BJcvB lark ?tatc OJoUcge of Agritulturc At ajornell UniuerattB Eibrarg ® I^2C>4 Cornell University Library HT 421. G5 ConstructWe rural soa^^^^ Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014543544 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NBW YORK ■ BOSTON - CHICAGO • DALLAS ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO MACMILLAN & CO., Limitbd LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA MELBOURNR THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. TORONTO CONSTRUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY BY JOHN M. GILLETTE nOFS8S0& OF SOCIOLOGY, UKIVEKSITY OF NOKTH DAKOTA WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE E. VINCENT FKEstDEirr or the nuivERsm or minkesota New Edition Revised and Enlarged ii3eto gotk THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1919 AM rights reserved, Copyriglit 1913, 1915 i By the MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published Februury, 1913 Eeprinted July, 1913, September, 1914, March, 1915, September, 1915 New Edition BeviEed December, 1915 Reprinted March, 1916, October, 1916. February, 1917, September, ).9l7. INTEODUCTION Interest in the problems of rural life is wide-spread, but it is too generally uninformed. City people praise a life close to nature but avoid the life itself. Alarmists predict the early depopulation of the countryside. Optimists count upon macadamised roads, telephones, rural free delivery and moving-pictures at the school-house to make the farming population happy and contented. Despondent citizens pre- dict a scarcity of food products and an early dependence upon Eussia and the Argentine. Still others querulously ask why the urban unemployed refuse to accept large wages and a comfortable home as labourers upon the farms, or why the dwellers in tenements do not eagerly seek the soil and add to the national wealth. There is a zeal for agricultural education. Experiment stations, colleges of agriculture, agricultural high schools are being multiplied, and even in the common schools agri- cultural subjects are being introduced. There is a deep- ening conviction that if only agricultural knowledge and skill can be widely distributed, and if the young can be given insight and enthusiasm for farming pursuits, our problems will be solved. The demand for new forms of agricultural extension is growing. Farmers' Institutes are declared to be an out- grown device. It is insisted that experts must go to the farmers on their farms, that demonstration plots must be scattered throughout the countryside, that county agricul- tural advisers must be appointed to serve the farmers of the region. Club women of town and city are concerning themselves with the life of women and girls upon the farm. To many the difficulty now is not so much to keep the boy on the farm vi INTRODUCTION" as it is to make rural life worth while for the girl. It is proposed, therefore, to supply the house with the results of an inventive skill which heretofore has been employed al- most wholly on the farm outside the dwelling. A more in- teresting social life for farm women, closer contact with neighbours and with the nearest market town, are being urged. The extension of information about home decora- tion, cookery, and other household arts is being made a part of agricultural education and University extension every- where. All these conflicting ideas, suggestions, devices, need the steadying of fact and of authoritative principles. What is to be the future of agricultural industry? Is it to be or- ganised on a factory system with large farms under expert management, or will the typical agricultural unit be the small farm intensively cultivated by one family? Or will these two systems be combined in different ways in different parts of the country ? How are questions of this kind to be determined? What are the influences at work? These are pertinent questions. The purpose of this volume is to provide in a clear and untechnical way the fundamental facts upon which judg- ments about past development, present tendencies and future growth are to be based. This volume ought to increase in- terest in rural problems and to make that interest more in- telligent. It is to be welcomed as an important addition to the literature of the subject. It brings together in com- pact and convenient form a mass of significant facts and it draws sane and careful inferences. Professor Gillette has shown a clear grasp of the subject and has given us a val- uable book which will be welcomed not only in school and college, but by the general reader. Geoeqb E. ViisroENT. President of the University of Minnesota. December, 1912. PEEFAOE Rural conditions are attracting widespread attention. Numerous articles and volumes dealing with country-life matters have appeared during the past few years. While many of the books issued are exceedingly useful hardly any of them could be considered a rural sociology. To consider together the various phases of the life of the rural com- munity and so to organise and present them that they shall convey a knowledge and appreciation of the problems of country life is surely a useful undertaking. The present modest volume is an attempt to do this. The writer's interest in rural matters was first aroused by Professor Charles E. Henderson's course on " Rural Communities " at the University of Chicago in 1900. A course of lectures entitled " North Dakota Sociology " was offered students of the University of North Dakota in 1908. But in order to interpret many local conditions, a larger comparative study was necessary,. This, larger un-- dertaking fuiinished the foundation, for the> present volume.. In. this volume' it is sought to define the scope, of rural gociologyi to.differentjate between rural and urban communi- tjes,. to distinguish, the types of rural communities- in the United States and to indicate the physical and social infl"u- ences which have pi:oducedi them, to consider the movement of population from country to city and the nature of the moving, conditions, to compare the advantages of countijy and' city,, to mark out the nature of the rural problem,, to con- sider the improvement of agriculture, farm marketing, farm labour, and the farm home so far as they concern rural com- munity welfare, and to take an inventory of social inatitur- tions. and. indicate how they may be improved^ viii PEEFACE The aim of the author is primarily to supply a text on rural sociology that may be used in. universities, colleges, agricultural colleges, and normal schools. The attempt has been made to give the facts and conditions of country life a broad sociological interpretation. Much valuable concrete data has been suppressed in order that principles might be prominent. It is hoped, however, that the style is suffi- ciently simple and direct to render the volume available for general purposes. In fact the writer has written " Con- structive Eural Sociology " with the desire to reach the in- telligent farmer as well as the teacher or student. A criticism as to the scope of the text may arise relative to certain portions of chapters 7, 8, 9, and 11. It may be alleged that matters are treated which belong to economics, agriculture, and to sanitary and mechanical engineering. Technically such a criticism may be just. It is lessened by practical considerations, however, for many institutions in which instruction in rural matters is desired may not offer separate courses which develop those subjects in a special- ised manner; or more general readers may not have facil- ities for informing themselves relative to them. It seemed best, therefore, to make a somewhat comprehensive survey of the improvement of agriculture, the home, marketing, and sanitation. Moreover the attempt has been made in each case to give the subject a sociological bearing. But if the proper sociological limits have been exceeded, good prece- dent for the excess exists. For Professor Carver has em- bodied in his " Principles of Eural Economics " consider- able material of a sociological nature. In the nature of the case I am indebted to many writers for the material embraced in most portions of the study. Full acknowledgment of this by references throughout the work has been made. I am accountable for the organisation of the material and for the plan of the work. The chapters which are peculiar to this work will be discovered by crit- PEEFAOE ix ical students in due time, and will stand or fall, according to their merits; as indeed will the whole volume. I desire especially to thank my colleague. Assistant Professor Meyer Jacobstein of the department of economics, for valuable suggestions, Mr. George E. Davies, teaching fellow in sociology in the University of Iforth Dakota, who has performed the exacting work of making the index, and President George E. Vincent of the University of Minne- sota who kindly consented to write the introduction. JoHW M. Gillette. University of North Dakota, December 6, 1912. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The first edition of this volume received a welcome throughout the nation, both on the part of teachers of rural subjects in institutions of higher learning and by the gen- eral public, that was beyond the author's expectations. In the nature of the case some valuable criticisms and sugges- tions for its improvement have appeared which have been taken advantage of in the present edition. Many changes and additions in the subject-matter have been made in the work as a whole, the statistics have been brought down to date, new sections have been added in certain chapters, and two new chapters have been written. The treatment did not seem complete without some consideration of the physi- cal conditions of the United States in their relation to ag- riculture. Chapter III appears as a means of filling in this gap. Since the original pages were written, the sub- ject of rural credit has assumed a position of importance in academic and public notice. Accordingly, a short chap- ter has been prepared on that topic. It may not be amiss to allude to the new results which I have worked out and which appear in the chapter on Rural and Urban Increase, under the discussion of Eural Migration. The results alluded to refer to the question, How much does rural migration contribute to the growth of urban communi- ties? The author of this work has repeatedly sought to answer this question and has published results several times, none of which, unfortunately, were correct, as the present demon- stration shows. Only one other investigator has published results which bear on the question, although it is well known xii PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION that many others have attempted to meet the problem. Since there is such widespread assertion that city popula- tions grow at the almost entire expense of the country it is important to get the matter settled. Not imtil now has a satisfactory and reliable method of reaching a solution of the problem appeared. With this method before him the reader has it within his power to test the results for himself. There is, however, one criticism which grew out of an in- advertent passage in the preface to the first edition which I desire to dispose of. I stated there that my first interest in rural matters arose as a result of attending a course of lec- tures by Professor Henderson on Kural Communities at the University of Chicago. The conclusion which one writer drew and to which he gave wide publicity through the columns of a prominent weekly journal was that this was the first knowledge I had of farm life and that, there- fore, the volume I wrote must be the work of an amateur in agricultural matters. It is not necessary that a writer should defend himself against such a charge. It is better to permit the reader to judge that matter after duly con- sidering the contents and work. If a justification is necessary for having written on the subject of rural sociology it might be well to allude to my experience with farm life. It has been my fortune to have lived a year or more in each of six of the nine geographical divisions, or in twelve different states distributed throughout the nation from Massachusetts to California and from Ar- kansas to North Dakota. My rural origin made it inevitable that many of the methods and conditions of the different communities should have made an impression on me. Thus the facts of seasonal labour came up out of a somewhat un- conscious reservoir. In later years my summers have been spent on a farm in a frontier community and during the year I have attended and lectured at various farmers' meet- ings. PKEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITIOIT xiii Probably no one is more sensible to the shortcomings of this work than is the writer. Additional topics and many new phases of those already treated might well receive con- sideration. But this must always be so where much is attempted within a small compass. To enlarge the book very much beyond its present size would place it in the class of reference works and make it unavailable as a text and handy volume. However, it is believed that the vol- ume now has reasonable fulness and completeness and will fairly well meet the requirements of both teachers and in- terested readers. John M. Gillette. University of North Dakota, October, 1915. CONTENTS TAGE INTBODDCTION V Peeface vii Peeface to the Second Edition xi CHAPTEB I. Meaning and Impobtance of Rubal Sociology ... 3 'II. Distinction Between Eubai. and Urban Community 9 III. Physical Condition of the United States and Aqei- CTJLTtlEE .22 I. Influence of physical environment in general . 22 II. Physiographic features of the United States . 27 III. Agricultural responses to physical conditions . 34 IV. Types of Communities as Results of the Diffee- entiating Effects of Envibonment 48 I. Pure agricultural type . . . . . 49 II. The mixed-agricultural type ... .53 III. Frontier or pioneer type . . ... 54 IV. Irrigation communities . . 56 V. Rural immigrant eommunities . 64 VI. Backward communities . .... 73 V. RUBAL AND Ueban Incbease .78 I. Facts as to drift to cities ... . 78 II. Sources of city growth .... .... 85 III. Significance and causes of migration to cities . 94 VI. The Social Natuee of the Rueal Pboblem . . . .101 VII. Advantages and Disadvantages of Fabm Life . . .111 I. Advantages .... .... . 113 II. Disadvantages ... . 128 VIII. Impeovement of Ageicultubal Peoduction . . . 135 I. Sociological implication of agriculture . . 135 II. Practical importance of problems of production . 138 III. Illustrations of gains from science applied to agri- cultural production 142 IX. Impeovement of the Business Side of Faemino . . . 154 I. Farm management . 154 II. Farm marketing ... 162 III. Benefits of organisation 167 XV xvi CONTENTS „ PAGE CHAPTEB X. Improvement of the Business Side of Fabminq ( on- TINDED) EUBAL CBEDIT • ■ ' ' XI. Improvement of Transportation and Commttnioation 191 I. Social and economic aspects • .... II. The improvement of roads . - ^'" XII. Social Aspects of Land and Labour in the United States ^^^ I. Available land and possible population . . .204 II. Tendency in size of farms ... .... 211 III. Tenant farming 215 IV. Farm labour 225 XIII. Rural Health and Sanitation 235 I. General considerations . 235 II. Sanitation in the home ... 238 III. Neighbourhood sanitation . . 249 XIV. Making Farm Life More Attractive 256 I. Farm buildings ... . ... 258 II. Improvement of the utilities of home and farm . 260 III. Improvement of grounds . 268 XV. Socialisation op Country Life . 272 Meaning of socialisation 272 The fact of backwardness . 273 Desirability of associational life 276 Direction rural socialisation should take .... 283 XVt. Rural Social Institutions and Their Improvement . 288 Clubs 288 Farmers' organizations ... 295 Library ... 301 XVII. Rural Social Institutions and Their Improvement (Continued) — The Church . . ... 310 Function .... 310 Principles regulative of what it may undertake . .312 Decadence ... 31g Methods of improving 32o Y. M. C. A ! ! 322 XVIII. Social Institutions (Continued) — Adjustment of Education to Rural Needs 327 Sociological demands 327 Rural schools 33q Higher education 350 CONTENTS xvii CHAPTER PAGE XIX. RuBAL Chabitt and Corbection 363 I. Conditions in the country . . . 363 II. Improvement of charitable and corrective institutions 368 XX. Etjeai, Social Surveys . . ... 380 I. Importance of the survey . . . ... 380 II. Nature of the survey 384 Index 393 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY OHAPTEE I MEiANrNG AND IMPOKTAU"CE OF EtTEAL SOCIOLOGT Scope and Meaningf — Rural sociology has as its partio- Tttlar task to take a full inventory of the conditions of life in rural communities. It must discover their tendencies and deficieneies, map out the special problems, and indicate "ways of betterment according to the best ideals of social life. It is not, therefore, a mere dilettante study. It seeks to be useful. Its aim is to be practical, in the sense of organising information with a view to throwing light on a given situa- tion. It has shortcomings because the field is new and not yet thoroughly organised, and because many phases of it are yet to be explored and charted. A study of rural life such as is here made, while it may settle nothing absolutely, may still entitle us to hold an opinion or conviction, and may even lead the way to a right policy and useful action. The task of rural sociology being to consider the subject in its wholeness and to consider special features with a view to determining their influence upon rural life as a whole, rural sociology is by that differentiated from other rural studies, such as rural economics, for instance. The latter study would seek to discover the best methods of conducting rural matters in order best to advance business and to make wealth. It regards the wealth motive, and places it in the center of its considerations. It asks " Does this way or that 4 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY way most conduce to wealth production ? " When it has found out, it advocates pursuing that special way. Eural transportation, for instance, interests the economist because it is necessary to carry on the economic activities of farming. It interests the sociologist because it is a means of communi- cation, of social intercourse, of raising the satisfaction of life. The economist and the sociologist treat the same things frequently, but there can be no conflict so long as each keeps his legitimate aim directly before him. The same remarks apply to the political scientist and sociologist, to the historian and sociologist, and to all other special social scientists and the sociologist. Just what the social problems of rural community life are we shall determine when we come to treat the special prob- lems of social life. We shall there seek to locate the prob- lems, to outline them, and to discuss them as fully as possible. The Importance of Rural Sociology. — ^The commanding attention which at the present time is being devoted to rural problems and which is roughly and loosely called " rural sociology " is one of the best proofs of the importance of rural sociology. Value is a social product. Things are val- uable more or less according to the strength of people's appre- ciation of them and desire for them. If a subject occupies the public mind it is valuable for the public to the extent of its pressure. Whether it is of permanent value depends on its inherent power to compete with other issues. We must grant to rural sociology at least a very large temporary im- portance. Besides the foregoing evidence of its current importance several additional reasons may be given as an indication of its more permanent value. The Importance of Agriculture. — Our nation is becom- ing less and less agricultural as measured by the proportion of persons engaging in that pursuit. From this it might seem that agriculture is becoming less important. However, MEANING AND IMPOETANCE 5 when it is observed that all our inhabitants depend on the products of the farms and that population tends to overtake the amount of food a given territory produces the opinion arises that agriculture may become increasingly important to a nation. When it isi further observed that the quality of life of an economic class is likely to be determined by the income, and that the intelligence and culture of the farming portion of the nation is dependent on its pi'oductivity ; and that even the quality of life of all the people of the nation may be dependent on or affected by the cost of food, which in turn is determined by the quantity our fanners are able to produce ultimately, the subject gains a still larger im- portance. Attention is being devoted to this subject. As an example of current consideration Mr. James J. Hill may be cited. He estimates that the population of the United States vdll be 117,036,229 in 1920, 142,091,663 in 1930, 170,905,412 in 1940, and 204,041,223 in 1950.* He emphasises the fact that this colossal population will be witnessed vdthin the coming generation. " Therefore, and this is the focal point of the whole matter, the country is approaching the inevitable advent of a population of 150,000,000 or 200,000,000 within the lifetime of those now grown to man's estate, -with a po- tential food supply that fails as the draft upon it advances. How are these people to be fed ? " ^ The general social significance of agriculture to the nation he notes in these words: " A prosperous agricultural inter- est is to a nation what good digestion is to a man. The farm is the basis of all industry. The soil is the only resource that renews itself continually after having produced value. I do not wish to belittle the importance of manufacture or its relative value in general growth. But for many years this country has made the mistake of unduly assisting manu- facture, commerce, and other activities that center in cities, 1" High-ways of Progress," Chap. 1. * This is an overestimate which will be considered later, 6 COWSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY at the expense of the farm. The result is a neglected system of agriculture and the decline of the farming interest. But all these other activities are founded upon agricultural growth of the nation and must continue to depend upon it. Every manufacturer, every merchant, every business man, every good citizen is deeply interested in maintaining the growth and development of our agricultural resources." ^ But that America will be able to meet future exigencies for food production can scarcely be doubted. The signs of tbis are given in the statement of the Secretary of Agricul- ture. " A demand that is more difficult to fulfil in production per acre is for an increase that equals or exceeds the actual increase of population, including the immigrants and the temporarily higb birth rate of the foreign bom. But, not- withstanding the fact that tbis difficulty is greater in the United States than it is in all other countries that bave prac- tically ceased to take much new land into cultivation, many of the states of this nation are each maintaining an increase of production in the case of one or more prominent crops that is greater than the actual increase of population. Ten states are doing this in the case of com ; for wheat the num- ber is 22 ; for oats, 16 ; and for hay, 25." ^ The Importance of Rural Social Problems — Much that is said about country life is entirely economic. It is not diffi- cult to get statistics of wealth and to determine the backward- ness of tillage, or of stock-breeding. But there is a larger aspect of country life which can hardly be put statistically, although statistics may give some indication of the drift of things. The quality of life on the farm ; the happiness and contentment which are the bone and sinew of well-being of the individual and society; the intellectual outlook on life which determines whether or not the individual and his class 2 Same, pp. 45-6. 3 Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1910, p. 28. MEANING AKD IMPOETANCE 7 will take part in progress or be the objects of exploitation; the relation of the farmers as a class to other classes, and hence the ease or diiBculty of securing cooperation for larger community purposes; all these suggest problems and issues which are not immediately economic, political, religious, but which are primarily social. Usefulness to Rural Inhabitants. — Living creatures have always contended with the environment in extracting their living from it. The more they have come to understand it the better they have been enabled to use it for their advan- tage. Men are finding this true of their social environment. Society is a complicated affair which is not easy to undeiv stand and to manage. Rural communities, as simple as they seem, have complexities and hidden meanings for the average man and woman. A large part of the backwardness, narrow- ness, and unhappiness of country life arises from a lack of comprehension of the conditions of the community and of the relation of the neighbourhood to the larger world. Such a consideration of the various phases of rural life as rural sociology gives should be of immense value to the farmer, to the rural teacher, and to the country preacher and physician because of the light it throws on familiar condi- tions. If knowledge is for adjustment purposes, a compre- hension of things about them should make the lives of rural inhabitants better adapted, fuller, and, consequently, happier. Importance to the Nation as a Whole. — The whole nation should be interested in the condition of every fundamental part of the nation. We are greatly concerned over the prob- lem of the poor, the criminals, and the defectives because we are certain that these classes are dangerous to the larger wel- fare. It has never been duly appreciated that there are con- ditions in the life of the farming population which are im- portant to the total life of the nation or the state. But if the former classes are able to poison the larger life, any backward condition or defective structure of such a dominant 8 CONSTKUOTIVE EUKAX SOCIOLOGT. and fundamental class as the rural inhabitants must act of necessity as a deterrent. Progress is secured by means of those equitable and dis- tributed changes in a state or society which secure the right adjustment of each part to the whole organised life and per- mit none to be exploited by others. The farmer's advance does not mean others' injury, but his progress in all good things will contribute to the general upbuilding. His ad- vance means the promotion of the common good. His better education means the intellectual enrichment of all other classes. His improvement in leadership so that he is com- petent to take care of his interests in county, state, and nation will bring about a revolution in political life which will off- set the undue influence of special privilege in government. If the cities are corrupt and hold the balance of power for evil, as some would contend, an enlightened and strength- ened agricultural vote would act as a countervailing influence. Says ex-President Roosevelt : " Our civilisation rests at bottom on the wholesomeness, the attractiveness, and the com- pleteness, as well as the prosperity, of life in the country. . . . Upon the development of coimtry life rests ultimately our ability, by methods of farming requiring the highest in- telligence to continue to feed and clothe the hungry nations ; to supply the city with fresh blood, clean bodies, and clear brains that can endure the terrific strain of modem life ; we need the development of men in the open country, who will be in the future, as in the past, the stay and strength of the nation in time of war, and its guiding and controlling spirit in time of peace." * We may affirm, then, that it is a matter of general con- cern to consider the conditions of rural life with a view to applying our best ideals to it, to understanding it, and to cooperating with it for its advancement and the promotion of the common good. * Report of the Country Life Commisaion, p. 9. Sturgis & Walton Co. CHAPTEE II DISTDSrCTION BETWEEN ETTEAL AND UEBAW COMMUNITY DiflBculty of Making the Distinction It may seem ab- surd to raise the question of what constitutes a rural com- munity, and what differentiates the rural from the urban community. The common man is likely to feel positive that he knows what the city is, what the country is and what dis- tinguishes each from the other. It appears preposterous that we should not know when we are in the country or in the city and exactly where the boundary line is which separates them. In reality this is very much like the assurance of the popular mind that a man knows himself, his nature, his constitution. For would it not be ridiculous to think that one could live with himself so long without coming to a ripe knowledge of himself? However, to the student of various lines of sciences few things are more familiar than that com- mon facts may prove hard to distinguish and to define for scientific purposes. The difficulty of drawing hard and fast lines between do- mains appears in classifying the sciences. For example, it is not easy to differentiate between certain phases of history and political science, or between history and economics. The distinction between the sciences rests on the aim and interest of the scientific worker. Investigators of the differ- ent sciences often handle the same objects and matter. But since they have different interests to serve they gain different ideas from considering the same things and build distinct systems of knowledge as a consequence. A science is built on the foundation of a particular point of view. 10 COITSTKUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY Likewise it is conceivable that what would be a city for some intellectual purposes would not be for other purposes. The same is true for the country. There are some aggrega- tions of populations, however, which could never serve as coimtry and some country regions which could never serve as city. We may at least refuse to be surprised if the task of distinguishing the city from the rural community should develop difficulties. Distinction Based on Population. — Census takers and stat- isticians group populations under the headings of urban or city and rural or country. This has been done in the United States at each decennial census since the first one in 1790. Until recently cities composed only those aggregations of population having at least 8,000 inhabitants. But it was per- ceived that smaller aggregations contained essentially urban conditions. Hence the census of 1900 makes three classes of population: (1), urban, places of 4,000 or more people, together with 1,158 !N"ew England towns which have been taken to represent the urban element; (2), semi-urban, 9,553 incorporations having less than 4,000 inhabitants and more than 2,500; (3), rural, or purely country region, including villages and small centres of population of less than 2,500 people. The census of 1910 accepts and uses the 2,500 limit as the boundary line between the districts it considers rural and urban. Distinction Based on Function. — Definitions of the city have been made by writers which have been based on abstract specialness of the activity taken into consideration independ- ent of its concrete content ; and also, by more careful writers based upon definite, determined and concrete activities, and notably certain industrial activities. Thus Adam Smith said : * " Cities are inhabited chiefly by artisans and trades- peoples." Sombart said cities are " aggregations of men de- pendent upon the products of outside agricultural labour for 1 " Wealth of Nations," Bk. Ill, Chap. 3. EUKAL AKD UKBAN COMMUNITY . 11 their subsistence." Both of these ideas are true only of mod- em cities. Agriculture has held a definite place in certain cities and centres. The cities of ancient times were generally consumption cities, even the greatest of them. The history of the local- isation of industries shows that industrial activities are rela- tive to place and time. But in modem times, and especially in advanced nations, the functional characteristics are large factors in distinguishing municipal communities. They are largely what Smith and Sombart said: aggregations of arti- sans and tradespeople who are dependent on outside agricul- ture for subsistence. This is defining the city in terms of the function of the inhabitants rather than in those of the city itself. It is quite possible to conceive the city in its collective aspect to possess and exercise functions which the rural community does not have. The city undertakes to do many things which are left to the citizen in the country. Water, light, drainage, sew- age disposal, parks, etc., are a few of the distinctly city un- dertakings. These are, however, special undertakings mostly of modern times. Distinction Based on Social Mediation One of the es- sential distinctions between city and country lies in the differ- ence in the degree to which their inhabitants depend on the existence of social machinery as a transmitting agency in their business. The farmer produces to make a living and follows a business which is extractive in nature. His mate- rials are first degree materials. He deals with nature and her resources directly, without the mediation of others. City dwellers, on the other hand, in prosecuting their business activities and in so far as they handle material goods, deal with nature indirectly. What they work up is in the sec- ond, third, or a greater degree removed from its original form. It has been shaped up and handled by other agencies. A vast array of social organisation stands in between them and 12 CONSTKUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY its source in nature. The material the urbanite works upon and the goods he consumes are thus mediated to him by way of this social mechanism. To say this is not to ignore the fact that the farmer of to- day is also dependent on social organisation for obtaining the tools and implements he uses in production. Nor is it to deny that the modem agriculturist produces for the world at large rather than for himself; in the sense that what he produces is consumed by others rather than by himself. In fact he consumes a minimum of what he produces, and, gen- erally, this little is worked upon and refined by others in society and returned to him in another form for consump- tion. Originally the farmer produced about everything he used. The household was almost self-sufiicing. But the modem transportation and industrial system has placed him in contact with society and made him dependent on it as a producer and consumer. Distinction Based on Associational Life. — We have to-day a simple terminology to classify communities according to their simplicity or complexity; namely, farm, village, city. Historically the growth into city life has been first family, then horde or clan, the members of which lived together, pos- sibly in a communal house and composed of a set of related families. This presents the urban community of about the simplest type or is the beginning of the village. Later came the city with its aggregation of unrelated families, yet having a unity of its own arising out of the necessary interdepend- ence. To-day we can see that the city is a complex thing. It is a complexity of occupations, of trade groups and professional groups, of social structures with their accompanying func- tions. In this aspect the city is a social fact, that is, it is a complex community composed of a number of secondary groups. This associational life not only registers a much intenser complexity than rural life in the matter of groups, BUEAL AND UEBA^^T COMMtJHlTY 13 but it has certain accompanying interests which give it a characteristic mark of its own. It has been asserted that the place to begin to find the differ- ential between social groups and to establish the right point of view for the comparative psychology of contemporaneous as well as of primitive aggregations is a study of the occupa- tions. This is held to be obvious because they reflect the condition of mind brought on in an attempt to strike a proper and fruitful adjustment to the environment. As a conse- quence a consideration and comparison of the occupations of urban and rural regions might reveal the psychical traits and marks peculiar to each. Says Professor John Dewey, " Occupations determine the fundamental modes of activity, and hence control the formation and use of habits. These habits, in turn, are something more than practical and overt. ' Apperceptive masses ' and associational tracts of necessity conform to the dominant activities. The occupations deter- mine the chief of satisfaction, the standards of success and failure. Hence they furnish the working classification and definitions of value ; they control the desire processes. More- over they decide the sets of objects and relations that are important, and thereby provide the content or material of attention, and the qualities that are interestingly significant. The directions given to mental life thereby extend to emo- tional and intellectual characteristics. So fundamental and pervasive is the group of occupational activities that it affects the scheme or pattern of the structural organisation of mental traits. Occupations integrate special elements into a fim,o- tioning whole." ^ The hunting group or stage of primitive society illustrates this principle. The dominant pursuit of the chase stamped itself so deeply upon the primitive social structure that it dominates lines of attention and reaction, along with many in- cidental interests. Further, the methods and ways of reacting ^Psychological Review, 9: 217 ff. 14 CONSTKUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY become a part of social heredity and manifest themselves in our current civilisation. Now if we should seek to apply this point of view to the matter in hand we doubtless would obtain important results. The fact will be treated later that individualities are the out- come of industrial and occupational activities and specialisa- tions. Here we are interested in the obverse side, that the group which centres about some objective interest gets its community individuality transformed. Distinction Based on Density of Group Living Within a Definite and Given Area. — Every community has a certain localisation. Even a tribe or a clan, which are more or less personal aggregations, are localised, though not strictly nor so essentially as incorporations. A rural community may be and generally is localised. But the essential difference be- tween the city and country in this respect is that the city is a community which, relative to its human contents or density, occupies an especially limited area. To be sure, there are no absolute limits to this. The density and size of cities vary greatly. Whether there is to be a limit to the size of cities there is a bound to their density beyond which they cannot pass. Says Bookwalter, " The marked charac- teristic that distinguishes these two groups, so innately differ- ent in nature, is the capacity of the one for unlimited growth and development, and the want of a like power of indefinite expansion in the other." ^ The groups spoken of are " those essentially distinct and different groups of labour which nat- urally generate from the collection of a given number of agri- cultural units into the concrete form of a village or town." * The average density of open country regions in the United States differs from section to section and state to state. In New England and the eastern states generally a square mile is likely to contain from 20 to 175 inhabitants. In the more 8 " Rural Versus Urban," p. 55. The Knickerbocker Press, N. Y., 1910. * Ibid., p. 54. EUEAL AND tJEBAN COMMUNITY 15 western states it may contain from one to four or five fam- ilies, and in some new states the population is even less than this. On the other hand, city density may run very high, and generally goes into the thousands per square mile. Thus New York County, New York, in 1900, contained 2,050,600 inhabitants in an area of 63 square miles, which was a den- sity of 32,200. This density is produced by New York City, much of which lies in New York County. Chicago has a much less density. It is fairly weU coextensive with Cook County, Illinois. In 1900 that county had a popula- tion of 1,838,735 persons. Its area was 993 square miles. The density was, therefore, nearly 1,852. Distinction Based on the Character of the Problems Aris- ing in the Community. — Whether or not the difference in communities based on a distinction between the problems and issues arising for solution is fimdamental, it is at least im- portant. It seems to be quite as fundamental as the dis- tinction based on differences in density. Density is only a fact, although it may be a cause of problems and issues. But differences in density in itself is not a primary cause of such phenomena. Problems' and issues which modem cities have to face are facts, and as such may be considered more or less relatively distinguishing characteristics. Some of these modem problems and issues are connected with congestion of population, water supply, light, sewage disposal, sidewalks, pavements, maintenance of parks, libraries, and theatres, in- dustrial disturbances such as strikes and lockouts, misgov- ernment in the shape of the industrialisation of government or politics, and other phenomena. Not all of these are entirely peculiar to the city. As we shall see later, the water supply may be menaced in the coim- try, although it seldom calls for collective action. Heads in the country correspond to pavements in cities, though the problem is generally less intense and imperative. Libraries 16 CONSTEFOTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY;^ may come to be considered as essential to country life as to city, as also may some form of amusement and recreation corresponding to the theatre. Strikes and lockouts, calling for community interference have been quite foreign to rural regions, though "larger farming" seems to be developing them. Misgovemment has often afflicted the latter, yet by reason of local lethargy and indifference, or because of boss and machine domination, rather than because of the pro- jection of special interests into politics. In some cases, then, it appears that the distinction is nearly absolute, while in other cases it is one of degree. Distinction Based on Types of Individuals, or of Individ- uality Developed. — The industrial, commercial, and pro- fessional specialisation which is carried on so extensively in modern cities has created types of individuality which are peculiar to these modern aggregations. If character and qualities are the outcome of habits, and if habits are the out- come of reactions to particular environments, it is evident that there is a vast difference between the habitual reactions and points of view of city and country people. " Not only is language a group matter, but the range of thoughts pos- sessed and used by any group is limited, and characterises one group in distinction from another. The teacher im- presses his mind on the school, the father on the family, and the family or school becomes an intellectual group by itself. . . . Only members of the same group can really understand each other. The same holds true in different ages." ^ There is a decided differentiation between rural and urban inhabitants in this respect. Thus we may say that the type in the country is simple and generally single. We have a farmer type based on agricultural interests and growing out of adjustments to those interests. In the cities, as we have seen, there are diverse occupations and vocations. Thus there are the professions, the various forms of commerce and B Fairbanks, " Introduction to Sociology," p. 105. EITRAL AND UKBAIT COMMUNITY 11 trade, and the many kinds of industry and skilled activity. Each of these has its centre of absorbing interest and con- tent of information about the interest involved ; and it has its habits and reactions which are moulded into a type to corre- spond to the calling. These various types constitute the more complex individualities of urban communities. We are not dealing with ultimate things in this discus- sion. For practical and psychological purposes these in- dividualities differ from each other in obvious ways. It is common knowledge that the individuals of these types do not easily mix in a social way. It is difficult for them to keep up an extended conversation with each other. Their ideas are about different ranges of facts, and their points of view do not harmonise. Habits and standards of living diverge. Hence, the consciousness of kind between types is pale and diffused. Distinction Based on Collective Mind. — The collective mind is a different concept from the individual mind. We may know, somewhat approximately, what to expect of in- dividuals acting separately in given circumstances. What the collective action, emanating from the same individuals constituted as a crowd, would be is more difficult to predict. It is probable that density of population, the congregating of nationalities and races, and the cultural stimuli, to be found in cities, are factors which might be expected to pro- duce a type of collective mind that is distinct from that of the open country. Whether city or country is more prone to mob-mindedness is a pertinent consideration. This has been discussed by Giddings and Ross. Ross says : " It has long been recognised that the be- haviour of city populations under excitement shows the familiar characteristics of the mob, quite apart from any thronging. Here we get unanimity, impulsiveness, exaggera- tion of feeling, excessive credulity, fickleness, inability to rea- 18 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY son, and sudden alternations of boldness and cowardice. Here, indeed, are the chief counts in the indictments which historians have drawn against the city democracies of old Greece and mediaeval Italy." All this is made possible by means of the easy communication of individuals, the quick contact of mind with mind, and manifests itself in booms, panics, strikes, mobs, and speculative manias. On the other hand, Giddings calls attention to the greater excitability of country populations. He says, " There have been scenes of wild violence in Paris and London; there have been draft and other riots in New York City ; but the collective violence in all the great cities of Europe and America for two hundred years would not make a great comparison with the epidemics of emotion — accompanied by dancing and other manias — that surged through rural communities in connection with the great revival movements under the Wesleyans, the later revivals of 1837 and 1857, the insurrections like Shay's Re- bellion and the Whiskey Rebellion, the Ku Klux Clan out- rages, the Vigilance Committee activities, the conflict between Gentiles and Mormons, the White Cap outrages, and the lynchings in our Western and Southern states." ® The truth is likely to lie in the statement that the more heterogeneous the population of the cities becomes the less are they beset by mob-mindedness, whereas the homogeneity of rural populations makes them susceptible to certain forms of mental manias and violent manifestations under given con- ditions. It can hardly be held that our Northern and West- em communities of the agricultural sort offer many or intense manifestations of the mob spirit Other Distinctions.— It is not impossible that still other differences between city and country may be made, but they are likely to be of minor importance. One difference that has been suggested is based on the assumption that in cities the work places are nearer the houses of the workers, than are a Ross, " Social Psychology,'' pp. 58-60. EURAL AND URBAN COMMUNITY 19 those in the country. This assertion is diflBcult to prove or to disprove absolutely, but its truth is not of the self-evident variety. Probably the workers in small centres travel a shorter distance to their work than do the tillers of very large farms. On the other hand ordinary acquaintance with both city and country life makes it evident that the majority of people living in large cities travel much farther than does the tiller of an average sized farm. The average number of acres in a farm in the United States in 1910 was 138.1.'^ This would mean a farm considerably less than one-half mile square. Conceiving that the farms are usually square in form and the homes somewhat centrally located it is apparent that the average farmer's work lies within half a mile of his home. Added to this is the fact that out of a total urban popula- tion of 42,623,386 in 1910, 34,153,034 persons lived in cities of more than 10,000 inhabitants.* The preponderating number of such cities are several miles square, and it is evi- dent that the average worker must travel much farther than the average farmer to reach his work. Another distinction which has been suggested is that the size of the producing unit in town and country differs. This means that the number of persons who on the average, or characteristically, are employed by one person or firm is less for the rural regions than for urban districts. We find that in 1910 there were in the United States 10,Y55,790 rural families, and on the average 4.6 persons to a family and 4.7 persons to a dwelling.® At the same time there were 6,361,502 farms,^° although there were 10,551,603 rural dwellings. But since 8,118,825 persons living in incorpor- ated places of 2,500 inhabitants and less form a part of the rural population, and since there are 4.Y persons to a rural 7 Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 271. 8 Same, p. 59. 9 Abstract of Thirteenth Census, p. 260. 10 Same, p. 265. 20 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY dwelling, 1,727,409 such dwellings would be found in this part of the rural population. There would, therefore, be 8,824,194 farm dwellings on the 6,361,502 farms. But since a farm for census purposes consists of " all the land which is directly farmed by one person managing and conducting agri- cultural operations, either by his own labor alone or by the assistance of members of his household or hired employes," ^^ it is clear that one farm may contain more than one dwelling. However it is likewise evident that, on the average, the farm unit employs few persons. Some idea of the producing unit in cities may be ob- tained from statistics of industries. In continental United States there are 270,082 manufacturing establishments which employ 7,432,099 persons. Thus in such industries there are 23.8 employes on the average for each producing unit. There are engaged in mines and quarries, 27,260 plants, employing 6,139,980 persons, an average of 41.8 per- sons per producing unit. From these examples it may be seen that urban producing units employ more persons than do rural units.-'* Conclusion. — A recent writer, in an effort to define the city in its essential and historical characteristics, has empha- sised the morphological characteristics as the true line of demarkation. His definition is interesting. It is this: " The city then is a complex community of which the geo- graphical localisation is especially limited in relation to the city's size (volume), of which the amount of territory is relatively small with reference to the number of human be- ings." 1* That is, the morphological qualities are the ones which historically have distinguished city and country. This com- plexity consists in the increasing association and multiplica- 11 Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 265. 12 Same, pp. 438 and 541. IS Een6 Maunier^ "The Definition of the City," Amer. Jour. Sociology, 15 : 545. RUEAL AND URBAN COMMUNITY 21 tion of groups of social elements within a restricted area. But since our purpose is limited to a consideration of modern communities only, we are not bound by this historical dis- tinction, however true to fact it may be. We are obliged to take into consideration all the observable peculiarities which mark off one community from the others. Probably all of the things we have mentioned must be taken into account in determining the line of demaxkation between urban and rural communities. Without question the com- plexity of interdependence of functions of the individuals and groups which constitute cities, together with the peculiar character of those functions, lie at the centre of any attempt to establish a criterion of cities, and vice versa, of the coun- try districts. REFERENCES Bookwalter. " Rurkl Versus Urban," Chap. 4. Smith, Adam. " Wealth of Nations," Bk. Ill, Chap. 3. Dewey, John. "Interpretation of the Savage Mind," Psychol. Rev., 9:217-30. Fairbanks, Arthur. " Introduction to Sociology," Chap. 5. Maunier, Reng. "The Definition of the City," Amer. Jour. Soc., 15 : 536-49. Twelfth Census. "Population," Vol. I:lxxxi and Ixxxix. " Abstract of Twelfth Census," p. lOOff. Ross. " Social Psychology," pp. 28-30, and 224-30. "Abstract of Thirteenth Census." CHAPTEE III PHTSICAIi CONDITIONS OF THE UNITED STATES AND AGEIOULTUEE There is such a close connection between life and environ- ment, between community prosperity and physical conditions, that a rural life study must take account of the fact. Rural life and rural communities are obviously not less dependent on topography, soil, and climate than are other forms of so- ciety. An attempt will be made in this chapter to develop a background on which to project the relationship, to portray the essential physical conditions which obtain in the United States, and to indicate the response which agriculture makes to those factors. r. INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL ENVIEONMENT IN GENEEAL. Moulding Force of Nature — All life rests on a physical basis. The lowest forms of life are bound to one location and the dependence on that immediate spot for the satisfac- tion of all their wants is absolute. The little space they oc- cupy furnishes everything they consume. With the evolu- tion of higher and higher forms of life dependence on the im- mediate locality grows less by reason of the development of locomotion and intelligence. But no organism ever tran- scends the limitations imposed upon it by the conditions of habitat, climate, and food. Even man as " master of crea- tion " does not rise superior to them and what he does is reg- ulated by them. What is true of individual plant, animal, and human bodies is applicable to the life of communities. The earliest human communities were limited by the physical conditions of nar- 22 PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 23 row regions. Famine, flood, or fire might destroy a group by wiping out its local protection and food supply. With the gradual development of invention a larger territory could be drawn on for resources. When rapid communicating devices were established, accompanied by a more refined altruism, the food and comforts of all the world might become available in times of distress. But ultimately all communities, includ- ing rural districts, are dependent on nature for supplies, es- pecially for food. Modem society yields many examples of this rule. The great river valleys, rich in alluvial soil and benign in climate, together with favourable plateaus, constitute the granaries of the world and lie at the basis of civilised attainments. The distribution of the population of the United States or of Russia is a testimony to this. Altitude in itself may not indicate that a soil is infertile, but high altitudes are com- monly unfit to support life for various reasons, such as the prevalence of a low temperature, rarity of the atmosphere, dearth of moisture, and poor quality of soil. Thus in the United States the average altitude is about 2,500 feet above sea level. Over three-fourths of the population dwell below an altitude of 1,000 feet, and more than nine-tenths live below that of 1,500 feet. This may be changed in the future, but these facts speak plainly to the effect that people have de^ pended and do depend on the more habitable areas. Modem peoples seek the milder regions, although the pres- sure of population is forcing a greater and greater number to the less comfortable areas. Three-fourths of the inhabitants of the United States live between the isotherm of forty-five and sixty degrees, the milder portion of the continent. In recent years the northern portions of the nation and the great plains of Western Canada have gained large accessions of population, chiefly because of the discovery that those regions are more habitable than was formerly supposed, and of the heightened land values in older settled regions. 