to-day there is a secret
+compact which goes far to shape the destiny of a great number of lives.
+Go if you will to the farm home where the life of the mother is being
+gradually crushed out by the over-work and the lack of sympathetic
+protection on the part of the husband, and you will almost invariably
+find a secret understanding between the mother and the growing children
+in reference to the future careers of the latter. It is implied by
+these words put into the mouth of the mother: "Your father is too
+ambitious about the work and in his desire for accumulating wealth about
+the farm. He is over-working me, is thoughtless of me, and indifferent
+to your present needs and your future welfare. Work on as you must,
+driven by him, but do as little as you can and grow up to manhood and
+womanhood. Study your books, get through with your schooling, and in
+time find something easier for your own life work. Perhaps we can
+persuade him to give it up after a while and move to town, where you can
+go out more, dress better, and get more enjoyment out of life." Thus,
+the children grow up to mistrust and dislike their father, and to
+despise the vocation in which he is engaged. Such a state of affairs
+will precipitate their flight from the home nest. This will take place
+at the earliest possible moment and will often be in the nature of a
+leap into the dark, anything to get away from the drudgery of the farm.
+
+Mark you this situation well, you farm fathers, and attack it in all
+possible haste with the best available relief. A happy, contented,
+well-protected farm mother almost certainly means the same sort of farm
+children, while the converse situations will also run in the same
+unvarying parallel. Do not satiate your desire for more hogs and more
+land with the sacrifice of the peace and happiness and the very
+life-blood of your wife and children!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The Nervous Life. G. E. Partridge, Ph.D. Sturgis-Walton
+    Company, New York. This book is especially recommended as an
+    aid to the relief of the tired farm mother.
+
+    Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby, M.D. Chapter
+    IX, "The Supremacy of Motherhood." Moffat, Yard & Co., New
+    York. This is a book of great value for students of race
+    improvement.
+
+    From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter I, "A
+    Heart-to-Heart Talk with the House Wife." Sturgis-Walton
+    Company. Wholesome advice concerning the conservation of the
+    mother's strength.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare,
+    1910. L. Pearl Boggs, Ph.D. Page 5, "Home Education." G. E.
+    Stechart & Co., New York.
+
+    The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter XVIII, "Growth
+    in Rest." This entire volume is highly recommended as being
+    suitable for over-worked mothers.
+
+    What the Farmer can do to Lighten his Wife's Work. T. Blake.
+    _Ladies' Home Journal_, Feb. 15, 1911.
+
+    The Higher Tide of Physical Conscience. Dr. L. H. Gulick.
+    _World's Work_, June, 1908.
+
+    Education for Motherhood. Charles W. Saleeby. _Good
+    Housekeeping_, April, 1910.
+
+    The Profession of Motherhood. Dr. Lyman Abbott. _Outlook_,
+    April 10, 1909.
+
+    Power Through Repose. Annie Payson Call. Chapter XII,
+    "Training for Rest." Little, Brown & Co.
+
+    _Wallaces' Farmer_, Des Moines, Ia., is especially to be
+    commended for its editorial championship of The Farm Mother.
+
+    The Freedom of Life. Annie Payson Call. Chapter IV, "Hurry,
+    Worry, and Irritability." Little, Brown & Co.
+
+    Ideas of a Plain Country Mother. _Ladies' Home Journal_, May
+    1, 1911.
+
+    _American Motherhood_. Coopertown, New York Monthly, $1. This
+    magazine publishes many short articles bearing on the subject
+    of this chapter.
+
+    How to conduct Mothers' Clubs. (Pamphlet No. 302, 8 cents.)
+    _American Motherhood_. Coopertown, New York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING_
+
+
+Much has been written in books, and more has been spoken from platform
+and pulpit, relative to the patriotism of the American people. In
+addition to all this the public schools of city and country have been
+consciously instructing the children with a view to laying a permanent
+foundation in their lives for love of the native land and for defense of
+the national ideals. But it seems to me that the best word on the
+subject of patriotic instruction has never as yet been given wide
+publicity. So long as a boy has to grow up in a home where there are
+meanness and turmoil and strife and hatred and degradation, one may
+point a thousand times with pride to our great nation, display again and
+again before his eyes the proud banner of freedom, sing with him
+numberless times the patriotic songs eulogistic of the fatherland and
+its national heroes,--under such circumstances a boy can never be
+expected to develop into anything other than a superficial patriot. But
+give him a good home, simple and unadorned though it may be, where love
+reigns, where his childish needs are thoughtfully ministered unto,
+whereinto he may go at nightfall after a hard day's work and find rest
+and peace and comfort; a home whereinto he may take his childish cares
+and perplexities and place them before the affectionate consideration of
+his parents and perhaps his elder brothers and sisters; a place where he
+is carefully taught the rudiments of filial respect and a wholesome
+regard for work and industry,--bring up the boy in the midst of these
+plain, sympathetic situations, and you have a real patriot. Although he
+may be reminded only occasionally of the meaning of the national flag,
+and although he may read with no unusual interest about the blood that
+was spilled on the national field of battle, a life so reared would mean
+that the love of home has become rooted in the heart of the young
+patriot, and that he would rise up if need be and give his life in
+defense of that home. In such a case, only a small stretch of the
+imagination would make it possible for the youth to regard the nation as
+his home in the larger sense, while his willingness to defend that home
+in time of real need would be none the less present and strong.
+
+
+PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS NOT AVAILABLE
+
+There are hundreds of types and thousands of varieties of rural dwelling
+houses. It would perhaps be impracticable to attempt to furnish definite
+plans and specifications in connection with this chapter. The wide
+variation in the nature of the selected sites, in the means available
+for building the home, in the size of the family to be accommodated, and
+the like, would hinder us in the attempt. But there are certain
+principles that may perhaps apply in nearly every instance and that
+especially in thought of serving the first and best needs of the
+juvenile members of the household.
+
+It is altogether possible to make a two-room cottage out on the open
+prairie a place suggestive of repose, of beauty, and of other high
+ideals. So, no matter how small and inexpensive the rural dwelling may
+be, let the builders work first of all for that simple beauty and
+attractiveness which may most certainly invest the heart of the
+indweller with a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Let it be a place,
+though humble, that may soon become to the members of the family the
+most beloved spot on earth. For, after all, the best things of life
+cannot possibly be bought with money. There are often misery and
+dissension and bitterness in the finest palatial dwelling, while the
+essential elements of beauty and worth may have lodgment in the hearts
+of the humblest cottage dwellers. However, it is not the intention here
+to argue any one into the thought of building a humble cot for the mere
+sake of humility. The point we desire to make is merely this: that,
+although possessed of very meager means with which to build, one can
+actually construct a home in which the inhabitants thereof may dwell
+in peace and contentment, and a place over which the Spirit of the
+Most High may brood in great strength and beauty.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE V.
+
+FIG. 5.--An attractive old country residence in the South, built in
+1854. At least one good family has been matured therein. And to them
+
+  "How many sacred memories
+  Bring back those childhood scenes."]
+
+
+WHAT APPEALS TO THE CHILDREN
+
+In the selection of a location and a site for the dwelling the welfare
+of the children must be thought of, second only to that of the house
+mother. Now, what material arrangements will appeal to the growing
+children and add much interest and romance to their lives as in future
+time they view them in retrospect? First of all, perhaps, a broken
+landscape might well be mentioned, a hill or two near by the place, with
+a sharp cliff or embankment to the crest of which the children may climb
+and there cast down missiles. Such things tend to add a charm to the
+young lives. And then, if possible, have a brook or larger stream of
+fresh running water. A large river is less desirable on account of the
+danger to child life. But a stream which may furnish, not merely water
+for the live-stock, but a swimming and bathing place for the children in
+summer and a skating pond for them in winter, to say nothing about the
+pleasures of fishing and boating--these will appeal most strongly to the
+boys and girls. And then, the woodland, or at least the shady grove with
+trees to climb, and possibly nuts and wild flowers to gather--a place
+where chipmunks and song birds and the like may have their natural
+habitat, and wherefrom there may proceed the weird and doleful sound of
+the night owl and the whip-poor-will; herein one may find many of the
+crude materials well suited to give proper nourishment to the souls of
+the young.
+
+But the things just named will not nearly always be accessible.
+Throughout many of the commonwealths there are vast stretches of level
+plateaus with scarcely a hill or woodland in sight, and yet covered with
+a rich, tillable soil. These places may for good reasons be selected for
+the site of a dwelling. But they demand more work and heavier expense of
+money and time before the best material surroundings of an ideal home
+for boys and girls may be realized. Before the house is scarcely laid
+out in such a place, the shade and ornamental trees should be planted,
+selecting for part of the planting a quick-growing species that may be
+removed later after more permanent and more valuable trees have reached
+a suitable height. Of course, a stream of water cannot always be
+diverted so as to make it pass the place, but a fair substitute may be
+had by the construction of a pond. And this thing should be accomplished
+at the earliest possible moment. If there be a small dry ravine, dam it
+up with concrete and catch it full of surplus water during a rainy
+season. It is a positive injustice to boys and not a little unfair to
+girls to require them to grow up without any access to open water of
+some kind. And it is almost a matter of criminal neglect to require
+children to live permanently in a home about which there are no trees
+growing. So it is recommended, even if the house construction must in
+part be delayed or cut off, that the surroundings just named be sought
+in all earnestness.
+
+
+THE HOUSE PLAN
+
+In planning and arranging the house, the matters to be thought of in
+addition to those named above are convenience and comfort. While it is
+somewhat important that the house look well to those who may be passing
+upon the highway, it is vastly more important that it be good within and
+serve such needs of the home-maker and the children as will conserve the
+strength of the former and render the lives of all happy and contented.
+In addition to the matters just named, that of placing the dwelling to
+face in the right direction will be thought of. That is, arrange the
+house so as to take advantage of the morning sunlight, the evening
+shade, the winter blasts and the summer breezes. While for the sake of
+entertainment it may be well to place the rural dwelling near the public
+highway, rather than sacrifice the child-developing factors of shade
+trees and streams and the like, it is often better to build back from
+the road and make a private lane leading thereto.
+
+In arranging for the heat and light in the house, think first of all of
+the health and sanitation of the family. Ordinarily, the windows of the
+farmhouse are too small; while worse still, many of them, even in the
+bed chambers, are permanently nailed down. So, if the health and the
+general well-being of the boys and girls, as well as the parents, are
+worth anything at all, attend religiously to these small and inexpensive
+conveniences, not neglecting to provide most carefully for keeping out
+flies and other insects. The wise farmer will find the secret of getting
+along with his own household and of rearing a strong, healthy family to
+lie in the strict attention he gives to just such small matters as
+these. The things that overstrain the physique, that try the temper and
+patience of the housewife, must especially be looked after and something
+of a better nature substituted for them.
+
+
+HOW ONE FARMER DOES IT
+
+Mr. W. F. Mottier, living in Ford County, Illinois, gives in _Farmer's
+Voice_ his plan of providing for the children, as follows:--
+
+"I have always tried to farm intelligently. One of my favorite ideas in
+regard to farm life is that of making the home as attractive as possible
+for the children. So I put on the place all the modern improvements that
+I can afford, in order that the children may not feel that town life is
+the best. And our children do not have any desire to go to town. It
+would bring a sad thought to me to hear my children talk against the
+farm life or home life on the farm."
+
+
+OUTBUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT
+
+With few exceptions, the money available for building the home should be
+expended first in putting the house into the ideal condition just named.
+After that, if any means remain, the outbuildings may be constructed.
+Otherwise, crude, temporary arrangements may easily suffice. There is
+one thing, however, that must be provided with scrupulous care and that
+is the water for the household use. It must be, first of all, wholesome
+and comparatively free from impurities. Then, if at all possible, it
+should be cool and taste well. Actual records have shown that one will
+not drink enough water to satisfy the demands of his health in case the
+taste be in any degree unpleasant to him. So the ideal water for
+household use is comparatively soft, is cool, highly pleasing to the
+taste, and is free from disease-carrying germs. This comparatively
+simple matter of providing the water will prove most important in
+relation to the well-being of the household and the up-building of the
+family life. See to it at any cost that the well be situated out of the
+way of seepage from any barn or outbuilding, even though it may from
+such necessity be placed somewhat out of the reach of convenience.
+
+
+HUMAN RIGHTS PRIOR TO ANIMAL RIGHTS
+
+If the farmer cannot afford to erect a good barn he may take reasonable
+care of his horses with the use of a cheap, improvised one. Actual test
+will show that horses may be made comfortable in the summer time with
+the use of a straw-thatched shed for a barn, provided the drainage be
+reasonably good and the earth floor be kept in good order. The thatched
+covering may be made to keep out the rain. During the winter, with the
+use of a few slender poles, the entire shed may be inclosed with a hay
+or straw wall and the place thus be made very satisfactory for the time
+being. Similar sheds and protection may be provided for the other
+live-stock, all to await the time when the means are at hand for better
+conveniences. It is especially suggestive of a mean lack of
+consideration of human rights in the case of the farmer who has a big,
+expensive farm barn towering up beside a little dingy shanty of a
+dwelling house. And yet this thing is all too common, particularly in
+new prairie regions. Such is the place out of which beastliness and
+criminality and anarchy tend to be germinated from the lives of boys and
+girls, to say nothing about the hidden tragedies that surround the lives
+of the many women who are forced to put up with such an arrangement for
+half a lifetime.
+
+Just one illustration of a situation of the sort described will suffice
+to point out the moral. On an occasion two strangers drew up to a
+farmhouse. One of them was a land agent, and the other a home seeker.
+Their mission was that of purchasing a farm. The owner of the farm
+showed them about the place with considerable enthusiasm, but his heart
+swelled with pride when he reached the magnificent barn, one side of
+which was devoted to the propagation of a high-grade strain of Duroc
+Jersey swine. Every convenience and comfort for the hogs was provided.
+He boasted about his success with them, showed an affectionate regard
+for the different individuals, calling them by name. The horses, too,
+might have aroused the envy of the entire neighborhood. They were sleek
+and well-fed, full in flesh and fair in form. There was provided every
+convenience for feeding and caring for the horses and the hogs, so that
+the hired men found the work about the barn exceedingly easy and
+pleasant.
+
+Then the attention of the visitors was turned to the farmhouse. Yes, it
+was small and run down and poor, the intention being to build a larger
+one "some time." But that same intention was known to have been
+expressed repeatedly for a period of twenty years past. And where were
+the boys? Well, that was the trouble, and furnished the excuse for his
+willingness to sell the place. He simply could not induce the boys to
+stay there and take an interest in things. Two of them, barely more than
+boys, had left the home nest in its meanness and degradation and hired
+out in town. The mother of the boys was living there because she had to,
+but upon her face were lines of suffering and disappointment and
+degradation. Yet in the midst of it all, strange to say, the father
+seemed to blame the boys and their mother for having conspired against
+the interests of the farm home and plotted to get away. In the course of
+his conversation he made it somewhat evident that he would have sold out
+and left sooner had the other members of the family not been so urgent
+about the matter, and that he was now holding on partly to indulge his
+spite and feeling of stubbornness in reference to them.
+
+The cheap novels one may pick up depict many a fictitious tragedy. But
+in the place just described lies the typical scene of thousands of real
+tragedies during the course of which numberless lives of boys and girls
+have been wrecked forever,--lives latent with possibilities of goodness
+and beauty, of mental and moral strength. And then, the bitterness and
+anguish of soul of the mothers of these lost members of a high
+humanity--what of that? The silent walls of an untimely grave in many
+cases closed them in, while much of the memory of their secret suffering
+lies buried with them.
+
+
+THE CHILDREN'S ROOM
+
+Even though the means available will not allow for more than the
+humblest sort of cottage, there should be definite thought of providing
+therein some room or niche or corner to be considered as the private
+property of the children. In a three-room dwelling on the Kansas prairie
+in which lives a happy family of five, and about which thrifty young
+shade trees and orchards are growing, there may be seen a children's
+room that would surprise and inspire any ordinary observer. In a little
+attic room facing the east and reached by a mere step-ladder
+arrangement, may be found the "den," which is the private place of the
+three children. A small window opens out to the east and a small
+improvised dormer window about twelve by twenty inches admits light and
+air from the south. There is no plastering or other expensive covering
+upon the sloping roof walls, but the artistic mother has provided dainty
+white muslin for concealing the rough places, and with the help of the
+children she has decorated the little room in a manner that would
+attract the very elect. None of this has required a money cost, but it
+has all been done beautifully at the expense of thought and good sense
+and artistic taste, prompted by rare consideration for the needs of the
+boys and girls.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VI.
+
+FIG. 6.--A commodious farmhouse in Canada, equipped throughout with a
+complete water system. Many farmers waste enough trying to build a house
+without a modern plan to pay for this extra convenience.]
+
+The two little girls and their brother, ranging in age from five to ten
+years, spend many a happy hour in their attic chamber. The heat from the
+room below comes through a small aperture and warms the little place in
+winter time, while the breeze passes through the little windows in
+summer, tempering the room satisfactorily excepting upon extremely hot
+days. Upon the walls are arranged beautiful post cards, larger pictures
+gathered from magazines and other sources, and small though beautiful
+home decorations of every conceivable sort. The little seven-year-old
+boy has a small assortment of curios collected from the hills and
+streams, while the girls have a small display of their childish
+needlework, their dolls, and some of their best school drawings. How
+suggestive and how helpful it would be if this little den could be
+displayed before the eyes of all the humble cottagers throughout the
+rural districts!
+
+Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses get along very well
+indeed with a temporary barn thatched with straw, but the places of the
+boys and girls must be looked after and that in the interest of making
+them happy, of filling their lives with every good, clean sentiment, and
+of preparing them for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark
+their future. If the house be larger than the one we have described,
+then provide accordingly for the children. Give them a good room of
+their own. Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there be space,
+provide a library containing a few suitable volumes. And after this
+thoughtful provision has been made, see to it carefully that their
+schedule for work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample time
+and opportunity for their enjoyment of the apartment set aside for them.
+In years to come, that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home
+of one's childhood will be given greater strength and beauty because of
+the fact that this thing just urged has been done. And more than that,
+the man (or woman) who has the blessed privilege of recalling these
+bygone scenes of childhood receives from such contemplation a new sense
+of inner strength and new enduement of power to go on with life's
+struggle and master the larger problems that come to him.
+
+
+THE EVENING HOUR
+
+No matter what the cares of the day may have been, how many things may
+have gone wrong, how much hay left out in the field unprotected from the
+rain, how many acres of corn unplowed and losing in the battle with the
+weeds, how many items of household duties unperformed--there is every
+justification for laying aside these work-a-day affairs at the approach
+of bedtime and for the spending of a precious hour with the problems of
+the children. Farm parents as well as other parents can thus preserve
+their youth and add immeasurably to the joys of their own lives. This
+thing of being with the children at evening may seem slightly awkward
+and prosaic at first, but it will slowly grow into a habit and will
+become transformed into an experience of great charm and beauty. Best of
+all the high refinement, potential in the lives of the children, will
+thus be gradually brought to an expression, and the foundation stones of
+substantial manhood and womanhood will be laid in their lives. Yes, it
+is true, even farm parents may learn to lay aside their cares and
+perplexities and enjoy the splendid privilege of getting intimately
+acquainted with the hopes and desires and aspirations of their boys and
+girls!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The Outlook to Nature. Revised edition. L. H. Bailey. Page
+    79, "The Country Home." Macmillan.
+
+    Low Cost Country Homes. A. Embury, Jr. _Collier's_, June 10,
+    1911.
+
+    A Primer of Sanitation. John O. Ritchie. Chapter XXXIII,
+    "Public Sanitation." World Book Company, Yonkers, N.Y.
+    Recommended for general use.
+
+    From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter X,
+    "The Boy's Room." Sturgis-Walton Company.
+
+    Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde. Sturgis-Walton.
+
+    "Comforts and Conveniences in Farmers' Homes." W. R. Beattie.
+    Yearbook, Department of Agriculture, 1909. Washington, D.C.,
+    pp. 345-356. See also in same volume, "Hygienic Water Supply
+    for Farms," pp. 399-408.
+
+    Water Supply for Farm Residences, The Plan of the Farm-House,
+    Saving Steps. Cornell Reading-Courses.
+
+    Rural Hygiene. H. N. Ogden. The Macmillan Company.
+
+    Rural Hygiene. I. N. Brewer. J. P. Lippincott Company,
+    Philadelphia.
+
+    Earn your Child's Friendship. J. Balfield. _Lippinott's
+    Magazine_, January, 1911.
+
+    Fireside Child Study. Patterson DuBois. Dodd, Mead & Co.
+
+    Home Decorations. Dorothy T. Priestman. Chapter XIV, "Rooms
+    for Young People." Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM HOME_
+
+
+It may be truly said that the strength and impressiveness of the
+personality depend on the nature of the inner thought of the individual.
+Now, thoughts are not unlike the trees and the growing grain, or, for
+that matter, any other living thing; unless they have proper nourishment
+they wither, perish, or dwindle away to a puny shadow of their possible
+selves. How shall we measure the strength and force of the human
+character other than by the bigness and the purity of the daily thoughts
+of the individual? It matters little what the occupation may be--a hewer
+of stone, a hauler of wood, a captain of industry, or a governor of a
+state--each of these may be mean and little in his respective position
+provided his thoughts be sensuous and groveling. On the other hand, each
+of these can shine in his allotted place in a light all his own,
+provided he have the habit of entertaining clean and inspiring ideas in
+his secret consciousness.
+
+Now, one of the larger problems of the rural life is that of supplying
+the many hours necessarily devoted to silent reflection with a suitable
+form of thought culture. Proverbially, the farmer and his wife and their
+children are hurried along with the work-a-day affairs and tend
+gradually to acquire the non-reading habit. This is bad for the parents
+in that it keeps their minds running around upon a little cycle of hard,
+industrial facts. It is worse for the children in that it fails to
+supply the proper nourishment for the dream period through which their
+lives are necessarily passing. What can be done, therefore, to nourish
+and build up the best possible thought activities, especially in case of
+the rural boys and girls?
+
+
+HOW GOOD THINKING GROWS UP AND FLOURISHES
+
+It may not be out of place to show here somewhat more definitely how
+attractive forms of literature gradually work themselves into the lives
+of the young. In the first place, the young person cannot invent his own
+ideas. He does not manufacture his thoughts out of something latent
+within his organism. The latent situation consists merely of a nervous
+system prepared to receive manifold impressions and to retain them and
+give them back through the process of ideation. That is, the young
+person thinks only about things that have actually happened in his life.
+All he knows has come to him through the avenue of his senses; what he
+has seen and heard and felt, and so on, constitutes the "stuff" out of
+which his thoughts are made. So he must have the widest possible
+experience, while young, in the use of his natural senses.
+
+The literature best adapted to the child would be that which appeals to
+the interests predominating in his life at any given time. During his
+early years not hard, prosaic facts, but situations that stretch the
+truth and sport with the fixed condition of things are especially
+appealing to him. He should therefore be indulged in the classic myths,
+fables, fairy tales, and the like. The parent will of course be on guard
+against his acquiring any seriously erroneous beliefs in respect to such
+things, and also against his receiving any serious shock or fright from
+the tragic aspects of the tale. Later on, during the early teens, the
+boys and girls will become more and more interested in the stories of
+the wars of old and in the fact and romance of history. Stories
+supplementing the text-book history of the home country may now be
+introduced.
+
+As a possible means of bringing the minds of the boys and girls into a
+more intimate knowledge of the rural situation, nature studies and
+nature stories should be offered. It must be remembered that it is quite
+possible for the boy to grow up within a stone's throw of many of the
+living things of nature and yet scarcely recognize their presence, much
+less know anything definite about them. Therefore, nature-study books
+and leaflets written perhaps in story form and containing attractive
+illustrations of the birds, bees, flowers, and trees to be found near
+about the rural home will prove most interesting and instructive to the
+young. Through such helpful literature the mind will gradually acquire
+the habit of casting about in the home environment for the description
+of possible objects and conditions new to one.
+
+One of the best and most helpful results accruing to the young person
+who indulges the habit of reading good literature is this: he acquires a
+large vocabulary of words and phrases in which to clothe his secret
+thought and with which to express himself to others. All this furnishes,
+not merely a splendid form of entertainment for the silent reflections,
+but it also gives the thinker a sense of the power and the worth of his
+own personality.
+
+
+TYPES OF LITERATURE
+
+It may be stated as a foregone conclusion that no farm is well equipped
+for the happiness and well-being of those who dwell thereon unless there
+be an ample supply of good literature in the house. No matter how well
+stocked with high-grade farm animals, how productive in point of farm
+crops, how well kept the hedges and lanes may be, secret poverty and
+littleness of mind lurk in that home if the literature is wanting. So,
+first of all, let us lay the foundation by means of enumerating some
+periodicals and books of a more general nature.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VII.
+
+FIG. 7.--It is a mistake to try to make bookworms of children. Many of
+their best books are "green fields and running brooks," also frequent
+opportunity to play together in groups and neighborhoods.]
+
+1. _The best reading._--Of course the Bible might head the list. Whether
+or not there be a large "family" Bible, there should be at least a text
+of convenient size and form for everyday use. This book should contain a
+good concordance.
+
+Then there should come into the home a first-class weekly newspaper;
+possibly the local paper will supply this need. Many farm homes now
+receive a daily paper regularly.
+
+In addition there should be available a weekly or monthly summary of the
+current events of the nation and the world. The _Literary Digest_, the
+_World's Work_, and the _Review of Reviews_ are examples of standard
+magazines of this particular class. Either one of them will stimulate
+most helpfully the quiet thought of the farmer and the members of his
+family and keep one in touch with the most important movements of the
+country.
+
+Along with the foregoing, there should be kept constantly at hand a
+first-class farm magazine. There are numberless periodicals of this
+sort, but perhaps among those of the first rank and those which
+especially give definite helps for the boy-and-girl life of the farm may
+be mentioned _Wallaces' Farmer_, Des Moines, Iowa, the _Farmer's Voice_,
+Chicago, Illinois, and the _Farmer's Guide_, Huntington, Indiana. Also,
+the semi-official state paper well known in many of the commonwealths is
+usually very helpful.
+
+Look out for trash. There are many papers published, ostensibly in the
+interest of farm life, which are in fact cheap and trashy sheets made
+use of almost wholly as a medium of advertising quack medicines,
+get-rich-quick schemes, and other frauds. A reliable means of testing
+the value of any one of these so-called "farm" or "home" papers is to
+examine the advertisements. If there be any considerable number of
+advertisements which offer sure cures for chronic diseases, confidential
+treatments for secret troubles, fortune telling, and attractive
+high-priced articles at a trifling cost, then the whole thing is
+probably fraudulent and not worthy to come into your home. Also avoid
+the paper or magazine which advertises intoxicating liquors. It is very
+low in moral tone, to say the least.
+
+2. _Books for children._--In selecting a list of books for farm boys and
+girls, we should make little or no distinction between them and the
+children of the city homes. Their earlier literary needs are practically
+all alike and their youthful minds must be nourished in about the same
+fashion. In offering the lists to follow we do not pretend to have
+selected nearly all the profitable books available, but rather to have
+named a few examples of volumes already found enticing and helpful to
+the young mind. The majority of them are standard and well known. While
+the price and publisher are given in many instances, often a cheaper
+edition may be had.
+
+In order to proceed with greater certainty and economy in purchasing
+books for the children, the rural parent is advised to consult some one
+near at hand who is thoroughly familiar with children's literature.
+Perhaps the superintendent of schools of the town near by, or some local
+minister, or some well-informed leader of a mothers' club, may furnish
+the desired assistance. It would also be helpful to write for the
+general catalogues of a number of the large publishing and distributing
+houses and from their lists select a number of suitable titles. Many of
+them publish the older classics in very attractive form for ten to
+twenty-five cents, the original unchanged and unabridged.
+
+In order to stimulate interest in forming the nucleus of a home library
+the farmer should either make or purchase a small set of book shelves.
+Important as it may seem to build a first-class house for the
+thoroughbred hogs, this matter of the children's reading is even more
+important and should be attended to first, before it becomes too late to
+catch the attentive ear of the boys and girls.
+
+
+A SELECTED LIST
+
+
+    The following lists are taken chiefly from those selected by
+    such well-known critics as Mary Mapes Dodge, Kate Douglas
+    Wiggin, Edward Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and
+    Hamilton W. Mabie.
+
+
+  _Ages Four to Six Years_
+
+    VARIOUS AUTHORS. Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories.
+    J. L. Hammett Company, Boston. 50 cents.
+
+    BRYANT. Stories to Tell to Children. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company.
+
+    HOLBROOK. Hiawatha Primer. 50 cents. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company.
+
+    EGGLESTON. Story of Great America for Little Americans. 35
+    cents. Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    SCUDDER. Fables and Folk Stories.
+
+    STEVENSON. A Child's Garden of Verses.
+
+    LANG. Blue Fairy Book.
+
+    RUSKIN. King of the Golden River.
+
+    FIELD. Lullaby Land.
+
+    WIGGIN. The Story Hour.
+
+    SEWELL. Black Beauty.
+
+
+  _Ages Six to Seven Years_
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. The Heart of Oak Books, No. 1. 25 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    GILBERT. Mother Goose.
+
+    CARROLL (CHARLES L. DODGSON). Alice in Wonderland. $3.
+    Harper. 35 cents. Crowell.
+
+    ANDREWS. The Seven Little Sisters. 60 cents. Ginn.
+
+    KINGSLEY. Water Babies.
+
+    KIPLING. The Jungle Book.
+
+    GREENE. King Arthur and his Court.
+
+
+  _Ages Seven to Eight Years_
+
+    GRIMM. Fairy Tales. Translated Mrs. E. Lucas. $2.50.
+    Lippincott.
+
+    GOLDSMITH. Goody Two-Shoes. 25 cents. Heath
+
+    ÆSOP. Fables. Selected by Jacobs. $1.50. Macmillan.
+
+    HARRIS. Nights with Uncle Remus. $1.50. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    BIBLE STORIES. 60 cents. A. L. Burt Company, New York.
+
+    HAWTHORNE. Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales.
+
+    IRVING. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or
+    The Sketch Book.
+
+
+  _Ages Eight to Nine Years_
+
+    BALDWIN. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. 35 cents. American Book
+    Company.
+
+    LONGFELLOW. Hiawatha, The Village Blacksmith, The Children's
+    Hour, etc.
+
+    MABIE. Norse Stories Retold from Edda. $1.80. Dodd, Mead.
+
+    MILLER. Out-of-Door Diary for Boys and Girls. Sturgis-Walton
+    Company.
+
+
+  _Ages Nine to Ten Years_
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 4. 45 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    HODGES. The Garden of Eden. (Bible Stories.) $1.50. Houghton,
+    Mifflin.
+
+    MATHEWS. Familiar Trees and Their Leaves. $1.75. Appleton.
+
+    BURROUGHS. Wake Robin.
+
+
+  _Ages Ten to Eleven Years_
+
+    HIGGINSON. Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic.
+
+    DANA. How to know the Wild Flowers. $2. Scribner.
+
+    BLANCHAN. Bird Neighbors. 35 cents. Doubleday, Page.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 5. 50 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    CHURCH. Stories from Virgil.
+
+    MORLEY. A Song of Life.
+
+    STEVENSON. Treasure Island.
+
+
+  _Ages Eleven to Twelve Years_
+
+    ALCOTT. Little Women. $1.50. Little Men. $1.50. Little, Brown
+    & Co.
+
+    LUCAS. A Wanderer in London. $1.75. Macmillan.
+
+    ALDRICH. Story of a Bad Boy. $1.25. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    SHAKESPEARE. The Tempest.
+
+    SCOTT. Tales of a Grandfather. The Talisman.
+
+    EDGEWORTH. Parent's Assistant.
+
+
+  _Ages Twelve to Thirteen Years_
+
+    KIPLING. Just So Stories. $1.20. Doubleday, Page.
+
+    SETON-THOMPSON. Wild Animals I have Known. $2. Scribner.
+
+    WYSS. Swiss Family Robinson. 60 cents. McKay; also Dutton.
+
+    PALMER. The Odyssey. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    GOLDSMITH. The Vicar of Wakefield.
+
+    DICKENS. A Christmas Carol. The Cricket on the Hearth.
+
+    HUGHES. Tom Brown at Rugby.
+
+
+  _Ages Thirteen to Fourteen Years_
+
+    SWIFT. Gulliver's Travels. $1.50. Macmillan.
+
+    LONGFELLOW. Evangeline.
+
+    DANA. Two Years before the Mast. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 6. 55 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    LAMB. Tales from Shakespeare.
+
+    COFFIN. Old Times in the Colonies.
+
+    FRANKLIN. Autobiography.
+
+    STOWE. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
+
+
+  _Ages Fourteen to Fifteen Years_
+
+    DEFOE. Robinson Crusoe. $1. McLoughlin. $1.50. Harper.
+
+    BUNYAN. Pilgrim's Progress.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 7. 60 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    AUSTEN. Pride and Prejudice.
+
+    THOREAU. Walden.
+
+
+  _Ages Fifteen to Sixteen Years_
+
+    COOPER. Leather Stocking Tales.
+
+    BURROUGHS. Birds and Bees. 15 cents. Strawbridge and
+    Clothier.
+
+    PYLE. Robin Hood. 60 cents. Scribner.
+
+    SCOTT. Ivanhoe. 60 cents. Appleton. Lady of the Lake. 35
+    cents.
+
+    GINN. Lay of the Last Minstrel. 25 cents. Macmillan.
+
+
+  _Sixteen Years Old and Older_
+
+    IRVING. The Alhambra. 25 cents. Macmillan.
+
+    MACAULAY. Lays of Ancient Rome. 75 cents. Macmillan.
+
+    KIPLING. Captains Courageous. $1.50. Century.
+
+    NICOLAY AND HAY. Boy's Life of Lincoln. $1.50. Century.
+
+    EGGLESTON. Hoosier School Boy. $1. Scribner; also Heath.
+
+In addition to the foregoing, there is beginning to come from the press
+a mass of juvenile literature that promises to furnish most practical
+inspiration and guidance to the juvenile mind on the farm. Much of this
+new rural life literature may be had for the asking or for the mere
+price of publication. The following are recommended:--
+
+    _The Rural School Leaflet._ Edited by Alice G. McCloskey, and
+    issued under the general direction of L. H. Bailey at Ithaca,
+    N.Y.
+
+    The Country Life Publications, issued by D. W. Working,
+    Superintendent of Agricultural Extension, Morgantown, W.Va.
+
+    The series published by A. B. Graham, Superintendent of the
+    Extension Department, Ohio University, Columbus.
+
+    The annual reports of County Superintendent O. J. Kern,
+    Rockford, Ill., and of County Superintendent George W. Brown,
+    Paris, Ill.
+
+    The Wisconsin Arbor and Bird Day Annual, issued by State
+    Superintendent C. P. Cary, Madison, Wis.
+
+The Extension Departments of many of the state universities and nearly
+all of the state agricultural colleges are now issuing a series of small
+pamphlets on such matters as stock judging, grain breeding, soil
+testing, and home economics. This literature should be given the widest
+possible circulation in the country home, as it will prove helpful both
+to the young and to the parents in their direction of the young.
+
+
+_Literature on Child-rearing_
+
+Parents who are seriously in earnest in the matter of developing the
+lives of their children will find great assistance and much inspiration
+through the reading of books and magazines on the child-rearing
+problems. In fact, it may be put down as a practical certainty that the
+work of child training cannot go on effectively and continue in its
+interest except one have some aids of the kind just named. Therefore,
+the interested parent should cast about for the books and magazines that
+promise to serve in the solution of the particular problems at hand. It
+happens that the author has collected a large number of books and
+periodicals of this class and that he has made a somewhat critical
+examination of them.
+
+In listing the titles below, a word or phrase is used to indicate the
+contents or purpose of the text.
+
+  1. Periodicals on Child-rearing
+
+    _The American Baby._ American Publishing Company, 1 Madison
+    Ave., New York City. $1 per year, 10 cents per copy. Contains
+    much detailed and most helpful instruction on the care of the
+    child.
+
+    _American Motherhood._ Coopertown, N.Y. $1 per year, 10 cents
+    per copy. Helpful and sympathetic. Especially strong in
+    respect to health and sanitation and in methods of
+    instructing children in regard to the secrets of life.
+
+    _The Child-Welfare Magazine._ Official organ of the National
+    Congress of Mothers, 147 North 10th Street, Philadelphia. 50
+    cents per year, 10 cents per copy.
+
+The educational pamphlets published by the Society of Sanitary and Moral
+Prophylaxis, 9 E 2d Street, New York City. Excellent monographs, each
+treating some urgent child problem in relation to morals, sanitation,
+and the like.
+
+The Home-training Bulletins, prepared and issued by William A. McKeever,
+Professor of Philosophy, State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. 5
+cents each. Each of these pamphlets contains about sixteen pages and
+covers a particular home-training problem. The numbers thus far issued
+are:--
+
+  1. The Cigarette Smoking Boy.
+
+  2. Teaching the Boy to Save.
+
+  3. Training the Girl to Help in the Home.
+
+  4. Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation.
+
+  5. A Better Crop of Boys and Girls.
+
+  6. Training the Boy to Work.
+
+  7. Teaching the Girl to Save.
+
+  8. Instructing the Young in Regard to Sex.
+
+Others are in course of preparation.
+
+
+  2. Books on Child-rearing
+
+    HOLT. Care and Feeding of Children. $1 Appleton. Most helpful
+    and practical.
+
+    CURLEY. Short Talks with Young Mothers. $1.50. Putnams.
+    Helpful from the medical side.
+
+    HARRISON. A Study of Child Nature. $1. Chicago Kindergarten
+    College. Excellent. A standard help.
+
+    ALLEN. Civics and Health. $1.25. Ginn & Co. Most helpful on
+    the side of sanitation.
+
+    HALL. Youth. $1.50. Appleton. A great book on child study by
+    one of the world's leading authorities.
+
+    KING. Psychology of Child Development. $1. University of
+    Chicago Press. A Fundamental work for those who wish to make
+    a scientific study of child life.
+
+    RITCHIE. A Primer of Sanitation. 60 cents. World Book
+    Company. A clear, helpful presentation of the facts.
+
+    CHANCE. The Care of the Child. $1. Penn Publishing Company.
+    Full of detailed information about infants, especially.
+
+    MANGOLD. Child Problems. $1.25. Macmillan. Presents the
+    matter ably and in the light of the freshest information.
+
+    CALL. The Freedom of Life. $1. Little, Brown & Co. A great
+    and inspiring book. Will give rest and poise to tired
+    mothers.
+
+    GULICK. Mind and Work. $1. Doubleday, Page & Co. A companion
+    book to the one above, only more suitable for the father.
+
+    SALEEBY. Parenthood and Race Culture. $2.50. Moffat, Yard &
+    Co., New York. A remarkably instructive volume on race
+    improvement.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    How to Direct Children's Reading. Mae E. Schreiber. Annual
+    volume N.E.A., 1900, p. 637.
+
+    A Suggestive List for a Children's Library, 483 titles. Helen
+    T. Kennedy. Democrat Printing Company. Minneapolis.
+
+    A Mother's List of Books for Children. Catherine W. Arnold.
+    A. C. McClurg & Co.
+
+    Children's Rights. Kate Douglas Wiggin. Pages 69 ff. "What
+    shall Children Read?" Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Fingerposts of Children's Reading. Walter Taylor Field.
+    McClurg & Co. Gives extensive lists.
+
+    Books for Boys and Girls. Brooklyn Public Library, New York.
+    A carefully selected list of 1700 titles, 200 of them being
+    especially marked for their value.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE_
+
+
+There was never a greater demand for efficient leadership in the rural
+communities than there is to-day. The country has continued for many
+years past to become richer in farm products and equipment, but it has
+steadily grown poorer in social and spiritual values. In fact we have
+unconsciously acquired a distorted idea of values. Hogs are too high in
+proportion to boys. Beef cattle are absorbing too much interest in
+proportion to the time and money expended in perfecting the character of
+girls. It has long been the proud boast of the Middle Western states
+that they could feed the entire country. And we have continued so long
+in this way as now to regard big crops and the great abundance of farm
+animals and other such material possessions as ends in themselves. So it
+is high time that we ask ourselves what this material wealth is all for.
+Looked at from at least one high vantage point, it may be properly
+regarded as so much encumbrance unless we shall be able to convert it
+into a means to some worthy and spiritual purpose.
+
+
+DECADENCE OF RURAL LIFE
+
+The open country in the Middle Western states has for some time been the
+breeding place for sterling manhood and ideal womanhood, and the
+recruiting ground wherefrom have been drawn many men and women to
+undertake the management of the larger enterprises of the country. The
+enforced self denial and discipline of work; the continued practice of
+quiet reflection; the comparative freedom from the evil and degrading
+influences peculiar to much of the child life in the cities; and many
+other character-building experiences could be set down on the favorable
+side of rural child-rearing in the past. But this situation is rapidly
+changing. The ten-year period just closing has witnessed a decadence of
+country life, the rural population actually showing a decrease. Large
+numbers of the best families have moved to the cities and towns, and
+their places on the farm have been taken by irresponsible laborers and
+transient renters.
+
+Yes, the wealth of the rural community is still there, lying more or
+less dormant, and all the other means of a splendid civilization are
+there. But in the usual instance there is no one to assume the
+leadership in bringing about the reconstruction of the rural life. Now
+that he has accumulated such an abundance of material things, the
+typical farmer needs to be shown how to deal more fairly and helpfully
+with the various members of his family. Some farmers' wives are
+gradually being dragged to death with the over-burden of work, which
+might be obviated if the farmer and his wife were both shown
+specifically a better way of getting things done. Many boys and girls
+growing up in the country are being cheated out of their natural
+heritage of good health, spontaneous play, and the joy of social
+intercourse, all because of the fact that farm products are too much
+regarded as an end rather than a means to the higher development of the
+members of the rural family. So a good soil and excellent crops are
+essentials for a substantial rural society, but they are not a certain
+evidence of such thing. It is possible to go into some of the country
+communities where these material things are accumulated in great
+abundance and yet find the people there living a little, mean, and
+narrow form of life, and that chiefly because they do not quite
+understand how to use the splendid means at hand in the accomplishment
+of some high and worthy purposes.
+
+
+WORK FOR THE MINISTRY
+
+And so we hereby issue a call and a challenge for workers to enter the
+great fallow field just named and make it blossom with new social and
+spiritual life. And it is the conviction of some that the ministers of
+the town and village churches can undertake this work much better than
+any other class of persons, for they are already in many respects
+trained leaders. Let these ministers be provided if possible with an
+assistant, a layman it may be, for both their town and country work.
+Then let each of them have a rural appointment to which they may go from
+one to four times each month; and, inspired by a vision of all the
+possibilities ahead of them and endued with divine power and guidance,
+enter earnestly into the great work of rehabilitating the country
+community. It is evident that the minister who will leave his town
+congregation with perhaps only one Sunday sermon and go to a country
+church and preach to the adults, and teach and lead the young, while his
+assistant takes charge of the second Sunday service at home--it is
+evident that such a minister will not only wear longer in the locality
+in which he is stationed, but that he will find in the rural work just
+mentioned such a flood of zeal and inspiration as will more than make up
+for and repay the effort. Many of the town ministers are preaching to
+audiences that are more or less irresponsive to what they have to say.
+Under present conditions they are compelled to preach to the same
+audiences too much. Their sermons grow stale. But under the arrangement
+here recommended, such conditions would not obtain. They would come back
+from the rural appointment so laden with new ideas and ideals as to
+appear to the home congregation in a most advantageous light.
+
+
+THE COUNTRY MINISTER
+
+There is at present not a little promise that there may be developed
+throughout the country a new type of country-dwelling ministers. It is
+certainly a logical position for the effective religious worker to
+assume; namely, that of actually dwelling among those whom he is
+attempting to serve. He acquires an intimate knowledge of their
+problems, their point of view, including the status of their individual
+beliefs and prejudices.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VIII.
+
+FIG. 8.--The fifty-year-old country church at Plainfield.
+
+FIG. 9.--The new country church at Plainfield, Illinois, erected through
+the inspiration and leadership of Reverend Matthew B. McNutt.]
+
+As an example of what the country minister can achieve one needs to read
+an account of the splendid work of the Rev. Mathew B. McNutt of
+Plainfield, Illinois. Mr. McNutt was called to this charge in 1900 when
+a fresh graduate from a Presbyterian seminary. At the time of his call
+there was in the locality a small dead or nominal church membership and
+an occasional weak, ineffective service held in the little old church of
+fifty years' standing. This devoted and far-seeing man got down among
+the people with whom he settled, made a careful survey of the economic,
+the social, and the religious life of the place, and began his wonderful
+work of reconstructing all this. The ultimate purpose was the
+improvement of the spiritual well-being. He organized singing schools,
+granges, literary and debating societies, sewing societies, and clubs of
+various other sorts, all as a means of awakening the life of the
+community and bringing the people together in a spirit of mutual
+sympathy and helpfulness. After less than a decade of hard work a
+marvelous transformation of the rural life thereabout was achieved.
+Among other notable changes was a new church to supplant the old one.
+The new building was erected at a cash cost of ten thousand dollars; has
+an audience room seating five hundred or more, several Sunday school
+class rooms, a choir room, a cloak room, a pastor's study and a mothers'
+room, all on the main floor. In the basement below there is a good
+kitchen, a dining room with equipment, also a furnace, a store room, and
+the like. The church membership has grown to one hundred sixty-three
+with many non-members attending, while the Sunday school enrollment
+increased to three hundred.
+
+Now there are always a few minds who wish to measure all earthly things
+in terms of a money value. To such it may be shown that the land values
+in the vicinity of this new country church have gone up to a marked
+degree and that the economic conditions are all of a most satisfactory
+nature.
+
+As further evidence of what a rural community working together may
+achieve for the spiritual welfare, there may be cited the instance of
+the little side station by the name of Ogden in Riley County, Kansas.
+Here the people got together and voted to build a country church, and
+that without determining as to the denominational affiliation. A
+committee of leaders was appointed to raise funds and to draw plans for
+the building. In a short time, arrangements were perfected for
+constructing the building at a cost of four thousand dollars. It was
+later voted to place this new church temporarily under the direction of
+the Congregational church in Manhattan, fifteen miles away.
+
+In one or two instances the religious leaders in a country community
+have succeeded admirably in establishing a "commission" form of church
+administration. The method pursued has been that of having a committee
+of three, each a member of a different church, to call by turn from the
+towns near by the ministers of the various denominations. Further
+details of the plans provide for the committee to raise funds so that
+the minister may be paid a definite amount for the service conducted.
+
+One of the first essential steps in the establishment of a rural church
+is a careful survey or study of the situation. While it may be accounted
+a sin against God and humanity to add another church where there are
+already more than the people can support, often it will be found that
+very large, well populated country districts are wholly without access
+to any religious service whatever. Verily, the field is white unto the
+harvest and the laborers as yet are few.
+
+
+A MISTAKE IN TRAINING
+
+Too long we have been training young people in the school and in the
+home to struggle for the best of everything--a sort of rivalry that
+results in envy, jealousy, and strife, and a falling apart where there
+should be coöperation and sympathy and a spirit of mutual helpfulness.
+The craze for clothes, the glare of the electric lights, and the lure of
+the cheap theater have struck the country people and are drawing away
+much of the best young blood there. It seems that we have over-done this
+thing of pointing to the top and urging our young people to scramble for
+that, until as a result no one is looking for a place to serve, while
+all are looking for a place to shine. Now, there may be "plenty of room
+at the top" for selfish scrambling, but in some respects the top is
+woefully over-crowded. On the other hand, there is a vast amount of good
+room at the bottom, acres of it, and we might well commend it to every
+one who may be imbued with the idea of doing some effective work in the
+world. All over the broad, open country, in thousands of rural
+districts, the situation at the bottom is literally crying out for
+constructive workers who will come in there with their good courage,
+their scientific training, and in the name of the Most High get down
+among the people and the common things in the midst of which the people
+live and lay a substantial foundation for a new and beautiful
+structure--an edifice erected out of the plain materials to be found in
+any ordinary rural community, and that by means of transforming such
+things and making them contributive to the high and lofty
+spirit-purposes for which they are really designed.
+
+
+RURAL CHILD-REARING
+
+We are not half awake as yet to the meaning and possibilities of the
+rural community as a place for rearing children. The city environment
+ripens youths too fast and too early and works all the spontaneity and
+aggressiveness out of the boys and girls before their mature judgments
+are ready to function. As a result of this city hot-bed, we have as a
+type the blasé sort of young man, and a young woman who is overly smart
+in respect to the "proper things to do." Either of them has little power
+of initiative and less power of persistence. One of the greatest virtues
+of the somewhat isolated rural home is that it matures human character
+more slowly and keeps the boys and girls fresh and "green" and
+spontaneous while there is being gradually worked into their characters
+the habit of industry and the power of doing constructive work.
+
+If one should desire to obtain a sterling specimen of manhood, he would
+not take up with the "smart" city youth who at the age of sixteen has
+had all the experiences known to men. The latter is too ripe. He knows
+it all. From his own point of view, his knowledge of the world is nearly
+completed. No, one would prefer to go to the most remote country
+district and, if need be, lasso some green, gawky, sixteen-year-old who
+is afraid of the cars and the big girls and who has never had a suit of
+clothes that fits him. This scared, unbroken youth would go through a
+tremendous amount of rough-and-tumble, trial-and-error experiences
+during the course of his college training; and he would live intensively
+and rush into many unknown places and commit many blunders, between
+whiles catching countless inspiring visions of how he might be or become
+a man of great strength and ruggedness of character. Such a man might be
+relied upon to shoulder the heavy burdens of the world. Such a man could
+be called out to join in the forefront of battle when the moral and
+religious rights of the people were at issue. Such a man when fully
+matured could be sent into some kind of missionary field and be expected
+to labor there for a long time alone, courageous and persistent, finally
+winning a very small following; then a larger number of adherents; and
+then the entire population at his heels, applauding and backing him up
+in his every worthy effort.
+
+The author has long had a vision of a man trained and developed through
+the seasoning experiences just sketched and who, under the inspiration
+and the guidance of the Most High, will go into these rural communities
+which are latent with material life, and there begin his labors in
+behalf of the higher things into which all the elements of this typical
+rural situation may be transformed. Just as fast as men hear this divine
+call and heed it and take up this work, so fast will our country life be
+reconstructed and the best that is in our society become gloriously
+transformed and everlastingly saved as a heritage of the oncoming
+generations. And it is evident that the rural minister, working through
+the rural church, is the person to whom this divine call may most
+naturally come.
+
+
+THE CHURCHES TOO NARROW
+
+Not a few of the country churches are too narrow in their limitations,
+tending to chill out those who do not happen to be adherents of the
+creed, and to foster dissensions and hatred among neighbors. And they
+are not touching in a vital way the lives of country boys and girls.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IX.
+
+FIG. 10.--This attractive and modern church building was erected by the
+Christian people living in the vicinity of the country village of Ogden,
+Kansas. Four different denominations participated at its dedication. Its
+ruling body is undenominational.]
+
+It will be agreed that the gospel of the Master of men may be made so
+broad and inviting as to attract all who have a spark of religion in
+their natures, and that means practically every one in the community.
+But there is no good reason why the rural church should stand alone as
+such. It should and can be made a social as well as a religious center
+for the whole community. So, let there be constructed a modern building
+with big windows, and several apartments for Sunday school classes,
+and for meetings of social groups, such as the grange, the farmers'
+institute, the sewing society, and the literary and debating clubs. Then
+there should be apparatus for the preparation of meals, with a room in
+which a long table might be spread as occasion demands. Outside of this
+building there should be a children's playground with some simple
+apparatus for play.
+
+Not less frequently than one afternoon of the month--and twice would be
+better--the people of the community should drop everything and come
+together for a good social time and a general exchange of ideas. On an
+occasion of this kind the town minister could be present or someone from
+the outside who would bring with him at least one helpful and practical
+idea about building up country life. Let this building be regarded as
+the property of every man, woman, and child in the community and strive
+to bring it to pass that the legitimate and worthy interest of all shall
+be actually served there.
+
+
+CONSTRUCTIVE WORK OF THE CHURCH
+
+This country church here thought of need be no less a religious affair,
+but it must become distinctively a socializing agency. It must not
+merely save souls, but it must save and conserve and develop for this
+present life the bodily, the moral, and the intellectual powers of the
+young. One cannot adequately develop those splendid latent powers in
+young people solely by means of teaching them the Sunday school lesson
+or preaching to them, no matter how true the gospel may be. The evidence
+is ample to show that boys and girls who attend church and Sunday school
+are nevertheless falling into many vicious habits of conduct, and are
+growing up without many of the forms of discipline and training
+essential for stable Christian character and social and moral
+efficiency. In fact as a means of temporal salvation the old-fashioned
+church and Sunday school are proving more and more a failure.
+
+Now, as soon as the church realizes the meaning of the foregoing
+situation and acts accordingly, just so soon will this splendid old
+institution be enabled to do efficient work in vitalizing the practical
+affairs of the community in which it is located. To illustrate this
+point: The great curse of boyhood to-day is the tobacco habit, and this
+vitiating practice is slowly working its way among the country youth.
+The youth who acquires the smoking habit before becoming physically
+matured thereby depletes his physical health to a marked degree, reduces
+his mental efficiency ten to fifty per cent, and almost completely
+destroys his power of initiative. Such a youth is never found contending
+for any moral issue or any high and worthy cause of the people. His
+constructive instinct is made more quiescent, while his disposition to
+condone evil is greatly and permanently increased. Boys who attend
+church and Sunday school are also, like others, falling victims to the
+sex evils of various forms.
+
+
+AN INNOVATION IN THE RURAL CHURCH
+
+Perhaps there is no better illustration of how the economic affairs of
+the neighborhood may be vitally linked with the church service than the
+work carried on under the direction of Superintendent George W. Brown,
+of Paris, Illinois. During one year Mr. Brown conducted on seven
+different occasions an over-Sunday program, somewhat as follows:--
+
+On Saturday either at the country school house or in the basement of the
+country church there was arranged an exhibition of corn, while during
+the day class exercises in the study of corn were in progress. On the
+day following, Sunday, there were two sermons, the theme of each being
+closely allied to the economic problems studied the day previously. The
+ministers are reported to have coöperated enthusiastically in this work,
+each one attempting in his sermon to show how better economic life may
+be made contributive to a better religious life.
+
+On the Monday following, the program was continued with a farmers'
+institute representative of the several interests of the adults and the
+young people. At this Monday meeting a number of the faculty of the
+state university were in attendance and gave helpful addresses
+appropriate to the occasion. At night the County Superintendent gave an
+illustrated lecture, using the stereopticon to show the audience just
+what was being done in the various parts of the county and country by
+way of improvement of the social and economic conditions.
+
+In many places in the New England and other eastern states the rural
+communities are attacking the social-religious problems in practically
+the same manner as is being done at Plainfield, Illinois. At Danbury,
+New Hampshire, there is a Country Settlement Association, which is
+accomplishing some epoch-making things. At the official building there
+is provided a trained nurse to assist the entire community. The
+organization conducts social-betterment work for the local neighborhood
+and leads in a campaign for social reform throughout the state.
+
+Likewise, at Lincoln, Vermont, there is an interesting example of
+coöperation between the religious and social interests. Three churches
+have formed a federated society. In a building maintained in common by
+them, the meetings of the Ladies' Aid Society, the Good Templars, the
+Grange, the Grand Army Post, and many others of a social nature are
+held. Such coöperative work is certain to have a helpful and
+far-reaching effect on any community.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE X.
+
+FIG. 11.--An illustration of "Corn Sunday," as instituted by
+Superintendent Jessie Field, Clarinda, Iowa, in the rural churches
+thereabout.]
+
+
+SPIRITUALIZE CHILD LIFE
+
+Above all things else, let the country church be reorganized with
+reference to the interests of the young. Let the minister and the other
+leaders take a firm stand for a square deal for the farm boys and girls
+in respect to work and play and sociability. Let them place before
+country parents clear, concrete models and methods as to how to accord
+fair treatment to the children in every particular thing. Let them
+organize the young people of the community into groups for play and
+sociability and direct them in both of these matters.
+
+It is high time we were considering all of our legitimate interests as a
+part of our religion. Indeed, there is no good reason why the young
+people could not meet together at the rural church and on the same
+evening have an oyster supper and a prayer meeting. They could very
+consistently discuss and participate in both a temporal and a spiritual
+affair on the same occasion and in such a way that each part of the
+program would be vitalized by the others. And likewise the smaller
+children. It should not be considered at all irreverent for one to go
+directly with them to the playground after the Sunday school lesson is
+ended and there lead and direct them in their health-giving enjoyments.
+Try this in your rural-church society centers and see if the boys and
+girls do not run with great enthusiasm to the whole affair.
+
+One great error committed by many of us in the past is that of regarding
+work and things as arbitrarily high or low. But the author does not see
+why plowing corn may not be made just as sacred and just as divine a
+calling as preaching the gospel, provided the former be regarded in the
+light of service of some high spiritual purpose; as indeed it may be.
+So, here is a distinctive part of the function of the rural church;
+namely, to spiritualize work as well as workers--to urge upon the
+attention of the rural inhabitants the thought that their work must all
+be regarded as a means to the transformation of the community life and
+of each individual life into a thing of transcendent worth and beauty.
+
+
+A SUMMARY
+
+Now, here is the proposed plan in a nutshell. The country community is
+the best place in the world for bringing up a sturdy race of men and
+women and the country church is or can be made one of the greatest
+agencies in the achievement of this work. But such achievement can best
+be brought about only when the country church goes to work to save the
+whole boy and the whole girl. And that means that the church must
+understand better how human life grows up--that it must meet these
+growing boys and girls on their own level of everyday interest and
+socialize and spiritualize these interests through close contact with
+them. Then, make the rural church a social center for the young,
+including exercises in work and play and recreation, as well as a place
+for religious instruction. The child is a creature of activity and not
+of passivity. You cannot preach him into the kingdom in a lifetime; but
+you can get down with him and work with him and play with him and guide
+and direct him through his self-chosen, everyday interests, to the end
+that he may afterwards enter the ranks of the Lord's anointed.
+
+Again, it is urged, make your country church a center for the entire
+life of the community. Not only have the adults bring their practical
+affairs to this center for consideration, but have the boys and girls
+come with their implements of work and play, with their specimens of
+farm and home produce and handiwork, with their miniature menageries and
+workshops--all this with joy and reverence before and after the
+religious services.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Efficient Democracy. W. H. Allen. Chapter X. "Efficiency in
+    Religious Work." Dodd, Mead & Co.
+
+    Rural Christendom. Charles Roads. Prize Essay. American
+    Sunday-School Union, Philadelphia.
+
+    Report of the Commission on Country Life, pp. 137-144,
+    Sturgis-Walton Co.
+
+    The Country Church and the Library. John Cotton Dana.
+    _Outlook_, May 6, 1911.
+
+    The Country Church and the Rural Problem. Kenyon L.
+    Butterfield. University of Chicago Press. A strong
+    presentation of the entire situation.
+
+    The Rural Church and Community Development. President Kenyon
+    L. Butterfield. The Association Press, New York. A collection
+    of practical papers and discussions on several important
+    topics.
+
+    The Day of the Country Church. J. O. Ashenhurst. Funk &
+    Wagnalls Co., New York. Read especially the excellent chapter
+    on "Leadership."
+
+    The Church and the Rural Community. Symposium. _American
+    Journal of Sociology._ March, 1911.
+
+    Philanthropy, A Trained Profession. Lewis. Forum, March,
+    1910.
+
+    _Rural Manhood._ The Association Press, New York Monthly.
+    This magazine publishes many excellent articles on the Rural
+    Church.
+
+    The Inefficient Minister. _Literary Digest_, April 10, 1909.
+    A report of the criticisms of Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, of the
+    Carnegie Foundation, and Dr. Henry Aked, of San Francisco.
+
+    _World's Work_, December, 1910. An interesting account of
+    Reverend Matthew McNutt's work in building up a country
+    church.
+
+    The Country Church. George F. Wells, in Cyclopedia of
+    American Agriculture, by L. H. Bailey, volume IV, page 297.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL_
+
+
+The country districts are slowly waking up to an appreciation of the
+fact that within their bounds lie, not only all the elements fundamental
+to the material wealth of the world, but that they also contain in a
+more or less dormant form all the essential factors of intellectual and
+spiritual wealth. The rural school is theoretically the best place on
+earth for the education of the child, not only because of its close
+proximity to the sources of material wealth, but because of the openness
+and comparative freedom of its surroundings. Then, the country school is
+especially effective as a place of instruction on account of its happy
+relation to work and industry. Too often the boys and girls of the town
+school go unwillingly to their class rooms with the feeling that the
+lessons are heavily imposed tasks.
+
+But in the typical country school the pupils are young persons who have
+already experienced much of the strain of work and who go somewhat
+eagerly to the schoolroom, because it is in a sense recreative to them,
+and because of their being in a position to see more clearly what
+substantial training is to mean to them in the future. That is to say, a
+distinctive difference between the typical country child and the typical
+city child is this: the former believes that he is pursuing the course
+of instruction in a more voluntary spirit and for the sake of his own
+personal interests and up-building, while the latter is inclined to feel
+that he is performing the school tasks for the sake of some one else and
+because of the strict requirements of outside force or law.
+
+
+RADICAL CHANGES IN THE VIEW-POINT AND METHOD
+
+But if the theoretic worth of the rural school is to be made at all
+actual, some very radical changes in view-point and method must come to
+pass. First of all, we must keep asking the question, What is education
+for? And perhaps we must accept the answer that in its best form
+education serves the higher needs and requirements of the life we are
+trying to live to-day. In case of rural teachers and parents it has been
+too common a practice to urge the child on in his lesson-getting with
+the statement, or at least the suggestion, that lessons well mastered in
+time furnish a guarantee of a life of comparative ease and freedom from
+heavy toil. The sermonette preached to the boy in this situation is too
+often substantially as follows: "Go on, my boy, master your lessons,
+pass up through the grades, and be graduated. Behold So and So, a great
+captain of wealth, and such and such a one, a great statesman. Now,
+these persons are in a position to take life easy. They have wealth to
+spend for the employment of labor and need to do little of such thing
+themselves."
+
+In other words, the view-point of the school has been radically wrong.
+We have been advancing the idea that education enables one to get _out
+of_ work, whereas we should have been urging that education of the right
+sort enables one to get _into_ work. That is, it means enlarged capacity
+for work and service and proportionately enlarged joy and contentment in
+the performance of worthy work of any nature whatsoever. Let rural
+parents once inculcate the last-named point of view upon their growing
+boys and girls and the attitude of the latter toward the school and its
+tasks will be likewise radically changed.
+
+
+ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO CULTURE
+
+And then, a second question we need to ask ourselves is, Whom is
+education for? or, What classes should have the benefits of it? A close
+comparison of the school ideals of twenty-five years ago with the most
+progressive ones of to-day reveals a surprising situation. Without
+seemingly realizing the fact, we continued for generations in this
+country to tax ourselves heavily for the purpose of supporting schools
+almost exclusively in behalf of the so-called professional classes. We
+said, especially to the growing boy: "Now, if you wish to become a
+lawyer, a physician, a minister, or a teacher, here is your opportunity.
+Pursue this well-arranged course, finish it up, and that all at our
+expense. But if you wish to become a farmer, a merchant, a craftsman of
+any sort, then this institution is not at your service. We will teach
+you to read and write and cipher, after which you may look out for
+yourself." Thus we were taxing the masses for the exclusive education of
+a few classes. To-day the best ideal is a radically different one, as it
+attempts to serve all worthy classes and vocations through the school
+administration. It assumes that artisans as well as artists and the
+professional classes have the same inherent right to both the practical
+aid and the direct culture which an educational course may furnish.
+
+As a practical result of this new ideal, now rapidly advancing
+throughout the country, we are about to have an age of cultured farmers,
+high-minded stock raisers, refined architects and builders, and so on.
+That is, our newest and best educational courses are beginning to
+provide the means and opportunities for the education of all worthy
+classes. So it behooves all interested rural parents to turn their best
+efforts toward the transformation and the betterment of the country
+school. Certain specific achievements in relation thereto are now being
+planned for and in many instances accomplished. Let every one concerned
+take notice of this situation and join with all possible earnestness in
+the forward movement.
+
+In his instructive monograph entitled "Changing Conceptions of
+Education," Professor E. P. Cubberley states the new ideal as follows:--
+
+"The school is essentially a time- and labor-saving device,
+created--with us--by democracy to serve democracy's needs. To convey to
+the next generation the knowledge and the accumulated experience of the
+past is not its only function. It must equally prepare the future
+citizen for the to-morrow of our complex life. The school must grasp the
+significance of its social connections and relations, and must come to
+realize that its real worth and its hope of adequate reward lie in its
+social efficiency. There are many reasons for believing that this change
+is taking place rapidly at present, and that an educational sociology,
+needed as much by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is now
+in the process of being formulated for our use."
+
+
+WORK FOR A LONGER TERM
+
+One of the first steps toward a more helpful schooling for the country
+youth is that of lengthening the yearly school term. In many thousands
+of instances, the country school is conducted for only three to five
+months during the year, and even this short term is indifferently
+attended. But the actual length of the year should be seven months or
+more. Many of the country districts can easily provide for eight
+months. The farmer should not concern himself about a small additional
+tax, but should have in mind rather the larger additional gain to the
+well-being of the young in the community. If the local tax be not
+sufficient for supporting a longer term and a better school, then seek
+to have laws authorizing the distribution of state aid to the weaker
+districts. This law has been actually passed in a number of the
+commonwealths. The act in the usual case provides a general school fund
+out of which the deficit for the smaller rural districts may be made up.
+
+
+COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS NEEDED
+
+The far-seeing country dweller will be glad to join in a movement in
+behalf of compulsory attendance at the public schools. Already a number
+of states have enacted fairly good laws on this subject, but some of
+them allow "loopholes" providing for the too easy avoidance of their
+requirements. Perhaps the best and most effective type of law of this
+class is that which requires the child under fourteen years of age to
+attend the entire term of the public schools, allowing for his absence
+only in case of sickness or in cases where it is shown upon
+investigation and beyond question that he is the main support and
+breadwinner of a family.
+
+In connection with the legal requirements for compulsory attendance,
+there must, of course, be provision for the truant. Truant officers,
+who may be required to serve only part time and who may receive pay for
+actual services, are set over specified districts and required to bring
+in all truant school children. Although this compulsory attendance law
+has been in force only a few years, reports show an almost unanimous
+belief in its effectiveness. The reader will understand the
+justification of such a law to be this; namely, the inherent right of
+the child to be educated whether he may appreciate such right or
+advantage or not, and the implied right of the community to have his
+best service as a well-educated member of society. The effects upon
+crime and criminality of the neglect of the education of the young have
+been so thoroughly discussed of late as to require no restatement here.
+
+
+BETTER SCHOOLHOUSES AND EQUIPMENT
+
+A survey of the entire country from one side to another reveals a
+deplorable state of affairs in respect to the conditions of the typical
+rural schoolhouse. In thousands of cases, there is nothing more than a
+dingy, little, old one-room building, scarcely suitable as a place
+wherein to shelter chickens or pigs, and with nothing in the
+surroundings to suggest or even hint at a place where young minds are
+taught how to aim at the high things of life. Now, these crude
+structures were once a necessity. In pioneer days the little, old box
+schoolhouse, or even the sod structure, served a mighty purpose in the
+transformation of the plains and the wilderness. But times are now
+radically changed. The wealth of the country is abundant. Improvements
+of nearly every other sort have gone on as the times advanced. But too
+often the little, old cheap schoolhouse on the bleak country slope
+became a fixed habit. In setting forth plans for a newer and better
+country school building, the author cannot improve upon those prepared
+by E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public Instruction in
+Kansas, and published in his Seventeenth Biennial Report. We therefore
+quote as follows:--
+
+1. _Location._--"In selecting a site for a school building, the
+questions of drainage, convenience, beauty of surroundings, and
+accessibility should have prime consideration. Select, if possible, some
+plat of ground slightly elevated, and of which the surface may be
+properly drained and kept free from mud. It should be especially seen to
+that water may not stand under the building. If the elevation is not
+sufficient, this trouble should be overcome by proper filling in beneath
+the building. The location should be as nearly as possible central with
+reference to the pupils of the district. But other things should also be
+considered. It is better that some pupils should be put to a slight
+disadvantage than that attractiveness of surroundings, remoteness from
+environment likely to interfere with the work of the school, or other
+essentials, should be sacrificed."
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XI.
+
+FIG. 12.--A cozy little country schoolhouse in the tall, picturesque
+woods of California.
+
+FIG 13.--This model country school building, planned by State
+Superintendent E. T. Fairchild, of Kansas, is being copied in many
+places.]
+
+2. _The water supply._--The purity of the water supply for the school is
+no less important from the standpoint of health than that of the air
+supply. The greatest danger lies in the use of water taken from wells
+that are used only a portion of the year. Such water is certain to
+become stagnant. In the autumn before the term commences special care
+should be taken to pump all water out of the well and to clean the same
+if necessary; thereby much sickness may be avoided. The well, of course,
+should be so located as to avoid any contamination owing to vaults or
+drains.
+
+3. _Size and adaptation of grounds._--The school grounds should contain
+at least three acres, and five acres would not be too much. While the
+cities are cramped for playgrounds and purchase them only at a high
+cost, the latter can be secured in the country in sufficient size and at
+a relatively small expense. Let it be kept constantly in mind that the
+school grounds should be adapted for play, that they should afford a
+protection from winds, and that they should also be attractive. They
+should likewise be adapted for school gardening and experiments in
+agriculture. For the purpose of play, the breadth should exceed the
+depth where there are separate grounds for boys and girls. Where the
+playground is large, the building should be centrally located with
+relation to the size of the grounds and should be situated well toward
+the front. This will provide two fair-sized and well-proportioned
+playgrounds. Where the grounds are small and contain but one acre,
+symmetry must yield to utility and the building should be located well
+to the front and to one side, so as to leave one well-arranged
+playground.
+
+4. _Improvement of school grounds._--In writing of the value of
+well-arranged school grounds, Professor Albert Dickens of the Kansas
+State Agricultural College says:--
+
+"This sermon on school ground improvement is one that I have tried to
+preach for some time. In my judgment, it is the most important and the
+most difficult of any of the problems in civic improvement. The average
+country cemetery is sorrowfully neglected, as a rule, but its treatment
+is careful and generous compared with the school grounds of the average
+country district. Some day we shall realize that all these factors of
+environment are formative influences, and shall not wonder that the
+character formed in surroundings devoid of beauty has hard, coarse, and
+cruel lines in its make-up.
+
+"It is an easy matter to picture an ideal country school--its
+clean-swept walk to the road, its ample playground, its windbreak of
+evergreens, its groups of hard- and soft-wood species, borders of shrubs
+and beds of bulbs for early spring and perennials for summer and fall.
+But to get it--to find some way to overcome the serious obstacles--is
+worthy the attention of statesmen and club women.
+
+"Nearly every district has made an attempt. That is one of the hard
+things to forget--one of the reasons so many districts fear to try
+again. They had a spasm of civic righteousness--an Arbor Day
+revival--and every patron dug a hole in the hard, dry ground; every
+child brought a tree, some of which were carried for miles with the
+roots exposed to sun and wind--and then they were planted and, in some
+cases, watered for the summer; and the days grew warm and the weeds grew
+high; and by the next fall the two or three trees yet alive were not
+noticed when the director went over with his mower the Friday before
+school opened; and so ended that attempt at a schoolyard beautiful.
+
+"It ought to be possible to convince the patrons of every district that
+a single acre of land is not sufficient ground upon which to grow big,
+bright, broad-minded boys and girls; that two, or three, or four acres
+of land, well planned as to baseball diamond, basketball court and a
+good free run for dare-base and pull-away--that such would give the
+state and the world better results than if the land were devoted to corn
+and alfalfa. This, I believe, is the first problem of great
+magnitude--to get the ground--and it must be considered. Children must
+play. The noon hour, when they eat for five minutes and play fifty-five
+minutes, is all-important in a child's life."
+
+In order to carry out the suggestions given by Professor Dickens, why
+not organize a general rally, perhaps on the occasion of Arbor Day, and
+all hands join in preparing and planting the school grounds to suitable
+shade trees, shrubs, and the like? The playgrounds could also be laid
+out and equipped on this occasion. Then, after this excellent start has
+been made, have the school board appoint some reliable man as caretaker
+of the grounds with payment of reasonable wages for what he does. Thus
+the good beginning will not be lost.
+
+
+A MODEL RURAL SCHOOL
+
+The State Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri, has built and equipped
+a model rural school for use in practical demonstration work. President
+John R. Kirk gives a detailed description of this building in
+_Successful Farming_ (April, 1911) as follows:--
+
+"This schoolhouse has three principal floors. The basement and main
+floor are the same size, 28 x 36 feet, outside measurement. The basement
+measures 8 feet from floor to ceiling. Its floor is of concrete,
+underlaid with porous tile and cinders. The basement walls are of rock
+and concrete, protected by drain tile on outside. The basement has eight
+compartments.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XII.
+
+FIG. 14.--The model rural school building, as constructed for practice
+and demonstration work at the Kirkville (Missouri) Normal School.]
+
+"1. Furnace room, containing furnace inclosed by galvanized iron, also
+double cold air duct with electric fan, also gas water heater.
+
+"2. Coal bin, 6 x 8 feet.
+
+"3. Bulb or plant room, 3 x 8 feet, for fall, winter, and spring
+storage.
+
+"4. Darkroom, 4 x 8 feet, for children's experiments in photography.
+
+"5. Laundry room, 5 x 21 feet, with tubs, drain, and drying apparatus.
+
+"6. Gymnasium or play room, 13 x 23 feet.
+
+"7. Tank room containing a 400-gallon pneumatic pressure tank, storage
+battery for electricity, hand pump for emergencies, water gauge, sewer
+pipes, floor drain, etc.
+
+"8. Engine room, containing gasoline engine, water pump, electrical
+generator, switchboard, water tank for cooling gasoline engine, weight
+for gas pressure, gas mixer, batteries, pipes, wires, etc.
+
+"The pumps lift water from a well into pressure tank through pipes below
+the frost line. Gasoline is admitted through pipes below the frost line
+from two 50-gallon tanks underground, 30 feet from building. All rooms
+are wired for electricity and plumbed for gas. The basement is
+thoroughly ventilated.
+
+"The main floor contains a school room 22 x 27 feet in the clear,
+lighted wholly from the north side. A ground glass in the rear admits
+sunlight for sanitation. Schoolroom has adjustable seats and desks,
+telephone, and teachers' desk. Stereopticon is hung in wall at rear.
+Alcove or closet on east side for books, teachers' wraps, etc.
+Schoolroom has a small organ, ample book cases, shelves, and apparatus.
+Pure air enters from above children's heads and passes out at floor into
+ventilating stack through fireplace.
+
+"Main floor has two toilet rooms, each of these having lavatories, wash
+bowl with hot and cold water, pressure tank for hot water and for heat,
+shower bath with hot and cold water, ventilating apparatus, looking
+glass, towel rack, soap box, etc. Each toilet room is reached by a
+circuitous passageway furnishing room for children's wraps, overshoes,
+etc. The scheme secures absolute privacy in toilet rooms. All toilet
+room walls contain air chambers to deaden sound. The toilet rooms are
+clean, decent, and beautiful. They are never disfigured with vile
+language or other defacement.
+
+"All rural schoolhouses with the comb of the roof running one way have
+attics, but the attic of this rural school is the first one and the only
+one that has been well utilized. This attic is 15 x 35 feet, inside
+measurement, all in one room; distance from floor to ceiling 7½ feet
+in the middle part. It is abundantly lighted through gable lights and
+roof lights. It contains modern manual-training benches for use of eight
+or ten children at one time, a gas range and other apparatus for
+experimental cooking. It is furnished with both gas and electric light.
+It has a wash bowl with hot and cold water, looking glass, towels, etc.
+It has a large typical kitchen sink and a drinking fountain, but no
+drinking cup, either common or uncommon. It has cupboards, boxes, and
+receptacles for various experiments in home economics. It has a
+disinfecting apparatus, a portable agricultural-chemistry laboratory and
+numerous other equipments.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
+
+FIG. 15.--A rear view of the model rural school building at the
+Kirkville Normal.]
+
+"A rural school can be built here from beginning to completion with all
+the above-mentioned equipments of every kind, including furniture, for
+$2250. The heating and ventilating apparatus, the pressure tanks,
+gasoline engine, water pumps, dynamo, furnace, etc., can all be easily
+adapted to a two-room model, a three-room school, or a six-room school
+by having each fixture slightly larger.
+
+"This model therefore solves the schoolbuilding question for villages,
+towns, and consolidated rural schools."
+
+
+THE CORNELL SCHOOLHOUSE
+
+An attractive rural schoolhouse was erected some years ago at the New
+York State College of Agriculture, to serve as a suggestion
+architecturally and otherwise to rural districts. It is a one-teacher
+building, and yet allows for the introduction of the new methods of
+teaching. It is a wooden building, with cement stucco interior, heated
+with hot-air furnace, and with two water toilets attached. The total
+cost was about $2000. The College writes as follows of the house:--
+
+"The prevailing rural schoolhouse is a building in which pupils sit to
+study books. It ought to be a room in which pupils do personal work with
+both hands and mind. The essential feature of this new schoolhouse,
+therefore, is a workroom. This room occupies one-third of the floor
+space. Perhaps it would be better if it occupied two-thirds of the floor
+space. If the building is large enough, however, the two kinds of work
+could change places in this schoolhouse.
+
+"The building is designed for twenty-five pupils in the main room. The
+folding doors and windows in the partition enable one teacher to manage
+both rooms.
+
+"It has been the purpose to make the main part of the building about the
+size of the average rural schoolhouse, and then to add the workroom as a
+wing or projection. Such a room could be added to existing school
+buildings; or, in districts in which the building is now too large, one
+part of the room could be partitioned off as a workroom.
+
+"It is the purpose, also, to make this building artistic, attractive,
+and homelike to children, sanitary, comfortable, and durable. The
+cement-plaster exterior is handsomer and warmer than wood, and on
+expanded metal lath it is durable. The interior of this building is very
+attractive. Nearly any rural schoolhouse can secure a water-supply and
+instal toilets as part of the school building.
+
+"The openings between schoolroom and workroom are fitted with glazed
+swing sash and folding doors, so that the rooms may be used either
+singly or together, as desired.
+
+"The workroom has a bay-window facing south and filled with shelves for
+plants. Slate blackboards of standard school heights fill the spaces
+about the rooms between doors and windows. The building is heated by hot
+air; vent flues of adequate sizes are also provided so that the rooms
+are ventilated.
+
+"On the front of the building, and adding materially to its picturesque
+appearance, is a roomy veranda with simple square posts, from which
+entrance is made directly into the combined vestibule and coatroom and
+from this again by two doors into the schoolroom."
+
+
+HELP MAKE A SCHOOL PLAY GROUND
+
+Throughout the entire country there is at last rising a wave of
+enthusiasm in behalf of affording the child a better means of play.
+First the cities took the matter up, then the towns, and now the country
+districts are beginning to do their part. The farmer and his wife should
+feel an interest in such a matter, for they can render no better service
+to their community than that of joining the district teacher in an
+effort to equip the school grounds with play apparatus. As a suggestive
+outline of what materials to procure, the dimensions and cost of the
+same, there is given below the equipment worked out by certain
+officials in Colorado and described briefly in Superintendent
+Fairchild's report, as follows:--
+
+A turning pole for boys may be made by setting two posts in the ground,
+six or eight feet apart, and running a 1 or 1¼ inch gas pipe through
+holes bored in the tops of the posts. The cost of such a piece of
+apparatus should be as follows, assuming that the necessary work will be
+done by the teachers and boys: Two posts, 4" x 4", 8 ft. long, 50 cents;
+one piece gas pipe, 8 ft. long, 15 cents.
+
+Teeter boards may be made by planting posts ten or twelve feet apart,
+and placing a pole or a rounded 6 x 6 on top of them, and then placing
+boards, upon which the children may teeter. Individual teeter boards may
+be made by placing a 2 x 8 board in the ground, and fastening the teeter
+board to it by means of iron braces placed on each side of the upright
+piece. The cost of the above apparatus would be, for several teeters:
+Two upright posts, 6" x 6", 5 ft. long, 93 cents; one piece, 6" x 6", 12
+ft. long, $1.22; four teeter boards, 2" x 8", 14 ft. long, $2.50. For
+individual teeter: One piece 2" x 8", 16 ft. long, 56 cents--to make
+upright piece 4 ft. long and teeter board 12 ft. long; two iron braces
+and four large screws, 25 cents.
+
+A very attractive and desirable piece of apparatus may be made as
+follows: Secure a pole about ten or fifteen feet long. To the small end
+attach by the use of bolts one end of a wagon axle, spindle up. Upon
+the spindle place a wagon wheel, and to the wheel attach ropes, about as
+long as the pole. Place the big end of the pole in the ground three or
+four feet, and brace it from the four points of the compass. The ropes
+will hang down from the wheel in such a way that the children may take
+hold of them, swing, jump, and run around the pole. The one described
+was rather inexpensive. A telephone company donated a discarded pole, a
+farmer a discarded wagon wheel and axle. The only expense was that of
+paying a blacksmith for attaching the wheel to the pole and the cost of
+the ropes--about $2. It furnished one of the most attractive pieces of
+apparatus on the playground.
+
+An inexpensive swing may be constructed by placing four 4 x 4's in the
+ground in a slanting position, two being opposite each other and meeting
+at the top in such a way as to form a fork. The pairs may be ten or
+twelve feet apart, and a pole or heavy galvanized pipe, to which swings
+may be attached, wired, nailed, or bolted to the crotches formed by the
+pieces placed in the ground. The cost of this apparatus will be: Four
+pieces, 4" x 4", 14 ft. long, $1.25, one piece galvanized pipe, 3", 12
+ft. long, $2.50.
+
+Boards of education could well afford to purchase one or more
+basketballs, and a few baseballs and bats for the boys. These things
+more than pay for themselves in the added interest which boys and girls
+who have them take in the school. For much of the apparatus suggested
+above the wide-awake board of education and teacher will see
+opportunities to use material less expensive than that suggested. And to
+such persons many pieces of apparatus not specified here will suggest
+themselves to fit particular needs and opportunities.
+
+
+GENERAL INSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURE
+
+A great fault with the district schools has been an inclination to think
+that anything close at hand is too mean and common to be considered as
+subject matter for instruction. The thought has usually been that the
+school would prepare the learner for some brilliant calling away off
+where things are better and life is easier and more beautiful. As a
+result, the country schools have been educating boys and girls away from
+the farm. The new method is that of educating them to appreciate what is
+under their feet and all around them, through an intimate knowledge of
+the processes of nature and industry as carried on in their midst.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
+
+FIG. 16.--Using the Babcock milk-tester in a New York school.]
+
+One of the more direct means of educating the boys and girls for a
+happy, contented life on the farm is to teach them while young the
+rudiments of agriculture. This method is now actually being put into
+practice in thousands of the rural schools. The state of Kansas recently
+enacted a law requiring all candidates for teachers' certificates to
+pass a test in the elements of agriculture and also requiring that
+the rudiments of this subject be taught in every district school. Other
+states have similar laws. As a result of this and like provisions, there
+is now a tremendous awakening in the direction named. The boys and girls
+in the country schools are finding new meaning and a new interest in the
+fields and farms upon which they are growing up.
+
+It is a comparatively simple matter, that of teaching the young how the
+plant germinates and grows, how the seed is produced, and how farm crops
+are cared for and harvested. Likewise, it is easy to describe the
+elements of the various types of soil and to show how these elements
+contribute to the life and growth of the plant. The questions of
+moisture in its relation to plant life, of insects harmful and helpful
+to growing crops and animals, of the bird life as related in its
+economic aspects to farming--all such matters can be easily taught to
+children by the young-woman school teacher. It is only necessary for the
+latter to take an elementary course of instruction herself, to read a
+number of collateral texts, and to get into the spirit of the
+undertaking. In a similar manner, instruction in regard to farm animals
+may be given, the emphasis being placed upon the consideration of the
+types of live stock actually raised and marketed in the home
+neighborhood.
+
+It must be emphasized that these matters relating to elementary
+agriculture and animal husbandry can be made just as interesting and
+quite as cultural as any of the subjects in the general curriculum of
+the schools. Wherefore, the rural dweller who catches the spirit of such
+instruction should lead out in the securing of public measures and
+public improvements looking toward an early embodiment of these new
+subjects within the prescribed course of study.
+
+
+DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND HOME SANITATION
+
+The time is now at hand when the district school failing to give any
+attention to practical household affairs is to be classed as out of date
+and unprogressive. Well-written texts and pamphlets covering the
+home-keeping subjects are now both available and cheap, so that the
+excuse for deferring their use is approaching the zero point.
+
+Of course it is impracticable as yet to have apparatus for cooking and
+sewing installed in the one-teacher district school, but the bare
+rudiments of these subjects may nevertheless be taught with the
+expectation that home practice may be thereby improved and better
+understood. Perhaps the most practical method of present procedure is
+that of organizing an independent class of the girls of suitable age and
+meeting them informally. The texts and pamphlets furnished by the
+college extension departments may be followed. In case of graded and
+high school courses this work should by all means be carried on as a
+regular class exercise.
+
+Home sanitation may easily and profitably be taught in the district
+school, even though only one or two periods per week be set apart for
+the purpose. Perhaps the best method of instruction is that of
+presenting carefully one specific lesson at a time. For example, pure
+drinking water, clean milk, food contamination by house flies may be
+treated each in its turn. Adequate charts and illustrations should be
+brought into service.
+
+
+CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS
+
+There is much agitation nowadays in regard to consolidating the rural
+schools. Although present progress is slow, it seems comparatively
+certain that the one-teacher rural school is destined in time to become
+a thing of the past. However, there is no particular haste in the
+matter, provided some such plans as the foregoing be put into effect in
+case of the single school. Perhaps the sparsely settled district has the
+greatest justification for looking toward consolidation. It happens that
+there are thousands of small schools having an attendance of from five
+to ten pupils. In such an instance, it is practically impossible to do
+the best work, the children lacking the spur of rivalry and enthusiasm
+and the helpful lessons in social ethics offered only by the larger
+massing of the young at play.
+
+In many places, three or four rural districts are uniting in this
+movement, the general plan being that of constructing a central
+building with ample working space for all, and then transporting the
+children to and from the school. The scheme is working well as a rule.
+Among the great advantages is that of a possible grading of the school
+so that the teacher may have time for each subject and more opportunity
+for specialization. Perhaps the most serious and difficult part of the
+plan is that of providing a safe and suitable means of conveyance to and
+from the school. Some excellent patterns of school wagons are already on
+the market, while manufacturers are constantly at work improving them.
+So we may expect better results as time goes on. It has already been
+shown very satisfactorily that the conveyance, when in charge of a
+well-trained driver, furnishes improved moral and physical safeguards
+for the child.
+
+
+MORE HIGH SCHOOLS NEEDED
+
+Not only every county, but also every rural township, should have its
+well-equipped high school. It is a serious matter to send boys and girls
+in their middle teens away to college. Many lives are thus more or less
+ruined simply from too early loss of the personal restraints and
+influence of the parents. But with a first-class high school in easy
+reach the young people may at least return home for the Saturday-Sunday
+recess and thereby continue in the close councils of their parents. And
+then, the rightly-managed high school will bring the student into
+closer touch with the local rural problems that may not be possible in
+case of the distant institution.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XV.
+
+FIGS. 17-21.--This magnificent consolidated school in Winnebago County,
+Illinois, was inspired by the excellent work of the well-known
+Superintendent O. J. Kern. The four little one-room buildings illustrated
+above gave way to it.]
+
+In the location of high schools intended to serve the rural interests
+there should be an effort to keep away from the towns and cities. In the
+latter places the allurements of the cheap theater and the snobbery that
+often invades the city high school are illustrations of the evils that
+serve to entice the young away from the substantial things of life. A
+good county or township high school located centrally and in the open
+country is ideal. At such a location it is vastly easier than in the
+city to center the attention of the students upon the rural problems,
+not to mention the greater availability of demonstrations on farm and
+garden plots.
+
+
+BETTER RURAL TEACHERS NEEDED
+
+The ideal preparation for a teacher in the rural school is a complete
+course in a first-class agricultural college, with the inclusion of a
+few terms' work in the educational subjects. So long as we send into the
+district schools young teachers who have been taught merely in the
+common text-book branches, and whose training has been exclusively
+pedagogical, the practice of educating the boys and girls away from the
+farm will go on. The country school is, in its best sense, an industrial
+school; and only those teachers can do best work therein who have had
+the personal experience in industrial training and the changed point of
+view which only the agricultural college can give. So if the board of
+trustees in any rural district really wishes to unite in supporting an
+effective back-to-the-farm movement, let them offer to some
+country-reared graduate of the agricultural college a salary of about
+twice or three times the amount usually paid. After a few terms of
+school taught by such a person, the good effects on the rural uplift
+will most certainly reveal themselves. But so long as school trustees
+continue to try to drive a sharp bargain in the employment of
+teachers--securing the one with the passable county certificate who will
+teach for the least wages--the boys will continue to run off to town for
+"jobs" and the parents will continue to "move to town to educate their
+children."
+
+There is some hope of a new ideal in relation to the country school
+teacher; namely, that he shall be a man in every sense, worthy of a
+salary large enough to support himself and his family the year round as
+residents of the community. Then we shall have a profession of teaching
+in the rural school work.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
+
+FIG. 22.--The Cornell schoolhouse. A one-teacher building, with a
+workroom or laboratory at one side that the teacher can control through
+the folding doors and glass partitions. Every effort is made to render
+the building and place attractive and homelike.]
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Annual Report Page County (Iowa) Schools. Miss Jessie Field,
+    Superintendent (Clarinda).
+
+    The reader who is especially interested in this chapter is
+    urged to become acquainted with the splendid work
+    accomplished for the district schools of Page County, Ia.,
+    by Superintendent Jessie Field. As indicated by her published
+    annuals, and otherwise, she has led all the other young women
+    superintendents in the work of organizing the boys and girls
+    into clubs and classes for the study of school gardening,
+    bread making, grain propagation, and the like.
+
+    Report of the Committee on Industrial Education in Schools
+    for Rural Communities, of the National Educational
+    Association.
+
+    Among Country Schools. O. J. Kern. Ginn & Co. A clear
+    helpful, and inspiring text.
+
+    The American Rural School. H. W. Foght. Macmillan. Covers the
+    entire subject carefully.
+
+    The School and Society. John Dewey. McClure, Phillips & Co.,
+    New York.
+
+    The School and its Life. Charles D. Gilbert. Chapter XXII,
+    "Home and School." McClurg.
+
+    Efficient Democracy, Wm. H. Allen. Chapter VII, "School
+    Efficiency." Dodd, Mead & Co. A most helpful and stimulating
+    volume.
+
+    The School as a Social Institution. Henry Suzzallo.
+    Monograph. Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Wider Use of the School Plant, Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter
+    VI, "School Playgrounds." Charities Publication Committee,
+    New York.
+
+    Education in the Country for the Country. J. W. Zeller.
+    Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 245.
+
+    Teachers for the Rural Schools; Kind Wanted; How to secure
+    Them. L. J. Alleman. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 280.
+
+    The State Board of Health of Maine (Augusta) issues a series
+    of practical pamphlets on health and sanitation in the school
+    and the home.
+
+    The Most Practical Industrial Education for the Country
+    Child. Superintendent O. J. Kern. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1905,
+    p. 198.
+
+    Among School Gardens. M. Louise Green, Ph.D. Charities
+    Publication Committee, New York.
+
+    A Model Rural School House. Henry S. Curtis. Educational
+    Foundations, April, 1911. A. S. Barnes & Co. Dr. Curtis is a
+    national authority on the question of the school playground.
+
+    Education for Efficiency. E. Davenport. D. C. Heath. A most
+    able plea for making the schools serve every worthy interest.
+
+
+    Changing Conceptions of Education. E. P. Cubberly. Monograph.
+    Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Methods of conducting Book and Demonstration Work in teaching
+    Elementary Agriculture. O. H. Benson. Bureau of Plant
+    Industry, Washington, D.C. An excellent guide.
+
+    Report of Committee to investigate Rural School Conditions.
+    Superintendent E T. Fairchild and others. Address the
+    Secretary N.E.A., Winona, Minn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+_THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION_
+
+
+Among the movements of first importance looking toward the uplift of
+young men is that named at the head of this chapter. Parallel with the
+intensive and systematic effort to build up the commercial life of the
+city and allow the country district to take care of itself, has been a
+like effort to provide for the care and development of the city boy and
+the uniform neglect of the needs and interests of the country boy. Now,
+here at last is a movement that is proving a real means of salvation of
+the rural youth, mind, body, and soul.
+
+President Henry J. Waters, of the Kansas State Agricultural College,
+struck the keynote of this young country-life movement most effectively
+in a recent address when he said: "We believe in the existence of a
+social renaissance. One needs only to read the daily and weekly papers
+printed in hundreds of prosperous villages and cross roads corners, the
+faithful chroniclers of the community's activities, to find buoyant hope
+of the future of farm life.
+
+"The dignity of labor; the close connection between heads and hands; the
+monthly or weekly meetings of farmers' institutes in hundreds of
+counties; the special lectures provided by agricultural colleges; the
+movable schools; the farmers' winter short courses, in which thousands
+of men and women and boys and girls participate; corn contests; bread
+contests; sewing contests; play carnivals; poultry-raising contests;
+stock-raising contests; conferences on the country church, country
+school, good roads--all these activities denote the growth of a new and
+mighty spirit in the country life of America.
+
+"We need further demonstrations, together with concrete thinking, a lot
+of constructive programs, and a deal of hard work and self-sacrifice, in
+which the county work department of the Young Men's Christian
+Association can have no little share, to speed on the great epoch of
+rural social renaissance."
+
+
+BOYS LEAVE THE FARM TOO YOUNG
+
+It is a tragic story when the whole truth is known, that of the young
+boy running off to town in search of some employment that will bring him
+a little ready cash for spending money, and also in search of the
+sociability so woefully lacking in the rural home environment. Too long
+have the country parents attempted to argue and scold and force their
+boys to remain at home where they are confronted only with the monotony
+of hard work and a very dim prospect of a possible land or other
+property inheritance. So at last there is being raised the very
+important questions, What is the matter with the country boy? and What
+can be done to help him? Knowledge of the fact that more than one-half
+of the boys of the United States are living in farm homes makes the
+problem of their individual salvation assume momentous proportions.
+
+There can be no reasonable thought of holding all the boys on the farm.
+Many of them are best fitted by nature to go elsewhere and find suitable
+employment, but there is every good reason for preventing the great
+exodus of immature youths who run off to the cities, not knowing what
+they are to face and without any well-defined purpose. Yes, the great
+concerns of the towns and cities must continue to call many of the
+brainiest young men from the rural districts. In fact, the country may
+with every good reason be considered the proper breeding ground for the
+virile minds destined to control the great affairs of nation, state, and
+municipality. But every reasonable effort must be put forth to keep the
+boy in his country home until his character is relatively matured and
+his plans for a future career are fairly well defined.
+
+
+PURPOSES OF THE COUNTY Y.M.C.A.
+
+Doubtless the first chief purpose of the county association is that of
+building up the boy's character and finally perfecting his spiritual
+nature. But this high aim is not sought in the old-fashioned, direct
+manner. Instead, there is a studied effort to build up the boy gradually
+through the enlistment of his natural interests in matters that lie
+dormant in his home environment. The truly scientific method in this
+field is first concerned with providing means whereby the boy may work
+out his own spiritual salvation. Along with the farm labors, tedious and
+irksome to him when undertaken as exclusive requirements, the country
+boy is given an opportunity to take part in certain athletic and social
+exercises which appeal to his instincts and arouse the spontaneity from
+the depths of his own nature.
+
+In carrying on the country work, an attempt is made to approach the boy
+from the peculiar situations of his home environment. What specific
+readjustments are needed in his home life in respect to the amount of
+work required of him? What of the recreation he enjoys? The local
+society in which he moves? The home church and Sunday school? The
+temptations that may lie near about him? and so on. These and many other
+such inquiries are made with a view to dealing with the boy in an
+individual way and reëstablishing his life for the better.
+
+
+HOW TO ORGANIZE A COUNTY ASSOCIATION
+
+Unless it may chance that, after a brief survey of the field, some
+person from the outside comes in to perfect the organization of the
+county association, any interested person within the limits of the
+county must make the start. Devotion to the cause, persistence, and
+unfailing enthusiasm are perhaps the best personal equipment for the
+local beginner of this new work. His first concern should be that of
+gathering a committee of men like himself from different parts of the
+county. Doubtless these will form themselves into a sort of brotherhood
+committee. After such temporary organization, the next important step is
+that of securing an able county leader.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVII.
+
+FIG. 23.--These Y.M.C.A. members find time for play as well as work. Try
+a club like this as a means of keeping the boy interested in the farm.]
+
+1. _Choose a good leader._--Now, the success of the movement is to
+depend very largely upon the character of the leader to be chosen. If
+the right man be selected, no matter how hard the conditions, he will be
+able finally to bring system and order and spiritual progress out of it
+all. The important characteristics of the ideal leader of country boys
+are comparatively few. First of all, he must, of course, be moved by a
+sense of devotion to the cause of Christianity--the up-building of the
+characters, especially the spiritual natures, of young men. He should be
+a man who has been trained in a good college, if possible a graduate,
+with experience in the Y.M.C.A. and other like organizations. He should
+have had some special training in such subjects as psychology,
+sociology, and economics, and should be fairly well versed in the
+literature of these subjects. He should be especially fond of boys and
+boy life and interested in the conduct of people of every kind and sort.
+He should be somewhat trained in athletics and an enthusiastic supporter
+of clean sports. He should have what is known as good business sense. It
+may not be essential, but it will certainly prove advantageous, if the
+chosen leader has himself been reared in the country.
+
+2. _Local leaders necessary._--After the leader has been selected, the
+next step is that of the appointment of carefully chosen leaders for the
+local neighborhoods. These may be men of almost any age from middle life
+down, but perhaps the ideal age would be that of a few years older than
+any of the boys of the neighborhood. All must be enlisted if possible,
+not one being slighted or offended.
+
+3. _A committee on finance._--An able finance committee is also of high
+importance. This should consist of men chosen especially for their
+unusual ability as solicitors and persuaders of men in a financial way.
+Let these workers go over the county soliciting funds for the
+organization, providing from the first especially that the secretary
+shall be well paid for his services. Close-fisted residents, as well as
+all others, in every nook and corner of the territory must be seen and
+asked to contribute. It should be a comparatively easy matter to show
+men who cannot appreciate the social and spiritual needs of the boys
+that the new movement will most certainly increase general property
+values and bring up the price of land.
+
+4. _Little property ownership._--While new, the county organization
+should guard against attempting to own and control any considerable
+amount of property or equipment. Not the material goods possessed, but
+the strength and force of the spiritual enthusiasm will have greatest
+value in carrying on the work. It will be found quite satisfactory in
+nearly every case to have the boys meet in some farm home, village club
+room, or country schoolhouse. And then, there is always danger of
+developing a Y.M.C.A. too exclusively as a business organization. There
+are many instances in the towns and cities where this is deplorably
+true. The best spirit of the work is submerged by the continuous
+hounding of the people in the skirmish for funds to keep going the
+over-heavy business machinery of the institution. There often develops,
+in such cases, a large body of men who regard the Y.M.C.A. as an
+organization of loafers and easy-going money spenders. Once such
+sentiment develops, it is desperately difficult to eradicate it. So the
+country Y.M.C.A. should preserve the semblance of humility, and that
+partly by getting along with almost no property or equipment other than
+what its own members may provide in a crude fashion and what may be
+necessary to furnish the office of the general secretary.
+
+
+HOW TO CONDUCT THE WORK
+
+One of the first steps in conducting the new work is that of making a
+survey of the entire county. The names, ages, and location of all the
+boys must be secured, together with some items respecting their present
+social and religious affiliations. In fact, the more personal items
+included in the first survey, the better. Some boys will at first look
+with disfavor upon the new movement, believing that it is merely another
+scheme to convert them to religion and get them into a church. Care must
+be taken to disabuse the boy's mind of this thought from the very
+beginning. Therefore, it may be well not to try to hustle him into a
+Bible-study class the first time he is invited out. While the main
+issue, namely, that of spiritual development of the boy, is not to be
+forgotten, he must nevertheless be led to this goal through the path of
+many very common instrumentalities. A Y.M.C.A. athletic meet would most
+probably prove a better opening number than a Bible-study class or
+merely a religious service. As the work proceeds, the occasions for a
+great variety of exercises and programs will present themselves. Among
+these perhaps there would be the following:--
+
+1. _Local and county athletic clubs._--The athletic event is one of the
+easiest to put on in a newly organized boys' club. An able leader,
+perhaps the county secretary, should be present to preside over the
+event, inducing the boys to form a baseball club, or a basketball team;
+or at least to arrange for some event in which they can all participate,
+although that may be as simple a thing as swimming or jumping. Introduce
+at once the thought of practice and the development of skill, holding
+out the plan of a county organization and a county field meet in the
+future, which all may attend and in which the ablest shall have promise
+of a conspicuous part.
+
+2. _Debating and literary clubs._--There is always the possibility of a
+literary society, provided the thing be carefully instituted. The secret
+of successful debates among persons of any class is to find a "burning"
+question. So, avoid such matters as Tariff Reform and the World Peace
+Movement and come right down home to some perplexing problem in the
+lives of the boys of the club. Something about their work, their lack of
+recreation, their chances against those of city boys, and so on, will
+arouse interest and bring out rough debating material. Find latent
+talent of other sorts in the club. Some boy can sing; perhaps another
+can play a musical instrument; still another one may be a natural-born
+storyteller; a fourth may be an expert acrobat and tree climber; a fifth
+a shrewd hunter or trapper of wild animals. In this way, nearly every
+boy can be led to take part in a general program.
+
+Thus, while contributing something toward the entertainment of all, each
+boy's active participation will go far by way of awakening his personal
+interest in the new life.
+
+3. _Receptions and suppers._--After the boys get fairly under way with
+their club, they may need to arrange an oyster supper or some such
+affair at which they will discuss their many mutual problems. On some
+such occasions they may desire to invite their parents to come and enjoy
+the program, also to participate in the discussion of their affairs.
+This form of close association will be found especially enticing to the
+boys, giving them a good, clean place to go for social enjoyment and
+something to look forward to in their thoughts during the somewhat
+prosaic hours of the day in the field.
+
+4. _Educational tours and problems._--The boys may find it feasible to
+go in a body once or twice a year on an educational tour--to the state
+fair; to study some particular thing in the city; to gather data for the
+solution of some local problem; to make a study of the habitat of some
+bird or animal; to gather specimens of rocks or plants; and so on. In
+case of any such trip there is not a little necessity of some
+college-trained person as overseer, so that the study may be made
+intensive and not become dissipated in mere sport and fun. It is usually
+advisable to make a careful study of only one thing at a time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
+
+FIG. 24--A great Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio. Let the boy attend one of
+these great gatherings if possible, and he will return with a year's
+supply of enthusiasm.]
+
+5. _Camping and hiking._--The boys of the county should be brought
+together at least once a year in a summer camp. Farmers will soon learn
+to appreciate the value of such things in the life of the boy and will
+gladly allow him a few days' vacation for the purpose. The boy who
+enjoys such a privilege will more than pay it back through the extra
+amount of work his enthusiasm will naturally prompt him to perform. For
+the camp site there should be selected some shady woodland with a good
+stream of water for fishing and swimming. A crude lodge may be
+constructed and all the necessary crude camp equipment provided. Each
+boy will want to carry his own blanket and extra clothing.
+
+One matter must be considered in all seriousness; namely, the sanitation
+of the camp. Even at the outlay of a comparatively heavy expense, the
+camp food supplies, including the dining table, should be screened off
+from flies. The garbage therefore will all be scrupulously buried, and
+it will be ascertained with certainty that the drinking water is free
+from disease organisms. Then, the boys may sleep on the ground, wallow
+in the dirt, splash in the water and mud as they please and return home
+in the best of health.
+
+6. _Exhibitions._--It has been found practicable to have the boys
+prepare during the season for coming together with a county exhibit,
+including a wide variety of things peculiar to their interests.
+
+This exhibition should be made as a big annual event, if possible, such
+as will attract all manner of persons and make friends for the county
+association. In its ideal arrangement the money expense will be kept
+down to a minimum. Also keep out the idea of premiums. The contest plan
+of promotion will some day receive its desired consideration and lose
+its place as a means of promoting social and spiritual well-being. As a
+matter of fact it fosters much envy, ill-feeling, and bitter strife and
+thus strikes at the root of the good-fellowship which you are striving
+to encourage. _But, urge every boy to bring something for the sake of
+the help he may contribute and let the honor of this service and the
+approbation of his fellows be his high reward._
+
+One boy may come with a mammoth pumpkin; another with a device of his
+own invention for catching ground squirrels; still another with a new
+method of tying a knot; another with a bushel of highly bred corn;
+others with farm and garden produce of the same attractive nature;
+others with wild grasses, curios, or geological specimens; others with
+the parts of a miniature menagerie. One boy may have caught a badger
+alive; another a coyote; another a jack rabbit; another a huge turtle.
+Another may bring a cage of rattlesnakes or a box full of snakes of all
+sorts; another a set of original plans and specifications--for an ideal
+farmhouse, or farm barn and surroundings; for making the well sanitary;
+for a milk house; for keeping flies out of the house or barn; a recipe
+for driving ants and other insects from the house. The boys in one
+family may come with a lot of samples of soil, showing how differently
+each must be treated for the same general crop results. Others may bring
+specimens of "cheat" and noxious weeds, and the like, with a scheme for
+destroying them. Another may have a plan for a patent churn or a
+labor-saving device in the kitchen.
+
+Thus there may be brought to the boys' fair an interesting and most
+instructive variety of objects, plans, and devices, all looking toward
+the improvement of home conditions. Such a gathering as this will bring
+not only the parents and other adults from the home county, but great
+flocks of outsiders will also come in and learn and become deeply
+interested in the affairs of the County Young Men's Christian
+Association.
+
+
+SPIRITUALITY NOT LOST SIGHT OF
+
+It ought to be easy for the average thinker to appreciate the fact that
+all the foregoing rough-and-ready work in the lives of the boys can be
+made a practical means of the salvation of their souls as well as of
+their bodies and intellects. Spiritual perfection is not reached at a
+bound. There must be much doing of the crude yet worthy things which
+grow naturally out of his inner nature before the boy can finally
+achieve a degree of spiritual development that may prove a permanent and
+fixed part of his adult life. Yes, there will be some Bible study, an
+occasional short prayer, and now and then a real sermonette in
+connection with the work of the organization, but much more frequently
+the Christian life and character will come as a sort of discovery in the
+boy's life and that through his own conduct.
+
+Through all this wholesome exercise of his better and cleaner interests,
+the youth will gradually be led away and kept away from those things
+which contaminate both the body and the spirit and introduce the
+individual to a coarse, debauched life. In other words, Christianity
+will be a thing achieved and that through the young man's efforts rather
+than a thing instantly caught in some emotional revival meeting only
+gradually to waste away in the months immediately following. One
+well-built specimen of Christian manhood--a character of the sort which
+the ideal work of the County Y.M.C.A. may finally construct--is worth a
+dozen of those suddenly converted men whose secret lives are so often
+embittered with the consciousness of backsliding and following ever
+after the old evil ways.
+
+It will be observed at a glance that in the foregoing outline there is
+an avoidance of the heavier work-a-day tasks and problems. It is the
+thought of the author that the boys have quite enough of such labor as
+it is and that the County Y.M.C.A. can do its best service if it
+provides a set of new activities of a more recreative sort. The central
+idea--second to the perfection of his spiritual nature--is that of
+giving the boy a larger amount of social experience through
+self-training in matters that will bring out his latent unselfishness
+and his self-reliance. The heavier problems of an economic sort suitable
+for discussion among the boys and the girls of the country districts
+will have due consideration in another chapter.
+
+In planning the various parts of the county work and the club life of
+the boys, there must be extreme care not to arrange for too many and too
+frequent meetings. It is especially to be desired that the boy do not
+acquire the runabout habit, even though he may in every case go to a
+desirable place. Therefore, in arranging the programs it will be seen to
+that the meetings are held somewhat infrequently, but that on each
+occasion the meeting be continued until some intensive work has been
+done. For example, it would be much preferable to have all or a major
+part of one afternoon and evening of the week for the exercises rather
+than to have brief evening meetings a number of times during the week.
+
+
+WORK IN A SPARSELY SETTLED COUNTRY
+
+The following statement will show what was achieved during the first
+year in the Y.M.C.A. of Washington County, Kansas, which has a rural
+population of about ten thousand people.
+
+_General Statement_:--
+
+  181 boys enrolled in Bible-study groups, meeting weekly.
+  35 men give time to the supervision and planning of the work.
+  236 boys attended ten boys' banquets.
+  51 out-of-town delegates attended the county convention.
+  175 men and boys attended the convention banquet.
+  161 boys took part in the relay race.
+  91 men and boys on baseball teams.
+  24 boys played basketball.
+  56 men attended 10 leaders' conferences.
+  65 men conducted one day financial canvass.
+  200 boys given physical examination.
+  26 took part in the annual athletic meet.
+  13 young men's Sundays conducted by secretary.
+  6000 miles (approx.) traveled by secretary.
+  283 citizens back of work.
+
+_Financial Statement_:--
+
+  Pledges unpaid from previous year  $120.25
+  Pledges for year                   1568.25  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+  Received during year               1386.15
+  Due unpaid pledges                  302.35  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+  Amount paid                        1352.89
+  Due unpaid                          298.00
+  Available balance                    37.61  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Neighborhood Improvement Clubs. Professor E. L. Holton.
+    Agricultural Extension Bulletin, Manhattan, Kan.
+
+    Camping for Boys. H. W. Gibson. Association Press, New York.
+    Careful directions for camp life.
+
+    Training for Boys; Symposium. _Harper's Bazaar_, March,
+    April, August, September, November, 1910.
+
+    Keeping Home Ties from Breaking. E. A. Halsey. _World
+    To-day_, January, 1911.
+
+    Training Men to work for Men. E. A. Halsey. _World To-day_,
+    March, 1911.
+
+    The Organization and Administration of Athletics. Dr. Clark
+    W. Hetherington. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907, p. 930.
+
+    _Rural Manhood_, issue of June, 1910. Rural Leadership
+    Number.
+
+    Social Activities for Men and Boys. Albert M. Chisley.
+    Y.M.C.A. Press, New York. A valuable book covering a wide
+    variety of activities.
+
+    _Rural Manhood._ Henry Israel, editor. 50 cents per year. A
+    most valuable exponent of the County Y.M.C.A. work.
+
+    The Physical Life of the Boy. Dr. D. G. Wilcox. (Pamphlet.)
+    Address, Federated Boys' Clubs, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS OF THE YOUNG_
+
+
+No less urgent and divine is the call for spiritual aid and leadership
+in the rural districts to-day than was that which came to the apostle
+Paul of old in form of a vision and a voice crying, "Come over into
+Macedonia and help us." In the open country field, far removed from
+church or social center, is the demand for leaders and directors
+especially great. Men engage for a lifetime in an enthusiastic endeavor
+to amass wealth and to build up great business concerns. But the man or
+woman who heeds the call to go forth into the country districts and save
+the bodies and souls of the young--that person will not only experience
+exceeding great joy and enthusiasm in his work, but he will thereby lay
+up for himself in the memories of the redeemed a precious treasury of
+golden deeds.
+
+Country parents as a rule are not in a position to do the best things
+even for their own children, much less to go out as leaders of the young
+at large. They are sometimes lacking in the necessary means, more
+frequently too busy, and most frequently not sufficiently informed as
+to be fully awake to the meanings and possibilities of any such
+undertaking. However, in nearly every country neighborhood there is a
+man or woman, or both, who possess many of the big opportunities for
+enlisting in the service of the young. Those who have no small children
+of their own to care for would naturally be freest to get away from the
+present home duties. Then, some parents having children of their own not
+infrequently catch the inspiration and heed the call. At any rate, it is
+entirely fair and reasonable to assume that some one of the neighborhood
+could do it were there the disposition.
+
+As a means of arousing any such persons to attempt to do some
+constructive work among country boys and girls, the following detailed
+suggestions are offered. Those who feel at all called to undertake this
+service may be assured that the interest grows more intense with time
+and effort put forth, and that the joy of accomplishing something in
+behalf of the young people of one's own vicinity is perhaps unsurpassed
+by that of any other type of human endeavor. In the discussions to
+follow we assume that some farmer and his wife have heeded this divine
+call.
+
+
+PREPARATION FOR THE SERVICE
+
+Since very few are sufficiently versatile to undertake any and every
+kind of social work, perhaps the first step is that of choosing a
+definite line of action. And let the choice be in the direction of the
+chooser's leading social interest. As a means of preparation for
+efficient work a brief course of training is to be much commended. It
+may be found practicable to slip away from home during the winter months
+and take a farmers' short course in one of the agricultural colleges.
+Or, one may find the peculiar instruction and inspiration needed by
+attending a convention or conference of the ablest leaders
+representative of the work. One of the rural-life conferences now
+frequently held might be found ideal. Go prepared to take notes, to ask
+questions, and especially to obtain a large number of literary
+references.
+
+The use of helpful literature is most important at this stage. A
+magazine which admirably covers this particular field is _Rural
+Manhood_, published by the Association Press, New York City. Then,
+secure the report of the Country Life Commission, and a number of the
+latest works of a similar nature, some of which are listed below. Write
+to the Department of Agriculture at Washington for their bulletin on the
+organization of boys' and girls' clubs. Also from the extension
+department of the agricultural college may be obtained for the asking
+all available literature of this same general class.
+
+Now, make a careful survey of the neighborhood, or the larger field,
+with a view to finding out the specific conditions in relation to the
+chosen line of service. Make lists of names and ages of the boys and
+girls, including all other data of a helpful nature. Proceed with the
+thought that the work to be undertaken is not to be merely a means of
+entertainment, but of education for the young.
+
+
+WORK PERSISTENTLY FOR SOCIAL UNITY
+
+In his most instructive volume "The Rural Church and Community
+Achievement," President Butterfield says: "We are in great need in this
+country of an institution or institutions which have for their definite
+objective the study of the conditions and problems of farm home-life;
+not merely the matter of home management, or home keeping, but the
+fundamental relationships of the family to the development of a better
+community life in the rural regions." Now, let the newly enlisted social
+worker assume that he is to undertake something by way of bringing about
+a fuller integration and unity of the people of the neighborhood.
+
+Every new worker in the social field needs a word of warning against the
+rebukes and discouragements with which he may at first meet. To say the
+best, the neighborhood will doubtless be indifferent in regard to the
+newly proposed organization. But let the social worker go on
+persistently, unmindful of any such hindrance, even though scarcely a
+person in the neighborhood seems ready to join in the movement. In the
+typical case of valuable constructive work of this sort, it will be
+found at first that the masses are practically all opposed to the plan.
+However, as fast as it wins its way through unrelenting effort and
+unswerving devotion, the doubters and opposers will come over to its
+support. And after the movement has established itself reasonably well
+and achieved something worth while, the same people who once stood out
+will then fall enthusiastically into line and help with the undertaking.
+
+It will be impossible, of course, to point out definitely to the local,
+self-appointed leader just what plan of social endeavor to follow. Since
+there is such a great variety of conditions, it seems advisable here to
+make a somewhat extended list of possible lines of work in the rural
+districts.
+
+
+CORN-RAISING AND BREAD-BAKING CLUBS
+
+Perhaps among the easiest organizations to effect among the young people
+of any farm district are the clubs or contests in juvenile farm work and
+home economics. The beginning of such a purpose will consist of getting
+into communication with the extension department of the state
+agricultural college. After obtaining their literature and learning
+their methods of procedure, call the boys and girls together, asking
+their parents to come along. It may be found practicable to call a
+general meeting of the entire neighborhood, inviting old and young
+possibly to a basket dinner, and there to lay before them the plans of
+the organizations. While the contest in corn-raising or bread-baking
+has proved a marked success where tried, if possible arrange matters so
+that every earnest endeavor on the part of the young shall receive a
+suitable reward, not merely the winners of the first and second prizes.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
+
+(Courtesy of American Magazine.)
+
+FIG. 25.--Jerry Moore, the champion boy corn raiser of the United
+States. He raised 253 bushels on a single acre of ground.]
+
+It is usually an easy matter to secure funds for paying the way of the
+boys to the state-wide farmers' institute or the boys' institute usually
+held at the agricultural college during the holiday season. Provide that
+every boy who reaches a certain standard--say, that of raising so many
+bushels of corn on an acre of land--shall go at the expense of the fund.
+Likewise, organize the girls into a bread-baking club or something of
+the sort. Prizes may be offered for the best bread, but all the girls
+whose home-making work meets a certain fixed standard of requirement
+should have promise of a suitable reward. Perhaps they too may be sent
+without expense to themselves to a state conference on home economics.
+In case of these trips to the state meetings it will be necessary to
+appoint responsible chaperons for the boys and girls.
+
+
+OTHER FORMS OF CONTESTS
+
+It may be found advisable to start a good-roads contest among the boys
+of the home township, offering an attractive prize to the one who shows
+the best results at the end of a given period and a per diem payment of
+money to every boy who faithfully takes care of his half mile or
+quarter mile of public road.
+
+Then, there may be instituted on a small scale stock shows and poultry
+shows in the hands of the boys of the neighborhood. To this the girls
+too may come with any such thing as display specimens of their home
+sewing and fancy work, house plants, and the like. In fact, these
+exhibitions may gradually develop into a sort of neighborhood or
+township fair for the special benefit of the young. To this display may
+be brought, not only the items named immediately above, but the larger
+variety of things mentioned in the chapter on the Rural Y.M.C.A.
+
+
+THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOL SITUATION
+
+Rural leaders will nearly always find many opportunities for improving
+the local school situation. But let the organizer keep unfailingly in
+view the high aims of all this rural work; namely, the awakening of a
+deeper interest in the affairs that normally belong to the neighborhood
+life, and the fuller measure of joy and contentment to result from every
+such achievement. So, there may be undertaken the redirection of the
+work of the country school. For example, bring forces to bear upon it
+that will result in the introduction of the study of elementary
+agriculture and the simple elements of home keeping and home sanitation
+therein. Work for a better class of teachers and a higher salary
+payment. Endeavor to have the length of the school term extended and
+the school attendance made more regular. Institute a series of
+red-letter days for the school during the year. It may be practicable to
+have a "parents' day," an occasion on which all will be invited to come
+out and join the pupils in a noonday lunch and learn more about the
+progress and the needs of the school. Provide a half-day for free and
+open discussion of school matters and if possible organize among the
+patrons a sort of "boosters' club."
+
+Another form of endeavor in behalf of the schools is that of striving
+for improvement of the high school facilities of the neighborhood.
+Perhaps there is not a high school within riding distance of the homes.
+Cannot one be instituted, say, for the township? Or, what can be done to
+improve the present neighborhood relations to the high school that may
+be already within reach? Is there a prohibitive tuition fee? Does the
+high school now in existence actually serve through its courses the best
+interests of young people who come in from the neighborhood? Again,
+perhaps it would be feasible to organize the grown boys and girls who
+have dropped out of the country school into a neighborhood group and
+provide a daily conveyance for taking them to and from the town high
+school By this means, many may be induced to go to school who are idling
+away the valuable winter months.
+
+During the last decade, what has been the trend of the young men and
+women who have gone from the home district to high school or college?
+Have any of the best of them returned to the farm? Or, have these
+institutions been a means of sending them away as permanent city
+dwellers? Does this thing need to continue? Cannot some movement be
+instituted for bringing about a radical change? So long as the country
+boys and girls attend the town high schools and there be required to
+take the old-fashioned classical courses--which have always served to
+introduce their minds to the city life and to the professional
+callings--the country districts will continue to be depleted of their
+best brains and energy.
+
+
+HOME AND SCHOOL PLAY PROBLEMS
+
+Start a movement in the interest of better provided play opportunities
+for the children of the neighborhood. The possibilities of enriching and
+extending the young life through the avenue of better play are just
+beginning to be understood. We have always accepted the theory that
+young children must have some time to play, but we have given little or
+no heed to the matter of providing for their play such apparatus as
+might furnish scientific contributions to the development of their
+characters.
+
+Make a brief inquiry throughout the neighborhood and you will perhaps
+find that not a single farm home has apparently given this matter any
+definite attention. Now, what playthings may easily be provided in such
+homes? After having determined that matter, begin a campaign of
+education of the rural parents. First, write to the Playground
+Association of America in New York City and ask for a list of their
+literature on play. From this source you will obtain pamphlets and
+larger volumes giving specific suggestions for installing rural play
+apparatus, and details as to dimensions, prices, and the like. Now, you
+are ready for work. Appeal to a centrally located family for their
+coöperation in establishing a model. Induce them to provide for their
+children a full set of the apparatus, seeing to it that the expense is
+kept down to the minimum. Nearly all of the materials of construction
+are lying about the ordinary farm home and need only to be assembled and
+put into place. Once you have established your model home playground,
+then invite your neighbors in to see it, perhaps making a sort of picnic
+or holiday occasion out of the affair. At any rate, you may be sure that
+the parents of the neighborhood will begin at once to copy the models
+and many will even improve upon them.
+
+Along with your efforts there may be necessary a campaign of instruction
+and admonition in relation to the play of the children. Many parents may
+be working their small boys and girls too hard and allowing not enough
+time for play. In this respect your persistent effort will in time show
+excellent results.
+
+Let us suppose that the farm home selected for the model playthings has
+at least one small boy and one small girl therein. Then, the following
+might be set up:--
+
+A swing, a seesaw, a sliding board or pole, a pair of rings, a trapeze,
+and a horizontal bar. Have all under shade if possible. Provide also a
+small play wagon and a cart or two, with a sand box for the small child.
+
+Inspect the district school in reference to play facilities and you may
+find nothing other than the bare ground with perhaps a baseball diamond.
+Here, then, is a rare opportunity for constructive work. Organize in
+your own way a boosters' club and provide play apparatus. In Chapter
+VIII you will find full details as to the equipment best suited for the
+purpose. Provide in every case that the expense be minimized. Nearly all
+of the apparatus may be constructed free of cost by interested persons
+in the home neighborhood or in the near-by village.
+
+
+A NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY
+
+Another very enticing line of endeavor for the rural leader is that of
+establishing the country library. Some one in the neighborhood has a big
+house, one room or more of which may conveniently be set apart for the
+purpose. Induce the owners of this house to clear up a room and remodel
+it, if need be, and make their home a sort of intellectual center for
+the district. Of course the schoolhouse or rural church may be available
+for the purpose, but the farm home will be better for a great many
+reasons, among them being the possibility of having the library open at
+all hours of the day so that books may be exchanged on the occasion of
+one's passing the place. Now, go after the well-to-do residents of the
+district and gather a fund for the library. Paint in glowing terms the
+visions you have of this thing when it has been set on foot. Declare
+your purpose as that of helping and uplifting the community life. Show
+the "close-fisted" resident that the establishment of a neighborhood
+library will attract desirable settlers into the district and improve
+prices of land and produce.
+
+After having obtained a small fund, consult the best authorities for
+advice in selecting the books. By all means avoid cheap stories and
+trash of every other sort. Since your work is in behalf of the young,
+obtain a few attractive and instructive picture books. There can
+probably be obtained a book which treats and illustrates fully the bird
+life of the local state, giving a brief description and pictures in
+their natural color. Young people may be very much attracted by
+authentic books of the nature-study class, including those descriptive
+of wild animals and of hunting and exploring tales. Consult the lists
+given under the chapter on the literature in the country home for
+additional titles and suggestions.
+
+If it be found difficult or impracticable to purchase books for the
+neighborhood library, then, the next best thing will be the traveling
+library. Communicate with the state library association and learn
+definitely what may be obtained from that source. Then, proceed to bring
+the best available volumes into the neighborhood. In the selection of
+the library do not forget the local interest. Secure every attractive
+volume that will help to make the boys and girls acquainted with the
+best meanings of their own community life and more interested in staying
+by the home affairs and building them up. Not the least among the
+valuable elements of the neighborhood library will be the periodicals,
+in the selection of which expert advice is recommended.
+
+
+HOLIDAYS AND RECREATION FOR THE YOUNG
+
+In an ably written article published in _Rural Manhood_ of January,
+1910, John R. Boardman, International County Work Secretary, says: "A
+new gospel of the recreation life needs to be proclaimed in the country.
+Rural America must be compelled to play. It has to a degree toiled
+itself into deformity, disease, depravity, and depression. Its long
+hours of drudgery, its jealousy of every moment of daylight, its scorn
+of leisure and of pleasure must give way to shorter hours of labor,
+occasional periods of complete relaxation and whole-hearted
+participation in wholesome plays, festivals, picnics, games, and other
+recreative amusements. Better health, greater satisfaction, and a
+richer life wait on the wise development of this recreative ideal."
+
+A brief survey of the neighborhood will doubtless show the lack of
+general method in dealing with the farm boys' and girls' holidays and
+vacations during the long summer months. Here, then, is apparent another
+field for constructive leadership. In proceeding to change the present
+situation, it may be well to gather a considerable list of authoritative
+statements like the one just quoted. Farm parents gradually fall into
+the habit of over-working their half-grown children. Now, if we can
+institute a custom of weekly half holidays for the young people of the
+neighborhood, a splendid work will be done in behalf of a higher
+community life.
+
+Begin work by selecting an attractive central location, and plan that
+the young, and the older ones, too, may come to this place one afternoon
+every week, or at least two afternoons every month, and have a good time
+generally. Games may be played, local clubs may meet in the shade of the
+trees, the sewing society and other groups of women having their
+interests served. The farmers' clubs may have opportunity for helpful
+exchange of ideas, while the little children may play and romp about the
+premises. Invite all to come early in the afternoon and bring an evening
+lunch to be enjoyed in common. Thus, you may give the young people who
+regard their everyday work as drudgery, such interest and inspiration
+as to tone up their lives noticeably for every hour of the long days of
+toil.
+
+
+MANY OVER-WORK THEIR CHILDREN
+
+In connection with your efforts in behalf of the holiday or weekly
+picnic, take up carefully the matter of the proper amount of work for
+the farm boys and girls of any given age. You will find such willingness
+on the part of parents to do the right thing by their children and a
+proportionate amount of ignorance as to what ought to be done.
+Therefore, you may be able to carry on most profitably to all a campaign
+of instruction in regard to such thing. You will, of course, first make
+out as best you can with the aid of all available literature, an ideal
+schedule of hours of work and play and recreation suitable for the boys
+and girls of the different ages.
+
+At the holiday picnic it may be found advisable to organize the boys
+into a club of their own and the girls, likewise, for the promotion of
+their several and mutual interests. Inspire all with your earnestness
+and enthusiasm and lead them to consider the latent possibilities of the
+neighborhood, of how it might be transformed into a place of great worth
+and attractiveness. At the same country picnic, look to the
+practicability of organizing into a club the tired mothers of the
+district. They are many. You will know them by their careworn looks.
+Create a sentiment in behalf of more frequent outings and more
+recreation for these women. Help them obtain literature relative to
+their own affairs, to exchange ideas and plans in behalf of their own
+betterment. Show them especially the possibility of quitting the work at
+stated times even though that work be less than half finished, and
+getting away from the tedium thereof--all in the interest of longer life
+for themselves and better service for their homes and families. Almost
+any sort of club which these mothers can be induced to attend will
+achieve the purpose desired.
+
+
+FEDERATION FOR COUNTRY LIFE PROGRESS
+
+Federations for country-life progress are now arising in many parts of
+the country. One of the first was organized in New England, under the
+leadership of President Butterfield. The Illinois movement may be
+described, as an example.
+
+The Illinois State Federation for Country Life Progress is composed of
+nearly half a hundred subordinate organizations. Their platform of ten
+principles given below sets forth a number of most important and
+practical purposes, as follows:--
+
+    1. Local country community building.
+
+    2. The federation of all the rural forces of the state of
+    Illinois in one big united effort for the betterment of
+    country life.
+
+    3. The development of institutional programs of action for
+    all rural social agencies. This means a program of work for
+    the school, another for the church, another for the farmers'
+    institute, and so on.
+
+    4. The stimulation of farmer leadership in the country
+    community.
+
+    5. The increase and improvement of professional leadership
+    among country teachers, ministers, and all others who serve
+    the rural community in offices of educational direction.
+
+    6. The perpetuation among all the people of country
+    communities of a definite community ideal, and the
+    concentrated effort of the whole community in concrete tasks
+    looking toward the realization of this ideal.
+
+    7. The recognition of the country school as the immediate
+    initiator of progress in the average rural community of
+    Illinois.
+
+    8. The study and investigation of country life facts and
+    conditions.
+
+    9. The holding of annual country life conferences.
+
+    10. The protection of this federation and of all country life
+    from any form of exploitation.
+
+
+THE VOCATIONS OF BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+A most commendable work for the rural social leader would be that of
+showing the possibilities of guiding country boys and girls more
+scientifically in the direction of their coming vocational life. Too
+often, there may be found a mistaken farmer who is attempting to force
+his boy to take up the farm life when as a matter of fact the boy is in
+no sense fitted for such vocation and should be trained for a distinctly
+different line of work. Then, on another occasion, you will meet a man
+who is farming simply because he has to do it, and who is over-anxious
+that his boy be guided in the direction of something else. The point
+especially to be emphasized here is that the parent cannot choose
+arbitrarily a vocation for his child. The native interests of the latter
+must be consulted again and again, while the child is growing up, and in
+the end the young person must decide the matter for himself.
+
+The world is full of wrecks of human character who are such largely
+because of the single fault of their never having been trained
+scientifically in a vocational way. So advance as best you can the idea
+that parents must be most patient in awaiting the development of the
+various instincts and desires in their growing children, and for the
+final decision of the latter in respect to a calling. It should be made
+clear that many of the best and ablest men in the world floundered about
+not a little in deciding upon the final choice.
+
+This very important matter of choosing a vocation for the young man and
+the young woman will be taken up in Chapters XVIII and XIX of this
+book.
+
+
+OTHER LOCAL POSSIBILITIES
+
+It will be understood that the possibilities of church and Sunday school
+work in a rural neighborhood are not intentionally slighted. Little is
+said in regard to them here simply because of the fact that there is a
+country-wide organization with well-directed local branches and with a
+flood of excellent literature constantly at work in building up the
+church and Sunday school life. The reader may be reminded, however, that
+this field still presents many excellent opportunities for serving the
+highest interests of the home community.
+
+The matter of purely social gatherings for the boys and girls is
+important. It will perhaps be found that they are running to cheap,
+degrading dances, either in the home neighborhood or in a near-by town.
+If the rural leader can break this thing up and substitute a literary
+club, a better form of social intercourse, or any other gathering, for
+the cheap dance and its resultant debauch, the effort will certainly be
+most commendable. It is not as a rule advisable to condemn and denounce
+these cheap affairs, but rather to begin at once a movement in the
+interest of the better substitute. Just as soon as the latter begins to
+take form, the young people will naturally discontinue their degrading
+affairs. Chapter XIII of this book will offer a more extended discussion
+of the social problems of country youth.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XX.
+
+FIG. 26.--An example of the little lonely school in the woods, a problem
+of the social worker. Not enough children to stimulate one another
+properly in the lesson-getting and play activities.]
+
+
+THE BOY-SCOUT MOVEMENT
+
+There is much to commend the boy-scout movement as a country
+organization. It must be thought of as an educative institution. In
+discussing its best meanings and possibilities, Professor E. L. Holton,
+of the Kansas State Agricultural College, says: "Education as used here
+means habits of health, of work, of thrift, of observation, and of
+research. It is habit that determines the health of an individual and
+the sanitary conditions of a community; the social and moral level of
+the worker and the quality of his work; the returns from the farm and
+the ideals of the farmer; a man's bank account and his insight into the
+secrets of his environment. Habit has its physical basis in the flesh,
+the blood, and the nerve cells. There must be actual first-hand
+experience and leadership hitched up with text-book knowledge in
+educating the boy. The old elemental instincts of adventure, pugnacity,
+gang life, and following leadership must be taken into account and made
+to work out into life-compelling desires."
+
+Before attempting the organization of the local Boy Scouts, one is
+advised first to send to the national organization and that of the
+state, if there be any, for literature and directions. The only caution
+which it seems necessary to give here is that there be connected with
+the conduct of the organization some serious problems and requirements
+and that it be not given over exclusively to merely doing wild and
+daring "stunts" and "hiking" about the country.
+
+
+RURAL BOY-SCOUTS IN KANSAS
+
+As an example of what is being done by way of organizing the rural boy
+scout movement, the Kansas plan under the direction of Professor E. L.
+Holton is here given:--
+
+The Agricultural College Council is organizing companies of Rural-Life
+Boy Scouts in all parts of Kansas. The aim of the Council is "a company
+in every community." There are 160,000 boys in Kansas eligible to
+membership. It seeks to encourage boys to learn the secrets of the
+prairies, the streams and the forests, and be able to read nature as
+well as books; to have a growing bank account, and to do some type of
+work better than it has been done by anyone else.
+
+During the month of July or August there is to be a five to ten days'
+Rural-Life Camp of Instruction in each county, which is to be attended
+by all companies of the county. This camp of instruction will be under
+the direction and management of the County Council. The program will
+consist of:--
+
+    1. Games and athletic contests.
+
+    2. Contest in judging farm crops and stock.
+
+    3. Naming birds, wild animals, fish, flowers, trees, shrubs,
+    etc.
+
+    4. Reporting on the savings bank accounts.
+
+    5. Contests in any other line of work carried on in the
+    county.
+
+    6. Talks on rural life subjects.
+
+The duties of the individual scout are as follows:--
+
+For the Third Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call ten common birds.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track ten wild animals.
+
+    3. Know by sight five common game fish.
+
+    4. Know in the fields ten wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline ten common trees
+    or shrubs.
+
+    6. Know the sixteen points of the compass.
+
+    7. Know the elementary rules for the prevention of typhoid
+    fever.
+
+    8. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than one-half acre of some farm or garden
+    crop. (The town boy may substitute a town lot.)
+
+    9. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $10.
+
+    10. Maintain a bank account of not less than $15.
+
+    11. Shall strive to graduate from the common schools.
+
+For the Second Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call twenty common birds.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track twenty wild animals.
+
+    3. Know by sight seven common game fish.
+
+    4. Know in the fields twenty wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline twenty common
+    trees and shrubs.
+
+    6. Know the elementary rules for the prevention of
+    tuberculosis.
+
+    7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than one acre of some farm or garden crop.
+    (The town boy may substitute town lots.)
+
+    8. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $20.
+
+    9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $20.
+
+    10. Read the books of the Young People's Reading Circle for
+    the eighth and ninth grades.
+
+For the First Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call fifty common birds of Kansas.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track all wild animals of Kansas.
+
+    3. Know by sight all the common game fish of Kansas.
+
+    4. Know in the fields twenty-five wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline all common trees
+    and shrubs of Kansas.
+
+    6. Know by sight twenty-five common weeds.
+
+    7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than two acres of farm crops. (The town boy
+    may substitute town lots.)
+
+    8. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $25.
+
+    9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $25.
+
+    10. Shall read at least two of a list of books on rural life.
+
+The motto is: "Know the secrets of the open country."
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    See Rural Leadership Number of _Rural Manhood_, June, 1910.
+
+    Play for the Country Boy. Clark W. Hetherington. _Rural
+    Manhood_, May, 1911.
+
+    The Y.M.C.A. Socializing the Country. Farman S. Vance. _The
+    Independent_, April 15, 1911.
+
+    Holiday Plays. Marguerite Merington. Duffield & Co. Suitable
+    for rural leaders.
+
+    The County and Local Fair. L. H. Bailey. _The Country-Life
+    Movement_, 1911. This article contains many practical and
+    stimulating suggestions for making a successful county fair,
+    on a new basis.
+
+    Farmers' Institutes for Young People. Circular No. 99 of the
+    U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Free.) This circular gives a
+    large fund of details of all sorts of clubs and movements.
+
+    Kindergarten at Home. V. M. Hillyer. Baker-Taylor Company.
+    N.Y. Contains much constructive work.
+
+    The Young Farmer's Practical Library. Edited by Ernest
+    Ingersoll and published by Sturgis-Walton Company, N.Y. (75
+    cents each.) Contains some excellent matter. The following
+    volumes are included:
+
+      From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia T. Van de Water.
+      Neighborhood Entertainments. Renée B. Stern.
+      The Farm Mechanic. L. W. Chase.
+      Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde.
+      The Satisfaction of Country Life. Dr. James W. Robertson.
+      Roads, Paths and Bridges. L. W. Page.
+      Health on the Farm. Dr. L. F. Harris.
+      Farm Machinery. J. B. Davidson.
+      Electricity on the Farm.
+
+    County Superintendent J. F. Haines, Noblesville, Indiana, has
+    a fund of helpful data on agricultural fairs by young people.
+
+    The Extension of Industrial and Agricultural Education.
+    (Pamphlet.) Extension Department, University of Wisconsin,
+    Madison.
+
+    Children's Singing Games Old and New. Mari Ruef Hofer. A.
+    Flanagan Company. Chicago. Miss Hofer is an authority of
+    national reputation on the subject of play and games.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY_
+
+
+Over-work, poor pay, and little recreation are the agencies which
+annually drive thousands of good, promising youths from the rural
+districts into the cities, where their splendid native abilities for
+serving the world and society are most likely to become subordinated.
+All too often it is a case of a young man leaving the home place,
+surrounded by opportunities which he has not been allowed to avail
+himself of, and going into a place where he will take up the monotonous
+round of merely "holding a job." In the former position, under
+intelligent care and direction, he might have grown into a strong,
+self-reliant man, full of resources, endued with good purposes; and at
+last have taken rank among those who are lifting the race to higher
+things. In the position obtained in the city he is almost certain to
+find his surroundings badly cramped, his spontaneity largely restricted,
+and his power of initiative without a motive for its indulgence. In
+short, his city position will press him continually and insistently to
+the end that he reduce himself to a mere machine, or a mere cog in a
+great machine.
+
+
+SEE THAT THE WORK IS FOR THE BOY'S SAKE
+
+One of the means whereby rural parents may assist their boy to develop
+into that fullness of life which the latter's native abilities and
+excellent environment guarantee him, is to provide a scientific relation
+of the young life to the work which he may be required to perform. First
+of all, what is the proper way in which to regard the boy's work?
+Ordinarily, the farmer is inclined to think of the work rather than the
+worker, and to ask himself what he can put the boy at in order to make
+his services most profitable to the business. Now, no evil intention is
+charged here, but this erroneous point of view is almost certain to lead
+gradually to an abuse of the boy. Why not put the question in this way:
+How much work and what sort of work will be most conducive to the boy's
+present development and to his future welfare? The radical difference
+between the two positions may be readily seen. And while the latter may
+be less profitable in form of material and monetary gain, it will prove
+to be far more serviceable in the production of sterling manhood.
+
+It is not an easy matter to determine offhand as to the amount of work a
+boy of any given age should perform. Conditions vary greatly. The safest
+mode of procedure is to study the individual boy carefully. Let the
+parent first acquaint himself with the general principles of human
+development through the service of suitable literature, as recommended
+in a former chapter. Then, the boy's physical strength, his aptitudes,
+and his native interests should be taken into account. Among other aims,
+seek that of a happy adjustment of the boy to his work. Some of the
+tasks required of him will be and should be somewhat irksome, as a means
+of discipline. On the other hand, much of the work he does should be
+backed up by his hearty approval and good will.
+
+It is probably true that no boy is instinctively fond of work and that
+the average boy must be held to his tasks whether he chooses to perform
+them or not. But the final pleasant relations of the boy to his work can
+best be secured by means of counseling with him on the subject. Explain
+to the lad the fact that industry is the greatest factor in the world's
+progress and development. Point out to him instances of worthy men,
+young and old, who are faithful workers. Make him to see that he can the
+better become an honorable man through an intimate knowledge of labor.
+Point out to him instances of men who are failures in life, and others
+who are criminals, explaining--as statistics prove--that the majority of
+these delinquent persons were never trained during youth in the
+performance of any specific work. Show him if possible how even the
+wealthy person who has nothing important to do, is a burden to himself
+and a menace to society.
+
+
+NOT ENFORCED LABOR, BUT MASTERY
+
+As stated above, no natural boy probably takes up hard work willingly or
+voluntarily. Parents may as well accept it as their peculiar duty to
+direct and discipline their boys with required tasks. But after
+considerable persistent and conscientious enforcement of the boy's
+labors the parent is almost certain to be rewarded with the latter's
+manifest willingness and fondness in doing what was at first thought of
+as pain and punishment.
