BACK TO THE LAND 285 



hordes of our city back to the land means not only 

 that a large portion of our people can 



"Hold fast the golden mean, 



And live contentedly between 



The little and the great, 



And feel not the wants that pinch the poor," 



but will mean so much to our nation, and will help 

 to solve so many of the problems that now beset 

 us. 



But the financial scheme for supplying funds for 

 the back to the land movement must have for its 

 basis a long time payment plan, and yet should re- 

 quire the yearly payment of interest and a small 

 amount of principal. For the first gives hope and 

 courage, and the latter induces thrift and economy. 

 The city man going back to the farm may have 

 had no farm experience and even if he had, con- 

 ditions now may be entirely different from what 

 they were when he did farm, so time must be 

 given for him to get into touch with the real busi- 

 ness of farming so as to avoid mistakes and 

 hindrances. 



Again no company should attempt to finance a 

 back to the land movement without providing for 

 distribution of an abundance of sane agricultural 

 literature written in plain, easy to understand 

 English, and along common sense lines by those 

 who have had practical experience in real soil 

 building, soil maintenance and crop growing, for 

 false undigested theoretically written farm knowl- 

 edge would do vast harm to the raw recruit upon 

 the land. 



If farm experts of the right sort could be fur- 