24 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY Agriculturists follow this same principle in their settle- ment of a new country. The most temperate regions of the United States were put into cultivation long before the most northern portions were touched. The streams of migration from the Atlantic seaboard poured through Kentucky and Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, Kansas and Colorado, leaving the Dakotas and the northern portion of Wisconsin, Min- nesota and Michigan to be settled later. The river valleys and the lowlands along small streams filled in with the first settlers. There the soil is very fertile and the bluffs and trees afford a protection. The settlers who come afterward creep back over the elevations which inclose the valleys and take up the high, less fertile, and less protected land. Community Progress Depends on Scientific Methods ■ Social evolution occurred with the growth of man's inven- tive insight. One of its greatest efforts has consisted in the discovery of methods to control and use the forces and quali- ties of the physical environment. Those inventions which utilise the forces of nature move society forward in degree of culture most rapidly. Utilisation of fire, invention of the bow and arrow, domestication of animals, and so on, were revolutionary events in the history of man. The group which first adapted them had the advantage over other animals and human groups. They became superior in war and contest. The application of their inventive powers to nature made them richer economically, made living easier, and existence more comfortable. Some leisure could creep in which was utilised occasionally for the cultivation of the " finer " and " higher " things of life. The amount of subsistence of a given region from time to time increases with the improvement of scientific methods. This is shown by the fact that Europe, which was agricul- tural at the time, was considered crowded several centuries ago. Yet since that time its population has trebled or quad- PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 25 rupled. The fanning methods of harbarism are crude and unproductive. Civilisation brings improved methods and heightened yields. The increase of subsistence by the appli- cation of scientific agriculture doubtless has its limits. But relatively few communities of the world have reached and press hard upon those limits. Progress does not consist wholly of material advance. Mind, morals, and a broader and deeper enjoyment of life are also involved. But it is true that these arrive with or follow the former. The civilisations with advanced methods of production are at the same time the cultured and the po- litically progressive and emancipated peoples. With the adoption of occidental methods of science and production Japan took its place as a world power among the most civil- ised nations of earth. Other nations are undergoing a sim- ilar evolution at the present time. Government, education, and better views of life come to be adopted, filling out the proportions to meet the demands of what we term progressive societies. Community Vigour and Physical Variation The vigour and energy a community displays is related to physical con- ditions. Originally, the amount of subsistence a region af- forded was the basis of the vigour of the group. Regions differ wonderfully in their bounties of subsistence. Some regions are truly niggardly in their productivity. Others are prolific in their fruits, grains, vegetables, and animal life. The land of the earth grades up from the one to the other. These differences are due to character of soil as to inherent chemical properties making them fertile or in- fertile ; to variations in temperature making them conducive to rapid and luxurious growth or the reverse ; and to humid- ity or rainfall, varying in amount from desert regions to sea-plains and river valleys. The wind is also a factor in carrying humidity, in evaporating moisture, in searing grow- 26 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY ing vegetation in some regions, and in eroding soil. Pests of various sorts may likewise constitute prominent features in crop and animal production. Where two communities have corresponding stages or grades of culture the community which is by nature the more providently furnished with supplies to support life will mani- fest the greater vigour and advancement. This is very ap- parent throughout the United States. Probably every state contains many illustrations of the statement. Often adjoin- ing neighbourhoods show the most violent contrasts by reason of differences in their physical conditions. In nearly every illustration some complicating factors are likely to appear which confuse the situation. Yet the principle is generally recognised in the teaching of the social sciences. Limitations of Physical Environment. — Physical environ- ment is not absolutely determinative of what a society or community is to be. We may recognise that physical condi- tions and economic factors are powerful agencies in forming and shaping communities without assigning to them sole mastery. An impartial survey of society and social evolu- tion discovers countervailing agencies. Both physical condi- tions and economic factors are influenced by science and cul- tural circumstances. Mind masters material energy. Eco- nomic factors are products of scientific advancement. To say that culture is a factor in determining what a given community may become is to recognise the importance of the race or stock strain in the development of a region. The Turks, who have possessed for centuries exactly the same region that was previously occupied by the Greeks, have not developed the culture and the civilisation of their predecessors. The race strain counts for a great deal in the life of a community. A large part of this race strain is made up of the state of mind, the point of view, the atti- tude toward morals, science, and progress; and of custom and sanction. To be progressive, other things being equal, PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 27 a commuiiity must have outlook as well as backlook. The former is a very necessary factor in progress. II. PHYSIOGEAPHIC FEATUEES OP THE UNITED STATES Civilisation is not exclusively the outcome of physiograph- ical factors, but the latter are certainly large determining con- ditions of the former. Agriculture, as constituting one of the great productive phases of civilisation, is bound by its general principles and laws. In fact it is certain that agri- culture is more immediately dependent for its success and progress on physical conditions than are almost any other features of society. For this reason it is well to survey the more outstanding of those features of the United States. The more important physical conditions for determining agricultural responses are topography, soil, temperature, pre- cipitation, and air currents. Perhaps climate should be added as it is in some ways different from any one or any com- bination of the elements just named. It is obviously quite impossible in a brief space to follow in detail all of these fea- tures throughout the vast and complicated physiographical area of the United States. Therefore only the more salient features will receive attention. Temperature — The United States is divisible into two tem- perate zones, a northern and a southern. Certain character- istic features of plant and animal life occur in each of these regions because of the temperature. The boundary line be- tween the divisions extends across the continent in a very irregular manner because of variations in elevation. The normal surface temperature for July in the northern tiers of states from Maine westward to Montana is 65° for the more northern isotherm and 70° for the more southern. Near the eastern Montana line the more northern one curves north into Canada, loops into the United States again in east- em Montana and Idaho, passes again into Canada, then drops southward along the Pacific coast as far as San Francisco. 28 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY The more southern of the two northern isotherms curves south- west through western Montana, passes south to central "New Mexico, thence northwest to northern Utah and Nevada, and thence to the Pacific coast. The two southern July isotherms graduate at 75" and 80° respectively. The northern one passes westward north of the Ohio River till it reaches cen- tral Nebraska, thence southwest to southern New Mexico, thence northwest to central California, and thence down the west central part of that state. The other one travels irreg- ularly westward from southern North Carolina to the Pan- handle of Texas, drops then almost to the Rio Grande, passes thence northwest to central California, and thence south through the state. In southwest Arizona and southeast Cali- fornia is a fifth isotherm vsdth a July temperature of 85 de- grees. The normal surface temperature for January in the north- em zone ranges from 25 ° in central Kansas to zero for a small section of North Dakota and Minnesota. In the southern zone it ranges from 35° to 50° in the southern part of the southern states, and to 65° in southern Florida. The abso- lute minimum temperature in the northern zone ranges from — 30° in central Kansas to — 63° in northern Montana; in the southern zone, from — 10° in northern Oklahoma to zero in the southern part of the southern states, and to 40° in southern Plorida. The dates of the killing frosts are important items for agri- cultural matters. The average date of the first killing frost ranges from October 15 in central Kansas to September 15 in North Dakota. It is October 15 alike for southern New England, southern East North Central states, and southern New Mexico. It generally occurs in November in the Pa- cific coast states. In the South it ranges from November 15 to December 15, The latest killing frost east of the Rocky Mountains is April 15 for about the latitude of the Ohio River. It extends into February and March for the PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 29 southeastern states and it is about the same on the Pacific coast. ^ Precipitation. — The precipitation, commonly called rain- fall, varies from a mean annual amount of 60-70 inches in certain sections of the southeastern states, northwest Oregon and Washington, and east central California to 10 inches or less in the greater part of Nevada, northwestern Utah, and a portion of southwestern Arizona. All of the United States east of a line drawn from Minneapolis, curving slightly west- ward, to the southern point of Texas has an annual precipi- tation of 30 inches or more. The southeastern states possess one of from 50 to 70 inches. A region averaging about 200 miles in width extending from Mexico through Central Texas slightly northeast to Canada has a rainfall of from 20 to 30 inches. Most of the region west of this to the Pacific Coast states, save the arid region above described, and certain con- siderable regions with one of 20-30, receives from 10 to 20 inches annually.^ Likewise the average annual humidity of the Plains, or Steppes, and of the Eocky Mountains and western Plateau and interior basin regions is low, ranging from 65 in east- em Colorado to 40 in southern Arizona and New Mexico. East of the Great Plains the humidity is 70 to 80. The time when the precipitation is received has an im- portant bearing on crop' production. The percentage of an- nual rainfall received in the six summer months, that is from April to September, ranges from 10-15 in a narrow strip along the Pacific in western California to over 84 in eastern Colorado, northwestern Kansas, and Central Ne- braska. An irregular V-shaped region having the base on the Eio Grande in southwestern Texas with a width of about 150 miles and enlarging northward to Canada where it ex- tends from west central Montana to Lake Superior, receives 1 Bowman, "Forest Physiography," pp. 114-116. 2 Same, p. 118 and Thirteenth Census, U. S., Vol. V, opposite p. 827. 30 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY from YO to 80 per cent, of its rain in these months. A nar- row section varying from 50 to 150 miles in mdth immedi- ately west of this receives from 60 to 70 per cent, of its pre- cipitation in that period. The greater part of the east Mis- sissippi area is favoured with over half of its moisture then.^ Wind Currents. — ^Wind currents influence agriculture be- cause they are a condition of rainfall and temperature. Such currents, in turn, are largely determined by proximity to the sea and mountains' barriers. " The western slopes of the Coast Ranges of Oregon face the ocean and run at right angles to the westerly winds, and their rainfall exceeds 100 inches a year; the Ohio Valley liea in the track of the more or less regular cyclonic storms that move northwestward from the Grulf, and receives a rainfall of 40 to 50 inches a year ; nearness to the sea gives the greater part of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts a higher rainfall, 50 to 60 inches, than is enjoyed by any portion of the eastern half of the country except the mountains of western North Carolina. By contrast the mountain rimmed parks of Colo- rado, and the Great Basin of Nevada, are regions of dimin- ished rainfall ; the Coast of southern California owes its dry- ness chiefly to its position outside the belt of cyclonic storms ; the dryness of North Dakota is chargeable chiefly to remote- ness from the sea, although in this, as in other cases cited, the rain-producing or rain-resisting forces commonly operate in combination with other forces, so that the influence cited should be understood to be the predominating and not the sole influence." Since precipitation is " due to the cooling of the air to and below the point of saturation," mountain ranges near the sea act as temperature reducers of air currents. When these currents contain sufficient moisture the rainfall of a moun- tain region is likely to be heavier than that of the surround- ing country. This condition occurs in the northern coast 3 Bowman, "Forest Physiography," pp. 118-120. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 31 Range, the northern and southern portions of the Sierra Ne- vada, many sections of the Rockies, and the southern portions of the Appalachian range in North Carolina, Tennessee, Geor- gia, and Alabama. The mountains also seem to shut off moisture bearing air currents from interior regions as in the case of the Great Basin and other interior mountain districts, and of much of the Great Plains area where the currents are deflected into northerly and southerly winds, the sea being quite remote in both cases.* Soil. — Soil is a " great complex of varied elements, formed in many ways and subject to the most widely diverse changes after its formation." It contains debris from rock, organic matter, a soil atmosphere that is richer in carbon dioxide and generally in water vapor than the atmosphere above the soil, living organisms of various kinds and soil water, a solu- tion of the products of other substances. Hence the general view that " soil is mere dirt or rock waste, or that it is everywhere the same," is untrue. It is likewise evident that in a great continental area like the United States there must be the greatest diversity of soils.' Because soils are so complicated and their study is so ex- ceedingly intricate, it is quite impossible to give a detailed treatment of our various soils and soil regions. Only some of the conspicuous features of the subject can receive atten- tion. Plant life adjusts itself not only to temperature and pre- cipitation conditions but also to those of soil. It is even be- lieved that varieties of plants may be the result of certain chemical properties of given soils.® There must be a conse- quent diversity of plants in a large area dependent upon the chemical and other properties of the soil. " In the higher plants that have been investigated up to the present time the * Bowman, "Forest Physiography," pp. 117-122. 5 Bowman, loc. cit., p. 22. 6 Ibid., p. 62. 32 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY elements indispensable to normal development are invariably ten in number: oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, phos- phorus, sulphur, iron, potassium, calcium, magnesium. If a single one of these substances is in a chemical form unavail- able to the plant, the plant enters into a pathologic condi- tion or refuses to grow. Besides these ten substances all plants absorb various other substances v?hose utility is un- known." '' In their larger aspects, the soils of our country comprise the great alluvial plains of California and the Mississippi Valley, which are among the most fertile regions of the world ; the old lake bed, such as that of Lake Agassiz, now the Red River Valley of the North and the drained lake beds, as those of Minnesota, also exceedingly fertile areas; the loess deposits of the Missouri valley and the Plains in the production of which the wind has been a large agent and which are rich in soil properties; the commonly fertile glaciated deposits of the northern portions of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains and north of the Missouri River, with minor areas in the west ; and the residual soils of the remain- ing portions of the country which vary from low fertility as in certain portions of New England to the extreme of pro- ductiveness in the limestone districts of central Kentucky.* It may be said that practically no part of the United States possesses a soil so poor that by means of proper fertilisation it cannot be made to yield a crop. This does not mean that topographical and climatic features may not be pres- ent in some sections which will prevent or limit produc- tion. Two distinct types of regions may be compared as to the character of their soils. New England presents an agricul- tural region that is characterised by its topographical and soil features. A writing of 1649 says of it that " except a 1 Bowman, " Forest Physiography," p. 65. 8 Gregory-Keller-Bishop, " Physical and Commercial Geography,'' pp. 61-65; and Bowman, loc. cit., Chap. 1. PHYSICAX CONDITIONS 33 herring be put into the hole that you set the com or maize in, it win not come up." The caricature of New England fertility thus began early in our history. While New England contains some very fertile areas the uplands, the remnants of the ancient mountains which were worn down by the forces of nature, predominate. The up- land soils are not rich. They are made of the drift of glacial times and contain much coarse wastes which are not available for plant use. " The soils are often thin, or lie on steep and bouldery slopes, and the range of crops is limited by the shorter summer and the severe cold of the winter months. The decline of general agriculture has been a central feature in the later history of New England." But " there are weights to be thrown into the other side of the balance. Shaler has shown how the very coarseness of the soil elements insures permanence; these minute, pebbly fragments of rock will gradually disintegrate and yield, in soluble form, the elements needed by plants, and the soils may continue to have moderate fertility long after the soils of the Mississippi Valley are exhausted, or begin to require large use of fertilisers. And it is wholly to be desired that much New England upland should relapse into forest. Mountainous and glacial conditions have combined to fit these lands for trees and for nothing else." ® The " arid region " is another region of small or back- ward producing power. The backwardness is primarily due to insufficient water. The soils on the other hand are re- garded as exceptionally ricL In humid regions the water leaches out the salts and transports them from the land, but in the dry regions this takes place to a slight degree. These salts are the source of great fertility and where irrigation is possible the land is unusually productive, as about San Ber- nardino, California. Arid region soils on both sides of the Eocky Mountains » Brigham, " Geographic Influences in American History,'' pp. 47-8. 34 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY possess high percentages of lime, and commonly also of mag- nesia, although limestone formations are much rarer than in the eastern humid regions. The large amount of lime is the cause of flocculated soil making possible great depth of root penetration and easy tillage. The nitrogen content of up- land arid soils is as high as 22%, the average for all soils about 15%, while the average in soil generally is but 5%. They are low in vegetable matter and there is little distinc- tion between the soil and subsoil. The latter is more de- composed, less raw, than are subsoils commonly, and is very fertile, yellow pine trees growing on it in the placer mining regions and which are now large enough to cut. The in- soluble ingredients such as silica in arid soils is 69%, in comparison with 84% for that of humid regions.-^'' III. AGEICULTtrEAJL EESPOITSES TO PHYSICAL CONDITIOITS One method of relating agriculture and physical conditions consists in considering the great producing areas of the United States. These are characterised in each case by certain dom- inant products which are partly the outcome of physical con- ditions, chiefly of those of temperature and moisture. In the case of many if not all agricultural products, conditions which are due to economic development and changes play an important part in determining the amount which will be produced from time to time. Thus the opening of prairie regions which could be easily farmed and on which machinery could be successfully employed caused the relative decline of agriculture in the North Atlantic states. The rise of popu- lous cities caused flrst the North Atlantic states and later other regions to engage in gardening and dairying almost ex- clusively or to a large extent. The facility with which ma- chinery could be used in the production of grains in the northwest central states led to a neglect of other kinds of crops. The raising of cotton in the south gained such a hold 10 Bowman, " Forest Physiography, Chap. 7. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 35 on farmers for various reasons that although com is a good second as a crop it has received much less attention than has cotton and freqi;ently the farmer has to purchase his meal and bacon. Producing Areas. — ^By dominant agricultural regions the United States is characterised as follows : Eirst, New Eng- land and the Middle Atlantic States engage in mixed farm- ing, dairying, and market gardening as staple agricultural pursuits. In portions of this region, as in the mountainous parts of New England, the vigour of the climate, the pov- erty of the soil, and the fact that no crop ever becomes pre- dominant have made large scale farming impossible. In 1910 21.5% of the value of all farm products in New Eng- land and 17.5% in the Middle Atlantic states were from veg- etable crops; 41.9% in the former and 31.4% in the latter division was from hay and forage. Hay and forage was fed chiefly to milk cows, as they formed the larger proportion of cattle." Second, the area in which com and winter wheat are the chief crops embraces a zone having for its northern and southern sides the 43rd and 35th parallels of latitude, its eastern end the Appalachian Mountains and its western end Colorado and Wyoming. Because corn, oats, hay and forage are large crops, live stock raising is also extensive. Third, closely associated with the second region is the spring wheat belt. This lies north of the 43rd parallel and extends from the Lake region to Montana and Wyoming. All of the East and West North Central divisions with a por- tion of the southern divisions lie in this large district, but the percentage of value of the chief products of the North Central division will indicate the dominant crops. Of the crops whose value was reported in the East North Central division the percentages of the value of all such crops were as follows : Com 38.9, hay and forage 16.5, oats 13,3, wheat 11 Abstract Thirteenth Census, pp. 366 and 314. 36 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY 10.9 ; vegetables Y.O ; those for the same crops respectively in the West North Central states were 34.8, 14.0, 11.2, 25.2, and 3.9. Their importance in the matter of live stock is seen in the fact that they produced 44.5% of cattle in the United States, 50.5% of all horses, mules, asses, and bur- rows, 61.5% of all swine, 27.9% of the sheep, and 5.1% of the goats.^^ Fourth, the cotton belt lies south of the 35th parallel and extends from the Atlantic Ocean to New Mexico. It comprises pretty much all of what is usually termed the South. The percentages of value of all crops by the lead- ing crops in these divisions were for the South Atlantic: Cotton 40.8, corn 20.1, vegetables 9.8, hay and forage 5.1, tobacco 4.4, fruits and nuts 3.8 ; for the East South Cen- tral, cotton 37.1, com 27.4, vegetables 7.6, hay and for- age 5.4, tobacco 8.3, and fruit and nuts 2.4; for the West South Central, cotton 49.9, com 22.8, vegetables 4.8, hay and forage 4.7, rice 2.4 and sugar 3.1. All of these divisions are, with two exceptions to be noted, generally much lower in the amount of live stock than the North Central states. However the West South Central states rate about third of all divisions in the United States in this respect when measured by the per cent, of possession of the total number in the nation. It exceeds any other division in its possession of goats, mules, asses, and burros.'* Fifth, there is a large area comprising several states which has been dominantly a range region. It is made up of the states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. We have seen that this plateau and mountain region forms a peculiar district be- cause of its elevation, roughness, character of soil and espe- cially on account of the slight precipitation which obtains, save in minor portions. Little crop agriculture as a conse- 12 Abstract Thirteenth Census, pp. 311 and 366. 13 Same, pp. 311 and 366. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 3Y quence has occurred. However the region has furnished grazing grounds for vast numbers of dnimals and in pro- portion to its population it has been the leading live stock area of the nation. This is seen in the fact that the moun- tain division of the United States has $2,119 worth of live stock per farm. The division standing next in rank is the West North Central with a live stock value of $1,398 per farm. Out of a total value of $383,272,141 in live stock in 1910 the Mountain division had $146,269,549 worth of cattle, $lll,656i,290 worth of sheep, and $112,606,22,8 worth of horses.^* Sixth, the Pacific Coast states form a distinct physical area, having as they do the benefit of the tempering air cur- rents and the moisture of the nearby ocean, these benefits being largely restricted to their area by the high mountain chains on or vnthin their eastern borders. The percentage of value of all the crops reported in these states by indi- vidual crops in 1910 was: Hay and forage 26.5, fruits and nuts 21.4, wheat 18.6, vegetables 8.1, oats 4.8, corn 0.6, other cereals than wheat, oats, and com 8.2, flowers, plants, nursery and forest products on farms 5.5, all others 6.4. The chief products, it is seen, are hay and forage, fruits and nuts, and wheat. As to live stock this division ranks fourth among the di- visions in the value of live stock per acre of farm land. Measured by the number of live stock produced its rank among the nine geographical divisions is : In cattle 8, horses, mules, asses and burros 8, swine 7, sheep 3, goats 3. Ranked by the value of live stock produced per acre of farm land, it holds sixth place. ^® Major Crop Response. — Another method of observing the responses of agriculture to physical conditions is formed in selecting a number of farm products, and noting the phys- " Thirteenth Census, U. S., Vol. V, pp. 328 and 334. iB^bBtract Thirteenth Census, pp. 311-12 aad 366-7, 38 CONSTEUCTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY ical conditions which determine their production. To fol- low this method in detail relative to any great number of products would require an extended treatment. A selection must be made of the more outstamding crops, those whose dimensions climatic and regional influences largely account for. We shall have to omit some products whose value and place in the community life are very considerable. Thus the oats industry, that of rice, sugar beets, forestry, and vege- tables, not to speak of that of animals which is clearly as- sociated with certain kinds of cereal growing, have a large volume of production and are of increasing importance. Perhaps it is sufficient to indicate, in the case of live stock production, that domestic animals are not inherently re- gional, but that they occur more dominantly in given sections because certain cereals and grasses are favored there. Thus the " corn belt " is accountable for hog and cattle raising and the grazing lands of the arid states for the cattle and wool industry. Wheat. — Wheat is a grain that at first consists of a tuft of green blade, and later of stalks that support the heads of grain. The number of the stalks and heads are deter- mined by the plants' vitality; that in turn depends on the climate. The first stage of growth demands a considerable period of cool, moist weather in which there is only a mod- erate rainfall. The second stage of growth requires warm, bright and even dry weather. Abundance of rain is pro- ductive of straw, rather than grain, induces rust and other fungus diseases, and causes the grain to shrivel before harvest and to mould after harvest. As a consequence of these requirements, the best wheat areas in the United States are comprised in Kansas, Ne- braska, the Dakotas, Minnesota, eastern Oregon and Wash- ington, and central California. The heavy rainfalls of the eastern and southern regions make them unsuited for the production of wheat. The effect of the heavy summer raioa PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 39 of the cotton belt is observed in the low yield. The average yield in Georgia for the year is but 7.9 bushels per acre, while that of Wisconsin is 15.7. The northern extension of wheat is largely due to the in- troduction of improved machinery for the milling of spring- sown wheat. Winter wheat was formerly almost exclusively grown. The northern grain is chiefly Eed Fyfe, a variety that is so hard and brittle that for many years it could not be satisfactorily ground. Under the processes used it made poor flour. With improved processes, however, this wheat produces flour of the highest grade and the value of the lands which produce it has been enhanced greatly. The other aspect of tlie development of the western area, a devel- opment which has been due to improved seeding, harvesting, threshing, and milling machinery as well as to the discovery of more desirable wheat climates, is the fall in land values of western Europe, Great Britain, and of the eastern United States. " Many farms have been abandoned in New Eng- land and New York, while many thousands more throughout the North Atlantic slope would sell for less than before there was a mile of railroad in America. New York state pro- duced 12 million bushels of wheat in 1839 and 6 million in 1909." i« Barley. — The climatic needs of oats and xje are very sim- ilar to those of wheat and they may be passed over. While the same is largely true of barley it has some characteristics which deserve notice. It has a much wider climatic range than wheat. The wheat line in Eussia is near St. Peters- burg but barley is grown 150 miles beyond the Arctic Cir- cle in northern Norway, Sweden, Eussia, and in Finland. Its ability to resist droughts and heat makes it a staple crop south of the equator in Africa. This cereal has the drawback of possessing insuflicient gluten to make sticky 18 J. Russell Smith, " Industrial and Commercial Geography," pp. H- 64. 4.0 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY dough. Had it this property — Mendelian selection may be- stow it — the cause of its large yield, hardiness and wide climatic range, it would probably supplant wheat. Its large yield mates it available as a food for domestic animals in regions where com cannot be grown and its drought resist- ing quality fits it for arid and semi-arid lands. When cut before the grain matures, it makes good forage. For this reason and because of its large yield barley is rapidly dis- placing wheat in California. Kansas also is feeding larger and larger quantities to hogs. The important barley districts in the United States are California, which produces 25 per cent, of the national yield, southern Minnesotas, and the Dakotas, Because it ripens earlier than wheat, permitting its harvesting without entrenching on that of the latter, there is a practical economy in its production.^'' Corn. — The climate requirements for the successful grow- ing of com are about four months of growing season, a hot midsummer with warm nights, and sufficient rains to pro- mote growth. Arid regions having cool nights, as obtain in ISTevada, although the temperature is otherwise favourable, are unsuited to it. Neither is a continuous tropical heat best adapted to its needs, as it seems to require the approach of autumn to direct its metabolism from the creation of leaves to seeds. Thus the yield of com is greater in the northern states than in the Gulf region. The yield in Louisiana dur- ing ten years was 16.3, that in Wisconsin for the same period was 33.2 bushels per acre. The Great American Com belt, a region which produces as much of that cereal as all the rest of the world, is the Mississippi Valley, more particularly that portion of it which comprises all of Iowa, most of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and about half of Kansas, and Nebraska. Not only the climate but the configuration of land is conducive n Smith, " Industrial and Commercial Geography," pp. 67-70, Physical conditions 41 to the growth of corn. Fertility of soil, freedom from stones, level character of surface, and abundant rainfall distributed during the summer in short showers are features which com- bined, make this large area the most favoured corn-produc- ing spot. The topography permits the largest use of the cul- tivator and other machinery in its culture. There are special sections of country, that topographically are not so suited as is the former area to com raising, which also have made that crop their staple. This has been the case in the central Appalachian Plateau, which contains por- tions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and other states, and in the upland portions of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. Because of the absence of railroads and well developed wagon roads, agricultural production was confined to such products as could be readily utilised at home. Corn was admirably suited to this purpose. It fur- nished meal for bread, food for the swine which supplied the bacon, and was distilled in local stills, the liquor from which was more easily transported to market than the bulky com itself.^* While the " corn belt " is the great producing area of that crop, when measured by its ratio to the population of the states in that region, states of other climatic sections show the highest yield per acre. Thus the yield per acre for the three-year average, 1909-11, was the highest in the New England states, being 40 bushels. The middle Atlantic states and California produced as great a yield as did Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the states of highest yield in the com belt, a yield of 35 to 40 bushels per acre. Minnesota, Wis- consin, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Arizona, produced as much per acre, 30 to 35 bushels, as did Iowa. Four southem states, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana, to- gether with New Mexico and North Dakota, yielded as heavily as Nebraska. Six states outside the com belt had 15 Smith, " Industrial and Commercial Geography," p. 83. 42 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY the yield of Kansas, and five that of Missouri. That the corn growing area is pushing northward is shown by the fact that Minnesota ranks third in yield per acre, South Dakota and Montana fourth, and North Dakota fifth, all these states outranking Kansas, which shows next to the lowest yield. The growing American population, the increased produc- tion of live stock, the practical failure to enlarge the area of extensive cultivation of corn since 1895, and the decline in the acre yield of corn because of incessant devotion of the same land to its culture, have caused a decline in the expor- tation of that cereal and an accompanying rise in its price. Corn exportation fell from 195 million bushels per year in 1896-99 to 50' million in 1910-11. The price of corn in 1899 was about 34 cents in Chicago: in 1909 it was 67 cents. The lessened com export has had the effect of driv- ing European countries to com production and of pushing up the price of the stock foods, thus causing world-wide price disturbance and industrial adjustments.^^ Cotton. — It would be difiicult to mention an agricultural staple which has impressed itself so deeply on the institu- tions and development of a people as has cotton on the south- eastern portions of the United States. Much of this influ- ence is due to favourable climatic conditions. Although a tropical and sub-tropical plant, cotton thus far has been most successfully raised between 40 degrees north and 30 degrees south. It demands for its growth a season of about seven months, which is free from frost, or from April 1 to November 1. It also requires a good summer rainfall, though not too much, and uniform sum- mer temperature without excessive heat. As in the case of corn, cotton appears to do best where the approach of au- tumn drives the plant to turn from growth to the production of its fibre. The area suited to cotton production in the United States is estimated at 700,000 square miles. The 18 Smith, " Industrial and Commercial Geography,'' pp. 82-101. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 43 coast regions of the South Atlantic states, because of heavy rainfall, and much cloudy weather, are less fitted to its pro- duction than are inland districts. An abundance of cheap land and the use of slaves in raising cotton and com early made the South a one-crop region, and this condition tends to persist. Only a small portion of the land available for cotton is utilised. Twenty thousand square miles of the most available area were in cotton in 1879, about double that amount in 1898, and about one-fifteenth the total usable area in 1911. Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina have the largest per capita production of cotton, over 350 pounds. In the next class having 250' to 350 pounds per capita are Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma ; North Carolina raises 150 to 250 pounds per capita; Tennessee and Louisiana 50 to 150; and Florida less than 50. In percentages of the total amount produced the states rank as follows: Texas 26.6, Georgia 16.9, Alabama and South Carolina 10.5, Mississippi 9.7, Arkansas 6.4, Oklahoma 6.4, North Caro- lina 6.4, all others 6.6. Cotton, like com, requires cultivation during the growing period. When ripe and the fibre shows white from the burst pods, it is picked by hand. Picking is often car- ried on through the winter months or even in the spring, if storms have not beaten down the stalks. Although cotton picking is light work and is largely done by women and chil- dren, the large amount necessary, costing fifty cents to a dol- lar per acre, makes it the limiting factor in cotton produc- tion. Successful cotton picking machines would work a revolution in raising the staple and place it on the same basis as com, wheat, and other grains, making possible the cul- ture of many acres by one person. The nature of cotton as a crop, being susceptible of in- definitely keeping, easily handled and uniformly salable, has made it peculiarly subject to the crop mortgage system. 44 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Established after the Civil War, this system continues to a considerable extent. It helps keep alive a one-crop agricul- ture, in which fev7 supply crops are grown, because the mort- gagee is interested in only the crop on which he has his lien. Neither diversification of crops nor a more scientific method of production receives a proper stimulus under this system, " Thus the South, which has excellent natural facilities for the development of live stock industries and the growth of forage crops, continues to import mules and corn, butter, cheese, and pork, which it might produce as cheaply as any other part of the world." It is possible that the boll-weevil pest that has destroyed so much cotton may be the means of introducing a better balanced agriculture into the South. In Texas, when the cot- ton crop was continually threatened, bankers and merchants refused to lend money on the future product. While the im- mediate result was a financial and agricultural panic, the dis- aster forced farmers to a study of methods of preventing the boll-weevil pest, the production of other crops, which would feed their families, and how they could live at home on the products of their owa farm and still raise cotton.^" Fruits and Nuts — While the production of these crops is widely distributed some portions of the nation are more favourable to certain of them than the other sections. Since it is obviously impossible in the space at our command to describe the peculiar climatic demands of aU fruits and nuts or even the more notable ones, we must be satisfied with a brief notice of selected industries which statistical statements indicate are important for their regions. Small fruit production occurs in all the geographical di- visions. The divisions rank according to the value of the product expressed in millions of dollars in the following or- der ; Middle Atlantic 6, East North Central 5.8, South At- 20 "Year Book," Department of Agriculture, 1911; Smith, loc. cit., pp. 468-482. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 45 lantic 4.1, West ISTorth Central 3.9, Pacific 3.3, New Eng- land 2.4, West South Central 1.7, East South Central 1.5, Mountain 0.9. Eelative to the value of particular fruits pro- duced the Mountain division ranks very low in strawberries, the Mountain and New England divisions are low in black- berries and dewberries, the Middle Atlantic and East North Central very high in raspberries and loganberries, the East North Central and Middle Atlantic very high in currants, West North Central and South Atlantic in gooseberries. A large part of these variations are of course due to the acces- sibility of markets. Maryland and Tennessee appear to be specially adapted to raising strawberries. New York to currants and raspberries, and New Jersey and Massachusetts to cranberries. Orchard fruits also are well distributed. The Mountain division was backward in 1899, but had eclipsed New Eng- land and West South Central in value of product ten years later. The nine divisions ranked, when stated approximately in millions of value of product in 1909, as follows : — Middle Atlantic 28.6; Pacific 26; East North Central 24.4; South Atlantic 15.7; West North Central 14.7; East South Cen- tral 11.1; Mountain 7.6; New England 7.3; West South Central 5.3. The leading states in orchard products by a similar statement were: California 18.3; New York 18; Michigan 9; Pennsylvania 8; Missouri 6.5; Ohio 5.6; Col- orado 4.6; Iowa 4.2. Colorado possesses a greater product value than all of the other Mountain states combined. New York is the pre-eminent apple producing state, the value of its apple crop in 1909 being 13.3 million dollars. This was over twice the value of that of its nearest com- petitors, Michigan with 5.9 and Pennsylvania with 5.5. Iowa, Virginia, Kentucky and Colorado came next with over 3 million dollars worth each. Washington, California and Ohio had nearly 3 million dollars worth each. Thirteen states widely distributed produced in 1909 over 46 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY one million dollars -worth of peaches each. California's value was 4.5 million, being over twice that of New York and Georgia, each of which had a peach crop value of over 2 million. California was the only state in 1909 which produced over a million dollars worth of plums and prunes, its crop value being 5.5 million dollars, over half of the national crop. Its nearest competitor, New York, produced but 0.5 million dollars worth. In the production of pears, New York and California yielded about 1.5 million dollars worth each, only one other state, Michigan exceeding a half million. Cali- fornia and Pennsylvania led in the value of cherries, each producing approximately one million dollars worth out of a total national value of 7.2 millions. But three states produce over a million dollars worth of grapes each: California with 10.8 millions, New York 4, and Michigan 1.5, out of a total national grape crop value of 22 millions. Climate governs in the production of citrus fruits; but six states, California, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Florida growing such crops. The total national citrus crop value in 1909 was 22.7 million dollars, 17.6 being from oranges, 3.0 from lemons, 2 from grape fruit. The value of the other citrus crops is less than $100,000. California produced 12.9 million dollars worth of oranges, 3.0 of lemons, and 143 thousand dollars worth of grape fruit; Florida 4.3 million dollars worth of oranges, 1.9 of grape fruit, and $64,000 worth of tangerines. The total national value of the nut crop in 1909 was 4,447 thousand dollars. Of this value California was responsible for 2,959 thousand and Texas $562,542.^1 21 Abstract Thirteenth Census, pp. 409-417. PHYSICAL CONDITIONS 47 EEFEEENCBS Craig, Wallace. "North Dakota Life: Plant, Animal, and Human," reprint from Bull, of the Anier. Geog. Socy., p. 15, July 1908. liord Kelvin. " The Age of the Earth as an Abode Fitted for Life," Smithsonian Inst. Rep., 1897, pp. 337-350. Keane, A. H. "Ethnology," Chaps. 2 and 3. Fiske, John. " Excursion of an Evolutionist." Spencer, Herbert. " Sociology," Pt. 1, Chap. 3. Ripley, Wm. Z. " The Races of Europe," Chaps. 1, 2, 19, 20. Small and Vincent. " Introduction to the Study of Sociology," Bk. II and Bk. Ill, Chap. 1. Giddings, F. H. " Inductive Sociology," pp. 35-40. Thomas, W. I. " Source Book for Social Origins," Pt. I. Fetter, F. A. " The Principles of Economics," Chap. 9. Libby, O. G. " Physiography as a Factor in Community Life," Jour, of Geog., 4: 209-14. Ward, Lester F. "Pure Sociology," Chaps. 3 and 5. Agee. " Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement." Bowman. " Forest Physiography." Brigham. " Geographic Influences in American History." Burket. " Cotton." Chisholm. "Handbook of Commercial Geography." Gregory-Keller-Bishop. " Physical and Commercial Geography." Huntington, Ellsworth. " The Fluctuating Climate of North Amer- ica," Annual Report Smithsonian Institution, 1912. Mill. " The International Geography." Smith, J. R. " Industrial and Commercial Geography." Smith, R. E. " Wheat Fields and Markets of the World." Abstract Thirteenth Census. Thirteenth Census, Vol. V. "Year Book," Department of Agriculture, 1911-12. CHAPTEK IV TYPES OF COMMUNITIES AS EESULTS OF THE DIFFEEENTIA- TLN-Q EFFECTS OF ENVIEOITMEM'T Other Than Physical Environment. — It might be expected that there would, be variations among rural communities. As a fact not all are alike. Neighbourhoods possess individuali- ties which in some cases are very pronounced. In broad terms we may say that these distinctive traits are the products of differences in environment. By the term environment as used here is meant not only the physical but also the occupa- tional and historical conditions. The last two are the factors which society itself furnishes in large measure, although occu- pations of a given region, to a considerable degree, are deter- mined by the region. The historical factor is completely in the social environment. It constitutes what is more com- monly alluded to in sociology as " social heredity." There are certain regions of the United States where the historical factor plays an imperative part in determining what the community shall be. This is notably the case in the older regions, as among New England hills, where custom is so strong that old ways are kept up in the face of advan- tageous inventions and processes. It is even more impres- sively seen in the southeastern portion of our country, where the institution of slavery existed up to the end of the Civil War. The customs, points of view, prejudices, race animosi- ties, and many social conditions which were the offspring of slavery, exist to influence and direct the currents of present life. Without attempting to draw the boundary line with fine 48 TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 49 distinction between the physical and social causes of dif- ferences we will seek to locate and describe several of the types and sub-types to which these agencies give rise. It is apparent that the distinctions exist and it may be of some value to outline them, I. PTJEE AGEICTnTtmAL TYPE What may be designated as the pure agricultural type exists wherever agricultural pursuits occupy the whole atten- tion and energy of the community, as was previously estab- lished. Psychologically, types of societies are fixed by occupations, because they determine interests, organisation, outlook, and kind of culture. It is also true that certain effects of a collective and neigh- bourhood nature likewise arise out of the forms of under- taking which vary from rural community to rural community. Some of the effects we have knowledge of. Analogically we have a right to infer that corresponding results ensue from those forms whose consequences we do not as yet know intimately. Under the pure agricultural type is to be noted the exist- ence of several sub-types. As to origin these arise out of variations in the form of the products. Let us list some of the more cognisable sub-types and notice certain of the im- portant results which come out of their accompanying activ- ities. Exclusively Small Grain Raising Community — Some of the conditions of the production of small grains in the United States are the following: (1) Only a small part of the year is actually spent in productive activity. Seeding, harvesting, and threshing are the active periods. Between them are long periods of in- activity. The result is extensive leisure for the men, there being no subsidiary or incidental work carried on in conneo- 50 CONSTKUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY tion with grain raising. (2) Production takes place by means of mechanical devices which make this form of agri- culture almost an industrial occupation of the skilled sort. (3) Expansive cultivation is dominant, large areas being depended on for adequate returns, rather than small areas with intensive culture. (4) Because of the large area of the land tilled the homes are necessarily widely separated. This imposes a consequent social isolation. There are certain social and individual results which come from or are related to those conditions. (1) There is a generally high intelligence. This is partly historical, but tends to come from stimulated and necessary reading, from intercourse and discussion with those of like interest, and from the mechanical and semi-industrialised character of the occupation. (2) Spasmodic cooperation un- dertakings obtain, such as the Farmer's Equity Association, etc. (3) Social life for the family is largely wanting, es- pecially for the wives and mothers. This is due to the isola- tion just noted. Exclusively Corn-Raising Community — As consisting of a single form of crop, a staple which is available to serve as food for man, various domestic animals and fowls, the pure corn-community does not largely exist. When, however, poultry, swine, and cattle are kept on the farm as incidental means of furnishing food for the household the form of pro- duction might be regarded as of the pure type. Some of the conditions which accompany corn culture are these: (1) Quite incessant labour takes place from early spring when the ground is broken up and crops put in, through a period of cultivation, till the garnering is completed in the fall or early winter. There is an interim between " laying by " com and " gathering " it in which it does not demand attention. But haying and other incidental matters usually occupy this period. (2) Leisure for the men is conspicuous TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 51 during a more or less protracted winter. (3) The individual areas under cultivation are smaller than in small-grain grow- ing, with a consequent closer proximity of homes. (4) The labour processes are mostly mechanical with the exception of husking and shovelling, and the incidental choring. (5) There is necessarily much choring due to the maintenance of cows, hogs, chickens, and sometimes fruit, bees, and gar- dens. The effects of the foregoing conditions on life and society are essentially and generally as follows: (1) Relatively high intelligence, especially in the more progressive regions of the United States where more advanced methods are followed. (2) The existence of considerable neighbourhood social activities, especially among the women, and of neighbourhood cooperation. Dances, spelling matches, husking bees, are familiar forms of association. (3) A larger amount of the collective sort of play among the chil- dren of a neighbourhood takes place than in the small-grain type. This arises from the proximity of homes. Cotton-Raising Community. — Cotton production, either as an exclusive or as the leading business, dominates the atten- tion, agriculturally, of the whole southeastern portion of the United States. Production maps define the area as the " Cot- ton Belt." Cotton is one of the most important crops and articles of export of the nation. Both physical and social conditions have set aside this area to the production of the white fibre. Climate, soil, and topographical conditions originally fa- voured the establishment of slavery in the South. When about to be eliminated by the operation of natural and his- torical causes the invention of Whitney's gin renewed and multiplied the value of slave labour in the culture of cotton, which then became "king." In a peculiarly close manner, cotton and the South, slave labour and cotton culture entered into association with each other. The Civil War eliminated 52 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY slavery, but it could not eliminate the partnership pre- viously formed. Negro labour continued to be the mainstay of the South in the raising of cotton. Custom prevented the departure of the black from the seat of their enslave- ment. Separate maps localising these geographical features, namely, the densest negro population, the richest soil, a topography of level plains, and the chief cotton regions, would cover almost the same territory. '^ This indicates the close connection existing between the several factors. Race prej- udice, chiefly on the side of the whites, serves as an obstacle to the rise in social and economic matters on the part of the negroes. Historical situations which it took generations to create are too profound to be eradicated in a generation. Thus the " cotton belt " remains peculiarly devoted to " King Cotton," because of social conditions as well as by reason of the physical inducements. The more prominent conditions which accompany cotton production may be observed generally throughout the south- ern states. (1) Either large farms or plantations exist with many negro labourers operating under a manager; or there are in existence many small cotton farms with renters; in some cases with owners. A common landscape in the cotton belt is a wide level tract of tilled land, dotted every few hundred yards with negro cabins. These are set in the midst of cot- ton fields, the ground about them being tilled by the occu- 1 This statement evidently is not true of the situation in the State of Texas, as is indicated by a map of that state, recently sent me by Professor Charles B. Austin of the University of Texas, which shows the distribution of negroes and of tenancy. I quote from Professor Austin's letter. "A glance at the maps prepared by Mr. Wehrwein will show that in Texas the area of the greatest cotton production is not the area of densest negro population. In Texas the greatest num- ber of negroes are not found in the area of our richest soil. In Texas farm tenancy and cotton go together, but tenancy is pretty much a white man's problem." TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 53 pants. Most of them have but one door, and a small square opening in one wall serves for a window. (2) Much or most of the labour of producing cotton is done by hand. Small, one-horse ploughs are frequent. The hoe is a conspicuous farm implement. Cotton picking is done by hand, although a mechanical cotton-picker is in the commercial field. The ginning and bailing is performed by means of machinery. (3) The operation of the credit and lien systems by man- agers and storekeepers serves to keep the negro renter con- tinually in debt and in practical serfdom. (4) Unemploy- ment between crops, and between laying by and picking cotton, offers an opportunity for loafing. Some of the effects of associate conditions are : (1) There is a generally low intelligence of the workers and their families, due to the social inheritance and to the backward agricultural methods in use. (2) Especially is there shiftlessness, hopelessness, and unprofitable leisure on the part of the mass of negro labourers. (3) Much social life, particularly on plantations, exists of the noisy, boisterous sort. Revivals and dances are especially popular. (4) Some co-operation occurs on the part of neighbour farmers in the cotton-picking season. In a similar manner various other forms of the pure type of agricultural coiomunity might be described. The task awaits the hand of those who are familiar with life under those conditions. Thus we would have fruit raising, stock raising, market gardening, dairying, and perhaps other lines of agricultural operation as varieties. Each variety, by the very force of conditions surrounding the activities of the per- sons engaged in it, would offer a community which, in certain respects, differs from other communities. II. THE MIXED-AGEICTJLTUEAL TYPE Diversification of Industry — Many of the agricultural communities of the United States constitute what may w^. 