84 THE STATE AS FARMER 



its teaching by periodical visits. Skim milk, 

 potatoes, and barley meal are looked upon 

 as the best food. Therefore the pig is the 

 test of, and the incentive to, ideal farming 

 such as I have urged throughout. The 

 cereals might be used more freely at the 

 factory than at the farm, but the details 

 would be similar on all the farms and a 

 uniformity in result would soon be accom- 

 plished. I hope that the reader will give 

 his kind attention to the benefits which 

 a simple though exact system such as this 

 will confer both on the farmer and on the 

 ordinarv citizen. The farmer does his work 

 under the assurance that when it is finished 

 he will receive in full measure the payment 

 for his toil. He does not have to search 

 the country for a customer or to kill for 

 himself in sheer desperation. His pig has 

 become a portion of the national food supply, 

 and the manager of the factory has become 

 an agent with whom the consumer has to 

 deal. But this is not all. We are apt to 

 take it for granted that our meat reaches 

 us naturally in perfect condition, free from 

 all trace of disease, and clean. We are in 