+
+It is a serious matter, however, to observe how many grown men there are
+who look upon their work with the dread and disfavor natural to little
+boys. One is inclined to wonder at this and at the cause of it. So far
+as can be learned by inquiry among workmen and those who dread their
+enforced labor, their view of the situations is about as follows, to
+render liberally the language of a stonemason-philosopher: "Work is
+something no man is naturally fond of. Every worker would quit if he
+could afford to and take life easy. If I had ten thousand dollars ahead,
+I would never work another day. Of course somebody has to work or we
+should all starve, but my advice to a boy is that he get a good
+education and thus learn how to make a living some other way."
+
+Here the parent who has true foresight in respect to his child's
+development is confronted with a serious problem. It is not merely a
+matter of teaching the boy to work, but rather that of teaching him to
+become master of his work in order that personal pleasure may finally
+come from the performance thereof. So, one must follow the boy most
+thoughtfully in the latter's initial steps toward satisfactory industry.
+While it is sometimes advisable to take him forcibly back to the place
+where he failed and even to enforce obedience and effort with the rod,
+it is most certainly the parent's duty to praise the small lad for his
+first light tasks well performed, and otherwise to show appreciation
+thereof.
+
+"It took me a year to get this boy down to business," said the proud
+father of a fifteen-year-old who had just won a second prize in a
+state-wide corn-raising contest. "During the summer of his sixth year I
+took him with me into the field on occasions when he could do something
+light and learn from it. But my chief plan was to train him in garden
+work. I gave him a small plot to tend and helped him lay it out and
+plant it. At first he showed great interest, but I knew that it was of
+the playful kind and that it would soon wane. Sure enough, in a short
+time he was dodging and slighting his garden work. Then, I began a more
+definite method. At morning I would instruct him very carefully what he
+must do for the day, and at each evening I required him to compare
+results and instructions with me. Punishment was necessary more than
+once, but slowly he began to catch my point of view."
+
+"I bought the boy's first spring radishes for table use and permitted
+him to spend half the money. This seemed to open his eyes. Later I paid
+him for his other produce. During the second season I emphasized such
+matters as carefulness in selecting seed and the arrangement and
+cultivation of the garden produce. Several of the neighbors expressed
+surprise and delight when they saw the attractive garden. This merited
+approbation was noticeably effective. Since that time I have had little
+trouble. I can give that boy any ordinary farm problem to-day and he
+will work it out most enthusiastically. He has learned the joy of
+mastery in his work."
+
+The foregoing somewhat lengthy statement is given with the thought that
+it may furnish illustrative material to others. It is a mistake to keep
+driving boys to their work "just because they ought to do it," as one
+stern father put the matter. But it is altogether fair and advisable
+that a series of rewards be offered. The youth must be made to feel that
+his work is to serve some worthy personal end. This well-trained boy's
+reward came gradually as follows: (1) parental approbation. (2) a money
+return. (3) the praise of the neighbors, (4) the joy of self-reliance
+and mastery.
+
+
+PROVIDE VACATIONS FOR THE BOY
+
+It is unreasonable to expect the growing boy to have the same vital
+interest in the work as that of his parents. The wise father will see
+to it that his youthful son has some outside incentive for work, as well
+as money payments and words of praise. Vacation periods and holidays
+judiciously placed will prove a splendid tonic for the working boy's
+mind. The schedule given below will indicate the relative amount of time
+that should be given to such recreative indulgences. Even in the matter
+of holidays there is a tendency of some fathers to regard them as so
+much stock in trade to exchange for the boy's extra effort. So, some
+farmers will map out more than a reasonable week's work and say, "Now,
+boys, finish that up by Saturday noon and you may quit." In such case we
+have mere exploitation of the boy's strength and energy in the interest
+of the work and the profits. The scheme will fall flat sooner or later
+and leave the boy still despising the work and mistrustful of his
+employer.
+
+The plan pursued by a prosperous farmer in dealing with his two sons may
+serve to illustrate a very good method. This thoughtful father reports
+substantially as follows:--
+
+"The work on our place is never ended, but whenever I find that the boys
+need a vacation they get it just the same. They are fourteen and sixteen
+and splendid help during the summer. I never permit them to work more
+than ten hours a day, while they are allowed a full half day off each
+week to use as they please, and about once each month they have an
+entire day to themselves. Also during the hot weather in the middle of
+the summer they have from three days to a week for some special outing.
+Last summer they camped out five days with some other good boys. It is
+my theory that the boys who are given such vacations will do more work
+and do it better than those who are not."
+
+The foregoing plan may seem to sacrifice the interests of the work, but
+in fact it really does not. After all, it is merely a question of the
+right point of view. Is the boy for the sake of the work, or the work
+for the sake of the boy? Answer the question conscientiously for
+yourself, dear reader. And may the boy be forever the gainer!
+
+
+A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF HOURS
+
+Obedience may be regarded as a pre-requisite for successful boy
+training. So, the first light tasks required of the small lad will be
+intended as merely a means of training him to obey and to feel the
+meaning of responsibility. No one has thus far seemed to think it worth
+while to attempt to prescribe for the work and play of children. How
+different in the case of the school requirements! Even in the district
+schools the thing is reduced to a system--_both the quantity and the
+quality of the work necessary for each age and grade are carefully
+scheduled_. Now, why not the same forethought in planning the necessary
+amount of the other exercises? And why not have this scheme made out by
+_highly trained experts_ as is the case with the school course? There
+seems to be no plausible defense for this traditional expensive
+oversight on the part of society.
+
+The schedule below is offered as merely schematic and possibly
+suggestive. In any given case there may be wide departures from it. But
+the thought is that of training the whole boy, and that for the sake of
+his own and society's future good.
+
+Age 4 or younger.--May be taught the nature of a required duty from
+being sent on an occasional small errand about the place. Practically
+all the time should be given to play.
+
+Age 5.--Use substantially the same methods as for age 4, but add the
+requirement of one regular light task daily and follow him up in the
+performance of it.
+
+Age 6.--Continue as above, adding to the required tasks slightly. If the
+lad now be taken to the field, he must go more in the spirit of play
+than of work. Of course he will learn much about farm matters at this
+age, but his activities will be largely spontaneous. Note the plan
+reported above.
+
+Age 7.--At this age, the boy should be required to do light chores at
+evening after school--such as carrying in wood and kindling and
+attending to the stock. Or he may help in the house. During vacation he
+may help for two to four hours daily with some easy tasks, preferably
+about the house. Of course there is much work about the barn and fields
+which is not too heavy for him.
+
+Age 8.--Some boys are put to plowing at this age, but such a thing is
+little short of criminal. Moreover, they should be held regularly to _no
+sort of work_ all day long at this age; that is, unless the parent
+desires to reduce his boy to a little old dried-up man before the age of
+twenty is reached, and perhaps drive him from home.
+
+Age 9.--Intermittently half-day or all-day tasks may now be imposed;
+provided the lad be taken along as a mere helper and may, about
+two-thirds of the time, either play at his work or regard it in the
+light of a playful pastime. Do not work the joyousness and spontaneity
+out of him at this young age.
+
+Age 10.--An average of five hours solid work per day is all that the
+10-year-old farm boy should be required to do. Much play and recreation
+of the rougher sort should supplement it. The desire to construct
+something with tools is now strong and should be indulged. Or, see that
+he has a pony to ride as he hurries about the place in the performance
+of his many errands.
+
+Age 11.--Increase the required tasks about one hour per day with similar
+treatment as for age 10. This is the age for training the boy to be a
+sort of "page" in service of his mother and sister.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXI.
+
+FIG. 27.--A tennis court in connection with the country boys' camp.
+There should be more of these.
+
+FIG. 28.--A country play festival. We cannot answer rightly the
+question, How much work for the country boy? and at the same time
+neglect to provide for his play.]
+
+Age 12.--Many 12-year-old boys are required to do a man's work every
+day. But such a thing is done in the interest of the work and the
+profits and not for the sake of the boy. A good way to measure his worth
+at this age is to see that he does not earn more than half as much as
+the full-grown man. Give many half-holidays. His interest in fishing,
+rowing, swimming, and the like, needs much indulgence.
+
+Age 13.--From this age to 15, watch the boy for the beginning of
+adolescence and be unusually careful not to over-work him. Most of his
+bodily strength must go into making new bone and muscle. Frequent
+intervals of rest and relaxation should be the rule, together with
+avoidance of too long and too heavy a day's work. Even permit some crops
+to be lost rather than abuse the boy.
+
+Age 14-16.--This is the time to begin to interest the boy in working to
+serve his own ends. His social instincts will now appear strong and he
+will desire many new possessions not hitherto thought of. Therefore,
+adjust his work to these new interests and lead him to feel as much as
+possible that he is working for his own advantage. There is still danger
+of over-work. So see to it that rests and vacations with opportunities
+for social experience are frequent. It is a matter for parental concern
+if the farm boy be not able to return to his labors at the beginning of
+each new day with freshness of spirits and overflowing energy.
+
+
+THINK OUT A REASONABLE PLAN
+
+Finally, the farmer is urged to take up the matter for consideration
+early and make out what seems a reasonable plan of relating the boy to
+his work, and then to adhere persistently thereto. It has been charged
+repeatedly that the typical well-to-do farmer works his wife and
+children hard all day and until late bed time in the evening; that heavy
+chores are piled upon the boys after they have already worked overtime
+in the field; that they are routed out at four o'clock every morning,
+when they go half asleep and moaning to their work again.
+
+If the foregoing accusation be at all true, its truth must certainly be
+the result of carelessness and ignorance of human rights, and not
+premeditative inhumanity and criminality as it seems to be! The reading
+of good farm literature, together with some intensive study of books and
+periodicals on the care and management of children--these will most
+certainly prove corrective agencies of some of the abuses named herein.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Standards in Education. Arthur H. Chamberlain. Chapter III,
+    "Industrial Training: Its Aim and Scope." American Book
+    Company.
+
+    Child Labor and the Republic. Homer Folks. National Child
+    Labor Committee, N.Y.
+
+    Teaching the Boy to Work. (Pamphlet.) Wm. A. McKeever.
+    Published by the author, Manhattan, Kansas.
+
+    Half Time at School and Half Time at Work. F. P. Stockbridge.
+    _World's Work_, April, 1911. An interesting experiment at the
+    University of Cincinnati.
+
+    Care of the Child. Mrs. Burton Chance. Chapter X, "The
+    Awkward Age." Penn Publishing Company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL_
+
+
+Imagine a wedding scene in a rural home. The only daughter, a young
+woman of ideal age for marriage, is joining her heart and her hand, for
+weal or for woe, to those of a young man of suitable character. But
+strange and unexpected as it may seem, there are many tears on the part
+of the immediate relatives of the girl. Her parents are manifesting the
+strange emotion of solemnity at a time when gaiety might be expected.
+Why is it? you ask. The whole situation has an interesting and inspiring
+history. It is simply this: During all her years the parents of this
+girl have watched her grow up, through infancy, childhood, maidenhood,
+and finally into the full maturity of a woman; and every stage of her
+growth has been carefully safe-guarded by them. They have made the home
+life and the home work serve her needs and purposes in a most beautiful
+and instructive manner. They seem to have attempted at all times to put
+into their daughter's life just such experience as would become a
+helpful part of her growing character. And what a reward! What a
+splendid satisfaction to the worthy parents to be able to contribute to
+society such a product of their affectionate care and training!
+
+
+A BALANCED LIFE FOR THE GIRL
+
+Should we follow it out, the biography of the good young woman mentioned
+above would teach many a valuable lesson to the parents of other
+girls--would teach them that a growing girl has her specific needs and
+her inherent rights, which must be provided for by her parents through
+the proper kind of directing and caretaking. A certain amount of
+restraint, of work, of play, of recreation, of social experiences, of
+practice in self-dependence, of opportunity for service of others--yes,
+a certain amount of all these things must be conscientiously supplied
+for the life of the growing girl so that she may develop into a
+well-rounded character.
+
+Parents are not accused of intentional wrong to their daughters. Such
+cases are rare. The chief sins against the daughters of the rural homes
+are the sins of neglect, of indifference, and of ignorance as to what
+were necessary to be done. So what we may accomplish in this chapter is,
+first to arouse parents to an appreciation of the seriousness of the
+problem before them; and second, to offer some specific aids to the
+better achievement of the task of bringing up a girl to the rural home.
+
+It is a well-established principle in plant propagation that certain
+nutrient elements must be present in the soil before growth will go on
+properly. It does not satisfy the needs of the plant for some of the
+chemical substances to be present in large amount if the others be
+absent. There must be a sort of balanced ration for the vegetable life.
+Similarly in case of that tender plant of the household, the young girl;
+she can be kept alive on work and study alone, but for beautiful and
+symmetrical growth other elements of character-nourishment are
+necessary. What are they? The reader is referred to Chapter I for a
+general list.
+
+The hurry of work and the isolation of the ordinary country home tend to
+foster an over-serious disposition in girls. There is too little to
+provoke a smile and not half enough practice in smiling. Laughter is
+also too infrequent. A boy may grow up habitually stern and sedate and
+yet be able to fight his way through a successful manhood. But with the
+girl it is different. Her habit of smiling and of being pleasant and
+agreeable may prove to be one of her most valuable charms. So, the early
+and continuous training of the girl in sociability must be considered
+among the parental duties to her; and that by encouraging her to be
+sociable at home and by providing that she have frequent companionship
+with others of her age.
+
+
+WORK BEGINS WITH OBEDIENCE
+
+One of the initial steps in the training of a child is that of securing
+a willing obedience, a habitual performance of required tasks and
+duties. It may prove an easy matter to drive the girl to the work. But
+how about the problem of teaching her to take up her daily tasks
+willingly and with a joyous heart? Girls are little different from boys
+at this stage of their education. They do not take naturally and fondly
+to work. They will slight and neglect it. Worse than that, if untrained
+in faithfulness to household duties, they will lounge about the place or
+run much in society and allow their mothers to work themselves slowly to
+death--and scarcely seem to realize what is taking place.
+
+Similarly as in case of the boy, some forcing, some rebuke, and
+occasional punishment will be necessary to initiate the girl into the
+work habit. But shortly obedience and willingness will come, and with
+them a deeper consciousness than is manifested in her young brother.
+After that, the danger of over-work will soon begin to be apparent to
+the watchful mother, and be guarded against.
+
+Habit formation is a prominent factor in the first lessons of obedience
+in work. It will be highly advisable to start everything right. After a
+few instances of slighting one kind of work or expending too much energy
+upon another kind the young character begins to take on these faults
+permanently. Many women scrub floors and wash dishes unto their death.
+Others perform these endless tasks quite as well "in a jiffy" and go on
+their way singing. Why is this? Is it not a matter which the mother
+should think about most seriously in relation to the training of her
+daughter?
+
+
+WORKING THE GIRLS IN THE FIELD
+
+Is there any justification for requiring a girl to work in the field
+with the men and boys? Many girls are doing so, whether required or not.
+Careful consideration of the matter seems to bring out a few
+suggestions. The farm girl while a child under ten years may accompany
+the father or the brothers into the field and there be permitted to do
+some light work occasionally, provided she regard it in a semi-playful
+way. On very rare occasions, when older, she may be rightfully called on
+to drive a rake for a day or take some similar part of the work in order
+to help prevent the loss of a valuable crop.
+
+But the practice followed by some farmers, of often requiring their
+daughters to do a man's work in the field, and excusing the fault with
+the thought that it is for the sake of laying up wealth for her future
+enjoyment--that is abominable and should be prohibited by law. Among
+other objections, it is probably most hurtful to the young woman's pride
+and self-respect to be forced to perform farm labor. And then, during
+such time as she works in the field her much needed opportunities for
+the practice of the womanly arts and refinements are slipping away.
+
+Of course we should not take away from the country-reared woman the
+poetic sentiment about the days of her childhood when she helped rake
+the hay and drive the cattle home, "just for fun."
+
+
+SOME SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS
+
+It is difficult, of course, to lay down specific rules here, because
+every case is a special one. But nearly all intelligent parents can
+easily determine whether or not they are fair to their girls. It would
+seem reasonable that in addition to the affection and interest properly
+bestowed upon her in the home, the daughter should have at least the
+same measure of value--money value--put upon her work as is the rule
+with the hired helper. Certainly no worthy parent would ask her to work
+for a smaller sum.
+
+Too many of these good, promising girls are cramped and limited in their
+lives until the self-pride is crushed well-nigh out of them. Often such
+young women will be seen moping about in a stooped attitude of body,
+stiff and awkward in their manners, lacking in self-confidence and in
+that beautiful grace and ease of movement which mark the well-developed
+young woman of twenty years. All of this is more or less indicative of
+parental disregard and mistreatment--indicative that some one has
+cheated her out of the time that should have been allowed for rest and
+recreation and social improvement and given her in exchange an
+over-amount of grinding toil and enforced seclusion--_all for the sake
+of the work and the profits_.
+
+It is a singular fact that so many country mothers make no provision for
+throwing extra safeguards around their young daughter during the monthly
+period of physical drain and weakness. It could probably be shown that
+her lowered vitality and the increased susceptibility to fatigue at this
+time make almost complete rest and relaxation highly advisable. It is
+also most probable that the strain of work and the exposure to inclement
+weather, so often allowed during the monthly period, are the incipient
+causes of life-long weakness and disease.
+
+
+DO YOU OWN YOUR DAUGHTER?
+
+There are still not a few parents who are possessed of the old-fashioned
+idea that their children belong to them, that they have a proprietary
+right in their own sons and daughters. Just now there is thought of a
+father who is intelligent, in many ways above the average man, but who
+seems to regard his twenty-three-year-old daughter as a sort of chattel.
+Being a widower, he needs her services, so he would employ her at the
+least possible wages, or none, to take charge of the home, rear the two
+or three smaller children, and cook and keep house for himself and three
+or four hired men. The best excuse that may be offered for this man's
+attitude toward his daughter is sheer ignorance of the true meaning of
+the situation. But such treatment of a mature daughter is little short
+of cruelty. This young woman should have every possible opportunity just
+now to prepare herself for the future. Her conduct for the present may
+even have the appearance of being somewhat selfish in order that her
+future well-being and that of those dependent upon her may be
+safe-guarded.
+
+Further details of the foregoing case need not be given. The issue to be
+made out of it is this: The parent who is doing the fair and square
+thing by his daughter not only trains her to work and then safeguards
+her life against an over-amount of work, but he also sees to it that the
+labor she performs is contributive to her enjoyment, to the
+strengthening of her character, and to the perfection of her life for
+the future. Parents are justified in using every possible means as
+contributory to the future well-being of their growing daughters, and
+all this for the sake of the generations yet unborn. Thus, perhaps
+without realizing the fact at all, the former may return to the race
+life that measure of assistance which they themselves received.
+
+
+DIFFICULT TO MAKE A SCHEDULE
+
+It is difficult to make out a schedule of hours for the growing girl as
+we did for the boy, but the former chapter may be taken as a general
+guide. As with the boy, so with the girl, the first step in discipline
+is that of securing a willing obedience. Then the tasks may be assigned
+in accordance with the girl's age and strength. There is no good reason
+for attempting to get work out of the child through a make-believe
+policy of play. Children had better be made to understand from the first
+that the world we live in is constructed largely through work; and that
+labor is honorable and may even be made pleasurable.
+
+"I should rather do the work myself than be bothered with trying to get
+the children to do it," is a very common expression, and one which
+indicates an erroneous idea of the problem we are considering. So long
+as parents put their children at the tasks merely for the sake of
+getting the tasks done, the children will suffer as a consequence. But
+if the thought of the child's need of the discipline coming from work be
+uppermost, then, the results are likely to be wholesome.
+
+
+TEACH THE GIRL SELF-SUPREMACY
+
+One of the greatest problems of the future of the race is involved in
+the fact that many thousands of the best young women in the land--young
+women who are well fitted to be the mothers of a better race of human
+beings than we now have--are choosing an independent calling for
+themselves. It is the author's belief that one of the most tragic
+experiences known to any considerable portion of the American people
+is this gradual starvation of the maternal instinct usually necessary in
+the case of the well-sexed young woman of the class just mentioned.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXII.
+
+FIG. 29.--An industrial exhibit in a country school. If the boys and
+girls could enjoy frequently the refining experience of having their
+work observed by approving eyes, their appointed tasks would seem
+lighter.]
+
+And yet much of this fatal choice of an independent vocation on the part
+of many young women doubtless results from bad management of the growing
+girl. In too many country homes especially, the work is complete master
+of the housekeeper and not the converse, as the case should be. As a
+result, thousands of good women who ought to be in the pink and prime of
+life are going pathetically to the only rest which the conditions seem
+to allow--the grave. It is an awful thing, this wreck of so many good
+lives through over-work. Under such conditions, may we reasonably
+censure the many young women who foresee such a fate as a possibility
+for themselves and avoid it through choice of an unmarried life and
+independent support?
+
+Girls are more readily enslaved to work than boys. It is comparatively
+easy to teach a young woman to work, but it is an extremely difficult
+matter to teach her when and how to quit work. Here, then, is the point
+whereat we would center the attention of the parents of the country
+girl. Make her mistress of her work. Develop in her by actual concrete
+lessons the ability to stop and rest or take recreation at the necessary
+time, even though the work be not half done.
+
+
+SUMMARY
+
+1. Give the girl a trifling daily task at four or five years of age,
+merely for the sake of discipline. See to it, however, that her young
+life be occupied chiefly in play and enjoyment and outdoor recreation.
+
+2. Gradually increase the amount of work required, but always with an
+eye single to the girl's physical growth and character-development. Some
+definite thing to do as a regular daily requirement will prove most
+helpful.
+
+3. Continue throughout the daughter's growing years to provide for her
+pleasure. Her schooling, her personal belongings, her social advantages,
+and the like, must all be made to serve the purpose of making her life
+in the home a happy one. As she grows in strength and years, she will
+assume the increased amount of work with willingness and even with
+pleasure, provided the assigned duties be vitally related to her present
+purposes and her life interests.
+
+4. Moreover, country parents must learn to think of themselves as first
+of all engaged in bringing up their children for a better human society;
+and secondly, as engaged in farming and housekeeping. If this point of
+view be held to persistently, the crops may often suffer and the
+housework frequently remain unfinished, but the vital interests of the
+boys and girls will continue ever to be served.
+
+5. Finally, let us continue to appreciate the value of outings and
+vacations as potent factors in relieving the drudgery of work about the
+country household. Women's work in the country home naturally calls for
+much isolation and seclusion. The pre-adolescent girl should be taken
+out of the farm home once or twice per week during the summer vacation.
+It is good for her to go with her mother to the town market and to the
+women's club meetings. As soon as she enters young womanhood, a square
+deal for the girl who helps in the home will call for a weekly outing of
+some kind and a careful provision for her social needs. All of this
+outside intercourse will serve to quicken the body and the intellect of
+the girl as she goes daily about the household duties, and to give her
+
+  "Thoughts that on easy pinions rise
+  And hopes that soar aloft to the skies."
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The author has been able to find little printed matter of
+    worth on the important problems outlined in this chapter. The
+    industrial training of the country girl is a neglected
+    subject. It seems to have been taken for granted that she
+    needed none.
+
+    Sex and Society. W. I. Thomas, pp. 149-175, "Sex and
+    Primitive Industry." University of Chicago Press. Shows in
+    outline the emancipation of women from the bondage of work.
+
+    Growth and Education. John M. Tyler. Chapter XII, "Manual
+    Training Needed for Girls." Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Mind and Work. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter II, "The Habit of
+    Success"; also Chapter XIII, "The Need of Adequate Work."
+    Doubleday, Page Company.
+
+    Motive for Work. Margaret E. Schallenbeyer. Annual Report
+    N.E.A. 1907.
+
+    _Wallaces' Farmer._ Des Moines, Iowa. Weekly. This periodical
+    prints many articles, editorial and contributed, which
+    discuss the subjects treated in the foregoing chapter.
+
+    The Mother of the Living. Mrs. Catherine Barton. Published by
+    the Author. Kansas City, Mo.
+
+    The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter VIII, "The Purpose
+    of Life." Forbes & Co., Chicago.
+
+    Life's Day. William L. Bainbridge, M.D. Chapter VIII, "The
+    Irresponsible Age." Frederic A. Stokes Company. N.Y.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND GIRLS_
+
+
+We have been exceedingly slow in realizing the social needs of our
+children, in the usual instance depending on chance conditions to
+determine the matter for us. The city and the rural communities present
+a striking contrast in this respect. It does not seem possible that both
+can be right, while there is much to support the opinion that both are
+wrong. That is to say, in the city community the majority of the
+children are allowed to spend too much time in the company of others. As
+a result, they take on social manners and customs in a mere formal way
+and by far too early for the good of their character-development. The
+city ripens young life too fast. It produces the manners and refinements
+of adult life before the child becomes matured mentally. In the ordinary
+rural community there is not enough social experience for the young; and
+hence, a certain amount of crudeness, awkwardness, and lack of
+refinement tend to linger permanently in the character.
+
+
+A HAPPY MEAN IS NEEDED
+
+What seems necessary, therefore, is the establishment of a social life
+which will be a compromise between the excess of the city and the
+deficit of the country. So far as can be learned, very little has been
+achieved in the matter of establishing just such a social order in the
+rural communities as will tend to develop the lives of the boys and
+girls in an ideal, symmetrical way. We may not feel very certain as to
+just how this ideal juvenile society should be constructed.
+Nevertheless, an attempt will be made to sketch in this chapter a
+working plan therefor. Some may see fit to adapt it, while others may
+improve it through practice.
+
+What especially needs to be thought of in the development of any normal
+young life is the problem of rounding out the character on all sides.
+There are certain fundamental character-forming experiences and
+disciplines, such as work, play, recreation, and social intercourse.
+Many parents seem to be possessed of the idea that they can develop
+their children through play and social training alone. Others seem to
+believe that hard work and plenty of it is all that is necessary for the
+development of a substantial character in the young. Still others appear
+to allow their boys and girls to roam at will and to indulge them only
+in the recreative experiences. But how indefensible the idea that anyone
+should try to find permanent joy and satisfaction through recreative
+experiences without first having had as their counterpart the experience
+of work and the responsibilities that pertain thereto!
+
+So, again, it may be contended that there is a happy mean between the
+over-work and the absence of social experience so common in the farming
+communities and the lack of work and the extreme social excitement that
+so often obtains in the life of the city child.
+
+
+A SOCIAL RENAISSANCE IN THE COUNTRY
+
+There is becoming more and more apparent the necessity of not only a
+revival of the social life in the country, but also the demand for its
+reconstruction. It is especially to be desired that the reorganization
+be effected under the guidance of sound principles of psychology and
+sociology. That is, it must be based on the fundamental fact of the sex
+instinct so prominent during the adolescent period, and the further fact
+of the imperative demand at this time for a large amount of social
+intercourse. How differently this point of view persistently held will
+shape the matter as compared with the older ideal of merely "giving the
+young folks a good time"! Yes, the social life of adolescent boys and
+girls has its source in the sex instinct then so predominant. It is not
+therefore to be viewed as a piece of superficial sentimentality, but
+rather as a profound law of nature.
+
+As suggested by two or three of the preceding chapters, there may be
+organized a social center in the church, or other such centers may
+develop independently through the leadership of some mature persons. But
+instances of this class of effective organization are as yet few and
+far between. Meanwhile, the young are growing up and their present
+social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers cannot wait for
+neighborhood movements; and so the parents of the children requiring the
+social life must themselves take the initiative in the matter.
+
+
+CONDITIONS TO GUARD AGAINST
+
+Before proceeding to a detailed outline of various plans for supplying
+the social needs of rural young people, it may be well to point out a
+few of the pitfalls to be guarded against. In reference to the latter,
+it is not the purpose to advise parents to try to place their children
+in an exclusive social set. Far from that. The purpose is rather the
+converse; namely, to urge parents to attempt to build up good, clean
+characters in their boys and girls and yet permit the latter to mingle
+freely with common humanity. An aristocracy in the towns and cities is
+bad enough and a thing wholly out of harmony with the best and highest
+interpretation of our national life; but an aristocracy in the country
+neighborhood is an abomination.
+
+But while the so-called best families must think of their young as
+growing members of the entire social community and not as belonging to
+an exclusive set, there is nevertheless great need of constant
+watchfulness in respect to certain evils that always threaten the lives
+of farmers' sons and daughters.
+
+1. _The social companionships of girls._--Of course it must be admitted
+that there is frequently present in the country neighborhood some vile
+or wicked young character whose influence is very pernicious. On one
+occasion this person may appear in the guise of an exemplary young man,
+smooth in manners, stylishly dressed, and apparently interested in the
+best affairs. But as a matter of fact, he may be secretly an agent for
+some infamous institution in the city. The records show that thousands
+of country girls have been enticed away to the cities by such characters
+only to meet an untimely and awful fate. The parents of the country girl
+should therefore know who the young man is with whom she keeps company.
+Usually it is a comparatively easy matter to test his worth. If he have
+no fixed local attachment in a home, and no permanent business relations
+in the community, he may be regarded with suspicion at least, and may be
+compelled to furnish evidence of his moral integrity.
+
+Another type of the young country man unworthy of the company and
+companionship of the young woman is the one who is known by the men of
+the community as being habituated to the use of vile and indecent
+language, or to the practice of drinking intoxicants. If such be among
+his known characteristics, the evidence is decidedly unfavorable, making
+him unsuitable as a social companion of the country girl. It is
+reasonable to predict that he will never change his ways very
+radically, and especially that he will not develop into a desirable life
+companion for the daughter. Some good parents make the fatal blunder of
+allowing their girl to keep company with such a coarse-grained young man
+simply because he is so "good hearted," and "means well," and the like.
+To say the least, a depraved social taste will gradually develop in the
+girl's life if she continue in such company.
+
+Another contamination for the country girl sometimes results from the
+depraved young woman who has drifted into the neighborhood. The girl
+herself will be in the best position to detect such a type, as the
+latter will be marked by her coarse manners when in the presence of the
+girls, and by her practice of discussing obscene matters in private
+conversation with them. This is the situation in which the innocent
+young girl's mind may become forever poisoned and her wholesome faith in
+humanity entirely too much unsettled.
+
+2. _Bad companionships for boys._ Similar warnings as those given above
+need to be sounded with reference to the young country boys, and others
+as well. Farm boys are necessarily much in the company of men of very
+common tastes and low ideals. They hear not a little evil conversation
+and profanity, as it is used by such men. As a result, there will be
+need of much constructive teaching at home. Admonitions, warnings, and
+advice will be necessary.
+
+In every instance it is well for the parents to remind the boy of the
+great interest they have in his welfare, of how deeply he may grieve
+them by taking up any of the evil practices in question, and of the high
+ideal which they hold in mind for his future.
+
+Farm parents will need to keep up an intimate and frank exchange of
+ideas with their youthful son on the general subjects discussed in this
+chapter. They may ask him to repeat all he has heard and to relate all
+he has seen, good and bad, they then offering their corrections and
+admonitions. The especial danger is that the boy may acquire evil forms
+of speech, pernicious ideas for his secret thoughts, and a too low
+estimate of the worth of humanity. The vile companion is especially
+inclined to make the youth believe that there is no purity of character
+among girls and women--a most lamentable state of mind for a boy or a
+man of any age.
+
+The boy in the country is not only very much in danger of having his
+mind contaminated by the evil speech and the evil misinformation
+mentioned above, but there is always the possibility of his being
+enticed by some older and depraved companion into the company of evil
+women. Strange to say, there are a few men who seem to plan deliberately
+this form of downfall for innocent boys and to regard the success of
+their vile plot in the light of a mere joke. It is perhaps a fault of
+society that such men are permitted to run at large. And it is
+especially the fault of fathers if such men keep company with their
+boys. No matter how excellent the family history, how well-born the boy
+may be, and how carefully he has been admonished, there is always some
+danger of his yielding to an evil sex temptation--a situation which the
+parent should always be watchful about and ready to meet.
+
+3. _Secret sex habits._--It is probable that country boys are more prone
+to secret perversions of their sex life than are city boys. The enforced
+solitude of the former and the increased opportunities for such secret
+evil may be accountable for the difference. In any event, there is
+necessity of constant watchfulness, and that especially until the son
+has reached comparative maturity of the physical body. The danger is at
+its height at the beginning of the adolescent period, fourteen to
+sixteen years of age. But the preparation for meeting the possible sex
+perversion should be begun very early and consist in frank talks and
+admonitions. The small boy's questions about the origin of life must be
+answered frankly but only to the extent of imparting to him enough
+information to satisfy his present curiosity. Thus to satisfy his
+childish curiosity will prove a means of counteracting the evil
+influences of the bad companionships referred to above. Then, the youth
+needs to be shown some instances of the ruinous effects of sex
+perversion in boys and men, together with the inculcation of the idea
+that any such evil practice will cut off the possibility of his
+realizing the high standards of moral character set for him. It is well
+also to remember that prevention of the boy's misuse of his sex life is
+comparatively easy and that cure is extremely difficult.
+
+4. _The so-called bad habits._--When we speak of the "bad habits" among
+boys and men we are inclined to think of swearing, smoking, and the use
+of intoxicants. Without thought of defending the practice of profanity,
+we may say that it is often acquired in an innocent fashion and that it
+ordinarily implies no conscious or intentional evil. That is, it is
+usually not so bad in its actual analysis as it sounds to the listener.
+Moreover, it is a habit which many boys take up and afterwards
+discontinue when once they have set up for themselves high standards of
+manliness.
+
+With juvenile smoking the case is different. Without the thought of
+offending the adult smoker or defending adult smoking, we may say with a
+high degree of certainty that the use of tobacco is extremely hurtful to
+growing boys. It weakens and deranges the organic processes, leaves its
+deleterious effects in the throat, eyes, and lungs, and breaks down the
+natural constitutional defense so essential in time of such diseases as
+pneumonia and typhoid fever. On the mental side, tobacco lessens the
+boy's ability to study. Very wide investigations have shown that the
+habitual smokers among school boys rank low in scholarship; that they
+are prone to fail in their classes and quit the schools; that almost
+none of them take high rank as students. The moral effects are even
+worse. In times of temptation the young boy who smokes is more inclined
+to yield and to choose the worse form of conduct instead of the better.
+He lacks especially that fine sense of inner worth so necessary for the
+one who would succeed in arousing his own moral courage sufficiently to
+withstand the temptations that naturally beset young life. The rural
+parents will not of course despair about the boy or turn against him
+should they discover that he has secretly become confirmed in the use of
+tobacco. There are still possibilities of his development into a
+substantial character; but because of his smoking the problem becomes a
+much more involved and difficult one.
+
+All that has just been said in reference to tobacco may be emphasized
+many fold in respect to intoxicants. To allow a growing boy to begin the
+use of intoxicating drink in any form seems to be wholly indefensible.
+However, if there are open saloons in the adjoining town or city, even
+the best country boys are always somewhat in danger of taking the first
+false step. Rural parents must not be satisfied with the thought that
+their boy is "too good" to take up such a thing; they must be assured
+that he is not doing so. Now, the only way to obtain such assurance is
+by means of keeping in intimate touch with the boy and his
+movements--by knowing when and where he goes, why he goes there, and
+whom he meets in the various places visited on his rounds. Thus, he may
+be saved from a life of debauch and degradation, and that by means of
+providing carefully that he reach his full maturity of mind and body
+without any knowledge of the taste of intoxicating drinks.
+
+
+A CENTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE
+
+As explained in a number of preceding chapters, there are being carried
+out several plans for bringing about a social awakening in the farm
+districts. Some of these are succeeding admirably, especially the county
+Y.M.C.A., and in a few instances the rural church. But presumably there
+are many thousands of country districts wherein these helpful agencies
+will not be found for many years to come. So, in the following lines
+there will be an attempt to furnish detailed methods and suggestions to
+rural parents who are under the necessity of assisting their own
+children in a social way. The discussion thus far has been of a somewhat
+destructive order. Now, something of a constructive nature will be
+offered.
+
+The first essential in the awakening of a clean social life for the
+young is a center of effort. If there be no church or clubhouse of any
+kind within easy access of all, then the farm home may be made use of
+for this service. There are many advantages in the common country home
+as a social center for the young, among them being the probable presence
+of some sympathetic parent to offer guidance and to keep down unbecoming
+conduct.
+
+
+INVITE THE YOUNG TO THE HOUSE
+
+So, if country parents are really in earnest about doing something to
+develop their own children in a social way, let them throw open their
+own homes for the purpose. In a certain Iowa home this thing was done in
+an admirable manner. Let the father tell the story in his own
+language:--
+
+"For years we had a room in the house which we called the 'parlor.' It
+contained some expensive furniture which the members of the family
+scarcely ever saw, as the place was usually kept closed up and dark. Why
+we reserved such a dark, musty room for the 'special company' that came
+two or three times each year, I do not know. At any rate, we decided to
+make the place useful. In remodeling the house we enlarged it to 16 by
+20 feet in size and added one very large window.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.
+
+FIG. 30.--An agricultural and domestic science club in Oklahoma. Without
+being so named, it is also distinctively a social club, and a splendid
+socializing and refining agency.]
+
+"Here we made a society room for the young people of the neighborhood.
+Extra chairs were obtained, also a large new stove and fixtures for
+gaslights. There were also some simple wall decorations and a small
+library and reading table. That was two years ago. Since then our two
+boys and two girls have given many parties in that room and no one
+has got more enjoyment out of the affairs than their parents. We feel
+as if that room was the best investment we ever made."
+
+Not nearly all anxious parents may be so situated as to follow the
+excellent plan described above, but it is certainly worthy of a trial by
+all who can avail themselves of its benefits. Best of all, the young
+people in whose behalf this thoughtful endeavor is put forth will most
+certainly grow to maturity confirmed in the belief that the country life
+is not lacking in its social enjoyments.
+
+
+HOW TO CONDUCT A SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT
+
+In giving a social entertainment to the young people of the country,
+there are a few simple yet common matters to be observed. First of all,
+there is the frequent tendency toward reticence or backwardness. It will
+be remembered, of course, that the object of the occasion is not merely
+passing amusement for the young, but also that of furnishing some means
+of character-development. In fact, the author wishes that every chapter
+of this book be thought of as contributing something toward the building
+up of young lives. So, in case of the home party, it will be necessary
+to see that every one present takes some active part. The bashful youth
+who is merely permitted to sit by and look on will go home secretly
+displeased, if not much pained, at his own backwardness. He may even
+fail to appear again on such an occasion, and thus the availability of
+a most helpful agency be permanently lost to him.
+
+It is not therefore so much a question of the dignity and importance of
+the games played as it is a question of the active engagement of every
+one present in the amusements. Much will depend on leadership. An able
+leader will have the group organized before the several members realize
+what is being done. An expert student and director of young people was
+seen on a certain occasion to take charge of a party of forty boys and
+girls ranging in age from fifteen to twenty years. These were quickly
+placed standing in two parallel lines of twenty each. Each side was
+given a dish of unhulled peanuts and asked to engage in a contest of
+passing the nuts down the line one at a time, from hand to hand, the one
+at the farther end of the line placing the nuts in a receptacle. This
+simple game "broke the ice" for the entire evening. After that it was
+easy to keep the entertainment going.
+
+The supervisor of the social affair is advised to discourage all games
+that tend to an over-amount of silliness and that allow for undue
+familiarity of the sexes. There is, however, a dignified form of fun and
+merriment quite as enjoyable as the baser sort. And, too, the leader of
+the evening need not be reminded of the many little opportunities for
+inculcating wholesome lessons in dignified manners. Many a "green" and
+awkward country youth is started on the way to salvation through the
+courteous treatment he receives from some older and much respected
+person. Simply to treat him as if he were a dignified young gentleman
+amounts to inciting him to put forth his greatest effort to make a show
+of manliness. A close student of young nature will often observe that
+merely to address such a youth as "Mister" So-and-So causes him to
+straighten up and try to look the part.
+
+The hostess and guide at the rural party of young people will err not a
+little if she feels under the necessity of preparing a banquet or even a
+heavy luncheon for the occasion. Something as simple as a light drink
+and a wafer or two will be quite enough. The object of the refreshments
+is not merely to feed the young people to the point of stupefaction, but
+rather to give physical tone to support the vivacity of all.
+
+
+WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTRY DANCE
+
+Unless the country dance can be radically reformed, it must be very
+strongly advised against. There is something about this occasion as
+usually conducted which seems to invite coarse characters and
+disreputable conduct. The country dance has so often been the scene of
+vice, drunkenness, and other such evils as to have received a permanent
+stigma of cheapness. The only seeming possibility of making a success of
+it is by the method of inviting a very exclusive set to attend, and this
+thing is so suggestive of aristocracy and snobbishness as to cause not
+a little ill feeling in the neighborhood. Under present conditions the
+country dance cannot be so managed as to make it contribute to the
+social and moral uplift of country young people. There are many better
+forms of entertainment which may be substituted for it.
+
+Along with the country dance should be rated the cheap professional
+entertainments that are so often given in the country school houses.
+Many of these are not only degrading but are morally evil in their
+suggestions, while they tend to give the young a depraved taste in
+respect to public shows and theaters. The school trustees may well
+exclude all such "shows" from the building.
+
+
+ADDITIONAL FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT
+
+The farm parents most desirous of leading in the young people's
+entertainments, and best fitted to do so, may find it impracticable to
+invite the young into their home. In such case, there are several other
+ways whereby the desired ends may be achieved.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.
+
+FIG. 31.--A rural scene in Canada, where the church and the school are
+situated together. The large barn in the background is significant. Much
+of the daily thought and conversation is centered here.]
+
+1. _The social hour at the religious services._--It is deemed quite
+advisable that those who plan the religious service in the country have
+thought of a social hour in connection therewith. The latter may prove
+fully as helpful in a constructive sense as the former, and it can in no
+wise detract from the value of the religious meeting. This combination
+of events is already being successfully tried in a number of places.
+For example, at the mid-week evening service, there is given first an
+hour to the prayer meeting or the discussion of the religious topics and
+the church work. After that, the scene is changed into one of clean,
+wholesome amusement with the special thought of giving the young people
+social entertainment and training. It has been found that this very
+method of uniting the religious and social service under a carefully
+planned program sometimes more than doubles the attendance. Of course
+the first essential for the success of such a meeting is that an able
+leader be in charge of it.
+
+2. _A country literary society._--In times gone by the country literary
+society has played a mighty part indirectly in the building of the
+nation. Many a statesman or leader of the people has received his first
+aid and inspiration at the little old country "literary and debating
+society." There is no good reason why this same general form of society
+might not continue to do its effective work. However, in its best form,
+there will be some additions to the old procedure of merely debating the
+important public questions. The program makers may well have in mind the
+ideal of bringing out every form of talent latent among the young of the
+community. It is especially advisable that every young attendant be
+given an invitation to do the part of which he is most capable, and that
+he be urged to do it. It is quite possible to arrange a program upon
+which only the ablest and most capable young persons of the neighborhood
+may appear. But such would be a violation of the best purpose of the
+society; namely, not merely to provide a first-class entertainment, but
+an entertainment _which shall bring out the greatest possible variety of
+talent and awaken interest and enthusiasm on the part of every member_.
+
+Then, let the motto of the ideal country literary society be, "Something
+worth while for every member to do." The old-fashioned country society,
+like the older public school, was too narrow. It touched life and
+awakened interests in only a few places. The old school tested a boy in
+the three R's and geography. If he did well in these, he was "smart." If
+he failed in the traditional subjects, he was branded as a dullard and
+crowded out of the school, although in respect to some other untested
+activities he may have been a slumbering genius. So with the primitive
+"literary and debating society"; debating and "speaking pieces" were
+practically the only numbers on the program and usually only the ablest
+were allowed to appear. Ordinary talent in debating and reciting and all
+manner of promising talent in other lines was allowed to slumber on in
+the lives of many of the young people in attendance. Now, it is
+practically a certainty that every member of the young literary society
+can perform a part very acceptably, provided the discerning leader know
+what that part is. And best of all, the bringing out of such talent
+means the awakening of many other splendid interests among the youthful
+members of the community, and finally the development of moral courage
+and other forms of manliness and womanliness.
+
+Now, to come to the point of a social result, the so-called literary
+entertainment can easily be made up in two parts, the literary and the
+social; and there should be set apart an hour for the latter.
+
+3. _The social side of the economic clubs._--In many instances, there
+will be organized boys' corn-raising or crop-improvement clubs, and with
+them country clubs of the girls interested in household economy. These
+club meetings may be made the occasion of not a little social
+improvement. The boys and girls may meet at the same hour and place, and
+after the business has been disposed of there may be a coming together
+in a social way. Such arrangement is highly advisable for two reasons.
+First, it will certainly increase the membership of the clubs; and,
+second, the social instincts of the young people may be suitably
+indulged.
+
+
+SOME CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS
+
+The leader interested in the foregoing plans may again be reminded of
+the necessity of instituting a social organization of such a nature as
+to touch all the young lives in the neighborhood. The rules and
+regulations governing the society should therefore be drawn on broad
+and liberal lines, not forgetting the great possibilities of awakening
+slumbering interests and aptitudes, and of building up a social
+community that will draw young people to it.
+
+If one will take the time to drive for a hundred miles in a direct line
+through the farm districts, as the author has done, he will be not a
+little surprised at the striking contrast in the social conditions of
+the various neighborhoods passed through. In one instance he will be
+told that there is absolutely nothing present to invite the young--a
+dull, dead place with perhaps many run-down farms and farm homes to keep
+it company. He will learn that the young people of such a community are
+running off to some neighboring town where many of them find a cheap and
+degrading class of entertainment. But the next adjoining neighborhood
+may present a converse situation. One will be told that the young people
+are happy and contented there, that they have frequent meetings of their
+social clubs and other forms of organization; most probably the
+appearance of the neighborhood will be likewise much better than that of
+the other one mentioned. Attractive homes, well-kept roads and hedges,
+and other evidences of prosperity will meet one's view.
+
+In one district visited, the author found that this better situation had
+an interesting history and that it was nearly all traceable to a quarter
+of a century of public-spiritedness of one man. This resident had
+settled upon a quarter section of good land. While he was reconstructing
+his own home and its surroundings into a place of attractiveness, he was
+continually engaged in awakening the entire neighborhood in behalf of
+better things. He had led out in establishing a well-attended Sunday
+school in the district, had been instrumental in instituting regular
+preaching service there twice each month, had led the entire
+neighborhood out on more than one occasion for a day's work in improving
+and beautifying the school grounds, had been the organizer and director
+of the country literary society, and of more than one club of farmers
+and their wives. During all this time he was correspondent for one or
+two county papers and used every occasion for advertising the home
+community. All together, it was a most commendable and far-reaching
+service which this one man performed for his own neighborhood. So, it
+may be said that wherever there is one inspired leader in a country
+community, there is life.
+
+Finally, it may be urged that the biggest thing in the rural community
+is not the big crop of corn or wheat or the excellent breeds of live
+stock. Important as these things are, the great concern of the community
+should be the development of sterling character in the lives of the
+growing boys and girls and the cleanness and integrity of the
+personalities of every one within the neighborhood limits. To that end
+let this social center ideal be actualized, becoming a place toward
+which the thoughts of all will go frequently and fondly during the hours
+of care and toil. Let it be made a place the thought of which will
+forever impart a full measure of good cheer, of contentment, and of
+honest courage to the mind of every member of the society thereabout.
+Let it be a place so ordered and arranged that things sacred and divine
+may reach down to the things often thought of as very commonplace and
+mean, and exalt the latter to their true and proper place. Lastly, let
+it be earnestly desired and planned for that every heart in the rural
+district shall be rekindled with a living fire of enthusiasm in behalf
+of the general improvement--of interest in the things that are high and
+divine, and of affection and good will toward all in the community. Let
+some local resident rise up as leader and bring this order of things to
+pass, and the social experiences of the young people will naturally
+become of such a nature as to develop them into men and women of great
+worth and efficiency.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Wider Use of the School Plant. Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter
+    IX, "Social Centers." Charities Publication Committee, N.Y.
+
+    Chapters on Rural Progress. Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter
+    XIV, "The Social Side of the Farm Question." University of
+    Chicago Press.
+
+    Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XIV,
+    "Problems of Training." Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Social Control. Edward A. Ross. Ph.D. Chapters VII and VIII,
+    "The Need and Direction of Social Control." Macmillan.
+
+    The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Forbes & Co., Chicago. A
+    wholesome and cheering book for girls.
+
+    Confidences. Edith B. F. Lowry, M.D. Forbes & Co. Plain,
+    helpful talks regarding the sex life of girls.
+
+    See the excellent editorial article, "Forces that Move
+    Upward," _Farmer's Voice_, June 15, 1911.
+
+    Causes of Delinquency Among Girls. Falconer. _Annals American
+    Academy_. Vol. 36, p. 77.
+
+    Democracy and Education. Dr. J. B. Storms. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907, p. 62.
+
+    The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter III, "Life That
+    is Worth While." Doubleday, Page Company.
+
+    The Ideals of a Country Boy. A. D. Holloway in _Rural
+    Manhood_, May, 1910.
+
+    Why Not Education on the Sex Question. Editorial article.
+    _Review of Reviews_, January, 1910.
+
+    Report of Vice Commission of Chicago. Chapter V, "Child
+    Protection and Education." Guntorf-Warren Printing Co.,
+    Chicago.
+
+    The Spirit of Democracy. Charles Fletcher Dole. Chapter XXIX,
+    "The Education for a Democracy." Crowell & Co.
+
+    The Education of the Boy of To-morrow. A. D. Dean. _World's
+    Work_, April, 1911. Prize essay.
+
+    College and the Rural Districts. W. N. Stearns. _Education_,
+    April, 1911.
+
+    The Boy Problem. Educational pamphlet No. 4. Society for
+    Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, N.Y. 10 cents. Treats ably
+    the question of social purity.
+
+    Genesis. A Manual for Instruction of Children in Matters of
+    Sex. B. S. Talmey, M.D. Practitioners' Publishing Company,
+    N.Y.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+_THE FARM BOY'S INTEREST IN THE BUSINESS_
+
+
+The theory that the boys and girls who grow up in the country must in
+time become settled in farm homes of their own has neither logic nor
+psychology nor common sense to support it. It is never a question of
+whether or not a boy will take up the work of his father, but whether or
+not he will find at length the true and only calling for which his
+nature is best fitted. If the parents of the country boy will keep the
+latter question clearly in mind, many a problem in the latter's rearing
+will be made much easier.
+
+In order to break the monotony of the style of expression, much of this
+chapter will be addressed somewhat directly to the father of the country
+boy.
+
+
+WHAT IS IN YOUR BOY?
+
+If a man should come suddenly into possession of a piece of land having
+a productive soil, one of his first questions in regard to the soil
+would be, What will it best grow? Farmers blundered and starved along
+for generations in an attempt to make a first-class farm produce the
+wrong crops, or to produce the right crop through the wrong manner of
+treatment; and this simply because they used methods of tradition and
+guess rather than those of science.
+
+Now apply the foregoing situation to the boy problem, if you will. So
+long as we attempt to secure from him the wrong results and deal with
+him by wrong methods, we are likely to conclude that there is "nothing
+in him." Therefore, in order to act intelligently and helpfully in the
+matter of giving the young son a business relation to farm life, it is
+first necessary to determine, as far as may be possible, the bent of his
+mind, remembering that the great artist, the great writer, or the great
+captain of industry is just as likely to be born in the country home as
+elsewhere. In fact, we shall learn in time, much to our advantage, that
+there must be a careful sifting process which will result in sending
+some of the country-bred young men directly to their important places in
+the city, and some of the city-bred youths to the rural industries.
+
+
+MUCH EXPERIMENTATION NECESSARY
+
+The one who undertakes to develop a boy's interest in business affairs
+has really before him a problem in experimental psychology. Many of the
+youth's best aptitudes are necessarily still slumbering and unknown to
+either himself or others. The fundamental steps preparatory for a
+successful commercial venture on the part of a young man are
+comparatively few but none of them can safely be omitted. They are as
+follows:--
+
+1. _Willingness to work._--In this connection, perhaps something will be
+recalled from Chapter IX. We may at least be reminded of the difference
+in the attitude of mind of the boy who regards labor as a painful
+necessity and the one who enjoys a willingness to work. So long as the
+youth feels as if he were driven to his tasks there is little hope of
+arousing his interest in the business side of it. His mind will continue
+too much on the problem of avoiding work and on ways and means by which
+to get something for nothing.
+
+There is probably a period of dishonesty in the life of every normal
+youth. Following the dawn of adolescence there is a great wave of new
+interest and new meaning coming to him out of the business and social
+world. The world is so full of interesting enticements. Everything looks
+to be good and within easy reach. He is especially prone to accept
+material things at their advertised value. He spends his dimes for prize
+boxes thought to contain gold rings and other such finery. His quarters
+and half dollars frequently go in payment for the "valuable" things
+offered "free for the price of the transportation," the purpose of this
+tempting gift being "simply for the sake of introducing the goods."
+
+But it is well to see the boy safe through this period of allurement. So
+long as the world seems to hold out so many highly valued things which
+may be had for a trifle the youth will see little need of his working
+to obtain them. So, attend him in his efforts to get something for
+nothing. Permit him to be stung a few times and thus teach him how and
+where to look for the sting. Finally, impress him with the thought that
+every material thing worth while represents the price of somebody's
+honest labor. At length he will see the reasonableness of industry and
+settle down with a purpose of making his way through life by means of
+honest endeavor. You now have the youth so far on his way to successful
+business undertaking.
+
+2. _Ability to save._--All healthy boys are naturally inclined to be
+spendthrifts. Saving a part of one's means is a fine art acquired only
+through judicious practice. It is assumed that the young son is being
+reasonably paid for certain required tasks. So the next duty is to see
+that he saves a part of his earnings. For the purpose of this training
+in saving, a toy bank may be procured; or he may be directed in
+depositing a small weekly sum in a penny savings bank. Still another way
+is to teach him to keep a book account of his earnings, giving him
+due-bills for the amounts withheld from his wages.
+
+There is one small business practice, the importance of which for the
+boy is too frequently overlooked; that is, the practice of carrying a
+small amount of change in his pocket. He must learn to use his money
+thoughtfully and not merely on every occasion of his being allowed to
+have it. He must acquire the habit of self-restraint in the use of
+money. To do this is to learn to spend judiciously. To have reached this
+stage of financial training is a sufficient guarantee that the youth is
+proceeding well on his way toward success in business enterprise.
+
+
+START ON A SMALL SCALE
+
+Then, give your growing son as wide a variety of experience in work and
+in watching business affairs as the situation will permit of. During the
+process of this mental growth help him to make a small investment in
+something that will grow and increase under his intelligent care. Let us
+assume that your specialty is a certain strain of corn or a certain
+breed of cattle. If the boy shows an interest in this matter, start him
+in at an early age, say ten to fourteen, on his own account. Give him in
+exchange for his work a small plot of ground on which to grow corn,
+perhaps with a view to his later entering the boys' contest for a prize.
+Or, help him to get a small beginning in the cattle business.
+
+But in case the lad shows no interest in your business, do not let the
+matter seriously trouble you for a moment. Simply continue to give him
+his general education, including the best school course available and a
+training in the performance of work as well as the judicious use of the
+spending money that may come into his hands. Careful study of the boy
+may indicate to you that his aptitude for business runs in the
+direction of something to which you are giving little or no attention
+but to which you may in time bring him.
+
+There is the case of a successful wheat raiser who discovered his son's
+fondness for thoroughbred cattle. So the boy was carefully started on a
+small scale in the business of raising short-horns. To-day that son is
+known far and wide as an able specialist in this line of stock breeding.
+Now, if the father in this case had done as thousands of other farmers
+are still doing; namely, if he had attempted to force the boy, against
+the latter's natural inclination, to take up wheat raising or any other
+undesirable business, then, the son would have most probably skipped off
+for the city and secured a fourth-rate place for the mere wages it would
+bring. Some day this tragic, oft-repeated story of mismanagement and
+misdirection of the growing boy will come out in all its distressing
+details.
+
+
+GIVE YOUR SON A SQUARE DEAL
+
+Deal with your young son on business principles from the beginning. Do
+not hastily and unwisely give him a piece of property that will have to
+be taken from him in the future because of its having grown into a
+disproportionate value. This old form of mistreatment of the country boy
+has been the means of thwarting the business integrity of many a
+promising youth.
+
+If the boy's small beginning develops under his care into a business of
+large proportions, the only check or hindrance that the ethics of the
+case will allow is that you treat with him on fair business terms, just
+as you would with any good business man. You may cause him to bear all
+his own personal expenses and all the expense connected with the care
+and development of his live stock or crop. Then the matter of curtailing
+him must stop. And if the son soon becomes able to buy you out, it is
+certainly an affair to be proud of, not a thing to hinder by unfair
+means.
+
+
+KEEP THE BOY'S PERFECT GOOD WILL
+
+It is a serious matter to lose the boy's confidence or in any way break
+faith with him, even though there be nothing about the place in which
+you can make him take a business interest. As he grows to maturity his
+own inner nature must gradually guide him into the way of a calling--and
+a divine calling at that it may prove to be. It may not seem out of
+place to quote the words of a religious teacher who says: "Do you not
+know that if one's inner nature points out clearly and inspiringly what
+he should undertake for a life work, such thing may be regarded as the
+Voice of the Divine One speaking faithfully through the instrumentality
+of one of his own creatures?"
+
+So it may prove at length that you will have to sell a load of corn in
+order to set up in the garret of your house a miniature art studio of
+some kind for your young son. Or, perhaps you may have to establish a
+small machine shop as an adjunct to the barn or wood shed, wherein the
+budding genius may blossom into that beauty of manly power and
+efficiency which all the world is glad to admire. Out of just such a
+wise indulgence as that last named a certain Kansas boy finally became
+enabled to revolutionize the old farm home and the work done there
+through the installation of an excellent motor power plant. Electric
+light for the house and barn, power for operating feed grinder, washing
+machine, grindstone, fanning mill, and many other such machines--all
+this has resulted from the rightly directed work of a youth who could
+have easily been driven to the city into some treadmill of mere wage
+earning.
+
+But, occasionally the boy will prove himself a versatile character,
+succeeding in a measure in every line of small business to which you
+introduce him, yet showing a marked success in none. In such case the
+advisable thing to do is to continue his general education for a longer
+period than is necessary for the boy who shows an early inclination
+toward a given line of work.
+
+
+SOME WILL BE RETAINED ON THE FARM
+
+It is admittedly desirable, all things fairly considered, that many of
+the very best boys remain on the farm and help develop rural life into
+what it should be. Hence the necessity of finding a way to interest such
+boys in some of the many business affairs connected with the farm home.
+Perhaps there is no better way to develop the lad's interest in the
+affairs of the place than that of allowing him to participate in the
+practical business transactions as the conditions may allow. Let the
+parents take him to the store, the bank, and other such places for the
+benefit of his experience. Send him in with the produce with authority
+to sell and to invest a part of the proceeds in whatever the family may
+need. The father should have the boy with him when selecting and buying
+machinery or live stock at public sales. Send him to the bank with
+checks or drafts to be deposited or collected. Give him an opportunity
+to keep the family accounts, or at least to keep his own recorded in a
+book.
+
+The ordinary farmer can think of more ways than the foregoing whereby to
+give his growing son the needed experience in money matters. The best
+result of such practice is that if there be anything in connection with
+the affairs of the farm in which the boy will have a native interest
+this aptitude will be discovered; and it can then be made the basis of
+the young man's introduction into a successful participation in some
+practical business. The boy's permanent calling is seriously involved in
+this discussion. On page 279 of this book will be found a description of
+three methods of vocational training.
+
+
+THE AWAKENING OFTEN COMES FROM WITHOUT
+
+Parents who find it difficult to arouse the farm boy's interest in any
+part of the home business may sometimes easily secure the desired result
+by sending the youth away on a trip to the county fair or other such
+place. As a means of stimulating boys in respect to some kind of
+productive home industry the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical
+College instituted a school of agriculture for country youths at the
+state fair. Each organized farmers' institute and each county
+superintendent was asked to send one boy. A large tent was furnished by
+the college. This served for a lecture and display room during the day
+and a boys' sleeping room during the night.
+
+At the first session 122 boys attended, coming from 57 counties. The
+lectures covered such subjects as farm crops, veterinary science, track
+and field athletics. The displays at the fair were used for illustrative
+matter. So far the results of the school have been reported most
+favorable. An increasing number of boys throughout the state are making
+preparation for it.
+
+
+AN AWAKENING IN THE SOUTH
+
+It is most encouraging to observe the changing ideals of business
+and industry now in progress throughout the nation. The many
+vocational-training schools and the increasing attendance at the
+mechanical and industrial colleges bear witness of this fact. The
+American Negro, ever a faithful laborer, is now being taught in such
+institutions as Tuskegee and Hampton, not only to perform some honest
+work well but also to plan and prepare for a business of his own.
+
+The son of the southern planter is becoming more and more imbued with
+the new spirit of efficiency through personal industry. On this matter a
+member of the faculty of the Louisiana Agricultural and Mechanical
+College says: "It is a mistake to think that the best of the country
+youth of the south are continuing in the old-fashioned ideal of becoming
+mere gentlemen of culture and leisure. In 1910 there were nearly 50,000
+boys living in a dozen of the southern states, who astonished the entire
+country with their achievements in corn-raising. They ranged in age from
+fifteen to eighteen years. At the national exhibit held in Columbus,
+Ohio, one hundred of them showed an average yield of 134 bushels of corn
+to the acre. This corn-growing practice is under the direction of the
+national government, and is more than a big, exciting contest, it is a
+splendid course in rural home education.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXV.
+
+FIG. 32.--A group of "coming" Kansans. Every boy pictured here carried
+away some sort of prize at a state corn show.]
+
+"We have at this college hundreds of young men from the plantations and
+they are intensely interested in working out the industrial problems
+that pertain to their own home affairs. I have been surprised at their
+eagerness to get into the soil and to do the mechanical work
+connected with their studies. All over the south there seems to be an
+awakening among the boys and young men, of an interest in the industrial
+and commercial problems of the plantation."
+
+The farm papers and the educational magazines in the southern states
+give much evidence of this same sort of awakening. The farmers' and
+planters' organizations, the local improvement and school betterment
+clubs, and many other movements, are giving both incentive and direction
+to the country youths who are at all inclined to find an interest in the
+home affairs. The rural parents who desire outside aid in arousing their
+boys' interest in the home business may well seek such assistance by
+bringing the latter into closer touch with one of these progressive
+organizations.
+
+
+PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN FATHER AND SON
+
+After the farmer's son has fully settled upon his father's business as
+an ideal one for himself, there may be brought to the latter a gradual
+relief from the worry of details, and that through a partnership
+management. A. G. Hulting, Jr., of Geneseo, Illinois, thus describes
+such a plan of coöperation in a letter to Arthur J. Bill, the
+agricultural writer:--
+
+"We have 160 acres of land in the farm. My father owns the land. I do
+the work, provide all the labor, horses, and machinery, and we have an
+equal interest in the live stock and we share equally in the net
+returns."
+
+Other terms of coöperation have proved successful. In many cases, the
+son rents all or a part of the place on terms similar to those allowed
+the outside renter; excepting that he is usually given the advantages of
+free board and the use of the home conveniences. In all such business
+transactions between father and son it is highly advisable that the
+contract be carefully drawn in writing. The verbal contract is
+proverbially a trouble maker, and that even among relatives.
+
+
+SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS
+
+1. Not nearly all promising youths can be encouraged to take a vital
+interest in the father's business.
+
+2. In case the boy cannot be induced to take a permanent interest in
+anything on the home farm, he may at least have much practice in the
+transaction of the small business connected therewith.
+
+3. The ability to work willingly, the ideal that an honest living is to
+be earned through personal effort, and the practice of saving a part of
+the weekly or monthly earnings--these will give any boy an excellent
+start on the road to success and affluence.
+
+4. Deal with the young son on business principles from the first, seeing
+that he shares reasonably in the losses as well as in the gains.
+Although his interest in any chosen line of work may not become vital
+till he makes some money out of it, hold him persistently in line
+during the "lean" years and thus allow him to learn the excellent
+lessons of failure.
+
+5. It may prove unfair to the members of the family to permit one of the
+sons to secure control of the business of the home farm. Some pathetic
+instances of this kind have really occurred. For the sake of the peace
+and well-being of all, such an occurrence must be prevented by careful
+forethought.
+
+6. On the other hand, in case where the boy has started with a scrawny
+pig or through renting a piece of the home place, and, after dealing
+fair and square with all, has come into possession of considerable
+property of his own, do not wrest it from him or in any way take
+advantage of his minority. Such a youth will in time most probably
+reflect high credit upon the family.
+
+7. Finally, the farm parent needs to be warned against the possibility
+of developing his son into a mere money-maker. Such is a poor standard
+of success. The man whose only aim in life is merely to prosper
+financially is a poor citizen of any community. Teach the boy to succeed
+in his business ventures, but at the same time imbue him with the
+thought that his money wealth must be regarded as so much opportunity to
+help build up the community, the state, and the nation. Teach him that
+financial success is worthy of the name only when it is linked with
+social efficiency.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Again we find the field of literature treating the subject
+    directly an exceedingly scant one. In forming a business
+    partnership with his son the farmer should be guided by
+    well-tried precedent. A letter of specific inquiry to one of
+    the leading agricultural papers will most usually bring a
+    helpful reply.
+
+    A First Lesson in Thrift. Horace Ellis. _Psychological
+    Clinic_, March 15, 1910.
+
+    Industrial Education for Rural Communities. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907, p. 412.
+
+    The Child's Sense of the Value of Money. Dr. William E.
+    Ashcroft. _S.S. Times_, July 24, 1909.
+
+    Psychology and Higher Life. William A. McKeever. Chapter XIV,
+    "The Psychology of Work." A. Flanagan Company, Chicago.
+
+    Industrial Education. Various Authors. (Pamphlet, 25 cents.)
+    _The Survey_, N.Y.
+
+    Industrial Education. Kimball. No. 1, Educational Monograph
+    Series, School of Education, Cornell University.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+_BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL_
+
+
+During a two-hour ride on a railway train the author had as a seat
+companion a sixty-year-old farmer and stock raiser, whose specialty was
+that of raising mules for the market. And what of definite information
+this good husbandman possessed about the long-eared beast of burden
+would fill a volume of considerable size. He knew just what time of year
+the mule should be foaled, when weaned, when broken to the halter and to
+work; how to feed and groom a mule in order to get the best physical
+growth; how to train the animal so as to develop all the latent good
+qualities and repress the bad ones.
+
+After the natural life history of the faithful mule had been carefully
+reviewed by the rural companion the conversation was turned to the
+subject of girls. Had he a daughter? "Yes, twenty-two years old." What
+did she know about money and the common affairs of business? "Business!
+Mighty little any woman knows about business," said he. "We buy our girl
+what she needs and have put her through the town high school. I expect
+her to get married sometime. Her mother has taught her how to do
+housework." Further than that the father seemed to know very little
+about his daughter, and he showed plainly that he did not consider this
+second topic of conversation half so interesting as the first one.
+
+
+IS THE COUNTRY GIRL NEGLECTED?
+
+Inquiry will prove that the foregoing case of parental ignorance and
+indifference about the daughter is all too common, especially the
+ignorance. It seems never to have occurred to many parents who have
+growing daughters that unless the young woman have a fair amount of
+knowledge of the value and use of money her future happiness and
+well-being and that of her family are in danger of becoming seriously
+jeopardized. It is a singular and yet lamentable fact that so many
+American parents,--parents too who are intensely desirous that their
+growing children have the best possible moral and religious
+teaching--that these same good parents fail to understand how one of the
+very foundation stones of efficient moral and religious life is
+constituted of a definite body of knowledge of common business affairs.
+They do not seem to realize that the young man or the young woman who
+knows from experience just how money is earned, and how it may be
+judiciously expended and profitably invested, is far on the way to a
+high plane of moral and religious living.
+
+However, there is probably no place of greater opportunities for
+developing sober judgment in the growing girl than that afforded by the
+ordinary farm home. For here the business management of the household
+and of the farm affairs are practically merged. There is the further
+advantage of a considerable variety of ways whereby the daughter may be
+remunerated for what she does. But, how may we best interpret this
+question? First of all, what in a practical sense is a satisfactory
+business training for a young woman, a farmer's daughter in particular?
+Do we desire that she become a shrewd money-maker and successful a some
+sort of commercial life? Few would take such a position. But in order
+that the young woman may be fully prepared to fill her heaven-ordained
+place as the center and source of love and influence in a family, we
+must provide that she be given just such instruction in the use of money
+as will enable her to occupy her high position with the greatest
+possible success.
+
+
+WHY THE GIRL LEAVES THE FARM
+
+Under the title above the Farmer's Voice prints portions of two letters
+which help to throw not a little light on this much-neglected subject.
+Miss Alta Hooper writes:--
+
+"The one great cry going out from the people, and one also much in need
+of an answer, is 'how to keep the boy on the farm.' It is very seldom
+that the girl of the farm is alluded to, although it may be that she is
+included, in a general way, in the great amount of literature concerning
+her brother. But, take it from the farmer girl that she is a live one,
+and unless money is coming into her pockets, unless she is comparatively
+independent and has some interest to keep her awake, she isn't going to
+'stay put,' but will get out where she can earn some money of her very
+own, to buy the little things so dear to the hearts of girls; and she
+will not be questioned and lectured and scolded over every little
+expenditure.
+
+"Oh, the girls on the farm have minds and pride and ambition just as big
+as their brothers' too; and in many cases they are not given half a
+chance to realize one iota of this ambition. It is then that a career
+off the farm and away from the farm home appeals to them. Then the
+thought comes that even though the salary to be earned may be small,
+still it is all one's own, and there is no fear in planning where and in
+what it shall be invested."
+
+Likewise, Mrs. F. L. Stevens, writing for _Progressive Farmer_, says:--
+
+"How often have we seen young girls leaving comfortable farm homes to go
+into typewriting, clerking, or bookkeeping, in order to have their own
+money. An allowance for personal expenses in the beginning would have
+solved this problem. But the father has not seen it that way.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.
+
+FIG. 33.--At a tender age girls are instinctively fond of doing such
+work as is displayed here. Strange to say, some mothers deny their
+little daughters the character-forming benefits of this childish
+occupation.]
+
+"It is not necessary that the daughter be given a monthly or yearly
+allowance of so much cash, but the really better way, it would seem,
+would be to start her in some special branch of work, say,
+poultry-raising. Or perhaps she might be given a cow or a horse or a
+pig, which would in time bring in sums of money by careful management;
+and the business, a small one perhaps in the beginning, would easily
+develop. Many young girls like to work in a garden as the produce is
+always a good source of income and an interesting and educational work."
+
+
+CERTAIN RULES TO BE OBSERVED
+
+If we are to give up the idea that the young woman naturally possesses
+the necessary business judgment, and to substitute the better idea that
+she must be taught how to manage her own affairs; then, What are the
+fundamental steps necessary to impart such instruction? It seems to the
+author that they are these:--
+
+1. _Teach the girl to work._--As was shown in a previous chapter, the
+girl must be taught carefully and conscientiously how to work. Even
+though she may be so fortunate--or unfortunate--as not to be compelled
+to do any of her own housework, only a first-hand knowledge of how such
+work goes on will enable her successfully to direct it. The strength of
+our democracy is much dependent upon the character of our women. The
+modern tendency toward the development of a leisure class among the
+women and girls of the wealthier families is quite as much a menace to
+social solidarity as was the older order of keeping women in ignorance
+and servitude.
+
+The problem of household help is much intensified because of the
+disfavor with which the so-called better classes of women look upon the
+vocation of the domestic employee. The necessary inequality of rank of
+the home mistress and her employees is more a matter of tradition and
+imagination than of reality. The social inequality which follows and
+which drives many young women into less advantageous places of
+employment will disappear just as soon as all growing girls are
+conducted through a carefully planned course of work and household
+industry. No farm parents can afford to deny the daughter the excellent
+disciplinary results of careful training in the performance of every
+ordinary household duty.
+
+2. _Teach her business sense._--In cases where the growing boy or girl
+is simply given spending money for the asking--or the begging--there
+results a perverted idea of the meaning of money. A girl so trained
+during her youthful years is inclined to take this same attitude toward
+her husband in the future. That is, she will probably regard it as
+necessary to beg for an allowance and deem it right and proper to spend
+all she can obtain in this way. The seriousness of such relations
+between man and wife is easily seen. But the growing girl can be taught
+that money is merely a convenient unit of measurement of values which
+are produced chiefly by means of work.
+
+Advanced students of our social life are putting forth much effort to
+solve the divorce problem. In their efforts to determine causes and to
+provide cures for divorce, some of them have gone so far as to advocate
+a school for matrimony, one of the ends being that of preventing
+incompatible persons from entering into the life union. Among the causes
+contributing to the divorce evil have been the radically different
+ideals of the use of money on the part of the contracting pair. An
+attorney of long standing experience with divorce cases says:--
+
+"As a rule the woman who alleges non-support in her petition for divorce
+reveals the fact, before the case is ended, that she is lacking in the
+proper idea of the use of money, is often especially weak in knowledge
+of how the family income should be spent if the family affairs are to go
+on satisfactorily."
+
+3. _Train her to transact personal business._--Then, begin early in her
+life to teach the girl to transact business affairs that relate to her
+personal interests and to the home life of women. Do not buy all the
+little articles necessary for her, but allow her, with money reasonably
+provided, to make her own minor purchases under your advice and
+direction. The intelligent farmer knows somewhat definitely what his
+yearly income and outlay are. Why should not his daughter be told how
+these accounts run, in the usual year, and she then be asked to keep an
+account of all her own personal affairs for a year? Such required
+practice will do more than all the arithmetic lessons in the schools to
+inculcate an intimate knowledge of the value of money in relation to her
+own affairs--to say nothing of the good business judgment likely to be
+acquired.
+
+Thus the country girl may receive a better business training than her
+city cousin whose nearness to the attractive stores and shops proves a
+constant incentive for over-indulgence and wastefulness in the use of
+money.
+
+4. _Make her the family accountant._--As soon as she becomes old enough,
+take the daughter into your confidence as regards the family expense
+account. Make her acquainted with the items of income and expenditure in
+detail. And also make it appear to her that the business of the home is
+not being conducted satisfactorily unless some portion of the income be
+set aside for the emergencies of the future.
+
+At this point there is offered an opportunity to give the daughter some
+much-needed business training. There is much being said of late by way
+of urging the farmer to keep an accurate book account of all his
+transactions. Out of the experiment stations have come published letters
+and bulletins urging that such things be done and showing methods. But
+the evidence goes to show that the majority of farmers do not find time
+for it. So it will in many cases be found practicable to turn this
+important task of bookkeeping over to the growing daughter. Among the
+many benefits to be derived will be the excellent business training it
+will furnish her. As a diversion from the common household duties the
+accounting will prove most refreshing. And, then, the farmer will soon
+find this service to the farm business so important as to justify him in
+paying his daughter reasonably for the work.
+
+5. _Miserliness to be avoided._--While the habits of a spendthrift are
+perhaps above all things else to be avoided, a close second to this as
+an evil practice is the habit of expending in a miserly and begrudging
+manner. So, teach the girl to give her money willingly for all the
+ordinary necessities and comforts of life and for such luxuries as the
+conditions will reasonably warrant.
+
+The far-sighted parent and the one really interested in the future of
+his daughter will readily observe how much enslaved adults finally
+become in the use of money. There are perhaps as many well-to-do persons
+who are miserly because they cannot help it as there are improvident
+persons who are spendthrifts because they cannot longer prevent it. Both
+classes manifest the certain results of training and habit. In his
+interesting chapter on the psychology of habit Professor James explains
+so aptly how the man, long practiced in enforced economy, but at length
+having ample means, goes to the store with the determination of paying
+liberally for an article; and how he finally comes away with something
+cheap.
+
+A "golden mean" is therefore to be sought in training the girl in the
+use of money. Not how to save at all hazards, but how to spend
+judiciously, with conscious thought of the right relation between income
+and outlay--this is perhaps the more acceptable ideal.
+
+6. _Teach her to give._--While inculcating business ideas into the mind
+of your growing daughter, guard against her acquiring a mere passion for
+money-making and the accumulation of wealth. For example, one of the
+best means of achieving this end would be to see that she gives a part
+of her earnings to some worthy cause or other. Explain to her again and
+again that she must keep up in her life a sort of equipoise of receiving
+and giving, if the highest sense of inner satisfaction is always to be
+her portion.
+
+The young must learn sooner or later that there is other than a money
+profit to be derived from the investment of money. Accordingly, it will
+not be found difficult for the rural parents to point out to their
+daughter some place merely where she may invest a small part of her
+earnings in human welfare. An orphan child living in the neighborhood
+may be sorely in need of a new dress or school books, a lonely and aged
+widow may be cheered by the gift of a wall picture, a crippled child may
+be accumulating funds for hospital treatment, or another person may have
+lost heavily from flood or fire. These and many more like them may be
+made the occasion of teaching the girl a beautiful lesson of sympathy
+and sacrifice. And the sacrifice should come out of what she has
+accumulated through her own small business enterprise.
+
+7. _Teach the meaning of a contract._--It is often declared that women
+fail to appreciate the obligations of a contract, that they will enter
+into a strict agreement to buy an article or to pay for another and then
+refuse to carry out such agreement. Merchants have been so often called
+on to deal with this feminine change of mind that they have seen fit to
+establish a custom of taking back at cost any article not found
+satisfactory upon trial. This failure of women to adhere strictly to the
+terms of an agreement has given currency to the opinion that they are
+naturally dishonest. Weininger in his volume "Sex and Character" even
+offers a line of questionable proof to confirm the correctness of the
+opinion.
+
+But Dr. G. Stanley Hall in many of his researches shows that falsehood
+and deception are common and natural practices among ordinary children.
+All forms of honest and fair moral and business practice are less
+natural than acquired. They must have actual experience, and much of
+it, as a basis for their becoming a permanent part of character. Hence,
+the so-called dishonesty of women in relation to the obligations of a
+business agreement--that is probably nothing more than a matter of sheer
+ignorance. Farm girls are proverbially lacking in business practice and
+in knowledge of the rights and obligations of a contract. It is
+obligatory upon their parents to remove such ignorance through business
+training.
+
+8. _Prepare her to deal with grafters._--"The majority of his victims
+were women," is the statement so often read in connection with the
+fraudulent schemes of the exposed money shark. Millions of dollars are
+annually taken from credulous women by the get-rich-quick money trader.
+This polite form of theft has become so flagrant as to necessitate much
+vigilance and many prosecutions on the part of the national government.
+Widows and other dependent women are especially the sufferers.
+
+The necessity of preparing the innocent young woman to deal with the
+enticing business fraud is very apparent. Two or three matters must
+especially be attended to in giving the required instruction. First,
+take advantage of many occasions to explain to the girl just how a given
+case is being worked, so that she may be on guard against such
+allurements; second, it is well to advise the untrained young woman
+against investing in any scheme of profit sharing that offers above a
+good current rate of interest.
+
+
+SHOULD THERE BE AN ACTUAL INVESTMENT?
+
+Then, what if anything should be done in the ordinary farm home by way
+of providing an investment for the growing daughter so that she may
+daily have some practice in business affairs, as well as an income for
+use in meeting her personal expenses? Before attempting to answer this
+question, let us be certain that we have the correct point of view of
+the growing daughter's ideal relation to the practical affairs in the
+rural home. It seems to the author that there is only one safe rule of
+procedure here and that is, whatever the investment,--if there be any at
+all,--it must be understood that the ideal is one of developing the girl
+into a beautiful womanhood and not one of making the investment pay in
+the mere money sense of the term. In other words, the business of the
+farm and the farm home must serve directly the highest interests of the
+members of the household, even though money accumulations cannot, as a
+result, go on quite so fast. Or, as we have put it several times before:
+The farm and the live stock and all that pertains thereto must be so
+managed as to contribute directly to the development of the high aspects
+of character in the boys and girls, and not as materials which the
+growing boys and girls are to help build up and multiply.
+
+Now, if it still be insisted upon that the country girl have a definite
+business relation to the affairs of the home, there are two or three
+ways whereby this may be accomplished. One method is to give the girl a
+fixed and reasonable sum of money for whatever she may do by way of
+helping in the house. Another is that of providing a small investment in
+something that may be expected to increase reasonably in value and
+finally bring her a money return. Of the two methods of procedure
+mentioned, it would seem that the first is the more desirable. If the
+daughter be given an interest in anything like the live stock or some
+farm crop, the thing will not appeal to her directly, and whatever
+interest she may have in it will be a purely borrowed one. On the other
+hand, if she be given a generous allowance for her services, and during
+the younger years be trained in the expenditure of this allowance, good
+results may be expected. Similarly as with the boy, the growing girl
+must be taught to look toward the future. A system of restraints must be
+placed against her tendency to squander her small income, and gradually
+she may be trained to set aside a small portion of what she has with a
+view to its being applied upon something of her own later in life. It is
+perhaps too much to ask the girl to save enough money to pay her way
+through college, but there are many advantages in training her to save
+for a certain portion of that expense. Perhaps she may be able to buy
+her own clothes.
+
+It is not reasonable to assume that every well-trained country girl will
+find it advisable to take a college course. So, instead of saving up for
+college expenses, she may be taught to lay by something for the day of
+her marriage and with the thought of helping equip a home of her own. As
+a matter of fact, it is not a question of the specific purpose for which
+the money may be set apart. The main issue is that of staying by her day
+after day and week after week, and guiding and advising her until she
+finally acquires good sense, mature judgment, and self-reliance in
+regard to the business affairs that may be expected to constitute a part
+of her life as a keeper of a home of her own.
+
+_How the southern girls earn money._--One of the most interesting and
+significant modern movements in behalf of juvenile industry is that of
+the Southern Girls' Tomato Clubs, originated in 1910 by Miss Marie
+Cromer, a rural school teacher of North Carolina. Thousands of young
+girls are now participants in the new work, each one tending a small
+plat of tomatoes and canning the produce for the market. One girl is
+reported to have cleared $130 from one season's crop raised on one
+fourth of an acre. The General Education Board and the National
+Department of Agriculture have given liberal support to this
+tomato-growing work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+_WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY BOY HAVE?_
+
+
+It is a well-known fact that rural life conditions have been changing
+rapidly within the past decade or more. It has taken us a long while to
+get away from the thought that the farmer is to be anything other than
+merely a plain, coarse man, comparatively uneducated and innocent of the
+ways of the world. But we are at last seeing the light in respect to
+this and many another such traditional belief of a menacing nature. We
+are now looking forward expectantly to the time when the rural community
+shall contain its proportionate share of people educated or cultured in
+the full sense of either of these words.
+
+
+CHANGES IN RURAL SCHOOL CONDITIONS
+
+Many of those now in middle life can easily remember when the farmer boy
+was sent to school only during the time when his services were not
+required for the performance of the work about the field and the home.
+This period was narrowed down to about three months in the year. After
+the corn was husked in the fall, he entered school, usually about
+December first. And at the first sign of spring, about March first, he
+was called away to begin preparations for the new season's crop. During
+these sixty days, more or less, the growing lad was supposed to pick up
+the rudiments of learning and by the time maturity was reached to have
+worked himself out of the ranks of the illiterate. So he did, for he
+learned to read falteringly, to write a scrawling hand, and to solve a
+few arithmetical problems.
+
+We observe the new order of things. In practically all the states there
+have been recently enacted laws requiring every normal child to attend
+school during the entire term and to continue for a period of seven or
+eight years. The splendid results of this provision have only begun to
+be apparent, but another decade will reveal them in large proportions.
+Back of this new legislation in behalf of the boys and girls is the new
+ideal of the possibilities and the worth of the ordinary human being. We
+are just beginning to understand this splendid truth; namely, that with
+very few exceptions all of our new-born young have latent within them
+all the aptitudes necessary for the development of beautiful and
+symmetrical character. The modern ideal of public education recognizes
+two things: first, the right of the child to the fullest possible
+development; and second, the duty of society to see that the child
+receive such training whether the parent may wish to accord it to him or
+not.
+
+The author is especially desirous that the reader appreciate the
+situation sketched in the foregoing paragraph. What does it mean? It
+means that our children are at last to have more nearly equal
+opportunities of development, that their worthy aptitudes or traits are
+to be brought out through instruction and made to do service in the
+construction of a sterling character. It means that we shall have
+cultured artisans as well as cultured artists; that the plain man behind
+the plow or in the workshop shall be capable of thinking the big,
+inspiring thoughts as well as the little, puny ones. It means that there
+will spring up everywhere among the ranks of those once regarded as low
+and coarse, a magnificent society of men and women who, as individuals,
+will feel and realize a secret sense of power and worth, and who will
+shine in the light of a new inspiration.
+
+
+THE BOY A BUNDLE OF POSSIBILITIES
+
+It has been proved beyond question that the ordinary child contains at
+birth potentialities of development far greater in amount and variety
+than any amount of schooling can ever bring into full realization. If
+you will make a list of one hundred different and highly specialized
+vocations, and pause for a moment to contemplate the matter, you will
+doubtless agree that any common boy might be so trained as to some
+degree in any one of the hundred that he might be made to do fairly
+well in several of them; and that he might become an expert in at least
+one of them.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.
+
+FIG. 34.--Only whittling. But in the case of these country boys it is
+thought of as not mere idling, but as a pastime that leads toward the
+world of industry.]
+
+So, there is little need of being worried over the thought that the boy
+is a natural-born dullard, without native ability to learn and finally
+to make his way in the world. It is true that there is occasionally a
+real "blockhead" among children, but such cases are quite as rare as
+imbecility and physical deformity. Indeed, such cases are nearly always
+connected with one or both of the defects just named. Then, while in the
+usual instance the child is to be assumed to possess an ample amount of
+native talent, one of the specific problems of his parents and teachers
+is that of learning in time what his best latent talent is, so that it
+may give proper incentive and direction for his vocational life.
+
+
+CLASSES OF NATIVE ABILITY
+
+Roughly speaking there are three classes of native ability in the human
+offspring: the super-normal, the normal, and the sub-normal. The first
+is constituted of the geniuses--few and far between, perhaps one in a
+hundred to five hundred. The second is composed of the great mass of
+humanity upon which the stability of the race is built and out of which
+the geniuses--and the majority of the sub-normals--spring through
+fortuitous variation. The third class is constituted of the
+feeble-minded, the imbeciles, and the exceedingly rare natural-born
+criminals--altogether, perhaps one in every two hundred or more of the
+population.
+
+Now, what we are trying to get at here is a fair estimate of what the
+parent may reasonably look for by way of a stock of native ability in
+his child. The natural-born genius will be known by one special mark;
+namely, he will be so strongly inclined toward one special line of work
+or calling as to need no outside stimulus or incentive to make him take
+it up. Indeed, in the usual case of a pronounced genius it is a very
+difficult matter to prevent the individual from following out his one
+over-mastering predisposition.
+
+The marks of feeble-mindedness or idiocy are too well known to need
+description. Such cases are also so rare and so special in their manner
+of treatment as to call for no extended discussion.
+
+
+THE GREAT TALENTED CLASS
+
+The great masses of humanity are constituted of what we mean here by the
+talented. That is, as described above, at birth they possess a large and
+abundant stock of potentialities of learning and achievement--much more
+than can ever become actualized because of the comparatively limited
+time and means for education and training. Of course, we recognize that
+among the talented classes there is an endless variety of combinations
+of abilities. So are there many degrees of ability.
+
+But in addition to the foregoing marks of latent ability in the great
+middle classes we must note a distinctive feature of the development and
+education of such classes. It is this: _The two great conditions
+necessary for the successful development of the ordinary child are
+stimulus and opportunity._ Unless the slumbering talents be awakened by
+the proper stimuli, they may slumber on throughout the whole lifetime
+and no one detect their presence; and unless opportunities for
+development be given to satisfy the awakened talent, it may return
+permanently to its condition of quiescence.
+
+In attempting to furnish the necessary stimuli and opportunities for the
+development of his boy, the farmer has--if he will only use it--a great
+advantage over the city father. The great variety of work-and-play
+experience afforded by the rural situation, the fairly good general
+schooling now coming more and more into reach of all farm homes, the
+many conditions contributory to self-reliance and independent thinking
+in the case of the boy--all these raw materials of stimulus and
+opportunity lie hidden about the common country home. But the parents
+must themselves become wider awake to the meanings and purposes of such
+materials, or otherwise their value is lost through disuse. And again,
+it is urged that parents make the same careful study of their children
+as they do of farm crops and live stock. See the reference lists
+following the first five chapters.
+
+
+ROUND OUT THE BOY'S NATURE
+
+Fortunately, the new provisions of the schools are furnishing more and
+more definitely the equipment and the course of training most necessary
+for the masses of the growing children. Fortunately, too, the illiterate
+father is not to be permitted to dictate as to what subjects his boy is
+to study in the school, there being not only compulsory attendance, but
+strict requirements that every child pursue the prescribed course. The
+time is fast approaching when the rural parent in any community can feel
+assured that this course of study has been mapped out by expert
+authority in just such a way as to serve the highest needs of his boy,
+the idea being to teach and awaken every side of the young nature into
+its highest possible activity.
+
+In the usual case it is a waste of time to attempt to predetermine the
+boy's vocational life before he has gone at least well up through the
+intermediate grades of the common school; and even then, there is
+usually not much indication of what he is best suited for. So, one of
+the great purposes of the common school course is that of sounding the
+boy on every side and in every depth of his nature, so to speak, in
+order to find what is there, and to determine what he is by inheritance
+best suited to do as a life work.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.
+
+FIG. 35.--An illustration of how to keep the boy on the farm. Every boy
+needs to acquire early an intimate knowledge of some great industrial
+pursuit.]
+
+The usual inclination of the rural parent is that of looking at his
+son's education too strictly in terms of dollars and cents and to be
+impatient at the thought of the boy's taking a broad, fundamental course
+of schooling. Such school subjects as language and composition are
+especially thought of as a useless waste of time. But fortunately, as
+indicated above, the choice is no longer left either to the boy or his
+father. The former must pursue the subjects assigned him and allow time
+to prove the wisdom of such a procedure, as it most certainly will.
+Wherefore, let the rural father attempt to think of his boy, not merely
+as a coming money-maker, but as a coming _man_; a man of power and worth
+and influence in the community in which he is to live, a man of whom his
+aged father in future time will be most proud, and by whom he will be
+highly honored.
+
+
+OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS
+
+As suggested above, the evidence is very overwhelming in effect that it
+is the duty of rural parents to give their children a broad, general
+course of training as a foundation for efficient life in any place or
+position. Moreover, it must not be thought for a moment that the legacy
+of money or property will in any wise furnish a satisfactory substitute
+for such a course of training. Mean-spiritedness and narrow-mindedness
+are almost invariably prominent traits of the man who has been prepared
+to know nothing outside of his business even though that may be a big
+business. On the other hand, extensive culture, including a character
+well developed in all of its essential elements, is by far the best
+equipment that can possibly be furnished the boy for his start in life.
+
+Now, while the growing boy's education must not be especially prejudiced
+in favor of any particular calling, there is no good reason why the
+farmer's son should not be given the benefit of every possible intimate
+and wholesome relation to the father's work and business. That is, he
+must not be forced to take up the vocation of farming, but he must be
+given every opportunity to know its best meanings and advantages. And if
+he is finally to leave for some foreign occupation, he must go with a
+profound sense of the possible worth and integrity of the calling of his
+father. Then, in order that there may be maintained most friendly
+relations between the farm boy and the farm life, see to it that he has
+an occasional outing. Widen the scope of his home environment by means
+of sending him outside occasionally. Let him go off to the state and
+county fair and learn what he can there. Let him participate in the
+grain and stock judging contests, as heretofore recommended. Let him
+attend some of the larger sales of blooded stock and learn there to know
+more intimately the possibilities of animal husbandry. Accompany him on
+a trip to the big city occasionally--under proper provisions and
+restrictions--and help him to acquire some valuable lesson which may be
+taken back to the rural community and used to the advantage of the
+latter.
+
+Also, what about the literature in the home? Although a chapter has
+already been given to the matter, for the sake of emphasizing its great
+importance it is again referred to here. Why not see to it that there be
+secured a few enticing volumes of the clean and uplifting sort? A very
+few dollars will furnish the nucleus of a library of which the boy will
+soon become proud. Ask the school superintendent or teacher to make out
+a list of ten of the best books for your boy and then secure these at
+once. Bring into the home also one or two of the best standard magazines
+and keep constantly on the table one or more of the best and cleanest
+newspapers. Then, see to it that the boy's life be not so nearly dragged
+out during the day's work that he cannot spend thirty minutes or more of
+each evening at the reading table.
+
+
+DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN HUMANITY
+
+All education is for the sake of human welfare. The thing learned like
+the material thing possessed is most worth while in proportion as it
+serves some high human purpose or need. There is abundant opportunity to
+teach the country boy that education cannot well exist for its own sake
+or purely for one's own selfish uses. So it is well early to awaken the
+youth's interest in people. Have him compare his own lot with that of
+others in very different circumstances. Take him occasionally to the
+orphanage, the industrial (reform) school, the imbecile and insane
+asylums, the prisons, and the sweat-shops in the city. Thus through
+acquainting him with how the other half lives you may cause the boy to
+reflect seriously on the best meanings and possibilities of his own
+life, and to plan in his mind a splendid ideal of integrity for his own
+coming manhood.
+
+The boy's education is not going on rightly if he is not being
+introduced to the current affairs of the world. The literature suggested
+above should be made to serve the purpose of bringing his attention to
+these matters. He should become interested in the political welfare of
+his community, his state, and his nation, and learn to feel his
+responsibility in regard to such things. But he will probably not
+voluntarily acquire these better relations to society at large. It
+should therefore be regarded as the urgent duty of the parent to give
+the necessary guidance and instruction.
+
+Finally, we must again be reminded of the high ideals of education and
+culture necessary to, and consistent with, substantial country life. The
+greatest of producing classes--the agronomists--must and can in time
+rank at the head of all others in moral and intellectual worth. So, let
+the rural parent look ahead and formulate in his own mind the splendid
+vision of his son grown up to full maturity of all his best powers. Let
+him see this future citizen as a man of magnanimity, of splendid
+personal force, and of great constructive ability in the important work
+of budding up the affairs of the community in which he is to live.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Chapters in Rural Progress. President Kenyon L. Butterfield.
+    Chapter VI. "Education for the Farmer." University of Chicago
+    Press.
+
+    Education for the Iowa Farm Boy. H. C. Wallace. Pamphlet.
+    (Free.) Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines.
+
+    Value during Education of a life Career Motive. C. W. Eliot.
+    Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910.
+
+    To keep Boys on the Farm. M. E. Carr. _Country Life._ April
+    1, 1911.
+
+    Education Best Suited for Boys. R. P. Halleck. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1906. p. 58.
+
+    The Training of Farmers. Dr. L. H. Bailey. The Century
+    Company. Contains a statistical study of why boys leave the
+    farm.
+
+    The Best Thing a College does for a Man. President Charles F.
+    Tawing. _Forum_, Volume 18. p. 570.
+
+    The Care of Freshmen. President W. O. Thompson. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907. p. 723.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare.
+    Page 142. "The Discipline of Work." Frederick P. Fish. G. E.
+    Stechert & Co., New York.
+
+    The Young Man's Problem. Educational Pamphlet No. 1. Society
+    of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. New York. 10 cents. Every
+    parent should read this excellent discussion on sex
+    education.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+_WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY GIRL HAVE?_
+
+
+Perhaps it need not be urged that the country girl be provided with the
+same general educational advantages as those outlined for the country
+boy, as the plain demands of justice would mean as much. She, too, must
+be thought of as possessing all the beautiful latent possibilities, and
+high ideals of personal worth and character should be constantly
+entertained for her in the minds of her parents. And then, they must
+allow no ordinary business concern about the farm home to stand in the
+way of her unfoldment in the direction of these higher ideals.
+
+
+SPECIAL PROBLEMS RELATING TO THE GIRL
+
+Over and above those provisions which relate to the general development
+of the country boy there are several special considerations in reference
+to his sister. For example, she has a more delicate physical organism
+which must be shielded, especially at times, against the heavy drudgery
+that will naturally fall upon her willing shoulders. And then, the
+standards require of her rather more of refined manners than they do of
+her brother. Moreover, it may be shown that a refined and attractive
+personality will become a larger asset in her life than in his.
+Comeliness and habitual cheerfulness and numerous other like qualities
+must be thought of as necessary and helpful characteristics of the
+well-reared country girl. It will also be much to her advantage to have
+some special training in at least one of the so-called fine arts. Let
+her have her musical education or some advanced work in literature or
+painting. A sum of money invested in something of this sort while the
+daughter is growing may be considered a far better investment than if
+the same amount were laid away to invest in a dowry.
+
+
+PROTECTING THE GIRL AT SCHOOL
+
+It is not merely obligatory that the farmer send his young girl to the
+district school regularly, and thus round out her nature symmetrically
+through instruction in all the common branches. The delicate nature of
+the normal girl requires far more protection than is often accorded it.
+Unlike the city walks and pavements, the country road leading to the
+schoolhouse is often menaced by muddy sloughs, tall vegetation, and deep
+snow banks. Wading through such places, especially in bad weather, gives
+undue exposure, the feet frequently becoming wet and the body thoroughly
+chilled. Many children sit all day in the schoolroom in this condition.
+As a result of the lowered vitality the incipient forms of various
+diseases enter the body, there perhaps to return intermittently and with
+more serious effects as the life advances.
+
+What may be done as preventive measures, it is asked. Simply this:
+Prepare a better road from the home to the schoolhouse, by putting in
+foot crossings over ravines, by mowing weeds and grass, by filling and
+draining low places, and the like. On stormy days and on occasions when
+the young adolescent girl is passing through her monthly period of
+weakness--one especially endangering the health--it will be advisable to
+provide a conveyance to school and back.
+
+Country parents also often need to be cautioned in regard to
+over-working the school girl. Some even require her to do practically
+the same amount of work as she could well endure were there no extra
+burdens at school. Manifestly, this is both unjust and injurious.
+Observe the conduct of the young school girl for a few days. If there is
+no song and laughter in her life; if she is not ruddy in complexion and
+buoyant of step; if she mopes and drones about the place; do not censure
+her, but seek a constitutional cause and watch for evidences of an
+over-requirement of work.
+
+The close inspection of the health of school children, now conducted in
+many cities, brings out the somewhat startling fact that many boys and
+girls come to the class room every morning fatigued and depressed beyond
+the point of effective study. The old way was to call them dullards, to
+punish them, to shame them out of the school, to humiliate their
+parents. The new method of dealing with such children calls for
+scientific measures. First, the exact conditions are ascertained by
+experts; second, the parents are urged and helped to provide for the
+child more sleep, better food, more fresh air in the living chambers,
+more recreation, a relief from over-work, or some special medical
+care--as the particular case may demand.
+
+If one wishes full evidence of the effective gain for studentship that
+results from the new manner of treatment of the dull and backward pupil,
+let him examine the many reports of individual cases as published in the
+_Psychological Clinic_ at the University of Pennsylvania, especially the
+issues of 1909-1910. The indifference or the thoughtlessness of country
+parents may easily allow for the existence of the foregoing bad physical
+conditions in the case of their own daughter, and as a result her
+otherwise promising life may become permanently blighted.
+
+
+LESSONS IN MUSIC AND ART
+
+The ordinary farmer needs to learn to take more pride in his daughter
+and in her accomplishments. The time will come when he will be far more
+proud of her wealth of character than he will be of her wealth of
+material goods. A country father of moderate means bought a first-class
+piano for his two girls and employed a music teacher. "You may think
+that I cannot afford such things," said he. "But I can. I am running
+this farm for the good it will do my family." He was a true philosopher,
+as well as a successful farmer.
+
+It is entirely practicable and most helpful to her development to
+provide that the country girl be given instruction in music, or art, or
+something special and advanced in the form of needlework. In its best
+sense this special instruction will not be thought of as vocational
+training, but rather as a necessary manner of giving permanent
+expression to her æsthetic nature. The author believes that the matter
+should be stated even more emphatically. That is, not to give the normal
+girl some such means of indulging her æsthetic tastes is seriously to
+neglect her education, if not to do her a permanent wrong.
+
+While vocational training and economic advantages are important
+secondary considerations in connection with the daughter's instruction
+in the fine arts, the father who helps her become an amateur in one of
+these lines thereby renders her a splendid service for life. It is
+neither very difficult nor very expensive to arrange to have the girl go
+to the near-by town or to a neighbor's once or twice per week where she
+may receive competent instruction in music or painting. To make the
+arrangement most effective there will need to be a musical instrument in
+her own home, a conveyance at her ready disposal, and a regular
+allowance of time for practice. No just and affectionate parents can
+deny their young daughter any fewer advantages than these, if the means
+for securing them can at all be acquired.
+
+
+THE REWARD WILL COME IN TIME
+
+The lessons in painting or fine needlework may be provided for in the
+same way. If the expense seems heavy, the far-sighted parents will think
+of their declining days of the future and imagine the large return the
+daughter may render them through the skill which they have been
+instrumental in developing in her.
+
+But without waiting for old age to overtake them the father and mother
+of the girl artist may derive some benefits from her work. She may
+furnish the table service with hand-painted chinaware or adorn the walls
+of the home with attractive paintings. And also, as heretofore
+indicated, the daughter may herself in time conduct a class of amateur
+students of the fine art in which she has made preparation.
+
+One word of precaution must be offered in reference to the training here
+considered. In the usual case the girl is not started young enough. Her
+advancement in the music, for example, is likely to be much more rapid
+and her skill much more marked, if the age nine to eleven, rather than
+five or six years later, be chosen as the beginning time. The author has
+witnessed many pathetic instances of adult girls in a desperate attempt
+to master the mechanical part of the introductory music. The extra
+amount of desire and effort possible at this more advanced age do not
+nearly compensate for the better memory and the greater facility of hand
+and finger movement possible at the earlier age. This same general law
+of early beginning probably holds good in respect to the other fine
+arts.
+
+In relation to all the foregoing seemingly trivial matters there comes
+to mind what is perhaps the most serious problem that confronts
+practically every well-reared young woman; namely, that of her
+successful marriage to a worthy young man--a subject to be discussed at
+length in another paper. And so it is contended that if her future
+happiness or well-being be a consideration, if the realization of her
+fondest hopes and her instinctive desires be worthy of the thought of
+her parents; then, they must by all means see that some of the foregoing
+refining qualities become woven into her whole character during the
+formative period. Thus she may be given practically every possible
+advantage in finding that true life companion.
+
+
+THE MOTHER'S OFFICE AS TEACHER
+
+In his usual familiar and straightforward way "Uncle" Henry Wallace thus
+addresses the country mother through the medium of an editorial in
+_Wallaces' Farmer_:--
+
+"It is the mother that shapes and molds the character of the girl. If
+she is sweet spirited, looks out upon the world hopefully and desirous
+of seeing the best in men and women, her daughters will as a rule have
+the same sort of outlook. If she permits gossip and fault-finding at the
+table, her daughters may reasonably be expected to do likewise. If she
+sharply criticises the preacher's sermon at the Sabbath dinner, she need
+not expect her daughters to become devout. If she is a poor housekeeper,
+how can she expect her daughters to excel in that finest of all arts? We
+know something of the depth and tenderness of a mother's love, how
+earnestly she seeks the welfare of her daughter; but if she has a wrong
+conception of what is best in life, even this unspeaking affection may
+be the source of evil instead of good.
+
+"One of the first things you should consider about that girl of yours is
+her health. Give her plain food and plenty of it, sensible clothing, a
+well-ventilated and well-lighted room, and all the exercise that she
+wants, even if she does seem to be something of a tomboy; and, barring
+accidents, she will usually be healthy through early girlhood. When she
+begins to develop into womanhood is the time for you, mother, to do what
+no one else can. Tell her about herself, about the changes that must
+come, and about the care she must take of herself if she is to be a
+healthy and happy wife and mother. A mistake here through false modesty
+is often the source of trouble for years to come."
+
+
+HOME-LIFE EDUCATION
+
+This book is based on the assumption that every good young woman is good
+for something of a practical nature. In considering the make-up of such
+a character, it seems reasonable to assert that no other qualities stand
+out more prominently than the trained ability to carry on successfully
+the work of the household. The necessary drudgery of the home life seems
+to be the greatest burden that modern society has placed upon women.
+Proportionately great should be the preparation to bear this burden. The
+ideal to be realized is, perhaps, not that the girl may be enabled to do
+more of such work, but that she may be trained to be true mistress of
+it. Woman's work is never done, and it never will be, no matter how many
+worthy women kill themselves in an attempt to finish it. So the greatest
+thing to be desired in respect to this unending round of toil and
+drudgery is that of a well-poised, spiritually-minded character, such as
+may enable its possessor to sit down at the end of a working period
+unusually long and in spite of the confusion and unfinished business
+restore the composure and keep in touch with the higher implications of
+life.
+
+It is not really a difficult matter to teach the ordinary growing girl
+to work and perform faithfully all of her assigned duties. It is more of
+a task to teach her how to quit when she has worked long enough and
+thereby to preserve her health and prolong her services.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.
+
+FIG. 36.--These country boys and girls supply the home neighborhood with
+the produce from the school garden. Such work is first-class vocational
+training.]
+
+
+EDUCATION FOR SUPREMACY
+
+It is unquestionably a splendid aid to successful womanhood for the
+growing girl to be taught how to cook and sew and take care of a house.
+But as a guarantee of peace and happiness throughout life she had better
+be taught many specific lessons in self-mastery. And it seems certain
+that the farm home offers many more advantages for developing a poised
+character in the young woman than does the city home. So let it be seen
+to by country parents that their girls be trained from childhood to meet
+life's stress and storm with calm composure and sweet serenity. Only
+such training will suffice to tide the latter over the great crushing
+ordeals that tend at some time to fall to the lot of every good woman.
+
+Conditions in the well-ordered country home may be made to contribute to
+another form of self-mastery in the growing girl. That is, she may be
+made supreme over the conventionalities of dress and the social customs
+that touch her life. By this it is not intended to prescribe in respect
+to such things as the style or appearance of the young woman's clothing.
+She may be first or last or medium in the list of the well-dressed. But
+it is here contended that she can be trained to subordinate these
+matters to a personal charm that is her very own, and that emanates from
+a beautiful and well-poised life within. It is quite as destructive to
+good character for one to be meanly clothed through necessity and at the
+same time envy and despise those who are better dressed as it is to be
+among the richly adorned and try to make mere adornment a mark of better
+and superior rank in society, or a means of lacerating the feelings of
+one's associates.
+
+The country mother will let pass one of the rarest forms of opportunity
+for refining and beautifying the character of her daughter if she does
+not educate the latter rightly in respect to these conventionalities.
+Train her to be neat and attractive in appearance, but at the same time
+teach her that no manner of outer adornment can cover up or substitute
+for sweetness and purity of the inner life. The splendid effects of such
+an education will reveal themselves to best advantage in the young woman
+when she has finally entered a home of her own. If she cannot then and
+there shine in a light that emanates from her own soul, the sacrificial
+work of ministering to the needs of her own household will never be well
+performed.
+
+
+AN OUTLOOK FOR SOCIAL LIFE
+
+Provision will by all means be made that the growing country girl be
+introduced to the best social life within reach. She must mingle with
+those of her own age and learn how others think and act. She must attend
+parties and the other social gatherings, especially the literary
+societies if there be any available. For the sake of her training, if
+for no better reason, she may be brought into close relation to the
+Sunday school and the church. It will be good, indeed, if she find some
+congenial work in one or both of these organizations. Let it be
+remembered that the healthy-minded, well-matured woman is very probably
+at her best and is most highly satisfied and contented with life only
+when she has opportunities to perform some kind of worthy social
+service. Farm parents may well bring it about, therefore, that their
+young daughter have some specific deeds of altruism to perform. Let her
+carry a small gift or a word of cheer to the door of the sick or the
+infirm. Let her make with her own hands some simple, inexpensive present
+to be carried to the one who needs it most and whose heart will be made
+glad by it.
+
+Above all things else, it must be provided that something more than the
+mere grasping nature of the young country girl be indulged and
+developed. Some there are who still contend that life for men is, at its
+best, a game of chance and contention. But such an ideal, if held up to
+the growing girl, will tend to check or destroy all that is best and
+most beautiful in the feminine nature. Young women especially must learn
+through practice that the best and most beautiful character is
+altogether consistent with the performance of deeds of service and
+altruism.
+
+Finally, educate into the daughter as much habitual cheerfulness as
+possible, let her heart be made glad again and again, not merely
+because of what she has, and because of what she receives day by day,
+but also and especially on account of what she gives out of the best and
+sweetest of her own nature in behalf of those whom she may find occasion
+to help and cheer on their way over the journey of life. All this will
+help to make her a creature of whom not only the other members of her
+family, but also the entire community will be most proud.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    My Escape from Household Drudgery. Mary Patterson. _Success
+    Magazine_, August, 1911.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference of Research and Welfare.
+    Beulah Kennard. Page 47, "The Play Life of Girls." G. E.
+    Stechert & Co., New York.
+
+    Women's School of Agriculture. I. H. Harper. _Independent_,
+    June 29, 1911.
+
+    The Girl of To-morrow--Her Education. E. H. Baylor. _World's
+    Work_, July, 1911. Prize essay.
+
+    Education of Women for Home Making. Mrs. W. N. Hutt. Annual
+    Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 122.
+
+    Give the Girls a Chance. Canfield. _Collier's_, March 12,
+    1910.
+
+    The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Charles W. Eliot. Pages
+    11-57, "The Happy Life." Crowell.
+
+    The Kind of Education Best Suited for Girls. Anna J.
+    Hamilton. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907. p. 65.
+
+    Parasitic Culture. Dr. George E. Dawson. _Popular Science
+    Monthly_, September, 1910.
+
+    Training the Girl to help in the Home. William A. McKeever.
+    Pamphlet. 2 cents. Published by the author. Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+_THE FARM BOY'S CHOICE OF A VOCATION_
+
+
+Turn which way you will upon the great broad highway of life and there
+you will always be able to find the wrecks and broken forms of
+humankind--men and women who have failed in their life purposes. Strange
+to say, that particular aspect of the science of character-building
+which has to do with the substantial preparation for vocational life has
+been very much neglected. By what rule do men succeed in their callings
+and by what different rule do other men fail? Are some foreordained to
+success and others to failure? Is there an inherent strength in some and
+a native weakness in others? Is there a type of education and training
+which specifically fits and prepares for each of the native callings?
+None of these questions has been thoroughly gone into with a view to
+finding out what were best to be done and what best to leave undone. So,
+we blunder away, hit or miss, in the vocational training of our boys and
+girls.
+
+
+SHOULD THE FARMER'S SON FARM?
+
+In attempting to give helpful suggestions to farm parents relative to
+their boy's vocation, perhaps this question will first demand an
+answer. The tentative reply to it is this: The farmer's son, or any
+other man's son, should follow that calling for which he is best suited
+by nature and in which he will thereby have the greatest amount of
+native interest; provided it be practicable to prepare him for such
+calling. Some farm boys are destined by nature for mechanical pursuits,
+others for social or clerical work, others for captains of industry, and
+so on. Likewise, the city boys may reveal in their natures a great
+variety of instinctive tendencies and interests which will be found of
+great worth in guiding them into a successful life occupation.
+
+Yes, the farmer's son should by all means take up his father's business;
+provided that at maturity he may have both native and acquired interest
+in the same and that to a degree predominating any other native or
+acquired interest.
+
+
+IMPATIENCE OF PARENTS
+
+It can be proved that the country boy matures more slowly than the city
+boy. For example, at the age of sixteen, he is behind the latter in
+height, weight, school training, and sociability. But while the city boy
+matures more rapidly, the country boy makes up for the loss by a longer
+period of development. It is the author's firm belief that this fact of
+slow growth proves a tremendous advantage to the country youth in that
+it allows for greater stability of character, and especially for a
+greater amount of courage and aggressiveness in form of permanent life
+habits.
+
+But one might well wish that all rural parents could realize the evil
+consequences of being impatient with the son in respect to his choice of
+a life work. Many a good boy yet in his teens is hounded and driven
+about by the continuous nagging of his parents, who ignorantly believe
+that he should have his future destiny all planned and ready for its
+realization. As a result, this same good boy is often driven to
+desperation and to the point of leaving the home place--of breaking away
+from the affectionate ties that bind him to parents, and of seeking the
+position wherein he might earn a living. As a matter of fact, few young
+men have any very clear or reliable vision of their future life at the
+age of eighteen, or even twenty. Many of the best men in the world are
+faltering and uncertain even as late as twenty-five. However, if the
+relatives and friends would only exercise all due patience, offering
+only such helps and suggestions as can be given, and trusting the future
+finally to throw upon the problem a light from within the youth
+himself--then, we may be assured, practically every man will finally
+come to some line of effort that will bring him a comfortable living.
+
+
+WHAT OF PREDESTINATION?
+
+The old-fashioned idea of a boy's being marked by the hand of destiny,
+"cut out for" some particular calling in life, still has a place in the
+minds of the masses. The kindred belief that some men are "natural-born
+failures" has also wide currency. A third superstition is the very
+common opinion that others are "just naturally lucky." All these
+traditional opinions are the outgrowth of ignorance of human nature such
+as may be dispelled by means of a course of instruction, or a carefully
+arranged course of home reading, in modern psychology.
+
+None of the foregoing superstitions would be worthy of our attention
+were it not for the gross injustice which they entail upon children.
+Parents everywhere--in both city and country--are dealing with their
+children upon the assumption that one and all of these fallacies are
+true. "My oldest boy just naturally has no luck," said the father of
+three sons and two daughters. "He changes around from one thing to
+another and fails every time." But what of this particular boy's early
+training? Was it the same as that of the others? Did he enjoy equal
+advantages? Did his parents when married really know anything about
+rearing children? or, did they really mistreat their first-born through
+ignorance and use him as a sort of practice material from which they
+learned how to do better by the succeeding ones?
+
+Until the foregoing inquiries about the "unlucky" son's boyhood life be
+fully answered, we cannot reasonably permit ourselves to condemn him.
+There is nothing more in predestination than this; namely, it can be
+shown that the child is born with not a few latent abilities--aptitudes
+for doing and learning this and that--and that one of these aptitudes is
+likely to have correlated with it more than the average amount of nerve
+development in the corresponding brain center. As a result, that
+particular aptitude will require less training than the others and will
+tend to predominate over them as maturity is approached.
+
+The reply of the psychologist to the statement that some men are
+"natural-born failures," is this: Few if any of those possessed of
+ordinary physical and mental qualities at birth are necessarily so.
+Excepting the feeble-minded and the like,--whose marks of degeneracy are
+usually apparent to all,--it may be asserted on the highest authority
+that none are "natural-born failures" to any greater extent than they
+are "natural-born successes"; but that they have within the inherited
+nerve mechanisms many possibilities of both success and failure.
+
+
+THREE METHODS OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING
+
+We should be willing to overlook almost any other interest in this
+discussion for the sake of inducing in the farm father the belief that
+his young boy is a potential success--the belief that this boy is
+furnished by nature with the latent ability to shine somewhere in the
+broad field of human endeavor--provided he be rightly trained and
+disciplined during his growing years. Here, then, is probably the
+greatest of all the human-training problems; namely, the vocational one.
+
+Roughly speaking, there have been three methods of vocational training.
+
+1. _The apprentice method._--First, historically there has been the
+apprentice method, the youth being "bound out to learn a trade." The
+chief faults of this traditional way of teaching the boy to be
+self-supporting were these: it made no allowance for intellectual
+development, and it gave the father too much authority to choose the
+calling for the boy.
+
+A modern offshoot of the old-time apprentice course is the trade school
+which flourishes in many of the big cities to-day. This new institution
+has one great advantage over its prototype. It offers such a great
+variety of forms of training that the youth may exercise much free
+choice. But it preserves one of the serious defects of apprenticeship in
+its neglect of the intellect of the learner. The modern trade school can
+never hope to do more than prepare young men and women to make a good
+living. It is a get-ready-quick institution, and can never be expected
+to give the student breadth of view and depth of insight into the great
+problems of human life.
+
+2. _The cultural method._--The second-oldest method of preparing men for
+a vocation is what has been called the cultural method. It has aimed at
+high advancement in book learning with the thought of finally enabling
+the student to enter a professional class comparatively few in numbers
+and supposed to possess a superior advantage over the great mass of
+human kind. One fault of this method has been to emphasize learning for
+its own sake and to defer too long the training of the individual in the
+material and practical side of his calling.
+
+But the chief fault of this cultural method has been its contempt for
+common labor and ordinary industry, its theory being that true education
+prepares one to avoid such practices. If the young man wished to prepare
+for law or medicine or teaching or the ministry,--one of the "learned
+professions,"--then the old classical school was at his service. But if
+he would become a mere artisan or industrial worker, there was no
+advanced course of schooling available.
+
+3. _The developmental method._--The third and newest method of preparing
+the young person for his vocational life is in reality a compromise
+between the first and second. It provides that the learner shall have
+book instruction and industrial training at the same time, and that both
+of these are to be regarded as cultural, since taken together they
+prepare for independence of thought and action, and for the vocation, as
+well. This new method of preparing young people for their life work
+would call nothing mean or low. It aims to serve all impartially in
+their struggle for self-improvement and vocational success. But its
+motto is the development of head and hand together. It seeks to produce
+cultured handicraftsmen as well as cultured artists and professional
+men.
+
+
+THE FARMER FORTUNATE
+
+Our justification for the foregoing somewhat lengthy discussion of the
+different theories of education is that of wishing to be certain of
+bespeaking the father's patience and forbearance in the preparation of
+his son for the vocational life. The farmer is most fortunate in having
+ready at hand a large amount and variety of industrial practice to
+supplement the boy's book lessons. In this respect he probably has a
+superior advantage over all other classes.
+
+But in guiding his boy gradually toward the vocational life the farm
+father can easily mistake what is merely a passing interest on the
+former's part for a permanent one. The carefully kept records of farm
+boys show that they take up many different lines of work with great
+enthusiasm, and yet soon tire of them and drop them. These serial and
+transitory interests are usually mere juvenile responses to the
+awakening of some new nerve centers. They are not much different in
+nature from the brief passing interest which the child has in his
+various playthings.
+
+Now, the chief function of these transitory interests in special forms
+of work and learning as shown by the young growing boy is this: to
+furnish the occasions for a great variety of activities and practices
+for trying him out on all the possible sides of his nature. Not one of
+these intense boyish interests is necessarily very directly preparatory
+to his final choice of a vocation, while all are indirectly so.
+Therefore, if the fifteen-year-old son chances to win in a corn-raising
+contest, or at a live-stock exhibition, or if he manifests unusual
+interest in arithmethic, declamation, or nature study, do not regard any
+of these as necessarily pointing to his best possible vocational work.
+Presumably, at such an undeveloped age, he is still in possession of
+some latent interests and aptitudes, one of which may far outweigh any
+such thing hitherto awakened in his life. Give him time to mature and,
+if at all practicable, send him on to college.
+
+
+WHAT COLLEGE FOR THE COUNTRY BOY
+
+It is the opinion of the author that the State Agricultural College, as
+now situated and organized, is the ideal institution of higher learning
+for the country-bred youth. It offers him every reasonable incentive and
+opportunity for continuing in the calling of his father, if he be so
+inclined, while at the same time it gives instruction in many other
+departments of learning. Whether the state institution be a separate
+one or merely a college within the organization of the state university
+matters little. In either case the young man will be brought within
+reach of a course in scientific farming, stock raising, horticulture,
+and the like, either to choose or let alone--and the so-called cultural
+work will still be there for the taking.
+
+
+THE FOUNDATION IN WORK
+
+Many rural parents, weighted down with the over-work of the farm,
+cherish and express a very earnest desire that their sons may find some
+easier form of earning a living. So they deliberately plan with the boy
+the "easy" course to be pursued. Said one such farmer: "Wife and I
+decided that there would not be much in it for Henry except hard work if
+he settled down on the home place, so we decided to send him to college
+and educate him for something that offered less work and more pay." So
+they shielded the son from the heavier duties of the farm and encouraged
+in every way the boy's thought of an easy way to success.
+
+But one thing these well-meaning parents failed to foresee. That is,
+when the boy entered college, he began to look for that same sort of
+royal road to learning. The assigned lessons and tasks soon took the
+appearance of drudgery and he dodged and avoided them wherever possible.
+In less than a year the youth had failed at college and was back home.
+"The confinement of the college did not agree with his health." More
+than three years have passed since, and the boy has spent the time
+drifting from one "job" to another and all the while growing weaker in
+character and integrity.
+
+Here we have but another instance of the old, old story, with its tragic
+aspects. Yet, nearly all the faltering, vacillating men now drifting
+about the country might have been saved through careful training in the
+performance of work. The boy who would be insured success in his coming
+vocation must be required to buckle down to solid work of a kind and
+amount to suit his years and strength. He must learn through the
+character-building experience of toil, not only what it means to stay by
+an assigned duty till it is performed, but he must also experience the
+unfailing joy of work well done. He will thus have the advantage of the
+spur of successful effort and acquire the beginnings of that splendid
+self-reliance which is a distinguishing mark of all successful men.
+
+
+CLEAN UP THE PLACE
+
+But there is a sort of drudgery and of ugliness against which the boy's
+nature instinctively rebels, and it ought to. By this we mean to refer
+to the actual conditions of over-work and the accompanying run-down
+appearance that characterizes so many farm homes to-day. No wonder the
+boys hasten away to the city to find a "job."
+
+Why not clean up the place by cutting away the underbrush and weeds, by
+planting shade trees and repairing fences and out buildings, by painting
+and renovating the house and barn?--and all this as an investment in
+behalf of the children and their possible future interest in the farm
+home as the best place on earth in which to dwell? All this and more
+might be urged as means of guiding the thoughts of the farm boy towards
+the possibilities of his taking up the calling of his father. And while
+all these material advantages may not serve to overcome the natural
+tendency of the young man to seek a radically different type of
+occupation, they will at least make it more certain that his natural
+abilities for an agricultural pursuit were not left unawakened.
+
+
+MONEY VALUE OF AN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
+
+The College of Agriculture in Cornell University some time ago made an
+inquiry into the educational status of the farmers in a certain county
+of New York. It was found that out of 573 farmers, 398 had not advanced
+farther than the district school, 165 had attended high school one or
+more years, and 10 had received a college education. The 398 who had
+attended district school only were receiving yearly for their labor
+$318; the 165 farmers of high school education were receiving annually
+$622; and the 10 who had attended college one or more years were
+receiving an average of $847 income for their services.
+
+The foregoing investigation is at least suggestive in its results. It
+tends to prove that there is an actual earning-capacity value in the
+higher agricultural education. While the matter has never been
+extensively studied, it can doubtless be shown that the graduates of the
+agricultural course are receiving much larger incomes than any of the
+classes named above. In addition it can doubtless be shown that these
+graduates are better equipped, not only for earning a livelihood, but
+for substantial citizenship. Of course there are many notable exceptions
+to this rule, but the rule is, nevertheless, general.
+
+Now, if the farm parent wishes to figure his boy's future on the basis
+of money-earning capacity, he can easily be shown that the higher
+schooling in the average case increases such capacity. In addition there
+is abundant evidence of the fact that the higher schooling gives the
+young man a much better equipment for serving the society in which he is
+to live.
+
+
+A SUCCESSFUL VOCATION CERTAIN
+
+Finally, it may be said that the successful vocational life of the
+ordinary country-bred boy may be guaranteed as practically certain,
+provided he have every ordinary advantage of development and training of
+which he is capable. Train him early in lessons of obedience and work;
+make his life more wholesome through ample play and recreation; see that
+he learns how to earn money and how to save a part of his earnings;
+provide that he attend the public school regularly until at least the
+grammar grades be finished; give him an opportunity to become personally
+interested in the business side of the farm life; allow him
+opportunities to mingle with the cleanest possible society of his own
+age; and then await patiently his own inner promptings as to what line
+of work he should take up. A college course may prove necessary in order
+to help him uncover deeper and better levels that lie hidden in his
+nature. Then, after he has chosen a calling in this careful and reliable
+way, with all your might, mind, and soul encourage and support him in
+his efforts! This is practically the only way to make a big, efficient
+man and citizen of your boy and to make his calling a _divine_ calling.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    _Vocational Education._ Published bi-monthly. $1.50 per year.
+    The Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill.
+
+    Vocational Education. John M. Gillette. Chapter VI,
+    "Importance of the Economic Interest in Society." American
+    Book Company.
+
+    Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter II,
+    "Vocational Chaos and its Consequences." Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company. The entire volume is most timely and helpful.
+
+    The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D.
+    Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    New Type of Rural School House. W. H. Jenkins. _Craftsman_,
+    May, 1911.
+
+    Vocational Direction, or The Boy and his Job. _Annals
+    American Academy_, March, 1910.
+
+    Education for a Vocation. President's address before the
+    N.E.A. Annual Volume, 1908, p. 56.
+
+    Vocational Direction. E. W. Lord. _Annals Academy of
+    Political and Social Science_ (Philadelphia), March, 1910.
+
+    Social Phase of Education. Samuel T. Dutten. Page 143, "The
+    Relation of Education to Vocation." Macmillan. The entire
+    book is sound and sane.
+
+    Income of College Graduates Ten Years after Graduation. H. A.
+    Miller. _Science_, Feb. 4, 1910.
+
+    Occupations of College Graduates as Influenced by the
+    Undergraduate Course. F. P. Keppel. _Educational Review_,
+    December, 1910.
+
+    Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation. Pamphlet. Wm.
+    A. McKeever. Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+_THE FARM GIRL'S PREPARATION FOR A VOCATION_
+
+
+What, may we ask, are rural parents doing in regard to the careful
+preparation of their growing daughters for the vocational life? The
+author has frequently asserted that many a farmer is to-day giving
+vastly more thought to the question of preparing his live stock for the
+money market than to preparing his girls for their life work. The
+seriousness, the well-nigh cruelty, of this situation becomes apparent
+only when we inquire into the facts. How long must this carelessness
+continue? How long will farmers remain indifferent to the tremendous
+responsibility of giving their children every possible aid in the
+direction of a high and worthy occupation? Their chief concern continues
+to be centered too exclusively upon the cattle and the hogs and the
+corn. Are the boys and girls to be left to shift for themselves? And are
+they to continue to have their careers determined by mere chance and
+incident?
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXX.
+
+FIG. 37.--Country school girls learning the rudiments of cooking. In no
+distant future such work will be required along with the traditional
+subjects.]
+
+
+WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK
+
+So, if the country father having a young family were here before us, we
+should ask him: What is the outlook in regard to a happy future for
+your growing daughter? Do you want her to take her place among the men
+and be forced to do some sort of man's work in order to obtain her
+bread? or, do you earnestly desire that she find some sort of worthy
+woman's work? And if the latter be your choice, what helpful agencies
+are you bringing to bear upon the situation? In the midst of all your
+consideration of these matters touching your daughter, we should have
+you most earnestly and prayerfully consider at least one thing; namely,
+with few possible exceptions, the healthy, growing girl looks forward
+instinctively to the time when she is to become mistress of a household
+of her own. And in every case, if the girl fails to become such a
+mistress, there is only one reasonable alternative to be thought of and
+that is to provide that she engage in some sort of work which will give
+expression in the largest possible measure to that which is best and
+truest in her feminine nature.
+
+Ordinarily, in planning for the future of their daughter, parents might
+as well consider the problem as having a two-fold aspect. Assuming first
+of all that the girl instinctively desires to preside over a home of her
+own, how can she best be prepared for that place? Second, in case that,
+by some miscarriage of plans, she fails to reach this most worthy
+ambition, what may she safely fall back upon as an adequate means of
+self-support? Now, if this statement of the matter be a correct one, it
+seems that the general scope of the problem of preparing a girl for her
+vocation ought to be fairly clear. Still another way of putting the
+situation is this: The girl must be carefully prepared, not only for her
+first choice of an occupation, but also for her second choice, because
+of grave danger of the failure of her first choice to be realized.
+
+There is a perplexing aspect of the whole question implied here, and
+every parent who has a daughter should become aware of it and also
+prepared to confront it. That is to say, almost any ordinary man may go
+out into the open market and push his quest for a life companion and be
+able to return in the course of a very short period with one at his
+side. But with the girl it is radically different. Practically her only
+stock-in-trade consists of her personal charm and her pecuniary
+advantages. And many a young woman with both of these qualities very
+strongly in her favor fails, by some chance or other, to receive an
+acceptable offer of marriage. Statistics widely gathered will show that
+age is also a very positive factor in this matter, and that the ratio of
+probability of marriage of a single woman begins to fall very rapidly
+before she reaches thirty.
+
+
+DESIRABLE OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN
+
+While there is abundant evidence to prove that the great majority of
+normal young women desire instinctively and above all things else a
+happy marriage, including a contented home life and children to care
+for, some alternatives must be now pointed out in case of failure to
+realize the highest ambition.
+
+1. _May teach the young._--School teaching is perhaps the most common,
+as well as the most commendable, occupation for unmarried women. In many
+a case, the farmer's daughter will find it greatly to her advantage to
+engage in this occupation for one or more terms. Thousands of the most
+worthy young women in our land are devoting their lives to this highest
+of secondary vocations for women. The work of teaching gives exercise to
+the altruistic feminine nature and approaches in a fair degree the
+satisfaction which comes to the mother who is sacrificing for children
+of her own.
+
+But school teaching wears heavily on the vitality of nearly all young
+women who follow it long. Diseases peculiar to the sex are said to be
+very prevalent among such teachers, probably resulting from an excessive
+amount of standing. Tens of thousands of girls are going from the farm
+home to the school room, some of them to remain permanently in the
+business, but the majority to earn money of their own and to place
+themselves in better position for successful marriage. So, perhaps the
+first duty of the country parents to the daughter who takes up school
+teaching is to see that the latter's health be not seriously impaired
+thereby. After that, the young woman's proper advancement in the
+profession may be thought of. The ungraded district school is an
+excellent trying-out and testing position for the young teacher. But if
+she continues many terms in the school room, graded work will prove more
+advantageous, especially in the important matter of bringing the young
+woman into the company of marriageable young men.
+
+2. _May take up stenography._--A vast army of young women now support
+themselves with the use of the typewriter. This work pays slightly more
+the year round than school teaching. It is somewhat more confining; but,
+for various other reasons, it is less deleterious to the general health.
+Such office business, however, subjects the young woman to many
+temptations. It is the opinion of the author that stenography is not at
+all a desirable occupation for the farmer's daughter to enter. The
+continued absence from home, the constant association with people
+differing radically in tastes and manners from the rural population, not
+to mention again the many temptations to accept lower moral
+standards--these and other matters will tend to estrange the farm
+daughter from her parents and to make them feel that something of the
+former charm of sweet simplicity and home affection has passed
+permanently out of her life.
+
+One thing at least is to be considered before the daughter be permitted
+to leave the country home for an office position. That is, the work is
+not to be considered as permanent, but rather as a possible means of
+preparing for marriage and the contented home life that should follow.
+
+3. _May do social work._--Next to the work of teaching, perhaps the
+social-service work now being developed and carried on in the cities
+would make its appeal to the true-hearted young woman. Here again we
+have a sort of task that dips into the affections and sympathies of the
+worker and furnishes an opportunity for her to give freely out of the
+best she has in her make-up. Among the fortunate considerations of
+teaching and social work are the opportunities they offer for the
+sympathetic care and guidance of children--the indulgence of altruism
+and the mother instinct in the young woman. Parents will observe as a
+rule that their daughter returns from such occupations as these with
+increased affections for the home family and the home life and a broader
+and more general interest in people.
+
+In recent years there has developed a new and remarkably promising field
+of social work for both young men and young women. Charitable,
+philanthropic, and other social-welfare institutions have been greatly
+multiplied, while their work has been put on a scientific basis. The
+modern method of securing employees in such places is that of calling
+persons especially trained and fitted to do the work required, and to
+pay reasonably for the service. Several new, first-class schools and
+institutions for training workers in this human field have been recently
+organized.
+
+Now, if country parents become anxious to have their daughter go away to
+the city and find desirable employment and that at living wages, the
+author recommends this new line of social work most highly. For reasons
+given above, and for others, it will prove an excellent stepping-stone
+to the home life--the work is in the general field of human betterment
+so inviting to the natural instincts of the well-reared young woman; the
+associates are persons likewise interested in human welfare and ranking
+high in moral and religious character; the required work is usually of a
+nature to awaken the deepest sympathies and affections and to make the
+countenance of the worker shine with a new spiritual light.
+
+4. _May secure clerkships._--Clerking and general store work is much
+followed by young women to-day, but such work may be put down in the
+list of hazardous occupations for women of any age. Close economic
+conditions in the cities force many thousands of girls to leave home and
+seek clerkships at a wage so low as indirectly to undermine the health
+and more directly to impair the morals. Great armies of these girls are
+compelled to live in dingy, cramped quarters, to subsist on much less
+than the quantity of wholesome food necessary for good health, to
+practice the strictest economy in matters of dress--to say nothing of
+the constant temptation to sell their virtue as a means of increasing
+the small income to the living margin.
+
+Only in extreme cases, therefore, will intelligent farm parents consent
+to their daughter's leaving home to take up a clerkship, and that when
+her home life and her social surroundings can be satisfactorily foreseen
+and arranged for in advance. Even then, the question must be raised:
+Will this new position probably prove helpful as an introduction to a
+better form of occupation?
+
+No other possible occupations for the farmer's daughter will be listed
+here excepting that of trained nurse--a position in which many young
+women are doing a splendid service for humanity and at the same time
+supporting themselves adequately. But of course such a position should
+not be thought of unless the girl feels an inner call to take it up.
+Practically all other outside lines of work for women are too masculine.
+Parents should by no means allow their daughters to take up a life task
+that means nothing other than mere money-making. Many women, it is true,
+are succeeding to-day in business callings, but they are doing so as a
+rule in violation of certain laws of nature. Many of these business
+women are masculine in their dispositions and they become more so as the
+unnatural calling continues to be pursued.
+
+
+A COLLEGE COURSE FOR THE GIRL
+
+At first thought it would seem that ability to prepare a good meal and
+to do her own sewing might constitute all the education in household
+economy necessary for any young woman. But such proves not to be the
+case. There are hundreds of home-making problems, great and small, for
+which mere knowledge of the two important affairs just named will
+provide no answer. While the ability to cook and sew well are doubtless
+essential characteristics of the good housekeeper, they are not at all a
+guarantee that their possessor is a good home maker.
+
+Parents must learn to take the larger and more liberal view of the
+future of their children. Not merely practice in the culinary art, but
+also a developed and refined personality; not merely industrial
+efficiency, but also constructive ability of a social nature; not merely
+mechanical skill in managing the details of housework, but a set of
+well-matured, effective plans for making the home over which she
+presides a place of joy and contentment for the other members of the
+family--these are some of the evidences of character which the wise,
+far-seeing parent might well desire for his daughter. Now, it is the
+thesis of this chapter that the normal woman is at her best only when
+she has become mistress of her own well-managed household. But such an
+exalted position can scarcely be reached except through a broad, general
+course of preparation.
+
+The one-sided, classical college training has spoiled for life many
+otherwise good and happy women. Such a course tends strongly to draw the
+mind and the affections of the young woman away from the home and from
+motherhood and other such matters so fundamental to the well-being of
+the race. But in seeking for an ideal school for the daughter the farmer
+will find unsurpassed that institution which offers extensive courses in
+household art and management, supplemented fully with work in the
+so-called culture subjects--language, literature, history, sociology,
+psychology, and economics. This work constitutes what might be called a
+balanced schedule of instruction for the young woman. If pursued to its
+conclusion, such a course of training enriches her personality and
+multiplies her opportunities for future usefulness many fold.
+
+
+ASSOCIATIONS WITH REFINED YOUNG MEN
+
+If the young woman's preparation for her life work be satisfactory to
+all, she must have extensive experience in the society of young men such
+as only the co-educational college can give. As her position in the
+rural home has been already too much isolated, an exclusive women's
+college is least to be desired as a place to educate the country girl.
+But the domestic science course in a state university or a state
+agricultural college will be found almost ideal. Here the girl may be
+held to a reasonable performance of her assigned duties, while at the
+same time she may mingle freely in the society of both sexes.
+
+Indeed, if the thesis of this chapter be a sound and tenable
+one,--namely, that normally woman's highest satisfaction is to be sought
+through helping her attain efficient home life,--then, there is every
+reason for agreeing with the late Professor James in his contention that
+every young woman ought to be taught how to know a good man. It is
+distinctively the business of the young college woman, not only to
+prepare well all her lessons in household economy and the literary
+subjects, but also to keep her eye out for a suitable life companion.
+And her father should be made to realize that her opportunities for
+marrying a man of high worth and ability are increased many fold through
+the completion of a course in the ideal form of co-educational college.
+
+Marriages among college mates are usually most successful, both in the
+final establishment of substantial home life and in point of resulting
+in a reasonable number of well-reared children. Statistics gathered
+widely show that the young woman college graduate marries somewhat later
+than her non-attending sister, that she has slightly better health, that
+her children are somewhat fewer, but better reared.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.
+
+FIG. 38.--a girls' class in sewing. No girl of this age needs to wear
+any better garment than she can make with her own needle if she be
+rightly trained. Such training is a part of real preparation for life.]
+
+
+MAKE THE DAUGHTER ATTRACTIVE
+
+It may therefore be urged upon all rural parents, as a cold business
+proposition, as well as a duty, that they take every reasonable
+precaution to develop in their growing daughters both an attractive
+personality and a beauty of the inner character, whether she be so
+fortunate as to attend a good college or not. All this must be done with
+a thought of rendering the daughter as attractive as possible in respect
+to any worthy young man who may in time seek her heart and hand in
+marriage. It is time for parents to cease passing this thing by as a
+mere piece of sentimentalism and to begin to do the fair thing by their
+girls. Why should it longer come to pass in this enlightened age that
+some parents break down the physical health of their girls with the
+burden of over-work and thus consign them to a life of moping and bitter
+disappointment for the future; that other parents indulge their girls in
+the giddy, butterfly type of life and thus blight their prospects of a
+substantial and satisfactory place in human society?
+
+
+SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
+
+In summarizing and concluding this chapter we wish to remind the reader
+of what has been said in the preceding ones. There are a number of
+distinctive elements that must be carefully wrought into the character
+of the farmer's daughter with a view to laying a substantial foundation
+for her future career.
+
+1. First of all, the girl's health must be kept in mind. She must not
+have an over-burden of work heaped upon her delicate shoulders, nor must
+she be allowed to expose herself unnecessarily to the inclemencies of
+the weather so common in the ordinary rural districts. There are many
+women moping about to-day, ill and despondent much of the time because
+of the negligence of parents who permitted them when growing girls to
+wade about through mud and slush and thus impair permanently their
+physical well-being. Many of the minor ailments of mature life recur
+habitually, and that because they were permitted to be acquired when the
+organism was young and sensitive.
+
+2. The daughter must be taught how to carry on practically all the
+necessary details of the housework. The plain cooking and sewing and the
+general care of the home must be required as duties on the part of every
+promising girl. It is especially obligatory on the part of rural parents
+that they train the daughter in such a way as to make her a true
+mistress of the household over which she may sometime preside. She must
+learn through specific guidance how to subordinate the heavy home tasks
+to her spiritual well-being.
+
+3. It is also essential that the girl learn how to manage the business
+affairs of the home; especially, how to purchase the supplies of the
+kitchen and the larder in the most economic fashion. She must also learn
+both how to secure her own personal belongings at a reasonable cost and
+how to make them serve her real needs without unnecessary expenditure
+of money. It will be a great achievement in her behalf if the girl
+approach her marriage day thoroughly imbued with the thought of
+coöperating with her husband in the general business of maintaining a
+home.
+
+4. We would remind the reader again of the necessity of giving attention
+to the development of an attractive personality in the growing girl.
+Pleasing manners, refined expressions, neat and attractive apparel,
+kindliness and sympathy, frankness and straightforwardness--all these
+should enter into her make-up and be thought of as parts of her
+permanent character. They will also go far toward winning to her side a
+suitable life companion.
+
+5. The young girl on the farm should have much advice in respect to the
+nature and character of men. This will be achieved partly through her
+well-ordered social life and partly through specific talks from
+thoughtful parents. Country girls are probably less informed in respect
+to the natures of men than are city girls. Many beautiful and innocent
+young women are led astray either before or after marriage by evil and
+designing men; many of them consummate marriages with men who have an
+outer appearance of trustworthiness, but who harbor within some most
+serious and insurmountable evil and disease. Although she may not for a
+time be conscious of what her parents are doing, the latter should be
+for years purposely engaged in preparing their daughter to know at sight
+a good man.
+
+Finally, it may be said that there is no greater charm or thing of more
+superior beauty in this good world of ours than the character of a woman
+who has been well-born and well-reared, and who has been safely guided
+into the home of her own wherein she reigns as mistress supreme. In this
+ideal home the love and sympathy and the kindly deeds of the true
+home-maker will reveal themselves permanently in the lives of her
+children and her husband and the many others who come into contact with
+her constructive personality.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Women's Ways of Earning Money. Cynthia Westover Alden. A. S.
+    Barnes & Co.
+
+    The Home Builder. Dr. Lyman Abbott. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company. Sympathetic and cheering.
+
+    Almost a Woman. Mary Wood Allen, M.D. Crist, Scott &
+    Parshall, Coopertown, N.Y. A plain talk to the young woman
+    about her sex nature.
+
+    The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D.
