58 TO KEEP YOUXG PEOPLE INTERESTED 



In case the old farm cannot be thus parceled out, it is 

 nearly always possible to buy lands not far away upon 

 which the young people may be located. The father may 

 assume the responsibility of the purchase of these farms, 

 giving the children a chance to pay for them on easy 

 terms, and after a long lease of time, if desired, or if his 

 own financial condition will permit, he may buy the lands 

 desired, and give the deed to his children. This has a 

 great point of advantage in the fact that thus the father 

 and mother may, to a large extent, be the administrators 

 of their own estates. This prevents much of the strife 

 that comes up where the matter of settling up the estate is 

 left until after the death of the parents. 



The extension of this plan of settling the young people 

 on nearby farms would do more than any other one thing 

 to give us a satisfactory answer to the question: How 

 shall we keep our young people on the farm? Let the 

 children understand that when they are of legal age they 

 shall have a place, either with the parents on the old farm 

 or on a farm near the homestead, and the drift away from 

 the country will receive a decided check. 



Young men who have an ambition to conduct a farm 

 on progressive lines ought to have the earnest support of 

 their parents — not only because modern methods pay, but 

 because they will be likely to hold the interest of a studi- 

 ous and energetic boy. 



The modern farmer is not simply a corn planter, a 

 wheat grower, a cattle breeder, a sheep feeder, or a poul- 

 try raiser, but often all of these and more combined. His 

 farm, therefore, must be planned with reference to all of 

 these operations and the harmonious dovetailing together 

 of the different parts. In planning his farm for profit, 

 the farmer must see all the different problems in a com- 

 prehensive way at the outset, omit the features that do 

 not pay, and strengthen those that do. 



He will soon perceive that his sons and daughters, if 



