Social problems -- United States; United States -- Politics and government; United States -- Social conditions
In just the same way the farmers should benefit by the advice of the
technical men who have been trained in phases of the very work the
farmer does. I am not now speaking of the man who has had an ordinary
general training, whether in school or college. While there should
undoubtedly be such a training as a foundation (the extent differing
according to the kind of work each boy intends to do as a man), it is
nevertheless true that our educational system should more and more be
turned in the direction of educating men towards, and not away from, the
farm and the shop. During the last half-century we have begun to develop
a system of agricultural education at once practical and scientific, and
we must go on developing it. But, after developing it, it must be used.
The rich man who spends a fortune upon a fancy farm, with entire
indifference to cost, does not do much good to farming; but, on the
other hand, just as little is done by the working farmer who stolidly
refuses to profit by the knowledge of the day; who treats any effort at
improvement as absurd on its face, refuses to countenance what he
regards as new-fangled ideas and contrivances, and jeers at all “book
farming.” I wish I could take representatives of this type of farmer
down to Long Island, where I live, to have them see what has been done,
not as philanthropy but as a plain business proposition, by men
connected with the Long Island Railroad, who believe it pays to
encourage the development of farms along the line of that railway. They
have put practical men in charge of experimental farms, cultivating them
intensively, and using the best modern methods, not only in raising
crops, but in securing the best market for the crops when raised. The
growth has been astounding, and land only fifty miles from New York,
which during our entire National lifetime has been treated as worthless,
has within the last three or four years been proved to possess a really
high value.
The farmer, however, must not only make his land pay, but he must make
country life interesting for himself and for his wife and his sons and
daughters. Our people as a whole should realize the infinite
possibilities of life in the country; and every effort should be made to
make these possibilities more possible. From the beginning of time it
has been the man raised in the country—and usually the man born in the
country—who has been most apt to render the services which every nation
most needs. Turning to the list of American statesmen, it is
extraordinary to see how large a proportion started as farm boys. But it
is rather sad to see that in recent years most of these same boys have
ended their lives as men living in cities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account