14 FARM DEVELOPMENT 



it possible for fewer people to produce the food and raw 

 material of clothing required for all classes of people 

 than formerly ; while, on the other hand, the cities re- 

 quire more workers in manufacturing industries, in com- 

 merce, in transportation, in the professions and in special 

 and personal service. Standards of living have changed 

 and the average person demands much more of the non- 

 agricultural commodities than formerly, while the amount 

 of foods and fibers required by each person remains 

 nearly stationary. The satisfaction of these increased 

 demands gives profitable employment to more people in 

 the cities. On the other hand, the average farmer can pro- 

 duce more than formerly, because of better methods and 

 machinery, which make his labor more efficient. There 

 is a constant migration of the farmers to the cities, 

 especially to the large cities of America and other 

 civilized countries, and nearly all cities the world over 

 are growing rapidly. This movement from land to town 

 is influenced mainly by economic conditions, but our 

 educational system has led people to overestimate the 

 professions and to undervalue the opportunities of such 

 vocations as farming, mechanics, and home making, 

 where more physical labor is required. 



On the other hand, the growth of farm population does 

 not keep pace with the city population, and in some 

 localities, as in New England and Scotland, the actual 

 number of farmers is much smaller than formerly. With 

 the advent of periods of better times, there is a strong 

 movement of farmers to the cities. This movement is 

 temporarily checked by panics, or periods when business 

 is depressed, but, as the decades pass, the population of 

 the cities grows faster than that of the country, because 

 relatively larger numbers find employment in the cities. 

 This movement will continue as long as the needs for 

 workers in the town industries and professions grow 

 more rapidly than do the needs for workers in the rural 



