WHY BOYS LEAVE FARM 



my home was not a pleasant one. Had there 

 been only one boy in the family, I should prob- 

 ably be there to-day. As there were two, one 

 was naturally the farmer and the other the 

 mechanic, gunsmith, and engineer. My reputa- 

 tion in these lines made it necessary for me to do 

 much technical reading, even before entering 

 the high school, and every step after that car- 

 ried me farther from the farm. A year with 

 the U. S. engineers put the question beyond 

 further doubt. I enjoy farm life and farm 

 work." 



Questions raised by the replies 



These native replies at once bring up 

 many questions of great public concern, 

 for they have to do, in a broad way, with 

 the position that the farmer occupies in 

 the economic and social structure. These 

 young persons come from good or at least 

 average farm homes; otherwise it would 

 be wholly improbable that they would seek 

 a university training. Exactly forty per 

 cent, of them desire to leave the farm be- 

 cause it is not remunerative. It is easy to 

 say that this financial unsuccess is due to 

 poor individual farming; but it is a ques- 

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