338 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



sought after in marriage. Women weaker physically, mentally, 

 and morally may satisfy other desires better than the type just 

 described ; consequently the stronger type of women will be 

 more likely to remain unmarried and childless, or to marry later 

 and therefore have a shorter child-bearing period, or to get less 

 capable and vigorous husbands and therefore bear less capable 

 and vigorous children. In addition to all this, where other than 

 the family ideal dominates marriage, there will be more child- 

 less marriages. 



The country which maintains the soundest ideals and am- 

 bitions in the way of family building will be the country peopled 

 with the strongest and most capable citizens. The country with 

 the strongest and most capable citizenship will be the strongest 

 and the most prosperous country. Since the citizenship of the 

 country is, in the end, recruited mainly from the rural districts, 

 it is especially important that sound ideals should predominate 

 there. To fail in this respect is, eventually, to fail in everything. 

 Therefore there need not be the slightest hesitation in saying 

 that the most important ambition which can be cherished in the 

 country is the ambition of every capable man and woman to found 

 or perpetuate an honorable, capable, and vigorous family. The 

 aim of successful agriculture should be to enable the successful 

 agriculturist to maintain a family estate for the support and per- 

 petuation of such a family. Nothing could be more disastrous 

 than the idea that successful agriculture, or a rich farm, was an end 

 in itself, or that it was a means to any such end as sensual grati- 

 fication, personal vanity or ostentation, or more luxurious ease. 



Rural migration. Next in importance to the character of the 

 family ideal as a factor in race building is the character of rural 

 migration. If it should happen that the most vigorous, capable, 

 and enterprising youths should continually leave the country for 

 the city, there to become sterilized, as is usually the case, through 

 the pursuit of sensuality, vanity, or false ambition, only one 



