THE NEW FARMER 57 



old farmer. You cannot have the new farmer 

 unless you also have the mossback. The new 

 farmer is a comparative person, as it were. You 

 have to define him in terms of the mossback. 

 The contrast is not between the old farmer and 

 the new, for that is merely a question of relative 

 conditions in different epochs of time. The 

 contrast is between the new farmer and the moss- 

 back, for that is a question of men and of their 

 relative efficiency as members of the industrial 

 order. Then, of course, you must observe the 

 individual traits that characterize the new 

 farmer, such as keenness, business instinct, 

 readiness to adopt new methods, and, in fact, all 

 the qualities that make a man a success today 

 in any calling. For the new farmer, in respect 

 to his personal qualities, is not a sport, a phe- 

 nomenon. He does not stand out as a distinct 

 and peculiar specimen. He is a successful 

 American citizen who grows corn instead of 

 making steel rails. 



But you have not yet explained the new 

 farmer. These personal traits do not explain 

 him. It may be possible to explain an individ- 

 ual and his success by calling attention to his 

 characteristics, and yet you cannot completely 

 analyze him and his career unless you under- 