+    Chapter XII, "The Problem of Women in Industry." Houghton,
+    Mifflin Company.
+
+    The Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter
+    I, "The Choice of Life Work and its Difficulties." Houghton,
+    Mifflin Company.
+
+    Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby M.D. Chapter
+    X, "Marriage and Maternalism." Moffat, Yard & Co., New York.
+
+    Should Women work for their Living? M. Yates. _Westminster
+    Review_, October, 1910.
+
+    Social Diseases and Marriage. Educational Pamphlet, No. 3.
+    American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, New York.
+    10 cents. Every parent should read this booklet.
+
+    Vocational Training for Girls. Isabelle McGlaufin.
+    _Education_, April, 1911.
+
+    A Healthy Race; Woman's Vocation. C. M. Hill. _Westminster
+    Review_, January, 1910.
+
+    Social Adjustment. S. Nearing. Pages 128-148, "Dependence of
+    Women." Macmillan.
+
+    Purposes of Women. F. W. Saleeby, M.D. _Forum_, January,
+    1911.
+
+    Does the College rob the Cradle? H. Boice. _Delineator_,
+    March, 1911.
+
+    The College Woman as a Home Maker. M. E. Wooley. _Ladies'
+    Home Journal_, Oct. 1, 1910.
+
+    The American Woman and her Home. Symposium. _Outlook_, April
+    17, 1910.
+
+    Teaching the Girl to Save. Home-Training Bulletin No. 7. 2
+    cents. Wm. A. McKeever, Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+_CONCLUSION, AND FUTURE OUTLOOK_
+
+
+In concluding this volume we wish again to remind parents of the
+necessity of working for specific results in the rearing of their
+children. Modern man, unlike his ancestor, who roamed over the earth, is
+a creature of complex and highly refined make-up which no primitive or
+natural environment could possibly produce. The forces that work upon
+his character development are so radically different from those which
+formed the life of his remote forbears as possibly to account for the
+contrasts in the two forms of finished personality.
+
+Although there is evidence to support the theory that man belongs to the
+general evolutionary scheme of animal life, the progress of the race has
+been so very slow that a thousand years of time can show no very
+distinct improvement either in physical form or mental quality. While
+the human young is exceedingly plastic as an individual,--yielding
+easily from one side of his inherent activities to another,--the race is
+relatively fixed and stable.
+
+
+STRIVE FOR PRECONCEIVED RESULTS
+
+Parents and other instructors of the young must therefore accept their
+charges as made up of very complex potentialities of learning and
+achievement--each a bundle of latent characters transmitted to him from
+the ancestral line. Many of these inherited characters are too weak in
+any given individual ever to show in his life conduct; many others will
+come to the surface only in response to proper stimuli and practice;
+still others will break out and show a predominance almost in defiance
+of any training intended to counteract them.
+
+But the teacher and trainer of the infant child may accept the theory
+that the latter, if taken in time, can be bent and modified many ways in
+his character formation; that such plasticity is, however, always
+subject to the relative strength or weakness of the many inherited
+aptitudes and activities latent within the individual.
+
+There is no good reason, therefore, why the parent should not begin
+early to build up the character of his child in accordance with a
+preconceived plan; provided such plan do no violence to any of nature's
+stubborn and inexorable laws. The parent may also accept this task as a
+long and tedious undertaking, and expect to get results in proportion as
+he works intelligently for them. The farmer does not even think of
+producing good crop results from his land without hard work and much
+thought; then, why should he expect so delicate a plant as the human
+young to reach satisfactory maturity without much care and
+consideration? By far the greatest sin against the child is neglect of
+his training.
+
+
+CONSULT EXPERT ADVICE
+
+We must not be unmindful of the necessity of a balanced schedule of
+activities for the child. The vegetable plant must have air, sunlight,
+moisture, nitrogen, and so on, to support its growth. If one of these
+essential elements be lacking, the result is fatal to the fruitage. So
+with the child. If the best character results are to be expected,
+certain essential elements must be put into use. We have named them as
+play, work, recreation, and social experience. But as one approaches the
+individual problem of child training it does not prove so simple and
+easy as these terms imply. When and how to give each of these necessary
+exercises, how much of each to furnish, the means thereof, and the
+like--these and many other such questions begin to arise.
+
+When the parent reaches the point of perplexity in dealing with his
+child, it is a fairly good indication that his interest is aroused, at
+least. But what is to be done? Simply the same thing he would do at the
+point of perplexity in the wheat propagation, _consult an expert_. If
+one of the work mules becomes lame or reveals a bad disposition, should
+the owner take it to an electrician for advice? If the family cow
+becomes locoed or shows an unusual result in her milk product, should
+one consult a piano tuner? Yet, strange to say, parents are often known
+to do similarly in dealing with the perplexing problems of
+child-rearing. Consult the popular magazines and the book shelves any
+day and you will find many lengthy dissertations on the boy and the
+girl, written not infrequently by persons who have spent a lifetime
+studying _something else_. But they are very fond of children and they
+mistake this fondness for knowledge of an expert kind; and worst of all,
+they offer it as such.
+
+The farm parents who wish to receive expert advice in the treatment of
+their children must learn to consult directly or through literature only
+those who have made a long and intensive study of child problems. And in
+the latter case they need not expect to obtain all necessary help from
+one source alone. Usually the child-study expert is a specialist in only
+one certain part of the field. For example, at the University of
+Pennsylvania under Dr. Lightner Witmer, there has been made a specialty
+of the sub-normal child. We should probably obtain from that source more
+expert help in that one phase of child welfare than from any other
+source in America. If one wishes reliable help on the subject of
+diseases of children, he should naturally expect to obtain it from some
+medical authority, from one Who has spent long years practicing in a
+general hospital for children. One of the very few great sources of
+information on the general psychology of child development is Clark
+University, where many child-welfare problems have been worked out by
+experts under the able direction of Dr. G. Stanley Hall.
+
+
+MEET EACH AWAKENING INTEREST
+
+A very reliable general rule of guidance for the parent child trainer is
+to strive to furnish intensive practice for each and every childish and
+juvenile interest at the time of its awakening. As stated in Chapter II
+the most predominant interests in the young emerge in response to the
+unfoldment of instincts and the development of organic growths within.
+Perhaps all do so. But the point of importance for the parent is to meet
+each of these awakenings at the time of its highest activity with
+intensive training. The instinct to play, to fight, to steal, to run
+away, to work (?), to fall in love, to engage in some occupation, to
+marry and make a home, to have children--these have been named as
+especially important by virtue of their awakening successively the
+individual's interests in matters of great consequence to character
+development.
+
+But instincts are blind. Their possessor does not foresee the way they
+point. They come suddenly and catch the subject unprepared to direct
+their force in what we call intelligent ways. Hence, the extreme
+necessity of there being present at the side of the child, at the time
+of his instinctive awakening, some mature and intelligent person who has
+been through the experiences the former is about to begin, and who will
+sympathetically point the right way and insist that it be followed.
+
+
+WORK FOR SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
+
+One can scarcely become deeply interested in the future of his own child
+without coming intimately into touch with the child welfare problems at
+large. Even country parents, isolated though they may be, will discover
+that serious study of the matter of bringing up a family of good
+children will require that they study the lives of other human young.
+Moreover, they will need the use of other children as "laboratory"
+material for training their own. All this will gradually lead the way to
+a fuller social sympathy in such parents and to the inculcation of more
+wholesome social ideals in the minds of their offspring.
+
+Finally, the rural parents who are seeking a full and adequate
+development of the young members of their own family will most probably
+see their way clear to assume a helpful leadership of the young people
+of the neighborhood as advocated in Chapter X of this volume.
+
+While many agencies for the betterment of rural youth have been
+discussed,--such as the County Y.M.C.A., the Boy Scout Movement, and the
+Social and Economic Clubs,--the neighborhood which has at least one of
+these agencies intensively at work may be considered fortunate. And it
+may be said that such a neighborhood is well on the way to economic
+improvement as well as social improvement.
+
+
+THE OUTLOOK VERY PROMISING
+
+Throughout the United States there is being manifested a general
+tendency to accept the theory that our human stock is relatively sound.
+While there are seemingly large numbers of the criminal, delinquent, and
+dependent classes, they are in reality comparatively few in proportion
+to the entire population. And when we accept the estimate of the experts
+that about ninety per cent of the cases included in the classes just
+named are preventable through wise foresight and training, the outlook
+for a better race of human beings becomes most cheering.
+
+"The proper study of mankind is man," says the poet. But for many
+generations we have regarded this statement as mere poetry and not
+necessarily truth. Our policy up to the recent past has been rather
+this: The proper study of mankind is everything _except_ man, leaving
+the all-important problems of child-rearing to the decisions of wise old
+grand-mothers and debating societies. But a radical change has come, and
+that within this present generation. Men and women highly trained in the
+colleges and universities are now applying their scientific methods to
+the study of man with no less zeal and earnestness than that which has
+characterized the student of the non-human problems for many generations
+of time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE. XXXII.
+
+FIG. 39.--Sowing the seed, all by herself.
+
+FIG. 40.--Thinning the vegetables.
+
+New York Scenes.]
+
+Through the able conclusions of the painstaking expert the so-called
+institutional life has been especially improved. The industrial
+(reform) schools are now practicing a system of balanced activities--of
+study, work, play, and the like--such as the findings of these
+investigators have warranted. The method of paroling the delinquent
+child, after he has spent a term of preparation, was proved most helpful
+through the careful tests of a large number of cases. Recently the
+parole system has been effectively applied to certain classes of
+penitentiary convicts. A most productive agency for good now in use in
+many of the prisons and all the industrial schools is that of building
+up the waste places in the individual life through specific training and
+instruction. The first question raised in such cases is, What is the
+particular moral defect of the individual? second, What are the causes?
+third, What will reconstruct his character and give permanent relief?
+That is, the expert psychologist and the expert sociologist are being
+called into service with the expert alienist and physician. The purpose
+is to save and reconstruct the whole man. Compulsory education and trade
+schooling are now very common in state prisons.
+
+In the care and protection of the insane and the feeble-minded our
+country can boast of but slow progress. Many of the members of these
+classes are permitted to run at large and even to marry and beget their
+kind. Now, while our human stock is in its mass very sound and sane,
+there are constantly being thrown off from it these mentally defective
+classes. The complete obliteration of all such classes to-day would not
+result in their complete disappearance from the race. Others would be
+born as variants from normal parentage. But the evil of it all lies in
+the fact that we are still permitting many of these defectives to
+multiply, and that in the face of the fact that a normal child has never
+been reported among the offspring of two feeble-minded parents.
+
+
+THE MODERN SERVICE TRAINING
+
+Of all the institutions contributing to the direct improvement of the
+race there is perhaps none surpassing in importance the modern training
+school for social workers. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St.
+Louis, and other large cities such may be found usually affiliated with
+some university or college. The general purpose is that of training men
+and women to go into the field of social service and apply the methods
+and conclusions worked out by the research student. Hitherto, much of
+the social work has been conducted by persons possessing merely
+religious zeal and enthusiasm. Their efforts were praiseworthy, but they
+lacked the training necessary for coping with modern educational and
+economic problems. The distinctive feature of the new methods is that it
+is based on scientific and business principles. That is, the social
+worker is trained in the same methodical way as the prospective lawyer
+or school teacher, and is also paid reasonably for his services.
+
+The modern social worker not only proceeds with a well-defined plan, but
+he usually makes or requires a survey of his newly-opened field. The
+social survey--now becoming more common as a means of beginning a
+campaign of improvement in the cities--has revealed some most
+interesting, as well as distressing, situations in the submerged
+districts. The housing situation, sanitary conditions, wages and incomes
+of different classes, sweat-shop employment, the protection of workmen
+in shops and factories, child-labor conditions, and so on--these are
+examples of the problems of the investigator, while his tabulated
+reports serve to guide the social worker. Now, the duties of the latter
+are many, but in general they lie in the direction of improvement of the
+conditions as found. Among the undertakings that often fall to his lot
+are: establishing new social centers in congested districts, providing
+for new parks and playgrounds, locating reading and recreation rooms,
+organizing self-help and home-improvement clubs among the lower classes,
+conducting cooking and sewing schools, and the like.
+
+Of special interest to the rural dweller is the fact that the modern
+methods of first making surveys and then applying remedial agencies is
+now being extended into the country districts, giving many marked
+results already and promising greater ones for the future.
+
+
+THE STATE DOING ITS PART
+
+That the nation and the state are active participants in these new forms
+of child-conserving and man-saving endeavor is indicated on every side.
+
+The national government has encouraged the states in the enactment of
+stringent child-labor laws. In the usual instance children under
+fourteen to sixteen years of age are prohibited from working away from
+home at gainful occupations. Correlated with this is the
+compulsory-education law in the several states.
+
+The national and state governments have also coöperated in the enactment
+of laws prohibiting the adulteration of foods and foodstuffs and in
+enforcing better sanitation. As a result of such measures, state and
+local, together with the help of greatly improved hospital practice, the
+infant mortality in several of the large cities has been reduced more
+than fifty per cent in the past decade.
+
+Inspired by the splendid pioneer work of the National Playground
+Association, the cities and towns have recently made very rapid progress
+in the establishment of playgrounds and recreative centers for old and
+young. Many millions of dollars have already been expended for such
+purposes. Now the country districts are adopting the same means of
+social improvement.
+
+The primary system of selecting candidates for political office is
+proving to be a most potent agency for the general uplift. By means of
+it, better men are being inducted into office. Better still, the old
+corrupt practice of the ward politician, so deleterious to the character
+of youth, is losing its once powerful influence on government.
+
+The so-called social evil, so damaging to the health and morals of
+thousands of our best young men and young women, is now under fair
+promise of improvement. The remarkable survey of the Chicago Vice
+Commission and the work of the other well-planned organizations looking
+to the solution of the same general problem have proved most effective
+in revealing the true conditions and of awakening the public conscience.
+All of these activities in the interest of putting down the sex evils
+point very clearly one moral to all conscientious parents; namely, that
+the best and most certain method of inculcating lessons of purity in the
+case of the young is through preventive measures, and through the
+practice of purity during the years of growth. Open and frank discussion
+of the sex problems as they arise normally out of the experiences of the
+child, admonitions and prohibitions in regard to impure associates, the
+insistence upon a single, and not a double, standard of purity for the
+two sexes--these are some of the specific duties of parents.
+
+As an instance of what may be achieved by way of helping the weak and
+depraved to defend themselves against debasing habit, and especially of
+what may be done by way of prevention of a character-destroying habit
+in time of youth, the Kansas prohibitory law is cited. The longer this
+statute remains, the more effective its work and the more unanimous the
+public sentiment supporting it. So popular has this measure become that
+no political party and no faction of any other class has been able to
+take any effective stand against it. It can be shown to any fair-minded
+investigator that the great majority of the citizens of Kansas are total
+abstainers from the use of intoxicants; also that the state has brought
+up a new generation of tens of thousands of men, now mostly voters, who
+have no personal knowledge of the use and abuse of alcoholic drinks and
+who have become confirmed as total abstainers for life.
+
+Another unique Kansas measure--ignored and derided at first only less
+than was the prohibitory liquor law when new--is the statute forbidding
+the use of tobacco in any form on the part of minors. The wisdom of this
+statute is supported by the conclusions of scientific study of the
+effects of tobacco on the young. The general purpose of the law is to
+prevent the youth from taking up the tobacco-using habit before reaching
+full maturity of years and judgment. The general result will be the
+gradual development of a generation of total abstainers from the use of
+tobacco.
+
+
+THE NEW ERA OF RELIGION
+
+Even into the sanctuary of the modern church is the new scientific
+spirit finding its way. It has become an accepted principle of procedure
+among ministers and other church workers of late that the best way to
+save souls is not to depend wholly upon divine grace, but to assist this
+subtle power by means of the constructive work of many human agencies.
+Preventive measures that aim at safeguarding the young against evil
+contaminations, the institution of social improvement organizations and
+of literary and economic clubs, the formation of good-fellowship
+societies, of societies for conducting social surveys, of committees for
+giving vocational guidance and for the administration of spiritual
+healing--these and numerous endeavors of the same class give evidence of
+the great service which the modern church is rendering young humanity.
+And all this splendid work is being carried forward without doing any
+violence to the essential doctrines of the great historical institution
+so long engaged in its serious efforts in behalf of human salvation.
+
+
+FINAL CONCLUSION
+
+As a closing remark the author can only express again his belief that no
+past age ever held out such inspiring hope and such splendid
+encouragement to the many parents who appreciate the needs of
+intelligent care and training for their children. And because of the
+natural advantages of the surroundings, country parents have the
+greatest justification of all for being enthusiastic over the outlook.
+Now, let them go patiently and reverently at the work of bringing up for
+the service of the world a magnificent race of men and women--men who
+have brain and brawn and moral courage and religious devotion; women who
+have a profound sense of maternal responsibility, an inspiring
+superiority over the perplexing duties of the household, a deep and
+far-reaching social sympathy, and such a poise and sublimity of thought
+as to reveal the divinity inherent in their characters. For lo! In the
+hidden depths of the natures of the common boys and girls there lie
+slumbering these splendid possibilities!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+The Meaning of Social Science. Albion W. Small. University of Chicago
+Press. An epoch-making book, restating ably the general
+problem of social reconstruction.
+
+    Report of Committee on Rural Social Problems, National
+    Conference Charities and Corrections. Address Porter R. Lee,
+    Sec'y for Organizing Charity, Philadelphia, Pa.
+
+    Annual Report. Association for Study and Prevention of Infant
+    Mortality, 1211 Cathedral Street, Baltimore.
+
+    Government Report on Children as Wage-earners. Department of
+    Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C. This department is
+    bringing out nineteen volumes in all, each covering a
+    particular problem of women and children as wage-earners. The
+    following are especially related to the subject matter of
+    this chapter:--
+
+      The Beginnings of Child Labor Legislation in Certain States;
+        A Comparative Study.
+      Conditions under which Children leave School to go to Work.
+      Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment.
+      Causes of Death among Women and Child Cotton Mill Operatives.
+      Family Budgets of Typical Cotton Mill Workers.
+      Hook Worm Disease among Cotton Mill Operatives.
+      Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries.
+      Reports and Circulars National Christian League for Promotion
+        of Purity, 5 East 12th Street, New York.
+
+    Annual Report of National Conference of Charities and
+    Corrections, 1911. Charities Publication Committee, New York.
+    See this valuable volume for reports of progress in the
+    different lines of child-welfare effort.
+
+    The White Slave Traffic. _Outlook_, July 16. 1910.
+
+    The Rockefeller Grand Jury Report of White Slave Traffic.
+    _McClure_, May, August, 1910.
+
+    Moral Research in Social and Economic Problems. G. Connell.
+    _Westminster Review_, February, 1910.
+
+    My Lesson from the Juvenile Court. Judge Ben. B Lindsey.
+    _Survey_, Feb. 5, 1910.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Acquired characters, not transmissible, 7.
+  Agricultural education, money value of, 286.
+  Agriculture, as a rural school subject, 120 ff.
+  Anger, a healthful instinct, 16;
+    right treatment of, 17 f.
+  Aristocracy, fostered in the schools, 103, 104.
+
+  Bank account, necessary for boys, 223.
+  Bill, Arthur J., 231.
+  Boardman, John R., advocate of rural play, 156.
+  Books, for children, how to choose, 74;
+    a selected list, 75 ff.;
+    on child-rearing, 79, 80.
+  Boys, bad companionships for, 202 f.
+  Boy Scouts Movement, 311.
+  Boy Scouts, Professor Holton's definition of, 165;
+    how to organize, 165 f.;
+    in Kansas, 166 ff.
+  Boys leave the farm, why, 62, 63.
+  Bread-making clubs, 150 f.
+  Bread-winning, cultural, 3.
+  Building site, suited to children, 68.
+  Business career, instinct for, 24.
+  Business, training for farm boy, 220 ff.;
+    finding the boy's interest in, 221 f.;
+    dealing fair with the boy in, 225.
+  Butterfield, President Kenyon L., 140, 161.
+
+  Character-building, agencies of, 28 ff.;
+    must go on with schooling, 90 f.;
+    requires religious training, 94.
+  Chicago Vice Commission, 317.
+  Child-rearing, rural, 90 ff.
+  Children's hour, recommended for evening, 67.
+  Children's room, good illustration of, 64 f.
+  Child study, a necessity, 308 ff.
+  Cigarettes, law against, in Kansas, 318.
+  College education, for farm boy, 283 f.
+  Compulsory education, now general, 251.
+  Consolidation of rural schools, illustrated, 109, 123.
+  Cornell University, model rural school 115 ff.
+  Cornell University, 286.
+  Corn-plowing, may be divine calling, 98.
+  Corn-raising clubs, 150 f.
+  Corn Sunday, in rural church, 95.
+  Country boy, the right schooling for, 250 ff.;
+    his interest in humanity, 259;
+    must know current affairs, 260.
+  Country church at Plainfield, Ill., 87;
+    at Ogden, Kan., 87, 92;
+    Commission management of, 88;
+    too narrow, 92;
+    as social center, 94 ff.;
+    at Danbury, N. H., 96;
+    at Lincoln, Vt., 96;
+    federated society in, 96.
+  Country dwelling, its relation to juvenile character, 54 ff.;
+    plan it for the children, 56, 57.
+  Country girl, business training for, 255 ff.;
+    why she leaves home, 236 f.;
+    rules for training in business, 239;
+    not to be a money-maker, 247;
+    earning money in the South, 249;
+    schooling for, 262 ff.;
+    to be taught music, 265 f.;
+    vocation for, 290 ff.
+  Country Life Commission, 42 f., 148.
+  Country mother, as teacher, 268;
+    report of Country Life Commission, 42;
+    conservation of her energies, 44 ff.;
+    conspiring with the children, 51 f.
+  Country school, to be redirected, 152 ff.
+  Crying, good for infants, 14.
+
+  Dance, usually degrading, 164;
+    hard to control, 211 f.
+  Department of Agriculture, 148.
+  Dickens, Professor Albert, 110 f.
+  Disease, relation to habit, 3;
+    avoidance of by care, 3.
+  Domestic economy, for girls, 298 f.;
+    in the rural school, 122.
+
+  Exhibitions, by rural Y.M.C.A., 139 f.
+
+  Fairchild, Supt. E. T., 108 f., 118.
+  Farm barn, not to be better than the dwelling, 62.
+  _Farmer's Voice_, 60, 73.
+  Farm girls, danger of over-working, 182 f.;
+    working in the field, 188;
+    sometimes misjudged, 190 f.;
+    work schedule difficult to make, 191;
+    and self-supremacy, 192 f.;
+    social companions for, 201.
+  Fear, nature and purpose of, 16, 19.
+  Federation for country life in Illinois, 161 f.
+
+  Good health, fundamental to development, 3.
+  Good life, definition, 2.
+
+  Hall, Dr. G. Stanley, 309.
+  Happiness, a part of the good life, 6;
+    how obtained, 6.
+  High school, rural provisions for, 124 f.
+  Holton, Professor E. L. on Boy Scouts, 165.
+  Home conveniences, necessity for farm women, 47.
+  Home life education, 270.
+  Home sanitation, in the rural school, 132.
+  "Homing" instinct, 23.
+  House help, training the children for, 49.
+  Human stock, mostly sound, 7, 8;
+    potentially good, 9.
+  Humble parentage and leadership, 9.
+
+  Instincts, of children to be studied, 310;
+    two are fundamental, 12;
+    related to impulse, 14;
+    for home life, 23;
+    for business, 24.
+
+  James, Professor William, 300.
+
+  Kansas, Rural Boy Scouts in, 166 ff.;
+    a boy genius of, 227.
+  Kansas State Agricultural College, 165.
+  Kirk, President John R., quoted, 112 f.
+
+  Leadership, of farmer and wife, 146 ff.;
+    preparation for, 148;
+    in Y.M.C.A., 133 f.
+  Library, for neighborhood in farm home, 155.
+   _Literary Digest_, 73.
+  Literature, purpose of in country home, 69 f.;
+    best adapted to the child, 71, 72;
+    types of, 72 f.;
+    on child-rearing, 79.
+
+  Marriage, planning for the daughter's, 291 f.;
+    to be studied, 300 ff.;
+    training the girl for, 20, 21.
+  McNutt, Rev. M. B., and his work, 86, 87;
+    church built by, 87.
+  Mendel's law, and human inheritance, 8.
+  Minister, of city should preach in the country, 85;
+    a country type, 86 ff.
+  Moral strength, an aim in character-building, 4;
+    acquired through trial and error, 4.
+  Mothers' club, organization of, 160 f.
+  "Mother's hour," recommended, 46.
+  Moving to town, to educate the children, 36;
+    how it affects the farmer, 36, 37.
+
+  National Corn Exhibit, 230.
+  Native ability, three classes of, 251 ff.;
+    how stimulus and opportunity assist, 253.
+  Newspaper, kind for the farmer, 73.
+
+  Occupations for women, 293 ff.
+  Oklahoma Agricultural College, work at county fair, 229.
+
+  Play, growing interest in, 27, 28;
+    practical uses of, 28 ff.;
+    an excellent set of materials for, 30;
+    sharply distinguished from work, 31;
+    after Sunday School, 97;
+    neighborhood center for, 159.
+  Play apparatus, model in farm home, 154.
+  Playground, apparatus for, 118 ff.;
+    for home and school, 154 f.
+  Playground Association of America, 155, 316.
+  Population, decrease in country, 83.
+  Prohibitory law, in Kansas, 318.
+  Psychological clinic, 265.
+
+  Recreation, meaning of misunderstood, 33;
+    how related to farm work, 34 ff.;
+    for rural youth, 139.
+  Religion, the new era in, 319;
+    interest in a part of life, 5.
+  _Review of Reviews_, 73.
+  Rural manhood, 148, 156.
+  Rural school, changes in view-point of, 102;
+    to serve all, 103 f.;
+    compulsory attendance upon, 106;
+    model at Kirksville, 112.
+  Rural schoolhouse, better ones needed, 107;
+    location of, 108;
+    in Kansas, 105;
+    model at Cornell, 115.
+
+  Saloons, a menace to boys, 206 f.
+  School grounds, size, and adoption of, 109.
+  School playground, 117 ff.
+  Sex evils, to be studied, 317.
+  Sex habits, secret, 204.
+  Sex instinct, as socializing agency, 199.
+  Sexual love, instructive and extremely helpful, 20;
+    necessity of careful treatment, 20 ff.
+  Smoking, bad for boys, 205 f.
+  Social democracy, fostered by training, 4.
+  Social efficiency, training for, 5.
+  Social entertainment, how to conduct, 209 f.;
+    several forms of, 211 ff.
+  Social renaissance, in the country, 199.
+  Social sensitiveness, a form of fear, 18;
+    great value in training, 19, 20.
+  Social training of farm youths, 197 ff.;
+    in economic clubs, 215;
+    a working plan for, 198 ff.;
+    based on sex instinct, 199;
+    menaces to, 200 ff.;
+    in ideal country home, 208.
+  Social training schools, 314.
+  Social work, for girls, 295 f.
+  Solitude, a means of culture, 35.
+  Stenography, for girls, 294.
+
+  Teaching, hard on young women, 203.
+  Tuberculosis, is it inheritable? 8, 9.
+
+  University of Pennsylvania, 309.
+  Usefulness, as ideal of education, 3.
+
+  Vacations, based on instincts and desires, 163, 226.
+  Vacations, necessity of providing for, 176 f.;
+    a father's plan for, 177 f.
+  Vocation, for farm boy, 275 ff.;
+    should it be farming, 275;
+    go slow in choosing, 276 f.;
+    three methods of training for, 279 f.;
+    preparation of farm girl for, 289 ff.
+  Vocational schools, in the South, 229 f.
+
+  _Wallaces' Farmer_, 43, 44, 73.
+  Waters, President H. J., 127.
+  Wealth, not evidence of substantial country society, 84.
+  Witmer, Dr. Lightner, 309.
+  Women, occupations for, 291 ff.
+  Work, as basis of society, 171 ff.;
+    for the boy's sake, 172 f.;
+    wrong attitude of workmen toward, 174;
+    a father's method of training boy for, 175 f.;
+    a schedule of hours for, 178 ff.;
+    how much for the girl, 183 ff.;
+    foundation for vocation, 285;
+    necessary as discipline, 30, 31;
+    not liked by natural children, 31;
+    acquired fondness for, 32;
+    a part of the good school course, 33;
+    spiritualized by country church, 98.
+    _World's Work_, 73.
+
+  Y.M.C.A., rural 129 ff.;
+    purposes of, 131;
+    how to organize, 132 ff.;
+    leader for, 133 f.;
+    how to conduct, 136;
+    example of rural in Kansas, 143 f.
+
+
+
+
+  The following pages contain advertisements of a
+  few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects.
+
+
+
+
+THE RURAL OUTLOOK SET
+
+BY PROFESSOR L. H. BAILEY
+
+Director of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University
+
+    _Four volumes. Each, cloth, 12mo. Uniform binding,
+    attractively boxed $5.00 net per set; carriage extra. Each
+    volume also sold separately._
+
+    In this set are included three of Professor Bailey's most
+    popular books as well as a hitherto unpublished one,--"The
+    Country-Life Movement." The long and persistent demand for a
+    uniform edition of these little classics is answered with the
+    publication of this attractive series.
+
+
+The Country-Life Movement
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, 220 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    This hitherto unpublished volume deals with the present
+    movement for the redirection of rural civilization,
+    discussing the real country-life problem as distinguished
+    from the city problem, known as the back-to-the-land
+    movement.
+
+
+The Outlook to Nature (New and Revised Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, 195 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    In this alive and bracing book, full of suggestion and
+    encouragement, Professor Bailey argues the importance of
+    contact with nature, a sympathetic attitude toward which
+    "means greater efficiency, hopefulness, and repose."
+
+
+The State and the Farmer (New Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    It is the relation of the farmer to the government that
+    Professor Bailey here discusses in its varying aspects. He
+    deals specifically with the change in agricultural methods,
+    in the shifting or the geographical centers of farming in the
+    United States, and in the growth of agricultural
+    institutions.
+
+
+The Nature Study Idea (New Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    "It would be well," the critic of _The Tribune Farmer_ once
+    wrote, "if 'The Nature Study Idea' were in the hands of every
+    person who favors nature study in the public schools, of
+    every one who is opposed to it, and, most important, of every
+    one who teaches it or thinks he does." It has been Professor
+    Bailey's purpose to interpret the new school movement to put
+    the young into relation and sympathy with nature,--a purpose
+    which he has admirably accomplished.
+
+
+
+NEW BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE
+
+
+How to Keep Bees for Profit
+
+BY D. E. LYON
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net_
+
+    Dr. Lyon is an enthusiast on bees. He has devoted many years
+    to the acquisition of knowledge on this subject, and his book
+    is a practical one. In it he takes up the numerous questions
+    that confront the man who keeps bees, and deals with them
+    from the standpoint of long experience.
+
+
+How to Keep Hens for Profit
+
+BY C. S. VALENTINE
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net_
+
+    Mr. Valentine is a well-known authority upon the subject. His
+    knowledge is extensive and accurate; the information that he
+    gives will be of service, not only to the amateur who keeps
+    poultry for his own pleasure, but to the man who wishes to
+    derive from it a considerable portion of his income.
+
+
+Manual of Gardening
+
+BY L. H. BAILEY
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $2.00 net_
+
+    This new work is a combination and revision of the main parts
+    of two other books by the same author, "Garden Making," and
+    "Practical Garden-Book," together with much new material and
+    the results of the experience of ten added years.
+
+
+How to Grow Vegetables
+
+BY ALLEN FRENCH
+
+  _New edition._ _Decorated cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net; by mail,
+    $1.80_
+
+    "It is what it purports to be, a practical handbook and
+    planting table for the vegetable garden. Its directions for
+    growing in our northern climate are detailed and explicit,
+    and will be of invaluable assistance to those who follow them
+    intelligently."--_Boston Budget._
+
+    "The instructions are terse, yet complete, and cover
+    everything as to method of preparing the ground, sowing seed,
+    cultivation, etc. Practicality and clearness of direction are
+    the dominant notes of Mr. French's book."--_Brooklyn Eagle._
+
+
+A Self-Supporting Home
+
+BY KATE V. ST. MAUR
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, fully illustrated from photographs, $1.75 net_
+
+    "Each chapter is the detailed account of all the work
+    necessary for one month--in the vegetable garden, among the
+    small fruits, with the fowls, guineas, rabbits, cavies, and
+    in every branch of husbandry to be met with on the small
+    farm."--_Louisville Courier-Journal._
+
+
+The Earth's Bounty
+
+BY KATE V. ST. MAUR
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net_
+
+    The present volume, though in no sense dependent on "A
+    Self-Supporting Home," is in a sense a sequel to it. The
+    feminine owner is still the heroine, and the new book
+    chronicles the events after success permitted her to acquire
+    more land and put to practical test the ideas gleaned from
+    observation and reading.
+
+
+The Fat of the Land: The Story of an American Farm
+
+BY JOHN WILLIAMS STREETER
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net_
+
+    "The Fat of the Land" is the sort of book that ought to be
+    epoch-making in its character, for it tells what can be
+    accomplished through the application of business methods to
+    the farming business. Never was the freshness, the beauty,
+    the joy, the freedom of country life put in a more engaging
+    fashion. From cover to cover it is a fascinating book,
+    practical withal, and full of common sense.
+
+
+Three Acres and Liberty
+
+BY BOLTON HALL
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net_
+
+    Possibilities of the small suburban farm, and practical
+    suggestions to city dwellers how to acquire and make
+    profitable use of them.
+
+
+The Feeding of Animals
+
+By WHITMAN HOWARD JORDAN
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, 450 pages, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.65_
+
+    "A valuable contribution to agricultural literature. Not a
+    statement of rules or details of practice, but an effort to
+    present the main facts and principles fundamental to the art
+    of feeding animals."--_New England Farmer._
+
+
+Rural Hygiene
+
+By HENRY N. OGDEN, C.E.
+
+    Professor of Sanitary Engineering, College of Civil
+    Engineering, Cornell University, and Special Assistant
+    Engineer of the New York State Department of Health
+
+  _Illustrated, decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68_
+
+    "Farmers and other dwellers outside of cities will find
+    Professor Henry N. Ogden's 'Rural Hygiene' an invaluable
+    treatise on all matters pertaining to the health of the
+    individual and the community. The author, a civil engineer in
+    the faculty of Cornell University, deals with the structural
+    side of public hygiene rather than with the medical side. He
+    tells how houses and barns should be built so as to promote
+    the good health of their occupants; how to manage
+    ventilation, drainage, water supply, etc.; how waterworks
+    should be built, what are the best kinds of power, how to
+    arrange the plumbing, guard against sewage, and so on. . . .
+    It is an unusually complete, practical, and readable
+    treatise."
+
+    --_Chicago Record-Herald._
+
+
+Law for the American Farmer
+
+By JOHN D. GREEN, of the New York Bar.
+
+  _Decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68_
+
+    "The book is superior to any of its class."--_Law Review._
+
+    "Very comprehensive and valuable."--_Kansas Farmer._
+
+    "Written with great thoroughness and accuracy."--_Chicago
+    Inter-Ocean._
+
+
+THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
+
+  Publishers     64-66 Fifth Avenue     New York
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+    Punctuation has been made consistent without note.
+
+    Archaic or alternate spellings have been retained.
+
+    Plate X: 1st edition has a different caption for this plate:
+      An illustration of "Corn Sunday," as instituted by
+      Superintendent George W. Brown in the rural churches in
+      the vicinity of Paris, Illinois.
+
+    Page 99, References: "Colton" changed to "Cotton" (John
+    Cotton Dana).
+
+    Page 127, References: 1st edition has 1906, not 1905, as
+    publication date for "The Most Practical Industrial Education
+    for the Country Child."
+
+    Page 140, "One boy may have have caught" changed to
+    "One boy may have caught"
+
+    Page 329: "County-Life" changed to "Country-Life" ("The
+    Country-Life Movement.")
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39483-8.txt or 39483-8.zip *******
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+<body>
+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Farm Boys and Girls, by William Arch McKeever</h1>
+<p>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a
+href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p>
+<p>Title: Farm Boys and Girls</p>
+<p>Author: William Arch McKeever</p>
+<p>Release Date: April 19, 2012  [eBook #39483]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<h3>E-text prepared by Barbara Watson, Pat McCoy,<br />
+    and the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team<br />
+    (http://www.pgdpcanada.net)</h3>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title">The Rural Science Series<br />
+<br />
+<span class="smcap">Edited by L. H. BAILEY</span></p>
+
+<h2>FARM BOYS AND GIRLS</h2>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title gap4">The Rural Science Series</p>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Series">
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Soil.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Spraying of Plants.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Milk and its Products.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Fertility of the Land.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Principles of Fruit-Growing.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Bush-Fruits.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Fertilizers.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Principles of Agriculture.</span> 15th Ed.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Irrigation and Drainage.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Farmstead.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Rural Wealth and Welfare.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Principles of Vegetable-Gardening.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Farm Poultry.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Feeding of Animals.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Farmer&#8217;s Business Handbook.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Diseases of Animals.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Horse.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">How to Choose a Farm.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Forage Crops.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Bacteria in Relation to Country Life.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Nursery-Book.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Plant-Breeding.</span> 4th Ed.</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Forcing-Book.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Pruning-Book.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Fruit-Growing in Arid Regions.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Rural Hygiene.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Dry-Farming.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Law for the American Farmer.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">Farm Boys and Girls.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Training and Breaking of Horses.</span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><i>Others in preparation.</i></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title gap4"><span class="smcap">Plate I.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_1" name="Fig_1"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_i.png" width="500" height="294" alt="" title="Plate I." />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 1.&mdash;At least once each day the busy farm father may think of a way to combine his work with the
+children&#8217;s play.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1>
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS<br />
+<br />
+<small>BY</small>
+<br />
+WILLIAM A. McKEEVER</h1>
+
+<p class="title">PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY<br />
+KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="title">New York<br />
+THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br />
+1913</p>
+
+<p class="center gap4"><i>All rights reserved</i></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center gap4">
+<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1912,<br />
+By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center gap4">Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1912. Reprinted<br />
+August, 1912; January, June, 1913.</p>
+
+<p class="center gap4">Norwood Press<br />
+J. S. Cushing Co.&mdash;Berwick &amp; Smith Co.<br />
+Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center gap4">
+DEDICATED<br />
+TO THE SERVICE OF THE<br />
+TEN MILLION BOYS AND GIRLS<br />
+WHO ARE ENROLLED IN<br />
+THE RURAL SCHOOLS<br />
+OF AMERICA</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE</h2>
+
+
+<p>In the preparation of this book I have had in
+mind two classes of readers; namely, the rural
+parents and the many persons who are interested in
+carrying forward the rural work discussed in the
+several chapters. It has been my aim to give as
+much specific aid and direction as possible. The
+first two chapters constitute a mere outline of some
+of the fundamental principles of child development.
+It would be fortunate if the reader who is unfamiliar
+with such principles could have a course of
+reading in the volumes that treat them extensively.
+Nearly every suggestion given in the main body of
+the book is based on what has already either been
+undertaken with a degree of success or planned for
+in some rural community.</p>
+
+<p>I am very greatly indebted to the following persons
+and firms for their kindness and generosity in
+lending pictures and cuts for illustrating the book:
+E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public
+Instruction, Topeka, Kansas; J. W. Crabtree,
+Principal State Normal School, River Falls, Wisconsin;
+George W. Brown, Superintendent of Edgar
+County, Paris, Illinois; O. J. Kern, Superintendent
+of Winnebago County, Rockford, Illinois; Miss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>
+Jessie Fields, Superintendent of Page County, Clarinda,
+Iowa; A. D. Holloway, General Secretary,
+County Y.M.C.A., Marysville, Kansas; Dr. Myron
+T. Scudder, of Rutgers College; Doubleday, Page
+&amp; Company, Garden City, New York; <i>Rural Manhood</i>,
+New York City; <i>The Farmer&#8217;s Voice</i>, Chicago,
+Illinois; <i>The American Agriculturist</i>, New York City;
+<i>The Oklahoma Farmer</i>, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma;
+<i>The Inland Farmer</i>, Lexington, Kentucky; <i>The
+Farmer&#8217;s Advocate</i>, Winnipeg, Canada.</p>
+
+<p>My thanks are also due <i>Successful Farming</i>, of
+Des Moines, Iowa, for permission to use excerpts
+from President Kirk&#8217;s article on the model school,
+and portions of a series of brief articles written for
+the same magazine by myself.</p>
+
+<p>The references given at the close of the chapters
+have been selected with considerable care. It will
+be found in nearly every case that they give helpful
+and more extended discussions of the several
+topics treated in the preceding chapter.</p>
+
+<p class="quotsig">
+WILLIAM A. McKEEVER.<br />
+</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Manhattan, Kansas.</span></p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<h2><a name="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS" id="TABLE_OF_CONTENTS"></a>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="TOC">
+<tr><td align="left" colspan="4">CHAPTER</td><td align="right">PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">I.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Building a Good Life</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What is a Good Life?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_2">2</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Good Health</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Usefulness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_3">3</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Moral Strength</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_4">4</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. Social Efficiency</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">5. Religious Interest</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">6. Happiness</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Is the Human Stock comparatively Sound?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">II.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Time to Build</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What of the Human Instincts</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Dawning Instincts</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Social Sensitiveness Helpful</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">III.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Rural Home and Character Development</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What Agencies build up Character?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Play</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Recreation</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Moving to Town for the Children</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Back-to-the-country Club</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IV.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Country Mother and the Children</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Poor Conditions of Women</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">For the Sake of the Children</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Surplus Nerve Energy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. A Rest Period</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. The Home Conveniences</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. The Mother&#8217;s Outings</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">5. The Home Help</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>
+&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">6. The Children shield the Mother</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">7. Planning for the Children</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">8. A Common Conspiracy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">V.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Constructing the Country Dwelling</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Plans and Specifications not Available</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What appeals to the Children</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_57">57</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The House Plan</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">How One Farmer does It</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_60">60</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Outbuildings and Equipment</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Human Rights prior to Animal Rights</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Children&#8217;s Room</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Evening Hour</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VI.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">How Good Thinking grows up and Flourishes</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Types of Literature</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Selected List</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Literature on Child-rearing</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Periodicals on Child-rearing</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Books on Child-rearing</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Rural Church and the Young People</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Decadence of Rural Life</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work for the Ministry</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Country Minister</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Mistake in Training</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Rural Child-rearing</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Churches too Narrow</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">92</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Constructive Work of the Church</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">An Innovation in the Rural Church&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Spiritualize Child Life</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Summary</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Transformation of the Rural School</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Radical Changes in the View-point and Method</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">All have a Right to Culture</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span>
+&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work for a Longer Term</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_105">105</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Compulsory Attendance Laws Needed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Better Schoolhouses and Equipment</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_107">107</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Location</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. The Water Supply</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Size and Adaptation of Grounds</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. Improvement of School Grounds</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Model Rural School</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Cornell Schoolhouse</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Help make a School Play Ground</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">General Instruction in Agriculture</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_120">120</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Domestic Economy and Home Sanitation</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Consolidation of Rural Schools</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">More High Schools Needed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Better Rural Teachers Needed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IX.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The County Young Men&#8217;s Christian Association</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Boys leave the Farm too Young</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Purposes of the County Young Men&#8217;s Christian Association</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">How to organize a County Organization</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Select a Good Leader</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Local Leaders Necessary</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. A Committee on Finance</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. Little Property Ownership</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">How to conduct the Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Local and County Athletic Clubs</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Debating and Literary Clubs</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Receptions and Suppers</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. Educational Tours and Problems</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">5. Camping and Hiking</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">6. Exhibitions</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Spirituality not lost Sight Of</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work in a sparsely Settled Country</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">X.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Preparation for the Service</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work persistently for Social Unity</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Corn-raising and Bread-baking Clubs</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Other Forms of Contests</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Improvement of the School Situation</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Home and School Play Problems</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Neighborhood Library</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Holidays and Recreation for the Young</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Many over-work their Children</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Federation for Country-life Progress</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_161">161</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Vocations of Boys and Girls</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Other Local Possibilities</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_164">164</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Boy Scout Movement</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Rural Boy Scouts in Kansas</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_166">166</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XI.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">How Much Work for the Country Boy</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">See that the Work is for the Boy&#8217;s Sake</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_172">172</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Not Enforced Labor, but Mastery</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Provide Vacations for the Boy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_176">176</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Tentative Schedule of Hours</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Think out a Reasonable Plan</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">How Much Work for the Country Girl</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Balanced Life for the Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work begins with Obedience</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Working the Girls in the Field</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Some Specific Suggestions</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Do you Own your Daughter?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Difficult to make a Schedule</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Teach the Girl Self-supremacy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Summary</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Happy Mean is Needed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Social Renaissance in the Country</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>
+&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Conditions to guard Against</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. The Social Companionship of Girls</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Bad Companionships for Boys</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Secret Sex Habits</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. The So-called Bad Habits</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Center of Community Life</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Invite the Young to the House</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">How to conduct a Social Entertainment</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What about the Country Dance?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Additional Forms of Entertainment</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. The Social Hour at the Religious Services</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. A Country Literary Society</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. The Social Side of the Economic Clubs</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Some Concluding Suggestions</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Farm Boy&#8217;s Interest in the Business</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What is in your Boy?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Much Experimentation Necessary</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Willingness to Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Ability to Save</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Start on a Small Scale</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Give your Son a Square Deal</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Keep the Boy&#8217;s Perfect Good Will</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_226">226</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Some will be retained on the Farm</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Awakening often comes from Without</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">An Awakening in the South</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Partnership between Father and Son</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Summary and Concluding Suggestions</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XV.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Business Training for the Country Girl</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Is the Country Girl Neglected?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td >&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Why the Girl leaves the Farm</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Certain Rules to be Observed</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. Teach the Girl to Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. Teach her Business Sense</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. Train her to transact Personal Business</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span>
+&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. Make her the Family Accountant</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">5. Miserliness to be Avoided</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">6. Teach her to Give</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">7. Teach the Meaning of a Contract</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">8. Prepare her to deal with Grafters</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Should there be an Actual Investment?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">What Schooling should the Country Boy Have</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Changes in Rural School Conditions</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Boy a Bundle of Possibilities</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Classes of Native Ability</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_253">253</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Great Talented Class</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Round out the Boy&#8217;s Nature</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Other Important Matters</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Develop an Interest in Humanity</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">What Schooling should the Country Girl Have</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Special Problems relating to the Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Protecting the Girl at School</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Lessons in Music and Art</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Reward will come in Time</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Mother&#8217;s Office as Teacher</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Home-life Education</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_270">270</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Education for Supremacy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td >&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">An Outlook for Social Life</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVIII.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Farm Boy&#8217;s Choice of a Vocation</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Should the Farmer&#8217;s Son Farm?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Impatience of Parents</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What of Predestination?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Three Methods of Vocational Training</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. The Apprentice Method</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_279">280</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. The Cultural Method</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. The Developmental Method</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Farmer Fortunate</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_282">282</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span>
+&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What College for the Country Boy?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Foundation in Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Clean up the Place</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Money Value of an Agricultural Education</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_286">286</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A Successful Vocation Certain</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIX.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Farm Girl&#8217;s Preparation for a Vocation</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">What is the Outlook?</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Desirable Occupations for Women</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">1. May teach the Young</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">2. May take up Stenography</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">3. May do Social Work</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_295">295</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left">4. May secure Clerkships</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">A College Course for the Girl</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Associations with Refined Young Men</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Make the Daughter Attractive</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Summary and Conclusion</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_301">301</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XX.</td><td align="left" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Conclusion and Future Outlook</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Strive for Preconceived Results</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Consult Expert Advice</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Meet Each Awakening Interest</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Work for Social Democracy</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Outlook very Promising</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The Modern Service Training</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The State doing its Part</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">The New Era of Religion</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left" colspan="2">Final Conclusion</td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left" colspan="4"><span class="smcap">Index</span></td><td align="right"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<h2><a name="ILLUSTRATIONS" id="ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Plates">
+<tr><td align="right">PLATE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">I.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_1">Fig.&nbsp;1.</a></td><td align="left">At least once each day the busy farm father may think of a way to combine his
+work with the children&#8217;s play</td><td align="right"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="right" colspan="3">FACING PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">II.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_2">Fig.&nbsp;2.</a></td><td align="left">Canadian boys breaking young oxen</td><td align="right">6</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">III.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_3">Fig.&nbsp;3.</a></td><td align="left">An attractive Kansas home</td><td align="right">28</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_4">Fig.&nbsp;4.</a></td><td align="left">A day nursery in the country</td><td align="right">42</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">V.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_5">Fig.&nbsp;5.</a></td><td align="left">A rural home in the South</td><td align="right">56</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_6">Fig.&nbsp;6.</a></td><td align="left">A well-equipped farmhouse</td><td align="right">64</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_7">Fig.&nbsp;7.</a></td><td align="left">Children playing under the shade trees</td><td align="right">72</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_8">Figs.&nbsp;8-9.</a></td><td align="left">Rural church, Plainfield, Illinois</td><td align="right">86</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">IX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_10">Fig.&nbsp;10.</a></td><td align="left">Village church at Ogden, Kansas</td><td align="right">92</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">X.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_11">Fig.&nbsp;11.</a></td><td align="left">Corn Sunday in an Illinois church</td><td align="right">96</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_12">Fig.&nbsp;12.</a></td><td align="left">A country schoolhouse in California</td><td align="right">108</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_13">Fig.&nbsp;13.</a></td><td align="left">Type of model rural school used in Kansas</td><td align="right">108</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_14">Fig.&nbsp;14.</a></td><td align="left">Model rural school at Kirksville, Missouri. Normal</td><td align="right">112</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_15">Fig.&nbsp;15.</a></td><td align="left">Rear view of the Kirksville school</td><td align="right">114</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_16">Fig.&nbsp;16.</a></td><td align="left">Using Babcock tester</td><td align="right">120</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_17">Figs.&nbsp;17-21.</a></td><td align="left">Consolidated school and those it displaced</td><td align="right">124</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_22">Fig.&nbsp;22.</a></td><td align="left">The Cornell rural schoolhouse</td><td align="right">126</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_23">Fig.&nbsp;23.</a></td><td align="left">A.Y.M.C.A. play club</td><td align="right">132</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XVIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_24">Fig.&nbsp;24.</a></td><td align="left">Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio</td><td align="right">138</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XIX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_25">Fig.&nbsp;25.</a></td><td align="left">Jerry Moore, champion corn raiser</td><td align="right">150</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_26">Fig.&nbsp;26.</a></td><td align="left">A lonely schoolhouse</td><td align="right">164</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_27">Fig.&nbsp;27.</a></td><td align="left">Tennis in the country</td><td align="right">180</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_28">Fig.&nbsp;28.</a></td><td align="left">Country play festival</td><td align="right">180</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_29">Fig.&nbsp;29.</a></td><td align="left">Industrial exhibit in rural school</td><td align="right">192</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span>
+XXIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_30">Fig.&nbsp;30.</a></td><td align="left">Agricultural and domestic science club</td><td align="right">208</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXIV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_31">Fig.&nbsp;31.</a></td><td align="left">School and church in Canada</td><td align="right">212</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXV.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_32">Fig.&nbsp;32.</a></td><td align="left">Kansas prize winners</td><td align="right">230</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXVI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_33">Fig.&nbsp;33.</a></td><td align="left">Girls&#8217; doll display</td><td align="right">238</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXVII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_34">Fig.&nbsp;34.</a></td><td align="left">Boys whittling</td><td align="right">252</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXVIII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_35">Fig.&nbsp;35.</a></td><td align="left">Study of corn</td><td align="right">256</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXIX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_36">Fig.&nbsp;36.</a></td><td align="left">School gardeners</td><td align="right">270</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXX.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_37">Fig.&nbsp;37.</a></td><td align="left">Country schoolgirls</td><td align="right">290</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXXI.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_38">Fig.&nbsp;38.</a></td><td align="left">A girls&#8217; class in sewing</td><td align="right">300</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="right">XXXII.</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_39">Fig.&nbsp;39.</a></td><td align="left">Girl sowing seed</td><td align="right">312</td></tr>
+<tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td align="left"><a href="#Fig_40">Fig.&nbsp;40.</a></td><td align="left">Boy thinning vegetables</td><td align="right">312</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>FARM BOYS AND GIRLS</h2>
+
+
+<h3>CHAPTER I<br />
+<br />
+<i>BUILDING A GOOD LIFE</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>If you were about to begin the construction of a
+dwelling house, what questions would most likely
+be uppermost in your mind? If this house were
+intended for your own use, you would doubtless
+consider among other important matters those of
+comfort, convenience of arrangement, attractiveness
+of appearance, strength, and durableness. The great
+variety of dwellings to be seen on every hand is
+outwardly expressive of the great variety of ideals
+in the minds of the people who construct them. No
+matter what means there may be available for the
+purpose, it may be said that he who builds a house
+thereby illustrates in concrete form his inner character.</p>
+
+<p>With practically the same quality of materials,
+one man will construct a house apparently with the
+thought that its chief purpose is to be looked at.
+Much work and expense will be put upon outer
+show and embellishment, while in its inner arrangements
+it may be exceedingly cramped and thoughtlessly
+put together. Another will erect his building<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>
+with a thought of placing it on the market. Cheap
+workmanship, weak and faulty joinings, and the like,
+will be concealed by some thin covering meant to
+last until a profitable sale has been made and some
+innocent purchaser caught with a mere shell of a
+house in his possession. Occasionally, however,
+there is found a man whose plans conform to such
+ideals as those first named.</p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What is a good life?</span></h4>
+
+<p>As with the construction of a house, so it is in
+some measure with the building of a character.
+Some lives apparently are constructed to look at;
+that is, with the thought that outer adornment
+and a mere appearance of worth and beauty constitute
+the essential qualities. Other lives are, in a
+sense, made to sell. Not infrequently parents are
+found developing their boys and girls as if the chief
+purpose were to place them somewhere or other in
+the best possible money market. A life is worth
+only as much as it will bring in dollars and cents, is
+apparently the predominating thought of such persons.
+And then, occasionally, a life is built to <i>live
+in</i>; that is, with the idea that intrinsic worth constitutes
+the essential nature of the ideal character.</p>
+
+<p>But what <i>is</i> a good life? And why is not this
+precisely the question for all parents to ask themselves
+at the time they begin the development of the
+lives of their own boys and girls? Assuming a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>
+fairly sound physical and mental inheritance on the
+part of the child and the given environment as the
+raw materials of construction, what ideals should
+parents have uppermost in mind before undertaking
+the tremendously important and interesting duties
+of constructing worthy manhood and womanhood
+out of the inherent natures of their children?</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Good health.</i>&mdash;It is a difficult task to develop
+a sound, efficient life without the fundamental
+quality of good health. So it may be well to remind
+parents of this fact and to urge them especially to
+avoid in the lives of the children, first, the beginnings
+of those lighter ailments which frequently grow into
+menacing habits&mdash;for example, the diseases that
+become chronic as a result of unnecessary exposure
+to the weather&mdash;and second, those various contagious
+diseases which so often permanently deplete
+the health of children, such as scarlet fever and
+whooping cough. It is now held by medical
+authority that every reasonable effort should be
+made to prevent children from taking such infectious
+ailments&mdash;that the so-called diseases of children can
+and should be practically all avoided.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Usefulness.</i>&mdash;The newer ideals of character-building
+call for the early training of all children as
+if they were to enter permanently upon some bread-winning
+pursuit. Such training is a most direct
+means of culture and refinement, provided it be correlated
+with the proper amount of book learning and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>
+play and recreation. Such uniform and character-building
+discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of
+the race, and to acquaint all the young with the
+thoughts and feeling of the great productive classes.
+It may be this is now regarded as both a direct
+means of culture and of leading the young mind
+into an intimate acquaintance with the lives of the
+masses. Such training is regarded also as one of
+the best means of preserving our social democracy.
+Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth
+the child may apparently be destined for a life of
+comparative ease, even then there is every justification
+for teaching him early how to work as if he
+must do so to earn his own living. Much more will
+be said about this point later.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Moral strength.</i>&mdash;In the construction of a good
+life, moral strength must be estimated as one of the
+important foundation stones. But this quality is not
+so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an
+acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through
+merely hearing about it, but it must come as a result
+of a large number of experiences of trial and error.
+The child acquires moral self-reliance from the practice
+of overcoming temptation in proportion to his
+strength, the test being made heavier as fast as his
+ability to withstand temptation increases. As will
+be shown later, it proves weakening to the character
+of the growing child to keep him entirely free
+from temptation and the possible contamination of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>
+his character in order that he may grow up
+&#8220;good.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>Social efficiency.</i>&mdash;The good life is not merely
+self-sustaining in an economic way, but it is also
+trained in the performance of altruistic deeds. In
+building up the lives of the young it will be necessary
+and most helpful to think of the matter of
+social efficiency. Therefore, it will be seen to that the
+child have practice in assuming the leadership among
+his fellows, in taking the initiative on many little
+occasions, and in some instances to the extent of
+standing out against the combined sentiment of his
+young associates. Of course, during all this time he
+will be backed strongly by the advice and the insistent
+direction of his parents, the idea being to induce him
+to think out his own social problems and to carry
+forward any suitable plans of a social nature that he
+may devise.</p>
+
+<p>5. <i>Religious interest.</i>&mdash;Few parents will deny
+that religious instruction is just as essential to the
+development of a good society as is intellectual
+instruction. Indeed, there is much evidence to bear
+out the conviction that religion is a deep and permanent
+instinct in all normal human beings. This
+being the case, it is fair to say that such an instinct
+should have some form of awakening and indulgence
+in the life of the child. However, there is no thought
+or intention of prescribing any particular form of
+religious faith. He might at least be sent to Sunday<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>
+school and to church regularly where he may be
+led to do a small amount of religious thinking on
+his own account.</p>
+
+<p>6. <i>Happiness.</i>&mdash;The good life is a happy life.
+But nearly all the students of human problems seem
+to think that happiness eludes the grasp of the one
+who seeks it in a direct way. &#8220;I want my children
+to be happy and enjoy life,&#8221; is often the remark
+of well-meaning parents. They then proceed as if
+joy and happiness could be had for money. It is
+true that during his early years of indifference to any
+serious concern or personal responsibility, the child
+may be made extremely happy by giving him practically
+everything his childish appetites may call for
+and allowing him to grow up in idleness. But there
+comes a time when the normal individual begins to
+question his own personal and intrinsic worth. The
+instincts and desires of mature life come on and if
+there be not available the means for the realization
+of the better instinctive ambitions, then bitterness
+and woe are likely to become one&#8217;s permanent portion.</p>
+
+<p>However, it may be put down as a certainty that
+happiness and contentment will naturally come in
+full measure into the life that has been well built
+during the years of childhood and youth. If the
+good health has been conserved, a life of usefulness
+and service prepared for, moral strength built into
+the character, social efficiency looked after continu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>ously,
+and something of religious experience not
+neglected&mdash;it will most certainly follow as the day
+follows the night that the wholesome enjoyments
+and the durable satisfactions of living will come to
+such an individual.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate II.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_2" name="Fig_2"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_ii.png" width="500" height="273" alt="" title="Plate II" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 2.&mdash;These Canadian lads are enjoying their first lessons in live-stock management. We call
+their conduct play, but surely no one was ever more in earnest than they.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Is the human stock comparatively sound?</span></h4>
+
+<p>There are now among the students of the home
+problems many who are seriously interested in the
+matter of breeding a better human stock. Many
+noteworthy conclusions have already been reached,
+and ample proofs have been produced to show
+that the human animal follows the same general
+lines of evolution as do the lower animal orders. It
+is shown in general, for example, that little or nothing
+that man has learned or acquired during his life
+is transmitted to his offspring. That is, even though
+a man devote many years to the intensive study of
+music or mathematics or the languages, such study
+will not affect the ability of his child in the study of
+the specialized subject. The same unaffected result
+obtains in respect to any other form of expertness
+of the merely acquired sort. For example, the fact
+that a man through long practice becomes expert
+in the use of the typewriter does not affect the character
+of the child in respect to such ability. It is a
+no less difficult task for the child to learn to master
+the use of the typewriter keyboard.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, it is shown very conclusively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>
+that physical and mental characters inborn in the
+life of a parent tend at all times to be transmitted
+to the child, although many traits are known to be
+wanting in the first generation of children and to
+appear in the second or successive generations. According
+to the law of Mendel, the traits of the parents
+are transmitted to the child about as follows: one-half
+of the elements of one&#8217;s physical and mental
+natures are inherited from his parents, one-fourth
+from his grandparents, one-eighth from his great-grandparents,
+and so on. In any given case, however,
+there might be great variation from this rule
+of the averages, just as actual men and women vary
+more or less widely from the average human height
+of so many feet and inches.</p>
+
+<p>There is no thought here of discussing the intricate
+problems of eugenics. The purpose of this brief
+dogmatic sketch is that of attempting to induce
+parents to believe that the great mass of our American-born
+children are comparatively sound in their
+physical and mental inheritances. The pathologists
+profess to be able to prove that nature is most
+kind to the new-born child in respect to inheritance
+of disease. In fact, it is shown that very few diseases
+are directly transmitted through the blood,
+and that many once so regarded are now found to
+be infectious in their natures. There is considerable
+indication, however, that the children of the diseased&mdash;tuberculous
+parents, for example,&mdash;inherit a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
+weakened power of resistance for such disease. But
+this matter is somewhat foreign to our present discussion.</p>
+
+<p>Best of all, for our present consideration, is the
+great mass of evidence sustaining the theory that
+about ninety-nine per cent of our new-born infants
+are potentially good in an economic and moral sense.
+That is to say, this great majority of the young
+humanity have latent within their natures at the
+beginning of life the possibilities of development
+into sound, self-reliant manhood and womanhood.</p>
+
+<p>So, the writer of these lines would gladly lead rural
+parents to the point of being very courageous and
+optimistic about their infant children. He would
+have them see in the latter all the possibilities of
+good and efficiency that they may care to attempt
+to bring out by thoughtful and conscientious training.
+For that matter, it can be shown that many of
+the leaders of men are constantly springing up out
+of the ranks of the common masses and from
+those of humble parentage. Some of these great
+leaders, it is true, are what may be called accidental
+geniuses in respect to their native strength and their
+persistent life purposes. But many others, and
+perhaps the majority of them, are merely men and
+women who have been reasonably sound at birth
+and who have been trained from childhood to maturity
+in a manner that best served to build up strong,
+efficient character.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The references given at the close of each chapter are meant to direct
+the reader to specific treatment of the topics named. It is thought
+that nearly every chapter or book referred to will be found helpful and
+instructive to such persons as may naturally become interested in this
+volume. In some instances a line of comment is given to make clearer
+the contents of the reference.</p>
+
+<p>Must Children have Children&#8217;s Diseases? Newton. <i>Ladies&#8217; Home
+Journal</i>, April, 1910.</p>
+
+<p><i>Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette.</i> Gazette Publishing Company, New
+York. $1 per year, monthly.</p>
+
+<p>The Miracle of Life. J. H. Kellogg, M.D. Good Health Publishing
+Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Read especially pp. 363-388,
+&#8220;How to be Strong.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Our Duty to Posterity. Editorial. <i>The Independent</i>, February. 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Relation of Science to Man. Professor A. W. Small. <i>American Journal
+of Sociology</i>, February, 1908.</p>
+
+<p>Character Building. Marian M. George. A. Flanagan Company.
+Treats the ethical problems of the home.</p>
+
+<p>Through Boyhood to Manhood. Ennis Richmond. Chapter 1, &#8220;Usefulness.&#8221;
+Longmans.</p>
+
+<p>Making the Most of Our Children. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D. Chapter
+IX, &#8220;Keeping the Boy on the Farm.&#8221; McClurg.</p>
+
+<p>Youth. G. Stanley Hall. Chapter XII, &#8220;Moral and Religious Training.&#8221;
+Appleton.</p>
+
+<p>The Contents of a Boy. E. L. Moore. Chapter VI, &#8220;Social Interests.&#8221;
+Jennings &amp; Graham, Cincinnati.</p>
+
+<p>Mind in the Making. E. J. Swift. Chapter II, &#8220;The Criminal Natures
+of Boys.&#8221; Scribners.</p>
+
+<p>The Young Malefactor. Dr. Thomas Travis. Chapter II, &#8220;The Child
+born Centuries Too Late.&#8221; Crowell.</p>
+
+<p>The Family Health. M. Solis-Cohen, M.D. Chapter I, &#8220;The Preservation
+of Health.&#8221; Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Dr. Charles W. Eliot. Crowell.
+Points out ably the higher way.</p>
+
+<p>The Study of Children. Francis Warner, M.D. Chapter IV, &#8220;Observ<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>ing
+the Child. What to Look at and For.&#8221; The Macmillan
+Company.</p>
+
+<p>What makes a Liberal Education. Editorial. <i>The Independent</i>, July 1,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p>Relation of the Physical Nature of the Child to His Mental and Moral
+Development. George W. Reed. <i>Annual Report National Educational
+Association</i>, 1909, p. 305.</p></blockquote><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<h3>CHAPTER II<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE TIME TO BUILD</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>We shall continue to assume that the reader, if a
+parent, is thinking of his child as being in the position
+of one whose character requires constant attention
+in order that it may be built up through the
+right sort of training and the right sort of practices.
+Just as certainly as there is a best time in the season
+to plow corn and also a time not to plow, as there is
+a time to plow deep and another time to plow shallow,
+so there is unquestionably a best time to give
+the child any particular form of training or to withhold
+it. In general, it may be said that the most
+effective training in respect to the human young is
+that which centers most closely around the childish
+interests and instincts.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What of the human instincts</span></h4>
+
+<p>By observing critically for a few days the conduct
+of an infant child, one may notice two or three pronounced
+instincts at work producing helpful results
+in the little life.</p>
+
+<p>1. There is the instinct to nurse, which is so fundamental
+in securing the food with which to sustain
+and build up the body.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>2. There is the accessory instinct of crying, also
+often necessary as nature&#8217;s signal for another intake
+of the food supply. Associated with these two instincts
+are a number of reflexes which take care of
+the important organic processes, such as digestion,
+assimilation, and excretion. Now, we have practically
+all there is to the &#8220;character&#8221; of the human
+infant. He has, as yet, no instinct for fighting, for
+sexual love, or for business. And any effort to arouse
+and make use of the last-named dormant qualities
+would be futile as well as ridiculous. In respect to a
+vast majority of the things to be learned, the child
+is a mere bundle of potentialities, all of which must
+bide their time for an awakening. In short, wise
+parents soon learn that the center of life in the infant
+child is in the stomach, and that if he be fed rightly,
+kept much in the open air, clothed comfortably, and
+bathed frequently, the body-building processes will
+usually go on in a satisfactory manner.</p>
+
+<p>3. Although the little life seems so tiny and the
+daily round of infantile activities so simple and monotonous,
+the character-developing processes are already
+making their subtle beginnings. For example,
+the first lessons in habit are being inculcated through
+the comparative rhythm in the infant&#8217;s life. It will
+be found both conducive to good health and helpful
+to character-development to attend to all the infant&#8217;s
+needs with strict regularity. Let us follow the new-born
+child around his little cycle and see what hap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>pens.
+First, he is given a hearty meal, which is
+followed at once by perhaps two hours of profound
+sleep. Then, there is a gradual waking, the body
+writhes and wiggles slightly, and then more, and then
+still more, until a loud cry is set up. Under healthy
+conditions the crying should go on for a very few
+minutes, as it helps to send the good blood through
+every part of the body, purifying and building up
+the parts and carrying out the effete matter. The
+function of excretion is not only thus much aided,
+but the nervous equilibrium is completely restored.
+The little life has now swung completely round to
+the beginning point of two hours previously and it is
+ready to start on another journey with the intake
+of another hearty meal.</p>
+
+<p>It will be found that the life circle described above
+continues with slight variations for the first few weeks,
+the child sleeping probably twenty to twenty-two
+hours out of twenty-four, if it be in a natural state
+of health. But slowly the conduct of the infant will
+become more complex, and that in response to the
+growths and changes taking place within his body.
+It will be found that he can take a heartier meal,
+can stay awake longer, kick harder, wriggle more, and
+cry louder as the days multiply. In a month or so
+his eyes will be seen following some brilliant or attractive
+moving body, while the impulsive movements
+of the hands will begin to suggest some slight definition
+of their conduct. Not long thereafter, the baby<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+smile will break out in a reflex fashion and the hands
+will likewise grasp objects placed in the little palms.
+Co&#246;rdinate with these new activities, nature is at
+work storing up new nerve structures and cells, especially
+in the region of the spinal cord and the cranial
+centers.</p>
+
+<p>4. The child is all the while learning. As yet,
+there is little for the caretaker to do other than to
+feed the infant with exceeding care and regularity,
+and to enjoy the awakening of the new infant activities.
+In four to six months, the young learner
+will lead a much more complex life,&mdash;sitting alone,
+holding things in his hands, and looking about the
+room. But it must be understood that he still hears
+and sees very few things in a definite way. Then,
+in the next two or three months he will first creep,&mdash;he
+should in time be induced to do so if possible for
+the sake of his health,&mdash;at length he will stand upright,
+and finally walk. None of these processes
+must be hastened, although they may be aided when
+the inner prompting and strength warrant such
+conduct.</p>
+
+<p>5. During the second year there will probably
+break out with sudden and surprising strength the
+new instinct of anger. It has been latent there all
+the time, but the low degree of intelligence and of
+nerve structure has not given it proper support and
+indulgence. But on an occasion there is perhaps
+taken from the child some cherished plaything, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+he suddenly flies into a rage, yelling, screaming,
+kicking, and growing red in the face. This outburst
+of rage is a most interesting and enjoyable aspect
+to the parent who rightly understands children,
+although some ignorantly make it a matter of deep
+concern, regarding it as significant of a vicious character
+in the coming boy and man.</p>
+
+<p>The purpose of this present discussion is to illustrate
+how the human instincts come into their functions
+at various times during the life of the growing
+child. And the further purpose is to urge that such
+thing be <i>watched for and met with just the sort of training
+necessary for permanent and helpful results</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Now, let the little child fly into a rage two or three
+times and have his anger appeased through indulgence
+in the thing he cries for, and he has acquired
+his first lesson in the management of the parent or
+nurse. He has learned that if he wants a thing, all
+he needs to do is to squall or yell and the desired
+results will be forthcoming. But this childish rage
+really furnishes the occasion for the beginning of some
+disciplinary lessons. &#8220;Should I give the child everything
+he cries for, or withhold the desired object
+until he quits?&#8221; asks an anxious parent. Neither
+rule is necessarily the right one, and yet both, on
+occasions, may be correct. Suppose, instead of the
+infant you have a five-year-old boy who cries for a
+loaded revolver he happens to see in your hand.
+Would you give it to him to stop his crying, or with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>hold
+it? Suppose again he should cry for the return
+of his own plaything which some one unjustly snatched
+from him. Would you return his plaything to stop
+his crying, or let him cry it out? Now, here is implied
+the correct answer in dealing with the outburst
+of anger in the infant. It is all a matter of justice
+and fairness. If some agency, human or otherwise,
+snatches his food from his mouth, and the child
+squalls for its return, indulge the infant at once.
+If he has been well fed, comfortably clad and bathed,
+and under every proper consideration should lie
+still and behave himself, then do not run and take
+him up because he happens to be trying your patience
+with his squalling. Hold him to it and let him bawl
+it out. There is really nothing better coming to him
+if you are thinking of the development of his character&mdash;and
+your own.</p>
+
+<p>6. So, somewhat later on you will find this same
+instinct of anger showing itself in the various forms
+of fighting and quarreling. The parent who understands
+the true natures of healthy children will not
+worry for a moment because the children show natural
+dispositions for contention and combativeness. On
+the other hand, it will be understood that these very
+tendencies furnish the occasion of many a lesson in
+social ethics. How can the child ever learn to be
+just and fair to his mates or square and considerate
+in his dealings with adults unless it be through the
+give-and-take experiences that come from attempt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>ing
+to get more than his share,&mdash;and failing much
+of the time,&mdash;and from attempting to over-ride the
+rights and privileges of others, and having such attempts
+properly thwarted? Indeed, it may be regarded
+as a great misfortune to the child if he has to
+grow up as the only one in a home and is denied the
+daily companionship of those of his own age from
+whom he may learn justice and fairness as a result
+of his attempts to get more than is just and fair for
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>7. The watchful parents will observe that perhaps
+some time during the second half year, and with
+some pronounced repetitions later, there will be clear
+manifestations of the instinct of fear on the part of
+the child. Again, there is nothing for deep concern
+other than to meet this instinct in a general way as
+has been observed for the others named and to give
+the proper training. Fear must have been a human
+necessity during many years of savagery and barbarism.
+It still has its positive and negative values
+in the development of character. It serves as a deterrent
+from dangerous and criminal acts. It is also
+found to deter the growing infant from doing many
+a thing which he ought to be learning to do. Fear
+shows its most interesting aspects in the form of what
+has been called social sensitiveness; that is, bashfulness,
+shyness, reticence, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Parents should by all means watch closely the
+various childish and youthful tendencies to fear,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+allowing those fears which promise to be helpful to
+remain in the life or to die out slowly through counteracting
+conduct; and eliminating those other forms
+which would seem to serve no useful purpose. Examples
+of the latter sort would be the fear of ferocious
+animals and of murderers. Such mortal enemies are
+so uncommon in this civilized land that fear of them
+will probably be of no service to life. On the other
+hand, it may stunt and deter the development of
+courage. Especially do such fears tend to induce
+the habit of unnecessary concern and deep worry,
+thus destroying the peace and happiness and cutting
+off the length of years of many members of our society.</p>
+
+<p>8. There is no questioning the value of social
+sensitiveness in respect to the development of character
+in the young. Some degree of bashfulness and
+embarrassment in dealing with people, especially
+those regarded by him as of superior worth, may be
+considered an actual asset in the life of the growing
+boy. This bashfulness will give him a rich inner
+experience of doubts and fears, and of hopes and
+triumphs. Slowly, under proper guidance and direction,
+the sensitiveness wears away through repeated
+experience of a contrary sort, and such qualities as
+create a self-reliance take its place.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, it is doubtless a misfortune,
+especially for the boy, to become blas&#233;&mdash;indifferent
+and unembarrassed in the presence of people of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+ranks and conditions&mdash;while he is yet a mere lad.
+Under our present organization of society, the boy
+who would win the life race must have much experience
+of trial and error, of failure and success, and of
+tribulation and triumph; and all that for the sake of
+a self-reliant character. Now, the boy who has lost
+all sense of embarrassment in the presence of others
+is likely to be denied the stirring inner experiences
+just named, and to settle down in an indifferent, self-satisfied
+attitude toward the big problems of human
+conduct. It may be counted, therefore, as an indication
+of much promise and advantage that the
+country youth and the country maiden continue to
+be comparatively &#8220;green&#8221; and bashful during the
+period of their adolescence.</p>
+
+<p>9. The instinct of sexual love will manifest itself
+at the proper time and age. Before so doing, certain
+organic changes and inner nerve developments
+must take place. Parents may learn some lessons
+from observation of this instinct that will apply to
+practically all the others. For example, there should
+be no attempt to hurry the manifestation and the
+functioning of the instinct, nor should the training
+necessary for its development and refinement be
+denied or withheld. Of all the many inner awakenings
+that come to the developing human being, there
+is probably none that quite matches the surging
+energy of sexual love in healthy young manhood
+and womanhood. And to an extraordinary degree,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+opportunities for instruction and development of
+the character become present at this time.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, parents need to be reminded of the
+naturalness and wholesomeness of the sex instincts
+in adolescent boys and girls. They must be urged
+to provide carefully for its natural growth through
+the proper commingling of the sexes in a social way,
+and yet there must be preserved in the young lives
+just enough strangeness and mystery about the sex
+matters as to indulge the poetic and the romantic
+aspects of the unfolding natures. It need not,
+therefore, be a matter of worry and unusual concern
+to parents if their fifteen-year-old son and a neighbor&#8217;s
+thirteen-year-old daughter show pronounced
+tendencies to be &#8220;crazy in love&#8221; with each other.
+However, this situation furnishes most fitting opportunities
+for teaching the boy courtly manners, gallantry,
+consideration for women of all ages; and
+that through and by means of his own personal experience.
+In fact, this stirring period of sex-love
+opens up in the mind of the boy reflections that tend
+to run out into every possible avenue of his future life.</p>
+
+<p>Likewise, the girl. That same little girl who
+shortly ago hated boys and declared she would never
+have anything to do with them is now manifesting
+much interest in the youth of her acquaintance. This
+thing cannot be laughed to scorn, or scolded away,
+or whipped out of the life of either boy or girl. Its
+roots are in the sex organs as well as in the heart.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+This first love period furnishes the rarest opportunities
+for teaching the girl proper lessons in respect to
+her comeliness, her purity of thought, and the sweetness
+of her own personal character. If during this
+time she be withheld entirely from wholesome association
+with boys and young men, there is a probability
+that she may become a drone or a mope, and
+especially that she may lose valuable training in the
+acquisition of those winsome ways so helpful to young
+women in the matter of their obtaining suitable life
+companions.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps less need be said in respect to giving the
+growing son those forms of social training which
+make it possible for him to win to his side an attractive
+helpmate. But beyond the question of a doubt
+there can and should be much done by way of training
+the daughter in this respect. In addition to her
+good health, her moral self-reliance, and those other
+desirable qualities illustrated in a preceding paragraph,
+the young woman who is thoroughly prepared
+for meeting successfully the issues of life has had careful
+training in all the practices that refine and beautify
+her character.</p>
+
+<p>This duty of rural parents to the growing daughter
+is no less imperative than in the case of city parents.
+It may be considered as an excellent way of planning
+for the future happiness and well-being, not merely
+for one, but doubtless for an entire family, if the
+growing girl be indulged and directed reasonably in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+social matters during this period of greatest strength
+of her natural sex instinct. This thing cannot be
+safely put off a few years with the thought that the
+family will move to town and then the girl may have
+her proper opportunities of training. After such
+procrastination and neglect, it becomes too late ever
+to correct the many faults of omission.</p>
+
+<p>10. There develops somewhat late in the lives of
+young men and young women what might be called
+the &#8220;homing&#8221; instinct, which amounts to nothing
+other than a deep and pronounced prompting from
+within to set definitely about the matter of getting
+into a home of one&#8217;s own and providing for and
+building it up. This is different from the mere sex
+instinct named above, although perhaps an outgrowth
+of it. It must be noted in passing that this
+homing instinct, when at its strongest, furnishes the
+proper occasion for instruction in respect to the home
+and the home-building affairs. Happy indeed is the
+young man or the young woman who, after a period
+of such instruction, may have the opportunity of settling
+down in a suitable dwelling place and there beginning
+the establishment of the ideal family life.</p>
+
+<p>11. Unquestionably there dawns in the life of
+normal young men&mdash;and perhaps to a milder degree
+in respect to young women&mdash;a pronounced instinct
+of a business and economic sort. This inner prompting
+is doubtless associated with the two last named.
+It may be observed by any person who knows how<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+to study the lives of children and young people that
+some particular youth who a few months ago was
+a spendthrift, indifferent of his future needs and welfare,
+is now heard to declare emphatically again and
+again that he must get into business, must save and
+invest his means and provide for his future needs.
+So, there is not a little evidence in effect that we have
+here another inner development of the nerve mechanism.
+And the time is most fit and opportune for
+the parents to exhaust every reasonable effort to discover
+what the youth is best suited for as a life practice
+and to guide him on toward the realization of
+that purpose. Much more will be said in another
+chapter in respect to the choice of a vocation.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Rural parents who develop an intensive interest in the child-training
+problems will find it most profitable to read somewhat extensively in the
+texts that are not too direct but that give a careful treatment of the
+fundamental principles of child psychology. King&#8217;s and O&#8217;Shea&#8217;s books
+listed below are of this special character. For a fuller list, see <a href="#Page_69">Chapter VI</a>.</p>
+
+<p>The Child: A Study in the Evolution of Man. A. F. Chamberlain.
+Chapter IV, &#8220;The Period of Childhood.&#8221; Scribner. A sound and
+somewhat scholarly treatment.</p>
+
+<p>Boy Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter I, &#8220;The Awakening&#8221;;
+Chapter II, &#8220;Am I a Genius?&#8221; Forbes &amp; Co., Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>Education of the Central Nervous System. Reuben P. Halleck. Chapter
+VII, &#8220;Special Sensory Training.&#8221; American Book Company.</p>
+
+<p>The Moral Life. Arthur E. Davies. Chapter V, &#8220;Motive: The Beginnings
+of Morality.&#8221; Review Publishing Company, Baltimore.</p>
+
+<p>Psychology. J. R. Angell. Chapter XVI, &#8220;The Important Human
+Instincts.&#8221; Holt.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+<p>Essentials of Psychology. W. B. Pillsbury. Chapter X, &#8220;Instinct.&#8221;
+Macmillan. Rural parents will find this entire text a non-technical
+and fundamental help.</p>
+
+<p>Development and Education. M. V. O&#8217;Shea. Chapter XII, &#8220;The
+Critical Period.&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>Psychology of Child Development. Irving King. Chapter on &#8220;Instinct.&#8221;
+University of Chicago Press.</p>
+
+<p>Your Boy: His Nature and Nurture. George A. Dickinson, M.D.
+Chapter II, &#8220;Elements of Character.&#8221; Hodder &amp; Stoughton, New
+York.</p>
+
+<p>An Introduction to Child Study. W. B. Drummond. Chapter XII,
+&#8220;The Instincts of Children&#8221; ; Chapter XIII, &#8220;Instincts and Habit.&#8221;
+Longmans. The book is worthy an entire reading.</p>
+
+<p>A Study of Child Nature. Elizabeth Harrison. Chapter I, &#8220;The Instinct
+of Activity.&#8221; Chicago Kindergarten College.</p>
+
+<p>Observing Childhood. A. S. Draper. <i>Annals American Academy</i>,
+March, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Are we spoiling our Boys who have the Best Chances in Life? Henry
+van Dyke. <span class="smcap">Scribner&#8217;s Magazine</span>. October, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>How to civilize the Young Savage. Dr. G. Stanley Hall. <i>Mind and
+Body</i>, June, 1911.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER
+DEVELOPMENT</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>That the farm home is an ideal place in which to
+build up the lives of growing boys and girls has become
+almost a trite saying. But that rural parents
+are yet failing to realize the child-nurturing possibilities
+of such a place may be exemplified in thousands
+of instances. When we point to the farm
+home as being the best possible place for rearing children,
+we mean that it contains all the crude materials
+for such work, and that there must be in charge of
+that work some one who is conscious of the many
+aspects of the problem. So we hope to show the
+fathers and mothers of the farm community, not
+what they might do if they were differently situated,
+but as specifically as possible what there is in the
+present rural home situation that can be made
+directly available in the construction of the lives
+of their children.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What agencies build up character?</span></h4>
+
+<p>First of all, we must ask, What are the ordinary
+forces which need to be brought into service in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+development of children? At the head of the list,
+we should name play, as furnishing a great variety
+of instructive activities; then, work and industry;
+after that, the recreation that comes properly after
+the performance of work. So, we have with all
+their implied meanings the three great child-developing
+agencies: play, work, recreation. Now the
+question naturally presents itself, Can the ordinary
+farm life be made to furnish in right amount and
+proportion these three essential elements of character
+development?</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Play.</i>&mdash;The necessity of indulging and training
+properly the play instinct of the child is becoming
+so fully appreciated of late that many of the state
+legislatures, and even the national Congress, have
+seen fit to make it a matter of deep concern. In
+order that all children may have full exercise of the
+divine, inherent right to play and to learn through
+play, many so-called child labor laws have been passed.
+These enactments have prescribed conditions under
+which children will be permitted to work at gainful
+occupations, and in the majority of cases they have
+strictly forbidden such child labor below the ages
+of fourteen to sixteen.</p>
+
+<p>But the foregoing efforts in behalf of the young
+have been of a somewhat negative sort, merely guaranteeing
+the child the right to play. On the positive
+side, much is also being done. The scientific students
+of child life have been pointing to the great<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
+benefits of play and to the present need for larger
+means and fuller opportunities for play on the part
+of the masses of children. As an outcome of all this
+research and public agitation, there is now in progress
+a general movement which looks to the placing at
+the disposal of children everywhere the equipment
+and apparatus necessary for building up the character
+by means of play experience. The large cities
+are expending millions of dollars on municipal playgrounds,
+and the towns and rural communities are
+catching the spirit also.</p>
+
+<p>It has been shown beyond a question that adult
+life can be prepared for and enriched in many ways
+by means of scientifically provided play during childhood.
+Two or three results are especially sought
+through the playground training: (1) better physical
+health and increased power to resist disease; (2) enlarged
+opportunities for the outlet of the spontaneous
+activities through the use of the hands and other
+parts of the body; (3) the provision of a powerful
+deterrent of evil thought and deed and of juvenile
+crime; (4) the manifold opportunities for learning
+how to get along with one&#8217;s fellows and to treat them
+in fairness and justice.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate III.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_3" name="Fig_3"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_iii.png" width="500" height="311" alt="" title="Plate III" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 3.&mdash;This beautiful Kansas home, with its large orchard and many shade trees adjoining, was constructed
+&#8220;away out on the barren plains where no tree will grow.&#8221; In this place an excellent family of nine
+children grew up.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It has already been urged that sound health constitutes
+one of the foundation stones of good character.
+Play is especially conducive to sound health.
+Some may think that work without much if any
+play will bring about the same results in the child
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>life, but such proves not to be the case. The monotony
+and drudgery of enforced labor have been
+crushing the lives of children everywhere, especially
+until the wise legislation of very recent years prevented
+such thing. Strange to say, the same
+amount of exertion in spontaneous play may build
+up and strengthen the physical and mental life of
+the child. What is the secret of the striking difference
+in the result? Spontaneity! is the answer.
+The child goes at his play with a joy and an eagerness
+which are entirely absent from work&mdash;a sufficient
+guarantee that his nature is being fed upon the very
+stuff which his soul craves. It is true that children
+will play in a bare room containing nothing more
+than a pile of trash, but such a situation is woefully
+lacking on the side of instruction. Very
+little will be learned from a year of such ill-provided
+play.</p>
+
+<p>So, there is every necessary reason for urging that
+the farm home provide not only the time and the
+occasion for the play life of the children, but that
+the means and proper materials also be looked after.
+At a certain rural home in the state of Michigan,
+where two boys and one girl were growing up, were
+found the following nearly ideal arrangements for
+the play life: a small clump of trees, which afforded
+opportunities for climbing and ample shade during
+the warm weather; a swing hung between two of
+the trees; a pole serving as a horizontal bar between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
+two others; and a ladder leading to a rude playhouse
+constructed between the forks of a branching maple
+tree. Thereabout were seen also a boy&#8217;s wagon, two
+home-made sleds and other materials of this same
+general class, not to mention a fairly well-kept lawn,
+where the children could romp.</p>
+
+<p>Now the cost of all the foregoing materials would
+be trifling in a money sense and not very expensive
+in point of preparation and work, while they would
+pay for themselves a hundred-fold in their results
+for character-development. If necessary, it could
+even be shown how just such provision for the play
+of the boys and girls on the farm will in time add to
+the actual cash value of the place and to the money-earning
+power of the boys and girls whose lives are
+being served. It seems altogether fitting to remind
+rural parents of their duty in respect to their children
+even though the mortgage may not yet have been
+lifted, and even though some of the live stock may
+have to suffer a little, and some of the farm crops
+deteriorate slightly. Let there be provided, first of
+all, some adequate materials for the indulgence of
+the play instinct of the child.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Work.</i>&mdash;This term implies a wide meaning,
+and deserves a lengthy discussion. In a chapter to
+follow under the title &#8220;How Much Work for the
+Country Boy,&#8221; we shall give due attention to it.
+The purpose here is to advise the parent to make
+a study of the situation and to make provision for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+amount and kind of work and industry necessary
+for the proper culture of the growing child.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, there must be appreciated the sharp
+distinction between work and play. The latter is
+spontaneous, allowing the child to follow his caprice
+of mind. He may take up one play activity and drop
+it at any moment that another appeals to him more
+strongly. But with work, the situation is different.
+The purpose is outside of and not within the performance,
+as in the case of play. The work looks
+toward some end necessary of achievement and carries
+with it the elements of sacrifice, of giving out of one&#8217;s
+life something that is his very own in order that some
+other thing may be acquired. In the case of work
+the normal child probably at first finds almost any
+assigned task irksome. He feels that he is being more
+or less unfairly or unnecessarily driven to it and that
+when he grows to be a man, he will have a lot of money
+and hire somebody else to do the work.</p>
+
+<p>All natural, healthy-minded boys are at first somewhat
+stubborn and rebellious in regard to work.
+No matter how good their parents may be, if merely
+turned loose in the world without direction and the
+spur of authority, they will almost invariably avoid
+manual labor. So it might as well be put down at
+once as a rule that every boy who is to become a
+real worker and an industrious character must be
+set definitely at his tasks while a mere child and held
+strictly to their performance. After much persistent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
+urging, the young worker begins to forget the thought
+of being driven to his duty and to acquire instead
+a habit of industry. By slow degrees he develops
+within a sense of obligation in relation to work, also
+a feeling of responsibility for tasks done or left undone.
+Finally, after years of this sort of experience, the
+young industrialist reaches a point in his life when
+he can throw himself enthusiastically into some sort
+of well chosen occupation. And then and there
+emerges from his inner consciousness the exceeding
+great joy known to so many of the industrious men
+and women whose worthy life-long devotion to work
+is constantly reconstructing this good world in which
+we live.</p>
+
+<p>It will be understood, of course, that the term
+work as here used includes the school training. The
+ordinary child regards the appointed duties of lesson
+getting in the nature of work and feels the same pressure
+of insistence and compulsion in relation to them.
+Unquestionably, the ordinary school course goes part
+way toward furnishing discipline in industry. The
+course of the newer schools about to be instituted
+throughout the country will reach still farther in
+this direction. It is very encouraging indeed to
+observe that the public school curriculum is destined
+to include, not only the study of books and the recitation
+of lessons learned from books, but also the many
+forms of manual labor and industry applicable to
+the character of the growing child. But until the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+public school authorities have provided such an
+ideal course of training, parents must see to it that
+the class-room duties be thoroughly supplemented
+with carefully assigned home tasks of the industrial
+training sort. In a later chapter specific attention
+will be given the question of the schooling of the
+country boy and the country girl.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Recreation.</i>&mdash;What a vast amount of misunderstanding
+and misuse there is of this term!
+Observe, if you will, the real meaning of the term or
+of the kindred word, to re-create. It implies in this
+use that the body has been depleted, worn out, or
+fatigued by work and that there is to be a rebuilding
+of the same. But it is amusing&mdash;or would be if it
+were not so pathetic&mdash;to see how city parents often
+bestir themselves in an effort to provide recreation for
+their idle boys. Many of these boys who are seen
+loafing about the home town during practically the
+entire summer vacation period are given an outing
+in order that they may thus be furnished &#8220;recreation&#8221;&mdash;from
+indolence.</p>
+
+<p>But farm parents are inclined to err on the other
+side. That is, they tend to over-work their boys and
+not to give them enough outings to furnish proper
+recreation and renewed zeal for the work required
+of them. Hence, the need of carefully considering
+the matter of the outings for the farm boy and girl.
+It can most probably be shown, for example, that
+the boy who works on the farm five and a half days of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+the week and who is given the other half day for rest
+and recreation&mdash;that he does more work in the five
+and one-half days and does it better than he would
+do in six full days without the half-holiday. The
+question here is that of a balanced schedule. How
+long should the boy be held to his task before being
+allowed a holiday or recreation period?</p>
+
+<p>Just how can these half-holidays, outings, and the
+like, be worked into the farm boy&#8217;s program so as
+to make them contributive to the up-building of his
+character? What of this sort can be done to cause
+him to return to his assigned tasks with greater zeal
+and enthusiasm? How can it be provided that the
+boy may look forward to these outings with a thrill
+of joy during the long days he has to spend behind
+the plow or in the harvest field? Finally, how can
+these recreation periods, large and small, be so associated
+with his work-a-day tasks that he may come
+to regard farm life as a wholesome type of vocation&mdash;one
+that he may follow with pleasure and profit for
+himself, and one in which he may succeed so well as
+to make his achievements constitute a living commendation
+of such a calling to others? In a later
+discussion there will be shown many methods whereby
+the recreation experience of the farm boys and girls
+may be properly looked after.</p>
+
+<p>Few persons seem to appreciate the value of solitude
+as a means of recreating and building up the
+inner life. Probably one of the greatest agencies in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+the development of many a powerful personality is
+the fact that its possessor was compelled by force of
+circumstances while young to spend much time in
+the company of his or her own thoughts. It is impossible
+to think intelligently while one is doing any
+body-straining work; for example, wood sawing or
+hay pitching. But there are many forms of occupation
+for boys and girls on the farm which permit of
+comparative rest of the body. So the foundations
+of many a worthy career have been laid in the silent
+reflections of the boy spending the day alone in the
+woods or on the prairies with his cattle and dog and
+pony, or sitting on the seat of the riding plow.</p>
+
+<p>Likewise, the farmer&#8217;s daughter, during the performance
+of many simple, non-fatiguing tasks, reflects
+perforce upon the larger meanings of life and
+makes out in mind many plans for the time when
+she hopes to undertake the mastery of various trying
+and interesting problems. Lack of this enforced
+solitude and its attendant reflections&mdash;lack of the
+discovery of the joy of being at regular intervals alone
+with the great soul of Nature and with one&#8217;s inner
+consciousness&mdash;doubtless contributes in some measure
+to the undoing of city boys and girls. The constant
+turmoil of the street, the excitement of the
+ever changing scenes and situations, give an over-indulgence
+to the senses, ripen the judgments
+too early, and rob the character of those soberer
+habits which later enable one to find good in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+common situations and the common people of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>It is, therefore, recommended that farm parents
+provide for a part of the sterner duties of the boys
+and girls such tasks as will allow for comparative
+rest of the body while the mind may tarry undisturbed
+with the reflections of the inner life.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Moving to town for the children</span></h4>
+
+<p>The practice of the well-to-do farmer who moves
+to town to &#8220;educate his children&#8221; is an old story and
+is fraught with many a hidden tragedy, to say nothing
+of the impoverishment of the land and of the
+social order left behind. Why cannot the intelligent
+farmer remain on the home place and join a
+movement having for its purpose that of making
+the neighborhood a more desirable place of human
+habitation?</p>
+
+<p>One of the dullest places in the world is the country
+town which has been filled up with retired farmers.
+These are usually men who came into the place
+for the purpose of getting all the possible advantages
+at the lowest possible cost. In the typical case the
+new city dweller of this class secures a very good
+residence, and that often, if possible, just outside the
+city limits, in order to avoid local taxes. He takes
+little or no interest in the town&#8217;s municipal affairs
+and votes against nearly all proposed improvements.
+He keeps his own cow, horse, chickens, and garden,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
+and brings extra supplies in from the farm. Gradually
+he takes on a few of the city ways. That is,
+he uses less home produce and does some buying at
+the stores. But for want of stimulating employment
+he gradually grows stouter and mentally more stupid,
+sleeping away many of the hours of the day in his
+chair&mdash;an indication that he is dying at the top and
+that he is soon to be cut down. Really, the retired
+farmer is a nuisance to the town and the town is a
+bore to him.</p>
+
+<p>But what of the children whom he brought in to
+&#8220;educate&#8221;? They learn rapidly, soon taking on
+the city manners. The natural restraints from evil
+conduct, which the farm home furnished, are now
+wanting. The blare and bluster of the town both
+excite and delight them, while the parents have positively
+no rules or standards by which to govern and
+direct their young in the new situation. All the boys
+and girls need to do in order to gain parental consent
+for going out at night is to declare that &#8220;everybody
+is going&#8221; or that they are &#8220;expected&#8221; to be there,
+and the thing is settled. Thus the young ruralists
+newly come to town go dancing and prancing off
+into a veritable world of sweet dreams and delights&mdash;spoiled
+forever for any service that they might
+have rendered in building up the country community&mdash;and
+finally destined to become mere cogs in the
+ever grinding wheel of some city.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">A back-to-the-country club</span></h4>
+
+<p>Nearly every town and city of the United States
+has had a so-called Commercial Club. This has
+been in reality a boosters&#8217; club bent first of all on
+bringing big business to the place and thus opening
+the way for a bigger population. Anything for the
+sake of more people has been the watchword. Now,
+I would reverse this order of things. Nearly every
+one of these towns and cities needs a club or committee
+that might have for its purposes: (1) to show the
+would-be retired farmer how to shift the burdens from
+his wife as housekeeper, how to provide better social
+and intellectual advantages for his children and yet
+<i>stay on the farm</i>; (2) to find means and methods
+whereby to plant in the rural community those
+persons of the city population who are not making a
+fair living in their present positions, seeking first of
+course to choose those who are capable of transplanting
+and then preparing them with care for the
+change.</p>
+
+<p>I am satisfied that this thing can be successfully
+thought out,&mdash;that is, how the worthy poor city
+family may be removed to the country and there
+through hard work gradually acquire enough land
+whereon to earn a fair living at least. This end will
+never be accomplished by merely driving out the
+poor families, but rather by means of scientific and
+sympathetic practice of re-establishing them. Well-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>conducted
+research shows that these poor people are
+nearly all constituted of good, sound, human stock.
+So, if transported under the conditions named, there
+may be expected to come forth in the second generation
+a splendid crop of rural boys and girls.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Report of the Commission on Country Life. Introduction by Theodore
+Roosevelt. Sturgis-Walton Company, New York. A brief but
+epoch-making book. The student of rural problems will find it a
+splendid outline guide.</p>
+
+<p>Cutting Loose from the City. E. G. Hutchins. <i>Country Life</i>, Jan. 1,
+1911.</p>
+
+<p>Back to the Farm. J. Smith. <i>Collier&#8217;s</i>, Feb. 25, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Value of a Country Education to Every Boy. <i>Craftsman</i>, January,
+1911.</p>
+
+<p>Why Back to the Farm? Editorial. <i>Craftsman</i>, February, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Country-Life Movement. L. H. Bailey. The Macmillan Co.
+Contains a contrast of the back-to-the-land movement and the
+country-life movement.</p>
+
+<p>Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. J. M. Gillette.
+<i>American Journal of Sociology</i>, March, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The New Country Boy. <i>Independent</i>, June 22, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Overworked Children on the Farm and in the School. Dr. Woods
+Hutchinson. <i>Annals American Academy</i>, March, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Why One Hundred Boys ran away from Home. L. E. Jones. <i>Ladies&#8217;
+Home Journal</i>, April, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>The Country Girl who is coming to the City. Batchelor. <i>Delineator</i>,
+May, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Play and Playground Literature. For most helpful and inexpensive
+literature on this subject address: The Playground Association of
+America, 1 Madison Ave., New York City.</p>
+
+<p>Conservation in the Rural Districts. James W. Robertson, D.Sc.
+The Association Press, New York.</p>
+
+<p>Education for Country life. Willet M. Hays. Free Bulletin, U.S. De<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>partment
+of Agriculture. Treats ably consolidation and rural
+agricultural high schools.</p>
+
+<p>Child Problems. George B. Mangold. Ph.D. Book II, Chapters I-II,
+&#8220;Play and the Playground&#8221;; Book III, Chapters I-V, &#8220;Child
+Labor Problems.&#8221; The last reference contains accurate information
+as to child-labor legislation up to date of publication.</p>
+
+<p>Influence of Heredity and Environment upon Race Improvements.
+Kelsey. <i>Annals American Academy</i>, July, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Burning up the Boys. Editorial. <i>North American</i>, September, 1910.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IV<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Greater attention needs to be given to the conservation
+of the farmer&#8217;s wife. Although there are
+many other justifications for giving more thought
+to the care and the comfort of the country mother,
+the single fact of her very close relation to the children
+growing up in the home, and of her peculiar responsibilities
+as center of life there, warrant us in devoting
+a chapter to her interests. Recently, while passing
+upon a country highway, the author met a funeral
+procession. A little inquiry revealed a pathetic
+situation, one that has been repeated thousands of
+times throughout the length and breadth of this fair
+country. The deceased was the wife of a young
+farmer, both of them under thirty-five years of age,
+hard working and ambitious for success, but thoughtless
+of their own health and comfort. Their farm
+was somewhat new and unimproved, there were hundreds
+of things to do other than the routine affairs
+of home keeping and crop raising. Worst of all,
+there was a mortgage to be lifted. After all reasonable
+improvements were made and the mortgage
+paid off, then, according to their plans, they were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
+going to take matters easy. But the delicate cord of
+life suddenly broke in the case of the wife, and left
+the young husband as overseer of the farm and
+home and sole caretaker of three little children.</p>
+
+<p>How can parents hope to produce a better crop
+of boys and girls in the farm communities so long
+as the typical farm wife is crushed into the earth
+with the over-weight of the burdens placed upon her?
+A few minutes&#8217; enumeration in this same rural neighborhood
+brought out the startling fact that in fully
+half of the homes a scene similar to the one just
+described had been enacted during the last score of
+years. That is to say, during the twenty years, fully
+one-half of the farm mothers living in that particular
+neighborhood had died before their time from one
+cause or another. In most instances the death
+occurred during what we usually speak of as the prime
+years of life, and at a time when the rose bloom should
+naturally be fresh upon the cheek. Fortunately, this
+serious condition, still present in some communities, is
+being gradually improved by the improved methods.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Poor conditions of women</span></h4>
+
+<p>The report of the Country Life Commission makes
+the following suggestions:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The relief to farm women must come through a
+general elevation of country living. The women
+must have more help. In particular these matters
+may be mentioned: Development of a co&#246;perative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+spirit in the home, simplification of the diet in many
+cases, the building of convenient and sanitary houses,
+providing running water in the house and also more
+mechanical help, good and convenient gardens, a less
+exclusive ideal of money getting on the part of the
+farmer, providing better means of communication,
+as telephones, roads, and reading circles, and developing
+of women&#8217;s organizations. These and other
+agencies should relieve the woman of many of her
+manual burdens on the one hand and interest her
+in outside activities on the other. The farm woman
+should have sufficient free time and strength so that
+she may serve the community by participating in its
+vital affairs.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate IV.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_4" name="Fig_4"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_iv.png" width="500" height="330" alt="" title="Plate IV" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 4.&mdash;A day nursery at the Country Social Center. It may be otherwise called &#8220;an institution designed
+to lengthen the lives of tired country mothers.&#8221;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In discussing this same matter, Henry Wallace,
+a member of the Commission, says in his paper,
+<i>Wallaces&#8217; Farmer</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They have been saying that the mother is the
+hardest worked member of the family, which is often
+and we believe generally true. They have been saying
+that in the anxiety of the farmer to get more land,
+he not only works himself too hard, but his wife too
+hard, and the boys and girls so hard that the boys
+get disgusted and leave the farm, and the girls marry
+town fellows and go to town.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now the farmer&#8217;s wife is really the most important
+and essential person on the farm. As such she
+needs the most care and consideration. You are
+careful, very careful, not to over-work your horses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+How much more careful you should be not to over-work
+the mother of your children. You rein back
+the free member of the team. You take special
+care of the brood mare, and the cow that gives three
+hundred pounds of butter. Have you always kept
+the freest of all workers, your wife, from doing too
+much? How about this?&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">For the sake of the children</span></h4>
+
+<p>But this chapter, as well as the entire book, is being
+prepared in the interest of boys and girls. So we
+shall attempt to show a number of specific conditions
+that may be sought as tending to conserve the
+strength and the life of the rural mother, with a view
+to her continuing to be in every best sense of the
+word a caretaker and conserver of the lives of her
+own children.</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Surplus nerve energy.</i>&mdash;However it may be
+achieved, the thing to work for in this connection
+is a surplusage of nerve energy. If the child training
+is to go on in a satisfactory manner, the mother
+especially, and if possible both parents, must have
+stated times and occasions for looking after such
+training and for inculcating a series of important
+fundamental lessons. The first and best test of this
+child-rearing situation may be made at evening. If,
+after the work of the ordinary day, the mother is
+still fresh enough to take a real interest in the children&#8217;s
+affairs, to read to them briefly and perhaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+tell them a story or two, or to read for further preparations
+of her work with them,&mdash;then it may be
+said that her life energies are being conserved in a
+fairly satisfactory manner. The children will most
+certainly reap the benefits. But if the close of the
+ordinary day&#8217;s work finds the farm mother suffering
+from physical and nervous exhaustion, cross and
+impatient with the other members of the family, depressed
+in spirit and gloomy as to the future, these
+are signs which should give alarm to the head of the
+household and arouse him to the point of looking
+into such distressful conditions, and setting them
+right.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>A rest period.</i>&mdash;How would it do to plan for
+the mother a daily period of rest and relaxation?
+Would not such a program furnish something of a
+guarantee of length of life in her own case and of
+peace and contentment in the home, and of improved
+well-being in respect to the children? How shall
+we state this question? Must the very lives of the
+rural mother and her children be run through the
+mill of over-work as a grist for the improvement and
+up-building of the farm animals and the farm crops?
+Or should all of these material things be valued only
+in proportion as they contribute to the happiness and
+contentment and the long life of the members of the
+family? Too many farmers seem to say, as expressed
+by their conduct: &#8220;I <i>must</i> lift that mortgage this
+year! I <i>must</i> market so many bushels of corn and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
+so many head of live stock! So here goes my wife,
+and here go my children into the hopper! Perhaps
+they will have to give up their lives. At any cost
+I <i>must</i> make this thing pay!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then, how would it be to set apart an hour or
+more each day, regularly, for the rest and relaxation
+of the mother, and call it &#8220;Mother&#8217;s hour&#8221;? During
+that time let it be the policy of the entire family
+to require no work, no assistance, no favors of her,
+unless it be in case of illness. During such a time
+of recuperation, the delicate organism of the ordinary
+woman would tend to regain its poise. The nerve
+energy would be more or less restored, while she would
+tend to view the better things of life more nearly
+from their right angle. Best of all, she would regather
+during the hour not a little strength to be
+used later in the caretaking of her children. Try
+it for a week.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>The home conveniences.</i>&mdash;This is not the place
+for a detailed discussion of what might or ought to be
+put into the house for the sake of the convenience of
+the home-maker. But if such materials be thoughtfully
+arranged, they may be made most effective,
+even though they be small and inexpensive. A little
+inquiry among the ordinary homes will show what
+is meant here, by either the presence or the lack of
+the things indicated. It is not so much a question
+of expense as it is one of thoughtful provision. The
+guiding principle of the home convenience is that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
+saving and conserving the strength of the housekeeper.</p>
+
+<p>There is especially one day in the week which
+might be appropriately called the &#8220;mother-killing
+day.&#8221; That is the occasion of her doing the washing
+and ironing for the family. Not infrequently two
+or three days thereafter are required for the restoration
+of her normal strength and health. Now, it is
+clearly the specific duty of the farmer to take hold
+of just such matters as this and attempt seriously
+to put them right. Doing the washing for four or
+five, and that with the use of the wash tub, is a man&#8217;s
+work so far as required muscular energy is concerned,
+and very few women are able to do it regularly and
+live out their allotted lives. Therefore, let the conscientious
+farmer see to it first of all that some kind
+of machinery be installed for lightening such wife-killing
+tasks as that just named. Let him provide
+such household helps and conveniences <i>first</i>, and
+for the sake of the house mother and her children.
+And then, if there be other means available, let him
+provide the man-saving machinery about the barn
+and the fields. In the chapter on &#8220;Constructing
+a Country Dwelling,&#8221; fuller attention will be given
+to these matters.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>The mother&#8217;s outings.</i>&mdash;The farmer who is
+seriously interested in providing for the care and comfort
+of his family, and for the instruction and intelligent
+direction of his children, will see to it that his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+life companion be allowed her share of outings.
+This matter must be just as much on his mind as
+that of marketing the produce. The usual habit of
+the farmer&#8217;s wife is to give up willingly her rights and
+opportunities of this sort. But she cannot well continue
+to be spiritually strong and mentally well disposed
+toward the world unless she be permitted to
+get out among her friends and acquaintances at frequent
+intervals.</p>
+
+<p>So, arrange carefully a series of outings for the
+country mother. The beginning of such a program
+is to provide that there be available for her use and
+at her command a horse and carriage. This equipment
+need not be of the finest quality, and it may
+be used for other purposes, but when her needs appear,
+it should be given up to her purposes. At least
+one afternoon a week she should go away from the
+place and be free as much as possible temporarily
+from the cares of the household while she finds congenial
+company among some of the neighboring
+women, or at the library or elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>5. <i>The home help.</i>&mdash;The unending problem of
+the home life throughout much of the civilized world
+is that of obtaining adequate assistance in the performance
+of the household work. Much of the time
+such assistance from outside sources is practically
+unavailable. And yet something must be done to
+meet the situation. If there be young girls growing
+up in the home, the solution of the problem may,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+and should, be met by means of requiring the daughters
+to assist with the home duties. But in case there
+be no daughters it is seriously recommended that
+either the father or the boys do certain parts of the
+heavier housework.</p>
+
+<p>It is not necessarily beneath the dignity of the best
+and most brilliant man of this country for him to
+get down on his knees in his own home and help perform
+the menial work there which threatens to break
+the health of his life companion. If there be growing
+sons in the family, there is every justification for training
+them to assist in the housework in a case where
+such assistance is needed to shield the health and
+strength of the mother. It prepares for better manhood
+and for more sympathetic protection of his own
+wife to be, if the boy be required to do such things
+and thus to become intimately acquainted with what
+it means to perform the many burdensome tasks that
+tend to wear away the lives of so many good women.</p>
+
+<p>6. <i>The children shield the mother.</i>&mdash;There will
+perhaps be no better occasion than this to remind
+parents of the necessity of carefully training the growing
+children to perform such deeds as will shield the
+mother in the home, and show a sympathetic interest
+in her welfare. These matters will not naturally
+be acquired by children. The country to-day is
+full of grown men whose mothers and wives have
+worked themselves to death; and yet these men did
+not detect the seriousness of the situation until it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+was too late. There are many men of this same
+general class who are willing and even anxious to
+protect the women of the home from the crush of
+over-work, but who know not how to do it. Such
+faults as we have just named might easily have been
+avoided had these men, during very early boyhood,
+been brought into an intimate acquaintance with the
+burdensome tasks of the household. Especially
+should they have been drilled time after time in the
+performance of deeds of love and sympathy in respect
+to their mother. It may seem a little thing for a
+younger child to rush to the table, call for and partake
+of the best the table provides and, inattentive
+to the wants of any other members of the family,
+hurry off to his play full fed and happy. And yet
+this very thing may be indicative of a serious lack
+of attention to the rights and requirements of others,
+such as may be carried over into his future home life
+and there amount to serious abuse. Again, it must
+be insisted that deeds of sympathy and altruism are
+acquired through the actual and continued practice
+of the performance of such deeds.</p>
+
+<p>7. <i>Planning for the children.</i>&mdash;Among the other
+splendid results of the conservation of the nerve
+energy and the vital interests of the house mother
+may be mentioned that of her ability to plan thoughtfully
+for the instruction of the boys and girls. It is
+not an easy task to select appropriate stories and
+readings for the young. It is neither an easy nor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+a trifling matter for the parent to be able to read
+suitable stories to them and to interpret helpfully
+such stories. It is not a trifling matter for the parents
+to converse together an hour at evening and there
+plan as to the future home instruction of their young.
+When should this be introduced into the boy&#8217;s life
+and when that into the girl&#8217;s life? What is a fair
+allowance for the boy for what he does and for his
+spending money for the Fourth of July, Christmas,
+and the like? What is a fair allowance for the girl with
+which to purchase her clothes and for her pin money?
+When should each of them be told this and that
+about the secrets of life, and where may helpful literature
+thereon be obtained? Just when and how
+much should the boy and girl be allowed to go among
+the young people of the community? When we
+consider the far-reaching results which their solution
+may mean for the developing young lives, these and
+many other such questions become exceedingly important.</p>
+
+<p>8. <i>A common conspiracy.</i>&mdash;In many a farm home
+to-day there is a secret compact which goes far to
+shape the destiny of a great number of lives. Go
+if you will to the farm home where the life of the
+mother is being gradually crushed out by the over-work
+and the lack of sympathetic protection on the
+part of the husband, and you will almost invariably
+find a secret understanding between the mother and
+the growing children in reference to the future careers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+of the latter. It is implied by these words put into
+the mouth of the mother: &#8220;Your father is too ambitious
+about the work and in his desire for accumulating
+wealth about the farm. He is over-working
+me, is thoughtless of me, and indifferent to your
+present needs and your future welfare. Work on
+as you must, driven by him, but do as little as you
+can and grow up to manhood and womanhood. Study
+your books, get through with your schooling, and
+in time find something easier for your own life
+work. Perhaps we can persuade him to give it up
+after a while and move to town, where you can go out
+more, dress better, and get more enjoyment out of
+life.&#8221; Thus, the children grow up to mistrust and
+dislike their father, and to despise the vocation in
+which he is engaged. Such a state of affairs will
+precipitate their flight from the home nest. This
+will take place at the earliest possible moment and
+will often be in the nature of a leap into the dark,
+anything to get away from the drudgery of the farm.</p>
+
+<p>Mark you this situation well, you farm fathers,
+and attack it in all possible haste with the best available
+relief. A happy, contented, well-protected
+farm mother almost certainly means the same sort
+of farm children, while the converse situations will
+also run in the same unvarying parallel. Do not
+satiate your desire for more hogs and more land with
+the sacrifice of the peace and happiness and the very
+life-blood of your wife and children!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The Nervous Life. G. E. Partridge, Ph.D. Sturgis-Walton Company,
+New York. This book is especially recommended as an aid to the
+relief of the tired farm mother.</p>
+
+<p>Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby, M.D. Chapter IX,
+&#8220;The Supremacy of Motherhood.&#8221; Moffat, Yard &amp; Co., New York.
+This is a book of great value for students of race improvement.</p>
+
+<p>From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter I, &#8220;A
+Heart-to-Heart Talk with the House Wife.&#8221; Sturgis-Walton Company.
+Wholesome advice concerning the conservation of the
+mother&#8217;s strength.</p>
+
+<p>Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare, 1910.
+L. Pearl Boggs, Ph.D. Page 5, &#8220;Home Education.&#8221; G. E.
+Stechart &amp; Co., New York.</p>
+
+<p>The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter XVIII, &#8220;Growth in
+Rest.&#8221; This entire volume is highly recommended as being suitable
+for over-worked mothers.</p>
+
+<p>What the Farmer can do to Lighten his Wife&#8217;s Work. T. Blake. <i>Ladies&#8217;
+Home Journal</i>, Feb. 15, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Higher Tide of Physical Conscience. Dr. L. H. Gulick. <i>World&#8217;s
+Work</i>, June, 1908.</p>
+
+<p>Education for Motherhood. Charles W. Saleeby. <i>Good Housekeeping</i>,
+April, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>The Profession of Motherhood. Dr. Lyman Abbott. <i>Outlook</i>, April 10,
+1909.</p>
+
+<p>Power Through Repose. Annie Payson Call. Chapter XII, &#8220;Training
+for Rest.&#8221; Little, Brown &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p><i>Wallaces&#8217; Farmer</i>, Des Moines, Ia., is especially to be commended for
+its editorial championship of The Farm Mother.</p>
+
+<p>The Freedom of Life. Annie Payson Call. Chapter IV, &#8220;Hurry,
+Worry, and Irritability.&#8221; Little, Brown &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>Ideas of a Plain Country Mother. <i>Ladies&#8217; Home Journal</i>, May 1, 1911.</p>
+
+<p><i>American Motherhood</i>. Coopertown, New York Monthly, $1. This
+magazine publishes many short articles bearing on the subject of
+this chapter.</p>
+
+<p>How to conduct Mothers&#8217; Clubs. (Pamphlet No. 302, 8 cents.) <i>American
+Motherhood</i>. Coopertown, New York.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br />
+<br />
+<i>CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Much has been written in books, and more has
+been spoken from platform and pulpit, relative to
+the patriotism of the American people. In addition
+to all this the public schools of city and country have
+been consciously instructing the children with a
+view to laying a permanent foundation in their lives
+for love of the native land and for defense of the
+national ideals. But it seems to me that the best
+word on the subject of patriotic instruction has never
+as yet been given wide publicity. So long as a boy
+has to grow up in a home where there are meanness
+and turmoil and strife and hatred and degradation,
+one may point a thousand times with pride to our
+great nation, display again and again before his
+eyes the proud banner of freedom, sing with him
+numberless times the patriotic songs eulogistic of
+the fatherland and its national heroes,&mdash;under such
+circumstances a boy can never be expected to develop
+into anything other than a superficial patriot.
+But give him a good home, simple and unadorned
+though it may be, where love reigns, where his childish
+needs are thoughtfully ministered unto, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>into
+he may go at nightfall after a hard day&#8217;s work
+and find rest and peace and comfort; a home whereinto
+he may take his childish cares and perplexities
+and place them before the affectionate consideration
+of his parents and perhaps his elder brothers and
+sisters; a place where he is carefully taught the rudiments
+of filial respect and a wholesome regard for
+work and industry,&mdash;bring up the boy in the midst
+of these plain, sympathetic situations, and you have
+a real patriot. Although he may be reminded only
+occasionally of the meaning of the national flag, and
+although he may read with no unusual interest about
+the blood that was spilled on the national field of
+battle, a life so reared would mean that the love of
+home has become rooted in the heart of the young
+patriot, and that he would rise up if need be and give
+his life in defense of that home. In such a case, only
+a small stretch of the imagination would make it
+possible for the youth to regard the nation as his home
+in the larger sense, while his willingness to defend
+that home in time of real need would be none the
+less present and strong.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Plans and specifications not available</span></h4>
+
+<p>There are hundreds of types and thousands of
+varieties of rural dwelling houses. It would perhaps
+be impracticable to attempt to furnish definite plans
+and specifications in connection with this chapter.
+The wide variation in the nature of the selected sites,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+in the means available for building the home, in the
+size of the family to be accommodated, and the
+like, would hinder us in the attempt. But there are
+certain principles that may perhaps apply in nearly
+every instance and that especially in thought of
+serving the first and best needs of the juvenile members
+of the household.</p>
+
+<p>It is altogether possible to make a two-room cottage
+out on the open prairie a place suggestive of
+repose, of beauty, and of other high ideals. So, no
+matter how small and inexpensive the rural dwelling
+may be, let the builders work first of all for that
+simple beauty and attractiveness which may most
+certainly invest the heart of the indweller with a
+feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Let it be a
+place, though humble, that may soon become to the
+members of the family the most beloved spot on
+earth. For, after all, the best things of life cannot
+possibly be bought with money. There are often
+misery and dissension and bitterness in the finest
+palatial dwelling, while the essential elements of
+beauty and worth may have lodgment in the hearts
+of the humblest cottage dwellers. However, it is
+not the intention here to argue any one into the
+thought of building a humble cot for the mere sake
+of humility. The point we desire to make is merely
+this: that, although possessed of very meager
+means with which to build, one can actually construct
+a home in which the inhabitants thereof may dwell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
+in peace and contentment, and a place over which the
+Spirit of the Most High may brood in great strength
+and beauty.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate V.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_5" name="Fig_5"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_v.png" width="500" height="304" alt="" title="Plate V" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 5.&mdash;An attractive old country residence in the South, built in 1854. At least one good family has been
+matured therein. And to them<br />
+
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">&#8220;How many sacred memories</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Bring back those childhood scenes.&#8221;</span>
+</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What appeals to the children</span></h4>
+
+<p>In the selection of a location and a site for the
+dwelling the welfare of the children must be thought
+of, second only to that of the house mother. Now,
+what material arrangements will appeal to the growing
+children and add much interest and romance
+to their lives as in future time they view them in
+retrospect? First of all, perhaps, a broken landscape
+might well be mentioned, a hill or two near by the
+place, with a sharp cliff or embankment to the crest
+of which the children may climb and there cast
+down missiles. Such things tend to add a charm to
+the young lives. And then, if possible, have a
+brook or larger stream of fresh running water. A
+large river is less desirable on account of the danger
+to child life. But a stream which may furnish, not
+merely water for the live-stock, but a swimming and
+bathing place for the children in summer and a
+skating pond for them in winter, to say nothing
+about the pleasures of fishing and boating&mdash;these
+will appeal most strongly to the boys and girls.
+And then, the woodland, or at least the shady grove
+with trees to climb, and possibly nuts and wild flowers
+to gather&mdash;a place where chipmunks and song birds
+and the like may have their natural habitat, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
+wherefrom there may proceed the weird and doleful
+sound of the night owl and the whip-poor-will; herein
+one may find many of the crude materials well suited
+to give proper nourishment to the souls of the young.</p>
+
+<p>But the things just named will not nearly always be
+accessible. Throughout many of the commonwealths
+there are vast stretches of level plateaus with
+scarcely a hill or woodland in sight, and yet covered
+with a rich, tillable soil. These places may for good
+reasons be selected for the site of a dwelling. But
+they demand more work and heavier expense of
+money and time before the best material surroundings
+of an ideal home for boys and girls may be realized.
+Before the house is scarcely laid out in such a place,
+the shade and ornamental trees should be planted,
+selecting for part of the planting a quick-growing
+species that may be removed later after more permanent
+and more valuable trees have reached a
+suitable height. Of course, a stream of water cannot
+always be diverted so as to make it pass the
+place, but a fair substitute may be had by the construction
+of a pond. And this thing should be accomplished
+at the earliest possible moment. If
+there be a small dry ravine, dam it up with concrete
+and catch it full of surplus water during a rainy
+season. It is a positive injustice to boys and not a
+little unfair to girls to require them to grow up without
+any access to open water of some kind. And it is
+almost a matter of criminal neglect to require chil<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>dren
+to live permanently in a home about which
+there are no trees growing. So it is recommended,
+even if the house construction must in part be delayed
+or cut off, that the surroundings just named
+be sought in all earnestness.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The house plan</span></h4>
+
+<p>In planning and arranging the house, the matters
+to be thought of in addition to those named above
+are convenience and comfort. While it is somewhat
+important that the house look well to those who may
+be passing upon the highway, it is vastly more important
+that it be good within and serve such needs
+of the home-maker and the children as will conserve
+the strength of the former and render the lives of all
+happy and contented. In addition to the matters
+just named, that of placing the dwelling to face in the
+right direction will be thought of. That is, arrange
+the house so as to take advantage of the morning
+sunlight, the evening shade, the winter blasts and
+the summer breezes. While for the sake of entertainment
+it may be well to place the rural dwelling near
+the public highway, rather than sacrifice the child-developing
+factors of shade trees and streams and
+the like, it is often better to build back from the road
+and make a private lane leading thereto.</p>
+
+<p>In arranging for the heat and light in the house,
+think first of all of the health and sanitation of the
+family. Ordinarily, the windows of the farmhouse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
+are too small; while worse still, many of them, even
+in the bed chambers, are permanently nailed down.
+So, if the health and the general well-being of the
+boys and girls, as well as the parents, are worth
+anything at all, attend religiously to these small and
+inexpensive conveniences, not neglecting to provide
+most carefully for keeping out flies and other insects.
+The wise farmer will find the secret of getting along
+with his own household and of rearing a strong,
+healthy family to lie in the strict attention he gives
+to just such small matters as these. The things
+that overstrain the physique, that try the temper and
+patience of the housewife, must especially be looked
+after and something of a better nature substituted
+for them.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">How one farmer does it</span></h4>
+
+<p>Mr. W. F. Mottier, living in Ford County, Illinois,
+gives in <i>Farmer&#8217;s Voice</i> his plan of providing for the
+children, as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I have always tried to farm intelligently. One
+of my favorite ideas in regard to farm life is that of
+making the home as attractive as possible for the
+children. So I put on the place all the modern improvements
+that I can afford, in order that the
+children may not feel that town life is the best.
+And our children do not have any desire to go to
+town. It would bring a sad thought to me to hear
+my children talk against the farm life or home life on
+the farm.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Outbuildings and equipment</span></h4>
+
+<p>With few exceptions, the money available for
+building the home should be expended first in putting
+the house into the ideal condition just named.
+After that, if any means remain, the outbuildings
+may be constructed. Otherwise, crude, temporary
+arrangements may easily suffice. There is one thing,
+however, that must be provided with scrupulous care
+and that is the water for the household use. It
+must be, first of all, wholesome and comparatively
+free from impurities. Then, if at all possible, it
+should be cool and taste well. Actual records have
+shown that one will not drink enough water to satisfy
+the demands of his health in case the taste be in any
+degree unpleasant to him. So the ideal water for
+household use is comparatively soft, is cool, highly
+pleasing to the taste, and is free from disease-carrying
+germs. This comparatively simple matter of providing
+the water will prove most important in relation
+to the well-being of the household and the up-building
+of the family life. See to it at any cost
+that the well be situated out of the way of seepage
+from any barn or outbuilding, even though it may
+from such necessity be placed somewhat out of the
+reach of convenience.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Human rights prior to animal rights</span></h4>
+
+<p>If the farmer cannot afford to erect a good barn he
+may take reasonable care of his horses with the use<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
+of a cheap, improvised one. Actual test will show
+that horses may be made comfortable in the summer
+time with the use of a straw-thatched shed for a
+barn, provided the drainage be reasonably good and
+the earth floor be kept in good order. The thatched
+covering may be made to keep out the rain. During
+the winter, with the use of a few slender poles, the
+entire shed may be inclosed with a hay or straw wall
+and the place thus be made very satisfactory for the
+time being. Similar sheds and protection may be
+provided for the other live-stock, all to await the
+time when the means are at hand for better conveniences.
+It is especially suggestive of a mean lack
+of consideration of human rights in the case of the
+farmer who has a big, expensive farm barn towering
+up beside a little dingy shanty of a dwelling house.
+And yet this thing is all too common, particularly
+in new prairie regions. Such is the place out of
+which beastliness and criminality and anarchy tend
+to be germinated from the lives of boys and girls, to
+say nothing about the hidden tragedies that surround
+the lives of the many women who are forced to put
+up with such an arrangement for half a lifetime.</p>
+
+<p>Just one illustration of a situation of the sort described
+will suffice to point out the moral. On an
+occasion two strangers drew up to a farmhouse.
+One of them was a land agent, and the other a home
+seeker. Their mission was that of purchasing a
+farm. The owner of the farm showed them about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+the place with considerable enthusiasm, but his heart
+swelled with pride when he reached the magnificent
+barn, one side of which was devoted to the propagation
+of a high-grade strain of Duroc Jersey swine.
+Every convenience and comfort for the hogs was
+provided. He boasted about his success with them,
+showed an affectionate regard for the different individuals,
+calling them by name. The horses, too,
+might have aroused the envy of the entire neighborhood.
+They were sleek and well-fed, full in flesh
+and fair in form. There was provided every convenience
+for feeding and caring for the horses and
+the hogs, so that the hired men found the work
+about the barn exceedingly easy and pleasant.</p>
+
+<p>Then the attention of the visitors was turned to the
+farmhouse. Yes, it was small and run down and
+poor, the intention being to build a larger one &#8220;some
+time.&#8221; But that same intention was known to
+have been expressed repeatedly for a period of
+twenty years past. And where were the boys?
+Well, that was the trouble, and furnished the excuse
+for his willingness to sell the place. He simply
+could not induce the boys to stay there and take an
+interest in things. Two of them, barely more than
+boys, had left the home nest in its meanness and
+degradation and hired out in town. The mother
+of the boys was living there because she had to, but
+upon her face were lines of suffering and disappointment
+and degradation. Yet in the midst of it all,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
+strange to say, the father seemed to blame the boys
+and their mother for having conspired against the
+interests of the farm home and plotted to get away.
+In the course of his conversation he made it somewhat
+evident that he would have sold out and left sooner
+had the other members of the family not been so
+urgent about the matter, and that he was now holding
+on partly to indulge his spite and feeling of stubbornness
+in reference to them.</p>
+
+<p>The cheap novels one may pick up depict many a
+fictitious tragedy. But in the place just described
+lies the typical scene of thousands of real tragedies
+during the course of which numberless lives of boys
+and girls have been wrecked forever,&mdash;lives latent
+with possibilities of goodness and beauty, of mental
+and moral strength. And then, the bitterness and
+anguish of soul of the mothers of these lost members
+of a high humanity&mdash;what of that? The silent
+walls of an untimely grave in many cases closed them
+in, while much of the memory of their secret suffering
+lies buried with them.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The children&#8217;s room</span></h4>
+
+<p>Even though the means available will not allow
+for more than the humblest sort of cottage, there
+should be definite thought of providing therein
+some room or niche or corner to be considered as
+the private property of the children. In a three-room
+dwelling on the Kansas prairie in which lives a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>
+happy family of five, and about which thrifty young
+shade trees and orchards are growing, there may be
+seen a children&#8217;s room that would surprise and inspire
+any ordinary observer. In a little attic room
+facing the east and reached by a mere step-ladder
+arrangement, may be found the &#8220;den,&#8221; which is the
+private place of the three children. A small window
+opens out to the east and a small improvised
+dormer window about twelve by twenty inches admits
+light and air from the south. There is no plastering
+or other expensive covering upon the sloping
+roof walls, but the artistic mother has provided dainty
+white muslin for concealing the rough places, and
+with the help of the children she has decorated the
+little room in a manner that would attract the very
+elect. None of this has required a money cost, but
+it has all been done beautifully at the expense of
+thought and good sense and artistic taste, prompted
+by rare consideration for the needs of the boys and
+girls.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate VI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_6" name="Fig_6"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_vi.png" width="500" height="317" alt="" title="Plate VI" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 6.&mdash;A commodious farmhouse in Canada, equipped throughout with a complete water system. Many
+farmers waste enough trying to build a house without a modern plan to pay for this extra convenience.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The two little girls and their brother, ranging in
+age from five to ten years, spend many a happy hour
+in their attic chamber. The heat from the room
+below comes through a small aperture and warms
+the little place in winter time, while the breeze passes
+through the little windows in summer, tempering
+the room satisfactorily excepting upon extremely hot
+days. Upon the walls are arranged beautiful post
+cards, larger pictures gathered from magazines and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+other sources, and small though beautiful home
+decorations of every conceivable sort. The little
+seven-year-old boy has a small assortment of curios
+collected from the hills and streams, while the girls
+have a small display of their childish needlework,
+their dolls, and some of their best school drawings.
+How suggestive and how helpful it would be if this
+little den could be displayed before the eyes of all the
+humble cottagers throughout the rural districts!</p>
+
+<p>Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses
+get along very well indeed with a temporary barn
+thatched with straw, but the places of the boys and
+girls must be looked after and that in the interest
+of making them happy, of filling their lives with
+every good, clean sentiment, and of preparing them
+for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark
+their future. If the house be larger than the one
+we have described, then provide accordingly for
+the children. Give them a good room of their own.
+Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there
+be space, provide a library containing a few suitable
+volumes. And after this thoughtful provision has
+been made, see to it carefully that their schedule for
+work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample
+time and opportunity for their enjoyment of the
+apartment set aside for them. In years to come,
+that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home
+of one&#8217;s childhood will be given greater strength and
+beauty because of the fact that this thing just urged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
+has been done. And more than that, the man (or
+woman) who has the blessed privilege of recalling
+these bygone scenes of childhood receives from such
+contemplation a new sense of inner strength and new
+enduement of power to go on with life&#8217;s struggle
+and master the larger problems that come to him.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The evening hour</span></h4>
+
+<p>No matter what the cares of the day may have
+been, how many things may have gone wrong, how
+much hay left out in the field unprotected from the
+rain, how many acres of corn unplowed and losing
+in the battle with the weeds, how many items of
+household duties unperformed&mdash;there is every justification
+for laying aside these work-a-day affairs
+at the approach of bedtime and for the spending of
+a precious hour with the problems of the children.
+Farm parents as well as other parents can thus
+preserve their youth and add immeasurably to the
+joys of their own lives. This thing of being with
+the children at evening may seem slightly awkward
+and prosaic at first, but it will slowly grow into a
+habit and will become transformed into an experience
+of great charm and beauty. Best of all the
+high refinement, potential in the lives of the children,
+will thus be gradually brought to an expression, and
+the foundation stones of substantial manhood and
+womanhood will be laid in their lives. Yes, it is
+true, even farm parents may learn to lay aside their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+cares and perplexities and enjoy the splendid privilege
+of getting intimately acquainted with the hopes
+and desires and aspirations of their boys and girls!</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The Outlook to Nature. Revised edition. L. H. Bailey. Page 79,
+&#8220;The Country Home.&#8221; Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p>Low Cost Country Homes. A. Embury, Jr. <i>Collier&#8217;s</i>, June 10, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>A Primer of Sanitation. John O. Ritchie. Chapter XXXIII, &#8220;Public
+Sanitation.&#8221; World Book Company, Yonkers, N.Y. Recommended
+for general use.</p>
+
+<p>From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter X, &#8220;The
+Boy&#8217;s Room.&#8221; Sturgis-Walton Company.</p>
+
+<p>Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde. Sturgis-Walton.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Comforts and Conveniences in Farmers&#8217; Homes.&#8221; W. R. Beattie. Yearbook,
+Department of Agriculture, 1909. Washington, D.C., pp. 345-356.
+See also in same volume, &#8220;Hygienic Water Supply for Farms,&#8221;
+pp. 399-408.</p>
+
+<p>Water Supply for Farm Residences, The Plan of the Farm-House,
+Saving Steps. Cornell Reading-Courses.</p>
+
+<p>Rural Hygiene. H. N. Ogden. The Macmillan Company.</p>
+
+<p>Rural Hygiene. I. N. Brewer. J. P. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>Earn your Child&#8217;s Friendship. J. Balfield. <i>Lippinott&#8217;s Magazine</i>,
+January, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Fireside Child Study. Patterson DuBois. Dodd, Mead &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>Home Decorations. Dorothy T. Priestman. Chapter XIV, &#8220;Rooms
+for Young People.&#8221; Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER VI<br />
+<br />
+<i>JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM
+HOME</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>It may be truly said that the strength and
+impressiveness of the personality depend on the
+nature of the inner thought of the individual. Now,
+thoughts are not unlike the trees and the growing
+grain, or, for that matter, any other living thing;
+unless they have proper nourishment they wither,
+perish, or dwindle away to a puny shadow of their
+possible selves. How shall we measure the strength
+and force of the human character other than by the
+bigness and the purity of the daily thoughts of the
+individual? It matters little what the occupation
+may be&mdash;a hewer of stone, a hauler of wood, a captain
+of industry, or a governor of a state&mdash;each of
+these may be mean and little in his respective position
+provided his thoughts be sensuous and groveling.
+On the other hand, each of these can shine in
+his allotted place in a light all his own, provided he
+have the habit of entertaining clean and inspiring
+ideas in his secret consciousness.</p>
+
+<p>Now, one of the larger problems of the rural life
+is that of supplying the many hours necessarily de<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>voted
+to silent reflection with a suitable form of
+thought culture. Proverbially, the farmer and his
+wife and their children are hurried along with the
+work-a-day affairs and tend gradually to acquire the
+non-reading habit. This is bad for the parents in
+that it keeps their minds running around upon a
+little cycle of hard, industrial facts. It is worse for
+the children in that it fails to supply the proper
+nourishment for the dream period through which
+their lives are necessarily passing. What can be
+done, therefore, to nourish and build up the best
+possible thought activities, especially in case of the
+rural boys and girls?</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">How good thinking grows up and flourishes</span></h4>
+
+<p>It may not be out of place to show here somewhat
+more definitely how attractive forms of literature
+gradually work themselves into the lives of the
+young. In the first place, the young person cannot
+invent his own ideas. He does not manufacture his
+thoughts out of something latent within his organism.
+The latent situation consists merely of a nervous
+system prepared to receive manifold impressions and
+to retain them and give them back through the process
+of ideation. That is, the young person thinks
+only about things that have actually happened in
+his life. All he knows has come to him through the
+avenue of his senses; what he has seen and heard and
+felt, and so on, constitutes the &#8220;stuff&#8221; out of which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+his thoughts are made. So he must have the widest
+possible experience, while young, in the use of his
+natural senses.</p>
+
+<p>The literature best adapted to the child would be
+that which appeals to the interests predominating
+in his life at any given time. During his early years
+not hard, prosaic facts, but situations that stretch
+the truth and sport with the fixed condition of things
+are especially appealing to him. He should therefore
+be indulged in the classic myths, fables, fairy
+tales, and the like. The parent will of course be
+on guard against his acquiring any seriously erroneous
+beliefs in respect to such things, and also against
+his receiving any serious shock or fright from the
+tragic aspects of the tale. Later on, during the early
+teens, the boys and girls will become more and more
+interested in the stories of the wars of old and in the
+fact and romance of history. Stories supplementing
+the text-book history of the home country may now
+be introduced.</p>
+
+<p>As a possible means of bringing the minds of the
+boys and girls into a more intimate knowledge of the
+rural situation, nature studies and nature stories
+should be offered. It must be remembered that it is
+quite possible for the boy to grow up within a stone&#8217;s
+throw of many of the living things of nature and yet
+scarcely recognize their presence, much less know
+anything definite about them. Therefore, nature-study
+books and leaflets written perhaps in story<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>
+form and containing attractive illustrations of the
+birds, bees, flowers, and trees to be found near about
+the rural home will prove most interesting and
+instructive to the young. Through such helpful
+literature the mind will gradually acquire the habit of
+casting about in the home environment for the description
+of possible objects and conditions new to one.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best and most helpful results accruing
+to the young person who indulges the habit of reading
+good literature is this: he acquires a large vocabulary
+of words and phrases in which to clothe his
+secret thought and with which to express himself to
+others. All this furnishes, not merely a splendid
+form of entertainment for the silent reflections, but
+it also gives the thinker a sense of the power and the
+worth of his own personality.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Types of literature</span></h4>
+
+<p>It may be stated as a foregone conclusion that no
+farm is well equipped for the happiness and well-being
+of those who dwell thereon unless there be an
+ample supply of good literature in the house. No
+matter how well stocked with high-grade farm animals,
+how productive in point of farm crops, how well
+kept the hedges and lanes may be, secret poverty and
+littleness of mind lurk in that home if the literature
+is wanting. So, first of all, let us lay the foundation
+by means of enumerating some periodicals and books
+of a more general nature.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate VII.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_7" name="Fig_7"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_vii.png" width="500" height="303" alt="" title="Plate VII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 7.&mdash;It is a mistake to try to make bookworms of children. Many of their best books are &#8220;green
+fields and running brooks,&#8221; also frequent opportunity to play together in groups and neighborhoods.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>1. <i>The best reading.</i>&mdash;Of course the Bible might
+head the list. Whether or not there be a large
+&#8220;family&#8221; Bible, there should be at least a text of
+convenient size and form for everyday use. This
+book should contain a good concordance.</p>
+
+<p>Then there should come into the home a first-class
+weekly newspaper; possibly the local paper
+will supply this need. Many farm homes now receive
+a daily paper regularly.</p>
+
+<p>In addition there should be available a weekly or
+monthly summary of the current events of the nation
+and the world. The <i>Literary Digest</i>, the <i>World&#8217;s
+Work</i>, and the <i>Review of Reviews</i> are examples of
+standard magazines of this particular class. Either
+one of them will stimulate most helpfully the quiet
+thought of the farmer and the members of his family
+and keep one in touch with the most important movements
+of the country.</p>
+
+<p>Along with the foregoing, there should be kept
+constantly at hand a first-class farm magazine.
+There are numberless periodicals of this sort, but
+perhaps among those of the first rank and those
+which especially give definite helps for the boy-and-girl
+life of the farm may be mentioned <i>Wallaces&#8217;
+Farmer</i>, Des Moines, Iowa, the <i>Farmer&#8217;s Voice</i>,
+Chicago, Illinois, and the <i>Farmer&#8217;s Guide</i>, Huntington,
+Indiana. Also, the semi-official state paper
+well known in many of the commonwealths is usually
+very helpful.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>Look out for trash. There are many papers
+published, ostensibly in the interest of farm life,
+which are in fact cheap and trashy sheets made use
+of almost wholly as a medium of advertising quack
+medicines, get-rich-quick schemes, and other frauds.
+A reliable means of testing the value of any one of
+these so-called &#8220;farm&#8221; or &#8220;home&#8221; papers is to
+examine the advertisements. If there be any considerable
+number of advertisements which offer
+sure cures for chronic diseases, confidential treatments
+for secret troubles, fortune telling, and attractive
+high-priced articles at a trifling cost, then
+the whole thing is probably fraudulent and not
+worthy to come into your home. Also avoid the
+paper or magazine which advertises intoxicating
+liquors. It is very low in moral tone, to say the
+least.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Books for children.</i>&mdash;In selecting a list of
+books for farm boys and girls, we should make little
+or no distinction between them and the children of
+the city homes. Their earlier literary needs are
+practically all alike and their youthful minds must
+be nourished in about the same fashion. In offering
+the lists to follow we do not pretend to have
+selected nearly all the profitable books available, but
+rather to have named a few examples of volumes
+already found enticing and helpful to the young
+mind. The majority of them are standard and well
+known. While the price and publisher are given in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+many instances, often a cheaper edition may be
+had.</p>
+
+<p>In order to proceed with greater certainty and
+economy in purchasing books for the children, the
+rural parent is advised to consult some one near at
+hand who is thoroughly familiar with children&#8217;s
+literature. Perhaps the superintendent of schools
+of the town near by, or some local minister, or some
+well-informed leader of a mothers&#8217; club, may furnish
+the desired assistance. It would also be helpful
+to write for the general catalogues of a number of
+the large publishing and distributing houses and
+from their lists select a number of suitable titles.
