54 CHAPTERS IN RURAL PROGRESS 



He hitched his plow to the sun, and his westward 

 lengthening furrows fill the world's granary. 



The new farmer has his largest conquests yet 

 to make. But he has put his faith in the strong 

 arm of science ; he has at his hand the commer- 

 cial mechanism of a world of business. He 

 believes he will win because he is in league with 

 the ongoing forces of our civilization. 



The mossback cannot win, because he prefers 

 a flintlock to a Mauser. He has his eyes upon 

 the ground, and uses snails instead of stars for 

 horses. 



The old farmer was a pioneer, and he had 

 all the courage, enterprise, and resourcefulness of 

 the pioneer. He was virile, above all things 

 else. He owned and controlled everything in 

 sight. He was a state-builder. Half a century 

 ago, in the Middle West, the strong men and the 

 influential families were largely farmers. Even 

 professional men owned and managed farms, 

 frequently living upon them. The smell of the 

 soil sweetened musty law books, deodorized the 

 doctor's den, and floated as incense above the 

 church altars. 



The new farmer lives in a day when the nation 

 is not purely an agricultural nation, but is also a 

 manufacturing and a trading nation. He be- 



