y SHALL I BE A FARMER? 9 



life is that the farm furnishes work for children. Under 

 modern conditions there are thousands of children who are 

 more in need of a chance to work than of laws to prevent 

 child labor. It is so hard to provide desirable work for 

 children in cities that laws are passed to prevent them 

 from working. This is not because work is bad for a child, 



FIG. 3. A typical farm home in western New York. 



but because of the kind of work, the surroundings, or the 

 danger of overwork. 



Every child should have some regular work to do from 

 the time he is five years old, when he begins to carry in a 

 few sticks of wood for his mother. The city home cannot 

 readily provide work for boys, hence they are often kept in 

 idleness when not in school. The boy sees little of his 

 father; all his companions are boys. On the farm the 

 boy has companionship with his father as well as with 

 boys. He helps his father work and feels that he is taking 

 a man's part in the world. As he grows older, he learns 

 how to do many things. He has responsibility for the 

 care of live-stock. He learns that he must not neglect 

 his stock, even if he is tired or desires to play. He learns 

 the value of time. Every one who is to be of real use in 