+Many of them publish the older classics in very
+attractive form for ten to twenty-five cents, the original
+unchanged and unabridged.</p>
+
+<p>In order to stimulate interest in forming the nucleus
+of a home library the farmer should either
+make or purchase a small set of book shelves. Important
+as it may seem to build a first-class house for
+the thoroughbred hogs, this matter of the children&#8217;s
+reading is even more important and should be attended
+to first, before it becomes too late to catch
+the attentive ear of the boys and girls.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A SELECTED LIST</h4>
+
+<blockquote><p>The following lists are taken chiefly from those selected by such well-known
+critics as Mary Mapes Dodge, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Edward
+Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Hamilton W. Mabie.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Four to Six Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Various Authors.</span> Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L.
+Hammett Company, Boston. 50 cents.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Bryant.</span> Stories to Tell to Children. Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Holbrook.</span> Hiawatha Primer. 50 cents. Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Eggleston.</span> Story of Great America for Little Americans. 35 cents.
+Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Scudder.</span> Fables and Folk Stories.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Stevenson.</span> A Child&#8217;s Garden of Verses.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Lang.</span> Blue Fairy Book.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ruskin.</span> King of the Golden River.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Field.</span> Lullaby Land.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Wiggin.</span> The Story Hour.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sewell.</span> Black Beauty.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Six to Seven Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Norton and Stephens.</span> The Heart of Oak Books, No. 1. 25 cents.
+Heath.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gilbert.</span> Mother Goose.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson).</span> Alice in Wonderland. $3. Harper.
+35 cents. Crowell.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Andrews.</span> The Seven Little Sisters. 60 cents. Ginn.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Kingsley.</span> Water Babies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Kipling.</span> The Jungle Book.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Greene.</span> King Arthur and his Court.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><i>Ages Seven to Eight Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Grimm.</span> Fairy Tales. Translated Mrs. E. Lucas. $2.50. Lippincott.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Goldsmith.</span> Goody Two-Shoes. 25 cents. Heath</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">&#198;sop.</span> Fables. Selected by Jacobs. $1.50. Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Harris.</span> Nights with Uncle Remus. $1.50. Houghton, Mifflin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Bible Stories.</span> 60 cents. A. L. Burt Company, New York.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hawthorne.</span> Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Irving.</span> Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or The
+Sketch Book.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Eight to Nine Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Baldwin.</span> Fifty Famous Stories Retold. 35 cents. American Book
+Company.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span> Hiawatha, The Village Blacksmith, The Children&#8217;s
+Hour, etc.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mabie.</span> Norse Stories Retold from Edda. $1.80. Dodd, Mead.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Miller.</span> Out-of-Door Diary for Boys and Girls. Sturgis-Walton Company.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><i>Ages Nine to Ten Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Norton and Stephens.</span> Heart of Oak Books, No. 4. 45 cents. Heath.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hodges.</span> The Garden of Eden. (Bible Stories.) $1.50. Houghton,
+Mifflin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mathews.</span> Familiar Trees and Their Leaves. $1.75. Appleton.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Burroughs.</span> Wake Robin.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Ten to Eleven Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Higginson.</span> Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dana.</span> How to know the Wild Flowers. $2. Scribner.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Blanchan.</span> Bird Neighbors. 35 cents. Doubleday, Page.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Norton and Stephens.</span> Heart of Oak Books, No. 5. 50 cents. Heath.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Church.</span> Stories from Virgil.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Morley.</span> A Song of Life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Stevenson.</span> Treasure Island.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Eleven to Twelve Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Alcott.</span> Little Women. $1.50. Little Men. $1.50. Little, Brown
+&amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Lucas.</span> A Wanderer in London. $1.75. Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Aldrich.</span> Story of a Bad Boy. $1.25. Houghton, Mifflin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Shakespeare.</span> The Tempest.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Scott.</span> Tales of a Grandfather. The Talisman.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Edgeworth.</span> Parent&#8217;s Assistant.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Twelve to Thirteen Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Kipling.</span> Just So Stories. $1.20. Doubleday, Page.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Seton-Thompson.</span> Wild Animals I have Known. $2. Scribner.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Wyss.</span> Swiss Family Robinson. 60 cents. McKay; also Dutton.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Palmer.</span> The Odyssey. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Goldsmith.</span> The Vicar of Wakefield.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dickens.</span> A Christmas Carol. The Cricket on the Hearth.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hughes.</span> Tom Brown at Rugby.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Thirteen to Fourteen Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Swift.</span> Gulliver&#8217;s Travels. $1.50. Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Longfellow.</span> Evangeline.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dana.</span> Two Years before the Mast. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Norton and Stephens.</span> Heart of Oak Books, No. 6. 55 cents. Heath.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Lamb.</span> Tales from Shakespeare.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Coffin.</span> Old Times in the Colonies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Franklin.</span> Autobiography.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Stowe.</span> Uncle Tom&#8217;s Cabin.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Fourteen to Fifteen Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Defoe.</span> Robinson Crusoe. $1. McLoughlin. $1.50. Harper.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Bunyan.</span> Pilgrim&#8217;s Progress.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Norton and Stephens.</span> Heart of Oak Books, No. 7. 60 cents. Heath.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Austen.</span> Pride and Prejudice.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Thoreau.</span> Walden.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Ages Fifteen to Sixteen Years</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Cooper.</span> Leather Stocking Tales.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Burroughs.</span> Birds and Bees. 15 cents. Strawbridge and Clothier.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Pyle.</span> Robin Hood. 60 cents. Scribner.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Scott.</span> Ivanhoe. 60 cents. Appleton. Lady of the Lake. 35 cents.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ginn.</span> Lay of the Last Minstrel. 25 cents. Macmillan.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>Sixteen Years Old and Older</i></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Irving.</span> The Alhambra. 25 cents. Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Macaulay.</span> Lays of Ancient Rome. 75 cents. Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Kipling.</span> Captains Courageous. $1.50. Century.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Nicolay and Hay.</span> Boy&#8217;s Life of Lincoln. $1.50. Century.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Eggleston.</span> Hoosier School Boy. $1. Scribner; also Heath.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+<p>In addition to the foregoing, there is beginning to come from the press
+a mass of juvenile literature that promises to furnish most practical
+inspiration and guidance to the juvenile mind on the farm. Much of
+this new rural life literature may be had for the asking or for the mere
+price of publication. The following are recommended:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><i>The Rural School Leaflet.</i> Edited by Alice G. McCloskey, and
+issued under the general direction of L. H. Bailey at Ithaca, N.Y.</p>
+
+<p>The Country Life Publications, issued by D. W. Working, Superintendent
+of Agricultural Extension, Morgantown, W.Va.</p>
+
+<p>The series published by A. B. Graham, Superintendent of the Extension
+Department, Ohio University, Columbus.</p>
+
+<p>The annual reports of County Superintendent O. J. Kern, Rockford,
+Ill., and of County Superintendent George W. Brown, Paris, Ill.</p>
+
+<p>The Wisconsin Arbor and Bird Day Annual, issued by State Superintendent
+C. P. Cary, Madison, Wis.</p>
+
+<p>The Extension Departments of many of the state universities and
+nearly all of the state agricultural colleges are now issuing a series of
+small pamphlets on such matters as stock judging, grain breeding, soil
+testing, and home economics. This literature should be given the
+widest possible circulation in the country home, as it will prove helpful
+both to the young and to the parents in their direction of the young.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><i>Literature on Child-rearing</i></p>
+
+<p>Parents who are seriously in earnest in the matter of developing the
+lives of their children will find great assistance and much inspiration
+through the reading of books and magazines on the child-rearing problems.
+In fact, it may be put down as a practical certainty that the work
+of child training cannot go on effectively and continue in its interest
+except one have some aids of the kind just named. Therefore, the interested
+parent should cast about for the books and magazines that
+promise to serve in the solution of the particular problems at hand. It
+happens that the author has collected a large number of books and periodicals
+of this class and that he has made a somewhat critical examination
+of them.</p>
+
+<p>In listing the titles below, a word or phrase is used to indicate the contents
+or purpose of the text.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title">1. Periodicals on Child-rearing</p>
+
+<p><i>The American Baby.</i> American Publishing Company, 1 Madison Ave.,
+New York City. $1 per year, 10 cents per copy. Contains much
+detailed and most helpful instruction on the care of the child.</p>
+
+<p><i>American Motherhood.</i> Coopertown, N.Y. $1 per year, 10 cents
+per copy. Helpful and sympathetic. Especially strong in respect
+to health and sanitation and in methods of instructing children in
+regard to the secrets of life.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Child-Welfare Magazine.</i> Official organ of the National Congress
+of Mothers, 147 North 10th Street, Philadelphia. 50 cents per
+year, 10 cents per copy.</p>
+
+<p>The educational pamphlets published by the Society of Sanitary and
+Moral Prophylaxis, 9 E 2d Street, New York City. Excellent monographs,
+each treating some urgent child problem in relation to morals,
+sanitation, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>The Home-training Bulletins, prepared and issued by William A.
+McKeever, Professor of Philosophy, State Agricultural College,
+Manhattan, Kan. 5 cents each. Each of these pamphlets contains
+about sixteen pages and covers a particular home-training
+problem. The numbers thus far issued are:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p>1. The Cigarette Smoking Boy.</p>
+
+<p>2. Teaching the Boy to Save.</p>
+
+<p>3. Training the Girl to Help in the Home.</p>
+
+<p>4. Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation.</p>
+
+<p>5. A Better Crop of Boys and Girls.</p>
+
+<p>6. Training the Boy to Work.</p>
+
+<p>7. Teaching the Girl to Save.</p>
+
+<p>8. Instructing the Young in Regard to Sex.</p>
+
+<p>Others are in course of preparation.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">2. Books on Child-rearing</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Holt.</span> Care and Feeding of Children. $1 Appleton. Most helpful
+and practical.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Curley.</span> Short Talks with Young Mothers. $1.50. Putnams. Helpful
+from the medical side.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Harrison.</span> A Study of Child Nature. $1. Chicago Kindergarten
+College. Excellent. A standard help.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Allen.</span> Civics and Health. $1.25. Ginn &amp; Co. Most helpful on the
+side of sanitation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Hall.</span> Youth. $1.50. Appleton. A great book on child study by
+one of the world&#8217;s leading authorities.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">King.</span> Psychology of Child Development. $1. University of Chicago
+Press. A Fundamental work for those who wish to make a scientific
+study of child life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ritchie.</span> A Primer of Sanitation. 60 cents. World Book Company. A
+clear, helpful presentation of the facts.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Chance.</span> The Care of the Child. $1. Penn Publishing Company.
+Full of detailed information about infants, especially.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mangold.</span> Child Problems. $1.25. Macmillan. Presents the matter
+ably and in the light of the freshest information.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Call.</span> The Freedom of Life. $1. Little, Brown &amp; Co. A great and
+inspiring book. Will give rest and poise to tired mothers.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gulick.</span> Mind and Work. $1. Doubleday, Page &amp; Co. A companion
+book to the one above, only more suitable for the father.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Saleeby</span>. Parenthood and Race Culture. $2.50. Moffat, Yard &amp; Co.,
+New York. A remarkably instructive volume on race improvement.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>How to Direct Children&#8217;s Reading. Mae E. Schreiber. Annual
+volume N.E.A., 1900, p. 637.</p>
+
+<p>A Suggestive List for a Children&#8217;s Library, 483 titles. Helen T. Kennedy.
+Democrat Printing Company. Minneapolis.</p>
+
+<p>A Mother&#8217;s List of Books for Children. Catherine W. Arnold. A. C.
+McClurg &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>Children&#8217;s Rights. Kate Douglas Wiggin. Pages 69 ff. &#8220;What shall
+Children Read?&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>Fingerposts of Children&#8217;s Reading. Walter Taylor Field. McClurg &amp;
+Co. Gives extensive lists.</p>
+
+<p>Books for Boys and Girls. Brooklyn Public Library, New York. A carefully
+selected list of 1700 titles, 200 of them being especially marked
+for their value.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER VII<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG
+PEOPLE</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>There was never a greater demand for efficient
+leadership in the rural communities than there is
+to-day. The country has continued for many years
+past to become richer in farm products and equipment,
+but it has steadily grown poorer in social and
+spiritual values. In fact we have unconsciously
+acquired a distorted idea of values. Hogs are too high
+in proportion to boys. Beef cattle are absorbing too
+much interest in proportion to the time and money
+expended in perfecting the character of girls. It
+has long been the proud boast of the Middle Western
+states that they could feed the entire country. And
+we have continued so long in this way as now to
+regard big crops and the great abundance of farm
+animals and other such material possessions as ends
+in themselves. So it is high time that we ask ourselves
+what this material wealth is all for. Looked
+at from at least one high vantage point, it may be
+properly regarded as so much encumbrance unless we
+shall be able to convert it into a means to some
+worthy and spiritual purpose.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Decadence of rural life</span></h4>
+
+<p>The open country in the Middle Western states
+has for some time been the breeding place for sterling
+manhood and ideal womanhood, and the recruiting
+ground wherefrom have been drawn many men and
+women to undertake the management of the larger
+enterprises of the country. The enforced self
+denial and discipline of work; the continued practice
+of quiet reflection; the comparative freedom from
+the evil and degrading influences peculiar to much of
+the child life in the cities; and many other character-building
+experiences could be set down on the favorable
+side of rural child-rearing in the past. But this
+situation is rapidly changing. The ten-year period
+just closing has witnessed a decadence of country life,
+the rural population actually showing a decrease.
+Large numbers of the best families have moved to the
+cities and towns, and their places on the farm have
+been taken by irresponsible laborers and transient
+renters.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, the wealth of the rural community is still
+there, lying more or less dormant, and all the other
+means of a splendid civilization are there. But in
+the usual instance there is no one to assume the
+leadership in bringing about the reconstruction of
+the rural life. Now that he has accumulated such
+an abundance of material things, the typical farmer
+needs to be shown how to deal more fairly and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
+helpfully with the various members of his family.
+Some farmers&#8217; wives are gradually being dragged to
+death with the over-burden of work, which might be
+obviated if the farmer and his wife were both shown
+specifically a better way of getting things done.
+Many boys and girls growing up in the country are
+being cheated out of their natural heritage of good
+health, spontaneous play, and the joy of social intercourse,
+all because of the fact that farm products are
+too much regarded as an end rather than a means
+to the higher development of the members of the
+rural family. So a good soil and excellent crops are
+essentials for a substantial rural society, but they are
+not a certain evidence of such thing. It is possible
+to go into some of the country communities where
+these material things are accumulated in great
+abundance and yet find the people there living a
+little, mean, and narrow form of life, and that chiefly
+because they do not quite understand how to use
+the splendid means at hand in the accomplishment
+of some high and worthy purposes.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work for the ministry</span></h4>
+
+<p>And so we hereby issue a call and a challenge for
+workers to enter the great fallow field just named
+and make it blossom with new social and spiritual life.
+And it is the conviction of some that the ministers
+of the town and village churches can undertake this
+work much better than any other class of persons,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>
+for they are already in many respects trained leaders.
+Let these ministers be provided if possible with an
+assistant, a layman it may be, for both their town
+and country work. Then let each of them have a
+rural appointment to which they may go from one
+to four times each month; and, inspired by a
+vision of all the possibilities ahead of them and
+endued with divine power and guidance, enter
+earnestly into the great work of rehabilitating the
+country community. It is evident that the minister
+who will leave his town congregation with perhaps
+only one Sunday sermon and go to a country church
+and preach to the adults, and teach and lead the
+young, while his assistant takes charge of the second
+Sunday service at home&mdash;it is evident that such a
+minister will not only wear longer in the locality
+in which he is stationed, but that he will find in the
+rural work just mentioned such a flood of zeal and
+inspiration as will more than make up for and
+repay the effort. Many of the town ministers are
+preaching to audiences that are more or less irresponsive
+to what they have to say. Under present conditions
+they are compelled to preach to the same
+audiences too much. Their sermons grow stale.
+But under the arrangement here recommended,
+such conditions would not obtain. They would come
+back from the rural appointment so laden with
+new ideas and ideals as to appear to the home
+congregation in a most advantageous light.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">The country minister</span></h4>
+
+<p>There is at present not a little promise that there
+may be developed throughout the country a new
+type of country-dwelling ministers. It is certainly a
+logical position for the effective religious worker to
+assume; namely, that of actually dwelling among
+those whom he is attempting to serve. He acquires
+an intimate knowledge of their problems, their
+point of view, including the status of their individual
+beliefs and prejudices.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate VIII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 495px;">
+<a id="Fig_8" name="Fig_8"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_viii_fig_8.png" width="495" height="373" alt="" title="Plate VIII Fig. 8" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 8.&mdash;The fifty-year-old country church at Plainfield.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/plate_viii_fig_9.png" width="500" height="354" alt="" title="Plate VIII Fig. 9" />
+<span class="caption"> <span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 9.&mdash;The new country church at Plainfield, Illinois, erected through
+the inspiration and leadership of Reverend Matthew B. McNutt.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As an example of what the country minister can
+achieve one needs to read an account of the splendid
+work of the Rev. Mathew B. McNutt of Plainfield,
+Illinois. Mr. McNutt was called to this charge
+in 1900 when a fresh graduate from a Presbyterian
+seminary. At the time of his call there was in
+the locality a small dead or nominal church membership
+and an occasional weak, ineffective service
+held in the little old church of fifty years&#8217; standing.
+This devoted and far-seeing man got down among
+the people with whom he settled, made a careful
+survey of the economic, the social, and the religious
+life of the place, and began his wonderful work of
+reconstructing all this. The ultimate purpose was
+the improvement of the spiritual well-being. He
+organized singing schools, granges, literary and debating
+societies, sewing societies, and clubs of various
+other sorts, all as a means of awakening the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+life of the community and bringing the people together
+in a spirit of mutual sympathy and helpfulness.
+After less than a decade of hard work a
+marvelous transformation of the rural life thereabout
+was achieved. Among other notable changes was a
+new church to supplant the old one. The new
+building was erected at a cash cost of ten thousand
+dollars; has an audience room seating five hundred
+or more, several Sunday school class rooms, a choir
+room, a cloak room, a pastor&#8217;s study and a mothers&#8217;
+room, all on the main floor. In the basement below
+there is a good kitchen, a dining room with equipment,
+also a furnace, a store room, and the like.
+The church membership has grown to one hundred
+sixty-three with many non-members attending,
+while the Sunday school enrollment increased to
+three hundred.</p>
+
+<p>Now there are always a few minds who wish to
+measure all earthly things in terms of a money
+value. To such it may be shown that the land
+values in the vicinity of this new country church
+have gone up to a marked degree and that the
+economic conditions are all of a most satisfactory
+nature.</p>
+
+<p>As further evidence of what a rural community
+working together may achieve for the spiritual
+welfare, there may be cited the instance of the little
+side station by the name of Ogden in Riley County,
+Kansas. Here the people got together and voted to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+build a country church, and that without determining
+as to the denominational affiliation. A committee
+of leaders was appointed to raise funds and to draw
+plans for the building. In a short time, arrangements
+were perfected for constructing the building at a
+cost of four thousand dollars. It was later voted
+to place this new church temporarily under the direction
+of the Congregational church in Manhattan,
+fifteen miles away.</p>
+
+<p>In one or two instances the religious leaders in
+a country community have succeeded admirably in
+establishing a &#8220;commission&#8221; form of church administration.
+The method pursued has been that
+of having a committee of three, each a member of a
+different church, to call by turn from the towns
+near by the ministers of the various denominations.
+Further details of the plans provide for the committee
+to raise funds so that the minister may be paid a
+definite amount for the service conducted.</p>
+
+<p>One of the first essential steps in the establishment
+of a rural church is a careful survey or study of the
+situation. While it may be accounted a sin against
+God and humanity to add another church where there
+are already more than the people can support, often
+it will be found that very large, well populated
+country districts are wholly without access to any
+religious service whatever. Verily, the field is
+white unto the harvest and the laborers as yet are
+few.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">A mistake in training</span></h4>
+
+<p>Too long we have been training young people in
+the school and in the home to struggle for the best
+of everything&mdash;a sort of rivalry that results in
+envy, jealousy, and strife, and a falling apart where
+there should be co&#246;peration and sympathy and a
+spirit of mutual helpfulness. The craze for clothes,
+the glare of the electric lights, and the lure of the
+cheap theater have struck the country people and
+are drawing away much of the best young blood
+there. It seems that we have over-done this thing
+of pointing to the top and urging our young people
+to scramble for that, until as a result no one is
+looking for a place to serve, while all are looking for
+a place to shine. Now, there may be &#8220;plenty of
+room at the top&#8221; for selfish scrambling, but in some
+respects the top is woefully over-crowded. On the
+other hand, there is a vast amount of good room
+at the bottom, acres of it, and we might well commend
+it to every one who may be imbued with the
+idea of doing some effective work in the world.
+All over the broad, open country, in thousands of
+rural districts, the situation at the bottom is literally
+crying out for constructive workers who will come in
+there with their good courage, their scientific training,
+and in the name of the Most High get down
+among the people and the common things in the
+midst of which the people live and lay a substantial<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>
+foundation for a new and beautiful structure&mdash;an
+edifice erected out of the plain materials to be found
+in any ordinary rural community, and that by means
+of transforming such things and making them
+contributive to the high and lofty spirit-purposes
+for which they are really designed.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Rural child-rearing</span></h4>
+
+<p>We are not half awake as yet to the meaning and
+possibilities of the rural community as a place
+for rearing children. The city environment ripens
+youths too fast and too early and works all the
+spontaneity and aggressiveness out of the boys
+and girls before their mature judgments are ready
+to function. As a result of this city hot-bed, we
+have as a type the blas&#233; sort of young man, and a
+young woman who is overly smart in respect to the
+&#8220;proper things to do.&#8221; Either of them has little
+power of initiative and less power of persistence.
+One of the greatest virtues of the somewhat isolated
+rural home is that it matures human character more
+slowly and keeps the boys and girls fresh and &#8220;green&#8221;
+and spontaneous while there is being gradually
+worked into their characters the habit of industry
+and the power of doing constructive work.</p>
+
+<p>If one should desire to obtain a sterling specimen
+of manhood, he would not take up with the &#8220;smart&#8221;
+city youth who at the age of sixteen has had all
+the experiences known to men. The latter is too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+ripe. He knows it all. From his own point of view,
+his knowledge of the world is nearly completed. No,
+one would prefer to go to the most remote country
+district and, if need be, lasso some green, gawky,
+sixteen-year-old who is afraid of the cars and the
+big girls and who has never had a suit of clothes that
+fits him. This scared, unbroken youth would go
+through a tremendous amount of rough-and-tumble,
+trial-and-error experiences during the course of his
+college training; and he would live intensively and
+rush into many unknown places and commit many
+blunders, between whiles catching countless inspiring
+visions of how he might be or become a man
+of great strength and ruggedness of character.
+Such a man might be relied upon to shoulder the
+heavy burdens of the world. Such a man could be
+called out to join in the forefront of battle when the
+moral and religious rights of the people were at issue.
+Such a man when fully matured could be sent into
+some kind of missionary field and be expected to
+labor there for a long time alone, courageous and
+persistent, finally winning a very small following;
+then a larger number of adherents; and then the
+entire population at his heels, applauding and backing
+him up in his every worthy effort.</p>
+
+<p>The author has long had a vision of a man trained
+and developed through the seasoning experiences
+just sketched and who, under the inspiration and the
+guidance of the Most High, will go into these rural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>
+communities which are latent with material life,
+and there begin his labors in behalf of the higher
+things into which all the elements of this typical
+rural situation may be transformed. Just as fast
+as men hear this divine call and heed it and take up
+this work, so fast will our country life be reconstructed
+and the best that is in our society become
+gloriously transformed and everlastingly saved as a
+heritage of the oncoming generations. And it is
+evident that the rural minister, working through
+the rural church, is the person to whom this divine call
+may most naturally come.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The churches too narrow</span></h4>
+
+<p>Not a few of the country churches are too narrow
+in their limitations, tending to chill out those who do
+not happen to be adherents of the creed, and to
+foster dissensions and hatred among neighbors.
+And they are not touching in a vital way the lives
+of country boys and girls.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate IX.</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_10" name="Fig_10"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_ix.png" width="500" height="343" alt="" title="Plate IX" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 10.&mdash;This attractive and modern church building was erected by the Christian people living
+in the vicinity of the country village of Ogden, Kansas. Four different denominations participated
+at its dedication. Its ruling body is undenominational.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It will be agreed that the gospel of the Master of
+men may be made so broad and inviting as to attract
+all who have a spark of religion in their natures,
+and that means practically every one in the community.
+But there is no good reason why the rural
+church should stand alone as such. It should and
+can be made a social as well as a religious center for
+the whole community. So, let there be constructed
+a modern building with big windows, and several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>
+apartments for Sunday school classes, and for meetings
+of social groups, such as the grange, the farmers&#8217;
+institute, the sewing society, and the literary and
+debating clubs. Then there should be apparatus
+for the preparation of meals, with a room in which a
+long table might be spread as occasion demands.
+Outside of this building there should be a children&#8217;s
+playground with some simple apparatus for play.</p>
+
+<p>Not less frequently than one afternoon of the
+month&mdash;and twice would be better&mdash;the people
+of the community should drop everything and come
+together for a good social time and a general exchange
+of ideas. On an occasion of this kind the
+town minister could be present or someone from
+the outside who would bring with him at least one
+helpful and practical idea about building up country
+life. Let this building be regarded as the property of
+every man, woman, and child in the community and
+strive to bring it to pass that the legitimate and worthy
+interest of all shall be actually served there.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Constructive work of the church</span></h4>
+
+<p>This country church here thought of need be no
+less a religious affair, but it must become distinctively
+a socializing agency. It must not merely save
+souls, but it must save and conserve and develop
+for this present life the bodily, the moral, and the
+intellectual powers of the young. One cannot adequately
+develop those splendid latent powers in young<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+people solely by means of teaching them the Sunday
+school lesson or preaching to them, no matter how
+true the gospel may be. The evidence is ample
+to show that boys and girls who attend church and
+Sunday school are nevertheless falling into many
+vicious habits of conduct, and are growing up without
+many of the forms of discipline and training essential
+for stable Christian character and social and moral
+efficiency. In fact as a means of temporal salvation
+the old-fashioned church and Sunday school are
+proving more and more a failure.</p>
+
+<p>Now, as soon as the church realizes the meaning
+of the foregoing situation and acts accordingly, just
+so soon will this splendid old institution be enabled
+to do efficient work in vitalizing the practical affairs
+of the community in which it is located. To illustrate
+this point: The great curse of boyhood to-day
+is the tobacco habit, and this vitiating practice
+is slowly working its way among the country youth.
+The youth who acquires the smoking habit before
+becoming physically matured thereby depletes his
+physical health to a marked degree, reduces his
+mental efficiency ten to fifty per cent, and almost
+completely destroys his power of initiative. Such
+a youth is never found contending for any moral
+issue or any high and worthy cause of the people.
+His constructive instinct is made more quiescent,
+while his disposition to condone evil is greatly and
+permanently increased. Boys who attend church<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+and Sunday school are also, like others, falling victims
+to the sex evils of various forms.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">An innovation in the rural church</span></h4>
+
+<p>Perhaps there is no better illustration of how the
+economic affairs of the neighborhood may be vitally
+linked with the church service than the work carried
+on under the direction of Superintendent George
+W. Brown, of Paris, Illinois. During one year Mr.
+Brown conducted on seven different occasions an
+over-Sunday program, somewhat as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>On Saturday either at the country school house or
+in the basement of the country church there was
+arranged an exhibition of corn, while during the
+day class exercises in the study of corn were in
+progress. On the day following, Sunday, there were
+two sermons, the theme of each being closely allied
+to the economic problems studied the day previously.
+The ministers are reported to have co&#246;perated
+enthusiastically in this work, each one attempting
+in his sermon to show how better economic life
+may be made contributive to a better religious
+life.</p>
+
+<p>On the Monday following, the program was continued
+with a farmers&#8217; institute representative of the
+several interests of the adults and the young people.
+At this Monday meeting a number of the faculty
+of the state university were in attendance and gave
+helpful addresses appropriate to the occasion. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+night the County Superintendent gave an illustrated
+lecture, using the stereopticon to show the audience
+just what was being done in the various parts of
+the county and country by way of improvement of
+the social and economic conditions.</p>
+
+<p>In many places in the New England and other
+eastern states the rural communities are attacking
+the social-religious problems in practically the same
+manner as is being done at Plainfield, Illinois. At
+Danbury, New Hampshire, there is a Country Settlement
+Association, which is accomplishing some
+epoch-making things. At the official building there
+is provided a trained nurse to assist the entire
+community. The organization conducts social-betterment
+work for the local neighborhood and
+leads in a campaign for social reform throughout
+the state.</p>
+
+<p>Likewise, at Lincoln, Vermont, there is an interesting
+example of co&#246;peration between the religious
+and social interests. Three churches have
+formed a federated society. In a building maintained
+in common by them, the meetings of the
+Ladies&#8217; Aid Society, the Good Templars, the
+Grange, the Grand Army Post, and many others
+of a social nature are held. Such co&#246;perative work
+is certain to have a helpful and far-reaching effect
+on any community.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate X.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_11" name="Fig_11"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_x.png" width="500" height="323" alt="" title="Plate X" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 11.&mdash;An illustration of &#8220;Corn Sunday,"&#8221; as instituted by Superintendent Jessie Field,
+Clarinda, Iowa, in the rural churches thereabout.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Spiritualize child life</span></h4>
+
+<p>Above all things else, let the country church be
+reorganized with reference to the interests of the
+young. Let the minister and the other leaders take a
+firm stand for a square deal for the farm boys and
+girls in respect to work and play and sociability.
+Let them place before country parents clear, concrete
+models and methods as to how to accord fair treatment
+to the children in every particular thing. Let
+them organize the young people of the community
+into groups for play and sociability and direct them
+in both of these matters.</p>
+
+<p>It is high time we were considering all of our legitimate
+interests as a part of our religion. Indeed,
+there is no good reason why the young people could
+not meet together at the rural church and on the
+same evening have an oyster supper and a prayer
+meeting. They could very consistently discuss and
+participate in both a temporal and a spiritual affair
+on the same occasion and in such a way that each
+part of the program would be vitalized by the others.
+And likewise the smaller children. It should not be
+considered at all irreverent for one to go directly
+with them to the playground after the Sunday school
+lesson is ended and there lead and direct them in their
+health-giving enjoyments. Try this in your rural-church
+society centers and see if the boys and girls
+do not run with great enthusiasm to the whole affair.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>One great error committed by many of us in the
+past is that of regarding work and things as arbitrarily
+high or low. But the author does not see
+why plowing corn may not be made just as sacred
+and just as divine a calling as preaching the gospel,
+provided the former be regarded in the light of service
+of some high spiritual purpose; as indeed it may
+be. So, here is a distinctive part of the function of
+the rural church; namely, to spiritualize work as well
+as workers&mdash;to urge upon the attention of the rural
+inhabitants the thought that their work must all
+be regarded as a means to the transformation of the
+community life and of each individual life into a
+thing of transcendent worth and beauty.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A summary</span></h4>
+
+<p>Now, here is the proposed plan in a nutshell.
+The country community is the best place in the world
+for bringing up a sturdy race of men and women and
+the country church is or can be made one of the
+greatest agencies in the achievement of this work.
+But such achievement can best be brought about
+only when the country church goes to work to save
+the whole boy and the whole girl. And that means
+that the church must understand better how human
+life grows up&mdash;that it must meet these growing boys
+and girls on their own level of everyday interest and
+socialize and spiritualize these interests through close
+contact with them. Then, make the rural church a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>
+social center for the young, including exercises in
+work and play and recreation, as well as a place for
+religious instruction. The child is a creature of
+activity and not of passivity. You cannot preach
+him into the kingdom in a lifetime; but you can get
+down with him and work with him and play with him
+and guide and direct him through his self-chosen,
+everyday interests, to the end that he may afterwards
+enter the ranks of the Lord&#8217;s anointed.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it is urged, make your country church a
+center for the entire life of the community. Not
+only have the adults bring their practical affairs to
+this center for consideration, but have the boys and
+girls come with their implements of work and play,
+with their specimens of farm and home produce
+and handiwork, with their miniature menageries and
+workshops&mdash;all this with joy and reverence before
+and after the religious services.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Efficient Democracy. W. H. Allen. Chapter X. &#8220;Efficiency in Religious
+Work.&#8221; Dodd, Mead &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>Rural Christendom. Charles Roads. Prize Essay. American Sunday-School
+Union, Philadelphia.</p>
+
+<p>Report of the Commission on Country Life, pp. 137-144, Sturgis-Walton
+Co.</p>
+
+<p>The Country Church and the Library. John Cotton Dana. <i>Outlook</i>,
+May 6, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Country Church and the Rural Problem. Kenyon L. Butterfield.
+University of Chicago Press. A strong presentation of the entire
+situation.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+<p>The Rural Church and Community Development. President Kenyon L.
+Butterfield. The Association Press, New York. A collection of
+practical papers and discussions on several important topics.</p>
+
+<p>The Day of the Country Church. J. O. Ashenhurst. Funk &amp; Wagnalls
+Co., New York. Read especially the excellent chapter on &#8220;Leadership."&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The Church and the Rural Community. Symposium. <i>American
+Journal of Sociology.</i> March, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Philanthropy, A Trained Profession. Lewis. Forum, March, 1910.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rural Manhood.</i> The Association Press, New York Monthly. This
+magazine publishes many excellent articles on the Rural Church.</p>
+
+<p>The Inefficient Minister. <i>Literary Digest</i>, April 10, 1909. A report of
+the criticisms of Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, of the Carnegie Foundation,
+and Dr. Henry Aked, of San Francisco.</p>
+
+<p><i>World&#8217;s Work</i>, December, 1910. An interesting account of Reverend
+Matthew McNutt&#8217;s work in building up a country church.</p>
+
+<p>The Country Church. George F. Wells, in Cyclopedia of American
+Agriculture, by L. H. Bailey, volume IV, page 297.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER VIII<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL
+SCHOOL</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>The country districts are slowly waking up to an
+appreciation of the fact that within their bounds lie,
+not only all the elements fundamental to the material
+wealth of the world, but that they also contain in a
+more or less dormant form all the essential factors of
+intellectual and spiritual wealth. The rural school
+is theoretically the best place on earth for the education
+of the child, not only because of its close proximity
+to the sources of material wealth, but because of
+the openness and comparative freedom of its surroundings.
+Then, the country school is especially
+effective as a place of instruction on account of its
+happy relation to work and industry. Too often the
+boys and girls of the town school go unwillingly to
+their class rooms with the feeling that the lessons are
+heavily imposed tasks.</p>
+
+<p>But in the typical country school the pupils are
+young persons who have already experienced much of
+the strain of work and who go somewhat eagerly to
+the schoolroom, because it is in a sense recreative to
+them, and because of their being in a position to see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
+more clearly what substantial training is to mean to
+them in the future. That is to say, a distinctive
+difference between the typical country child and the
+typical city child is this: the former believes that he
+is pursuing the course of instruction in a more voluntary
+spirit and for the sake of his own personal interests
+and up-building, while the latter is inclined
+to feel that he is performing the school tasks for the
+sake of some one else and because of the strict requirements
+of outside force or law.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Radical changes in the view-point and method</span></h4>
+
+<p>But if the theoretic worth of the rural school is
+to be made at all actual, some very radical changes in
+view-point and method must come to pass. First
+of all, we must keep asking the question, What is
+education for? And perhaps we must accept the
+answer that in its best form education serves the
+higher needs and requirements of the life we are
+trying to live to-day. In case of rural teachers and
+parents it has been too common a practice to urge
+the child on in his lesson-getting with the statement,
+or at least the suggestion, that lessons well mastered
+in time furnish a guarantee of a life of comparative
+ease and freedom from heavy toil. The sermonette
+preached to the boy in this situation is too often
+substantially as follows: &#8220;Go on, my boy, master
+your lessons, pass up through the grades, and be
+graduated. Behold So and So, a great captain of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
+wealth, and such and such a one, a great statesman.
+Now, these persons are in a position to take life
+easy. They have wealth to spend for the employment
+of labor and need to do little of such thing
+themselves.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>In other words, the view-point of the school has
+been radically wrong. We have been advancing
+the idea that education enables one to get <i>out of</i>
+work, whereas we should have been urging that
+education of the right sort enables one to get <i>into</i>
+work. That is, it means enlarged capacity for work
+and service and proportionately enlarged joy and contentment
+in the performance of worthy work of any
+nature whatsoever. Let rural parents once inculcate
+the last-named point of view upon their growing
+boys and girls and the attitude of the latter
+toward the school and its tasks will be likewise radically
+changed.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">All have a right to culture</span></h4>
+
+<p>And then, a second question we need to ask ourselves
+is, Whom is education for? or, What classes
+should have the benefits of it? A close comparison
+of the school ideals of twenty-five years ago with the
+most progressive ones of to-day reveals a surprising
+situation. Without seemingly realizing the fact,
+we continued for generations in this country to tax
+ourselves heavily for the purpose of supporting
+schools almost exclusively in behalf of the so-called<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+professional classes. We said, especially to the growing
+boy: &#8220;Now, if you wish to become a lawyer, a
+physician, a minister, or a teacher, here is your opportunity.
+Pursue this well-arranged course, finish
+it up, and that all at our expense. But if you wish
+to become a farmer, a merchant, a craftsman of any
+sort, then this institution is not at your service.
+We will teach you to read and write and cipher, after
+which you may look out for yourself.&#8221; Thus we were
+taxing the masses for the exclusive education of a
+few classes. To-day the best ideal is a radically
+different one, as it attempts to serve all worthy
+classes and vocations through the school administration.
+It assumes that artisans as well as artists
+and the professional classes have the same inherent
+right to both the practical aid and the direct culture
+which an educational course may furnish.</p>
+
+<p>As a practical result of this new ideal, now rapidly
+advancing throughout the country, we are about to
+have an age of cultured farmers, high-minded stock
+raisers, refined architects and builders, and so on.
+That is, our newest and best educational courses
+are beginning to provide the means and opportunities
+for the education of all worthy classes. So it behooves
+all interested rural parents to turn their best efforts
+toward the transformation and the betterment of the
+country school. Certain specific achievements in
+relation thereto are now being planned for and in
+many instances accomplished. Let every one con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>cerned
+take notice of this situation and join with all
+possible earnestness in the forward movement.</p>
+
+<p>In his instructive monograph entitled &#8220;Changing
+Conceptions of Education,&#8221; Professor E. P. Cubberley
+states the new ideal as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The school is essentially a time- and labor-saving
+device, created&mdash;with us&mdash;by democracy to
+serve democracy&#8217;s needs. To convey to the next
+generation the knowledge and the accumulated experience
+of the past is not its only function. It
+must equally prepare the future citizen for the to-morrow
+of our complex life. The school must grasp
+the significance of its social connections and relations,
+and must come to realize that its real worth
+and its hope of adequate reward lie in its social
+efficiency. There are many reasons for believing
+that this change is taking place rapidly at present,
+and that an educational sociology, needed as much
+by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is
+now in the process of being formulated for our use.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work for a longer term</span></h4>
+
+<p>One of the first steps toward a more helpful schooling
+for the country youth is that of lengthening the
+yearly school term. In many thousands of instances,
+the country school is conducted for only three to five
+months during the year, and even this short term is
+indifferently attended. But the actual length of the
+year should be seven months or more. Many of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+country districts can easily provide for eight months.
+The farmer should not concern himself about a small
+additional tax, but should have in mind rather the
+larger additional gain to the well-being of the young
+in the community. If the local tax be not sufficient
+for supporting a longer term and a better school,
+then seek to have laws authorizing the distribution
+of state aid to the weaker districts. This law has
+been actually passed in a number of the commonwealths.
+The act in the usual case provides a general
+school fund out of which the deficit for the smaller
+rural districts may be made up.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Compulsory attendance laws needed</span></h4>
+
+<p>The far-seeing country dweller will be glad to join
+in a movement in behalf of compulsory attendance at
+the public schools. Already a number of states have
+enacted fairly good laws on this subject, but some
+of them allow &#8220;loopholes&#8221; providing for the too
+easy avoidance of their requirements. Perhaps the
+best and most effective type of law of this class is
+that which requires the child under fourteen years of
+age to attend the entire term of the public schools,
+allowing for his absence only in case of sickness or in
+cases where it is shown upon investigation and beyond
+question that he is the main support and breadwinner
+of a family.</p>
+
+<p>In connection with the legal requirements for compulsory
+attendance, there must, of course, be provi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>sion
+for the truant. Truant officers, who may be required
+to serve only part time and who may receive
+pay for actual services, are set over specified districts
+and required to bring in all truant school
+children. Although this compulsory attendance law
+has been in force only a few years, reports show an
+almost unanimous belief in its effectiveness. The
+reader will understand the justification of such a
+law to be this; namely, the inherent right of the
+child to be educated whether he may appreciate such
+right or advantage or not, and the implied right of the
+community to have his best service as a well-educated
+member of society. The effects upon crime and
+criminality of the neglect of the education of the
+young have been so thoroughly discussed of late as
+to require no restatement here.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Better schoolhouses and equipment</span></h4>
+
+<p>A survey of the entire country from one side to
+another reveals a deplorable state of affairs in respect
+to the conditions of the typical rural schoolhouse.
+In thousands of cases, there is nothing more than a
+dingy, little, old one-room building, scarcely suitable
+as a place wherein to shelter chickens or pigs, and
+with nothing in the surroundings to suggest or even
+hint at a place where young minds are taught how to
+aim at the high things of life. Now, these crude
+structures were once a necessity. In pioneer days
+the little, old box schoolhouse, or even the sod<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
+structure, served a mighty purpose in the transformation
+of the plains and the wilderness. But times are
+now radically changed. The wealth of the country
+is abundant. Improvements of nearly every other
+sort have gone on as the times advanced. But too
+often the little, old cheap schoolhouse on the bleak
+country slope became a fixed habit. In setting
+forth plans for a newer and better country school
+building, the author cannot improve upon those
+prepared by E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent
+of Public Instruction in Kansas, and published in his
+Seventeenth Biennial Report. We therefore quote
+as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Location.</i>&mdash;&#8220;In selecting a site for a school
+building, the questions of drainage, convenience,
+beauty of surroundings, and accessibility should
+have prime consideration. Select, if possible, some
+plat of ground slightly elevated, and of which the
+surface may be properly drained and kept free from
+mud. It should be especially seen to that water
+may not stand under the building. If the elevation
+is not sufficient, this trouble should be overcome by
+proper filling in beneath the building. The location
+should be as nearly as possible central with reference
+to the pupils of the district. But other things
+should also be considered. It is better that some
+pupils should be put to a slight disadvantage than
+that attractiveness of surroundings, remoteness
+from environment likely to interfere with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
+work of the school, or other essentials, should be
+sacrificed.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_12" name="Fig_12"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xi_fig_12.png" width="500" height="357" alt="" title="Plate XI Fig. 12" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 12.&mdash;A cozy little country schoolhouse in the tall, picturesque
+woods of California.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_13" name="Fig_13"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xi_fig_13.png" width="500" height="348" alt="" title="Plate XI Fig. 13" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 13.&mdash;This model country school building, planned by State
+Superintendent E. T. Fairchild, of Kansas, is being copied in
+many places.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>2. <i>The water supply.</i>&mdash;The purity of the water
+supply for the school is no less important from the
+standpoint of health than that of the air supply.
+The greatest danger lies in the use of water taken from
+wells that are used only a portion of the year. Such
+water is certain to become stagnant. In the autumn
+before the term commences special care should be
+taken to pump all water out of the well and to clean
+the same if necessary; thereby much sickness may
+be avoided. The well, of course, should be so located
+as to avoid any contamination owing to vaults
+or drains.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Size and adaptation of grounds.</i>&mdash;The school
+grounds should contain at least three acres, and five
+acres would not be too much. While the cities are
+cramped for playgrounds and purchase them only at
+a high cost, the latter can be secured in the country
+in sufficient size and at a relatively small expense.
+Let it be kept constantly in mind that the school
+grounds should be adapted for play, that they should
+afford a protection from winds, and that they should
+also be attractive. They should likewise be adapted
+for school gardening and experiments in agriculture.
+For the purpose of play, the breadth should exceed
+the depth where there are separate grounds for boys
+and girls. Where the playground is large, the building
+should be centrally located with relation to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
+size of the grounds and should be situated well toward
+the front. This will provide two fair-sized and well-proportioned
+playgrounds. Where the grounds are
+small and contain but one acre, symmetry must yield
+to utility and the building should be located well
+to the front and to one side, so as to leave one well-arranged
+playground.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>Improvement of school grounds.</i>&mdash;In writing
+of the value of well-arranged school grounds, Professor
+Albert Dickens of the Kansas State Agricultural
+College says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This sermon on school ground improvement is
+one that I have tried to preach for some time. In
+my judgment, it is the most important and the most
+difficult of any of the problems in civic improvement.
+The average country cemetery is sorrowfully neglected,
+as a rule, but its treatment is careful and generous
+compared with the school grounds of the average
+country district. Some day we shall realize that all
+these factors of environment are formative influences,
+and shall not wonder that the character formed in
+surroundings devoid of beauty has hard, coarse, and
+cruel lines in its make-up.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is an easy matter to picture an ideal country
+school&mdash;its clean-swept walk to the road, its ample
+playground, its windbreak of evergreens, its groups
+of hard- and soft-wood species, borders of shrubs and
+beds of bulbs for early spring and perennials for
+summer and fall. But to get it&mdash;to find some way to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+overcome the serious obstacles&mdash;is worthy the attention
+of statesmen and club women.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Nearly every district has made an attempt.
+That is one of the hard things to forget&mdash;one of the
+reasons so many districts fear to try again. They
+had a spasm of civic righteousness&mdash;an Arbor Day
+revival&mdash;and every patron dug a hole in the hard,
+dry ground; every child brought a tree, some of
+which were carried for miles with the roots exposed
+to sun and wind&mdash;and then they were planted and,
+in some cases, watered for the summer; and the
+days grew warm and the weeds grew high; and by
+the next fall the two or three trees yet alive were not
+noticed when the director went over with his mower
+the Friday before school opened; and so ended that
+attempt at a schoolyard beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It ought to be possible to convince the patrons of
+every district that a single acre of land is not sufficient
+ground upon which to grow big, bright, broad-minded
+boys and girls; that two, or three, or four
+acres of land, well planned as to baseball diamond,
+basketball court and a good free run for dare-base and
+pull-away&mdash;that such would give the state and the
+world better results than if the land were devoted to
+corn and alfalfa. This, I believe, is the first problem
+of great magnitude&mdash;to get the ground&mdash;and it
+must be considered. Children must play. The noon
+hour, when they eat for five minutes and play
+fifty-five minutes, is all-important in a child&#8217;s life.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>In order to carry out the suggestions given by
+Professor Dickens, why not organize a general rally,
+perhaps on the occasion of Arbor Day, and all hands
+join in preparing and planting the school grounds to
+suitable shade trees, shrubs, and the like? The playgrounds
+could also be laid out and equipped on this
+occasion. Then, after this excellent start has been
+made, have the school board appoint some reliable
+man as caretaker of the grounds with payment of
+reasonable wages for what he does. Thus the good
+beginning will not be lost.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A model rural school</span></h4>
+
+<p>The State Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri,
+has built and equipped a model rural school for use in
+practical demonstration work. President John R.
+Kirk gives a detailed description of this building in
+<i>Successful Farming</i> (April, 1911) as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This schoolhouse has three principal floors. The
+basement and main floor are the same size, 28 &times; 36
+feet, outside measurement. The basement measures
+8 feet from floor to ceiling. Its floor is of concrete,
+underlaid with porous tile and cinders. The basement
+walls are of rock and concrete, protected by
+drain tile on outside. The basement has eight compartments.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_14" name="Fig_14"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xii.png" width="500" height="332" alt="" title="Plate XII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 14.&mdash;The model rural school building, as constructed for practice and demonstration work at
+the Kirkville (Missouri) Normal School.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;1. Furnace room, containing furnace inclosed by
+galvanized iron, also double cold air duct with electric
+fan, also gas water heater.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>&#8220;2. Coal bin, 6 &times; 8 feet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;3. Bulb or plant room, 3 &times; 8 feet, for fall, winter,
+and spring storage.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;4. Darkroom, 4 &times; 8 feet, for children&#8217;s experiments
+in photography.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;5. Laundry room, 5 &times; 21 feet, with tubs, drain, and
+drying apparatus.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;6. Gymnasium or play room, 13 &times; 23 feet.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;7. Tank room containing a 400-gallon pneumatic
+pressure tank, storage battery for electricity, hand
+pump for emergencies, water gauge, sewer pipes,
+floor drain, etc.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;8. Engine room, containing gasoline engine, water
+pump, electrical generator, switchboard, water tank
+for cooling gasoline engine, weight for gas pressure,
+gas mixer, batteries, pipes, wires, etc.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The pumps lift water from a well into pressure
+tank through pipes below the frost line. Gasoline is
+admitted through pipes below the frost line from two
+50-gallon tanks underground, 30 feet from building.
+All rooms are wired for electricity and plumbed for
+gas. The basement is thoroughly ventilated.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The main floor contains a school room 22 &times; 27 feet
+in the clear, lighted wholly from the north side. A
+ground glass in the rear admits sunlight for sanitation.
+Schoolroom has adjustable seats and desks,
+telephone, and teachers&#8217; desk. Stereopticon is hung
+in wall at rear. Alcove or closet on east side for
+books, teachers&#8217; wraps, etc. Schoolroom has a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
+small organ, ample book cases, shelves, and apparatus.
+Pure air enters from above children&#8217;s heads
+and passes out at floor into ventilating stack through
+fireplace.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Main floor has two toilet rooms, each of these
+having lavatories, wash bowl with hot and cold water,
+pressure tank for hot water and for heat, shower
+bath with hot and cold water, ventilating apparatus,
+looking glass, towel rack, soap box, etc. Each
+toilet room is reached by a circuitous passageway
+furnishing room for children&#8217;s wraps, overshoes,
+etc. The scheme secures absolute privacy in toilet
+rooms. All toilet room walls contain air chambers
+to deaden sound. The toilet rooms are clean, decent,
+and beautiful. They are never disfigured with vile
+language or other defacement.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;All rural schoolhouses with the comb of the
+roof running one way have attics, but the attic of this
+rural school is the first one and the only one that has
+been well utilized. This attic is 15 &times; 35 feet, inside
+measurement, all in one room; distance from floor
+to ceiling 7&#189; feet in the middle part. It is abundantly
+lighted through gable lights and roof lights.
+It contains modern manual-training benches for use
+of eight or ten children at one time, a gas range and
+other apparatus for experimental cooking. It is
+furnished with both gas and electric light. It has a
+wash bowl with hot and cold water, looking glass,
+towels, etc. It has a large typical kitchen sink and a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>drinking fountain, but no drinking cup, either common
+or uncommon. It has cupboards, boxes, and receptacles
+for various experiments in home economics.
+It has a disinfecting apparatus, a portable agricultural-chemistry
+laboratory and numerous other equipments.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XIII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_15" name="Fig_15"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xiii.png" width="500" height="327" alt="" title="Plate XIII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 15.&mdash;A rear view of the model rural school building at the Kirkville Normal.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;A rural school can be built here from beginning to
+completion with all the above-mentioned equipments
+of every kind, including furniture, for $2250. The
+heating and ventilating apparatus, the pressure
+tanks, gasoline engine, water pumps, dynamo, furnace,
+etc., can all be easily adapted to a two-room
+model, a three-room school, or a six-room school by
+having each fixture slightly larger.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;This model therefore solves the schoolbuilding
+question for villages, towns, and consolidated rural
+schools.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The Cornell schoolhouse</span></h4>
+
+<p>An attractive rural schoolhouse was erected some
+years ago at the New York State College of Agriculture,
+to serve as a suggestion architecturally and
+otherwise to rural districts. It is a one-teacher building,
+and yet allows for the introduction of the new
+methods of teaching. It is a wooden building, with
+cement stucco interior, heated with hot-air furnace,
+and with two water toilets attached. The total cost
+was about $2000. The College writes as follows of
+the house:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>&#8220;The prevailing rural schoolhouse is a building in
+which pupils sit to study books. It ought to be a
+room in which pupils do personal work with both
+hands and mind. The essential feature of this new
+schoolhouse, therefore, is a workroom. This room
+occupies one-third of the floor space. Perhaps it
+would be better if it occupied two-thirds of the floor
+space. If the building is large enough, however, the
+two kinds of work could change places in this schoolhouse.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The building is designed for twenty-five pupils
+in the main room. The folding doors and windows
+in the partition enable one teacher to manage both
+rooms.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It has been the purpose to make the main part
+of the building about the size of the average rural
+schoolhouse, and then to add the workroom as a
+wing or projection. Such a room could be added to
+existing school buildings; or, in districts in which
+the building is now too large, one part of the room
+could be partitioned off as a workroom.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is the purpose, also, to make this building
+artistic, attractive, and homelike to children, sanitary,
+comfortable, and durable. The cement-plaster
+exterior is handsomer and warmer than wood, and
+on expanded metal lath it is durable. The interior
+of this building is very attractive. Nearly any rural
+schoolhouse can secure a water-supply and instal
+toilets as part of the school building.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>&#8220;The openings between schoolroom and workroom
+are fitted with glazed swing sash and folding doors,
+so that the rooms may be used either singly or
+together, as desired.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The workroom has a bay-window facing south
+and filled with shelves for plants. Slate blackboards
+of standard school heights fill the spaces about the
+rooms between doors and windows. The building is
+heated by hot air; vent flues of adequate sizes are
+also provided so that the rooms are ventilated.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;On the front of the building, and adding materially
+to its picturesque appearance, is a roomy
+veranda with simple square posts, from which
+entrance is made directly into the combined vestibule
+and coatroom and from this again by two doors
+into the schoolroom.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Help make a school play ground</span></h4>
+
+<p>Throughout the entire country there is at last rising
+a wave of enthusiasm in behalf of affording the
+child a better means of play. First the cities took
+the matter up, then the towns, and now the country
+districts are beginning to do their part. The farmer
+and his wife should feel an interest in such a matter,
+for they can render no better service to their community
+than that of joining the district teacher in an
+effort to equip the school grounds with play apparatus.
+As a suggestive outline of what materials to procure,
+the dimensions and cost of the same, there is given<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+below the equipment worked out by certain officials
+in Colorado and described briefly in Superintendent
+Fairchild&#8217;s report, as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A turning pole for boys may be made by setting
+two posts in the ground, six or eight feet apart, and
+running a 1 or 1&#188; inch gas pipe through holes bored
+in the tops of the posts. The cost of such a piece of
+apparatus should be as follows, assuming that the
+necessary work will be done by the teachers and boys:
+Two posts, 4&#8243; &times; 4&#8243;, 8 ft. long, 50 cents; one piece
+gas pipe, 8 ft. long, 15 cents.</p>
+
+<p>Teeter boards may be made by planting posts ten
+or twelve feet apart, and placing a pole or a rounded
+6 &times; 6 on top of them, and then placing boards, upon
+which the children may teeter. Individual teeter
+boards may be made by placing a 2 &times; 8 board in the
+ground, and fastening the teeter board to it by means
+of iron braces placed on each side of the upright piece.
+The cost of the above apparatus would be, for several
+teeters: Two upright posts, 6&#8243; &times; 6&#8243;, 5 ft. long, 93
+cents; one piece, 6&#8243; &times; 6&#8243;, 12 ft. long, $1.22; four
+teeter boards, 2&#8243; &times; 8&#8243;, 14 ft. long, $2.50. For individual
+teeter: One piece 2&#8243; &times; 8&#8243;, 16 ft. long, 56
+cents&mdash;to make upright piece 4 ft. long and teeter
+board 12 ft. long; two iron braces and four large
+screws, 25 cents.</p>
+
+<p>A very attractive and desirable piece of apparatus
+may be made as follows: Secure a pole about ten or
+fifteen feet long. To the small end attach by the use of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
+bolts one end of a wagon axle, spindle up. Upon the
+spindle place a wagon wheel, and to the wheel attach
+ropes, about as long as the pole. Place the big end
+of the pole in the ground three or four feet, and brace
+it from the four points of the compass. The ropes
+will hang down from the wheel in such a way that the
+children may take hold of them, swing, jump, and
+run around the pole. The one described was rather
+inexpensive. A telephone company donated a discarded
+pole, a farmer a discarded wagon wheel and
+axle. The only expense was that of paying a blacksmith
+for attaching the wheel to the pole and the
+cost of the ropes&mdash;about $2. It furnished one of
+the most attractive pieces of apparatus on the playground.</p>
+
+<p>An inexpensive swing may be constructed by placing
+four 4 &times; 4&#8217;s in the ground in a slanting position,
+two being opposite each other and meeting at the top
+in such a way as to form a fork. The pairs may be
+ten or twelve feet apart, and a pole or heavy galvanized
+pipe, to which swings may be attached,
+wired, nailed, or bolted to the crotches formed by the
+pieces placed in the ground. The cost of this apparatus
+will be: Four pieces, 4&#8243; &times; 4&#8243;, 14 ft. long,
+$1.25, one piece galvanized pipe, 3&#8243;, 12 ft. long, $2.50.</p>
+
+<p>Boards of education could well afford to purchase
+one or more basketballs, and a few baseballs and bats
+for the boys. These things more than pay for themselves
+in the added interest which boys and girls who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+have them take in the school. For much of the
+apparatus suggested above the wide-awake board of
+education and teacher will see opportunities to use
+material less expensive than that suggested. And
+to such persons many pieces of apparatus not specified
+here will suggest themselves to fit particular needs
+and opportunities.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">General instruction in agriculture</span></h4>
+
+<p>A great fault with the district schools has been an
+inclination to think that anything close at hand is
+too mean and common to be considered as subject
+matter for instruction. The thought has usually
+been that the school would prepare the learner for
+some brilliant calling away off where things are
+better and life is easier and more beautiful. As a
+result, the country schools have been educating boys
+and girls away from the farm. The new method is
+that of educating them to appreciate what is under
+their feet and all around them, through an intimate
+knowledge of the processes of nature and industry
+as carried on in their midst.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XIV.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_16" name="Fig_16"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xiv.png" width="500" height="314" alt="" title="Plate XIV" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 16.&mdash;Using the Babcock milk-tester in a New York school.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One of the more direct means of educating the
+boys and girls for a happy, contented life on the
+farm is to teach them while young the rudiments of
+agriculture. This method is now actually being put
+into practice in thousands of the rural schools. The
+state of Kansas recently enacted a law requiring all
+candidates for teachers&#8217; certificates to pass a test in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>the elements of agriculture and also requiring that
+the rudiments of this subject be taught in every district
+school. Other states have similar laws. As a
+result of this and like provisions, there is now a tremendous
+awakening in the direction named. The
+boys and girls in the country schools are finding
+new meaning and a new interest in the fields and
+farms upon which they are growing up.</p>
+
+<p>It is a comparatively simple matter, that of
+teaching the young how the plant germinates and
+grows, how the seed is produced, and how farm crops
+are cared for and harvested. Likewise, it is easy to
+describe the elements of the various types of soil and
+to show how these elements contribute to the life
+and growth of the plant. The questions of moisture
+in its relation to plant life, of insects harmful and
+helpful to growing crops and animals, of the bird life
+as related in its economic aspects to farming&mdash;all
+such matters can be easily taught to children by the
+young-woman school teacher. It is only necessary
+for the latter to take an elementary course of instruction
+herself, to read a number of collateral texts,
+and to get into the spirit of the undertaking. In a
+similar manner, instruction in regard to farm animals
+may be given, the emphasis being placed upon the
+consideration of the types of live stock actually raised
+and marketed in the home neighborhood.</p>
+
+<p>It must be emphasized that these matters relating
+to elementary agriculture and animal husbandry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
+can be made just as interesting and quite as cultural
+as any of the subjects in the general curriculum of the
+schools. Wherefore, the rural dweller who catches
+the spirit of such instruction should lead out in the
+securing of public measures and public improvements
+looking toward an early embodiment of these
+new subjects within the prescribed course of study.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Domestic economy and home sanitation</span></h4>
+
+<p>The time is now at hand when the district school
+failing to give any attention to practical household
+affairs is to be classed as out of date and unprogressive.
+Well-written texts and pamphlets covering the home-keeping
+subjects are now both available and cheap,
+so that the excuse for deferring their use is approaching
+the zero point.</p>
+
+<p>Of course it is impracticable as yet to have apparatus
+for cooking and sewing installed in the one-teacher
+district school, but the bare rudiments of
+these subjects may nevertheless be taught with the
+expectation that home practice may be thereby
+improved and better understood. Perhaps the
+most practical method of present procedure is that
+of organizing an independent class of the girls of
+suitable age and meeting them informally. The
+texts and pamphlets furnished by the college extension
+departments may be followed. In case of
+graded and high school courses this work should by all
+means be carried on as a regular class exercise.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>Home sanitation may easily and profitably be
+taught in the district school, even though only one
+or two periods per week be set apart for the purpose.
+Perhaps the best method of instruction is that of
+presenting carefully one specific lesson at a time.
+For example, pure drinking water, clean milk, food
+contamination by house flies may be treated each
+in its turn. Adequate charts and illustrations should
+be brought into service.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Consolidation of rural schools</span></h4>
+
+<p>There is much agitation nowadays in regard to
+consolidating the rural schools. Although present
+progress is slow, it seems comparatively certain that
+the one-teacher rural school is destined in time to become
+a thing of the past. However, there is no particular
+haste in the matter, provided some such plans
+as the foregoing be put into effect in case of the
+single school. Perhaps the sparsely settled district
+has the greatest justification for looking toward consolidation.
+It happens that there are thousands of
+small schools having an attendance of from five to
+ten pupils. In such an instance, it is practically impossible
+to do the best work, the children lacking the
+spur of rivalry and enthusiasm and the helpful lessons
+in social ethics offered only by the larger massing
+of the young at play.</p>
+
+<p>In many places, three or four rural districts are
+uniting in this movement, the general plan being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
+that of constructing a central building with ample
+working space for all, and then transporting the
+children to and from the school. The scheme is
+working well as a rule. Among the great advantages
+is that of a possible grading of the school so that
+the teacher may have time for each subject and more
+opportunity for specialization. Perhaps the most
+serious and difficult part of the plan is that of providing
+a safe and suitable means of conveyance to and
+from the school. Some excellent patterns of school
+wagons are already on the market, while manufacturers
+are constantly at work improving them. So
+we may expect better results as time goes on. It
+has already been shown very satisfactorily that the
+conveyance, when in charge of a well-trained driver,
+furnishes improved moral and physical safeguards for
+the child.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">More high schools needed</span></h4>
+
+<p>Not only every county, but also every rural
+township, should have its well-equipped high school.
+It is a serious matter to send boys and girls in their
+middle teens away to college. Many lives are thus
+more or less ruined simply from too early loss of
+the personal restraints and influence of the parents.
+But with a first-class high school in easy reach
+the young people may at least return home for the
+Saturday-Sunday recess and thereby continue in the
+close councils of their parents. And then, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>
+rightly-managed high school will bring the student
+into closer touch with the local rural problems that
+may not be possible in case of the distant institution.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XV.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 383px;">
+<a id="Fig_17" name="Fig_17"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xv.png" width="383" height="500" alt="" title="Plate XV" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Figs.</span> 17-21.&mdash;This magnificent consolidated school in Winnebago
+County, Illinois, was inspired by the excellent work of the well-known
+Superintendent O. J. Kern. The four little one-room
+buildings illustrated above gave way to it.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the location of high schools intended to serve the
+rural interests there should be an effort to keep away
+from the towns and cities. In the latter places the
+allurements of the cheap theater and the snobbery
+that often invades the city high school are illustrations
+of the evils that serve to entice the young away
+from the substantial things of life. A good county
+or township high school located centrally and in
+the open country is ideal. At such a location it is
+vastly easier than in the city to center the attention
+of the students upon the rural problems, not to
+mention the greater availability of demonstrations
+on farm and garden plots.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Better rural teachers needed</span></h4>
+
+<p>The ideal preparation for a teacher in the rural
+school is a complete course in a first-class agricultural
+college, with the inclusion of a few terms&#8217; work in
+the educational subjects. So long as we send into
+the district schools young teachers who have been
+taught merely in the common text-book branches,
+and whose training has been exclusively pedagogical,
+the practice of educating the boys and girls away from
+the farm will go on. The country school is, in its best
+sense, an industrial school; and only those teachers
+can do best work therein who have had the personal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+experience in industrial training and the changed
+point of view which only the agricultural college
+can give. So if the board of trustees in any rural
+district really wishes to unite in supporting an effective
+back-to-the-farm movement, let them offer to
+some country-reared graduate of the agricultural
+college a salary of about twice or three times the
+amount usually paid. After a few terms of school
+taught by such a person, the good effects on the
+rural uplift will most certainly reveal themselves.
+But so long as school trustees continue to try to
+drive a sharp bargain in the employment of teachers&mdash;securing
+the one with the passable county certificate
+who will teach for the least wages&mdash;the
+boys will continue to run off to town for &#8220;jobs&#8221;
+and the parents will continue to &#8220;move to town to
+educate their children.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>There is some hope of a new ideal in relation to
+the country school teacher; namely, that he shall
+be a man in every sense, worthy of a salary large
+enough to support himself and his family the year
+round as residents of the community. Then we
+shall have a profession of teaching in the rural
+school work.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XVI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_22" name="Fig_22"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xvi.png" width="500" height="342" alt="" title="Plate XVI" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 22.&mdash;The Cornell schoolhouse. A one-teacher building, with a workroom or laboratory at one
+side that the teacher can control through the folding doors and glass partitions. Every effort is
+made to render the building and place attractive and homelike.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Annual Report Page County (Iowa) Schools. Miss Jessie Field, Superintendent
+(Clarinda).</p>
+
+<p>The reader who is especially interested in this chapter is urged to become
+acquainted with the splendid work accomplished for the district<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
+schools of Page County, Ia., by Superintendent Jessie Field. As indicated
+by her published annuals, and otherwise, she has led all the other
+young women superintendents in the work of organizing the boys and
+girls into clubs and classes for the study of school gardening, bread
+making, grain propagation, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Report of the Committee on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural
+Communities, of the National Educational Association.</p>
+
+<p>Among Country Schools. O. J. Kern. Ginn &amp; Co. A clear helpful,
+and inspiring text.</p>
+
+<p>The American Rural School. H. W. Foght. Macmillan. Covers the
+entire subject carefully.</p>
+
+<p>The School and Society. John Dewey. McClure, Phillips &amp; Co., New
+York.</p>
+
+<p>The School and its Life. Charles D. Gilbert. Chapter XXII, &#8220;Home
+and School.&#8221; McClurg.</p>
+
+<p>Efficient Democracy, Wm. H. Allen. Chapter VII, &#8220;School Efficiency.&#8221;
+Dodd, Mead &amp; Co. A most helpful and stimulating volume.</p>
+
+<p>The School as a Social Institution. Henry Suzzallo. Monograph.
+Houghton Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>Wider Use of the School Plant, Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter VI,
+&#8220;School Playgrounds.&#8221; Charities Publication Committee, New
+York.</p>
+
+<p>Education in the Country for the Country. J. W. Zeller. Annual Volume
+N.E.A., 1910, p. 245.</p>
+
+<p>Teachers for the Rural Schools; Kind Wanted; How to secure Them.
+L. J. Alleman. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 280.</p>
+
+<p>The State Board of Health of Maine (Augusta) issues a series of practical
+pamphlets on health and sanitation in the school and the home.</p>
+
+<p>The Most Practical Industrial Education for the Country Child.
+Superintendent O. J. Kern. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1905, p. 198.</p>
+
+<p>Among School Gardens. M. Louise Green, Ph.D. Charities Publication
+Committee, New York.</p>
+
+<p>A Model Rural School House. Henry S. Curtis. Educational Foundations,
+April, 1911. A. S. Barnes &amp; Co. Dr. Curtis is a national
+authority on the question of the school playground.</p>
+
+<p>Education for Efficiency. E. Davenport. D. C. Heath. A most able
+plea for making the schools serve every worthy interest.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+<p>Changing Conceptions of Education. E. P. Cubberly. Monograph.
+Houghton Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>Methods of conducting Book and Demonstration Work in teaching
+Elementary Agriculture. O. H. Benson. Bureau of Plant Industry,
+Washington, D.C. An excellent guide.</p>
+
+<p>Report of Committee to investigate Rural School Conditions. Superintendent
+E T. Fairchild and others. Address the Secretary N.E.A.,
+Winona, Minn.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER IX<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN&#8217;S CHRISTIAN
+ASSOCIATION</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Among the movements of first importance looking
+toward the uplift of young men is that named at the
+head of this chapter. Parallel with the intensive
+and systematic effort to build up the commercial
+life of the city and allow the country district to
+take care of itself, has been a like effort to provide for
+the care and development of the city boy and the
+uniform neglect of the needs and interests of the
+country boy. Now, here at last is a movement
+that is proving a real means of salvation of the rural
+youth, mind, body, and soul.</p>
+
+<p>President Henry J. Waters, of the Kansas State
+Agricultural College, struck the keynote of this
+young country-life movement most effectively in a
+recent address when he said: &#8220;We believe in the
+existence of a social renaissance. One needs only
+to read the daily and weekly papers printed in
+hundreds of prosperous villages and cross roads
+corners, the faithful chroniclers of the community&#8217;s
+activities, to find buoyant hope of the future of
+farm life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>&#8220;The dignity of labor; the close connection
+between heads and hands; the monthly or weekly
+meetings of farmers&#8217; institutes in hundreds of
+counties; the special lectures provided by agricultural
+colleges; the movable schools; the farmers&#8217;
+winter short courses, in which thousands of men and
+women and boys and girls participate; corn contests;
+bread contests; sewing contests; play carnivals;
+poultry-raising contests; stock-raising contests; conferences
+on the country church, country school, good
+roads&mdash;all these activities denote the growth of a
+new and mighty spirit in the country life of America.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We need further demonstrations, together with
+concrete thinking, a lot of constructive programs,
+and a deal of hard work and self-sacrifice, in which
+the county work department of the Young Men&#8217;s
+Christian Association can have no little share, to
+speed on the great epoch of rural social renaissance.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Boys leave the farm too young</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is a tragic story when the whole truth is known,
+that of the young boy running off to town in search of
+some employment that will bring him a little ready
+cash for spending money, and also in search of the
+sociability so woefully lacking in the rural home
+environment. Too long have the country parents
+attempted to argue and scold and force their boys
+to remain at home where they are confronted only
+with the monotony of hard work and a very dim<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
+prospect of a possible land or other property inheritance.
+So at last there is being raised the very important
+questions, What is the matter with the
+country boy? and What can be done to help him?
+Knowledge of the fact that more than one-half of
+the boys of the United States are living in farm
+homes makes the problem of their individual salvation
+assume momentous proportions.</p>
+
+<p>There can be no reasonable thought of holding
+all the boys on the farm. Many of them are best
+fitted by nature to go elsewhere and find suitable
+employment, but there is every good reason for
+preventing the great exodus of immature youths
+who run off to the cities, not knowing what they are
+to face and without any well-defined purpose. Yes,
+the great concerns of the towns and cities must continue
+to call many of the brainiest young men from
+the rural districts. In fact, the country may with
+every good reason be considered the proper breeding
+ground for the virile minds destined to control the
+great affairs of nation, state, and municipality.
+But every reasonable effort must be put forth to
+keep the boy in his country home until his character
+is relatively matured and his plans for a future
+career are fairly well defined.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Purposes of the County Y.M.C.A.</span></h4>
+
+<p>Doubtless the first chief purpose of the county
+association is that of building up the boy&#8217;s character<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+and finally perfecting his spiritual nature. But this
+high aim is not sought in the old-fashioned, direct
+manner. Instead, there is a studied effort to build
+up the boy gradually through the enlistment of
+his natural interests in matters that lie dormant in
+his home environment. The truly scientific method
+in this field is first concerned with providing means
+whereby the boy may work out his own spiritual
+salvation. Along with the farm labors, tedious and
+irksome to him when undertaken as exclusive requirements,
+the country boy is given an opportunity
+to take part in certain athletic and social exercises
+which appeal to his instincts and arouse the spontaneity
+from the depths of his own nature.</p>
+
+<p>In carrying on the country work, an attempt is
+made to approach the boy from the peculiar situations
+of his home environment. What specific readjustments
+are needed in his home life in respect to the
+amount of work required of him? What of the recreation
+he enjoys? The local society in which he
+moves? The home church and Sunday school?
+The temptations that may lie near about him? and so
+on. These and many other such inquiries are made
+with a view to dealing with the boy in an individual
+way and re&#235;stablishing his life for the better.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">How to organize a county association</span></h4>
+
+<p>Unless it may chance that, after a brief survey of
+the field, some person from the outside comes in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+to perfect the organization of the county association,
+any interested person within the limits of the county
+must make the start. Devotion to the cause,
+persistence, and unfailing enthusiasm are perhaps
+the best personal equipment for the local beginner
+of this new work. His first concern should be that
+of gathering a committee of men like himself from
+different parts of the county. Doubtless these will
+form themselves into a sort of brotherhood committee.
+After such temporary organization, the next
+important step is that of securing an able county
+leader.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XVII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_23" name="Fig_23"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xvii.png" width="500" height="349" alt="" title="Plate XVII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 23.&mdash;These Y.M.C.A. members find time for play as well as work. Try a club like this
+as a means of keeping the boy interested in the farm.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>1. <i>Choose a good leader.</i>&mdash;Now, the success of
+the movement is to depend very largely upon the
+character of the leader to be chosen. If the right
+man be selected, no matter how hard the conditions,
+he will be able finally to bring system and
+order and spiritual progress out of it all. The
+important characteristics of the ideal leader of
+country boys are comparatively few. First of all,
+he must, of course, be moved by a sense of devotion
+to the cause of Christianity&mdash;the up-building
+of the characters, especially the spiritual natures,
+of young men. He should be a man who has been
+trained in a good college, if possible a graduate, with
+experience in the Y.M.C.A. and other like organizations.
+He should have had some special
+training in such subjects as psychology, sociology,
+and economics, and should be fairly well versed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+the literature of these subjects. He should be especially
+fond of boys and boy life and interested in
+the conduct of people of every kind and sort. He
+should be somewhat trained in athletics and an enthusiastic
+supporter of clean sports. He should
+have what is known as good business sense. It
+may not be essential, but it will certainly prove
+advantageous, if the chosen leader has himself
+been reared in the country.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Local leaders necessary.</i>&mdash;After the leader has
+been selected, the next step is that of the appointment
+of carefully chosen leaders for the local neighborhoods.
+These may be men of almost any age from
+middle life down, but perhaps the ideal age would be
+that of a few years older than any of the boys of
+the neighborhood. All must be enlisted if possible,
+not one being slighted or offended.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>A committee on finance.</i>&mdash;An able finance
+committee is also of high importance. This should
+consist of men chosen especially for their unusual
+ability as solicitors and persuaders of men in a
+financial way. Let these workers go over the county
+soliciting funds for the organization, providing
+from the first especially that the secretary shall be
+well paid for his services. Close-fisted residents, as
+well as all others, in every nook and corner of the
+territory must be seen and asked to contribute. It
+should be a comparatively easy matter to show men
+who cannot appreciate the social and spiritual needs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+of the boys that the new movement will most certainly
+increase general property values and bring
+up the price of land.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>Little property ownership.</i>&mdash;While new, the
+county organization should guard against attempting
+to own and control any considerable amount of
+property or equipment. Not the material goods
+possessed, but the strength and force of the spiritual
+enthusiasm will have greatest value in carrying on
+the work. It will be found quite satisfactory in
+nearly every case to have the boys meet in some
+farm home, village club room, or country schoolhouse.
+And then, there is always danger of developing
+a Y.M.C.A. too exclusively as a business organization.
+There are many instances in the towns
+and cities where this is deplorably true. The best
+spirit of the work is submerged by the continuous
+hounding of the people in the skirmish for funds to
+keep going the over-heavy business machinery of
+the institution. There often develops, in such
+cases, a large body of men who regard the Y.M.C.A.
+as an organization of loafers and easy-going money
+spenders. Once such sentiment develops, it is desperately
+difficult to eradicate it. So the country
+Y.M.C.A. should preserve the semblance of humility,
+and that partly by getting along with almost no property
+or equipment other than what its own members
+may provide in a crude fashion and what may be
+necessary to furnish the office of the general secretary.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">How to conduct the work</span></h4>
+
+<p>One of the first steps in conducting the new work
+is that of making a survey of the entire county.
+The names, ages, and location of all the boys must
+be secured, together with some items respecting
+their present social and religious affiliations. In
+fact, the more personal items included in the first
+survey, the better. Some boys will at first look
+with disfavor upon the new movement, believing
+that it is merely another scheme to convert them
+to religion and get them into a church. Care must
+be taken to disabuse the boy&#8217;s mind of this thought
+from the very beginning. Therefore, it may be well
+not to try to hustle him into a Bible-study class the
+first time he is invited out. While the main issue,
+namely, that of spiritual development of the boy,
+is not to be forgotten, he must nevertheless be led
+to this goal through the path of many very common
+instrumentalities. A Y.M.C.A. athletic meet would
+most probably prove a better opening number than
+a Bible-study class or merely a religious service. As
+the work proceeds, the occasions for a great variety
+of exercises and programs will present themselves.
+Among these perhaps there would be the following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Local and county athletic clubs.</i>&mdash;The athletic
+event is one of the easiest to put on in a newly
+organized boys&#8217; club. An able leader, perhaps the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
+county secretary, should be present to preside over
+the event, inducing the boys to form a baseball
+club, or a basketball team; or at least to arrange
+for some event in which they can all participate,
+although that may be as simple a thing as swimming
+or jumping. Introduce at once the thought of
+practice and the development of skill, holding out
+the plan of a county organization and a county
+field meet in the future, which all may attend and
+in which the ablest shall have promise of a conspicuous
+part.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Debating and literary clubs.</i>&mdash;There is always
+the possibility of a literary society, provided the thing
+be carefully instituted. The secret of successful
+debates among persons of any class is to find a
+&#8220;burning&#8221; question. So, avoid such matters as
+Tariff Reform and the World Peace Movement
+and come right down home to some perplexing
+problem in the lives of the boys of the club. Something
+about their work, their lack of recreation,
+their chances against those of city boys, and so on,
+will arouse interest and bring out rough debating
+material. Find latent talent of other sorts in the
+club. Some boy can sing; perhaps another can play
+a musical instrument; still another one may be a
+natural-born storyteller; a fourth may be an expert
+acrobat and tree climber; a fifth a shrewd hunter or
+trapper of wild animals. In this way, nearly every
+boy can be led to take part in a general program.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>Thus, while contributing something toward the
+entertainment of all, each boy&#8217;s active participation
+will go far by way of awakening his personal interest
+in the new life.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Receptions and suppers.</i>&mdash;After the boys get
+fairly under way with their club, they may need
+to arrange an oyster supper or some such affair
+at which they will discuss their many mutual problems.
+On some such occasions they may desire
+to invite their parents to come and enjoy the program,
+also to participate in the discussion of their affairs.
+This form of close association will be found especially
+enticing to the boys, giving them a good, clean
+place to go for social enjoyment and something
+to look forward to in their thoughts during the somewhat
+prosaic hours of the day in the field.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>Educational tours and problems.</i>&mdash;The boys
+may find it feasible to go in a body once or twice a
+year on an educational tour&mdash;to the state fair; to
+study some particular thing in the city; to gather
+data for the solution of some local problem; to
+make a study of the habitat of some bird or animal;
+to gather specimens of rocks or plants; and
+so on. In case of any such trip there is not a little
+necessity of some college-trained person as overseer,
+so that the study may be made intensive and not
+become dissipated in mere sport and fun. It is
+usually advisable to make a careful study of only
+one thing at a time.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XVIII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_24" name="Fig_24"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xviii.png" width="500" height="313" alt="" title="Plate XVIII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 24&mdash;A great Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio. Let the boy attend one of these great gatherings if
+possible, and he will return with a year&#8217;s supply of enthusiasm.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>5. <i>Camping and hiking.</i>&mdash;The boys of the county
+should be brought together at least once a year in a
+summer camp. Farmers will soon learn to appreciate
+the value of such things in the life of the boy and will
+gladly allow him a few days&#8217; vacation for the purpose.
+The boy who enjoys such a privilege will more than
+pay it back through the extra amount of work his
+enthusiasm will naturally prompt him to perform.
+For the camp site there should be selected some
+shady woodland with a good stream of water for
+fishing and swimming. A crude lodge may be constructed
+and all the necessary crude camp equipment
+provided. Each boy will want to carry his own
+blanket and extra clothing.</p>
+
+<p>One matter must be considered in all seriousness;
+namely, the sanitation of the camp. Even at the
+outlay of a comparatively heavy expense, the camp
+food supplies, including the dining table, should be
+screened off from flies. The garbage therefore will
+all be scrupulously buried, and it will be ascertained
+with certainty that the drinking water is free from
+disease organisms. Then, the boys may sleep on
+the ground, wallow in the dirt, splash in the water
+and mud as they please and return home in the
+best of health.</p>
+
+<p>6. <i>Exhibitions.</i>&mdash;It has been found practicable
+to have the boys prepare during the season for
+coming together with a county exhibit, including
+a wide variety of things peculiar to their interests.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>This exhibition should be made as a big annual
+event, if possible, such as will attract all manner
+of persons and make friends for the county association.
+In its ideal arrangement the money expense
+will be kept down to a minimum. Also keep out
+the idea of premiums. The contest plan of promotion
+will some day receive its desired consideration
+and lose its place as a means of promoting
+social and spiritual well-being. As a matter of
+fact it fosters much envy, ill-feeling, and bitter strife
+and thus strikes at the root of the good-fellowship
+which you are striving to encourage. <i>But, urge
+every boy to bring something for the sake of the help
+he may contribute and let the honor of this service
+and the approbation of his fellows be his high reward.</i></p>
+
+<p>One boy may come with a mammoth pumpkin;
+another with a device of his own invention for catching
+ground squirrels; still another with a new
+method of tying a knot; another with a bushel
+of highly bred corn; others with farm and garden
+produce of the same attractive nature; others with
+wild grasses, curios, or geological specimens; others
+with the parts of a miniature menagerie. One
+boy may have caught a badger alive; another
+a coyote; another a jack rabbit; another a huge
+turtle. Another may bring a cage of rattlesnakes
+or a box full of snakes of all sorts; another a set of
+original plans and specifications&mdash;for an ideal
+farmhouse, or farm barn and surroundings; for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
+making the well sanitary; for a milk house; for
+keeping flies out of the house or barn; a recipe
+for driving ants and other insects from the house.
+The boys in one family may come with a lot of
+samples of soil, showing how differently each must
+be treated for the same general crop results. Others
+may bring specimens of &#8220;cheat&#8221; and noxious weeds,
+and the like, with a scheme for destroying them.
+Another may have a plan for a patent churn or a
+labor-saving device in the kitchen.</p>
+
+<p>Thus there may be brought to the boys&#8217; fair an
+interesting and most instructive variety of objects,
+plans, and devices, all looking toward the improvement
+of home conditions. Such a gathering as this
+will bring not only the parents and other adults from
+the home county, but great flocks of outsiders
+will also come in and learn and become deeply
+interested in the affairs of the County Young Men&#8217;s
+Christian Association.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Spirituality not lost sight of</span></h4>
+
+<p>It ought to be easy for the average thinker to
+appreciate the fact that all the foregoing rough-and-ready
+work in the lives of the boys can be made a
+practical means of the salvation of their souls as well
+as of their bodies and intellects. Spiritual perfection
+is not reached at a bound. There must be
+much doing of the crude yet worthy things which
+grow naturally out of his inner nature before the boy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
+can finally achieve a degree of spiritual development
+that may prove a permanent and fixed part of his
+adult life. Yes, there will be some Bible study, an
+occasional short prayer, and now and then a real
+sermonette in connection with the work of the organization,
+but much more frequently the Christian
+life and character will come as a sort of discovery in
+the boy&#8217;s life and that through his own conduct.</p>
+
+<p>Through all this wholesome exercise of his better
+and cleaner interests, the youth will gradually be
+led away and kept away from those things which
+contaminate both the body and the spirit and introduce
+the individual to a coarse, debauched life. In
+other words, Christianity will be a thing achieved and
+that through the young man&#8217;s efforts rather than a
+thing instantly caught in some emotional revival
+meeting only gradually to waste away in the months
+immediately following. One well-built specimen of
+Christian manhood&mdash;a character of the sort which
+the ideal work of the County Y.M.C.A. may finally
+construct&mdash;is worth a dozen of those suddenly converted
+men whose secret lives are so often embittered
+with the consciousness of backsliding and following
+ever after the old evil ways.</p>
+
+<p>It will be observed at a glance that in the foregoing
+outline there is an avoidance of the heavier work-a-day
+tasks and problems. It is the thought of the author
+that the boys have quite enough of such labor as it is
+and that the County Y.M.C.A. can do its best serv<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>ice
+if it provides a set of new activities of a more
+recreative sort. The central idea&mdash;second to the
+perfection of his spiritual nature&mdash;is that of giving
+the boy a larger amount of social experience through
+self-training in matters that will bring out his latent
+unselfishness and his self-reliance. The heavier
+problems of an economic sort suitable for discussion
+among the boys and the girls of the country districts
+will have due consideration in another chapter.</p>
+
+<p>In planning the various parts of the county work
+and the club life of the boys, there must be extreme
+care not to arrange for too many and too frequent
+meetings. It is especially to be desired that the
+boy do not acquire the runabout habit, even though
+he may in every case go to a desirable place. Therefore,
+in arranging the programs it will be seen to that
+the meetings are held somewhat infrequently, but
+that on each occasion the meeting be continued
+until some intensive work has been done. For
+example, it would be much preferable to have all or
+a major part of one afternoon and evening of the
+week for the exercises rather than to have brief
+evening meetings a number of times during the week.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work in a sparsely settled country</span></h4>
+
+<p>The following statement will show what was
+achieved during the first year in the Y.M.C.A. of
+Washington County, Kansas, which has a rural
+population of about ten thousand people.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+<p><i>General Statement</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>181 boys enrolled in Bible-study groups, meeting
+weekly.</p>
+
+<p>35 men give time to the supervision and planning
+of the work.</p>
+
+<p>236 boys attended ten boys&#8217; banquets.</p>
+
+<p>51 out-of-town delegates attended the county
+convention.</p>
+
+<p>175 men and boys attended the convention banquet.</p>
+
+<p>161 boys took part in the relay race.</p>
+
+<p>91 men and boys on baseball teams.</p>
+
+<p>24 boys played basketball.</p>
+
+<p>56 men attended 10 leaders&#8217; conferences.</p>
+
+<p>65 men conducted one day financial canvass.</p>
+
+<p>200 boys given physical examination.</p>
+
+<p>26 took part in the annual athletic meet.</p>
+
+<p>13 young men&#8217;s Sundays conducted by secretary.</p>
+
+<p>6000 miles (approx.) traveled by secretary.</p>
+
+<p>283 citizens back of work.</p>
+
+<p><i>Financial Statement</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<div class="center">
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Financial Statement">
+<tr><td align="left">Pledges unpaid from previous year</td><td align="right">$120.25</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Pledges for year</td><td align="right" style="border-bottom: solid 1px;">1568.25</td><td align="right">$1688.50</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="left">Received during year</td><td align="right">1386.15</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Due unpaid pledges</td><td align="right" style="border-bottom: solid 1px;">302.35</td><td align="right">$1688.50</td></tr>
+
+<tr><td align="left">Amount paid</td><td align="right">1352.89</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Due unpaid</td><td align="right">298.00</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
+<tr><td align="left">Available balance</td><td align="right" style="border-bottom: solid 1px;">37.61</td><td align="right">$1688.50</td></tr>
+
+</table></div>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Neighborhood Improvement Clubs. Professor E. L. Holton. Agricultural
+Extension Bulletin, Manhattan, Kan.</p>
+
+<p>Camping for Boys. H. W. Gibson. Association Press, New York.
+Careful directions for camp life.</p>
+
+<p>Training for Boys; Symposium. <i>Harper&#8217;s Bazaar</i>, March, April, August,
+September, November, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Keeping Home Ties from Breaking. E. A. Halsey. <i>World To-day</i>,
+January, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Training Men to work for Men. E. A. Halsey. <i>World To-day</i>, March,
+1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Organization and Administration of Athletics. Dr. Clark W. Hetherington.
+Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907, p. 930.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rural Manhood</i>, issue of June, 1910. Rural Leadership Number.</p>
+
+<p>Social Activities for Men and Boys. Albert M. Chisley. Y.M.C.A.
+Press, New York. A valuable book covering a wide variety of
+activities.</p>
+
+<p><i>Rural Manhood.</i> Henry Israel, editor. 50 cents per year. A most
+valuable exponent of the County Y.M.C.A. work.</p>
+
+<p>The Physical Life of the Boy. Dr. D. G. Wilcox. (Pamphlet.) Address,
+Federated Boys&#8217; Clubs, Boston.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER X<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS
+OF THE YOUNG</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>No less urgent and divine is the call for spiritual
+aid and leadership in the rural districts to-day than
+was that which came to the apostle Paul of old in
+form of a vision and a voice crying, &#8220;Come over
+into Macedonia and help us.&#8221; In the open country
+field, far removed from church or social center, is the
+demand for leaders and directors especially great.
+Men engage for a lifetime in an enthusiastic endeavor
+to amass wealth and to build up great business concerns.
+But the man or woman who heeds the call
+to go forth into the country districts and save the
+bodies and souls of the young&mdash;that person will
+not only experience exceeding great joy and enthusiasm
+in his work, but he will thereby lay up for himself
+in the memories of the redeemed a precious
+treasury of golden deeds.</p>
+
+<p>Country parents as a rule are not in a position to do
+the best things even for their own children, much
+less to go out as leaders of the young at large. They
+are sometimes lacking in the necessary means, more
+frequently too busy, and most frequently not suffi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>ciently
+informed as to be fully awake to the meanings
+and possibilities of any such undertaking. However,
+in nearly every country neighborhood there is a man
+or woman, or both, who possess many of the big
+opportunities for enlisting in the service of the young.
+Those who have no small children of their own to
+care for would naturally be freest to get away from
+the present home duties. Then, some parents having
+children of their own not infrequently catch the
+inspiration and heed the call. At any rate, it is entirely
+fair and reasonable to assume that some one
+of the neighborhood could do it were there the disposition.</p>
+
+<p>As a means of arousing any such persons to attempt
+to do some constructive work among country boys
+and girls, the following detailed suggestions are
+offered. Those who feel at all called to undertake
+this service may be assured that the interest grows
+more intense with time and effort put forth, and that
+the joy of accomplishing something in behalf of the
+young people of one&#8217;s own vicinity is perhaps unsurpassed
+by that of any other type of human endeavor.
+In the discussions to follow we assume that some
+farmer and his wife have heeded this divine call.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Preparation for the service</span></h4>
+
+<p>Since very few are sufficiently versatile to undertake
+any and every kind of social work, perhaps the
+first step is that of choosing a definite line of action.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
+And let the choice be in the direction of the chooser&#8217;s
+leading social interest. As a means of preparation
+for efficient work a brief course of training is to be
+much commended. It may be found practicable to
+slip away from home during the winter months and
+take a farmers&#8217; short course in one of the agricultural
+colleges. Or, one may find the peculiar instruction
+and inspiration needed by attending a convention or
+conference of the ablest leaders representative of the
+work. One of the rural-life conferences now frequently
+held might be found ideal. Go prepared to
+take notes, to ask questions, and especially to obtain
+a large number of literary references.</p>
+
+<p>The use of helpful literature is most important at
+this stage. A magazine which admirably covers this
+particular field is <i>Rural Manhood</i>, published by the
+Association Press, New York City. Then, secure
+the report of the Country Life Commission, and a
+number of the latest works of a similar nature, some
+of which are listed below. Write to the Department
+of Agriculture at Washington for their bulletin on
+the organization of boys&#8217; and girls&#8217; clubs. Also from
+the extension department of the agricultural college
+may be obtained for the asking all available literature
+of this same general class.</p>
+
+<p>Now, make a careful survey of the neighborhood, or
+the larger field, with a view to finding out the specific
+conditions in relation to the chosen line of service.
+Make lists of names and ages of the boys and girls,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+including all other data of a helpful nature. Proceed
+with the thought that the work to be undertaken is
+not to be merely a means of entertainment, but of
+education for the young.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work persistently for social unity</span></h4>
+
+<p>In his most instructive volume &#8220;The Rural Church
+and Community Achievement,&#8221; President Butterfield
+says: &#8220;We are in great need in this country of
+an institution or institutions which have for their
+definite objective the study of the conditions and
+problems of farm home-life; not merely the matter
+of home management, or home keeping, but the
+fundamental relationships of the family to the development
+of a better community life in the rural regions.&#8221;
+Now, let the newly enlisted social worker assume that
+he is to undertake something by way of bringing
+about a fuller integration and unity of the people
+of the neighborhood.</p>
+
+<p>Every new worker in the social field needs a word
+of warning against the rebukes and discouragements
+with which he may at first meet. To say the best,
+the neighborhood will doubtless be indifferent in
+regard to the newly proposed organization. But
+let the social worker go on persistently, unmindful
+of any such hindrance, even though scarcely a person
+in the neighborhood seems ready to join in the
+movement. In the typical case of valuable constructive
+work of this sort, it will be found at first that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+masses are practically all opposed to the plan. However,
+as fast as it wins its way through unrelenting
+effort and unswerving devotion, the doubters and
+opposers will come over to its support. And after
+the movement has established itself reasonably well
+and achieved something worth while, the same people
+who once stood out will then fall enthusiastically
+into line and help with the undertaking.</p>
+
+<p>It will be impossible, of course, to point out definitely
+to the local, self-appointed leader just what
+plan of social endeavor to follow. Since there is
+such a great variety of conditions, it seems advisable
+here to make a somewhat extended list of possible
+lines of work in the rural districts.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Corn-raising and bread-baking clubs</span></h4>
+
+<p>Perhaps among the easiest organizations to effect
+among the young people of any farm district are the
+clubs or contests in juvenile farm work and home
+economics. The beginning of such a purpose will
+consist of getting into communication with the extension
+department of the state agricultural college.
+After obtaining their literature and learning their
+methods of procedure, call the boys and girls together,
+asking their parents to come along. It may be
+found practicable to call a general meeting of the
+entire neighborhood, inviting old and young possibly
+to a basket dinner, and there to lay before them the
+plans of the organizations. While the contest in
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>corn-raising or bread-baking has proved a marked
+success where tried, if possible arrange matters so
+that every earnest endeavor on the part of the young
+shall receive a suitable reward, not merely the winners
+of the first and second prizes.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XIX.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 308px;">
+<a id="Fig_25" name="Fig_25"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xix.png" width="308" height="500" alt="" title="Plate XIX" />
+<span class="caption">(Courtesy of American Magazine.)<br />
+<span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 25.&mdash;Jerry Moore, the champion boy corn raiser of the United
+States. He raised 253 bushels on a single acre of ground.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It is usually an easy matter to secure funds for
+paying the way of the boys to the state-wide farmers&#8217;
+institute or the boys&#8217; institute usually held at the
+agricultural college during the holiday season. Provide
+that every boy who reaches a certain standard&mdash;say,
+that of raising so many bushels of corn on an acre
+of land&mdash;shall go at the expense of the fund.
+Likewise, organize the girls into a bread-baking club
+or something of the sort. Prizes may be offered for
+the best bread, but all the girls whose home-making
+work meets a certain fixed standard of requirement
+should have promise of a suitable reward. Perhaps
+they too may be sent without expense to themselves
+to a state conference on home economics. In case
+of these trips to the state meetings it will be necessary
+to appoint responsible chaperons for the boys
+and girls.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Other forms of contests</span></h4>
+
+<p>It may be found advisable to start a good-roads
+contest among the boys of the home township,
+offering an attractive prize to the one who shows the
+best results at the end of a given period and a per
+diem payment of money to every boy who faithfully<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
+takes care of his half mile or quarter mile of public
+road.</p>
+
+<p>Then, there may be instituted on a small scale stock
+shows and poultry shows in the hands of the boys of
+the neighborhood. To this the girls too may come
+with any such thing as display specimens of their
+home sewing and fancy work, house plants, and the
+like. In fact, these exhibitions may gradually
+develop into a sort of neighborhood or township fair
+for the special benefit of the young. To this display
+may be brought, not only the items named immediately
+above, but the larger variety of things mentioned
+in the chapter on the Rural Y.M.C.A.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The improvement of the school situation</span></h4>
+
+<p>Rural leaders will nearly always find many opportunities
+for improving the local school situation.
+But let the organizer keep unfailingly in view the high
+aims of all this rural work; namely, the awakening
+of a deeper interest in the affairs that normally belong
+to the neighborhood life, and the fuller measure
+of joy and contentment to result from every such
+achievement. So, there may be undertaken the
+redirection of the work of the country school. For
+example, bring forces to bear upon it that will result
+in the introduction of the study of elementary agriculture
+and the simple elements of home keeping
+and home sanitation therein. Work for a better
+class of teachers and a higher salary payment. En<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>deavor
+to have the length of the school term extended
+and the school attendance made more regular. Institute
+a series of red-letter days for the school during
+the year. It may be practicable to have a
+&#8220;parents&#8217; day,&#8221; an occasion on which all will be
+invited to come out and join the pupils in a noonday
+lunch and learn more about the progress and the
+needs of the school. Provide a half-day for free and
+open discussion of school matters and if possible organize
+among the patrons a sort of &#8220;boosters&#8217; club.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Another form of endeavor in behalf of the schools
+is that of striving for improvement of the high school
+facilities of the neighborhood. Perhaps there is not
+a high school within riding distance of the homes.
+Cannot one be instituted, say, for the township?
+Or, what can be done to improve the present neighborhood
+relations to the high school that may be
+already within reach? Is there a prohibitive tuition
+fee? Does the high school now in existence
+actually serve through its courses the best interests
+of young people who come in from the neighborhood?
+Again, perhaps it would be feasible to organize the
+grown boys and girls who have dropped out of the
+country school into a neighborhood group and provide
+a daily conveyance for taking them to and from
+the town high school By this means, many may be
+induced to go to school who are idling away the valuable
+winter months.</p>
+
+<p>During the last decade, what has been the trend of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+the young men and women who have gone from the
+home district to high school or college? Have any
+of the best of them returned to the farm? Or, have
+these institutions been a means of sending them away
+as permanent city dwellers? Does this thing need
+to continue? Cannot some movement be instituted
+for bringing about a radical change? So long as the
+country boys and girls attend the town high schools
+and there be required to take the old-fashioned classical
+courses&mdash;which have always served to introduce
+their minds to the city life and to the professional
+callings&mdash;the country districts will continue to be
+depleted of their best brains and energy.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Home and school play problems</span></h4>
+
+<p>Start a movement in the interest of better provided
+play opportunities for the children of the neighborhood.
+The possibilities of enriching and extending
+the young life through the avenue of better play are
+just beginning to be understood. We have always
+accepted the theory that young children must have
+some time to play, but we have given little or no heed
+to the matter of providing for their play such apparatus
+as might furnish scientific contributions to the
+development of their characters.</p>
+
+<p>Make a brief inquiry throughout the neighborhood
+and you will perhaps find that not a single farm home
+has apparently given this matter any definite attention.
+Now, what playthings may easily be provided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+in such homes? After having determined that
+matter, begin a campaign of education of the rural
+parents. First, write to the Playground Association
+of America in New York City and ask for a list of
+their literature on play. From this source you will
+obtain pamphlets and larger volumes giving specific
+suggestions for installing rural play apparatus, and
+details as to dimensions, prices, and the like. Now,
+you are ready for work. Appeal to a centrally located
+family for their co&#246;peration in establishing a model.
+Induce them to provide for their children a full set
+of the apparatus, seeing to it that the expense is kept
+down to the minimum. Nearly all of the materials
+of construction are lying about the ordinary farm
+home and need only to be assembled and put into
+place. Once you have established your model home
+playground, then invite your neighbors in to see it,
+perhaps making a sort of picnic or holiday occasion
+out of the affair. At any rate, you may be sure that
+the parents of the neighborhood will begin at once
+to copy the models and many will even improve upon
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Along with your efforts there may be necessary a
+campaign of instruction and admonition in relation
+to the play of the children. Many parents may be
+working their small boys and girls too hard and
+allowing not enough time for play. In this respect
+your persistent effort will in time show excellent
+results.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>Let us suppose that the farm home selected for the
+model playthings has at least one small boy and one
+small girl therein. Then, the following might be set
+up:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>A swing, a seesaw, a sliding board or pole, a pair of
+rings, a trapeze, and a horizontal bar. Have all
+under shade if possible. Provide also a small play
+wagon and a cart or two, with a sand box for the
+small child.</p>
+
+<p>Inspect the district school in reference to play facilities
+and you may find nothing other than the bare
+ground with perhaps a baseball diamond. Here,
+then, is a rare opportunity for constructive work.
+Organize in your own way a boosters&#8217; club and provide
+play apparatus. In <a href="#Page_101">Chapter VIII</a> you will find
+full details as to the equipment best suited for the
+purpose. Provide in every case that the expense be
+minimized. Nearly all of the apparatus may be
+constructed free of cost by interested persons in the
+home neighborhood or in the near-by village.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A neighborhood library</span></h4>
+
+<p>Another very enticing line of endeavor for the rural
+leader is that of establishing the country library.
+Some one in the neighborhood has a big house, one
+room or more of which may conveniently be set
+apart for the purpose. Induce the owners of this
+house to clear up a room and remodel it, if need be,
+and make their home a sort of intellectual center for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+the district. Of course the schoolhouse or rural
+church may be available for the purpose, but the farm
+home will be better for a great many reasons, among
+them being the possibility of having the library open
+at all hours of the day so that books may be exchanged
+on the occasion of one&#8217;s passing the place. Now, go
+after the well-to-do residents of the district and gather
+a fund for the library. Paint in glowing terms the
+visions you have of this thing when it has been set
+on foot. Declare your purpose as that of helping
+and uplifting the community life. Show the &#8220;close-fisted&#8221;
+resident that the establishment of a neighborhood
+library will attract desirable settlers into the
+district and improve prices of land and produce.</p>
+
+<p>After having obtained a small fund, consult the
+best authorities for advice in selecting the books. By
+all means avoid cheap stories and trash of every other
+sort. Since your work is in behalf of the young,
+obtain a few attractive and instructive picture books.
+There can probably be obtained a book which treats
+and illustrates fully the bird life of the local state,
+giving a brief description and pictures in their natural
+color. Young people may be very much attracted
+by authentic books of the nature-study class,
+including those descriptive of wild animals and of
+hunting and exploring tales. Consult the lists given
+under the chapter on the literature in the country
+home for additional titles and suggestions.</p>
+
+<p>If it be found difficult or impracticable to purchase<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
+books for the neighborhood library, then, the next
+best thing will be the traveling library. Communicate
+with the state library association and learn
+definitely what may be obtained from that source.
+Then, proceed to bring the best available volumes
+into the neighborhood. In the selection of the library
+do not forget the local interest. Secure every attractive
+volume that will help to make the boys and
+girls acquainted with the best meanings of their own
+community life and more interested in staying by the
+home affairs and building them up. Not the least
+among the valuable elements of the neighborhood
+library will be the periodicals, in the selection of
+which expert advice is recommended.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Holidays and recreation for the young</span></h4>
+
+<p>In an ably written article published in <i>Rural
+Manhood</i> of January, 1910, John R. Boardman,
+International County Work Secretary, says: &#8220;A
+new gospel of the recreation life needs to be proclaimed
+in the country. Rural America must be compelled
+to play. It has to a degree toiled itself into deformity,
+disease, depravity, and depression. Its long
+hours of drudgery, its jealousy of every moment of
+daylight, its scorn of leisure and of pleasure must
+give way to shorter hours of labor, occasional periods
+of complete relaxation and whole-hearted participation
+in wholesome plays, festivals, picnics, games,
+and other recreative amusements. Better health,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
+greater satisfaction, and a richer life wait on the wise
+development of this recreative ideal.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>A brief survey of the neighborhood will doubtless
+show the lack of general method in dealing with the
+farm boys&#8217; and girls&#8217; holidays and vacations during
+the long summer months. Here, then, is apparent
+another field for constructive leadership. In proceeding
+to change the present situation, it may be
+well to gather a considerable list of authoritative
+statements like the one just quoted. Farm parents
+gradually fall into the habit of over-working their
+half-grown children. Now, if we can institute a
+custom of weekly half holidays for the young people
+of the neighborhood, a splendid work will be done
+in behalf of a higher community life.</p>
+
+<p>Begin work by selecting an attractive central
+location, and plan that the young, and the older ones,
+too, may come to this place one afternoon every week,
+or at least two afternoons every month, and have a
+good time generally. Games may be played, local
+clubs may meet in the shade of the trees, the sewing
+society and other groups of women having their interests
+served. The farmers&#8217; clubs may have opportunity
+for helpful exchange of ideas, while the little
+children may play and romp about the premises.
+Invite all to come early in the afternoon and bring
+an evening lunch to be enjoyed in common. Thus,
+you may give the young people who regard their
+everyday work as drudgery, such interest and in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>spiration
+as to tone up their lives noticeably for every
+hour of the long days of toil.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Many over-work their children</span></h4>
+
+<p>In connection with your efforts in behalf of the
+holiday or weekly picnic, take up carefully the matter
+of the proper amount of work for the farm boys and
+girls of any given age. You will find such willingness
+on the part of parents to do the right thing
+by their children and a proportionate amount of
+ignorance as to what ought to be done. Therefore,
+you may be able to carry on most profitably to all a
+campaign of instruction in regard to such thing. You
+will, of course, first make out as best you can with the
+aid of all available literature, an ideal schedule of
+hours of work and play and recreation suitable for
+the boys and girls of the different ages.</p>
+
+<p>At the holiday picnic it may be found advisable
+to organize the boys into a club of their own and the
+girls, likewise, for the promotion of their several
+and mutual interests. Inspire all with your earnestness
+and enthusiasm and lead them to consider the
+latent possibilities of the neighborhood, of how it
+might be transformed into a place of great worth and
+attractiveness. At the same country picnic, look
+to the practicability of organizing into a club the
+tired mothers of the district. They are many. You
+will know them by their careworn looks. Create a
+sentiment in behalf of more frequent outings and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
+more recreation for these women. Help them obtain
+literature relative to their own affairs, to exchange
+ideas and plans in behalf of their own betterment.
+Show them especially the possibility of quitting the
+work at stated times even though that work be less
+than half finished, and getting away from the tedium
+thereof&mdash;all in the interest of longer life for themselves
+and better service for their homes and families.
+Almost any sort of club which these mothers
+can be induced to attend will achieve the purpose
+desired.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Federation for country life progress</span></h4>
+
+<p>Federations for country-life progress are now
+arising in many parts of the country. One of the
+first was organized in New England, under the
+leadership of President Butterfield. The Illinois
+movement may be described, as an example.</p>
+
+<p>The Illinois State Federation for Country Life
+Progress is composed of nearly half a hundred subordinate
+organizations. Their platform of ten principles
+given below sets forth a number of most important
+and practical purposes, as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>
+1. Local country community building.</p>
+
+<p>2. The federation of all the rural forces of the
+state of Illinois in one big united effort for the betterment
+of country life.</p>
+
+<p>3. The development of institutional programs of
+action for all rural social agencies. This means a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>program of work for the school, another for the
+church, another for the farmers&#8217; institute, and
+so on.</p>
+
+<p>4. The stimulation of farmer leadership in the
+country community.</p>
+
+<p>5. The increase and improvement of professional
+leadership among country teachers, ministers, and all
+others who serve the rural community in offices of
+educational direction.</p>
+
+<p>6. The perpetuation among all the people of country
+communities of a definite community ideal, and
+the concentrated effort of the whole community in
+concrete tasks looking toward the realization of this
+ideal.</p>
+
+<p>7. The recognition of the country school as the
+immediate initiator of progress in the average rural
+community of Illinois.</p>
+
+<p>8. The study and investigation of country life
+facts and conditions.</p>
+
+<p>9. The holding of annual country life conferences.</p>
+
+<p>10. The protection of this federation and of all
+country life from any form of exploitation.
+</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The vocations of boys and girls</span></h4>
+
+<p>A most commendable work for the rural social
+leader would be that of showing the possibilities of
+guiding country boys and girls more scientifically
+in the direction of their coming vocational life. Too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
+often, there may be found a mistaken farmer who is
+attempting to force his boy to take up the farm life
+when as a matter of fact the boy is in no sense fitted
+for such vocation and should be trained for a distinctly
+different line of work. Then, on another
+occasion, you will meet a man who is farming simply
+because he has to do it, and who is over-anxious that
+his boy be guided in the direction of something else.
+The point especially to be emphasized here is that
+the parent cannot choose arbitrarily a vocation for
+his child. The native interests of the latter must be
+consulted again and again, while the child is growing
+up, and in the end the young person must decide the
+matter for himself.</p>
+
+<p>The world is full of wrecks of human character
+who are such largely because of the single fault of their
+never having been trained scientifically in a vocational
+way. So advance as best you can the idea that
+parents must be most patient in awaiting the development
+of the various instincts and desires in their
+growing children, and for the final decision of the
+latter in respect to a calling. It should be made
+clear that many of the best and ablest men in the
+world floundered about not a little in deciding upon
+the final choice.</p>
+
+<p>This very important matter of choosing a vocation
+for the young man and the young woman
+will be taken up in Chapters XVIII and XIX of
+this book.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Other local possibilities</span></h4>
+
+<p>It will be understood that the possibilities of church
+and Sunday school work in a rural neighborhood are
+not intentionally slighted. Little is said in regard
+to them here simply because of the fact that there
+is a country-wide organization with well-directed local
+branches and with a flood of excellent literature
+constantly at work in building up the church and
+Sunday school life. The reader may be reminded,
+however, that this field still presents many excellent
+opportunities for serving the highest interests of
+the home community.</p>
+
+<p>The matter of purely social gatherings for the
+boys and girls is important. It will perhaps be
+found that they are running to cheap, degrading
+dances, either in the home neighborhood or in a
+near-by town. If the rural leader can break this
+thing up and substitute a literary club, a better form
+of social intercourse, or any other gathering, for the
+cheap dance and its resultant debauch, the effort will
+certainly be most commendable. It is not as a rule
+advisable to condemn and denounce these cheap
+affairs, but rather to begin at once a movement in
+the interest of the better substitute. Just as soon as
+the latter begins to take form, the young people will
+naturally discontinue their degrading affairs. <a href="#Page_197">Chapter
+XIII</a> of this book will offer a more extended
+discussion of the social problems of country youth.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XX.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 460px;">
+<a id="Fig_26" name="Fig_26"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xx.png" width="460" height="381" alt="" title="Plate XX" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 26.&mdash;An example of the little lonely school in the woods, a problem of the
+social worker. Not enough children to stimulate one another properly in
+the lesson-getting and play activities.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The boy-scout movement</span></h4>
+
+<p>There is much to commend the boy-scout movement
+as a country organization. It must be thought
+of as an educative institution. In discussing its
+best meanings and possibilities, Professor E. L.
+Holton, of the Kansas State Agricultural College,
+says: &#8220;Education as used here means habits of
+health, of work, of thrift, of observation, and of research.
+It is habit that determines the health of
+an individual and the sanitary conditions of a
+community; the social and moral level of the
+worker and the quality of his work; the returns
+from the farm and the ideals of the farmer; a man&#8217;s
+bank account and his insight into the secrets of his
+environment. Habit has its physical basis in the
+flesh, the blood, and the nerve cells. There must
+be actual first-hand experience and leadership
+hitched up with text-book knowledge in educating
+the boy. The old elemental instincts of adventure,
+pugnacity, gang life, and following leadership must
+be taken into account and made to work out into
+life-compelling desires.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Before attempting the organization of the local
+Boy Scouts, one is advised first to send to the national
+organization and that of the state, if there be any, for
+literature and directions. The only caution which
+it seems necessary to give here is that there be connected
+with the conduct of the organization some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+serious problems and requirements and that it be
+not given over exclusively to merely doing wild and
+daring &#8220;stunts&#8221; and &#8220;hiking&#8221; about the country.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Rural boy-scouts in Kansas</span></h4>
+
+<p>As an example of what is being done by way of
+organizing the rural boy scout movement, the
+Kansas plan under the direction of Professor E. L.
+Holton is here given:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>The Agricultural College Council is organizing
+companies of Rural-Life Boy Scouts in all parts of
+Kansas. The aim of the Council is &#8220;a company
+in every community.&#8221; There are 160,000 boys
+in Kansas eligible to membership. It seeks to encourage
+boys to learn the secrets of the prairies,
+the streams and the forests, and be able to read
+nature as well as books; to have a growing bank
+account, and to do some type of work better than it
+has been done by anyone else.</p>
+
+<p>During the month of July or August there is to
+be a five to ten days&#8217; Rural-Life Camp of Instruction
+in each county, which is to be attended by all companies
+of the county. This camp of instruction will
+be under the direction and management of the
+County Council. The program will consist of:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>1. Games and athletic contests.</p>
+
+<p>2. Contest in judging farm crops and stock.</p>
+
+<p>3. Naming birds, wild animals, fish, flowers, trees,
+shrubs, etc.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>4. Reporting on the savings bank accounts.</p>
+
+<p>5. Contests in any other line of work carried on
+in the county.</p>
+
+<p>6. Talks on rural life subjects.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The duties of the individual scout are as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>For the Third Class&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>1. Know by sight and call ten common birds.</p>
+
+<p>2. Know by sight and track ten wild animals.</p>
+
+<p>3. Know by sight five common game fish.</p>
+
+<p>4. Know in the fields ten wild flowers.</p>
+
+<p>5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline ten
+common trees or shrubs.</p>
+
+<p>6. Know the sixteen points of the compass.</p>
+
+<p>7. Know the elementary rules for the prevention
+of typhoid fever.</p>
+
+<p>8. Plant and cultivate according to the latest
+scientific methods not less than one-half acre of some
+farm or garden crop. (The town boy may substitute
+a town lot.)</p>
+
+<p>9. Own and care for according to the latest
+scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic
+animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less
+than $10.</p>
+
+<p>10. Maintain a bank account of not less than $15.</p>
+
+<p>11. Shall strive to graduate from the common
+schools.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>For the Second Class&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>1. Know by sight and call twenty common birds.</p>
+
+<p>2. Know by sight and track twenty wild animals.</p><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>3. Know by sight seven common game fish.</p>
+
+<p>4. Know in the fields twenty wild flowers.</p>
+
+<p>5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline
+twenty common trees and shrubs.</p>
+
+<p>6. Know the elementary rules for the prevention
+of tuberculosis.</p>
+
+<p>7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest
+scientific methods not less than one acre of some farm
+or garden crop. (The town boy may substitute
+town lots.)</p>
+
+<p>8. Own and care for according to the latest
+scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic
+animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less
+than $20.</p>
+
+<p>9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $20.</p>
+
+<p>10. Read the books of the Young People&#8217;s Reading
+Circle for the eighth and ninth grades.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>For the First Class&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>1. Know by sight and call fifty common birds of
+Kansas.</p>
+
+<p>2. Know by sight and track all wild animals of
+Kansas.</p>
+
+<p>3. Know by sight all the common game fish of
+Kansas.</p>
+
+<p>4. Know in the fields twenty-five wild flowers.</p>
+
+<p>5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline all
+common trees and shrubs of Kansas.</p>
+
+<p>6. Know by sight twenty-five common weeds.</p>
+
+<p>7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
+scientific methods not less than two acres of farm
+crops. (The town boy may substitute town lots.)</p>
+
+<p>8. Own and care for according to the latest
+scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic
+animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less
+than $25.</p>
+
+<p>9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $25.</p>
+
+<p>10. Shall read at least two of a list of books on
+rural life.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>The motto is: &#8220;Know the secrets of the open
+country.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>See Rural Leadership Number of <i>Rural Manhood</i>, June, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Play for the Country Boy. Clark W. Hetherington. <i>Rural Manhood</i>,
+May, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Y.M.C.A. Socializing the Country. Farman S. Vance. <i>The Independent</i>,
+April 15, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Holiday Plays. Marguerite Merington. Duffield &amp; Co. Suitable for
+rural leaders.</p>
+
+<p>The County and Local Fair. L. H. Bailey. <i>The Country-Life Movement</i>,
+1911. This article contains many practical and stimulating suggestions
+for making a successful county fair, on a new basis.</p>
+
+<p>Farmers&#8217; Institutes for Young People. Circular No. 99 of the U.S.
+Department of Agriculture. (Free.) This circular gives a large
+fund of details of all sorts of clubs and movements.</p>
+
+<p>Kindergarten at Home. V. M. Hillyer. Baker-Taylor Company. N.Y.
+Contains much constructive work.</p>
+
+<p>The Young Farmer&#8217;s Practical Library. Edited by Ernest Ingersoll and
+published by Sturgis-Walton Company, N.Y. (75 cents each.)
+Contains some excellent matter. The following volumes are included:</p>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li>From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia T. Van de Water.</li>
+<li>Neighborhood Entertainments. Ren&#233;e B. Stern.</li>
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>The Farm Mechanic. L. W. Chase.</li>
+<li>Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde.</li>
+<li>The Satisfaction of Country Life. Dr. James W. Robertson.</li>
+<li>Roads, Paths and Bridges. L. W. Page.</li>
+<li>Health on the Farm. Dr. L. F. Harris.</li>
+<li>Farm Machinery. J. B. Davidson.</li>
+<li>Electricity on the Farm.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<p>County Superintendent J. F. Haines, Noblesville, Indiana, has a fund of
+helpful data on agricultural fairs by young people.</p>
+
+<p>The Extension of Industrial and Agricultural Education. (Pamphlet.)
+Extension Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison.</p>
+
+<p>Children&#8217;s Singing Games Old and New. Mari Ruef Hofer. A. Flanagan
+Company. Chicago. Miss Hofer is an authority of national
+reputation on the subject of play and games.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XI<br />
+<br />
+<i>HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Over-work, poor pay, and little recreation are the
+agencies which annually drive thousands of good,
+promising youths from the rural districts into the
+cities, where their splendid native abilities for serving
+the world and society are most likely to become
+subordinated. All too often it is a case of a young
+man leaving the home place, surrounded by opportunities
+which he has not been allowed to avail
+himself of, and going into a place where he will take
+up the monotonous round of merely &#8220;holding a job.&#8221;
+In the former position, under intelligent care and
+direction, he might have grown into a strong, self-reliant man,
+full of resources, endued with good
+purposes; and at last have taken rank among those
+who are lifting the race to higher things. In the
+position obtained in the city he is almost certain to
+find his surroundings badly cramped, his spontaneity
+largely restricted, and his power of initiative without
+a motive for its indulgence. In short, his city
+position will press him continually and insistently to
+the end that he reduce himself to a mere machine,
+or a mere cog in a great machine.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">See that the work is for the boy&#8217;s sake</span></h4>
+
+<p>One of the means whereby rural parents may assist
+their boy to develop into that fullness of life which
+the latter&#8217;s native abilities and excellent environment
+guarantee him, is to provide a scientific relation
+of the young life to the work which he may be required
+to perform. First of all, what is the proper
+way in which to regard the boy&#8217;s work? Ordinarily,
+the farmer is inclined to think of the work rather
+than the worker, and to ask himself what he can
+put the boy at in order to make his services most
+profitable to the business. Now, no evil intention is
+charged here, but this erroneous point of view is
+almost certain to lead gradually to an abuse of the
+boy. Why not put the question in this way: How
+much work and what sort of work will be most
+conducive to the boy&#8217;s present development and to
+his future welfare? The radical difference between
+the two positions may be readily seen. And while
+the latter may be less profitable in form of material
+and monetary gain, it will prove to be far more
+serviceable in the production of sterling manhood.</p>
+
+<p>It is not an easy matter to determine offhand as
+to the amount of work a boy of any given age should
+perform. Conditions vary greatly. The safest mode
+of procedure is to study the individual boy carefully.
+Let the parent first acquaint himself with the general
+principles of human development through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
+service of suitable literature, as recommended in a
+former chapter. Then, the boy&#8217;s physical strength,
+his aptitudes, and his native interests should be
+taken into account. Among other aims, seek that
+of a happy adjustment of the boy to his work. Some
+of the tasks required of him will be and should be
+somewhat irksome, as a means of discipline. On
+the other hand, much of the work he does should be
+backed up by his hearty approval and good will.</p>
+
+<p>It is probably true that no boy is instinctively
+fond of work and that the average boy must be held
+to his tasks whether he chooses to perform them or
+not. But the final pleasant relations of the boy to
+his work can best be secured by means of counseling
+with him on the subject. Explain to the lad the fact
+that industry is the greatest factor in the world&#8217;s
+progress and development. Point out to him
+instances of worthy men, young and old, who are
+faithful workers. Make him to see that he can the
+better become an honorable man through an intimate
+knowledge of labor. Point out to him instances of
+men who are failures in life, and others who are
+criminals, explaining&mdash;as statistics prove&mdash;that
+the majority of these delinquent persons were never
+trained during youth in the performance of any
+specific work. Show him if possible how even
+the wealthy person who has nothing important
+to do, is a burden to himself and a menace to
+society.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Not enforced labor, but mastery</span></h4>
+
+<p>As stated above, no natural boy probably takes
+up hard work willingly or voluntarily. Parents
+may as well accept it as their peculiar duty to direct
+and discipline their boys with required tasks. But
+after considerable persistent and conscientious enforcement
+of the boy&#8217;s labors the parent is almost
+certain to be rewarded with the latter&#8217;s manifest
+willingness and fondness in doing what was at first
+thought of as pain and punishment.</p>
+
+<p>It is a serious matter, however, to observe how
+many grown men there are who look upon their work
+with the dread and disfavor natural to little boys.
+One is inclined to wonder at this and at the cause of
+it. So far as can be learned by inquiry among
+workmen and those who dread their enforced labor,
+their view of the situations is about as follows, to
+render liberally the language of a stonemason-philosopher:
+&#8220;Work is something no man is naturally fond
+of. Every worker would quit if he could afford
+to and take life easy. If I had ten thousand dollars
+ahead, I would never work another day. Of course
+somebody has to work or we should all starve, but my
+advice to a boy is that he get a good education and
+thus learn how to make a living some other way.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Here the parent who has true foresight in respect
+to his child&#8217;s development is confronted with a serious
+problem. It is not merely a matter of teaching the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
+boy to work, but rather that of teaching him to
+become master of his work in order that personal
+pleasure may finally come from the performance
+thereof. So, one must follow the boy most thoughtfully
+in the latter&#8217;s initial steps toward satisfactory
+industry. While it is sometimes advisable to take
+him forcibly back to the place where he failed and
+even to enforce obedience and effort with the rod,
+it is most certainly the parent&#8217;s duty to praise the
+small lad for his first light tasks well performed, and
+otherwise to show appreciation thereof.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It took me a year to get this boy down to business,&#8221;
+said the proud father of a fifteen-year-old
+who had just won a second prize in a state-wide
+corn-raising contest. &#8220;During the summer of his
+sixth year I took him with me into the field on
+occasions when he could do something light and learn
+from it. But my chief plan was to train him in
+garden work. I gave him a small plot to tend and
+helped him lay it out and plant it. At first he showed
+great interest, but I knew that it was of the playful
+kind and that it would soon wane. Sure enough,
+in a short time he was dodging and slighting his
+garden work. Then, I began a more definite method.
+At morning I would instruct him very carefully what
+he must do for the day, and at each evening I required
+him to compare results and instructions with me.
+Punishment was necessary more than once, but
+slowly he began to catch my point of view.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>&#8220;I bought the boy&#8217;s first spring radishes for table
+use and permitted him to spend half the money.
+This seemed to open his eyes. Later I paid him for
+his other produce. During the second season I
+emphasized such matters as carefulness in selecting
+seed and the arrangement and cultivation of the
+garden produce. Several of the neighbors expressed
+surprise and delight when they saw the attractive
+garden. This merited approbation was noticeably
+effective. Since that time I have had little trouble.
+I can give that boy any ordinary farm problem to-day
+and he will work it out most enthusiastically.
+He has learned the joy of mastery in his work.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing somewhat lengthy statement is
+given with the thought that it may furnish illustrative
+material to others. It is a mistake to keep driving
+boys to their work &#8220;just because they ought to do
+it,&#8221; as one stern father put the matter. But it is
+altogether fair and advisable that a series of rewards
+be offered. The youth must be made to feel that
+his work is to serve some worthy personal end.
+This well-trained boy&#8217;s reward came gradually as
+follows: (1) parental approbation. (2) a money
+return. (3) the praise of the neighbors, (4) the
+joy of self-reliance and mastery.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Provide vacations for the boy</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is unreasonable to expect the growing boy to
+have the same vital interest in the work as that of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>
+his parents. The wise father will see to it that his
+youthful son has some outside incentive for work,
+as well as money payments and words of praise.
+Vacation periods and holidays judiciously placed
+will prove a splendid tonic for the working boy&#8217;s
+mind. The schedule given below will indicate the
+relative amount of time that should be given to such
+recreative indulgences. Even in the matter of
+holidays there is a tendency of some fathers to regard
+them as so much stock in trade to exchange
+for the boy&#8217;s extra effort. So, some farmers will
+map out more than a reasonable week&#8217;s work and
+say, &#8220;Now, boys, finish that up by Saturday noon
+and you may quit.&#8221; In such case we have mere
+exploitation of the boy&#8217;s strength and energy in
+the interest of the work and the profits. The scheme
+will fall flat sooner or later and leave the boy still
+despising the work and mistrustful of his employer.</p>
+
+<p>The plan pursued by a prosperous farmer in dealing
+with his two sons may serve to illustrate a very
+good method. This thoughtful father reports substantially
+as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The work on our place is never ended, but whenever
+I find that the boys need a vacation they get it
+just the same. They are fourteen and sixteen and
+splendid help during the summer. I never permit
+them to work more than ten hours a day, while they
+are allowed a full half day off each week to use as they
+please, and about once each month they have an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+entire day to themselves. Also during the hot
+weather in the middle of the summer they have
+from three days to a week for some special outing.
+Last summer they camped out five days with some
+other good boys. It is my theory that the boys who
+are given such vacations will do more work and do it
+better than those who are not.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing plan may seem to sacrifice the interests
+of the work, but in fact it really does not. After
+all, it is merely a question of the right point of view.
+Is the boy for the sake of the work, or the work for
+the sake of the boy? Answer the question conscientiously
+for yourself, dear reader. And may the
+boy be forever the gainer!</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A tentative schedule of hours</span></h4>
+
+<p>Obedience may be regarded as a pre-requisite
+for successful boy training. So, the first light
+tasks required of the small lad will be intended as
+merely a means of training him to obey and to feel
+the meaning of responsibility. No one has thus
+far seemed to think it worth while to attempt
+to prescribe for the work and play of children. How
+different in the case of the school requirements!
+Even in the district schools the thing is reduced
+to a system&mdash;<i>both the quantity and the quality of
+the work necessary for each age and grade are carefully
+scheduled</i>. Now, why not the same forethought
+in planning the necessary amount of the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>
+exercises? And why not have this scheme made
+out by <i>highly trained experts</i> as is the case with the
+school course? There seems to be no plausible
+defense for this traditional expensive oversight on
+the part of society.</p>
+
+<p>The schedule below is offered as merely schematic
+and possibly suggestive. In any given case there
+may be wide departures from it. But the thought is
+that of training the whole boy, and that for the sake
+of his own and society&#8217;s future good.</p>
+
+<p>Age 4 or younger.&mdash;May be taught the nature of
+a required duty from being sent on an occasional
+small errand about the place. Practically all the
+time should be given to play.</p>
+
+<p>Age 5.&mdash;Use substantially the same methods as
+for age 4, but add the requirement of one regular
+light task daily and follow him up in the performance
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>Age 6.&mdash;Continue as above, adding to the required
+tasks slightly. If the lad now be taken to the field,
+he must go more in the spirit of play than of work.
+Of course he will learn much about farm matters
+at this age, but his activities will be largely spontaneous.
+Note the plan reported above.</p>
+
+<p>Age 7.&mdash;At this age, the boy should be required to
+do light chores at evening after school&mdash;such as
+carrying in wood and kindling and attending to the
+stock. Or he may help in the house. During
+vacation he may help for two to four hours daily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
+with some easy tasks, preferably about the house.
+Of course there is much work about the barn and
+fields which is not too heavy for him.</p>
+
+<p>Age 8.&mdash;Some boys are put to plowing at this age,
+but such a thing is little short of criminal. Moreover,
+they should be held regularly to <i>no sort of work</i>
+all day long at this age; that is, unless the parent
+desires to reduce his boy to a little old dried-up man
+before the age of twenty is reached, and perhaps
+drive him from home.</p>
+
+<p>Age 9.&mdash;Intermittently half-day or all-day tasks
+may now be imposed; provided the lad be taken
+along as a mere helper and may, about two-thirds
+of the time, either play at his work or regard it in the
+light of a playful pastime. Do not work the joyousness
+and spontaneity out of him at this young age.</p>
+
+<p>Age 10.&mdash;An average of five hours solid work per
+day is all that the 10-year-old farm boy should be
+required to do. Much play and recreation of the
+rougher sort should supplement it. The desire to
+construct something with tools is now strong and
+should be indulged. Or, see that he has a pony to
+ride as he hurries about the place in the performance
+of his many errands.</p>
+
+<p>Age 11.&mdash;Increase the required tasks about one
+hour per day with similar treatment as for age 10.
+This is the age for training the boy to be a sort of
+&#8220;page&#8221; in service of his mother and sister.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_27" name="Fig_27"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxi_fig_27.png" width="600" height="415" alt="" title="Plate XXI Fig. 27" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 27.&mdash;A tennis court in connection with the country boys&#8217; camp.
+There should be more of these.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_28" name="Fig_28"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxi_fig_28.png" width="500" height="298" alt="" title="Plate XXI Fig. 28" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 28.&mdash;A country play festival. We cannot answer rightly the
+question, How much work for the country boy? and at the same
+time neglect to provide for his play.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Age 12.&mdash;Many 12-year-old boys are required to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+do a man&#8217;s work every day. But such a thing is
+done in the interest of the work and the profits and
+not for the sake of the boy. A good way to measure
+his worth at this age is to see that he does not earn
+more than half as much as the full-grown man.
+Give many half-holidays. His interest in fishing,
+rowing, swimming, and the like, needs much indulgence.</p>
+
+<p>Age 13.&mdash;From this age to 15, watch the boy
+for the beginning of adolescence and be unusually
+careful not to over-work him. Most of his bodily
+strength must go into making new bone and muscle.
+Frequent intervals of rest and relaxation should
+be the rule, together with avoidance of too long
+and too heavy a day&#8217;s work. Even permit some
+crops to be lost rather than abuse the boy.</p>
+
+<p>Age 14-16.&mdash;This is the time to begin to interest
+the boy in working to serve his own ends. His
+social instincts will now appear strong and he will
+desire many new possessions not hitherto thought of.
+Therefore, adjust his work to these new interests
+and lead him to feel as much as possible that he is
+working for his own advantage. There is still danger
+of over-work. So see to it that rests and vacations
+with opportunities for social experience are frequent.
+It is a matter for parental concern if the farm boy
+be not able to return to his labors at the beginning
+of each new day with freshness of spirits and overflowing
+energy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Think out a reasonable plan</span></h4>
+
+<p>Finally, the farmer is urged to take up the matter
+for consideration early and make out what seems a
+reasonable plan of relating the boy to his work, and
+then to adhere persistently thereto. It has been
+charged repeatedly that the typical well-to-do
+farmer works his wife and children hard all day and
+until late bed time in the evening; that heavy chores
+are piled upon the boys after they have already
+worked overtime in the field; that they are routed
+out at four o&#8217;clock every morning, when they go
+half asleep and moaning to their work again.</p>
+
+<p>If the foregoing accusation be at all true, its truth
+must certainly be the result of carelessness and ignorance
+of human rights, and not premeditative inhumanity
+and criminality as it seems to be! The
+reading of good farm literature, together with
+some intensive study of books and periodicals on
+the care and management of children&mdash;these will
+most certainly prove corrective agencies of some
+of the abuses named herein.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Standards in Education. Arthur H. Chamberlain. Chapter III,
+&#8220;Industrial Training: Its Aim and Scope.&#8221; American Book Company.</p>
+
+<p>Child Labor and the Republic. Homer Folks. National Child Labor
+Committee, N.Y.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
+<p>Teaching the Boy to Work. (Pamphlet.) Wm. A. McKeever. Published
+by the author, Manhattan, Kansas.</p>
+
+<p>Half Time at School and Half Time at Work. F. P. Stockbridge.
+<i>World&#8217;s Work</i>, April, 1911. An interesting experiment at the University
+of Cincinnati.</p>
+
+<p>Care of the Child. Mrs. Burton Chance. Chapter X, &#8220;The Awkward
+Age.&#8221; Penn Publishing Company.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER XII<br />
+<br />
+<i>HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Imagine a wedding scene in a rural home. The
+only daughter, a young woman of ideal age for
+marriage, is joining her heart and her hand, for
+weal or for woe, to those of a young man of suitable
+character. But strange and unexpected as it may
+seem, there are many tears on the part of the immediate
+relatives of the girl. Her parents are manifesting
+the strange emotion of solemnity at a time
+when gaiety might be expected. Why is it? you
+ask. The whole situation has an interesting and
+inspiring history. It is simply this: During all
+her years the parents of this girl have watched her
+grow up, through infancy, childhood, maidenhood,
+and finally into the full maturity of a woman; and
+every stage of her growth has been carefully safe-guarded
+by them. They have made the home life
+and the home work serve her needs and purposes in a
+most beautiful and instructive manner. They seem
+to have attempted at all times to put into their
+daughter&#8217;s life just such experience as would become
+a helpful part of her growing character. And what
+a reward! What a splendid satisfaction to the
+worthy parents to be able to contribute to society
+such a product of their affectionate care and training!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">A balanced life for the girl</span></h4>
+
+<p>Should we follow it out, the biography of the
+good young woman mentioned above would teach
+many a valuable lesson to the parents of other girls&mdash;would
+teach them that a growing girl has her specific
+needs and her inherent rights, which must be provided
+for by her parents through the proper kind of directing
+and caretaking. A certain amount of restraint,
+of work, of play, of recreation, of social experiences,
+of practice in self-dependence, of opportunity for
+service of others&mdash;yes, a certain amount of all these
+things must be conscientiously supplied for the life
+of the growing girl so that she may develop into a
+well-rounded character.</p>
+
+<p>Parents are not accused of intentional wrong to
+their daughters. Such cases are rare. The chief
+sins against the daughters of the rural homes are
+the sins of neglect, of indifference, and of ignorance as
+to what were necessary to be done. So what we
+may accomplish in this chapter is, first to arouse
+parents to an appreciation of the seriousness of the
+problem before them; and second, to offer some
+specific aids to the better achievement of the task of
+bringing up a girl to the rural home.</p>
+
+<p>It is a well-established principle in plant propagation
+that certain nutrient elements must be present
+in the soil before growth will go on properly. It
+does not satisfy the needs of the plant for some of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
+the chemical substances to be present in large amount
+if the others be absent. There must be a sort of
+balanced ration for the vegetable life. Similarly
+in case of that tender plant of the household, the
+young girl; she can be kept alive on work and
+study alone, but for beautiful and symmetrical
+growth other elements of character-nourishment are
+necessary. What are they? The reader is referred
+to <a href="#Page_1">Chapter I</a> for a general list.</p>
+
+<p>The hurry of work and the isolation of the ordinary
+country home tend to foster an over-serious disposition
+in girls. There is too little to provoke a smile
+and not half enough practice in smiling. Laughter is
+also too infrequent. A boy may grow up habitually
+stern and sedate and yet be able to fight his way
+through a successful manhood. But with the girl
+it is different. Her habit of smiling and of being
+pleasant and agreeable may prove to be one of
+her most valuable charms. So, the early and continuous
+training of the girl in sociability must be
+considered among the parental duties to her; and
+that by encouraging her to be sociable at home and
+by providing that she have frequent companionship
+with others of her age.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work begins with obedience</span></h4>
+
+<p>One of the initial steps in the training of a child
+is that of securing a willing obedience, a habitual
+performance of required tasks and duties. It may<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
+prove an easy matter to drive the girl to the work.
+But how about the problem of teaching her to take
+up her daily tasks willingly and with a joyous heart?
+Girls are little different from boys at this stage of
+their education. They do not take naturally and
+fondly to work. They will slight and neglect it.
+Worse than that, if untrained in faithfulness to
+household duties, they will lounge about the place or
+run much in society and allow their mothers to
+work themselves slowly to death&mdash;and scarcely seem
+to realize what is taking place.</p>
+
+<p>Similarly as in case of the boy, some forcing, some
+rebuke, and occasional punishment will be necessary
+to initiate the girl into the work habit. But shortly
+obedience and willingness will come, and with them
+a deeper consciousness than is manifested in her
+young brother. After that, the danger of over-work
+will soon begin to be apparent to the watchful
+mother, and be guarded against.</p>
+
+<p>Habit formation is a prominent factor in the first
+lessons of obedience in work. It will be highly
+advisable to start everything right. After a few
+instances of slighting one kind of work or expending
+too much energy upon another kind the young
+character begins to take on these faults permanently.
+Many women scrub floors and wash dishes unto
+their death. Others perform these endless tasks
+quite as well &#8220;in a jiffy&#8221; and go on their way singing.
+Why is this? Is it not a matter which the mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+should think about most seriously in relation to the
+training of her daughter?</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Working the girls in the field</span></h4>
+
+<p>Is there any justification for requiring a girl to
+work in the field with the men and boys? Many
+girls are doing so, whether required or not. Careful
+consideration of the matter seems to bring out a few
+suggestions. The farm girl while a child under ten
+years may accompany the father or the brothers into
+the field and there be permitted to do some light
+work occasionally, provided she regard it in a
+semi-playful way. On very rare occasions, when
+older, she may be rightfully called on to drive a rake
+for a day or take some similar part of the work in
+order to help prevent the loss of a valuable crop.</p>
+
+<p>But the practice followed by some farmers, of often
+requiring their daughters to do a man&#8217;s work in the
+field, and excusing the fault with the thought that
+it is for the sake of laying up wealth for her future
+enjoyment&mdash;that is abominable and should be
+prohibited by law. Among other objections, it is
+probably most hurtful to the young woman&#8217;s pride
+and self-respect to be forced to perform farm labor.
+And then, during such time as she works in the
+field her much needed opportunities for the practice
+of the womanly arts and refinements are slipping
+away.</p>
+
+<p>Of course we should not take away from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
+country-reared woman the poetic sentiment about the
+days of her childhood when she helped rake the hay
+and drive the cattle home, &#8220;just for fun.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Some specific suggestions</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is difficult, of course, to lay down specific
+rules here, because every case is a special one. But
+nearly all intelligent parents can easily determine
+whether or not they are fair to their girls. It would
+seem reasonable that in addition to the affection and
+interest properly bestowed upon her in the home,
+the daughter should have at least the same measure
+of value&mdash;money value&mdash;put upon her work
+as is the rule with the hired helper. Certainly no
+worthy parent would ask her to work for a smaller
+sum.</p>
+
+<p>Too many of these good, promising girls are
+cramped and limited in their lives until the self-pride
+is crushed well-nigh out of them. Often such young
+women will be seen moping about in a stooped
+attitude of body, stiff and awkward in their manners,
+lacking in self-confidence and in that beautiful
+grace and ease of movement which mark the well-developed
+young woman of twenty years. All of
+this is more or less indicative of parental disregard
+and mistreatment&mdash;indicative that some one has
+cheated her out of the time that should have been
+allowed for rest and recreation and social improvement
+and given her in exchange an over-amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>
+grinding toil and enforced seclusion&mdash;<i>all for the
+sake of the work and the profits</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is a singular fact that so many country mothers
+make no provision for throwing extra safeguards
+around their young daughter during the monthly
+period of physical drain and weakness. It could
+probably be shown that her lowered vitality and the
+increased susceptibility to fatigue at this time make
+almost complete rest and relaxation highly advisable.
