26 ANNUAL KEl'OKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGURTLTFRE. 



the South, and in the heart of the corn belt. Some of them lost in 

 rural population during the precedin*^ decade, while others are 

 losin<r for the first time now. On the other hand, manj^ rural 

 counties in the Northwest, the West, the South, and the coast States 

 have been gaininii:. 



Tiiere is every reason to believe that the same causes which 

 account for a relatively decreasing agricultural population in 

 former decades have been at Avork during the past 10 years. The 

 increased standards of living of the American people as a whole 

 have caused a great expansion in all industries centering in cities ; and 

 the industrial bid for workers, accelerated by conditions during and 

 immediately following the Avar, has been a strong magnet exerting 

 a pull upon workers in agriculture. 



The following table shows the percentage of the total number of 



persons employed in all American occupations who were engaged in 



agriculture from 1820 to 1910: 



1820 87.1 



1840 77.5 



1870 47. 5 



1880 44. 4 



1890 39.2 



1900 35.7 



1910 32.9 



We may expect for 1920 a lower percentage than for 1910 ; in fact, it 

 will not be surprising if the complete returns show that only 30 per 

 cent of our workers are farmers. It is true, of course, that increased 

 efficiency in farming operations, resulting from the use of new and 

 better machinery and the application of scientific knowledge, has 

 consistently lowered the demand for labor in certain kinds of farm 

 work, and that the labor thus released has been the first to yield to 

 the call of the city. It is a well-known fact, also, that Army life 

 and its accompanying set of new associations detached from farming 

 and from rural life a considerable number of farm youth. Whether 

 this loss is a permanent one no one can say, but, in any event, it must 

 be considered unusual. 



THE REAL CONCERN OF AMERICA. 



The real concern in America over the movement of rural popula- 

 tion to urban centers is whether those who remain in agriculture 

 after the normal contribution to the city are the strong, intelli- 

 gent, well-seasoned families, in which the best traditions of agricul- 

 ture and citizenship have been lodged from generation to generation. 

 The present universal cry of "keep the boy on the farm" can and 

 should be expanded into a great public sentiment for making country 

 life more attractive in every way. Neither force nor exhortation 



