150 BACKGROUND AND MEANS OF SERVICE 



of the century. It had already manifested itself in the 

 establishment of a national Department of Agriculture 

 with a Secretary of Agriculture in the President's cabinet, 

 in the founding and permanent endowment of agricultural 

 colleges and experiment stations in all the states, in the? 

 setting up of a rural free delivery of the mail, and in other 

 ways. To these were added in the first decade of the new 

 century the building of many new market roads and the 

 beginnings of a very large development and wide extension 

 of agricultural education. 



All these developments were stimulated by the war and 

 its effects, and together with the ever increasing applica- 

 tion of modern inventions to farming and country life, 

 such as the telephone, farm power machinery, especially 

 the gasoline engine, the automobile, the truck and the farm 

 tractor, they have brought about great changes on the 

 American farm. 



THE RURAL COMMUNITY 



The rural community of the period before the Civil War 

 was practically self-sustaining. Its women carded, spun 

 and wove, cut, fitted, sewed and knitted the farm family's 

 clothing. Its men made the needed shoes, furniture and 

 farm implements. Its people lived and worked together 

 in the fields, churches and schools and were able to supply 

 the greater part of their own needs. 



The rapid development of railroad transportation soon 

 began to effect changes in rural communities. The build- 

 ing of great new highways and especially the coming of 

 the automobile completed the transformation. The rural 

 community was no longer self -sufficient and self-sustaining. 

 Rural isolation, and unfortunately many rural ideals also, 



