112 The State and the Farmer 



This is to be the lasting work of all national 

 and state agricultural institutions. It is a work 

 that is yet scarcely begun in this country. 

 What progress has been made in this develop- 

 ment has been mostly accidental. 



The work of the agricultural institutions has 

 been directed chiefly to increase the product- 

 iveness of the land — to make the farm earn 

 more money. The agricultural colleges, for 

 example, have properly laid their emphasis on 

 this line of teaching; but in so doing they 

 have themselves contributed to the mainte- 

 nance of agricultural isolation. To make the 

 farm more productive must continue to be the 

 primary efi^ort of these and similar institutions; 

 but the time has now come when the colleges 

 and all public agricultural agencies must join 

 in the effort to improve and extend the social 

 welfare of the persons who live on the land. 

 The farmer is a member of the community. 



In other words, while we need new knowl- 

 edge, we need more than this to put the 

 knowledge that we now possess into practi- 

 cable and workable form ; we must make it a 



