CHAPTER XVI 



RURAL LIFE PROGRESS 



Rural institutions. Rural life progress is made in rural 

 institutions. "When we study the changes that have come 

 about in recent years in the country, we must look into the 

 business and social organizations, the country home, the coun- 

 try school, rural political life, and the country church to 

 trace the progress made. These institutions have always 

 existed in the country, and they must not only exist, but 

 progress, if there is to be a permanent and satisfying country 

 life. 



The farm. The farm is a great plant, made up not only 

 of land, plants, animals, and buildings, but of human life 

 as well. It is an institution in itself, with its varied forms 

 of life and activities. In a larger sense than the factories, 

 department stores, railroads, and other great industrial aggre- 

 gates, the well-organized farm is an institution demanding 

 education, work, and management, and admitting of progress 

 in all of its departments and aspects. The progress that must 

 be made in agriculture to meet the demands of the farm in 

 the twentieth century will be along the lines of permanent 

 soil fertility, improvement of plants and animals, and the 

 control of insect pests and plant and animal diseases. These 



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