THE TRAINING OF FARMERS 



The existing condition is not inherently bad 

 or ineffective, as a whole ; but in some of its 

 aspects it is relatively inefficient and un- 

 developed as compared with the best urban 

 conditions. It is not because the rural 

 status may be less or more efficient than 

 city conditions, however, that I am inter- 

 ested in it, but rather because it is not what 

 it is capable of becoming, and is therefore 

 in need of improvement. 



The rural problem is being attacked on 

 many sides by very many persons. In this 

 book, I speak of only one phase of the prob- 

 lem, the means of training the farmer 

 himself, both as a craftsman and as a citi- 

 zen. From the point of view of the college 

 and school I have contributed several ar- 

 ticles on the subject to The Century Mag- 

 azine. With these articles, I have now 

 incorporated others that discuss the same 

 general subject, together with much new 

 writing, so that the whole may comprise a 

 homogeneous statement. I hope that these 

 contributions may have more value rather 

 than less from the fact that they have been 

 separate studies, made at long enough in- 

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