Missouri Farm Facts. 451 



Equally as erroneous are many other views, such as often find expres- 

 sion in print. Sometimes we are given a dark, sordid and distorted view 

 of the country. The days are long, the work monotonous, conveniences 

 are few, there is much of drudgery, and but little of cheer and content. 

 Again, it is a pleasing picture of pleasure and plenty that is painted of 

 country people. The farm home, with up-to-date water, light and heat- 

 ing systems, is modern in every respect ; labor saving devices have done 

 away with all drudgery and most of the ordinary work ; travel from farm 

 to town is by automobile, and life, made up most of leisure, is "one glad 

 song. ' ' 



As pen pictures of the average country home, both the gloomy and 

 the glad representations are wrong. As is shown by reports of corres- 

 pondents, the farm homes that somewhere near approach the latter 

 description are as yet comparatively few, but it is our belief that even 

 now they far outnumber those where discontent and drudgery dominate. 



Despite the unfilled demand for hired help both in the field and in 

 the house, despite the many other difficulties mentioned, the country is 

 todaj^, more than ever before, a good place to live — but not as good as it 

 is going to be. With rural mail service and country telephones here, and 

 with better roads, a necessary aid in the revival of the country church 

 and the establishment of the real rural school, the future of country life 

 seems full of promise. True, life in the country is going to demand more 

 than it ever before demanded, but it is going to give more than it ever 

 before gave. There are great rural problems, but even the limited in- 

 sight given in the facts and views set forth in this bulletin, leads us to 

 believe that they will, in the main, be solved by those who derive their 

 living direct from the land and who love country life. Aiding these, 

 will be the agricultural teacher, not the agitator; the practical pro- 

 fessor, not the professional politician. 



That there is need of scientific agriculture — or, let us say, better 

 methods of farming — is coming to be recognized quite as much by the 

 farmer as by the teacher. 



Agricultural colleges are crowded and the demand for farmers' 

 institutes and agricultural short courses is constantly on the increase. 

 Large investments and low yields do not point the way to agricultural 

 prosperity. With Missouri farm land showing an increase in value of 

 100 per cent., the total expenditure for labor showing an increase of 

 89 per cent., fertilizers an increase of 78 per cent., and the total value 

 of farm implements and machinery an increase of 78 per cent, (accord- 

 ing to preliminary census figures), and an estimated advance of 41 per 

 cent, in the wages of farm hands, and of 46 per cent, increase in the pay 



