306 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



mentioned the various country life conferences and rural improve- 

 ment leagues, the recently organized Collegiate Countr}^ Life Club 

 for Rural Leadership, and similar organizations. The large amount 

 of attention accorded in recent years to country life matters by the 

 press, especially the magazines, and the activities of educational, re- 

 ligious, and social workers, all reflected in a greater interest and 

 sympathy on the part of the general public, have also collectively 

 exerted a considerable influence in stimulating a desire for rural 

 betterment. 



Various special factors, both internal and external, have likewise 

 been at work in many towns and villages, often leading to the forma- 

 tion of village improvement societies or the attempting of similar 

 functions by the grange, church societies, or other local organizations. 

 In the upbuilding of some of the newer sections of the country, the 

 value of well-planned and attractive streets and public buildings 

 as an aid to growth and development has been appreciated from the 

 start by some of their promoters, and where this is true it is resulting 

 in an increasing number of communities of considerable individuality 

 and great charm. Similarl}^, many of the railway systems have 

 recognized the advantages to all from the enhancing of the appear- 

 ance of the communities traversed by their lines, and have endeavored 

 to further their development by encouraging their local officials 

 through prizes and otherwise to beautify the grounds around their 

 stations and elsewhere along their rights of way, and in some cases by 

 cooperating with municipalities, beards of trade, and the like in a 

 general campaign of beautification. 



Now that this interest has been so generally awakened in one way 

 or another, the urgent need is for trained leadership, and especially 

 of expert advisers capable of formulating a sane and yet compre- 

 hensive program. The lack of a suitable plan, with provisions for 

 the future as well as for the present, is coming to be realized as one 

 of the most serious handicaps in improvement work to-day, and one 

 which is by no means confined to rural villages. Many of the agri- 

 cultural colleges, for instance, are contemplating somewhat ruefully 

 the consequences of their own lack of foresight, and are attempting 

 with considerable expense and difficulty to overcome as far as is now 

 possible the disadvantages they are under, because of having had no 

 adequate plan for their buildings and grounds in the earlier days. 



Fortunately, in many of the older parts of this country, notably in 

 New England, the generous commons and broad streets provide an 

 excellent foundation for landscape work, while the very lack of de- 

 velopment in the newer sections makes them at least an unspoiled 

 field for future progress. In any case, however, there is need for a 

 definite plan of development, and the value of this plan will be much 



