FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 107 



First of all, I wish to urge the study of the rural problem in the light 

 of the idea that it is a social problem ; that the farmer is of more conse- 

 quence than the farm and should be first improved. This study involves 

 what for want of a better term may be called the study of rural sociology. 

 It means the study of the conditions that surround our farm life; the 

 advantages and disadvantages of rural life; the effect of rural life upon 

 the farmers themselves, and upon the chances for success of those young 

 people who leave the farm and go to the city; it means the study of the 

 movement of the farm population from country to city, and the "causes 

 and results of the movement ; it means a study of the traits developed by 

 a life upon the farm, and the influence of these traits in the progress of 

 agriculture. It means the more thorough study of the social agencies which 

 I have mentioned, such as farmers' organizations, — their history, pur- 

 poses, methods and achievements; the problems involved in the rural 

 school question, — including taxation for the support of rural schools, the 

 centralization of rural schools, and rural high schools; it includes agri- 

 cultural education in all its phases and in all of its possibilities; and 

 it includes the country church, involving one of the most difficult and 

 at the same time one of the most important problems that we have to 

 deal with. Now, the study of all these things may be put under the head 

 of "rural sociology," and it seems to me that in order to understand the 

 rural problem adequately, we must have some notion of this subject. And 

 while this subject should be studied first of all by the farmers, I think 

 it is equally important that our teachers, — especially our country 

 teachers; that our ministers, — especially our country pastors; that our 

 editors, — especially the editors of farm papers and of the so-called coun- 

 try papers; and, in fact, that educated people generally, shall have more 

 correct and adequate notions of the social phases of agriculture. It 

 seems to me that these things are essential if we are to have a campaign 

 for rural progress. That there is an aroused interest in these subjects 

 among the farmers is proved by the discussions that take place in farmers' 

 club, in Grange, and in institute; and that they are of interest to others 

 than farmers is proved by the value and frequency during the past three 

 or four years of magazine articles bearing on these lines of thought. 



In the second place, it is necessary that the social agencies for rural 

 advancement which I have been talking about must be pushed with all 

 possible zeal and energy. In spite of progress in farmers' organizations 

 in Michigan, it is doubtful if more than one voting farmer in ten is a 

 member of either grange or club. In the great Mississippi Valley today, 

 the heart of our agricultural empire, there hardly exists such a thing 

 as a general farmers' organization. I do not believe we can look for 

 substantial rural progress until we see our farmers realizing the absolute 

 necessity of organization. The problems pressing upon our rural schools 

 must not be settled hastily, but they must be settled. The rural school 

 ought to be as good a school as exists, the boy and girl born upon a farm 

 ought to have as good an opportunity to secure training for life as if they 

 had been brought up in the city. In agricultural education, in spite of 

 the great advances that have been made, we find an almost ridiculously 

 small number of young men in our colleges and schools fitting them- 

 selves for farm life; and while the outlook is full of hope we have to con- 

 fess that in agricultural education we are merely getting under way. We 

 have to face the scorn, and what is worse, the lukewarmness of a great 

 multitude of farmers. On the religious side we have to meet in the rural 