+It is also most probable that the strain of work and
+the exposure to inclement weather, so often allowed
+during the monthly period, are the incipient causes
+of life-long weakness and disease.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Do you own your daughter?</span></h4>
+
+<p>There are still not a few parents who are possessed
+of the old-fashioned idea that their children belong
+to them, that they have a proprietary right in
+their own sons and daughters. Just now there is
+thought of a father who is intelligent, in many
+ways above the average man, but who seems to
+regard his twenty-three-year-old daughter as a
+sort of chattel. Being a widower, he needs her
+services, so he would employ her at the least possible
+wages, or none, to take charge of the home, rear the
+two or three smaller children, and cook and keep
+house for himself and three or four hired men. The
+best excuse that may be offered for this man&#8217;s
+attitude toward his daughter is sheer ignorance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>
+the true meaning of the situation. But such treatment
+of a mature daughter is little short of cruelty.
+This young woman should have every possible opportunity
+just now to prepare herself for the future.
+Her conduct for the present may even have the
+appearance of being somewhat selfish in order that her
+future well-being and that of those dependent upon
+her may be safe-guarded.</p>
+
+<p>Further details of the foregoing case need not be
+given. The issue to be made out of it is this: The
+parent who is doing the fair and square thing by
+his daughter not only trains her to work and then
+safeguards her life against an over-amount of work,
+but he also sees to it that the labor she performs is
+contributive to her enjoyment, to the strengthening
+of her character, and to the perfection of her life for
+the future. Parents are justified in using every
+possible means as contributory to the future well-being
+of their growing daughters, and all this for
+the sake of the generations yet unborn. Thus,
+perhaps without realizing the fact at all, the former
+may return to the race life that measure of assistance
+which they themselves received.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Difficult to make a schedule</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is difficult to make out a schedule of hours
+for the growing girl as we did for the boy, but the
+former chapter may be taken as a general guide. As
+with the boy, so with the girl, the first step in disci<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>pline
+is that of securing a willing obedience. Then
+the tasks may be assigned in accordance with the
+girl&#8217;s age and strength. There is no good reason
+for attempting to get work out of the child through
+a make-believe policy of play. Children had better
+be made to understand from the first that the world
+we live in is constructed largely through work; and
+that labor is honorable and may even be made
+pleasurable.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I should rather do the work myself than be
+bothered with trying to get the children to do it,&#8221; is
+a very common expression, and one which indicates
+an erroneous idea of the problem we are considering.
+So long as parents put their children at the tasks
+merely for the sake of getting the tasks done, the
+children will suffer as a consequence. But if the
+thought of the child&#8217;s need of the discipline coming
+from work be uppermost, then, the results are
+likely to be wholesome.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Teach the girl self-supremacy</span></h4>
+
+<p>One of the greatest problems of the future of the
+race is involved in the fact that many thousands of
+the best young women in the land&mdash;young women
+who are well fitted to be the mothers of a better
+race of human beings than we now have&mdash;are
+choosing an independent calling for themselves. It
+is the author&#8217;s belief that one of the most tragic
+experiences known to any considerable portion of the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>American people is this gradual starvation of the
+maternal instinct usually necessary in the case of
+the well-sexed young woman of the class just mentioned.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_29" name="Fig_29"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxii.png" width="600" height="305" alt="" title="Plate XXII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 29.&mdash;An industrial exhibit in a country school. If the boys and girls could enjoy frequently the refining
+experience of having their work observed by approving eyes, their appointed tasks would seem lighter.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And yet much of this fatal choice of an independent
+vocation on the part of many young women doubtless
+results from bad management of the growing girl.
+In too many country homes especially, the work
+is complete master of the housekeeper and not the
+converse, as the case should be. As a result, thousands
+of good women who ought to be in the pink
+and prime of life are going pathetically to the only
+rest which the conditions seem to allow&mdash;the grave.
+It is an awful thing, this wreck of so many good lives
+through over-work. Under such conditions, may
+we reasonably censure the many young women who
+foresee such a fate as a possibility for themselves
+and avoid it through choice of an unmarried life
+and independent support?</p>
+
+<p>Girls are more readily enslaved to work than boys.
+It is comparatively easy to teach a young woman to
+work, but it is an extremely difficult matter to teach
+her when and how to quit work. Here, then, is
+the point whereat we would center the attention of
+the parents of the country girl. Make her mistress
+of her work. Develop in her by actual concrete
+lessons the ability to stop and rest or take recreation
+at the necessary time, even though the work be
+not half done.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Summary</span></h4>
+
+<p>1. Give the girl a trifling daily task at four or five
+years of age, merely for the sake of discipline. See
+to it, however, that her young life be occupied chiefly
+in play and enjoyment and outdoor recreation.</p>
+
+<p>2. Gradually increase the amount of work required,
+but always with an eye single to the girl&#8217;s physical
+growth and character-development. Some definite
+thing to do as a regular daily requirement will prove
+most helpful.</p>
+
+<p>3. Continue throughout the daughter&#8217;s growing
+years to provide for her pleasure. Her schooling,
+her personal belongings, her social advantages, and
+the like, must all be made to serve the purpose of
+making her life in the home a happy one. As she
+grows in strength and years, she will assume the
+increased amount of work with willingness and even
+with pleasure, provided the assigned duties be vitally
+related to her present purposes and her life
+interests.</p>
+
+<p>4. Moreover, country parents must learn to think
+of themselves as first of all engaged in bringing up
+their children for a better human society; and secondly,
+as engaged in farming and housekeeping. If
+this point of view be held to persistently, the crops
+may often suffer and the housework frequently remain
+unfinished, but the vital interests of the
+boys and girls will continue ever to be served.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>5. Finally, let us continue to appreciate the value
+of outings and vacations as potent factors in relieving
+the drudgery of work about the country household.
+Women&#8217;s work in the country home naturally calls
+for much isolation and seclusion. The pre-adolescent
+girl should be taken out of the farm home once
+or twice per week during the summer vacation.
+It is good for her to go with her mother to the town
+market and to the women&#8217;s club meetings. As soon
+as she enters young womanhood, a square deal for
+the girl who helps in the home will call for a weekly
+outing of some kind and a careful provision for her
+social needs. All of this outside intercourse will
+serve to quicken the body and the intellect of the
+girl as she goes daily about the household duties,
+and to give her</p>
+
+<div class="poem">
+<span class="i0">&#8220;Thoughts that on easy pinions rise</span>
+<span class="i0">And hopes that soar aloft to the skies.&#8221;</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The author has been able to find little printed matter of worth on the
+important problems outlined in this chapter. The industrial training
+of the country girl is a neglected subject. It seems to have been taken
+for granted that she needed none.</p>
+
+<p>Sex and Society. W. I. Thomas, pp. 149-175, &#8220;Sex and Primitive
+Industry.&#8221; University of Chicago Press. Shows in outline the
+emancipation of women from the bondage of work.</p>
+
+<p>Growth and Education. John M. Tyler. Chapter XII, &#8220;Manual
+Training Needed for Girls.&#8221; Houghton Mifflin Company.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+<p>Mind and Work. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter II, &#8220;The Habit of Success&#8221;;
+also Chapter XIII, &#8220;The Need of Adequate Work.&#8221; Doubleday,
+Page Company.</p>
+
+<p>Motive for Work. Margaret E. Schallenbeyer. Annual Report N.E.A.
+1907.</p>
+
+<p><i>Wallaces&#8217; Farmer.</i> Des Moines, Iowa. Weekly. This periodical prints
+many articles, editorial and contributed, which discuss the subjects
+treated in the foregoing chapter.</p>
+
+<p>The Mother of the Living. Mrs. Catherine Barton. Published by the
+Author. Kansas City, Mo.</p>
+
+<p>The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter VIII, &#8220;The Purpose of
+Life.&#8221; Forbes &amp; Co., Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>Life&#8217;s Day. William L. Bainbridge, M.D. Chapter VIII, &#8220;The
+Irresponsible Age.&#8221; Frederic A. Stokes Company. N.Y.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER XIII<br />
+<br />
+<i>SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND
+GIRLS</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>We have been exceedingly slow in realizing the
+social needs of our children, in the usual instance
+depending on chance conditions to determine the
+matter for us. The city and the rural communities
+present a striking contrast in this respect. It does
+not seem possible that both can be right, while there
+is much to support the opinion that both are wrong.
+That is to say, in the city community the majority
+of the children are allowed to spend too much time
+in the company of others. As a result, they take on
+social manners and customs in a mere formal way and
+by far too early for the good of their character-development.
+The city ripens young life too fast.
+It produces the manners and refinements of adult
+life before the child becomes matured mentally. In
+the ordinary rural community there is not enough
+social experience for the young; and hence, a certain
+amount of crudeness, awkwardness, and lack of
+refinement tend to linger permanently in the character.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A happy mean is needed</span></h4>
+
+<p>What seems necessary, therefore, is the establishment
+of a social life which will be a compromise<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
+between the excess of the city and the deficit of the
+country. So far as can be learned, very little has
+been achieved in the matter of establishing just such a
+social order in the rural communities as will tend
+to develop the lives of the boys and girls in an ideal,
+symmetrical way. We may not feel very certain
+as to just how this ideal juvenile society should be
+constructed. Nevertheless, an attempt will be made
+to sketch in this chapter a working plan therefor.
+Some may see fit to adapt it, while others may improve
+it through practice.</p>
+
+<p>What especially needs to be thought of in the development
+of any normal young life is the problem
+of rounding out the character on all sides. There
+are certain fundamental character-forming experiences
+and disciplines, such as work, play, recreation,
+and social intercourse. Many parents seem to be
+possessed of the idea that they can develop their
+children through play and social training alone.
+Others seem to believe that hard work and plenty of
+it is all that is necessary for the development of a
+substantial character in the young. Still others
+appear to allow their boys and girls to roam at will
+and to indulge them only in the recreative experiences.
+But how indefensible the idea that anyone
+should try to find permanent joy and satisfaction
+through recreative experiences without first having
+had as their counterpart the experience of work and
+the responsibilities that pertain thereto!</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>So, again, it may be contended that there is a happy
+mean between the over-work and the absence of social
+experience so common in the farming communities
+and the lack of work and the extreme social excitement
+that so often obtains in the life of the city child.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A social renaissance in the country</span></h4>
+
+<p>There is becoming more and more apparent the
+necessity of not only a revival of the social life in the
+country, but also the demand for its reconstruction.
+It is especially to be desired that the reorganization
+be effected under the guidance of sound principles of
+psychology and sociology. That is, it must be based
+on the fundamental fact of the sex instinct so prominent
+during the adolescent period, and the further
+fact of the imperative demand at this time for a large
+amount of social intercourse. How differently this
+point of view persistently held will shape the matter
+as compared with the older ideal of merely &#8220;giving
+the young folks a good time&#8221;! Yes, the social life
+of adolescent boys and girls has its source in the sex
+instinct then so predominant. It is not therefore
+to be viewed as a piece of superficial sentimentality,
+but rather as a profound law of nature.</p>
+
+<p>As suggested by two or three of the preceding
+chapters, there may be organized a social center in
+the church, or other such centers may develop independently
+through the leadership of some mature
+persons. But instances of this class of effective<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
+organization are as yet few and far between. Meanwhile,
+the young are growing up and their present
+social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers
+cannot wait for neighborhood movements; and so
+the parents of the children requiring the social life
+must themselves take the initiative in the matter.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Conditions to guard against</span></h4>
+
+<p>Before proceeding to a detailed outline of various
+plans for supplying the social needs of rural young
+people, it may be well to point out a few of the pitfalls
+to be guarded against. In reference to the latter, it
+is not the purpose to advise parents to try to place
+their children in an exclusive social set. Far from
+that. The purpose is rather the converse; namely,
+to urge parents to attempt to build up good, clean
+characters in their boys and girls and yet permit the
+latter to mingle freely with common humanity. An
+aristocracy in the towns and cities is bad enough and
+a thing wholly out of harmony with the best and highest
+interpretation of our national life; but an aristocracy
+in the country neighborhood is an abomination.</p>
+
+<p>But while the so-called best families must think
+of their young as growing members of the entire social
+community and not as belonging to an exclusive set,
+there is nevertheless great need of constant watchfulness
+in respect to certain evils that always threaten
+the lives of farmers&#8217; sons and daughters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>1. <i>The social companionships of girls.</i>&mdash;Of course
+it must be admitted that there is frequently present
+in the country neighborhood some vile or wicked
+young character whose influence is very pernicious.
+On one occasion this person may appear in the guise
+of an exemplary young man, smooth in manners,
+stylishly dressed, and apparently interested in the
+best affairs. But as a matter of fact, he may be
+secretly an agent for some infamous institution in the
+city. The records show that thousands of country
+girls have been enticed away to the cities by such
+characters only to meet an untimely and awful fate.
+The parents of the country girl should therefore know
+who the young man is with whom she keeps company.
+Usually it is a comparatively easy matter to test his
+worth. If he have no fixed local attachment in a
+home, and no permanent business relations in the
+community, he may be regarded with suspicion at
+least, and may be compelled to furnish evidence of his
+moral integrity.</p>
+
+<p>Another type of the young country man unworthy
+of the company and companionship of the young
+woman is the one who is known by the men of the
+community as being habituated to the use of vile
+and indecent language, or to the practice of drinking
+intoxicants. If such be among his known characteristics,
+the evidence is decidedly unfavorable,
+making him unsuitable as a social companion of the
+country girl. It is reasonable to predict that he will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
+never change his ways very radically, and especially
+that he will not develop into a desirable life companion
+for the daughter. Some good parents make the
+fatal blunder of allowing their girl to keep company
+with such a coarse-grained young man simply because
+he is so &#8220;good hearted,&#8221; and &#8220;means well,&#8221;
+and the like. To say the least, a depraved social taste
+will gradually develop in the girl&#8217;s life if she continue
+in such company.</p>
+
+<p>Another contamination for the country girl sometimes
+results from the depraved young woman who
+has drifted into the neighborhood. The girl herself
+will be in the best position to detect such a type, as
+the latter will be marked by her coarse manners when
+in the presence of the girls, and by her practice of
+discussing obscene matters in private conversation
+with them. This is the situation in which the innocent
+young girl&#8217;s mind may become forever poisoned
+and her wholesome faith in humanity entirely too
+much unsettled.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Bad companionships for boys.</i> Similar warnings
+as those given above need to be sounded with reference
+to the young country boys, and others as well.
+Farm boys are necessarily much in the company of
+men of very common tastes and low ideals. They
+hear not a little evil conversation and profanity, as
+it is used by such men. As a result, there will be
+need of much constructive teaching at home. Admonitions,
+warnings, and advice will be necessary.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>In every instance it is well for the parents to remind
+the boy of the great interest they have in his welfare,
+of how deeply he may grieve them by taking up any
+of the evil practices in question, and of the high ideal
+which they hold in mind for his future.</p>
+
+<p>Farm parents will need to keep up an intimate and
+frank exchange of ideas with their youthful son on
+the general subjects discussed in this chapter. They
+may ask him to repeat all he has heard and to relate
+all he has seen, good and bad, they then offering
+their corrections and admonitions. The especial
+danger is that the boy may acquire evil forms of
+speech, pernicious ideas for his secret thoughts, and a
+too low estimate of the worth of humanity. The
+vile companion is especially inclined to make the
+youth believe that there is no purity of character
+among girls and women&mdash;a most lamentable state
+of mind for a boy or a man of any age.</p>
+
+<p>The boy in the country is not only very much in
+danger of having his mind contaminated by the evil
+speech and the evil misinformation mentioned above,
+but there is always the possibility of his being enticed
+by some older and depraved companion into the
+company of evil women. Strange to say, there are a
+few men who seem to plan deliberately this form of
+downfall for innocent boys and to regard the success
+of their vile plot in the light of a mere joke. It is
+perhaps a fault of society that such men are permitted
+to run at large. And it is especially the fault<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
+of fathers if such men keep company with their boys.
+No matter how excellent the family history, how well-born
+the boy may be, and how carefully he has been
+admonished, there is always some danger of his
+yielding to an evil sex temptation&mdash;a situation which
+the parent should always be watchful about and ready
+to meet.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Secret sex habits.</i>&mdash;It is probable that country
+boys are more prone to secret perversions of their sex
+life than are city boys. The enforced solitude of the
+former and the increased opportunities for such secret
+evil may be accountable for the difference. In any
+event, there is necessity of constant watchfulness,
+and that especially until the son has reached comparative
+maturity of the physical body. The danger
+is at its height at the beginning of the adolescent
+period, fourteen to sixteen years of age. But the
+preparation for meeting the possible sex perversion
+should be begun very early and consist in frank talks
+and admonitions. The small boy&#8217;s questions about
+the origin of life must be answered frankly but only
+to the extent of imparting to him enough information
+to satisfy his present curiosity. Thus to satisfy
+his childish curiosity will prove a means of counteracting
+the evil influences of the bad companionships
+referred to above. Then, the youth needs to be
+shown some instances of the ruinous effects of sex
+perversion in boys and men, together with the inculcation
+of the idea that any such evil practice will cut<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>
+off the possibility of his realizing the high standards of
+moral character set for him. It is well also to remember
+that prevention of the boy&#8217;s misuse of his sex
+life is comparatively easy and that cure is extremely
+difficult.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>The so-called bad habits.</i>&mdash;When we speak of
+the &#8220;bad habits&#8221; among boys and men we are inclined
+to think of swearing, smoking, and the use of
+intoxicants. Without thought of defending the
+practice of profanity, we may say that it is often
+acquired in an innocent fashion and that it ordinarily
+implies no conscious or intentional evil. That is, it
+is usually not so bad in its actual analysis as it sounds
+to the listener. Moreover, it is a habit which many
+boys take up and afterwards discontinue when once
+they have set up for themselves high standards of
+manliness.</p>
+
+<p>With juvenile smoking the case is different. Without
+the thought of offending the adult smoker or
+defending adult smoking, we may say with a high
+degree of certainty that the use of tobacco is extremely
+hurtful to growing boys. It weakens and
+deranges the organic processes, leaves its deleterious
+effects in the throat, eyes, and lungs, and breaks down
+the natural constitutional defense so essential in
+time of such diseases as pneumonia and typhoid
+fever. On the mental side, tobacco lessens the boy&#8217;s
+ability to study. Very wide investigations have
+shown that the habitual smokers among school boys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>
+rank low in scholarship; that they are prone to fail
+in their classes and quit the schools; that almost none
+of them take high rank as students. The moral
+effects are even worse. In times of temptation the
+young boy who smokes is more inclined to yield
+and to choose the worse form of conduct instead of
+the better. He lacks especially that fine sense of
+inner worth so necessary for the one who would
+succeed in arousing his own moral courage sufficiently
+to withstand the temptations that naturally beset
+young life. The rural parents will not of course
+despair about the boy or turn against him should
+they discover that he has secretly become confirmed
+in the use of tobacco. There are still possibilities of
+his development into a substantial character; but
+because of his smoking the problem becomes a much
+more involved and difficult one.</p>
+
+<p>All that has just been said in reference to tobacco
+may be emphasized many fold in respect to intoxicants.
+To allow a growing boy to begin the use of
+intoxicating drink in any form seems to be wholly
+indefensible. However, if there are open saloons
+in the adjoining town or city, even the best country
+boys are always somewhat in danger of taking the
+first false step. Rural parents must not be satisfied
+with the thought that their boy is &#8220;too good&#8221; to
+take up such a thing; they must be assured that he
+is not doing so. Now, the only way to obtain such
+assurance is by means of keeping in intimate touch<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
+with the boy and his movements&mdash;by knowing when
+and where he goes, why he goes there, and whom he
+meets in the various places visited on his rounds.
+Thus, he may be saved from a life of debauch and
+degradation, and that by means of providing carefully
+that he reach his full maturity of mind and
+body without any knowledge of the taste of intoxicating
+drinks.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A center of community life</span></h4>
+
+<p>As explained in a number of preceding chapters,
+there are being carried out several plans for bringing
+about a social awakening in the farm districts. Some
+of these are succeeding admirably, especially the
+county Y.M.C.A., and in a few instances the rural
+church. But presumably there are many thousands
+of country districts wherein these helpful agencies
+will not be found for many years to come. So, in
+the following lines there will be an attempt to furnish
+detailed methods and suggestions to rural parents
+who are under the necessity of assisting their
+own children in a social way. The discussion thus
+far has been of a somewhat destructive order. Now,
+something of a constructive nature will be offered.</p>
+
+<p>The first essential in the awakening of a clean social
+life for the young is a center of effort. If there be
+no church or clubhouse of any kind within easy access
+of all, then the farm home may be made use of for
+this service. There are many advantages in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
+common country home as a social center for the
+young, among them being the probable presence of
+some sympathetic parent to offer guidance and to
+keep down unbecoming conduct.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Invite the young to the house</span></h4>
+
+<p>So, if country parents are really in earnest about
+doing something to develop their own children in a
+social way, let them throw open their own homes for
+the purpose. In a certain Iowa home this thing was
+done in an admirable manner. Let the father tell
+the story in his own language:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;For years we had a room in the house which we
+called the &#8216;parlor.&#8217; It contained some expensive
+furniture which the members of the family scarcely
+ever saw, as the place was usually kept closed up and
+dark. Why we reserved such a dark, musty room
+for the &#8216;special company&#8217; that came two or three
+times each year, I do not know. At any rate, we
+decided to make the place useful. In remodeling the
+house we enlarged it to 16 by 20 feet in size and
+added one very large window.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXIII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_30" name="Fig_30"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxiii.png" width="600" height="260" alt="" title="Plate XXIII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 30.&mdash;An agricultural and domestic science club in Oklahoma. Without being so named, it is also distinctively
+a social club, and a splendid socializing and refining agency.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;Here we made a society room for the young people
+of the neighborhood. Extra chairs were obtained,
+also a large new stove and fixtures for gaslights.
+There were also some simple wall decorations and
+a small library and reading table. That was two
+years ago. Since then our two boys and two girls
+have given many parties in that room and no one
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>has got more enjoyment out of the affairs than their
+parents. We feel as if that room was the best investment
+we ever made.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Not nearly all anxious parents may be so situated
+as to follow the excellent plan described above, but
+it is certainly worthy of a trial by all who can avail
+themselves of its benefits. Best of all, the young
+people in whose behalf this thoughtful endeavor is
+put forth will most certainly grow to maturity confirmed
+in the belief that the country life is not lacking
+in its social enjoyments.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">How to conduct a social entertainment</span></h4>
+
+<p>In giving a social entertainment to the young
+people of the country, there are a few simple yet
+common matters to be observed. First of all, there
+is the frequent tendency toward reticence or backwardness.
+It will be remembered, of course, that the
+object of the occasion is not merely passing amusement
+for the young, but also that of furnishing some
+means of character-development. In fact, the author
+wishes that every chapter of this book be thought of
+as contributing something toward the building up of
+young lives. So, in case of the home party, it will be
+necessary to see that every one present takes some
+active part. The bashful youth who is merely permitted
+to sit by and look on will go home secretly
+displeased, if not much pained, at his own backwardness.
+He may even fail to appear again on such an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>
+occasion, and thus the availability of a most helpful
+agency be permanently lost to him.</p>
+
+<p>It is not therefore so much a question of the dignity
+and importance of the games played as it is a
+question of the active engagement of every one present
+in the amusements. Much will depend on leadership.
+An able leader will have the group organized
+before the several members realize what is being
+done. An expert student and director of young
+people was seen on a certain occasion to take charge
+of a party of forty boys and girls ranging in age from
+fifteen to twenty years. These were quickly placed
+standing in two parallel lines of twenty each. Each
+side was given a dish of unhulled peanuts and asked
+to engage in a contest of passing the nuts down the
+line one at a time, from hand to hand, the one at
+the farther end of the line placing the nuts in a
+receptacle. This simple game &#8220;broke the ice&#8221; for
+the entire evening. After that it was easy to keep
+the entertainment going.</p>
+
+<p>The supervisor of the social affair is advised to
+discourage all games that tend to an over-amount of
+silliness and that allow for undue familiarity of the
+sexes. There is, however, a dignified form of fun
+and merriment quite as enjoyable as the baser sort.
+And, too, the leader of the evening need not be reminded
+of the many little opportunities for inculcating
+wholesome lessons in dignified manners. Many
+a &#8220;green&#8221; and awkward country youth is started on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>
+the way to salvation through the courteous treatment
+he receives from some older and much respected
+person. Simply to treat him as if he were a dignified
+young gentleman amounts to inciting him to put
+forth his greatest effort to make a show of manliness.
+A close student of young nature will often
+observe that merely to address such a youth as
+&#8220;Mister&#8221; So-and-So causes him to straighten up
+and try to look the part.</p>
+
+<p>The hostess and guide at the rural party of young
+people will err not a little if she feels under the
+necessity of preparing a banquet or even a heavy
+luncheon for the occasion. Something as simple as a
+light drink and a wafer or two will be quite enough.
+The object of the refreshments is not merely to feed
+the young people to the point of stupefaction, but
+rather to give physical tone to support the vivacity
+of all.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What about the country dance</span></h4>
+
+<p>Unless the country dance can be radically reformed,
+it must be very strongly advised against. There is
+something about this occasion as usually conducted
+which seems to invite coarse characters and disreputable
+conduct. The country dance has so often
+been the scene of vice, drunkenness, and other such
+evils as to have received a permanent stigma of
+cheapness. The only seeming possibility of making a
+success of it is by the method of inviting a very
+exclusive set to attend, and this thing is so suggestive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
+of aristocracy and snobbishness as to cause not a
+little ill feeling in the neighborhood. Under present
+conditions the country dance cannot be so managed
+as to make it contribute to the social and moral uplift
+of country young people. There are many better
+forms of entertainment which may be substituted
+for it.</p>
+
+<p>Along with the country dance should be rated the
+cheap professional entertainments that are so often
+given in the country school houses. Many of these
+are not only degrading but are morally evil in their
+suggestions, while they tend to give the young a
+depraved taste in respect to public shows and
+theaters. The school trustees may well exclude all
+such &#8220;shows&#8221; from the building.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Additional forms of entertainment</span></h4>
+
+<p>The farm parents most desirous of leading in the
+young people&#8217;s entertainments, and best fitted to do
+so, may find it impracticable to invite the young into
+their home. In such case, there are several other
+ways whereby the desired ends may be achieved.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXIV.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_31" name="Fig_31"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxiv.png" width="600" height="286" alt="" title="Plate XXIV" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 31.&mdash;A rural scene in Canada, where the church and the school are situated together. The large barn
+in the background is significant. Much of the daily thought and conversation is centered here.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>1. <i>The social hour at the religious services.</i>&mdash;It
+is deemed quite advisable that those who plan the
+religious service in the country have thought of a
+social hour in connection therewith. The latter
+may prove fully as helpful in a constructive sense as
+the former, and it can in no wise detract from the
+value of the religious meeting. This combination
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>of events is already being successfully tried in a
+number of places. For example, at the mid-week
+evening service, there is given first an hour to the
+prayer meeting or the discussion of the religious topics
+and the church work. After that, the scene is
+changed into one of clean, wholesome amusement
+with the special thought of giving the young people
+social entertainment and training. It has been
+found that this very method of uniting the religious
+and social service under a carefully planned program
+sometimes more than doubles the attendance. Of
+course the first essential for the success of such a
+meeting is that an able leader be in charge of it.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>A country literary society.</i>&mdash;In times gone
+by the country literary society has played a mighty
+part indirectly in the building of the nation. Many
+a statesman or leader of the people has received his
+first aid and inspiration at the little old country
+&#8220;literary and debating society.&#8221; There is no good
+reason why this same general form of society might
+not continue to do its effective work. However, in
+its best form, there will be some additions to the old
+procedure of merely debating the important public
+questions. The program makers may well have in
+mind the ideal of bringing out every form of talent
+latent among the young of the community. It is
+especially advisable that every young attendant be
+given an invitation to do the part of which he is most
+capable, and that he be urged to do it. It is quite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+possible to arrange a program upon which only the
+ablest and most capable young persons of the neighborhood
+may appear. But such would be a violation
+of the best purpose of the society; namely, not
+merely to provide a first-class entertainment, but an
+entertainment <i>which shall bring out the greatest possible
+variety of talent and awaken interest and enthusiasm
+on the part of every member</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Then, let the motto of the ideal country literary
+society be, &#8220;Something worth while for every member
+to do.&#8221; The old-fashioned country society, like
+the older public school, was too narrow. It touched
+life and awakened interests in only a few places. The
+old school tested a boy in the three R&#8217;s and geography.
+If he did well in these, he was &#8220;smart.&#8221; If he failed
+in the traditional subjects, he was branded as a
+dullard and crowded out of the school, although in
+respect to some other untested activities he may have
+been a slumbering genius. So with the primitive
+&#8220;literary and debating society&#8221;; debating and
+&#8220;speaking pieces&#8221; were practically the only numbers
+on the program and usually only the ablest were
+allowed to appear. Ordinary talent in debating
+and reciting and all manner of promising talent in
+other lines was allowed to slumber on in the lives of
+many of the young people in attendance. Now, it
+is practically a certainty that every member of the
+young literary society can perform a part very acceptably,
+provided the discerning leader know what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
+that part is. And best of all, the bringing out of such
+talent means the awakening of many other splendid
+interests among the youthful members of the community,
+and finally the development of moral courage
+and other forms of manliness and womanliness.</p>
+
+<p>Now, to come to the point of a social result, the
+so-called literary entertainment can easily be made
+up in two parts, the literary and the social; and there
+should be set apart an hour for the latter.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>The social side of the economic clubs.</i>&mdash;In
+many instances, there will be organized boys&#8217; corn-raising
+or crop-improvement clubs, and with them
+country clubs of the girls interested in household
+economy. These club meetings may be made the
+occasion of not a little social improvement. The
+boys and girls may meet at the same hour and place,
+and after the business has been disposed of there
+may be a coming together in a social way. Such
+arrangement is highly advisable for two reasons.
+First, it will certainly increase the membership of
+the clubs; and, second, the social instincts of the
+young people may be suitably indulged.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Some concluding suggestions</span></h4>
+
+<p>The leader interested in the foregoing plans may
+again be reminded of the necessity of instituting a
+social organization of such a nature as to touch all
+the young lives in the neighborhood. The rules
+and regulations governing the society should there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>fore
+be drawn on broad and liberal lines, not forgetting
+the great possibilities of awakening slumbering
+interests and aptitudes, and of building up a social
+community that will draw young people to it.</p>
+
+<p>If one will take the time to drive for a hundred
+miles in a direct line through the farm districts, as the
+author has done, he will be not a little surprised at the
+striking contrast in the social conditions of the various
+neighborhoods passed through. In one instance he
+will be told that there is absolutely nothing present
+to invite the young&mdash;a dull, dead place with perhaps
+many run-down farms and farm homes to keep
+it company. He will learn that the young people
+of such a community are running off to some neighboring
+town where many of them find a cheap and
+degrading class of entertainment. But the next
+adjoining neighborhood may present a converse situation.
+One will be told that the young people
+are happy and contented there, that they have frequent
+meetings of their social clubs and other forms
+of organization; most probably the appearance of
+the neighborhood will be likewise much better than
+that of the other one mentioned. Attractive homes,
+well-kept roads and hedges, and other evidences of
+prosperity will meet one&#8217;s view.</p>
+
+<p>In one district visited, the author found that this
+better situation had an interesting history and that
+it was nearly all traceable to a quarter of a century
+of public-spiritedness of one man. This resident had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>
+settled upon a quarter section of good land. While
+he was reconstructing his own home and its surroundings
+into a place of attractiveness, he was
+continually engaged in awakening the entire neighborhood
+in behalf of better things. He had led out
+in establishing a well-attended Sunday school in the
+district, had been instrumental in instituting regular
+preaching service there twice each month, had
+led the entire neighborhood out on more than one
+occasion for a day&#8217;s work in improving and beautifying
+the school grounds, had been the organizer and
+director of the country literary society, and of more
+than one club of farmers and their wives. During
+all this time he was correspondent for one or two
+county papers and used every occasion for advertising
+the home community. All together, it was a
+most commendable and far-reaching service which
+this one man performed for his own neighborhood.
+So, it may be said that wherever there is one inspired
+leader in a country community, there is life.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, it may be urged that the biggest thing in
+the rural community is not the big crop of corn or
+wheat or the excellent breeds of live stock. Important
+as these things are, the great concern of the
+community should be the development of sterling
+character in the lives of the growing boys and girls
+and the cleanness and integrity of the personalities
+of every one within the neighborhood limits. To
+that end let this social center ideal be actualized,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>
+becoming a place toward which the thoughts of all
+will go frequently and fondly during the hours of
+care and toil. Let it be made a place the thought of
+which will forever impart a full measure of good
+cheer, of contentment, and of honest courage to the
+mind of every member of the society thereabout.
+Let it be a place so ordered and arranged that things
+sacred and divine may reach down to the things
+often thought of as very commonplace and mean,
+and exalt the latter to their true and proper place.
+Lastly, let it be earnestly desired and planned for
+that every heart in the rural district shall be rekindled
+with a living fire of enthusiasm in behalf of the general
+improvement&mdash;of interest in the things that are
+high and divine, and of affection and good will toward
+all in the community. Let some local resident rise
+up as leader and bring this order of things to pass, and
+the social experiences of the young people will naturally
+become of such a nature as to develop them into
+men and women of great worth and efficiency.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Wider Use of the School Plant. Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter IX,
+&#8220;Social Centers.&#8221; Charities Publication Committee, N.Y.</p>
+
+<p>Chapters on Rural Progress. Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter XIV,
+&#8220;The Social Side of the Farm Question.&#8221; University of Chicago
+Press.</p>
+
+<p>Development and Education. M. V. O&#8217;Shea. Chapter XIV, &#8220;Problems
+of Training.&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>Social Control. Edward A. Ross. Ph.D. Chapters VII and VIII, &#8220;The
+Need and Direction of Social Control.&#8221; Macmillan.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+<p>The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Forbes &amp; Co., Chicago. A
+wholesome and cheering book for girls.</p>
+
+<p>Confidences. Edith B. F. Lowry, M.D. Forbes &amp; Co. Plain, helpful
+talks regarding the sex life of girls.</p>
+
+<p>See the excellent editorial article, &#8220;Forces that Move Upward,&#8221; <i>Farmer&#8217;s
+Voice</i>, June 15, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Causes of Delinquency Among Girls. Falconer. <i>Annals American
+Academy</i>. Vol. 36, p. 77.</p>
+
+<p>Democracy and Education. Dr. J. B. Storms. Annual Volume
+N.E.A., 1907, p. 62.</p>
+
+<p>The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter III, &#8220;Life That is Worth
+While.&#8221; Doubleday, Page Company.</p>
+
+<p>The Ideals of a Country Boy. A. D. Holloway in <i>Rural Manhood</i>, May,
+1910.</p>
+
+<p>Why Not Education on the Sex Question. Editorial article. <i>Review
+of Reviews</i>, January, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Report of Vice Commission of Chicago. Chapter V, &#8220;Child Protection
+and Education.&#8221; Guntorf-Warren Printing Co., Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>The Spirit of Democracy. Charles Fletcher Dole. Chapter XXIX,
+&#8220;The Education for a Democracy.&#8221; Crowell &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>The Education of the Boy of To-morrow. A. D. Dean. <i>World&#8217;s
+Work</i>, April, 1911. Prize essay.</p>
+
+<p>College and the Rural Districts. W. N. Stearns. <i>Education</i>, April, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Boy Problem. Educational pamphlet No. 4. Society for Sanitary
+and Moral Prophylaxis, N.Y. 10 cents. Treats ably the question
+of social purity.</p>
+
+<p>Genesis. A Manual for Instruction of Children in Matters of Sex. B. S.
+Talmey, M.D. Practitioners&#8217; Publishing Company, N.Y.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XIV<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE FARM BOY&#8217;S INTEREST IN THE
+BUSINESS</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>The theory that the boys and girls who grow up in
+the country must in time become settled in farm
+homes of their own has neither logic nor psychology
+nor common sense to support it. It is never a question
+of whether or not a boy will take up the work of
+his father, but whether or not he will find at length
+the true and only calling for which his nature is best
+fitted. If the parents of the country boy will keep
+the latter question clearly in mind, many a problem
+in the latter&#8217;s rearing will be made much easier.</p>
+
+<p>In order to break the monotony of the style of
+expression, much of this chapter will be addressed
+somewhat directly to the father of the country boy.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What is in your boy?</span></h4>
+
+<p>If a man should come suddenly into possession of a
+piece of land having a productive soil, one of his first
+questions in regard to the soil would be, What will it
+best grow? Farmers blundered and starved along
+for generations in an attempt to make a first-class
+farm produce the wrong crops, or to produce the right
+crop through the wrong manner of treatment; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>
+this simply because they used methods of tradition
+and guess rather than those of science.</p>
+
+<p>Now apply the foregoing situation to the boy problem,
+if you will. So long as we attempt to secure
+from him the wrong results and deal with him by
+wrong methods, we are likely to conclude that there
+is &#8220;nothing in him.&#8221; Therefore, in order to act
+intelligently and helpfully in the matter of giving the
+young son a business relation to farm life, it is first
+necessary to determine, as far as may be possible,
+the bent of his mind, remembering that the great
+artist, the great writer, or the great captain of industry
+is just as likely to be born in the country home as
+elsewhere. In fact, we shall learn in time, much to
+our advantage, that there must be a careful sifting
+process which will result in sending some of the
+country-bred young men directly to their important
+places in the city, and some of the city-bred youths
+to the rural industries.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Much experimentation necessary</span></h4>
+
+<p>The one who undertakes to develop a boy&#8217;s interest
+in business affairs has really before him a problem
+in experimental psychology. Many of the youth&#8217;s
+best aptitudes are necessarily still slumbering and
+unknown to either himself or others. The fundamental
+steps preparatory for a successful commercial
+venture on the part of a young man are comparatively
+few but none of them can safely be
+omitted. They are as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>1. <i>Willingness to work.</i>&mdash;In this connection, perhaps
+something will be recalled from <a href="#Page_129">Chapter IX</a>.
+We may at least be reminded of the difference in the
+attitude of mind of the boy who regards labor as a
+painful necessity and the one who enjoys a willingness
+to work. So long as the youth feels as if he
+were driven to his tasks there is little hope of arousing
+his interest in the business side of it. His mind
+will continue too much on the problem of avoiding
+work and on ways and means by which to get something
+for nothing.</p>
+
+<p>There is probably a period of dishonesty in the life
+of every normal youth. Following the dawn of
+adolescence there is a great wave of new interest and
+new meaning coming to him out of the business and
+social world. The world is so full of interesting
+enticements. Everything looks to be good and
+within easy reach. He is especially prone to accept
+material things at their advertised value. He spends
+his dimes for prize boxes thought to contain gold rings
+and other such finery. His quarters and half dollars
+frequently go in payment for the &#8220;valuable&#8221; things
+offered &#8220;free for the price of the transportation,&#8221;
+the purpose of this tempting gift being &#8220;simply for
+the sake of introducing the goods.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>But it is well to see the boy safe through this period
+of allurement. So long as the world seems to hold
+out so many highly valued things which may be had
+for a trifle the youth will see little need of his work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>ing
+to obtain them. So, attend him in his efforts
+to get something for nothing. Permit him to be
+stung a few times and thus teach him how and where
+to look for the sting. Finally, impress him with the
+thought that every material thing worth while represents
+the price of somebody&#8217;s honest labor. At length
+he will see the reasonableness of industry and settle
+down with a purpose of making his way through life
+by means of honest endeavor. You now have the
+youth so far on his way to successful business undertaking.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Ability to save.</i>&mdash;All healthy boys are naturally
+inclined to be spendthrifts. Saving a part of one&#8217;s
+means is a fine art acquired only through judicious
+practice. It is assumed that the young son is being
+reasonably paid for certain required tasks. So the
+next duty is to see that he saves a part of his earnings.
+For the purpose of this training in saving, a
+toy bank may be procured; or he may be directed in
+depositing a small weekly sum in a penny savings
+bank. Still another way is to teach him to keep a
+book account of his earnings, giving him due-bills
+for the amounts withheld from his wages.</p>
+
+<p>There is one small business practice, the importance
+of which for the boy is too frequently overlooked;
+that is, the practice of carrying a small amount of
+change in his pocket. He must learn to use his
+money thoughtfully and not merely on every occasion
+of his being allowed to have it. He must acquire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>
+the habit of self-restraint in the use of money. To do
+this is to learn to spend judiciously. To have reached
+this stage of financial training is a sufficient guarantee
+that the youth is proceeding well on his way toward
+success in business enterprise.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Start on a small scale</span></h4>
+
+<p>Then, give your growing son as wide a variety of
+experience in work and in watching business affairs
+as the situation will permit of. During the process of
+this mental growth help him to make a small investment
+in something that will grow and increase under
+his intelligent care. Let us assume that your specialty
+is a certain strain of corn or a certain breed
+of cattle. If the boy shows an interest in this matter,
+start him in at an early age, say ten to fourteen,
+on his own account. Give him in exchange for his
+work a small plot of ground on which to grow corn,
+perhaps with a view to his later entering the boys&#8217;
+contest for a prize. Or, help him to get a small
+beginning in the cattle business.</p>
+
+<p>But in case the lad shows no interest in your business,
+do not let the matter seriously trouble you for a
+moment. Simply continue to give him his general
+education, including the best school course available
+and a training in the performance of work as well as
+the judicious use of the spending money that may
+come into his hands. Careful study of the boy may
+indicate to you that his aptitude for business runs in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>
+the direction of something to which you are giving
+little or no attention but to which you may in time
+bring him.</p>
+
+<p>There is the case of a successful wheat raiser who
+discovered his son&#8217;s fondness for thoroughbred cattle.
+So the boy was carefully started on a small scale in
+the business of raising short-horns. To-day that
+son is known far and wide as an able specialist in this
+line of stock breeding. Now, if the father in this
+case had done as thousands of other farmers are still
+doing; namely, if he had attempted to force the boy,
+against the latter&#8217;s natural inclination, to take up
+wheat raising or any other undesirable business,
+then, the son would have most probably skipped off
+for the city and secured a fourth-rate place for the
+mere wages it would bring. Some day this tragic,
+oft-repeated story of mismanagement and misdirection
+of the growing boy will come out in all its
+distressing details.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Give your son a square deal</span></h4>
+
+<p>Deal with your young son on business principles
+from the beginning. Do not hastily and unwisely
+give him a piece of property that will have to be
+taken from him in the future because of its having
+grown into a disproportionate value. This old form
+of mistreatment of the country boy has been the means
+of thwarting the business integrity of many a promising
+youth.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>If the boy&#8217;s small beginning develops under his
+care into a business of large proportions, the only
+check or hindrance that the ethics of the case will
+allow is that you treat with him on fair business terms,
+just as you would with any good business man.
+You may cause him to bear all his own personal expenses
+and all the expense connected with the care
+and development of his live stock or crop. Then the
+matter of curtailing him must stop. And if the son
+soon becomes able to buy you out, it is certainly an
+affair to be proud of, not a thing to hinder by unfair
+means.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Keep the boy&#8217;s perfect good will</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is a serious matter to lose the boy&#8217;s confidence
+or in any way break faith with him, even though
+there be nothing about the place in which you can
+make him take a business interest. As he grows to
+maturity his own inner nature must gradually guide
+him into the way of a calling&mdash;and a divine calling
+at that it may prove to be. It may not seem out
+of place to quote the words of a religious teacher who
+says: &#8220;Do you not know that if one&#8217;s inner nature
+points out clearly and inspiringly what he should
+undertake for a life work, such thing may be regarded
+as the Voice of the Divine One speaking faithfully
+through the instrumentality of one of his own creatures?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>So it may prove at length that you will have to sell<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+a load of corn in order to set up in the garret of your
+house a miniature art studio of some kind for your
+young son. Or, perhaps you may have to establish a
+small machine shop as an adjunct to the barn or wood
+shed, wherein the budding genius may blossom into
+that beauty of manly power and efficiency which all
+the world is glad to admire. Out of just such a wise
+indulgence as that last named a certain Kansas boy
+finally became enabled to revolutionize the old farm
+home and the work done there through the installation
+of an excellent motor power plant. Electric
+light for the house and barn, power for operating
+feed grinder, washing machine, grindstone, fanning
+mill, and many other such machines&mdash;all this has
+resulted from the rightly directed work of a youth
+who could have easily been driven to the city into
+some treadmill of mere wage earning.</p>
+
+<p>But, occasionally the boy will prove himself a
+versatile character, succeeding in a measure in every
+line of small business to which you introduce him,
+yet showing a marked success in none. In such case
+the advisable thing to do is to continue his general
+education for a longer period than is necessary for
+the boy who shows an early inclination toward a
+given line of work.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Some will be retained on the farm</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is admittedly desirable, all things fairly considered,
+that many of the very best boys remain on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
+the farm and help develop rural life into what it
+should be. Hence the necessity of finding a way to
+interest such boys in some of the many business
+affairs connected with the farm home. Perhaps there
+is no better way to develop the lad&#8217;s interest in the
+affairs of the place than that of allowing him to
+participate in the practical business transactions as
+the conditions may allow. Let the parents take him
+to the store, the bank, and other such places for the
+benefit of his experience. Send him in with the
+produce with authority to sell and to invest a part
+of the proceeds in whatever the family may need.
+The father should have the boy with him when selecting
+and buying machinery or live stock at public
+sales. Send him to the bank with checks or drafts
+to be deposited or collected. Give him an opportunity
+to keep the family accounts, or at least to
+keep his own recorded in a book.</p>
+
+<p>The ordinary farmer can think of more ways than
+the foregoing whereby to give his growing son the
+needed experience in money matters. The best result
+of such practice is that if there be anything in
+connection with the affairs of the farm in which the
+boy will have a native interest this aptitude will be
+discovered; and it can then be made the basis of the
+young man&#8217;s introduction into a successful participation
+in some practical business. The boy&#8217;s permanent
+calling is seriously involved in this discussion.
+On page 279 of this book will be found a description
+of three methods of vocational training.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">The awakening often comes from without</span></h4>
+
+<p>Parents who find it difficult to arouse the farm
+boy&#8217;s interest in any part of the home business may
+sometimes easily secure the desired result by sending
+the youth away on a trip to the county fair or
+other such place. As a means of stimulating boys
+in respect to some kind of productive home industry
+the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College
+instituted a school of agriculture for country youths
+at the state fair. Each organized farmers&#8217; institute
+and each county superintendent was asked to send
+one boy. A large tent was furnished by the college.
+This served for a lecture and display room during
+the day and a boys&#8217; sleeping room during the night.</p>
+
+<p>At the first session 122 boys attended, coming
+from 57 counties. The lectures covered such subjects
+as farm crops, veterinary science, track and field
+athletics. The displays at the fair were used for
+illustrative matter. So far the results of the school
+have been reported most favorable. An increasing
+number of boys throughout the state are making
+preparation for it.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">An awakening in the south</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is most encouraging to observe the changing
+ideals of business and industry now in progress
+throughout the nation. The many vocational-training
+schools and the increasing attendance at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
+mechanical and industrial colleges bear witness of
+this fact. The American Negro, ever a faithful
+laborer, is now being taught in such institutions as
+Tuskegee and Hampton, not only to perform some
+honest work well but also to plan and prepare for a
+business of his own.</p>
+
+<p>The son of the southern planter is becoming more
+and more imbued with the new spirit of efficiency
+through personal industry. On this matter a member
+of the faculty of the Louisiana Agricultural and
+Mechanical College says: &#8220;It is a mistake to think
+that the best of the country youth of the south are
+continuing in the old-fashioned ideal of becoming
+mere gentlemen of culture and leisure. In 1910 there
+were nearly 50,000 boys living in a dozen of the
+southern states, who astonished the entire country
+with their achievements in corn-raising. They
+ranged in age from fifteen to eighteen years. At the
+national exhibit held in Columbus, Ohio, one hundred
+of them showed an average yield of 134 bushels of
+corn to the acre. This corn-growing practice is under
+the direction of the national government, and is more
+than a big, exciting contest, it is a splendid course in
+rural home education.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXV.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 495px;">
+<a id="Fig_32" name="Fig_32"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxv.png" width="495" height="342" alt="" title="Plate XXV" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 32.&mdash;A group of &#8220;coming&#8221; Kansans. Every boy pictured here carried away some sort of
+prize at a state corn show.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;We have at this college hundreds of young men
+from the plantations and they are intensely interested
+in working out the industrial problems that pertain
+to their own home affairs. I have been surprised at
+their eagerness to get into the soil and to do the me<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>chanical
+work connected with their studies. All over
+the south there seems to be an awakening among the
+boys and young men, of an interest in the industrial
+and commercial problems of the plantation.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The farm papers and the educational magazines in
+the southern states give much evidence of this same
+sort of awakening. The farmers&#8217; and planters&#8217;
+organizations, the local improvement and school
+betterment clubs, and many other movements, are
+giving both incentive and direction to the country
+youths who are at all inclined to find an interest in
+the home affairs. The rural parents who desire outside
+aid in arousing their boys&#8217; interest in the home
+business may well seek such assistance by bringing
+the latter into closer touch with one of these progressive
+organizations.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Partnership between father and son</span></h4>
+
+<p>After the farmer&#8217;s son has fully settled upon his
+father&#8217;s business as an ideal one for himself, there
+may be brought to the latter a gradual relief from
+the worry of details, and that through a partnership
+management. A. G. Hulting, Jr., of Geneseo,
+Illinois, thus describes such a plan of co&#246;peration
+in a letter to Arthur J. Bill, the agricultural
+writer:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;We have 160 acres of land in the farm. My
+father owns the land. I do the work, provide all the
+labor, horses, and machinery, and we have an equal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>
+interest in the live stock and we share equally in the
+net returns.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Other terms of co&#246;peration have proved successful.
+In many cases, the son rents all or a part of the place
+on terms similar to those allowed the outside renter;
+excepting that he is usually given the advantages of
+free board and the use of the home conveniences.
+In all such business transactions between father and
+son it is highly advisable that the contract be carefully
+drawn in writing. The verbal contract is proverbially
+a trouble maker, and that even among relatives.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Summary and concluding suggestions</span></h4>
+
+<p>1. Not nearly all promising youths can be encouraged
+to take a vital interest in the father&#8217;s business.</p>
+
+<p>2. In case the boy cannot be induced to take a
+permanent interest in anything on the home farm,
+he may at least have much practice in the transaction
+of the small business connected therewith.</p>
+
+<p>3. The ability to work willingly, the ideal that an
+honest living is to be earned through personal effort,
+and the practice of saving a part of the weekly or
+monthly earnings&mdash;these will give any boy an excellent
+start on the road to success and affluence.</p>
+
+<p>4. Deal with the young son on business principles
+from the first, seeing that he shares reasonably in
+the losses as well as in the gains. Although his
+interest in any chosen line of work may not become
+vital till he makes some money out of it,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>
+hold him persistently in line during the &#8220;lean&#8221;
+years and thus allow him to learn the excellent
+lessons of failure.</p>
+
+<p>5. It may prove unfair to the members of the
+family to permit one of the sons to secure control of
+the business of the home farm. Some pathetic instances
+of this kind have really occurred. For the
+sake of the peace and well-being of all, such an occurrence
+must be prevented by careful forethought.</p>
+
+<p>6. On the other hand, in case where the boy has
+started with a scrawny pig or through renting a piece
+of the home place, and, after dealing fair and square
+with all, has come into possession of considerable
+property of his own, do not wrest it from him or in
+any way take advantage of his minority. Such a
+youth will in time most probably reflect high credit
+upon the family.</p>
+
+<p>7. Finally, the farm parent needs to be warned
+against the possibility of developing his son into a
+mere money-maker. Such is a poor standard of
+success. The man whose only aim in life is merely to
+prosper financially is a poor citizen of any community.
+Teach the boy to succeed in his business ventures,
+but at the same time imbue him with the
+thought that his money wealth must be regarded as
+so much opportunity to help build up the community,
+the state, and the nation. Teach him that financial
+success is worthy of the name only when it is
+linked with social efficiency.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+
+<blockquote><p>Again we find the field of literature treating the subject directly an
+exceedingly scant one. In forming a business partnership with his son
+the farmer should be guided by well-tried precedent. A letter of specific
+inquiry to one of the leading agricultural papers will most usually bring a
+helpful reply.</p>
+
+<p>A First Lesson in Thrift. Horace Ellis. <i>Psychological Clinic</i>, March
+15, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Industrial Education for Rural Communities. Annual Volume N.E.A.,
+1907, p. 412.</p>
+
+<p>The Child&#8217;s Sense of the Value of Money. Dr. William E. Ashcroft.
+<i>S.S. Times</i>, July 24, 1909.</p>
+
+<p>Psychology and Higher Life. William A. McKeever. Chapter XIV,
+&#8220;The Psychology of Work.&#8221; A. Flanagan Company, Chicago.</p>
+
+<p>Industrial Education. Various Authors. (Pamphlet, 25 cents.) <i>The
+Survey</i>, N.Y.</p>
+
+<p>Industrial Education. Kimball. No. 1, Educational Monograph Series,
+School of Education, Cornell University.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XV<br />
+<br />
+<i>BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY
+GIRL</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>During a two-hour ride on a railway train the
+author had as a seat companion a sixty-year-old
+farmer and stock raiser, whose specialty was that of
+raising mules for the market. And what of definite
+information this good husbandman possessed about
+the long-eared beast of burden would fill a volume of
+considerable size. He knew just what time of year
+the mule should be foaled, when weaned, when broken
+to the halter and to work; how to feed and groom a
+mule in order to get the best physical growth; how
+to train the animal so as to develop all the latent good
+qualities and repress the bad ones.</p>
+
+<p>After the natural life history of the faithful mule
+had been carefully reviewed by the rural companion
+the conversation was turned to the subject of girls.
+Had he a daughter? &#8220;Yes, twenty-two years old.&#8221;
+What did she know about money and the common
+affairs of business? &#8220;Business! Mighty little any
+woman knows about business,&#8221; said he. &#8220;We buy our
+girl what she needs and have put her through the
+town high school. I expect her to get married some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>time.
+Her mother has taught her how to do housework.&#8221;
+Further than that the father seemed to
+know very little about his daughter, and he showed
+plainly that he did not consider this second topic
+of conversation half so interesting as the first one.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Is the country girl neglected?</span></h4>
+
+<p>Inquiry will prove that the foregoing case of
+parental ignorance and indifference about the daughter
+is all too common, especially the ignorance. It
+seems never to have occurred to many parents who
+have growing daughters that unless the young
+woman have a fair amount of knowledge of the value
+and use of money her future happiness and well-being
+and that of her family are in danger of becoming
+seriously jeopardized. It is a singular and yet
+lamentable fact that so many American parents,&mdash;parents
+too who are intensely desirous that their
+growing children have the best possible moral and
+religious teaching&mdash;that these same good parents
+fail to understand how one of the very foundation
+stones of efficient moral and religious life is constituted
+of a definite body of knowledge of common
+business affairs. They do not seem to realize that
+the young man or the young woman who knows
+from experience just how money is earned, and how
+it may be judiciously expended and profitably invested,
+is far on the way to a high plane of moral and
+religious living.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>However, there is probably no place of greater
+opportunities for developing sober judgment in the
+growing girl than that afforded by the ordinary
+farm home. For here the business management of
+the household and of the farm affairs are practically
+merged. There is the further advantage of a considerable
+variety of ways whereby the daughter may
+be remunerated for what she does. But, how may we
+best interpret this question? First of all, what in a
+practical sense is a satisfactory business training for a
+young woman, a farmer&#8217;s daughter in particular?
+Do we desire that she become a shrewd money-maker
+and successful a some sort of commercial life? Few
+would take such a position. But in order that
+the young woman may be fully prepared to fill her
+heaven-ordained place as the center and source of
+love and influence in a family, we must provide that
+she be given just such instruction in the use of money
+as will enable her to occupy her high position with
+the greatest possible success.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Why the girl leaves the farm</span></h4>
+
+<p>Under the title above the Farmer&#8217;s Voice prints
+portions of two letters which help to throw not a
+little light on this much-neglected subject. Miss
+Alta Hooper writes:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The one great cry going out from the people, and
+one also much in need of an answer, is &#8216;how to keep
+the boy on the farm.&#8217; It is very seldom that the girl<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
+of the farm is alluded to, although it may be that
+she is included, in a general way, in the great amount
+of literature concerning her brother. But, take it
+from the farmer girl that she is a live one, and unless
+money is coming into her pockets, unless she is
+comparatively independent and has some interest
+to keep her awake, she isn&#8217;t going to &#8216;stay put,&#8217; but
+will get out where she can earn some money of her
+very own, to buy the little things so dear to the hearts
+of girls; and she will not be questioned and lectured
+and scolded over every little expenditure.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, the girls on the farm have minds and pride
+and ambition just as big as their brothers&#8217; too; and
+in many cases they are not given half a chance to
+realize one iota of this ambition. It is then that a
+career off the farm and away from the farm home
+appeals to them. Then the thought comes that even
+though the salary to be earned may be small, still it
+is all one&#8217;s own, and there is no fear in planning
+where and in what it shall be invested.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Likewise, Mrs. F. L. Stevens, writing for <i>Progressive
+Farmer</i>, says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How often have we seen young girls leaving comfortable
+farm homes to go into typewriting, clerking,
+or bookkeeping, in order to have their own money.
+An allowance for personal expenses in the beginning
+would have solved this problem. But the father has
+not seen it that way.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXVI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_33" name="Fig_33"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxvi.png" width="600" height="451" alt="" title="Plate XXVI" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 33.&mdash;At a tender age girls are instinctively fond of doing such work as is displayed here.
+Strange to say, some mothers deny their little daughters the character-forming benefits
+of this childish occupation.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is not necessary that the daughter be given a
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>monthly or yearly allowance of so much cash, but
+the really better way, it would seem, would be to
+start her in some special branch of work, say, poultry-raising.
+Or perhaps she might be given a cow
+or a horse or a pig, which would in time bring in
+sums of money by careful management; and the
+business, a small one perhaps in the beginning,
+would easily develop. Many young girls like to
+work in a garden as the produce is always a good
+source of income and an interesting and educational
+work.&#8221;</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Certain rules to be observed</span></h4>
+
+<p>If we are to give up the idea that the young woman
+naturally possesses the necessary business judgment,
+and to substitute the better idea that she must be
+taught how to manage her own affairs; then, What
+are the fundamental steps necessary to impart such
+instruction? It seems to the author that they are
+these:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>Teach the girl to work.</i>&mdash;As was shown in
+a previous chapter, the girl must be taught carefully
+and conscientiously how to work. Even
+though she may be so fortunate&mdash;or unfortunate&mdash;as
+not to be compelled to do any of her own housework,
+only a first-hand knowledge of how such work
+goes on will enable her successfully to direct it.
+The strength of our democracy is much dependent
+upon the character of our women. The modern tendency
+toward the development of a leisure class<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
+among the women and girls of the wealthier families
+is quite as much a menace to social solidarity as
+was the older order of keeping women in ignorance
+and servitude.</p>
+
+<p>The problem of household help is much intensified
+because of the disfavor with which the so-called
+better classes of women look upon the vocation of
+the domestic employee. The necessary inequality
+of rank of the home mistress and her employees is
+more a matter of tradition and imagination than
+of reality. The social inequality which follows and
+which drives many young women into less advantageous
+places of employment will disappear just
+as soon as all growing girls are conducted through
+a carefully planned course of work and household
+industry. No farm parents can afford to deny the
+daughter the excellent disciplinary results of careful
+training in the performance of every ordinary household
+duty.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>Teach her business sense.</i>&mdash;In cases where the
+growing boy or girl is simply given spending money
+for the asking&mdash;or the begging&mdash;there results a
+perverted idea of the meaning of money. A girl so
+trained during her youthful years is inclined to take
+this same attitude toward her husband in the future.
+That is, she will probably regard it as necessary to
+beg for an allowance and deem it right and proper
+to spend all she can obtain in this way. The seriousness
+of such relations between man and wife is easily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
+seen. But the growing girl can be taught that money
+is merely a convenient unit of measurement of values
+which are produced chiefly by means of work.</p>
+
+<p>Advanced students of our social life are putting
+forth much effort to solve the divorce problem.
+In their efforts to determine causes and to provide
+cures for divorce, some of them have gone so far
+as to advocate a school for matrimony, one of the ends
+being that of preventing incompatible persons from
+entering into the life union. Among the causes
+contributing to the divorce evil have been the radically
+different ideals of the use of money on the part
+of the contracting pair. An attorney of long standing
+experience with divorce cases says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;As a rule the woman who alleges non-support in
+her petition for divorce reveals the fact, before the
+case is ended, that she is lacking in the proper idea
+of the use of money, is often especially weak in
+knowledge of how the family income should be
+spent if the family affairs are to go on satisfactorily.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>Train her to transact personal business.</i>&mdash;Then,
+begin early in her life to teach the girl to
+transact business affairs that relate to her personal
+interests and to the home life of women. Do not
+buy all the little articles necessary for her, but allow
+her, with money reasonably provided, to make her
+own minor purchases under your advice and direction.
+The intelligent farmer knows somewhat definitely
+what his yearly income and outlay are. Why should<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
+not his daughter be told how these accounts run,
+in the usual year, and she then be asked to keep an
+account of all her own personal affairs for a year?
+Such required practice will do more than all the
+arithmetic lessons in the schools to inculcate an
+intimate knowledge of the value of money in relation
+to her own affairs&mdash;to say nothing of the good
+business judgment likely to be acquired.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the country girl may receive a better business
+training than her city cousin whose nearness to the
+attractive stores and shops proves a constant incentive
+for over-indulgence and wastefulness in the
+use of money.</p>
+
+<p>4. <span class="smcap">Make her the family accountant.</span>&mdash;As soon
+as she becomes old enough, take the daughter into
+your confidence as regards the family expense
+account. Make her acquainted with the items of
+income and expenditure in detail. And also make it
+appear to her that the business of the home is not
+being conducted satisfactorily unless some portion
+of the income be set aside for the emergencies of the
+future.</p>
+
+<p>At this point there is offered an opportunity to
+give the daughter some much-needed business
+training. There is much being said of late by way of
+urging the farmer to keep an accurate book account
+of all his transactions. Out of the experiment
+stations have come published letters and bulletins
+urging that such things be done and showing methods.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
+But the evidence goes to show that the majority of
+farmers do not find time for it. So it will in many
+cases be found practicable to turn this important
+task of bookkeeping over to the growing daughter.
+Among the many benefits to be derived will be
+the excellent business training it will furnish her.
+As a diversion from the common household duties
+the accounting will prove most refreshing. And,
+then, the farmer will soon find this service to the
+farm business so important as to justify him in
+paying his daughter reasonably for the work.</p>
+
+<p>5. <i>Miserliness to be avoided.</i>&mdash;While the habits
+of a spendthrift are perhaps above all things else to
+be avoided, a close second to this as an evil practice
+is the habit of expending in a miserly and begrudging
+manner. So, teach the girl to give her money
+willingly for all the ordinary necessities and comforts
+of life and for such luxuries as the conditions will
+reasonably warrant.</p>
+
+<p>The far-sighted parent and the one really interested
+in the future of his daughter will readily observe
+how much enslaved adults finally become in the
+use of money. There are perhaps as many well-to-do
+persons who are miserly because they cannot help
+it as there are improvident persons who are spendthrifts
+because they cannot longer prevent it. Both
+classes manifest the certain results of training and
+habit. In his interesting chapter on the psychology
+of habit Professor James explains so aptly how the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>
+man, long practiced in enforced economy, but at
+length having ample means, goes to the store with
+the determination of paying liberally for an article;
+and how he finally comes away with something
+cheap.</p>
+
+<p>A &#8220;golden mean&#8221; is therefore to be sought in
+training the girl in the use of money. Not how to
+save at all hazards, but how to spend judiciously,
+with conscious thought of the right relation between
+income and outlay&mdash;this is perhaps the more
+acceptable ideal.</p>
+
+<p>6. <i>Teach her to give.</i>&mdash;While inculcating business
+ideas into the mind of your growing daughter,
+guard against her acquiring a mere passion for money-making
+and the accumulation of wealth. For
+example, one of the best means of achieving this end
+would be to see that she gives a part of her earnings
+to some worthy cause or other. Explain to her
+again and again that she must keep up in her life a
+sort of equipoise of receiving and giving, if the highest
+sense of inner satisfaction is always to be her portion.</p>
+
+<p>The young must learn sooner or later that there is
+other than a money profit to be derived from the
+investment of money. Accordingly, it will not be
+found difficult for the rural parents to point out to
+their daughter some place merely where she may
+invest a small part of her earnings in human welfare.
+An orphan child living in the neighborhood may be
+sorely in need of a new dress or school books, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>
+lonely and aged widow may be cheered by the gift of
+a wall picture, a crippled child may be accumulating
+funds for hospital treatment, or another person may
+have lost heavily from flood or fire. These and
+many more like them may be made the occasion of
+teaching the girl a beautiful lesson of sympathy and
+sacrifice. And the sacrifice should come out of
+what she has accumulated through her own small
+business enterprise.</p>
+
+<p>7. <i>Teach the meaning of a contract.</i>&mdash;It is
+often declared that women fail to appreciate the
+obligations of a contract, that they will enter into a
+strict agreement to buy an article or to pay for
+another and then refuse to carry out such agreement.
+Merchants have been so often called on to
+deal with this feminine change of mind that they
+have seen fit to establish a custom of taking back at
+cost any article not found satisfactory upon trial.
+This failure of women to adhere strictly to the terms
+of an agreement has given currency to the opinion
+that they are naturally dishonest. Weininger in
+his volume &#8220;Sex and Character&#8221; even offers a line
+of questionable proof to confirm the correctness of
+the opinion.</p>
+
+<p>But Dr. G. Stanley Hall in many of his researches
+shows that falsehood and deception are common
+and natural practices among ordinary children. All
+forms of honest and fair moral and business practice
+are less natural than acquired. They must have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>
+actual experience, and much of it, as a basis for their
+becoming a permanent part of character. Hence,
+the so-called dishonesty of women in relation to the
+obligations of a business agreement&mdash;that is probably
+nothing more than a matter of sheer ignorance.
+Farm girls are proverbially lacking in business
+practice and in knowledge of the rights and obligations
+of a contract. It is obligatory upon their
+parents to remove such ignorance through business
+training.</p>
+
+<p>8. <i>Prepare her to deal with grafters.</i>&mdash;&#8220;The
+majority of his victims were women,&#8221; is the statement
+so often read in connection with the fraudulent
+schemes of the exposed money shark. Millions of
+dollars are annually taken from credulous women by
+the get-rich-quick money trader. This polite form
+of theft has become so flagrant as to necessitate
+much vigilance and many prosecutions on the part of
+the national government. Widows and other dependent
+women are especially the sufferers.</p>
+
+<p>The necessity of preparing the innocent young
+woman to deal with the enticing business fraud is
+very apparent. Two or three matters must especially
+be attended to in giving the required instruction.
+First, take advantage of many occasions
+to explain to the girl just how a given case is being
+worked, so that she may be on guard against such
+allurements; second, it is well to advise the untrained
+young woman against investing in any scheme<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>
+of profit sharing that offers above a good current
+rate of interest.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Should there be an actual investment?</span></h4>
+
+<p>Then, what if anything should be done in the
+ordinary farm home by way of providing an investment
+for the growing daughter so that she may daily
+have some practice in business affairs, as well as an
+income for use in meeting her personal expenses?
+Before attempting to answer this question, let us
+be certain that we have the correct point of view of
+the growing daughter&#8217;s ideal relation to the practical
+affairs in the rural home. It seems to the
+author that there is only one safe rule of procedure
+here and that is, whatever the investment,&mdash;if
+there be any at all,&mdash;it must be understood that
+the ideal is one of developing the girl into a beautiful
+womanhood and not one of making the investment
+pay in the mere money sense of the term. In other
+words, the business of the farm and the farm home
+must serve directly the highest interests of the members
+of the household, even though money accumulations
+cannot, as a result, go on quite so fast. Or, as
+we have put it several times before: The farm and
+the live stock and all that pertains thereto must be so
+managed as to contribute directly to the development
+of the high aspects of character in the boys and girls,
+and not as materials which the growing boys and girls
+are to help build up and multiply.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>Now, if it still be insisted upon that the country
+girl have a definite business relation to the affairs of
+the home, there are two or three ways whereby this
+may be accomplished. One method is to give the
+girl a fixed and reasonable sum of money for whatever
+she may do by way of helping in the house. Another
+is that of providing a small investment in something
+that may be expected to increase reasonably in
+value and finally bring her a money return. Of the
+two methods of procedure mentioned, it would seem
+that the first is the more desirable. If the daughter
+be given an interest in anything like the live stock
+or some farm crop, the thing will not appeal to her
+directly, and whatever interest she may have in it
+will be a purely borrowed one. On the other hand,
+if she be given a generous allowance for her services,
+and during the younger years be trained in the expenditure
+of this allowance, good results may be expected.
+Similarly as with the boy, the growing girl must be
+taught to look toward the future. A system of restraints
+must be placed against her tendency to
+squander her small income, and gradually she may be
+trained to set aside a small portion of what she has
+with a view to its being applied upon something of
+her own later in life. It is perhaps too much to ask
+the girl to save enough money to pay her way through
+college, but there are many advantages in training
+her to save for a certain portion of that expense.
+Perhaps she may be able to buy her own clothes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>It is not reasonable to assume that every well-trained
+country girl will find it advisable to take a
+college course. So, instead of saving up for college
+expenses, she may be taught to lay by something for
+the day of her marriage and with the thought of
+helping equip a home of her own. As a matter of
+fact, it is not a question of the specific purpose for
+which the money may be set apart. The main
+issue is that of staying by her day after day and week
+after week, and guiding and advising her until she
+finally acquires good sense, mature judgment,
+and self-reliance in regard to the business affairs
+that may be expected to constitute a part of her
+life as a keeper of a home of her own.</p>
+
+<p><i>How the southern girls earn money.</i>&mdash;One of the
+most interesting and significant modern movements
+in behalf of juvenile industry is that of the Southern
+Girls&#8217; Tomato Clubs, originated in 1910 by Miss
+Marie Cromer, a rural school teacher of North Carolina.
+Thousands of young girls are now participants
+in the new work, each one tending a small
+plat of tomatoes and canning the produce for the
+market. One girl is reported to have cleared $130
+from one season&#8217;s crop raised on one fourth of an
+acre. The General Education Board and the National
+Department of Agriculture have given liberal
+support to this tomato-growing work.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XVI<br />
+<br />
+<i>WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY
+BOY HAVE?</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>It is a well-known fact that rural life conditions
+have been changing rapidly within the past decade
+or more. It has taken us a long while to get away
+from the thought that the farmer is to be anything
+other than merely a plain, coarse man, comparatively
+uneducated and innocent of the ways of the world.
+But we are at last seeing the light in respect to this
+and many another such traditional belief of a menacing
+nature. We are now looking forward expectantly
+to the time when the rural community
+shall contain its proportionate share of people
+educated or cultured in the full sense of either of
+these words.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Changes in rural school conditions</span></h4>
+
+<p>Many of those now in middle life can easily
+remember when the farmer boy was sent to school
+only during the time when his services were not
+required for the performance of the work about the
+field and the home. This period was narrowed down
+to about three months in the year. After the
+corn was husked in the fall, he entered school, usually<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>
+about December first. And at the first sign of
+spring, about March first, he was called away to
+begin preparations for the new season&#8217;s crop. During
+these sixty days, more or less, the growing lad
+was supposed to pick up the rudiments of learning
+and by the time maturity was reached to have worked
+himself out of the ranks of the illiterate. So he did,
+for he learned to read falteringly, to write a scrawling
+hand, and to solve a few arithmetical problems.</p>
+
+<p>We observe the new order of things. In practically
+all the states there have been recently enacted laws
+requiring every normal child to attend school during
+the entire term and to continue for a period of
+seven or eight years. The splendid results of this
+provision have only begun to be apparent, but
+another decade will reveal them in large proportions.
+Back of this new legislation in behalf of the boys
+and girls is the new ideal of the possibilities and
+the worth of the ordinary human being. We are
+just beginning to understand this splendid truth;
+namely, that with very few exceptions all of our new-born
+young have latent within them all the aptitudes
+necessary for the development of beautiful and
+symmetrical character. The modern ideal of public
+education recognizes two things: first, the right of
+the child to the fullest possible development; and
+second, the duty of society to see that the child
+receive such training whether the parent may wish to
+accord it to him or not.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>The author is especially desirous that the reader
+appreciate the situation sketched in the foregoing
+paragraph. What does it mean? It means that
+our children are at last to have more nearly equal
+opportunities of development, that their worthy
+aptitudes or traits are to be brought out through
+instruction and made to do service in the construction
+of a sterling character. It means that we shall have
+cultured artisans as well as cultured artists; that the
+plain man behind the plow or in the workshop
+shall be capable of thinking the big, inspiring
+thoughts as well as the little, puny ones. It means
+that there will spring up everywhere among the
+ranks of those once regarded as low and coarse, a
+magnificent society of men and women who, as individuals,
+will feel and realize a secret sense of power
+and worth, and who will shine in the light of a new
+inspiration.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The boy a bundle of possibilities</span></h4>
+
+<p>It has been proved beyond question that the ordinary
+child contains at birth potentialities of development
+far greater in amount and variety than any
+amount of schooling can ever bring into full realization.
+If you will make a list of one hundred different
+and highly specialized vocations, and pause for
+a moment to contemplate the matter, you will
+doubtless agree that any common boy might be so
+trained as to some degree in any one of the hundred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>
+that he might be made to do fairly well in several of
+them; and that he might become an expert in at
+least one of them.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXVII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_34" name="Fig_34"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxvii.png" width="500" height="365" alt="" title="Plate XXVII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 34.&mdash;Only whittling. But in the case of these country boys it is thought of as not mere
+idling, but as a pastime that leads toward the world of industry.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>So, there is little need of being worried over the
+thought that the boy is a natural-born dullard,
+without native ability to learn and finally to make his
+way in the world. It is true that there is occasionally
+a real &#8220;blockhead&#8221; among children, but such
+cases are quite as rare as imbecility and physical
+deformity. Indeed, such cases are nearly always
+connected with one or both of the defects just named.
+Then, while in the usual instance the child is to be
+assumed to possess an ample amount of native
+talent, one of the specific problems of his parents and
+teachers is that of learning in time what his best
+latent talent is, so that it may give proper incentive
+and direction for his vocational life.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Classes of native ability</span></h4>
+
+<p>Roughly speaking there are three classes of native
+ability in the human offspring: the super-normal,
+the normal, and the sub-normal. The first is constituted
+of the geniuses&mdash;few and far between,
+perhaps one in a hundred to five hundred. The second
+is composed of the great mass of humanity upon
+which the stability of the race is built and out of
+which the geniuses&mdash;and the majority of the sub-normals&mdash;spring
+through fortuitous variation. The
+third class is constituted of the feeble-minded, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
+imbeciles, and the exceedingly rare natural-born
+criminals&mdash;altogether, perhaps one in every two
+hundred or more of the population.</p>
+
+<p>Now, what we are trying to get at here is a fair
+estimate of what the parent may reasonably look
+for by way of a stock of native ability in his child.
+The natural-born genius will be known by one special
+mark; namely, he will be so strongly inclined toward
+one special line of work or calling as to need no outside
+stimulus or incentive to make him take it up.
+Indeed, in the usual case of a pronounced genius it is a
+very difficult matter to prevent the individual from
+following out his one over-mastering predisposition.</p>
+
+<p>The marks of feeble-mindedness or idiocy are too
+well known to need description. Such cases are also
+so rare and so special in their manner of treatment as
+to call for no extended discussion.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The great talented class</span></h4>
+
+<p>The great masses of humanity are constituted of
+what we mean here by the talented. That is, as
+described above, at birth they possess a large and
+abundant stock of potentialities of learning and
+achievement&mdash;much more than can ever become
+actualized because of the comparatively limited time
+and means for education and training. Of course, we
+recognize that among the talented classes there is an
+endless variety of combinations of abilities. So are
+there many degrees of ability.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>But in addition to the foregoing marks of latent
+ability in the great middle classes we must note a
+distinctive feature of the development and education
+of such classes. It is this: <i>The two great conditions
+necessary for the successful development of the ordinary
+child are stimulus and opportunity.</i> Unless the
+slumbering talents be awakened by the proper stimuli,
+they may slumber on throughout the whole lifetime
+and no one detect their presence; and unless
+opportunities for development be given to satisfy
+the awakened talent, it may return permanently to
+its condition of quiescence.</p>
+
+<p>In attempting to furnish the necessary stimuli and
+opportunities for the development of his boy, the
+farmer has&mdash;if he will only use it&mdash;a great advantage
+over the city father. The great variety of
+work-and-play experience afforded by the rural
+situation, the fairly good general schooling now coming
+more and more into reach of all farm homes, the
+many conditions contributory to self-reliance and
+independent thinking in the case of the boy&mdash;all
+these raw materials of stimulus and opportunity lie
+hidden about the common country home. But the
+parents must themselves become wider awake to the
+meanings and purposes of such materials, or otherwise
+their value is lost through disuse. And again, it is
+urged that parents make the same careful study of
+their children as they do of farm crops and live stock.
+See the reference lists following the first five chapters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Round out the boy&#8217;s nature</span></h4>
+
+<p>Fortunately, the new provisions of the schools are
+furnishing more and more definitely the equipment
+and the course of training most necessary for the
+masses of the growing children. Fortunately, too,
+the illiterate father is not to be permitted to dictate
+as to what subjects his boy is to study in the school,
+there being not only compulsory attendance, but
+strict requirements that every child pursue the prescribed
+course. The time is fast approaching when
+the rural parent in any community can feel assured
+that this course of study has been mapped out by
+expert authority in just such a way as to serve the
+highest needs of his boy, the idea being to teach and
+awaken every side of the young nature into its highest
+possible activity.</p>
+
+<p>In the usual case it is a waste of time to attempt
+to predetermine the boy&#8217;s vocational life before he has
+gone at least well up through the intermediate grades
+of the common school; and even then, there is usually
+not much indication of what he is best suited for.
+So, one of the great purposes of the common school
+course is that of sounding the boy on every side and
+in every depth of his nature, so to speak, in order to
+find what is there, and to determine what he is by
+inheritance best suited to do as a life work.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXVIII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_35" name="Fig_35"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxviii.png" width="600" height="373" alt="" title="Plate XXVIII" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 35.&mdash;An illustration of how to keep the boy on the farm. Every boy needs to
+acquire early an intimate knowledge of some great industrial pursuit.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The usual inclination of the rural parent is that of
+looking at his son&#8217;s education too strictly in terms of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>dollars and cents and to be impatient at the thought
+of the boy&#8217;s taking a broad, fundamental course of
+schooling. Such school subjects as language and
+composition are especially thought of as a useless
+waste of time. But fortunately, as indicated above,
+the choice is no longer left either to the boy or his
+father. The former must pursue the subjects assigned
+him and allow time to prove the wisdom of such
+a procedure, as it most certainly will. Wherefore,
+let the rural father attempt to think of his boy, not
+merely as a coming money-maker, but as a coming
+<i>man</i>; a man of power and worth and influence in the
+community in which he is to live, a man of whom his
+aged father in future time will be most proud, and
+by whom he will be highly honored.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Other important matters</span></h4>
+
+<p>As suggested above, the evidence is very overwhelming
+in effect that it is the duty of rural parents
+to give their children a broad, general course of
+training as a foundation for efficient life in any place
+or position. Moreover, it must not be thought for a
+moment that the legacy of money or property will
+in any wise furnish a satisfactory substitute for such
+a course of training. Mean-spiritedness and narrow-mindedness
+are almost invariably prominent traits of
+the man who has been prepared to know nothing
+outside of his business even though that may be a
+big business. On the other hand, extensive culture,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>
+including a character well developed in all of its
+essential elements, is by far the best equipment that
+can possibly be furnished the boy for his start in
+life.</p>
+
+<p>Now, while the growing boy&#8217;s education must not
+be especially prejudiced in favor of any particular
+calling, there is no good reason why the farmer&#8217;s
+son should not be given the benefit of every possible
+intimate and wholesome relation to the father&#8217;s
+work and business. That is, he must not be forced
+to take up the vocation of farming, but he must be
+given every opportunity to know its best meanings
+and advantages. And if he is finally to leave for
+some foreign occupation, he must go with a profound
+sense of the possible worth and integrity of the calling
+of his father. Then, in order that there may be
+maintained most friendly relations between the farm
+boy and the farm life, see to it that he has an occasional
+outing. Widen the scope of his home environment
+by means of sending him outside occasionally.
+Let him go off to the state and county fair and learn
+what he can there. Let him participate in the grain
+and stock judging contests, as heretofore recommended.
+Let him attend some of the larger sales
+of blooded stock and learn there to know more intimately
+the possibilities of animal husbandry. Accompany
+him on a trip to the big city occasionally&mdash;under
+proper provisions and restrictions&mdash;and help
+him to acquire some valuable lesson which may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
+taken back to the rural community and used to the
+advantage of the latter.</p>
+
+<p>Also, what about the literature in the home?
+Although a chapter has already been given to the
+matter, for the sake of emphasizing its great importance
+it is again referred to here. Why not see to it
+that there be secured a few enticing volumes of the
+clean and uplifting sort? A very few dollars will
+furnish the nucleus of a library of which the boy will
+soon become proud. Ask the school superintendent
+or teacher to make out a list of ten of the best books
+for your boy and then secure these at once. Bring
+into the home also one or two of the best standard
+magazines and keep constantly on the table one or
+more of the best and cleanest newspapers. Then, see
+to it that the boy&#8217;s life be not so nearly dragged out
+during the day&#8217;s work that he cannot spend thirty
+minutes or more of each evening at the reading table.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Develop an interest in humanity</span></h4>
+
+<p>All education is for the sake of human welfare.
+The thing learned like the material thing possessed
+is most worth while in proportion as it serves some
+high human purpose or need. There is abundant
+opportunity to teach the country boy that education
+cannot well exist for its own sake or purely for one&#8217;s
+own selfish uses. So it is well early to awaken the
+youth&#8217;s interest in people. Have him compare his
+own lot with that of others in very different circum<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>stances.
+Take him occasionally to the orphanage,
+the industrial (reform) school, the imbecile and insane
+asylums, the prisons, and the sweat-shops in the
+city. Thus through acquainting him with how the
+other half lives you may cause the boy to reflect seriously
+on the best meanings and possibilities of his
+own life, and to plan in his mind a splendid ideal of
+integrity for his own coming manhood.</p>
+
+<p>The boy&#8217;s education is not going on rightly if he is
+not being introduced to the current affairs of the
+world. The literature suggested above should be
+made to serve the purpose of bringing his attention
+to these matters. He should become interested in
+the political welfare of his community, his state, and
+his nation, and learn to feel his responsibility in regard
+to such things. But he will probably not voluntarily
+acquire these better relations to society at
+large. It should therefore be regarded as the urgent
+duty of the parent to give the necessary guidance
+and instruction.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, we must again be reminded of the high
+ideals of education and culture necessary to, and
+consistent with, substantial country life. The greatest
+of producing classes&mdash;the agronomists&mdash;must
+and can in time rank at the head of all others in moral
+and intellectual worth. So, let the rural parent look
+ahead and formulate in his own mind the splendid
+vision of his son grown up to full maturity of all his
+best powers. Let him see this future citizen as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
+man of magnanimity, of splendid personal force, and
+of great constructive ability in the important work of
+budding up the affairs of the community in which he
+is to live.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Chapters in Rural Progress. President Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter
+VI. &#8220;Education for the Farmer.&#8221; University of Chicago Press.</p>
+
+<p>Education for the Iowa Farm Boy. H. C. Wallace. Pamphlet. (Free.)
+Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines.</p>
+
+<p>Value during Education of a life Career Motive. C. W. Eliot. Annual
+Volume N.E.A., 1910.</p>
+
+<p>To keep Boys on the Farm. M. E. Carr. <i>Country Life.</i> April 1, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Education Best Suited for Boys. R. P. Halleck. Annual Volume
+N.E.A., 1906. p. 58.</p>
+
+<p>The Training of Farmers. Dr. L. H. Bailey. The Century Company.
+Contains a statistical study of why boys leave the farm.</p>
+
+<p>The Best Thing a College does for a Man. President Charles F. Tawing.
+<i>Forum</i>, Volume 18. p. 570.</p>
+
+<p>The Care of Freshmen. President W. O. Thompson. Annual Volume
+N.E.A., 1907. p. 723.</p>
+
+<p>Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare. Page 142.
+&#8220;The Discipline of Work.&#8221; Frederick P. Fish. G. E. Stechert &amp;
+Co., New York.</p>
+
+<p>The Young Man&#8217;s Problem. Educational Pamphlet No. 1. Society of
+Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. New York. 10 cents. Every
+parent should read this excellent discussion on sex education.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER XVII<br />
+<br />
+<i>WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY
+GIRL HAVE?</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Perhaps it need not be urged that the country girl
+be provided with the same general educational advantages
+as those outlined for the country boy, as
+the plain demands of justice would mean as much.
+She, too, must be thought of as possessing all the
+beautiful latent possibilities, and high ideals of personal
+worth and character should be constantly
+entertained for her in the minds of her parents.
+And then, they must allow no ordinary business concern
+about the farm home to stand in the way of her
+unfoldment in the direction of these higher ideals.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Special problems relating to the girl</span></h4>
+
+<p>Over and above those provisions which relate to
+the general development of the country boy there are
+several special considerations in reference to his
+sister. For example, she has a more delicate physical
+organism which must be shielded, especially at times,
+against the heavy drudgery that will naturally fall
+upon her willing shoulders. And then, the standards
+require of her rather more of refined manners
+than they do of her brother. Moreover, it may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>
+shown that a refined and attractive personality will
+become a larger asset in her life than in his. Comeliness
+and habitual cheerfulness and numerous other
+like qualities must be thought of as necessary and
+helpful characteristics of the well-reared country
+girl. It will also be much to her advantage to have
+some special training in at least one of the so-called
+fine arts. Let her have her musical education or
+some advanced work in literature or painting. A
+sum of money invested in something of this sort while
+the daughter is growing may be considered a far
+better investment than if the same amount were laid
+away to invest in a dowry.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Protecting the girl at school</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is not merely obligatory that the farmer send
+his young girl to the district school regularly, and
+thus round out her nature symmetrically through
+instruction in all the common branches. The delicate
+nature of the normal girl requires far more protection
+than is often accorded it. Unlike the city
+walks and pavements, the country road leading to
+the schoolhouse is often menaced by muddy sloughs,
+tall vegetation, and deep snow banks. Wading
+through such places, especially in bad weather, gives
+undue exposure, the feet frequently becoming wet
+and the body thoroughly chilled. Many children sit
+all day in the schoolroom in this condition. As a
+result of the lowered vitality the incipient forms of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
+various diseases enter the body, there perhaps to
+return intermittently and with more serious effects
+as the life advances.</p>
+
+<p>What may be done as preventive measures, it is
+asked. Simply this: Prepare a better road from the
+home to the schoolhouse, by putting in foot crossings
+over ravines, by mowing weeds and grass, by filling
+and draining low places, and the like. On stormy
+days and on occasions when the young adolescent
+girl is passing through her monthly period of weakness&mdash;one
+especially endangering the health&mdash;it will be
+advisable to provide a conveyance to school and back.</p>
+
+<p>Country parents also often need to be cautioned
+in regard to over-working the school girl. Some even
+require her to do practically the same amount of
+work as she could well endure were there no extra
+burdens at school. Manifestly, this is both unjust
+and injurious. Observe the conduct of the young
+school girl for a few days. If there is no song and
+laughter in her life; if she is not ruddy in complexion
+and buoyant of step; if she mopes and drones about
+the place; do not censure her, but seek a constitutional
+cause and watch for evidences of an over-requirement
+of work.</p>
+
+<p>The close inspection of the health of school children,
+now conducted in many cities, brings out the
+somewhat startling fact that many boys and girls
+come to the class room every morning fatigued and
+depressed beyond the point of effective study. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>
+old way was to call them dullards, to punish them,
+to shame them out of the school, to humiliate their
+parents. The new method of dealing with such children
+calls for scientific measures. First, the exact
+conditions are ascertained by experts; second, the
+parents are urged and helped to provide for the child
+more sleep, better food, more fresh air in the living
+chambers, more recreation, a relief from over-work,
+or some special medical care&mdash;as the particular case
+may demand.</p>
+
+<p>If one wishes full evidence of the effective gain for
+studentship that results from the new manner of
+treatment of the dull and backward pupil, let him
+examine the many reports of individual cases as published
+in the <i>Psychological Clinic</i> at the University
+of Pennsylvania, especially the issues of 1909-1910.
+The indifference or the thoughtlessness of country
+parents may easily allow for the existence of the
+foregoing bad physical conditions in the case of their
+own daughter, and as a result her otherwise promising
+life may become permanently blighted.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Lessons in music and art</span></h4>
+
+<p>The ordinary farmer needs to learn to take more
+pride in his daughter and in her accomplishments.
+The time will come when he will be far more proud
+of her wealth of character than he will be of her wealth
+of material goods. A country father of moderate
+means bought a first-class piano for his two girls and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>
+employed a music teacher. &#8220;You may think that
+I cannot afford such things,&#8221; said he. &#8220;But I can.
+I am running this farm for the good it will do my
+family.&#8221; He was a true philosopher, as well as a
+successful farmer.</p>
+
+<p>It is entirely practicable and most helpful to her
+development to provide that the country girl be given
+instruction in music, or art, or something special and
+advanced in the form of needlework. In its best
+sense this special instruction will not be thought of
+as vocational training, but rather as a necessary
+manner of giving permanent expression to her &#230;sthetic
+nature. The author believes that the matter
+should be stated even more emphatically. That is,
+not to give the normal girl some such means of indulging
+her &#230;sthetic tastes is seriously to neglect her
+education, if not to do her a permanent wrong.</p>
+
+<p>While vocational training and economic advantages
+are important secondary considerations in connection
+with the daughter&#8217;s instruction in the fine arts, the
+father who helps her become an amateur in one of these
+lines thereby renders her a splendid service for life.
+It is neither very difficult nor very expensive to
+arrange to have the girl go to the near-by town or to
+a neighbor&#8217;s once or twice per week where she may
+receive competent instruction in music or painting.
+To make the arrangement most effective there will
+need to be a musical instrument in her own home, a
+conveyance at her ready disposal, and a regular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>
+allowance of time for practice. No just and affectionate
+parents can deny their young daughter any
+fewer advantages than these, if the means for securing
+them can at all be acquired.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The reward will come in time</span></h4>
+
+<p>The lessons in painting or fine needlework may be
+provided for in the same way. If the expense seems
+heavy, the far-sighted parents will think of their
+declining days of the future and imagine the large
+return the daughter may render them through the
+skill which they have been instrumental in developing
+in her.</p>
+
+<p>But without waiting for old age to overtake them
+the father and mother of the girl artist may derive
+some benefits from her work. She may furnish the
+table service with hand-painted chinaware or adorn
+the walls of the home with attractive paintings. And
+also, as heretofore indicated, the daughter may herself
+in time conduct a class of amateur students of the
+fine art in which she has made preparation.</p>
+
+<p>One word of precaution must be offered in reference
+to the training here considered. In the usual
+case the girl is not started young enough. Her
+advancement in the music, for example, is likely to be
+much more rapid and her skill much more marked,
+if the age nine to eleven, rather than five or six
+years later, be chosen as the beginning time. The
+author has witnessed many pathetic instances of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>
+adult girls in a desperate attempt to master the mechanical
+part of the introductory music. The extra
+amount of desire and effort possible at this more advanced
+age do not nearly compensate for the better
+memory and the greater facility of hand and finger
+movement possible at the earlier age. This same
+general law of early beginning probably holds good
+in respect to the other fine arts.</p>
+
+<p>In relation to all the foregoing seemingly trivial
+matters there comes to mind what is perhaps the
+most serious problem that confronts practically
+every well-reared young woman; namely, that of her
+successful marriage to a worthy young man&mdash;a
+subject to be discussed at length in another paper.
+And so it is contended that if her future happiness or
+well-being be a consideration, if the realization of
+her fondest hopes and her instinctive desires be
+worthy of the thought of her parents; then, they
+must by all means see that some of the foregoing
+refining qualities become woven into her whole
+character during the formative period. Thus she
+may be given practically every possible advantage
+in finding that true life companion.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The mother&#8217;s office as teacher</span></h4>
+
+<p>In his usual familiar and straightforward way
+&#8220;Uncle&#8221; Henry Wallace thus addresses the country
+mother through the medium of an editorial in <i>Wallaces&#8217;
+Farmer</i>:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>&#8220;It is the mother that shapes and molds the character
+of the girl. If she is sweet spirited, looks out
+upon the world hopefully and desirous of seeing the
+best in men and women, her daughters will as a rule
+have the same sort of outlook. If she permits gossip
+and fault-finding at the table, her daughters may
+reasonably be expected to do likewise. If she sharply
+criticises the preacher&#8217;s sermon at the Sabbath
+dinner, she need not expect her daughters to become
+devout. If she is a poor housekeeper, how can she
+expect her daughters to excel in that finest of all
+arts? We know something of the depth and tenderness
+of a mother&#8217;s love, how earnestly she seeks the
+welfare of her daughter; but if she has a wrong conception
+of what is best in life, even this unspeaking
+affection may be the source of evil instead of good.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;One of the first things you should consider about
+that girl of yours is her health. Give her plain food
+and plenty of it, sensible clothing, a well-ventilated
+and well-lighted room, and all the exercise that she
+wants, even if she does seem to be something of a
+tomboy; and, barring accidents, she will usually be
+healthy through early girlhood. When she begins
+to develop into womanhood is the time for you,
+mother, to do what no one else can. Tell her about
+herself, about the changes that must come, and about
+the care she must take of herself if she is to be a
+healthy and happy wife and mother. A mistake
+here through false modesty is often the source of
+trouble for years to come.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Home-life education</span></h4>
+
+<p>This book is based on the assumption that every
+good young woman is good for something of a practical
+nature. In considering the make-up of such a
+character, it seems reasonable to assert that no other
+qualities stand out more prominently than the trained
+ability to carry on successfully the work of the household.
+The necessary drudgery of the home life seems
+to be the greatest burden that modern society has
+placed upon women. Proportionately great should
+be the preparation to bear this burden. The ideal
+to be realized is, perhaps, not that the girl may be
+enabled to do more of such work, but that she may
+be trained to be true mistress of it. Woman&#8217;s work
+is never done, and it never will be, no matter how
+many worthy women kill themselves in an attempt
+to finish it. So the greatest thing to be desired in
+respect to this unending round of toil and drudgery is
+that of a well-poised, spiritually-minded character,
+such as may enable its possessor to sit down at the
+end of a working period unusually long and in spite
+of the confusion and unfinished business restore the
+composure and keep in touch with the higher implications
+of life.</p>
+
+<p>It is not really a difficult matter to teach the ordinary
+growing girl to work and perform faithfully all
+of her assigned duties. It is more of a task to teach
+her how to quit when she has worked long enough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>
+and thereby to preserve her health and prolong her
+services.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXIX.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_36" name="Fig_36"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxix.png" width="500" height="313" alt="" title="Plate XXIX" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 36.&mdash;These country boys and girls supply the home neighborhood with the produce from the school
+garden. Such work is first-class vocational training.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Education for supremacy</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is unquestionably a splendid aid to successful
+womanhood for the growing girl to be taught how to
+cook and sew and take care of a house. But as a
+guarantee of peace and happiness throughout life
+she had better be taught many specific lessons in
+self-mastery. And it seems certain that the farm
+home offers many more advantages for developing a
+poised character in the young woman than does the
+city home. So let it be seen to by country parents
+that their girls be trained from childhood to meet
+life&#8217;s stress and storm with calm composure and sweet
+serenity. Only such training will suffice to tide the
+latter over the great crushing ordeals that tend at
+some time to fall to the lot of every good woman.</p>
+
+<p>Conditions in the well-ordered country home may
+be made to contribute to another form of self-mastery
+in the growing girl. That is, she may be made supreme
+over the conventionalities of dress and the
+social customs that touch her life. By this it is not
+intended to prescribe in respect to such things as the
+style or appearance of the young woman&#8217;s clothing.
+She may be first or last or medium in the list of the
+well-dressed. But it is here contended that she can
+be trained to subordinate these matters to a personal
+charm that is her very own, and that emanates from a
+beautiful and well-poised life within. It is quite as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>
+destructive to good character for one to be meanly
+clothed through necessity and at the same time envy
+and despise those who are better dressed as it is to be
+among the richly adorned and try to make mere
+adornment a mark of better and superior rank in
+society, or a means of lacerating the feelings of one&#8217;s
+associates.</p>
+
+<p>The country mother will let pass one of the rarest
+forms of opportunity for refining and beautifying
+the character of her daughter if she does not educate
+the latter rightly in respect to these conventionalities.
+Train her to be neat and attractive in appearance,
+but at the same time teach her that no manner of
+outer adornment can cover up or substitute for sweetness
+and purity of the inner life. The splendid effects
+of such an education will reveal themselves to best
+advantage in the young woman when she has finally
+entered a home of her own. If she cannot then and
+there shine in a light that emanates from her own
+soul, the sacrificial work of ministering to the needs
+of her own household will never be well performed.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">An outlook for social life</span></h4>
+
+<p>Provision will by all means be made that the growing
+country girl be introduced to the best social life
+within reach. She must mingle with those of her
+own age and learn how others think and act. She
+must attend parties and the other social gatherings,
+especially the literary societies if there be any avail<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>able.
+For the sake of her training, if for no better
+reason, she may be brought into close relation to the
+Sunday school and the church. It will be good, indeed,
+if she find some congenial work in one or both
+of these organizations. Let it be remembered that
+the healthy-minded, well-matured woman is very
+probably at her best and is most highly satisfied and
+contented with life only when she has opportunities
+to perform some kind of worthy social service. Farm
+parents may well bring it about, therefore, that their
+young daughter have some specific deeds of altruism
+to perform. Let her carry a small gift or a word of
+cheer to the door of the sick or the infirm. Let her
+make with her own hands some simple, inexpensive
+present to be carried to the one who needs it most and
+whose heart will be made glad by it.</p>
+
+<p>Above all things else, it must be provided that something
+more than the mere grasping nature of the
+young country girl be indulged and developed. Some
+there are who still contend that life for men is, at its
+best, a game of chance and contention. But such an
+ideal, if held up to the growing girl, will tend to check
+or destroy all that is best and most beautiful in the
+feminine nature. Young women especially must
+learn through practice that the best and most beautiful
+character is altogether consistent with the performance
+of deeds of service and altruism.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, educate into the daughter as much habitual
+cheerfulness as possible, let her heart be made glad<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>
+again and again, not merely because of what she has,
+and because of what she receives day by day, but also
+and especially on account of what she gives out of
+the best and sweetest of her own nature in behalf of
+those whom she may find occasion to help and cheer
+on their way over the journey of life. All this will
+help to make her a creature of whom not only the
+other members of her family, but also the entire community
+will be most proud.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>My Escape from Household Drudgery. Mary Patterson. <i>Success
+Magazine</i>, August, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Proceedings of Child Conference of Research and Welfare. Beulah
+Kennard. Page 47, &#8220;The Play Life of Girls.&#8221; G. E. Stechert &amp;
+Co., New York.</p>
+
+<p>Women&#8217;s School of Agriculture. I. H. Harper. <i>Independent</i>, June 29,
+1911.</p>
+
+<p>The Girl of To-morrow&mdash;Her Education. E. H. Baylor. <i>World&#8217;s
+Work</i>, July, 1911. Prize essay.</p>
+
+<p>Education of Women for Home Making. Mrs. W. N. Hutt. Annual
+Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 122.</p>
+
+<p>Give the Girls a Chance. Canfield. <i>Collier&#8217;s</i>, March 12, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Charles W. Eliot. Pages 11-57,
+&#8220;The Happy Life.&#8221; Crowell.</p>
+
+<p>The Kind of Education Best Suited for Girls. Anna J. Hamilton.
+Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907. p. 65.</p>
+
+<p>Parasitic Culture. Dr. George E. Dawson. <i>Popular Science Monthly</i>,
+September, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Training the Girl to help in the Home. William A. McKeever. Pamphlet.
+2 cents. Published by the author. Manhattan, Kan.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XVIII<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE FARM BOY&#8217;S CHOICE OF A VOCATION</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>Turn which way you will upon the great broad
+highway of life and there you will always be able to
+find the wrecks and broken forms of humankind&mdash;men
+and women who have failed in their life purposes.
+Strange to say, that particular aspect of the
+science of character-building which has to do with the
+substantial preparation for vocational life has been
+very much neglected. By what rule do men succeed
+in their callings and by what different rule do
+other men fail? Are some foreordained to success
+and others to failure? Is there an inherent strength
+in some and a native weakness in others? Is there a
+type of education and training which specifically fits
+and prepares for each of the native callings? None
+of these questions has been thoroughly gone into
+with a view to finding out what were best to be done
+and what best to leave undone. So, we blunder
+away, hit or miss, in the vocational training of our
+boys and girls.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Should the farmer&#8217;s son farm?</span></h4>
+
+<p>In attempting to give helpful suggestions to farm
+parents relative to their boy&#8217;s vocation, perhaps this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>
+question will first demand an answer. The tentative
+reply to it is this: The farmer&#8217;s son, or any other
+man&#8217;s son, should follow that calling for which he is
+best suited by nature and in which he will thereby
+have the greatest amount of native interest; provided
+it be practicable to prepare him for such calling.
+Some farm boys are destined by nature for mechanical
+pursuits, others for social or clerical work,
+others for captains of industry, and so on. Likewise,
+the city boys may reveal in their natures a great
+variety of instinctive tendencies and interests which
+will be found of great worth in guiding them into a
+successful life occupation.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, the farmer&#8217;s son should by all means take up
+his father&#8217;s business; provided that at maturity he
+may have both native and acquired interest in the
+same and that to a degree predominating any other
+native or acquired interest.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Impatience of parents</span></h4>
+
+<p>It can be proved that the country boy matures
+more slowly than the city boy. For example, at the
+age of sixteen, he is behind the latter in height, weight,
+school training, and sociability. But while the city
+boy matures more rapidly, the country boy makes
+up for the loss by a longer period of development. It
+is the author&#8217;s firm belief that this fact of slow growth
+proves a tremendous advantage to the country youth
+in that it allows for greater stability of character,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>
+and especially for a greater amount of courage and
+aggressiveness in form of permanent life habits.</p>
+
+<p>But one might well wish that all rural parents could
+realize the evil consequences of being impatient with
+the son in respect to his choice of a life work. Many a
+good boy yet in his teens is hounded and driven about
+by the continuous nagging of his parents, who ignorantly
+believe that he should have his future destiny
+all planned and ready for its realization. As a
+result, this same good boy is often driven to desperation
+and to the point of leaving the home place&mdash;of
+breaking away from the affectionate ties that bind
+him to parents, and of seeking the position wherein
+he might earn a living. As a matter of fact, few
+young men have any very clear or reliable vision of
+their future life at the age of eighteen, or even twenty.
+Many of the best men in the world are faltering and
+uncertain even as late as twenty-five. However, if
+the relatives and friends would only exercise all due
+patience, offering only such helps and suggestions
+as can be given, and trusting the future finally to
+throw upon the problem a light from within the
+youth himself&mdash;then, we may be assured, practically
+every man will finally come to some line of
+effort that will bring him a comfortable living.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What of predestination?</span></h4>
+
+<p>The old-fashioned idea of a boy&#8217;s being marked
+by the hand of destiny, &#8220;cut out for&#8221; some particular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>
+calling in life, still has a place in the minds of the
+masses. The kindred belief that some men are
+&#8220;natural-born failures&#8221; has also wide currency.
+A third superstition is the very common opinion
+that others are &#8220;just naturally lucky.&#8221; All these
+traditional opinions are the outgrowth of ignorance of
+human nature such as may be dispelled by means of
+a course of instruction, or a carefully arranged
+course of home reading, in modern psychology.</p>
+
+<p>None of the foregoing superstitions would be
+worthy of our attention were it not for the gross injustice
+which they entail upon children. Parents
+everywhere&mdash;in both city and country&mdash;are dealing
+with their children upon the assumption that one
+and all of these fallacies are true. &#8220;My oldest boy
+just naturally has no luck,&#8221; said the father of three
+sons and two daughters. &#8220;He changes around from
+one thing to another and fails every time.&#8221; But
+what of this particular boy&#8217;s early training? Was
+it the same as that of the others? Did he enjoy
+equal advantages? Did his parents when married
+really know anything about rearing children? or, did
+they really mistreat their first-born through ignorance
+and use him as a sort of practice material from which
+they learned how to do better by the succeeding ones?</p>
+
+<p>Until the foregoing inquiries about the &#8220;unlucky&#8221;
+son&#8217;s boyhood life be fully answered, we cannot
+reasonably permit ourselves to condemn him. There
+is nothing more in predestination than this; namely,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>
+it can be shown that the child is born with not
+a few latent abilities&mdash;aptitudes for doing and
+learning this and that&mdash;and that one of these
+aptitudes is likely to have correlated with it more
+than the average amount of nerve development
+in the corresponding brain center. As a result,
+that particular aptitude will require less training
+than the others and will tend to predominate over
+them as maturity is approached.</p>
+
+<p>The reply of the psychologist to the statement
+that some men are &#8220;natural-born failures,&#8221; is
+this: Few if any of those possessed of ordinary
+physical and mental qualities at birth are necessarily
+so. Excepting the feeble-minded and the like,&mdash;whose
+marks of degeneracy are usually apparent to
+all,&mdash;it may be asserted on the highest authority
+that none are &#8220;natural-born failures&#8221; to any greater
+extent than they are &#8220;natural-born successes&#8221;; but
+that they have within the inherited nerve mechanisms
+many possibilities of both success and failure.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Three methods of vocational training</span></h4>
+
+<p>We should be willing to overlook almost any other
+interest in this discussion for the sake of inducing
+in the farm father the belief that his young boy is
+a potential success&mdash;the belief that this boy is
+furnished by nature with the latent ability to shine
+somewhere in the broad field of human endeavor&mdash;provided
+he be rightly trained and disciplined during<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>
+his growing years. Here, then, is probably the
+greatest of all the human-training problems; namely,
+the vocational one.</p>
+
+<p>Roughly speaking, there have been three methods
+of vocational training.</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>The apprentice method.</i>&mdash;First, historically
+there has been the apprentice method, the youth
+being &#8220;bound out to learn a trade.&#8221; The chief
+faults of this traditional way of teaching the boy
+to be self-supporting were these: it made no allowance
+for intellectual development, and it gave the
+father too much authority to choose the calling for
+the boy.</p>
+
+<p>A modern offshoot of the old-time apprentice
+course is the trade school which flourishes in many
+of the big cities to-day. This new institution has one
+great advantage over its prototype. It offers such
+a great variety of forms of training that the youth
+may exercise much free choice. But it preserves
+one of the serious defects of apprenticeship in its
+neglect of the intellect of the learner. The modern
+trade school can never hope to do more than prepare
+young men and women to make a good living. It is
+a get-ready-quick institution, and can never be
+expected to give the student breadth of view and
+depth of insight into the great problems of human
+life.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>The cultural method.</i>&mdash;The second-oldest
+method of preparing men for a vocation is what<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>
+has been called the cultural method. It has aimed
+at high advancement in book learning with the
+thought of finally enabling the student to enter a
+professional class comparatively few in numbers
+and supposed to possess a superior advantage over
+the great mass of human kind. One fault of this
+method has been to emphasize learning for its own
+sake and to defer too long the training of the individual
+in the material and practical side of his calling.</p>
+
+<p>But the chief fault of this cultural method has been
+its contempt for common labor and ordinary industry,
+its theory being that true education prepares one to
+avoid such practices. If the young man wished to
+prepare for law or medicine or teaching or the
+ministry,&mdash;one of the &#8220;learned professions,&#8221;&mdash;then
+the old classical school was at his service. But if he
+would become a mere artisan or industrial worker,
+there was no advanced course of schooling available.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>The developmental method.</i>&mdash;The third and
+newest method of preparing the young person for
+his vocational life is in reality a compromise between
+the first and second. It provides that the learner
+shall have book instruction and industrial training
+at the same time, and that both of these are to be
+regarded as cultural, since taken together they
+prepare for independence of thought and action, and
+for the vocation, as well. This new method of
+preparing young people for their life work would
+call nothing mean or low. It aims to serve all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
+impartially in their struggle for self-improvement
+and vocational success. But its motto is the development
+of head and hand together. It seeks
+to produce cultured handicraftsmen as well as cultured
+artists and professional men.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The farmer fortunate</span></h4>
+
+<p>Our justification for the foregoing somewhat
+lengthy discussion of the different theories of education
+is that of wishing to be certain of bespeaking
+the father&#8217;s patience and forbearance in the preparation
+of his son for the vocational life. The
+farmer is most fortunate in having ready at hand a
+large amount and variety of industrial practice
+to supplement the boy&#8217;s book lessons. In this respect
+he probably has a superior advantage over all other
+classes.</p>
+
+<p>But in guiding his boy gradually toward the
+vocational life the farm father can easily mistake
+what is merely a passing interest on the former&#8217;s
+part for a permanent one. The carefully kept
+records of farm boys show that they take up many
+different lines of work with great enthusiasm, and
+yet soon tire of them and drop them. These serial
+and transitory interests are usually mere juvenile
+responses to the awakening of some new nerve
+centers. They are not much different in nature from
+the brief passing interest which the child has in his
+various playthings.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>Now, the chief function of these transitory interests
+in special forms of work and learning as shown by
+the young growing boy is this: to furnish the
+occasions for a great variety of activities and practices
+for trying him out on all the possible sides of his
+nature. Not one of these intense boyish interests is
+necessarily very directly preparatory to his final
+choice of a vocation, while all are indirectly so.
+Therefore, if the fifteen-year-old son chances to
+win in a corn-raising contest, or at a live-stock exhibition,
+or if he manifests unusual interest in arithmethic,
+declamation, or nature study, do not regard
+any of these as necessarily pointing to his best
+possible vocational work. Presumably, at such
+an undeveloped age, he is still in possession of some
+latent interests and aptitudes, one of which may
+far outweigh any such thing hitherto awakened
+in his life. Give him time to mature and, if at
+all practicable, send him on to college.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What college for the country boy</span></h4>
+
+<p>It is the opinion of the author that the State
+Agricultural College, as now situated and organized,
+is the ideal institution of higher learning for the
+country-bred youth. It offers him every reasonable
+incentive and opportunity for continuing in the
+calling of his father, if he be so inclined, while at
+the same time it gives instruction in many other
+departments of learning. Whether the state in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>stitution
+be a separate one or merely a college within
+the organization of the state university matters
+little. In either case the young man will be brought
+within reach of a course in scientific farming, stock
+raising, horticulture, and the like, either to choose
+or let alone&mdash;and the so-called cultural work will
+still be there for the taking.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The foundation in work</span></h4>
+
+<p>Many rural parents, weighted down with the over-work
+of the farm, cherish and express a very earnest
+desire that their sons may find some easier form of
+earning a living. So they deliberately plan with
+the boy the &#8220;easy&#8221; course to be pursued. Said
+one such farmer: &#8220;Wife and I decided that there
+would not be much in it for Henry except hard work
+if he settled down on the home place, so we decided
+to send him to college and educate him for something
+that offered less work and more pay.&#8221; So they
+shielded the son from the heavier duties of the farm
+and encouraged in every way the boy&#8217;s thought of
+an easy way to success.</p>
+
+<p>But one thing these well-meaning parents failed
+to foresee. That is, when the boy entered college, he
+began to look for that same sort of royal road to
+learning. The assigned lessons and tasks soon took
+the appearance of drudgery and he dodged and
+avoided them wherever possible. In less than a year
+the youth had failed at college and was back home.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
+&#8220;The confinement of the college did not agree with
+his health.&#8221; More than three years have passed
+since, and the boy has spent the time drifting from
+one &#8220;job&#8221; to another and all the while growing
+weaker in character and integrity.</p>
+
+<p>Here we have but another instance of the old, old
+story, with its tragic aspects. Yet, nearly all the
+faltering, vacillating men now drifting about the
+country might have been saved through careful training
+in the performance of work. The boy who would
+be insured success in his coming vocation must be
+required to buckle down to solid work of a kind
+and amount to suit his years and strength. He must
+learn through the character-building experience of
+toil, not only what it means to stay by an assigned
+duty till it is performed, but he must also experience
+the unfailing joy of work well done. He will thus
+have the advantage of the spur of successful effort and
+acquire the beginnings of that splendid self-reliance
+which is a distinguishing mark of all successful men.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Clean up the place</span></h4>
+
+<p>But there is a sort of drudgery and of ugliness
+against which the boy&#8217;s nature instinctively rebels,
+and it ought to. By this we mean to refer to the
+actual conditions of over-work and the accompanying
+run-down appearance that characterizes so many
+farm homes to-day. No wonder the boys hasten
+away to the city to find a &#8220;job.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>Why not clean up the place by cutting away the
+underbrush and weeds, by planting shade trees
+and repairing fences and out buildings, by painting
+and renovating the house and barn?&mdash;and all
+this as an investment in behalf of the children and
+their possible future interest in the farm home as
+the best place on earth in which to dwell? All
+this and more might be urged as means of guiding the
+thoughts of the farm boy towards the possibilities
+of his taking up the calling of his father. And
+while all these material advantages may not serve to
+overcome the natural tendency of the young man to
+seek a radically different type of occupation, they
+will at least make it more certain that his natural
+abilities for an agricultural pursuit were not left
+unawakened.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Money value of an agricultural education</span></h4>
+
+<p>The College of Agriculture in Cornell University
+some time ago made an inquiry into the educational
+status of the farmers in a certain county of New
+York. It was found that out of 573 farmers, 398
+had not advanced farther than the district school,
+165 had attended high school one or more years,
+and 10 had received a college education. The 398
+who had attended district school only were receiving
+yearly for their labor $318; the 165 farmers of high
+school education were receiving annually $622;
+and the 10 who had attended college one or more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>
+years were receiving an average of $847 income for
+their services.</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing investigation is at least suggestive
+in its results. It tends to prove that there is an
+actual earning-capacity value in the higher agricultural
+education. While the matter has never been
+extensively studied, it can doubtless be shown that
+the graduates of the agricultural course are receiving
+much larger incomes than any of the classes named
+above. In addition it can doubtless be shown that
+these graduates are better equipped, not only for
+earning a livelihood, but for substantial citizenship.
+Of course there are many notable exceptions to this
+rule, but the rule is, nevertheless, general.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if the farm parent wishes to figure his boy&#8217;s
+future on the basis of money-earning capacity, he can
+easily be shown that the higher schooling in the
+average case increases such capacity. In addition
+there is abundant evidence of the fact that the
+higher schooling gives the young man a much
+better equipment for serving the society in which
+he is to live.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">A successful vocation certain</span></h4>
+
+<p>Finally, it may be said that the successful vocational
+life of the ordinary country-bred boy may be guaranteed
+as practically certain, provided he have every
+ordinary advantage of development and training
+of which he is capable. Train him early in lessons of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>
+obedience and work; make his life more wholesome
+through ample play and recreation; see that he
+learns how to earn money and how to save a part
+of his earnings; provide that he attend the public
+school regularly until at least the grammar grades
+be finished; give him an opportunity to become personally
+interested in the business side of the farm
+life; allow him opportunities to mingle with the
+cleanest possible society of his own age; and then
+await patiently his own inner promptings as to what
+line of work he should take up. A college course
+may prove necessary in order to help him uncover
+deeper and better levels that lie hidden in his nature.
+Then, after he has chosen a calling in this careful
+and reliable way, with all your might, mind, and
+soul encourage and support him in his efforts! This
+is practically the only way to make a big, efficient
+man and citizen of your boy and to make his calling
+a <i>divine</i> calling.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p><i>Vocational Education.</i> Published bi-monthly. $1.50 per year. The
+Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill.</p>
+
+<p>Vocational Education. John M. Gillette. Chapter VI, &#8220;Importance
+of the Economic Interest in Society.&#8221; American Book Company.</p>
+
+<p>Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter II,
+&#8220;Vocational Chaos and its Consequences.&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin
+Company. The entire volume is most timely and helpful.</p>
+
+<p>The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D. Houghton,
+Mifflin Company.</p>
+
+<p>New Type of Rural School House. W. H. Jenkins. <i>Craftsman</i>, May,
+1911.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span></p>
+<p>Vocational Direction, or The Boy and his Job. <i>Annals American Academy</i>,
+March, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Education for a Vocation. President&#8217;s address before the N.E.A.
+Annual Volume, 1908, p. 56.</p>
+
+<p>Vocational Direction. E. W. Lord. <i>Annals Academy of Political and
+Social Science</i> (Philadelphia), March, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Social Phase of Education. Samuel T. Dutten. Page 143, &#8220;The Relation
+of Education to Vocation.&#8221; Macmillan. The entire book is
+sound and sane.</p>
+
+<p>Income of College Graduates Ten Years after Graduation. H. A. Miller.
+<i>Science</i>, Feb. 4, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Occupations of College Graduates as Influenced by the Undergraduate
+Course. F. P. Keppel. <i>Educational Review</i>, December, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation. Pamphlet. Wm. A.
+McKeever. Manhattan, Kan.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p>
+<h3>CHAPTER XIX<br />
+<br />
+<i>THE FARM GIRL&#8217;S PREPARATION FOR A
+VOCATION</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>What, may we ask, are rural parents doing in
+regard to the careful preparation of their growing
+daughters for the vocational life? The author has
+frequently asserted that many a farmer is to-day
+giving vastly more thought to the question of preparing
+his live stock for the money market than to
+preparing his girls for their life work. The seriousness,
+the well-nigh cruelty, of this situation becomes
+apparent only when we inquire into the facts. How
+long must this carelessness continue? How long will
+farmers remain indifferent to the tremendous responsibility
+of giving their children every possible
+aid in the direction of a high and worthy occupation?
+Their chief concern continues to be centered too
+exclusively upon the cattle and the hogs and the corn.
+Are the boys and girls to be left to shift for themselves?
+And are they to continue to have their
+careers determined by mere chance and incident?</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXX.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_37" name="Fig_37"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxx.png" width="600" height="442" alt="" title="Plate XXX" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 37.&mdash;Country school girls learning the rudiments of cooking. In no distant future such
+work will be required along with the traditional subjects.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">What is the outlook</span></h4>
+
+<p>So, if the country father having a young family
+were here before us, we should ask him: What is the
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>outlook in regard to a happy future for your growing
+daughter? Do you want her to take her place among
+the men and be forced to do some sort of man&#8217;s work
+in order to obtain her bread? or, do you earnestly
+desire that she find some sort of worthy woman&#8217;s
+work? And if the latter be your choice, what helpful
+agencies are you bringing to bear upon the situation?
+In the midst of all your consideration of these
+matters touching your daughter, we should have you
+most earnestly and prayerfully consider at least one
+thing; namely, with few possible exceptions, the
+healthy, growing girl looks forward instinctively to
+the time when she is to become mistress of a household
+of her own. And in every case, if the girl fails
+to become such a mistress, there is only one reasonable
+alternative to be thought of and that is to
+provide that she engage in some sort of work which
+will give expression in the largest possible measure to
+that which is best and truest in her feminine nature.</p>
+
+<p>Ordinarily, in planning for the future of their
+daughter, parents might as well consider the problem
+as having a two-fold aspect. Assuming first
+of all that the girl instinctively desires to preside
+over a home of her own, how can she best be prepared
+for that place? Second, in case that, by some
+miscarriage of plans, she fails to reach this most
+worthy ambition, what may she safely fall back
+upon as an adequate means of self-support? Now,
+if this statement of the matter be a correct one, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>
+seems that the general scope of the problem of
+preparing a girl for her vocation ought to be fairly
+clear. Still another way of putting the situation
+is this: The girl must be carefully prepared, not only
+for her first choice of an occupation, but also for her
+second choice, because of grave danger of the failure
+of her first choice to be realized.</p>
+
+<p>There is a perplexing aspect of the whole question
+implied here, and every parent who has a daughter
+should become aware of it and also prepared to
+confront it. That is to say, almost any ordinary
+man may go out into the open market and push his
+quest for a life companion and be able to return
+in the course of a very short period with one at his
+side. But with the girl it is radically different.
+Practically her only stock-in-trade consists of her
+personal charm and her pecuniary advantages.
+And many a young woman with both of these
+qualities very strongly in her favor fails, by some
+chance or other, to receive an acceptable offer of
+marriage. Statistics widely gathered will show that
+age is also a very positive factor in this matter, and
+that the ratio of probability of marriage of a single
+woman begins to fall very rapidly before she reaches
+thirty.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Desirable occupations for women</span></h4>
+
+<p>While there is abundant evidence to prove that
+the great majority of normal young women desire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
+instinctively and above all things else a happy
+marriage, including a contented home life and
+children to care for, some alternatives must be now
+pointed out in case of failure to realize the highest
+ambition.</p>
+
+<p>1. <i>May teach the young.</i>&mdash;School teaching is
+perhaps the most common, as well as the most
+commendable, occupation for unmarried women.
+In many a case, the farmer&#8217;s daughter will find it
+greatly to her advantage to engage in this occupation
+for one or more terms. Thousands of the
+most worthy young women in our land are devoting
+their lives to this highest of secondary vocations
+for women. The work of teaching gives exercise
+to the altruistic feminine nature and approaches in
+a fair degree the satisfaction which comes to the
+mother who is sacrificing for children of her own.</p>
+
+<p>But school teaching wears heavily on the vitality
+of nearly all young women who follow it long.
+Diseases peculiar to the sex are said to be very prevalent
+among such teachers, probably resulting from
+an excessive amount of standing. Tens of thousands
+of girls are going from the farm home to the school
+room, some of them to remain permanently in the
+business, but the majority to earn money of their
+own and to place themselves in better position for
+successful marriage. So, perhaps the first duty of the
+country parents to the daughter who takes up school
+teaching is to see that the latter&#8217;s health be not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>
+seriously impaired thereby. After that, the young
+woman&#8217;s proper advancement in the profession may
+be thought of. The ungraded district school is
+an excellent trying-out and testing position for the
+young teacher. But if she continues many terms
+in the school room, graded work will prove more
+advantageous, especially in the important matter
+of bringing the young woman into the company of
+marriageable young men.</p>
+
+<p>2. <i>May take up stenography.</i>&mdash;A vast army of
+young women now support themselves with the use
+of the typewriter. This work pays slightly more
+the year round than school teaching. It is somewhat
+more confining; but, for various other reasons, it is
+less deleterious to the general health. Such office
+business, however, subjects the young woman to
+many temptations. It is the opinion of the author
+that stenography is not at all a desirable occupation
+for the farmer&#8217;s daughter to enter. The continued
+absence from home, the constant association with
+people differing radically in tastes and manners from
+the rural population, not to mention again the many
+temptations to accept lower moral standards&mdash;these
+and other matters will tend to estrange the
+farm daughter from her parents and to make them
+feel that something of the former charm of sweet
+simplicity and home affection has passed permanently
+out of her life.</p>
+
+<p>One thing at least is to be considered before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>
+daughter be permitted to leave the country home for
+an office position. That is, the work is not to be
+considered as permanent, but rather as a possible
+means of preparing for marriage and the contented
+home life that should follow.</p>
+
+<p>3. <i>May do social work.</i>&mdash;Next to the work of
+teaching, perhaps the social-service work now being
+developed and carried on in the cities would make
+its appeal to the true-hearted young woman. Here
+again we have a sort of task that dips into the
+affections and sympathies of the worker and furnishes
+an opportunity for her to give freely out of the
+best she has in her make-up. Among the fortunate
+considerations of teaching and social work are the
+opportunities they offer for the sympathetic care
+and guidance of children&mdash;the indulgence of altruism
+and the mother instinct in the young woman.
+Parents will observe as a rule that their daughter
+returns from such occupations as these with increased
+affections for the home family and the home
+life and a broader and more general interest in people.</p>
+
+<p>In recent years there has developed a new and remarkably
+promising field of social work for both
+young men and young women. Charitable, philanthropic,
+and other social-welfare institutions have
+been greatly multiplied, while their work has been
+put on a scientific basis. The modern method of
+securing employees in such places is that of calling
+persons especially trained and fitted to do the work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
+required, and to pay reasonably for the service.
+Several new, first-class schools and institutions for
+training workers in this human field have been recently
+organized.</p>
+
+<p>Now, if country parents become anxious to have
+their daughter go away to the city and find desirable
+employment and that at living wages, the author
+recommends this new line of social work most highly.
+For reasons given above, and for others, it will
+prove an excellent stepping-stone to the home life&mdash;the
+work is in the general field of human betterment
+so inviting to the natural instincts of the well-reared
+young woman; the associates are persons likewise
+interested in human welfare and ranking high in
+moral and religious character; the required work is
+usually of a nature to awaken the deepest sympathies
+and affections and to make the countenance of the
+worker shine with a new spiritual light.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>May secure clerkships.</i>&mdash;Clerking and general
+store work is much followed by young women to-day,
+but such work may be put down in the list of hazardous
+occupations for women of any age. Close economic
+conditions in the cities force many thousands of
+girls to leave home and seek clerkships at a wage so
+low as indirectly to undermine the health and more
+directly to impair the morals. Great armies of these
+girls are compelled to live in dingy, cramped quarters,
+to subsist on much less than the quantity of wholesome
+food necessary for good health, to practice the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>
+strictest economy in matters of dress&mdash;to say nothing
+of the constant temptation to sell their virtue as
+a means of increasing the small income to the living
+margin.</p>
+
+<p>Only in extreme cases, therefore, will intelligent
+farm parents consent to their daughter&#8217;s leaving home
+to take up a clerkship, and that when her home life
+and her social surroundings can be satisfactorily
+foreseen and arranged for in advance. Even then,
+the question must be raised: Will this new position
+probably prove helpful as an introduction to a better
+form of occupation?</p>
+
+<p>No other possible occupations for the farmer&#8217;s
+daughter will be listed here excepting that of trained
+nurse&mdash;a position in which many young women are
+doing a splendid service for humanity and at the
+same time supporting themselves adequately. But
+of course such a position should not be thought of
+unless the girl feels an inner call to take it up. Practically
+all other outside lines of work for women are
+too masculine. Parents should by no means allow
+their daughters to take up a life task that means
+nothing other than mere money-making. Many
+women, it is true, are succeeding to-day in business
+callings, but they are doing so as a rule in violation of
+certain laws of nature. Many of these business
+women are masculine in their dispositions and they
+become more so as the unnatural calling continues to
+be pursued.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">A college course for the girl</span></h4>
+
+<p>At first thought it would seem that ability to prepare
+a good meal and to do her own sewing might
+constitute all the education in household economy
+necessary for any young woman. But such proves
+not to be the case. There are hundreds of home-making
+problems, great and small, for which mere
+knowledge of the two important affairs just named
+will provide no answer. While the ability to cook
+and sew well are doubtless essential characteristics
+of the good housekeeper, they are not at all a guarantee
+that their possessor is a good home maker.</p>
+
+<p>Parents must learn to take the larger and more
+liberal view of the future of their children. Not
+merely practice in the culinary art, but also a developed
+and refined personality; not merely industrial
+efficiency, but also constructive ability of a
+social nature; not merely mechanical skill in managing
+the details of housework, but a set of well-matured,
+effective plans for making the home over
+which she presides a place of joy and contentment
+for the other members of the family&mdash;these are
+some of the evidences of character which the wise,
+far-seeing parent might well desire for his daughter.
+Now, it is the thesis of this chapter that the normal
+woman is at her best only when she has become mistress
+of her own well-managed household. But such
+an exalted position can scarcely be reached except
+through a broad, general course of preparation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>The one-sided, classical college training has spoiled
+for life many otherwise good and happy women.
+Such a course tends strongly to draw the mind and
+the affections of the young woman away from the
+home and from motherhood and other such matters
+so fundamental to the well-being of the race. But in
+seeking for an ideal school for the daughter the farmer
+will find unsurpassed that institution which offers
+extensive courses in household art and management,
+supplemented fully with work in the so-called culture
+subjects&mdash;language, literature, history, sociology,
+psychology, and economics. This work constitutes
+what might be called a balanced schedule of instruction
+for the young woman. If pursued to its conclusion,
+such a course of training enriches her personality
+and multiplies her opportunities for future
+usefulness many fold.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Associations with refined young men</span></h4>
+
+<p>If the young woman&#8217;s preparation for her life work
+be satisfactory to all, she must have extensive experience
+in the society of young men such as only the
+co-educational college can give. As her position in
+the rural home has been already too much isolated,
+an exclusive women&#8217;s college is least to be desired as
+a place to educate the country girl. But the domestic
+science course in a state university or a state agricultural
+college will be found almost ideal. Here the
+girl may be held to a reasonable performance of her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>
+assigned duties, while at the same time she may
+mingle freely in the society of both sexes.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, if the thesis of this chapter be a sound and
+tenable one,&mdash;namely, that normally woman&#8217;s highest
+satisfaction is to be sought through helping her
+attain efficient home life,&mdash;then, there is every reason
+for agreeing with the late Professor James in his
+contention that every young woman ought to be
+taught how to know a good man. It is distinctively
+the business of the young college woman, not only to
+prepare well all her lessons in household economy
+and the literary subjects, but also to keep her eye
+out for a suitable life companion. And her father
+should be made to realize that her opportunities for
+marrying a man of high worth and ability are increased
+many fold through the completion of a course
+in the ideal form of co-educational college.</p>
+
+<p>Marriages among college mates are usually most
+successful, both in the final establishment of substantial
+home life and in point of resulting in a reasonable
+number of well-reared children. Statistics
+gathered widely show that the young woman college
+graduate marries somewhat later than her non-attending
+sister, that she has slightly better health,
+that her children are somewhat fewer, but better
+reared.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate XXXI.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_38" name="Fig_38"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxxi.png" width="600" height="375" alt="" title="Plate XXXI" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 38.&mdash;a girls&#8217; class in sewing. No girl of this age needs to wear any better garment than she can make
+with her own needle if she be rightly trained. Such training is a part of real preparation for life.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Make the daughter attractive</span></h4>
+
+<p>It may therefore be urged upon all rural parents,
+as a cold business proposition, as well as a duty, that
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>they take every reasonable precaution to develop in
+their growing daughters both an attractive personality
+and a beauty of the inner character, whether she
+be so fortunate as to attend a good college or not.
+All this must be done with a thought of rendering
+the daughter as attractive as possible in respect to
+any worthy young man who may in time seek her
+heart and hand in marriage. It is time for parents
+to cease passing this thing by as a mere piece of sentimentalism
+and to begin to do the fair thing by
+their girls. Why should it longer come to pass in
+this enlightened age that some parents break down
+the physical health of their girls with the burden of
+over-work and thus consign them to a life of moping
+and bitter disappointment for the future; that other
+parents indulge their girls in the giddy, butterfly
+type of life and thus blight their prospects of a substantial
+and satisfactory place in human society?</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Summary and conclusion</span></h4>
+
+<p>In summarizing and concluding this chapter we
+wish to remind the reader of what has been said in
+the preceding ones. There are a number of distinctive
+elements that must be carefully wrought into
+the character of the farmer&#8217;s daughter with a view to
+laying a substantial foundation for her future career.</p>
+
+<p>1. First of all, the girl&#8217;s health must be kept in
+mind. She must not have an over-burden of work
+heaped upon her delicate shoulders, nor must she be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>
+allowed to expose herself unnecessarily to the inclemencies
+of the weather so common in the ordinary
+rural districts. There are many women moping
+about to-day, ill and despondent much of the time
+because of the negligence of parents who permitted
+them when growing girls to wade about through mud
+and slush and thus impair permanently their physical
+well-being. Many of the minor ailments of mature
+life recur habitually, and that because they were
+permitted to be acquired when the organism was
+young and sensitive.</p>
+
+<p>2. The daughter must be taught how to carry on
+practically all the necessary details of the housework.
+The plain cooking and sewing and the general care
+of the home must be required as duties on the part
+of every promising girl. It is especially obligatory
+on the part of rural parents that they train the daughter
+in such a way as to make her a true mistress of
+the household over which she may sometime preside.
+She must learn through specific guidance how
+to subordinate the heavy home tasks to her spiritual
+well-being.</p>
+
+<p>3. It is also essential that the girl learn how to
+manage the business affairs of the home; especially,
+how to purchase the supplies of the kitchen and
+the larder in the most economic fashion. She must
+also learn both how to secure her own personal belongings
+at a reasonable cost and how to make them
+serve her real needs without unnecessary expenditure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>
+of money. It will be a great achievement in her behalf
+if the girl approach her marriage day thoroughly
+imbued with the thought of co&#246;perating with her husband
+in the general business of maintaining a home.</p>
+
+<p>4. We would remind the reader again of the necessity
+of giving attention to the development of an
+attractive personality in the growing girl. Pleasing
+manners, refined expressions, neat and attractive
+apparel, kindliness and sympathy, frankness and
+straightforwardness&mdash;all these should enter into
+her make-up and be thought of as parts of her permanent
+character. They will also go far toward
+winning to her side a suitable life companion.</p>
+
+<p>5. The young girl on the farm should have much
+advice in respect to the nature and character of men.
+This will be achieved partly through her well-ordered
+social life and partly through specific talks from
+thoughtful parents. Country girls are probably
+less informed in respect to the natures of men than
+are city girls. Many beautiful and innocent young
+women are led astray either before or after marriage
+by evil and designing men; many of them consummate
+marriages with men who have an outer appearance
+of trustworthiness, but who harbor within some
+most serious and insurmountable evil and disease.
+Although she may not for a time be conscious of
+what her parents are doing, the latter should be for
+years purposely engaged in preparing their daughter
+to know at sight a good man.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>Finally, it may be said that there is no greater
+charm or thing of more superior beauty in this good
+world of ours than the character of a woman who has
+been well-born and well-reared, and who has been
+safely guided into the home of her own wherein she
+reigns as mistress supreme. In this ideal home the
+love and sympathy and the kindly deeds of the true
+home-maker will reveal themselves permanently in
+the lives of her children and her husband and the
+many others who come into contact with her constructive
+personality.</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Women&#8217;s Ways of Earning Money. Cynthia Westover Alden. A. S.
+Barnes &amp; Co.</p>
+
+<p>The Home Builder. Dr. Lyman Abbott. Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+Sympathetic and cheering.</p>
+
+<p>Almost a Woman. Mary Wood Allen, M.D. Crist, Scott &amp; Parshall,
+Coopertown, N.Y. A plain talk to the young woman about her
+sex nature.</p>
+
+<p>The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D. Chapter
+XII, &#8220;The Problem of Women in Industry.&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin
+Company.</p>
+
+<p>The Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter I,
+&#8220;The Choice of Life Work and its Difficulties.&#8221; Houghton, Mifflin
+Company.</p>
+
+<p>Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby M.D. Chapter X,
+&#8220;Marriage and Maternalism.&#8221; Moffat, Yard &amp; Co., New York.</p>
+
+<p>Should Women work for their Living? M. Yates. <i>Westminster
+Review</i>, October, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Social Diseases and Marriage. Educational Pamphlet, No. 3. American
+Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, New York. 10
+cents. Every parent should read this booklet.</p>
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p>
+<p>Vocational Training for Girls. Isabelle McGlaufin. <i>Education</i>, April,
+1911.</p>
+
+<p>A Healthy Race; Woman&#8217;s Vocation. C. M. Hill. <i>Westminster Review</i>,
+January, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Social Adjustment. S. Nearing. Pages 128-148, &#8220;Dependence of
+Women.&#8221; Macmillan.</p>
+
+<p>Purposes of Women. F. W. Saleeby, M.D. <i>Forum</i>, January, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>Does the College rob the Cradle? H. Boice. <i>Delineator</i>, March, 1911.</p>
+
+<p>The College Woman as a Home Maker. M. E. Wooley. <i>Ladies&#8217; Home
+Journal</i>, Oct. 1, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>The American Woman and her Home. Symposium. <i>Outlook</i>, April 17,
+1910.</p>
+
+<p>Teaching the Girl to Save. Home-Training Bulletin No. 7. 2 cents.
+Wm. A. McKeever, Manhattan, Kan.</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>CHAPTER XX<br />
+<br />
+<i>CONCLUSION, AND FUTURE OUTLOOK</i></h3>
+
+
+<p>In concluding this volume we wish again to remind
+parents of the necessity of working for specific results
+in the rearing of their children. Modern man, unlike
+his ancestor, who roamed over the earth, is a creature
+of complex and highly refined make-up which no
+primitive or natural environment could possibly
+produce. The forces that work upon his character
+development are so radically different from those
+which formed the life of his remote forbears as possibly
+to account for the contrasts in the two forms
+of finished personality.</p>
+
+<p>Although there is evidence to support the theory
+that man belongs to the general evolutionary scheme
+of animal life, the progress of the race has been so
+very slow that a thousand years of time can show no
+very distinct improvement either in physical form or
+mental quality. While the human young is exceedingly
+plastic as an individual,&mdash;yielding easily from
+one side of his inherent activities to another,&mdash;the
+race is relatively fixed and stable.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Strive for preconceived results</span></h4>
+
+<p>Parents and other instructors of the young must
+therefore accept their charges as made up of very com<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>plex
+potentialities of learning and achievement&mdash;each
+a bundle of latent characters transmitted to
+him from the ancestral line. Many of these inherited
+characters are too weak in any given individual ever
+to show in his life conduct; many others will come
+to the surface only in response to proper stimuli and
+practice; still others will break out and show a predominance
+almost in defiance of any training intended
+to counteract them.</p>
+
+<p>But the teacher and trainer of the infant child may
+accept the theory that the latter, if taken in time, can
+be bent and modified many ways in his character
+formation; that such plasticity is, however, always
+subject to the relative strength or weakness of the
+many inherited aptitudes and activities latent within
+the individual.</p>
+
+<p>There is no good reason, therefore, why the parent
+should not begin early to build up the character of
+his child in accordance with a preconceived plan;
+provided such plan do no violence to any of nature&#8217;s
+stubborn and inexorable laws. The parent may also
+accept this task as a long and tedious undertaking,
+and expect to get results in proportion as he works
+intelligently for them. The farmer does not even
+think of producing good crop results from his land
+without hard work and much thought; then, why
+should he expect so delicate a plant as the human
+young to reach satisfactory maturity without much
+care and consideration? By far the greatest sin
+against the child is neglect of his training.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Consult expert advice</span></h4>
+
+<p>We must not be unmindful of the necessity of a
+balanced schedule of activities for the child. The
+vegetable plant must have air, sunlight, moisture,
+nitrogen, and so on, to support its growth. If one
+of these essential elements be lacking, the result is
+fatal to the fruitage. So with the child. If the best
+character results are to be expected, certain essential
+elements must be put into use. We have named
+them as play, work, recreation, and social experience.
+But as one approaches the individual problem of child
+training it does not prove so simple and easy as these
+terms imply. When and how to give each of these
+necessary exercises, how much of each to furnish,
+the means thereof, and the like&mdash;these and many
+other such questions begin to arise.</p>
+
+<p>When the parent reaches the point of perplexity in
+dealing with his child, it is a fairly good indication
+that his interest is aroused, at least. But what is to
+be done? Simply the same thing he would do at the
+point of perplexity in the wheat propagation, <i>consult
+an expert</i>. If one of the work mules becomes lame or
+reveals a bad disposition, should the owner take it to
+an electrician for advice? If the family cow becomes
+locoed or shows an unusual result in her milk product,
+should one consult a piano tuner? Yet, strange to
+say, parents are often known to do similarly in dealing
+with the perplexing problems of child-rearing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>
+Consult the popular magazines and the book shelves
+any day and you will find many lengthy dissertations
+on the boy and the girl, written not infrequently by
+persons who have spent a lifetime studying <i>something
+else</i>. But they are very fond of children and they
+mistake this fondness for knowledge of an expert
+kind; and worst of all, they offer it as such.</p>
+
+<p>The farm parents who wish to receive expert advice
+in the treatment of their children must learn to consult
+directly or through literature only those who
+have made a long and intensive study of child problems.
+And in the latter case they need not expect
+to obtain all necessary help from one source alone.
+Usually the child-study expert is a specialist in only
+one certain part of the field. For example, at the
+University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Lightner Witmer,
+there has been made a specialty of the sub-normal
+child. We should probably obtain from that
+source more expert help in that one phase of child
+welfare than from any other source in America. If
+one wishes reliable help on the subject of diseases of
+children, he should naturally expect to obtain it from
+some medical authority, from one Who has spent long
+years practicing in a general hospital for children.
+One of the very few great sources of information on
+the general psychology of child development is Clark
+University, where many child-welfare problems have
+been worked out by experts under the able direction
+of Dr. G. Stanley Hall.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Meet each awakening interest</span></h4>
+
+<p>A very reliable general rule of guidance for the
+parent child trainer is to strive to furnish intensive
+practice for each and every childish and juvenile
+interest at the time of its awakening. As stated in
+<a href="#Page_12">Chapter II</a> the most predominant interests in the
+young emerge in response to the unfoldment of instincts
+and the development of organic growths
+within. Perhaps all do so. But the point of importance
+for the parent is to meet each of these awakenings
+at the time of its highest activity with intensive
+training. The instinct to play, to fight, to steal,
+to run away, to work (?), to fall in love, to engage
+in some occupation, to marry and make a home, to
+have children&mdash;these have been named as especially
+important by virtue of their awakening successively
+the individual&#8217;s interests in matters of great
+consequence to character development.</p>
+
+<p>But instincts are blind. Their possessor does not
+foresee the way they point. They come suddenly
+and catch the subject unprepared to direct their force
+in what we call intelligent ways. Hence, the extreme
+necessity of there being present at the side of the
+child, at the time of his instinctive awakening, some
+mature and intelligent person who has been through
+the experiences the former is about to begin, and who
+will sympathetically point the right way and insist
+that it be followed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">Work for social democracy</span></h4>
+
+<p>One can scarcely become deeply interested in the
+future of his own child without coming intimately
+into touch with the child welfare problems at large.
