Country and City 55 



The proportion of farming people. 



The farmer has been counted out, or not 

 counted at all, in much of the estimate of the 

 world's progress. The educational and social 

 forces touch him last or not at all, except as 

 they demand his share for their support. I 

 sometimes think that, as a race, our real out- 

 look to nature is to rest largely on the farming 

 occupation, and therefore that we need to con- 

 serve this occupation in order to recruit the 

 native strength of our civilization as well as 

 to provide a source of material supplies. 



No doubt some of you are thinking of the 

 enormous growth of cities and of the conse- 

 quent lessening of the rural population, and 

 draw the conclusion that we are to be a nation 

 of cities, with agriculture playing a constantly 

 less and less important part. It is true that 

 relatively the country population is decreasing. 

 The farmers are one-third or less of our people. 

 I expect to see the percentage of rural popula- 

 tion and of farmers fall still lower. What is 

 to be the ultimate ratio of farmers to the total 

 population in any self-sustaining geographical 



