The Age of the Engineer 197 



should go with him all the way. Some one should plan 

 his system of agriculture with due reference to soil and 

 climate, transportation facilities and markets. He 

 needs prevision in this respect; needs an architect for 

 this work more than for the building of his house. 

 He can live in any sort of a house, if need be, but can 

 by no means succeed with any sort of a system of agri- 

 culture. 



There is no reason in the world why each new settler 

 should begin as though he were the first man who ever 

 tried to make a home on the land ; no reason why he 

 should not proceed to his work in the light of all the 

 experience of the past ; but, to do this, he requires a 

 range of information not easily within his reach, and, 

 indeed, only within reach of the trained and scientific 

 mind. Even when he has the correct system for his 

 environment, he seldom knows how to apply it in a 

 manner to obtain the best results. He must be in- 

 structed by text and by example. Telling him is not 

 enough — he must be shown. 



Next, comes the need of organized cooperation. First 

 of all in buying, then in packing, shipping, sometimes 

 in manufacturing, always in selling, which often in- 

 cludes the feature of publicity. It is a misnomer to 

 speak of the independent home. Interdependent is the 

 right word, for a prosperous community on the land 

 is made up of many units, each more or less dependent 

 on all the others, and requiring the element of unitv 

 in their affairs in order to realize anything approach- 

 ing the best results. Here good engineering — using the 

 term in its broadest sense — is highly essential. The 

 lack of it is responsible for many tribulations. It is 