54 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY be called the mixed-agricultural type. This exists wherever there is a considerable combination in the production of crops. The life of the people is modified to the degree to which the combination is made and their interests are affected. Some of the essential traits in the modes of life of the pro- ducers follow from the characteristics of the type of occupa- tion. Thus we have as varieties of this type the following combinations : grain and stock raising, dairying and agricul- ture, lumbering, and farming. In this mixed type there is to be noted a transition toward a more complex social and economic life of the community. First. There is likely to be an added element of popula- tion and social stratification by reason of the added labour power. A hired man is usually employed, or in many cases a man with his family live on the place as hired attend- ants. Second. There is diversification in work which is due to the combined lines of pursuits. This is increased where either line is further diversified. This diversification is likely to take the farm residents into contact with the out- side world more frequently. Third. There is increased permanency and continuity in occupation. Fourth. In older communities social stratification is likely to take place on lines of employer and employed. Where there are renters this forms on lines of land-owner and rent- ers. These dividing lines tend to qualify the social institu- tions of the community, especially the church, the inferior classes usually dropping out. m. FEONTIEK OE PIONEEE TYPE A Northern Minnesota Community A marked distinc- tion in the life of communities arises between well established and pioneer communities. By way of illustration compare the two communities as to fixity of occupation, homes, schools^ TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 55 churches, cultural facilities, standards of living, manners, clothes, and ideals. Let us take a typical community of Northern Minnesota, as an illustration of this type. It is a frontier region in the northern forests. The large pines have been logged off. Abundance of basswood, poplar, birch, etc., remain. The country is sparsely settled. Most of the residents originally homesteaded. Small lakes abound. The livelihood of the average resident is secured by the occasional disposal of cord-wood or logs for ready money v^ith which the scant supply of groceries, clothes, and other articles are purchased and taxes are paid. A small clearing commonly provides garden products such as potatoes, beans, various sorts of tubers other than potatoes, for family use and occasional sale. The lakes supply an abundance of fish and the forests occasional game. Fuel may be had at will from the forests. The grain fields of the Dakotas and Canada offer an op- portunity to the young single men and to some heads of families to pick up a few hundred dollars in the harvesting and threshing season. This pretty nearly finances them dur- ing the remainder of the year and discourages the harder effort of subduing the wilderness. Thus, living being rela- tively easy and clearing land being difficult, the reduction of the forest lands to agricultural use is exceedingly slow. The situation has influenced the character of the people. They are generally unambitious, shiftless, undependable, and temporary. Most of them want to sell, although the land is of a fine quality and will be valuable when improved. The standards of living are low. A few clothes, a little food, and the commonest utilities in the small homes are deemed suffi- cient. Manners are crude and frontier, although most of the adults come from older communities. Ideals are neces- sarily low. All are sociable and ready to do a good turn. The dance is the leading social pastime, and the jpung people 56 CON'STRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY walk, ride or row many miles to take part in them. Occa- sionally picnics are held and are well attended. Sunday School is kept up in the village church in the summer, with intermittent preaching. The church is decadent and bears little relation to present-day life. The school, with generally neat buildings and grounds, is the best kept institution in the community. Capable teachers are hard to secure. Much fervid oratory and ambitious electioneering is spent in con- ducting school elections. The " three K's " receive the chief emphasis in the district school. IV. lEEIGATION COMMUliriTIES Eainf all. — In the preceding chapter attention was called to the arid region and facts relating to its general topog- raphy, climate, rainfall, and soil were given. The region is distinct agriculturally because of its deficit in precipita- tion and moisture, the precipitation, except in favoured sec- tions and those generally consisting of mountain heights, be- ing below 20 inches. The western portions of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas receive from 15 to 20 inches. The larger parts of Montana, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, ISTew Mexico, about half of Colorado, the eastern part of Arizona, and the South Central and some of Northern Utah have a rainfall of 10 to 15 inches. The Great Basin, except the drainage territory of Salt Lake, has less than 10 inches, while Southeastern California, and Southwestern Arizona have a precipitation of from 1 to 3 inches per year. The Plains and Eocky Mountain regions receive their rains in the spring and summer months suit- able for crops. Most of the rains of Arizona and New Mex- ico also come in summer, but largely as torrential storms. In the Great Basin the larger part of the precipitation is in winter and spring, the summer being dry and hot, while that of California is wholly in the winter months. Along with low rainfall also goes a low humidity and generally TYPES OF COMMUNITIES sY much sunshine. Agricultural conditions, save for a de^ ficiency of water, are favourable for harvesting crops. History. — Irrigation began with the advent into the arid regions of Mormons and miners in the late forties. Brig- ham Young impressed agriculture upon his followers, but outside of Utah irrigation was incidental to mining or stock raising for a long time. The irrigation " boom " took place in the late eighties and early nineties. Promoters, hoping to secure advantages of increased land values, under- took many large enterprises, the most of which failed. This boom was followed by inactivity until 1902 or 1903. The Carey law of Congress, 1894, which gave each arid state 1,000,000 acres of land on condition that irrigation be pro- vided bore little fruit. The National reclamation law of 1902 provided for the construction of irrigation works by the Government with proceeds from the sales of public lands. This stimulated irrigation and private enterprise was re- newed at about the same time. Both continued up to about 1910, when, because the National reclamation funds were exhausted and several large private undertakings had failed, irrigation again suffered a relapse. Statistics. — The irrigation acreage increased 82.Y per cent, between 1899 and 1909, or from 6,219,958 to 13,738,- 485 acres. The increase in the preceding decade was 107 per cent. These figures cover both public and private un- dertakings. Colorado had the largest acreage in 1909, while California and Montana were second and third, respectively. In thousands of acres irrigated the acreage of the states in 1909 was as follows: Colorado 2,792, California 2,664, Montana 1,679, Idaho 1,430, Wyoming 1,133, Utah 999, Nevada 701, Oregon 686, New Mexico 461, Washington 334, Arizona 320, Nebraska 255, Texas (exclusive of land irrigated for rice growing) 164, South Dakota 63, Kansas 37, North Dakota 10, Oklahoma 4. In the number of acres irrigated in 1909 individual and 58 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY partnership enterprise stood first with 6,257,387 acres, then commercial undertakings with 4,643,539, followed by cooperative enterprises with 1,451,806. As to source of the water supply the gravity method of securing water from streams furnished 12,763,797 acres, pumping water from wells following with 307,496 acres. Securing water by flowing artesian wells is limited by the water supply, and pumping it from streams or from wells by the cost of the process. The per cent, of the average of all the crops produced by irrigation in 1909 was distributed by crops as follows : Al- falfa 30.6, wild, salt, or prairie grasses 21.1, oats 10.2, wheat 7.6, barley 3.3, orchard fruits and grapes 3.3, " other tame or cultivated grasses " 3.0, grains cut green 2.9, tim- othy alone 2.8, sugar beets 2.5, timothy and clover mixed 2.5, potatoes 2.3, com 1.8, tropical and sub-tropical fruits 1.4, all others 4.6. Special Problems. — There are some special problems con- nected with irrigation communities. First, it is difficult to secure settlers in sufficient number and of the requisite qual- ity to utilise the land made irrigable by existing projects. Since a project demands a large outlay of capital its success depends on immediate or early utilisation. In 1912 it was estimated that only about half the acreage made available by existing projects was settled. The early settlers of ir- rigated land are apt to be of the pioneer type. Many of them are restless adventurers who make no permanent con- tribution anywhere. The kind of farmers that are needed are conservative about entering this field. Second, speculation and appreciation of land prices be- yond their normal value is a problem of many of these new communities. The profits of the early settlers are largely derived from increased land values. To obtain a share of the unearned increment becomes a very strong motive. Much of the land is held by speculators to secure profits TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 59 from the advance in price. Values are frequently advanced beyond v^hat the land can sustain as a producing factor. Besides promoters advertise certain kinds of producing dis- tricts, such as fruit lands, by means of highly colored lit- erature, selling the land to unsuspecting purchasers at pi- ratical rates. Irrigated land on the average has as good a value as productive lands generally, but except in certain crops, the average value of its products is but little above that from non-irrigated land of the nation at large. Colonisa- tion which provides for settlement through a term of years is a means of providing desirable settlers and state and na- tional regulation is necessary to obviate exploitation. Third, there is a need of diversification of farming and of industries in most districts. Many irrigation communi- ties are so located that their products must be chiefly ab- sorbed by mining populations and by the live stock of the pasture regions. Crop production must be adjusted pri- marily to these needs. The raising of a single crop leads to an excess which must compete with outside products in the markets. Local prices are better than those generally and competition brings a demand for a readjustment that is serious to many farmers. Further, industries which are needed by the region are desirable to supplement the agri- cultural activities. Economic and Social Conditions — There are certain eco- nomic disadvantages and advantages found in irrigation communities. Besides those just alluded to, special difiicul- ties are arising. In the history of the world many irriga- tion districts have been abandoned. The actual causes of abandonment are little known. Experience in our older ir- rigated districts shows symptoms which may prove disturb- ing. The rise in the soil of alkali pursuant to flooding is one of these. It manifests itself both where too little or too much water is used and is or may become acute on nearly every tract of irrigated land. When irrigated too little the 60 CONSTKUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY salts accumulate in the soil and when irrigated too much they disappear in one place only to reappear in another. These disturbances produce a derangement in the nutrition of the crops. Besides this there are other causes of a reduced produc- tivity of irrigated land that are not well understood. In some cases the decline seems to be due to obscure diseases of the plants or to some derangement of the process of nu- trition rather than to a lack of fertility. But there are many real advantages enjoyed by irrigated lands and by developing them irrigation farming may ex- pect to prosper. In the production of a few crops such lands have a virtual monopoly. Figs, olives, dates, and Egyptian cotton are examples. The problem of the produc- ers is to build up a larger demand for these products. With certain other crops the market price is so high that trans- portation charges are almost negligible. With still other crops the certainty of production tends to offset disadvan- tages in transportation charges. Still other advantages are found in the ready markets furnished by grazing and min- ing populations, probably the largest asset. Irrigation communities possess some social characteristics of importance. The average size of farms in the irrigated region is 86.5 acres. Consequently irrigation means inten- sive agriculture. Small holdings entail a compact rural so- ciety which approaches the conditions of city life, with con- venient churches and schools, the best roads, telephones, free delivery of mail, and constant social interchange. Further, cooperative enterprises are promoted. In a large project the individual cannot make his own ditch from the river or reservoir. Communal or government action is nec- essary. That cooperative undertakings are promoted is seen in the fact that cooperative projects stand third in the list of the chief kinds of irrigation systems. Such cooperative TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 61 projects form a common tie whicli binds the fanners close to- gether and leads to other kinds of cooperation. Farm Village Communities. — Within the irrigation area of the United States there is a peculiar type of community. In the summer of 1914 the author spent several weeks in Utah and for the first time became acquainted with the farm village community which the Mormons developed. Where the social and agricultural life of the Saints has been least disturbed by non-Mormon immigration such communities absorb practically all of the farming inhabitants. Not only are these farm villages to be found in Utah but also in other western states where Mormons have settled in considerable numbers. Several motives appear to account for the formation of the early settlers of Utah into this form of organisation. Eirst, due to the fact that the region was infested with hostile Indians there was a necessity that the pioneers be so arranged that they could quickly and easily defend them- selves against the natives. Second, because of the isolation of the settlers from the larger currents of life, agencies and a system, by the operation of which they could obtain social stimulus and contentment in their position, were needful. Third, a powerful ecclesiastical motive entered also. In order to make the new faith fasten itself effectively upon the generations to come and upon the converts who would be brought in from the world without, a compact organisation was required which would mould the youth and hold the strangers. Since the Mormon Church settled its people in Utah in that period of its history when it was fighting for its life this desire to effectively provide for self-perpetuation doubtless formed the predominating motive in the formation of the farm village. The character of the geographical district to which the Mormon pioneers went distiuctly favoured this type of neigh- 62 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY bourhood. The region is arid and the major part of agri- culture had to depend on the supply of moisture other than rainfall. Consequently the first extensive application of ir- rigation made in America by white men was initiated here. The village community is well adapted to the small farm type of agriculture which irrigation calls for because the farmer need travel but a short distance between his home and his work. In one of the buildings of the Agricultural College at Logan, Utah, hangs a chart exhibiting the plan of the farm village as devised by Brigham Young. The accompanying diagram represents the essential features of the plan rela- tive to arrangement of homes. PLAN OF UTAH FARM VILLAGE The streets of the villages are six rods in width and their gutters contain running water brought from irrigation TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 63 ditches. Each block containa about ten acres and is divided into eight lots. Thus each plot containing a home covers from an acre to one and one-fourth acres of land. The houses are arranged upon opposite blocks so that in no case do they face each other, thus securing privacy. Besides homes, the farm village contains mercantile es- tablishments, shops, the school, and the church. It possesses the industrial, educational, religious, sociability, and cultural agencies which are commonly found only in strictly urban communities. There is a neighbourhood life with its appeals and its advantages. Under the method of irrigation the home plot of ground in many cases has proven sufficient for the entire support of a family. The land immediately ad- joining the village is divided into small fields of five or ten acres each and that farther removed consists of larger tracts. The original custom provided that a family should possess, besides the home plot, a tract in each of the other districts. This practice is still adhered to in considerable measure. A distant pasture affords grazing for the town herd which is gathered, driven, and distributed by some of the boys. Thus the various influences have conspired to segregate farmers in the villages, and in Cache Valley, Utah, very few agriculturists live apart on farms. In many respects the farm village church constitutes a real community or social centre. The vision of the pioneer Mor- mon leaders envisaged the varied needs of vigorous people and incorporated provisions in the church organisation to meet them. The church building, as well as the church or- ganisation and the point of view of the inhabitants, testify to this. Not only is the church the centre of religious life but also of recreational and amusement activities. It is built and equipped for their realisation. Some one large room is provided with movable seats which may be removed or ar- ranged to meet requirements. The Mormons have always believed in dancing and the community meets frequently for 64 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY this purpose. Good music has been appreciated from the beginning and choral singing is housed and promoted. The church is a playhouse for the children and it is sought to provide suitable games. Sociables, feasts, lectures, and other community requirements are welcomed and furthered. The schools are housed in good buildings and the people hold edu- cation in high regard. Thus these farm villages have done much to overcome farm isolation, to provide wholesome com- munity life, and to build a satisfying agricultural civilisation. v. BTTRAT, IMMIGRANT COMMUSTITIES Where Immigrants Settle Immigration has been a large factor in the United States for a long time. After the original migration to this continent foreigners slighted it until about 1830. Since then there has been a steadily in- creasing volume of immigration, until at the present time we are receiving a net decennial immigration of over 5,000,- 000 persons. At the present time about one in seven of our population is foreign born. It would be expected that large numbers of these people settle in rural communities. Such is the case but not to the extent which one might an- ticipate. Of the 13,345,545 persons of foreign birth who lived in the nation in 1910 but 3,710,176 were classed as rural, or 27.8 per cent. Since considerable of the rural population lives in incorporated places of 2,500 people or less, the proportion must be still smaller. It is noteworthy that immigrants to the country are un- equally distributed over the United States as a whole as they are in cities. This fact is brought out by the accom- panying pictogram (Pictogram 1), which is taken from the Abstract of the 13th Census. An inspection of the graph shows that the rural districts of the South have almost a negligible percentage of foreigners. Even were those bom of foreign or mixed parents considered, the showing would be little better. TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 65 PICTOGEAM I COLOB OB BACE, NATmTT, AND PARENTAGE IN URBAN AND BUBAL COMMUNITIES: 1910 PER CENT 10 ao 80 40 60 eo 70 80 00 too UNITED STATES NEW ENQLANO MIO. ATLANTIC E. NO. CENTRAL W. NO. CENTRAL 80. ATLANTIC E. 80. CENTRAL W. 80. CENTRAL MOUNTAIN PACIFIC URBAN wmmmmmm^^m^/yyyA \ RURAL ^y//M//)i///M//M/A WAh'Aiikii9i^Mkmd URBAN ' 1 03 -SI s 1 '.5 f^ be '.^ ^ bo '■*i ^ bo C3 o m CS s 03 ci o 03 !? ;§ 1^ 1? s [Zi 12; fe !2; United States . . . 75.0 10.5 14.5 80.1 13.8 6.1 66.2 5.0 28.8 New England . . . . 85.3 14.5 0.2 85.6 14.2 0.2 82.6 17.1 0.3 Middle Atlantic. . . 89.5 10.1 0.4 89.1 10.5 0.4 91.1 8.4 0.5 East North Central 82.7 16.7 0.5 79.9 19.7 0.5 90.3 9.1 0.6 West North Central 74.8 24.3 0.9 70.4 28.6 1.0 84.4 14.9 0.7 South Atlantic . . . . 67.4 0.6 32.0 81.8 1.0 17.2 50.2 0.2 49.C East South Central 68.3 0.5 31.2 87.7 0.8 11.5 49.5 0.2 50.4 West South Central 73.4 4.4 22.2 81.0 5.9 13.1 66.6 3.1 30.4 Mountain . 78.5 17.1 4.4 78.0 17.2 4.8 81.7 16.7 1.7 Pacific . 69.8 27.7 2.5 69.9 28.7 1.4 67.9 24.1 8.0 (Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 296). bom constitute but 10.5 per cent, of the farm operators of the nation. In two of the southern divisions there are al- most none, in the Pacific and West North Central they form 24 per cent, or more of farmers. The states which have the largest number of foreign farm operators are shown in Pictogram 2, which is borrowed from the Abstract of the last Census. Minnesota and North Da- TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 67 PICTOGRAM II NTJMBEE OF FABMS, CLASSIFIED BT COLOB AND NATIVITT OF OPEBATOE: 1910 v m/ WM. ff^^ NftTlvtWHITt Q2 FDRfiON eonN wwre I NCCItO AND OTHa HQMWIVrB (Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 296). kota lead with over one-half their farmers foreign born. The southern states indicate little or none, while some of the Mon- tana and Pacific states rank as high as or above the north- eastern states. It is interesting to note the status of foreign bom farm- 68 CONSTRITCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOIOGY ers as to land tenure. This is denoted in table 2. For the United States at large foreign bom farmers show a larger percentage of owners than, native born farmers, 81.4 and 66.3 per cent, respectively. In only one of the geo- graphical divisions, ISTew England, does foreign bom owner- ship fall below native born. Native bom farmers best hold TABLE 2 FABM TENUBE BT NATIVITY PEE CENT. OP NATIVE WHITE FAEM OPEEATOES. PEE CENT. OF FOEEIGN-BOEN WHITE FABM OPERATOES. PEE CENT. OF NEQBO AND OTHEB NON- WHITE FAEM OPEEATOES. DIVISION. u -gas-gas -gg) United States 66.3 32.7 1.0 81.4 17.6 1.0 26.2 73.6 0.2 New England 89.6 7.7 2.7 87.2 9.3 3.5 79.2 15.2 5.6 Middle Atlantic 75.4 22.7 1.9 79.0 18.6 2.4 72.1 24.2 3.7 East North Central.. 69.5 29.5 1.0 84.6 14.7 0.7 68.4 30.3 1.3 West North Central.. 64.3 34.8 0.9 80.7 18.9 0.4 74.7 24.5 0.8 South Atlantic 64.8 34.2 1.0 84.9 11.7 3.4 28.7 71.1 0.2 East South Central.. 62.9 36.7 0.4 81.1 17.8 1.2 18.1 81.9 0.1 West South Central.. 51.6 47.8 0.6 62.7 36.8 0.5 27.6 72.3 0.1 Mountain 87.1 11.2 1.7 88.3 10.4 1.3 95.6 4.1 0.3 Pacific 80.1 16.8 3.1 83.1 15.0 1.9 43.8 54.5 1.7 (Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 296). their own in the West, next to New England. It would seem that the nation need have no fear that immigrants who settle on farms will fall into tenancy. It should rather fear that native farmers be eliminated by foreigners, though that fear may be ungrounded. Old and New Immigration — There is a vast difference between the earlier and later immigration as to their con- tribution to farm life. The older immigration, at least in TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 69 its earlier period, was essentially agricultural, while the present additions from eastern and southern Europe go to the farms but little. The present distribution of foreign bom fanners by nations of birth brings this difference into relief. Of all foreign born farmers in the United States, Germany contributed 33.13 per cent., Scandinavian coun- tries 23.24, Great Britain and Ireland 13.07, Canada 9.24, Austria 4.98, and Denmark 4.24. Austria is the only one of these nations whose immigration is recent. The other newer contributors have percentages as follows; Hungary 0.57, Italy 1.59, Eussia 3.85, Poland 1.08.^ This disinclination of the more recent kind of immigrants to settle in the country is remarkable when it is considered that the majority of them come from rural regions and have been either owners of small farms or farm laborers; perhaps also that farm labor in the United States is scarce, at least at seasons. The other side of this is the city and national feature. How little these agrarian immigrants are fitted to take up city life and occupations and what a problem this unfitness becomes to the cities and ultimately to the nation ! In its national aspect this problem ultimately rests on coun- try as well as city. There are several sufiBcient reasons why the newer immi- grants for most part settle in cities. Eirst, they are igno- rant of the national tongue and must be immediately de- pendent on their own countrymen for intercourse. This leads to segregation in cities. Second, cities inherently are attractive to the masses. Once located in the city the charm of living in great masses has the force of a binding chain. Third, the motive of perhaps the majority of the recent im- migrants in coming to America is to make money quickly and then to return home. There is a mortgage to lift, a small farm or business to purchase, and so on, for which a small amount of ready cash will suffice. About 40 per 1 Thirteenth Census, Vol. V, p. 178. 70 CONSTEUCTIVE EIIRAL SOCIOLOGY cent, of our immigraiits return to Europe year by year, and no doubt this represents but a portion of those who come expecting to do so. Almost 40 per cent, of those who re- turn to Europe remain here less than 5 years, about 24 per cent, from 5 to 10 years, and about 80 per cent, remain here less than 20 years. ^ Eourth, the great majority of immi- grants are poor and must have work at once. Being unac- quainted with the nation at large, with no knowledge of where to look for farm work, employment is sought in the city. That there is an interest in farm work is indicated by the report of the National Bureau of Information and Naturalisation. In the year ending June 30, 1912, 5,951 immigrants sought information about farming, 77 as farm- ers, the rest as farm labourers. One thousand, two hundred and sixty of these labourers were German, 1,213 Polish, 573 Eussian, 403 Swedish, 388 Irish, 317 Danish.^ Eifth, im- migrant labourers are subject to two drawbacks which repel them from the country. One of these is competition with negro labour in the South. This is both economic compe- tition and social repulsion. Of the two the latter is the worse. In so far as labour is a social caste because of the fact of original servile labour, all labour tends to be esti- mated on that basis. The other deterrent is the wide distri- bution of seasonal labour in agriculture. It is not inviting financially to have work a few months and be forced to be idle the rest of the year. Sixth, agriculture in America is quite different from that in Europe. Some of the crops are different, such as cotton, corn, tobacco. We pursue expan- sive farming. Not only is large capital required but the method in itself is an art. Further, many of the European farmers are specialised as to crops. A vine grower exclu- sively cannot do much else in agriculture. AgricultTiral Immigrants. — The older agricultural immi- 2 Jenks and Lauck, " The Immigration Problem," p. 497, .?Rep. Copi. Gen. of Immigration, 1912, pp. 211-1?, TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 71 grants settled in. the North Central states for most part, and built up many large communities. Thus we have settle- ments made up wholly of Germans in Wisconsin, Kansas, and other states, while in Minnesota and the Dakotas, Scan- dinavian settlements abound, especially those of Norwegians. After the first shock of having to get started in a new land has disappeared these communities generally furnish as high grade agricultural life as those of native Americans. Some European customs and institutions are retained during a generation or two, but not to the detriment of our civilisa- tion. What is said of those nationalities mentioned is also true of Swiss, English, and other Northwest European im- migrants. Something may be said of the communities of the new immigrants, although the total number of such communities relative to national agriculture communities is insignificant. The Poles may serve to typify agricultural communities made by central European immigrants. Only about one in a hundred immigrant Poles goes into agriculture. The older settlers took up new lands in the northern states, a few in Texas. They made independent and self-reliant pio- neers, learning by observation, the later generations improv- ing on the first. In the older colonies the standard of liv- ing is rising. Formerly wilderness lands have been placed almost entirely under cultivation and made to produce profitably. Because the Poles love land they desire to be- come owners rather than labourers. They adapt their crops to the prevailing economic demands and change them as the demands change. They raise potatoes in Portage County, Wisconsin, cotton in Texas, specialise in garden crops and tobacco in New England. The Italians may be taken to represent southern European immigration. Only about one and a half per cent, go into agriculture. They do not confine themselves to any one state or division. Thus even the south Italians are found 72 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY from Wisconsin to Louisiana and from New England to Texas. Because they love companionship they do not make as good pioneers as some other nationalities, hut they are successful farmers and truckers where they can live in a group of their own kind. While on this account they tend to retain their own customs and resist assimilation, yet when given an opportunity to mix with American life they are much more progressive than are the Poles. While they may not make large contrihutions to agricultural methods, they are adepts at hand labour in farming, will perform hard monotonous work, and have redeemed land that was considered worthless. In the South most of the Italians are Sicilians. The largest Italian agricultural colony is at Bayou, Texas, that one numbering about 1,700 persons. Arkansas and Louisi- ana also have important settlements. They tend to special- ise in agriculture, such as producing strawberries in Lou- isiana. Italian labour is esteemed by cotton and sugar planters. A considerable number of Italians have gone onto farms in New York, especially Western New York. Some New York Italians have purchased farms from their savings in this country. They do not engage in general farming ex- tensively because they do not understand the care of live stock and the methods of producing staple crops. They suc- cessfully produce crops like onions and celery on small farms of 15 to 20 acres. They dislike employing labour and the size of the undertaking varies with the size of the family. In conclusion it may be said that perhaps the most hope- ful feature connected with the newer immigrant communi- ties is not in their extent or what they have realised, but it is in their forming nuclear colonies which are to act as the foster mothers and promoters of others to come. TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 73 VI, BACKWABB COMMTTNITIE8 Their Nature and Location. — In various paxts of the United States are communities whicE may be termed back- ward. Like the others which have been treated, historical, physical, and topographical conditions have conspired to make them what they are. Such communities may be iden- tical with other kinds in certain cases. Thus we might have a stagnant com community, stagnant cotton community, or other form of stagnant neighbourhood. Examples of these communities are found in New Eng- land, isolated from the larger world in the pockets of the hiUs; in the hills and mountains of Arkansas and Missouri where the pioneer type of past generations persist; in the adjoining mountain regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. The latter embrace the famous people now known as the " mountain whites." Those of Missouri and Arkansas re- semble them in all essential characteristics, and doubtless migrated from the same general region and stock three-quar- ters of a century ago. New York and other states both east and west contain similar communities. " Dead villages " so widely scattered over the land also may be classed with them. The decadence of New England agriculture as a patholog- ical condition has probably been exaggerated. The regret so manifest over abandoned farms in the East is largely sen- timental, rather than based on economic reasons. The build- ings are old, ill adapted, and often deserted because of farm consolidation. Thus in the worst township in New York an investigation showed that there were 45 deserted farmhouses in the 45 square miles, which was due to the fact that these farms had been consolidated with others. The farms are in size and adaptation traditional rather than social and eco- nomic. War or early settlements made them small — prob- ably too small for competitive purposes. Due to diversifica- 74 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY tion, the eastern states lead the United States in the number of products produced and in their value per acre. The Mountain Whites. — As an example, the most exten- sive and notable backward community in the United States will be described in some fulness. As before noted, the mountain whites of the South occupy the adjacent portion of eight states, embracing a region of some two or three million acres. This region is elevated and mountainous, rich in tim- ber and mineral deposits, and has been called aptly " Ap- palachian America." Big Sandy, Licking, Kentucky, and Cumberland rivers rise there as "creeks" and flow out; brawling torrents in winter, almost dry in summer. These streams with their tributaries divide the country into long, narrow valleys with their intervening mountain ranges. Travel follows the streams. It is said that no steamboat can penetrate into the Kentucky mountains. Until recently there was no railroad in the region. There does not exist a single well-made wagon road. There are two explanations of the origin of the people of this region, who are so different from the mass of our Amer- ican citizenship as to have gained the characterisation of " our contemporary ancestors," and to have won for the large region the title of " a retarded frontier." One explanation derives them from the redemptioners of Colonial times who, when set free by their masters, would not remain among them to mix with negro labourers, but pushed into the up- land regions and, separated by mountain barriers, were lost to the influences and view of civilisation. The other account makes them descendants of the Colonial German, Scotch, and French settlers, who pushed into the region before the Eevolutionary War and settled the elevated plateau. The persistence of many Old English words and phrases has been the justification for the belief that their ancestors were redemptioners. Kephart, in a recent vol- ume, " Our Southern Highlanders," presents proof that the TYPES OF COMMUNITIES 75 " highlanders " were originally chiefly Scotch who were per- secuted and evicted from Ulster and who migrated into the southern highlands by way of Pennsylvania. They were ac- companied into the latter region by a modicimi of French and Germans from the Keystone state. In speech they touch a remote past. There are no dia- lects, but old words with their earlier meanings are pre- served in abundance. Many words came down from the time of Chaucer. The chief occupations of the mountain whites are agricul- ture, distilling, and logging. Corn, oats, and potatoes are the principal crops. Tobacco, flax, and cotton are minor crops. Small yields are made because of the sterile soil and poor markets. Farms are classed as valley, bottom, and hill- side. The latter kind are so nearly perpendicular that local legend says a man fell " out of his field and broke his neck." Unless it is forest or mineral, land is worth from $3 to $7 per acre. Bottom farms rent for one-half, hillside for one- third the yield, or 50 cents per acre. Distilling corn, rye, and apples into " moonshine " whis- key formerly afforded about the only markets for those prod- ucts. This, together with a strong taste for intoxicants and a lack of social intercourse, accounts for the previous practice of moonshining. Logging is an avenue of activity. In 1890 this section of country contained one of the best hardwood forests. Much of the forest supply has been exhausted. In customs and beliefs as well as in vestiges of language the inhabitants we are discussing speak of the past. The feud is one of the more vicious forms of ancient customs which survive. A suggestion has been made recently that this mode of conflict had its origin in the guerrilla conditions which pre- vailed as a consequence of the Civil War. Based on the law of blood revenge, as it is, it frequently becomes so bitter that whole families are exterminated in the course of its operation. The use of intoxicants intensifies its influence. This is 76 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY coming to be recognised and there is a rising sentiment against " moonshining," as well as a passage of restriction laws. The beliefs and views of these moimtaineprs come down from long ago. The Bible is taken literally, and the tribal and primitive doctrines and practices of the first few books of the Old Testament hold the preference over the ethical teachings of the later prophets and of Jesus. The earth is often supposed to be square, the sun to swing around the earth, the Mexican War and Civil War are alluded to by old men as recent history. Education is backward. Isolation discourages social intercourse or the progressive kind of neighbourhood cooperation. Hospitality for the traveller abounds until abused. REFERENCES MacClintock, S. S. "Kentucky Mountaineers and Their Feuds." American Journal of Sociology, Vol. VII, pp. 1-28 and 171-87. " Rebound of the Upland South," World's Work, Vol. XIV, p. 8961. Bailey, L. H. " The Agricultural Shift." " The State and the Far- mer," pp. 5-54. Fleming, Walter L. "Reorganization of the Industrial System in Alabama after the Civil War." American Journal of Sociology, Vol. X, pp. 473-499. Turner. " The Significance of the Frontier in American History," " Bullock's Selected Readings in Economics," Chap. 2. Small and Vincent. " The Rural Group." " Introduction to Society," Book II, Chap. 2; "The Family on the Farm," Chap. 1. U. S. Census, Vol. V, pp. 827-876, " Irrigation." " Year Book," Dep. Agriculture, 1910, 1911 and 1912, Articles on " Ir- rigation," by Carl S. Scofield. Brigham. "Geographic Influences in American History," Chap. 8, " Where Little Rain Falls." Bowman. " Forest Physiography," Part II. Proceedings National Irrigation Congress. Abstract Thirteenth Census. Thirteenth Census, Vols. I and V. Fairchild. " Immigration." Jenks and Lauck. " The Immigration Problem." Annual Reports of the Commissioner General of Immigration, Kephart. "Our Southern Highlanders." TYPES OP COMMUNITIES 77 Du Bois, W. E. B. " Negro Land Holders in Georgia." " U. S. La- bor Bulletin " No. 35, pp. 335ff. ; " The Negro Farmer," " Supplementary Analysis of the 12th Census," pp. 511-579. " Poor Whites: New Race Question," Arena, Vol. XXVII, p. 352. "Southern Mountaineers," Seribncrs, Vol. XXIX, pp. 387-99 and 556-70. Widtsoe, J. H., Principles of Irrigation Practice. CHAPTEE V ETTEAX AND tTEBAlir HTCEEASE ^ It is commonly estimated that the cities of the United States are built up in population at the expense of the coun- try. If this is so it must have a very important bearing on the " rural problem." In so far as it is true, to that extent it is a factor to be considered in relation to the latter. It is the business of this chapter to demonstrate the degree of the movement from country to city, to indicate what the significance of this movement is for rural communities, to seek its more trenchant causes, and to touch upon preventive agencies. I. FACTS AS TO THE DEIFT TO CITIES The Pact of City Growth In the beginning it is neces- sary to examine the fact of city drift as a fact. First, it is a fact. In 1900, 31.1 per cent, of the population of the United States lived in cities of 8,000 or more persons, while in 1790 there were but 3.3 per cent, of such urbanites. There were 6 cities of 8,000 inhabitants in 1790, 545 in 1900. There was no increase in the number of such places imtil the census of 1810. Then the increase in such places by decades was 5, 2, 13, 18, 41, 56, 85, 60, 161, 98.^ Reckoning all places of 2,500 inhabitants or more as urban^ which is now the practice of the United States Census 1 The substance of this paper appeared in the Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota for October, 1910, and January, 1911, under the title " City Trend of Population and Leadership," and in the Amer. J. Boo., March, 1911, as " The Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem." 2 Eleventh Census, 1900, Vol. I, Table XXIX. 78 RURAL AND URBAN INCREASE 79 Bureau, in 1910 46.3 per cent, of our people were Urban as compared with 36.1 in 1890 and 40.5 in 1900 ; while 53,7 per cent, were rural in comparison with 63.9 per cent, in 1890 and 59.5, in 1900.^ Decline in Rural Population Alarm over rural depopu- lation is almost as old as history. Xenophon complained that the Greeks loved the city rather than the village. Varro was sarcastic in his testimony that the Romans preferred the Circus to the corn-field. The elder Mirabeau was elo- quent in his recommendations of country life and pathetic in describing the condition of country people who moved to town. English poets and politicians lamented the depopulation of rural England in the middle period of English history, but the movement went on for centuries and still goes on. English farms are in want of farm labour. France is alarmed at the depopulation of her rural re- gions. One of the rich departments has lost population since 1851, about 12 per cent, in 50 years. The rate since 1891 has increased 50 per cent., although the period was very prosperous. The rural population for the whole of France decreased 16% per cent, between 1846-1906. Germany has an agricultural party. It is much stirred over the drift away from the coimtry and blames every one heartily for it : — the manufacturer for holding out false in- ducements about pay; the government because the state rail- ways coax the farmers away from the land by means of commuter trains, permitting people to live in the country but leaving their interests in the city.* We find that one of the great objects of rural credit leg- islation in France is to keep rural population from drifting to the cities. This is especially true of its short-time and B Abstract of Thirteenth Census, p. 55. * " The Decline in Rural Population," B. H. Hibbard, Amer. Stat. Assn. Mch. 1912, pp. 85-6. 80 CONSTEtJOTlVE RtTRAL SOCIOLOGY personal credit provisions. It is desired to bind the small peasant to the soil.' In view of these facts it is not remarkable that rural de- population in the United States should occur. Perhaps the most notable fact in connection with the occurrence is that it should take place in a nation that is as yet agriculturally undeveloped. However, as we shall see, it is the opening up of new agricultural regions that in part accounts for the loss of coimtry inhabitants. Relativity of Rural Loss. — Decrease of rural population is relative, not actual, for the country as a whole. The actual loss of rural population is small. In the North Atlantic division from 1890 to 1900 there was a net loss of 238,865, three states having gained 86,943, while six states lost 325,- 808 rural inhabitants. In the South Atlantic division there was a gain of 830,739 for cotrntry districts, only one state, Delaware, having lost, to the extent of 2,404 persons. The North Central division had a rural gain to its credit of 458,- 149, notwithstanding the fact that five of its states sustained a rural loss of 138,315 inhabitants. The South Central and Western Divisions showed large net rural gains, the former gaining 67.7 per cent, in the decade, the latter 36.9 per cent.® Maine sustained a rural loss of 13.3 per cent, of its total in- crease of population ; New Hampshire 44.9 ; Vermont 214.9 ; Massachusetts 2.2; New York 16.4; New Jersey 13.9; Dela- ware 14.8; Nebraska 125.2; Kansas 51.0; Ohio 17.1; In- diana 0.1 ; and Illinois 2.9 per cent. In the case of Kansas and Nebraska the rural decrease was of a temporary nature, being due to droughts in the western ends of those states in the earlier part of the decade. The following states are shown to have lost rural popula- tion in the decade 1900^-1910, measured in per cent. : New U. S. Report on Agricultural Co-operation and Rural Credit in Europe, p. 645-664. « Twelfth Census, Vol. I, Table XXXVI. EUEAL AND UKBAN INOKEASE 81 Hampshire 5.4; Vermont 4.2; Ohio 1.3; Indiana 5.1; Iowa 7.2; and Missouri 3.5. Two divisions show a loss. New England declined in rural population 0.5 per cent, and the East North Central Division, less than one-tenth of one per cent.'' New England Rural Depopulation. — The Census enu- merates towns of less than 2,500 inhabitants as rural. But in New England this does not show the real conditions, for many of them are engaged in industrial pursuits. Many of these places are very small — 87 out of 202 in Massachu- setts have less than 1,000 population; 70 per cent, of the 209 rural towns of New Hampshire have under 1,000. On the other hand, many places of over 2,500 have rural dwellers. A closer study shows that other than industrial towns have lost population. The story is old, beginning with the opening of the Connecticut Western Reserve. The four Western Massachusetts counties may be regarded as typical of New England. The district includes the Con- necticut Valley, the Berkshire Hills, and small sections of the eastern highlands. Sixty-two of the 79 towns have de- creased in population since 1890: Two of the four that had not lost population are exempted by recent rural immigra- tion, one by reason of new trolley lines and country-home movement, and one because of new industries. Seventy-one per cent, of the 62 towns attained their greatest population in 1850; 40 per cent, in 1820; 16 per cent, in 1800; five towns in 1790; only six towns between 1880 and 1910. Their total population in 1910 was 41,865 ; when at their maximum numbers it was 82,860, a decrease of nearly 50 per cent. The smaller, rougher, commercially isolated towns have suffered most, some have Vs their former number. Very few have recovered from their early decline either in numbers or productiveness. Their vital statistics show the native 7 Abstract of Thirteenth Census, p. 57. 82 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY stock is dying out. " There is little or no immigration and the deaths exceed the hirths. In such towns agriculture is usually primitive and decadent. Great tracts of rough land, formerly cultivated in grain or tame pasture, have been al- lowed to grow up to white pine and chestnut sprouts and the numerous cellar holes, found here and there through the wooded areas, marking the original sites of farm homes, at- test a former prosperity that has now become merely a rec- ollection." Former competition with Western lands and later competition with cities tell the tale. The greatest cause has been the comparative unprofitableness of agriculture. " To retain the rural population there must be a reorganisa- tion of agriculture. Some readjustments must be made to insure reasonable rewards and a better living. Failing that, the native rural people must give place to a farming population with a lower standard of living or greater capac- ity for sustained and disagreeable exertion." Reorganization of agriculture has made slight inroads on the outward movement " In Northern Maine, Western Massachusetts, and parts of the Coimecticut Valley, where specialised crops such as potatoes, onions, or tobacco are grown," the return tide has set in. While rural immigrants have done somethiug to resettle these abandoned regions, it is probable that they cannot wholly succeed. They have not the modem ideas of agri- culture which are required to make the undertaking success- ful. " The towns that have suffered the greatest compara- tive losses can be recuperated only by such a reorganisation of the agricultural industry as shall adapt the soil to its most profitable uses by the application of scientific knowledge, the development of transportation facilites and the betterment of conditions of rural living." The " back to the land " movement in New England is chiefly a summer-home affair. " Old homesteads have be- come gentlemen's estates, or show places, few of them de- EUEAL AND URBAN INCKEASE 83 voted to productive agricultura But real estate has ad- vanced in value in favoured localities from 50 to 100 per cent, in a few years." ® Permanency of City Increase The tendency toward the relative decrease of rural and the relative increase of urban population seems likely to continue, judging from decennial statistics. The increase of population of cities of 8,000 or more inhabitants from 1790 to 1820 was 50.9 per cent., from 1820 to 1850 it was 83.1 per cent, from 1850 to 1880 it was 58.4, from 1880 to 1900 it was 48.6. The percentage of in- crease of city populations touched its maximum from 1840 to 1850 when it registered 99.3 per cent. The other highest point was between 1820 and 1830 when the per cent, was 82.0. The average since 1850 has been 53.5 while before 1820 it was but 50.9 per cent. While we may not witness another such spurt in city increase as that between 1820 and 1850, we find little encouragement from the record to expect a near decline. Conversely, the percentage of increase of rural population has steadily decreased. The percentages run as follows : from 1790 to 1820, 34.1; 1820 to 1850, 30.3; 1850 to 1880, 24.2; 1880 to 1900, 14.3 ; 1900 to 1910, 11.2 per cent. The dec- ade from 1870 to 1880 shows the only increase in the rate, one from 15.6 to 27.2. But in the two following decades it falls to 14.5 and 14.1. The ratio of increase of city to rural population was 1.6 per cent, from 1790 to 1820, 2.7 from 1820 to 1850, 2.6 from 1850 to 1880, 3.4 from 1880 to 1900.^ Industrial Nature of City Gain. — The increase of city ao against rural population is localised. It is connected with industrial regions or regions becoming industrialised. The 8 " The Decline of the Rural Population in New England," A. E. Cance, Am. Stat. Assn. March, 1912, pp. 96-101. a Census Bulletin No. 4, 1903, Table XXIII; and Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 57. 84 CONSTRTJCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY facta given above on rural losses shovr that they occurred in the North Atlantic and North Central states almost exclu- sively. The most industrialised states have the largest per- centages of urbanites: Ehode Island 96.7, Massachusetts 92.8, New York 78.8, and so on, while southern and western states have small ones: Kansas 29.2, Mississippi 11.5, Ten- nessee 20.2. For recent times the law could be safely for- mulated: the increase in rural population is in inverse and that in urban population is in direct proportion to the degree of industrialisation. The industrial motive of immigration may be indicated further by noting the distribution of cities. The following table indicates the number of places of over 5,000 and of over 10,000 inhabitants by divisions and by more general re- gions. When it is remembered that the areas of the more western and northern regions are relatively much greater than those of the northeastern sections, that cities of the for- mer regions represent much the smaller portion of their population, and that places of 10,000 or more inhabitants represent more or less industrial developments, the conclu- sion is evident that the northeastern cities are closely asso- ciated with industrialisation. TABLE 3 DISTBIBUTION OF CITIES Number of places of Over 5000 Over 10,000 New England 209 103 Middle Atlantic 276 146 East North Central 290 103 West North Central 126 55 South Atlantic 105 47 East South Central 59 26 West South Central 73 40 Mountain 43 18 Pacific 50 31 North 901 440 South 237 113 West 93 49 East of Mississippi 939 458 West of Mississippi 282 144 EURAL AND TTRBAN INCREASE 85 The impetus whicli industrialisation gives to urbanisation is strikingly shown by comparing the percentage of popula- tion living in cities of the several classes in the different di- visions at the Census of 1880 and 1910. Denoting places of 100,000 or more inhabitants as A, those of 25,000 to 100,000 as B, those of 10,000 to 25,000 as 0, those of 5,000 to 10,- 000 as D, and those of 2,500 to 5,000 as E, we find that be- tween those dates the division varied in percentages, as fol- lows. TABLE 4 INCREASE OF URBAN POPULATION BT DIVISIONS A B C D B New England . .11.7- -24.5 14.6- -25.0 16.0—14.3 10.6—11.3 15.8—8.2 Middle Atlantic . ,30.4—44.5 7.2- -10.9 4.3- -7.0 4.6—4.5 3.4—4.1 East N. Central. . 10.3- -26.1 3.4^8.5 4.5- -7.6 4.3—6.0 5.0—4.5 West N. Central . 5.7- -13.5 3.4- -6.9 3.4—3.9 2.4—4.3 3.3—4.7 South Atlantic . . . 6.7- - 9.6 3.4—5.8 2.2- -3.6 1.6—3.3 1.2—3.0 East S. Central. . 2.2— 7.1 2.4—3.4 1.4- -2.6 1.3—2.7 1.1—2.8 West S. Central. . 6.5- - 3.9 *3.3- -7.2 2.5—4.0 1.2—2.6 2.0—4.5 Mountain . 8.8- - 8.1 5.5- -8.8 7.1- -5.5 3.8—6.6 7.3—7.0 Pacific .21.0- -34.2 3.1- -6.4 6.6- -7.3 1.0—3.2 4.5—5.7 * 1890. (Thirteenth Census Population, Vol. p. 46-7.) II. SOUECBS OF CITY QEOWTH In consideration of the fact that modem populations pos- sess a large degree of fluidity both within the confines of par- ticular nations of the more advanced type and between nation and nation it would not be safe to assume that the cities of America have gained their inhabitants at the entire expense of country districts. We have shown that certain rural re- gions sustain actual losses of people but we would have to prove that the equivalent number above city gains from all other directions had been absorbed by cities before we could assert that the rural migrants had been stolen by urban com- munities. Our recourse must be to statistics. There are four possible modes of swelling urban popula- 86 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY tion: by excess of births over deaths, by migration from farms, by immigration, and by incorporation of cities. The following table. Table 5, gives a summary of the factors contributing to city growth and the contributing force of each factor in per cents. This table is followed by an explana- tion of the methods by which the results were obtained. TABLE 5 SOUBCES OF TJBBAN GROWTH, UNITED STATES, 1900-1910. Per cent. Number of urban increase Urban gain, 1900-1910, as per census 11,826,000 Accounted for by immigration 4,866,000 41 Accounted for by natural increase of population . . 2,509,000 21.6 Accounted for by incorporation of new territory with lu-ban territory 924,000 7.6 Balance, migration from rural to urban districts 3,527,000 29.8 Natural Increase. — Before it is possible to measure the contributing force to urban increase of rural migration and immigration it is necessary to discover what is contributed by natural increase. A rough approximation is secured by di- viding the amount of population in 1900 by the difference between the total national increase which took place in the succeeding 10 years and the net immigration for the same period. But a modification must be made to get a truer estimate. For during the decade children were bom to the immigrants, some of the children died, and many immigrants died who would have been counted had they lived and who contributed children to the population. This natural in- crease of population by immigrants should not be attributed to the national population of 1900. Besides this there was an emigration of approximately 550,000, or with its nat- ural increase, 588,000. The population of continental United States in 1900 was approximately 76,000,000, and its actual increase by 1910 EUEAL AND UEBAN INCEEASE 87 was 15,975,000, Decreasing the gain by 5,566,000 to cover the excess of immigration and the net natural increase of this immigration over emigration, the difference amounts to 13.7 per cent, of the population of 1900. This is the rate of natural increase. The substantial accuracy of this rate is vouched for by employing another method to arrive at the natural increase of population. This is based on an estimate of the birth rate of the national population and the use of the mortality rate given by the government mortality reports. The num- ber of children under 5 years of age in urban communities in 1910 was 4,200,000 in round numbers. This represents 86 per cent, of those born. This rate is obtained by taking the average death rate from a probability curve made from the data contained in recently published life tables (Ameri- can Life Tables, C. H. Forsyth, Am. Stat. Association, Sept., 1914, p. 234). The entire number of children bom was 4,880,000. Dividing this number by the estimated urban population midway between 1907 and 1908, to get the average age of the children of the five year age group, the birth rate per year of 2.47 is obtained, which, converted into a decennial rate, becijiji&e 24.7. Treating the rural five year age group and the correlative population in the same manner, a rural birth rate of 30.36 for the decade is ob- tained. The average mortality rate for urban districts of the registration area of the nation is found to be 15.9 ; that for rural districts, 13.4. Subtracting the mortality rates in each case from the appropriate birth rates there is obtained a natural increase rate for urban districts of 8.8 per cent, and a rural rate of 16.96. Since the population of the registration area constitutes nearly 60 per cent, of the na- tional population it may be assumed that these rates repre- sent the total urban and rural populations. Employing the method of weighted average, a natural increase rate for the 88 CONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY whole nation is obtained by this method of 13.68, or prac- tically the previous rate of 13.Y. There is thus secured not only a natural increase rate for the nation as a whole but separate rates of natural increase for the rural and the urban populations of the nation. With these rates established it is possible to proceed to estimate the factors of urban increase and the force rural migration plays in accounting for it. Since we have the rate of natural increase for urban com- munities it is a simple matter to apply it to the population of 1900 to determine what that factor contributed to the increase of city populations. The urban population at that date was 30,826,198, and its natural increase was 2,Y15,000. But since the urban districts must be assumed to have lost their proportionate share of emigration from the nation, that number is decreased by 206,000, leaving 2,509,000 as the contribution the cities make to their own growth. This is found to be 21.6 per cent, of the actual urban increase. Incorporation. — A process of discovering the force of incorporation in the growth of cities is necessary, for city populations are enlarged by incorporating new areas about incorporated cities and by the growth of villages and their incorporation as cities. IFor the nation as a whole we have but to find the difference in population at the dates 1900 and 1910 of the territory that was urban in 1900. (13th Census, Vol. I, p. 60.) This gain, together with its natural in- crease, amounts to 924,000 inhabitants and is 7.6 per cent, of the urban increase of the nation. Relative to the 6 and 13 states which were referred to else- where the case is more involved. It is necessary to obtain the urban gain for each of the states, their urban territorial gain, and the difference. We learn as a consequence that the force of incorporation, without estimating the natural in- crease as a source of urban growth varies among the 13 states from 0.4 to 12.2 per cept, The average for the 6 EUEAL AND TTRBAl^r INCBEASE 89 states is 4.4 and for the 13 it is 4.7 per cent. These per cents, represent their approximate contributive force to the growth of cities, respectively, in each case. Rural Migration — One of the conspicuous phenomena which has shown itself during the course of our history is migration of inhabitants from one portion of the nation to another. There has been a kaleidoscopic shifting, generally westward, of gTeat numbers of people. !No inconsiderable portion of this movement has consisted of agriculturalists. Most migrants have gone to build up the new regions which have lain to the west, relatively few have moved east, a considerable number have gone to the cities. To what degree has migration from rural districts contributed to the growth of the cities ? Seeking to learn the contributive power of the rural dis- tricts we find the rural population in 1900 was 45,197,390. Had the natural increase alone been operative the above number should have been enlarged by 7,660,000 inhabitants in 1910. But the actual rural increase fell 3,509,000 short of this, being but 4,151,493. Not all of the difference be- tween these two amounts went to live in the cities. The census increase of 4,151,000 must be increased by the amount of the emigration, together with its natural increase, of 381,000, and by incorporation that was taken out of rural regions which together with its increase during the decade amounted to 1,305,000. On the other hand, besides the natural increase of the rural population the country received an immigration from abroad, which together with its in- crease during the decade amounted to 1,322,600. The dif- ference represents the amount of population the country lost to the cities. This difference is about 3,527,000, or 29.8 per cent, of the total urban increase. Immigration. — That the cities absorb the preponderating share of immigrants is demonstrated by the percentages of distribution of the foreign bom. That element of the popu- 90 CONSTEUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY lation constitutes 14.5 per cent, of our inhabitants and is distributed as follows: the rural regions, including incor- porated places of less than 2,500 persons, claim but 27.8 per- cent., while the cities contain Y2.2 per cent. Cities of 10,000 and over hold 63.4 per cent, of the foreign bom.^° Since 1907 the national bureau of immigration has defined " immigrant aliens " as those immigrants who declare their intention of settling in the United States for one year or more. Since then it has tabulated annually the number of immigrant aliens destined for and also departing from each of all the states. For the year ending June 30, 1909, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsyl- vania received 529,688 such aliens and lost 152,178, thus re- taining 71.3 per cent. Those states contained in that year 71.7 per cent., net, of all immigrant aliens in the nation. (Report Com. Gen. of Immigration, 1909, Tables IX and IXa.) During the period 1908-1913, the net immigra- tion to nine states, the six just mentioned together with California, Connecticut, and Michigan, amounted to 70 per cent, of the total immigration of that period. (F. S. Chapin, Amer. Stat. Assn., Sept., 1914, p. 225.) Another indication that immigrant aliens are a large factor in city growth and population is seen in the statistics of foreign bom and children of foreign born living in cities. For the decade ending 1910 foreign born persons and children of foreign and mixed parentage constituted 54.4 per cent, of the population living in cities having 100,000 or more in- habitants in the six states, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jer- sey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In the cities of those states with populations of 25,000 to 100,000, the foreign bom and natives born of foreign and mixed parentage formed 58.7 per cent, of the inhabitants of those places. (Abstract 13th Census, p. 92.) It is unlikely that stiU smaller cities have a much lower percentage of such persons. 