Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 583 



innumerable lines of activity. And with it all comes the desire of 

 woman herself to excel in the field of agriculture. If she is as 

 successful in this field as in others, some of our best farmers in, the 

 future will be women. 



A woman's ability to take charge of a farm and make good as 

 a woman farmer will depend in great measures upon what her 

 earlier training and experiences have been. If we expect our farm 

 women, when by loss of a life partner or otherwise they come into 

 possession of land, to stay in the country and make successful 

 women farmers we shall have to see that they are taught in the 

 rural school the elementary principles underlying farm operations, 

 the methods as practiced by the best and most successful men of 

 the farm, and the beauty of home life out in the open country. 

 The rural school is the ideal place for teaching the fundamental 

 principles of home building. However, I fear that our efforts in 

 educating the youth of our State today are not directed along the 

 right lines. We do not include in our system of education today 

 enough vocational training, not enough industrial training. We 

 are following a system of education that does not fit the conditions 

 of our day, a system of education that is simply a relic of Mediaeval 

 times. Our country boys and girls in too many of our rural schools 

 are taught everything else but the farm and its opportunities. 



The rural school and the rural home is the place to train girls 

 to be farmers whether they farm alone or in partnership. In my 

 opinion the failure of many a man of the farm can be traced to the 

 fact that his wife was not a partner in, the business, a partner 

 trained to help in meeting and overcoming the problems and diffi- 

 culties that arise in home building on the farm. 



Let the Missouri Women Farmers' Club join in our efforts to 

 make a more efficient farm woman by teaching the girls in our 

 rural schools the right ideals and the things that will make them 

 successful farm women. When we have fixed the right ideals and 

 the success of the farm woman, we need have no fears for the 

 success of the woman farmer in the future. She will not only be 

 able to direct the efforts of others whom she may have employed 

 on the farm, but she will be able to take the initiative, and perhaps 

 lead others in solving many problems that arise concerning the 

 welfare of people on the farm and people in various other lines of 

 activity. She will play an important part in making a better 

 rural life. 