+Even country parents, isolated though they may be,
+will discover that serious study of the matter of
+bringing up a family of good children will require
+that they study the lives of other human young.
+Moreover, they will need the use of other children as
+&#8220;laboratory&#8221; material for training their own. All
+this will gradually lead the way to a fuller social
+sympathy in such parents and to the inculcation of
+more wholesome social ideals in the minds of their
+offspring.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, the rural parents who are seeking a full
+and adequate development of the young members of
+their own family will most probably see their way
+clear to assume a helpful leadership of the young
+people of the neighborhood as advocated in <a href="#Page_146">Chapter
+X</a> of this volume.</p>
+
+<p>While many agencies for the betterment of rural
+youth have been discussed,&mdash;such as the County
+Y.M.C.A., the Boy Scout Movement, and the Social
+and Economic Clubs,&mdash;the neighborhood which has
+at least one of these agencies intensively at work may
+be considered fortunate. And it may be said that
+such a neighborhood is well on the way to economic
+improvement as well as social improvement.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">The outlook very promising</span></h4>
+
+<p>Throughout the United States there is being manifested
+a general tendency to accept the theory that
+our human stock is relatively sound. While there
+are seemingly large numbers of the criminal, delinquent,
+and dependent classes, they are in reality
+comparatively few in proportion to the entire population.
+And when we accept the estimate of the
+experts that about ninety per cent of the cases included
+in the classes just named are preventable through
+wise foresight and training, the outlook for a better
+race of human beings becomes most cheering.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The proper study of mankind is man,&#8221; says the
+poet. But for many generations we have regarded
+this statement as mere poetry and not necessarily
+truth. Our policy up to the recent past has been
+rather this: The proper study of mankind is everything
+<i>except</i> man, leaving the all-important problems
+of child-rearing to the decisions of wise old grand-mothers
+and debating societies. But a radical change
+has come, and that within this present generation.
+Men and women highly trained in the colleges and
+universities are now applying their scientific methods
+to the study of man with no less zeal and earnestness
+than that which has characterized the student of the
+non-human problems for many generations of time.</p>
+
+<p class="title"><span class="smcap">Plate. XXXII.</span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a id="Fig_39" name="Fig_39"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxxii_fig_39.png" width="600" height="443" alt="" title="Plate XXXII Fig. 39" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 39.&mdash;Sowing the seed, all by herself.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<a id="Fig_40" name="Fig_40"></a>
+<img src="images/plate_xxxii_fig_40.png" width="500" height="486" alt="" title="Plate XXXII Fig. 40" />
+<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Fig.</span> 40.&mdash;Thinning the vegetables.<br />
+New York Scenes.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Through the able conclusions of the painstaking
+expert the so-called institutional life has been espe<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>cially
+improved. The industrial (reform) schools are
+now practicing a system of balanced activities&mdash;of
+study, work, play, and the like&mdash;such as the findings
+of these investigators have warranted. The method
+of paroling the delinquent child, after he has spent
+a term of preparation, was proved most helpful
+through the careful tests of a large number of cases.
+Recently the parole system has been effectively
+applied to certain classes of penitentiary convicts. A
+most productive agency for good now in use in many
+of the prisons and all the industrial schools is that of
+building up the waste places in the individual life
+through specific training and instruction. The first
+question raised in such cases is, What is the particular
+moral defect of the individual? second, What
+are the causes? third, What will reconstruct his
+character and give permanent relief? That is, the
+expert psychologist and the expert sociologist are
+being called into service with the expert alienist
+and physician. The purpose is to save and reconstruct
+the whole man. Compulsory education and
+trade schooling are now very common in state prisons.</p>
+
+<p>In the care and protection of the insane and the
+feeble-minded our country can boast of but slow
+progress. Many of the members of these classes are
+permitted to run at large and even to marry and beget
+their kind. Now, while our human stock is in its
+mass very sound and sane, there are constantly being
+thrown off from it these mentally defective classes.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>
+The complete obliteration of all such classes to-day
+would not result in their complete disappearance from
+the race. Others would be born as variants from
+normal parentage. But the evil of it all lies in the
+fact that we are still permitting many of these defectives
+to multiply, and that in the face of the fact
+that a normal child has never been reported among
+the offspring of two feeble-minded parents.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">The modern service training</span></h4>
+
+<p>Of all the institutions contributing to the direct
+improvement of the race there is perhaps none
+surpassing in importance the modern training school
+for social workers. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia,
+St. Louis, and other large cities such may be
+found usually affiliated with some university or college.
+The general purpose is that of training men and
+women to go into the field of social service and apply
+the methods and conclusions worked out by the research
+student. Hitherto, much of the social work
+has been conducted by persons possessing merely
+religious zeal and enthusiasm. Their efforts were
+praiseworthy, but they lacked the training necessary
+for coping with modern educational and economic
+problems. The distinctive feature of the new methods
+is that it is based on scientific and business principles.
+That is, the social worker is trained in the
+same methodical way as the prospective lawyer or
+school teacher, and is also paid reasonably for his
+services.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>The modern social worker not only proceeds with a
+well-defined plan, but he usually makes or requires a
+survey of his newly-opened field. The social survey&mdash;now
+becoming more common as a means of
+beginning a campaign of improvement in the cities&mdash;has
+revealed some most interesting, as well as distressing,
+situations in the submerged districts. The
+housing situation, sanitary conditions, wages and
+incomes of different classes, sweat-shop employment,
+the protection of workmen in shops and factories,
+child-labor conditions, and so on&mdash;these are examples
+of the problems of the investigator, while his
+tabulated reports serve to guide the social worker.
+Now, the duties of the latter are many, but in general
+they lie in the direction of improvement of the conditions
+as found. Among the undertakings that often
+fall to his lot are: establishing new social centers in
+congested districts, providing for new parks and playgrounds,
+locating reading and recreation rooms,
+organizing self-help and home-improvement clubs
+among the lower classes, conducting cooking and
+sewing schools, and the like.</p>
+
+<p>Of special interest to the rural dweller is the fact
+that the modern methods of first making surveys
+and then applying remedial agencies is now being
+extended into the country districts, giving many
+marked results already and promising greater ones
+for the future.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">The state doing its part</span></h4>
+
+<p>That the nation and the state are active participants
+in these new forms of child-conserving and
+man-saving endeavor is indicated on every side.</p>
+
+<p>The national government has encouraged the states
+in the enactment of stringent child-labor laws. In
+the usual instance children under fourteen to sixteen
+years of age are prohibited from working away from
+home at gainful occupations. Correlated with this
+is the compulsory-education law in the several states.</p>
+
+<p>The national and state governments have also
+co&#246;perated in the enactment of laws prohibiting the
+adulteration of foods and foodstuffs and in enforcing
+better sanitation. As a result of such measures, state
+and local, together with the help of greatly improved
+hospital practice, the infant mortality in several of
+the large cities has been reduced more than fifty
+per cent in the past decade.</p>
+
+<p>Inspired by the splendid pioneer work of the
+National Playground Association, the cities and towns
+have recently made very rapid progress in the establishment
+of playgrounds and recreative centers for
+old and young. Many millions of dollars have already
+been expended for such purposes. Now the
+country districts are adopting the same means of
+social improvement.</p>
+
+<p>The primary system of selecting candidates for
+political office is proving to be a most potent agency<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>
+for the general uplift. By means of it, better men
+are being inducted into office. Better still, the old
+corrupt practice of the ward politician, so deleterious
+to the character of youth, is losing its once powerful
+influence on government.</p>
+
+<p>The so-called social evil, so damaging to the health
+and morals of thousands of our best young men and
+young women, is now under fair promise of improvement.
+The remarkable survey of the Chicago Vice
+Commission and the work of the other well-planned
+organizations looking to the solution of the same
+general problem have proved most effective in revealing
+the true conditions and of awakening the public
+conscience. All of these activities in the interest of
+putting down the sex evils point very clearly one
+moral to all conscientious parents; namely, that the
+best and most certain method of inculcating lessons
+of purity in the case of the young is through preventive
+measures, and through the practice of purity
+during the years of growth. Open and frank discussion
+of the sex problems as they arise normally out
+of the experiences of the child, admonitions and prohibitions
+in regard to impure associates, the insistence
+upon a single, and not a double, standard of purity
+for the two sexes&mdash;these are some of the specific
+duties of parents.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of what may be achieved by way of
+helping the weak and depraved to defend themselves
+against debasing habit, and especially of what may be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>
+done by way of prevention of a character-destroying
+habit in time of youth, the Kansas prohibitory law is
+cited. The longer this statute remains, the more
+effective its work and the more unanimous the public
+sentiment supporting it. So popular has this measure
+become that no political party and no faction of
+any other class has been able to take any effective
+stand against it. It can be shown to any fair-minded
+investigator that the great majority of the citizens
+of Kansas are total abstainers from the use of intoxicants;
+also that the state has brought up a new
+generation of tens of thousands of men, now mostly
+voters, who have no personal knowledge of the use
+and abuse of alcoholic drinks and who have become
+confirmed as total abstainers for life.</p>
+
+<p>Another unique Kansas measure&mdash;ignored and
+derided at first only less than was the prohibitory
+liquor law when new&mdash;is the statute forbidding the
+use of tobacco in any form on the part of minors.
+The wisdom of this statute is supported by the conclusions
+of scientific study of the effects of tobacco
+on the young. The general purpose of the law is to
+prevent the youth from taking up the tobacco-using
+habit before reaching full maturity of years and
+judgment. The general result will be the gradual
+development of a generation of total abstainers from
+the use of tobacco.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span></p>
+<h4><span class="smcap">The new era of religion</span></h4>
+
+<p>Even into the sanctuary of the modern church is
+the new scientific spirit finding its way. It has become
+an accepted principle of procedure among
+ministers and other church workers of late that the
+best way to save souls is not to depend wholly upon
+divine grace, but to assist this subtle power by means
+of the constructive work of many human agencies.
+Preventive measures that aim at safeguarding the
+young against evil contaminations, the institution of
+social improvement organizations and of literary and
+economic clubs, the formation of good-fellowship
+societies, of societies for conducting social surveys,
+of committees for giving vocational guidance and for
+the administration of spiritual healing&mdash;these and
+numerous endeavors of the same class give evidence
+of the great service which the modern church is
+rendering young humanity. And all this splendid
+work is being carried forward without doing any
+violence to the essential doctrines of the great historical
+institution so long engaged in its serious efforts
+in behalf of human salvation.</p>
+
+
+<h4><span class="smcap">Final conclusion</span></h4>
+
+<p>As a closing remark the author can only express
+again his belief that no past age ever held out such
+inspiring hope and such splendid encouragement to
+the many parents who appreciate the needs of intelli<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>gent
+care and training for their children. And because
+of the natural advantages of the surroundings,
+country parents have the greatest justification of all
+for being enthusiastic over the outlook. Now, let
+them go patiently and reverently at the work of
+bringing up for the service of the world a magnificent
+race of men and women&mdash;men who have brain
+and brawn and moral courage and religious devotion;
+women who have a profound sense of maternal responsibility,
+an inspiring superiority over the perplexing
+duties of the household, a deep and far-reaching
+social sympathy, and such a poise and sublimity
+of thought as to reveal the divinity inherent in
+their characters. For lo! In the hidden depths of
+the natures of the common boys and girls there lie
+slumbering these splendid possibilities!</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">REFERENCES</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The Meaning of Social Science. Albion W. Small. University of Chicago
+Press. An epoch-making book, restating ably the general
+problem of social reconstruction.</p>
+
+<p>Report of Committee on Rural Social Problems, National Conference
+Charities and Corrections. Address Porter R. Lee, Sec&#8217;y for Organizing
+Charity, Philadelphia, Pa.</p>
+
+<p>Annual Report. Association for Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality,
+1211 Cathedral Street, Baltimore.</p>
+
+<p>Government Report on Children as Wage-earners. Department of
+Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C. This department is
+bringing out nineteen volumes in all, each covering a particular
+problem of women and children as wage-earners. The following are
+especially related to the subject matter of this chapter:&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>
+The Beginnings of Child Labor Legislation in Certain States;<br />
+A Comparative Study.</p>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li>Conditions under which Children leave School to go to Work.</li>
+<li>Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment.</li>
+<li>Causes of Death among Women and Child Cotton Mill Operatives.</li>
+<li>Family Budgets of Typical Cotton Mill Workers.</li>
+<li>Hook Worm Disease among Cotton Mill Operatives.</li>
+<li>Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries.</li>
+<li>Reports and Circulars National Christian League for Promotion
+of Purity, 5 East 12th Street, New York.</li>
+</ul>
+
+
+<p>Annual Report of National Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1911.
+Charities Publication Committee, New York. See this valuable volume
+for reports of progress in the different lines of child-welfare effort.</p>
+
+<p>The White Slave Traffic. <i>Outlook</i>, July 16. 1910.</p>
+
+<p>The Rockefeller Grand Jury Report of White Slave Traffic. <i>McClure</i>,
+May, August, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>Moral Research in Social and Economic Problems. G. Connell. <i>Westminster
+Review</i>, February, 1910.</p>
+
+<p>My Lesson from the Juvenile Court. Judge Ben. B Lindsey. <i>Survey</i>,
+Feb. 5, 1910.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3>INDEX</h3>
+
+<table style="width:75%;" border="1" summary="index">
+	<tr>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_A">A</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_B">B</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_C">C</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_D">D</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_E">E</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_F">F</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_G">G</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_H">H</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_I">I</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_J">J</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_K">K</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_L">L</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_M">M</a></td>
+	</tr>
+	<tr>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_N">N</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_O">O</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_P">P</a></td>
+                <td align="right">  Q</td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_R">R</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_S">S</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_T">T</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_U">U</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_V">V</a></td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_W">W</a></td>
+                <td align="right">  X</td>
+		<td align="right">  <a href="#IX_Y">Y</a></td>
+                <td align="right">  Z</td>
+			</tr>
+</table>
+
+<ul class="index">
+
+<li><a id="IX_A" name="IX_A"></a>Acquired characters, not transmissible, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Agricultural education, money value of, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Agriculture, as a rural school subject, <a href="#Page_120">120</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Anger, a healthful instinct, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">right treatment of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a> f.</span></li>
+
+<li>Aristocracy, fostered in the schools, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_B" name="IX_B"></a>Bank account, necessary for boys, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bill, Arthur J., <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boardman, John R., advocate of rural play, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Books, for children, how to choose, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a selected list, <a href="#Page_75">75</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">on child-rearing, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Boys, bad companionships for, <a href="#Page_202">202</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Boy Scouts Movement, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Boy Scouts, Professor Holton&#8217;s definition of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to organize, <a href="#Page_165">165</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Kansas, <a href="#Page_166">166</a> ff.</span></li>
+
+<li>Boys leave the farm, why, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Bread-making clubs, <a href="#Page_150">150</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Bread-winning, cultural, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Building site, suited to children, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Business career, instinct for, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Business, training for farm boy, <a href="#Page_220">220</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">finding the boy&#8217;s interest in, <a href="#Page_221">221</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">dealing fair with the boy in, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Butterfield, President Kenyon L., <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_C" name="IX_C"></a>Character-building, agencies of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">must go on with schooling, <a href="#Page_90">90</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">requires religious training, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Chicago Vice Commission, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Child-rearing, rural, <a href="#Page_90">90</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Children&#8217;s hour, recommended for evening, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Children&#8217;s room, good illustration of, <a href="#Page_64">64</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Child study, a necessity, <a href="#Page_308">308</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Cigarettes, law against, in Kansas, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li>
+
+<li>College education, for farm boy, <a href="#Page_283">283</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Compulsory education, now general, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Consolidation of rural schools, illustrated, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Cornell University, model rural school <a href="#Page_115">115</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Cornell University, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Corn-plowing, may be divine calling, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Corn-raising clubs, <a href="#Page_150">150</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Corn Sunday, in rural church, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Country boy, the right schooling for, <a href="#Page_250">250</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">his interest in humanity, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">must know current affairs, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Country church at Plainfield, Ill., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Ogden, Kan., <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Commission management of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">too narrow, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">as social center, <a href="#Page_94">94</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Danbury, N. H., <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">at Lincoln, Vt., <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">federated society in, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Country dwelling, its relation to juvenile character, <a href="#Page_54">54</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">plan it for the children, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Country girl, business training for, <a href="#Page_255">255</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">why she leaves home, <a href="#Page_236">236</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">rules for training in business, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">not to be a money-maker, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">earning money in the South, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">schooling for, <a href="#Page_262">262</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">to be taught music, <a href="#Page_265">265</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">vocation for, <a href="#Page_290">290</a> ff.</span></li>
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span></li>
+<li>Country Life Commission, <a href="#Page_42">42</a> f., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Country mother, as teacher, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">report of Country Life Commission, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">conservation of her energies, <a href="#Page_44">44</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">conspiring with the children, <a href="#Page_51">51</a> f.</span></li>
+
+<li>Country school, to be redirected, <a href="#Page_152">152</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Crying, good for infants, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_D" name="IX_D"></a>Dance, usually degrading, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">hard to control, <a href="#Page_211">211 f</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Department of Agriculture, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Dickens, Professor Albert, <a href="#Page_110">110</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Disease, relation to habit, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">avoidance of by care, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Domestic economy, for girls, <a href="#Page_298">298</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in the rural school, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>.</span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_E" name="IX_E"></a>Exhibitions, by rural Y.M.C.A., <a href="#Page_139">139</a> f.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_F" name="IX_F"></a>Fairchild, Supt. E. T., <a href="#Page_108">108</a> f., <a href="#Page_118">118</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Farm barn, not to be better than the dwelling, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Farmer&#8217;s Voice</i>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Farm girls, danger of over-working, <a href="#Page_182">182</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">working in the field, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">sometimes misjudged, <a href="#Page_190">190</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">work schedule difficult to make, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">and self-supremacy, <a href="#Page_192">192</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">social companions for, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Fear, nature and purpose of, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Federation for country life in Illinois, <a href="#Page_161">161</a> f.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_G" name="IX_G"></a>Good health, fundamental to development, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Good life, definition, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_H" name="IX_H"></a>Hall, Dr. G. Stanley, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Happiness, a part of the good life, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how obtained, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>High school, rural provisions for, <a href="#Page_124">124</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Holton, Professor E. L. on Boy Scouts, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Home conveniences, necessity for farm women, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Home life education, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Home sanitation, in the rural school, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li>
+
+<li>&#8220;Homing&#8221; instinct, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li>
+
+<li>House help, training the children for, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Human stock, mostly sound, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">potentially good, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Humble parentage and leadership, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_I" name="IX_I"></a>Instincts, of children to be studied, <a href="#Page_310">310</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">two are fundamental, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">related to impulse, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">for home life, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">for business, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_J" name="IX_J"></a>James, Professor William, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_K" name="IX_K"></a>Kansas, Rural Boy Scouts in, <a href="#Page_166">166</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a boy genius of, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Kansas State Agricultural College, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Kirk, President John R., quoted, <a href="#Page_112">112</a> f.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_L" name="IX_L"></a>Leadership, of farmer and wife, <a href="#Page_146">146</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">preparation for, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Y.M.C.A., <a href="#Page_133">133</a> f.</span></li>
+
+<li>Library, for neighborhood in farm home, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li>
+
+<li><i>Literary Digest</i>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Literature, purpose of in country home, <a href="#Page_69">69</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">best adapted to the child, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">types of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">on child-rearing, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_M" name="IX_M"></a>Marriage, planning for the daughter&#8217;s, <a href="#Page_291">291</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">to be studied, <a href="#Page_300">300</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">training the girl for, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>McNutt, Rev. M. B., and his work, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">church built by, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Mendel&#8217;s law, and human inheritance, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Minister, of city should preach in the country, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a country type, <a href="#Page_86">86</a> ff.</span></li>
+
+<li>Moral strength, an aim in character-building, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">acquired through trial and error, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Mothers&#8217; club, organization of, <a href="#Page_160">160</a> f.</li>
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></li>
+<li>"Mother&#8217;s hour," recommended, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Moving to town, to educate the children, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how it affects the farmer, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_N" name="IX_N"></a>National Corn Exhibit, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Native ability, three classes of, <a href="#Page_251">251</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how stimulus and opportunity assist, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Newspaper, kind for the farmer, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_O" name="IX_O"></a>Occupations for women, <a href="#Page_293">293</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Oklahoma Agricultural College, work at county fair, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_P" name="IX_P"></a>Play, growing interest in, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">practical uses of, <a href="#Page_28">28</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">an excellent set of materials for, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">sharply distinguished from work, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">after Sunday School, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">neighborhood center for, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Play apparatus, model in farm home, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Playground, apparatus for, <a href="#Page_118">118</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">for home and school, <a href="#Page_154">154</a> f.</span></li>
+
+<li>Playground Association of America, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Population, decrease in country, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Prohibitory law, in Kansas, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Psychological clinic, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_R" name="IX_R"></a>Recreation, meaning of misunderstood, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how related to farm work, <a href="#Page_34">34</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">for rural youth, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Religion, the new era in, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">interest in a part of life, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li><i>Review of Reviews</i>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rural manhood, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Rural school, changes in view-point of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">to serve all, <a href="#Page_103">103</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">compulsory attendance upon, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">model at Kirksville, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Rural schoolhouse, better ones needed, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">location of, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in Kansas, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">model at Cornell, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>.</span></li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_S" name="IX_S"></a>Saloons, a menace to boys, <a href="#Page_206">206</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>School grounds, size, and adoption of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li>
+
+<li>School playground, <a href="#Page_117">117</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Sex evils, to be studied, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sex habits, secret, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sex instinct, as socializing agency, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Sexual love, instructive and extremely helpful, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">necessity of careful treatment, <a href="#Page_20">20</a> ff.</span></li>
+
+<li>Smoking, bad for boys, <a href="#Page_205">205</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Social democracy, fostered by training, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Social efficiency, training for, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Social entertainment, how to conduct, <a href="#Page_209">209</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">several forms of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a> ff.</span></li>
+
+<li>Social renaissance, in the country, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Social sensitiveness, a form of fear, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">great value in training, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Social training of farm youths, <a href="#Page_197">197</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in economic clubs, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a working plan for, <a href="#Page_198">198</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">based on sex instinct, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">menaces to, <a href="#Page_200">200</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">in ideal country home, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li>Social training schools, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Social work, for girls, <a href="#Page_295">295</a> f.</li>
+
+<li>Solitude, a means of culture, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Stenography, for girls, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_T" name="IX_T"></a>Teaching, hard on young women, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Tuberculosis, is it inheritable? <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_U" name="IX_U"></a>University of Pennsylvania, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Usefulness, as ideal of education, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_V" name="IX_V"></a>Vacations, based on instincts and desires, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Vacations, necessity of providing for, <a href="#Page_176">176</a> f.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a father&#8217;s plan for, <a href="#Page_177">177</a> f.</span></li>
+
+<li>Vocation, for farm boy, <a href="#Page_275">275</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">should it be farming, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">go slow in choosing, <a href="#Page_276">276</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">three methods of training for, <a href="#Page_279">279</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">preparation of farm girl for, <a href="#Page_289">289</a> ff.</span></li>
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span></li>
+<li>Vocational schools, in the South, <a href="#Page_229">229</a> f.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><i><a id="IX_W" name="IX_W"></a>Wallaces&#8217; Farmer</i>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Waters, President H. J., <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Wealth, not evidence of substantial country society, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Witmer, Dr. Lightner, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>.</li>
+
+<li>Women, occupations for, <a href="#Page_291">291</a> ff.</li>
+
+<li>Work, as basis of society, <a href="#Page_171">171</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">for the boy&#8217;s sake, <a href="#Page_172">172</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">wrong attitude of workmen toward, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a father&#8217;s method of training boy for, <a href="#Page_175">175</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a schedule of hours for, <a href="#Page_178">178</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how much for the girl, <a href="#Page_183">183</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">foundation for vocation, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">necessary as discipline, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">not liked by natural children, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">acquired fondness for, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">a part of the good school course, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">spiritualized by country church, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</span></li>
+
+<li><i>World&#8217;s Work</i>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li>
+</ul>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li><a id="IX_Y" name="IX_Y"></a>Y.M.C.A., rural <a href="#Page_129">129</a> ff.;</li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">purposes of, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to organize, <a href="#Page_132">132</a> ff.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">leader for, <a href="#Page_133">133</a> f.;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">how to conduct, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>;</span></li>
+<li><span style="margin-left: 1em;">example of rural in Kansas, <a href="#Page_143">143</a> f.</span></li>
+</ul>
+<ul class="index">
+<li><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></li></ul>
+
+
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<blockquote><p>The following pages contain advertisements of a
+few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects.</p></blockquote>
+<p><br />
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p class="title">THE RURAL OUTLOOK SET</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">By Professor L. H. BAILEY</span></p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Director of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University</p>
+
+<p><i>Four volumes. Each, cloth, 12mo. Uniform binding, attractively boxed
+$5.00 net per set; carriage extra. Each volume also sold separately.</i></p>
+
+<p>In this set are included three of Professor Bailey&#8217;s most popular books
+as well as a hitherto unpublished one,&mdash;&#8220;The Country-Life Movement.&#8221;
+The long and persistent demand for a uniform edition of
+these little classics is answered with the publication of this attractive
+series.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="title">The Country-Life Movement</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, 220 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>This hitherto unpublished volume deals with the present movement
+for the redirection of rural civilization, discussing the real country-life
+problem as distinguished from the city problem, known as the back-to-the-land
+movement.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="title">The Outlook to Nature (New and Revised Edition)</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, 195 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>In this alive and bracing book, full of suggestion and encouragement,
+Professor Bailey argues the importance of contact with nature, a sympathetic
+attitude toward which &#8220;means greater efficiency, hopefulness,
+and repose.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="title">The State and the Farmer (New Edition)</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>It is the relation of the farmer to the government that Professor Bailey
+here discusses in its varying aspects. He deals specifically with the
+change in agricultural methods, in the shifting or the geographical
+centers of farming in the United States, and in the growth of agricultural
+institutions.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="title">The Nature Study Idea (New Edition)</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;It would be well,&#8221; the critic of <i>The Tribune Farmer</i> once wrote,
+&#8220;if &#8216;The Nature Study Idea&#8217; were in the hands of every person who
+favors nature study in the public schools, of every one who is opposed
+to it, and, most important, of every one who teaches it or thinks he
+does.&#8221; It has been Professor Bailey&#8217;s purpose to interpret the new
+school movement to put the young into relation and sympathy with
+nature,&mdash;a purpose which he has admirably accomplished.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="title">NEW BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE</p>
+
+
+<p class="title">How to Keep Bees for Profit</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By D. E. LYON</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Dr. Lyon is an enthusiast on bees. He has devoted many years to
+the acquisition of knowledge on this subject, and his book is a practical
+one. In it he takes up the numerous questions that confront the
+man who keeps bees, and deals with them from the standpoint of long
+experience.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">How to Keep Hens for Profit</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By C. S. VALENTINE</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Mr. Valentine is a well-known authority upon the subject. His knowledge
+is extensive and accurate; the information that he gives will be
+of service, not only to the amateur who keeps poultry for his own
+pleasure, but to the man who wishes to derive from it a considerable
+portion of his income.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">Manual of Gardening</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By L. H. BAILEY</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $2.00 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>This new work is a combination and revision of the main parts of two
+other books by the same author, &#8220;Garden Making,&#8221; and &#8220;Practical
+Garden-Book,&#8221; together with much new material and the results of
+the experience of ten added years.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">How to Grow Vegetables</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">By ALLEN FRENCH</span></p>
+
+<p>
+<i>New edition.</i> <i>Decorated cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net; by mail, $1.80</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;It is what it purports to be, a practical handbook and planting table
+for the vegetable garden. Its directions for growing in our northern
+climate are detailed and explicit, and will be of invaluable assistance
+to those who follow them intelligently.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Boston Budget.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;The instructions are terse, yet complete, and cover everything as to
+method of preparing the ground, sowing seed, cultivation, etc. Practicality
+and clearness of direction are the dominant notes of Mr.
+French&#8217;s book.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Brooklyn Eagle.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="title">A Self-Supporting Home</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">By KATE V. ST. MAUR</span></p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, fully illustrated from photographs, $1.75 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;Each chapter is the detailed account of all the work necessary for
+one month&mdash;in the vegetable garden, among the small fruits, with
+the fowls, guineas, rabbits, cavies, and in every branch of husbandry
+to be met with on the small farm.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Louisville Courier-Journal.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">The Earth&#8217;s Bounty</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By KATE V. ST. MAUR</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>The present volume, though in no sense dependent on &#8220;A Self-Supporting
+Home,&#8221; is in a sense a sequel to it. The feminine owner
+is still the heroine, and the new book chronicles the events after success
+permitted her to acquire more land and put to practical test the
+ideas gleaned from observation and reading.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">The Fat of the Land: The Story of an
+American Farm</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By JOHN WILLIAMS STREETER</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;The Fat of the Land&#8221; is the sort of book that ought to be epoch-making
+in its character, for it tells what can be accomplished through
+the application of business methods to the farming business. Never
+was the freshness, the beauty, the joy, the freedom of country life put
+in a more engaging fashion. From cover to cover it is a fascinating
+book, practical withal, and full of common sense.</p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">Three Acres and Liberty</p>
+
+<p>
+<span class="smcap">By BOLTON HALL</span></p>
+<p><i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Possibilities of the small suburban farm, and practical suggestions to
+city dwellers how to acquire and make profitable use of them.</p></blockquote>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="title">The Feeding of Animals</p>
+
+<p>By WHITMAN HOWARD JORDAN</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, 450 pages, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.65</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;A valuable contribution to agricultural literature. Not a statement
+of rules or details of practice, but an effort to present the
+main facts and principles fundamental to the art of feeding animals.&#8221;&mdash;<i>New
+England Farmer.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">Rural Hygiene</p>
+
+<p>By HENRY N. OGDEN, C.E.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>Professor of Sanitary Engineering, College of Civil Engineering, Cornell
+University, and Special Assistant Engineer of the New York
+State Department of Health</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>
+<i>Illustrated, decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;Farmers and other dwellers outside of cities will find Professor Henry
+N. Ogden&#8217;s &#8216;Rural Hygiene&#8217; an invaluable treatise on all matters pertaining
+to the health of the individual and the community. The author, a
+civil engineer in the faculty of Cornell University, deals with the structural
+side of public hygiene rather than with the medical side. He tells how
+houses and barns should be built so as to promote the good health of their
+occupants; how to manage ventilation, drainage, water supply, etc.; how
+waterworks should be built, what are the best kinds of power, how to arrange
+the plumbing, guard against sewage, and so on. . . . It is an unusually
+complete, practical, and readable treatise.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Chicago Record-Herald.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="title">Law for the American Farmer</p>
+
+<p>By JOHN D. GREEN, of the New York Bar.</p>
+
+<p>
+<i>Decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68</i>
+</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&#8220;The book is superior to any of its class.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Law Review.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Very comprehensive and valuable.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Kansas Farmer.</i></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Written with great thoroughness and accuracy.&#8221;&mdash;<i>Chicago Inter-Ocean.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+
+<p class="center gap4">THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+Publishers&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;64-66 Fifth Avenue&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York</p>
+
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="transnote">TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
+<p>Punctuation has been made consistent without note.</p>
+
+<p>Archaic or alternate spellings have been retained.</p>
+
+<p>Plate X: 1st edition has a different caption for this plate: An illustration of "Corn Sunday,"
+as instituted by Superintendent George W. Brown in the rural churches in the vicinity of Paris, Illinois.</p>
+
+<p>Page 99, References: "Colton" changed to "Cotton" (John Cotton Dana).</p>
+
+<p>Page 127, References: 1st edition has 1906, not 1905, as publication date for "The Most Practical Industrial
+Education for the Country Child."</p>
+
+<p>Page 140, "One boy may have have caught" changed to "One boy may have
+caught"</p>
+
+<p>Page 329: "County-Life" changed to "Country-Life" ("The Country-Life Movement.")</p></div>
+
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***</p>
+<p>******* This file should be named 39483-h.txt or 39483-h.zip *******</p>
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@@ -0,0 +1,9991 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Farm Boys and Girls, by William Arch McKeever
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Farm Boys and Girls
+
+
+Author: William Arch McKeever
+
+
+
+Release Date: April 19, 2012  [eBook #39483]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Barbara Watson, Pat McCoy, and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Canada Team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net)
+
+
+
+Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 39483-h.htm or 39483-h.zip:
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39483/39483-h/39483-h.htm)
+      or
+      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39483/39483-h.zip)
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+      Text in italics is contained within underscores,
+      i.e.: _italics_.
+
+      Additional notes can be found at the end of the text.
+
+
+
+
+
+The Rural Science Series
+
+Edited by L. H. Bailey
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Rural Science Series
+
+
+  THE SOIL.
+  THE SPRAYING OF PLANTS.
+  MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS.
+  THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING.
+  BUSH-FRUITS.
+  FERTILIZERS.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. 15th Ed.
+  IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE.
+  THE FARMSTEAD.
+  RURAL WEALTH AND WELFARE.
+  THE PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE-GARDENING.
+  FARM POULTRY.
+  THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS.
+  THE FARMER'S BUSINESS HANDBOOK.
+  THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS.
+  THE HORSE.
+  HOW TO CHOOSE A FARM.
+  FORAGE CROPS.
+  BACTERIA IN RELATION TO COUNTRY LIFE.
+  THE NURSERY-BOOK.
+  PLANT-BREEDING. 4th Ed.
+  THE FORCING-BOOK.
+  THE PRUNING-BOOK.
+  FRUIT-GROWING IN ARID REGIONS.
+  RURAL HYGIENE.
+  DRY-FARMING.
+  LAW FOR THE AMERICAN FARMER.
+  FARM BOYS AND GIRLS.
+  THE TRAINING AND BREAKING OF HORSES.
+
+  _Others in preparation._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+[Illustration: PLATE I.
+
+FIG. 1.--At least once each day the busy farm father may think of a way
+to combine his work with the children's play.]
+
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+by
+
+WILLIAM A. McKEEVER
+
+Professor of Philosophy
+Kansas State Agricultural College
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+New York
+The Macmillan Company
+1913
+
+All rights reserved
+
+Copyright, 1912,
+by the Macmillan Company.
+
+Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1912. Reprinted
+August, 1912; January, June, 1913.
+
+Norwood Press
+J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
+Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
+
+
+
+
+  DEDICATED
+  TO THE SERVICE OF THE
+  TEN MILLION BOYS AND GIRLS
+  WHO ARE ENROLLED IN
+  THE RURAL SCHOOLS
+  OF AMERICA
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+In the preparation of this book I have had in mind two classes of
+readers; namely, the rural parents and the many persons who are
+interested in carrying forward the rural work discussed in the several
+chapters. It has been my aim to give as much specific aid and direction
+as possible. The first two chapters constitute a mere outline of some of
+the fundamental principles of child development. It would be fortunate
+if the reader who is unfamiliar with such principles could have a course
+of reading in the volumes that treat them extensively. Nearly every
+suggestion given in the main body of the book is based on what has
+already either been undertaken with a degree of success or planned for
+in some rural community.
+
+I am very greatly indebted to the following persons and firms for their
+kindness and generosity in lending pictures and cuts for illustrating
+the book: E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
+Topeka, Kansas; J. W. Crabtree, Principal State Normal School, River
+Falls, Wisconsin; George W. Brown, Superintendent of Edgar County,
+Paris, Illinois; O. J. Kern, Superintendent of Winnebago County,
+Rockford, Illinois; Miss Jessie Fields, Superintendent of Page County,
+Clarinda, Iowa; A. D. Holloway, General Secretary, County Y.M.C.A.,
+Marysville, Kansas; Dr. Myron T. Scudder, of Rutgers College; Doubleday,
+Page & Company, Garden City, New York; _Rural Manhood_, New York City;
+_The Farmer's Voice_, Chicago, Illinois; _The American Agriculturist_,
+New York City; _The Oklahoma Farmer_, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; _The
+Inland Farmer_, Lexington, Kentucky; _The Farmer's Advocate_, Winnipeg,
+Canada.
+
+My thanks are also due _Successful Farming_, of Des Moines, Iowa, for
+permission to use excerpts from President Kirk's article on the model
+school, and portions of a series of brief articles written for the same
+magazine by myself.
+
+The references given at the close of the chapters have been selected
+with considerable care. It will be found in nearly every case that they
+give helpful and more extended discussions of the several topics treated
+in the preceding chapter.
+
+  WILLIAM A. McKEEVER.
+
+  MANHATTAN, KANSAS.
+
+
+
+
+TABLE OF CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+
+      I. BUILDING A GOOD LIFE                                        1
+           What is a Good Life?                                      2
+             1. Good Health                                          3
+             2. Usefulness                                           3
+             3. Moral Strength                                       4
+             4. Social Efficiency                                    5
+             5. Religious Interest                                   5
+             6. Happiness                                            6
+           Is the Human Stock comparatively Sound?                   7
+
+     II. THE TIME TO BUILD                                          12
+           What of the Human Instincts                              12
+           The Dawning Instincts                                    12
+           Social Sensitiveness Helpful                             19
+
+    III. THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT                   26
+           What Agencies build up Character?                        26
+             1. Play                                                27
+             2. Work                                                30
+             3. Recreation                                          33
+           Moving to Town for the Children                          36
+           A Back-to-the-country Club                               38
+
+     IV. THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN                        41
+           Poor Conditions of Women                                 42
+           For the Sake of the Children                             44
+             1. Surplus Nerve Energy                                44
+             2. A Rest Period                                       45
+             3. The Home Conveniences                               46
+             4. The Mother's Outings                                47
+             5. The Home Help                                       48
+             6. The Children shield the Mother                      49
+             7. Planning for the Children                           50
+             8. A Common Conspiracy                                 51
+
+      V. CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING                          54
+           Plans and Specifications not Available                   55
+           What appeals to the Children                             57
+           The House Plan                                           59
+           How One Farmer does It                                   60
+           Outbuildings and Equipment                               61
+           Human Rights prior to Animal Rights                      61
+           The Children's Room                                      64
+           The Evening Hour                                         67
+
+     VI. JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM HOME                       69
+           How Good Thinking grows up and Flourishes                70
+           Types of Literature                                      72
+           A Selected List                                          75
+           Literature on Child-rearing                              79
+             1. Periodicals on Child-rearing                        80
+             2. Books on Child-rearing                              80
+
+    VII. THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE                      82
+           Decadence of Rural Life                                  83
+           Work for the Ministry                                    84
+           The Country Minister                                     86
+           A Mistake in Training                                    89
+           Rural Child-rearing                                      90
+           The Churches too Narrow                                  92
+           Constructive Work of the Church                          93
+           An Innovation in the Rural Church                        95
+           Spiritualize Child Life                                  97
+           A Summary                                                98
+
+   VIII. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL                    101
+           Radical Changes in the View-point and Method            102
+           All have a Right to Culture                             103
+           Work for a Longer Term                                  105
+           Compulsory Attendance Laws Needed                       106
+           Better Schoolhouses and Equipment                       107
+             1. Location                                           108
+             2. The Water Supply                                   109
+             3. Size and Adaptation of Grounds                     109
+             4. Improvement of School Grounds                      110
+           A Model Rural School                                    112
+           The Cornell Schoolhouse                                 115
+           Help make a School Play Ground                          117
+           General Instruction in Agriculture                      120
+           Domestic Economy and Home Sanitation                    122
+           Consolidation of Rural Schools                          123
+           More High Schools Needed                                124
+           Better Rural Teachers Needed                            125
+
+     IX. THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION              129
+           Boys leave the Farm too Young                           130
+           Purposes of the County Young Men's Christian
+             Association                                           131
+           How to organize a County Organization                   132
+             1. Select a Good Leader                               133
+             2. Local Leaders Necessary                            134
+             3. A Committee on Finance                             134
+             4. Little Property Ownership                          135
+           How to conduct the Work                                 136
+             1. Local and County Athletic Clubs                    136
+             2. Debating and Literary Clubs                        137
+             3. Receptions and Suppers                             138
+             4. Educational Tours and Problems                     138
+             5. Camping and Hiking                                 139
+             6. Exhibitions                                        139
+           Spirituality not lost Sight Of                          141
+           Work in a sparsely Settled Country                      143
+
+      X. THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS OF THE YOUNG           146
+           Preparation for the Service                             147
+           Work persistently for Social Unity                      149
+           Corn-raising and Bread-baking Clubs                     150
+           Other Forms of Contests                                 151
+           The Improvement of the School Situation                 152
+           Home and School Play Problems                           154
+           A Neighborhood Library                                  156
+           Holidays and Recreation for the Young                   158
+           Many over-work their Children                           160
+           Federation for Country-life Progress                    161
+           The Vocations of Boys and Girls                         162
+           Other Local Possibilities                               164
+           The Boy Scout Movement                                  165
+           Rural Boy Scouts in Kansas                              166
+
+     XI. HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY                         171
+           See that the Work is for the Boy's Sake                 172
+           Not Enforced Labor, but Mastery                         174
+           Provide Vacations for the Boy                           176
+           A Tentative Schedule of Hours                           178
+           Think out a Reasonable Plan                             179
+
+    XII. HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL                        183
+           A Balanced Life for the Girl                            185
+           Work begins with Obedience                              186
+           Working the Girls in the Field                          188
+           Some Specific Suggestions                               189
+           Do you Own your Daughter?                               190
+           Difficult to make a Schedule                            191
+           Teach the Girl Self-supremacy                           192
+           Summary                                                 194
+
+   XIII. SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND GIRLS                   197
+           A Happy Mean is Needed                                  197
+           A Social Renaissance in the Country                     199
+           Conditions to guard Against                             200
+             1. The Social Companionship of Girls                  201
+             2. Bad Companionships for Boys                        202
+             3. Secret Sex Habits                                  204
+             4. The So-called Bad Habits                           205
+           A Center of Community Life                              207
+           Invite the Young to the House                           208
+           How to conduct a Social Entertainment                   209
+           What about the Country Dance?                           211
+           Additional Forms of Entertainment                       212
+             1. The Social Hour at the Religious Services          212
+             2. A Country Literary Society                         213
+             3. The Social Side of the Economic Clubs              215
+           Some Concluding Suggestions                             215
+
+    XIV. THE FARM BOY'S INTEREST IN THE BUSINESS                   220
+           What is in your Boy?                                    220
+           Much Experimentation Necessary                          221
+             1. Willingness to Work                                222
+             2. Ability to Save                                    223
+           Start on a Small Scale                                  224
+           Give your Son a Square Deal                             225
+           Keep the Boy's Perfect Good Will                        226
+           Some will be retained on the Farm                       227
+           The Awakening often comes from Without                  229
+           An Awakening in the South                               229
+           Partnership between Father and Son                      231
+           Summary and Concluding Suggestions                      232
+
+     XV. BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL                    235
+           Is the Country Girl Neglected?                          236
+           Why the Girl leaves the Farm                            237
+           Certain Rules to be Observed                            239
+             1. Teach the Girl to Work                             239
+             2. Teach her Business Sense                           240
+             3. Train her to transact Personal Business            241
+             4. Make her the Family Accountant                     242
+             5. Miserliness to be Avoided                          243
+             6. Teach her to Give                                  244
+             7. Teach the Meaning of a Contract                    245
+             8. Prepare her to deal with Grafters                  246
+           Should there be an Actual Investment?                   247
+
+    XVI. WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY BOY HAVE                250
+           Changes in Rural School Conditions                      250
+           The Boy a Bundle of Possibilities                       252
+           Classes of Native Ability                               253
+           The Great Talented Class                                254
+           Round out the Boy's Nature                              256
+           Other Important Matters                                 257
+           Develop an Interest in Humanity                         259
+
+   XVII. WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY GIRL HAVE               262
+           Special Problems relating to the Girl                   262
+           Protecting the Girl at School                           263
+           Lessons in Music and Art                                265
+           The Reward will come in Time                            267
+           The Mother's Office as Teacher                          268
+           Home-life Education                                     270
+           Education for Supremacy                                 271
+           An Outlook for Social Life                              272
+
+  XVIII. THE FARM BOY'S CHOICE OF A VOCATION                       275
+           Should the Farmer's Son Farm?                           275
+           Impatience of Parents                                   276
+           What of Predestination?                                 277
+           Three Methods of Vocational Training                    279
+             1. The Apprentice Method                              280
+             2. The Cultural Method                                280
+             3. The Developmental Method                           281
+           The Farmer Fortunate                                    282
+           What College for the Country Boy?                       283
+           The Foundation in Work                                  284
+           Clean up the Place                                      285
+           Money Value of an Agricultural Education                286
+           A Successful Vocation Certain                           287
+
+    XIX. THE FARM GIRL'S PREPARATION FOR A VOCATION                290
+           What is the Outlook?                                    290
+           Desirable Occupations for Women                         292
+             1. May teach the Young                                293
+             2. May take up Stenography                            294
+             3. May do Social Work                                 295
+             4. May secure Clerkships                              296
+           A College Course for the Girl                           298
+           Associations with Refined Young Men                     299
+           Make the Daughter Attractive                            300
+           Summary and Conclusion                                  301
+
+     XX. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE OUTLOOK                             306
+           Strive for Preconceived Results                         306
+           Consult Expert Advice                                   308
+           Meet Each Awakening Interest                            310
+           Work for Social Democracy                               311
+           The Outlook very Promising                              312
+           The Modern Service Training                             314
+           The State doing its Part                                316
+           The New Era of Religion                                 319
+           Final Conclusion                                        319
+
+   INDEX                                                           323
+
+
+
+
+ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  PLATE
+
+      I. Fig. 1. At least once each day the busy farm
+           father may think of a way to combine his
+           work with the children's play                _Frontispiece_
+
+                                                           FACING PAGE
+
+     II. Fig. 2. Canadian boys breaking young oxen                   6
+
+    III. Fig. 3. An attractive Kansas home                          28
+
+     IV. Fig. 4. A day nursery in the country                       42
+
+      V. Fig. 5. A rural home in the South                          56
+
+     VI. Fig. 6. A well-equipped farmhouse                          64
+
+    VII. Fig. 7. Children playing under the shade trees             72
+
+   VIII. Figs. 8-9. Rural church, Plainfield, Illinois              86
+
+     IX. Fig. 10. Village church at Ogden, Kansas                   92
+
+      X. Fig. 11. Corn Sunday in an Illinois church                 96
+
+     XI. Fig. 12. A country schoolhouse in California              108
+         Fig. 13. Type of model rural school used in
+           Kansas                                                  108
+
+    XII. Fig. 14. Model rural school at Kirksville, Missouri.
+           Normal                                                  112
+
+   XIII. Fig. 15. Rear view of the Kirksville school               114
+
+    XIV. Fig. 16. Using Babcock tester                             120
+
+     XV. Figs. 17-21. Consolidated school and those it
+           displaced                                               124
+
+    XVI. Fig. 22. The Cornell rural schoolhouse                    126
+
+   XVII. Fig. 23. A.Y.M.C.A. play club                             132
+
+  XVIII. Fig. 24. Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio                      138
+
+    XIX. Fig. 25. Jerry Moore, champion corn raiser                150
+
+     XX. Fig. 26. A lonely schoolhouse                             164
+
+    XXI. Fig 27. Tennis in the country                             180
+         Fig. 28. Country play festival                            180
+
+   XXII. Fig. 29. Industrial exhibit in rural school               192
+
+  XXIII. Fig. 30. Agricultural and domestic science club           208
+
+   XXIV. Fig. 31. School and church in Canada                      212
+
+    XXV. Fig. 32. Kansas prize winners                             230
+
+   XXVI. Fig. 33. Girls' doll display                              238
+
+  XXVII. Fig. 34. Boys whittling                                   252
+
+  XXVIII. Fig. 35. Study of corn                                   256
+
+    XXIX. Fig. 36. School gardeners                                270
+
+     XXX. Fig. 37. Country schoolgirls                             290
+
+    XXXI. Fig. 38. A girls' class in sewing                        300
+
+   XXXII. Fig. 39. Girl sowing seed                                312
+          Fig. 40. Boy thinning vegetables                         312
+
+
+
+
+FARM BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+_BUILDING A GOOD LIFE_
+
+
+If you were about to begin the construction of a dwelling house, what
+questions would most likely be uppermost in your mind? If this house
+were intended for your own use, you would doubtless consider among other
+important matters those of comfort, convenience of arrangement,
+attractiveness of appearance, strength, and durableness. The great
+variety of dwellings to be seen on every hand is outwardly expressive of
+the great variety of ideals in the minds of the people who construct
+them. No matter what means there may be available for the purpose, it
+may be said that he who builds a house thereby illustrates in concrete
+form his inner character.
+
+With practically the same quality of materials, one man will construct a
+house apparently with the thought that its chief purpose is to be looked
+at. Much work and expense will be put upon outer show and embellishment,
+while in its inner arrangements it may be exceedingly cramped and
+thoughtlessly put together. Another will erect his building with a
+thought of placing it on the market. Cheap workmanship, weak and faulty
+joinings, and the like, will be concealed by some thin covering meant to
+last until a profitable sale has been made and some innocent purchaser
+caught with a mere shell of a house in his possession. Occasionally,
+however, there is found a man whose plans conform to such ideals as
+those first named.
+
+
+WHAT IS A GOOD LIFE?
+
+As with the construction of a house, so it is in some measure with the
+building of a character. Some lives apparently are constructed to look
+at; that is, with the thought that outer adornment and a mere appearance
+of worth and beauty constitute the essential qualities. Other lives are,
+in a sense, made to sell. Not infrequently parents are found developing
+their boys and girls as if the chief purpose were to place them
+somewhere or other in the best possible money market. A life is worth
+only as much as it will bring in dollars and cents, is apparently the
+predominating thought of such persons. And then, occasionally, a life is
+built to _live in_; that is, with the idea that intrinsic worth
+constitutes the essential nature of the ideal character.
+
+But what _is_ a good life? And why is not this precisely the question
+for all parents to ask themselves at the time they begin the development
+of the lives of their own boys and girls? Assuming a fairly sound
+physical and mental inheritance on the part of the child and the given
+environment as the raw materials of construction, what ideals should
+parents have uppermost in mind before undertaking the tremendously
+important and interesting duties of constructing worthy manhood and
+womanhood out of the inherent natures of their children?
+
+1. _Good health._--It is a difficult task to develop a sound, efficient
+life without the fundamental quality of good health. So it may be well
+to remind parents of this fact and to urge them especially to avoid in
+the lives of the children, first, the beginnings of those lighter
+ailments which frequently grow into menacing habits--for example, the
+diseases that become chronic as a result of unnecessary exposure to the
+weather--and second, those various contagious diseases which so often
+permanently deplete the health of children, such as scarlet fever and
+whooping cough. It is now held by medical authority that every
+reasonable effort should be made to prevent children from taking such
+infectious ailments--that the so-called diseases of children can and
+should be practically all avoided.
+
+2. _Usefulness._--The newer ideals of character-building call for the
+early training of all children as if they were to enter permanently upon
+some bread-winning pursuit. Such training is a most direct means of
+culture and refinement, provided it be correlated with the proper amount
+of book learning and play and recreation. Such uniform and
+character-building discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of the
+race, and to acquaint all the young with the thoughts and feeling of the
+great productive classes. It may be this is now regarded as both a
+direct means of culture and of leading the young mind into an intimate
+acquaintance with the lives of the masses. Such training is regarded
+also as one of the best means of preserving our social democracy.
+Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth the child may
+apparently be destined for a life of comparative ease, even then there
+is every justification for teaching him early how to work as if he must
+do so to earn his own living. Much more will be said about this point
+later.
+
+3. _Moral strength._--In the construction of a good life, moral strength
+must be estimated as one of the important foundation stones. But this
+quality is not so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an
+acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through merely hearing
+about it, but it must come as a result of a large number of experiences
+of trial and error. The child acquires moral self-reliance from the
+practice of overcoming temptation in proportion to his strength, the
+test being made heavier as fast as his ability to withstand temptation
+increases. As will be shown later, it proves weakening to the character
+of the growing child to keep him entirely free from temptation and the
+possible contamination of his character in order that he may grow up
+"good."
+
+4. _Social efficiency._--The good life is not merely self-sustaining in
+an economic way, but it is also trained in the performance of altruistic
+deeds. In building up the lives of the young it will be necessary and
+most helpful to think of the matter of social efficiency. Therefore, it
+will be seen to that the child have practice in assuming the leadership
+among his fellows, in taking the initiative on many little occasions,
+and in some instances to the extent of standing out against the combined
+sentiment of his young associates. Of course, during all this time he
+will be backed strongly by the advice and the insistent direction of his
+parents, the idea being to induce him to think out his own social
+problems and to carry forward any suitable plans of a social nature that
+he may devise.
+
+5. _Religious interest._--Few parents will deny that religious
+instruction is just as essential to the development of a good society as
+is intellectual instruction. Indeed, there is much evidence to bear out
+the conviction that religion is a deep and permanent instinct in all
+normal human beings. This being the case, it is fair to say that such an
+instinct should have some form of awakening and indulgence in the life
+of the child. However, there is no thought or intention of prescribing
+any particular form of religious faith. He might at least be sent to
+Sunday school and to church regularly where he may be led to do a small
+amount of religious thinking on his own account.
+
+6. _Happiness._--The good life is a happy life. But nearly all the
+students of human problems seem to think that happiness eludes the grasp
+of the one who seeks it in a direct way. "I want my children to be happy
+and enjoy life," is often the remark of well-meaning parents. They then
+proceed as if joy and happiness could be had for money. It is true that
+during his early years of indifference to any serious concern or
+personal responsibility, the child may be made extremely happy by giving
+him practically everything his childish appetites may call for and
+allowing him to grow up in idleness. But there comes a time when the
+normal individual begins to question his own personal and intrinsic
+worth. The instincts and desires of mature life come on and if there be
+not available the means for the realization of the better instinctive
+ambitions, then bitterness and woe are likely to become one's permanent
+portion.
+
+However, it may be put down as a certainty that happiness and
+contentment will naturally come in full measure into the life that has
+been well built during the years of childhood and youth. If the good
+health has been conserved, a life of usefulness and service prepared
+for, moral strength built into the character, social efficiency looked
+after continuously, and something of religious experience not
+neglected--it will most certainly follow as the day follows the night
+that the wholesome enjoyments and the durable satisfactions of living
+will come to such an individual.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE II.
+
+FIG. 2.--These Canadian lads are enjoying their first lessons in
+live-stock management. We call their conduct play, but surely no one
+was ever more in earnest than they.]
+
+
+IS THE HUMAN STOCK COMPARATIVELY SOUND?
+
+There are now among the students of the home problems many who are
+seriously interested in the matter of breeding a better human stock.
+Many noteworthy conclusions have already been reached, and ample proofs
+have been produced to show that the human animal follows the same
+general lines of evolution as do the lower animal orders. It is shown in
+general, for example, that little or nothing that man has learned or
+acquired during his life is transmitted to his offspring. That is, even
+though a man devote many years to the intensive study of music or
+mathematics or the languages, such study will not affect the ability of
+his child in the study of the specialized subject. The same unaffected
+result obtains in respect to any other form of expertness of the merely
+acquired sort. For example, the fact that a man through long practice
+becomes expert in the use of the typewriter does not affect the
+character of the child in respect to such ability. It is a no less
+difficult task for the child to learn to master the use of the
+typewriter keyboard.
+
+On the other hand, it is shown very conclusively that physical and
+mental characters inborn in the life of a parent tend at all times to be
+transmitted to the child, although many traits are known to be wanting
+in the first generation of children and to appear in the second or
+successive generations. According to the law of Mendel, the traits of
+the parents are transmitted to the child about as follows: one-half of
+the elements of one's physical and mental natures are inherited from his
+parents, one-fourth from his grandparents, one-eighth from his
+great-grandparents, and so on. In any given case, however, there might
+be great variation from this rule of the averages, just as actual men
+and women vary more or less widely from the average human height of so
+many feet and inches.
+
+There is no thought here of discussing the intricate problems of
+eugenics. The purpose of this brief dogmatic sketch is that of
+attempting to induce parents to believe that the great mass of our
+American-born children are comparatively sound in their physical and
+mental inheritances. The pathologists profess to be able to prove that
+nature is most kind to the new-born child in respect to inheritance of
+disease. In fact, it is shown that very few diseases are directly
+transmitted through the blood, and that many once so regarded are now
+found to be infectious in their natures. There is considerable
+indication, however, that the children of the diseased--tuberculous
+parents, for example,--inherit a weakened power of resistance for such
+disease. But this matter is somewhat foreign to our present discussion.
+
+Best of all, for our present consideration, is the great mass of
+evidence sustaining the theory that about ninety-nine per cent of our
+new-born infants are potentially good in an economic and moral sense.
+That is to say, this great majority of the young humanity have latent
+within their natures at the beginning of life the possibilities of
+development into sound, self-reliant manhood and womanhood.
+
+So, the writer of these lines would gladly lead rural parents to the
+point of being very courageous and optimistic about their infant
+children. He would have them see in the latter all the possibilities of
+good and efficiency that they may care to attempt to bring out by
+thoughtful and conscientious training. For that matter, it can be shown
+that many of the leaders of men are constantly springing up out of the
+ranks of the common masses and from those of humble parentage. Some of
+these great leaders, it is true, are what may be called accidental
+geniuses in respect to their native strength and their persistent life
+purposes. But many others, and perhaps the majority of them, are merely
+men and women who have been reasonably sound at birth and who have been
+trained from childhood to maturity in a manner that best served to build
+up strong, efficient character.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The references given at the close of each chapter are meant
+    to direct the reader to specific treatment of the topics
+    named. It is thought that nearly every chapter or book
+    referred to will be found helpful and instructive to such
+    persons as may naturally become interested in this volume. In
+    some instances a line of comment is given to make clearer the
+    contents of the reference.
+
+    Must Children have Children's Diseases? Newton. _Ladies' Home
+    Journal_, April, 1910.
+
+    _Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette._ Gazette Publishing Company,
+    New York. $1 per year, monthly.
+
+    The Miracle of Life. J. H. Kellogg, M.D. Good Health
+    Publishing Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Read especially pp.
+    363-388, "How to be Strong."
+
+    Our Duty to Posterity. Editorial. _The Independent_,
+    February. 1909.
+
+    Relation of Science to Man. Professor A. W. Small. _American
+    Journal of Sociology_, February, 1908.
+
+    Character Building. Marian M. George. A. Flanagan Company.
+    Treats the ethical problems of the home.
+
+    Through Boyhood to Manhood. Ennis Richmond. Chapter 1,
+    "Usefulness." Longmans.
+
+    Making the Most of Our Children. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D.
+    Chapter IX, "Keeping the Boy on the Farm." McClurg.
+
+    Youth. G. Stanley Hall. Chapter XII, "Moral and Religious
+    Training." Appleton.
+
+    The Contents of a Boy. E. L. Moore. Chapter VI, "Social
+    Interests." Jennings & Graham, Cincinnati.
+
+    Mind in the Making. E. J. Swift. Chapter II, "The Criminal
+    Natures of Boys." Scribners.
+
+    The Young Malefactor. Dr. Thomas Travis. Chapter II, "The
+    Child born Centuries Too Late." Crowell.
+
+    The Family Health. M. Solis-Cohen, M.D. Chapter I, "The
+    Preservation of Health." Penn Publishing Company,
+    Philadelphia.
+
+    The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Dr. Charles W. Eliot.
+    Crowell. Points out ably the higher way.
+
+    The Study of Children. Francis Warner, M.D. Chapter IV,
+    "Observing the Child. What to Look at and For." The
+    Macmillan Company.
+
+    What makes a Liberal Education. Editorial. _The Independent_,
+    July 1, 1909.
+
+    Relation of the Physical Nature of the Child to His Mental
+    and Moral Development. George W. Reed. _Annual Report
+    National Educational Association_, 1909, p. 305.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+_THE TIME TO BUILD_
+
+
+We shall continue to assume that the reader, if a parent, is thinking of
+his child as being in the position of one whose character requires
+constant attention in order that it may be built up through the right
+sort of training and the right sort of practices. Just as certainly as
+there is a best time in the season to plow corn and also a time not to
+plow, as there is a time to plow deep and another time to plow shallow,
+so there is unquestionably a best time to give the child any particular
+form of training or to withhold it. In general, it may be said that the
+most effective training in respect to the human young is that which
+centers most closely around the childish interests and instincts.
+
+
+WHAT OF THE HUMAN INSTINCTS
+
+By observing critically for a few days the conduct of an infant child,
+one may notice two or three pronounced instincts at work producing
+helpful results in the little life.
+
+1. There is the instinct to nurse, which is so fundamental in securing
+the food with which to sustain and build up the body.
+
+2. There is the accessory instinct of crying, also often necessary as
+nature's signal for another intake of the food supply. Associated with
+these two instincts are a number of reflexes which take care of the
+important organic processes, such as digestion, assimilation, and
+excretion. Now, we have practically all there is to the "character" of
+the human infant. He has, as yet, no instinct for fighting, for sexual
+love, or for business. And any effort to arouse and make use of the
+last-named dormant qualities would be futile as well as ridiculous. In
+respect to a vast majority of the things to be learned, the child is a
+mere bundle of potentialities, all of which must bide their time for an
+awakening. In short, wise parents soon learn that the center of life in
+the infant child is in the stomach, and that if he be fed rightly, kept
+much in the open air, clothed comfortably, and bathed frequently, the
+body-building processes will usually go on in a satisfactory manner.
+
+3. Although the little life seems so tiny and the daily round of
+infantile activities so simple and monotonous, the character-developing
+processes are already making their subtle beginnings. For example, the
+first lessons in habit are being inculcated through the comparative
+rhythm in the infant's life. It will be found both conducive to good
+health and helpful to character-development to attend to all the
+infant's needs with strict regularity. Let us follow the new-born child
+around his little cycle and see what happens. First, he is given a
+hearty meal, which is followed at once by perhaps two hours of profound
+sleep. Then, there is a gradual waking, the body writhes and wiggles
+slightly, and then more, and then still more, until a loud cry is set
+up. Under healthy conditions the crying should go on for a very few
+minutes, as it helps to send the good blood through every part of the
+body, purifying and building up the parts and carrying out the effete
+matter. The function of excretion is not only thus much aided, but the
+nervous equilibrium is completely restored. The little life has now
+swung completely round to the beginning point of two hours previously
+and it is ready to start on another journey with the intake of another
+hearty meal.
+
+It will be found that the life circle described above continues with
+slight variations for the first few weeks, the child sleeping probably
+twenty to twenty-two hours out of twenty-four, if it be in a natural
+state of health. But slowly the conduct of the infant will become more
+complex, and that in response to the growths and changes taking place
+within his body. It will be found that he can take a heartier meal, can
+stay awake longer, kick harder, wriggle more, and cry louder as the days
+multiply. In a month or so his eyes will be seen following some
+brilliant or attractive moving body, while the impulsive movements of
+the hands will begin to suggest some slight definition of their conduct.
+Not long thereafter, the baby smile will break out in a reflex fashion
+and the hands will likewise grasp objects placed in the little palms.
+Coordinate with these new activities, nature is at work storing up new
+nerve structures and cells, especially in the region of the spinal cord
+and the cranial centers.
+
+4. The child is all the while learning. As yet, there is little for the
+caretaker to do other than to feed the infant with exceeding care and
+regularity, and to enjoy the awakening of the new infant activities. In
+four to six months, the young learner will lead a much more complex
+life,--sitting alone, holding things in his hands, and looking about the
+room. But it must be understood that he still hears and sees very few
+things in a definite way. Then, in the next two or three months he will
+first creep,--he should in time be induced to do so if possible for the
+sake of his health,--at length he will stand upright, and finally walk.
+None of these processes must be hastened, although they may be aided
+when the inner prompting and strength warrant such conduct.
+
+5. During the second year there will probably break out with sudden and
+surprising strength the new instinct of anger. It has been latent there
+all the time, but the low degree of intelligence and of nerve structure
+has not given it proper support and indulgence. But on an occasion there
+is perhaps taken from the child some cherished plaything, when he
+suddenly flies into a rage, yelling, screaming, kicking, and growing red
+in the face. This outburst of rage is a most interesting and enjoyable
+aspect to the parent who rightly understands children, although some
+ignorantly make it a matter of deep concern, regarding it as significant
+of a vicious character in the coming boy and man.
+
+The purpose of this present discussion is to illustrate how the human
+instincts come into their functions at various times during the life of
+the growing child. And the further purpose is to urge that such thing be
+_watched for and met with just the sort of training necessary for
+permanent and helpful results_.
+
+Now, let the little child fly into a rage two or three times and have
+his anger appeased through indulgence in the thing he cries for, and he
+has acquired his first lesson in the management of the parent or nurse.
+He has learned that if he wants a thing, all he needs to do is to squall
+or yell and the desired results will be forthcoming. But this childish
+rage really furnishes the occasion for the beginning of some
+disciplinary lessons. "Should I give the child everything he cries for,
+or withhold the desired object until he quits?" asks an anxious parent.
+Neither rule is necessarily the right one, and yet both, on occasions,
+may be correct. Suppose, instead of the infant you have a five-year-old
+boy who cries for a loaded revolver he happens to see in your hand.
+Would you give it to him to stop his crying, or withhold it? Suppose
+again he should cry for the return of his own plaything which some one
+unjustly snatched from him. Would you return his plaything to stop his
+crying, or let him cry it out? Now, here is implied the correct answer
+in dealing with the outburst of anger in the infant. It is all a matter
+of justice and fairness. If some agency, human or otherwise, snatches
+his food from his mouth, and the child squalls for its return, indulge
+the infant at once. If he has been well fed, comfortably clad and
+bathed, and under every proper consideration should lie still and behave
+himself, then do not run and take him up because he happens to be trying
+your patience with his squalling. Hold him to it and let him bawl it
+out. There is really nothing better coming to him if you are thinking of
+the development of his character--and your own.
+
+6. So, somewhat later on you will find this same instinct of anger
+showing itself in the various forms of fighting and quarreling. The
+parent who understands the true natures of healthy children will not
+worry for a moment because the children show natural dispositions for
+contention and combativeness. On the other hand, it will be understood
+that these very tendencies furnish the occasion of many a lesson in
+social ethics. How can the child ever learn to be just and fair to his
+mates or square and considerate in his dealings with adults unless it be
+through the give-and-take experiences that come from attempting to get
+more than his share,--and failing much of the time,--and from attempting
+to over-ride the rights and privileges of others, and having such
+attempts properly thwarted? Indeed, it may be regarded as a great
+misfortune to the child if he has to grow up as the only one in a home
+and is denied the daily companionship of those of his own age from whom
+he may learn justice and fairness as a result of his attempts to get
+more than is just and fair for himself.
+
+7. The watchful parents will observe that perhaps some time during the
+second half year, and with some pronounced repetitions later, there will
+be clear manifestations of the instinct of fear on the part of the
+child. Again, there is nothing for deep concern other than to meet this
+instinct in a general way as has been observed for the others named and
+to give the proper training. Fear must have been a human necessity
+during many years of savagery and barbarism. It still has its positive
+and negative values in the development of character. It serves as a
+deterrent from dangerous and criminal acts. It is also found to deter
+the growing infant from doing many a thing which he ought to be learning
+to do. Fear shows its most interesting aspects in the form of what has
+been called social sensitiveness; that is, bashfulness, shyness,
+reticence, and the like.
+
+Parents should by all means watch closely the various childish and
+youthful tendencies to fear, allowing those fears which promise to be
+helpful to remain in the life or to die out slowly through counteracting
+conduct; and eliminating those other forms which would seem to serve no
+useful purpose. Examples of the latter sort would be the fear of
+ferocious animals and of murderers. Such mortal enemies are so uncommon
+in this civilized land that fear of them will probably be of no service
+to life. On the other hand, it may stunt and deter the development of
+courage. Especially do such fears tend to induce the habit of
+unnecessary concern and deep worry, thus destroying the peace and
+happiness and cutting off the length of years of many members of our
+society.
+
+8. There is no questioning the value of social sensitiveness in respect
+to the development of character in the young. Some degree of bashfulness
+and embarrassment in dealing with people, especially those regarded by
+him as of superior worth, may be considered an actual asset in the life
+of the growing boy. This bashfulness will give him a rich inner
+experience of doubts and fears, and of hopes and triumphs. Slowly, under
+proper guidance and direction, the sensitiveness wears away through
+repeated experience of a contrary sort, and such qualities as create a
+self-reliance take its place.
+
+On the other hand, it is doubtless a misfortune, especially for the boy,
+to become blase--indifferent and unembarrassed in the presence of people
+of all ranks and conditions--while he is yet a mere lad. Under our
+present organization of society, the boy who would win the life race
+must have much experience of trial and error, of failure and success,
+and of tribulation and triumph; and all that for the sake of a
+self-reliant character. Now, the boy who has lost all sense of
+embarrassment in the presence of others is likely to be denied the
+stirring inner experiences just named, and to settle down in an
+indifferent, self-satisfied attitude toward the big problems of human
+conduct. It may be counted, therefore, as an indication of much promise
+and advantage that the country youth and the country maiden continue to
+be comparatively "green" and bashful during the period of their
+adolescence.
+
+9. The instinct of sexual love will manifest itself at the proper time
+and age. Before so doing, certain organic changes and inner nerve
+developments must take place. Parents may learn some lessons from
+observation of this instinct that will apply to practically all the
+others. For example, there should be no attempt to hurry the
+manifestation and the functioning of the instinct, nor should the
+training necessary for its development and refinement be denied or
+withheld. Of all the many inner awakenings that come to the developing
+human being, there is probably none that quite matches the surging
+energy of sexual love in healthy young manhood and womanhood. And to an
+extraordinary degree, opportunities for instruction and development of
+the character become present at this time.
+
+First of all, parents need to be reminded of the naturalness and
+wholesomeness of the sex instincts in adolescent boys and girls. They
+must be urged to provide carefully for its natural growth through the
+proper commingling of the sexes in a social way, and yet there must be
+preserved in the young lives just enough strangeness and mystery about
+the sex matters as to indulge the poetic and the romantic aspects of the
+unfolding natures. It need not, therefore, be a matter of worry and
+unusual concern to parents if their fifteen-year-old son and a
+neighbor's thirteen-year-old daughter show pronounced tendencies to be
+"crazy in love" with each other. However, this situation furnishes most
+fitting opportunities for teaching the boy courtly manners, gallantry,
+consideration for women of all ages; and that through and by means of
+his own personal experience. In fact, this stirring period of sex-love
+opens up in the mind of the boy reflections that tend to run out into
+every possible avenue of his future life.
+
+Likewise, the girl. That same little girl who shortly ago hated boys and
+declared she would never have anything to do with them is now
+manifesting much interest in the youth of her acquaintance. This thing
+cannot be laughed to scorn, or scolded away, or whipped out of the life
+of either boy or girl. Its roots are in the sex organs as well as in the
+heart. This first love period furnishes the rarest opportunities for
+teaching the girl proper lessons in respect to her comeliness, her
+purity of thought, and the sweetness of her own personal character. If
+during this time she be withheld entirely from wholesome association
+with boys and young men, there is a probability that she may become a
+drone or a mope, and especially that she may lose valuable training in
+the acquisition of those winsome ways so helpful to young women in the
+matter of their obtaining suitable life companions.
+
+Perhaps less need be said in respect to giving the growing son those
+forms of social training which make it possible for him to win to his
+side an attractive helpmate. But beyond the question of a doubt there
+can and should be much done by way of training the daughter in this
+respect. In addition to her good health, her moral self-reliance, and
+those other desirable qualities illustrated in a preceding paragraph,
+the young woman who is thoroughly prepared for meeting successfully the
+issues of life has had careful training in all the practices that refine
+and beautify her character.
+
+This duty of rural parents to the growing daughter is no less imperative
+than in the case of city parents. It may be considered as an excellent
+way of planning for the future happiness and well-being, not merely for
+one, but doubtless for an entire family, if the growing girl be indulged
+and directed reasonably in social matters during this period of
+greatest strength of her natural sex instinct. This thing cannot be
+safely put off a few years with the thought that the family will move to
+town and then the girl may have her proper opportunities of training.
+After such procrastination and neglect, it becomes too late ever to
+correct the many faults of omission.
+
+10. There develops somewhat late in the lives of young men and young
+women what might be called the "homing" instinct, which amounts to
+nothing other than a deep and pronounced prompting from within to set
+definitely about the matter of getting into a home of one's own and
+providing for and building it up. This is different from the mere sex
+instinct named above, although perhaps an outgrowth of it. It must be
+noted in passing that this homing instinct, when at its strongest,
+furnishes the proper occasion for instruction in respect to the home and
+the home-building affairs. Happy indeed is the young man or the young
+woman who, after a period of such instruction, may have the opportunity
+of settling down in a suitable dwelling place and there beginning the
+establishment of the ideal family life.
+
+11. Unquestionably there dawns in the life of normal young men--and
+perhaps to a milder degree in respect to young women--a pronounced
+instinct of a business and economic sort. This inner prompting is
+doubtless associated with the two last named. It may be observed by any
+person who knows how to study the lives of children and young people
+that some particular youth who a few months ago was a spendthrift,
+indifferent of his future needs and welfare, is now heard to declare
+emphatically again and again that he must get into business, must save
+and invest his means and provide for his future needs. So, there is not
+a little evidence in effect that we have here another inner development
+of the nerve mechanism. And the time is most fit and opportune for the
+parents to exhaust every reasonable effort to discover what the youth is
+best suited for as a life practice and to guide him on toward the
+realization of that purpose. Much more will be said in another chapter
+in respect to the choice of a vocation.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Rural parents who develop an intensive interest in the
+    child-training problems will find it most profitable to read
+    somewhat extensively in the texts that are not too direct but
+    that give a careful treatment of the fundamental principles
+    of child psychology. King's and O'Shea's books listed below
+    are of this special character. For a fuller list, see Chapter
+    VI.
+
+    The Child: A Study in the Evolution of Man. A. F.
+    Chamberlain. Chapter IV, "The Period of Childhood." Scribner.
+    A sound and somewhat scholarly treatment.
+
+    Boy Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter I, "The Awakening";
+    Chapter II, "Am I a Genius?" Forbes & Co., Chicago.
+
+    Education of the Central Nervous System. Reuben P. Halleck.
+    Chapter VII, "Special Sensory Training." American Book
+    Company.
+
+    The Moral Life. Arthur E. Davies. Chapter V, "Motive: The
+    Beginnings of Morality." Review Publishing Company,
+    Baltimore.
+
+    Psychology. J. R. Angell. Chapter XVI, "The Important Human
+    Instincts." Holt.
+
+    Essentials of Psychology. W. B. Pillsbury. Chapter X,
+    "Instinct." Macmillan. Rural parents will find this entire
+    text a non-technical and fundamental help.
+
+    Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XII, "The
+    Critical Period." Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Psychology of Child Development. Irving King. Chapter on
+    "Instinct." University of Chicago Press.
+
+    Your Boy: His Nature and Nurture. George A. Dickinson, M.D.
+    Chapter II, "Elements of Character." Hodder & Stoughton, New
+    York.
+
+    An Introduction to Child Study. W. B. Drummond. Chapter XII,
+    "The Instincts of Children"; Chapter XIII, "Instincts and
+    Habit." Longmans. The book is worthy an entire reading.
+
+    A Study of Child Nature. Elizabeth Harrison. Chapter I, "The
+    Instinct of Activity." Chicago Kindergarten College.
+
+    Observing Childhood. A. S. Draper. _Annals American Academy_,
+    March, 1909.
+
+    Are we spoiling our Boys who have the Best Chances in Life?
+    Henry van Dyke. SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE. October, 1909.
+
+    How to civilize the Young Savage. Dr. G. Stanley Hall. _Mind
+    and Body_, June, 1911.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+_THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT_
+
+
+That the farm home is an ideal place in which to build up the lives of
+growing boys and girls has become almost a trite saying. But that rural
+parents are yet failing to realize the child-nurturing possibilities of
+such a place may be exemplified in thousands of instances. When we point
+to the farm home as being the best possible place for rearing children,
+we mean that it contains all the crude materials for such work, and that
+there must be in charge of that work some one who is conscious of the
+many aspects of the problem. So we hope to show the fathers and mothers
+of the farm community, not what they might do if they were differently
+situated, but as specifically as possible what there is in the present
+rural home situation that can be made directly available in the
+construction of the lives of their children.
+
+
+WHAT AGENCIES BUILD UP CHARACTER?
+
+First of all, we must ask, What are the ordinary forces which need to be
+brought into service in the development of children? At the head of the
+list, we should name play, as furnishing a great variety of instructive
+activities; then, work and industry; after that, the recreation that
+comes properly after the performance of work. So, we have with all their
+implied meanings the three great child-developing agencies: play, work,
+recreation. Now the question naturally presents itself, Can the ordinary
+farm life be made to furnish in right amount and proportion these three
+essential elements of character development?
+
+1. _Play._--The necessity of indulging and training properly the play
+instinct of the child is becoming so fully appreciated of late that many
+of the state legislatures, and even the national Congress, have seen fit
+to make it a matter of deep concern. In order that all children may have
+full exercise of the divine, inherent right to play and to learn through
+play, many so-called child labor laws have been passed. These enactments
+have prescribed conditions under which children will be permitted to
+work at gainful occupations, and in the majority of cases they have
+strictly forbidden such child labor below the ages of fourteen to
+sixteen.
+
+But the foregoing efforts in behalf of the young have been of a somewhat
+negative sort, merely guaranteeing the child the right to play. On the
+positive side, much is also being done. The scientific students of child
+life have been pointing to the great benefits of play and to the
+present need for larger means and fuller opportunities for play on the
+part of the masses of children. As an outcome of all this research and
+public agitation, there is now in progress a general movement which
+looks to the placing at the disposal of children everywhere the
+equipment and apparatus necessary for building up the character by means
+of play experience. The large cities are expending millions of dollars
+on municipal playgrounds, and the towns and rural communities are
+catching the spirit also.
+
+It has been shown beyond a question that adult life can be prepared for
+and enriched in many ways by means of scientifically provided play
+during childhood. Two or three results are especially sought through the
+playground training: (1) better physical health and increased power to
+resist disease; (2) enlarged opportunities for the outlet of the
+spontaneous activities through the use of the hands and other parts of
+the body; (3) the provision of a powerful deterrent of evil thought and
+deed and of juvenile crime; (4) the manifold opportunities for learning
+how to get along with one's fellows and to treat them in fairness and
+justice.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE III.
+
+FIG. 3.--This beautiful Kansas home, with its large orchard and many
+shade trees adjoining, was constructed "away out on the barren plains
+where no tree will grow." In this place an excellent family of nine
+children grew up.]
+
+It has already been urged that sound health constitutes one of the
+foundation stones of good character. Play is especially conducive to
+sound health. Some may think that work without much if any play will
+bring about the same results in the child life, but such proves not
+to be the case. The monotony and drudgery of enforced labor have been
+crushing the lives of children everywhere, especially until the wise
+legislation of very recent years prevented such thing. Strange to say,
+the same amount of exertion in spontaneous play may build up and
+strengthen the physical and mental life of the child. What is the secret
+of the striking difference in the result? Spontaneity! is the answer.
+The child goes at his play with a joy and an eagerness which are
+entirely absent from work--a sufficient guarantee that his nature is
+being fed upon the very stuff which his soul craves. It is true that
+children will play in a bare room containing nothing more than a pile of
+trash, but such a situation is woefully lacking on the side of
+instruction. Very little will be learned from a year of such
+ill-provided play.
+
+So, there is every necessary reason for urging that the farm home
+provide not only the time and the occasion for the play life of the
+children, but that the means and proper materials also be looked after.
+At a certain rural home in the state of Michigan, where two boys and one
+girl were growing up, were found the following nearly ideal arrangements
+for the play life: a small clump of trees, which afforded opportunities
+for climbing and ample shade during the warm weather; a swing hung
+between two of the trees; a pole serving as a horizontal bar between
+two others; and a ladder leading to a rude playhouse constructed between
+the forks of a branching maple tree. Thereabout were seen also a boy's
+wagon, two home-made sleds and other materials of this same general
+class, not to mention a fairly well-kept lawn, where the children could
+romp.
+
+Now the cost of all the foregoing materials would be trifling in a money
+sense and not very expensive in point of preparation and work, while
+they would pay for themselves a hundred-fold in their results for
+character-development. If necessary, it could even be shown how just
+such provision for the play of the boys and girls on the farm will in
+time add to the actual cash value of the place and to the money-earning
+power of the boys and girls whose lives are being served. It seems
+altogether fitting to remind rural parents of their duty in respect to
+their children even though the mortgage may not yet have been lifted,
+and even though some of the live stock may have to suffer a little, and
+some of the farm crops deteriorate slightly. Let there be provided,
+first of all, some adequate materials for the indulgence of the play
+instinct of the child.
+
+2. _Work._--This term implies a wide meaning, and deserves a lengthy
+discussion. In a chapter to follow under the title "How Much Work for
+the Country Boy," we shall give due attention to it. The purpose here is
+to advise the parent to make a study of the situation and to make
+provision for the amount and kind of work and industry necessary for
+the proper culture of the growing child.
+
+First of all, there must be appreciated the sharp distinction between
+work and play. The latter is spontaneous, allowing the child to follow
+his caprice of mind. He may take up one play activity and drop it at any
+moment that another appeals to him more strongly. But with work, the
+situation is different. The purpose is outside of and not within the
+performance, as in the case of play. The work looks toward some end
+necessary of achievement and carries with it the elements of sacrifice,
+of giving out of one's life something that is his very own in order that
+some other thing may be acquired. In the case of work the normal child
+probably at first finds almost any assigned task irksome. He feels that
+he is being more or less unfairly or unnecessarily driven to it and that
+when he grows to be a man, he will have a lot of money and hire somebody
+else to do the work.
+
+All natural, healthy-minded boys are at first somewhat stubborn and
+rebellious in regard to work. No matter how good their parents may be,
+if merely turned loose in the world without direction and the spur of
+authority, they will almost invariably avoid manual labor. So it might
+as well be put down at once as a rule that every boy who is to become a
+real worker and an industrious character must be set definitely at his
+tasks while a mere child and held strictly to their performance. After
+much persistent urging, the young worker begins to forget the thought
+of being driven to his duty and to acquire instead a habit of industry.
+By slow degrees he develops within a sense of obligation in relation to
+work, also a feeling of responsibility for tasks done or left undone.
+Finally, after years of this sort of experience, the young industrialist
+reaches a point in his life when he can throw himself enthusiastically
+into some sort of well chosen occupation. And then and there emerges
+from his inner consciousness the exceeding great joy known to so many of
+the industrious men and women whose worthy life-long devotion to work is
+constantly reconstructing this good world in which we live.
+
+It will be understood, of course, that the term work as here used
+includes the school training. The ordinary child regards the appointed
+duties of lesson getting in the nature of work and feels the same
+pressure of insistence and compulsion in relation to them.
+Unquestionably, the ordinary school course goes part way toward
+furnishing discipline in industry. The course of the newer schools about
+to be instituted throughout the country will reach still farther in this
+direction. It is very encouraging indeed to observe that the public
+school curriculum is destined to include, not only the study of books
+and the recitation of lessons learned from books, but also the many
+forms of manual labor and industry applicable to the character of the
+growing child. But until the public school authorities have provided
+such an ideal course of training, parents must see to it that the
+class-room duties be thoroughly supplemented with carefully assigned
+home tasks of the industrial training sort. In a later chapter specific
+attention will be given the question of the schooling of the country boy
+and the country girl.
+
+3. _Recreation._--What a vast amount of misunderstanding and misuse
+there is of this term! Observe, if you will, the real meaning of the
+term or of the kindred word, to re-create. It implies in this use that
+the body has been depleted, worn out, or fatigued by work and that there
+is to be a rebuilding of the same. But it is amusing--or would be if it
+were not so pathetic--to see how city parents often bestir themselves in
+an effort to provide recreation for their idle boys. Many of these boys
+who are seen loafing about the home town during practically the entire
+summer vacation period are given an outing in order that they may thus
+be furnished "recreation"--from indolence.
+
+But farm parents are inclined to err on the other side. That is, they
+tend to over-work their boys and not to give them enough outings to
+furnish proper recreation and renewed zeal for the work required of
+them. Hence, the need of carefully considering the matter of the outings
+for the farm boy and girl. It can most probably be shown, for example,
+that the boy who works on the farm five and a half days of the week and
+who is given the other half day for rest and recreation--that he does
+more work in the five and one-half days and does it better than he would
+do in six full days without the half-holiday. The question here is that
+of a balanced schedule. How long should the boy be held to his task
+before being allowed a holiday or recreation period?
+
+Just how can these half-holidays, outings, and the like, be worked into
+the farm boy's program so as to make them contributive to the
+up-building of his character? What of this sort can be done to cause him
+to return to his assigned tasks with greater zeal and enthusiasm? How
+can it be provided that the boy may look forward to these outings with a
+thrill of joy during the long days he has to spend behind the plow or in
+the harvest field? Finally, how can these recreation periods, large and
+small, be so associated with his work-a-day tasks that he may come to
+regard farm life as a wholesome type of vocation--one that he may follow
+with pleasure and profit for himself, and one in which he may succeed so
+well as to make his achievements constitute a living commendation of
+such a calling to others? In a later discussion there will be shown many
+methods whereby the recreation experience of the farm boys and girls may
+be properly looked after.
+
+Few persons seem to appreciate the value of solitude as a means of
+recreating and building up the inner life. Probably one of the greatest
+agencies in the development of many a powerful personality is the fact
+that its possessor was compelled by force of circumstances while young
+to spend much time in the company of his or her own thoughts. It is
+impossible to think intelligently while one is doing any body-straining
+work; for example, wood sawing or hay pitching. But there are many forms
+of occupation for boys and girls on the farm which permit of comparative
+rest of the body. So the foundations of many a worthy career have been
+laid in the silent reflections of the boy spending the day alone in the
+woods or on the prairies with his cattle and dog and pony, or sitting on
+the seat of the riding plow.
+
+Likewise, the farmer's daughter, during the performance of many simple,
+non-fatiguing tasks, reflects perforce upon the larger meanings of life
+and makes out in mind many plans for the time when she hopes to
+undertake the mastery of various trying and interesting problems. Lack
+of this enforced solitude and its attendant reflections--lack of the
+discovery of the joy of being at regular intervals alone with the great
+soul of Nature and with one's inner consciousness--doubtless contributes
+in some measure to the undoing of city boys and girls. The constant
+turmoil of the street, the excitement of the ever changing scenes and
+situations, give an over-indulgence to the senses, ripen the judgments
+too early, and rob the character of those soberer habits which later
+enable one to find good in the common situations and the common people
+of the world.
+
+It is, therefore, recommended that farm parents provide for a part of
+the sterner duties of the boys and girls such tasks as will allow for
+comparative rest of the body while the mind may tarry undisturbed with
+the reflections of the inner life.
+
+
+MOVING TO TOWN FOR THE CHILDREN
+
+The practice of the well-to-do farmer who moves to town to "educate his
+children" is an old story and is fraught with many a hidden tragedy, to
+say nothing of the impoverishment of the land and of the social order
+left behind. Why cannot the intelligent farmer remain on the home place
+and join a movement having for its purpose that of making the
+neighborhood a more desirable place of human habitation?
+
+One of the dullest places in the world is the country town which has
+been filled up with retired farmers. These are usually men who came into
+the place for the purpose of getting all the possible advantages at the
+lowest possible cost. In the typical case the new city dweller of this
+class secures a very good residence, and that often, if possible, just
+outside the city limits, in order to avoid local taxes. He takes little
+or no interest in the town's municipal affairs and votes against nearly
+all proposed improvements. He keeps his own cow, horse, chickens, and
+garden, and brings extra supplies in from the farm. Gradually he takes
+on a few of the city ways. That is, he uses less home produce and does
+some buying at the stores. But for want of stimulating employment he
+gradually grows stouter and mentally more stupid, sleeping away many of
+the hours of the day in his chair--an indication that he is dying at the
+top and that he is soon to be cut down. Really, the retired farmer is a
+nuisance to the town and the town is a bore to him.
+
+But what of the children whom he brought in to "educate"? They learn
+rapidly, soon taking on the city manners. The natural restraints from
+evil conduct, which the farm home furnished, are now wanting. The blare
+and bluster of the town both excite and delight them, while the parents
+have positively no rules or standards by which to govern and direct
+their young in the new situation. All the boys and girls need to do in
+order to gain parental consent for going out at night is to declare that
+"everybody is going" or that they are "expected" to be there, and the
+thing is settled. Thus the young ruralists newly come to town go dancing
+and prancing off into a veritable world of sweet dreams and
+delights--spoiled forever for any service that they might have rendered
+in building up the country community--and finally destined to become
+mere cogs in the ever grinding wheel of some city.
+
+
+A BACK-TO-THE-COUNTRY CLUB
+
+Nearly every town and city of the United States has had a so-called
+Commercial Club. This has been in reality a boosters' club bent first of
+all on bringing big business to the place and thus opening the way for a
+bigger population. Anything for the sake of more people has been the
+watchword. Now, I would reverse this order of things. Nearly every one
+of these towns and cities needs a club or committee that might have for
+its purposes: (1) to show the would-be retired farmer how to shift the
+burdens from his wife as housekeeper, how to provide better social and
+intellectual advantages for his children and yet _stay on the farm_; (2)
+to find means and methods whereby to plant in the rural community those
+persons of the city population who are not making a fair living in their
+present positions, seeking first of course to choose those who are
+capable of transplanting and then preparing them with care for the
+change.
+
+I am satisfied that this thing can be successfully thought out,--that
+is, how the worthy poor city family may be removed to the country and
+there through hard work gradually acquire enough land whereon to earn a
+fair living at least. This end will never be accomplished by merely
+driving out the poor families, but rather by means of scientific and
+sympathetic practice of re-establishing them. Well-conducted research
+shows that these poor people are nearly all constituted of good, sound,
+human stock. So, if transported under the conditions named, there may be
+expected to come forth in the second generation a splendid crop of rural
+boys and girls.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Report of the Commission on Country Life. Introduction by
+    Theodore Roosevelt. Sturgis-Walton Company, New York. A brief
+    but epoch-making book. The student of rural problems will
+    find it a splendid outline guide.
+
+    Cutting Loose from the City. E. G. Hutchins. _Country Life_,
+    Jan. 1, 1911.
+
+    Back to the Farm. J. Smith. _Collier's_, Feb. 25, 1911.
+
+    Value of a Country Education to Every Boy. _Craftsman_,
+    January, 1911.
+
+    Why Back to the Farm? Editorial. _Craftsman_, February, 1911.
+
+    The Country-Life Movement. L. H. Bailey. The Macmillan Co.
+    Contains a contrast of the back-to-the-land movement and the
+    country-life movement.
+
+    Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. J. M.
+    Gillette. _American Journal of Sociology_, March, 1911.
+
+    The New Country Boy. _Independent_, June 22, 1911.
+
+    Overworked Children on the Farm and in the School. Dr. Woods
+    Hutchinson. _Annals American Academy_, March, 1909.
+
+    Why One Hundred Boys ran away from Home. L. E. Jones.
+    _Ladies' Home Journal_, April, 1910.
+
+    The Country Girl who is coming to the City. Batchelor.
+    _Delineator_, May, 1909.
+
+    Play and Playground Literature. For most helpful and
+    inexpensive literature on this subject address: The
+    Playground Association of America, 1 Madison Ave., New York
+    City.
+
+    Conservation in the Rural Districts. James W. Robertson,
+    D.Sc. The Association Press, New York.
+
+    Education for Country life. Willet M. Hays. Free Bulletin,
+    U.S. Department of Agriculture. Treats ably consolidation
+    and rural agricultural high schools.
+
+    Child Problems. George B. Mangold. Ph.D. Book II, Chapters
+    I-II, "Play and the Playground"; Book III, Chapters I-V,
+    "Child Labor Problems." The last reference contains accurate
+    information as to child-labor legislation up to date of
+    publication.
+
+    Influence of Heredity and Environment upon Race Improvements.
+    Kelsey. _Annals American Academy_, July, 1909.
+
+    Burning up the Boys. Editorial. _North American_, September,
+    1910.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+_THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN_
+
+
+Greater attention needs to be given to the conservation of the farmer's
+wife. Although there are many other justifications for giving more
+thought to the care and the comfort of the country mother, the single
+fact of her very close relation to the children growing up in the home,
+and of her peculiar responsibilities as center of life there, warrant us
+in devoting a chapter to her interests. Recently, while passing upon a
+country highway, the author met a funeral procession. A little inquiry
+revealed a pathetic situation, one that has been repeated thousands of
+times throughout the length and breadth of this fair country. The
+deceased was the wife of a young farmer, both of them under thirty-five
+years of age, hard working and ambitious for success, but thoughtless of
+their own health and comfort. Their farm was somewhat new and
+unimproved, there were hundreds of things to do other than the routine
+affairs of home keeping and crop raising. Worst of all, there was a
+mortgage to be lifted. After all reasonable improvements were made and
+the mortgage paid off, then, according to their plans, they were going
+to take matters easy. But the delicate cord of life suddenly broke in
+the case of the wife, and left the young husband as overseer of the farm
+and home and sole caretaker of three little children.
+
+How can parents hope to produce a better crop of boys and girls in the
+farm communities so long as the typical farm wife is crushed into the
+earth with the over-weight of the burdens placed upon her? A few
+minutes' enumeration in this same rural neighborhood brought out the
+startling fact that in fully half of the homes a scene similar to the
+one just described had been enacted during the last score of years. That
+is to say, during the twenty years, fully one-half of the farm mothers
+living in that particular neighborhood had died before their time from
+one cause or another. In most instances the death occurred during what
+we usually speak of as the prime years of life, and at a time when the
+rose bloom should naturally be fresh upon the cheek. Fortunately, this
+serious condition, still present in some communities, is being gradually
+improved by the improved methods.
+
+
+POOR CONDITIONS OF WOMEN
+
+The report of the Country Life Commission makes the following
+suggestions:--
+
+"The relief to farm women must come through a general elevation of
+country living. The women must have more help. In particular these
+matters may be mentioned: Development of a cooperative spirit in the
+home, simplification of the diet in many cases, the building of
+convenient and sanitary houses, providing running water in the house and
+also more mechanical help, good and convenient gardens, a less exclusive
+ideal of money getting on the part of the farmer, providing better means
+of communication, as telephones, roads, and reading circles, and
+developing of women's organizations. These and other agencies should
+relieve the woman of many of her manual burdens on the one hand and
+interest her in outside activities on the other. The farm woman should
+have sufficient free time and strength so that she may serve the
+community by participating in its vital affairs."
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IV.
+
+FIG. 4.--A day nursery at the Country Social Center. It may be otherwise
+called "an institution designed to lengthen the lives of tired country
+mothers."]
+
+In discussing this same matter, Henry Wallace, a member of the
+Commission, says in his paper, _Wallaces' Farmer_:--
+
+"They have been saying that the mother is the hardest worked member of
+the family, which is often and we believe generally true. They have been
+saying that in the anxiety of the farmer to get more land, he not only
+works himself too hard, but his wife too hard, and the boys and girls so
+hard that the boys get disgusted and leave the farm, and the girls marry
+town fellows and go to town.
+
+"Now the farmer's wife is really the most important and essential person
+on the farm. As such she needs the most care and consideration. You are
+careful, very careful, not to over-work your horses. How much more
+careful you should be not to over-work the mother of your children. You
+rein back the free member of the team. You take special care of the
+brood mare, and the cow that gives three hundred pounds of butter. Have
+you always kept the freest of all workers, your wife, from doing too
+much? How about this?"
+
+
+FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHILDREN
+
+But this chapter, as well as the entire book, is being prepared in the
+interest of boys and girls. So we shall attempt to show a number of
+specific conditions that may be sought as tending to conserve the
+strength and the life of the rural mother, with a view to her continuing
+to be in every best sense of the word a caretaker and conserver of the
+lives of her own children.
+
+1. _Surplus nerve energy._--However it may be achieved, the thing to
+work for in this connection is a surplusage of nerve energy. If the
+child training is to go on in a satisfactory manner, the mother
+especially, and if possible both parents, must have stated times and
+occasions for looking after such training and for inculcating a series
+of important fundamental lessons. The first and best test of this
+child-rearing situation may be made at evening. If, after the work of
+the ordinary day, the mother is still fresh enough to take a real
+interest in the children's affairs, to read to them briefly and perhaps
+tell them a story or two, or to read for further preparations of her
+work with them,--then it may be said that her life energies are being
+conserved in a fairly satisfactory manner. The children will most
+certainly reap the benefits. But if the close of the ordinary day's work
+finds the farm mother suffering from physical and nervous exhaustion,
+cross and impatient with the other members of the family, depressed in
+spirit and gloomy as to the future, these are signs which should give
+alarm to the head of the household and arouse him to the point of
+looking into such distressful conditions, and setting them right.
+
+2. _A rest period._--How would it do to plan for the mother a daily
+period of rest and relaxation? Would not such a program furnish
+something of a guarantee of length of life in her own case and of peace
+and contentment in the home, and of improved well-being in respect to
+the children? How shall we state this question? Must the very lives of
+the rural mother and her children be run through the mill of over-work
+as a grist for the improvement and up-building of the farm animals and
+the farm crops? Or should all of these material things be valued only in
+proportion as they contribute to the happiness and contentment and the
+long life of the members of the family? Too many farmers seem to say, as
+expressed by their conduct: "I _must_ lift that mortgage this year! I
+_must_ market so many bushels of corn and so many head of live stock!
+So here goes my wife, and here go my children into the hopper! Perhaps
+they will have to give up their lives. At any cost I _must_ make this
+thing pay!"
+
+Then, how would it be to set apart an hour or more each day, regularly,
+for the rest and relaxation of the mother, and call it "Mother's hour"?
+During that time let it be the policy of the entire family to require no
+work, no assistance, no favors of her, unless it be in case of illness.
+During such a time of recuperation, the delicate organism of the
+ordinary woman would tend to regain its poise. The nerve energy would be
+more or less restored, while she would tend to view the better things of
+life more nearly from their right angle. Best of all, she would regather
+during the hour not a little strength to be used later in the caretaking
+of her children. Try it for a week.
+
+3. _The home conveniences._--This is not the place for a detailed
+discussion of what might or ought to be put into the house for the sake
+of the convenience of the home-maker. But if such materials be
+thoughtfully arranged, they may be made most effective, even though they
+be small and inexpensive. A little inquiry among the ordinary homes will
+show what is meant here, by either the presence or the lack of the
+things indicated. It is not so much a question of expense as it is one
+of thoughtful provision. The guiding principle of the home convenience
+is that of saving and conserving the strength of the housekeeper.
+
+There is especially one day in the week which might be appropriately
+called the "mother-killing day." That is the occasion of her doing the
+washing and ironing for the family. Not infrequently two or three days
+thereafter are required for the restoration of her normal strength and
+health. Now, it is clearly the specific duty of the farmer to take hold
+of just such matters as this and attempt seriously to put them right.
+Doing the washing for four or five, and that with the use of the wash
+tub, is a man's work so far as required muscular energy is concerned,
+and very few women are able to do it regularly and live out their
+allotted lives. Therefore, let the conscientious farmer see to it first
+of all that some kind of machinery be installed for lightening such
+wife-killing tasks as that just named. Let him provide such household
+helps and conveniences _first_, and for the sake of the house mother and
+her children. And then, if there be other means available, let him
+provide the man-saving machinery about the barn and the fields. In the
+chapter on "Constructing a Country Dwelling," fuller attention will be
+given to these matters.
+
+4. _The mother's outings._--The farmer who is seriously interested in
+providing for the care and comfort of his family, and for the
+instruction and intelligent direction of his children, will see to it
+that his life companion be allowed her share of outings. This matter
+must be just as much on his mind as that of marketing the produce. The
+usual habit of the farmer's wife is to give up willingly her rights and
+opportunities of this sort. But she cannot well continue to be
+spiritually strong and mentally well disposed toward the world unless
+she be permitted to get out among her friends and acquaintances at
+frequent intervals.
+
+So, arrange carefully a series of outings for the country mother. The
+beginning of such a program is to provide that there be available for
+her use and at her command a horse and carriage. This equipment need not
+be of the finest quality, and it may be used for other purposes, but
+when her needs appear, it should be given up to her purposes. At least
+one afternoon a week she should go away from the place and be free as
+much as possible temporarily from the cares of the household while she
+finds congenial company among some of the neighboring women, or at the
+library or elsewhere.
+
+5. _The home help._--The unending problem of the home life throughout
+much of the civilized world is that of obtaining adequate assistance in
+the performance of the household work. Much of the time such assistance
+from outside sources is practically unavailable. And yet something must
+be done to meet the situation. If there be young girls growing up in the
+home, the solution of the problem may, and should, be met by means of
+requiring the daughters to assist with the home duties. But in case
+there be no daughters it is seriously recommended that either the father
+or the boys do certain parts of the heavier housework.
+
+It is not necessarily beneath the dignity of the best and most brilliant
+man of this country for him to get down on his knees in his own home and
+help perform the menial work there which threatens to break the health
+of his life companion. If there be growing sons in the family, there is
+every justification for training them to assist in the housework in a
+case where such assistance is needed to shield the health and strength
+of the mother. It prepares for better manhood and for more sympathetic
+protection of his own wife to be, if the boy be required to do such
+things and thus to become intimately acquainted with what it means to
+perform the many burdensome tasks that tend to wear away the lives of so
+many good women.
+
+6. _The children shield the mother._--There will perhaps be no better
+occasion than this to remind parents of the necessity of carefully
+training the growing children to perform such deeds as will shield the
+mother in the home, and show a sympathetic interest in her welfare.
+These matters will not naturally be acquired by children. The country
+to-day is full of grown men whose mothers and wives have worked
+themselves to death; and yet these men did not detect the seriousness of
+the situation until it was too late. There are many men of this same
+general class who are willing and even anxious to protect the women of
+the home from the crush of over-work, but who know not how to do it.
+Such faults as we have just named might easily have been avoided had
+these men, during very early boyhood, been brought into an intimate
+acquaintance with the burdensome tasks of the household. Especially
+should they have been drilled time after time in the performance of
+deeds of love and sympathy in respect to their mother. It may seem a
+little thing for a younger child to rush to the table, call for and
+partake of the best the table provides and, inattentive to the wants of
+any other members of the family, hurry off to his play full fed and
+happy. And yet this very thing may be indicative of a serious lack of
+attention to the rights and requirements of others, such as may be
+carried over into his future home life and there amount to serious
+abuse. Again, it must be insisted that deeds of sympathy and altruism
+are acquired through the actual and continued practice of the
+performance of such deeds.
+
+7. _Planning for the children._--Among the other splendid results of the
+conservation of the nerve energy and the vital interests of the house
+mother may be mentioned that of her ability to plan thoughtfully for the
+instruction of the boys and girls. It is not an easy task to select
+appropriate stories and readings for the young. It is neither an easy
+nor a trifling matter for the parent to be able to read suitable
+stories to them and to interpret helpfully such stories. It is not a
+trifling matter for the parents to converse together an hour at evening
+and there plan as to the future home instruction of their young. When
+should this be introduced into the boy's life and when that into the
+girl's life? What is a fair allowance for the boy for what he does and
+for his spending money for the Fourth of July, Christmas, and the like?
+What is a fair allowance for the girl with which to purchase her clothes
+and for her pin money? When should each of them be told this and that
+about the secrets of life, and where may helpful literature thereon be
+obtained? Just when and how much should the boy and girl be allowed to
+go among the young people of the community? When we consider the
+far-reaching results which their solution may mean for the developing
+young lives, these and many other such questions become exceedingly
+important.
+
+8. _A common conspiracy._--In many a farm home to-day there is a secret
+compact which goes far to shape the destiny of a great number of lives.
+Go if you will to the farm home where the life of the mother is being
+gradually crushed out by the over-work and the lack of sympathetic
+protection on the part of the husband, and you will almost invariably
+find a secret understanding between the mother and the growing children
+in reference to the future careers of the latter. It is implied by
+these words put into the mouth of the mother: "Your father is too
+ambitious about the work and in his desire for accumulating wealth about
+the farm. He is over-working me, is thoughtless of me, and indifferent
+to your present needs and your future welfare. Work on as you must,
+driven by him, but do as little as you can and grow up to manhood and
+womanhood. Study your books, get through with your schooling, and in
+time find something easier for your own life work. Perhaps we can
+persuade him to give it up after a while and move to town, where you can
+go out more, dress better, and get more enjoyment out of life." Thus,
+the children grow up to mistrust and dislike their father, and to
+despise the vocation in which he is engaged. Such a state of affairs
+will precipitate their flight from the home nest. This will take place
+at the earliest possible moment and will often be in the nature of a
+leap into the dark, anything to get away from the drudgery of the farm.
+
+Mark you this situation well, you farm fathers, and attack it in all
+possible haste with the best available relief. A happy, contented,
+well-protected farm mother almost certainly means the same sort of farm
+children, while the converse situations will also run in the same
+unvarying parallel. Do not satiate your desire for more hogs and more
+land with the sacrifice of the peace and happiness and the very
+life-blood of your wife and children!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The Nervous Life. G. E. Partridge, Ph.D. Sturgis-Walton
+    Company, New York. This book is especially recommended as an
+    aid to the relief of the tired farm mother.
+
+    Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby, M.D. Chapter
+    IX, "The Supremacy of Motherhood." Moffat, Yard & Co., New
+    York. This is a book of great value for students of race
+    improvement.
+
+    From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter I, "A
+    Heart-to-Heart Talk with the House Wife." Sturgis-Walton
+    Company. Wholesome advice concerning the conservation of the
+    mother's strength.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare,
+    1910. L. Pearl Boggs, Ph.D. Page 5, "Home Education." G. E.
+    Stechart & Co., New York.
+
+    The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter XVIII, "Growth
+    in Rest." This entire volume is highly recommended as being
+    suitable for over-worked mothers.
+
+    What the Farmer can do to Lighten his Wife's Work. T. Blake.
+    _Ladies' Home Journal_, Feb. 15, 1911.
+
+    The Higher Tide of Physical Conscience. Dr. L. H. Gulick.
+    _World's Work_, June, 1908.
+
+    Education for Motherhood. Charles W. Saleeby. _Good
+    Housekeeping_, April, 1910.
+
+    The Profession of Motherhood. Dr. Lyman Abbott. _Outlook_,
+    April 10, 1909.
+
+    Power Through Repose. Annie Payson Call. Chapter XII,
+    "Training for Rest." Little, Brown & Co.
+
+    _Wallaces' Farmer_, Des Moines, Ia., is especially to be
+    commended for its editorial championship of The Farm Mother.
+
+    The Freedom of Life. Annie Payson Call. Chapter IV, "Hurry,
+    Worry, and Irritability." Little, Brown & Co.
+
+    Ideas of a Plain Country Mother. _Ladies' Home Journal_, May
+    1, 1911.
+
+    _American Motherhood_. Coopertown, New York Monthly, $1. This
+    magazine publishes many short articles bearing on the subject
+    of this chapter.
+
+    How to conduct Mothers' Clubs. (Pamphlet No. 302, 8 cents.)
+    _American Motherhood_. Coopertown, New York.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+_CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING_
+
+
+Much has been written in books, and more has been spoken from platform
+and pulpit, relative to the patriotism of the American people. In
+addition to all this the public schools of city and country have been
+consciously instructing the children with a view to laying a permanent
+foundation in their lives for love of the native land and for defense of
+the national ideals. But it seems to me that the best word on the
+subject of patriotic instruction has never as yet been given wide
+publicity. So long as a boy has to grow up in a home where there are
+meanness and turmoil and strife and hatred and degradation, one may
+point a thousand times with pride to our great nation, display again and
+again before his eyes the proud banner of freedom, sing with him
+numberless times the patriotic songs eulogistic of the fatherland and
+its national heroes,--under such circumstances a boy can never be
+expected to develop into anything other than a superficial patriot. But
+give him a good home, simple and unadorned though it may be, where love
+reigns, where his childish needs are thoughtfully ministered unto,
+whereinto he may go at nightfall after a hard day's work and find rest
+and peace and comfort; a home whereinto he may take his childish cares
+and perplexities and place them before the affectionate consideration of
+his parents and perhaps his elder brothers and sisters; a place where he
+is carefully taught the rudiments of filial respect and a wholesome
+regard for work and industry,--bring up the boy in the midst of these
+plain, sympathetic situations, and you have a real patriot. Although he
+may be reminded only occasionally of the meaning of the national flag,
+and although he may read with no unusual interest about the blood that
+was spilled on the national field of battle, a life so reared would mean
+that the love of home has become rooted in the heart of the young
+patriot, and that he would rise up if need be and give his life in
+defense of that home. In such a case, only a small stretch of the
+imagination would make it possible for the youth to regard the nation as
+his home in the larger sense, while his willingness to defend that home
+in time of real need would be none the less present and strong.
+
+
+PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS NOT AVAILABLE
+
+There are hundreds of types and thousands of varieties of rural dwelling
+houses. It would perhaps be impracticable to attempt to furnish definite
+plans and specifications in connection with this chapter. The wide
+variation in the nature of the selected sites, in the means available
+for building the home, in the size of the family to be accommodated, and
+the like, would hinder us in the attempt. But there are certain
+principles that may perhaps apply in nearly every instance and that
+especially in thought of serving the first and best needs of the
+juvenile members of the household.
+
+It is altogether possible to make a two-room cottage out on the open
+prairie a place suggestive of repose, of beauty, and of other high
+ideals. So, no matter how small and inexpensive the rural dwelling may
+be, let the builders work first of all for that simple beauty and
+attractiveness which may most certainly invest the heart of the
+indweller with a feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Let it be a place,
+though humble, that may soon become to the members of the family the
+most beloved spot on earth. For, after all, the best things of life
+cannot possibly be bought with money. There are often misery and
+dissension and bitterness in the finest palatial dwelling, while the
+essential elements of beauty and worth may have lodgment in the hearts
+of the humblest cottage dwellers. However, it is not the intention here
+to argue any one into the thought of building a humble cot for the mere
+sake of humility. The point we desire to make is merely this: that,
+although possessed of very meager means with which to build, one can
+actually construct a home in which the inhabitants thereof may dwell
+in peace and contentment, and a place over which the Spirit of the
+Most High may brood in great strength and beauty.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE V.
+
+FIG. 5.--An attractive old country residence in the South, built in
+1854. At least one good family has been matured therein. And to them
+
+  "How many sacred memories
+  Bring back those childhood scenes."]
+
+
+WHAT APPEALS TO THE CHILDREN
+
+In the selection of a location and a site for the dwelling the welfare
+of the children must be thought of, second only to that of the house
+mother. Now, what material arrangements will appeal to the growing
+children and add much interest and romance to their lives as in future
+time they view them in retrospect? First of all, perhaps, a broken
+landscape might well be mentioned, a hill or two near by the place, with
+a sharp cliff or embankment to the crest of which the children may climb
+and there cast down missiles. Such things tend to add a charm to the
+young lives. And then, if possible, have a brook or larger stream of
+fresh running water. A large river is less desirable on account of the
+danger to child life. But a stream which may furnish, not merely water
+for the live-stock, but a swimming and bathing place for the children in
+summer and a skating pond for them in winter, to say nothing about the
+pleasures of fishing and boating--these will appeal most strongly to the
+boys and girls. And then, the woodland, or at least the shady grove with
+trees to climb, and possibly nuts and wild flowers to gather--a place
+where chipmunks and song birds and the like may have their natural
+habitat, and wherefrom there may proceed the weird and doleful sound of
+the night owl and the whip-poor-will; herein one may find many of the
+crude materials well suited to give proper nourishment to the souls of
+the young.
+
+But the things just named will not nearly always be accessible.
+Throughout many of the commonwealths there are vast stretches of level
+plateaus with scarcely a hill or woodland in sight, and yet covered with
+a rich, tillable soil. These places may for good reasons be selected for
+the site of a dwelling. But they demand more work and heavier expense of
+money and time before the best material surroundings of an ideal home
+for boys and girls may be realized. Before the house is scarcely laid
+out in such a place, the shade and ornamental trees should be planted,
+selecting for part of the planting a quick-growing species that may be
+removed later after more permanent and more valuable trees have reached
+a suitable height. Of course, a stream of water cannot always be
+diverted so as to make it pass the place, but a fair substitute may be
+had by the construction of a pond. And this thing should be accomplished
+at the earliest possible moment. If there be a small dry ravine, dam it
+up with concrete and catch it full of surplus water during a rainy
+season. It is a positive injustice to boys and not a little unfair to
+girls to require them to grow up without any access to open water of
+some kind. And it is almost a matter of criminal neglect to require
+children to live permanently in a home about which there are no trees
+growing. So it is recommended, even if the house construction must in
+part be delayed or cut off, that the surroundings just named be sought
+in all earnestness.
+
+
+THE HOUSE PLAN
+
+In planning and arranging the house, the matters to be thought of in
+addition to those named above are convenience and comfort. While it is
+somewhat important that the house look well to those who may be passing
+upon the highway, it is vastly more important that it be good within and
+serve such needs of the home-maker and the children as will conserve the
+strength of the former and render the lives of all happy and contented.
+In addition to the matters just named, that of placing the dwelling to
+face in the right direction will be thought of. That is, arrange the
+house so as to take advantage of the morning sunlight, the evening
+shade, the winter blasts and the summer breezes. While for the sake of
+entertainment it may be well to place the rural dwelling near the public
+highway, rather than sacrifice the child-developing factors of shade
+trees and streams and the like, it is often better to build back from
+the road and make a private lane leading thereto.
+
+In arranging for the heat and light in the house, think first of all of
+the health and sanitation of the family. Ordinarily, the windows of the
+farmhouse are too small; while worse still, many of them, even in the
+bed chambers, are permanently nailed down. So, if the health and the
+general well-being of the boys and girls, as well as the parents, are
+worth anything at all, attend religiously to these small and inexpensive
+conveniences, not neglecting to provide most carefully for keeping out
+flies and other insects. The wise farmer will find the secret of getting
+along with his own household and of rearing a strong, healthy family to
+lie in the strict attention he gives to just such small matters as
+these. The things that overstrain the physique, that try the temper and
+patience of the housewife, must especially be looked after and something
+of a better nature substituted for them.
+
+
+HOW ONE FARMER DOES IT
+
+Mr. W. F. Mottier, living in Ford County, Illinois, gives in _Farmer's
+Voice_ his plan of providing for the children, as follows:--
+
+"I have always tried to farm intelligently. One of my favorite ideas in
+regard to farm life is that of making the home as attractive as possible
+for the children. So I put on the place all the modern improvements that
+I can afford, in order that the children may not feel that town life is
+the best. And our children do not have any desire to go to town. It
+would bring a sad thought to me to hear my children talk against the
+farm life or home life on the farm."
+
+
+OUTBUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT
+
+With few exceptions, the money available for building the home should be
+expended first in putting the house into the ideal condition just named.
+After that, if any means remain, the outbuildings may be constructed.
+Otherwise, crude, temporary arrangements may easily suffice. There is
+one thing, however, that must be provided with scrupulous care and that
+is the water for the household use. It must be, first of all, wholesome
+and comparatively free from impurities. Then, if at all possible, it
+should be cool and taste well. Actual records have shown that one will
+not drink enough water to satisfy the demands of his health in case the
+taste be in any degree unpleasant to him. So the ideal water for
+household use is comparatively soft, is cool, highly pleasing to the
+taste, and is free from disease-carrying germs. This comparatively
+simple matter of providing the water will prove most important in
+relation to the well-being of the household and the up-building of the
+family life. See to it at any cost that the well be situated out of the
+way of seepage from any barn or outbuilding, even though it may from
+such necessity be placed somewhat out of the reach of convenience.
+
+
+HUMAN RIGHTS PRIOR TO ANIMAL RIGHTS
+
+If the farmer cannot afford to erect a good barn he may take reasonable
+care of his horses with the use of a cheap, improvised one. Actual test
+will show that horses may be made comfortable in the summer time with
+the use of a straw-thatched shed for a barn, provided the drainage be
+reasonably good and the earth floor be kept in good order. The thatched
+covering may be made to keep out the rain. During the winter, with the
+use of a few slender poles, the entire shed may be inclosed with a hay
+or straw wall and the place thus be made very satisfactory for the time
+being. Similar sheds and protection may be provided for the other
+live-stock, all to await the time when the means are at hand for better
+conveniences. It is especially suggestive of a mean lack of
+consideration of human rights in the case of the farmer who has a big,
+expensive farm barn towering up beside a little dingy shanty of a
+dwelling house. And yet this thing is all too common, particularly in
+new prairie regions. Such is the place out of which beastliness and
+criminality and anarchy tend to be germinated from the lives of boys and
+girls, to say nothing about the hidden tragedies that surround the lives
+of the many women who are forced to put up with such an arrangement for
+half a lifetime.
+
+Just one illustration of a situation of the sort described will suffice
+to point out the moral. On an occasion two strangers drew up to a
+farmhouse. One of them was a land agent, and the other a home seeker.
+Their mission was that of purchasing a farm. The owner of the farm
+showed them about the place with considerable enthusiasm, but his heart
+swelled with pride when he reached the magnificent barn, one side of
+which was devoted to the propagation of a high-grade strain of Duroc
+Jersey swine. Every convenience and comfort for the hogs was provided.
+He boasted about his success with them, showed an affectionate regard
+for the different individuals, calling them by name. The horses, too,
+might have aroused the envy of the entire neighborhood. They were sleek
+and well-fed, full in flesh and fair in form. There was provided every
+convenience for feeding and caring for the horses and the hogs, so that
+the hired men found the work about the barn exceedingly easy and
+pleasant.
+
+Then the attention of the visitors was turned to the farmhouse. Yes, it
+was small and run down and poor, the intention being to build a larger
+one "some time." But that same intention was known to have been
+expressed repeatedly for a period of twenty years past. And where were
+the boys? Well, that was the trouble, and furnished the excuse for his
+willingness to sell the place. He simply could not induce the boys to
+stay there and take an interest in things. Two of them, barely more than
+boys, had left the home nest in its meanness and degradation and hired
+out in town. The mother of the boys was living there because she had to,
+but upon her face were lines of suffering and disappointment and
+degradation. Yet in the midst of it all, strange to say, the father
+seemed to blame the boys and their mother for having conspired against
+the interests of the farm home and plotted to get away. In the course of
+his conversation he made it somewhat evident that he would have sold out
+and left sooner had the other members of the family not been so urgent
+about the matter, and that he was now holding on partly to indulge his
+spite and feeling of stubbornness in reference to them.
+
+The cheap novels one may pick up depict many a fictitious tragedy. But
+in the place just described lies the typical scene of thousands of real
+tragedies during the course of which numberless lives of boys and girls
+have been wrecked forever,--lives latent with possibilities of goodness
+and beauty, of mental and moral strength. And then, the bitterness and
+anguish of soul of the mothers of these lost members of a high
+humanity--what of that? The silent walls of an untimely grave in many
+cases closed them in, while much of the memory of their secret suffering
+lies buried with them.
+
+
+THE CHILDREN'S ROOM
+
+Even though the means available will not allow for more than the
+humblest sort of cottage, there should be definite thought of providing
+therein some room or niche or corner to be considered as the private
+property of the children. In a three-room dwelling on the Kansas prairie
+in which lives a happy family of five, and about which thrifty young
+shade trees and orchards are growing, there may be seen a children's
+room that would surprise and inspire any ordinary observer. In a little
+attic room facing the east and reached by a mere step-ladder
+arrangement, may be found the "den," which is the private place of the
+three children. A small window opens out to the east and a small
+improvised dormer window about twelve by twenty inches admits light and
+air from the south. There is no plastering or other expensive covering
+upon the sloping roof walls, but the artistic mother has provided dainty
+white muslin for concealing the rough places, and with the help of the
+children she has decorated the little room in a manner that would
+attract the very elect. None of this has required a money cost, but it
+has all been done beautifully at the expense of thought and good sense
+and artistic taste, prompted by rare consideration for the needs of the
+boys and girls.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VI.
+
+FIG. 6.--A commodious farmhouse in Canada, equipped throughout with a
+complete water system. Many farmers waste enough trying to build a house
+without a modern plan to pay for this extra convenience.]
+
+The two little girls and their brother, ranging in age from five to ten
+years, spend many a happy hour in their attic chamber. The heat from the
+room below comes through a small aperture and warms the little place in
+winter time, while the breeze passes through the little windows in
+summer, tempering the room satisfactorily excepting upon extremely hot
+days. Upon the walls are arranged beautiful post cards, larger pictures
+gathered from magazines and other sources, and small though beautiful
+home decorations of every conceivable sort. The little seven-year-old
+boy has a small assortment of curios collected from the hills and
+streams, while the girls have a small display of their childish
+needlework, their dolls, and some of their best school drawings. How
+suggestive and how helpful it would be if this little den could be
+displayed before the eyes of all the humble cottagers throughout the
+rural districts!
+
+Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses get along very well
+indeed with a temporary barn thatched with straw, but the places of the
+boys and girls must be looked after and that in the interest of making
+them happy, of filling their lives with every good, clean sentiment, and
+of preparing them for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark
+their future. If the house be larger than the one we have described,
+then provide accordingly for the children. Give them a good room of
+their own. Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there be space,
+provide a library containing a few suitable volumes. And after this
+thoughtful provision has been made, see to it carefully that their
+schedule for work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample time
+and opportunity for their enjoyment of the apartment set aside for them.
+In years to come, that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home
+of one's childhood will be given greater strength and beauty because of
+the fact that this thing just urged has been done. And more than that,
+the man (or woman) who has the blessed privilege of recalling these
+bygone scenes of childhood receives from such contemplation a new sense
+of inner strength and new enduement of power to go on with life's
+struggle and master the larger problems that come to him.
+
+
+THE EVENING HOUR
+
+No matter what the cares of the day may have been, how many things may
+have gone wrong, how much hay left out in the field unprotected from the
+rain, how many acres of corn unplowed and losing in the battle with the
+weeds, how many items of household duties unperformed--there is every
+justification for laying aside these work-a-day affairs at the approach
+of bedtime and for the spending of a precious hour with the problems of
+the children. Farm parents as well as other parents can thus preserve
+their youth and add immeasurably to the joys of their own lives. This
+thing of being with the children at evening may seem slightly awkward
+and prosaic at first, but it will slowly grow into a habit and will
+become transformed into an experience of great charm and beauty. Best of
+all the high refinement, potential in the lives of the children, will
+thus be gradually brought to an expression, and the foundation stones of
+substantial manhood and womanhood will be laid in their lives. Yes, it
+is true, even farm parents may learn to lay aside their cares and
+perplexities and enjoy the splendid privilege of getting intimately
+acquainted with the hopes and desires and aspirations of their boys and
+girls!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The Outlook to Nature. Revised edition. L. H. Bailey. Page
+    79, "The Country Home." Macmillan.
+
+    Low Cost Country Homes. A. Embury, Jr. _Collier's_, June 10,
+    1911.
+
+    A Primer of Sanitation. John O. Ritchie. Chapter XXXIII,
+    "Public Sanitation." World Book Company, Yonkers, N.Y.
+    Recommended for general use.
+
+    From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter X,
+    "The Boy's Room." Sturgis-Walton Company.
+
+    Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde. Sturgis-Walton.
+
+    "Comforts and Conveniences in Farmers' Homes." W. R. Beattie.
+    Yearbook, Department of Agriculture, 1909. Washington, D.C.,
+    pp. 345-356. See also in same volume, "Hygienic Water Supply
+    for Farms," pp. 399-408.
+
+    Water Supply for Farm Residences, The Plan of the Farm-House,
+    Saving Steps. Cornell Reading-Courses.
+
+    Rural Hygiene. H. N. Ogden. The Macmillan Company.
+
+    Rural Hygiene. I. N. Brewer. J. P. Lippincott Company,
+    Philadelphia.
+
+    Earn your Child's Friendship. J. Balfield. _Lippinott's
+    Magazine_, January, 1911.
+
+    Fireside Child Study. Patterson DuBois. Dodd, Mead & Co.
+
+    Home Decorations. Dorothy T. Priestman. Chapter XIV, "Rooms
+    for Young People." Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+_JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM HOME_
+
+
+It may be truly said that the strength and impressiveness of the
+personality depend on the nature of the inner thought of the individual.
+Now, thoughts are not unlike the trees and the growing grain, or, for
+that matter, any other living thing; unless they have proper nourishment
+they wither, perish, or dwindle away to a puny shadow of their possible
+selves. How shall we measure the strength and force of the human
+character other than by the bigness and the purity of the daily thoughts
+of the individual? It matters little what the occupation may be--a hewer
+of stone, a hauler of wood, a captain of industry, or a governor of a
+state--each of these may be mean and little in his respective position
+provided his thoughts be sensuous and groveling. On the other hand, each
+of these can shine in his allotted place in a light all his own,
+provided he have the habit of entertaining clean and inspiring ideas in
+his secret consciousness.
+
+Now, one of the larger problems of the rural life is that of supplying
+the many hours necessarily devoted to silent reflection with a suitable
+form of thought culture. Proverbially, the farmer and his wife and their
+children are hurried along with the work-a-day affairs and tend
+gradually to acquire the non-reading habit. This is bad for the parents
+in that it keeps their minds running around upon a little cycle of hard,
+industrial facts. It is worse for the children in that it fails to
+supply the proper nourishment for the dream period through which their
+lives are necessarily passing. What can be done, therefore, to nourish
+and build up the best possible thought activities, especially in case of
+the rural boys and girls?
+
+
+HOW GOOD THINKING GROWS UP AND FLOURISHES
+
+It may not be out of place to show here somewhat more definitely how
+attractive forms of literature gradually work themselves into the lives
+of the young. In the first place, the young person cannot invent his own
+ideas. He does not manufacture his thoughts out of something latent
+within his organism. The latent situation consists merely of a nervous
+system prepared to receive manifold impressions and to retain them and
+give them back through the process of ideation. That is, the young
+person thinks only about things that have actually happened in his life.
+All he knows has come to him through the avenue of his senses; what he
+has seen and heard and felt, and so on, constitutes the "stuff" out of
+which his thoughts are made. So he must have the widest possible
+experience, while young, in the use of his natural senses.
+
+The literature best adapted to the child would be that which appeals to
+the interests predominating in his life at any given time. During his
+early years not hard, prosaic facts, but situations that stretch the
+truth and sport with the fixed condition of things are especially
+appealing to him. He should therefore be indulged in the classic myths,
+fables, fairy tales, and the like. The parent will of course be on guard
+against his acquiring any seriously erroneous beliefs in respect to such
+things, and also against his receiving any serious shock or fright from
+the tragic aspects of the tale. Later on, during the early teens, the
+boys and girls will become more and more interested in the stories of
+the wars of old and in the fact and romance of history. Stories
+supplementing the text-book history of the home country may now be
+introduced.
+
+As a possible means of bringing the minds of the boys and girls into a
+more intimate knowledge of the rural situation, nature studies and
+nature stories should be offered. It must be remembered that it is quite
+possible for the boy to grow up within a stone's throw of many of the
+living things of nature and yet scarcely recognize their presence, much
+less know anything definite about them. Therefore, nature-study books
+and leaflets written perhaps in story form and containing attractive
+illustrations of the birds, bees, flowers, and trees to be found near
+about the rural home will prove most interesting and instructive to the
+young. Through such helpful literature the mind will gradually acquire
+the habit of casting about in the home environment for the description
+of possible objects and conditions new to one.
+
+One of the best and most helpful results accruing to the young person
+who indulges the habit of reading good literature is this: he acquires a
+large vocabulary of words and phrases in which to clothe his secret
+thought and with which to express himself to others. All this furnishes,
+not merely a splendid form of entertainment for the silent reflections,
+but it also gives the thinker a sense of the power and the worth of his
+own personality.
+
+
+TYPES OF LITERATURE
+
+It may be stated as a foregone conclusion that no farm is well equipped
+for the happiness and well-being of those who dwell thereon unless there
+be an ample supply of good literature in the house. No matter how well
+stocked with high-grade farm animals, how productive in point of farm
+crops, how well kept the hedges and lanes may be, secret poverty and
+littleness of mind lurk in that home if the literature is wanting. So,
+first of all, let us lay the foundation by means of enumerating some
+periodicals and books of a more general nature.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VII.
+
+FIG. 7.--It is a mistake to try to make bookworms of children. Many of
+their best books are "green fields and running brooks," also frequent
+opportunity to play together in groups and neighborhoods.]
+
+1. _The best reading._--Of course the Bible might head the list. Whether
+or not there be a large "family" Bible, there should be at least a text
+of convenient size and form for everyday use. This book should contain a
+good concordance.
+
+Then there should come into the home a first-class weekly newspaper;
+possibly the local paper will supply this need. Many farm homes now
+receive a daily paper regularly.
+
+In addition there should be available a weekly or monthly summary of the
+current events of the nation and the world. The _Literary Digest_, the
+_World's Work_, and the _Review of Reviews_ are examples of standard
+magazines of this particular class. Either one of them will stimulate
+most helpfully the quiet thought of the farmer and the members of his
+family and keep one in touch with the most important movements of the
+country.
+
+Along with the foregoing, there should be kept constantly at hand a
+first-class farm magazine. There are numberless periodicals of this
+sort, but perhaps among those of the first rank and those which
+especially give definite helps for the boy-and-girl life of the farm may
+be mentioned _Wallaces' Farmer_, Des Moines, Iowa, the _Farmer's Voice_,
+Chicago, Illinois, and the _Farmer's Guide_, Huntington, Indiana. Also,
+the semi-official state paper well known in many of the commonwealths is
+usually very helpful.
+
+Look out for trash. There are many papers published, ostensibly in the
+interest of farm life, which are in fact cheap and trashy sheets made
+use of almost wholly as a medium of advertising quack medicines,
+get-rich-quick schemes, and other frauds. A reliable means of testing
+the value of any one of these so-called "farm" or "home" papers is to
+examine the advertisements. If there be any considerable number of
+advertisements which offer sure cures for chronic diseases, confidential
+treatments for secret troubles, fortune telling, and attractive
+high-priced articles at a trifling cost, then the whole thing is
+probably fraudulent and not worthy to come into your home. Also avoid
+the paper or magazine which advertises intoxicating liquors. It is very
+low in moral tone, to say the least.
+
+2. _Books for children._--In selecting a list of books for farm boys and
+girls, we should make little or no distinction between them and the
+children of the city homes. Their earlier literary needs are practically
+all alike and their youthful minds must be nourished in about the same
+fashion. In offering the lists to follow we do not pretend to have
+selected nearly all the profitable books available, but rather to have
+named a few examples of volumes already found enticing and helpful to
+the young mind. The majority of them are standard and well known. While
+the price and publisher are given in many instances, often a cheaper
+edition may be had.
+
+In order to proceed with greater certainty and economy in purchasing
+books for the children, the rural parent is advised to consult some one
+near at hand who is thoroughly familiar with children's literature.
+Perhaps the superintendent of schools of the town near by, or some local
+minister, or some well-informed leader of a mothers' club, may furnish
+the desired assistance. It would also be helpful to write for the
+general catalogues of a number of the large publishing and distributing
+houses and from their lists select a number of suitable titles. Many of
+them publish the older classics in very attractive form for ten to
+twenty-five cents, the original unchanged and unabridged.
+
+In order to stimulate interest in forming the nucleus of a home library
+the farmer should either make or purchase a small set of book shelves.
+Important as it may seem to build a first-class house for the
+thoroughbred hogs, this matter of the children's reading is even more
+important and should be attended to first, before it becomes too late to
+catch the attentive ear of the boys and girls.
+
+
+A SELECTED LIST
+
+
+    The following lists are taken chiefly from those selected by
+    such well-known critics as Mary Mapes Dodge, Kate Douglas
+    Wiggin, Edward Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and
+    Hamilton W. Mabie.
+
+
+  _Ages Four to Six Years_
+
+    VARIOUS AUTHORS. Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories.
+    J. L. Hammett Company, Boston. 50 cents.
+
+    BRYANT. Stories to Tell to Children. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company.
+
+    HOLBROOK. Hiawatha Primer. 50 cents. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company.
+
+    EGGLESTON. Story of Great America for Little Americans. 35
+    cents. Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    SCUDDER. Fables and Folk Stories.
+
+    STEVENSON. A Child's Garden of Verses.
+
+    LANG. Blue Fairy Book.
+
+    RUSKIN. King of the Golden River.
+
+    FIELD. Lullaby Land.
+
+    WIGGIN. The Story Hour.
+
+    SEWELL. Black Beauty.
+
+
+  _Ages Six to Seven Years_
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. The Heart of Oak Books, No. 1. 25 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    GILBERT. Mother Goose.
+
+    CARROLL (CHARLES L. DODGSON). Alice in Wonderland. $3.
+    Harper. 35 cents. Crowell.
+
+    ANDREWS. The Seven Little Sisters. 60 cents. Ginn.
+
+    KINGSLEY. Water Babies.
+
+    KIPLING. The Jungle Book.
+
+    GREENE. King Arthur and his Court.
+
+
+  _Ages Seven to Eight Years_
+
+    GRIMM. Fairy Tales. Translated Mrs. E. Lucas. $2.50.
+    Lippincott.
+
+    GOLDSMITH. Goody Two-Shoes. 25 cents. Heath
+
+    AESOP. Fables. Selected by Jacobs. $1.50. Macmillan.
+
+    HARRIS. Nights with Uncle Remus. $1.50. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    BIBLE STORIES. 60 cents. A. L. Burt Company, New York.
+
+    HAWTHORNE. Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales.
+
+    IRVING. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or
+    The Sketch Book.
+
+
+  _Ages Eight to Nine Years_
+
+    BALDWIN. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. 35 cents. American Book
+    Company.
+
+    LONGFELLOW. Hiawatha, The Village Blacksmith, The Children's
+    Hour, etc.
+
+    MABIE. Norse Stories Retold from Edda. $1.80. Dodd, Mead.
+
+    MILLER. Out-of-Door Diary for Boys and Girls. Sturgis-Walton
+    Company.
+
+
+  _Ages Nine to Ten Years_
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 4. 45 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    HODGES. The Garden of Eden. (Bible Stories.) $1.50. Houghton,
+    Mifflin.
+
+    MATHEWS. Familiar Trees and Their Leaves. $1.75. Appleton.
+
+    BURROUGHS. Wake Robin.
+
+
+  _Ages Ten to Eleven Years_
+
+    HIGGINSON. Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic.
+
+    DANA. How to know the Wild Flowers. $2. Scribner.
+
+    BLANCHAN. Bird Neighbors. 35 cents. Doubleday, Page.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 5. 50 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    CHURCH. Stories from Virgil.
+
+    MORLEY. A Song of Life.
+
+    STEVENSON. Treasure Island.
+
+
+  _Ages Eleven to Twelve Years_
+
+    ALCOTT. Little Women. $1.50. Little Men. $1.50. Little, Brown
+    & Co.
+
+    LUCAS. A Wanderer in London. $1.75. Macmillan.
+
+    ALDRICH. Story of a Bad Boy. $1.25. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    SHAKESPEARE. The Tempest.
+
+    SCOTT. Tales of a Grandfather. The Talisman.
+
+    EDGEWORTH. Parent's Assistant.
+
+
+  _Ages Twelve to Thirteen Years_
+
+    KIPLING. Just So Stories. $1.20. Doubleday, Page.
+
+    SETON-THOMPSON. Wild Animals I have Known. $2. Scribner.
+
+    WYSS. Swiss Family Robinson. 60 cents. McKay; also Dutton.
+
+    PALMER. The Odyssey. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    GOLDSMITH. The Vicar of Wakefield.
+
+    DICKENS. A Christmas Carol. The Cricket on the Hearth.
+
+    HUGHES. Tom Brown at Rugby.
+
+
+  _Ages Thirteen to Fourteen Years_
+
+    SWIFT. Gulliver's Travels. $1.50. Macmillan.
+
+    LONGFELLOW. Evangeline.
+
+    DANA. Two Years before the Mast. $1. Houghton, Mifflin.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 6. 55 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    LAMB. Tales from Shakespeare.
+
+    COFFIN. Old Times in the Colonies.
+
+    FRANKLIN. Autobiography.
+
+    STOWE. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
+
+
+  _Ages Fourteen to Fifteen Years_
+
+    DEFOE. Robinson Crusoe. $1. McLoughlin. $1.50. Harper.
+
+    BUNYAN. Pilgrim's Progress.
+
+    NORTON AND STEPHENS. Heart of Oak Books, No. 7. 60 cents.
+    Heath.
+
+    AUSTEN. Pride and Prejudice.
+
+    THOREAU. Walden.
+
+
+  _Ages Fifteen to Sixteen Years_
+
+    COOPER. Leather Stocking Tales.
+
+    BURROUGHS. Birds and Bees. 15 cents. Strawbridge and
+    Clothier.
+
+    PYLE. Robin Hood. 60 cents. Scribner.
+
+    SCOTT. Ivanhoe. 60 cents. Appleton. Lady of the Lake. 35
+    cents.
+
+    GINN. Lay of the Last Minstrel. 25 cents. Macmillan.
+
+
+  _Sixteen Years Old and Older_
+
+    IRVING. The Alhambra. 25 cents. Macmillan.
+
+    MACAULAY. Lays of Ancient Rome. 75 cents. Macmillan.
+
+    KIPLING. Captains Courageous. $1.50. Century.
+
+    NICOLAY AND HAY. Boy's Life of Lincoln. $1.50. Century.
+
+    EGGLESTON. Hoosier School Boy. $1. Scribner; also Heath.
+
+In addition to the foregoing, there is beginning to come from the press
+a mass of juvenile literature that promises to furnish most practical
+inspiration and guidance to the juvenile mind on the farm. Much of this
+new rural life literature may be had for the asking or for the mere
+price of publication. The following are recommended:--
+
+    _The Rural School Leaflet._ Edited by Alice G. McCloskey, and
+    issued under the general direction of L. H. Bailey at Ithaca,
+    N.Y.
+
+    The Country Life Publications, issued by D. W. Working,
+    Superintendent of Agricultural Extension, Morgantown, W.Va.
+
+    The series published by A. B. Graham, Superintendent of the
+    Extension Department, Ohio University, Columbus.
+
+    The annual reports of County Superintendent O. J. Kern,
+    Rockford, Ill., and of County Superintendent George W. Brown,
+    Paris, Ill.
+
+    The Wisconsin Arbor and Bird Day Annual, issued by State
+    Superintendent C. P. Cary, Madison, Wis.
+
+The Extension Departments of many of the state universities and nearly
+all of the state agricultural colleges are now issuing a series of small
+pamphlets on such matters as stock judging, grain breeding, soil
+testing, and home economics. This literature should be given the widest
+possible circulation in the country home, as it will prove helpful both
+to the young and to the parents in their direction of the young.
+
+
+_Literature on Child-rearing_
+
+Parents who are seriously in earnest in the matter of developing the
+lives of their children will find great assistance and much inspiration
+through the reading of books and magazines on the child-rearing
+problems. In fact, it may be put down as a practical certainty that the
+work of child training cannot go on effectively and continue in its
+interest except one have some aids of the kind just named. Therefore,
+the interested parent should cast about for the books and magazines that
+promise to serve in the solution of the particular problems at hand. It
+happens that the author has collected a large number of books and
+periodicals of this class and that he has made a somewhat critical
+examination of them.
+
+In listing the titles below, a word or phrase is used to indicate the
+contents or purpose of the text.
+
+  1. Periodicals on Child-rearing
+
+    _The American Baby._ American Publishing Company, 1 Madison
+    Ave., New York City. $1 per year, 10 cents per copy. Contains
+    much detailed and most helpful instruction on the care of the
+    child.
+
+    _American Motherhood._ Coopertown, N.Y. $1 per year, 10 cents
+    per copy. Helpful and sympathetic. Especially strong in
+    respect to health and sanitation and in methods of
+    instructing children in regard to the secrets of life.
+
+    _The Child-Welfare Magazine._ Official organ of the National
+    Congress of Mothers, 147 North 10th Street, Philadelphia. 50
+    cents per year, 10 cents per copy.
+
+The educational pamphlets published by the Society of Sanitary and Moral
+Prophylaxis, 9 E 2d Street, New York City. Excellent monographs, each
+treating some urgent child problem in relation to morals, sanitation,
+and the like.
+
+The Home-training Bulletins, prepared and issued by William A. McKeever,
+Professor of Philosophy, State Agricultural College, Manhattan, Kan. 5
+cents each. Each of these pamphlets contains about sixteen pages and
+covers a particular home-training problem. The numbers thus far issued
+are:--
+
+  1. The Cigarette Smoking Boy.