10 Thirteenth Census, Population, Vol. I, p. 172. KUEAL AND UEBAN INCEEASE 91 So far we have demonstrated that immigrant aliens settle in a relatively few states and that those states have the high- est peroentage of urban population. Now we must consider the factor of urban growth in its relation to immigration. The increase of the urban population in the six states, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania during the 10 years, 1900-1909, was 5,419,- 806. The urban increase in 13 states, the six mentioned together with California, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin was Y,831,099. The total urban gain for the United States in the same period was 11,826,000. (Abstract 13th Census, Table 15.) The six states sustained 49.2 per cent, and the 13 states sustained 71.1 per cent, of the total urban growth. The net immigration to the whole nation, not computing loss by death, during the same decade was 5,741,671, to the e states, 4,134,003, and to the 13 states, 5,167,504. That to the 6 states is equivalent to 72 per cent, and that to the 13 states, to 90 per cent, of the national immigration. By a comparison of urban growth and immigration it is seen that the immigration to the 6 states equals 76.2 per cent., and that to the 13 states amounts to 65.9 per cent, of their urban increase. That to the whole nation is 48.6 per cent, of its urban increment. There is thus reason for thinking that immigration in the United States outside of the above states has less to do with populating cities than it does within those states. The facts just presented create a strong presumption that the immigrants largely locate in cities. This presumption becomes all the stronger when we consider the industrial situation. Eelative to that of the six states considered above is there any reason to think that any large portion of their immigrant aliens go into agriculture? All of those states have had their available agricultural land occupied for a long time, and while land changes owners to a limited extent the 92 CONSTKUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY scope of the exchange is too limited to absorb many of the immigrants. N^or is there evidence that immigrants to any considerable extent are purchasers of land in those states. And what is true of the 6 states is only a little less true of the others of the 13 states. Therefore, since the states alluded to manifest nearly one- half of the urban increase of the nation, since they absorb almost as great a proportion of the immigration, since the amount of their immigration equals so much of their urban gain, and since the logic of their industrial conditions js, against the absorption of their immigrants by agriculture, the conclusion must be that their immigrants largely settle in their cities and cause their growth. How nearly is immigration competent to account for that part of the urban increase of the nation which is not covered by natural increase, incorporation, and migration from rural regions? We have found that the three factors have con- tributed to urban growth as follows : — Natural increase, 2,509,000, or 21.6 per cent. ; incorporation, 924,000, or 7.6 per cent. ; rural migration, 3,527,000, or 29.8 per cent. When totaled these contributions leave a deficiency of 4,866,- 000, or 41 per cent, the number of inhabitants necessary to make up the total of urban increase. It was found that the net immigration for the decade was approximately 5,250,000 (Abstract 13th Census, pp. 191 and 215), which is consider- able more than the number needed. The difference, as was stated, settled in rural districts- It is apparent that the method which we have used is scientific and that our results are approximately correct. Neither census nor immigration statistics are absolutely correct, there are many minor modifying factors to be taken into account, so that all we could hope to attain is a close approximation. It is necessary to be reminded that the loss of population which rural districts sustain is measured by the actual migra,- RURAL AND URBAN INCREASE 93 tion from the open country. It is to be understood also that the above computations are based on the distinction the census makes between city and country, namely, that cities are places which have 2,500 or more inhabitants, all other communities being counted country. Thus we find that in 1910 there were 11,784 incorporated places having less than 2,500 persons each with a total population of 8,118,000. In some respects these communities are rural but they are far from being open coun- try districts. Much of the migration to cities is from these small villages and towns and they also in turn receive a large number of immigrants. Consequently the open country has lost a smaller number of persons than our " rural migration " includes. It cannot be doubted that, up to the present time, the pre- ponderating portion of those who have caused " rural de- population " by leaving rural regions have not gone to cities but to other sections of rural United States. The study of interstate migration which took place in the decade ending 1900 amply demonstrates this for that decade. We must let New York represent the industrial and Iowa represent the agricultural type of states. But the author has proven it for other states. (Quarterly Journal, University of North Dakota, Oct. 1910, pp. 65-Y.) It is to be observed that the South Central and South At- lantic states received but a small proportion of New York born; that the industrial states of the North Atlantic divi- sion absorbed the most of that division's share, the cities evidently taking them; that the North Central states which have been building up agriculturally during the nineteenth century and industrially during the last few decades took the largest exodus of any one division, the fair inference be- ing that the migrants chiefly went onto farms, and that in the Western division agriculture and mining took up the larger portion of New York bom. Regarding the 7.4 per cent, and 26.1 per cent, of the state's 94 . CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY population who were immigrants from other states and for- eign nations the rural regions probably took the larger por- tions of the former until relatively recently while the cities have absorbed the immigrants. The constituency of New York City and Buffalo warrant the latter inference. As to the former city, 55 per cent, of the population were bom in the state, 8 per cent, in other states, while 37 per cent, were foreign born. As to Buffalo, the percentages in the same order are 63.2, T.2, and 29.6. Taking Iowa as a type of the state largely agricultural but with considerable industrial development, the following are the data as to distribution of the interstate migration: The divisions which absorbed the Iowa bom to the extent of 25,000 or more are as follows: North Central, outside of Iowa, 387,052, of which Illinois received 48,096 ; Minnesota, 42,0961; Missouri, 52,575; South Dakota, 31,047; Nebraska, 85,807; Kansas, 88,153; South Central, 37,285, and West- em, 115,092. Evidently the migrants went to swell the agri- cultural population of the nation to the greatest extent. With regard to the native bom and the foreign born who settled in the state, a total of 913,476 persons, it is evident that they went into agriculture mostly, since the urban popu- lation of Iowa in 1900 was 16.8 per cent, while these ele- ments make 40.9 per cent, of the state's population. Select- ing Des Moines as a typical Iowa city, the percentages of Iowa bom, native bom from outside Iowa, and foreign bom living in it are respectively 52.6, 34.6, and 12.8. III. SIGNIFICANCE AND CAUSES OF MIGBATION TO CITIES Isolation and Loss of Leadership. — Notwithstanding the fact that the flow of country population to the cities is less than is generally supposed, there may be some important considerations for rural communities involved in the move- ment. However much else may be implicated, the following points deserve attention: RURAL AOT> URBAN INCREASE 95 First, the actual loss of population in itself may not be an affliction to the country. It is rather the results which flow out of this loss which might prove baneful. Second, we may conceive that the country will receive an injury in so far as the supply of subsistence necessary to its existence is cut down. Reflection shows that this injury is more apt to be felt by the people of urban communities than by those of the country, because to lessen rural population is to enlarge the farms, widen the scope of agriculture for those who remain farmers, and to heighten prices of farm produce in so far as the supply of subsistence needed for the nation at large is reduced or menaced. But if the labour supply which is necessary for agricultural production goes to the city, leaving farms untiUed or crops not harvested, the rural region so affected would receive a direct injury. As a matter of fact, the supply of farm produce has not been put in jeopardy in America thus far though there is a decrease in the exportation of the products of the farm, and if it had been jeopardised the farmers who sell would be bene- fited rather than injured. Moreover, if the prices of foods have risen, as they have, it is not certain that any considerable part of the rise is due to the lessening relative rural popula- tion. In so far as rural population touches prices it is by way of the organisation of agricultural producers to regulate market prices for their own benefit. As to the supply of farm labour, it is a fact that many regions of our nation are afflicted with shortages of labourers periodically. But this periodical shortage, while certainly an inconvenience and often a source of loss to the agriculturists involved, must be regarded as but natural, since the demand for labour is on a periodic basis and no provision is made for constant supply of employment or for appropriate social conditions. Third, we may briefly notice the injury to the country arising from the increased isolation of the farm families by reason of loss of rural population. In the older communities 96 CONSTKUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY of the eastern and middle states aird also in tlie newer com- munities of the more western statei^ farm consolidation is proceeding, leaving abandoned homesteads as melancholy re- minders of the former occupants. In the fertile valley of the Eed Eiver of the North many such deserted homesteads may be seen. The country districts are losing, though the counties themselves are gaining population. The farmers have sold out to their neighbours and have gone farther west or north to take up land just as the Iowa farmers and the Minnesota farmers are selling to their neighbours and have gone west to buy land. Professor Bailey regards the lament of the " abandoned farm" as the product of sentiment rather than of reason. He believes farm abandonment is a necessary part of the agricultural shift which is taking place and that it has some redeeming aspects. ^^ However, he overlooks the social isola- tion which may ensue by reason of the elimination of every other country family, probably not great in thickly settled New York state, but considerable in some sections where the farms are already large. A family to the square mile is not conducive to intercourse and sociability of the personal sort, save as automobiles .and other means of rapid transit exist to encourage it. Fourth, the most serious effect of the shift of population from country to city is involved in the loss of leadership sus- tained by rural communities. This will receive special con- sideration in the chapter on education. Ultimate Causes. — Eelative to the drift of population to cities, we must distinguish between the ultimate and the psychological influences. In our inspection of the facts of city growth we found the rate and tendency had been uni- formly manifest from the beginning till now. This forces the inference that fundamental and constant forces of such a nature are at work that we must expect their continuous op- 11 " The state and the Farmer," Chap. 1. EUKAL AND URBAN INCREASE 97 eration. When we look over the whole field of nations, the most advanced in civilisation, we discover that the city trend is universal. Indeed it is obvious that rather than being exceptionally victimised by urban increase at the expense of the country districts the United States has fared well.^^ The forces at work to produce the cityward movement are peculiar to the age in which we live and are essential and intrinsic to it. The United States has escaped their full effect because it has had a vast, free, seductive, and easily worked agricultural domain which has absorbed its own and other nations' fluid populations. We have had other city ages in the history of mankind, but none on such a universal scale, nor any in which in any state the cities were so numerous, so large, or so essentially a vital part of the social mechanism as is now the case. The reason was that the scientific knowledge and technical appli- ances which now create and propel human progress and cur- rents were absent. Our city age is in birth and growth coexistent with the industrial age. Back of this as its pre- condition lies the growing body of exact knowledge in physics, chemistry and other sciences which has been absolutely neces- sary to the mechanical and economic evolution and which created it. Our modem populations are caught in the whirl of a civilisation which rests on scientific and technological principles. These principles logically and inevitably work out along industrial and comjaercial lines, multiplying and refining the goods of the former, and demanding the latter on a huge complex scale for their exchange. Thus the num- ber of city dwellers demanded to carry on these enlarged and rapidly expanding lines of human endeavour constantly in- creases and since the expansion of industry is somewhat in geometrical ratio to the growth of population at large the city population forges ahead of the rural. The agricultural regions also are affected directly by the 12 strong's " Challenge of the City," 20. 98 CONSTEUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY scientific and technical principles and appliances, but liere the results on population are entirely opposite to those in the case of cities. Eor the farmers are producing raw material and as the productive power of labour is increased on the farm more food is produced. People can eat only about so much. The increase in the farmer's productive power enables more people to live in cities, to take part in diversifying the forms of raw material, enhancing their prices, and in exchange and other work. It may even enable the farms to reduce their population, though this is not likely to be the actual case.^^ Being a constituent and intrinsic part of the social process we may not expect the tendency to cease. Rather we must expect the continued growth of science in its principles and applications, of inventions of machines, the multiplication of the forms of goods to be njanufactured, the increased spe- cialisation in vocations, the development of scientific and in- tensive agriculture.^* Psychological Causes — The psychic and immediate forces moving inhabitants to cities are social, cultural, recreational, and vocational. Country life is isolated. Social intercourse is restricted. The moving throng and kaleidoscopic life of cities fascinates and allures. Cities are centres of informa- tion, of thought, of art, of music. The achievements of the ages are condensed and packed in their structures, machines, museums, libraries, institutes, and marts; and the frequent and immediately accessible newspapers effervesce with news of the current cosmos. The productions of the masters in painting, sculpture, and architecture may be seen, and the present masters of voice, interpretation, and instrument are to be seen and heard. Modes of recreation and amusement abound to match the tastes of every class of devotees, no small inducement to those used to isolation and a monotonous round 13 See Chap. 8 for effects of farm machinery on production. 14 Strong, " Challenge of the City," 21-35. RURAL AND URBAN INCREASE 99 of labour. Occupations and pursuits of multitudinous forms to suit the whims, the tastes, and the inclinations of every type of individuality exert their glamour and provide a satis- faction often actually more seeming than real, yet neverthe- less seductive in the extreme. All of these influences com- bined constitute a powerful attraction and suffice to sweep the retired farmer, the ambitious youth seeking to get estab- lished, the occasional worker, and the adventurer, into the whirl of urban life. Remedial Efforts. — If we have succeeded in locating the more important influences which impel men cityward, and if it is worth while to seek to deter the stream of life flow- ing out of rural places, in so far as our analysis is correct we have a clue to the remedial agencies to be adopted. First, since the great population movement takes place in response to the profound forces which are essential and in- trinsic to this age, we might as well expect to dam the Mississippi River to keep back the flow from the gulf as to avert the bulk of population from the cities. Farm col- onies and " back-to-the-farm " movements have very small possibilities as solvents. Possibly some day, as in Belgium, now, cheap transportation and other inducements may enable urban workers to live far out in country regions. But they will not be farmers. Industrial and commercial aggregations are inevitable. We must expect their increase. Our social efforts must be turned to things which may be accom- plished. Second, the second set of causes inducing persons cityward, namely, the social, cultural, vocational, and recreational, in so far as they are not dependent on the first, may be checked by regulation. This may be accomplished by setting up counter- attractions in the country. Country life can be and ought to be improved. Country homes should have the comforts and conveniences of city homes. Farm life can be made more cul- tural and social. Amusements and recreation can be made 100 CONSTRUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY a part of child life as well as of adult. Improvements and mechanical devices can lessen the hardships and drudgery of outside and inside work. Third, rural school life can be reorganised and filled with new content, aims, and ideals so that the youth in training shall come to look upon agriculture as an honoured, useful, and desirable line of life. To make the rural school over is to make over the next generation of country people and to furnish them with a well-equipped leadership of their own. EEFERENCES Bailey, L. H. " The State and the Farmer," Chap. 1. Coman, Catherine. " Industrial Hist, of the U. S.," pp. 243-6. Strong, Josiah. " Challenge of the City," pp. 20-35. Bogart, E. L. " Economic Hist, of U. S.," Chap. 18. EUwood, C. A. " Sociology and Social Problems," Chap. 12. Hartt, E. L. " The New England Small Town," World's Work, June, 1905. Gillette, J. M. " City Trend of Population and Leadership," Quart. Journ. University N. Dak., October, 1910 and March, 1911. Hall. " Immigration," pp. 343-5. Eleventh Census, U. 8., " Population," Pt. I, p. cxxxvi. Twelfth Census, V. 8., " Population," pp. bcxxii, civ, and cbcxiT ; tables 29, 36, 62, 68, and 78 ; and plate ix. Census Bulletin, No. 4> 1903, table xxiii. U. 8. Statistical Alstract, 1908, p. 75. " Report of the Commissioner General of Immigration," 1909, pp. 19- 20; and 1912, p. 129. Abstract of Thirteenth Census. " Cyclopedia of Amer. Agriculture," Vol. IV. Fisher, Irving. " Report on National Vitality;" Jenks and Lauck. " The Immigration Problem." Fairchild. " Immigration." United States Report on Agricultural Cooperation and Rural Credit in Europe. B. H. Hibbard. " The Decline of Rural Population," American Stat. Association, March, 1912. A. E. Cance. " The Decline of the Rural Population in New England," same, March, 1912. Abstract of Thirteenth Census. Volume I, " Population," Thirteenth Census. F. S. Chapin, " Immigration as a Source of Urban Increase," Ameri- can Stat. Association, September, 1914, pp. 223-7. CHAPTEE VI THB SOCIAL KATUBE OF THE EUEAL PBOBLBM There is a consensus of opinion among writers on country life that there is a rural problem. How far the farmers of the nation participate in this belief is undemonstrable. Un- less they believe that there is something wrong with their estate it will be of no immediate benefit to the country for writers to agree. In this case a beneficial change could be produced only by a long and elementary process of education. That the farmers are of the opinion that there is some- thing wrong with the country there are indications. There is a growing interest on their part in the discussion of rural matters. This pertains to more than the consideration of improvement of soil, crops and machinery. The schools and neighbourhood conditions are discussed with interest. This is noted not only in the frequency with which educational subjects appear on the programmes of farmer's meetings but in the marked attention and interest farmers manifest towards the papers and discussions on social subjects. Sense in Which There is a Problem — It would be an error to think that the problem exists because of rural deterioration. There has been no such deterioration in the United States in any general sense. In fact there has been conspicuous prog- ress made by our agriculturists. We have but to compare the present conditions of life on the farm with that of pre- Eevolutionary times to see this. Indeed a comparison with more recent times will prove sufficient. Our contemporaries who were bom in the earlier third of the nineteenth century well remember the hardships, privations, and primitive meth- ods of farming and farm life which prevailed in their youth. 101 102 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY It is one of the glories of the average well settled community that it is better fed, housed, and clothed, and does its work more easily and rapidly than was possible in the earlier period. It is true there has been retrogression in certain communi- ties; also that many communities have failed to make the advance sustained by the agricultural regions generally. Those communities constitute special pathological studies. They are to be located and mapped out in all their conditions just as the sore spots in the cities are now undergoing study with a view to improvement. Certain communities have shown a very recent tendency to deterioration in social matters. This is particularly true of certain regions of fertility and prosperity where the farmers have retired into the neighbouring villages or cities, leaving the conduct of the farms and the leadership of the neighbour- hood in the hands of renters, who may or may not be inferior to the owners in ability and ambition but who, it could hardly be expected, would show the same interest in the up-keep and the upbuilding of the community as the permanent owners. The rural problem is in reality a product of the intellectual faculties. There was no rural problem recognised a few years ago. Conditions in the country have not grown worse since then. Country life was regarded as satisfactory and as well suited to the needs of the farming classes. Then men began to think about rural conditions. Kural education was subjected to a fierce criticism. Persons who had pur- sued courses in rural sociology and the press of the country took up the discussion, agricultural schools responded, farm- ers' institutes were infected, and the President of the United States took the important step of appointing the Country Life Commission. This move of Mr. Eoosevelt itself had an enormous effect. The whole country from Maine to Cali- fornia and from North Dakota to Texas was filled with opin- ions about rural decline. Eventually progressive farming SOCIAIi NATURE OF THE PROBLEM 103 populations took up the discussion of country life betterment. The origin of the problem lay in the discovery that conditions in the country might be improved, that they are not as good as the people living there deserve, that the majority of the ovmers of farms could well afford better things in the home and in education than they support, and that there is no in- herent reason why the farming class may not and should not live as well as people of equal financial ability who dwell in the cities. Dependence of Farm Life Upon Other Activities In considering the nature of the problem of the country we face the fact that the farmer cannot escape being wrapped up with the destiny of the rest of the nation and the world. The discovery of this interdependence and relatedness of farming life to all other kinds of life and to farming life all over the world is a part of the location of the problem. It is in the nature of a revelation to the nation and to the farming class that there is something to do. To put clearly before the farmers that they are on a competitive basis with others of their class in this country and outside, and that they also compete with other classes in given particulars is to state conditions which they must meet. It is no reflection upon the farmer to state that in his out- look he has been an intense individualist. His philosophy of life has been developed from his contact with nature and from his apparent aloofness from the social mechanism. His crops and his stock, his income and his prosperity have seemed to come by the application of his own individual effort to the conditions which the physical environment af- forded. He has been told by party politicians that it was his duty to vote for the traditional party policy, the realisation of the opposing policy meaning disaster. Occasionally he has asked that the government should assist him by means of agricultural schools, or by putting a curb on railways and other corporations. But these appeals, or approaches toward 104 CONSTKUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY an appreciation of his relationsHp to society at large, de- pendence on social conditions, and of a control of his des- tinies through the social organisation have been spasmodic and incidental. They have only partly changed his phi- losophy from intense individualism to one of cooperative effort. He has not believed that any constant, organised, co- operative effort was necessary. Eecently he has been getting a larger view of matters but it cannot be said that he has come into the possession of an adequate and comprehensive view of his social relatedness so that he is able to make use of it. Fanners a Social and Economic Class That the farmers constitute an important and distinct economic and social class, and that they fail to exercise the power and influence for their own and the nation's good which a class of their importance should may be made apparent. Farmers form a very large part of the nation's population. In 1900 there were 10,381,765 farmers and farm labourers. The next largest occupational group comprised a little over seven million workers. By classification of population 44.9 per cent, of all persons in 1910 were rated as rural, that is, as dwellers in the country and in cities of 2,500 or less in- habitants. Measured in terms of wealth agriculturists are one of the most important classes. In 1900 their wealth was estimated at twenty and one-fourth billion dollars out of a total na- tional wealth of 107 billion. The thirteenth census shows a decidedly large increase. The value of farm lands has grown from $13,051,033,000 in 1900 to $28,384,821,- 000 in 1910, an increase of 118 per cent Probably few other kinds of property values can show such an in- crease. There are smaller numbers of people belong- ing to the commercial and industrial classes who by con- trolling the machinery of production and distribution of wealth have come into the legal possession of the SOCIAL NATtJRE OF THE PEOBLEM 105 greater portion of the wealth of the entire nation. The short- sighted policy of farmers relative to political matters has been largely accountable for such imequal conditions. As we shall see later there are promises of improvement. Indeed im- provement has already taken place. Since a class is known by its characteristics and the inter- ests which it holds in common as well as by the function it performs in society, the agriculturists must be reckoned as a distinct class. To them is assigned the specific task of sup- plying the raw materials of food, and, to an extent, of other commodities for the support of society. They extract it from the earth in a characteristic manner which separates them from the vocations of other workers. They have interests which are in common, whether they recognise and re- spond to them or not, and which are peculiar to them as a class. These common interests in agriculture in its broadest sense, in its methods and processes, in its appliances, in its conditions and betterment serve to differentiate farmers from the rest of society. Not that others may not also be inter- ested in these things but only in a remote way. The farmers must know these things thoroughly, are responsible for their continuance, and in their ordering and conduct find their well being and satisfaction in life. Their associations, their organised efforts, their cooperative undertakings, must be built on the recognition of these common interests. Socially the farmer has not been rated as the equal of city residents. He is backward as a social class as measured by class status or social rating. This has long been recog- nised in the caricatures of " country Eheubes " which have appeared in the press and comic papers of the nation. He is represented as rincouth and primitive in his dress, as slow and stolid like the ox, as a gawk, and as generally inferior to city dwellers. He has been caricatured and depicted also in the names which have been applied to him, such as " Reu- ben" or "Reube," "hayseed," "spinach," "clod-hopper." 106 OONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY It would be interesting to know just how far this somewhat- make-believe rating is applied by farmers to themselves. Ex- perience and observation leads us to believe that it is partly accepted and that it is also resented, indicating a certain class consciousness. City men who were farmer boys vividly remember with what dread they entered town, how the city people were looked upon as superior to country people, how they were swelled with importance when they received their first notice from city boys, how there was a state of hostility between country and city boys, a hostility based on a con- sciousness of certain distinct differences in the mode of life. While rivalry and neighbourhood pride existed in the rela- tionships of country commtmities to each other it was of a different sort than that between town and country. It has been a matter of observation in a large number of states that social recognition is sought of urbanites by rural people and that it is hardly ever the reverse. In a well known neighbourhood this was decidedly the case. Country people felt a pride in being given recognition by residents of the town. Coxmtry women drew heavily on the home treasury to cater to guests from the county seat. The senten- tious remark was made of those who associated with urban- ites, " Oh, she is above us now since she is associating vdth town people ! " Dearth of Leadership and Other Problems. — The leader- ship of the rural regions is undeveloped or is largely lacking as compared with what would be expected of such a populous and wealthy portion of the nation. This backwardness in leadership is noticeable in several directions. In the na- tional governmental affairs it would be difBcult to mention a member of the farming fraternity in any branch of the government who stands out as a real leader. But certainly the farming class has something at stake in the conduct of the national government. Its interests in agricultural education, in the price of its products, in the adjustment of the tariff SOCIAL NATUEE OF THE PEOBLEM 107 on farm products, in being consumer of imported goods on ■which rates are levied, in the adjustment of freight rates placed on its output and on the goods it purchases are of the greatest importance. Yet it has rested complacently on the theory that the interests of one class may and will be prop- erly cared for by the representatives of another class. The Labour class of the world gave itself up to the same fallacious theory until recently. It trusted its affairs to the mercies of the classes which made use of it. In European nations and in Great Britain this notion has been superseded by the belief that its own representatives will best serve it in legis- lative and general governmental matters. The numerous la- bour members who sit in national legislatures are a standing testimonial to the changed attitude. In state matters the farmers have a large membership in the legislatures, though their influence is not in proportion to the number of seats they occupy. Too frequently they simply register votes under the leadership of members of other classes. In executive and administrative matters they possess little power. One of the great problems confronting the country, there- fore, is to create the leadership which the economic impor- tance and the populousness of the farmers warrant, to develop the organisation and cooperative ability which the age necessi- tates, and to learn to respect and to esteem itself as a social class equal to other classes. Eor there is no reason to think that in natural ability, in solidity of understanding, and in common sense the farmers are inferior to members of other occupations. Connected with the economic side of farm life is the mat- ter of conducting the farm as a business undertaking. This is seldom done. Farmers are accustomed to let things take care of themselves, to undertake the year's work, the putting in of crops, the breeding of stock, the support of a dairy 108 CONSTKTJCTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY herd on general principles. Little or no record is kept of the items of expense. Memory is trusted to connect the pres- ent undertaking with past erperience. The average agri- cultural undertaking is very similar to sailing the ocean with- out any knowledge of the charts, depending entirely upon the compass hour by hour and day by day to get the ship across safely. Since the farmers are to-day competing with all parts of the world in the production of their crops, stock, and dairy and poultry products they are amenable to the laws of sup- ply and demand and the setting of prices in the markets of the world. They are also competing with other lines of business to get the largest returns out of a given amount of capital. To consider it as a business, to know its ins and outs, to have a complete record of it so as to ascertain its value as a business proposition constitutes a necessity of farming. How to realise it also constitutes a problem. The sociability phases of rural life are of even more im- portance than the material phases. They are related to the latter somewhat as end to means. Without social inter- course the life of the average person would be considered empty notwithstanding the possible largeness of the farm, the great yield of produce, the beauty and fatness of the stock, and the extensiveness of the bank account. If the country is deficient in sociability matters we shall have to regard it as an evil. There are some indications that country life is more nearly stagnant and impoverished in social intercourse than in other directions. Stagnation means that, relatively speaking, rural life does not keep pace with corresponding grades of life in the city. Social poverty involves the thought that the coun- try is really backward in view of the demands and ideals of modem life. Deficiencies in intellectual stimulus and out- look, amusement and recreation, associational and institu- tional agencies, and in education deserve extended considera- SOCIAL NATUEE OF THE PEOBLEM 109 tion. This will be accorded them in succeeding connections. The Pr^er Point of View The drift to the cities has been thought to be the rural problem. The press frequently reports meetings which have been called to combat the urban tendency or to promote the " back to the farm movement." We have noticed this so-called evil in the previous chapter. It was there ascertained that the cities of the United States, in keeping with a world-wide tendency, are absorbing larger and larger proportions of the population of the nation. We investigated the source of the growth of cities and discovered that only about 25 to 30 per cent, of their increase is derived from country districts during the decade 1900-1910 while about 41 per cent, was due to foreign immigration. The movement of population from one farming section to another, especially to regions in process of settlement, has largely ac- counted for the actual and seeming loss of country inhabit- ants in general. It is proper to recognise that there is a considerable move- ment of persons away from farm life. But the subordina- tion of the country to the city in matters of population must be regarded as largely inevitable. This takes it outside the range of being a problem that is pressing on us for considera- tion. The point of view to be supported relative to farm life is not that which undertakes to improve conditions in order to keep people from moving to the cities. It is rather that which seeks to better the rural situation for the sake of those who are to remain in it, to secure for them what of right should be theirs. Kural people are as good as urban people. What civilisation has matured should be theirs to use because they are its heirs and participants along with city dwellers. We must make up our minds that many persons will leave the country for the city and that it is well that they go. The great undertaking is to give country dwellers an insight into the possibilities of rural life and an understanding of con- 110 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY ditions which will enable them to secure for themselves all the blessings and satisfactions which civilisation embraces. And this should be carried out by right of their humanity, not to keep them on the farm. REFERENCES Bailey, L. H. " The State and the Farmer," Part II. Bailey, L. H. " The Training of Farmers," p. 6ff. Butterfleld, Kenyon L. " Chapters in Rural Progress," Chap. 2. Bookwalter, John W. " Rural Versus Urban." Anderson, Wilbert L. " The Country Town." Plunkett, Sir Horace. " The Rural life Problem of the United States." "Problems of Country Life," World's Work, 17:11195. "A Commonwealth Ruled by Farmers," Frederick C. Howe, Outlook, 94:441-50. U. S. Census, 1910, Vol. V, "Agriculture." CHAPTER VII ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PAEM LIFE Were our task merely to build a science of rural sociology a discussion of tlie advantages of farm life might be out of place. A cold-blooded science desires to know the facts, not for utilitarian purposes directly, but in order that they may be given their proper classification and that legitimate scien- tific conclusions may be drawn from them. But in its ap- plied phase rural sociology has a right to consider whether or not rural life is advantageous. It must proceed upon a comparative basis and the only range of comparison is coun- try and city. In nearly every succeeding chapter we shall find it neces- sary to refer to city conditions to discover whether the coun- try is realising all it might realise in some given direction. It may be discovered that some of the advantages of farm life are arbitrary and not intrinsic to it. In that case they are open to attack and may be subject to elimination or re- duction. There are two available methods of discovering the advan- tages and disadvantages of farm life. One is to find what people think they are; the 0|ther is to decide the issue by deliberately weighing the facts in the case. Neither method excludes the other. Both methods are valuable and supple- ment each other. Student Opinions of the Country. — Statements of opin- ions relative to the desirability of farm life have been gath- ered by means of sending out questions to students in educa- tional institutions. Of the two questionnaires available one 112 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY was sent to Cornell University, ISew York, students; the other, to students of the University of North Dakota. Only the salient points gained from the reports can receive atten- tion. The disadvantages which received most attention by North Dakota University students in reply to the question, " Why did you leave the farm ? " were those due to meagre financial rewards, presence of hard labour, and dearth of social and intellectual opportunities. Positively stated, educational and professional aims and ambitions exercised the greater pro- pelling influence away from farm life. The majority of the students who replied were from the country but prac- tically none planned to return. One farmer boy writes that farming is a position of the greatest independence. If conditions were rectified it would be an ideal calling. It offers a place where habits of in- dustry and perseverance are cultivated. A student from town who had lived two years in the country wrote : " I hope that the two years I spent on the farm may never be re- peated." The Cornell questionnaire includes replies from two groups of students ; 68 were city bred but expected to become farm- ers; 193 were from the farm and were studying in the Agricultural College to secure a training which would im- prove their farming operations. The following points in favour of farming received emphasis: Desire to be out of doors, love of nature and of farm life ; belief that it provides an independent, remunerative and agreeable occupation, a healthful life, wholesome family conditions, and opportimi- ties to cultivate the mental and spiritual nature. These questionnaires furnish some interesting facts. First, although North Dakota is an agricultural state pre- dominantly the students of its university commonly expressed a desire to leave the farm or to avoid it. This is a decided ADVANTAGES AKD DISADVA:N^TAGES 113 contrast to the New York replies. In Cornell University both city and country bred students show a strong bent toward agricultural life. Second, the love of nature and out- of-door life is conspicuous in the case of the New York students. This is particularly true of the group of students who came from the farm. Perhaps instruction in the insti- tution had much to do with this. Third, no less significant are the statements of Cornell students of both city and rural groups as to what farming provides. Professor Bailey, who made the study, remarks that the replies of the students from farms upset the widespread notion that the agricultural col- lege educates away from the farm. His remark is true of Cornell and a few other similar institutions, but not of all agricultural colleges, as will be seen in the chapter on rural education. I. ADVANTAGES OF FAEM LIFE A deliberative consideration of the advantages to be de- rived from a life on the farm marks the following important ones: Out-of-Door Life and Health. — We are acknowledging in many ways the advantages to be derived from an out-of-door life. We have open-air schools, open-air cure for tubercu- losis, outings and tramps for nervous break-downs, insomnia, etc. More and more city populations and indoor workers try to get possession of a period of time for recreation and exercise in the country. The construction of extensive parka in cities is a recognition of open-air spaces for exercise and oxygenation. What health experts and city dwellers seek to impress and realise to a degree the farmers, at least the men, and to a considerable extent the women, realise through- out all or the larger portion of the year. If the farming class isi not more robust and healthier than city dwellers it is 114 CONSTKUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY not because of the neglect of the normal use of out-of-door Hfe. The cities tear down the nervous organisation of human beings at a fearful rate. The battering of the nervous sys- tem which takes place through the ears in metropolitan places is prodigious and incessant. To one who has lived away from them for a number of years and returns the clatter and clash, the rush and pandemonium of sound, is almost awful. It represents a Niagara in comparison with the peace and quiet of a mountain vale. Says Eisher : ^ " Observing practitioners comment on the increasing nervous tension in modem life. The rush of the railway train, the telephone, the elevator, are at once an outgrowth and an excitant of this increasing tension. They are life's pacemakers and the pace is ever quickened. The health officer of New York City at- tributes to this severer strain the increase of heart and nervous diseases. It would be interesting to know the relative preva- lence of adult diseases under conditions of reposeful and ex- citing surroundings and occupations, but I know of no investi- gations on this phase of the subject." In other connections he calls attention to the fact that the expectancy of longevity in infancy has increased while that for persons of 60 has de- creased, save for the last few years in Great Britain, where it tends to hold its own. Common observation holds that city conditions tend to tear dovsm and wear out the stock in a few generations, and that country life is conducive to repose and longevity. It is stated that dwellers of London fail to re- produce their stock after the third generation. The general advantage to health to be derived from living in the open country is made obvious by the following statistical consider- ations : 1. The death-rate of rural regions is lower than thai of cities. This is established by the census statistics concern- ing mortality in the registration areas of the nation. Up to 1 " Report on National Vitality," p. 98. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 115 1910 cities of at least 8,000 persons were counted as urban, since 1910 places of at least 10,000 have been so regarded. Upon this basis the death-rate per 1,000 in urban districts for the years 1909 to 1912' inclusive was 15.4, 15.9, 15.1, and 14.7 ; for rural regions it was 13.0, 13.4, 12.Y, and 12.4. The urban mortality average for the four years was 15.2+ ; the rural average, 12.6+, a difference in favor of the latter of about 3.6. On the other hand, within that brief period the cities show a decrease of 1.4 in the death-rate, while the country rate declined but 0.6.^* No doubt a part of urban improvement in this respect is due to increased attention to matters of sanitation, especially to the food supply of in- fants. But unquestionably some of it is to be attributed to the flow of vigorous young men and women from the rural region of both America and Europe to the cities. 2. The death-rate among children for certain diseases is lower in the country than in the city. Since the late census and mortality reports do not give available data on these points, those of 1900 are used. It is seen that the death- rate among urban children under one year of age is from two to over three times that among rural children of the same age, and that for children under five years of age the urban death-rate is almost equally disadvantageous. This is indi- cated in Table 6. TABLE 6 2 DEATH BATE OF CHIIDEEN IN EEGISTBATION STATES (1900) Diseases Cities Rural Parts Under 1 Under 5 Under 1 Under 5 Measles 206.3 151.2 119.3 63.4 Scarlet Fever 35.1 80.6 20.9 40.0 Diphtheria and Croup 180.9 343.8 59.0 1^4.6 Diarrhceal diseases 4,595.9 1,218.0 2,576.6 713.7 Total death rate of white children 18,410.0 5,970.0 11,740.0 3,440.0 la Mortality Statistics, U. S. Census, 1912. 2 Census, 1900, " Vital Statistics," Pt. I, pp. Ixxxiii ff. 116 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Pi-ofessor Mangold writes aa follows : " Danger from con- tagion is much more common in the city than in country districts. Even the most parastaking measures of quaran- tine and isolation will not obviate the differences. The ebb and flow of city population tends to perpetuate disease and to carry it from place to place. Prom these dangers the rural districts are almost immune. The cities likewise offer the lurking germs a better opportunity to hide themselves, and the squalor and poverty of the ' other half ' renders them easy victims of disease. Federal statistics indicate that such children's diseases as diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, and the diarrhoeal diseases are much more frequent in the cities than elsewhere. It has been shown that in Massachusetts measles and scarlet fever are three times as frequent in the city as in country districts, and that in the United States smallpox and diphtheria are twice as prevalent in urban com- munities." The city is handicapped by being dependent upon an im- ported food supply which is subject to deterioration while en route to the city. This is especially true of milk. It is a breeder of diarrhoeal diseases, and sometimes certain con- tagious diseases. City water has commonly been inferior to that in the country. In addition to these causes may be mentioned " deaths from premature births, congenital debility, and similar weak- nesses, which in the cities exceed the rural rate by 60 per cent. ; while deaths from convulsions are 50 per cent, higher." The figures in the above table show that the urban mortality is over 50 per cent, higher for age periods than that of the country. " Our cities destroy three children for every two who die in the country ! " ® 3. The death-rate for the various ages in the registration areas of the United States is higher in urban than in rural districts. This is shown in the accompanying table (Table 7). s nid., p. 38. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 117 TABLE 7* DEATH BATE BT AGE GBOUPS Corrected death rates, per 1,000 population, age groups, U. S., 1900. Per 1000 Population Death rate per 1000 population — Both sexes All Under 65 and Ages 5 5-9 10-14 15.24 25-34 35.44 45-64 over Urban 20.14 60.66 5.43 3.13 6.11 9.19 12.37 26.69 116.63 Rural 13.79 37.12 3.79 2.84 5.51 6.84 7.72 16.16 92.40 This estimate makes places of 8,000 population the divid- ing line between city and coimtry. It therefore includes in " rural " considerable urban population. Since, under this condition, the rural section makes a much better showing than does the urban, it is possible that, could data for exclusively coudtry populations be obtained, the results would be still more favourable. Still another fact is favourable to the ru- ral districts in this respect. The city receives large addi- tions to its population from the country. These new recruits immigrate to urban districts in the prime of life. Since something like 30 per cent, of the growth of cities is accounted for from this source, it is apparent that as a consequence, the urban mortality is lowered in the early adult and later youthful periods of life. The age periods showing ex- ceptionally low rates in the country in comparison with those of the city are those under 5, from 5 to 9, from 35 to 44, and from 45 to 64. In a mortality table which shows mortality rates for these age periods by sex the rates quite generally conform to those in the table given above. But one exception to the generally uniform lower rate for the country occurs. That is in the age periods 15 to 19, and 20 to 24, for females, in which the rate in the country is 0.19 higher than that in the city for the former period, and but 0.01 lower for the latter period.' ■t" Mortality Statistics," U. S. Census Bureau 1911, p. 18. sibid., p. 19, 118 GONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY On the other hand the urban rate exceeds the rural rate in all the other 28 causes. The large excess occurs in the enumerated causes approximately, as follows : Scarlet fever, 50 per cent. ; erysipelas, 100 per cent. ; tuberculosis menin- gitis, 100 per cent. ; cancer, 50 per cent. ; diarrhoea and en- teritis (under 2 years), 50 per cent; appendicitis, 50 per cent. ; cirrhosis, 50 per cent. ; suicide, 50 per cent. ; Bright's disease, 25 per cent Thus it appears that in a general way the greater causes of death in the country arise from exposure, bad water and drainage, epidemic diseases of childhood, mental breakdown due to old age, and perhaps a lack of appreciation of hy' gienic precautions in the treatment of the diseases. On the other hand, the excessive rates in cities would appear to be connected with sedentary occupations and overeating, the so- cial evil, improper food and unsanitary conditions of infancy, and crowd suggestion as seen in suicide. 4. In only eight out of thirty-six causes of death does the country exceed the city vn the number of deaths. These causes are typhoid, malarial fevers, smallpox, measles, whoop- ing cough, influenza, cerebral hemorrhage and softening, puerperal affections other than puerperal fever, and suicide. But since the country has slightly more than its share of all other causes, it is possible that it may have a higher death- rate in some of those cases. The report for 1910 does not give the death-rate for the various causes, but making a rough calculation from the number of deaths under each cause on the basis of the population for urban and rural regions, it appears that in the cases of the eight causes in which the rural death-rate exceeds the urban, the excess rate would be about as follows: Typhoid fever, small excess; malarial fever, 200 per cent. ; smallpox, slight excess ; measles, slight excess; whooping cough, 50 per cent.; influenza, 100 per cent ; cerebral hemorrhage and softening, 25 per cent. ; puer- peral affections other than puerperal fever, slight excess. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 119 5. Differences in death-rate between country and city exist relative to nativity. Negroes appear to be especially suscep- tible to death conditions in cities. This is shown in table 8. TABLE 8 6 DEATH-BATES PEE 1,000 POPULATION, BY EACE, NATIVITY, AND NATIVITY OF PAEENTS, IN COUNTEY AND CITY 1900 Total WMte Negro, Indian & Mon- golian White Native-White Native Foreign born Both Parents native One or both Parents Foreign born Cities . Rural . . 18.6 . 15.4 18.4 15.3 27.6 19.0 18.3 14.9 18.5 17.8 17.5 15.6 19.0 12.7 Earmers and farm labourers register a lower death-rate than any other occupation, except that of boot and shoe work- ers. Contact with Nature — This is closely associated with out- of-door life but it is a distinct concept. We have the thought of the results on the psychical qualities of life which ensue from a close association with the things of the out-of-door world. Love of nature may well be the inheritance of the city-born and city-bred person. But how much such a na- ture would be enriched by a continuous association with the beauties of landscape, the sympathetic friendships of animal friends and dependents, the observations of growing plant and animal life, and the thrill arising from the powerful and spectacular demonstrations of nature's powers in storm and tempest. To the one who has the soul to respond there is no situation which offers a finer satisfaction and a more pro- found feeling of intimacy and kinship with the cosmos than that of being in the presence of springing grass and swelling bud of early spring. These are elements which appeal to the housed-up being and constantly threaten to draw him away to the country. That the advantages of this contact with nature finds much appreciation on the part of those who dwell in the country « Twelfth Census, Vol. Ill, pp. Ivii, Ixx, Ixxiv, and 286. 120 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY is denoted by the replies of the Cornell students who had lived on the farm. Remarking on the replies received from those who expected to farm, the investigator says : " Nearly every one of them gives higher ideals of living as the pro- pelling motive, and these ideals crystallise about two points, — the love of nature, and the desire of a free independent life." '' Greater Exemption from Social Evils — The country is relatively free from certain social evils which beset the cities. 1. The " slum " with its attendant poverty, congestion, bad housing conditions, debauchery and vice is the usual con- comitant of the cities of any considerable size. The country has hardly anything which corresponds to this, although there are occasional small communities which are backward and sometimes vicious. Outside the slum areas of the cities are other large regions where life conditions are but little better, where the population live on the very verge of de- pendency and to be out of work a few days is viewed as a calamity. The general conditions of country life are much better and safer. Only in restricted areas would a crop failure imperil the economic status. 2. There is also the " social evil," preeminently, which exists as a putrid sore in the midst of the average urban com- munity. This scarcely exists in rural regions, at least in the open-air portions. The advantageous position the rural region occupies rela- tive to pathological conditions is made increasingly obvious by comparing it with city populations. 3. Statistics of the number of paupers in the United States are inadequate. The government reports cover those which are inmates of almshouses only. It is well known to charity workers and poor overseers that a very large pro- portion of dependents are cared for under the heading of " outdoor " relief. In many counties of the newer states almshouses have not beeii built. As a consequence relief work 1 Bailey, " The Training of Farmers," pp. 123, 124, 135. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 121 is of the " outdoor " kind. Hence an occupational distribu- tion of paupers in almshouses gives but a partial index of the degree of country and urban pauperism. Yet it is valuable and probably approximately representative of what would be the case if we had complete data. It is found that in the year 1904 " agriculture, transportation, and other outdoor " occupations account for but 23.7 per cent, of all paupers at least ten years of age whose occupation prior to admission to the almshouse was known.* In other words, while the coun- try possesses over one-half of the population, it produces less than one-fourth of the paupers of the nation. 4. No direct statistics of crime as distinctively rural or urban are available. The matter has to be arrived at by indirect methods. While the distribution of prisoners in the penal institutions of the United States is not an absolute measure it is nevertheless a very good indication. We find that agriculture, transportation, and other outdoor occupa- tions furnish but 17.2 per cent, of all male prisoners. When we remember that approximately 54 per cent, of our popula- tion dwells in the open country and in towns of 2,500 or less, and when we make a reduction of 17.2 per cent, because of the amount " transportation and other outdoor " occupations contribute, it becomes evident that the agricultural regions send to prisons a small minimum of what their population warrants. Relative to female prisoners the case is more vague. " All other occupations " in which agriculture is classed furnishes 9 per cent, of all female prisoners. What portion of these hail from the country is not known.^ 5. General and reliable statistics of insanity are few. The national government offers us very little. An inspec- tion of its data for 1880 and 1890 reveals practically nothing 8 Special Census Report on " Paupers in Almshouses," Table XXVII. 8 Special Census Report on " Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents in Institutions," 1904, Tables XXXVI and XXXVII. In the report for 1910, 26.1 per cent, of all paupers in almshouses come from agriculture, forestry, and husbandry. (U. S. Report on Pauperism, 1910, p. 101.) 