COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPORTATION 271 



worthy and indispensable institution and that it is destined to 

 furnish much of the social contact for both rural and urban 

 inhabitants in future, it must be said that it is too small, un- 

 resourceful, and monotonous to supply complete associational 

 satisfaction. Moreover, multitudes of country neighborhoods 

 have established and now enjoy larger community organizations. 

 The trend of the rural movement without question is toward the 

 creation and the adaptation of varied recreational and social 

 facilities. 



Another proposition is that American farmers shall abandon 

 their present system of widely distributed, separate homesteads 

 and segregate themselves in some kind of central farm village. 

 Various actual and ideal types of such communities present them- 

 selves, some of which deserve attention. 



The European form of farm village is generally thought of 

 when the proposal in question is considered. European farmers 

 almost universally live in small segregated communities, proceed- 

 ing from these during the daytime to prosecute their agriculture 

 on the outlying farms. In America, also, are to be found a few 

 types of agricultural village. In various sections of the United 

 States immigrant Mennonites have established themselves in such 

 communities, very largely reproducing here the customary Euro- 

 pean prototype. The most indigenously American farm village 

 is to be found among the Mormon settlements of the western 

 portion of the United States and Canada. "When the Mormons 

 settled Utah they designated an agricultural community some- 

 what peculiar to themselves. The Mormon settlers and recruits 

 were to settle in centers, all of which were built from a common 

 plant. Each village resident had a considerable plot of land 

 surrounding his house, another plot of a few acres just outside 

 the center, a still larger piece still farther removed, and might 

 have more land still farther distant. The dwellings are char- 

 acteristically arranged relative to each other to secure family 

 privacy. A further important characteristic is that the church 

 is the center of community interest and lies at the foundation of 

 the Mormon farm village plan. 



Besides these existent types of agricultural villages, a strictly 

 cooperative farm village community has been urged. It is pro- 

 posed that not only dairies and creameries, but also laundries, 



