The Awakening of Talent 255 



But in addition to the foregoing marks of latent 

 ability in the great middle classes we must note a 

 distinctive feature of the development and education 

 of such classes. It is this : The two great conditions 

 necessary for the successful development of the ordi- 

 nary child are stimulus and opportunity. Unless the 

 slumbering talents be awakened by the proper stimuli, 

 they may slumber on throughout the whole life- 

 time and no one detect their presence; and unless 

 opportunities for development be given to satisfy 

 the awakened talent, it may return permanently to 

 its condition of quiescence. 



In attempting to furnish the necessary stimuli and 

 opportunities for the development of his boy, the 

 farmer has if he will only use it a great advan- 

 tage over the city father. The great variety of 

 work-and-play experience afforded by the rural 

 situation, the fairly good general schooling now com- 

 ing more and more into reach of all farm homes, the 

 many conditions contributory to self-reliance and 

 independent thinking in the case of the boy all 

 these raw materials of stimulus and opportunity lie 

 hidden about the common country home. But the 

 parents must themselves become wider awake to the 

 meanings and purposes of such materials, or otherwise 

 their value is lost through disuse. And again, it is 

 urged that parents make the same careful study of 

 their children as they do of farm crops and live stock. 

 See the reference lists following the first five chapters. 