122 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY on whether country or city is the more productive of insanity. The total number of insane persons enumerated in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Central, South Central, and Western divisions in 1890 per 100,000 population were re- spectively, 238.6, 132.2, 164.8, 95.9, and 194.1; in 1880, 247.5, 151.1, 171.7, 125.7, and 200.8. The agricultural di- visions, except the Western, register a lower rate than city divisions. California's excessively large rate in 1880 and that of California and Nevada in 1890 account for this ex- ception.-^" The census of 1890 shows that there were 1,700 insane persons for each million of the population, while in cities of over 50,000 there were 2,429 insane per million.^^ " The probabilities are that per capita of population there is less insanity in the country than in the city. The report of the New York State Commission of Lunacy for the year 1908 shows that of all those admitted to the state hospitals 76.6 per cent, came from the city and 23.5 per cent, came from the country. From this statement we should expect to find about one-fourth of the patients with each form of insanity coming from the country. Such is not the case. The same report states that ninety per cent, of all the cases of general paralysis or softening of the brain" admitted in that year came from the cities; that 81 per cent, of insanity cases among the men produced by alcohol were from the city, while 96 per cent, of such cases among women hailed from that source. The country produces a larger portion of in- sanity known as " melancholia " and " senile dementia " (in- sanity of old age) than the city.^^ 6. Suicide. — According to the statistics of suicide which 10 Special Census Report on " Insane and Feeble-minded," p. 9, Table IV. 11 C. A. Ellwoood, " Sociology and Social Problems," second edition, pp. 274r-6. 12 " Kural Insanity," E. S. Elwood, Rural Manhood, May, 1914, p. 144. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 123 have been gathered in the registration area of the United States, suicides are much more frequent in urban than in rural communities. A study of statistics shows that suicides are generally about twice as numerous in large cities as in the country. In only one instance, in Ehode Island for 1906, does the country show a larger percentage than cities. It must.be remembered that Ehode Island has very little territory that strictly can be termed rural. Y. Marriage and Divorce. — The census of 1910 has made it possible to compare the country and city relative to marital conditions. Both marriage and divorce are matters of grow- ing concern at the present time. A growing and morally healthy population is dependent on the normal occurrence of marriage. A declining marriage-rate and the postponement of marriage are conditions which provoke anxiety in what- ever nation or community they occur. Likewise an increas- ing or a high divorce-rate are commonly viewed as menaces to society. The accompanying table (Table 9) gives the percentage of males and females who are married in each age-group for urban and rural regions. It shows, first, that as a whole the rural rate exceeds that of the city ; and, second, that in each age-group for both males and females the urban section sus- tains a lower rate. That marriage occurs earlier in the country is indicated by the heavy percentages for the coun- try in the earlier ages. Since the most fecund period for women lies in those ages, the bearing on population increase is obvious. Statistics of divorce for the nation as a whole for country and city demonstrates that the rural districts sustain a lower divorce-rate than do cities. Eecorded on the basis of 100,- 000, the city rate for males is about 503, for females about 724 ; the rural rate for males is about 464, for females about 527.1* la Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 163. 124 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY TABLE 9 " MAKEIAGE KATE IN COUNTBT AND CITY 1910 Males 15 Years of Age aud Over Com- 15 yrs. Age un- munity and over 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-64 65+ known Urban ....54.7 0.7 20.6 59.5 77.5 79.7 64.2 19.0 Rural 56.8 1.4 27.3 66.5 81.0 81.3 66.6 30.8 Females 15 Years and Over Com- 15 yrs. Age un- munity and over 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-64 65-f- known Urban 54.6 7.7 42.4 69.6 75.4 64.1 29.6 33.6 Eural ....63.3 14.3 57.5 81.4 85.6 76.1 39.7 45.1 Out of twenty-eiglit states having city counties but three — l^ew York, Pennsylvania, and Oregon — showed a larger country than city divorce-rate. The same condition has been generally true in the census decades from 1860 to 1900. At the census of 1900, city counties in these typical states showed an excess divorce rate per 100,000 population over rural counties as follows: Massachusetts 20, Maryland 27, Georgia 24, Indiana 99, ITebraska 96, Colorado 49, Wash- ington 104.^^ A further consideration shows that while the increase of divorce rate has been greatest in city counties from 1870 to 1900 there has been a decided growth in that of other coun- ties. i« 8. Special Problems. — The country is exempt from many of the special problems of utility corporations, of capital and labour, although it has its own labour problem, and from psychic epidemics and crazes to which the city is prone. It is beset with less of tendency to competition in ostentatious dis- play which manifests itself in wasteful expenditures of fashion, in riotous feasting and entertaining, and in 1* Abstract Thirteenth Census, p. 163. 15 Special Report on Marriages and Divorce, Vol. I, p. 18. i6/6id., p. 19. ADVAiq-TAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 125 the various forms of conspicuous consumption brought ahout by social rivalry. Greater Possibility of Independence and of Individual Initiative. — Fanning is the freest and most independent of the larger callings of life. This does not mean that the agri- culturist is not under restraint due to the social order. It does mean that he is less beholden to the immediate actions and attitudes, the beliefs, prejudices, and whims of his fel- lows in carrying on his work than most other workers. Given the ownership of his land or the possession as a renter for a year and within the year or years he conducts operations he is largely outside the immediate influences of other occu- pations, or other workers in his line. He is not likely to ejectment and so long as he keeps within moral bounds he is possessor of almost unlimited liberty. Social conventions, political influence, threat of boycott, do not hinder him from undertaking and carrying out the processes of crop or plant culture as he sees fit. What is true of the owner and manager also very largely obtains in the case of the hired labourer. While his tasks are set him from day to day he is usually sent to initiate and execute those tasks alone, and large possibilities of variety in execution and performance are open to him. His position is far different from that of the day labourer working under a boss or an artisan working in conjunction with a machine which constantly impose the exact prescriptions as to how the task is to be carried out. Scope for Scientific and Intellectual Development. — It is often stated that the farmer is favourably situated to com- mand the time and opportunity to become scientifically well informed and mature in his intellectual life. It would scarcely be disputed that the exceptional agriculturist is thus favourably placed. The farmer who has wealth enough to enable him to become manager of his undertaking, employing hired help to do the work, doubtless, if so disposed, would 126 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY be able to carry on experimental work of a very valuable sort. Mucb of our agricultural advance has been brought about in this way. Such a farmer would also have much time for reading and meditation of an advanced sort. The average farmer has little leisure for observation and experiment. He does the larger part of his own labour, his hours are long, and his energies are so spent that he is not prepared to carry on reading or heavy deliberation at night or on Sunday. There are many cases, however, of individ- uals who are situated so that while they are their own work- men and undertakers, they have used the winter months for reading along the lines of scientific agriculture; and in the cropping season they have put into effect the insight they have gained. These men have learned that a larger use of intellect and science in their farming operations shortens their hours of labour, lessens their work, and gives them larger possibilities of scientific and intellectual advance. Many of these men have become leaders of their communities in the associations of farmers and wield an infiuence which makes for progress. It is as great a satisfaction to meet a man of this type as to meet a successful and progressive business man. The same substantial qualities and alertness in a given field are conspicuous. The fact that men of this kind are multiplying augurs well for the future of rural com- munities. Better Conditions for Family Life. — We must recognise the backwardness relative to country homes at the same time we note their advantages. The disadvantages will be pre- sented later. The chief favourable items are the follow- ing: 1. A safe place to rear children. There is relative free- dom from contaminating associations of the more vicious and perilous sort. The country has occasional bad characters. It may have lower ideals in matters of conversation than the best sections of the cities. But it has no festering sores of ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 127 immorality and it is comparatively free from gangs of young criminals who contaminate the play of childhood. Childhood in the country is not subject to the danger of those radical or continuous evils which beset the city. 2. Country home life offers a saner and more practical training for children than does that of the city. One of the recognised shortcomings of city life lies in the inability of the homes to yield the practical training which after life will demand. The schools have been academic. The homes have nothing for the boys to do outside of school hours. Hence one of the newer educational demands has been manual train- ing as a means of giving this practical element. The coun- try boy does not lack here. There is plenty to do. Chores of one sort or another exist to keep him busy during holidays and vacations. These are a very part of the business of farming. They employ the time of the boys, keep them out of evil associations, and secure a valuable factor in train- ing. 3. Training through family cooperation. Unlike the city family, all members of the country family have something to do. In towns probably the eldest girl may participate in the household work. The younger daughters and the sons have practically no household or domestic function. On the farm a division of labour exists, each member taking his or her place as soon as old enough. The institution expands as fast as active members are developed. All cooperate for the common purpose of keeping the institution running. This offers a valuable feature in building the ethical and social .qualities of citizenship, although on a narrow basis. Economic Advantages The decision of the question of whether or not farm life is economically advantageous is dependent on the point of view or the ideal of life which is held ; also upon taking into account whether the masses who engage in farming are, on the whole, better off financially and in getting a living than the masses who dwell in cities. 128 CONSTEUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY A brief discussion of ttese considerations, occurs below under Economic Disadvantages. II. DISADVAJ!fTAGE8 OP FABM UFB The best way to get problems settled is to face all the facts in the situation, however grave and disagreeable. It cannot be denied that farming has its drawbacks. These have been exploited and perhaps may have been exaggerated. The Economic Disadvantages. — Of the 155 replies to the question, " Why do boys leave the farm ? " put to students of Cornell University, 62 said that farming does not pay; there is no money in it. Is this true ? It is true in this sense. There is not the possibility of making the extremely large fortunes that there is in industry or commerce. Farmers as such seldom get to be millionaires and multi-millionaires. There is not the' opportunity for exploitation of other classes that exists — un- fortunately — in the business world. Agriculture is not a business that lends itself readily to amassing large profits through speculative undertakings. Persons viewing farm- ing as a means to gain great wealth in a little time should look elsewhere. However, such ideals of life are low, and it is to be hoped that in the not remote future no line of human undertaking will remain so exempt from state control as to offer such a field. While agriculture does not present the chance to obtain great fortunes in a few years, which is commonly the index of illegitimacy in business, it does promise a comfortable liv- ing for most of those who engage in it ; and a substantial in- crease in wealth from year to year. Occasionally, in portions of our nation, farmers have grown wealthy within a few years. There is no other business which makes as good a living for as great a number as farming. Another side of this matter appears in the perquisites, or what goes along with farming as a part of the living, but ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 129 for whicli country dwellers pay little. No inconsiderable portion of the food on the farmer's table comes from the gar- den, the orchard, the vines, the cow, and the poultry. Not much effort may be made to make these factors earn an out- right income, but they take the place of a large share of the income which urbanites expend for their purchase. These advantages, together with others, are coming to consciousness, and it is apparent in the chronicles of the times that there are multitudes of city dwellers who recognise them and would fain migrate to the country, could the way be made certain. The relative defencelessness of farmers against the en- croachments of other classes is a point made against farm- ing. It is indeed a legitimate objection. To be charged higher prices and interest rates than others pay, to be nu- merically strong and productive of the larger part of traffic for the railways of the nation and yet to have traffic rates imposed at will by railway managers, is certainly disadvan- tageous. In some of these things the farming class is not alone. Most other users of transportation facilites are quite as helpless as to control of rates. Teachers, lawyers, doctors, and others, also, have to bear the same prices for goods in the country towns and villages. Physical Labour. — The hard work connected with farming is often invoked against it. Those who have lived on farms will probably grant that this accusation is true. It obtains for both men and women. As agriculture has been con- ducted, it has been characterised by long hours of labour un- der disagreeable conditions. At times there is likely to be a special rush of work, when everyone, who is old enough to do anything, is drafted ; and the measure of the day is from dark to dark. Such times are seeding, harvesting, haying, and threshing. The appropriate climatic conditions must be seized. Should they pass great loss might ensue. Certain of these times are likely to be strenuous for women. 130 CONSTEUCTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY At those critical points additional farm labour is engaged. This imposes more work in food preparation, waiting on table, dishwashing, and care of sleeping places. Some of the chores may also fall upon the housekeepers to give the men more time in the fields. There are also forms of farm activities which are rated as exceptionally arduous. Such are pitching grain and hay — especially some of the long grasses such as timothy and Ger- man millet; shocking grain; clearing ground of stumps and stones ; husking com, particularly in very cold weather when the hands are checked and sore ; and in household work, wash- ing, ironing, and cooking for large crews of workers. There are frequent disagreeable conditions under which work must be done. Working in the field in windy, dusty weather, when eyes and nostrils are clogged with dust and the skin made to sting by the driving particles is one of the most disagreeable tasks. Frequently the work must be car- ried on under conditions of cold or of rain which make it not only disagreeable but detrimental to health. Then, also, the farmer who keeps some stock and garden has additional labour. The milking of cows, the care of the work- and other horses, the feeding of the hogs, constitute the chores of even- ing and morning which make such a drain on time and energy. It may be questioned, however, if the life of the farmer is at all to be compared for severity with that of the miners, of railway workers, of factory men, — especially in steel and other metal mills — and of teamsters. It is also probable that farmers put in unnecessarily long hours. A tradition has come down from the past that the day must extend from sun to sun or from twilight to twilight The pace is likely to be reduced in proportion to the length of the day. Some farmers work short hours and increase the pace in a corre- sponding measure. They accomplish as much and have a larger leisure. ADVA^-TAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 131 Social Disadvantages The lack of the larger associa- tional privileges is one of the greatest handicaps to agricul- ture. The work of the farm is carried on for most part in isolation. Where a life with social advantages presents it- self farming is likely to become correspondingly distasteful. Much of the arduous labour of the world, such as the under- ground work of mining, is rendered bearable by the presence of other workers. On farms, the times when a number of persons are thrown together, as in threshing, is looked upon as a kind of oasis in an otherwise barren life. Could the work of agriculture be carried on in groups it would no doubt be rendered thereby more attractive. Beyond the isolatedness of conducting the necessary activ- ities, the hours of leisure and rest are deprived of the larger associational opportunities. There are no common lounging places where the workers meet. It takes effort to go to a neighbour's for comradeship when he lives the equivalent of a score of blocks away. The neighbouring of women is there- by restricted. The next door neighbour, where one would like to " run in " for a few minutes daily, is across farms. Social gatherings and places of meeting are infrequent. Few people or none pass the farm. The multitudes of ways and places of meeting of the city are absent. Life seems monotonous, lean, and lonesome to those who love friendship and companionship. Undertakings of the humanitarian and associational sort are almost wholly absent. The chance to shine in society, the opportunity to become famous by acting, speaking, writ- ing, discovering, seem to be in cities. Benevolent and wel- fare work are evidently little called for where people make a living and do not congest in slums. Life does not, on the surface, offer opportunities of fame, greatness, or nobility of character. Personal Characteristics which Come from Isolation. — It is not to be supposed that dwelling apart as farmers do creates 132 CONSTRUCTIVE KTJRAL SOCIOLOGY any inherent or intrinsic differentiating effects in their minds. In constitution and structure the mind of the farmer is not different from that of the urban resident. The framework of the minds of human beings under quite diverse circum- stances remain similar. Ethnologists hold that the minds of primitive peoples are, in constitution and framework, identi- cal with those of civilised taen. It is the divergence in the technique which surrounds and offers opportunity for devel- opment to the individuals of the respective groups which explains the differences of mind. Probably most of the characteristics which obtain among farming populations may be accounted for in terms of isola- tion and occupation. Concerning isolation, we have to deal only with the relative form, and we need not look for the effects which arise from absolute isolation such as is seen in solitary confinement, or in herding often. We have previ- ously noted the opposing views which are maintained as to whether farming communities are more or less addicted to mob-mindedness than those of the city. In cases where they seem to be it is to be explained by the homogeneity of the pop- ulation rather than by its isolation. Among the more unde- sirable traits of farming populations may be mentioned those given by Butterfield, namely, conservatism, and, at times, intense radicalism, deep-seated prejudices, and a tendency to brood over more or less imaginary injuries. The farmer is in direct contact with the operation of the elements of nature and doubtless his mind is influenced by the way the forces work, by the routine of the seasons, the course and force of the winds, the dependence of crops and his prosperity on rainfall and other climatic conditions. Crop failures and poor prices for products often account for changing political views. Dependence on the mechanism of Nature, on the time of the opening of spring and the arrival of winter, on the quality of the season for growing and ma- turing produce, on bounteous yields or failures, all of which ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 133 phenomena are beyond Bis control, is calcnlated to impress the farmer's mind with the necessary order of the universe. It may make him moody, discouraged, pessimistic, fatalistic, and resigned. There is a notable characteristic of farm women which dis- tinguishes them from city women and which may or may not be considered a disadvantage, according to the point of view maintained. It is that she depends less on display in the way of dress, equipage, and house furnishings than on tracing her lineage to some remote ancestor. Her family stock, line, or name is looked to to give superiority in social matters. This characteristic is evidently the result of living where apparel of a rich and impressive nature, or elegant carriage and horses, or exquisitely furnished house have very little opportunity of striking admiration and envy into other fem- inine hearts. Exhibiting the height of a family tree is more possible in the country, and whether or not superior ethically to the other form of ostentation, it at least has the advantage of being more economical. REFERENCES Bailey. " Training of the Farmer," Part II. Butterfield. " Chapters in Rural Progress," Chap. 2. McDougall. "Social Psychology," pp. 335-6; 343-4. "Kentucky Mountaineers and Other Feuds," American Journal of Sociology, y 61. yn ■.1-28; 171-87. Williams. " A Theory of Social Motives," Ihid., Vol. XV: 745-6; 750- 51; 770. Fisher, Irving. " Report on National Vitality." Mangold, G. B. " Child Problems." Twelfth Census, " Vital Statistics," Pt. I, p. xxxiii ff. Twelfth Census, Vol. Ill, pp. Ixxx, Ivii, Ixx, Ixxiv, 262, and 286. "Mortality Statistics," U. S. Dept. of Commerce and Labor, 1907, 1911, 1912. Twelfth Census, Vol. II, pp. Ixxxviii-lxxxix. Special Report of Census OfiSce, " Marriage and Divorce," pp. 9, 18, 19. Special Census Report, " Paupers in Almshouses," Table XXVII. Special Census Report, " Insane and Feebleminded," p. 9, Table IV, 134 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Ellwood, C. A. " Sociology and Social Problems." Blwood, E. S. "Rural Insanity/' Rural Manhood, May, 1911. Special Census Report, " Prisoners and Juvenile Delinquents in In- stitutions," 1904, Tables XXVI and XXVTI. Abstract of the Thirteenth Census. CHAPTEE VIII IMPEOVEMEITT OF AGEICXILTUEAl PEODUCTION The subject of this chapter, from an economic point of view, might include almost everything vchich may be said relative to rural social betterment. It is likely that if all matters of living pertaining to the home, the school, the church, the neighbourhood, to refining tastes and heightening culture, could be improved and put into operation, not only would country existence be raised in attractiveness and satis- faction, but the material gains from the occupation of agri- culture would be significantly increased. Our purpose is to view the matter from the sociological direction and show not only what agricultural improvement consists in, but what it means for the life of civilisation and the farm. I. SOCIOLOGICAL IMPLICATION OF AGEICULTUEE Importance of Applying Social Achievements Sociology considers society in its wholeness, and the acts and work of in- dividuals as influencing the quality of the group or groups to which they belong. It is essentially a value study. Con- sequently rural sociology must consider agriculture on its material side in so far as it is seen to affect the quality of collective life. What it treats relative to methods of farm- ing is in the way of demonstrating the truth of its position that farming can and ought to be improved so that the larger interests of life may thrive accordingly. There is a direct connection between man's inventive pow- ers and social evolution. Man's inventive genius is absorbed chiefly in discovering agencies and methods by means of which the : forces of nature, may be mastered by man and put to 135 136 CONSTEUOTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY work for Mm. From the fact that material civilisation has doubled and trebled during the last hundred years, we may also conclude that the ratio of the increase of civilisation bears some proportion to the cultivation of the inventive pow- ers and of their application to the control of nature. If the essence of society consists in achievements, this becomes quite apparent. Achievements are ways or means of accomplish- ing things. They are not material but ideal, and consist of the plans or intellectual principles according to which ma- terial and other instruments are built. Civilisation consists of all these ideal existences. Material inventions are not the only achievements. Others are seen in political or governmental devices, those which consist of plans for regulating the actions of men by collective action; social devices for amelioration by private enterprise ; literary devices as seen in plans for articles and books ; and so on. But while all are important, their influ- ence in changing conditions of life and in producing progress are far less than the inventions which are directed to the con- trol of nature. The civilisation which may be roughly termed " spiritual," consisting in the speculative and dog- matic elements, are conditioned by the others. They do not change fundamental situations of life as do the others. Com- pare Oriental society where philosophy and faiths have flour- ished for ages, as never in the western world, with western society after the invention of the railway. The former has remained inert and passive. It seems powerless before the advances of the Occident, notwithstanding the hundreds of millions of people whom it includes. The amount of subsistence of a given region increases with the improvement of scientific methods. As an illustration of this let a comparison be made of the population any one of our states or the whole United States could support pre- vious to the settlement by Europeans and what they support now. The aborigines who inhabited America were in a stage IMPROVEMENT OF PEODUCTION 137 of barbarism, and upper savagery. They bunted, fisbed, and pursued crude methods of agriculture. It is estimated that the total population of the United States amounted to between one and two million people. Not a very much greater popu- lation could have been sustained with the methods in use. Where then a few thousand souls resided we now count our people by the million. This has been made possible by util- ising the land and resources in a closer and more intense man- ner. The increase has come about through the progress which has been made in applied science, particularly in scientific agriculture. Our population has abundant room for growth when we become scientific in our agricultural methods. Each farmer will farm less land, but he will raise as much as now and several agriculturists will live and work where now there is one. Granting that the preceding statement is true in es- sential characteristics, it becomes evident that the social ad- vance of rural regions is, to an important degree, dependent on the progress of their material conditions. Other things being equal, the community which manifests most vigour and progress in improving its methods of production, will also be likely to show the greatest vigour and vitality in promoting its general social welfare. The " sinews of war," the sub- stance and means necessary to develop a high grade of school, of church, of culture, and entertainment, must come out of the soil; and it is the scientific and progressive community which comes into possession of those means. Benefits of Improved Foods — Besides affecting his own , immediate group welfare, as well as his own, by the amount and quality of his production, the farmer also touches the health and vigour of the larger social world in these matters. ^ He should be well informed on food values because he is in the business of supplying food for the sustenance of the world. " He is preeminently the purveyor of the race. If the ma- terial which he provides falls below normal, the race to a 138 COl^STRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY proportionate degree loses in vitality. If he maintains the integrity of the elements in his products, permanency is se- cured. If he increases the nutritive value of his food sup- plies so that when prepared for the table they will afford so many more units of what is best for the body, so many more of muscular strength, so many of vitality, then he is leading the world upward in the betterment of his crops." Men are now engaging in the study of foods with great zest. In nearly all institutions of higher learning attention is given to it. " Scientific men, realising not only that great additions to human knowledge should follow researches along this line, but that out of the investigation should come vast good for the race, have followed these lines of work with keen interest. To-day the results of these investigations may be the prop- erty of the tillers of the soil." ^ The economic results of food value improvements should be considerable to the farmer. And better foods must prove conducive to the lessening of dyspepsia, indigestion, and all ailments which flow out of poor foods. This would wonder- fully increase the sum of happiness of the human world. II. PEACTICSAL IMPOKTAKCE OF PE.OBLEMS OF PEOBUCTION Contributing Causes. — The question of the improvement of agricultural production is worthy of consideration, not only because it is the basis of the well being of farm fami- lies and neighbourhoods but because it has a national signifi- cance. This larger import of the subject has become con- spicuous because of two fundamental considerations. First, because of the decrease in the amount of food exported from the United States covering a number of years and because of the more recently appearing importation of food stuffs from outside countries. We still export large quantities of food stuffs, such as lard, cured pork, fresh fruit, especially apples, corn, wheat, and flour. Pork, com, and lard exports 1 Harwood, " New Earth," Chap. 14. IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTION 139 have about held their own during the last decade up to 1912 ; the exportation of apples has increased enormously; but that of beef, wheat, and flour has fallen off heavily.^ When we survey the whole field of the world's population and production, and more especially the growth of popula- tion, of urbanisation, and the practical exhaustion of avail- able and cheap land in the United States, one thing becomes evident. It is clear that the United States is unlikely to be- come again as great an exporter of food stuffs as it has been in the past, and that only a revolution in the process of pro- ducing articles of food on the farms can avert a further de- cline in the amount of food stuffs sent out of this country. Second, the steady heightening of the cost of living, and particularly of the prices of the foods on which the majority of the population depends has emphasised the importance of agricultural production. Prices have risen about 50 per cent, in recent years and all persons of small incomes feel the pressure. This elevation of prices is a world phenomenon and the people of the United States suffer along with those of other advanced nations. Relative to articles of food, prices have advanced between 1900 and 1910 40 per cent, for the United States, 28 per cent, for Germany, 35 per cent, for Austria, and 45 per cent, for Canada, The wholesale prices on forty-seven articles in the United States advanced from index number 88 to 115 between the years of 1896 to 1912. That the cost of living may not yet have attained its great- est heights is obvious when it is remembered that the index figure stood at 152 in 1873.^ Relative to consumers, the retail prices are better indexes of the cost of living than are wholesale prices. The retail price index on 15 essential articles of food in the United States from 1893 to 1911 is shown in the accompanying table (Table 10). 2 "Year Book," Dep. of Agriculture, 1912, pp. 22-5; and 712 ff. 8 Sci. Amer., March 21, 1914. 140 COlfSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY TABLE 10* BETAIL PRICES, TTNITED STATES, 1893-1911 Articles. 1893 1911 Sirloin Steak 99.4 132.8 Round Steak 98.5 149.6 Eib Roast ' 98.4 137.4 Pork Chops 105.0 155.4 Smoked Bacon 108.9 187.8 Smoked Ham 107.1 150.9 Pure Lard 119.2 141.3 Ham 104.3 142.9 Wheat Flour 95.1 129.5 Corn Meal 104.0 151.9 Fresh Eggs 105.5 207.3 Creamery Butter 108.6 159.5 Irish Potatoes 111.8 159.0 Granulated Sugar 102.6 118.2 Fresh Milk 100.5 135.00 Average 104.6 150.6 Changes in Relation of Production to Population What has been said on the decline in the exportation of food stuffs implies that there has been a change in the relation between population and food production in the United States. But that the population has been growing faster than food production has increased is seen in the fact that, be- tween 1900 and 1910, the increase in the acreage of the crops grown was but 10 per cent., while the population of the nation increased about 21 per cent., over double the rate of acreage growth. During the same time there was little or no increase in the average production per acre, although the acre yield of some agricultural commodities enlarged. The production of cereals increased over 2 per cent., wheat acreage declined about one-sixth, and cattle and sheep fell off in large numbers. « Retail prices, 1890-1911, Bui. U. S. Bureau of Labor, Whole No. 105; Pt. II, No. 1, pp. 351-358. IMPEOVEMENT OE PRODUCTION 141 The causes of the relative decline in production are sev- eral: Eirst, the tremendous speed with which urbanisation is proceeding. The facts and figures demonstrating this process were given in a previous chapter. This is probably the great fundamental cause of the relative overtaking of food production by the national population. Based, as it is, on increasing industrialism, which in turn is dependent on the developing scientific and technological processes, so far as we can now see, there appears to be no sufficient checking or re- versing device available. Second, subordinate causes are: (a) The practical exhaustion of easily farmed and cheap public lands. As will be observed, when we come to discuss the amount of available land, the United Staties possesses an abundance of unsettled land which is more or less tillable. But much of this area will require capital to develop it and the expenditure of energy and labour far in excess of that which has been spent on the rich open prairies of the central part of our domain. (b) Immigration. We are acquiring population from out- side peoples at a prodigious rate. Erom 1904 to 1913 there entered our ports 8,903,460 immigrants. Estimating that but 60 per cent, of these became permanent residents, such bona fide settlers amounted to 5,340,076. It has been shown that immigration checks the increase of the native stock but it cannot be demonstrated that our population, had no immi- grants come to our shores since the founding of the nation, would have been as large as it is to-day. And since by far the major portion of immigrants settle in cities, immigra- tion adds to the population food consvimers rather than food producers. (c) Migration to cities from the country. This is a part of the process of urbanisation to be sure. But as in the case of immigration it adds to the consumption side of the bal- ance. It is particularly effective in changing the relation of 142 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY population to production because it transforms those wko otherwise would be food producers into food consumers. (d) Failure of agriculture to improve its processes in keep- ing with the growing demand for food. Notwithstanding the fact that potentially agriculture is able to respond to heightened demands for food by the application of the demonstrated improved methods of farm production, and that in certain states and articles of production notable increases have occurred, the opposing fact remains that, as a whole, the yield of food articles per acre in the United States has not materially advanced. III. ILLUSTEATIONS OF GAINSi FEOM SCIENCE APPLIED TO AGEICULTtTRAL PEODIJCTION' General Increase in Production. — The apprehension that our nation will soon become dependent on other nations for food supplies has been alluded to in an early chapter. This apprehension has as its foundation the decreasing exports from this country of food stuffs, the probable increase of population in the next few decades, the rise in prices of food, and what is termed the defertilisation of the soil by poor methods of farming. If we may trust the statements made by governmental experts in agriculture there exists no immediate need for this apprehension; although there are profound reasons for inculcating a widespread knowledge of more intelligent methods of production. " There has been an almost constant increase in the aver- age production per acre of all of the principal crops in the United States during the last twenty years. This does not appear in every state for all varieties of crops, but it is par- ticularly noticeable in the great staples. For example, dur- ing the twenty years from 1886 to 1905 the average produc- tion of com per acre increased at a rate which quite or very nearly equalled the actual increase of population in ten states ; the average yield of wheat per acre increased more rapidly IMPROVEMENT OF PEODITCTION 143 than the population in twenty-two states ; oats, sixteen states ; barley, fifteen states; rye, twenty-one states; buckwheat, eighteen states; potatoes, fifteen states, and hay, twenty-five states. . . . The failure of the increase in the cotton and tobacco crops to keep up with the increase in population is due more to the disposition, of the growers than to the condi- tion of the soil. . . . " A marked change ''n the production per acre of all crops appeared in the decade 1896-1905 in comparison with the mean of the preceding ten years. The production per acre of com increased 7.Y per cent. ; of wheat, 6.3 per cent. ; of oats, 15.6 per cent. ; of barley, 11.1 per cent. ; of rye, 21.3 per cent. ; of buckwheat, 23.1 per cent. ; of hay, 22 per cent. ; of potatoes, 15.3 per cent. ; of cotton, 3.8 per cent. ; and of tobacco, 5.2 per cent." Prom 1906 to 1909 weather conditions were unfavourable to a few crops. " In the case of other crops the mean pro- duction per acre continued to show large increases, the mean of these four years over that of the preceding ten years being an increase of 7.1 per cent, for com, 9.6 per cent, for wheat, 6.5 per cent, for rye, 6.6 per cent, for buckwheat, 15.5 per cent, for potatoes, and 9.7 per cent, for tobacco." ^ Cooperative Demonstration Work Advances in yields of crops have been due to enlightened methods of production. The Bureau of Plant Industry of the national Department of Agriculture in 1904 inaugurated in the South what came to be called The Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work. This has been extended to other parts of the nation since then. The cooperation is chiefly between individual farmers and the Government, although it also obtains between farmers. " An agent goes into a territory and seeks a hard-working farmer, who, like his neighbours, fails from year to year in his crop. He persuades this man to sign a contract to work 5 Quoted by Wm. E. Curtis in the Chicago Record-Herald, March 4, 1911. 144 CONSTRUCTIVE EUHAL SOCIOLOGY a small portion of his farm, usually an acre, according to Grovemment directions. This plot is called a ' demonstra- tion farm,' and the farmer who cultivates it according to agreement a * demonstrator ' or ' cooperator,' . . . By his o"wn work on an acre of ground under the scientific instruc- tions of the Government, the man's life has been transformed, the lives of his children lifted to a higher plane, and condi- tions controlling the industry he represents made new for all time. The reason is plain. The acre which during the thirty years of his farming has never before produced more than fifteen bushels of corn, or one-fourth of a bale of Cotton, has now produced seventy-five bushels of com, or a bale of cotton. In some cases the sale of seed from this one acre will finance his entire crop the following year." The general results of this cooperative plan and of im- proved methods of farming are impressive. " The Demonstration Work extended over 53,436 acres cultivated in cotton and 39,058 in corn. The cotton repre- sented an increase of about 13,750 bales and the com 609,304 bushels. If the cotton averaged $60 a bale and the com 80 cents a bushel, the gain on the former was $825,000 and on the latter $486,643.20, a total of $1,311,643.20. A large number of cooperators and demonstrators made no report upon which accurate statistics could be based, and the gain here shown is estimated to be about one-third of the actual gain, which means that nearly four million dollars above what they are accustomed to make went into the pockets of the farmers who used the Demonstration methods last year. And this does not represent the whole gain, because the cost of production was less. . . ." ® Soil Improvement. — Although some agricultural experts have gone on record against the use of certain kinds of fer^ tilisers there can be no question that, in general, fertilisers must be regarded as necessary to recoup land that has been » Review of Reviev>», November, 1910, p. 570. IMPROVEMENT OF PRODUCTION 145 farmed for a long time, especially average land. The per- centage of organic matter and of certain very essential inor- ganic substances, such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and perhaps lime which were in the soil originally, is grad- ually reduced under incessant cultivation. The restoring to the soil of these organic and inorganic elements is as neces- sary to continued production as is the renewal of the circu- lation of the air in rooms inhabited by human beings. One method of renewing soil fertility is the use of stable manure and waste part of the crops that are raised. But since much of the produce is sent to market it is evident that only a part of the properties of the soil which appear in crops is restored to it by manure and rotting stalks. An- other method of restoring soil fertility is the rotation of crops. One kind of crop paves the way for another crop by depositing in the soil the properties that are demanded by the succeeding one. The difference of habits of plants in their root growth and their varying immunity to diseases and insects make successive plant culture desirable. Especially plants which are adopted to capture the nitrogen of the free air and store it in the soil, such as the legumes, are requisite agencies of soil rejuvenation. Still another method of restoring soil fertility is the use of commercial fertilisers. " There has been a disposition on the part of many farmers to regard fertilisers only as stimu- lants, due to the irrational use of certain materials, but a good commercial fertiliser is a carrier of some or all of the necessary elements that we find in stable manures. They may carry nitrogen, phosphoric acid, or potash, — any one or two or three, — and the three are the constituents that usually are lacking in available form in our soils. Examples of the best modern skill in farming may be found in the national selection and use of commercial fertilisers." '' A further method of soil restorative or proper soil oxy- T Agee, " Crops and Methods, of Soil Improvement," p. 10. 146 CONSTEUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY genation is that of drainage. " If the water from rains is held in the surface by an impervious stratum beneath, it is idle to spend money in other amendments until the difficulty respecting drainage has been overcome. A water-logged soil is helpless. It cannot provide available plant food, air, and ■warmth to plants. Under-drainage is urgently demanded when the level of dead water in the soil is near the surface. The area needing drainage is larger than most land-owners believe, and it increases as soils become older." ® Scientific agriculture depends on the testing of soils by ap- propriate methods to determine the constituents. Soils dif- fer as to their properties, a given soil being poor in lime, or phosphoric acid, or nitrogen or potash or other elements. In order to rectify the particular impoverished condition scien- tific tests are requisite. Thus the litmus paper test is an available one to determine the sufficiency of lime in the soil. Tests of other kinds are requisite for the different properties or kinds of soils. Agricultural experts advise farmers to conduct some fertil- iser tests for himself because only the soils themselves are able to make an adequate reply as to what soil constituent is lacking. The tests should be made under evenness of condi- tions and should cover a period of years. " There are only three plant constituents to be tested, but they must be used in combination as well as singly. A soil that is deficient in the three may not give any return from potash alone, and usually does not, although it may give a marked increase from use of phosphoric acid alone. The plats may be eight rods long and one rod wide, containing each one-twentieth of an acre, and having strips two feet wide separating them. The accompanying chart (Table 11) suggests quantities of fertilisers to be used on the one-twentieth acre plats, 10 in number. But one or two examples can be given of the efficacy of 8 Agee, " Crops and Methods of Soil Improvement," p. 12. IMPROVEMENT OE PRODUCTION 147 fertilisers in increasing production. The matter is so well attested that little demonstration is required. The Cornell station reports an illustration of the value of manure and commercial fertilisers applied to land that had a lime deficiency. " The soil was once a fertile loam that had become very poor. A part was given an application of lime and similar land at its side was left unlimed. The land without lime and fertiliser of any kind made a yield of 1,824 pounds of clover hay per acre. A complete fertiliser on the unlimed land made the yield 2,235 pounds, and 15 tons of manure on the unlimed land made the yield 2,091 pounds. Where the lime had been applied, the unfertilised land yielded 3,852 pounds per acre, the fertilised, 4,085 pounds, and the manured, 4,976 pounds. The manure and fertiliser were merely inactive in the soil, e.g., soil that lacks a proper amount of lime. " The lime enabled the plants to obtain ben- efit from the plant food." ® The practical importance of the use of legumes to enrich the soil is observed in the report of the Nebraska Agricul- tural College : TABLE 11 10 FEETILIZING ELEMENTS FOE EXPERIMENTAL PLATS Nothing 5 pounds nitrate of soda 18 pounds 14 per cent, acid phosphate 4 pounds muriate of potash Nothing 5 pounds nitrate of soda 18 pounds 14 per cent, acid phosphate 5 pounds nitrate of soda 4 pounds muriate of potash » Agee, " Crops and Methods of Soil Improvement," pp. 16-17. lo/ftiA, pp. 167-8. 148 CONSTETTOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY 18 pounds 14 per cent, acid phosphate 4 pounds muriate of potash 5 pounds nitrate of soda 18 poimds 14 per cent, acid phosphate 4 pounds muriate of potash Nothing " Reports from thirty-one ISTebraska farmers from 1906 to 1908 show that they had an average yield of thirty-four and one-half bushels of com per acre on land before seeding it to clover and alfalfa and sixty-eight and two-tenths bushels when the field was ploughed up and again planted to com. Cooperative fertiliser tests carried on by this department on Nebraska farms show that the plots which were not treated averaged twenty-five bushels of com per acre, while the ones to which barnyard manure had been added gave an average yield of thirty-six and one-half bushels." Elimination of Pests. — The United States Government De- partment of Agriculture has developed what is termed the science of parasitology. It has discovered that plant pests may be combated by means of parasites which naturally prey upon them. By cooperation with the Government farmers may secure relief from the disasters of particular pests whose parasitic enemies have been definitely discovered. The San Jose scale has been successfully combated by the importa- tion of a red and black lady-bird from Australia, the Noviris Cardinalis, thus saving the orange crops of California. The boll-weevil, the fatal enemy of the cotton plant, is being com- bated with considerable success by an ichneumon fly which was the natural parasite of the rag weed weevil. By the destruction of adjoining rag weeds at the proper season the fly is made to deposit its eggs in the boll-weevil, with the re- sult that from thirty to sixty per cent, of the pests have been destroyed where the work was carefully done. The Hessian fly has been reduced by furnishing a sufficient supply of its IMPROVEMENT OE PRODUCTIOI^ 149 parasite, a winged midget known as Polygnatus. Parasites to successfully oppose the ox warble, the chinch bug, the flour moth, the army moth, the striped cucimiber beetle, the home- breaking moth, the peach tree borer, the house fly, and other pests remain to be discovered. The enormous losses sustained from the operation of va- rious pests may be seen from this statement of their annual depredations made by the United States Department of Agri- culture, Table 12. TABLE 12 LOSS FKOM rnSBCTS Cereals $200,000,000 Hay 53,000,000 Cotton 60,000,000 Tobacco 5,300,000 Truck crops 53,000,000 Sugars 5,000,000 Fruits 27,000,000 Farm forests 11,000,000 Miscellaneous crops 5,800,000 Animal products 175,000,000 Natural forests and forest products 100,000,000 Total for the United States $795,100,000 The annual value of all the products in these lines when the estimate was made equalled $5,551,000,000. The loss in those lines runs from ten to fifty per cent. This takes no account of the loss of employee's wages, that arising from at- tempted protection, injury to enterprises, and other items. '^ Benefits from Improved Farm Machinery We shall else- where consider the benefits, in certain aspects, to be derived from the use of machinery on the farm. In this section our attention will be confined to the gains to production which its larger use entails. By means of the investment of capital in the fbrm of machinery the time and attention of a man is made doubly 11 Harwood, " The New Earth," p. 101. 150 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY or trebly productive. In agriculture this has been mani- festly true in the case of several, if not all, machines which have been devised for farm use. Perhaps the invention and adoption of the harvesting machine exemplifies this as forcibly as any other. This invention opened up the prairies of the West to cultivation and moved the tide of civilisation across the continent towards the Eockies decades and per- haps generations earlier than otherwise could have been the case. JSTo doubt other implements, such as the improved plough, the cultivator, the drill, the thresher, and so on, have a share in this notable triumph. But it is readily seen, that in the use of the old form of harvesting and winnowing by means of the cradle and flail the labour of multitudes of our population would have been consumed which was actually released for further production. The extent of the economies effected in production under the era of machine agriculture is thus stated : " To illustrate this, it is only necessary to state that in 1830 it required over three hours of labour to raise one bushel of wheat while in 1896 it required ten minutes, making a saving in the cost of labour in one bushel of wheat equal to the difference between 17% cents and 3^/2 cents. In 1850 the labour represented in a bushel of corn was four and one-half hours, while in 1894 it had been reduced to forty-one minutes. In 1860 the labour in one ton of hay in bales represented thirty-five and one-half hours, while in 1894 this labour was reduced to eleven and one-half hours, or from a cost of $3 in labour to $1.29." As late as 1845 the people of the United States did not raise enough wheat for bread. " With the advent of the steel plough, the seH-binding harvester, and the steam threshing machine there was a marked change in the producing power of the American people. The food supply increased from 4.33 bushels of wheat per person in 1845 to 5.5 bushels in 1859, 7.45 bushels in 1869, and became as high as 10 bushels IMPROVEMENT OF PEODUCTION 151 in 1889." At the same time the country lost in population relatively, 33 per cent, being on farms in 1900. The farm- ers produced enough food for themselves, for the other 67 per cent., and exported $960,000,000 worth in 1904. The larger part of this was due to improvement of farm ma- chinery. " A 110-horse-power machine ploughs, sows, and harrows at the same time a strip 30 feet wide at the rate of three or four miles an hour, turning over the soil at the rate of 80 to 100 acres a day, or under favourable conditions 10 to 12 acres an hour. It thus performs work which ordinarily re- quires 40 or 50 teams and men.^^ The adoption of tractors on the farm is regarded as not only desirable but economical. Light motor tractors for all sorts of farm work, from ploughing in the field to hauling a load of hay to market, are among the novel developments in power vehicles for industrial purposes. A net saving of more than $100 a month with one of these tractors is re- ported. The same amount of work was performed with a three-ton farm tractor as could be done with four wagons and four teams. The original investment in the tractor was $2,500 as against $1,808 in the wagons, horses, and eight sets of harness, showing an initial extra expense of $692. The total cost of operation and maintenance of four teams and four wagons is given as $424.73, while that of the tractor was actually only $321.29. This shows a net saving of $103,44. At this rate the difference in original investment would be wiped out in less than seven months, and at the end of the first year there would be a clear profit of $549.28 over and above the difference in the first cost. In two years the tractor would pay for itself in the saving in cost of opera- tion and upkeep. Abundant promise of a wide and successful application of 12 " Farm Machinery as Labour Saver," C. J. Zinthes, " Encyl. of Amer. Agr., I, pp. 208-209. 