ECONOMIC MOTIVES AND IDEALS IN AGRICULTURE 15 



tively ineffective. The writer once knew a man who had 

 followed this motive to the extreme of acquiring land to the 

 extent of about 2000 acres, but his farm presented a very- 

 shabby appearance, and none of his land was handled accord- 

 ing to the rules of good husbandry. When asked by what 

 method he was able to accumulate so much wealth he said, 

 " It is not what you make but what you save that counts." 

 The personal appearance of the farmer as well as that of his 

 farm showed the stultifying effect of putting the accumulation 

 of wealth ahead of living a satisfactory life. 



5. Joy in work. Many a farmer enjoys driving a team, 

 watching the clean soil turned over by the plow, watching the 

 crops grow, and caring for live stock. So satisfying is this life 

 to many a man that he will continue his activities as a farmer 

 year after year, even though he knows that men in other occupa- 

 tions are winning very much more money than he, for he is 

 wise enough to recognize that he is paid in direct satisfactions 

 as well as in money, and that much of the richness of his life is 

 due to things which money cannot buy. 



6. Habit. With many an unthinking farmer, habit is the 

 substitute for conscious motives. Because he was trained to 

 do farm work, he continues to do the work in the same way and 

 in about the same amount year after year, and this often con- 

 tinues long after he has acquired a competence. Habit may or 

 may not be a good substitute for conscious motives. Where 

 by habit one follows the higher types of farming the results 

 may be as good as if conscious motives were in operation, but 

 with the progress of agriculture, farming by habit will ever be 

 lagging behind, and for this reason it will usually be true that 

 the man with conscious motives will be far ahead of the man 

 who works as a result of habit. 



7. The desire for ease and time for enjoyment. In that com- 

 plex set of motives which dominate the life of man are found 

 those which retard his economic activities as well as those 

 which promote productive work. This motive is illustrated 

 in the laborers of certain races who quit work for the remainder 

 of the week so soon as they have earned enough to support them 