+
+  2. Teaching the Boy to Save.
+
+  3. Training the Girl to Help in the Home.
+
+  4. Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation.
+
+  5. A Better Crop of Boys and Girls.
+
+  6. Training the Boy to Work.
+
+  7. Teaching the Girl to Save.
+
+  8. Instructing the Young in Regard to Sex.
+
+Others are in course of preparation.
+
+
+  2. Books on Child-rearing
+
+    HOLT. Care and Feeding of Children. $1 Appleton. Most helpful
+    and practical.
+
+    CURLEY. Short Talks with Young Mothers. $1.50. Putnams.
+    Helpful from the medical side.
+
+    HARRISON. A Study of Child Nature. $1. Chicago Kindergarten
+    College. Excellent. A standard help.
+
+    ALLEN. Civics and Health. $1.25. Ginn & Co. Most helpful on
+    the side of sanitation.
+
+    HALL. Youth. $1.50. Appleton. A great book on child study by
+    one of the world's leading authorities.
+
+    KING. Psychology of Child Development. $1. University of
+    Chicago Press. A Fundamental work for those who wish to make
+    a scientific study of child life.
+
+    RITCHIE. A Primer of Sanitation. 60 cents. World Book
+    Company. A clear, helpful presentation of the facts.
+
+    CHANCE. The Care of the Child. $1. Penn Publishing Company.
+    Full of detailed information about infants, especially.
+
+    MANGOLD. Child Problems. $1.25. Macmillan. Presents the
+    matter ably and in the light of the freshest information.
+
+    CALL. The Freedom of Life. $1. Little, Brown & Co. A great
+    and inspiring book. Will give rest and poise to tired
+    mothers.
+
+    GULICK. Mind and Work. $1. Doubleday, Page & Co. A companion
+    book to the one above, only more suitable for the father.
+
+    SALEEBY. Parenthood and Race Culture. $2.50. Moffat, Yard &
+    Co., New York. A remarkably instructive volume on race
+    improvement.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    How to Direct Children's Reading. Mae E. Schreiber. Annual
+    volume N.E.A., 1900, p. 637.
+
+    A Suggestive List for a Children's Library, 483 titles. Helen
+    T. Kennedy. Democrat Printing Company. Minneapolis.
+
+    A Mother's List of Books for Children. Catherine W. Arnold.
+    A. C. McClurg & Co.
+
+    Children's Rights. Kate Douglas Wiggin. Pages 69 ff. "What
+    shall Children Read?" Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Fingerposts of Children's Reading. Walter Taylor Field.
+    McClurg & Co. Gives extensive lists.
+
+    Books for Boys and Girls. Brooklyn Public Library, New York.
+    A carefully selected list of 1700 titles, 200 of them being
+    especially marked for their value.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+_THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE_
+
+
+There was never a greater demand for efficient leadership in the rural
+communities than there is to-day. The country has continued for many
+years past to become richer in farm products and equipment, but it has
+steadily grown poorer in social and spiritual values. In fact we have
+unconsciously acquired a distorted idea of values. Hogs are too high in
+proportion to boys. Beef cattle are absorbing too much interest in
+proportion to the time and money expended in perfecting the character of
+girls. It has long been the proud boast of the Middle Western states
+that they could feed the entire country. And we have continued so long
+in this way as now to regard big crops and the great abundance of farm
+animals and other such material possessions as ends in themselves. So it
+is high time that we ask ourselves what this material wealth is all for.
+Looked at from at least one high vantage point, it may be properly
+regarded as so much encumbrance unless we shall be able to convert it
+into a means to some worthy and spiritual purpose.
+
+
+DECADENCE OF RURAL LIFE
+
+The open country in the Middle Western states has for some time been the
+breeding place for sterling manhood and ideal womanhood, and the
+recruiting ground wherefrom have been drawn many men and women to
+undertake the management of the larger enterprises of the country. The
+enforced self denial and discipline of work; the continued practice of
+quiet reflection; the comparative freedom from the evil and degrading
+influences peculiar to much of the child life in the cities; and many
+other character-building experiences could be set down on the favorable
+side of rural child-rearing in the past. But this situation is rapidly
+changing. The ten-year period just closing has witnessed a decadence of
+country life, the rural population actually showing a decrease. Large
+numbers of the best families have moved to the cities and towns, and
+their places on the farm have been taken by irresponsible laborers and
+transient renters.
+
+Yes, the wealth of the rural community is still there, lying more or
+less dormant, and all the other means of a splendid civilization are
+there. But in the usual instance there is no one to assume the
+leadership in bringing about the reconstruction of the rural life. Now
+that he has accumulated such an abundance of material things, the
+typical farmer needs to be shown how to deal more fairly and helpfully
+with the various members of his family. Some farmers' wives are
+gradually being dragged to death with the over-burden of work, which
+might be obviated if the farmer and his wife were both shown
+specifically a better way of getting things done. Many boys and girls
+growing up in the country are being cheated out of their natural
+heritage of good health, spontaneous play, and the joy of social
+intercourse, all because of the fact that farm products are too much
+regarded as an end rather than a means to the higher development of the
+members of the rural family. So a good soil and excellent crops are
+essentials for a substantial rural society, but they are not a certain
+evidence of such thing. It is possible to go into some of the country
+communities where these material things are accumulated in great
+abundance and yet find the people there living a little, mean, and
+narrow form of life, and that chiefly because they do not quite
+understand how to use the splendid means at hand in the accomplishment
+of some high and worthy purposes.
+
+
+WORK FOR THE MINISTRY
+
+And so we hereby issue a call and a challenge for workers to enter the
+great fallow field just named and make it blossom with new social and
+spiritual life. And it is the conviction of some that the ministers of
+the town and village churches can undertake this work much better than
+any other class of persons, for they are already in many respects
+trained leaders. Let these ministers be provided if possible with an
+assistant, a layman it may be, for both their town and country work.
+Then let each of them have a rural appointment to which they may go from
+one to four times each month; and, inspired by a vision of all the
+possibilities ahead of them and endued with divine power and guidance,
+enter earnestly into the great work of rehabilitating the country
+community. It is evident that the minister who will leave his town
+congregation with perhaps only one Sunday sermon and go to a country
+church and preach to the adults, and teach and lead the young, while his
+assistant takes charge of the second Sunday service at home--it is
+evident that such a minister will not only wear longer in the locality
+in which he is stationed, but that he will find in the rural work just
+mentioned such a flood of zeal and inspiration as will more than make up
+for and repay the effort. Many of the town ministers are preaching to
+audiences that are more or less irresponsive to what they have to say.
+Under present conditions they are compelled to preach to the same
+audiences too much. Their sermons grow stale. But under the arrangement
+here recommended, such conditions would not obtain. They would come back
+from the rural appointment so laden with new ideas and ideals as to
+appear to the home congregation in a most advantageous light.
+
+
+THE COUNTRY MINISTER
+
+There is at present not a little promise that there may be developed
+throughout the country a new type of country-dwelling ministers. It is
+certainly a logical position for the effective religious worker to
+assume; namely, that of actually dwelling among those whom he is
+attempting to serve. He acquires an intimate knowledge of their
+problems, their point of view, including the status of their individual
+beliefs and prejudices.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE VIII.
+
+FIG. 8.--The fifty-year-old country church at Plainfield.
+
+FIG. 9.--The new country church at Plainfield, Illinois, erected through
+the inspiration and leadership of Reverend Matthew B. McNutt.]
+
+As an example of what the country minister can achieve one needs to read
+an account of the splendid work of the Rev. Mathew B. McNutt of
+Plainfield, Illinois. Mr. McNutt was called to this charge in 1900 when
+a fresh graduate from a Presbyterian seminary. At the time of his call
+there was in the locality a small dead or nominal church membership and
+an occasional weak, ineffective service held in the little old church of
+fifty years' standing. This devoted and far-seeing man got down among
+the people with whom he settled, made a careful survey of the economic,
+the social, and the religious life of the place, and began his wonderful
+work of reconstructing all this. The ultimate purpose was the
+improvement of the spiritual well-being. He organized singing schools,
+granges, literary and debating societies, sewing societies, and clubs of
+various other sorts, all as a means of awakening the life of the
+community and bringing the people together in a spirit of mutual
+sympathy and helpfulness. After less than a decade of hard work a
+marvelous transformation of the rural life thereabout was achieved.
+Among other notable changes was a new church to supplant the old one.
+The new building was erected at a cash cost of ten thousand dollars; has
+an audience room seating five hundred or more, several Sunday school
+class rooms, a choir room, a cloak room, a pastor's study and a mothers'
+room, all on the main floor. In the basement below there is a good
+kitchen, a dining room with equipment, also a furnace, a store room, and
+the like. The church membership has grown to one hundred sixty-three
+with many non-members attending, while the Sunday school enrollment
+increased to three hundred.
+
+Now there are always a few minds who wish to measure all earthly things
+in terms of a money value. To such it may be shown that the land values
+in the vicinity of this new country church have gone up to a marked
+degree and that the economic conditions are all of a most satisfactory
+nature.
+
+As further evidence of what a rural community working together may
+achieve for the spiritual welfare, there may be cited the instance of
+the little side station by the name of Ogden in Riley County, Kansas.
+Here the people got together and voted to build a country church, and
+that without determining as to the denominational affiliation. A
+committee of leaders was appointed to raise funds and to draw plans for
+the building. In a short time, arrangements were perfected for
+constructing the building at a cost of four thousand dollars. It was
+later voted to place this new church temporarily under the direction of
+the Congregational church in Manhattan, fifteen miles away.
+
+In one or two instances the religious leaders in a country community
+have succeeded admirably in establishing a "commission" form of church
+administration. The method pursued has been that of having a committee
+of three, each a member of a different church, to call by turn from the
+towns near by the ministers of the various denominations. Further
+details of the plans provide for the committee to raise funds so that
+the minister may be paid a definite amount for the service conducted.
+
+One of the first essential steps in the establishment of a rural church
+is a careful survey or study of the situation. While it may be accounted
+a sin against God and humanity to add another church where there are
+already more than the people can support, often it will be found that
+very large, well populated country districts are wholly without access
+to any religious service whatever. Verily, the field is white unto the
+harvest and the laborers as yet are few.
+
+
+A MISTAKE IN TRAINING
+
+Too long we have been training young people in the school and in the
+home to struggle for the best of everything--a sort of rivalry that
+results in envy, jealousy, and strife, and a falling apart where there
+should be cooperation and sympathy and a spirit of mutual helpfulness.
+The craze for clothes, the glare of the electric lights, and the lure of
+the cheap theater have struck the country people and are drawing away
+much of the best young blood there. It seems that we have over-done this
+thing of pointing to the top and urging our young people to scramble for
+that, until as a result no one is looking for a place to serve, while
+all are looking for a place to shine. Now, there may be "plenty of room
+at the top" for selfish scrambling, but in some respects the top is
+woefully over-crowded. On the other hand, there is a vast amount of good
+room at the bottom, acres of it, and we might well commend it to every
+one who may be imbued with the idea of doing some effective work in the
+world. All over the broad, open country, in thousands of rural
+districts, the situation at the bottom is literally crying out for
+constructive workers who will come in there with their good courage,
+their scientific training, and in the name of the Most High get down
+among the people and the common things in the midst of which the people
+live and lay a substantial foundation for a new and beautiful
+structure--an edifice erected out of the plain materials to be found in
+any ordinary rural community, and that by means of transforming such
+things and making them contributive to the high and lofty
+spirit-purposes for which they are really designed.
+
+
+RURAL CHILD-REARING
+
+We are not half awake as yet to the meaning and possibilities of the
+rural community as a place for rearing children. The city environment
+ripens youths too fast and too early and works all the spontaneity and
+aggressiveness out of the boys and girls before their mature judgments
+are ready to function. As a result of this city hot-bed, we have as a
+type the blase sort of young man, and a young woman who is overly smart
+in respect to the "proper things to do." Either of them has little power
+of initiative and less power of persistence. One of the greatest virtues
+of the somewhat isolated rural home is that it matures human character
+more slowly and keeps the boys and girls fresh and "green" and
+spontaneous while there is being gradually worked into their characters
+the habit of industry and the power of doing constructive work.
+
+If one should desire to obtain a sterling specimen of manhood, he would
+not take up with the "smart" city youth who at the age of sixteen has
+had all the experiences known to men. The latter is too ripe. He knows
+it all. From his own point of view, his knowledge of the world is nearly
+completed. No, one would prefer to go to the most remote country
+district and, if need be, lasso some green, gawky, sixteen-year-old who
+is afraid of the cars and the big girls and who has never had a suit of
+clothes that fits him. This scared, unbroken youth would go through a
+tremendous amount of rough-and-tumble, trial-and-error experiences
+during the course of his college training; and he would live intensively
+and rush into many unknown places and commit many blunders, between
+whiles catching countless inspiring visions of how he might be or become
+a man of great strength and ruggedness of character. Such a man might be
+relied upon to shoulder the heavy burdens of the world. Such a man could
+be called out to join in the forefront of battle when the moral and
+religious rights of the people were at issue. Such a man when fully
+matured could be sent into some kind of missionary field and be expected
+to labor there for a long time alone, courageous and persistent, finally
+winning a very small following; then a larger number of adherents; and
+then the entire population at his heels, applauding and backing him up
+in his every worthy effort.
+
+The author has long had a vision of a man trained and developed through
+the seasoning experiences just sketched and who, under the inspiration
+and the guidance of the Most High, will go into these rural communities
+which are latent with material life, and there begin his labors in
+behalf of the higher things into which all the elements of this typical
+rural situation may be transformed. Just as fast as men hear this divine
+call and heed it and take up this work, so fast will our country life be
+reconstructed and the best that is in our society become gloriously
+transformed and everlastingly saved as a heritage of the oncoming
+generations. And it is evident that the rural minister, working through
+the rural church, is the person to whom this divine call may most
+naturally come.
+
+
+THE CHURCHES TOO NARROW
+
+Not a few of the country churches are too narrow in their limitations,
+tending to chill out those who do not happen to be adherents of the
+creed, and to foster dissensions and hatred among neighbors. And they
+are not touching in a vital way the lives of country boys and girls.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE IX.
+
+FIG. 10.--This attractive and modern church building was erected by the
+Christian people living in the vicinity of the country village of Ogden,
+Kansas. Four different denominations participated at its dedication. Its
+ruling body is undenominational.]
+
+It will be agreed that the gospel of the Master of men may be made so
+broad and inviting as to attract all who have a spark of religion in
+their natures, and that means practically every one in the community.
+But there is no good reason why the rural church should stand alone as
+such. It should and can be made a social as well as a religious center
+for the whole community. So, let there be constructed a modern building
+with big windows, and several apartments for Sunday school classes,
+and for meetings of social groups, such as the grange, the farmers'
+institute, the sewing society, and the literary and debating clubs. Then
+there should be apparatus for the preparation of meals, with a room in
+which a long table might be spread as occasion demands. Outside of this
+building there should be a children's playground with some simple
+apparatus for play.
+
+Not less frequently than one afternoon of the month--and twice would be
+better--the people of the community should drop everything and come
+together for a good social time and a general exchange of ideas. On an
+occasion of this kind the town minister could be present or someone from
+the outside who would bring with him at least one helpful and practical
+idea about building up country life. Let this building be regarded as
+the property of every man, woman, and child in the community and strive
+to bring it to pass that the legitimate and worthy interest of all shall
+be actually served there.
+
+
+CONSTRUCTIVE WORK OF THE CHURCH
+
+This country church here thought of need be no less a religious affair,
+but it must become distinctively a socializing agency. It must not
+merely save souls, but it must save and conserve and develop for this
+present life the bodily, the moral, and the intellectual powers of the
+young. One cannot adequately develop those splendid latent powers in
+young people solely by means of teaching them the Sunday school lesson
+or preaching to them, no matter how true the gospel may be. The evidence
+is ample to show that boys and girls who attend church and Sunday school
+are nevertheless falling into many vicious habits of conduct, and are
+growing up without many of the forms of discipline and training
+essential for stable Christian character and social and moral
+efficiency. In fact as a means of temporal salvation the old-fashioned
+church and Sunday school are proving more and more a failure.
+
+Now, as soon as the church realizes the meaning of the foregoing
+situation and acts accordingly, just so soon will this splendid old
+institution be enabled to do efficient work in vitalizing the practical
+affairs of the community in which it is located. To illustrate this
+point: The great curse of boyhood to-day is the tobacco habit, and this
+vitiating practice is slowly working its way among the country youth.
+The youth who acquires the smoking habit before becoming physically
+matured thereby depletes his physical health to a marked degree, reduces
+his mental efficiency ten to fifty per cent, and almost completely
+destroys his power of initiative. Such a youth is never found contending
+for any moral issue or any high and worthy cause of the people. His
+constructive instinct is made more quiescent, while his disposition to
+condone evil is greatly and permanently increased. Boys who attend
+church and Sunday school are also, like others, falling victims to the
+sex evils of various forms.
+
+
+AN INNOVATION IN THE RURAL CHURCH
+
+Perhaps there is no better illustration of how the economic affairs of
+the neighborhood may be vitally linked with the church service than the
+work carried on under the direction of Superintendent George W. Brown,
+of Paris, Illinois. During one year Mr. Brown conducted on seven
+different occasions an over-Sunday program, somewhat as follows:--
+
+On Saturday either at the country school house or in the basement of the
+country church there was arranged an exhibition of corn, while during
+the day class exercises in the study of corn were in progress. On the
+day following, Sunday, there were two sermons, the theme of each being
+closely allied to the economic problems studied the day previously. The
+ministers are reported to have cooperated enthusiastically in this work,
+each one attempting in his sermon to show how better economic life may
+be made contributive to a better religious life.
+
+On the Monday following, the program was continued with a farmers'
+institute representative of the several interests of the adults and the
+young people. At this Monday meeting a number of the faculty of the
+state university were in attendance and gave helpful addresses
+appropriate to the occasion. At night the County Superintendent gave an
+illustrated lecture, using the stereopticon to show the audience just
+what was being done in the various parts of the county and country by
+way of improvement of the social and economic conditions.
+
+In many places in the New England and other eastern states the rural
+communities are attacking the social-religious problems in practically
+the same manner as is being done at Plainfield, Illinois. At Danbury,
+New Hampshire, there is a Country Settlement Association, which is
+accomplishing some epoch-making things. At the official building there
+is provided a trained nurse to assist the entire community. The
+organization conducts social-betterment work for the local neighborhood
+and leads in a campaign for social reform throughout the state.
+
+Likewise, at Lincoln, Vermont, there is an interesting example of
+cooperation between the religious and social interests. Three churches
+have formed a federated society. In a building maintained in common by
+them, the meetings of the Ladies' Aid Society, the Good Templars, the
+Grange, the Grand Army Post, and many others of a social nature are
+held. Such cooperative work is certain to have a helpful and
+far-reaching effect on any community.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE X.
+
+FIG. 11.--An illustration of "Corn Sunday," as instituted by
+Superintendent Jessie Field, Clarinda, Iowa, in the rural churches
+thereabout.]
+
+
+SPIRITUALIZE CHILD LIFE
+
+Above all things else, let the country church be reorganized with
+reference to the interests of the young. Let the minister and the other
+leaders take a firm stand for a square deal for the farm boys and girls
+in respect to work and play and sociability. Let them place before
+country parents clear, concrete models and methods as to how to accord
+fair treatment to the children in every particular thing. Let them
+organize the young people of the community into groups for play and
+sociability and direct them in both of these matters.
+
+It is high time we were considering all of our legitimate interests as a
+part of our religion. Indeed, there is no good reason why the young
+people could not meet together at the rural church and on the same
+evening have an oyster supper and a prayer meeting. They could very
+consistently discuss and participate in both a temporal and a spiritual
+affair on the same occasion and in such a way that each part of the
+program would be vitalized by the others. And likewise the smaller
+children. It should not be considered at all irreverent for one to go
+directly with them to the playground after the Sunday school lesson is
+ended and there lead and direct them in their health-giving enjoyments.
+Try this in your rural-church society centers and see if the boys and
+girls do not run with great enthusiasm to the whole affair.
+
+One great error committed by many of us in the past is that of regarding
+work and things as arbitrarily high or low. But the author does not see
+why plowing corn may not be made just as sacred and just as divine a
+calling as preaching the gospel, provided the former be regarded in the
+light of service of some high spiritual purpose; as indeed it may be.
+So, here is a distinctive part of the function of the rural church;
+namely, to spiritualize work as well as workers--to urge upon the
+attention of the rural inhabitants the thought that their work must all
+be regarded as a means to the transformation of the community life and
+of each individual life into a thing of transcendent worth and beauty.
+
+
+A SUMMARY
+
+Now, here is the proposed plan in a nutshell. The country community is
+the best place in the world for bringing up a sturdy race of men and
+women and the country church is or can be made one of the greatest
+agencies in the achievement of this work. But such achievement can best
+be brought about only when the country church goes to work to save the
+whole boy and the whole girl. And that means that the church must
+understand better how human life grows up--that it must meet these
+growing boys and girls on their own level of everyday interest and
+socialize and spiritualize these interests through close contact with
+them. Then, make the rural church a social center for the young,
+including exercises in work and play and recreation, as well as a place
+for religious instruction. The child is a creature of activity and not
+of passivity. You cannot preach him into the kingdom in a lifetime; but
+you can get down with him and work with him and play with him and guide
+and direct him through his self-chosen, everyday interests, to the end
+that he may afterwards enter the ranks of the Lord's anointed.
+
+Again, it is urged, make your country church a center for the entire
+life of the community. Not only have the adults bring their practical
+affairs to this center for consideration, but have the boys and girls
+come with their implements of work and play, with their specimens of
+farm and home produce and handiwork, with their miniature menageries and
+workshops--all this with joy and reverence before and after the
+religious services.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Efficient Democracy. W. H. Allen. Chapter X. "Efficiency in
+    Religious Work." Dodd, Mead & Co.
+
+    Rural Christendom. Charles Roads. Prize Essay. American
+    Sunday-School Union, Philadelphia.
+
+    Report of the Commission on Country Life, pp. 137-144,
+    Sturgis-Walton Co.
+
+    The Country Church and the Library. John Cotton Dana.
+    _Outlook_, May 6, 1911.
+
+    The Country Church and the Rural Problem. Kenyon L.
+    Butterfield. University of Chicago Press. A strong
+    presentation of the entire situation.
+
+    The Rural Church and Community Development. President Kenyon
+    L. Butterfield. The Association Press, New York. A collection
+    of practical papers and discussions on several important
+    topics.
+
+    The Day of the Country Church. J. O. Ashenhurst. Funk &
+    Wagnalls Co., New York. Read especially the excellent chapter
+    on "Leadership."
+
+    The Church and the Rural Community. Symposium. _American
+    Journal of Sociology._ March, 1911.
+
+    Philanthropy, A Trained Profession. Lewis. Forum, March,
+    1910.
+
+    _Rural Manhood._ The Association Press, New York Monthly.
+    This magazine publishes many excellent articles on the Rural
+    Church.
+
+    The Inefficient Minister. _Literary Digest_, April 10, 1909.
+    A report of the criticisms of Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, of the
+    Carnegie Foundation, and Dr. Henry Aked, of San Francisco.
+
+    _World's Work_, December, 1910. An interesting account of
+    Reverend Matthew McNutt's work in building up a country
+    church.
+
+    The Country Church. George F. Wells, in Cyclopedia of
+    American Agriculture, by L. H. Bailey, volume IV, page 297.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+_THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL SCHOOL_
+
+
+The country districts are slowly waking up to an appreciation of the
+fact that within their bounds lie, not only all the elements fundamental
+to the material wealth of the world, but that they also contain in a
+more or less dormant form all the essential factors of intellectual and
+spiritual wealth. The rural school is theoretically the best place on
+earth for the education of the child, not only because of its close
+proximity to the sources of material wealth, but because of the openness
+and comparative freedom of its surroundings. Then, the country school is
+especially effective as a place of instruction on account of its happy
+relation to work and industry. Too often the boys and girls of the town
+school go unwillingly to their class rooms with the feeling that the
+lessons are heavily imposed tasks.
+
+But in the typical country school the pupils are young persons who have
+already experienced much of the strain of work and who go somewhat
+eagerly to the schoolroom, because it is in a sense recreative to them,
+and because of their being in a position to see more clearly what
+substantial training is to mean to them in the future. That is to say, a
+distinctive difference between the typical country child and the typical
+city child is this: the former believes that he is pursuing the course
+of instruction in a more voluntary spirit and for the sake of his own
+personal interests and up-building, while the latter is inclined to feel
+that he is performing the school tasks for the sake of some one else and
+because of the strict requirements of outside force or law.
+
+
+RADICAL CHANGES IN THE VIEW-POINT AND METHOD
+
+But if the theoretic worth of the rural school is to be made at all
+actual, some very radical changes in view-point and method must come to
+pass. First of all, we must keep asking the question, What is education
+for? And perhaps we must accept the answer that in its best form
+education serves the higher needs and requirements of the life we are
+trying to live to-day. In case of rural teachers and parents it has been
+too common a practice to urge the child on in his lesson-getting with
+the statement, or at least the suggestion, that lessons well mastered in
+time furnish a guarantee of a life of comparative ease and freedom from
+heavy toil. The sermonette preached to the boy in this situation is too
+often substantially as follows: "Go on, my boy, master your lessons,
+pass up through the grades, and be graduated. Behold So and So, a great
+captain of wealth, and such and such a one, a great statesman. Now,
+these persons are in a position to take life easy. They have wealth to
+spend for the employment of labor and need to do little of such thing
+themselves."
+
+In other words, the view-point of the school has been radically wrong.
+We have been advancing the idea that education enables one to get _out
+of_ work, whereas we should have been urging that education of the right
+sort enables one to get _into_ work. That is, it means enlarged capacity
+for work and service and proportionately enlarged joy and contentment in
+the performance of worthy work of any nature whatsoever. Let rural
+parents once inculcate the last-named point of view upon their growing
+boys and girls and the attitude of the latter toward the school and its
+tasks will be likewise radically changed.
+
+
+ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO CULTURE
+
+And then, a second question we need to ask ourselves is, Whom is
+education for? or, What classes should have the benefits of it? A close
+comparison of the school ideals of twenty-five years ago with the most
+progressive ones of to-day reveals a surprising situation. Without
+seemingly realizing the fact, we continued for generations in this
+country to tax ourselves heavily for the purpose of supporting schools
+almost exclusively in behalf of the so-called professional classes. We
+said, especially to the growing boy: "Now, if you wish to become a
+lawyer, a physician, a minister, or a teacher, here is your opportunity.
+Pursue this well-arranged course, finish it up, and that all at our
+expense. But if you wish to become a farmer, a merchant, a craftsman of
+any sort, then this institution is not at your service. We will teach
+you to read and write and cipher, after which you may look out for
+yourself." Thus we were taxing the masses for the exclusive education of
+a few classes. To-day the best ideal is a radically different one, as it
+attempts to serve all worthy classes and vocations through the school
+administration. It assumes that artisans as well as artists and the
+professional classes have the same inherent right to both the practical
+aid and the direct culture which an educational course may furnish.
+
+As a practical result of this new ideal, now rapidly advancing
+throughout the country, we are about to have an age of cultured farmers,
+high-minded stock raisers, refined architects and builders, and so on.
+That is, our newest and best educational courses are beginning to
+provide the means and opportunities for the education of all worthy
+classes. So it behooves all interested rural parents to turn their best
+efforts toward the transformation and the betterment of the country
+school. Certain specific achievements in relation thereto are now being
+planned for and in many instances accomplished. Let every one concerned
+take notice of this situation and join with all possible earnestness in
+the forward movement.
+
+In his instructive monograph entitled "Changing Conceptions of
+Education," Professor E. P. Cubberley states the new ideal as follows:--
+
+"The school is essentially a time- and labor-saving device,
+created--with us--by democracy to serve democracy's needs. To convey to
+the next generation the knowledge and the accumulated experience of the
+past is not its only function. It must equally prepare the future
+citizen for the to-morrow of our complex life. The school must grasp the
+significance of its social connections and relations, and must come to
+realize that its real worth and its hope of adequate reward lie in its
+social efficiency. There are many reasons for believing that this change
+is taking place rapidly at present, and that an educational sociology,
+needed as much by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is now
+in the process of being formulated for our use."
+
+
+WORK FOR A LONGER TERM
+
+One of the first steps toward a more helpful schooling for the country
+youth is that of lengthening the yearly school term. In many thousands
+of instances, the country school is conducted for only three to five
+months during the year, and even this short term is indifferently
+attended. But the actual length of the year should be seven months or
+more. Many of the country districts can easily provide for eight
+months. The farmer should not concern himself about a small additional
+tax, but should have in mind rather the larger additional gain to the
+well-being of the young in the community. If the local tax be not
+sufficient for supporting a longer term and a better school, then seek
+to have laws authorizing the distribution of state aid to the weaker
+districts. This law has been actually passed in a number of the
+commonwealths. The act in the usual case provides a general school fund
+out of which the deficit for the smaller rural districts may be made up.
+
+
+COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS NEEDED
+
+The far-seeing country dweller will be glad to join in a movement in
+behalf of compulsory attendance at the public schools. Already a number
+of states have enacted fairly good laws on this subject, but some of
+them allow "loopholes" providing for the too easy avoidance of their
+requirements. Perhaps the best and most effective type of law of this
+class is that which requires the child under fourteen years of age to
+attend the entire term of the public schools, allowing for his absence
+only in case of sickness or in cases where it is shown upon
+investigation and beyond question that he is the main support and
+breadwinner of a family.
+
+In connection with the legal requirements for compulsory attendance,
+there must, of course, be provision for the truant. Truant officers,
+who may be required to serve only part time and who may receive pay for
+actual services, are set over specified districts and required to bring
+in all truant school children. Although this compulsory attendance law
+has been in force only a few years, reports show an almost unanimous
+belief in its effectiveness. The reader will understand the
+justification of such a law to be this; namely, the inherent right of
+the child to be educated whether he may appreciate such right or
+advantage or not, and the implied right of the community to have his
+best service as a well-educated member of society. The effects upon
+crime and criminality of the neglect of the education of the young have
+been so thoroughly discussed of late as to require no restatement here.
+
+
+BETTER SCHOOLHOUSES AND EQUIPMENT
+
+A survey of the entire country from one side to another reveals a
+deplorable state of affairs in respect to the conditions of the typical
+rural schoolhouse. In thousands of cases, there is nothing more than a
+dingy, little, old one-room building, scarcely suitable as a place
+wherein to shelter chickens or pigs, and with nothing in the
+surroundings to suggest or even hint at a place where young minds are
+taught how to aim at the high things of life. Now, these crude
+structures were once a necessity. In pioneer days the little, old box
+schoolhouse, or even the sod structure, served a mighty purpose in the
+transformation of the plains and the wilderness. But times are now
+radically changed. The wealth of the country is abundant. Improvements
+of nearly every other sort have gone on as the times advanced. But too
+often the little, old cheap schoolhouse on the bleak country slope
+became a fixed habit. In setting forth plans for a newer and better
+country school building, the author cannot improve upon those prepared
+by E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public Instruction in
+Kansas, and published in his Seventeenth Biennial Report. We therefore
+quote as follows:--
+
+1. _Location._--"In selecting a site for a school building, the
+questions of drainage, convenience, beauty of surroundings, and
+accessibility should have prime consideration. Select, if possible, some
+plat of ground slightly elevated, and of which the surface may be
+properly drained and kept free from mud. It should be especially seen to
+that water may not stand under the building. If the elevation is not
+sufficient, this trouble should be overcome by proper filling in beneath
+the building. The location should be as nearly as possible central with
+reference to the pupils of the district. But other things should also be
+considered. It is better that some pupils should be put to a slight
+disadvantage than that attractiveness of surroundings, remoteness from
+environment likely to interfere with the work of the school, or other
+essentials, should be sacrificed."
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XI.
+
+FIG. 12.--A cozy little country schoolhouse in the tall, picturesque
+woods of California.
+
+FIG 13.--This model country school building, planned by State
+Superintendent E. T. Fairchild, of Kansas, is being copied in many
+places.]
+
+2. _The water supply._--The purity of the water supply for the school is
+no less important from the standpoint of health than that of the air
+supply. The greatest danger lies in the use of water taken from wells
+that are used only a portion of the year. Such water is certain to
+become stagnant. In the autumn before the term commences special care
+should be taken to pump all water out of the well and to clean the same
+if necessary; thereby much sickness may be avoided. The well, of course,
+should be so located as to avoid any contamination owing to vaults or
+drains.
+
+3. _Size and adaptation of grounds._--The school grounds should contain
+at least three acres, and five acres would not be too much. While the
+cities are cramped for playgrounds and purchase them only at a high
+cost, the latter can be secured in the country in sufficient size and at
+a relatively small expense. Let it be kept constantly in mind that the
+school grounds should be adapted for play, that they should afford a
+protection from winds, and that they should also be attractive. They
+should likewise be adapted for school gardening and experiments in
+agriculture. For the purpose of play, the breadth should exceed the
+depth where there are separate grounds for boys and girls. Where the
+playground is large, the building should be centrally located with
+relation to the size of the grounds and should be situated well toward
+the front. This will provide two fair-sized and well-proportioned
+playgrounds. Where the grounds are small and contain but one acre,
+symmetry must yield to utility and the building should be located well
+to the front and to one side, so as to leave one well-arranged
+playground.
+
+4. _Improvement of school grounds._--In writing of the value of
+well-arranged school grounds, Professor Albert Dickens of the Kansas
+State Agricultural College says:--
+
+"This sermon on school ground improvement is one that I have tried to
+preach for some time. In my judgment, it is the most important and the
+most difficult of any of the problems in civic improvement. The average
+country cemetery is sorrowfully neglected, as a rule, but its treatment
+is careful and generous compared with the school grounds of the average
+country district. Some day we shall realize that all these factors of
+environment are formative influences, and shall not wonder that the
+character formed in surroundings devoid of beauty has hard, coarse, and
+cruel lines in its make-up.
+
+"It is an easy matter to picture an ideal country school--its
+clean-swept walk to the road, its ample playground, its windbreak of
+evergreens, its groups of hard- and soft-wood species, borders of shrubs
+and beds of bulbs for early spring and perennials for summer and fall.
+But to get it--to find some way to overcome the serious obstacles--is
+worthy the attention of statesmen and club women.
+
+"Nearly every district has made an attempt. That is one of the hard
+things to forget--one of the reasons so many districts fear to try
+again. They had a spasm of civic righteousness--an Arbor Day
+revival--and every patron dug a hole in the hard, dry ground; every
+child brought a tree, some of which were carried for miles with the
+roots exposed to sun and wind--and then they were planted and, in some
+cases, watered for the summer; and the days grew warm and the weeds grew
+high; and by the next fall the two or three trees yet alive were not
+noticed when the director went over with his mower the Friday before
+school opened; and so ended that attempt at a schoolyard beautiful.
+
+"It ought to be possible to convince the patrons of every district that
+a single acre of land is not sufficient ground upon which to grow big,
+bright, broad-minded boys and girls; that two, or three, or four acres
+of land, well planned as to baseball diamond, basketball court and a
+good free run for dare-base and pull-away--that such would give the
+state and the world better results than if the land were devoted to corn
+and alfalfa. This, I believe, is the first problem of great
+magnitude--to get the ground--and it must be considered. Children must
+play. The noon hour, when they eat for five minutes and play fifty-five
+minutes, is all-important in a child's life."
+
+In order to carry out the suggestions given by Professor Dickens, why
+not organize a general rally, perhaps on the occasion of Arbor Day, and
+all hands join in preparing and planting the school grounds to suitable
+shade trees, shrubs, and the like? The playgrounds could also be laid
+out and equipped on this occasion. Then, after this excellent start has
+been made, have the school board appoint some reliable man as caretaker
+of the grounds with payment of reasonable wages for what he does. Thus
+the good beginning will not be lost.
+
+
+A MODEL RURAL SCHOOL
+
+The State Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri, has built and equipped
+a model rural school for use in practical demonstration work. President
+John R. Kirk gives a detailed description of this building in
+_Successful Farming_ (April, 1911) as follows:--
+
+"This schoolhouse has three principal floors. The basement and main
+floor are the same size, 28 x 36 feet, outside measurement. The basement
+measures 8 feet from floor to ceiling. Its floor is of concrete,
+underlaid with porous tile and cinders. The basement walls are of rock
+and concrete, protected by drain tile on outside. The basement has eight
+compartments.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XII.
+
+FIG. 14.--The model rural school building, as constructed for practice
+and demonstration work at the Kirkville (Missouri) Normal School.]
+
+"1. Furnace room, containing furnace inclosed by galvanized iron, also
+double cold air duct with electric fan, also gas water heater.
+
+"2. Coal bin, 6 x 8 feet.
+
+"3. Bulb or plant room, 3 x 8 feet, for fall, winter, and spring
+storage.
+
+"4. Darkroom, 4 x 8 feet, for children's experiments in photography.
+
+"5. Laundry room, 5 x 21 feet, with tubs, drain, and drying apparatus.
+
+"6. Gymnasium or play room, 13 x 23 feet.
+
+"7. Tank room containing a 400-gallon pneumatic pressure tank, storage
+battery for electricity, hand pump for emergencies, water gauge, sewer
+pipes, floor drain, etc.
+
+"8. Engine room, containing gasoline engine, water pump, electrical
+generator, switchboard, water tank for cooling gasoline engine, weight
+for gas pressure, gas mixer, batteries, pipes, wires, etc.
+
+"The pumps lift water from a well into pressure tank through pipes below
+the frost line. Gasoline is admitted through pipes below the frost line
+from two 50-gallon tanks underground, 30 feet from building. All rooms
+are wired for electricity and plumbed for gas. The basement is
+thoroughly ventilated.
+
+"The main floor contains a school room 22 x 27 feet in the clear,
+lighted wholly from the north side. A ground glass in the rear admits
+sunlight for sanitation. Schoolroom has adjustable seats and desks,
+telephone, and teachers' desk. Stereopticon is hung in wall at rear.
+Alcove or closet on east side for books, teachers' wraps, etc.
+Schoolroom has a small organ, ample book cases, shelves, and apparatus.
+Pure air enters from above children's heads and passes out at floor into
+ventilating stack through fireplace.
+
+"Main floor has two toilet rooms, each of these having lavatories, wash
+bowl with hot and cold water, pressure tank for hot water and for heat,
+shower bath with hot and cold water, ventilating apparatus, looking
+glass, towel rack, soap box, etc. Each toilet room is reached by a
+circuitous passageway furnishing room for children's wraps, overshoes,
+etc. The scheme secures absolute privacy in toilet rooms. All toilet
+room walls contain air chambers to deaden sound. The toilet rooms are
+clean, decent, and beautiful. They are never disfigured with vile
+language or other defacement.
+
+"All rural schoolhouses with the comb of the roof running one way have
+attics, but the attic of this rural school is the first one and the only
+one that has been well utilized. This attic is 15 x 35 feet, inside
+measurement, all in one room; distance from floor to ceiling 7-1/2 feet
+in the middle part. It is abundantly lighted through gable lights and
+roof lights. It contains modern manual-training benches for use of eight
+or ten children at one time, a gas range and other apparatus for
+experimental cooking. It is furnished with both gas and electric light.
+It has a wash bowl with hot and cold water, looking glass, towels, etc.
+It has a large typical kitchen sink and a drinking fountain, but no
+drinking cup, either common or uncommon. It has cupboards, boxes, and
+receptacles for various experiments in home economics. It has a
+disinfecting apparatus, a portable agricultural-chemistry laboratory and
+numerous other equipments.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
+
+FIG. 15.--A rear view of the model rural school building at the
+Kirkville Normal.]
+
+"A rural school can be built here from beginning to completion with all
+the above-mentioned equipments of every kind, including furniture, for
+$2250. The heating and ventilating apparatus, the pressure tanks,
+gasoline engine, water pumps, dynamo, furnace, etc., can all be easily
+adapted to a two-room model, a three-room school, or a six-room school
+by having each fixture slightly larger.
+
+"This model therefore solves the schoolbuilding question for villages,
+towns, and consolidated rural schools."
+
+
+THE CORNELL SCHOOLHOUSE
+
+An attractive rural schoolhouse was erected some years ago at the New
+York State College of Agriculture, to serve as a suggestion
+architecturally and otherwise to rural districts. It is a one-teacher
+building, and yet allows for the introduction of the new methods of
+teaching. It is a wooden building, with cement stucco interior, heated
+with hot-air furnace, and with two water toilets attached. The total
+cost was about $2000. The College writes as follows of the house:--
+
+"The prevailing rural schoolhouse is a building in which pupils sit to
+study books. It ought to be a room in which pupils do personal work with
+both hands and mind. The essential feature of this new schoolhouse,
+therefore, is a workroom. This room occupies one-third of the floor
+space. Perhaps it would be better if it occupied two-thirds of the floor
+space. If the building is large enough, however, the two kinds of work
+could change places in this schoolhouse.
+
+"The building is designed for twenty-five pupils in the main room. The
+folding doors and windows in the partition enable one teacher to manage
+both rooms.
+
+"It has been the purpose to make the main part of the building about the
+size of the average rural schoolhouse, and then to add the workroom as a
+wing or projection. Such a room could be added to existing school
+buildings; or, in districts in which the building is now too large, one
+part of the room could be partitioned off as a workroom.
+
+"It is the purpose, also, to make this building artistic, attractive,
+and homelike to children, sanitary, comfortable, and durable. The
+cement-plaster exterior is handsomer and warmer than wood, and on
+expanded metal lath it is durable. The interior of this building is very
+attractive. Nearly any rural schoolhouse can secure a water-supply and
+instal toilets as part of the school building.
+
+"The openings between schoolroom and workroom are fitted with glazed
+swing sash and folding doors, so that the rooms may be used either
+singly or together, as desired.
+
+"The workroom has a bay-window facing south and filled with shelves for
+plants. Slate blackboards of standard school heights fill the spaces
+about the rooms between doors and windows. The building is heated by hot
+air; vent flues of adequate sizes are also provided so that the rooms
+are ventilated.
+
+"On the front of the building, and adding materially to its picturesque
+appearance, is a roomy veranda with simple square posts, from which
+entrance is made directly into the combined vestibule and coatroom and
+from this again by two doors into the schoolroom."
+
+
+HELP MAKE A SCHOOL PLAY GROUND
+
+Throughout the entire country there is at last rising a wave of
+enthusiasm in behalf of affording the child a better means of play.
+First the cities took the matter up, then the towns, and now the country
+districts are beginning to do their part. The farmer and his wife should
+feel an interest in such a matter, for they can render no better service
+to their community than that of joining the district teacher in an
+effort to equip the school grounds with play apparatus. As a suggestive
+outline of what materials to procure, the dimensions and cost of the
+same, there is given below the equipment worked out by certain
+officials in Colorado and described briefly in Superintendent
+Fairchild's report, as follows:--
+
+A turning pole for boys may be made by setting two posts in the ground,
+six or eight feet apart, and running a 1 or 1-1/4 inch gas pipe through
+holes bored in the tops of the posts. The cost of such a piece of
+apparatus should be as follows, assuming that the necessary work will be
+done by the teachers and boys: Two posts, 4" x 4", 8 ft. long, 50 cents;
+one piece gas pipe, 8 ft. long, 15 cents.
+
+Teeter boards may be made by planting posts ten or twelve feet apart,
+and placing a pole or a rounded 6 x 6 on top of them, and then placing
+boards, upon which the children may teeter. Individual teeter boards may
+be made by placing a 2 x 8 board in the ground, and fastening the teeter
+board to it by means of iron braces placed on each side of the upright
+piece. The cost of the above apparatus would be, for several teeters:
+Two upright posts, 6" x 6", 5 ft. long, 93 cents; one piece, 6" x 6", 12
+ft. long, $1.22; four teeter boards, 2" x 8", 14 ft. long, $2.50. For
+individual teeter: One piece 2" x 8", 16 ft. long, 56 cents--to make
+upright piece 4 ft. long and teeter board 12 ft. long; two iron braces
+and four large screws, 25 cents.
+
+A very attractive and desirable piece of apparatus may be made as
+follows: Secure a pole about ten or fifteen feet long. To the small end
+attach by the use of bolts one end of a wagon axle, spindle up. Upon
+the spindle place a wagon wheel, and to the wheel attach ropes, about as
+long as the pole. Place the big end of the pole in the ground three or
+four feet, and brace it from the four points of the compass. The ropes
+will hang down from the wheel in such a way that the children may take
+hold of them, swing, jump, and run around the pole. The one described
+was rather inexpensive. A telephone company donated a discarded pole, a
+farmer a discarded wagon wheel and axle. The only expense was that of
+paying a blacksmith for attaching the wheel to the pole and the cost of
+the ropes--about $2. It furnished one of the most attractive pieces of
+apparatus on the playground.
+
+An inexpensive swing may be constructed by placing four 4 x 4's in the
+ground in a slanting position, two being opposite each other and meeting
+at the top in such a way as to form a fork. The pairs may be ten or
+twelve feet apart, and a pole or heavy galvanized pipe, to which swings
+may be attached, wired, nailed, or bolted to the crotches formed by the
+pieces placed in the ground. The cost of this apparatus will be: Four
+pieces, 4" x 4", 14 ft. long, $1.25, one piece galvanized pipe, 3", 12
+ft. long, $2.50.
+
+Boards of education could well afford to purchase one or more
+basketballs, and a few baseballs and bats for the boys. These things
+more than pay for themselves in the added interest which boys and girls
+who have them take in the school. For much of the apparatus suggested
+above the wide-awake board of education and teacher will see
+opportunities to use material less expensive than that suggested. And to
+such persons many pieces of apparatus not specified here will suggest
+themselves to fit particular needs and opportunities.
+
+
+GENERAL INSTRUCTION IN AGRICULTURE
+
+A great fault with the district schools has been an inclination to think
+that anything close at hand is too mean and common to be considered as
+subject matter for instruction. The thought has usually been that the
+school would prepare the learner for some brilliant calling away off
+where things are better and life is easier and more beautiful. As a
+result, the country schools have been educating boys and girls away from
+the farm. The new method is that of educating them to appreciate what is
+under their feet and all around them, through an intimate knowledge of
+the processes of nature and industry as carried on in their midst.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
+
+FIG. 16.--Using the Babcock milk-tester in a New York school.]
+
+One of the more direct means of educating the boys and girls for a
+happy, contented life on the farm is to teach them while young the
+rudiments of agriculture. This method is now actually being put into
+practice in thousands of the rural schools. The state of Kansas recently
+enacted a law requiring all candidates for teachers' certificates to
+pass a test in the elements of agriculture and also requiring that
+the rudiments of this subject be taught in every district school. Other
+states have similar laws. As a result of this and like provisions, there
+is now a tremendous awakening in the direction named. The boys and girls
+in the country schools are finding new meaning and a new interest in the
+fields and farms upon which they are growing up.
+
+It is a comparatively simple matter, that of teaching the young how the
+plant germinates and grows, how the seed is produced, and how farm crops
+are cared for and harvested. Likewise, it is easy to describe the
+elements of the various types of soil and to show how these elements
+contribute to the life and growth of the plant. The questions of
+moisture in its relation to plant life, of insects harmful and helpful
+to growing crops and animals, of the bird life as related in its
+economic aspects to farming--all such matters can be easily taught to
+children by the young-woman school teacher. It is only necessary for the
+latter to take an elementary course of instruction herself, to read a
+number of collateral texts, and to get into the spirit of the
+undertaking. In a similar manner, instruction in regard to farm animals
+may be given, the emphasis being placed upon the consideration of the
+types of live stock actually raised and marketed in the home
+neighborhood.
+
+It must be emphasized that these matters relating to elementary
+agriculture and animal husbandry can be made just as interesting and
+quite as cultural as any of the subjects in the general curriculum of
+the schools. Wherefore, the rural dweller who catches the spirit of such
+instruction should lead out in the securing of public measures and
+public improvements looking toward an early embodiment of these new
+subjects within the prescribed course of study.
+
+
+DOMESTIC ECONOMY AND HOME SANITATION
+
+The time is now at hand when the district school failing to give any
+attention to practical household affairs is to be classed as out of date
+and unprogressive. Well-written texts and pamphlets covering the
+home-keeping subjects are now both available and cheap, so that the
+excuse for deferring their use is approaching the zero point.
+
+Of course it is impracticable as yet to have apparatus for cooking and
+sewing installed in the one-teacher district school, but the bare
+rudiments of these subjects may nevertheless be taught with the
+expectation that home practice may be thereby improved and better
+understood. Perhaps the most practical method of present procedure is
+that of organizing an independent class of the girls of suitable age and
+meeting them informally. The texts and pamphlets furnished by the
+college extension departments may be followed. In case of graded and
+high school courses this work should by all means be carried on as a
+regular class exercise.
+
+Home sanitation may easily and profitably be taught in the district
+school, even though only one or two periods per week be set apart for
+the purpose. Perhaps the best method of instruction is that of
+presenting carefully one specific lesson at a time. For example, pure
+drinking water, clean milk, food contamination by house flies may be
+treated each in its turn. Adequate charts and illustrations should be
+brought into service.
+
+
+CONSOLIDATION OF RURAL SCHOOLS
+
+There is much agitation nowadays in regard to consolidating the rural
+schools. Although present progress is slow, it seems comparatively
+certain that the one-teacher rural school is destined in time to become
+a thing of the past. However, there is no particular haste in the
+matter, provided some such plans as the foregoing be put into effect in
+case of the single school. Perhaps the sparsely settled district has the
+greatest justification for looking toward consolidation. It happens that
+there are thousands of small schools having an attendance of from five
+to ten pupils. In such an instance, it is practically impossible to do
+the best work, the children lacking the spur of rivalry and enthusiasm
+and the helpful lessons in social ethics offered only by the larger
+massing of the young at play.
+
+In many places, three or four rural districts are uniting in this
+movement, the general plan being that of constructing a central
+building with ample working space for all, and then transporting the
+children to and from the school. The scheme is working well as a rule.
+Among the great advantages is that of a possible grading of the school
+so that the teacher may have time for each subject and more opportunity
+for specialization. Perhaps the most serious and difficult part of the
+plan is that of providing a safe and suitable means of conveyance to and
+from the school. Some excellent patterns of school wagons are already on
+the market, while manufacturers are constantly at work improving them.
+So we may expect better results as time goes on. It has already been
+shown very satisfactorily that the conveyance, when in charge of a
+well-trained driver, furnishes improved moral and physical safeguards
+for the child.
+
+
+MORE HIGH SCHOOLS NEEDED
+
+Not only every county, but also every rural township, should have its
+well-equipped high school. It is a serious matter to send boys and girls
+in their middle teens away to college. Many lives are thus more or less
+ruined simply from too early loss of the personal restraints and
+influence of the parents. But with a first-class high school in easy
+reach the young people may at least return home for the Saturday-Sunday
+recess and thereby continue in the close councils of their parents. And
+then, the rightly-managed high school will bring the student into
+closer touch with the local rural problems that may not be possible in
+case of the distant institution.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XV.
+
+FIGS. 17-21.--This magnificent consolidated school in Winnebago County,
+Illinois, was inspired by the excellent work of the well-known
+Superintendent O. J. Kern. The four little one-room buildings illustrated
+above gave way to it.]
+
+In the location of high schools intended to serve the rural interests
+there should be an effort to keep away from the towns and cities. In the
+latter places the allurements of the cheap theater and the snobbery that
+often invades the city high school are illustrations of the evils that
+serve to entice the young away from the substantial things of life. A
+good county or township high school located centrally and in the open
+country is ideal. At such a location it is vastly easier than in the
+city to center the attention of the students upon the rural problems,
+not to mention the greater availability of demonstrations on farm and
+garden plots.
+
+
+BETTER RURAL TEACHERS NEEDED
+
+The ideal preparation for a teacher in the rural school is a complete
+course in a first-class agricultural college, with the inclusion of a
+few terms' work in the educational subjects. So long as we send into the
+district schools young teachers who have been taught merely in the
+common text-book branches, and whose training has been exclusively
+pedagogical, the practice of educating the boys and girls away from the
+farm will go on. The country school is, in its best sense, an industrial
+school; and only those teachers can do best work therein who have had
+the personal experience in industrial training and the changed point of
+view which only the agricultural college can give. So if the board of
+trustees in any rural district really wishes to unite in supporting an
+effective back-to-the-farm movement, let them offer to some
+country-reared graduate of the agricultural college a salary of about
+twice or three times the amount usually paid. After a few terms of
+school taught by such a person, the good effects on the rural uplift
+will most certainly reveal themselves. But so long as school trustees
+continue to try to drive a sharp bargain in the employment of
+teachers--securing the one with the passable county certificate who will
+teach for the least wages--the boys will continue to run off to town for
+"jobs" and the parents will continue to "move to town to educate their
+children."
+
+There is some hope of a new ideal in relation to the country school
+teacher; namely, that he shall be a man in every sense, worthy of a
+salary large enough to support himself and his family the year round as
+residents of the community. Then we shall have a profession of teaching
+in the rural school work.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
+
+FIG. 22.--The Cornell schoolhouse. A one-teacher building, with a
+workroom or laboratory at one side that the teacher can control through
+the folding doors and glass partitions. Every effort is made to render
+the building and place attractive and homelike.]
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Annual Report Page County (Iowa) Schools. Miss Jessie Field,
+    Superintendent (Clarinda).
+
+    The reader who is especially interested in this chapter is
+    urged to become acquainted with the splendid work
+    accomplished for the district schools of Page County, Ia.,
+    by Superintendent Jessie Field. As indicated by her published
+    annuals, and otherwise, she has led all the other young women
+    superintendents in the work of organizing the boys and girls
+    into clubs and classes for the study of school gardening,
+    bread making, grain propagation, and the like.
+
+    Report of the Committee on Industrial Education in Schools
+    for Rural Communities, of the National Educational
+    Association.
+
+    Among Country Schools. O. J. Kern. Ginn & Co. A clear
+    helpful, and inspiring text.
+
+    The American Rural School. H. W. Foght. Macmillan. Covers the
+    entire subject carefully.
+
+    The School and Society. John Dewey. McClure, Phillips & Co.,
+    New York.
+
+    The School and its Life. Charles D. Gilbert. Chapter XXII,
+    "Home and School." McClurg.
+
+    Efficient Democracy, Wm. H. Allen. Chapter VII, "School
+    Efficiency." Dodd, Mead & Co. A most helpful and stimulating
+    volume.
+
+    The School as a Social Institution. Henry Suzzallo.
+    Monograph. Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Wider Use of the School Plant, Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter
+    VI, "School Playgrounds." Charities Publication Committee,
+    New York.
+
+    Education in the Country for the Country. J. W. Zeller.
+    Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 245.
+
+    Teachers for the Rural Schools; Kind Wanted; How to secure
+    Them. L. J. Alleman. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 280.
+
+    The State Board of Health of Maine (Augusta) issues a series
+    of practical pamphlets on health and sanitation in the school
+    and the home.
+
+    The Most Practical Industrial Education for the Country
+    Child. Superintendent O. J. Kern. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1905,
+    p. 198.
+
+    Among School Gardens. M. Louise Green, Ph.D. Charities
+    Publication Committee, New York.
+
+    A Model Rural School House. Henry S. Curtis. Educational
+    Foundations, April, 1911. A. S. Barnes & Co. Dr. Curtis is a
+    national authority on the question of the school playground.
+
+    Education for Efficiency. E. Davenport. D. C. Heath. A most
+    able plea for making the schools serve every worthy interest.
+
+
+    Changing Conceptions of Education. E. P. Cubberly. Monograph.
+    Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Methods of conducting Book and Demonstration Work in teaching
+    Elementary Agriculture. O. H. Benson. Bureau of Plant
+    Industry, Washington, D.C. An excellent guide.
+
+    Report of Committee to investigate Rural School Conditions.
+    Superintendent E T. Fairchild and others. Address the
+    Secretary N.E.A., Winona, Minn.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+_THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION_
+
+
+Among the movements of first importance looking toward the uplift of
+young men is that named at the head of this chapter. Parallel with the
+intensive and systematic effort to build up the commercial life of the
+city and allow the country district to take care of itself, has been a
+like effort to provide for the care and development of the city boy and
+the uniform neglect of the needs and interests of the country boy. Now,
+here at last is a movement that is proving a real means of salvation of
+the rural youth, mind, body, and soul.
+
+President Henry J. Waters, of the Kansas State Agricultural College,
+struck the keynote of this young country-life movement most effectively
+in a recent address when he said: "We believe in the existence of a
+social renaissance. One needs only to read the daily and weekly papers
+printed in hundreds of prosperous villages and cross roads corners, the
+faithful chroniclers of the community's activities, to find buoyant hope
+of the future of farm life.
+
+"The dignity of labor; the close connection between heads and hands; the
+monthly or weekly meetings of farmers' institutes in hundreds of
+counties; the special lectures provided by agricultural colleges; the
+movable schools; the farmers' winter short courses, in which thousands
+of men and women and boys and girls participate; corn contests; bread
+contests; sewing contests; play carnivals; poultry-raising contests;
+stock-raising contests; conferences on the country church, country
+school, good roads--all these activities denote the growth of a new and
+mighty spirit in the country life of America.
+
+"We need further demonstrations, together with concrete thinking, a lot
+of constructive programs, and a deal of hard work and self-sacrifice, in
+which the county work department of the Young Men's Christian
+Association can have no little share, to speed on the great epoch of
+rural social renaissance."
+
+
+BOYS LEAVE THE FARM TOO YOUNG
+
+It is a tragic story when the whole truth is known, that of the young
+boy running off to town in search of some employment that will bring him
+a little ready cash for spending money, and also in search of the
+sociability so woefully lacking in the rural home environment. Too long
+have the country parents attempted to argue and scold and force their
+boys to remain at home where they are confronted only with the monotony
+of hard work and a very dim prospect of a possible land or other
+property inheritance. So at last there is being raised the very
+important questions, What is the matter with the country boy? and What
+can be done to help him? Knowledge of the fact that more than one-half
+of the boys of the United States are living in farm homes makes the
+problem of their individual salvation assume momentous proportions.
+
+There can be no reasonable thought of holding all the boys on the farm.
+Many of them are best fitted by nature to go elsewhere and find suitable
+employment, but there is every good reason for preventing the great
+exodus of immature youths who run off to the cities, not knowing what
+they are to face and without any well-defined purpose. Yes, the great
+concerns of the towns and cities must continue to call many of the
+brainiest young men from the rural districts. In fact, the country may
+with every good reason be considered the proper breeding ground for the
+virile minds destined to control the great affairs of nation, state, and
+municipality. But every reasonable effort must be put forth to keep the
+boy in his country home until his character is relatively matured and
+his plans for a future career are fairly well defined.
+
+
+PURPOSES OF THE COUNTY Y.M.C.A.
+
+Doubtless the first chief purpose of the county association is that of
+building up the boy's character and finally perfecting his spiritual
+nature. But this high aim is not sought in the old-fashioned, direct
+manner. Instead, there is a studied effort to build up the boy gradually
+through the enlistment of his natural interests in matters that lie
+dormant in his home environment. The truly scientific method in this
+field is first concerned with providing means whereby the boy may work
+out his own spiritual salvation. Along with the farm labors, tedious and
+irksome to him when undertaken as exclusive requirements, the country
+boy is given an opportunity to take part in certain athletic and social
+exercises which appeal to his instincts and arouse the spontaneity from
+the depths of his own nature.
+
+In carrying on the country work, an attempt is made to approach the boy
+from the peculiar situations of his home environment. What specific
+readjustments are needed in his home life in respect to the amount of
+work required of him? What of the recreation he enjoys? The local
+society in which he moves? The home church and Sunday school? The
+temptations that may lie near about him? and so on. These and many other
+such inquiries are made with a view to dealing with the boy in an
+individual way and reestablishing his life for the better.
+
+
+HOW TO ORGANIZE A COUNTY ASSOCIATION
+
+Unless it may chance that, after a brief survey of the field, some
+person from the outside comes in to perfect the organization of the
+county association, any interested person within the limits of the
+county must make the start. Devotion to the cause, persistence, and
+unfailing enthusiasm are perhaps the best personal equipment for the
+local beginner of this new work. His first concern should be that of
+gathering a committee of men like himself from different parts of the
+county. Doubtless these will form themselves into a sort of brotherhood
+committee. After such temporary organization, the next important step is
+that of securing an able county leader.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVII.
+
+FIG. 23.--These Y.M.C.A. members find time for play as well as work. Try
+a club like this as a means of keeping the boy interested in the farm.]
+
+1. _Choose a good leader._--Now, the success of the movement is to
+depend very largely upon the character of the leader to be chosen. If
+the right man be selected, no matter how hard the conditions, he will be
+able finally to bring system and order and spiritual progress out of it
+all. The important characteristics of the ideal leader of country boys
+are comparatively few. First of all, he must, of course, be moved by a
+sense of devotion to the cause of Christianity--the up-building of the
+characters, especially the spiritual natures, of young men. He should be
+a man who has been trained in a good college, if possible a graduate,
+with experience in the Y.M.C.A. and other like organizations. He should
+have had some special training in such subjects as psychology,
+sociology, and economics, and should be fairly well versed in the
+literature of these subjects. He should be especially fond of boys and
+boy life and interested in the conduct of people of every kind and sort.
+He should be somewhat trained in athletics and an enthusiastic supporter
+of clean sports. He should have what is known as good business sense. It
+may not be essential, but it will certainly prove advantageous, if the
+chosen leader has himself been reared in the country.
+
+2. _Local leaders necessary._--After the leader has been selected, the
+next step is that of the appointment of carefully chosen leaders for the
+local neighborhoods. These may be men of almost any age from middle life
+down, but perhaps the ideal age would be that of a few years older than
+any of the boys of the neighborhood. All must be enlisted if possible,
+not one being slighted or offended.
+
+3. _A committee on finance._--An able finance committee is also of high
+importance. This should consist of men chosen especially for their
+unusual ability as solicitors and persuaders of men in a financial way.
+Let these workers go over the county soliciting funds for the
+organization, providing from the first especially that the secretary
+shall be well paid for his services. Close-fisted residents, as well as
+all others, in every nook and corner of the territory must be seen and
+asked to contribute. It should be a comparatively easy matter to show
+men who cannot appreciate the social and spiritual needs of the boys
+that the new movement will most certainly increase general property
+values and bring up the price of land.
+
+4. _Little property ownership._--While new, the county organization
+should guard against attempting to own and control any considerable
+amount of property or equipment. Not the material goods possessed, but
+the strength and force of the spiritual enthusiasm will have greatest
+value in carrying on the work. It will be found quite satisfactory in
+nearly every case to have the boys meet in some farm home, village club
+room, or country schoolhouse. And then, there is always danger of
+developing a Y.M.C.A. too exclusively as a business organization. There
+are many instances in the towns and cities where this is deplorably
+true. The best spirit of the work is submerged by the continuous
+hounding of the people in the skirmish for funds to keep going the
+over-heavy business machinery of the institution. There often develops,
+in such cases, a large body of men who regard the Y.M.C.A. as an
+organization of loafers and easy-going money spenders. Once such
+sentiment develops, it is desperately difficult to eradicate it. So the
+country Y.M.C.A. should preserve the semblance of humility, and that
+partly by getting along with almost no property or equipment other than
+what its own members may provide in a crude fashion and what may be
+necessary to furnish the office of the general secretary.
+
+
+HOW TO CONDUCT THE WORK
+
+One of the first steps in conducting the new work is that of making a
+survey of the entire county. The names, ages, and location of all the
+boys must be secured, together with some items respecting their present
+social and religious affiliations. In fact, the more personal items
+included in the first survey, the better. Some boys will at first look
+with disfavor upon the new movement, believing that it is merely another
+scheme to convert them to religion and get them into a church. Care must
+be taken to disabuse the boy's mind of this thought from the very
+beginning. Therefore, it may be well not to try to hustle him into a
+Bible-study class the first time he is invited out. While the main
+issue, namely, that of spiritual development of the boy, is not to be
+forgotten, he must nevertheless be led to this goal through the path of
+many very common instrumentalities. A Y.M.C.A. athletic meet would most
+probably prove a better opening number than a Bible-study class or
+merely a religious service. As the work proceeds, the occasions for a
+great variety of exercises and programs will present themselves. Among
+these perhaps there would be the following:--
+
+1. _Local and county athletic clubs._--The athletic event is one of the
+easiest to put on in a newly organized boys' club. An able leader,
+perhaps the county secretary, should be present to preside over the
+event, inducing the boys to form a baseball club, or a basketball team;
+or at least to arrange for some event in which they can all participate,
+although that may be as simple a thing as swimming or jumping. Introduce
+at once the thought of practice and the development of skill, holding
+out the plan of a county organization and a county field meet in the
+future, which all may attend and in which the ablest shall have promise
+of a conspicuous part.
+
+2. _Debating and literary clubs._--There is always the possibility of a
+literary society, provided the thing be carefully instituted. The secret
+of successful debates among persons of any class is to find a "burning"
+question. So, avoid such matters as Tariff Reform and the World Peace
+Movement and come right down home to some perplexing problem in the
+lives of the boys of the club. Something about their work, their lack of
+recreation, their chances against those of city boys, and so on, will
+arouse interest and bring out rough debating material. Find latent
+talent of other sorts in the club. Some boy can sing; perhaps another
+can play a musical instrument; still another one may be a natural-born
+storyteller; a fourth may be an expert acrobat and tree climber; a fifth
+a shrewd hunter or trapper of wild animals. In this way, nearly every
+boy can be led to take part in a general program.
+
+Thus, while contributing something toward the entertainment of all, each
+boy's active participation will go far by way of awakening his personal
+interest in the new life.
+
+3. _Receptions and suppers._--After the boys get fairly under way with
+their club, they may need to arrange an oyster supper or some such
+affair at which they will discuss their many mutual problems. On some
+such occasions they may desire to invite their parents to come and enjoy
+the program, also to participate in the discussion of their affairs.
+This form of close association will be found especially enticing to the
+boys, giving them a good, clean place to go for social enjoyment and
+something to look forward to in their thoughts during the somewhat
+prosaic hours of the day in the field.
+
+4. _Educational tours and problems._--The boys may find it feasible to
+go in a body once or twice a year on an educational tour--to the state
+fair; to study some particular thing in the city; to gather data for the
+solution of some local problem; to make a study of the habitat of some
+bird or animal; to gather specimens of rocks or plants; and so on. In
+case of any such trip there is not a little necessity of some
+college-trained person as overseer, so that the study may be made
+intensive and not become dissipated in mere sport and fun. It is usually
+advisable to make a careful study of only one thing at a time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
+
+FIG. 24--A great Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio. Let the boy attend one of
+these great gatherings if possible, and he will return with a year's
+supply of enthusiasm.]
+
+5. _Camping and hiking._--The boys of the county should be brought
+together at least once a year in a summer camp. Farmers will soon learn
+to appreciate the value of such things in the life of the boy and will
+gladly allow him a few days' vacation for the purpose. The boy who
+enjoys such a privilege will more than pay it back through the extra
+amount of work his enthusiasm will naturally prompt him to perform. For
+the camp site there should be selected some shady woodland with a good
+stream of water for fishing and swimming. A crude lodge may be
+constructed and all the necessary crude camp equipment provided. Each
+boy will want to carry his own blanket and extra clothing.
+
+One matter must be considered in all seriousness; namely, the sanitation
+of the camp. Even at the outlay of a comparatively heavy expense, the
+camp food supplies, including the dining table, should be screened off
+from flies. The garbage therefore will all be scrupulously buried, and
+it will be ascertained with certainty that the drinking water is free
+from disease organisms. Then, the boys may sleep on the ground, wallow
+in the dirt, splash in the water and mud as they please and return home
+in the best of health.
+
+6. _Exhibitions._--It has been found practicable to have the boys
+prepare during the season for coming together with a county exhibit,
+including a wide variety of things peculiar to their interests.
+
+This exhibition should be made as a big annual event, if possible, such
+as will attract all manner of persons and make friends for the county
+association. In its ideal arrangement the money expense will be kept
+down to a minimum. Also keep out the idea of premiums. The contest plan
+of promotion will some day receive its desired consideration and lose
+its place as a means of promoting social and spiritual well-being. As a
+matter of fact it fosters much envy, ill-feeling, and bitter strife and
+thus strikes at the root of the good-fellowship which you are striving
+to encourage. _But, urge every boy to bring something for the sake of
+the help he may contribute and let the honor of this service and the
+approbation of his fellows be his high reward._
+
+One boy may come with a mammoth pumpkin; another with a device of his
+own invention for catching ground squirrels; still another with a new
+method of tying a knot; another with a bushel of highly bred corn;
+others with farm and garden produce of the same attractive nature;
+others with wild grasses, curios, or geological specimens; others with
+the parts of a miniature menagerie. One boy may have caught a badger
+alive; another a coyote; another a jack rabbit; another a huge turtle.
+Another may bring a cage of rattlesnakes or a box full of snakes of all
+sorts; another a set of original plans and specifications--for an ideal
+farmhouse, or farm barn and surroundings; for making the well sanitary;
+for a milk house; for keeping flies out of the house or barn; a recipe
+for driving ants and other insects from the house. The boys in one
+family may come with a lot of samples of soil, showing how differently
+each must be treated for the same general crop results. Others may bring
+specimens of "cheat" and noxious weeds, and the like, with a scheme for
+destroying them. Another may have a plan for a patent churn or a
+labor-saving device in the kitchen.
+
+Thus there may be brought to the boys' fair an interesting and most
+instructive variety of objects, plans, and devices, all looking toward
+the improvement of home conditions. Such a gathering as this will bring
+not only the parents and other adults from the home county, but great
+flocks of outsiders will also come in and learn and become deeply
+interested in the affairs of the County Young Men's Christian
+Association.
+
+
+SPIRITUALITY NOT LOST SIGHT OF
+
+It ought to be easy for the average thinker to appreciate the fact that
+all the foregoing rough-and-ready work in the lives of the boys can be
+made a practical means of the salvation of their souls as well as of
+their bodies and intellects. Spiritual perfection is not reached at a
+bound. There must be much doing of the crude yet worthy things which
+grow naturally out of his inner nature before the boy can finally
+achieve a degree of spiritual development that may prove a permanent and
+fixed part of his adult life. Yes, there will be some Bible study, an
+occasional short prayer, and now and then a real sermonette in
+connection with the work of the organization, but much more frequently
+the Christian life and character will come as a sort of discovery in the
+boy's life and that through his own conduct.
+
+Through all this wholesome exercise of his better and cleaner interests,
+the youth will gradually be led away and kept away from those things
+which contaminate both the body and the spirit and introduce the
+individual to a coarse, debauched life. In other words, Christianity
+will be a thing achieved and that through the young man's efforts rather
+than a thing instantly caught in some emotional revival meeting only
+gradually to waste away in the months immediately following. One
+well-built specimen of Christian manhood--a character of the sort which
+the ideal work of the County Y.M.C.A. may finally construct--is worth a
+dozen of those suddenly converted men whose secret lives are so often
+embittered with the consciousness of backsliding and following ever
+after the old evil ways.
+
+It will be observed at a glance that in the foregoing outline there is
+an avoidance of the heavier work-a-day tasks and problems. It is the
+thought of the author that the boys have quite enough of such labor as
+it is and that the County Y.M.C.A. can do its best service if it
+provides a set of new activities of a more recreative sort. The central
+idea--second to the perfection of his spiritual nature--is that of
+giving the boy a larger amount of social experience through
+self-training in matters that will bring out his latent unselfishness
+and his self-reliance. The heavier problems of an economic sort suitable
+for discussion among the boys and the girls of the country districts
+will have due consideration in another chapter.
+
+In planning the various parts of the county work and the club life of
+the boys, there must be extreme care not to arrange for too many and too
+frequent meetings. It is especially to be desired that the boy do not
+acquire the runabout habit, even though he may in every case go to a
+desirable place. Therefore, in arranging the programs it will be seen to
+that the meetings are held somewhat infrequently, but that on each
+occasion the meeting be continued until some intensive work has been
+done. For example, it would be much preferable to have all or a major
+part of one afternoon and evening of the week for the exercises rather
+than to have brief evening meetings a number of times during the week.
+
+
+WORK IN A SPARSELY SETTLED COUNTRY
+
+The following statement will show what was achieved during the first
+year in the Y.M.C.A. of Washington County, Kansas, which has a rural
+population of about ten thousand people.
+
+_General Statement_:--
+
+  181 boys enrolled in Bible-study groups, meeting weekly.
+  35 men give time to the supervision and planning of the work.
+  236 boys attended ten boys' banquets.
+  51 out-of-town delegates attended the county convention.
+  175 men and boys attended the convention banquet.
+  161 boys took part in the relay race.
+  91 men and boys on baseball teams.
+  24 boys played basketball.
+  56 men attended 10 leaders' conferences.
+  65 men conducted one day financial canvass.
+  200 boys given physical examination.
+  26 took part in the annual athletic meet.
+  13 young men's Sundays conducted by secretary.
+  6000 miles (approx.) traveled by secretary.
+  283 citizens back of work.
+
+_Financial Statement_:--
+
+  Pledges unpaid from previous year  $120.25
+  Pledges for year                   1568.25  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+  Received during year               1386.15
+  Due unpaid pledges                  302.35  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+  Amount paid                        1352.89
+  Due unpaid                          298.00
+  Available balance                    37.61  $1688.50
+                                     -------
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Neighborhood Improvement Clubs. Professor E. L. Holton.
+    Agricultural Extension Bulletin, Manhattan, Kan.
+
+    Camping for Boys. H. W. Gibson. Association Press, New York.
+    Careful directions for camp life.
+
+    Training for Boys; Symposium. _Harper's Bazaar_, March,
+    April, August, September, November, 1910.
+
+    Keeping Home Ties from Breaking. E. A. Halsey. _World
+    To-day_, January, 1911.
+
+    Training Men to work for Men. E. A. Halsey. _World To-day_,
+    March, 1911.
+
+    The Organization and Administration of Athletics. Dr. Clark
+    W. Hetherington. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907, p. 930.
+
+    _Rural Manhood_, issue of June, 1910. Rural Leadership
+    Number.
+
+    Social Activities for Men and Boys. Albert M. Chisley.
+    Y.M.C.A. Press, New York. A valuable book covering a wide
+    variety of activities.
+
+    _Rural Manhood._ Henry Israel, editor. 50 cents per year. A
+    most valuable exponent of the County Y.M.C.A. work.
+
+    The Physical Life of the Boy. Dr. D. G. Wilcox. (Pamphlet.)
+    Address, Federated Boys' Clubs, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+_THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS OF THE YOUNG_
+
+
+No less urgent and divine is the call for spiritual aid and leadership
+in the rural districts to-day than was that which came to the apostle
+Paul of old in form of a vision and a voice crying, "Come over into
+Macedonia and help us." In the open country field, far removed from
+church or social center, is the demand for leaders and directors
+especially great. Men engage for a lifetime in an enthusiastic endeavor
+to amass wealth and to build up great business concerns. But the man or
+woman who heeds the call to go forth into the country districts and save
+the bodies and souls of the young--that person will not only experience
+exceeding great joy and enthusiasm in his work, but he will thereby lay
+up for himself in the memories of the redeemed a precious treasury of
+golden deeds.
+
+Country parents as a rule are not in a position to do the best things
+even for their own children, much less to go out as leaders of the young
+at large. They are sometimes lacking in the necessary means, more
+frequently too busy, and most frequently not sufficiently informed as
+to be fully awake to the meanings and possibilities of any such
+undertaking. However, in nearly every country neighborhood there is a
+man or woman, or both, who possess many of the big opportunities for
+enlisting in the service of the young. Those who have no small children
+of their own to care for would naturally be freest to get away from the
+present home duties. Then, some parents having children of their own not
+infrequently catch the inspiration and heed the call. At any rate, it is
+entirely fair and reasonable to assume that some one of the neighborhood
+could do it were there the disposition.
+
+As a means of arousing any such persons to attempt to do some
+constructive work among country boys and girls, the following detailed
+suggestions are offered. Those who feel at all called to undertake this
+service may be assured that the interest grows more intense with time
+and effort put forth, and that the joy of accomplishing something in
+behalf of the young people of one's own vicinity is perhaps unsurpassed
+by that of any other type of human endeavor. In the discussions to
+follow we assume that some farmer and his wife have heeded this divine
+call.
+
+
+PREPARATION FOR THE SERVICE
+
+Since very few are sufficiently versatile to undertake any and every
+kind of social work, perhaps the first step is that of choosing a
+definite line of action. And let the choice be in the direction of the
+chooser's leading social interest. As a means of preparation for
+efficient work a brief course of training is to be much commended. It
+may be found practicable to slip away from home during the winter months
+and take a farmers' short course in one of the agricultural colleges.
+Or, one may find the peculiar instruction and inspiration needed by
+attending a convention or conference of the ablest leaders
+representative of the work. One of the rural-life conferences now
+frequently held might be found ideal. Go prepared to take notes, to ask
+questions, and especially to obtain a large number of literary
+references.
+
+The use of helpful literature is most important at this stage. A
+magazine which admirably covers this particular field is _Rural
+Manhood_, published by the Association Press, New York City. Then,
+secure the report of the Country Life Commission, and a number of the
+latest works of a similar nature, some of which are listed below. Write
+to the Department of Agriculture at Washington for their bulletin on the
+organization of boys' and girls' clubs. Also from the extension
+department of the agricultural college may be obtained for the asking
+all available literature of this same general class.
+
+Now, make a careful survey of the neighborhood, or the larger field,
+with a view to finding out the specific conditions in relation to the
+chosen line of service. Make lists of names and ages of the boys and
+girls, including all other data of a helpful nature. Proceed with the
+thought that the work to be undertaken is not to be merely a means of
+entertainment, but of education for the young.
+
+
+WORK PERSISTENTLY FOR SOCIAL UNITY
+
+In his most instructive volume "The Rural Church and Community
+Achievement," President Butterfield says: "We are in great need in this
+country of an institution or institutions which have for their definite
+objective the study of the conditions and problems of farm home-life;
+not merely the matter of home management, or home keeping, but the
+fundamental relationships of the family to the development of a better
+community life in the rural regions." Now, let the newly enlisted social
+worker assume that he is to undertake something by way of bringing about
+a fuller integration and unity of the people of the neighborhood.
+
+Every new worker in the social field needs a word of warning against the
+rebukes and discouragements with which he may at first meet. To say the
+best, the neighborhood will doubtless be indifferent in regard to the
+newly proposed organization. But let the social worker go on
+persistently, unmindful of any such hindrance, even though scarcely a
+person in the neighborhood seems ready to join in the movement. In the
+typical case of valuable constructive work of this sort, it will be
+found at first that the masses are practically all opposed to the plan.
+However, as fast as it wins its way through unrelenting effort and
+unswerving devotion, the doubters and opposers will come over to its
+support. And after the movement has established itself reasonably well
+and achieved something worth while, the same people who once stood out
+will then fall enthusiastically into line and help with the undertaking.
+
+It will be impossible, of course, to point out definitely to the local,
+self-appointed leader just what plan of social endeavor to follow. Since
+there is such a great variety of conditions, it seems advisable here to
+make a somewhat extended list of possible lines of work in the rural
+districts.
+
+
+CORN-RAISING AND BREAD-BAKING CLUBS
+
+Perhaps among the easiest organizations to effect among the young people
+of any farm district are the clubs or contests in juvenile farm work and
+home economics. The beginning of such a purpose will consist of getting
+into communication with the extension department of the state
+agricultural college. After obtaining their literature and learning
+their methods of procedure, call the boys and girls together, asking
+their parents to come along. It may be found practicable to call a
+general meeting of the entire neighborhood, inviting old and young
+possibly to a basket dinner, and there to lay before them the plans of
+the organizations. While the contest in corn-raising or bread-baking
+has proved a marked success where tried, if possible arrange matters so
+that every earnest endeavor on the part of the young shall receive a
+suitable reward, not merely the winners of the first and second prizes.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
+
+(Courtesy of American Magazine.)
+
+FIG. 25.--Jerry Moore, the champion boy corn raiser of the United
+States. He raised 253 bushels on a single acre of ground.]
+
+It is usually an easy matter to secure funds for paying the way of the
+boys to the state-wide farmers' institute or the boys' institute usually
+held at the agricultural college during the holiday season. Provide that
+every boy who reaches a certain standard--say, that of raising so many
+bushels of corn on an acre of land--shall go at the expense of the fund.
+Likewise, organize the girls into a bread-baking club or something of
+the sort. Prizes may be offered for the best bread, but all the girls
+whose home-making work meets a certain fixed standard of requirement
+should have promise of a suitable reward. Perhaps they too may be sent
+without expense to themselves to a state conference on home economics.
+In case of these trips to the state meetings it will be necessary to
+appoint responsible chaperons for the boys and girls.
+
+
+OTHER FORMS OF CONTESTS
+
+It may be found advisable to start a good-roads contest among the boys
+of the home township, offering an attractive prize to the one who shows
+the best results at the end of a given period and a per diem payment of
+money to every boy who faithfully takes care of his half mile or
+quarter mile of public road.
+
+Then, there may be instituted on a small scale stock shows and poultry
+shows in the hands of the boys of the neighborhood. To this the girls
+too may come with any such thing as display specimens of their home
+sewing and fancy work, house plants, and the like. In fact, these
+exhibitions may gradually develop into a sort of neighborhood or
+township fair for the special benefit of the young. To this display may
+be brought, not only the items named immediately above, but the larger
+variety of things mentioned in the chapter on the Rural Y.M.C.A.
+
+
+THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE SCHOOL SITUATION
+
+Rural leaders will nearly always find many opportunities for improving
+the local school situation. But let the organizer keep unfailingly in
+view the high aims of all this rural work; namely, the awakening of a
+deeper interest in the affairs that normally belong to the neighborhood
+life, and the fuller measure of joy and contentment to result from every
+such achievement. So, there may be undertaken the redirection of the
+work of the country school. For example, bring forces to bear upon it
+that will result in the introduction of the study of elementary
+agriculture and the simple elements of home keeping and home sanitation
+therein. Work for a better class of teachers and a higher salary
+payment. Endeavor to have the length of the school term extended and
+the school attendance made more regular. Institute a series of
+red-letter days for the school during the year. It may be practicable to
+have a "parents' day," an occasion on which all will be invited to come
+out and join the pupils in a noonday lunch and learn more about the
+progress and the needs of the school. Provide a half-day for free and
+open discussion of school matters and if possible organize among the
+patrons a sort of "boosters' club."
+
+Another form of endeavor in behalf of the schools is that of striving
+for improvement of the high school facilities of the neighborhood.
+Perhaps there is not a high school within riding distance of the homes.
+Cannot one be instituted, say, for the township? Or, what can be done to
+improve the present neighborhood relations to the high school that may
+be already within reach? Is there a prohibitive tuition fee? Does the
+high school now in existence actually serve through its courses the best
+interests of young people who come in from the neighborhood? Again,
+perhaps it would be feasible to organize the grown boys and girls who
+have dropped out of the country school into a neighborhood group and
+provide a daily conveyance for taking them to and from the town high
+school By this means, many may be induced to go to school who are idling
+away the valuable winter months.
+
+During the last decade, what has been the trend of the young men and
+women who have gone from the home district to high school or college?
+Have any of the best of them returned to the farm? Or, have these
+institutions been a means of sending them away as permanent city
+dwellers? Does this thing need to continue? Cannot some movement be
+instituted for bringing about a radical change? So long as the country
+boys and girls attend the town high schools and there be required to
+take the old-fashioned classical courses--which have always served to
+introduce their minds to the city life and to the professional
+callings--the country districts will continue to be depleted of their
+best brains and energy.
+
+
+HOME AND SCHOOL PLAY PROBLEMS
+
+Start a movement in the interest of better provided play opportunities
+for the children of the neighborhood. The possibilities of enriching and
+extending the young life through the avenue of better play are just
+beginning to be understood. We have always accepted the theory that
+young children must have some time to play, but we have given little or
+no heed to the matter of providing for their play such apparatus as
+might furnish scientific contributions to the development of their
+characters.
+
+Make a brief inquiry throughout the neighborhood and you will perhaps
+find that not a single farm home has apparently given this matter any
+definite attention. Now, what playthings may easily be provided in such
+homes? After having determined that matter, begin a campaign of
+education of the rural parents. First, write to the Playground
+Association of America in New York City and ask for a list of their
+literature on play. From this source you will obtain pamphlets and
+larger volumes giving specific suggestions for installing rural play
+apparatus, and details as to dimensions, prices, and the like. Now, you
+are ready for work. Appeal to a centrally located family for their
+cooperation in establishing a model. Induce them to provide for their
+children a full set of the apparatus, seeing to it that the expense is
+kept down to the minimum. Nearly all of the materials of construction
+are lying about the ordinary farm home and need only to be assembled and
+put into place. Once you have established your model home playground,
+then invite your neighbors in to see it, perhaps making a sort of picnic
+or holiday occasion out of the affair. At any rate, you may be sure that
+the parents of the neighborhood will begin at once to copy the models
+and many will even improve upon them.
+
+Along with your efforts there may be necessary a campaign of instruction
+and admonition in relation to the play of the children. Many parents may
+be working their small boys and girls too hard and allowing not enough
+time for play. In this respect your persistent effort will in time show
+excellent results.
+
+Let us suppose that the farm home selected for the model playthings has
+at least one small boy and one small girl therein. Then, the following
+might be set up:--
+
+A swing, a seesaw, a sliding board or pole, a pair of rings, a trapeze,
+and a horizontal bar. Have all under shade if possible. Provide also a
+small play wagon and a cart or two, with a sand box for the small child.
+
+Inspect the district school in reference to play facilities and you may
+find nothing other than the bare ground with perhaps a baseball diamond.
+Here, then, is a rare opportunity for constructive work. Organize in
+your own way a boosters' club and provide play apparatus. In Chapter
+VIII you will find full details as to the equipment best suited for the
+purpose. Provide in every case that the expense be minimized. Nearly all
+of the apparatus may be constructed free of cost by interested persons
+in the home neighborhood or in the near-by village.
+
+
+A NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY
+
+Another very enticing line of endeavor for the rural leader is that of
+establishing the country library. Some one in the neighborhood has a big
+house, one room or more of which may conveniently be set apart for the
+purpose. Induce the owners of this house to clear up a room and remodel
+it, if need be, and make their home a sort of intellectual center for
+the district. Of course the schoolhouse or rural church may be available
+for the purpose, but the farm home will be better for a great many
+reasons, among them being the possibility of having the library open at
+all hours of the day so that books may be exchanged on the occasion of
+one's passing the place. Now, go after the well-to-do residents of the
+district and gather a fund for the library. Paint in glowing terms the
+visions you have of this thing when it has been set on foot. Declare
+your purpose as that of helping and uplifting the community life. Show
+the "close-fisted" resident that the establishment of a neighborhood
+library will attract desirable settlers into the district and improve
+prices of land and produce.
+
+After having obtained a small fund, consult the best authorities for
+advice in selecting the books. By all means avoid cheap stories and
+trash of every other sort. Since your work is in behalf of the young,
+obtain a few attractive and instructive picture books. There can
+probably be obtained a book which treats and illustrates fully the bird
+life of the local state, giving a brief description and pictures in
+their natural color. Young people may be very much attracted by
+authentic books of the nature-study class, including those descriptive
+of wild animals and of hunting and exploring tales. Consult the lists
+given under the chapter on the literature in the country home for
+additional titles and suggestions.
+
+If it be found difficult or impracticable to purchase books for the
+neighborhood library, then, the next best thing will be the traveling
+library. Communicate with the state library association and learn
+definitely what may be obtained from that source. Then, proceed to bring
+the best available volumes into the neighborhood. In the selection of
+the library do not forget the local interest. Secure every attractive
+volume that will help to make the boys and girls acquainted with the
+best meanings of their own community life and more interested in staying
+by the home affairs and building them up. Not the least among the
+valuable elements of the neighborhood library will be the periodicals,
+in the selection of which expert advice is recommended.
+
+
+HOLIDAYS AND RECREATION FOR THE YOUNG
+
+In an ably written article published in _Rural Manhood_ of January,
+1910, John R. Boardman, International County Work Secretary, says: "A
+new gospel of the recreation life needs to be proclaimed in the country.
+Rural America must be compelled to play. It has to a degree toiled
+itself into deformity, disease, depravity, and depression. Its long
+hours of drudgery, its jealousy of every moment of daylight, its scorn
+of leisure and of pleasure must give way to shorter hours of labor,
+occasional periods of complete relaxation and whole-hearted
+participation in wholesome plays, festivals, picnics, games, and other
+recreative amusements. Better health, greater satisfaction, and a
+richer life wait on the wise development of this recreative ideal."
+
+A brief survey of the neighborhood will doubtless show the lack of
+general method in dealing with the farm boys' and girls' holidays and
+vacations during the long summer months. Here, then, is apparent another
+field for constructive leadership. In proceeding to change the present
+situation, it may be well to gather a considerable list of authoritative
+statements like the one just quoted. Farm parents gradually fall into
+the habit of over-working their half-grown children. Now, if we can
+institute a custom of weekly half holidays for the young people of the
+neighborhood, a splendid work will be done in behalf of a higher
+community life.
+
+Begin work by selecting an attractive central location, and plan that
+the young, and the older ones, too, may come to this place one afternoon
+every week, or at least two afternoons every month, and have a good time
+generally. Games may be played, local clubs may meet in the shade of the
+trees, the sewing society and other groups of women having their
+interests served. The farmers' clubs may have opportunity for helpful
+exchange of ideas, while the little children may play and romp about the
+premises. Invite all to come early in the afternoon and bring an evening
+lunch to be enjoyed in common. Thus, you may give the young people who
+regard their everyday work as drudgery, such interest and inspiration
+as to tone up their lives noticeably for every hour of the long days of
+toil.
+
+
+MANY OVER-WORK THEIR CHILDREN
+
+In connection with your efforts in behalf of the holiday or weekly
+picnic, take up carefully the matter of the proper amount of work for
+the farm boys and girls of any given age. You will find such willingness
+on the part of parents to do the right thing by their children and a
+proportionate amount of ignorance as to what ought to be done.
+Therefore, you may be able to carry on most profitably to all a campaign
+of instruction in regard to such thing. You will, of course, first make
+out as best you can with the aid of all available literature, an ideal
+schedule of hours of work and play and recreation suitable for the boys
+and girls of the different ages.
+
+At the holiday picnic it may be found advisable to organize the boys
+into a club of their own and the girls, likewise, for the promotion of
+their several and mutual interests. Inspire all with your earnestness
+and enthusiasm and lead them to consider the latent possibilities of the
+neighborhood, of how it might be transformed into a place of great worth
+and attractiveness. At the same country picnic, look to the
+practicability of organizing into a club the tired mothers of the
+district. They are many. You will know them by their careworn looks.
+Create a sentiment in behalf of more frequent outings and more
+recreation for these women. Help them obtain literature relative to
+their own affairs, to exchange ideas and plans in behalf of their own
+betterment. Show them especially the possibility of quitting the work at
+stated times even though that work be less than half finished, and
+getting away from the tedium thereof--all in the interest of longer life
+for themselves and better service for their homes and families. Almost
+any sort of club which these mothers can be induced to attend will
+achieve the purpose desired.
+
+
+FEDERATION FOR COUNTRY LIFE PROGRESS
+
+Federations for country-life progress are now arising in many parts of
+the country. One of the first was organized in New England, under the
+leadership of President Butterfield. The Illinois movement may be
+described, as an example.
+
+The Illinois State Federation for Country Life Progress is composed of
+nearly half a hundred subordinate organizations. Their platform of ten
+principles given below sets forth a number of most important and
+practical purposes, as follows:--
+
+    1. Local country community building.
+
+    2. The federation of all the rural forces of the state of
+    Illinois in one big united effort for the betterment of
+    country life.
+
+    3. The development of institutional programs of action for
+    all rural social agencies. This means a program of work for
+    the school, another for the church, another for the farmers'
+    institute, and so on.
+
+    4. The stimulation of farmer leadership in the country
+    community.
+
+    5. The increase and improvement of professional leadership
+    among country teachers, ministers, and all others who serve
+    the rural community in offices of educational direction.
+
+    6. The perpetuation among all the people of country
+    communities of a definite community ideal, and the
+    concentrated effort of the whole community in concrete tasks
+    looking toward the realization of this ideal.
+
+    7. The recognition of the country school as the immediate
+    initiator of progress in the average rural community of
+    Illinois.
+
+    8. The study and investigation of country life facts and
+    conditions.
+
+    9. The holding of annual country life conferences.
+
+    10. The protection of this federation and of all country life
+    from any form of exploitation.
+
+
+THE VOCATIONS OF BOYS AND GIRLS
+
+A most commendable work for the rural social leader would be that of
+showing the possibilities of guiding country boys and girls more
+scientifically in the direction of their coming vocational life. Too
+often, there may be found a mistaken farmer who is attempting to force
+his boy to take up the farm life when as a matter of fact the boy is in
+no sense fitted for such vocation and should be trained for a distinctly
+different line of work. Then, on another occasion, you will meet a man
+who is farming simply because he has to do it, and who is over-anxious
+that his boy be guided in the direction of something else. The point
+especially to be emphasized here is that the parent cannot choose
+arbitrarily a vocation for his child. The native interests of the latter
+must be consulted again and again, while the child is growing up, and in
+the end the young person must decide the matter for himself.
+
+The world is full of wrecks of human character who are such largely
+because of the single fault of their never having been trained
+scientifically in a vocational way. So advance as best you can the idea
+that parents must be most patient in awaiting the development of the
+various instincts and desires in their growing children, and for the
+final decision of the latter in respect to a calling. It should be made
+clear that many of the best and ablest men in the world floundered about
+not a little in deciding upon the final choice.
+
+This very important matter of choosing a vocation for the young man and
+the young woman will be taken up in Chapters XVIII and XIX of this
+book.
+
+
+OTHER LOCAL POSSIBILITIES
+
+It will be understood that the possibilities of church and Sunday school
+work in a rural neighborhood are not intentionally slighted. Little is
+said in regard to them here simply because of the fact that there is a
+country-wide organization with well-directed local branches and with a
+flood of excellent literature constantly at work in building up the
+church and Sunday school life. The reader may be reminded, however, that
+this field still presents many excellent opportunities for serving the
+highest interests of the home community.
+
+The matter of purely social gatherings for the boys and girls is
+important. It will perhaps be found that they are running to cheap,
+degrading dances, either in the home neighborhood or in a near-by town.
+If the rural leader can break this thing up and substitute a literary
+club, a better form of social intercourse, or any other gathering, for
+the cheap dance and its resultant debauch, the effort will certainly be
+most commendable. It is not as a rule advisable to condemn and denounce
+these cheap affairs, but rather to begin at once a movement in the
+interest of the better substitute. Just as soon as the latter begins to
+take form, the young people will naturally discontinue their degrading
+affairs. Chapter XIII of this book will offer a more extended discussion
+of the social problems of country youth.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XX.
+
+FIG. 26.--An example of the little lonely school in the woods, a problem
+of the social worker. Not enough children to stimulate one another
+properly in the lesson-getting and play activities.]
+
+
+THE BOY-SCOUT MOVEMENT
+
+There is much to commend the boy-scout movement as a country
+organization. It must be thought of as an educative institution. In
+discussing its best meanings and possibilities, Professor E. L. Holton,
+of the Kansas State Agricultural College, says: "Education as used here
+means habits of health, of work, of thrift, of observation, and of
+research. It is habit that determines the health of an individual and
+the sanitary conditions of a community; the social and moral level of
+the worker and the quality of his work; the returns from the farm and
+the ideals of the farmer; a man's bank account and his insight into the
+secrets of his environment. Habit has its physical basis in the flesh,
+the blood, and the nerve cells. There must be actual first-hand
+experience and leadership hitched up with text-book knowledge in
+educating the boy. The old elemental instincts of adventure, pugnacity,
+gang life, and following leadership must be taken into account and made
+to work out into life-compelling desires."
+
+Before attempting the organization of the local Boy Scouts, one is
+advised first to send to the national organization and that of the
+state, if there be any, for literature and directions. The only caution
+which it seems necessary to give here is that there be connected with
+the conduct of the organization some serious problems and requirements
+and that it be not given over exclusively to merely doing wild and
+daring "stunts" and "hiking" about the country.
+
+
+RURAL BOY-SCOUTS IN KANSAS
+
+As an example of what is being done by way of organizing the rural boy
+scout movement, the Kansas plan under the direction of Professor E. L.
+Holton is here given:--
+
+The Agricultural College Council is organizing companies of Rural-Life
+Boy Scouts in all parts of Kansas. The aim of the Council is "a company
+in every community." There are 160,000 boys in Kansas eligible to
+membership. It seeks to encourage boys to learn the secrets of the
+prairies, the streams and the forests, and be able to read nature as
+well as books; to have a growing bank account, and to do some type of
+work better than it has been done by anyone else.
+
+During the month of July or August there is to be a five to ten days'
+Rural-Life Camp of Instruction in each county, which is to be attended
+by all companies of the county. This camp of instruction will be under
+the direction and management of the County Council. The program will
+consist of:--
+
+    1. Games and athletic contests.
+
+    2. Contest in judging farm crops and stock.
+
+    3. Naming birds, wild animals, fish, flowers, trees, shrubs,
+    etc.
+
+    4. Reporting on the savings bank accounts.
+
+    5. Contests in any other line of work carried on in the
+    county.
+
+    6. Talks on rural life subjects.
+
+The duties of the individual scout are as follows:--
+
+For the Third Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call ten common birds.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track ten wild animals.
+
+    3. Know by sight five common game fish.
+
+    4. Know in the fields ten wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline ten common trees
+    or shrubs.
+
+    6. Know the sixteen points of the compass.
+
+    7. Know the elementary rules for the prevention of typhoid
+    fever.
+
+    8. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than one-half acre of some farm or garden
+    crop. (The town boy may substitute a town lot.)
+
+    9. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $10.
+
+    10. Maintain a bank account of not less than $15.
+
+    11. Shall strive to graduate from the common schools.
+
+For the Second Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call twenty common birds.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track twenty wild animals.
+
+    3. Know by sight seven common game fish.
+
+    4. Know in the fields twenty wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline twenty common
+    trees and shrubs.
+
+    6. Know the elementary rules for the prevention of
+    tuberculosis.
+
+    7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than one acre of some farm or garden crop.
+    (The town boy may substitute town lots.)
+
+    8. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $20.
+
+    9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $20.
+
+    10. Read the books of the Young People's Reading Circle for
+    the eighth and ninth grades.
+
+For the First Class--
+
+    1. Know by sight and call fifty common birds of Kansas.
+
+    2. Know by sight and track all wild animals of Kansas.
+
+    3. Know by sight all the common game fish of Kansas.
+
+    4. Know in the fields twenty-five wild flowers.
+
+    5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline all common trees
+    and shrubs of Kansas.
+
+    6. Know by sight twenty-five common weeds.
+
+    7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest scientific
+    methods not less than two acres of farm crops. (The town boy
+    may substitute town lots.)
+
+    8. Own and care for according to the latest scientific
+    methods some type of pure bred domestic animal. (This
+    includes poultry.) Value not less than $25.
+
+    9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $25.
+
+    10. Shall read at least two of a list of books on rural life.
+
+The motto is: "Know the secrets of the open country."
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    See Rural Leadership Number of _Rural Manhood_, June, 1910.
+
+    Play for the Country Boy. Clark W. Hetherington. _Rural
+    Manhood_, May, 1911.
+
+    The Y.M.C.A. Socializing the Country. Farman S. Vance. _The
+    Independent_, April 15, 1911.
+
+    Holiday Plays. Marguerite Merington. Duffield & Co. Suitable
+    for rural leaders.
+
+    The County and Local Fair. L. H. Bailey. _The Country-Life
+    Movement_, 1911. This article contains many practical and
+    stimulating suggestions for making a successful county fair,
+    on a new basis.
+
+    Farmers' Institutes for Young People. Circular No. 99 of the
+    U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Free.) This circular gives a
+    large fund of details of all sorts of clubs and movements.
+
+    Kindergarten at Home. V. M. Hillyer. Baker-Taylor Company.
+    N.Y. Contains much constructive work.
+
+    The Young Farmer's Practical Library. Edited by Ernest
+    Ingersoll and published by Sturgis-Walton Company, N.Y. (75
+    cents each.) Contains some excellent matter. The following
+    volumes are included:
+
+      From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia T. Van de Water.
+      Neighborhood Entertainments. Renee B. Stern.
+      The Farm Mechanic. L. W. Chase.
+      Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde.
+      The Satisfaction of Country Life. Dr. James W. Robertson.
+      Roads, Paths and Bridges. L. W. Page.
+      Health on the Farm. Dr. L. F. Harris.
+      Farm Machinery. J. B. Davidson.
+      Electricity on the Farm.
+
+    County Superintendent J. F. Haines, Noblesville, Indiana, has
+    a fund of helpful data on agricultural fairs by young people.
+
+    The Extension of Industrial and Agricultural Education.
+    (Pamphlet.) Extension Department, University of Wisconsin,
+    Madison.
+
+    Children's Singing Games Old and New. Mari Ruef Hofer. A.
+    Flanagan Company. Chicago. Miss Hofer is an authority of
+    national reputation on the subject of play and games.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+_HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY_
+
+
+Over-work, poor pay, and little recreation are the agencies which
+annually drive thousands of good, promising youths from the rural
+districts into the cities, where their splendid native abilities for
+serving the world and society are most likely to become subordinated.
+All too often it is a case of a young man leaving the home place,
+surrounded by opportunities which he has not been allowed to avail
+himself of, and going into a place where he will take up the monotonous
+round of merely "holding a job." In the former position, under
+intelligent care and direction, he might have grown into a strong,
+self-reliant man, full of resources, endued with good purposes; and at
+last have taken rank among those who are lifting the race to higher
+things. In the position obtained in the city he is almost certain to
+find his surroundings badly cramped, his spontaneity largely restricted,
+and his power of initiative without a motive for its indulgence. In
+short, his city position will press him continually and insistently to
+the end that he reduce himself to a mere machine, or a mere cog in a
+great machine.
+
+
+SEE THAT THE WORK IS FOR THE BOY'S SAKE
+
+One of the means whereby rural parents may assist their boy to develop
+into that fullness of life which the latter's native abilities and
+excellent environment guarantee him, is to provide a scientific relation
+of the young life to the work which he may be required to perform. First
+of all, what is the proper way in which to regard the boy's work?
+Ordinarily, the farmer is inclined to think of the work rather than the
+worker, and to ask himself what he can put the boy at in order to make
+his services most profitable to the business. Now, no evil intention is
+charged here, but this erroneous point of view is almost certain to lead
+gradually to an abuse of the boy. Why not put the question in this way:
+How much work and what sort of work will be most conducive to the boy's
+present development and to his future welfare? The radical difference
+between the two positions may be readily seen. And while the latter may
+be less profitable in form of material and monetary gain, it will prove
+to be far more serviceable in the production of sterling manhood.
+
+It is not an easy matter to determine offhand as to the amount of work a
+boy of any given age should perform. Conditions vary greatly. The safest
+mode of procedure is to study the individual boy carefully. Let the
+parent first acquaint himself with the general principles of human
+development through the service of suitable literature, as recommended
+in a former chapter. Then, the boy's physical strength, his aptitudes,
+and his native interests should be taken into account. Among other aims,
+seek that of a happy adjustment of the boy to his work. Some of the
+tasks required of him will be and should be somewhat irksome, as a means
+of discipline. On the other hand, much of the work he does should be
+backed up by his hearty approval and good will.
+
+It is probably true that no boy is instinctively fond of work and that
+the average boy must be held to his tasks whether he chooses to perform
+them or not. But the final pleasant relations of the boy to his work can
+best be secured by means of counseling with him on the subject. Explain
+to the lad the fact that industry is the greatest factor in the world's
+progress and development. Point out to him instances of worthy men,
+young and old, who are faithful workers. Make him to see that he can the
+better become an honorable man through an intimate knowledge of labor.
+Point out to him instances of men who are failures in life, and others
+who are criminals, explaining--as statistics prove--that the majority of
+these delinquent persons were never trained during youth in the
+performance of any specific work. Show him if possible how even the
+wealthy person who has nothing important to do, is a burden to himself
+and a menace to society.
+
+
+NOT ENFORCED LABOR, BUT MASTERY
+
+As stated above, no natural boy probably takes up hard work willingly or
+voluntarily. Parents may as well accept it as their peculiar duty to
+direct and discipline their boys with required tasks. But after
+considerable persistent and conscientious enforcement of the boy's
+labors the parent is almost certain to be rewarded with the latter's
+manifest willingness and fondness in doing what was at first thought of
+as pain and punishment.
+
+It is a serious matter, however, to observe how many grown men there are
+who look upon their work with the dread and disfavor natural to little
+boys. One is inclined to wonder at this and at the cause of it. So far
+as can be learned by inquiry among workmen and those who dread their
+enforced labor, their view of the situations is about as follows, to
+render liberally the language of a stonemason-philosopher: "Work is
+something no man is naturally fond of. Every worker would quit if he
+could afford to and take life easy. If I had ten thousand dollars ahead,
+I would never work another day. Of course somebody has to work or we
+should all starve, but my advice to a boy is that he get a good
+education and thus learn how to make a living some other way."
+
+Here the parent who has true foresight in respect to his child's
+development is confronted with a serious problem. It is not merely a
+matter of teaching the boy to work, but rather that of teaching him to
+become master of his work in order that personal pleasure may finally
+come from the performance thereof. So, one must follow the boy most
+thoughtfully in the latter's initial steps toward satisfactory industry.
+While it is sometimes advisable to take him forcibly back to the place
+where he failed and even to enforce obedience and effort with the rod,
+it is most certainly the parent's duty to praise the small lad for his
+first light tasks well performed, and otherwise to show appreciation
+thereof.
+
+"It took me a year to get this boy down to business," said the proud
+father of a fifteen-year-old who had just won a second prize in a
+state-wide corn-raising contest. "During the summer of his sixth year I
+took him with me into the field on occasions when he could do something
+light and learn from it. But my chief plan was to train him in garden
+work. I gave him a small plot to tend and helped him lay it out and
+plant it. At first he showed great interest, but I knew that it was of
+the playful kind and that it would soon wane. Sure enough, in a short
+time he was dodging and slighting his garden work. Then, I began a more
+definite method. At morning I would instruct him very carefully what he
+must do for the day, and at each evening I required him to compare
+results and instructions with me. Punishment was necessary more than
+once, but slowly he began to catch my point of view."
+
+"I bought the boy's first spring radishes for table use and permitted
+him to spend half the money. This seemed to open his eyes. Later I paid
+him for his other produce. During the second season I emphasized such
+matters as carefulness in selecting seed and the arrangement and
+cultivation of the garden produce. Several of the neighbors expressed
+surprise and delight when they saw the attractive garden. This merited
+approbation was noticeably effective. Since that time I have had little
+trouble. I can give that boy any ordinary farm problem to-day and he
+will work it out most enthusiastically. He has learned the joy of
+mastery in his work."
+
+The foregoing somewhat lengthy statement is given with the thought that
+it may furnish illustrative material to others. It is a mistake to keep
+driving boys to their work "just because they ought to do it," as one
+stern father put the matter. But it is altogether fair and advisable
+that a series of rewards be offered. The youth must be made to feel that
+his work is to serve some worthy personal end. This well-trained boy's
+reward came gradually as follows: (1) parental approbation. (2) a money
+return. (3) the praise of the neighbors, (4) the joy of self-reliance
+and mastery.
+
+
+PROVIDE VACATIONS FOR THE BOY
+
+It is unreasonable to expect the growing boy to have the same vital
+interest in the work as that of his parents. The wise father will see
+to it that his youthful son has some outside incentive for work, as well
+as money payments and words of praise. Vacation periods and holidays
+judiciously placed will prove a splendid tonic for the working boy's
+mind. The schedule given below will indicate the relative amount of time
+that should be given to such recreative indulgences. Even in the matter
+of holidays there is a tendency of some fathers to regard them as so
+much stock in trade to exchange for the boy's extra effort. So, some
+farmers will map out more than a reasonable week's work and say, "Now,
+boys, finish that up by Saturday noon and you may quit." In such case we
+have mere exploitation of the boy's strength and energy in the interest
+of the work and the profits. The scheme will fall flat sooner or later
+and leave the boy still despising the work and mistrustful of his
+employer.
+
+The plan pursued by a prosperous farmer in dealing with his two sons may
+serve to illustrate a very good method. This thoughtful father reports
+substantially as follows:--
+
+"The work on our place is never ended, but whenever I find that the boys
+need a vacation they get it just the same. They are fourteen and sixteen
+and splendid help during the summer. I never permit them to work more
+than ten hours a day, while they are allowed a full half day off each
+week to use as they please, and about once each month they have an
+entire day to themselves. Also during the hot weather in the middle of
+the summer they have from three days to a week for some special outing.
+Last summer they camped out five days with some other good boys. It is
+my theory that the boys who are given such vacations will do more work
+and do it better than those who are not."
+
+The foregoing plan may seem to sacrifice the interests of the work, but
+in fact it really does not. After all, it is merely a question of the
+right point of view. Is the boy for the sake of the work, or the work
+for the sake of the boy? Answer the question conscientiously for
+yourself, dear reader. And may the boy be forever the gainer!
+
+
+A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF HOURS
+
+Obedience may be regarded as a pre-requisite for successful boy
+training. So, the first light tasks required of the small lad will be
+intended as merely a means of training him to obey and to feel the
+meaning of responsibility. No one has thus far seemed to think it worth
+while to attempt to prescribe for the work and play of children. How
+different in the case of the school requirements! Even in the district
+schools the thing is reduced to a system--_both the quantity and the
+quality of the work necessary for each age and grade are carefully
+scheduled_. Now, why not the same forethought in planning the necessary
+amount of the other exercises? And why not have this scheme made out by
+_highly trained experts_ as is the case with the school course? There
+seems to be no plausible defense for this traditional expensive
+oversight on the part of society.
+
+The schedule below is offered as merely schematic and possibly
+suggestive. In any given case there may be wide departures from it. But
+the thought is that of training the whole boy, and that for the sake of
+his own and society's future good.
+
+Age 4 or younger.--May be taught the nature of a required duty from
+being sent on an occasional small errand about the place. Practically
+all the time should be given to play.
+
+Age 5.--Use substantially the same methods as for age 4, but add the
+requirement of one regular light task daily and follow him up in the
+performance of it.
+
+Age 6.--Continue as above, adding to the required tasks slightly. If the
+lad now be taken to the field, he must go more in the spirit of play
+than of work. Of course he will learn much about farm matters at this
+age, but his activities will be largely spontaneous. Note the plan
+reported above.
+
+Age 7.--At this age, the boy should be required to do light chores at
+evening after school--such as carrying in wood and kindling and
+attending to the stock. Or he may help in the house. During vacation he
+may help for two to four hours daily with some easy tasks, preferably
+about the house. Of course there is much work about the barn and fields
+which is not too heavy for him.
+
+Age 8.--Some boys are put to plowing at this age, but such a thing is
+little short of criminal. Moreover, they should be held regularly to _no
+sort of work_ all day long at this age; that is, unless the parent
+desires to reduce his boy to a little old dried-up man before the age of
+twenty is reached, and perhaps drive him from home.
+
+Age 9.--Intermittently half-day or all-day tasks may now be imposed;
+provided the lad be taken along as a mere helper and may, about
+two-thirds of the time, either play at his work or regard it in the
+light of a playful pastime. Do not work the joyousness and spontaneity
+out of him at this young age.
+
+Age 10.--An average of five hours solid work per day is all that the
+10-year-old farm boy should be required to do. Much play and recreation
+of the rougher sort should supplement it. The desire to construct
+something with tools is now strong and should be indulged. Or, see that
+he has a pony to ride as he hurries about the place in the performance
+of his many errands.
+
+Age 11.--Increase the required tasks about one hour per day with similar
+treatment as for age 10. This is the age for training the boy to be a
+sort of "page" in service of his mother and sister.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXI.
+
+FIG. 27.--A tennis court in connection with the country boys' camp.
+There should be more of these.
+
+FIG. 28.--A country play festival. We cannot answer rightly the
+question, How much work for the country boy? and at the same time
+neglect to provide for his play.]
+
+Age 12.--Many 12-year-old boys are required to do a man's work every
+day. But such a thing is done in the interest of the work and the
+profits and not for the sake of the boy. A good way to measure his worth
+at this age is to see that he does not earn more than half as much as
+the full-grown man. Give many half-holidays. His interest in fishing,
+rowing, swimming, and the like, needs much indulgence.
+
+Age 13.--From this age to 15, watch the boy for the beginning of
+adolescence and be unusually careful not to over-work him. Most of his
+bodily strength must go into making new bone and muscle. Frequent
+intervals of rest and relaxation should be the rule, together with
+avoidance of too long and too heavy a day's work. Even permit some crops
+to be lost rather than abuse the boy.
+
+Age 14-16.--This is the time to begin to interest the boy in working to
+serve his own ends. His social instincts will now appear strong and he
+will desire many new possessions not hitherto thought of. Therefore,
+adjust his work to these new interests and lead him to feel as much as
+possible that he is working for his own advantage. There is still danger
+of over-work. So see to it that rests and vacations with opportunities
+for social experience are frequent. It is a matter for parental concern
+if the farm boy be not able to return to his labors at the beginning of
+each new day with freshness of spirits and overflowing energy.
+
+
+THINK OUT A REASONABLE PLAN
+
+Finally, the farmer is urged to take up the matter for consideration
+early and make out what seems a reasonable plan of relating the boy to
+his work, and then to adhere persistently thereto. It has been charged
+repeatedly that the typical well-to-do farmer works his wife and
+children hard all day and until late bed time in the evening; that heavy
+chores are piled upon the boys after they have already worked overtime
+in the field; that they are routed out at four o'clock every morning,
+when they go half asleep and moaning to their work again.
+
+If the foregoing accusation be at all true, its truth must certainly be
+the result of carelessness and ignorance of human rights, and not
+premeditative inhumanity and criminality as it seems to be! The reading
+of good farm literature, together with some intensive study of books and
+periodicals on the care and management of children--these will most
+certainly prove corrective agencies of some of the abuses named herein.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Standards in Education. Arthur H. Chamberlain. Chapter III,
+    "Industrial Training: Its Aim and Scope." American Book
+    Company.
+
+    Child Labor and the Republic. Homer Folks. National Child
+    Labor Committee, N.Y.
+
+    Teaching the Boy to Work. (Pamphlet.) Wm. A. McKeever.
+    Published by the author, Manhattan, Kansas.
+
+    Half Time at School and Half Time at Work. F. P. Stockbridge.
+    _World's Work_, April, 1911. An interesting experiment at the
+    University of Cincinnati.
+
+    Care of the Child. Mrs. Burton Chance. Chapter X, "The
+    Awkward Age." Penn Publishing Company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+_HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL_
+
+
+Imagine a wedding scene in a rural home. The only daughter, a young
+woman of ideal age for marriage, is joining her heart and her hand, for
+weal or for woe, to those of a young man of suitable character. But
+strange and unexpected as it may seem, there are many tears on the part
+of the immediate relatives of the girl. Her parents are manifesting the
+strange emotion of solemnity at a time when gaiety might be expected.
+Why is it? you ask. The whole situation has an interesting and inspiring
+history. It is simply this: During all her years the parents of this
+girl have watched her grow up, through infancy, childhood, maidenhood,
+and finally into the full maturity of a woman; and every stage of her
+growth has been carefully safe-guarded by them. They have made the home
+life and the home work serve her needs and purposes in a most beautiful
+and instructive manner. They seem to have attempted at all times to put
+into their daughter's life just such experience as would become a
+helpful part of her growing character. And what a reward! What a
+splendid satisfaction to the worthy parents to be able to contribute to
+society such a product of their affectionate care and training!
+
+
+A BALANCED LIFE FOR THE GIRL
+
+Should we follow it out, the biography of the good young woman mentioned
+above would teach many a valuable lesson to the parents of other
+girls--would teach them that a growing girl has her specific needs and
+her inherent rights, which must be provided for by her parents through
+the proper kind of directing and caretaking. A certain amount of
+restraint, of work, of play, of recreation, of social experiences, of
+practice in self-dependence, of opportunity for service of others--yes,
+a certain amount of all these things must be conscientiously supplied
+for the life of the growing girl so that she may develop into a
+well-rounded character.
+
+Parents are not accused of intentional wrong to their daughters. Such
+cases are rare. The chief sins against the daughters of the rural homes
+are the sins of neglect, of indifference, and of ignorance as to what
+were necessary to be done. So what we may accomplish in this chapter is,
+first to arouse parents to an appreciation of the seriousness of the
+problem before them; and second, to offer some specific aids to the
+better achievement of the task of bringing up a girl to the rural home.
+
+It is a well-established principle in plant propagation that certain
+nutrient elements must be present in the soil before growth will go on
+properly. It does not satisfy the needs of the plant for some of the
+chemical substances to be present in large amount if the others be
+absent. There must be a sort of balanced ration for the vegetable life.
+Similarly in case of that tender plant of the household, the young girl;
+she can be kept alive on work and study alone, but for beautiful and
+symmetrical growth other elements of character-nourishment are
+necessary. What are they? The reader is referred to Chapter I for a
+general list.
+
+The hurry of work and the isolation of the ordinary country home tend to
+foster an over-serious disposition in girls. There is too little to
+provoke a smile and not half enough practice in smiling. Laughter is
+also too infrequent. A boy may grow up habitually stern and sedate and
+yet be able to fight his way through a successful manhood. But with the
+girl it is different. Her habit of smiling and of being pleasant and
+agreeable may prove to be one of her most valuable charms. So, the early
+and continuous training of the girl in sociability must be considered
+among the parental duties to her; and that by encouraging her to be
+sociable at home and by providing that she have frequent companionship
+with others of her age.
+
+
+WORK BEGINS WITH OBEDIENCE
+
+One of the initial steps in the training of a child is that of securing
+a willing obedience, a habitual performance of required tasks and
+duties. It may prove an easy matter to drive the girl to the work. But
+how about the problem of teaching her to take up her daily tasks
+willingly and with a joyous heart? Girls are little different from boys
+at this stage of their education. They do not take naturally and fondly
+to work. They will slight and neglect it. Worse than that, if untrained
+in faithfulness to household duties, they will lounge about the place or
+run much in society and allow their mothers to work themselves slowly to
+death--and scarcely seem to realize what is taking place.
+
+Similarly as in case of the boy, some forcing, some rebuke, and
+occasional punishment will be necessary to initiate the girl into the
+work habit. But shortly obedience and willingness will come, and with
+them a deeper consciousness than is manifested in her young brother.
+After that, the danger of over-work will soon begin to be apparent to
+the watchful mother, and be guarded against.
+
+Habit formation is a prominent factor in the first lessons of obedience
+in work. It will be highly advisable to start everything right. After a
+few instances of slighting one kind of work or expending too much energy
+upon another kind the young character begins to take on these faults
+permanently. Many women scrub floors and wash dishes unto their death.
+Others perform these endless tasks quite as well "in a jiffy" and go on
+their way singing. Why is this? Is it not a matter which the mother
+should think about most seriously in relation to the training of her
+daughter?
+
+
+WORKING THE GIRLS IN THE FIELD
+
+Is there any justification for requiring a girl to work in the field
+with the men and boys? Many girls are doing so, whether required or not.
+Careful consideration of the matter seems to bring out a few
+suggestions. The farm girl while a child under ten years may accompany
+the father or the brothers into the field and there be permitted to do
+some light work occasionally, provided she regard it in a semi-playful
+way. On very rare occasions, when older, she may be rightfully called on
+to drive a rake for a day or take some similar part of the work in order
+to help prevent the loss of a valuable crop.
+
+But the practice followed by some farmers, of often requiring their
+daughters to do a man's work in the field, and excusing the fault with
+the thought that it is for the sake of laying up wealth for her future
+enjoyment--that is abominable and should be prohibited by law. Among
+other objections, it is probably most hurtful to the young woman's pride
+and self-respect to be forced to perform farm labor. And then, during
+such time as she works in the field her much needed opportunities for
+the practice of the womanly arts and refinements are slipping away.
+
+Of course we should not take away from the country-reared woman the
+poetic sentiment about the days of her childhood when she helped rake
+the hay and drive the cattle home, "just for fun."
+
+
+SOME SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS
+
+It is difficult, of course, to lay down specific rules here, because
+every case is a special one. But nearly all intelligent parents can
+easily determine whether or not they are fair to their girls. It would
+seem reasonable that in addition to the affection and interest properly
+bestowed upon her in the home, the daughter should have at least the
+same measure of value--money value--put upon her work as is the rule
+with the hired helper. Certainly no worthy parent would ask her to work
+for a smaller sum.
+
+Too many of these good, promising girls are cramped and limited in their
+lives until the self-pride is crushed well-nigh out of them. Often such
+young women will be seen moping about in a stooped attitude of body,
+stiff and awkward in their manners, lacking in self-confidence and in
+that beautiful grace and ease of movement which mark the well-developed
+young woman of twenty years. All of this is more or less indicative of
+parental disregard and mistreatment--indicative that some one has
+cheated her out of the time that should have been allowed for rest and
+recreation and social improvement and given her in exchange an
+over-amount of grinding toil and enforced seclusion--_all for the sake
+of the work and the profits_.
+
+It is a singular fact that so many country mothers make no provision for
+throwing extra safeguards around their young daughter during the monthly
+period of physical drain and weakness. It could probably be shown that
+her lowered vitality and the increased susceptibility to fatigue at this
+time make almost complete rest and relaxation highly advisable. It is
+also most probable that the strain of work and the exposure to inclement
+weather, so often allowed during the monthly period, are the incipient
+causes of life-long weakness and disease.
+
+
+DO YOU OWN YOUR DAUGHTER?
+
+There are still not a few parents who are possessed of the old-fashioned
+idea that their children belong to them, that they have a proprietary
+right in their own sons and daughters. Just now there is thought of a
+father who is intelligent, in many ways above the average man, but who
+seems to regard his twenty-three-year-old daughter as a sort of chattel.
+Being a widower, he needs her services, so he would employ her at the
+least possible wages, or none, to take charge of the home, rear the two
+or three smaller children, and cook and keep house for himself and three
+or four hired men. The best excuse that may be offered for this man's
+attitude toward his daughter is sheer ignorance of the true meaning of
+the situation. But such treatment of a mature daughter is little short
+of cruelty. This young woman should have every possible opportunity just
+now to prepare herself for the future. Her conduct for the present may
+even have the appearance of being somewhat selfish in order that her
+future well-being and that of those dependent upon her may be
+safe-guarded.
+
+Further details of the foregoing case need not be given. The issue to be
+made out of it is this: The parent who is doing the fair and square
+thing by his daughter not only trains her to work and then safeguards
+her life against an over-amount of work, but he also sees to it that the
+labor she performs is contributive to her enjoyment, to the
+strengthening of her character, and to the perfection of her life for
+the future. Parents are justified in using every possible means as
+contributory to the future well-being of their growing daughters, and
+all this for the sake of the generations yet unborn. Thus, perhaps
+without realizing the fact at all, the former may return to the race
+life that measure of assistance which they themselves received.
+
+
+DIFFICULT TO MAKE A SCHEDULE
+
+It is difficult to make out a schedule of hours for the growing girl as
+we did for the boy, but the former chapter may be taken as a general
+guide. As with the boy, so with the girl, the first step in discipline
+is that of securing a willing obedience. Then the tasks may be assigned
+in accordance with the girl's age and strength. There is no good reason
+for attempting to get work out of the child through a make-believe
+policy of play. Children had better be made to understand from the first
+that the world we live in is constructed largely through work; and that
+labor is honorable and may even be made pleasurable.
+
+"I should rather do the work myself than be bothered with trying to get
+the children to do it," is a very common expression, and one which
+indicates an erroneous idea of the problem we are considering. So long
+as parents put their children at the tasks merely for the sake of
+getting the tasks done, the children will suffer as a consequence. But
+if the thought of the child's need of the discipline coming from work be
+uppermost, then, the results are likely to be wholesome.
+
+
+TEACH THE GIRL SELF-SUPREMACY
+
+One of the greatest problems of the future of the race is involved in
+the fact that many thousands of the best young women in the land--young
+women who are well fitted to be the mothers of a better race of human
+beings than we now have--are choosing an independent calling for
+themselves. It is the author's belief that one of the most tragic
+experiences known to any considerable portion of the American people
+is this gradual starvation of the maternal instinct usually necessary in
+the case of the well-sexed young woman of the class just mentioned.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXII.
+
+FIG. 29.--An industrial exhibit in a country school. If the boys and
+girls could enjoy frequently the refining experience of having their
+work observed by approving eyes, their appointed tasks would seem
+lighter.]
+
+And yet much of this fatal choice of an independent vocation on the part
+of many young women doubtless results from bad management of the growing
+girl. In too many country homes especially, the work is complete master
+of the housekeeper and not the converse, as the case should be. As a
+result, thousands of good women who ought to be in the pink and prime of
+life are going pathetically to the only rest which the conditions seem
+to allow--the grave. It is an awful thing, this wreck of so many good
+lives through over-work. Under such conditions, may we reasonably
+censure the many young women who foresee such a fate as a possibility
+for themselves and avoid it through choice of an unmarried life and
+independent support?
+
+Girls are more readily enslaved to work than boys. It is comparatively
+easy to teach a young woman to work, but it is an extremely difficult
+matter to teach her when and how to quit work. Here, then, is the point
+whereat we would center the attention of the parents of the country
+girl. Make her mistress of her work. Develop in her by actual concrete
+lessons the ability to stop and rest or take recreation at the necessary
+time, even though the work be not half done.
+
+
+SUMMARY
+
+1. Give the girl a trifling daily task at four or five years of age,
+merely for the sake of discipline. See to it, however, that her young
+life be occupied chiefly in play and enjoyment and outdoor recreation.
+
+2. Gradually increase the amount of work required, but always with an
+eye single to the girl's physical growth and character-development. Some
+definite thing to do as a regular daily requirement will prove most
+helpful.
+
+3. Continue throughout the daughter's growing years to provide for her
+pleasure. Her schooling, her personal belongings, her social advantages,
+and the like, must all be made to serve the purpose of making her life
+in the home a happy one. As she grows in strength and years, she will
+assume the increased amount of work with willingness and even with
+pleasure, provided the assigned duties be vitally related to her present
+purposes and her life interests.
+
+4. Moreover, country parents must learn to think of themselves as first
+of all engaged in bringing up their children for a better human society;
+and secondly, as engaged in farming and housekeeping. If this point of
+view be held to persistently, the crops may often suffer and the
+housework frequently remain unfinished, but the vital interests of the
+boys and girls will continue ever to be served.
+
+5. Finally, let us continue to appreciate the value of outings and
+vacations as potent factors in relieving the drudgery of work about the
+country household. Women's work in the country home naturally calls for
+much isolation and seclusion. The pre-adolescent girl should be taken
+out of the farm home once or twice per week during the summer vacation.
+It is good for her to go with her mother to the town market and to the
+women's club meetings. As soon as she enters young womanhood, a square
+deal for the girl who helps in the home will call for a weekly outing of
+some kind and a careful provision for her social needs. All of this
+outside intercourse will serve to quicken the body and the intellect of
+the girl as she goes daily about the household duties, and to give her
+
+  "Thoughts that on easy pinions rise
+  And hopes that soar aloft to the skies."
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    The author has been able to find little printed matter of
+    worth on the important problems outlined in this chapter. The
+    industrial training of the country girl is a neglected
+    subject. It seems to have been taken for granted that she
+    needed none.
+
+    Sex and Society. W. I. Thomas, pp. 149-175, "Sex and
+    Primitive Industry." University of Chicago Press. Shows in
+    outline the emancipation of women from the bondage of work.
+
+    Growth and Education. John M. Tyler. Chapter XII, "Manual
+    Training Needed for Girls." Houghton Mifflin Company.
+
+    Mind and Work. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter II, "The Habit of
+    Success"; also Chapter XIII, "The Need of Adequate Work."
+    Doubleday, Page Company.
+
+    Motive for Work. Margaret E. Schallenbeyer. Annual Report
+    N.E.A. 1907.
+
+    _Wallaces' Farmer._ Des Moines, Iowa. Weekly. This periodical
+    prints many articles, editorial and contributed, which
+    discuss the subjects treated in the foregoing chapter.
+
+    The Mother of the Living. Mrs. Catherine Barton. Published by
+    the Author. Kansas City, Mo.
+
+    The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter VIII, "The Purpose
+    of Life." Forbes & Co., Chicago.
+
+    Life's Day. William L. Bainbridge, M.D. Chapter VIII, "The
+    Irresponsible Age." Frederic A. Stokes Company. N.Y.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+_SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND GIRLS_
+
+
+We have been exceedingly slow in realizing the social needs of our
+children, in the usual instance depending on chance conditions to
+determine the matter for us. The city and the rural communities present
+a striking contrast in this respect. It does not seem possible that both
+can be right, while there is much to support the opinion that both are
+wrong. That is to say, in the city community the majority of the
+children are allowed to spend too much time in the company of others. As
+a result, they take on social manners and customs in a mere formal way
+and by far too early for the good of their character-development. The
+city ripens young life too fast. It produces the manners and refinements
+of adult life before the child becomes matured mentally. In the ordinary
+rural community there is not enough social experience for the young; and
+hence, a certain amount of crudeness, awkwardness, and lack of
+refinement tend to linger permanently in the character.
+
+
+A HAPPY MEAN IS NEEDED
+
+What seems necessary, therefore, is the establishment of a social life
+which will be a compromise between the excess of the city and the
+deficit of the country. So far as can be learned, very little has been
+achieved in the matter of establishing just such a social order in the
+rural communities as will tend to develop the lives of the boys and
+girls in an ideal, symmetrical way. We may not feel very certain as to
+just how this ideal juvenile society should be constructed.
+Nevertheless, an attempt will be made to sketch in this chapter a
+working plan therefor. Some may see fit to adapt it, while others may
+improve it through practice.
+
+What especially needs to be thought of in the development of any normal
+young life is the problem of rounding out the character on all sides.
+There are certain fundamental character-forming experiences and
+disciplines, such as work, play, recreation, and social intercourse.
+Many parents seem to be possessed of the idea that they can develop
+their children through play and social training alone. Others seem to
+believe that hard work and plenty of it is all that is necessary for the
+development of a substantial character in the young. Still others appear
+to allow their boys and girls to roam at will and to indulge them only
+in the recreative experiences. But how indefensible the idea that anyone
+should try to find permanent joy and satisfaction through recreative
+experiences without first having had as their counterpart the experience
+of work and the responsibilities that pertain thereto!
+
+So, again, it may be contended that there is a happy mean between the
+over-work and the absence of social experience so common in the farming
+communities and the lack of work and the extreme social excitement that
+so often obtains in the life of the city child.
+
+
+A SOCIAL RENAISSANCE IN THE COUNTRY
+
+There is becoming more and more apparent the necessity of not only a
+revival of the social life in the country, but also the demand for its
+reconstruction. It is especially to be desired that the reorganization
+be effected under the guidance of sound principles of psychology and
+sociology. That is, it must be based on the fundamental fact of the sex
+instinct so prominent during the adolescent period, and the further fact
+of the imperative demand at this time for a large amount of social
+intercourse. How differently this point of view persistently held will
+shape the matter as compared with the older ideal of merely "giving the
+young folks a good time"! Yes, the social life of adolescent boys and
+girls has its source in the sex instinct then so predominant. It is not
+therefore to be viewed as a piece of superficial sentimentality, but
+rather as a profound law of nature.
+
+As suggested by two or three of the preceding chapters, there may be
+organized a social center in the church, or other such centers may
+develop independently through the leadership of some mature persons. But
+instances of this class of effective organization are as yet few and
+far between. Meanwhile, the young are growing up and their present
+social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers cannot wait for
+neighborhood movements; and so the parents of the children requiring the
+social life must themselves take the initiative in the matter.
+
+
+CONDITIONS TO GUARD AGAINST
+
+Before proceeding to a detailed outline of various plans for supplying
+the social needs of rural young people, it may be well to point out a
+few of the pitfalls to be guarded against. In reference to the latter,
+it is not the purpose to advise parents to try to place their children
+in an exclusive social set. Far from that. The purpose is rather the
+converse; namely, to urge parents to attempt to build up good, clean
+characters in their boys and girls and yet permit the latter to mingle
+freely with common humanity. An aristocracy in the towns and cities is
+bad enough and a thing wholly out of harmony with the best and highest
+interpretation of our national life; but an aristocracy in the country
+neighborhood is an abomination.
+
+But while the so-called best families must think of their young as
+growing members of the entire social community and not as belonging to
+an exclusive set, there is nevertheless great need of constant
+watchfulness in respect to certain evils that always threaten the lives
+of farmers' sons and daughters.
+
+1. _The social companionships of girls._--Of course it must be admitted
+that there is frequently present in the country neighborhood some vile
+or wicked young character whose influence is very pernicious. On one
+occasion this person may appear in the guise of an exemplary young man,
+smooth in manners, stylishly dressed, and apparently interested in the
+best affairs. But as a matter of fact, he may be secretly an agent for
+some infamous institution in the city. The records show that thousands
+of country girls have been enticed away to the cities by such characters
+only to meet an untimely and awful fate. The parents of the country girl
+should therefore know who the young man is with whom she keeps company.
+Usually it is a comparatively easy matter to test his worth. If he have
+no fixed local attachment in a home, and no permanent business relations
+in the community, he may be regarded with suspicion at least, and may be
+compelled to furnish evidence of his moral integrity.
+
+Another type of the young country man unworthy of the company and
+companionship of the young woman is the one who is known by the men of
+the community as being habituated to the use of vile and indecent
+language, or to the practice of drinking intoxicants. If such be among
+his known characteristics, the evidence is decidedly unfavorable, making
+him unsuitable as a social companion of the country girl. It is
+reasonable to predict that he will never change his ways very
+radically, and especially that he will not develop into a desirable life
+companion for the daughter. Some good parents make the fatal blunder of
+allowing their girl to keep company with such a coarse-grained young man
+simply because he is so "good hearted," and "means well," and the like.
+To say the least, a depraved social taste will gradually develop in the
+girl's life if she continue in such company.
+
+Another contamination for the country girl sometimes results from the
+depraved young woman who has drifted into the neighborhood. The girl
+herself will be in the best position to detect such a type, as the
+latter will be marked by her coarse manners when in the presence of the
+girls, and by her practice of discussing obscene matters in private
+conversation with them. This is the situation in which the innocent
+young girl's mind may become forever poisoned and her wholesome faith in
+humanity entirely too much unsettled.
+
+2. _Bad companionships for boys._ Similar warnings as those given above
+need to be sounded with reference to the young country boys, and others
+as well. Farm boys are necessarily much in the company of men of very
+common tastes and low ideals. They hear not a little evil conversation
+and profanity, as it is used by such men. As a result, there will be
+need of much constructive teaching at home. Admonitions, warnings, and
+advice will be necessary.
+
+In every instance it is well for the parents to remind the boy of the
+great interest they have in his welfare, of how deeply he may grieve
+them by taking up any of the evil practices in question, and of the high
+ideal which they hold in mind for his future.
+
+Farm parents will need to keep up an intimate and frank exchange of
+ideas with their youthful son on the general subjects discussed in this
+chapter. They may ask him to repeat all he has heard and to relate all
+he has seen, good and bad, they then offering their corrections and
+admonitions. The especial danger is that the boy may acquire evil forms
+of speech, pernicious ideas for his secret thoughts, and a too low
+estimate of the worth of humanity. The vile companion is especially
+inclined to make the youth believe that there is no purity of character
+among girls and women--a most lamentable state of mind for a boy or a
+man of any age.
+
+The boy in the country is not only very much in danger of having his
+mind contaminated by the evil speech and the evil misinformation
+mentioned above, but there is always the possibility of his being
+enticed by some older and depraved companion into the company of evil
+women. Strange to say, there are a few men who seem to plan deliberately
+this form of downfall for innocent boys and to regard the success of
+their vile plot in the light of a mere joke. It is perhaps a fault of
+society that such men are permitted to run at large. And it is
+especially the fault of fathers if such men keep company with their
+boys. No matter how excellent the family history, how well-born the boy
+may be, and how carefully he has been admonished, there is always some
+danger of his yielding to an evil sex temptation--a situation which the
+parent should always be watchful about and ready to meet.
+
+3. _Secret sex habits._--It is probable that country boys are more prone
+to secret perversions of their sex life than are city boys. The enforced
+solitude of the former and the increased opportunities for such secret
+evil may be accountable for the difference. In any event, there is
+necessity of constant watchfulness, and that especially until the son
+has reached comparative maturity of the physical body. The danger is at
+its height at the beginning of the adolescent period, fourteen to
+sixteen years of age. But the preparation for meeting the possible sex
+perversion should be begun very early and consist in frank talks and
+admonitions. The small boy's questions about the origin of life must be
+answered frankly but only to the extent of imparting to him enough
+information to satisfy his present curiosity. Thus to satisfy his
+childish curiosity will prove a means of counteracting the evil
+influences of the bad companionships referred to above. Then, the youth
+needs to be shown some instances of the ruinous effects of sex
+perversion in boys and men, together with the inculcation of the idea
+that any such evil practice will cut off the possibility of his
+realizing the high standards of moral character set for him. It is well
+also to remember that prevention of the boy's misuse of his sex life is
+comparatively easy and that cure is extremely difficult.
+
+4. _The so-called bad habits._--When we speak of the "bad habits" among
+boys and men we are inclined to think of swearing, smoking, and the use
+of intoxicants. Without thought of defending the practice of profanity,
+we may say that it is often acquired in an innocent fashion and that it
+ordinarily implies no conscious or intentional evil. That is, it is
+usually not so bad in its actual analysis as it sounds to the listener.
+Moreover, it is a habit which many boys take up and afterwards
+discontinue when once they have set up for themselves high standards of
+manliness.
+
+With juvenile smoking the case is different. Without the thought of
+offending the adult smoker or defending adult smoking, we may say with a
+high degree of certainty that the use of tobacco is extremely hurtful to
+growing boys. It weakens and deranges the organic processes, leaves its
+deleterious effects in the throat, eyes, and lungs, and breaks down the
+natural constitutional defense so essential in time of such diseases as
+pneumonia and typhoid fever. On the mental side, tobacco lessens the
+boy's ability to study. Very wide investigations have shown that the
+habitual smokers among school boys rank low in scholarship; that they
+are prone to fail in their classes and quit the schools; that almost
+none of them take high rank as students. The moral effects are even
+worse. In times of temptation the young boy who smokes is more inclined
+to yield and to choose the worse form of conduct instead of the better.
+He lacks especially that fine sense of inner worth so necessary for the
+one who would succeed in arousing his own moral courage sufficiently to
+withstand the temptations that naturally beset young life. The rural
+parents will not of course despair about the boy or turn against him
+should they discover that he has secretly become confirmed in the use of
+tobacco. There are still possibilities of his development into a
+substantial character; but because of his smoking the problem becomes a
+much more involved and difficult one.
+
+All that has just been said in reference to tobacco may be emphasized
+many fold in respect to intoxicants. To allow a growing boy to begin the
+use of intoxicating drink in any form seems to be wholly indefensible.
+However, if there are open saloons in the adjoining town or city, even
+the best country boys are always somewhat in danger of taking the first
+false step. Rural parents must not be satisfied with the thought that
+their boy is "too good" to take up such a thing; they must be assured
+that he is not doing so. Now, the only way to obtain such assurance is
+by means of keeping in intimate touch with the boy and his
+movements--by knowing when and where he goes, why he goes there, and
+whom he meets in the various places visited on his rounds. Thus, he may
+be saved from a life of debauch and degradation, and that by means of
+providing carefully that he reach his full maturity of mind and body
+without any knowledge of the taste of intoxicating drinks.
+
+
+A CENTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE
+
+As explained in a number of preceding chapters, there are being carried
+out several plans for bringing about a social awakening in the farm
+districts. Some of these are succeeding admirably, especially the county
+Y.M.C.A., and in a few instances the rural church. But presumably there
+are many thousands of country districts wherein these helpful agencies
+will not be found for many years to come. So, in the following lines
+there will be an attempt to furnish detailed methods and suggestions to
+rural parents who are under the necessity of assisting their own
+children in a social way. The discussion thus far has been of a somewhat
+destructive order. Now, something of a constructive nature will be
+offered.
+
+The first essential in the awakening of a clean social life for the
+young is a center of effort. If there be no church or clubhouse of any
+kind within easy access of all, then the farm home may be made use of
+for this service. There are many advantages in the common country home
+as a social center for the young, among them being the probable presence
+of some sympathetic parent to offer guidance and to keep down unbecoming
+conduct.
+
+
+INVITE THE YOUNG TO THE HOUSE
+
+So, if country parents are really in earnest about doing something to
+develop their own children in a social way, let them throw open their
+own homes for the purpose. In a certain Iowa home this thing was done in
+an admirable manner. Let the father tell the story in his own
+language:--
+
+"For years we had a room in the house which we called the 'parlor.' It
+contained some expensive furniture which the members of the family
+scarcely ever saw, as the place was usually kept closed up and dark. Why
+we reserved such a dark, musty room for the 'special company' that came
+two or three times each year, I do not know. At any rate, we decided to
+make the place useful. In remodeling the house we enlarged it to 16 by
+20 feet in size and added one very large window.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.