152 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY electricity to the needs of the farm is held out by agricultural engineers. The farmer is a large user of power ; he employs more implements and a greater variety of mechanical de- vices than anybody else. But until lately his unf amHiarity with power apparatus and the machinery manufacturer's unfamiliarity with farm methods and needs have stood in the way of an adjustment advantageous to both sides. This difficulty is now in a fair way of being overcome. Isolated plants, comprising complete outfits driven by gas engines, are now on the market and are being widely intro- duced. Several central-station extension systems have been established in middle Illinois, from which electricity is being sold to farmers at the same rates as prevail in neighbouring towns. The day is at hand when a liberal supply of both light and power will be at the farmer's disposal. A speaker at a recent national meeting of engineers made the predic- tion that the farmer of the future would make his switch- board his general headquarters. In these circumstances the contention is properly made that agricultural colleges should take a more progressive stand as regards the increasing use of electrical appliances on farms and should make agricultural engineering a more important feature of their curricula. Progress in farming and the im- provement of the rural districts both depend in increasing measure on the recognition of this need. Other Examples. — Interesting facts exist to indicate how other items of farm production may be bettered. New York State Agricultural College investigations have demonstrated that by " weeding out " inferior cows the returns from a herd was more than doubled; which, if extended over the state of New York would register a net increase to dairymen of $60,840,000 a year. Its investigations in butter-making indicate that the creamery business can be made much more profitable, increasing the moisture of butter from that of 9 per cent, to 14 per cent. ; that poultry-raising can be profitably IMPEOVEMENT OF PEODUCTIOE" 153 improved; and that beneficial results of a decided nature arise from agricultural surveys. Irrigation, conservation of moisture by special methods or " dry farming," the drainage of swamps, and of low wet land to increase the yield, co- operation for the destruction of weeds, the destruction of rats the loss from which is said to be greater than from all other injurious mammals combined, the conservation and pro- tection of useful birds, the treatment of special diseases of plants and of animals, are other items which the progressive farmer must consider in order to guard and advance his pro- ductive power. REFERENCES Weber, H. J. " Some Facts Concerning the New York State College of Agriculture.'' Ithaca, N. Y., March, 1910. Bulletin of the Agricultural Experiment Station of Neiraska, Vol. XXIII, Art. VII. Wallace, Alfred. " The Wonderful Nineteenth Century." Ward, Lester F. " Pure Sociology." Harwood. "The New Earth," Chap. 14, and p. 101. Chicago Record-Herald, March 4, 1911; and February 3, 1911. Review of Reviews, November, 1910. "Making Good Farmers out of Poor Ones." Adams, S. H. " Warring on Injurious Insects." American Magazine, July, 1910. Alva Agee. " Crops and Methods for Soil Improvement." Abstract Thirteenth Census. United States Bureau Labor Report, Whole No. 105; Pt. II, No. 1. Sci. Amer., March, 1914. "Year Book," Dep. Agriculture, 1912. Sci. Amer., March, 1914. The following Farmers' Bulletins of the U. S. Dept. of Agr. afford much valuable information: Farm machinery and fuel, Nos. 268-9, 277, 303; Soil and soil im- provement, Nos. 44, 77, 187, 245, 257, 266, 323, 326; Diversification, Nos. 242, 299, 310; Insect enemies, and helpful birds, Nos. 54, 79, 132, 145, 283; Diseases and pests, Nos. 28, 91, 297. Ingersoll, Ernest. " Animal Competitors." Sturgis & Walton Co., N. Y. 1913. CHAPTEE IX IMPEOVEMEWT OF THE BUSINESS SIDE OF FAEMING I. FAUM MANAGEMENT The statements which, were made in the first part of the preceding chapter to demonstrate the social bearing of the increase of production need not be repeated here. It will be sufficient to remark that the business side of farming may prove to be an indispensable factor in bringing about any great advance in agricultural production. It affords a field for the exercise of brains. Foresight, acumen, and broad in- telligence are primary elements in making agriculture a busi- ness as well as a science. Some of the phases of farm man- agement appear identical with those of scientific production and the use of machinery which were previously considered. Organisation of Factors of Production. — An important field of farm management is the organisation of the various factors to be used relative to each other. This includes, first, the proportion in which the factors of production shall be brought together. That means the " quantities of labour and capital-goods which should be expended upon a given area of land, the quantity of labour which should be associated with a given quantity of capital-goods, and the quantity of land, labour, and capital-goods which should be put under one man- agement in order that the best results shall be attained." Second, the qualities of the above factors, of land, labour, and capital-goods, must be considered. The manager of the farm must determine what grades of land, labourers, horses, ma- chines, and so on should be associated together. The farmer and farm manager, whether they are combined 154 IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSINESS SIDE 155 in one person or are separate functionaries, must view the undertaking of running a farm just as a banker would view a project of banking or a manufacturer would look upon pro- spective or actual manufacture. These individuals would look upon the respective business as an investment for their capital and ability. The business must be adjusted to the size of the field, and its different branches must be prosecuted on the exact scale, in that proportion relative to other branches, which will realise the largest return on the investment. The average farmer certainly has not viewed himself as a capitalistic manager. He has often in a vague manner suspected that he was doing poorly. He has bemoaned his hard state in having to labour through the year and come to its end with little or nothing to show for it. In fact many fanners do not thrive as they should; and if they critically investigated all the facts in the case they would change their mode of existence or their method of procedure. A farmer in one of the West Central states, although he owns unen- cumbered a very fertile farm of 80 acres and rents about as much more, is a hard worker and raises good crops, clears only about $100 a year. His investment a year rep- resents about $1,200 and he takes out about $500. This case is doubtless typical of the majority of farmers. W. J. Spillman, Chief of the Bureau of Farm Management, Fed- eral Department of Agriculture, estimates the average farm income at $655 a year. Of this amount $1.00 a day rep- resents the entire income of the farmer's labour. This is general throughout the United States, although as in the case of Illinois, where the invested capital is greater, the income of the farmer is greater. But it is obvious that generally farmers are a poorly paid class. It is to be re- membered that these men and their families have a right to enjoy many things they do not have and to maintain a larger social life. It becomes plain, consequently, that 156 CONSTEUOTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY their attention should be directed to the consideration of their business as an investment ; to discovering how they may make the best association of the factors of land, labour, and capital- goods ; to the selection of these as to their quality ; in short, how they may improve their management so as to make farm- ing a profitable undertaking. Farm Accounting. — If community and individual welfare depends on the degree of profitableness of agriculture, and if the profit is contingent on knowing the grade and quantity of the factors of production which are to be associated with each other in the enterprise, as well as how to fertilise, seed and cultivate in the best way, it is apparent that some method of keeping account of the results arising in connection with the various items is needed in order that a reckoning may be made. Farm accounting would consist of an itemised record of expenditures and income. The record of cost in producing a given crop would cover interest on investment in land, horses, and machinery, taxes, depreciation of ma- chinery, value of seed and of labour, and cost of marketing. Besides this, a record of the kind of land the crops were produced on, of the quality of seed, time of seeding, kind of season, and methods of cultivation, form necessary data in determining the best method of organising and conducting the farm. Against the investment would be placed the in- come derived from the output at market prices. Some means of keeping trace of market conditions might prove valuabla Several forms of accounting or book-keeping have been adapted to farming purposes. Single and double ledger, blank books, and cards are represented. The discussion of their relative merits is out of place in this work. The re- mark may be made, however, that the simpler the method the better. Complicated systems would not be useable for cur- rent purposes. Another form of keeping records is what is termed " estate IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSIiq"ESS SIDE 157 accoimting." It is largely used in England where large farms remaia in the same hands for long periods of time. " This type is in the nature of a consecutive record, from owner to owner, accompanied by maps and plans of the sub- divisions of the property, with an idea to permanency of results." It may belong to private parties or educational in- stitutions. " The performance of the different fields or sub- divisions may be determined through a long series of years." " This plan or kind of farm accoimting relates the farm in a very positive way to the welfare of the community, and there- fore affords a basis for social studies." ^ Methods of Deriving Items of Information. — As illustra- tions of the manner in which the items entering into the rec- ords of production are derived, some instances will be given from investigations in Minnesota and Ifebraska. The facts in themselves are interesting and valuable since they show the methods of deriving such information and the progress which is being made in that direction. In 1902 the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agri- culture, located employes at stations in three of the most typ- ical and important farming regions of that state. In each! region eight to ten farmers were selected to act as " coopera- tors." The " route statistician," who was an employe of the Department, visited them daily and obtained data from the manager. Inventories were taken on each farm at the begin- ning and end of each year. Scales were used in making in- ventories of stock. Comparison was made on the acreage basis, for a considerable period of time, because it is subject to fewer variations than is the ton and bushel basis. The re- sults obtained are presented in tables 13-18. Several tables are reproduced because they offer facts which are not generally accessible. It is believed that they will explain themselves. 1 " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," IV: 215-16. 158 CONSTEtJOTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY TABLE 13 2 ATEBAGE COST OF FABM BOABD FEB MOHTH AND FEB DAY, 1905-1906 Month Day S. E. Minnesota $12.27 $0,409 S. W. Minnesota 11.90' .396 N. W. Minnesota 11.06 .368 TABLE 14 2 RATES FEE HOUR FOE LABOR BY THE MONTH, 1904, 1905, 1906 Month Cents January $0.1076 February 1136 March 0962 April 1181 May 1171 June 1252 July 1283 August 1187 September 1226 October 1222 November 1266 December .1065 TABLE 15 2 HOURS WORKED FEB DAY BY MEN AND HORSES ON STATISTICAL ROUTE AT NOETHFIELD, MAESHALL, AND HALSTEAD, MINNESOTA Average for three years, 1902, 1903, 1904 Month Daily Sunday Man Horse Man January 6.57 1.20 4.22 February 6.48 1.22 4.16 March 7.69 1.41 4.03 April 9.67 4.47 3.71 May 8.69 4.04 3.10 June 9.22 3.49 2.82 July 9.23 3.33 2.72 August 9.79 4.81 2.66 September 10.11 4.18 2.79 October 9.67 4.35 2.79 November 8.94 3.11 3.43 December 7.17 1.38 4.33 Average 8.59 3.08 3.40 2 " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," IV : 232-9. IMPROVEMENT OF THE BUSINESS SIDE 159 TABLE 16 3 TEAXLT COST OF KEEiTNa H0B8B ASD B^TEB FEB HOtIB OF HOBSE LABOXTB Average for 1905 and 1906 Total Coat Eate per Hour S. E. Minnesota $80.14 $0,090 S. W. Minnesota 78.06 .082 N. W. Minnesota 72.93 .075 TABLE 17 8 VALUES CONSUMED FEB ACEE FOE FARM MACHINEEY (Made up from tlie several columns given) Minn. Sabin Large Farm Machines Av. (Clay; Co.) inN. W.Minn. Grain maehijiery Binders 168 Reapers .061 Drills and seeders 080 Fanning mills 028 Grain tanks .00* Wagons, sleds, and racks 042 Com machinery Binders 666 Planters 002 Cultivators 109 Wagons, sleds, racks 095 Potato machinery Ploughs .0520 Harrows .0140 Wagons , .0580 Sorters .0142 Diggers .2470 Weeders .0307 Cultivators .0228 Sprayers .0700 Planters .0830 All crop machinery Ploughs 068 Harrows 014 Disks 061 s " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," IV : 232-9. 160 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Minn. Sabin liarge Farm Hachinei Ay. (Clay Co.) inK. W.Minn. Threshing outfits .288 Hay machinery Mowers 213 Rakes 094 Wagons, sleds, racks 076 TABLE 18* FORAGE CBOPS. COST OF PBODITCTION AND FEEMKG VALUE Average Tields Maximum Yields Coat of Yield produo Feedins Per Feeding per Feedine Crop tion value acre value ton, value per acre per ton tons per acre acre per acre Clover and timothy $ 6.96 $6.35 2% $15.87 3 $19.05 Fodder corn . . . 12.19 4.90 3% 17.15 4 19.60 Ensilage 19.173 1.80 10 18.80 12 22.56 Mangels 34.12 1.30 20 26.00 30 39.00 The Agricultural College of Ifebraska used a different method for collecting facts. The Department of Agronomy- corresponded with a large numher of farmers living in various portions of the state in the endeavour to find out the cost of producing crops under Nebraska conditions. Two of the eight tables in which the results are summarised are given because they represent such positive results relative to grow- ing oats and wild hay. TABLE 19 5 COST OP GEOWINO OATS (PEE ACEE) Year 1909 1910 Average Number of Replies 120 149 135 Interest and taxes (or rent) $4,693 $5,164 $4,928 Ploughing 1.175 1.004 1.089 Harrowing 272 .299 .285 Disking 503 .612 .557 Seed 1.349 .908 1.128 *" Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," IV: 232-9. Bulletin of the Agr. Exp. Sta. of Nebraska, Vol. XXIII, Article VIL IMPROVEHENT OF THE BUSINESS SIDE 161 Seeding 448 .350 .399 Harvesting 1.94» 1.932 1.940 Interest and depreciation on ma- chinery 490 .63 .586 Miscellaneous 561 .379 .470 Total cost per acre 11.440 11.331 11.385 Yield per acre 34.6 bu. 35.5 bu. 35 bu. Cost per bushel 3Zo •-<■ ;-; « m (S ■* ■* •* ■* M C5 -<*< CO "5 N CM O « M^ O OS »05 06 to tote to^os ;* ui r-H "^t-to ooo o t« CD Ud 03 OS CO W5 ^ oi 00 1-- CO o t* CO -I* Ir* Tt* lO CO OS coo oj CD O ^ l>- OS oq ©a i-t la f— I U3 ^ O © CO »-H 00 t- OsO ■* -^ CQ pH CO CO Tji m o r OS 9 so Ci CO t- p-H CO CO o us t^ -^ O 00 CO ■^„»^o^^'^ cD'cTcfuTco m OS ** ?0 IT* "^ 00 (O CO ■rh'c^' CQ 5D tJH O tH (M CO ^ CD Tt^ CO O CO Cs O ^*^ CO w ^ i-TirTos CO O CO (M t- CO CD^o't; CD t- O O >— 1 OS I— T its' OS OS OS »o CD CO O IC (N -^^ lO IC o O OS I— I t^ OS CO »0 OS i-H tC-CD^CO^ TdTt-'cD CO ^©i CQ CO ^-t t^ "-^ b- Tt< W (M 5D OS CO u^'co'io (Q I— I CO w ' H OS CO rH ,-tr Ol ^ i-H CD U5 CO pH O CO -^ i>:,o i-Tco b-T 50 C>3 OS ?D CO^O-l 3 °o CO oa OS 3 « g -I >o g OS s (N.S CO ja ooH "^13 n 2 OS .o oq_ tABOVU 233 many separated communities the serious nature and the large number of accidents have not become generally known and as a consequence sentiment of a preventive nature has not formed and become operative. The most dangerous machines in Minnesota, where the facts of accidents are being gathered, are com shredders, com shellers, wood saws, and belts and gear wheels of various machines, the former ranking first and the latter second in their deadliness. During twenty months com shredders oc- casioned forty-one per cent, of the accidents reported. The 1911 Minnesota Legislature passed a law (copied from Wis- consin) designed to prevent these accidents. In accidents from com shellers the operator's hands are caught in the feed-rolls and he is drawn into the machine. Prevention consists in safety attachments which make it im- possible for the operator to reach these feed-rolls. Guards attached to the wood-saws would be sufficient to prevent serious accidents in their use. Belts and gears are dangerous because they catch the limbs and clothes of the workers, drawing the latter into the gear- ing or whirling them about on the belt. Desire for economy on the part of farmers has led manufacturers of agricultural machinery to leave gearings unguarded. The enforcement of legislation calling for appropriate protection of such parts would reach the situation. Permanent guards for the belts of stationary engines, and portable guards for tractors are possible remedies for dangerous belts. REFERENCES " Report of the Country Life Commission," pp. 28, 39, 43. Sturgis & Walton Co. "Organised Labour and the Farmer,'' Outlook, 84:853. Technical World Magazine, January, 1909. Article by Henry M. Hyde. " Public Document of the United States," No. 5452, p. 110. Chicago Record-Herald, June 8, 1911 and March 31, 1911. "Encyclopedia of SociaJ Reform," pp. 645, 1266, 1271. 234 CONSTKUOTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY " Report on Unemployed and Lack of Farm Labour," Survey, May 13, 1911, pp. 264-5. " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," H. C. Taylor. " Land Owner- ship and Tenancy," IV: 174 ff. and G. L. Powers, " Agricultural Labour," IV: 198. Mill, J. S. " Principles of Political Economy," Bk. II, Chaps. 6 and 7. " Henderson's Modem Methods of Charity," article on Ireland by J. M. Gillette, pp. 272-87. Plunkett, Sir Horace. " The Rural Life Problem of the United States." " United States Statistical Atlas," 1900, Plate No. 127. "United States Statistical Abstract," 1908, Tables Noa. 60 and 61. " Digest of Twelfth Census," 1900, Tablea 102, 103, 149. " Year Book " of the Department of Agriculture, 1906, pp. 269-74 ; and 524. Lescohier, Don D. " Work Accidents and the Farm Hand." Survey, October 7, 1911, pp. 946-951. Hibbard, B. H. " Farm Tenancy in the United States." Annals Amer. Acad. Pol. and Sod. Sd., March, 1912, p. 29. Coulter, John Lee. " Agricultural Labourers in the United States," same, p. 40. Abstract Thirteenth Census; Thirteenth Census, Vol. 5. " Agriculture." Armiilfi Ar.irr. Ar(xd., Vol. 40. CHAPTEE XIII KCTBAL HEALTH AND SANITATION I. GiaraEAL CONSID-EEATIONS Benefits of Betterment. — The advantages of health are patent. Men have grown healthier and more robust with the development of civilisation. Powell has shown how prolific certain epidemics were among the American Indians at the time of the arrival of Europeans. Their population was fre- quently decimated by scarlet fever and smallpox and kept at low figures.^ Eatzel states that primitive man was more prone to disease, and was less robust and vigorous than our present civilised humanity.^ Keeent investigations indicate that in urban re- gions longevity increases at the expense of adults, being pro' longed by reducing deaths among infants and children. There is some evidence that diseases, like weeds, have a tendency to spread among certain sections of the population.' The farming population is, however, more immune from in- roads of diseases peculiar to civilisation than urban dwellers, as we previously saw. While all this is true country residents have reasons iot seeking to improve rural health conditions. " Of all persons, the farmer should be best provided with healthful surround- ings. He has sunlight, clean air, exercise, normal sleep, — • blessings so indigenous that he does not know their value; he does not realise the necessity of giving attention to sani- 1 United States Ethnological Reports, Vol. XV. 2 W. I. Thomas, " Source Book for Social Origins," pp. 45-47. s " Weeds and Disease," Eobert Hessler, M.D., Survey, April 1, 1911, p. 51 ff. 236 COE'STEUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY: tary surroundings. There are no energetic boards of health to look over his premises. He is so separated that the neigh- bours do not complain. He has taken health for granted. His exercise is likely to be only work, and it may not develop his physique or contribute to the promotion of health. The number of crooked and bent persons on the farm is very great. The city man is likely to have a better carriage. Probably no persons are in greater need of physical training and set- ting-up than the farmer, to correct effects of his daily occu- pation and to keep the body resistent and resilient." * Direction of Improvement — The effort to improve health in rural communities must take several directions. 1. Ap- plication of the principle of cleanliness and of sanitation by the elimination of filth- and dust-catchers, and by sterilisa- tion. The emphasis is to be placed on sanitation rather than on medicine. The study of morbidity should be displaced by one of sanitary conditions. People must be taught how to live rather than left to trust stumbling and deficient expe- rience. Two fundamentals of sanitation are positive and clear: Keep the body in normal condition and function ; and exclude all manner of contamination. Each person must come to know himself by self-study, to learn his peculiar personal equation relative to conditions which produce morbidity. He must come to be the authority on what is good or bad for him rather than trust to the advice of a physician who can know his peculiarities of constitution but slightly. Pure air, abundant and regular sleep, regular habits, cleanliness, wholesome food and drink, active exercise, moderation, cahn mind, are absolute essentials to health, though prescribing them may be trite. 2. Choice and preparation of foods. In some ways the * Bailey — Editorial note to Vol, I, Chap. 8, " Cyclopedia of American Agricultvire," EUEAL HEALTH AND SANITATION" 237 food of the fanner has great advantages. Because he buys less than city dwellers it is less prone to contamination and adulteration. The cooking may not secure the very best re- sults, but it is generally simple and veracious, and is superior to much that is served at prominent hotels and clubs. There needs to be a reaction against the growing practice of patron- ising factory made foods in favour of home provisions. 3. Keduction of household work. Frequently on the farm there is an enormous and needless expenditure of energy. Simplification, planning, and the use of mechanical devices are necessary means of its reduction. In many families there is a large and wasteful display of foods. There is a " con- spicuous consumption " at the table in which the average per- son revels when a few simple dishes would be better. Excess, gluttony, and waste in food and labour would be better by their absence. 4. State supervision. This should be in the nature of in- spection by governmental authority of the essential condi- tions of life and should reach to the planning of homes, their management and location, so as to anticipate and prevent diseases and hardships. Professor Irving Fisher gives sev- eral reasons for supplementing municipal hygiene. The country has no other kind than governmental supervision pos- sible. The city is dependent on the country for water, milk, and other supplies. Typhoid is, in origin, a rural disease and must be combated by controlling rural privies and other sources of pollution. Even in Europe fifty per cent, of the wells are unfit for use according to Koler.^ A bureau of healtb supported by the United States govern- ment would be of assistance to rural regions in giving more attention to importation of injurious and adulterated foods and drugs, the prevention of domestic adulteration; investi- gation into rural human and animal diseases, and the promo- 5 Report on National Vitality, p. 59. 238 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY tion of rural sanitation. Tlie work carried on by the De- partment of Agriculture in the enforcement of the food and drug act illustrates this. In 1910 it pressed 766 criminal cases and 224 seizure proceedings, gaining convictions in 224 of the former and 132 of the latter, a large portion in each instance remaining pending.^ 5. Education should be used as an agency of rural health improvement. Besides organised play, which, if introduced, would encourage exercises of a useful nature for symmetrical development, special attention should be given to practical teaching relative to matters of health and sanitation. Avail- able literature of a simple nature now exists to carry on this work, and there is sufficient reason why it should find general use as texts and supplementary reading. So long as farmers empty slop and sewage about wells which contain their drinking water, dig wells in barnyards to be used alike by man and beast, maintain outdoor closets so vile and filthy as to stifle those using them, leave dead animals to rot unburied near dwellings, encourage conditions which breed germ-transmitting files by the millions, defy laws of air-space and ventilation in homes and school build- ings alike, there is ample confirmation of the assertion that our rural schools should give instruction in these subjects, II. SANITATION IN THE HOME. The subject of household sanitation is almost as large as the field of sanitary engineering. It is so extensive that at- tention to the details of the matter is practically impossible in the allotted space. The larger essential matters alone will receive consideration. Care of the Home. — Most people are forced to make use of the buildings already on the farm. " In such a case it is well to remember that the cardinal sanitary points about a home are freedom from dampness; light and sunshine iu « Report of the Secretary of Agriculture, 1910, pp. 31-32. RURAL HEALTH AND SAITITATION 239 •mj room ; large windows, sufficient air space, good ventila- tion, and sufficient heat. These should be had at any cost." Small rooms may be merged, improving ventilation and re- ducing cost of light and heat. Dark and unventilated stairs should be remedied. " The surroundings of a country home should be well kept, the garden being filled with ornamental shrubs and flowers. There should be no backyard littered up with cans, ashes, and other refuse, but there should be some portion of the grounds, close to the house set apart for the use of children." They should be encouraged at an early age to keep their playground free from rubbish which should be burned or buried.''^ In the general care of a house the matter of dust-prevention is important. The use of rugs which may easily be removed and cleaned, the application of a good floor dressing, elimina- tion of germ laden dust by proper methods of sweeping, cleaning, and dusting, are essential safeguards to health. Water. — 1. Poor water and health. There is an increase in the impurity of our water with the increase of density of population. Very little pure water exists. " In Vermont the examination of 231 samples of water from wells, springs, and ponds showed that 22 per cent, of the springs, 50 per cent, of the wells, and 41 per cent, of the ponds were impure or of doubtful purity. The importance of pure water to a community is shown by statistics of death rates. They show that with the improvement of city water supplies the death rate has greatly decreased.^ 2. Wells are depended on chiefly for the water supply in rural districts. They are often made defective by being located on lower ground than privies and barnyards, in the barnyard, and by the absence of curb or tight fitting cover. Pumps are superior to old-fashioned well sweep or pail and rope, though the " Old Oaken Bucket " sounds fine in a 7 Brewer-, " Rural Hygiene," pp. 39-41. 8 Monthly Bulletin, N. Y. State Dept. Health, April, 1908. 240 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGT poem. " In India the well-bucket is a fruitful source of the dissemination of cholera, and what ia true of cholera is generally true of typhoid fever." Geological formation has much to do with the quality of water. A good well is one that is sunk into a water bearing stratum that is separated from the surface by an impervious layer of clay, slate, or similar material. It should be curbed, lined with cement from top to bottom, and provided vdth a tight fitting cover that has sufficient pitch to throw off all rainwater. Artesian wells usually furnish pure water, save in lime- stone regions. Depth is not necessarily a sign of purity. A geologist should be consulted as to the strata of a region. 3. It is generally supposed that spring water is pure. The same facts relate to the creation of impurities in springs as in wells. An especial cause of impurity is dipping dirty ves- sels into it. Clearness of water is not an evidence of purity. Instances are known where large springs have drawn their supply from polluted marshes located on the other side of the mountain. Springs should be curbed, covered, and piped. 4. Eainwater is probably the purest country water supply since there is little impurity in the air. Cisterns should be provided with sand and gravel filters to extract particles of dust. The cistern is better located in the garret or above ground, as underground walls frequently crack and let in pollution from surface drainage. As we have seen there are motors of various sorts to elevate water. The pneumatic tank offers a very satisfactory method of elevation. 5. The use of surface water always should be avoided as dangerous, since it is likely to be impure. Sewerage, drain- age, tramps, railway trains, animals, are sources of contamina- tion. 6. When a contaminated water supply must be relied on some purification process should be used. The most satis- factory method is a good sand filter, but the cost attached RURAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 241 is usually preventive. Domestic filters, generally, are fine in theory but unsafe in practice. But such a filter as that made by the Naiad Filter Company of Boston, vs^hen carefully operated, produces pure water. Otherwise the most relia- ble and economical method is that of boiling the drinking water for a period of from five to twenty minutes. The Eorbes steriliser boils water at the lowest possible cost with practically complete destruction of germs. In default of this, boiling in a suitable vessel on the kitchen stove will do. The water should be cooled and kept in a stone jar or " water cooler " safely covered. The best expedient for determining the purity of the water supply is to send a small bottle of water to the State Board of Health, or the State Public Health Laboratory for analysis. Garbage and Sewage. — The safe disposal of garbage and sewage, the refuse and slops of the home and barn, are vital matters to farm health. 1. The disposal of ashes, garbage, manure, and miscel- laneous refuse is perhaps more a matter of esthetics than of health in the country. Yet the more regularly they are dis- posed of the better for the healthfulness and comfort of the home. Kitchen refuse from the preparation of food can be saved for the pigs and chickens. It should be collected in galvanised-iron pails which are furnished with tightly closing covers to prevent exposure to the sun and to avoid flies. Whatever cannot be used in this way should be burned or buried. Recently a device has been patented which enables the housekeeper to place the garbage in a section of the smoke pipe of the range, where it dries out rapidly, burns, and leaves only a little charcoal behind, which may be used for fuel. Manure should be removed for use, both for sanitary and economical reasons. It loses value by fermentation, and by weathering and leaching if left for a considerable time. Moistening will delay fermentation. A simple and cheap device against flies is to have a screened-in cage, into which 242 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY the manure is deposited for its weekly or monthly removal. 2. Sewage disposal is positively vital to health. Not only is it important in the open country, but even more, in the half-developed village or town with its usual unsanitary con- ditions. In such communities the contaminating privy and cesspool occur close by the well. The premature introduc- tion of a water supply system causes a saturation of the ground from the sewage, so that the wells of households not yet connected with the water supply are jeopardised. Dis- astrous results from epidemics of typhoid fever and other diseases often ensue. The extent to which sewage matter contaminates the soil was shown by Foder for the Hungarian city Budapest. " By analysing soil at different levels from the surface to a depth of about 15 feet, he found, over an area comprising 15 acres, about 1,000,000,000 pounds or- ganic matter, equivalent to the excrement of 100,000 people voided during thirty-seven years." ® If the slops from the kitchen are not fed to animals they may be emptied over a considerable area of ground, a new place being chosen each time. Oxidation and nitrification of the organic matter which is carried on in the open air rap- idly converts them into inoffensive earth material. In case a kitchen sink and drain pipe exists, a system of sub-surface irrigation may be used. Earth soil, or human excrement may be disposed of in the same manner, except in cases of disease, whenever the soil is favourable and where the use of a water supply produces a solution of not less than 500 parts of water to one of solids. Filtration by disposing sewage in sand plots is another mode. A tract of sand containing 200 to 400 square feet of surface and having a depth of from three to five feet is best. It should be raked to a depth of an inch each week to keep it free from clogging, especially in winter. Cess-pools should be used in no case. They merely place 9 Theobald Smith, M.D., op. cit., p. 6. RURAL HEAXTH AND SANITATION" 243 the sewage out of sight. Uncemented cess-pools allow the saturation of the surrounding soil and thus create a menace. Cemented ones crack and cause the same danger, besides be- ing too troublesome to operate, as frequent cleanings are necessary. Where a water-carriage system is absent the earth-closet is allowable. The chemical indoor closet is a possible means of disposing of human excrement. A receptacle placed under the seat to catch the excrement contains chemicals which, in character, are antiseptic and deodorising. Careful attention to empty- ing the collection of waste and to cleansing the receptacle makes this a safe and desirable mode of disposal, where a water-carriage system is impossible, but neglect makes of it an instrument of filth and a positive danger to health. Insects and Animals. — Insect life is a source of danger to the health of rural inhabitants. Many of the menaces may be removed and all may be reduced. 1. Plies are the most prevalent and insinuating nuisances and source of disease. Dr. Brewer writes : " Flies are not only a nuisance but are one of the means of disseminating typhoid fever, cholera, and diarrhoea among hiunan beings, and runa and anthrax among horses and cattle." The house fly or stable fly is our worst enemy. It breeds in fllth, feeds on excrement, and flies to foods. Its breeding place is pref- erentially horse-manure, but it uses any collection of vegetable matter for this purpose. Multiplication takes place rapidly. Each female lays about 120 eggs at a time which develop in about ten days. Consequently about thirteen generations mature during one season and the descendants of one fly may amount to many millions. The hairy legs and bodies of the fly make splendid lodging places for the disease germs of dust and filth. This is strik- ingly shoAvn by microscopic examination. The fly wipes its feet on whatever it walks over, as photographs of exposed plates have shown. Thus it is seen how disease germs deposited 244 CONSTRtJCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY in exposed privy vaults, manure piles and garbage heaps may be transferred to the house, and to the foods over vphieh it walks, and thus how everything is polluted it touches. The preventives for this pestilence may be stated tersely. Keep the flies out of the house by means of screens and if they get in exterminate them. Destroy their breeding places by abolishing the privy, clearing away garbage, and covering the stable refuse. Disinfect all discharges from the body which may serve to spread disease germs by means of flies. Place cattle pens, hog lots, chicken yards, and stables some distance from the house. Besides the house or stable fly, there are chiefly two others which breed in human excrement exclusively, and in over- ripe and decaying fruit. 2. The mosquito is the bearer of malarial and yellow fevers. The former is largely confined to the country and especially to the newer and undrained regions. Only the genus, Anophales, carries malarial germs, the genus Culex being innocent. Anophales breed " in still side pools of small streams, in the swampy pools at the margins of larger ponds, in stagnant water in ditches, in the beds of old canals, in the still water at the sides of springs, and occasionally, though rarely, in old horse troughs." A third form of mosquito, stegomya, is the bearer of yellow fever, inhabiting, like the other kinds, open and stag- nant water. The best means of combating mosquitoes consist in locat- ing nearby breeding places and filling, draining, or treating them with kerosene oil — the kind known as light fuel oil — every two or three weeks; or in introducing certain fish which feed upon the larvae, such as top minnows, sticklebacks, young sunfish, or goldfish. Frogs also prey upon them. Since malaria and yellow fever can be transmitted only by mosquitoes which have bitten victims of those diseases, ade- quate prevention consists in dealing only with the insect EUEAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 245 bearers. Screening the ■windows and doors of houses is, of course, a protection of those within doors against mosquitoes. In case malaria has been contracted, quinine is relied on as probably the most effective remedy. 3. Certain other insects and animals are disease bearers. The " cat and dog flea " is doubtless the bearer of the bubonic plague, infecting not only cats and dogs, but more insidi- ously rats and such rodents as ground squirrels. Pink-eye in the southern states is distributed by a very minute flea. " Texas fever " is carried among cattle by the common cattle tick, and anthrax among cattle by the gadflies and horseflies. When these flies subsequently bite human beings malignant pustules may result. The common bedbug is also suspected. Extermination of the rat in San Francisco stopped the spread of the bubonic plague. Various states have waged war on the ground squirrel. Cats and dogs should be kept free from vermin, or else not maintained. Burning sulphur candles, and the use of gasoline, or a mixture of wood alcohol and corrosive sublimate, by means of a vapouriser, are useful means of exterminating bed-bugs., Foods — It is recognised that foods are a great source of danger to health. Adulteration, against which the United States and many states have legislated, and have established food commissioners and inspectors to carry out such legisla- tion is not the only source. Care in selecting, keeping, and cook- ing food is needed, especially of meats and animal products. 1. Putrefaction is liable to occur in meats and meat prod- ucts. This produces a virulent poison known as ptomaine which is a by-product of the growth of the putrefaction bac- teria. Cooking does not destroy it. Flesh, fish, shell-fish, milk, cheese, pies, sausages, etc., are subject to this. 2. Unclean fruits and vegetables, contaminated by filth on the soil in which they are grown, and by sprays, handling with unclean hands, exposure to the dust of stores and streets, a^d eveji to the filth of dogs, are causes, of disease^ Thoj-ough 246 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY washing, preservation in cool clean places, the adoption of sanitary processes of production, handling, and marketing, are needed protective devices. A clean ice box or refriger- ator should be in every house. 3. Hogs are frequent sources of diseased conditions. Trichinosis has its origin in diseased hogs. It is conveyed to them through the faeces of animals or men which are in- fected, through flesh, and by refuse and rats from slaughter houses ; and is conveyed to men by eating uncooked meat, raw pork, or ham. Thorough cooking of hog meat, and the in- spection of hogs are necessary safeguards. Hogs are also the source of tape worm which is communicated to them from infected fasces of men or animals; and man in turn, contracts it by eating the uncooked meat, or other food washed in infected water, or through unwashed, infected hands. More healthful hogs may be secured by construct- ing piggeries which are clean, warm, well ventilated, and well lighted. This method of care is a decided antithesis to the common notion that anything is good enough for a hog. 4. The milk supply is one of the most important food sources and also one of the greatest causes of sickness, and since it is produced in the country for both rural and city consumers has come to receive much attention because of its vital nature. It may be dangerous (1) because it contains disease bacteria; (2) because it contains too many bacteria. Of 544,533 deaths in the registration area of the United States in 1905, 105,553 were of children under 5, and of these 39,399 died of enteritis. Behring, an authority of Germany, finds that of every 1,000 children born 233 die dur- ing the first year, 510 males out of 1,000 reach manhood, and not over one-third of these are fit for military duty. This he attributes to milk infection during infancy. Dr. George Goler of Eochester has shown that clean milk has reduced mortality of that city in children of five and under, from 7,451 in the decade of 1887-96 to 4,965 in that from 1898:r KUKAL HEALTH AND SANITATION 24r 1906, although meanwhile Eochester increased its population. 20 or 25 per cent. Tubercle bacilli are frequent in miUc. It is evident that if tubercular cows give tubercular milk and that if persons conr suming this milk may contract the disease, which has been demonstrated, government inspectors of milk cows or pre- ventive treatment of milk are necessary. Hogs may contract tuberculosis by feeding on infected milk. Butter and cheese preserve the germs a long time and consequently it is not safe to manufacture tubercular milk into those products. Not only may disease bacteria get into milk from cows, but they may intrude during milking from manure on the cow, dust in the bam, filthy hands and clothes of the milker, unsanitary pails, and improper methods of preservation. Schroeder estimates that as large a quantity as one part of cow dung to 400 of milk is sold in many cities. Good au- thorities believe milk is dangerous when it contains over 50,- 000 bacteria per cubic centimetre. The Pediatric society of Philadelphia puts 10,000 as the maximum, although milk in most cities contains millions of these germs, especially in the winter months. Sanitary requirements on the farm consist in securing healthy cows, in keeping them clean and in clean, well pro- tected, well ventilated barns in winter. The following re- quirements are recognised in order to have a pure milk sup- ply: .(1) Healthy cows. (2) Wholesome food and pure water for cows. (3) GI«od protection against storms and cold to prevent exposure and colds. (4) Clean bams, clean cows, clean milking places. Dust and dirt convey bacteria, and odours impose a bad taste to the milk, those from alfalfa espe- cially. Cows should be groomed before milking. i(5) Suffi- cient ventilation in bams. Each cow secretes about 7 paunds of moisture daily in breathing, sufficient to provoke tuibercBslo- sis where ventilation is very defective. (6) Clfi^iniAnde .amd 248 COI^STRUCTIVE EHRAL SOCIOLOGY clothes in milking. (7) Sterilised pails, and if used, steril- ised mechanical milkers. (8) Milk should he cooled, as soon as drawn, to a temperature of 45° to 50°, and kept at that temperature or below, since bacteria multiply very rapidly at a higher temperature. Transmissible Diseases — '- Malaria, tetanus, diarrhoea, dys- entery, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, smallpox, whooping cough, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis are considered trans- missible. They are all serious either in themselves or in their after eifects. Measles is followed by such results as deafness from inflanunation of the ears, and even tubercu- losis; scarlatina, one of the most serious diseases of child- hood, is followed by disorders of kidneys, deafness, and feeblemindedness; whooping cough, one of the most fatal diseases to children, may result in pneumonia or tubercu- losis of lungs. Mental deficiency follows childhood afflic- tions often enough to make them dreaded. Each one of these diseases may have its particular kind of cause and its special regime or line of treatment. We have already discussed typhoid, malaria, tuberculosis, in certain respects, in so far as they depend on special kinds of sources. Preventive means of those special conditions were suggested. Diphtheria may require the use of antitoxin; smallpox, that of vaccination, etc. Our province is to suggest general precautions which should be resorted to when a disease is suspected. Such precautions as the following should be adopted: (1) Isolate the sick person in a room accessible only to the nurse or person taking care of the patient. (2) The attend- ant and physician should slip on a gown or its equivalent while in the sick room. (3) Secretions and excreta should be disinfected before taken from the room. (4) As soon as the subject is stricken the bed and body clothing should be disinfected. (5) Separate eating utensils, clothes, cloths, etc., should, he kept in the. sick roona, and. disinfected there.. RirRAl HEALTH AND SANITATION 249 (6) Neighbours should be excluded from the sick room abso- lutely, and from the home if possible. III. NEIGHBOUBHOOD SANITATION. Need of Cooperation. — Sanitary and hygienic precautions on the part of the neighbourhood are almost as essential to the health of a community as are those of the individual home. The individuals of a community visit from home to home, attend church and other congregating places, and especially the children meet each other daily in school. It is apparent that conditions of various kinds arise over which the homes of a neighbourhood, acting in their individual capacities, can have no control, and yet by which their health is placed in jeopardy. Swamps and ditches containing stagnant water, on the surface of which pestilential mosquitoes breed, may exist in the neighbourhood. Collective action is required to drain or fill such places. Mines and factories may dump their refuse into the streams which pass through the farms to contaminate the water supply. Nearby cities may pollute the streams or neighbouring low places with their sewage and garbage. Trains which pass through drip vsdth oil and from their toilet rooms emit quantities of human excrement. Tramps leave their refuse strewn around. The slaughter houses of villages and small cities are located in the country and are commonly without regulation. Pernicious and germ laden dust from adjoining highways is swept into open homes in the summer. Only concerted action by the residents of the community is capable of remedying most of those conditions. Some of them, as that of the distribution of human excrement by trains, require regulation by the larger public, state or na- tion. But agitation and discussion of every one of them by the public brings enlightenment and finally remedial measures. 250 CONSTEtJCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY The School and School Children. — The school constitutes a special condition which requires particular attention. If every home took perfect care of its children, -watching them diligently to detect the symptoms of transmissible diseases, and isolating them as soon as such maladies are discovered, following the precautions outlined in the preceding division, very little attention by the school to such matters would be needed. Unfortunately this ideal state in the majority of homes is wanting. Very few parents withdraw their chil- dren from public concourse as soon as one of the so-called " harmless " variety of disease is detected, and few of the disinfecting preventives and precautionary devices for spreading the sickness farther are practised. Investigations into health condition of school children indicate the preva- lence of transmissible diseases. Of 432,937 children exam- ined in Massachusetts in 1906, 27,342, or about 16 per cent., were found diseased, not including those with defective eyes or ears. The following table gives a list of the diseases and the number of children subject to each. TABLE 28 DISEASES OP SCHOOL CHILDREN Diphtheria 238 Other diseases of oral and Scarlet Fever 313 respiratory tracts 5,103 Measles 637 Otitis ( inflajnmation of ear) 407 Whooping Cough 973 Other diseases of ear 363 Mumps 267 Conjunctivitis 779 Chicken Pox 548 Other diseases of eye 2,159 Influenza 276 Scabies and pediculosis .... 8,745 Syphilis 36 Skin diseases 3,453 Tuberculosis 115 Nervous diseases 146 Erysipelas 17 Deformities 142 Adenoids 2,525 Total 27,342 Similar results have been obtained in other large cities. Conditions there are no doubt intensified by close contact. But if the list surpasses that of the country in transmissible RUEAL HEAXTH AND SANITATION 251 diseases, it is scarcely likely tliat this is the case relative to affections of eyes, ears, nostrils, spine, etc. The testimony of rural school nurses is to the effect that the proportion of deficiencies among the children of the country schools is quite as great as among city school children. The latter class of defects mentioned calls for quite as serious attention on the part of rural schools as transmissible diseases. Deficiency in physical conditions of children mounts very high in cities. Recent statistics bring this out in a most alarming way. From 25 and 30 to 70 and 75 per cent, of defective children are found, the per cent, vary- ing from city to city. The accompanying table (Table 29) exhibits the percentages of the most frequent physical de- fects in four of our large cities. TABLE 29 PHYSICAL DEFECTS OF SCHOOL CHILDKEN Balti- Phila- Minne- Defects New York more delphia apolis Defective teeth 74% 10.5% 1.7% 41.8% Adenoids 39 5.3 1.0 14.8 Enlarged tonsils 46 11.1 4.5 27.6 Enlarged glands 1.6 0.23 49.6 Defective hearing and ear troubles 1 0.37 0.96 8.1 Defective vision and eyes. . 15 4.5 1.3 21.2 Pediculosis 0.4 4.4 2.0 12.1 Skin diseases 2.06 All of these defects need attention. They may not be immediately serious but they place a great handicap on the child in his work, retarding his mental development, placing an effectual check on some attainments, impoverishing his body, and often driving him from school. Pencils, books, and the public drinking cup, in the school are means of scattering diseases. The importance of the common cup to public health is generally recognised. Ten states have prohibited its use. Similar legislation is pending 252 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY in eleven other states. Twenty State Boards of Health, and as many city boards, have decried against it. In 1911, the 'New York City Board of Health prohibited its use in public place or institutions, hotel, theatre, factory, public hall, pub- lic school, railway station or ferry house. ^*' The germs of grippe, pneumonia, diphtheria and tonsilitis are carried in the mouth of many well persons. Examina- tions have proved this: 100 persons out of 4,250 persons examined in Massachusetts, 5 per cent, in Philadelphia, and 70 out of 1,000 in Minnesota carried diphtheria germs; 60 per cent, of catarrh cases in Boston showed grippe bacilli; and considerable evidence existed of the presence of germs of sore throat, pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis. Ex- aminations of drinking cups reveal the accumulation of such germs. One cup in use nine days in a school contained not less than 100,000 bacteria on every square inch of the glass. In the cities medical inspection of school children, along with a system of nurses to secure treatment in free clinics for the children where parents will not look after them, are solving the problem. The playground should also be men- tioned as a factor. The problem is a difficult one in the country. A compre- hensive system of medical inspection has not yet been worked out for rural regions. It would seem that a system of trav- elling inspectors would be entirely possible, one for a given township or larger district for example. In several states progressive county superintendents have introduced the prac- tice of supplying a rural school nurse who inspects the chil- dren, advises with teachers and parents, and recommends medical attention for serious deficiencies. Until some such plans are put into operation rural teachers must be their own inspectors. " Every rural teacher should know enough about children's diseases to discover by their outward signs the common contagions, and, acting upon this knowledge, place ^0 Survey, April 22, 1911, p. 146. RtmAl HEAITH AND SAKITATIOK 253 the patient under a physician's care. He should be able to detect the minor eradicable defects in pupils under his care, as, for example, enlarged tonsils, adenoids, and incorrect vision. Then he should be strong enough in his duty to in- sist that all such ailments be given immediate attention." Ventilation, moisture, heat, and light are important mat- ters in the school room. The one-room school house is gen- erally built without much regard to these things. There should be plenty of light introduced from the back or sides of the room above the heads of the pupils. A jacketed stove should be used. An invention permits air to be taken from without, drawn up within the stove jacket, and distributed evenly throughout the room. The same device provides fresh air laden with moisture from outdoors. The toilets and drinking water are other matters for con- trol. What has been said elsewhere about securing sanitary conditions relative to these will apply here. But safety de- vices in the school are even more demanded than in the home. The water should be kept in the hall in a covered tank or cooler and drawn from a spigot into individual sterilised drinking cups. Where sewage disposal cannot be operated by the water-carriage system the earth closet should be re- sorted to, and provided with an automatic device for dis- tributing the earth. There should be separate toilet build- ings for the sexes, each provided with suitable seats for the children of different sizes. These buildings should be heated in winter if possible, kept clean, and inspected daily by the teacher, who should also prevent loafing and bad language in them. REFERENCES TO DIVISION I "United States Ethnological Report," Vol. XV. W. I. Thomas. " Source Book for Social Origins," pp. 46-7. " Weeds and Disease," Robert Hessler, M.D., The Survey, April 1, 1911, p. 5 ff. " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," Vol. I, Chap. 8. " Report on. National Vitality," Irving Fisher, p. 59. 254 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY " Report of the Secretary of Agriculture,'' 1910, pp. 31-32. " Health Conditions in the Open Country," L. H. Bailey, " Th« Train- ing of the Farmer," pp. 46 ff. " Town and City," Introduction, L. H. Gulick. " Exercise and Rest," L. H. Gulick, Russell Sage Foundation Bulletin, No. 76. " Health on the Farm," H. F. Harris. REFERENCES TO DIVISION II " Rural Hygiene," Brewer, I. W., Dr., pp. 39-41, 63-4, 19-20, Chaps. 4, 8, 9, 11, 12, 16, 19. " Sanitary Relations of the Milk Supply," United States Bureau of Animal Industry — Circular No. 111. " Facts about Milk," R. A. Parsons, United States Farmers' Bulletin, No. 42. " Year Book " of United States Department of Agriculture, 1907, p. 184. " How Insects affect Health in Rural Districts," G. O. Howard, United Btates Farmers' Bulletin, No. 155. " Report of Secretary of Agriculture,'' 1910, pp. 121-5. " Sewage Disposal on the Farm," Theobald Smith, M.D., United States Farmers' Bulletin, No. 43. " Modern Conveniences for the Farm House," E. T. Wilson, same. No. 270. " Pure Milk Necessary to Health," Address before Fortnightly Club, Grand Forks, N. Dak. ; " Sewage Disposal in relation to Typhoid Fever," Bulletin of the State Public Health Laboratory, Grand Forks, N. Dak., Gustav F. Ruediger, M.D. " Sanitation and Water-Supplies," " Cyclopedia American Agricul- ture," Vol. I, Chap. 8. " Sanitation of the Country House," H. V. Seashore. " Proper Disposal of Sewage Wastes in Rural Districts," Julius Nel- son, Bulletin No. 166, New Jersey Agricultiural Experiment Station, June 27, 1903. " Sanitary Conditions in the Home and on the Farm," Metcalf, Bulle- tin No. 89, South Carolina Agricultural Experimental Station, 1904. " Distilled Water for Drinking Purposes," United States Fa/rmers' Bulletin, No. 124. " Milk, Butter and Cheese as Carriers of Infectious Disease," V. A. Moore, " Year Book," 1895, United States Department of Agriculture, 1431. " Bacteria in Milk," L. A. Rogers, " Year Book," 1907, United States Department of Agriculture, p. 179. " Changes Taking Place in Chickens in Cold Storage," Mary B. Pen- nington, same, 197. EURAL HEAXTH AND SANITATION 255 " Hygienic Water Supplies for Farm," B. M. Bolton, same, 389. Wm. E. Davidson. " Sanitation and Sewage Disposal for Country Homes," Univ. of Mo. Bulletin, Engineer Experiment Station Series, Vol. 1, No. 3. REFERENCES TO DIVISION III Brewer, I. W., Dr. " Rural Hygiene," pp. 51-71. Faght. "The American Rural School," Chap. 14. Ruediger, Gustav, Dr. "Medical Inspection of our School Children," The University Bulletin, N. Dak., November, 1910, pp. 3-11. Dorset, M., M.D. " Invisible Micro-organisms," United States Bureau of Animal Industry, — Circular No. 57. Ayers, L. P. " The New Attitude of the School Towards the Health of the Child," Russell Sage Foundation, No. 96. Allen, W. H. " Civics and Health," Parts I and IV. Gulick and Ayers. " Medical Inspection of Schools." Devine, E. T. " The Waste of Infant Life," The Survey, Vol. XXIII, pp. 341-320. Fisher, Irving. " Report on National Vitality," Chap. 8. Terman, Lewis M. "The Hygiene of the School Child," an especially valuable volume. CHAPTEE XIV MAKING FAEM LIFE MORE ATTEACTIVB Satisfaction the Object. — The title of this chapter sug- gests the motive of the discussion as the " depopulation " of rural districts, and the " back to the farm " tocsin. The popular conception is that the country population is to be saved from absorption by the cities by making farm life cen- tripetal rather than centrifugal through increasing its in- herent seductiveness. Hence make the farm attractive to keep the people from gravitating to the city is the prescription. However worthy that conception may be, it is not the mo- tive of this chapter. The country cannot hope to keep pace with the city in the adoption of the many utilities and attrac- tions which give it charm and centralising power. Nor can it hope to escape the conditions which determine that rela- tively more and more persons shall dwell in the city with the advancement of agricultural production. Our purpose is to indicate, rather, how science and invention, in their applica- tion to the art of work and living, may be directed to the improvement of rural life because agricultural inhabitants have a right to the benefits of civilisation. The material conveniences and utilities of the permanent population have much to do with producing satisfaction. Drudgery may come from hours which are too long, from a pace which is too rapid, and from having to carry on work under unnecessarily hard conditions. To see tlie heavier la- bour taken over by mechanical devices rather than being per- formed by men or even animals should be a cause of thank- fulness. The German sociologist Simmel states that the ideal of MAKIN'G FAEM LIFE ATTRACTIVE 257 society relative to the expenditure of human energy is to create machines that will do all the heavy work of the world. If man is capable of inventing mechanical devices to accom- plish all the hard work, men may devote themselves to directing their energies. The decided tendency toward push- ing machinery into every sort of work is predictive of the realisation of Simmel's ideal. It is emancipating the masses of labourers from that which can be but mere drudgery, and, it is to be hoped that farmers will cope with other kinds of producers in becoming master of things. Besides inventions of a larger nature there are numerous conditions and utilities through the adoption of which living may be greatly advanced. These lessen hardships, make health and life safer, and pro- mote satisfaction and comfort. A comparison of urban and rural modes of living shows that the former is vastly advanced beyond the latter. City people of inconsiderable means use conveniences which most farming persons would regard as luxuries, and as being pos- sible only in cities. The explanation of this is found in the traditional and narrow view of life which the countryman takes. He is tightly bound by custom. What was the way of his father is good enough for him. An investigation made by the Northwestern Agriculturist illustrates this conserva- tism. " Letters were sent out to 3,456 farmers in the Northwest, asking them several questions. When we tabulated the re- plies we got some startling facts. We found that less than three per cent, had modem lighting equipment in their homes. Fifty per cent, had wind-mills, while ten and one-half per cent, had water supply in the house. That is the difference between the farmer's cows and their wives. The one has water pumped for them, the other pumps the water them- selves." ^ As in the case of securing effective agricultural organisa- 1 Address of P. V. Collins, Wisconsin State Jowmal, October 27, 1911. 