THE TRAINING OF FARMERS 



man is likely to be a fatalist, although he 

 may not know it and he may resent it if 

 told. His work is in the presence of the 

 elemental forces of nature. These forces 

 are beyond his power to make or to un- 

 make. He cannot change the rain or sun- 

 shine or storm or drought. The result of 

 this is that the man may either develop a 

 complacent and joyful resignation, taking 

 things as they come and making the best 

 of them, or else a species of rebellion that 

 leads to a hopeless and pessimistic outlook 

 on life. I am convinced that much of the in- 

 ertia of country people is traceable to the 

 essential fatalism of their outlook on the 

 world. 



This outlook of helplessness is to be 

 overcome by giving the man the power and 

 courage of science, whereby he may in some 

 degree overcome, control, or mitigate the 

 * V forces of nature, or at least effectively ad- 

 just himself to them ; and by securing the 

 impulse of collected action. 



Agricultural colleges, experiment sta- 

 tions, and other institutions are giving the 

 countryman no end of fact. We have not 

 72 