+
+FIG. 30.--An agricultural and domestic science club in Oklahoma. Without
+being so named, it is also distinctively a social club, and a splendid
+socializing and refining agency.]
+
+"Here we made a society room for the young people of the neighborhood.
+Extra chairs were obtained, also a large new stove and fixtures for
+gaslights. There were also some simple wall decorations and a small
+library and reading table. That was two years ago. Since then our two
+boys and two girls have given many parties in that room and no one
+has got more enjoyment out of the affairs than their parents. We feel
+as if that room was the best investment we ever made."
+
+Not nearly all anxious parents may be so situated as to follow the
+excellent plan described above, but it is certainly worthy of a trial by
+all who can avail themselves of its benefits. Best of all, the young
+people in whose behalf this thoughtful endeavor is put forth will most
+certainly grow to maturity confirmed in the belief that the country life
+is not lacking in its social enjoyments.
+
+
+HOW TO CONDUCT A SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT
+
+In giving a social entertainment to the young people of the country,
+there are a few simple yet common matters to be observed. First of all,
+there is the frequent tendency toward reticence or backwardness. It will
+be remembered, of course, that the object of the occasion is not merely
+passing amusement for the young, but also that of furnishing some means
+of character-development. In fact, the author wishes that every chapter
+of this book be thought of as contributing something toward the building
+up of young lives. So, in case of the home party, it will be necessary
+to see that every one present takes some active part. The bashful youth
+who is merely permitted to sit by and look on will go home secretly
+displeased, if not much pained, at his own backwardness. He may even
+fail to appear again on such an occasion, and thus the availability of
+a most helpful agency be permanently lost to him.
+
+It is not therefore so much a question of the dignity and importance of
+the games played as it is a question of the active engagement of every
+one present in the amusements. Much will depend on leadership. An able
+leader will have the group organized before the several members realize
+what is being done. An expert student and director of young people was
+seen on a certain occasion to take charge of a party of forty boys and
+girls ranging in age from fifteen to twenty years. These were quickly
+placed standing in two parallel lines of twenty each. Each side was
+given a dish of unhulled peanuts and asked to engage in a contest of
+passing the nuts down the line one at a time, from hand to hand, the one
+at the farther end of the line placing the nuts in a receptacle. This
+simple game "broke the ice" for the entire evening. After that it was
+easy to keep the entertainment going.
+
+The supervisor of the social affair is advised to discourage all games
+that tend to an over-amount of silliness and that allow for undue
+familiarity of the sexes. There is, however, a dignified form of fun and
+merriment quite as enjoyable as the baser sort. And, too, the leader of
+the evening need not be reminded of the many little opportunities for
+inculcating wholesome lessons in dignified manners. Many a "green" and
+awkward country youth is started on the way to salvation through the
+courteous treatment he receives from some older and much respected
+person. Simply to treat him as if he were a dignified young gentleman
+amounts to inciting him to put forth his greatest effort to make a show
+of manliness. A close student of young nature will often observe that
+merely to address such a youth as "Mister" So-and-So causes him to
+straighten up and try to look the part.
+
+The hostess and guide at the rural party of young people will err not a
+little if she feels under the necessity of preparing a banquet or even a
+heavy luncheon for the occasion. Something as simple as a light drink
+and a wafer or two will be quite enough. The object of the refreshments
+is not merely to feed the young people to the point of stupefaction, but
+rather to give physical tone to support the vivacity of all.
+
+
+WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTRY DANCE
+
+Unless the country dance can be radically reformed, it must be very
+strongly advised against. There is something about this occasion as
+usually conducted which seems to invite coarse characters and
+disreputable conduct. The country dance has so often been the scene of
+vice, drunkenness, and other such evils as to have received a permanent
+stigma of cheapness. The only seeming possibility of making a success of
+it is by the method of inviting a very exclusive set to attend, and this
+thing is so suggestive of aristocracy and snobbishness as to cause not
+a little ill feeling in the neighborhood. Under present conditions the
+country dance cannot be so managed as to make it contribute to the
+social and moral uplift of country young people. There are many better
+forms of entertainment which may be substituted for it.
+
+Along with the country dance should be rated the cheap professional
+entertainments that are so often given in the country school houses.
+Many of these are not only degrading but are morally evil in their
+suggestions, while they tend to give the young a depraved taste in
+respect to public shows and theaters. The school trustees may well
+exclude all such "shows" from the building.
+
+
+ADDITIONAL FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT
+
+The farm parents most desirous of leading in the young people's
+entertainments, and best fitted to do so, may find it impracticable to
+invite the young into their home. In such case, there are several other
+ways whereby the desired ends may be achieved.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.
+
+FIG. 31.--A rural scene in Canada, where the church and the school are
+situated together. The large barn in the background is significant. Much
+of the daily thought and conversation is centered here.]
+
+1. _The social hour at the religious services._--It is deemed quite
+advisable that those who plan the religious service in the country have
+thought of a social hour in connection therewith. The latter may prove
+fully as helpful in a constructive sense as the former, and it can in no
+wise detract from the value of the religious meeting. This combination
+of events is already being successfully tried in a number of places.
+For example, at the mid-week evening service, there is given first an
+hour to the prayer meeting or the discussion of the religious topics and
+the church work. After that, the scene is changed into one of clean,
+wholesome amusement with the special thought of giving the young people
+social entertainment and training. It has been found that this very
+method of uniting the religious and social service under a carefully
+planned program sometimes more than doubles the attendance. Of course
+the first essential for the success of such a meeting is that an able
+leader be in charge of it.
+
+2. _A country literary society._--In times gone by the country literary
+society has played a mighty part indirectly in the building of the
+nation. Many a statesman or leader of the people has received his first
+aid and inspiration at the little old country "literary and debating
+society." There is no good reason why this same general form of society
+might not continue to do its effective work. However, in its best form,
+there will be some additions to the old procedure of merely debating the
+important public questions. The program makers may well have in mind the
+ideal of bringing out every form of talent latent among the young of the
+community. It is especially advisable that every young attendant be
+given an invitation to do the part of which he is most capable, and that
+he be urged to do it. It is quite possible to arrange a program upon
+which only the ablest and most capable young persons of the neighborhood
+may appear. But such would be a violation of the best purpose of the
+society; namely, not merely to provide a first-class entertainment, but
+an entertainment _which shall bring out the greatest possible variety of
+talent and awaken interest and enthusiasm on the part of every member_.
+
+Then, let the motto of the ideal country literary society be, "Something
+worth while for every member to do." The old-fashioned country society,
+like the older public school, was too narrow. It touched life and
+awakened interests in only a few places. The old school tested a boy in
+the three R's and geography. If he did well in these, he was "smart." If
+he failed in the traditional subjects, he was branded as a dullard and
+crowded out of the school, although in respect to some other untested
+activities he may have been a slumbering genius. So with the primitive
+"literary and debating society"; debating and "speaking pieces" were
+practically the only numbers on the program and usually only the ablest
+were allowed to appear. Ordinary talent in debating and reciting and all
+manner of promising talent in other lines was allowed to slumber on in
+the lives of many of the young people in attendance. Now, it is
+practically a certainty that every member of the young literary society
+can perform a part very acceptably, provided the discerning leader know
+what that part is. And best of all, the bringing out of such talent
+means the awakening of many other splendid interests among the youthful
+members of the community, and finally the development of moral courage
+and other forms of manliness and womanliness.
+
+Now, to come to the point of a social result, the so-called literary
+entertainment can easily be made up in two parts, the literary and the
+social; and there should be set apart an hour for the latter.
+
+3. _The social side of the economic clubs._--In many instances, there
+will be organized boys' corn-raising or crop-improvement clubs, and with
+them country clubs of the girls interested in household economy. These
+club meetings may be made the occasion of not a little social
+improvement. The boys and girls may meet at the same hour and place, and
+after the business has been disposed of there may be a coming together
+in a social way. Such arrangement is highly advisable for two reasons.
+First, it will certainly increase the membership of the clubs; and,
+second, the social instincts of the young people may be suitably
+indulged.
+
+
+SOME CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS
+
+The leader interested in the foregoing plans may again be reminded of
+the necessity of instituting a social organization of such a nature as
+to touch all the young lives in the neighborhood. The rules and
+regulations governing the society should therefore be drawn on broad
+and liberal lines, not forgetting the great possibilities of awakening
+slumbering interests and aptitudes, and of building up a social
+community that will draw young people to it.
+
+If one will take the time to drive for a hundred miles in a direct line
+through the farm districts, as the author has done, he will be not a
+little surprised at the striking contrast in the social conditions of
+the various neighborhoods passed through. In one instance he will be
+told that there is absolutely nothing present to invite the young--a
+dull, dead place with perhaps many run-down farms and farm homes to keep
+it company. He will learn that the young people of such a community are
+running off to some neighboring town where many of them find a cheap and
+degrading class of entertainment. But the next adjoining neighborhood
+may present a converse situation. One will be told that the young people
+are happy and contented there, that they have frequent meetings of their
+social clubs and other forms of organization; most probably the
+appearance of the neighborhood will be likewise much better than that of
+the other one mentioned. Attractive homes, well-kept roads and hedges,
+and other evidences of prosperity will meet one's view.
+
+In one district visited, the author found that this better situation had
+an interesting history and that it was nearly all traceable to a quarter
+of a century of public-spiritedness of one man. This resident had
+settled upon a quarter section of good land. While he was reconstructing
+his own home and its surroundings into a place of attractiveness, he was
+continually engaged in awakening the entire neighborhood in behalf of
+better things. He had led out in establishing a well-attended Sunday
+school in the district, had been instrumental in instituting regular
+preaching service there twice each month, had led the entire
+neighborhood out on more than one occasion for a day's work in improving
+and beautifying the school grounds, had been the organizer and director
+of the country literary society, and of more than one club of farmers
+and their wives. During all this time he was correspondent for one or
+two county papers and used every occasion for advertising the home
+community. All together, it was a most commendable and far-reaching
+service which this one man performed for his own neighborhood. So, it
+may be said that wherever there is one inspired leader in a country
+community, there is life.
+
+Finally, it may be urged that the biggest thing in the rural community
+is not the big crop of corn or wheat or the excellent breeds of live
+stock. Important as these things are, the great concern of the community
+should be the development of sterling character in the lives of the
+growing boys and girls and the cleanness and integrity of the
+personalities of every one within the neighborhood limits. To that end
+let this social center ideal be actualized, becoming a place toward
+which the thoughts of all will go frequently and fondly during the hours
+of care and toil. Let it be made a place the thought of which will
+forever impart a full measure of good cheer, of contentment, and of
+honest courage to the mind of every member of the society thereabout.
+Let it be a place so ordered and arranged that things sacred and divine
+may reach down to the things often thought of as very commonplace and
+mean, and exalt the latter to their true and proper place. Lastly, let
+it be earnestly desired and planned for that every heart in the rural
+district shall be rekindled with a living fire of enthusiasm in behalf
+of the general improvement--of interest in the things that are high and
+divine, and of affection and good will toward all in the community. Let
+some local resident rise up as leader and bring this order of things to
+pass, and the social experiences of the young people will naturally
+become of such a nature as to develop them into men and women of great
+worth and efficiency.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Wider Use of the School Plant. Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter
+    IX, "Social Centers." Charities Publication Committee, N.Y.
+
+    Chapters on Rural Progress. Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter
+    XIV, "The Social Side of the Farm Question." University of
+    Chicago Press.
+
+    Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XIV,
+    "Problems of Training." Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    Social Control. Edward A. Ross. Ph.D. Chapters VII and VIII,
+    "The Need and Direction of Social Control." Macmillan.
+
+    The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Forbes & Co., Chicago. A
+    wholesome and cheering book for girls.
+
+    Confidences. Edith B. F. Lowry, M.D. Forbes & Co. Plain,
+    helpful talks regarding the sex life of girls.
+
+    See the excellent editorial article, "Forces that Move
+    Upward," _Farmer's Voice_, June 15, 1911.
+
+    Causes of Delinquency Among Girls. Falconer. _Annals American
+    Academy_. Vol. 36, p. 77.
+
+    Democracy and Education. Dr. J. B. Storms. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907, p. 62.
+
+    The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter III, "Life That
+    is Worth While." Doubleday, Page Company.
+
+    The Ideals of a Country Boy. A. D. Holloway in _Rural
+    Manhood_, May, 1910.
+
+    Why Not Education on the Sex Question. Editorial article.
+    _Review of Reviews_, January, 1910.
+
+    Report of Vice Commission of Chicago. Chapter V, "Child
+    Protection and Education." Guntorf-Warren Printing Co.,
+    Chicago.
+
+    The Spirit of Democracy. Charles Fletcher Dole. Chapter XXIX,
+    "The Education for a Democracy." Crowell & Co.
+
+    The Education of the Boy of To-morrow. A. D. Dean. _World's
+    Work_, April, 1911. Prize essay.
+
+    College and the Rural Districts. W. N. Stearns. _Education_,
+    April, 1911.
+
+    The Boy Problem. Educational pamphlet No. 4. Society for
+    Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, N.Y. 10 cents. Treats ably
+    the question of social purity.
+
+    Genesis. A Manual for Instruction of Children in Matters of
+    Sex. B. S. Talmey, M.D. Practitioners' Publishing Company,
+    N.Y.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+_THE FARM BOY'S INTEREST IN THE BUSINESS_
+
+
+The theory that the boys and girls who grow up in the country must in
+time become settled in farm homes of their own has neither logic nor
+psychology nor common sense to support it. It is never a question of
+whether or not a boy will take up the work of his father, but whether or
+not he will find at length the true and only calling for which his
+nature is best fitted. If the parents of the country boy will keep the
+latter question clearly in mind, many a problem in the latter's rearing
+will be made much easier.
+
+In order to break the monotony of the style of expression, much of this
+chapter will be addressed somewhat directly to the father of the country
+boy.
+
+
+WHAT IS IN YOUR BOY?
+
+If a man should come suddenly into possession of a piece of land having
+a productive soil, one of his first questions in regard to the soil
+would be, What will it best grow? Farmers blundered and starved along
+for generations in an attempt to make a first-class farm produce the
+wrong crops, or to produce the right crop through the wrong manner of
+treatment; and this simply because they used methods of tradition and
+guess rather than those of science.
+
+Now apply the foregoing situation to the boy problem, if you will. So
+long as we attempt to secure from him the wrong results and deal with
+him by wrong methods, we are likely to conclude that there is "nothing
+in him." Therefore, in order to act intelligently and helpfully in the
+matter of giving the young son a business relation to farm life, it is
+first necessary to determine, as far as may be possible, the bent of his
+mind, remembering that the great artist, the great writer, or the great
+captain of industry is just as likely to be born in the country home as
+elsewhere. In fact, we shall learn in time, much to our advantage, that
+there must be a careful sifting process which will result in sending
+some of the country-bred young men directly to their important places in
+the city, and some of the city-bred youths to the rural industries.
+
+
+MUCH EXPERIMENTATION NECESSARY
+
+The one who undertakes to develop a boy's interest in business affairs
+has really before him a problem in experimental psychology. Many of the
+youth's best aptitudes are necessarily still slumbering and unknown to
+either himself or others. The fundamental steps preparatory for a
+successful commercial venture on the part of a young man are
+comparatively few but none of them can safely be omitted. They are as
+follows:--
+
+1. _Willingness to work._--In this connection, perhaps something will be
+recalled from Chapter IX. We may at least be reminded of the difference
+in the attitude of mind of the boy who regards labor as a painful
+necessity and the one who enjoys a willingness to work. So long as the
+youth feels as if he were driven to his tasks there is little hope of
+arousing his interest in the business side of it. His mind will continue
+too much on the problem of avoiding work and on ways and means by which
+to get something for nothing.
+
+There is probably a period of dishonesty in the life of every normal
+youth. Following the dawn of adolescence there is a great wave of new
+interest and new meaning coming to him out of the business and social
+world. The world is so full of interesting enticements. Everything looks
+to be good and within easy reach. He is especially prone to accept
+material things at their advertised value. He spends his dimes for prize
+boxes thought to contain gold rings and other such finery. His quarters
+and half dollars frequently go in payment for the "valuable" things
+offered "free for the price of the transportation," the purpose of this
+tempting gift being "simply for the sake of introducing the goods."
+
+But it is well to see the boy safe through this period of allurement. So
+long as the world seems to hold out so many highly valued things which
+may be had for a trifle the youth will see little need of his working
+to obtain them. So, attend him in his efforts to get something for
+nothing. Permit him to be stung a few times and thus teach him how and
+where to look for the sting. Finally, impress him with the thought that
+every material thing worth while represents the price of somebody's
+honest labor. At length he will see the reasonableness of industry and
+settle down with a purpose of making his way through life by means of
+honest endeavor. You now have the youth so far on his way to successful
+business undertaking.
+
+2. _Ability to save._--All healthy boys are naturally inclined to be
+spendthrifts. Saving a part of one's means is a fine art acquired only
+through judicious practice. It is assumed that the young son is being
+reasonably paid for certain required tasks. So the next duty is to see
+that he saves a part of his earnings. For the purpose of this training
+in saving, a toy bank may be procured; or he may be directed in
+depositing a small weekly sum in a penny savings bank. Still another way
+is to teach him to keep a book account of his earnings, giving him
+due-bills for the amounts withheld from his wages.
+
+There is one small business practice, the importance of which for the
+boy is too frequently overlooked; that is, the practice of carrying a
+small amount of change in his pocket. He must learn to use his money
+thoughtfully and not merely on every occasion of his being allowed to
+have it. He must acquire the habit of self-restraint in the use of
+money. To do this is to learn to spend judiciously. To have reached this
+stage of financial training is a sufficient guarantee that the youth is
+proceeding well on his way toward success in business enterprise.
+
+
+START ON A SMALL SCALE
+
+Then, give your growing son as wide a variety of experience in work and
+in watching business affairs as the situation will permit of. During the
+process of this mental growth help him to make a small investment in
+something that will grow and increase under his intelligent care. Let us
+assume that your specialty is a certain strain of corn or a certain
+breed of cattle. If the boy shows an interest in this matter, start him
+in at an early age, say ten to fourteen, on his own account. Give him in
+exchange for his work a small plot of ground on which to grow corn,
+perhaps with a view to his later entering the boys' contest for a prize.
+Or, help him to get a small beginning in the cattle business.
+
+But in case the lad shows no interest in your business, do not let the
+matter seriously trouble you for a moment. Simply continue to give him
+his general education, including the best school course available and a
+training in the performance of work as well as the judicious use of the
+spending money that may come into his hands. Careful study of the boy
+may indicate to you that his aptitude for business runs in the
+direction of something to which you are giving little or no attention
+but to which you may in time bring him.
+
+There is the case of a successful wheat raiser who discovered his son's
+fondness for thoroughbred cattle. So the boy was carefully started on a
+small scale in the business of raising short-horns. To-day that son is
+known far and wide as an able specialist in this line of stock breeding.
+Now, if the father in this case had done as thousands of other farmers
+are still doing; namely, if he had attempted to force the boy, against
+the latter's natural inclination, to take up wheat raising or any other
+undesirable business, then, the son would have most probably skipped off
+for the city and secured a fourth-rate place for the mere wages it would
+bring. Some day this tragic, oft-repeated story of mismanagement and
+misdirection of the growing boy will come out in all its distressing
+details.
+
+
+GIVE YOUR SON A SQUARE DEAL
+
+Deal with your young son on business principles from the beginning. Do
+not hastily and unwisely give him a piece of property that will have to
+be taken from him in the future because of its having grown into a
+disproportionate value. This old form of mistreatment of the country boy
+has been the means of thwarting the business integrity of many a
+promising youth.
+
+If the boy's small beginning develops under his care into a business of
+large proportions, the only check or hindrance that the ethics of the
+case will allow is that you treat with him on fair business terms, just
+as you would with any good business man. You may cause him to bear all
+his own personal expenses and all the expense connected with the care
+and development of his live stock or crop. Then the matter of curtailing
+him must stop. And if the son soon becomes able to buy you out, it is
+certainly an affair to be proud of, not a thing to hinder by unfair
+means.
+
+
+KEEP THE BOY'S PERFECT GOOD WILL
+
+It is a serious matter to lose the boy's confidence or in any way break
+faith with him, even though there be nothing about the place in which
+you can make him take a business interest. As he grows to maturity his
+own inner nature must gradually guide him into the way of a calling--and
+a divine calling at that it may prove to be. It may not seem out of
+place to quote the words of a religious teacher who says: "Do you not
+know that if one's inner nature points out clearly and inspiringly what
+he should undertake for a life work, such thing may be regarded as the
+Voice of the Divine One speaking faithfully through the instrumentality
+of one of his own creatures?"
+
+So it may prove at length that you will have to sell a load of corn in
+order to set up in the garret of your house a miniature art studio of
+some kind for your young son. Or, perhaps you may have to establish a
+small machine shop as an adjunct to the barn or wood shed, wherein the
+budding genius may blossom into that beauty of manly power and
+efficiency which all the world is glad to admire. Out of just such a
+wise indulgence as that last named a certain Kansas boy finally became
+enabled to revolutionize the old farm home and the work done there
+through the installation of an excellent motor power plant. Electric
+light for the house and barn, power for operating feed grinder, washing
+machine, grindstone, fanning mill, and many other such machines--all
+this has resulted from the rightly directed work of a youth who could
+have easily been driven to the city into some treadmill of mere wage
+earning.
+
+But, occasionally the boy will prove himself a versatile character,
+succeeding in a measure in every line of small business to which you
+introduce him, yet showing a marked success in none. In such case the
+advisable thing to do is to continue his general education for a longer
+period than is necessary for the boy who shows an early inclination
+toward a given line of work.
+
+
+SOME WILL BE RETAINED ON THE FARM
+
+It is admittedly desirable, all things fairly considered, that many of
+the very best boys remain on the farm and help develop rural life into
+what it should be. Hence the necessity of finding a way to interest such
+boys in some of the many business affairs connected with the farm home.
+Perhaps there is no better way to develop the lad's interest in the
+affairs of the place than that of allowing him to participate in the
+practical business transactions as the conditions may allow. Let the
+parents take him to the store, the bank, and other such places for the
+benefit of his experience. Send him in with the produce with authority
+to sell and to invest a part of the proceeds in whatever the family may
+need. The father should have the boy with him when selecting and buying
+machinery or live stock at public sales. Send him to the bank with
+checks or drafts to be deposited or collected. Give him an opportunity
+to keep the family accounts, or at least to keep his own recorded in a
+book.
+
+The ordinary farmer can think of more ways than the foregoing whereby to
+give his growing son the needed experience in money matters. The best
+result of such practice is that if there be anything in connection with
+the affairs of the farm in which the boy will have a native interest
+this aptitude will be discovered; and it can then be made the basis of
+the young man's introduction into a successful participation in some
+practical business. The boy's permanent calling is seriously involved in
+this discussion. On page 279 of this book will be found a description of
+three methods of vocational training.
+
+
+THE AWAKENING OFTEN COMES FROM WITHOUT
+
+Parents who find it difficult to arouse the farm boy's interest in any
+part of the home business may sometimes easily secure the desired result
+by sending the youth away on a trip to the county fair or other such
+place. As a means of stimulating boys in respect to some kind of
+productive home industry the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical
+College instituted a school of agriculture for country youths at the
+state fair. Each organized farmers' institute and each county
+superintendent was asked to send one boy. A large tent was furnished by
+the college. This served for a lecture and display room during the day
+and a boys' sleeping room during the night.
+
+At the first session 122 boys attended, coming from 57 counties. The
+lectures covered such subjects as farm crops, veterinary science, track
+and field athletics. The displays at the fair were used for illustrative
+matter. So far the results of the school have been reported most
+favorable. An increasing number of boys throughout the state are making
+preparation for it.
+
+
+AN AWAKENING IN THE SOUTH
+
+It is most encouraging to observe the changing ideals of business
+and industry now in progress throughout the nation. The many
+vocational-training schools and the increasing attendance at the
+mechanical and industrial colleges bear witness of this fact. The
+American Negro, ever a faithful laborer, is now being taught in such
+institutions as Tuskegee and Hampton, not only to perform some honest
+work well but also to plan and prepare for a business of his own.
+
+The son of the southern planter is becoming more and more imbued with
+the new spirit of efficiency through personal industry. On this matter a
+member of the faculty of the Louisiana Agricultural and Mechanical
+College says: "It is a mistake to think that the best of the country
+youth of the south are continuing in the old-fashioned ideal of becoming
+mere gentlemen of culture and leisure. In 1910 there were nearly 50,000
+boys living in a dozen of the southern states, who astonished the entire
+country with their achievements in corn-raising. They ranged in age from
+fifteen to eighteen years. At the national exhibit held in Columbus,
+Ohio, one hundred of them showed an average yield of 134 bushels of corn
+to the acre. This corn-growing practice is under the direction of the
+national government, and is more than a big, exciting contest, it is a
+splendid course in rural home education.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXV.
+
+FIG. 32.--A group of "coming" Kansans. Every boy pictured here carried
+away some sort of prize at a state corn show.]
+
+"We have at this college hundreds of young men from the plantations and
+they are intensely interested in working out the industrial problems
+that pertain to their own home affairs. I have been surprised at their
+eagerness to get into the soil and to do the mechanical work
+connected with their studies. All over the south there seems to be an
+awakening among the boys and young men, of an interest in the industrial
+and commercial problems of the plantation."
+
+The farm papers and the educational magazines in the southern states
+give much evidence of this same sort of awakening. The farmers' and
+planters' organizations, the local improvement and school betterment
+clubs, and many other movements, are giving both incentive and direction
+to the country youths who are at all inclined to find an interest in the
+home affairs. The rural parents who desire outside aid in arousing their
+boys' interest in the home business may well seek such assistance by
+bringing the latter into closer touch with one of these progressive
+organizations.
+
+
+PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN FATHER AND SON
+
+After the farmer's son has fully settled upon his father's business as
+an ideal one for himself, there may be brought to the latter a gradual
+relief from the worry of details, and that through a partnership
+management. A. G. Hulting, Jr., of Geneseo, Illinois, thus describes
+such a plan of cooperation in a letter to Arthur J. Bill, the
+agricultural writer:--
+
+"We have 160 acres of land in the farm. My father owns the land. I do
+the work, provide all the labor, horses, and machinery, and we have an
+equal interest in the live stock and we share equally in the net
+returns."
+
+Other terms of cooperation have proved successful. In many cases, the
+son rents all or a part of the place on terms similar to those allowed
+the outside renter; excepting that he is usually given the advantages of
+free board and the use of the home conveniences. In all such business
+transactions between father and son it is highly advisable that the
+contract be carefully drawn in writing. The verbal contract is
+proverbially a trouble maker, and that even among relatives.
+
+
+SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING SUGGESTIONS
+
+1. Not nearly all promising youths can be encouraged to take a vital
+interest in the father's business.
+
+2. In case the boy cannot be induced to take a permanent interest in
+anything on the home farm, he may at least have much practice in the
+transaction of the small business connected therewith.
+
+3. The ability to work willingly, the ideal that an honest living is to
+be earned through personal effort, and the practice of saving a part of
+the weekly or monthly earnings--these will give any boy an excellent
+start on the road to success and affluence.
+
+4. Deal with the young son on business principles from the first, seeing
+that he shares reasonably in the losses as well as in the gains.
+Although his interest in any chosen line of work may not become vital
+till he makes some money out of it, hold him persistently in line
+during the "lean" years and thus allow him to learn the excellent
+lessons of failure.
+
+5. It may prove unfair to the members of the family to permit one of the
+sons to secure control of the business of the home farm. Some pathetic
+instances of this kind have really occurred. For the sake of the peace
+and well-being of all, such an occurrence must be prevented by careful
+forethought.
+
+6. On the other hand, in case where the boy has started with a scrawny
+pig or through renting a piece of the home place, and, after dealing
+fair and square with all, has come into possession of considerable
+property of his own, do not wrest it from him or in any way take
+advantage of his minority. Such a youth will in time most probably
+reflect high credit upon the family.
+
+7. Finally, the farm parent needs to be warned against the possibility
+of developing his son into a mere money-maker. Such is a poor standard
+of success. The man whose only aim in life is merely to prosper
+financially is a poor citizen of any community. Teach the boy to succeed
+in his business ventures, but at the same time imbue him with the
+thought that his money wealth must be regarded as so much opportunity to
+help build up the community, the state, and the nation. Teach him that
+financial success is worthy of the name only when it is linked with
+social efficiency.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Again we find the field of literature treating the subject
+    directly an exceedingly scant one. In forming a business
+    partnership with his son the farmer should be guided by
+    well-tried precedent. A letter of specific inquiry to one of
+    the leading agricultural papers will most usually bring a
+    helpful reply.
+
+    A First Lesson in Thrift. Horace Ellis. _Psychological
+    Clinic_, March 15, 1910.
+
+    Industrial Education for Rural Communities. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907, p. 412.
+
+    The Child's Sense of the Value of Money. Dr. William E.
+    Ashcroft. _S.S. Times_, July 24, 1909.
+
+    Psychology and Higher Life. William A. McKeever. Chapter XIV,
+    "The Psychology of Work." A. Flanagan Company, Chicago.
+
+    Industrial Education. Various Authors. (Pamphlet, 25 cents.)
+    _The Survey_, N.Y.
+
+    Industrial Education. Kimball. No. 1, Educational Monograph
+    Series, School of Education, Cornell University.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+_BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL_
+
+
+During a two-hour ride on a railway train the author had as a seat
+companion a sixty-year-old farmer and stock raiser, whose specialty was
+that of raising mules for the market. And what of definite information
+this good husbandman possessed about the long-eared beast of burden
+would fill a volume of considerable size. He knew just what time of year
+the mule should be foaled, when weaned, when broken to the halter and to
+work; how to feed and groom a mule in order to get the best physical
+growth; how to train the animal so as to develop all the latent good
+qualities and repress the bad ones.
+
+After the natural life history of the faithful mule had been carefully
+reviewed by the rural companion the conversation was turned to the
+subject of girls. Had he a daughter? "Yes, twenty-two years old." What
+did she know about money and the common affairs of business? "Business!
+Mighty little any woman knows about business," said he. "We buy our girl
+what she needs and have put her through the town high school. I expect
+her to get married sometime. Her mother has taught her how to do
+housework." Further than that the father seemed to know very little
+about his daughter, and he showed plainly that he did not consider this
+second topic of conversation half so interesting as the first one.
+
+
+IS THE COUNTRY GIRL NEGLECTED?
+
+Inquiry will prove that the foregoing case of parental ignorance and
+indifference about the daughter is all too common, especially the
+ignorance. It seems never to have occurred to many parents who have
+growing daughters that unless the young woman have a fair amount of
+knowledge of the value and use of money her future happiness and
+well-being and that of her family are in danger of becoming seriously
+jeopardized. It is a singular and yet lamentable fact that so many
+American parents,--parents too who are intensely desirous that their
+growing children have the best possible moral and religious
+teaching--that these same good parents fail to understand how one of the
+very foundation stones of efficient moral and religious life is
+constituted of a definite body of knowledge of common business affairs.
+They do not seem to realize that the young man or the young woman who
+knows from experience just how money is earned, and how it may be
+judiciously expended and profitably invested, is far on the way to a
+high plane of moral and religious living.
+
+However, there is probably no place of greater opportunities for
+developing sober judgment in the growing girl than that afforded by the
+ordinary farm home. For here the business management of the household
+and of the farm affairs are practically merged. There is the further
+advantage of a considerable variety of ways whereby the daughter may be
+remunerated for what she does. But, how may we best interpret this
+question? First of all, what in a practical sense is a satisfactory
+business training for a young woman, a farmer's daughter in particular?
+Do we desire that she become a shrewd money-maker and successful a some
+sort of commercial life? Few would take such a position. But in order
+that the young woman may be fully prepared to fill her heaven-ordained
+place as the center and source of love and influence in a family, we
+must provide that she be given just such instruction in the use of money
+as will enable her to occupy her high position with the greatest
+possible success.
+
+
+WHY THE GIRL LEAVES THE FARM
+
+Under the title above the Farmer's Voice prints portions of two letters
+which help to throw not a little light on this much-neglected subject.
+Miss Alta Hooper writes:--
+
+"The one great cry going out from the people, and one also much in need
+of an answer, is 'how to keep the boy on the farm.' It is very seldom
+that the girl of the farm is alluded to, although it may be that she is
+included, in a general way, in the great amount of literature concerning
+her brother. But, take it from the farmer girl that she is a live one,
+and unless money is coming into her pockets, unless she is comparatively
+independent and has some interest to keep her awake, she isn't going to
+'stay put,' but will get out where she can earn some money of her very
+own, to buy the little things so dear to the hearts of girls; and she
+will not be questioned and lectured and scolded over every little
+expenditure.
+
+"Oh, the girls on the farm have minds and pride and ambition just as big
+as their brothers' too; and in many cases they are not given half a
+chance to realize one iota of this ambition. It is then that a career
+off the farm and away from the farm home appeals to them. Then the
+thought comes that even though the salary to be earned may be small,
+still it is all one's own, and there is no fear in planning where and in
+what it shall be invested."
+
+Likewise, Mrs. F. L. Stevens, writing for _Progressive Farmer_, says:--
+
+"How often have we seen young girls leaving comfortable farm homes to go
+into typewriting, clerking, or bookkeeping, in order to have their own
+money. An allowance for personal expenses in the beginning would have
+solved this problem. But the father has not seen it that way.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.
+
+FIG. 33.--At a tender age girls are instinctively fond of doing such
+work as is displayed here. Strange to say, some mothers deny their
+little daughters the character-forming benefits of this childish
+occupation.]
+
+"It is not necessary that the daughter be given a monthly or yearly
+allowance of so much cash, but the really better way, it would seem,
+would be to start her in some special branch of work, say,
+poultry-raising. Or perhaps she might be given a cow or a horse or a
+pig, which would in time bring in sums of money by careful management;
+and the business, a small one perhaps in the beginning, would easily
+develop. Many young girls like to work in a garden as the produce is
+always a good source of income and an interesting and educational work."
+
+
+CERTAIN RULES TO BE OBSERVED
+
+If we are to give up the idea that the young woman naturally possesses
+the necessary business judgment, and to substitute the better idea that
+she must be taught how to manage her own affairs; then, What are the
+fundamental steps necessary to impart such instruction? It seems to the
+author that they are these:--
+
+1. _Teach the girl to work._--As was shown in a previous chapter, the
+girl must be taught carefully and conscientiously how to work. Even
+though she may be so fortunate--or unfortunate--as not to be compelled
+to do any of her own housework, only a first-hand knowledge of how such
+work goes on will enable her successfully to direct it. The strength of
+our democracy is much dependent upon the character of our women. The
+modern tendency toward the development of a leisure class among the
+women and girls of the wealthier families is quite as much a menace to
+social solidarity as was the older order of keeping women in ignorance
+and servitude.
+
+The problem of household help is much intensified because of the
+disfavor with which the so-called better classes of women look upon the
+vocation of the domestic employee. The necessary inequality of rank of
+the home mistress and her employees is more a matter of tradition and
+imagination than of reality. The social inequality which follows and
+which drives many young women into less advantageous places of
+employment will disappear just as soon as all growing girls are
+conducted through a carefully planned course of work and household
+industry. No farm parents can afford to deny the daughter the excellent
+disciplinary results of careful training in the performance of every
+ordinary household duty.
+
+2. _Teach her business sense._--In cases where the growing boy or girl
+is simply given spending money for the asking--or the begging--there
+results a perverted idea of the meaning of money. A girl so trained
+during her youthful years is inclined to take this same attitude toward
+her husband in the future. That is, she will probably regard it as
+necessary to beg for an allowance and deem it right and proper to spend
+all she can obtain in this way. The seriousness of such relations
+between man and wife is easily seen. But the growing girl can be taught
+that money is merely a convenient unit of measurement of values which
+are produced chiefly by means of work.
+
+Advanced students of our social life are putting forth much effort to
+solve the divorce problem. In their efforts to determine causes and to
+provide cures for divorce, some of them have gone so far as to advocate
+a school for matrimony, one of the ends being that of preventing
+incompatible persons from entering into the life union. Among the causes
+contributing to the divorce evil have been the radically different
+ideals of the use of money on the part of the contracting pair. An
+attorney of long standing experience with divorce cases says:--
+
+"As a rule the woman who alleges non-support in her petition for divorce
+reveals the fact, before the case is ended, that she is lacking in the
+proper idea of the use of money, is often especially weak in knowledge
+of how the family income should be spent if the family affairs are to go
+on satisfactorily."
+
+3. _Train her to transact personal business._--Then, begin early in her
+life to teach the girl to transact business affairs that relate to her
+personal interests and to the home life of women. Do not buy all the
+little articles necessary for her, but allow her, with money reasonably
+provided, to make her own minor purchases under your advice and
+direction. The intelligent farmer knows somewhat definitely what his
+yearly income and outlay are. Why should not his daughter be told how
+these accounts run, in the usual year, and she then be asked to keep an
+account of all her own personal affairs for a year? Such required
+practice will do more than all the arithmetic lessons in the schools to
+inculcate an intimate knowledge of the value of money in relation to her
+own affairs--to say nothing of the good business judgment likely to be
+acquired.
+
+Thus the country girl may receive a better business training than her
+city cousin whose nearness to the attractive stores and shops proves a
+constant incentive for over-indulgence and wastefulness in the use of
+money.
+
+4. _Make her the family accountant._--As soon as she becomes old enough,
+take the daughter into your confidence as regards the family expense
+account. Make her acquainted with the items of income and expenditure in
+detail. And also make it appear to her that the business of the home is
+not being conducted satisfactorily unless some portion of the income be
+set aside for the emergencies of the future.
+
+At this point there is offered an opportunity to give the daughter some
+much-needed business training. There is much being said of late by way
+of urging the farmer to keep an accurate book account of all his
+transactions. Out of the experiment stations have come published letters
+and bulletins urging that such things be done and showing methods. But
+the evidence goes to show that the majority of farmers do not find time
+for it. So it will in many cases be found practicable to turn this
+important task of bookkeeping over to the growing daughter. Among the
+many benefits to be derived will be the excellent business training it
+will furnish her. As a diversion from the common household duties the
+accounting will prove most refreshing. And, then, the farmer will soon
+find this service to the farm business so important as to justify him in
+paying his daughter reasonably for the work.
+
+5. _Miserliness to be avoided._--While the habits of a spendthrift are
+perhaps above all things else to be avoided, a close second to this as
+an evil practice is the habit of expending in a miserly and begrudging
+manner. So, teach the girl to give her money willingly for all the
+ordinary necessities and comforts of life and for such luxuries as the
+conditions will reasonably warrant.
+
+The far-sighted parent and the one really interested in the future of
+his daughter will readily observe how much enslaved adults finally
+become in the use of money. There are perhaps as many well-to-do persons
+who are miserly because they cannot help it as there are improvident
+persons who are spendthrifts because they cannot longer prevent it. Both
+classes manifest the certain results of training and habit. In his
+interesting chapter on the psychology of habit Professor James explains
+so aptly how the man, long practiced in enforced economy, but at length
+having ample means, goes to the store with the determination of paying
+liberally for an article; and how he finally comes away with something
+cheap.
+
+A "golden mean" is therefore to be sought in training the girl in the
+use of money. Not how to save at all hazards, but how to spend
+judiciously, with conscious thought of the right relation between income
+and outlay--this is perhaps the more acceptable ideal.
+
+6. _Teach her to give._--While inculcating business ideas into the mind
+of your growing daughter, guard against her acquiring a mere passion for
+money-making and the accumulation of wealth. For example, one of the
+best means of achieving this end would be to see that she gives a part
+of her earnings to some worthy cause or other. Explain to her again and
+again that she must keep up in her life a sort of equipoise of receiving
+and giving, if the highest sense of inner satisfaction is always to be
+her portion.
+
+The young must learn sooner or later that there is other than a money
+profit to be derived from the investment of money. Accordingly, it will
+not be found difficult for the rural parents to point out to their
+daughter some place merely where she may invest a small part of her
+earnings in human welfare. An orphan child living in the neighborhood
+may be sorely in need of a new dress or school books, a lonely and aged
+widow may be cheered by the gift of a wall picture, a crippled child may
+be accumulating funds for hospital treatment, or another person may have
+lost heavily from flood or fire. These and many more like them may be
+made the occasion of teaching the girl a beautiful lesson of sympathy
+and sacrifice. And the sacrifice should come out of what she has
+accumulated through her own small business enterprise.
+
+7. _Teach the meaning of a contract._--It is often declared that women
+fail to appreciate the obligations of a contract, that they will enter
+into a strict agreement to buy an article or to pay for another and then
+refuse to carry out such agreement. Merchants have been so often called
+on to deal with this feminine change of mind that they have seen fit to
+establish a custom of taking back at cost any article not found
+satisfactory upon trial. This failure of women to adhere strictly to the
+terms of an agreement has given currency to the opinion that they are
+naturally dishonest. Weininger in his volume "Sex and Character" even
+offers a line of questionable proof to confirm the correctness of the
+opinion.
+
+But Dr. G. Stanley Hall in many of his researches shows that falsehood
+and deception are common and natural practices among ordinary children.
+All forms of honest and fair moral and business practice are less
+natural than acquired. They must have actual experience, and much of
+it, as a basis for their becoming a permanent part of character. Hence,
+the so-called dishonesty of women in relation to the obligations of a
+business agreement--that is probably nothing more than a matter of sheer
+ignorance. Farm girls are proverbially lacking in business practice and
+in knowledge of the rights and obligations of a contract. It is
+obligatory upon their parents to remove such ignorance through business
+training.
+
+8. _Prepare her to deal with grafters._--"The majority of his victims
+were women," is the statement so often read in connection with the
+fraudulent schemes of the exposed money shark. Millions of dollars are
+annually taken from credulous women by the get-rich-quick money trader.
+This polite form of theft has become so flagrant as to necessitate much
+vigilance and many prosecutions on the part of the national government.
+Widows and other dependent women are especially the sufferers.
+
+The necessity of preparing the innocent young woman to deal with the
+enticing business fraud is very apparent. Two or three matters must
+especially be attended to in giving the required instruction. First,
+take advantage of many occasions to explain to the girl just how a given
+case is being worked, so that she may be on guard against such
+allurements; second, it is well to advise the untrained young woman
+against investing in any scheme of profit sharing that offers above a
+good current rate of interest.
+
+
+SHOULD THERE BE AN ACTUAL INVESTMENT?
+
+Then, what if anything should be done in the ordinary farm home by way
+of providing an investment for the growing daughter so that she may
+daily have some practice in business affairs, as well as an income for
+use in meeting her personal expenses? Before attempting to answer this
+question, let us be certain that we have the correct point of view of
+the growing daughter's ideal relation to the practical affairs in the
+rural home. It seems to the author that there is only one safe rule of
+procedure here and that is, whatever the investment,--if there be any at
+all,--it must be understood that the ideal is one of developing the girl
+into a beautiful womanhood and not one of making the investment pay in
+the mere money sense of the term. In other words, the business of the
+farm and the farm home must serve directly the highest interests of the
+members of the household, even though money accumulations cannot, as a
+result, go on quite so fast. Or, as we have put it several times before:
+The farm and the live stock and all that pertains thereto must be so
+managed as to contribute directly to the development of the high aspects
+of character in the boys and girls, and not as materials which the
+growing boys and girls are to help build up and multiply.
+
+Now, if it still be insisted upon that the country girl have a definite
+business relation to the affairs of the home, there are two or three
+ways whereby this may be accomplished. One method is to give the girl a
+fixed and reasonable sum of money for whatever she may do by way of
+helping in the house. Another is that of providing a small investment in
+something that may be expected to increase reasonably in value and
+finally bring her a money return. Of the two methods of procedure
+mentioned, it would seem that the first is the more desirable. If the
+daughter be given an interest in anything like the live stock or some
+farm crop, the thing will not appeal to her directly, and whatever
+interest she may have in it will be a purely borrowed one. On the other
+hand, if she be given a generous allowance for her services, and during
+the younger years be trained in the expenditure of this allowance, good
+results may be expected. Similarly as with the boy, the growing girl
+must be taught to look toward the future. A system of restraints must be
+placed against her tendency to squander her small income, and gradually
+she may be trained to set aside a small portion of what she has with a
+view to its being applied upon something of her own later in life. It is
+perhaps too much to ask the girl to save enough money to pay her way
+through college, but there are many advantages in training her to save
+for a certain portion of that expense. Perhaps she may be able to buy
+her own clothes.
+
+It is not reasonable to assume that every well-trained country girl will
+find it advisable to take a college course. So, instead of saving up for
+college expenses, she may be taught to lay by something for the day of
+her marriage and with the thought of helping equip a home of her own. As
+a matter of fact, it is not a question of the specific purpose for which
+the money may be set apart. The main issue is that of staying by her day
+after day and week after week, and guiding and advising her until she
+finally acquires good sense, mature judgment, and self-reliance in
+regard to the business affairs that may be expected to constitute a part
+of her life as a keeper of a home of her own.
+
+_How the southern girls earn money._--One of the most interesting and
+significant modern movements in behalf of juvenile industry is that of
+the Southern Girls' Tomato Clubs, originated in 1910 by Miss Marie
+Cromer, a rural school teacher of North Carolina. Thousands of young
+girls are now participants in the new work, each one tending a small
+plat of tomatoes and canning the produce for the market. One girl is
+reported to have cleared $130 from one season's crop raised on one
+fourth of an acre. The General Education Board and the National
+Department of Agriculture have given liberal support to this
+tomato-growing work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+_WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY BOY HAVE?_
+
+
+It is a well-known fact that rural life conditions have been changing
+rapidly within the past decade or more. It has taken us a long while to
+get away from the thought that the farmer is to be anything other than
+merely a plain, coarse man, comparatively uneducated and innocent of the
+ways of the world. But we are at last seeing the light in respect to
+this and many another such traditional belief of a menacing nature. We
+are now looking forward expectantly to the time when the rural community
+shall contain its proportionate share of people educated or cultured in
+the full sense of either of these words.
+
+
+CHANGES IN RURAL SCHOOL CONDITIONS
+
+Many of those now in middle life can easily remember when the farmer boy
+was sent to school only during the time when his services were not
+required for the performance of the work about the field and the home.
+This period was narrowed down to about three months in the year. After
+the corn was husked in the fall, he entered school, usually about
+December first. And at the first sign of spring, about March first, he
+was called away to begin preparations for the new season's crop. During
+these sixty days, more or less, the growing lad was supposed to pick up
+the rudiments of learning and by the time maturity was reached to have
+worked himself out of the ranks of the illiterate. So he did, for he
+learned to read falteringly, to write a scrawling hand, and to solve a
+few arithmetical problems.
+
+We observe the new order of things. In practically all the states there
+have been recently enacted laws requiring every normal child to attend
+school during the entire term and to continue for a period of seven or
+eight years. The splendid results of this provision have only begun to
+be apparent, but another decade will reveal them in large proportions.
+Back of this new legislation in behalf of the boys and girls is the new
+ideal of the possibilities and the worth of the ordinary human being. We
+are just beginning to understand this splendid truth; namely, that with
+very few exceptions all of our new-born young have latent within them
+all the aptitudes necessary for the development of beautiful and
+symmetrical character. The modern ideal of public education recognizes
+two things: first, the right of the child to the fullest possible
+development; and second, the duty of society to see that the child
+receive such training whether the parent may wish to accord it to him or
+not.
+
+The author is especially desirous that the reader appreciate the
+situation sketched in the foregoing paragraph. What does it mean? It
+means that our children are at last to have more nearly equal
+opportunities of development, that their worthy aptitudes or traits are
+to be brought out through instruction and made to do service in the
+construction of a sterling character. It means that we shall have
+cultured artisans as well as cultured artists; that the plain man behind
+the plow or in the workshop shall be capable of thinking the big,
+inspiring thoughts as well as the little, puny ones. It means that there
+will spring up everywhere among the ranks of those once regarded as low
+and coarse, a magnificent society of men and women who, as individuals,
+will feel and realize a secret sense of power and worth, and who will
+shine in the light of a new inspiration.
+
+
+THE BOY A BUNDLE OF POSSIBILITIES
+
+It has been proved beyond question that the ordinary child contains at
+birth potentialities of development far greater in amount and variety
+than any amount of schooling can ever bring into full realization. If
+you will make a list of one hundred different and highly specialized
+vocations, and pause for a moment to contemplate the matter, you will
+doubtless agree that any common boy might be so trained as to some
+degree in any one of the hundred that he might be made to do fairly
+well in several of them; and that he might become an expert in at least
+one of them.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.
+
+FIG. 34.--Only whittling. But in the case of these country boys it is
+thought of as not mere idling, but as a pastime that leads toward the
+world of industry.]
+
+So, there is little need of being worried over the thought that the boy
+is a natural-born dullard, without native ability to learn and finally
+to make his way in the world. It is true that there is occasionally a
+real "blockhead" among children, but such cases are quite as rare as
+imbecility and physical deformity. Indeed, such cases are nearly always
+connected with one or both of the defects just named. Then, while in the
+usual instance the child is to be assumed to possess an ample amount of
+native talent, one of the specific problems of his parents and teachers
+is that of learning in time what his best latent talent is, so that it
+may give proper incentive and direction for his vocational life.
+
+
+CLASSES OF NATIVE ABILITY
+
+Roughly speaking there are three classes of native ability in the human
+offspring: the super-normal, the normal, and the sub-normal. The first
+is constituted of the geniuses--few and far between, perhaps one in a
+hundred to five hundred. The second is composed of the great mass of
+humanity upon which the stability of the race is built and out of which
+the geniuses--and the majority of the sub-normals--spring through
+fortuitous variation. The third class is constituted of the
+feeble-minded, the imbeciles, and the exceedingly rare natural-born
+criminals--altogether, perhaps one in every two hundred or more of the
+population.
+
+Now, what we are trying to get at here is a fair estimate of what the
+parent may reasonably look for by way of a stock of native ability in
+his child. The natural-born genius will be known by one special mark;
+namely, he will be so strongly inclined toward one special line of work
+or calling as to need no outside stimulus or incentive to make him take
+it up. Indeed, in the usual case of a pronounced genius it is a very
+difficult matter to prevent the individual from following out his one
+over-mastering predisposition.
+
+The marks of feeble-mindedness or idiocy are too well known to need
+description. Such cases are also so rare and so special in their manner
+of treatment as to call for no extended discussion.
+
+
+THE GREAT TALENTED CLASS
+
+The great masses of humanity are constituted of what we mean here by the
+talented. That is, as described above, at birth they possess a large and
+abundant stock of potentialities of learning and achievement--much more
+than can ever become actualized because of the comparatively limited
+time and means for education and training. Of course, we recognize that
+among the talented classes there is an endless variety of combinations
+of abilities. So are there many degrees of ability.
+
+But in addition to the foregoing marks of latent ability in the great
+middle classes we must note a distinctive feature of the development and
+education of such classes. It is this: _The two great conditions
+necessary for the successful development of the ordinary child are
+stimulus and opportunity._ Unless the slumbering talents be awakened by
+the proper stimuli, they may slumber on throughout the whole lifetime
+and no one detect their presence; and unless opportunities for
+development be given to satisfy the awakened talent, it may return
+permanently to its condition of quiescence.
+
+In attempting to furnish the necessary stimuli and opportunities for the
+development of his boy, the farmer has--if he will only use it--a great
+advantage over the city father. The great variety of work-and-play
+experience afforded by the rural situation, the fairly good general
+schooling now coming more and more into reach of all farm homes, the
+many conditions contributory to self-reliance and independent thinking
+in the case of the boy--all these raw materials of stimulus and
+opportunity lie hidden about the common country home. But the parents
+must themselves become wider awake to the meanings and purposes of such
+materials, or otherwise their value is lost through disuse. And again,
+it is urged that parents make the same careful study of their children
+as they do of farm crops and live stock. See the reference lists
+following the first five chapters.
+
+
+ROUND OUT THE BOY'S NATURE
+
+Fortunately, the new provisions of the schools are furnishing more and
+more definitely the equipment and the course of training most necessary
+for the masses of the growing children. Fortunately, too, the illiterate
+father is not to be permitted to dictate as to what subjects his boy is
+to study in the school, there being not only compulsory attendance, but
+strict requirements that every child pursue the prescribed course. The
+time is fast approaching when the rural parent in any community can feel
+assured that this course of study has been mapped out by expert
+authority in just such a way as to serve the highest needs of his boy,
+the idea being to teach and awaken every side of the young nature into
+its highest possible activity.
+
+In the usual case it is a waste of time to attempt to predetermine the
+boy's vocational life before he has gone at least well up through the
+intermediate grades of the common school; and even then, there is
+usually not much indication of what he is best suited for. So, one of
+the great purposes of the common school course is that of sounding the
+boy on every side and in every depth of his nature, so to speak, in
+order to find what is there, and to determine what he is by inheritance
+best suited to do as a life work.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.
+
+FIG. 35.--An illustration of how to keep the boy on the farm. Every boy
+needs to acquire early an intimate knowledge of some great industrial
+pursuit.]
+
+The usual inclination of the rural parent is that of looking at his
+son's education too strictly in terms of dollars and cents and to be
+impatient at the thought of the boy's taking a broad, fundamental course
+of schooling. Such school subjects as language and composition are
+especially thought of as a useless waste of time. But fortunately, as
+indicated above, the choice is no longer left either to the boy or his
+father. The former must pursue the subjects assigned him and allow time
+to prove the wisdom of such a procedure, as it most certainly will.
+Wherefore, let the rural father attempt to think of his boy, not merely
+as a coming money-maker, but as a coming _man_; a man of power and worth
+and influence in the community in which he is to live, a man of whom his
+aged father in future time will be most proud, and by whom he will be
+highly honored.
+
+
+OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS
+
+As suggested above, the evidence is very overwhelming in effect that it
+is the duty of rural parents to give their children a broad, general
+course of training as a foundation for efficient life in any place or
+position. Moreover, it must not be thought for a moment that the legacy
+of money or property will in any wise furnish a satisfactory substitute
+for such a course of training. Mean-spiritedness and narrow-mindedness
+are almost invariably prominent traits of the man who has been prepared
+to know nothing outside of his business even though that may be a big
+business. On the other hand, extensive culture, including a character
+well developed in all of its essential elements, is by far the best
+equipment that can possibly be furnished the boy for his start in life.
+
+Now, while the growing boy's education must not be especially prejudiced
+in favor of any particular calling, there is no good reason why the
+farmer's son should not be given the benefit of every possible intimate
+and wholesome relation to the father's work and business. That is, he
+must not be forced to take up the vocation of farming, but he must be
+given every opportunity to know its best meanings and advantages. And if
+he is finally to leave for some foreign occupation, he must go with a
+profound sense of the possible worth and integrity of the calling of his
+father. Then, in order that there may be maintained most friendly
+relations between the farm boy and the farm life, see to it that he has
+an occasional outing. Widen the scope of his home environment by means
+of sending him outside occasionally. Let him go off to the state and
+county fair and learn what he can there. Let him participate in the
+grain and stock judging contests, as heretofore recommended. Let him
+attend some of the larger sales of blooded stock and learn there to know
+more intimately the possibilities of animal husbandry. Accompany him on
+a trip to the big city occasionally--under proper provisions and
+restrictions--and help him to acquire some valuable lesson which may be
+taken back to the rural community and used to the advantage of the
+latter.
+
+Also, what about the literature in the home? Although a chapter has
+already been given to the matter, for the sake of emphasizing its great
+importance it is again referred to here. Why not see to it that there be
+secured a few enticing volumes of the clean and uplifting sort? A very
+few dollars will furnish the nucleus of a library of which the boy will
+soon become proud. Ask the school superintendent or teacher to make out
+a list of ten of the best books for your boy and then secure these at
+once. Bring into the home also one or two of the best standard magazines
+and keep constantly on the table one or more of the best and cleanest
+newspapers. Then, see to it that the boy's life be not so nearly dragged
+out during the day's work that he cannot spend thirty minutes or more of
+each evening at the reading table.
+
+
+DEVELOP AN INTEREST IN HUMANITY
+
+All education is for the sake of human welfare. The thing learned like
+the material thing possessed is most worth while in proportion as it
+serves some high human purpose or need. There is abundant opportunity to
+teach the country boy that education cannot well exist for its own sake
+or purely for one's own selfish uses. So it is well early to awaken the
+youth's interest in people. Have him compare his own lot with that of
+others in very different circumstances. Take him occasionally to the
+orphanage, the industrial (reform) school, the imbecile and insane
+asylums, the prisons, and the sweat-shops in the city. Thus through
+acquainting him with how the other half lives you may cause the boy to
+reflect seriously on the best meanings and possibilities of his own
+life, and to plan in his mind a splendid ideal of integrity for his own
+coming manhood.
+
+The boy's education is not going on rightly if he is not being
+introduced to the current affairs of the world. The literature suggested
+above should be made to serve the purpose of bringing his attention to
+these matters. He should become interested in the political welfare of
+his community, his state, and his nation, and learn to feel his
+responsibility in regard to such things. But he will probably not
+voluntarily acquire these better relations to society at large. It
+should therefore be regarded as the urgent duty of the parent to give
+the necessary guidance and instruction.
+
+Finally, we must again be reminded of the high ideals of education and
+culture necessary to, and consistent with, substantial country life. The
+greatest of producing classes--the agronomists--must and can in time
+rank at the head of all others in moral and intellectual worth. So, let
+the rural parent look ahead and formulate in his own mind the splendid
+vision of his son grown up to full maturity of all his best powers. Let
+him see this future citizen as a man of magnanimity, of splendid
+personal force, and of great constructive ability in the important work
+of budding up the affairs of the community in which he is to live.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Chapters in Rural Progress. President Kenyon L. Butterfield.
+    Chapter VI. "Education for the Farmer." University of Chicago
+    Press.
+
+    Education for the Iowa Farm Boy. H. C. Wallace. Pamphlet.
+    (Free.) Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines.
+
+    Value during Education of a life Career Motive. C. W. Eliot.
+    Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910.
+
+    To keep Boys on the Farm. M. E. Carr. _Country Life._ April
+    1, 1911.
+
+    Education Best Suited for Boys. R. P. Halleck. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1906. p. 58.
+
+    The Training of Farmers. Dr. L. H. Bailey. The Century
+    Company. Contains a statistical study of why boys leave the
+    farm.
+
+    The Best Thing a College does for a Man. President Charles F.
+    Tawing. _Forum_, Volume 18. p. 570.
+
+    The Care of Freshmen. President W. O. Thompson. Annual Volume
+    N.E.A., 1907. p. 723.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare.
+    Page 142. "The Discipline of Work." Frederick P. Fish. G. E.
+    Stechert & Co., New York.
+
+    The Young Man's Problem. Educational Pamphlet No. 1. Society
+    of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. New York. 10 cents. Every
+    parent should read this excellent discussion on sex
+    education.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+_WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY GIRL HAVE?_
+
+
+Perhaps it need not be urged that the country girl be provided with the
+same general educational advantages as those outlined for the country
+boy, as the plain demands of justice would mean as much. She, too, must
+be thought of as possessing all the beautiful latent possibilities, and
+high ideals of personal worth and character should be constantly
+entertained for her in the minds of her parents. And then, they must
+allow no ordinary business concern about the farm home to stand in the
+way of her unfoldment in the direction of these higher ideals.
+
+
+SPECIAL PROBLEMS RELATING TO THE GIRL
+
+Over and above those provisions which relate to the general development
+of the country boy there are several special considerations in reference
+to his sister. For example, she has a more delicate physical organism
+which must be shielded, especially at times, against the heavy drudgery
+that will naturally fall upon her willing shoulders. And then, the
+standards require of her rather more of refined manners than they do of
+her brother. Moreover, it may be shown that a refined and attractive
+personality will become a larger asset in her life than in his.
+Comeliness and habitual cheerfulness and numerous other like qualities
+must be thought of as necessary and helpful characteristics of the
+well-reared country girl. It will also be much to her advantage to have
+some special training in at least one of the so-called fine arts. Let
+her have her musical education or some advanced work in literature or
+painting. A sum of money invested in something of this sort while the
+daughter is growing may be considered a far better investment than if
+the same amount were laid away to invest in a dowry.
+
+
+PROTECTING THE GIRL AT SCHOOL
+
+It is not merely obligatory that the farmer send his young girl to the
+district school regularly, and thus round out her nature symmetrically
+through instruction in all the common branches. The delicate nature of
+the normal girl requires far more protection than is often accorded it.
+Unlike the city walks and pavements, the country road leading to the
+schoolhouse is often menaced by muddy sloughs, tall vegetation, and deep
+snow banks. Wading through such places, especially in bad weather, gives
+undue exposure, the feet frequently becoming wet and the body thoroughly
+chilled. Many children sit all day in the schoolroom in this condition.
+As a result of the lowered vitality the incipient forms of various
+diseases enter the body, there perhaps to return intermittently and with
+more serious effects as the life advances.
+
+What may be done as preventive measures, it is asked. Simply this:
+Prepare a better road from the home to the schoolhouse, by putting in
+foot crossings over ravines, by mowing weeds and grass, by filling and
+draining low places, and the like. On stormy days and on occasions when
+the young adolescent girl is passing through her monthly period of
+weakness--one especially endangering the health--it will be advisable to
+provide a conveyance to school and back.
+
+Country parents also often need to be cautioned in regard to
+over-working the school girl. Some even require her to do practically
+the same amount of work as she could well endure were there no extra
+burdens at school. Manifestly, this is both unjust and injurious.
+Observe the conduct of the young school girl for a few days. If there is
+no song and laughter in her life; if she is not ruddy in complexion and
+buoyant of step; if she mopes and drones about the place; do not censure
+her, but seek a constitutional cause and watch for evidences of an
+over-requirement of work.
+
+The close inspection of the health of school children, now conducted in
+many cities, brings out the somewhat startling fact that many boys and
+girls come to the class room every morning fatigued and depressed beyond
+the point of effective study. The old way was to call them dullards, to
+punish them, to shame them out of the school, to humiliate their
+parents. The new method of dealing with such children calls for
+scientific measures. First, the exact conditions are ascertained by
+experts; second, the parents are urged and helped to provide for the
+child more sleep, better food, more fresh air in the living chambers,
+more recreation, a relief from over-work, or some special medical
+care--as the particular case may demand.
+
+If one wishes full evidence of the effective gain for studentship that
+results from the new manner of treatment of the dull and backward pupil,
+let him examine the many reports of individual cases as published in the
+_Psychological Clinic_ at the University of Pennsylvania, especially the
+issues of 1909-1910. The indifference or the thoughtlessness of country
+parents may easily allow for the existence of the foregoing bad physical
+conditions in the case of their own daughter, and as a result her
+otherwise promising life may become permanently blighted.
+
+
+LESSONS IN MUSIC AND ART
+
+The ordinary farmer needs to learn to take more pride in his daughter
+and in her accomplishments. The time will come when he will be far more
+proud of her wealth of character than he will be of her wealth of
+material goods. A country father of moderate means bought a first-class
+piano for his two girls and employed a music teacher. "You may think
+that I cannot afford such things," said he. "But I can. I am running
+this farm for the good it will do my family." He was a true philosopher,
+as well as a successful farmer.
+
+It is entirely practicable and most helpful to her development to
+provide that the country girl be given instruction in music, or art, or
+something special and advanced in the form of needlework. In its best
+sense this special instruction will not be thought of as vocational
+training, but rather as a necessary manner of giving permanent
+expression to her aesthetic nature. The author believes that the matter
+should be stated even more emphatically. That is, not to give the normal
+girl some such means of indulging her aesthetic tastes is seriously to
+neglect her education, if not to do her a permanent wrong.
+
+While vocational training and economic advantages are important
+secondary considerations in connection with the daughter's instruction
+in the fine arts, the father who helps her become an amateur in one of
+these lines thereby renders her a splendid service for life. It is
+neither very difficult nor very expensive to arrange to have the girl go
+to the near-by town or to a neighbor's once or twice per week where she
+may receive competent instruction in music or painting. To make the
+arrangement most effective there will need to be a musical instrument in
+her own home, a conveyance at her ready disposal, and a regular
+allowance of time for practice. No just and affectionate parents can
+deny their young daughter any fewer advantages than these, if the means
+for securing them can at all be acquired.
+
+
+THE REWARD WILL COME IN TIME
+
+The lessons in painting or fine needlework may be provided for in the
+same way. If the expense seems heavy, the far-sighted parents will think
+of their declining days of the future and imagine the large return the
+daughter may render them through the skill which they have been
+instrumental in developing in her.
+
+But without waiting for old age to overtake them the father and mother
+of the girl artist may derive some benefits from her work. She may
+furnish the table service with hand-painted chinaware or adorn the walls
+of the home with attractive paintings. And also, as heretofore
+indicated, the daughter may herself in time conduct a class of amateur
+students of the fine art in which she has made preparation.
+
+One word of precaution must be offered in reference to the training here
+considered. In the usual case the girl is not started young enough. Her
+advancement in the music, for example, is likely to be much more rapid
+and her skill much more marked, if the age nine to eleven, rather than
+five or six years later, be chosen as the beginning time. The author has
+witnessed many pathetic instances of adult girls in a desperate attempt
+to master the mechanical part of the introductory music. The extra
+amount of desire and effort possible at this more advanced age do not
+nearly compensate for the better memory and the greater facility of hand
+and finger movement possible at the earlier age. This same general law
+of early beginning probably holds good in respect to the other fine
+arts.
+
+In relation to all the foregoing seemingly trivial matters there comes
+to mind what is perhaps the most serious problem that confronts
+practically every well-reared young woman; namely, that of her
+successful marriage to a worthy young man--a subject to be discussed at
+length in another paper. And so it is contended that if her future
+happiness or well-being be a consideration, if the realization of her
+fondest hopes and her instinctive desires be worthy of the thought of
+her parents; then, they must by all means see that some of the foregoing
+refining qualities become woven into her whole character during the
+formative period. Thus she may be given practically every possible
+advantage in finding that true life companion.
+
+
+THE MOTHER'S OFFICE AS TEACHER
+
+In his usual familiar and straightforward way "Uncle" Henry Wallace thus
+addresses the country mother through the medium of an editorial in
+_Wallaces' Farmer_:--
+
+"It is the mother that shapes and molds the character of the girl. If
+she is sweet spirited, looks out upon the world hopefully and desirous
+of seeing the best in men and women, her daughters will as a rule have
+the same sort of outlook. If she permits gossip and fault-finding at the
+table, her daughters may reasonably be expected to do likewise. If she
+sharply criticises the preacher's sermon at the Sabbath dinner, she need
+not expect her daughters to become devout. If she is a poor housekeeper,
+how can she expect her daughters to excel in that finest of all arts? We
+know something of the depth and tenderness of a mother's love, how
+earnestly she seeks the welfare of her daughter; but if she has a wrong
+conception of what is best in life, even this unspeaking affection may
+be the source of evil instead of good.
+
+"One of the first things you should consider about that girl of yours is
+her health. Give her plain food and plenty of it, sensible clothing, a
+well-ventilated and well-lighted room, and all the exercise that she
+wants, even if she does seem to be something of a tomboy; and, barring
+accidents, she will usually be healthy through early girlhood. When she
+begins to develop into womanhood is the time for you, mother, to do what
+no one else can. Tell her about herself, about the changes that must
+come, and about the care she must take of herself if she is to be a
+healthy and happy wife and mother. A mistake here through false modesty
+is often the source of trouble for years to come."
+
+
+HOME-LIFE EDUCATION
+
+This book is based on the assumption that every good young woman is good
+for something of a practical nature. In considering the make-up of such
+a character, it seems reasonable to assert that no other qualities stand
+out more prominently than the trained ability to carry on successfully
+the work of the household. The necessary drudgery of the home life seems
+to be the greatest burden that modern society has placed upon women.
+Proportionately great should be the preparation to bear this burden. The
+ideal to be realized is, perhaps, not that the girl may be enabled to do
+more of such work, but that she may be trained to be true mistress of
+it. Woman's work is never done, and it never will be, no matter how many
+worthy women kill themselves in an attempt to finish it. So the greatest
+thing to be desired in respect to this unending round of toil and
+drudgery is that of a well-poised, spiritually-minded character, such as
+may enable its possessor to sit down at the end of a working period
+unusually long and in spite of the confusion and unfinished business
+restore the composure and keep in touch with the higher implications of
+life.
+
+It is not really a difficult matter to teach the ordinary growing girl
+to work and perform faithfully all of her assigned duties. It is more of
+a task to teach her how to quit when she has worked long enough and
+thereby to preserve her health and prolong her services.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.
+
+FIG. 36.--These country boys and girls supply the home neighborhood with
+the produce from the school garden. Such work is first-class vocational
+training.]
+
+
+EDUCATION FOR SUPREMACY
+
+It is unquestionably a splendid aid to successful womanhood for the
+growing girl to be taught how to cook and sew and take care of a house.
+But as a guarantee of peace and happiness throughout life she had better
+be taught many specific lessons in self-mastery. And it seems certain
+that the farm home offers many more advantages for developing a poised
+character in the young woman than does the city home. So let it be seen
+to by country parents that their girls be trained from childhood to meet
+life's stress and storm with calm composure and sweet serenity. Only
+such training will suffice to tide the latter over the great crushing
+ordeals that tend at some time to fall to the lot of every good woman.
+
+Conditions in the well-ordered country home may be made to contribute to
+another form of self-mastery in the growing girl. That is, she may be
+made supreme over the conventionalities of dress and the social customs
+that touch her life. By this it is not intended to prescribe in respect
+to such things as the style or appearance of the young woman's clothing.
+She may be first or last or medium in the list of the well-dressed. But
+it is here contended that she can be trained to subordinate these
+matters to a personal charm that is her very own, and that emanates from
+a beautiful and well-poised life within. It is quite as destructive to
+good character for one to be meanly clothed through necessity and at the
+same time envy and despise those who are better dressed as it is to be
+among the richly adorned and try to make mere adornment a mark of better
+and superior rank in society, or a means of lacerating the feelings of
+one's associates.
+
+The country mother will let pass one of the rarest forms of opportunity
+for refining and beautifying the character of her daughter if she does
+not educate the latter rightly in respect to these conventionalities.
+Train her to be neat and attractive in appearance, but at the same time
+teach her that no manner of outer adornment can cover up or substitute
+for sweetness and purity of the inner life. The splendid effects of such
+an education will reveal themselves to best advantage in the young woman
+when she has finally entered a home of her own. If she cannot then and
+there shine in a light that emanates from her own soul, the sacrificial
+work of ministering to the needs of her own household will never be well
+performed.
+
+
+AN OUTLOOK FOR SOCIAL LIFE
+
+Provision will by all means be made that the growing country girl be
+introduced to the best social life within reach. She must mingle with
+those of her own age and learn how others think and act. She must attend
+parties and the other social gatherings, especially the literary
+societies if there be any available. For the sake of her training, if
+for no better reason, she may be brought into close relation to the
+Sunday school and the church. It will be good, indeed, if she find some
+congenial work in one or both of these organizations. Let it be
+remembered that the healthy-minded, well-matured woman is very probably
+at her best and is most highly satisfied and contented with life only
+when she has opportunities to perform some kind of worthy social
+service. Farm parents may well bring it about, therefore, that their
+young daughter have some specific deeds of altruism to perform. Let her
+carry a small gift or a word of cheer to the door of the sick or the
+infirm. Let her make with her own hands some simple, inexpensive present
+to be carried to the one who needs it most and whose heart will be made
+glad by it.
+
+Above all things else, it must be provided that something more than the
+mere grasping nature of the young country girl be indulged and
+developed. Some there are who still contend that life for men is, at its
+best, a game of chance and contention. But such an ideal, if held up to
+the growing girl, will tend to check or destroy all that is best and
+most beautiful in the feminine nature. Young women especially must learn
+through practice that the best and most beautiful character is
+altogether consistent with the performance of deeds of service and
+altruism.
+
+Finally, educate into the daughter as much habitual cheerfulness as
+possible, let her heart be made glad again and again, not merely
+because of what she has, and because of what she receives day by day,
+but also and especially on account of what she gives out of the best and
+sweetest of her own nature in behalf of those whom she may find occasion
+to help and cheer on their way over the journey of life. All this will
+help to make her a creature of whom not only the other members of her
+family, but also the entire community will be most proud.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    My Escape from Household Drudgery. Mary Patterson. _Success
+    Magazine_, August, 1911.
+
+    Proceedings of Child Conference of Research and Welfare.
+    Beulah Kennard. Page 47, "The Play Life of Girls." G. E.
+    Stechert & Co., New York.
+
+    Women's School of Agriculture. I. H. Harper. _Independent_,
+    June 29, 1911.
+
+    The Girl of To-morrow--Her Education. E. H. Baylor. _World's
+    Work_, July, 1911. Prize essay.
+
+    Education of Women for Home Making. Mrs. W. N. Hutt. Annual
+    Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 122.
+
+    Give the Girls a Chance. Canfield. _Collier's_, March 12,
+    1910.
+
+    The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Charles W. Eliot. Pages
+    11-57, "The Happy Life." Crowell.
+
+    The Kind of Education Best Suited for Girls. Anna J.
+    Hamilton. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907. p. 65.
+
+    Parasitic Culture. Dr. George E. Dawson. _Popular Science
+    Monthly_, September, 1910.
+
+    Training the Girl to help in the Home. William A. McKeever.
+    Pamphlet. 2 cents. Published by the author. Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+_THE FARM BOY'S CHOICE OF A VOCATION_
+
+
+Turn which way you will upon the great broad highway of life and there
+you will always be able to find the wrecks and broken forms of
+humankind--men and women who have failed in their life purposes. Strange
+to say, that particular aspect of the science of character-building
+which has to do with the substantial preparation for vocational life has
+been very much neglected. By what rule do men succeed in their callings
+and by what different rule do other men fail? Are some foreordained to
+success and others to failure? Is there an inherent strength in some and
+a native weakness in others? Is there a type of education and training
+which specifically fits and prepares for each of the native callings?
+None of these questions has been thoroughly gone into with a view to
+finding out what were best to be done and what best to leave undone. So,
+we blunder away, hit or miss, in the vocational training of our boys and
+girls.
+
+
+SHOULD THE FARMER'S SON FARM?
+
+In attempting to give helpful suggestions to farm parents relative to
+their boy's vocation, perhaps this question will first demand an
+answer. The tentative reply to it is this: The farmer's son, or any
+other man's son, should follow that calling for which he is best suited
+by nature and in which he will thereby have the greatest amount of
+native interest; provided it be practicable to prepare him for such
+calling. Some farm boys are destined by nature for mechanical pursuits,
+others for social or clerical work, others for captains of industry, and
+so on. Likewise, the city boys may reveal in their natures a great
+variety of instinctive tendencies and interests which will be found of
+great worth in guiding them into a successful life occupation.
+
+Yes, the farmer's son should by all means take up his father's business;
+provided that at maturity he may have both native and acquired interest
+in the same and that to a degree predominating any other native or
+acquired interest.
+
+
+IMPATIENCE OF PARENTS
+
+It can be proved that the country boy matures more slowly than the city
+boy. For example, at the age of sixteen, he is behind the latter in
+height, weight, school training, and sociability. But while the city boy
+matures more rapidly, the country boy makes up for the loss by a longer
+period of development. It is the author's firm belief that this fact of
+slow growth proves a tremendous advantage to the country youth in that
+it allows for greater stability of character, and especially for a
+greater amount of courage and aggressiveness in form of permanent life
+habits.
+
+But one might well wish that all rural parents could realize the evil
+consequences of being impatient with the son in respect to his choice of
+a life work. Many a good boy yet in his teens is hounded and driven
+about by the continuous nagging of his parents, who ignorantly believe
+that he should have his future destiny all planned and ready for its
+realization. As a result, this same good boy is often driven to
+desperation and to the point of leaving the home place--of breaking away
+from the affectionate ties that bind him to parents, and of seeking the
+position wherein he might earn a living. As a matter of fact, few young
+men have any very clear or reliable vision of their future life at the
+age of eighteen, or even twenty. Many of the best men in the world are
+faltering and uncertain even as late as twenty-five. However, if the
+relatives and friends would only exercise all due patience, offering
+only such helps and suggestions as can be given, and trusting the future
+finally to throw upon the problem a light from within the youth
+himself--then, we may be assured, practically every man will finally
+come to some line of effort that will bring him a comfortable living.
+
+
+WHAT OF PREDESTINATION?
+
+The old-fashioned idea of a boy's being marked by the hand of destiny,
+"cut out for" some particular calling in life, still has a place in the
+minds of the masses. The kindred belief that some men are "natural-born
+failures" has also wide currency. A third superstition is the very
+common opinion that others are "just naturally lucky." All these
+traditional opinions are the outgrowth of ignorance of human nature such
+as may be dispelled by means of a course of instruction, or a carefully
+arranged course of home reading, in modern psychology.
+
+None of the foregoing superstitions would be worthy of our attention
+were it not for the gross injustice which they entail upon children.
+Parents everywhere--in both city and country--are dealing with their
+children upon the assumption that one and all of these fallacies are
+true. "My oldest boy just naturally has no luck," said the father of
+three sons and two daughters. "He changes around from one thing to
+another and fails every time." But what of this particular boy's early
+training? Was it the same as that of the others? Did he enjoy equal
+advantages? Did his parents when married really know anything about
+rearing children? or, did they really mistreat their first-born through
+ignorance and use him as a sort of practice material from which they
+learned how to do better by the succeeding ones?
+
+Until the foregoing inquiries about the "unlucky" son's boyhood life be
+fully answered, we cannot reasonably permit ourselves to condemn him.
+There is nothing more in predestination than this; namely, it can be
+shown that the child is born with not a few latent abilities--aptitudes
+for doing and learning this and that--and that one of these aptitudes is
+likely to have correlated with it more than the average amount of nerve
+development in the corresponding brain center. As a result, that
+particular aptitude will require less training than the others and will
+tend to predominate over them as maturity is approached.
+
+The reply of the psychologist to the statement that some men are
+"natural-born failures," is this: Few if any of those possessed of
+ordinary physical and mental qualities at birth are necessarily so.
+Excepting the feeble-minded and the like,--whose marks of degeneracy are
+usually apparent to all,--it may be asserted on the highest authority
+that none are "natural-born failures" to any greater extent than they
+are "natural-born successes"; but that they have within the inherited
+nerve mechanisms many possibilities of both success and failure.
+
+
+THREE METHODS OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING
+
+We should be willing to overlook almost any other interest in this
+discussion for the sake of inducing in the farm father the belief that
+his young boy is a potential success--the belief that this boy is
+furnished by nature with the latent ability to shine somewhere in the
+broad field of human endeavor--provided he be rightly trained and
+disciplined during his growing years. Here, then, is probably the
+greatest of all the human-training problems; namely, the vocational one.
+
+Roughly speaking, there have been three methods of vocational training.
+
+1. _The apprentice method._--First, historically there has been the
+apprentice method, the youth being "bound out to learn a trade." The
+chief faults of this traditional way of teaching the boy to be
+self-supporting were these: it made no allowance for intellectual
+development, and it gave the father too much authority to choose the
+calling for the boy.
+
+A modern offshoot of the old-time apprentice course is the trade school
+which flourishes in many of the big cities to-day. This new institution
+has one great advantage over its prototype. It offers such a great
+variety of forms of training that the youth may exercise much free
+choice. But it preserves one of the serious defects of apprenticeship in
+its neglect of the intellect of the learner. The modern trade school can
+never hope to do more than prepare young men and women to make a good
+living. It is a get-ready-quick institution, and can never be expected
+to give the student breadth of view and depth of insight into the great
+problems of human life.
+
+2. _The cultural method._--The second-oldest method of preparing men for
+a vocation is what has been called the cultural method. It has aimed at
+high advancement in book learning with the thought of finally enabling
+the student to enter a professional class comparatively few in numbers
+and supposed to possess a superior advantage over the great mass of
+human kind. One fault of this method has been to emphasize learning for
+its own sake and to defer too long the training of the individual in the
+material and practical side of his calling.
+
+But the chief fault of this cultural method has been its contempt for
+common labor and ordinary industry, its theory being that true education
+prepares one to avoid such practices. If the young man wished to prepare
+for law or medicine or teaching or the ministry,--one of the "learned
+professions,"--then the old classical school was at his service. But if
+he would become a mere artisan or industrial worker, there was no
+advanced course of schooling available.
+
+3. _The developmental method._--The third and newest method of preparing
+the young person for his vocational life is in reality a compromise
+between the first and second. It provides that the learner shall have
+book instruction and industrial training at the same time, and that both
+of these are to be regarded as cultural, since taken together they
+prepare for independence of thought and action, and for the vocation, as
+well. This new method of preparing young people for their life work
+would call nothing mean or low. It aims to serve all impartially in
+their struggle for self-improvement and vocational success. But its
+motto is the development of head and hand together. It seeks to produce
+cultured handicraftsmen as well as cultured artists and professional
+men.
+
+
+THE FARMER FORTUNATE
+
+Our justification for the foregoing somewhat lengthy discussion of the
+different theories of education is that of wishing to be certain of
+bespeaking the father's patience and forbearance in the preparation of
+his son for the vocational life. The farmer is most fortunate in having
+ready at hand a large amount and variety of industrial practice to
+supplement the boy's book lessons. In this respect he probably has a
+superior advantage over all other classes.
+
+But in guiding his boy gradually toward the vocational life the farm
+father can easily mistake what is merely a passing interest on the
+former's part for a permanent one. The carefully kept records of farm
+boys show that they take up many different lines of work with great
+enthusiasm, and yet soon tire of them and drop them. These serial and
+transitory interests are usually mere juvenile responses to the
+awakening of some new nerve centers. They are not much different in
+nature from the brief passing interest which the child has in his
+various playthings.
+
+Now, the chief function of these transitory interests in special forms
+of work and learning as shown by the young growing boy is this: to
+furnish the occasions for a great variety of activities and practices
+for trying him out on all the possible sides of his nature. Not one of
+these intense boyish interests is necessarily very directly preparatory
+to his final choice of a vocation, while all are indirectly so.
+Therefore, if the fifteen-year-old son chances to win in a corn-raising
+contest, or at a live-stock exhibition, or if he manifests unusual
+interest in arithmethic, declamation, or nature study, do not regard any
+of these as necessarily pointing to his best possible vocational work.
+Presumably, at such an undeveloped age, he is still in possession of
+some latent interests and aptitudes, one of which may far outweigh any
+such thing hitherto awakened in his life. Give him time to mature and,
+if at all practicable, send him on to college.
+
+
+WHAT COLLEGE FOR THE COUNTRY BOY
+
+It is the opinion of the author that the State Agricultural College, as
+now situated and organized, is the ideal institution of higher learning
+for the country-bred youth. It offers him every reasonable incentive and
+opportunity for continuing in the calling of his father, if he be so
+inclined, while at the same time it gives instruction in many other
+departments of learning. Whether the state institution be a separate
+one or merely a college within the organization of the state university
+matters little. In either case the young man will be brought within
+reach of a course in scientific farming, stock raising, horticulture,
+and the like, either to choose or let alone--and the so-called cultural
+work will still be there for the taking.
+
+
+THE FOUNDATION IN WORK
+
+Many rural parents, weighted down with the over-work of the farm,
+cherish and express a very earnest desire that their sons may find some
+easier form of earning a living. So they deliberately plan with the boy
+the "easy" course to be pursued. Said one such farmer: "Wife and I
+decided that there would not be much in it for Henry except hard work if
+he settled down on the home place, so we decided to send him to college
+and educate him for something that offered less work and more pay." So
+they shielded the son from the heavier duties of the farm and encouraged
+in every way the boy's thought of an easy way to success.
+
+But one thing these well-meaning parents failed to foresee. That is,
+when the boy entered college, he began to look for that same sort of
+royal road to learning. The assigned lessons and tasks soon took the
+appearance of drudgery and he dodged and avoided them wherever possible.
+In less than a year the youth had failed at college and was back home.
+"The confinement of the college did not agree with his health." More
+than three years have passed since, and the boy has spent the time
+drifting from one "job" to another and all the while growing weaker in
+character and integrity.
+
+Here we have but another instance of the old, old story, with its tragic
+aspects. Yet, nearly all the faltering, vacillating men now drifting
+about the country might have been saved through careful training in the
+performance of work. The boy who would be insured success in his coming
+vocation must be required to buckle down to solid work of a kind and
+amount to suit his years and strength. He must learn through the
+character-building experience of toil, not only what it means to stay by
+an assigned duty till it is performed, but he must also experience the
+unfailing joy of work well done. He will thus have the advantage of the
+spur of successful effort and acquire the beginnings of that splendid
+self-reliance which is a distinguishing mark of all successful men.
+
+
+CLEAN UP THE PLACE
+
+But there is a sort of drudgery and of ugliness against which the boy's
+nature instinctively rebels, and it ought to. By this we mean to refer
+to the actual conditions of over-work and the accompanying run-down
+appearance that characterizes so many farm homes to-day. No wonder the
+boys hasten away to the city to find a "job."
+
+Why not clean up the place by cutting away the underbrush and weeds, by
+planting shade trees and repairing fences and out buildings, by painting
+and renovating the house and barn?--and all this as an investment in
+behalf of the children and their possible future interest in the farm
+home as the best place on earth in which to dwell? All this and more
+might be urged as means of guiding the thoughts of the farm boy towards
+the possibilities of his taking up the calling of his father. And while
+all these material advantages may not serve to overcome the natural
+tendency of the young man to seek a radically different type of
+occupation, they will at least make it more certain that his natural
+abilities for an agricultural pursuit were not left unawakened.
+
+
+MONEY VALUE OF AN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
+
+The College of Agriculture in Cornell University some time ago made an
+inquiry into the educational status of the farmers in a certain county
+of New York. It was found that out of 573 farmers, 398 had not advanced
+farther than the district school, 165 had attended high school one or
+more years, and 10 had received a college education. The 398 who had
+attended district school only were receiving yearly for their labor
+$318; the 165 farmers of high school education were receiving annually
+$622; and the 10 who had attended college one or more years were
+receiving an average of $847 income for their services.
+
+The foregoing investigation is at least suggestive in its results. It
+tends to prove that there is an actual earning-capacity value in the
+higher agricultural education. While the matter has never been
+extensively studied, it can doubtless be shown that the graduates of the
+agricultural course are receiving much larger incomes than any of the
+classes named above. In addition it can doubtless be shown that these
+graduates are better equipped, not only for earning a livelihood, but
+for substantial citizenship. Of course there are many notable exceptions
+to this rule, but the rule is, nevertheless, general.
+
+Now, if the farm parent wishes to figure his boy's future on the basis
+of money-earning capacity, he can easily be shown that the higher
+schooling in the average case increases such capacity. In addition there
+is abundant evidence of the fact that the higher schooling gives the
+young man a much better equipment for serving the society in which he is
+to live.
+
+
+A SUCCESSFUL VOCATION CERTAIN
+
+Finally, it may be said that the successful vocational life of the
+ordinary country-bred boy may be guaranteed as practically certain,
+provided he have every ordinary advantage of development and training of
+which he is capable. Train him early in lessons of obedience and work;
+make his life more wholesome through ample play and recreation; see that
+he learns how to earn money and how to save a part of his earnings;
+provide that he attend the public school regularly until at least the
+grammar grades be finished; give him an opportunity to become personally
+interested in the business side of the farm life; allow him
+opportunities to mingle with the cleanest possible society of his own
+age; and then await patiently his own inner promptings as to what line
+of work he should take up. A college course may prove necessary in order
+to help him uncover deeper and better levels that lie hidden in his
+nature. Then, after he has chosen a calling in this careful and reliable
+way, with all your might, mind, and soul encourage and support him in
+his efforts! This is practically the only way to make a big, efficient
+man and citizen of your boy and to make his calling a _divine_ calling.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    _Vocational Education._ Published bi-monthly. $1.50 per year.
+    The Manual Arts Press, Peoria, Ill.
+
+    Vocational Education. John M. Gillette. Chapter VI,
+    "Importance of the Economic Interest in Society." American
+    Book Company.
+
+    Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter II,
+    "Vocational Chaos and its Consequences." Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company. The entire volume is most timely and helpful.
+
+    The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D.
+    Houghton, Mifflin Company.
+
+    New Type of Rural School House. W. H. Jenkins. _Craftsman_,
+    May, 1911.
+
+    Vocational Direction, or The Boy and his Job. _Annals
+    American Academy_, March, 1910.
+
+    Education for a Vocation. President's address before the
+    N.E.A. Annual Volume, 1908, p. 56.
+
+    Vocational Direction. E. W. Lord. _Annals Academy of
+    Political and Social Science_ (Philadelphia), March, 1910.
+
+    Social Phase of Education. Samuel T. Dutten. Page 143, "The
+    Relation of Education to Vocation." Macmillan. The entire
+    book is sound and sane.
+
+    Income of College Graduates Ten Years after Graduation. H. A.
+    Miller. _Science_, Feb. 4, 1910.
+
+    Occupations of College Graduates as Influenced by the
+    Undergraduate Course. F. P. Keppel. _Educational Review_,
+    December, 1910.
+
+    Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation. Pamphlet. Wm.
+    A. McKeever. Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+_THE FARM GIRL'S PREPARATION FOR A VOCATION_
+
+
+What, may we ask, are rural parents doing in regard to the careful
+preparation of their growing daughters for the vocational life? The
+author has frequently asserted that many a farmer is to-day giving
+vastly more thought to the question of preparing his live stock for the
+money market than to preparing his girls for their life work. The
+seriousness, the well-nigh cruelty, of this situation becomes apparent
+only when we inquire into the facts. How long must this carelessness
+continue? How long will farmers remain indifferent to the tremendous
+responsibility of giving their children every possible aid in the
+direction of a high and worthy occupation? Their chief concern continues
+to be centered too exclusively upon the cattle and the hogs and the
+corn. Are the boys and girls to be left to shift for themselves? And are
+they to continue to have their careers determined by mere chance and
+incident?
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXX.
+
+FIG. 37.--Country school girls learning the rudiments of cooking. In no
+distant future such work will be required along with the traditional
+subjects.]
+
+
+WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK
+
+So, if the country father having a young family were here before us, we
+should ask him: What is the outlook in regard to a happy future for
+your growing daughter? Do you want her to take her place among the men
+and be forced to do some sort of man's work in order to obtain her
+bread? or, do you earnestly desire that she find some sort of worthy
+woman's work? And if the latter be your choice, what helpful agencies
+are you bringing to bear upon the situation? In the midst of all your
+consideration of these matters touching your daughter, we should have
+you most earnestly and prayerfully consider at least one thing; namely,
+with few possible exceptions, the healthy, growing girl looks forward
+instinctively to the time when she is to become mistress of a household
+of her own. And in every case, if the girl fails to become such a
+mistress, there is only one reasonable alternative to be thought of and
+that is to provide that she engage in some sort of work which will give
+expression in the largest possible measure to that which is best and
+truest in her feminine nature.
+
+Ordinarily, in planning for the future of their daughter, parents might
+as well consider the problem as having a two-fold aspect. Assuming first
+of all that the girl instinctively desires to preside over a home of her
+own, how can she best be prepared for that place? Second, in case that,
+by some miscarriage of plans, she fails to reach this most worthy
+ambition, what may she safely fall back upon as an adequate means of
+self-support? Now, if this statement of the matter be a correct one, it
+seems that the general scope of the problem of preparing a girl for her
+vocation ought to be fairly clear. Still another way of putting the
+situation is this: The girl must be carefully prepared, not only for her
+first choice of an occupation, but also for her second choice, because
+of grave danger of the failure of her first choice to be realized.
+
+There is a perplexing aspect of the whole question implied here, and
+every parent who has a daughter should become aware of it and also
+prepared to confront it. That is to say, almost any ordinary man may go
+out into the open market and push his quest for a life companion and be
+able to return in the course of a very short period with one at his
+side. But with the girl it is radically different. Practically her only
+stock-in-trade consists of her personal charm and her pecuniary
+advantages. And many a young woman with both of these qualities very
+strongly in her favor fails, by some chance or other, to receive an
+acceptable offer of marriage. Statistics widely gathered will show that
+age is also a very positive factor in this matter, and that the ratio of
+probability of marriage of a single woman begins to fall very rapidly
+before she reaches thirty.
+
+
+DESIRABLE OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN
+
+While there is abundant evidence to prove that the great majority of
+normal young women desire instinctively and above all things else a
+happy marriage, including a contented home life and children to care
+for, some alternatives must be now pointed out in case of failure to
+realize the highest ambition.
+
+1. _May teach the young._--School teaching is perhaps the most common,
+as well as the most commendable, occupation for unmarried women. In many
+a case, the farmer's daughter will find it greatly to her advantage to
+engage in this occupation for one or more terms. Thousands of the most
+worthy young women in our land are devoting their lives to this highest
+of secondary vocations for women. The work of teaching gives exercise to
+the altruistic feminine nature and approaches in a fair degree the
+satisfaction which comes to the mother who is sacrificing for children
+of her own.
+
+But school teaching wears heavily on the vitality of nearly all young
+women who follow it long. Diseases peculiar to the sex are said to be
+very prevalent among such teachers, probably resulting from an excessive
+amount of standing. Tens of thousands of girls are going from the farm
+home to the school room, some of them to remain permanently in the
+business, but the majority to earn money of their own and to place
+themselves in better position for successful marriage. So, perhaps the
+first duty of the country parents to the daughter who takes up school
+teaching is to see that the latter's health be not seriously impaired
+thereby. After that, the young woman's proper advancement in the
+profession may be thought of. The ungraded district school is an
+excellent trying-out and testing position for the young teacher. But if
+she continues many terms in the school room, graded work will prove more
+advantageous, especially in the important matter of bringing the young
+woman into the company of marriageable young men.
+
+2. _May take up stenography._--A vast army of young women now support
+themselves with the use of the typewriter. This work pays slightly more
+the year round than school teaching. It is somewhat more confining; but,
+for various other reasons, it is less deleterious to the general health.
+Such office business, however, subjects the young woman to many
+temptations. It is the opinion of the author that stenography is not at
+all a desirable occupation for the farmer's daughter to enter. The
+continued absence from home, the constant association with people
+differing radically in tastes and manners from the rural population, not
+to mention again the many temptations to accept lower moral
+standards--these and other matters will tend to estrange the farm
+daughter from her parents and to make them feel that something of the
+former charm of sweet simplicity and home affection has passed
+permanently out of her life.
+
+One thing at least is to be considered before the daughter be permitted
+to leave the country home for an office position. That is, the work is
+not to be considered as permanent, but rather as a possible means of
+preparing for marriage and the contented home life that should follow.
+
+3. _May do social work._--Next to the work of teaching, perhaps the
+social-service work now being developed and carried on in the cities
+would make its appeal to the true-hearted young woman. Here again we
+have a sort of task that dips into the affections and sympathies of the
+worker and furnishes an opportunity for her to give freely out of the
+best she has in her make-up. Among the fortunate considerations of
+teaching and social work are the opportunities they offer for the
+sympathetic care and guidance of children--the indulgence of altruism
+and the mother instinct in the young woman. Parents will observe as a
+rule that their daughter returns from such occupations as these with
+increased affections for the home family and the home life and a broader
+and more general interest in people.
+
+In recent years there has developed a new and remarkably promising field
+of social work for both young men and young women. Charitable,
+philanthropic, and other social-welfare institutions have been greatly
+multiplied, while their work has been put on a scientific basis. The
+modern method of securing employees in such places is that of calling
+persons especially trained and fitted to do the work required, and to
+pay reasonably for the service. Several new, first-class schools and
+institutions for training workers in this human field have been recently
+organized.
+
+Now, if country parents become anxious to have their daughter go away to
+the city and find desirable employment and that at living wages, the
+author recommends this new line of social work most highly. For reasons
+given above, and for others, it will prove an excellent stepping-stone
+to the home life--the work is in the general field of human betterment
+so inviting to the natural instincts of the well-reared young woman; the
+associates are persons likewise interested in human welfare and ranking
+high in moral and religious character; the required work is usually of a
+nature to awaken the deepest sympathies and affections and to make the
+countenance of the worker shine with a new spiritual light.
+
+4. _May secure clerkships._--Clerking and general store work is much
+followed by young women to-day, but such work may be put down in the
+list of hazardous occupations for women of any age. Close economic
+conditions in the cities force many thousands of girls to leave home and
+seek clerkships at a wage so low as indirectly to undermine the health
+and more directly to impair the morals. Great armies of these girls are
+compelled to live in dingy, cramped quarters, to subsist on much less
+than the quantity of wholesome food necessary for good health, to
+practice the strictest economy in matters of dress--to say nothing of
+the constant temptation to sell their virtue as a means of increasing
+the small income to the living margin.
+
+Only in extreme cases, therefore, will intelligent farm parents consent
+to their daughter's leaving home to take up a clerkship, and that when
+her home life and her social surroundings can be satisfactorily foreseen
+and arranged for in advance. Even then, the question must be raised:
+Will this new position probably prove helpful as an introduction to a
+better form of occupation?
+
+No other possible occupations for the farmer's daughter will be listed
+here excepting that of trained nurse--a position in which many young
+women are doing a splendid service for humanity and at the same time
+supporting themselves adequately. But of course such a position should
+not be thought of unless the girl feels an inner call to take it up.
+Practically all other outside lines of work for women are too masculine.
+Parents should by no means allow their daughters to take up a life task
+that means nothing other than mere money-making. Many women, it is true,
+are succeeding to-day in business callings, but they are doing so as a
+rule in violation of certain laws of nature. Many of these business
+women are masculine in their dispositions and they become more so as the
+unnatural calling continues to be pursued.
+
+
+A COLLEGE COURSE FOR THE GIRL
+
+At first thought it would seem that ability to prepare a good meal and
+to do her own sewing might constitute all the education in household
+economy necessary for any young woman. But such proves not to be the
+case. There are hundreds of home-making problems, great and small, for
+which mere knowledge of the two important affairs just named will
+provide no answer. While the ability to cook and sew well are doubtless
+essential characteristics of the good housekeeper, they are not at all a
+guarantee that their possessor is a good home maker.
+
+Parents must learn to take the larger and more liberal view of the
+future of their children. Not merely practice in the culinary art, but
+also a developed and refined personality; not merely industrial
+efficiency, but also constructive ability of a social nature; not merely
+mechanical skill in managing the details of housework, but a set of
+well-matured, effective plans for making the home over which she
+presides a place of joy and contentment for the other members of the
+family--these are some of the evidences of character which the wise,
+far-seeing parent might well desire for his daughter. Now, it is the
+thesis of this chapter that the normal woman is at her best only when
+she has become mistress of her own well-managed household. But such an
+exalted position can scarcely be reached except through a broad, general
+course of preparation.
+
+The one-sided, classical college training has spoiled for life many
+otherwise good and happy women. Such a course tends strongly to draw the
+mind and the affections of the young woman away from the home and from
+motherhood and other such matters so fundamental to the well-being of
+the race. But in seeking for an ideal school for the daughter the farmer
+will find unsurpassed that institution which offers extensive courses in
+household art and management, supplemented fully with work in the
+so-called culture subjects--language, literature, history, sociology,
+psychology, and economics. This work constitutes what might be called a
+balanced schedule of instruction for the young woman. If pursued to its
+conclusion, such a course of training enriches her personality and
+multiplies her opportunities for future usefulness many fold.
+
+
+ASSOCIATIONS WITH REFINED YOUNG MEN
+
+If the young woman's preparation for her life work be satisfactory to
+all, she must have extensive experience in the society of young men such
+as only the co-educational college can give. As her position in the
+rural home has been already too much isolated, an exclusive women's
+college is least to be desired as a place to educate the country girl.
+But the domestic science course in a state university or a state
+agricultural college will be found almost ideal. Here the girl may be
+held to a reasonable performance of her assigned duties, while at the
+same time she may mingle freely in the society of both sexes.
+
+Indeed, if the thesis of this chapter be a sound and tenable
+one,--namely, that normally woman's highest satisfaction is to be sought
+through helping her attain efficient home life,--then, there is every
+reason for agreeing with the late Professor James in his contention that
+every young woman ought to be taught how to know a good man. It is
+distinctively the business of the young college woman, not only to
+prepare well all her lessons in household economy and the literary
+subjects, but also to keep her eye out for a suitable life companion.
+And her father should be made to realize that her opportunities for
+marrying a man of high worth and ability are increased many fold through
+the completion of a course in the ideal form of co-educational college.
+
+Marriages among college mates are usually most successful, both in the
+final establishment of substantial home life and in point of resulting
+in a reasonable number of well-reared children. Statistics gathered
+widely show that the young woman college graduate marries somewhat later
+than her non-attending sister, that she has slightly better health, that
+her children are somewhat fewer, but better reared.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.
+
+FIG. 38.--a girls' class in sewing. No girl of this age needs to wear
+any better garment than she can make with her own needle if she be
+rightly trained. Such training is a part of real preparation for life.]
+
+
+MAKE THE DAUGHTER ATTRACTIVE
+
+It may therefore be urged upon all rural parents, as a cold business
+proposition, as well as a duty, that they take every reasonable
+precaution to develop in their growing daughters both an attractive
+personality and a beauty of the inner character, whether she be so
+fortunate as to attend a good college or not. All this must be done with
+a thought of rendering the daughter as attractive as possible in respect
+to any worthy young man who may in time seek her heart and hand in
+marriage. It is time for parents to cease passing this thing by as a
+mere piece of sentimentalism and to begin to do the fair thing by their
+girls. Why should it longer come to pass in this enlightened age that
+some parents break down the physical health of their girls with the
+burden of over-work and thus consign them to a life of moping and bitter
+disappointment for the future; that other parents indulge their girls in
+the giddy, butterfly type of life and thus blight their prospects of a
+substantial and satisfactory place in human society?
+
+
+SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
+
+In summarizing and concluding this chapter we wish to remind the reader
+of what has been said in the preceding ones. There are a number of
+distinctive elements that must be carefully wrought into the character
+of the farmer's daughter with a view to laying a substantial foundation
+for her future career.
+
+1. First of all, the girl's health must be kept in mind. She must not
+have an over-burden of work heaped upon her delicate shoulders, nor must
+she be allowed to expose herself unnecessarily to the inclemencies of
+the weather so common in the ordinary rural districts. There are many
+women moping about to-day, ill and despondent much of the time because
+of the negligence of parents who permitted them when growing girls to
+wade about through mud and slush and thus impair permanently their
+physical well-being. Many of the minor ailments of mature life recur
+habitually, and that because they were permitted to be acquired when the
+organism was young and sensitive.
+
+2. The daughter must be taught how to carry on practically all the
+necessary details of the housework. The plain cooking and sewing and the
+general care of the home must be required as duties on the part of every
+promising girl. It is especially obligatory on the part of rural parents
+that they train the daughter in such a way as to make her a true
+mistress of the household over which she may sometime preside. She must
+learn through specific guidance how to subordinate the heavy home tasks
+to her spiritual well-being.
+
+3. It is also essential that the girl learn how to manage the business
+affairs of the home; especially, how to purchase the supplies of the
+kitchen and the larder in the most economic fashion. She must also learn
+both how to secure her own personal belongings at a reasonable cost and
+how to make them serve her real needs without unnecessary expenditure
+of money. It will be a great achievement in her behalf if the girl
+approach her marriage day thoroughly imbued with the thought of
+cooperating with her husband in the general business of maintaining a
+home.
+
+4. We would remind the reader again of the necessity of giving attention
+to the development of an attractive personality in the growing girl.
+Pleasing manners, refined expressions, neat and attractive apparel,
+kindliness and sympathy, frankness and straightforwardness--all these
+should enter into her make-up and be thought of as parts of her
+permanent character. They will also go far toward winning to her side a
+suitable life companion.
+
+5. The young girl on the farm should have much advice in respect to the
+nature and character of men. This will be achieved partly through her
+well-ordered social life and partly through specific talks from
+thoughtful parents. Country girls are probably less informed in respect
+to the natures of men than are city girls. Many beautiful and innocent
+young women are led astray either before or after marriage by evil and
+designing men; many of them consummate marriages with men who have an
+outer appearance of trustworthiness, but who harbor within some most
+serious and insurmountable evil and disease. Although she may not for a
+time be conscious of what her parents are doing, the latter should be
+for years purposely engaged in preparing their daughter to know at sight
+a good man.
+
+Finally, it may be said that there is no greater charm or thing of more
+superior beauty in this good world of ours than the character of a woman
+who has been well-born and well-reared, and who has been safely guided
+into the home of her own wherein she reigns as mistress supreme. In this
+ideal home the love and sympathy and the kindly deeds of the true
+home-maker will reveal themselves permanently in the lives of her
+children and her husband and the many others who come into contact with
+her constructive personality.
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+    Women's Ways of Earning Money. Cynthia Westover Alden. A. S.
+    Barnes & Co.
+
+    The Home Builder. Dr. Lyman Abbott. Houghton, Mifflin
+    Company. Sympathetic and cheering.
+
+    Almost a Woman. Mary Wood Allen, M.D. Crist, Scott &
+    Parshall, Coopertown, N.Y. A plain talk to the young woman
+    about her sex nature.
+
+    The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D.
+    Chapter XII, "The Problem of Women in Industry." Houghton,
+    Mifflin Company.
+
+    The Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter
+    I, "The Choice of Life Work and its Difficulties." Houghton,
+    Mifflin Company.
+
+    Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby M.D. Chapter
+    X, "Marriage and Maternalism." Moffat, Yard & Co., New York.
+
+    Should Women work for their Living? M. Yates. _Westminster
+    Review_, October, 1910.
+
+    Social Diseases and Marriage. Educational Pamphlet, No. 3.
+    American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, New York.
+    10 cents. Every parent should read this booklet.
+
+    Vocational Training for Girls. Isabelle McGlaufin.
+    _Education_, April, 1911.
+
+    A Healthy Race; Woman's Vocation. C. M. Hill. _Westminster
+    Review_, January, 1910.
+
+    Social Adjustment. S. Nearing. Pages 128-148, "Dependence of
+    Women." Macmillan.
+
+    Purposes of Women. F. W. Saleeby, M.D. _Forum_, January,
+    1911.
+
+    Does the College rob the Cradle? H. Boice. _Delineator_,
+    March, 1911.
+
+    The College Woman as a Home Maker. M. E. Wooley. _Ladies'
+    Home Journal_, Oct. 1, 1910.
+
+    The American Woman and her Home. Symposium. _Outlook_, April
+    17, 1910.
+
+    Teaching the Girl to Save. Home-Training Bulletin No. 7. 2
+    cents. Wm. A. McKeever, Manhattan, Kan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+_CONCLUSION, AND FUTURE OUTLOOK_
+
+
+In concluding this volume we wish again to remind parents of the
+necessity of working for specific results in the rearing of their
+children. Modern man, unlike his ancestor, who roamed over the earth, is
+a creature of complex and highly refined make-up which no primitive or
+natural environment could possibly produce. The forces that work upon
+his character development are so radically different from those which
+formed the life of his remote forbears as possibly to account for the
+contrasts in the two forms of finished personality.
+
+Although there is evidence to support the theory that man belongs to the
+general evolutionary scheme of animal life, the progress of the race has
+been so very slow that a thousand years of time can show no very
+distinct improvement either in physical form or mental quality. While
+the human young is exceedingly plastic as an individual,--yielding
+easily from one side of his inherent activities to another,--the race is
+relatively fixed and stable.
+
+
+STRIVE FOR PRECONCEIVED RESULTS
+
+Parents and other instructors of the young must therefore accept their
+charges as made up of very complex potentialities of learning and
+achievement--each a bundle of latent characters transmitted to him from
+the ancestral line. Many of these inherited characters are too weak in
+any given individual ever to show in his life conduct; many others will
+come to the surface only in response to proper stimuli and practice;
+still others will break out and show a predominance almost in defiance
+of any training intended to counteract them.
+
+But the teacher and trainer of the infant child may accept the theory
+that the latter, if taken in time, can be bent and modified many ways in
+his character formation; that such plasticity is, however, always
+subject to the relative strength or weakness of the many inherited
+aptitudes and activities latent within the individual.
+
+There is no good reason, therefore, why the parent should not begin
+early to build up the character of his child in accordance with a
+preconceived plan; provided such plan do no violence to any of nature's
+stubborn and inexorable laws. The parent may also accept this task as a
+long and tedious undertaking, and expect to get results in proportion as
+he works intelligently for them. The farmer does not even think of
+producing good crop results from his land without hard work and much
+thought; then, why should he expect so delicate a plant as the human
+young to reach satisfactory maturity without much care and
+consideration? By far the greatest sin against the child is neglect of
+his training.
+
+
+CONSULT EXPERT ADVICE
+
+We must not be unmindful of the necessity of a balanced schedule of
+activities for the child. The vegetable plant must have air, sunlight,
+moisture, nitrogen, and so on, to support its growth. If one of these
+essential elements be lacking, the result is fatal to the fruitage. So
+with the child. If the best character results are to be expected,
+certain essential elements must be put into use. We have named them as
+play, work, recreation, and social experience. But as one approaches the
+individual problem of child training it does not prove so simple and
+easy as these terms imply. When and how to give each of these necessary
+exercises, how much of each to furnish, the means thereof, and the
+like--these and many other such questions begin to arise.
+
+When the parent reaches the point of perplexity in dealing with his
+child, it is a fairly good indication that his interest is aroused, at
+least. But what is to be done? Simply the same thing he would do at the
+point of perplexity in the wheat propagation, _consult an expert_. If
+one of the work mules becomes lame or reveals a bad disposition, should
+the owner take it to an electrician for advice? If the family cow
+becomes locoed or shows an unusual result in her milk product, should
+one consult a piano tuner? Yet, strange to say, parents are often known
+to do similarly in dealing with the perplexing problems of
+child-rearing. Consult the popular magazines and the book shelves any
+day and you will find many lengthy dissertations on the boy and the
+girl, written not infrequently by persons who have spent a lifetime
+studying _something else_. But they are very fond of children and they
+mistake this fondness for knowledge of an expert kind; and worst of all,
+they offer it as such.
+
+The farm parents who wish to receive expert advice in the treatment of
+their children must learn to consult directly or through literature only
+those who have made a long and intensive study of child problems. And in
+the latter case they need not expect to obtain all necessary help from
+one source alone. Usually the child-study expert is a specialist in only
+one certain part of the field. For example, at the University of
+Pennsylvania under Dr. Lightner Witmer, there has been made a specialty
+of the sub-normal child. We should probably obtain from that source more
+expert help in that one phase of child welfare than from any other
+source in America. If one wishes reliable help on the subject of
+diseases of children, he should naturally expect to obtain it from some
+medical authority, from one Who has spent long years practicing in a
+general hospital for children. One of the very few great sources of
+information on the general psychology of child development is Clark
+University, where many child-welfare problems have been worked out by
+experts under the able direction of Dr. G. Stanley Hall.
+
+
+MEET EACH AWAKENING INTEREST
+
+A very reliable general rule of guidance for the parent child trainer is
+to strive to furnish intensive practice for each and every childish and
+juvenile interest at the time of its awakening. As stated in Chapter II
+the most predominant interests in the young emerge in response to the
+unfoldment of instincts and the development of organic growths within.
+Perhaps all do so. But the point of importance for the parent is to meet
+each of these awakenings at the time of its highest activity with
+intensive training. The instinct to play, to fight, to steal, to run
+away, to work (?), to fall in love, to engage in some occupation, to
+marry and make a home, to have children--these have been named as
+especially important by virtue of their awakening successively the
+individual's interests in matters of great consequence to character
+development.
+
+But instincts are blind. Their possessor does not foresee the way they
+point. They come suddenly and catch the subject unprepared to direct
+their force in what we call intelligent ways. Hence, the extreme
+necessity of there being present at the side of the child, at the time
+of his instinctive awakening, some mature and intelligent person who has
+been through the experiences the former is about to begin, and who will
+sympathetically point the right way and insist that it be followed.
+
+
+WORK FOR SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
+
+One can scarcely become deeply interested in the future of his own child
+without coming intimately into touch with the child welfare problems at
+large. Even country parents, isolated though they may be, will discover
+that serious study of the matter of bringing up a family of good
+children will require that they study the lives of other human young.
+Moreover, they will need the use of other children as "laboratory"
+material for training their own. All this will gradually lead the way to
+a fuller social sympathy in such parents and to the inculcation of more
+wholesome social ideals in the minds of their offspring.
+
+Finally, the rural parents who are seeking a full and adequate
+development of the young members of their own family will most probably
+see their way clear to assume a helpful leadership of the young people
+of the neighborhood as advocated in Chapter X of this volume.
+
+While many agencies for the betterment of rural youth have been
+discussed,--such as the County Y.M.C.A., the Boy Scout Movement, and the
+Social and Economic Clubs,--the neighborhood which has at least one of
+these agencies intensively at work may be considered fortunate. And it
+may be said that such a neighborhood is well on the way to economic
+improvement as well as social improvement.
+
+
+THE OUTLOOK VERY PROMISING
+
+Throughout the United States there is being manifested a general
+tendency to accept the theory that our human stock is relatively sound.
+While there are seemingly large numbers of the criminal, delinquent, and
+dependent classes, they are in reality comparatively few in proportion
+to the entire population. And when we accept the estimate of the experts
+that about ninety per cent of the cases included in the classes just
+named are preventable through wise foresight and training, the outlook
+for a better race of human beings becomes most cheering.
+
+"The proper study of mankind is man," says the poet. But for many
+generations we have regarded this statement as mere poetry and not
+necessarily truth. Our policy up to the recent past has been rather
+this: The proper study of mankind is everything _except_ man, leaving
+the all-important problems of child-rearing to the decisions of wise old
+grand-mothers and debating societies. But a radical change has come, and
+that within this present generation. Men and women highly trained in the
+colleges and universities are now applying their scientific methods to
+the study of man with no less zeal and earnestness than that which has
+characterized the student of the non-human problems for many generations
+of time.
+
+[Illustration: PLATE. XXXII.
+
+FIG. 39.--Sowing the seed, all by herself.
+
+FIG. 40.--Thinning the vegetables.
+
+New York Scenes.]
+
+Through the able conclusions of the painstaking expert the so-called
+institutional life has been especially improved. The industrial
+(reform) schools are now practicing a system of balanced activities--of
+study, work, play, and the like--such as the findings of these
+investigators have warranted. The method of paroling the delinquent
+child, after he has spent a term of preparation, was proved most helpful
+through the careful tests of a large number of cases. Recently the
+parole system has been effectively applied to certain classes of
+penitentiary convicts. A most productive agency for good now in use in
+many of the prisons and all the industrial schools is that of building
+up the waste places in the individual life through specific training and
+instruction. The first question raised in such cases is, What is the
+particular moral defect of the individual? second, What are the causes?
+third, What will reconstruct his character and give permanent relief?
+That is, the expert psychologist and the expert sociologist are being
+called into service with the expert alienist and physician. The purpose
+is to save and reconstruct the whole man. Compulsory education and trade
+schooling are now very common in state prisons.
+
+In the care and protection of the insane and the feeble-minded our
+country can boast of but slow progress. Many of the members of these
+classes are permitted to run at large and even to marry and beget their
+kind. Now, while our human stock is in its mass very sound and sane,
+there are constantly being thrown off from it these mentally defective
+classes. The complete obliteration of all such classes to-day would not
+result in their complete disappearance from the race. Others would be
+born as variants from normal parentage. But the evil of it all lies in
+the fact that we are still permitting many of these defectives to
+multiply, and that in the face of the fact that a normal child has never
+been reported among the offspring of two feeble-minded parents.
+
+
+THE MODERN SERVICE TRAINING
+
+Of all the institutions contributing to the direct improvement of the
+race there is perhaps none surpassing in importance the modern training
+school for social workers. In New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, St.
+Louis, and other large cities such may be found usually affiliated with
+some university or college. The general purpose is that of training men
+and women to go into the field of social service and apply the methods
+and conclusions worked out by the research student. Hitherto, much of
+the social work has been conducted by persons possessing merely
+religious zeal and enthusiasm. Their efforts were praiseworthy, but they
+lacked the training necessary for coping with modern educational and
+economic problems. The distinctive feature of the new methods is that it
+is based on scientific and business principles. That is, the social
+worker is trained in the same methodical way as the prospective lawyer
+or school teacher, and is also paid reasonably for his services.
+
+The modern social worker not only proceeds with a well-defined plan, but
+he usually makes or requires a survey of his newly-opened field. The
+social survey--now becoming more common as a means of beginning a
+campaign of improvement in the cities--has revealed some most
+interesting, as well as distressing, situations in the submerged
+districts. The housing situation, sanitary conditions, wages and incomes
+of different classes, sweat-shop employment, the protection of workmen
+in shops and factories, child-labor conditions, and so on--these are
+examples of the problems of the investigator, while his tabulated
+reports serve to guide the social worker. Now, the duties of the latter
+are many, but in general they lie in the direction of improvement of the
+conditions as found. Among the undertakings that often fall to his lot
+are: establishing new social centers in congested districts, providing
+for new parks and playgrounds, locating reading and recreation rooms,
+organizing self-help and home-improvement clubs among the lower classes,
+conducting cooking and sewing schools, and the like.
+
+Of special interest to the rural dweller is the fact that the modern
+methods of first making surveys and then applying remedial agencies is
+now being extended into the country districts, giving many marked
+results already and promising greater ones for the future.
+
+
+THE STATE DOING ITS PART
+
+That the nation and the state are active participants in these new forms
+of child-conserving and man-saving endeavor is indicated on every side.
+
+The national government has encouraged the states in the enactment of
+stringent child-labor laws. In the usual instance children under
+fourteen to sixteen years of age are prohibited from working away from
+home at gainful occupations. Correlated with this is the
+compulsory-education law in the several states.
+
+The national and state governments have also cooperated in the enactment
+of laws prohibiting the adulteration of foods and foodstuffs and in
+enforcing better sanitation. As a result of such measures, state and
+local, together with the help of greatly improved hospital practice, the
+infant mortality in several of the large cities has been reduced more
+than fifty per cent in the past decade.
+
+Inspired by the splendid pioneer work of the National Playground
+Association, the cities and towns have recently made very rapid progress
+in the establishment of playgrounds and recreative centers for old and
+young. Many millions of dollars have already been expended for such
+purposes. Now the country districts are adopting the same means of
+social improvement.
+
+The primary system of selecting candidates for political office is
+proving to be a most potent agency for the general uplift. By means of
+it, better men are being inducted into office. Better still, the old
+corrupt practice of the ward politician, so deleterious to the character
+of youth, is losing its once powerful influence on government.
+
+The so-called social evil, so damaging to the health and morals of
+thousands of our best young men and young women, is now under fair
+promise of improvement. The remarkable survey of the Chicago Vice
+Commission and the work of the other well-planned organizations looking
+to the solution of the same general problem have proved most effective
+in revealing the true conditions and of awakening the public conscience.
+All of these activities in the interest of putting down the sex evils
+point very clearly one moral to all conscientious parents; namely, that
+the best and most certain method of inculcating lessons of purity in the
+case of the young is through preventive measures, and through the
+practice of purity during the years of growth. Open and frank discussion
+of the sex problems as they arise normally out of the experiences of the
+child, admonitions and prohibitions in regard to impure associates, the
+insistence upon a single, and not a double, standard of purity for the
+two sexes--these are some of the specific duties of parents.
+
+As an instance of what may be achieved by way of helping the weak and
+depraved to defend themselves against debasing habit, and especially of
+what may be done by way of prevention of a character-destroying habit
+in time of youth, the Kansas prohibitory law is cited. The longer this
+statute remains, the more effective its work and the more unanimous the
+public sentiment supporting it. So popular has this measure become that
+no political party and no faction of any other class has been able to
+take any effective stand against it. It can be shown to any fair-minded
+investigator that the great majority of the citizens of Kansas are total
+abstainers from the use of intoxicants; also that the state has brought
+up a new generation of tens of thousands of men, now mostly voters, who
+have no personal knowledge of the use and abuse of alcoholic drinks and
+who have become confirmed as total abstainers for life.
+
+Another unique Kansas measure--ignored and derided at first only less
+than was the prohibitory liquor law when new--is the statute forbidding
+the use of tobacco in any form on the part of minors. The wisdom of this
+statute is supported by the conclusions of scientific study of the
+effects of tobacco on the young. The general purpose of the law is to
+prevent the youth from taking up the tobacco-using habit before reaching
+full maturity of years and judgment. The general result will be the
+gradual development of a generation of total abstainers from the use of
+tobacco.
+
+
+THE NEW ERA OF RELIGION
+
+Even into the sanctuary of the modern church is the new scientific
+spirit finding its way. It has become an accepted principle of procedure
+among ministers and other church workers of late that the best way to
+save souls is not to depend wholly upon divine grace, but to assist this
+subtle power by means of the constructive work of many human agencies.
+Preventive measures that aim at safeguarding the young against evil
+contaminations, the institution of social improvement organizations and
+of literary and economic clubs, the formation of good-fellowship
+societies, of societies for conducting social surveys, of committees for
+giving vocational guidance and for the administration of spiritual
+healing--these and numerous endeavors of the same class give evidence of
+the great service which the modern church is rendering young humanity.
+And all this splendid work is being carried forward without doing any
+violence to the essential doctrines of the great historical institution
+so long engaged in its serious efforts in behalf of human salvation.
+
+
+FINAL CONCLUSION
+
+As a closing remark the author can only express again his belief that no
+past age ever held out such inspiring hope and such splendid
+encouragement to the many parents who appreciate the needs of
+intelligent care and training for their children. And because of the
+natural advantages of the surroundings, country parents have the
+greatest justification of all for being enthusiastic over the outlook.
+Now, let them go patiently and reverently at the work of bringing up for
+the service of the world a magnificent race of men and women--men who
+have brain and brawn and moral courage and religious devotion; women who
+have a profound sense of maternal responsibility, an inspiring
+superiority over the perplexing duties of the household, a deep and
+far-reaching social sympathy, and such a poise and sublimity of thought
+as to reveal the divinity inherent in their characters. For lo! In the
+hidden depths of the natures of the common boys and girls there lie
+slumbering these splendid possibilities!
+
+
+REFERENCES
+
+The Meaning of Social Science. Albion W. Small. University of Chicago
+Press. An epoch-making book, restating ably the general
+problem of social reconstruction.
+
+    Report of Committee on Rural Social Problems, National
+    Conference Charities and Corrections. Address Porter R. Lee,
+    Sec'y for Organizing Charity, Philadelphia, Pa.
+
+    Annual Report. Association for Study and Prevention of Infant
+    Mortality, 1211 Cathedral Street, Baltimore.
+
+    Government Report on Children as Wage-earners. Department of
+    Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C. This department is
+    bringing out nineteen volumes in all, each covering a
+    particular problem of women and children as wage-earners. The
+    following are especially related to the subject matter of
+    this chapter:--
+
+      The Beginnings of Child Labor Legislation in Certain States;
+        A Comparative Study.
+      Conditions under which Children leave School to go to Work.
+      Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment.
+      Causes of Death among Women and Child Cotton Mill Operatives.
+      Family Budgets of Typical Cotton Mill Workers.
+      Hook Worm Disease among Cotton Mill Operatives.
+      Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries.
+      Reports and Circulars National Christian League for Promotion
+        of Purity, 5 East 12th Street, New York.
+
+    Annual Report of National Conference of Charities and
+    Corrections, 1911. Charities Publication Committee, New York.
+    See this valuable volume for reports of progress in the
+    different lines of child-welfare effort.
+
+    The White Slave Traffic. _Outlook_, July 16. 1910.
+
+    The Rockefeller Grand Jury Report of White Slave Traffic.
+    _McClure_, May, August, 1910.
+
+    Moral Research in Social and Economic Problems. G. Connell.
+    _Westminster Review_, February, 1910.
+
+    My Lesson from the Juvenile Court. Judge Ben. B Lindsey.
+    _Survey_, Feb. 5, 1910.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Acquired characters, not transmissible, 7.
+  Agricultural education, money value of, 286.
+  Agriculture, as a rural school subject, 120 ff.
+  Anger, a healthful instinct, 16;
+    right treatment of, 17 f.
+  Aristocracy, fostered in the schools, 103, 104.
+
+  Bank account, necessary for boys, 223.
+  Bill, Arthur J., 231.
+  Boardman, John R., advocate of rural play, 156.
+  Books, for children, how to choose, 74;
+    a selected list, 75 ff.;
+    on child-rearing, 79, 80.
+  Boys, bad companionships for, 202 f.
+  Boy Scouts Movement, 311.
+  Boy Scouts, Professor Holton's definition of, 165;
+    how to organize, 165 f.;
+    in Kansas, 166 ff.
+  Boys leave the farm, why, 62, 63.
+  Bread-making clubs, 150 f.
+  Bread-winning, cultural, 3.
+  Building site, suited to children, 68.
+  Business career, instinct for, 24.
+  Business, training for farm boy, 220 ff.;
+    finding the boy's interest in, 221 f.;
+    dealing fair with the boy in, 225.
+  Butterfield, President Kenyon L., 140, 161.
+
+  Character-building, agencies of, 28 ff.;
+    must go on with schooling, 90 f.;
+    requires religious training, 94.
+  Chicago Vice Commission, 317.
+  Child-rearing, rural, 90 ff.
+  Children's hour, recommended for evening, 67.
+  Children's room, good illustration of, 64 f.
+  Child study, a necessity, 308 ff.
+  Cigarettes, law against, in Kansas, 318.
+  College education, for farm boy, 283 f.
+  Compulsory education, now general, 251.
+  Consolidation of rural schools, illustrated, 109, 123.
+  Cornell University, model rural school 115 ff.
+  Cornell University, 286.
+  Corn-plowing, may be divine calling, 98.
+  Corn-raising clubs, 150 f.
+  Corn Sunday, in rural church, 95.
+  Country boy, the right schooling for, 250 ff.;
+    his interest in humanity, 259;
+    must know current affairs, 260.
+  Country church at Plainfield, Ill., 87;
+    at Ogden, Kan., 87, 92;
+    Commission management of, 88;
+    too narrow, 92;
+    as social center, 94 ff.;
+    at Danbury, N. H., 96;
+    at Lincoln, Vt., 96;
+    federated society in, 96.
+  Country dwelling, its relation to juvenile character, 54 ff.;
+    plan it for the children, 56, 57.
+  Country girl, business training for, 255 ff.;
+    why she leaves home, 236 f.;
+    rules for training in business, 239;
+    not to be a money-maker, 247;
+    earning money in the South, 249;
+    schooling for, 262 ff.;
+    to be taught music, 265 f.;
+    vocation for, 290 ff.
+  Country Life Commission, 42 f., 148.
+  Country mother, as teacher, 268;
+    report of Country Life Commission, 42;
+    conservation of her energies, 44 ff.;
+    conspiring with the children, 51 f.
+  Country school, to be redirected, 152 ff.
+  Crying, good for infants, 14.
+
+  Dance, usually degrading, 164;
+    hard to control, 211 f.
+  Department of Agriculture, 148.
+  Dickens, Professor Albert, 110 f.
+  Disease, relation to habit, 3;
+    avoidance of by care, 3.
+  Domestic economy, for girls, 298 f.;
+    in the rural school, 122.
+
+  Exhibitions, by rural Y.M.C.A., 139 f.
+
+  Fairchild, Supt. E. T., 108 f., 118.
+  Farm barn, not to be better than the dwelling, 62.
+  _Farmer's Voice_, 60, 73.
+  Farm girls, danger of over-working, 182 f.;
+    working in the field, 188;
+    sometimes misjudged, 190 f.;
+    work schedule difficult to make, 191;
+    and self-supremacy, 192 f.;
+    social companions for, 201.
+  Fear, nature and purpose of, 16, 19.
+  Federation for country life in Illinois, 161 f.
+
+  Good health, fundamental to development, 3.
+  Good life, definition, 2.
+
+  Hall, Dr. G. Stanley, 309.
+  Happiness, a part of the good life, 6;
+    how obtained, 6.
+  High school, rural provisions for, 124 f.
+  Holton, Professor E. L. on Boy Scouts, 165.
+  Home conveniences, necessity for farm women, 47.
+  Home life education, 270.
+  Home sanitation, in the rural school, 132.
+  "Homing" instinct, 23.
+  House help, training the children for, 49.
+  Human stock, mostly sound, 7, 8;
+    potentially good, 9.
+  Humble parentage and leadership, 9.
+
+  Instincts, of children to be studied, 310;
+    two are fundamental, 12;
+    related to impulse, 14;
+    for home life, 23;
+    for business, 24.
+
+  James, Professor William, 300.
+
+  Kansas, Rural Boy Scouts in, 166 ff.;
+    a boy genius of, 227.
+  Kansas State Agricultural College, 165.
+  Kirk, President John R., quoted, 112 f.
+
+  Leadership, of farmer and wife, 146 ff.;
+    preparation for, 148;
+    in Y.M.C.A., 133 f.
+  Library, for neighborhood in farm home, 155.
+   _Literary Digest_, 73.
+  Literature, purpose of in country home, 69 f.;
+    best adapted to the child, 71, 72;
+    types of, 72 f.;
+    on child-rearing, 79.
+
+  Marriage, planning for the daughter's, 291 f.;
+    to be studied, 300 ff.;
+    training the girl for, 20, 21.
+  McNutt, Rev. M. B., and his work, 86, 87;
+    church built by, 87.
+  Mendel's law, and human inheritance, 8.
+  Minister, of city should preach in the country, 85;
+    a country type, 86 ff.
+  Moral strength, an aim in character-building, 4;
+    acquired through trial and error, 4.
+  Mothers' club, organization of, 160 f.
+  "Mother's hour," recommended, 46.
+  Moving to town, to educate the children, 36;
+    how it affects the farmer, 36, 37.
+
+  National Corn Exhibit, 230.
+  Native ability, three classes of, 251 ff.;
+    how stimulus and opportunity assist, 253.
+  Newspaper, kind for the farmer, 73.
+
+  Occupations for women, 293 ff.
+  Oklahoma Agricultural College, work at county fair, 229.
+
+  Play, growing interest in, 27, 28;
+    practical uses of, 28 ff.;
+    an excellent set of materials for, 30;
+    sharply distinguished from work, 31;
+    after Sunday School, 97;
+    neighborhood center for, 159.
+  Play apparatus, model in farm home, 154.
+  Playground, apparatus for, 118 ff.;
+    for home and school, 154 f.
+  Playground Association of America, 155, 316.
+  Population, decrease in country, 83.
+  Prohibitory law, in Kansas, 318.
+  Psychological clinic, 265.
+
+  Recreation, meaning of misunderstood, 33;
+    how related to farm work, 34 ff.;
+    for rural youth, 139.
+  Religion, the new era in, 319;
+    interest in a part of life, 5.
+  _Review of Reviews_, 73.
+  Rural manhood, 148, 156.
+  Rural school, changes in view-point of, 102;
+    to serve all, 103 f.;
+    compulsory attendance upon, 106;
+    model at Kirksville, 112.
+  Rural schoolhouse, better ones needed, 107;
+    location of, 108;
+    in Kansas, 105;
+    model at Cornell, 115.
+
+  Saloons, a menace to boys, 206 f.
+  School grounds, size, and adoption of, 109.
+  School playground, 117 ff.
+  Sex evils, to be studied, 317.
+  Sex habits, secret, 204.
+  Sex instinct, as socializing agency, 199.
+  Sexual love, instructive and extremely helpful, 20;
+    necessity of careful treatment, 20 ff.
+  Smoking, bad for boys, 205 f.
+  Social democracy, fostered by training, 4.
+  Social efficiency, training for, 5.
+  Social entertainment, how to conduct, 209 f.;
+    several forms of, 211 ff.
+  Social renaissance, in the country, 199.
+  Social sensitiveness, a form of fear, 18;
+    great value in training, 19, 20.
+  Social training of farm youths, 197 ff.;
+    in economic clubs, 215;
+    a working plan for, 198 ff.;
+    based on sex instinct, 199;
+    menaces to, 200 ff.;
+    in ideal country home, 208.
+  Social training schools, 314.
+  Social work, for girls, 295 f.
+  Solitude, a means of culture, 35.
+  Stenography, for girls, 294.
+
+  Teaching, hard on young women, 203.
+  Tuberculosis, is it inheritable? 8, 9.
+
+  University of Pennsylvania, 309.
+  Usefulness, as ideal of education, 3.
+
+  Vacations, based on instincts and desires, 163, 226.
+  Vacations, necessity of providing for, 176 f.;
+    a father's plan for, 177 f.
+  Vocation, for farm boy, 275 ff.;
+    should it be farming, 275;
+    go slow in choosing, 276 f.;
+    three methods of training for, 279 f.;
+    preparation of farm girl for, 289 ff.
+  Vocational schools, in the South, 229 f.
+
+  _Wallaces' Farmer_, 43, 44, 73.
+  Waters, President H. J., 127.
+  Wealth, not evidence of substantial country society, 84.
+  Witmer, Dr. Lightner, 309.
+  Women, occupations for, 291 ff.
+  Work, as basis of society, 171 ff.;
+    for the boy's sake, 172 f.;
+    wrong attitude of workmen toward, 174;
+    a father's method of training boy for, 175 f.;
+    a schedule of hours for, 178 ff.;
+    how much for the girl, 183 ff.;
+    foundation for vocation, 285;
+    necessary as discipline, 30, 31;
+    not liked by natural children, 31;
+    acquired fondness for, 32;
+    a part of the good school course, 33;
+    spiritualized by country church, 98.
+    _World's Work_, 73.
+
+  Y.M.C.A., rural 129 ff.;
+    purposes of, 131;
+    how to organize, 132 ff.;
+    leader for, 133 f.;
+    how to conduct, 136;
+    example of rural in Kansas, 143 f.
+
+
+
+
+  The following pages contain advertisements of a
+  few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects.
+
+
+
+
+THE RURAL OUTLOOK SET
+
+BY PROFESSOR L. H. BAILEY
+
+Director of the New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University
+
+    _Four volumes. Each, cloth, 12mo. Uniform binding,
+    attractively boxed $5.00 net per set; carriage extra. Each
+    volume also sold separately._
+
+    In this set are included three of Professor Bailey's most
+    popular books as well as a hitherto unpublished one,--"The
+    Country-Life Movement." The long and persistent demand for a
+    uniform edition of these little classics is answered with the
+    publication of this attractive series.
+
+
+The Country-Life Movement
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, 220 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    This hitherto unpublished volume deals with the present
+    movement for the redirection of rural civilization,
+    discussing the real country-life problem as distinguished
+    from the city problem, known as the back-to-the-land
+    movement.
+
+
+The Outlook to Nature (New and Revised Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, 195 pages, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    In this alive and bracing book, full of suggestion and
+    encouragement, Professor Bailey argues the importance of
+    contact with nature, a sympathetic attitude toward which
+    "means greater efficiency, hopefulness, and repose."
+
+
+The State and the Farmer (New Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    It is the relation of the farmer to the government that
+    Professor Bailey here discusses in its varying aspects. He
+    deals specifically with the change in agricultural methods,
+    in the shifting or the geographical centers of farming in the
+    United States, and in the growth of agricultural
+    institutions.
+
+
+The Nature Study Idea (New Edition)
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.25 net; by mail, $1.34_
+
+    "It would be well," the critic of _The Tribune Farmer_ once
+    wrote, "if 'The Nature Study Idea' were in the hands of every
+    person who favors nature study in the public schools, of
+    every one who is opposed to it, and, most important, of every
+    one who teaches it or thinks he does." It has been Professor
+    Bailey's purpose to interpret the new school movement to put
+    the young into relation and sympathy with nature,--a purpose
+    which he has admirably accomplished.
+
+
+
+NEW BOOKS ON AGRICULTURE
+
+
+How to Keep Bees for Profit
+
+BY D. E. LYON
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net_
+
+    Dr. Lyon is an enthusiast on bees. He has devoted many years
+    to the acquisition of knowledge on this subject, and his book
+    is a practical one. In it he takes up the numerous questions
+    that confront the man who keeps bees, and deals with them
+    from the standpoint of long experience.
+
+
+How to Keep Hens for Profit
+
+BY C. S. VALENTINE
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.50 net_
+
+    Mr. Valentine is a well-known authority upon the subject. His
+    knowledge is extensive and accurate; the information that he
+    gives will be of service, not only to the amateur who keeps
+    poultry for his own pleasure, but to the man who wishes to
+    derive from it a considerable portion of his income.
+
+
+Manual of Gardening
+
+BY L. H. BAILEY
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $2.00 net_
+
+    This new work is a combination and revision of the main parts
+    of two other books by the same author, "Garden Making," and
+    "Practical Garden-Book," together with much new material and
+    the results of the experience of ten added years.
+
+
+How to Grow Vegetables
+
+BY ALLEN FRENCH
+
+  _New edition._ _Decorated cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net; by mail,
+    $1.80_
+
+    "It is what it purports to be, a practical handbook and
+    planting table for the vegetable garden. Its directions for
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+
+    "The instructions are terse, yet complete, and cover
+    everything as to method of preparing the ground, sowing seed,
+    cultivation, etc. Practicality and clearness of direction are
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+
+
+A Self-Supporting Home
+
+BY KATE V. ST. MAUR
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, fully illustrated from photographs, $1.75 net_
+
+    "Each chapter is the detailed account of all the work
+    necessary for one month--in the vegetable garden, among the
+    small fruits, with the fowls, guineas, rabbits, cavies, and
+    in every branch of husbandry to be met with on the small
+    farm."--_Louisville Courier-Journal._
+
+
+The Earth's Bounty
+
+BY KATE V. ST. MAUR
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net_
+
+    The present volume, though in no sense dependent on "A
+    Self-Supporting Home," is in a sense a sequel to it. The
+    feminine owner is still the heroine, and the new book
+    chronicles the events after success permitted her to acquire
+    more land and put to practical test the ideas gleaned from
+    observation and reading.
+
+
+The Fat of the Land: The Story of an American Farm
+
+BY JOHN WILLIAMS STREETER
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net_
+
+    "The Fat of the Land" is the sort of book that ought to be
+    epoch-making in its character, for it tells what can be
+    accomplished through the application of business methods to
+    the farming business. Never was the freshness, the beauty,
+    the joy, the freedom of country life put in a more engaging
+    fashion. From cover to cover it is a fascinating book,
+    practical withal, and full of common sense.
+
+
+Three Acres and Liberty
+
+BY BOLTON HALL
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75 net_
+
+    Possibilities of the small suburban farm, and practical
+    suggestions to city dwellers how to acquire and make
+    profitable use of them.
+
+
+The Feeding of Animals
+
+By WHITMAN HOWARD JORDAN
+
+  _Cloth, 12mo, illustrated, 450 pages, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.65_
+
+    "A valuable contribution to agricultural literature. Not a
+    statement of rules or details of practice, but an effort to
+    present the main facts and principles fundamental to the art
+    of feeding animals."--_New England Farmer._
+
+
+Rural Hygiene
+
+By HENRY N. OGDEN, C.E.
+
+    Professor of Sanitary Engineering, College of Civil
+    Engineering, Cornell University, and Special Assistant
+    Engineer of the New York State Department of Health
+
+  _Illustrated, decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68_
+
+    "Farmers and other dwellers outside of cities will find
+    Professor Henry N. Ogden's 'Rural Hygiene' an invaluable
+    treatise on all matters pertaining to the health of the
+    individual and the community. The author, a civil engineer in
+    the faculty of Cornell University, deals with the structural
+    side of public hygiene rather than with the medical side. He
+    tells how houses and barns should be built so as to promote
+    the good health of their occupants; how to manage
+    ventilation, drainage, water supply, etc.; how waterworks
+    should be built, what are the best kinds of power, how to
+    arrange the plumbing, guard against sewage, and so on. . . .
+    It is an unusually complete, practical, and readable
+    treatise."
+
+    --_Chicago Record-Herald._
+
+
+Law for the American Farmer
+
+By JOHN D. GREEN, of the New York Bar.
+
+  _Decorated cloth, 12mo, $1.50 net; by mail, $1.68_
+
+    "The book is superior to any of its class."--_Law Review._
+
+    "Very comprehensive and valuable."--_Kansas Farmer._
+
+    "Written with great thoroughness and accuracy."--_Chicago
+    Inter-Ocean._
+
+
+THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
+
+  Publishers     64-66 Fifth Avenue     New York
+
+
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's note:
+
+    Punctuation has been made consistent without note.
+
+    Archaic or alternate spellings have been retained.
+
+    Plate X: 1st edition has a different caption for this plate:
+      An illustration of "Corn Sunday," as instituted by
+      Superintendent George W. Brown in the rural churches in
+      the vicinity of Paris, Illinois.
+
+    Page 99, References: "Colton" changed to "Cotton" (John
+    Cotton Dana).
+
+    Page 127, References: 1st edition has 1906, not 1905, as
+    publication date for "The Most Practical Industrial Education
+    for the Country Child."
+
+    Page 140, "One boy may have have caught" changed to
+    "One boy may have caught"
+
+    Page 329: "County-Life" changed to "Country-Life" ("The
+    Country-Life Movement.")
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FARM BOYS AND GIRLS***
+
+
+******* This file should be named 39483.txt or 39483.zip *******
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