258 CONSTEUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY tions much educational effort of an intense kind will be re- quired to induce country populations to adopt newer and advanced modes of living. I. FAEM BUIIJ>rNGS Much of the satisfaction to he derived from life in the country is centred in farm huildings. Most of the woman's life and a large share of that of man is spent in the dwelling. A considerable portion of the man's work and efficiency as a producer is connected with the barn and other outbuildings. Principles of Construction. — 1. There are some general principles applicable to the construction and an-angement of farm buildings. These pertain to efficiency, arrangement, taste, comfort, convenience, and health. A good and proper building is one which secures the greatest efficiency in rela- tion to the given surroundings for the least outlay. Where there are several buildings economy of time and energy can be gained by arranging them in their logical relation to each other, and by advisedly concentrating them. In some cases concentration under one roof may be found an advantage. Taste as well as economy should be applied in the construc- tion of buildings. " There is no abstract canon of good taste in farm build- ings except that they shall be perfectly adapted to the uses for which they are designed and shall bear no meaningless or irrelevant parts or ornaments. Theoretically, the cylindri- cal stone silo is inharmonious in connection with farm barns ; but because it serves a direct purpose, we accept it without question. If such a construction were added merely ' for looks,' it would be ridiculous." Buildings should be constructed and fitted to yield the largest satisfaction. Because the health and sanity of man and beast are conditions of life, happiness, and prosperity, much effort should be given to making country life condi- tions sanitary. MAKIISTG FAKM LIFE ATTKACTIVE 259 2. Farm buildings should be carefully planned. Build- ings which are not modern and therefore not adapted to present needs are a barrier. Capital is invested in them and consequently they are not likely to be torn down. They may be too small, inconvenient, poorly adapted to the de- mands made upon them, but they must be kept. It is essential that the demands of present agriculture be met in providing bams and other buildings other than the farm-house. It is too much to expect that the average man can peer into the future and plan his buildings to meet com- ing changes. However, if he understands present conditions he is quite likely to be in line with future developments. A recent writer on eastern agricultural conditions says: " A common measure of the supposed decline of farming is the fact that many farms can now be purchased for less than the buildings cost. This statement of itself does not appeal to me as having any special significance. A property is likely to sell for what it is worth, and this worth depends on its effectiveness as an economic unit or enterprise. Most of the buildings on these farms were erected a generation or more ago, when ideas of farming were radically different from those of the present day. The coming business of farm- ing will demand a wholly new type of building in order to make the property effective, and we must overcome our habit of looking back to the time when the present buildings were erected. Earns and other business buildings that were erected fifty or sixty years ago should owe the farm nothing by this time." ^ It is often the case that both houses and bamg are built under an emergency. Unless possessed of ample means, so that contingencies may be provided for, the builder should be careful to design his buildings in such a way that they may be readily enlarged as needs arise, thereby economising money at the same time convenience is gained. 2 Bailey, " The State and the Farmer," pp. 25-6. 260 CONSTEUCTIVE RUKAL SOOIOLOGT n. IMPEOVEMEWT OF THE UTILITIES OF HOME AND FABM The utilities of home and farm are important means of gauging the volume of the life of the inhabitants. In gen- eral, larger existence comes with the increase of opportunity for leisure and meditation, the lessening of drudgery, and the establishment of conveniences which make for comfort and health. All of these things may be called utilities. Their improvement is possible and manifestly desirable. Certain preconditions to this improvement exist and these will be dealt with first. Preconditions: Motor Power. — Many of the economies, decrease of drudgery, and increase of comfort and health are dependent on the installation of a cheap and easily managed motor power. Some discussion of the different forms of motors is necessary to determine which is most available for farm use. Steam, water, gas, hot air, electricity, and wind constitute the kinds of motors which are presented for the farmers' selection. The comparative availability of the different kinds of power on the farm is determined by simplicity, demanding little special training for operation, and adaptability to the va- rious kinds of work which is to be done by the motor. Spe- cial circumstances may determine which should be selected by a given farmer. Wind and water may be considered the most available sources of power since nature provides them most freely. But water power may be said to be quite as expensive as most fuels, since it requires expense in the construction of the dam and in the installation of the initial machinery. However, after once installed it is cheap and useable, and if converted into electricity it may be made to do almost any service the farm requires. Wind-mills are useable in certain regions, and through the MAKING FAEM LIFE ATTEACTIVE 261 use of storage tanks, or if converted into electricity, by the use of storage batteries, tbe regularity of operation of their power is assured. The development, storage, and utilisation of wind power is being subjected to scientific investigation by physicists. It is estimated that a cooperative 16-foot wind-mill and storage battery plant could be established for $2,027.50. This would include a small stationary gasoline engine to tide over periods of light winds, and would supply about fifteen families with light. A twelve-foot mill plant could be established for about $600. This would be sufficient to light the house and to furnish power for the machinery of the home.^ The gas engine depending on a producer is unavailable for average farm purposes because gas-producer plants are not successful for sizes less than 25 horsepower, nor for in- termittent work. Besides the objection due to their size, large steam engines are too intricate and dangerous for common use. The hot air engine is available only for pumping purposes. It is built to pump from 150 to 3,500 gallons per hour. Its advantages are stated to consist in its simplicity, usability of all sorts of fuel, ease of erection, and demand of unskilled attention. Electric motors are becoming more available for farm pur- poses from year to year. A dynamo is required to supply the current and the dynamo depends on some engine for operation. Proximity to power stations, trolley lines, or co- operative establishments reduces expenditures and simplifies machinery. The power is cheap and offers the advantages 3 " The Development, Storage and Utilisation of Wind Power," A. Hoyt Taylor, Ph.D., University of North Dakota Departmental Bulletin, March, 1912. Mr. Manikowske of Mooreton, N. Dak., has taken out a patent on a storage-battery charged by wind-power. He has applied this power to all the utilities about the bam and house. See " The, Challenge of the Country "— G. W. Fiske, p. 80, 262 CONSTEUCTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY of being clean, safe, occupying small space, being instantly available, and usable anywhere with the extension of power lines. Several manufacturing firms are now building elec- tric equipment for farm work. Besides the instances of use in the United States cited in a previous chapter, large farms in Germany employ it for thrashing and other indoor work, and to a limited extent for ploughing. The automobile traction motor, as we saw, has been adapted to the needs of farm life. It is not only a good draft and carrying instrument but may be used as a stationary engine to drive machinery of the farm buildings or to furnish power for household purposes. For a jaok-of -all-trades busi- ness it cannot be equalled. But its very ubiquity may be against depending on it regularly for certain important pur- poses. A supplementary stationary motor would furnish this regular and constant service. Improvement of House and Household Processes. — It is not the province of this work to attempt to give the detailed description of an up-to-date yet modest farm home. Our purpose is rather to justify the creation of such a home and to indicate in a general manner how attainable and feas- ible it is. A modem home in the city may at the same time be mod- est in size and price. Such a home would have the following improvements: a heating plant which might be any of the varieties of hot-air, steam, or hot water, or a combination of hot air and hot water; an inside toilet and bath room; a laundry as a separate and distinct room, however small; a well equipped kitchen with neighbouring pantry and ice-box ; and generally gas or electric lighting. Such homes are owned or rented by families whose wealth and income would not compare favourably with those of the average farmer. A heating plant is desirable because it is clean and there- fore sanitary, regular in its operation, requires little atten- tion, heats all parts of the house when needed without addi- MAKING FAKM LIFE ATTEACTIVE 263 tional work, and keeps the first floor comfortable by reason of the fact that it is situated in the basement. Hot-air and hot-water systems are simple in operation and easily taken care of. Hot water and steam require some attention to prevent freezing and bursting of pipes and radiators, but no more than in city homes. A full concrete basement adds to the warmth, durability, and space of the house, affording space for fuel, and for ashes during the winter, if desired. It may also contain a fruit and vegetable cellar, and a laundry, when plenty of ventilation is provided. This is the general provision in very cold climates, but it would probably prove unsanitary in more southern regions. On bath room and inside toilet facilities depends much of the health and comfort of the household, and more particu- larly the comfort and health of the women of the house. Bathing regularly during the colder -parts of the year is a lost art, at least in many homes, yet it is absolutely requisite to cleanliness of person and to physical efficiency. The fact that many persons have grown old in spite of its omission does not demonstrate its uselessness. Health and regularity of habits are conditioned by the comfort and convenience of toilets. Much constipation with all its attendant and conse- quent complications arises out of irregularity of habit which is brought on by neglect. And the neglect arises from out- door, exposed, and often filthy toilet conditions. The bath is made possible by the establishment of motor power. In case the earth is too flat for drainage purposes the bath and toilet may be drained into a flush tank which holds the sewerage during twenty-four hours. This is drained automatically into the soil previously prepared for oxygenation and sterilisation. A sanitary chemical toilet is now on the market and is installed in many small rural hotels. Its sanitation is dependent on attention to cleaning and to supplying the chemicals. A separate laundry is very desirable. It conduces to 264 OONSTEUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY efficiency because it is specially constructed and equipped for its purpose. It economises the space and work of other rooms by leaving them unobstructed with washing appli- ances. It is sanitary and healthful because it takes care of the fumes and wastes apart from the remainder of the house. Its construction and provision is no more difficult than that of any other room or farm improvement. The well planned kitchen, with its panti-y adjoining, or with pantry shelves located in it, and with its ice-box in a neighbouring vestibule or specially prepared room, is a la- bour- and mind-saver to the housewife. Scientific manage- ment, which is now being applied to labour, is scientific because it makes the conditions under which the work is per- formed such that steps and movements are reduced to their minimum, and the load is adjusted to the bearer. If any- where in the world this principle should be applied to the kitchen. The articles and utensils to be used many times a day should be so placed relative to the user and to each other as to call forth the fewest movements, and the least effort. Sanitary provisions for the care of foods is likewise highly desirable in equipping the kitchen. The ice-chest or re- frigerator is extremely serviceable in accomplishing this end. A lighting system, either gas or electricity, is now available for farm homes. Either gasoline or acetylene plants may be constructed at reasonable expense and the home may be fur- nished with as good lights as are city homes. In fact many city homes establish private plants because they secure better and more economical lights than the public systems give. The care of lamps, danger from explosion, inconvenience of carrying them from room to room as well as of lighting, the unhealthful odours they create, together with a poorer qual- ity of light, are avoided by installing a lighting system. In case there is a motor electric lights may be easily installed and possess obvious advantages. MAKING FAEM LIFE ATTRACTIVE 265 Certain kitchen improvements and devices are to be viewed as necessities rather than as incidents or luxuries. A task is done inefficiently and uneconomically when it unnecessarily depletes the worker. The farm woman's life is hard enough at best. There is enormous work to be done and labour-sav- ing devices should be installed wherever possible. With a motor plant to furnish power the water can be carried to its place of use and slops disposed of by means of pipes ; washing machines, wringers, chums, sewing machines, and separators run by bands connected with the source of power ; and even electricity and gas may be used in cooking and ironing. The processes of housekeeping should be based on the prin- ciples of household economics. Woman's sphere in rural life would be vastly improved by training women in those prin- ciples. Not only the ease of performance but the satisfaction derived in conducting the household along scientifically ef- fective lines would be increased. Above all, since food is the foundation and support of life the scientific preparation and preservation of foods would conduce much to their effi- ciency in building up working ability. A knowledge of fur- nishings for the house will promote good taste and economy. The application of good sense in the selection of the finish and furniture of the house would serve to make housekeep- ing less burdensome. What some one speaks of as the elimi- nation of " dust lines " is an example of this. If all the meaningless mouldings and panels, curved mopyboard, and so on, were excluded the work of dusting would be immensely reduced. House-cleaning is now being done by machinery in an easier and more sanitary manner than was possible by the use of broom and dustpan. The suction or vacuum cleaner run by motor power draws the dust out of floor, carpets, rugs, and from walls without scattering germ-laden dust in the air to 266 CONSTRUCTIVE RimAL SOCIOLOGY pollute and infect the throat and lungs. Hand-power vacuum cleaners of different designs and prices are giving large sat- isfaction. Improvement of Out-of-Door Work. — We have considered this feature of farm life from the business side. Now we want to view it in its relation to the intensification of satis- faction and to the reduction of the element of superfluous drudgery, because the latter obstructs enjoyment and creates aversion to farming. The drudgery of farm life is com- monly given as a motive for rural emigration, and while we are not advocating the adoption of agricultural improve- ments merely to lessen this emigration, it is worth consider- ing as a factor in securing rural advance. It at least re- veals one sore spot in country economy. No doubt the whole matter of improving the business of farming could be viewed as a splendid means of advancing satisfaction in rural living. Accurate records and accounts must yield the joy of assurance to the manager that an exact knowledge of the conditions of a business always produces. Science carried out in soil fertilisation and in plant and animal breeding and culture must yield a strong intellectual stimulus and help satisfy the psychic cravings and ideals. And in like manner there is a joy which arises from exe- cuting work by the mechanical devices which utilise the great forces of nature and perform with exactness and speed the allotted task. But our particular note here is that the adoption of artificial contrivances of an advanced but ap- proved type enhances the life of the farmer by reducing the expenditure of human energy. The following particulars will serve to indicate some ways in which machinery may lighten the farmer's tasks. Riding devices propelled by horses or motors exist for ploughing, harrowing, disking, seeding, harvesting, and cultivating. Only small farming or trucking, where very intensive culti- vation is carried on, demands much walking and hand labour. MAKIJSTG FAKM LIFE ATTEACTIVE 267 Pitching is done by hay loaders and forks worked by power. Indoor work such as shelling, fanning, separating milk, pumping water, and chopping feed may be done by motor attachments, as we have seen. Threshing is carried on by machinery wholly and by the application of self-feeders, bundle carriers, automatic measures, and pneumatic stack- ers has become a more cleanly and agreeable task. Pitching bundles in the field, like shocking bundles in harvesting, seem open for inventions. Shovelling grain entails much hard labour which it seems might be obviated by the adoption of mechanical devices. If granaries were constructed with an elevated drive for dropping grain into the bins, and if the floors of the latter were raised sufficiently to permit chutes carrying the grain into wagons, gravity would do the work. Milking may be done by means of pneumatic milkers which are said to operate satisfactorily but are most avail- able where there are several cows to milk. Cutting corn for the shock by hand is obviated by the corn or fodder cutter. Much of the arduousness of choring could be reduced by a happy arrangement of the barn and the grouping of out-build- ings so as to save steps and the handling of feeding material. Farming might almost become a sedentary occupation with the use of machinery. By its intensive employment farm life would be made more enjoyable for the worker and the growing boys and girls would have proper time for recrea- tion and sports. Some improvement of life by the regulation of labour is possible. A distribution of farm industry over the whole of the year, thus preventing a seasonal rush, is desirable. This is especially true of the more northern climates. Seed- ing, harvesting, and threshing times are periods of great la- bour stress. The days are lengthened and the pace is likely to be rapid. With a one-crop system this is inevitable be- cause the areas cultivated must be large and both safety and completion demand concentration of labour energy into a 268 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY very few days or weeks. The natural corrective for this is to be found in a diversification of farm industry, the carry- ing on of animal and poultry culture, of dairying, and of plant and grain culture; and the adoption of several crops which are seeded and mature at different times. This diversification would have to be exercised with cau- tion, however, for to carry it to great lengths would demand a large investment in numerous kinds of machinery and each might not be used enough to justify the absorption of the capitaL ni. IMPEOVEMEWT OF GEOUNDS Justification. — Several motives exist for giving attention to the home grounds. First, there is the individual satisfac- tion which arises from a love of the beautiful and pride in comely surroundings. Much discontent with farm life is produced by unattractive and barren features of the home- stead and landscape. This is particularly true where na- ture is niggardly in supplying variety. Level plains with- out trees are apt to seem monotonous and dreary, especially in the long winters of northern regions. Second, a satisfaction in the appearance of the countryside as a whole, and even a sense of duty in improving the land- scape view, are involved. " It is everybody's concern how the neighbourhood looks. One slovenly place is a blot on the neighbourhood. The scenery is one of the assets of a country; and the appraisal of this asset is bound to increase with time, because the educated mind is always sensitive to its surroundings. Any person who needlessly or ignorantly despoils the scenery is guilty of an offence to the community, whether so recognised by law or not" * As in the city, one unkempt home or farm mars the beauty of the whole community. It is desirable that there shall * Farmers' Bulletin, U. S. Dept. of Agr., No. 185. MAKING FAKM LIFE ATTEACTIVE 369 arise a public conscience which will make it an offence to of- fend a neighbour's eye as it is now to offend his purse. Third, protection is afforded by certain kinds of beautifica- tion and improvement. This is a large element where na- ture has made no provisions. Where neither elevation nor forests occur and storms of wind and cold sweep over the levels, protective barriers become almost a necessity. The blizzard, the sweeping dust, snow, and rain, the venom of cold and the torridity of sun all may be tempered by the in- tervention of artifice. Agencies. — The agencies and methods of securing aesthetic results in the country must depend on the character of the region, climatic conditions, interest, ability, the financial means of the individual proprietor, and the cooperation and ideals of the community. Rural art is not only negative, consisting in the removal of offensive objects ; but positive and constructive, consisting in laying out highways, farms, fields, and home grounds in such a manner as to appeal to the eye. In the " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture " is presented contrasting views of countryside landscapes. In one, no attention has been paid to looks. Fields are irregular and farms are without perspective. Fences and buildings are slatternly, roadsides unkempt, and natural attractions unde- veloped or marred. In the other, order, proportion, chaste cleanliness, and regard for beauty prevail. Fields are regu- lar and are ordered relative to each other. Roads, fences, and buildings are well kept. Attention has been paid to directing the highways through attractive surroundings. Natural objects are given a chance to display themselves. The contrast is striking and impresses the spectator with the value of improving the larger aspect of rural regions., The chief methods of securing sesthetic ends in the con- struction of home grounds is such an arrangement of drives, trees, shrubs, and lawns as to realise satisfaction and protec- tion. Even if the grounds are relatively small these results r.O CONSTRUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY, may be secured by careful planning. In the northern re- gions, where grass and leaves are in retirement during the larger part of the year, it is desirable to set out with other trees such conifers as the Scotch pine, whose annual growth equals that of box or green oak.° In summer the effect is one of contrast to the other trees and growing plants; in winter by retaining their leaves they carry with them an expression of life and warmth, and when draped in snow and ice the long graceful branches of pines and spruces lend a decided charm. The massing of shrubbery of several differ- ent varieties secures contrast in verdure and colour, suggests protection and warmth, or may serve as a covering for an unsightly building or feature of the landscape. The smooth, thickly grassed lawn is always a delight, and by the addition of shrubs and trees, providing the area is not too restricted, its attractiveness is greatly enhanced. REFERENCES Bailey. " The State and the Farmer," pp. 25-29. " Farm Buildings and Fences," " Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," Vol. I, pp. 231 ff. " Rural Art," Ibid., Chap. 9. " Industrial Alcohol : Uses and Statistics," H. W. Wiley. Fanners' Bulletin, U. S. Dept. of Agr., No. 269. " The Use of Alcohol and Gasoline in Farm Engines," C. E. Lucke and S. M. Woodward. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 277. " Industrial Alcohol : Sources and Manufacture," H. W. Wiley. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 268. "Practical Suggestions for Farm Buildings," George G. Hill. Farm- ers' Bulletin, No. 126. " Modern Conveniences for the Farm Home," Elmiria T. Wilson. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 270. " The Meteoric Rise of the Automobile Industry," E. M. West. Amer- ican Review of Reviews, November, 1910, pp. 581-592. " Forest Planting on the Northern Prairies," James M. Fetherolf, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service Circular No. 145. " Beautifying the Home Grounds," L. C. Corbett. Farmers' Bulletin, No. 185, and " The Lawn," same, No. 248. oSee Circular 145 of the Forest Service, U. S. Dept. of Age. MAKING FARM LIFE ATTRACTIVE 2Y1 " From Kitchen to Garret," Virginia T. Van De Water. " Home Waterworks," C. J. Lynde. " Electricity for the Farm and Home," Frank Koester. " Rural Improvement," F. H. Waugh, chaps. 4, 8 and 10. " The Development, Storage and Utilisation of Wind Power," A. Hoyt Taylor, Ph.D., Univ. N. Dak. Departmental Bulletin, March, 1912. " Plants as a Factor in Home Adornment," J. C. Corbitt. Eeprint from " Year Book " of Dept. of Agriculture, 1902. " Lawns and Lawn-making," F. Lamson. Scribner, Eeprint from "Year Book" of Dept. of Agriculture for 1897. " The House," Vol. I of the " Library of Home Economics " — chiefly for city dwellers of large means. Chicago. Parloa, Maria. " Home Economics." Century Co. "New Life on the Farm," C. M. Hosge. Outlook, April 16, 1906, p. 841. " Farm Boy Who Went Back," H. Gard. World's Work, 20:13445-9. "Human Factor in Rural Life," H. Plunkett. Outlook, 94:354-9. "Making Country Life Interesting." Ind. 68:59-60. "New Farming Generation." Ind. 68:276-7. "New Life on the Farm," C. M. Harger. Outlook, 94:841-4. "Use of Electricity in the Country," A. C. Lant. Colliers, 45:24. " What the Motor Vehicle is Doing for the Farmer," W. Langford. Sci. Am., 102:50-1. Ibid., Americam Homes, 7:267-9. CHAPTER XVi SOOIALISATIOIJ OF COUNTBT LIFE Meaning of Socialisation. — Socialisation commonly refers to the historical process of developing in individuals the associational ability. This does not mean that man ever was inherently individualistic in his constitution. Man as man probably never was unsocial, since he was evolved from ani- mals below him which were social. It does mean that, viewing society as a developing organ- isation, becoming more and more complex in its mechanism and requirements, man has had to be trained and dis- ciplined by an age-long process into fitness to work in and through this mechanism. It involves the spirit of response, the power of sympathetic cooperation, and an intellectual and technical capacity to stand the strain of responsibility. The difference between primitive and civilised man lies less in the difference in their original inherent physical and psychical capacity than in the fact that the modern man has the advantage of an improved social mechanism which offers opportunities and possesses great elasticity in making re- sponse. Growing up in the midst of a more highly de- veloped social medium, and surrounded by its richer atmos- phere, he is enabled consequently to take deeper draughts of wisdom and experience. Socialisation as applied to objects and institutions consists in reconstructing them and making them amenable to the- uses society demands. Institutions may become so conserva- tive that they stand still. They may come to act as veritable obstacles to the advancement of other social institutions and of life. Thus creeds and beliefs, churches and schools, have 272 SOCIALISATIOIT or COUNTKY LIFE 273 to be considered with reference to the changed epoch and new demands, and reconstructed to meet the new conditions. The meaning remains essentially the same when we refer to the socialisation of a community. If a neighbourhood is in question it may be found to be backward. Some of its insti- tutions and modes of life may require reconstruction or elim- ination. Or it may need socialisation because it lacks alto- gether one or more institutions or modes of life which have come to be regarded as in some way necessary to the age and to completer living. The point of view lies back of institutions and processes. Things remain as they are because the views of people who maintain them do not grow. The transformation of insti- tutions, beliefs, modes of doing things, and customs involves the preparatory work of recasting and revolutionising the ideas of men relative to those things. The socialisation of a community involves revolutionising its citizens' minds rel- ative to its institutions and utilities. They must be so changed in their views that they will not only permit but demand that modern needs shall be met by this work of reconstruction. We have already treated certain phases of the socialisation of rural life. We have considered socialisation in pointing out the improvements which are necessary in the material and business processes of farming so that they shall be ade- quate to the demands of this age; in denoting desirable im- provements of the house, the buildings, and the grounds ; in treating the application of labour saving devices to the work of farming; and in indicating the demands which a whole- some rural life must make on the size of the farm, the con- dition of ownership or tenancy, and the status of labourers. Our present undertaking requires a similar consideration of the conditions and factors which are directly bound up with associational matters. The Fact of Backwardness — 1. General recognition of so- 274: CONSTKUOTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY cial backwardness of country. Whether or not rural social life is barren over and above the emptiness of the city, the consensus of opinion lies in that direction. That this con- tention is not entirely empty may be concluded by the testi- mony of people either closely acquainted with farm life or of those actually living on farms. " In a recent study of life in the country and small towns, one of the striking conditions brought out was the lack of sufficient social life. Particularly significant is the fact that this complaint came, not from outsiders — chance visitors or professional investigators; it was the direct testimony of the men and women living on the farms and in the small towns. The same statement came from people living in all parts of the Union — from New England districts, where there are many old village communities and farms comparatively close to one another, as well as from the more isolated Southern plantations and Western ranches." ^ 2. The cityward tendency. The " drift to the city " con- stitutes a fact in evidence of country social hunger. While we must remember that the fundamental forces or conditions which transfer populations from country to city are of an economic nature, yet there is a large conscious element in the shape of desires and cravings after the pleasures and satisfactions which are supposed to arise from the social solidarity and associational opportunities offered in urban aggregations. 3. Social and cultural dearth. A meeting in the corn- belt was called to discuss the condition of country life of the region. " The common testimony was that there was noth- ing wrong with the region. The farmers were prosperous, owned automobiles and good turnouts, had money in the bank and were bank directors; land was considered a good invest- ment; farmers were able to move to tovm at fifty years of age." 1 " Neighbourhood Entertainments," Stem, p. ix. SOCIALISATIOlSr OF COUNTRY LIFE 275 Being asked why they desired to move to town, the ^.nswer was, " to secure good school facilities, to escape bad roads and isolation, to have church privileges and to be able to enjoy social advantages. In other words, the country life of the region was successful only on its business side, and a satisfying rural society had not developed. The town was a centre of interest. The country was not sufficient unto itself as a permanent place of abode." ^ From replies to questionnaires sent to college students in the East and in the West is found corroborative evidences of the statement that country life is considered barren by those who are turning from it to fit themselves for another sphere. A comparative survey or exhibit of the social possibilities and resources of a country and a city district would further the opinion. It would be discovered that the rural district is deficient in buildings and institutions which are the means of promoting social intercourse ; and that separation of fam- ilies from each other and the difficulties encountered in getting together are of a nature to prevent frequent assemblies. The difficulties of rural assemblage is illustrated by an in- cident which occurred in a northern region. A new school building was to be dedicated. Three attempts were made. Local circumstances cancelled that in October, a blizzard, that in February, and a furious wind, rain, and hail storm nearly spoiled the final attempt in May. Only a few farmers could get in to the meeting. When the programme was over peo- ple were heard to exclaim, " Thank goodness, it is over at last ! " That commimity will probably not undertake an- other such event for years. 4. Source of rural social backwardness. There is no sci- entific foundation for the inclination to regard the farmer as a different sort of being from the urbanite. If, as we have seen, the primitive man is essentially like civilised man 2 Bailey, " The Training of Farmerg/' pp. 15-16. 2Y6 CONSTEUOTIVE KURAL SOCIOLOGY in mental structure, it is beyond belief that farmers should be fundamentally dissimilar to men of other occupations and conditions of life in that respect. Ethnologists explain the apparent difference in the abilities of the former by the dis- similarities in their cultural conditions. In like manner we must believe that rural conditions stamp upon the agricul- turist one characteristic impress, while those of the city im- print upon the city dweller another. There is a social heredity in rural life which helps explain his social aloofness and backwardness. Every occupation has certain modes of reaction which are characteristic of its votaries. A trade group has certain terms, phrases, ideas about the trade and about its technical processes and instru- ments which are its peculiar possession. Its members have a stock of these items on hand which they pass down from generation to generation. If the group lives apart from other groups it is also likely to develop certain beliefs, tradi- tions, customs, ways of regarding life and nature, and views about social matters which are somewhat peculiar to itself. The conditions imposed upon it and under which it lives ac- count for these characteristics. In like manner the aloofness of the farmer from other occupational groups and from other farmers predisposes him to depend on himself for passing the time, and to an absence of a strong social hunger. Moreover the absence of meeting places and of associational helps in the way of organisations places a premium on his dependence on self and family for enjoyment and entertainment. Desirability of Associational Life. — We might assume, without discussion, that in the country associational life is highly desirable. The infrequent unsocial individual, and the intellectually self-centred and independent person, the product of years of cultivation and education, are about the only ones who might dispute it. Associational life which satisiies the craving for the pres- SOCIALISATION" OF COUNTEY LIEE 277 ence of others and of intercourse with them is useful to the individual and to the community. First, it is desirable in itself. It quenches a social thirst and hunger which are as genuine and at times almost as imperative as physical thirst and hunger. As water and food not only satisfy the physical craving but build up the physical organism and replenish its vitality, so friendly in- tercourse furnishes a delight and satisfaction which are hardly surpassed by other satisfactions. In doing so they are creative of personality and of a larger and more whole- some life. Civilisation consists in increased wants and their satisfaction. It is in essence an expansion of the funda- mental want of mere existence by differentiating and devel- oping that want as other wants. Second, it is desirable in that it serves as a means of secur- ing other ends. (a) By means of association cooperative activities are pro- moted. A coming together for purposes of planning, dis- cussion, and organisation is found to be quite necessary. The greatest industrial and commercial organisations of our time are promoted by a meeting together of interested parties for advice and formulation. Lesser associations and organisa- tions best exist and prosper where people meet from time to time to talk things over. They generate the initiative and personal interest as well as the understanding which nourish and promote them. (b) By means of associational intercourse the cultural process is expanded and intensified. Contact between peo- ples has always been found necessary to acculturation. Pro- vincialism is broken down by migration and social mixture. Prejudices are dissipated. Ideas are multiplied and made to do service for many as against the few. What contact is between peoples intermingling is between individuals of a neighbourhood. Suggestions take root and grow. Better ways of thinking and acting come to light. The brighter 2Y8 CONSTEUCTIVE KUKAL SOCIOLOGY. minds lead and educate the more backward. Something of the elevation of larger views becomes the heritage of all. " When a district ceases to be a mere collection of house- holders and rises to the dignity of a community with com- mon interests and common aspirations, it becomes alive ; and the ' monotony ' of country life becomes largely a thing of the past. One achievement fosters another, and unexpected potentialities are awaked. We need the stimulation of our kind for our own better development. There is a species of provincialism and a lack of varied interest in city as well as in country life; but it lies with the community in either place to determine whether such conditions shall remain." ^ (c) Association promotes recreation. Eecreation is, as its name denotes, a renewal of life. Isolated persons have a tendency to grow old young and to lose their youthful sport- ing tendencies. So long as people can play at something, or can feel a freshness and virility return by means of cer- tain activities, they remain youthful and vital. Eural life stands in need of recreation. It needs to learn how to play, how to keep playing for the sake of play, how to get rid of loneliness and weariness by games and amusements. The annual circus at the county seat, the yearly fair, the funeral, and the occasional church service are not enough. The weekly occasion is in demand where the play instincts may be set at work to orderly riot and where fun and mirth may abound. Especially for country children organised play is needed. The playground movement has had an immense growth in the cities during the past few years. It means organised and directed play activities. Let us notice the deep nature and demand which exists for play. Historically, play of the associated sort is older than hu- manity. Animals play. The young members of a given kind engage in movements in their play together which an- 3 Stern, " Neighbourhood Entertainments," p. 26. SOCIALISATION OF OOUNTKY LIFE 2Y9 ticipate activities of later life. They are, therefore, both imitations of the actual life movements of the older animals and a preparation for engaging in those life operations later on. The physical effects of play are marked. It is almost a necessity to growth. Especially a symmetrical development of the body is secured by games which put the various parts into use. It is said that the Jews of East End London are three inches shorter than the wealthy members of the race of that city. Much of this difference is thought to be due to an absence of opportunity to play and to engage in games on the part of the poor. In similar manner the slum popula- tion of Glasgow is four inches shorter than the Scotch of country regions. Mentally, organised play is valuable. The power of imi- tation is promoted. The quality of alertness to what is tak- ing place and of being ready to anticipate it is developed. Foresight is thus cultivated, as also by planning to overcome the other contestants. A comprehension of plans and minutiae of games, in order to play them well, enlarges the understand- ing and teaches the nature of organisation. A premium is placed on initiative and the leader is trained for future ac- tivities. The social worth of associated and directed play is paramount. Games place a premium on organisation and their value for attaining the accomplishment of purposes is seen. They teach cooperation. There is no success for the players' team unless all its members subordinate themselves to the group and work together. The value of the group and a regard for it is thus inculcated. Altruism is promoted and selfishness curbed. Zeal, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause is engendered. Love of association and community spirit are other no less worthy qualities which are attained by means of games. The country child is as much in need of having most of these qualities developed as the city child. He has the same 280 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY need of a symmetrical gro-wth of body. He is probably as strong, or stronger, and heavier than his colleague of the city; but he lacks the poise and proportionate development which the latter possesses. An investigation was made of the height, weight, and head circumference of country and city boys and girls of North Dakota. Children of the age of 12 in rural and city schools were measured. The data for the two groups are presented in the accompanying table (Table 30). The number measured in each case is small and the results are therefore not decisive. But they are interesting and indicate the country child is larger than the city child. TABLE 30 PHYSICAL DIFFEEENCES BETWEEN BURAL AND CITT CHILDBEN RUBAL Sex, Age Number Height Weight 1 Head Circum- ference Male, 12 Female, 12 Average 19 11 30 58.9 57.11 58.25 , 86.1 lbs. 82.2 lbs. 84.6 lbs. 21.34 21.34 21.34 Sex, Age Number Height 1 Weight Head Circum- ference Male, 12 Female, 12 1 20 20 40 56.5 57.77 56.9 1 80.7 lbs. 80.47 lbs. 80.58 Iba. ^ 21.27 in. 20.97 in. 21.12 in. It is stated that it was found by Civil War and Spanish War officers that city bred troops were quicker to follow or- ders and were able to endure more hardships than country men. Recent tests in gymnastics of this country tend to indicate just the opposite as to endurance, " While in the SOCIALISATION OF COUNTRY LIEE 281 sprints, the inability of the country boys to get a quick start acts as a serious handicap, in the longer races, they main- tain a more regular pace and manifest greater endurance than city boys, even when there is a demand made upon the will to key up the muscles to a last supreme effort." * Country boys lack cooperative ability and power to co- ordinate the organs of their body as compared with city boys. Mr. Myron T. Scudder found not only that country boys " did not know how to play, but that when they did try their physical development was neither as high nor as even as that shown by the boys in the Public School Athletic League of New York City." ^ Farm labour does not take the place of organised play. Indeed, there is reason to think that child labour on the farm is in many cases open to extreme severity and abuse. Boys are often put at tasks far beyond their age and powers, and kept at work far beyond the ten-hour period of adult indus- trial labour. Compulsory education laws do not always pro- tect the child. A North Dakota County Superintendent instructing a body of rural school directors advised them that the state school law might be violated in his county. It is understood that similar leniency exists in other states. The social needs of the country child for organised play are paramount. He craves this form of recreation. His future social nature and cooperative ability are largely de- pendent on it for their development. He has a right to this recreational pleasure, and stem justice and the responsibili- ties which later he is to carry demand that it shall be ex- tended to him. (d) Associational life is desirable to bring about a social solidarity. A community exists only where common inter- ests are recognised and acted on. We speak of a neighbour- * Guy D. Gold, " The Psychology of the Country Boy," Rural Manhood, April, 1911, p. 108. Stem, Chap. 1, and Gold, op. oit., p. 107. 282 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY, hood and probably mean by it that in a given region people live on farms which lie side by side. A neighbourhood is more than that. It is a community or it is nothing at all. If people do not neighbour with each other, if they do not recognise their mutual interests and draw together along those lines, there is no neighbourhood and no society. Social solidarity is good as a means and it is good as an end. As an end it enlarges personality. Our persons are as expansive as the interests they circumscribe. Personality is built up by absorbing the ideas, sympathies, interests, points of view, habits of reaction, methods of adjustment, etc., of our fellow men. So the child's person grows. As we grow older we continue the process. To cease to drink in and give out is to stop the development of our personalities. Hence the enrichment of the personalities of any given region is dependent on a frequent and close give and take between the individuals of the district. Family life is a means to this end. Large families in the country might be justified to secure this end. But the development of the associational life of a considerable number of families is a further and necessary means to secure richer and larger results. As a means, social solidarity is a factor. The historic devices which have been used to generate it is a recognition of its value. Among these in primitive times was the idea of blood relationship, and in more developed times patriotism. The ties of blood held groups together when humanity was in its childhood. It was intensified and encouraged by ideas of tradition and religious sanction. A premium was placed on preferring the individual of a blood group rather than one of a foreign group. Outside groups were anathematised, ridiculed, hated, destroyed wherever possible. The group kept its identity, promoted its life, and evolved by this device. Patriotism serves this purpose to-day. Nations are con- sidered strong, other things being equal, in proportion to their patriotism. The Japanese surprised the occidental SOOIALISATIOOSr OF COUNTRY LIFE 283 world by their exbibition of absolute devotion to their coun- try's cause in the Russo-Japanese War. No danger was too great or death too dreadful for Japanese troops to meet. We promote patriotism by flags, songs, exercises, appeals, boasts, because it secures a unity of spirit and a devotion which makes the nation strong and inviolable. What blood-ties were to primitive men and patriotism to modern states local pride and devotion must be to country neighbourhoods. They will be strong, vigorous, alert, able to survive and to develop by their means. Direction Eural Socialisation Should Take. — A unanimity of opinion does not exist, among students of rural matters, as to what direction the socialisation of the country should take. Shall it follow the lines developed in the city or build its own? Shall it be mere imitation of city ways, a whole- sale borrowing of organisations, or will it be best to adopt and reconstruct those factors for its own peculiar conditions ? Can the country be citified, and is it best it should be, or must it build up a real life of its own which shall not be a pale copy of life that is built on different foundations ? It will be worth while to consider the suggestions which have been made by men who have a knowledge of rural mat- ters. First, some would have the farmers gathered together in small villages after the manner of European agricultural life. Says President Kenyon L. Butterfield of this opinion : " This remedy, however, is of doubtful value. In the first place, the scheme is not immediately practicable. About three and one-half billions of dollars are now invested in farm buildings, and it will require some motive more power- ful than that inspired by academic logic to transfer, even gradually, this investment to village groups. Moreover, it is possible to dispute the desirability of the remedy. The farm village at best must be a mere hamlet. It can secure for the farmer very few of the urban advantages he may 284 CONSTKUCTIVE KURAL SOCIOLOGY want, except that of permitting closer daily intercourse be- tween families. And it is questionable if the petty society of such a village can compensate for the freedom and purity of rural family life now existing. It may even be asserted with some degree of positiveness that the small village, on the moral and intellectual sides, is distinctly inferior to the isolated farms." Second, better means of communication are recommended to secure needed rural social conditions. " At the present time rural isolation in America is being overcome by the development of better means of communi- cation among farmers. So successful are these means of communication proving that we cannot avoid the conclusion that herein lies the remedy. Improved wagon roads, the rural free mail delivery, the farm telephone, trolley lines through country districts are bringing about a positive revo- lution in country living. They are curing the evils of isola- tion, without in the slightest degree robbing the farm of its manifest advantages for family life. The farmers are being welded into a more compact society," given greater alertness of mind, and the basis is being laid for larger social activities. " The problem now is to extend these advantages to every rural community — in itself a task of huge proportions. If this can be done and isolation can be reduced to a minimum, the solution of all other rural social problems will become vastly easier." ® Roosevelt attributed rural exodus to " loneliness and lack of mental companionship," and hoped that free delivery, tele- phone, bicycle, trolley, etc., would do much toward " lessening the isolation of farm life and making it brighter and more attractive." Many think just the reverse will occur. They will make the city more accessible and spread information about it and its seductive attractions which may increase the urban immigration. Anyway the city will develop more 6 Butterfleld, same, pp. 20-22. SOCIAnSATIOK OF COtJNTiRY LlPE 285 rapidly in material advantages than the country and widen the breach, rather than be overtaken by the country through its urbanisation. Still others take a rather pessimistic view of the effects of rapid and easy communication which will put the country in close touch with urban centres. The chance and hazard- taking habit is one of the dangers of mankind. " Already those miraculous agencies in the hands of cities, that destroy alike space and time, are visibly instilling the virus of their many evil customs and methods into the various industries diffused throughout the nation, hitherto exempt from them. Even now, the entire rural element of the country is being closely and intimately linked to the chance-taking centres of the nation. It is, therefore, even at the present time, no unusual circumstance for the farmer to leave his plough in the furrow, and with it his honest labour, and repair to the well-installed telephone in his own home, to enjoy the thrill of a venture in the wheat pit of Chicago or the stock-market of New York." The result will be an " incongruous medley of honest crea- tive effort and speculative venture. The daily routine of the farmer's life may thus ultimately become a round of rapid alternations between the ticker and the plough." Realisation of the danger may be obtained by remember- ing that the farmers are more intimately connected with chance-taking centres than were their forefathers who lived in the cities where the dangerous foci are centred.'' Third, very effective reasons are given why the country should build its own institutions and civilisation. " The country must develop its own ideals and self-respect. My city friends, for example, are proposing ways whereby coim- try people may have entertainment, but they make the funda- mental error of fashioning their schemes on city ways. The real countryman does not think of theatres and recitals and 1 Bookwalter, " Eural versus Urban," pp. 279-81. 286 CONSTKUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY receptions and functions in the "way that the city man does, and it is not at all necessary that he should. On the con- trary, it is very important that he should not. The country- man needs more social life, but his entertainment and con- tentment must come largely out of his occupation and his contact with nature, not from mere extraneous attractions." * " I will illustrate this by speaking of the country move- ment to revive sports and games. More games and recreation are needed in the country as much as in the city. In fact, there may be greater need of them in the country than else- where. The tendency seems to be just now, however, to introduce old folk-games. We must remember that folk games such as we are likely to introduce have been developed in other countries and in other times. They represent the life of other peoples. To a great extent they are love-making games. They are not adapted in most cases to our climate. To introduce them is surely to bring in another exotic fac- tor and to develop a species of theatricals." ^ Country life cannot be effectively improved by grafting on city ways. It cannot hope to rival the advantages of the cities. Cheap and garish entertainments, electric lights, ad- vertisements affording nightly displays of fireworks, public spectacles and meets of great magnitude, institutional churches, social settlements, play-groimds and social centres as separate institutions can not be expected to thrive in rural regions and meet their peculiar necessities. " In a properly organised rural neighbourhood could be developed that higher kind of attraction which is suggested by the very word neighbourhood. . . . When people are really interested in each other — and this interest comes of habitually working together — the smallest personal traits or events affecting one are of interest to all. The simplest piece of amateur acting or singing, done in the village hall by one 8 1,. H. Bailey, " The State and the Farmer," pp. 64-65. » Bailey, " The Training of the Farmer," pp. 8-9. SOCIALISATION OF OOUNTKY LIFE 287 of the villagers, will arouse more enthusiasm among his friends and neighbours than can be excited by the most con- summate performance of a professional in a great theatre, where no one in the audience knows or cares for the per- former." Fourth, the country stands in need of developing its own permanent leadership. Elsewhere the evidence relative to this need is given. In earlier chapters mention has been made of it. The dependence of farmers on other classes for political direction and initiative has been shown. Statesman- ship of a large sort comes from non-rural classes. Especially home ability must be grown which shall understand rural conditions and communities as such. It must appreciate the deepest social necessities and demands and be constructive in its attempt to devise ways to satisfy those conditions. REFERENCES Stern. " Neighbourhood Entertainments," Introduction, p. ix ; and Chap. 1. Roosevelt, Theodore. Accompanying message to " Report of the Country Life Commission," p. 6. Bailey, L. H. "The Training of Farmers," pp. 8-9 and 15-16; "The State and the Farmer," pp. 64-65. Gillette, J. M. "Vocational Education," pp. 6-7. Blackmar, F. W. "Elements of Sociology," Bk. Ill, Chap. 1. Mangold. " Child Problems," Book II, Chap. 1. Groos, Karl. " The Play of Animals," Introduction, and Chap. 1. Gold, Guy D. "The Psychology of the Country Boy," Rural Mem- hood, April, 1911, pp. 107-8. Butterfield, Kenyon L. " Chapters in Rural Progress," pp. 20-22. Bookwalter, John W. "Rural Versus Urban," pp. 279-81. Plunkett, Sir Horace. "The Rural Problem of the United States." "Country Life Problem." Editorial — yaMon, Vol. 89, pp. 479-80. "Making Country Life Attractive." Independent, Vol. 68, pp. 59-60. CHAPTEE XVI ETTEAL SOOIAL INSTITUTIONS AND THEIE IMPEOVEMEN*. ;• CLUBS In previous connections, especially in the last chapter, we have seen the desirability and necessity of collective action in rural ooinmunities. In order that individuals may associate and operate collectively agencies are requisite. Organisa- tions are to society what bony framework and muscles are to the cell-organisms which make up the human body. They make possible united effort on which much of the individual's happiness depends. In the country especially the individual can accomplish little of a social nature through individual undertakings. He is, therefore, all the more dependent on social contrivances to secure collective results. It is well, however, to remember that organisations are but the means through which human welfare is to be attained. They are not ends and the mistake should never be made of establishing them just for the sake of having the equipment which some other community possesses. The country does not need institutionalisation in this sense. Unless a demand exists it is better without institutions. " Through the Local Improvement Association, the com- munity can work effectively for better conditions — im- proved roads, better schools, more efficient local government ; for greater opportunities for culture, through local libraries, lectures and music. Clubs for boys and girls supply a need in education not satisfied by the home or the school, stimu- lating, as they do, the child's self-reliance, and a capacity to govern, as well as teaching him to submit in a community 288 RUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 289 of his peers — qualities not developed under the restraint of the home or the school." They also provide older boys and girls with opportunities for study and improvement. " The need of mutual help is, perhaps, greatest among the women in the community. While the women cling to the narrow confines of the kitchen and the home circle, the other members of the family are developing new interests, and are leaving her behind and mentally alone. If she can keep abreast of the world and its interests, lighten the drudgery of the household by adopting improved methods, learn what may contribute to the better upbringing of children, the gain is not only to the woman but to the family as a whole. In the grind of routine household duties, there is need of the mutual encouragement that comes from common effort in one direction, and of stated times when the women of the community can come together for serious conference or for pleasure. Here is the field of service of the properly organ- ised woman's club." ^ 1. The Local Improvement Association is a means of getr ting things done for the community which individuals are not likely to undertake. The Association may undertake the clearing of weeds from streets and roads, and from open fields to prevent seeding; the removal of rubbish from public places; improvement of schoolhouses, churches, and their grounds; the planting of trees in public grounds and along roads; drainage and sani- tation of pestilential places; and whatever is in demand. Securing the participation of children in activities and pro- grammes is important. It arouses their interest in the coun- try and secures the translation of family interest into action. Special days and occasions may be taken advantage of with good results. Arbor Day affords such an opportunity. Children may well be instructed in advance in school or in a 1 Stem, " Neighbourhood Entertaiaments," pp. ix-xii. 290 CONSTEUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY. section of the Association in all matters relative to the trans- planting of trees and bushes. Thorough preparation and organisation will make the day a successful one and make every one feel that he has contributed something. Another opportunity is offered by local history. A com- mittee of the Association may be formed on " History and Historic Landmarks." Such activities cultivate the spirit ■which talks of " our town," " our township," " our district." It breeds local patriotism and gives the community an in- dividuality. The Association may promote Old Home Week for the purpose of bringing back the old settlers. It may also in- itiate and organise a lecture course association which would bring outside talent to contribute new ideas, features, and zest to community life.