6 CHAPTERS IN RURAL PROGRESS 



but much more of it is so only relatively and not 

 essentially. We must admit that civilization is 

 at least partially veneer; polish does wonders 

 for the appearance of folks as well as of furniture. 

 But while the beauty of "heart of oak" is en- 

 hanced by its "finish," its utility is not destroyed 

 by a failure to polish it. Now, much of the so- 

 called barrenness of country life is the oak minus 

 the polish. We come to regard polish as essen- 

 tial; it is largely relative. And not only may 

 we apply the wrong standard to the situation, 

 but our eyes may deceive us. To the uninitiated 

 a clod of dry earth is the most unpromising of 

 objects it is cousin to the stone, and the type of 

 barrenness. But to the elect it is pregnant with 

 the possibilities of seed-time and harvest, of a full 

 fruitage, of abundance and content for man and 

 beast. And there is many a farm home, plain 

 to an extreme, devoid of the veneer, a home that 

 to the man of the town seems lacking in all the 

 things that season life, but a home which virtue, 

 intelligence, thrift, and courage transform into a 

 garden of roses and a type of heaven. I do not 

 justify neglect of the finer material things of life, 

 nor plead for drab and homespun as passports 

 to the courts of excellence; but I insist that the 

 plainness, simple living, absence of luxury, lack 



