36 COMMISSION ON COUNTRY LIFE 



home and its surroundings. There is increasing 

 appreciation on the part of great numbers of 

 country people of the advantage of sanitary 

 water supplies and plumbing, of better con- 

 struction in barns and all farm buildings, of good 

 reading matter, of tasteful gardens and lawns, and 

 the necessity of good education. 



Many institutions are also serving the agri- 

 cultural needs of the open country with great 

 effectiveness, as the United States Department 

 of Agriculture, the land-grant colleges and ex- 

 periment stations, and the many kinds of exten- 

 sion work that directly or indirectly emanate 

 from them. The help that these institutions 

 render to the country life interests is everywhere 

 recognized. State departments of agriculture, 

 national, state, and local organizations, many 

 schools of secondary grade, churches, libraries, 

 and many other agencies, are also contributing 

 actively to the betterment of agricultural con- 

 ditions. 



There has never been a time when the Ameri- 

 can farmer was as well off as he is today, when 

 we consider not only his earning power, but the 

 comforts and advantages he may secure. Yet 



