46 THE FARMER AND THE NEW DAY 



V. THE IMPROVEMENT OF FARM LIFE 



Means of Communication. It has been said that the 

 problem of the city is congestion and the problem of the 

 country isolation. In the city there are too many peo- 

 ple to the square mile ; in the country there are too few. 

 Rural free mail delivery, the rural telephone, the rural 

 trolley, to a degree, and the automobile have quite 

 changed the aspect of country life. The problem is not 

 yet solved, however, the greatest difficulty being that of 

 getting and maintaining at reasonable expense a com- 

 plete system of good highways, that reaches practically 

 every farmer. The success of the consolidated school 

 and of the community church, as well as economical 

 transportation of farm products, hinge on this issue. 



Home-making. The farm home is intimately at- 

 tached to farm work. It must contribute to the profit 

 of the farm, to the physical efficiency of the members 

 of the family, to the most complete training of the chil- 

 dren in character and citizenship, and make itself felt 

 in the upbuilding of a satisfying community. The 

 farmhouse should be convenient and beautiful within 

 and without. It is possible to develop a system of 

 home management that will reduce drudgery and en- 

 courage the life of the mind and the spirit. 



Means of Education. We must make sure that the 

 rural school gives the country boy and girl just as good 

 an education for life either in country or in city as is 

 given to the city boy and girl. Moreover, the country 

 school should contribute more completely to the educa- 

 tion of the adults of the community. Ideally, the peo- 

 ple of the community will stay in school all through life. 

 We must maintain a system of agricultural education, 