^ 2. Boys' Clubs. — Boys' clubs take advantage of the " ganging " age of boys, satisfy their craving to belong to something, and interest the outside home circle in their af- fairs. They train them to get along with their fellows, to show consideration, and to exercise self-control. Through such organisations leadership is developed. Their negative value is to keep the youngsters out of mischief. Boys' clubs have a wide range and must be adapted to meet local needs. City boys need to be kept out of mischief, country boys need companionship and training in association. The club must have a definite motive, whether social or studious. The country boy is self-reliant, but needs to learn how to express himself among his fellows, to sink the con- sciousness of self, to work with others. The club should aim to realise those ends. There are certain requisites for a country boys' club. The members should be of the same age so as to have a similar grade of knowledge and interests. There should be a va- riety of occupations in the club to meet various tastes. They 2 Stern, " Neighbourhood Entertainments," Chap. 1. POPULATION mgo 1900 Amerlcus 54i 462 Michigan 36a 279 Buxton 1021 1110 Stavanger (Org'd 1908) Reynolds 389 1910 387 275 ^"^{.1088 412 (^ Schools ^1 Church yXK Cemetery AJS Methodist Family H Other Families * 1 , L r Size ot Farms y' Coulees $ School District RIJEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 291 may consist of debates, essays, and readings, to be alternated with indoor athletics, outdoor games, recitations, simple plays and entertainments. A few special events like public entertainments, debates with rival clubs, and competitive games, give the members something to look forward to and increase their interest as well as that of friends. Jealousy is allayed by rotation in ofEce. A regular place of meeting is advisable, although meetings may be held at members' homes in turn. The decoration and improvement of a per- manent club room adds interest. Weekly meetings in win- ter, if possible, is advised, with one formal meeting a year. Older boys manage their own club but should have an ad- viser. Boys under fourteen elect their officers but should be under the guidance of a wise " youthful " leader who is capable of eliciting hero worship. The athletic, local history, natural history, and agricultural clubs, are forms of associa- tions which have proved successful among boys. 3. Girls' Clubs. — It seems wise to separate girls and boys between the ages of twelve and eighteen into different organ- isations. Their interests diverge then. Boys are active and athletic. Girls enjoy quiet work or reading. The attempt to find common ground results in boredom or silly sentimentality which is worse. Girls have the same desire as boys for com- panionship, to worship idols, and to " belong to something." If an athletic club for girls is organised they should be carefully guarded against overstrain. Clubs in local and natural history are suitable to them. Sewing and cooking classes taught by competent women of the neighbourhood or others are desirable. 4. Young People's Clubs — Older boys and girls have the same desire for companionship as younger, and secure greater gains from clubs. The sexes work together well after the age of seventeen or eighteen. Their interests are more in common. The programmes may be made systematic and may be conducted by the members, but older and wiser lead- 292 COKSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCiOLOGt ers are helpful. Literary studies have been found to give satisfaction and profit. Shakesperean studies opened up ambitions to excel in rendition of parts. Open readings may be given after some excellence has been attained. These be- come social events to the young people of the neighbourhood. After each session time is devoted to social intercourse. Amateur theatricals may be undertaken under proper direc- tion. They are a source of pleasure and a means of culture. Participation improves the memory, speaking ability, ease of carriage, appearance in public, poise and self-control. The study of parts between times helps to hold the young people together. It is unfortunate that a literature which touches the in- terests of farm life closely does not exist. Poems, novels, serious works of various forms, are quite largely urbanised or industrialised. Young people's and other rural literary and study clubs would have a more permanent foundation did the subject matter pertain more intimately to the life conditions of the country. 5. Women's Clubs. — " A survey of the work of women's clubs throughout the country discloses the fact that in most instances, these clubs, far from leading women into greater worldliness and away from their households and children, are useful in aiding the mothers to become better home-keepers. In other words, these clubs help the modern home to keep pace with modern school and business life. Woman has al- ways been considered the great social factor, consequently it lies with her to institute whatever reform makes for better community life, provides openings for mental development or initiates harmless and satisfying forms of recreation. " All forms of recreation and of work gain by being shared with others. The temptation to form the stay-at-home habit is great, more particularly to women who have the care of large families and live in isolated districts. They are apt to lose the desire for contact with the life of the community EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 293 and to fall slaves to a deadening routine into which it grows more and more difficult to break. To create a bond of friendly intercourse between such women, and a common meeting-ground where they may come together and spend an occasional afternoon, there to read the same books or to ex- press their thoughts to one another, is the object of the club ; and its effect is found to be the rousing of latent interests and broadening of both mind and sympathies." The question of available subjects is a difficult one. What women are accomplishing in various fields should stir up in- terest. The work of literary women is most accessible. " Travels at Home " is another field. One class completed a round-the-world tour covering several years. Publishing firms issue inexpensive prints of famous places and hundreds of these are obtainable. George Eliot's " Eomola " can be made vivid by views of Florence. Something interesting may be derived from a lively art club. Even more valuable and interesting is a household economics course. Eor this it is advisable to work under the leadership of some neighbour- ing institution which has experts in the subject. Bulletins of the United States Department of Agriculture on various foods may be obtained as aids. An outline course for such a club may prove valuable. The numbers attached to the fol- lowing topics refer to Earmers' Bulletins. 1. Economising time and strength in the arrangement of the house and utensils, and in organising household work. (353, 270, 342.) 2. Most economical stoves and lighting devices, their care, etc. 3. Use of fireless cooker, arguments for and against. 4. Care of drains, and garbage disposal. 5. Eemoval of dust, proper ventilation, rugs, carpets, sweeping, dusting, etfc 6. Canning and preserving. (175, 203, 359.) 7. Principles of nutrition £ind nutritive value of food. 294- CONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY (34, 85, 93, 112, 121, 128, 142, 182, 244, 249, 256, 293, 332, 363, 391.) 8. School lunches. 9. Household decoration. 10. Best flowers to raise for interior and outside purposes. 11. Use of " parlour " and kitchen. 12. How to keep children at home and interested in farm work. 13. !Food adulteration and sanitation in neighbouring states. 14. School and home sanitation, and flies. 15. Neighbourhood beautification and housekeeping. Another useful series of topics could be arranged on mat- ters of child-life and child-rearing. Eefreshments are an im- portant part of the club. It is a good way to get people drawn out over teacups and acquainted and may be regarded as the equivalent of men's " smokers." An efficient commit- tee is necessary to arrange a programme and to see that ex- penses are kept down and emulation in display does not creep in to dismember the club. A certain amount of cooperation between town and coun- try clubs is desirable and the benefits are not all to the coun- try woman. Information and vision will accrue to the mem- bers of both kinds of clvibs. Joint meetings twice a year are found profitable. If the city club has quarters this might be used as rest quarters for country women. Daily visita- tion by city women establishes many valuable friendships. The rest room for women from the farms, who have to spend hours at a time waiting in stores, is very necessary because of humane utility, apart from any form of club. The women of Ottumwa, Iowa, maintain such a room in the town hall of that place. The library is the seat of the rest room at Storm Lake, lowa.^ 3 The new county court houses at Wahpeton and at Giand Forks, North Dakota, contain rest rooms for farm, women and rooms for farm men. EURAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 295 Farm women obtain the pleasures of association and mucli valuable information and discipline in the Grange, and in the woman's section of Farmers' Institutes. Further refer- ence will be made to these topics in treating " farmers' or- ganisations." FAEMEES' OEGANISATIONS Various organisations in rural regions have sprung up which may be designated as farmers' organisations. These might be treated in several connections in this volume. Some of them are essentially business in purpose, others primarily educational, but all afford the " social " aspect to a greater or less degree. Only those which appear to be of a permanent nature will be considered. 1. The Grange. — It has been supposed that this historic association was passing away. From 1880 to 1890 the order lost heavily in the West and South, although it grew steadily in New England and the Middle States. Thirty states pay dues to the National Grange treasury, twenty-six states sent delegates to the National Grange in a recent year, and most of these states show substantial growth in Granges and mem- bership. New York alone had 66,500 members in 1905 and four other states ranged from 28,000 to 49,000 in member- ship. The membership consists of men and women, and of young people over fourteen years of age, who may apply and by vote be accepted. Meetings are held weekly or fortnightly. Each regular meeting has first its business session, and then its " lecturer's hour " or literary session, usually with an in- tervening recess for social greetings, etc. The programmes are prepared by the lecturer, and consist of general discus- sions, essays, talks, debates, readings, recitations, and music ; an attempt being made to suit the tastes and talents of all members, young and old. Many Granges have built and own their own halls, which are usually equipped with kitchen and dining-room, in addition to audience rooms; for periodical. 296 CONSTKUCTIVE KURAL SOCIOLOGY " feasts " are as regular a feature of the association as are the initiations of new members. The social importance of the organisation is seen also in the fact that last year (1910) ten Grange halls were dedicated in the State of New York. The declaration of purpose of the National Grange ex- presses the fundamental objects of the order. Briefly stated, they are cooperation among farmers to secure better homes, better manhood and womanhood, better agriculture in its va- rious phases, the elimination of middlemen, economy and honesty in government, and the promotion of education. Large results have been secured in most of these directions. Cooperative purchasing direct from manufacturers and job- bing houses has taken place extensively; mutual fire insur- ance companies have been organised in several states, twenty- three such companies existing in New York alone with policies aggregating $85,000,000; several governmental matters have been pushed through by the influence of the Grange, such as the regulation of railroad franchises, establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission, tax reform in many states, some food and dairy product laws, establish- ment of rural free delivery, etc. The distinctive achievements of the Grange in smaller community matters have been furnishing a social clearing house, promotion of family life, and raising the standard of morals. "It is a debating society, club, lecture course, par- liamentary society, theatre, and circulating library. In fact, it lends itself to almost any function that will instruct, enter- tain, benefit, or assist its members financially, morally, in- tellectually, or socially." Woman stands on an equality with man in the order. 2. Farmers' Institutes. — The Farmers' Institute has been in existence during nearly sixty years, and like the Grange, has demonstrated its usefulness. As the institute is now conducted it is really a part of educational extension work. But it is also an organisation of the rural community fop EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 29T promoting coromunity and individual interests. Most of the work is done in gatheritigs of agricultural people and the organisation is a means' of iitercotirse, forming accfuaiintahees, and promoting a class-donscibiisness". The Institutes were originally mixeid gatherings of men and women, continuing for about two days of five sessions, with mixed programmes. More recently, however, woman's distinct sphere, function, and needs have come into recogni- tion, and she has been allotted a separate section in many states. At the present time institutes for young people be- tween the ages of 14 and 19 are being held. In 1910 every state had institutes organised under the charge of responsible directors with a corps of over 1,000 teachers who were specialists. Besides regular and special institutes the movement embraces movable schools of agri- culture, field demonstrations, and agricultural trains. The typical institute session consists of about three topics. These may be treated by experts from agricultural institu- tions or departments, expert farmers from the outside, or local farmers with recognised ability. Demonstrations are fre- quent. Object lessons are regarded as essentials to drive the truth home. Social intermixture and farm talk abounds in intervals between sessions. Women's sections and special institutes are devoted to home matters. Special lecturers and demonstrators lead and guide the discussions. The tendency is in the direction of placing much more emphasis on these schools for women. Young people's institutes differ from boys' and girls' clubs as organised by the public schools in that they are officered by adults, and their instructors are capable specialists of the same qualifications as those who lecture before farmers' in- stitutes for adults. Since children over 14 years old are deprived of advanced training in farming, the instruction is wholly vocational. The states appropriate money to support all forms of in- 298 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY etitute work and they are either under state or county direc- tion. The United States Government contributes to its pro- motion through experts, and the support of agricultural colleges, whose staffs are drawn on for directors, experts, lec- turers, demonstrators, etc. Institutes have not only informed but inspired farmers. They have aroused dormant communities, quickened life, made men think and discuss, given opportunity for self-de- velopment, encouraged the despondent, and lightened the bur- dens of many men and women by teaching better and easier methods of farming and housekeeping. They have popu- larised agricultural education and started multitudes to at- tend agricultural colleges. Reading-courses and correspond- ence-courses are growing factors in agricultural education; but they cannot take the place of the institute, whose power is in face-to-face discussion and personal contact. 3. The Ameiican Society of Equity The American So- ciety of Equity of North America is a new order. It was incorporated under the laws of Indiana, December 24, 1902. Since then it has extended its membership into several states and has become influential in determining the prices of farm- ers' commodities. The objects as set forth in Article III of the Articles of Incorporation represent its motive and spirit. The scope and nature of the order is economic, educational, scientific, protective, social, pacific, and promotive. It is a class-conscious movement based on democratic and coopera- tive principles. Its organisation is local, county, state, and national, with officers to carry out the policies adopted in each given unit. It is centralised to gain eflBciency, but the various grades of the order possess large local autonomy and " the right of the initiative and referendum and imperative mandate shall not be denied the members of their respective unions " (Article IX, section 1 of the Constitution). " The members of this society are expected to extend fraternal care to one another in sickness, misfortune, or distress, and to ETJEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTION'S 299 their families in bereavement " (Article XIV, section 1). Arbitration is recommended between members, partisan and sectarian discussions prohibited, cooperation heartily urged as the most efficient social means. (Article XIV, sections 2, 3, and 5.) The union label is used as a means of identifica- tion. Arising and spreading as it has at a time when the spirit of organisation and cooperation is abroad, when they are coming to be looked upon as the best means of guarding the interests of the individuals of any class, and when farmers are showing unusual signs of rising to meet the demands for their class, the order of the American Society of Equity bids fair to become a large and permanent factor in promoting agricultural society. 4. The Farmers' Union — What the Grange and Society of Equity is to the North the Farmers' Union is to the South. This organisation to help farmers was formed in the sunmier of 1902 by Newt Gresham in the State of Texas. The movement spread rapidly in the South. In 1906 there were Unions in every Southern state and in some of the North. At that time Texas led with 3,250 Unions, Oklahoma fol- lowed with 1,400, and Arkansas stood next with 1,356. The total number of Unions was 6,870, the membership was near 300,000, and new Unions were being chartered at the rate of twenty-five per day with a daily increase of 600 members. A membership of 3,000,000 was claimed in 1910. The objects and aims of the Union are stated by the by- laws as follows: "(1) To discourage as much as possible the present mortgage and credit system. (2) To assist our members in buying and selling. (3) To labour for the edu- cation of the agricultural classes in the science of crop di- versification and scientific agriculture. (4) To constantly strive to secure entire harmony and good will among all man- kind, and brotherly love among ourselves. (5) To form a more adequate union with those in authority for a more rigid 300 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY, and impartial enforcement of the law, that crime, vice, and immorality may be suppressed. (6) To gamer the tears of the distressed, the blood of the martyrs, the laugh of innocent childhood, the sweat of honest labour, and the virtue of happy homes as the highest jewel known. " This is in no sense a political party, and shall forever abstain from so much as a discussion of partyism. Yet we do not feel it is our right to place shackles upon the mind nor a padlock upon the lips of any one who may wish to dis- cuss, for educational purposes, the science of government, because upon this great rock all important structures rest for either mental, moral, social, or financial development." The unions in union states have worked for public ware- houses for cotton, and for the lowering of freight rates. The Union has cooperated with Labour Unions, and members of both organisations are known as " union men." In 1910 the Farmers' Union, which met at St. Louis, adopted a resolu- tion favourable to Mr. Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labour, and other labour leaders. It pledges that efforts shall be made to preserve their common " rights and liberties," to give preference to the products of labour which is organised, and that its officers shall confer and co- operate with those of labour for legislative and political amelioration. 5. Farmers' Clubs. — City people have their clubs. Mer- chants, teachers, lawyers, doctors, preachers form special or- ganisations. The Commercial Club is a kind of home for city men in general who are members, and at certain times the wives of members are invited in. Farmers seem about to follow the example set them. They are establishing Farm- ers' Clubs, which shall be to the farmers what the other clubs are to the other occupations. It is understood that when a man joins his family become members. He brings it with him. Lunches are brought and the entire day is spent. There is a programme both in the forenoon and afternoon in EURAL SOCIAL I1^STITUTI0N"S 301 which music, recitations, and readings appear, along with serious discussions of farm and home and educational topics by outside and local talent. The interval at noon is made a big event. Good dinners, visiting, discussions carried on in groups, make it the best part of the day. LIBKAEY 1. Importance as a Disseminator The term library is used to cover that organisation by means of which society is supplying its members with reading matter. It is one of the important institutions which is used for the promotion of rural life. The dynamic influence of books and periodicals when put into circulation in a community is enormous. Mod- ern experimental psychology has demonstrated that ideas are dynamic. Suggestions and mental images tend to get them- selves worked out and realised in action by their direct and immediate influence on the bodily motor system. There are scientific ideas enough, potential, piled up in the libraries of the land, to move society ahead a generation if they could be made actual and living in the minds of men and women of to-day. One of the greatest problems in securing social progress is that of putting scientific information into common use. In our chapters on the improvement of the business of farming, and the improvement of the home and home utili- ties, we were in the presence of facts which showed the enor- mous gains rural communities might secure if only the peo- ple living in the country could really know the facts and their significance. The library offers one of the available means of putting facts and ideas about agricultural condi- tions into the minds of the individuals who will live them into actualisation. While the dissemination of scientific knowledge generally is the greatest, entertainment and satisfaction from reading " light literature " is an important object of libraries. To accomplish this object reading must be made a part of edu- 302 CONSTEUOTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY cation. The reading habit must be established. School and other agencies should cooperate to secure this in youth. In maturity it will enliven the mind and bring a yearly reward. 2. Agencies of Dissemination. — It is somewhat immaterial where the collection of books, pamphlets, and papers which constitutes any given library is housed, just so that it is con- venient and usable. If a neighbourhood can afford a sepa- rate library building, with various rooms for clubs, organisa- tions, and social centre functions it is a great advantage. Such equipment can be hoped for as yet only in the larger centres. In small centres and in open country districts the collection may find a home in the school building, the church, the country store, or even a neighbour's residence. The method and means of securing the collection is the important thing. The agencies of dissemination in rural districts are: (1) rural school libraries, (2) young people's reading circles, and (3) travelling libraries. Permissive laws exist in many states providing for rural school libraries through taxation. Others make state aid conditional on raising a certain amount by private subscrip- tion. Compulsory laws are necessary to stimulate most com- munities to establish these libraries. The ISTebraska law re- quires that 10 cents per child of school age be raised and invested in books other than text-books. Communities hav- ing free public libraries to which support to the extent of $300 or over is given are exempted. Wisconsin, Iowa, Mis- souri, and some other states have similar laws. They have greatly stimulated library extension. Young People's Reading Circles have proved useful agencies. A board of directors guides in the selection of books. They are of a wholesome nature, adapted to the different ages, covering a wide range of literature, history, and adventure. The purchase money may be supplied from public funds or private subscription. EUEAL SOCIAL Il^STITUTIONS 303 The Travelling Library has for its objects furnishing good literature to the public, strengthening small libraries, and the creation of new ones. All classes and communities may re- ceive books. They are neatly boxed and sent out to all sorts of organisations seeking self-improvement, such as women's clubs. Granges, alliances, and institutes, workingmen's clubs, Sunday school classes, and even penal and charitable insti- tutions. In small commimities where the library finds small support the regular instalment of books is found to be an important addition. The advantage is even more notable in the case of a small rural school library. The travelling li- brary often acts as a stimulus to the community to secure the establishment of a library. Put good reading into a neigh- bourhood and it whets the appetite for more. Besides books some State Library Commissions send out other educational material. New York dispenses travelling art exhibits consisting of 1,586 large pictures of " the finest subjects and the best edition " ; over 21,000 mounted photo- graphs to be hung on the walls of the school for six months at a time with proper labels and notes ; and even better, 24,- 458 lantern slides, together with lanterns, screens, and at- tachments for oil, oxyhydrogen, acetylene, or electric light. It also sends out " house libraries " of ten volumes each, which any home may secure for three months for a fee of one dollar. "Van Wert county, Ohio, has established a publicly sup- ported county library system. It consists of a central library, fijfteen branch stations which receive 100 new books every three months, and school collections in 90 out of 115 rural schools of the county. During the past year this system circulated three volumes per capita of its 29,119 people.* * Rural Manhood.-lU, 227-9. 304 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY Biiral Social Centres. — In the succeeding chapter some- thing will be said about the advantages of the consolidated rural school as a social centre. No doubt many communities in various sections of the nation will develop such a centre in the school or church. But it is not possible for all com- munities to adopt the same plan. Consequently it is appro- priate, after the discussion of the different rural organisa- tions which need a home, to indicate what plans are taking shape to house rural neighbourhood activities. The accompanying plans (Pictogram 5) for a neighbour- hood clubhouse appeared in the Minneapolis Journal of May 3, 1914. They were worked out at the suggestion of Mr. Ball, secretary of the crop improvement committee of the Council of Grain Exchangers. The following explanation of the plans will make their arrangement and purposes clear : " The central feature of the plan is an auditorium, avail- able for various uses. The room can be just as large as necessity indicates it should be. It is a ground floor room, with numerous doors on either side and in front, so that the element of danger, even if the structure is of wood, is re- duced to a minimum. Moreover, it is convertible. It can be used as a gymnasium for school sports and drills, or it can be used as a lodgeroom. A stage is provided, again, so as to provide for theatricals, and a kitchen adjoining gives opportunity for the use of the room for banquets, or winter picnics. In the centre of a balcony at the end of the room opposite the stage is a booth for a motion picture machine, suggesting still another use. The fact is, the plan, although very simple, meets almost every demand that can be placed upon such a room. " Another feature of the building is seen in quarters pro- vided for various agencies in welfare work. " On the ground floor to the left of the lobby is a room for the oflice of the county agricultural agent. The county EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS PICTOGRAM 5 305 ^ vrrtK rA«.TOP ft XO s •t rnim nnnr WOMTWt fBPItWION 1 VMCA CIKU »**,« Model Exhibit of tlie Rural Comiiumitv CV-ntro with its Various Features REFERENCES TO CHAPTERS Cliihs Stern, op. cit. Introduction, and Chapters 1-4. Kern, 0. J. " Among Country Sehools," Chap. 7. Bailey, L. H. " The Training' of Farmers,'' pp. 37 ff. " Bo.ys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs." Faniios' liiilleTin, No. 385, U. S. Department of Agriculture. Edwin L. liolton. " Xeighboiuhood Im])ro\"ement Clubs for the Rural, Vilhiye and Town Communities." Farmers' Clubs — Bulletin, "Better Living Association," \. Dak., 1012., Farmers' Organisations Buttcrficld, K. L. " Chapters in Rural Progress." Cliapters 10 and 11. '■ History of Farmers' Institutes in the United States." U. S. De- partment of Agriculture, ExperiiHtnt Slation Bulletin. Xo. 174. " Farmers' Organisations." J. A. ]']dgerton, Watson's Maijazine, February, l!)0(i, pp. 423-428. " F^armers and Unionists Plan to Work Togetlier." Chicago Rerord- nerald, May .'i, 11110. " Report of the Secretary of Agrieultvu-e," 1010, pp. 143-4. " Proceedings of the Fleventh and Fifteenth Annual Meetings of llu' American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers," lOOG and 101(1. F]a'i>criiiii'nl Illation lliilhtiiis. Xos. 1S2 and "238. " Constitution and I5y-laws of tlic American Society of Equity of Xorth America," Indiana])olis, Indiana. " The Third Power," J. A. iMcritt. Editorial, Chicago l.'reord-llvrald. May 10, 1010. "A. C. Editorial on l-'armevs' Clubs." Grand I'^orks Herald (X'ortli Dakota), January 17, 10:I7. HUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 309 Marsh, B. C. "The State Grange — A Social Force," The Survey, February 12, 1910, pp. 703-4. " Rochester Social Centres and Civic Clubs — Story of the First Two Years.'' Published by the League of Civic Clubs, 1909. Libraries. Kern, 0. J. " Among Country Schools," Chap. 6, " School Libraries." "The American Rural School." H. W. Foght, Chap. 13, "The Li- brary and Rural Commimities." Gillette, J. M. " The Socialisation of the Library," American Munic- ipalities, November, 1907. Bailey. "The Training of the Farmer," p. 37 ff. " Libraries for Everybody." Herbert Putnam, World's Work, July, 1905. "Applied Sociology." L. F. Ward, Chap. 12. Budlong, Minnie C. "A Plan of Organisation for Small Libraries," North Dakota Public Library Commission. Metz, Corrinne A. " A County Library System Demonstrated," Rural Manhood, III, 227-9. Rural Social Centers Minneapolis Journal, May 3, 1914. Rural Manhood, Jan., 1914. Curtis, H. S. " Play and Recreation for the Open Country." CHAPTER XVII ETTBAL SOCIAL IKTSTITtFTIONS AND THEIB. IMPEOVEMENT (cOlirTINUED) THE CHUECH The Function of the Church Because the church is an old historic institution which has served the interests of hu- manity in various ages so intimately and well it is difficult to form a fair and accurate notion of what it may and should do in any community. Our eyes are obscured by the glory of its past services and by the great part it played in certain periods. It is plain that the church does not occupy the prominence in the affairs of the world it once did. It can- not play the role it assumed as dictator to kings and em- perors in the time of Innocent III. Its political influence is now rather incidental and a divorce between church and state, initiated by Ehode Island, put into effect first on a national scope by the United States, is being realised among European nations, bidding fair to become universal. It is worth discussing what the place and function of the church is in the modern world. Theoretically and sociolog- ically this may be determined, not however, with absolute tmanimity of opinion. The personal bias and philosophy colour the findings of various thinkers and make the con- clusions divergent. Some modem conditions, however, may be noted which would seem to mark out about what any given institution may and may not do. The situation rela- tive to the church in society from sociological considerations may indicate what the church can not hope to do in the rural region. The modem world works upon the principle of the divi- sion of labour to a greater extent than any previous age. On 310 EHRAL SOCIAX INSTITUTIONS 311 the structural side social evolution has consisted in forming and establishing structures to take up the tasks which new interests and demands create. Continuous differentiation has mutiplied organisations, each with its work to do. Func- tionally, social evolution has consisted in the differentiation of human wants, the creation of new interests, the multipli- cation of divisions of labour, the intensification of specialisa- tion. Each social function has had its organisation to exe- cute it. Each fundamental interest has had its primary institution consisting in turn of subsidiary, specialising or- ganisations, through which both the central and the more incidental wants obtained realisation. Thus we have such primary institutions as the religious, the educational, the in- dustrial, the political, and so on. Each one of these is broken" up into differing functional activities, which seem essential to the execution of the primary function. In the case of the educational organisation, the primary aim is training, preparation for society ; imparting knowledge being the central idea. In order to convey information, there may have to be government, moralisation, communica- tion, and other activities carried on in the educational sys- tem as means to the great end. In the political activities equitable regulation of property and personal relations in society is primary. To secure this purpose the organised state ensues, government in all its phases is established, po- litical parties with their machinery for campaigning and se- curing control of the state develop. In the religious sphere worship in some phase has been the central function. It may have consisted of attempts at frightening, at pacification, or at communion with divinities or the deity. Incidentally subsidiary activities such as ecclesiastical government, edu- cation, charity, and various other activities were carried on. Thus in all these cases there has been some primary func- tion undertaken with developing subordinate functions as means of realising the dominant purpose. It would be a 312 CONSTRUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY sociological error to think the case may be reversed and that the subordinate function may be elevated to the position of the primary. If education turns aside to govern the state or to manufacture goods or to preach doctrine in a predom- inant manner, making the impartation of knowledge second- ary, it usurps the function of other institutions and abdicates its ovs^n. If the church, vphich is the institution for realising the religious wants of men, undertakes to regulate the state, or to impart information of a scientific and vocational nature dominantly, dropping religious culturisation into a subordi- nate place, it forgets its historic and sociological division of labour and seeks to do the primary work of other specialised institutions. The mistake is often made of assuming that because the church once carried on government or education it may do so again. This assum^ption forgets that social evolution has succeeded in creating new institutions to take over some of the work formerly carried on by other institutions. The impress of specialisation is now so firmly established that the new order cannot be reversed without a revolution. The educational system of modern society is so well established and developed, with its central aim of imparting useful and scientific knowledge in a systematic and thorough manner, that it is anachronistic and reactionary to propose that the church or any other institution may usurp this work. The rural school, the extension work of university and college, the institutes with their corps of experts, all supported by public funds, are in the field to stay and to become more firmly entrenched. Principles Regulative of what the Rural Church May Un- dertake. — There are certain useful things which the church in the rural district may accomplish. First, it must not for- get to carry on its primary function of teaching fundamental religion. If this is not the primary work of the church there is no other institution to take it up. It is not the business EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 313 of the state, the school, or the press. If religion is essentia] to the masses, then the church must see to it that the masses obtain it. This does not mean that a church must return to primitive methods, preach systematic theology, or engage in polemical discussions with other sects. Chris- tianity has evolved in recent years. It has grown in ethical content and moral import. Eeligion is seen and interpreted in its social relationships. When this is done it is found to be uplifting and attractive. Breadth of vision, profundity of meaning, and genesis of new vigour are by this means secured for the average individual. To secure the best results from religious teaching the Bible needs to be interpreted. The Bible is an evolutionary litera- ture. In it may be seen the development of religion in the life of a single people from the stage of primitive clan and tribal superstitions and revolting practices, through interven- ing cleansing steps, to the highest monotheistic conceptions and ethical content. An ignorant preacher will place the abhorrent deeds of the primitive Hebrews on the same ethical plane with the elevated teachings of the great prophets and the sublime ideas of Jesus. He will condone the polygamous practices of David and Solomon, the reactionary ideas of Paul relative to woman, and place the Levitical code on a par with the Sermon on the Mount. Modem men are repelled by such confusing and contradict- ory conceptions. It is neither reasonable nor inspirational. It ignores the teachings of science. But let a wise leader explain the Bible and the religious life of the Hebrews as a growth and light breaks in. The Bible becomes a fascinating piece of literature and history. Information of value is obtained in it as to social evolution and the evolution of religion. Jesus appears all the greater because he is the con- summation of the development. His ethical teachings secure new meaning since he is seen to occupy the position of both religious and social reformer. It is needless to say that this 314 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY procedure calls for an advanced type of preacher in the rural churches. Second, the country church can act as inspirer and leader in the larger and more significant advances now^ demanded in the country. In preceding chapters vee have seen what many of these things are. The exposition of the attractions of con- tact vs'ith nature ; the needs of improving business, agriculture, the home and the neighbourhood ; the rights of labour on the farm ; a better educational system ; the beautification of home grounds and the country landscape; better roads; proper methods of caring for the poor and the defective classes, are some of the numerous topics of a larger nature vphich the country church may well consider. It is not expected that the preacher will be able to act as expert authority on each and all of these subjects. But he should know the needs of country life so well, see the value which would ensue from a realisation of better things in these and other directions, and obtain such a perspective of the ideal community, that he will be able to give inspiration and direction to the movements. A leader who realises the need in a given direction will be able to agitate, suggest and organ- ise until a movement is put on foot to meet it; even though he does not understand all the details which the realisation involves. A man may be perfectly competent to preach on the demands and results of the new agriculture, without being an expert farmer. The literature and information on the subject is so abounding that several addresses on various phases of the subject might well be given. The subject treated in a large way, and in view of its significance for pro- duction, for the nation, for building up the home, for educating the children, and for improving life in the neigh- bourhood would instruct even the expert farmer and encour- age the average resident to take action. A series of addresses on Sunday evenings might easilv be made on each of the larger subjects denoted. Outside experts EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 315 and speakers could be obtained for portions of them. Able local farmers would be able to treat some of them. In fact, much of the leadership of such things must be expected of laymen and encouraged in them. Let the minister realise that his great function is that of director and promoter, en- thusing and giving courage to his members and modestly pointing the way, and he will double his usefulness. Un- fortunately, the average country clergyman has no equipment for this service. The reasons will become apparent when we consider the decadence of the country church. Third, the church may serve the purpose of a social unifier and social centre or clearing house. It need not seek to as- sume the monopoly in these directions. Frequently other institutions have already taken the lead in this direction and are doing the work well. Even in such cases there is prob- ably a large amount of supplemental service which may be rendered. But where such enterprises are not established the church should by all means either seek to carry on the ac- tivities needful or stimulate the establishment of such organ- isations as will do so. That these functions are in demand in the country as well as in the city is obvious. We have already noted the nec- essity for socialisation and for a larger social life. The points made may be referred to. Social unification has not been treated specifically. The want of this is often apparent. Divisiveness, factionalism, neighbourhood feuds, sectarian- ism, stubborn prejudices are conditions which exist in multi- tudes of districts. A neighbourhood in the sense of a com- munity existence or life is impossible where this situation prevail's. Discord is substituted for concord. Common in- terest is lacking. Eealisation of collective achievements is impossible. Hence the need of a rallying place and the main- tenance of activities and interests which will obliterate the false barriers and merge the interests of the inhabitants in a common welfare movement. 316 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY The enterprising church may become such a rallying point. It may furnish a home for clubs for young and old, boys' scout movement, young people's societies, entertainments, dramatic and theatrical activities, moving picture shows. It may hold agricultural contests and fairs, father athletic sports and con- tests, house institutes, granges, and equity societies, become the patron saint of domestic science and child culture for the good of the home, and in fact become all things to all men. Such a church must appeal to men. It must satisfy their various wants — social, ethical, religious, cultural ; for amuse- ment, recreation, and sport. It must be larger than sectarian- ism, as catholic as human nature, and maintain the spirit and ideal of social service above that of individual salvation. Being these things it will be vital, vigorous, and win the loyal adherence of the community it serves. Decadence of the Rural Church. — That the rural church as it exists to-day is unfitted to meet the demands of rural communities seems to be quite generally admitted by students of rural sociology. This might be expected of the rural church when the church generally is undergoing such whole- sale criticism for failure to adapt itself to the problems of to-day. This general criticism must be largely just because so many eminent churchmen admit and express it. One or two typical opinions of the decadence and invalidity of the country church must stand as examples of a larger volume. Rev. Warren H. Wilson, Superintendent of the Depart- ment of Church and Country life of the Presbyterian Church, writes : " For more than a year it has been my duty to assemble the ministers and officers of country churches at central points throughout all the older states of the Union — excepting cer- tain southern states — and to discuss with them the condi- tions prevailing among the churches. Generally, almost universally, these ministers and officers agree in stating that the country church is losing its hold. They speak for the EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 317 Protestant denominations which have a trained and special- ised ministry." ^ Professor Bailey gives this as his opinion: " In many places the rural church has practically died out. In other places it is very weak. Many have felt that the use- fulness of the country church is passing, ... is not accom- plishing what it might for rural communities. This is not due to lack of devoted service on the part of the country pas- tor, but to a need of re-direction in the institution. Con- cerned in too many cases with technical religion, formal piety, small and empty social duties, the country church does not appeal strongly to men with rich red blood in their veins. The hardness of the dogma is the measure of sterility. The trouble is that the rural church has no organic connection with the life of the community, in this regard being worse off than the school." ^ The causes of this decadence are important as indicating the direction improvements must take. They may be summarised as follows : 1. The existence of a divided religious ministry. This means sectarianism in church work. " The country church has been a mere means for distrib- uting the hope of personal salvation. For this purpose it did not need to be, in the judgment of former generations, a socially effective organisation. Any small group of believers has been at liberty to build a meeting-house and maintain an organisation. National denominations have been all too will- ing to support these competing congregations in the country community. We have, therefore, in almost all the older states too many country churches. . . . We recently discovered in Pennsylvania a farming region in which within a radius of four miles from a given point there are twenty-four country I American Journal of Sociology, March, 1911, p. 688. 2L. H. Bailey, "The Training of Farmers," p. 77; and "The State and the Farmer," p. 132. 318 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY churches ; within a three-mile radius from a point half a mile farther on there are sixteen of these country churches. Of course this is an impossible social situation. Whatever be its doctrinal value, it is a form of social inefficiency." * In an Illinois village of 200 inhabitants, a few years since, there were fourteen churches in the place. It was im- possible to support these churches either as to membership or finances. Indifference resulted from so many faiths. 2. A lack of adaptation to modem conditions, to scientific intelligence, and particularly to agricultural needs. It needs spiritualising and socialising. " It should express and encourage the natural inspiration that may be made to flow from the common affairs and prac- tices of any agricultural community. . . . The country sa- loon is open continually. The country church ought also to be open continually, or at least it ought to have a continual personal contact with its people; and this contact must be much more than through customary religious work." * It fails to reach and satisfy the social needs of modem agri- cultural conmiunities in competition with near-by urban groups. With the growing indifference to polemics, to argu- mentative discourses in support of the denominational or sec- tarian position as to the exact mode of baptism, the order of conversion, regeneration, and justification, the procession of the triune person, the existence of a devil and eternal real fire for sinners, preachers have been trying to adjust them- selves to their congregations. Their doctrines have become vague, indefinite, and unsatisfactory on certain essential doc- trinal points. They have engaged in diluted abstractions instead or waded into a sea of sociological problems for which they have had no training. Whether the preacher treated doctrinal differences, dealt in vague abstractions, or gave al- lopathic doses of undigested sociological information, his ef- forts were alike unsatisfactory. B Wilson, op. cit. * Bailey, op. oit., pp. 77 and 133. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 319 3. Tte attraction of the churches in near-by cities and vil- lages has been a factor in rural church decline. Larger and more finely furnished buildings, a choir and better music, a higher salaried and superior preacher, the dress and manners of the urban populace, are some of the attractions which have taken the young people away from the neighbourhood meet- ing-house. 4. There has been a growing inferiority of country pastors. Salaries are low in the country. Life is more comfortable in the cities. There are more privileges and opportunities. Hence the abler and more highly educated men are drafted off to city churches, leaving men with undeveloped talents and narrow, traditional views to rural churches. 5. The great social and economic changes of the age have affected country churches. The telephone and the rural mail have introduced rural inhabitants to social opportunities, broken into the isolation, and deprived the meeting-house of its prestige of ^.ffording the only chance for adult intercourse. Better roads, improved vehicles, trolley lines, and automobiles have made the near-by and even somewhat distant cities ac- cessible. Eailroads which have been spread like a net work over the land have caused villages and cities to spring up every few miles. The open-country church has failed to sus- tain itself in competition with the larger attractions of these places. Here farmers resort at the age of retirement, chil- dren attend school and form social attachments, and the su- perior churches have drawing power. Population has become migratory in rural regions, a study of interstate migrations is sufficient to attest this. Shifting land values by reason of the opening up of new lands, the development of cities, mines, forests, and railways have caused a great ebb and flow in population which has done much to unsettle church membership and sap the support of the rural church. The tenant or renter system has developed in many states. It is difficult for the country church to find support 320 CONSTETTCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY and a lay leadership in the face of inhabitants who feel no re- sponsibility for keeping up the social and moral life of the coramunity. Methods of Improving the Churches. — A consideration of the causes of arrested development or decadence of the country church has furnished the suggestions for its improvement. The statement of causes has been a negative statement of methods of betterment. Together with the statement of the functions of the country church, they form an approximate formulation for advance. A brief positive synthetic presenta- tion will make the idea of what is needed more vivid. 1. The country church must be given a modern leader in the person of its preacher. Mr. Wilson, who holds a posi- tion of authoritative expert in rural church matters writes : " Behind the country churches stand the theological sem- inaries ; professional schools, founded and established for the training of ministers; originally country ministers. At the present time these schools, with almost no exception are ren- dering an entirely inadequate service. More than inadequate : it is misplaced and it has the effect of misdirection. For three years the student of the ministry is detained away from the study which he should pursue and for a good part of that time he is diligently trained in studies that he ought never to follow. The country community, therefore, is a field, in the case of most ministers, for original investigation — untrained, amateur, and unsystematic investigation — in which he has no help from those appointed to be his helpers and his leaders. . . . My thesis then is a plea for economic and social train- ing of rural leaders ; especially for country ministers. If this work is not done by the seminaries it should be undertaken by the universities. The ^ president of this society has a weekly class, attended by more theological students, so far as I am informed, than meets in any seminary of theology." ® » Professor Franklin H. Giddings, Columbia University, New York. 9 American Journal of Sociology, March, 1911, p. 692. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 321 The social and economic training alluded to should give (a) a systematic account of society so that the great principles and laws of the larger modem social world as affecting the rural community may be understood, (b) The special industrial and social nature and conditions of agricultural regions, (c) The functions which a church may rightfully perform and which it should undertake for such communities, (d) How to make a sociological investigation or study of the neighbour- hood, which shall not only be a religious canvass of the dis- trict, but which shall take in the vital conditions of age, sex, nationalities, wealth, occupation, social status, dependent, defective, and delinquent factors, education, and social organ- isations. 2. The church must be socialised. This means to adapt it to the needs of the times and place. Enough has been said in our earlier consideration of the church as to what may be done. In case the church cannot become a social service church every pastor may become a social service pastor. " There are some things the church cannot do ; there is nothing it may not through its pastor inspire. There are some uses to which the country church cannot be put; there are no uses to which the country pastor may not be put. . . . The pastor ought to be an authority on social salvation as well as on personal salvation. . . . He is relatively a fixture. He is less transient than the teacher." Hence he is the logical leader in community affairs.'^ There are several instances of socialised rural churches. One instance will be reproduced here. " At Plainfield, Illinois, is a very notable country church, in which, under the leadership of a man of independent genius, the church has become the social centre of the whole com- munity. In this instance the farmers have felt no need of economic leadership. They are still tilling a fertile soil, and before its fertility is exhausted the newer agriculture will 7 Butterfield, " Chapters in Rural Progress/' pp. 177-9. 322 CONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY doubtless enable them to maintain their place. But the church in the community has undertaken the social cultiva- tion of the people. It has assembled the young people for musical, theatrical, and athletic enjoyment and training. The church edifice has been rebuilt ; and instead of one room for worship only, the building now contains a gymnasium, din- ing-room, cloakrooms for men and women, and a rest-room for mothers with babies in their arms, young people's social parlour, study, and numerous classrooms for use in religious training of various groups. The success of this church has been in satisfying the social needs of the community. It has had to compete with granges and social clubs and has sur- vived where they have failed. This church itself has grown in membership, and in moral and spiritual power, with the social culture which it has imparted to the community." * 3. Union and cooperation should be substituted for sec- tarian divisiveness. There is ecclesiastical, economic, and social waste from the present system. Churches need federa- tion in order to survive. They must have it to do the needed work. It would be an agency to unify the community so- cially. By statistical cooperation the various churches may arrive at a clear conception of the field confronting them, and enter upon an effective division of labour. All students of rural matters who believe that the church has a service to perform for the country advocate federal cooperation. The churches in the foreign mission field are setting an example in this direction. The field is districted into spheres of work and each denomination is allotted a distinct field. Some approach is being made to this in home mission work. Certain denominations have a working agreement not to in- trude into each other's territory in duplicating churches, and are uniting or allotting activities in an overchurched district. The Young Men's Christian Association.^ — It is legitimate I American Journal of Sociology, March, 1911, p. 685. » Since this waa written " Eural Work of the Young Men's Christian KUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 323 to treat this organisation under the term church, since the general term church stands for all religious agencies. The Y. M. 0. A. is a well known and established institution in city religious and educational work. It has begun rural work so recently that it is difficult to arrive at a just conception of its activities. The rural department of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation began with the organisation of the first rural group by Eobert Weidensall in De Page County, Illinois, in 1873. But the movement did not begin to take on large propor- tions until about 1906, when it was officially recognised as a department of the International Committee. That the move- ment is growing rapidly is indicated by the fact that in 1909-10 there were 324 rural groups or centres, while in 1912-13 there were of these 599, the gain for the last of these years being 116. County rural organisations existed in thirteen states in December, 1913, the state having the greatest development being Michigan with 102 centres.^" The purpose of the County Y. M. C. A. is stated as fol- lows : It " seeks to unite in a tovm, village, rural commu- nity, or in the open country the vital forces of young man- hood for self improvement, physically, socially, mentally, and spiritually, and to give expression to these resources in com- munity life for the betterment of others." " Experience has proven that its best work is done, however, in communities in which the rural environment dominates the community ideal." The plan generally followed consists of an initiation of the movement by the State Committee, a campaign for funds by a County Committee, a county organising convention, the election of a county board, and the selection of a county sec- AsBoeiation," by A. E. Roberts and Henry Israel, appeared in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March, 1912, giving a more adequate account of county work. 10 " Rural Manhood Statistics of the Movement," by Henry Israel, Dec, 1913, pp. 366-9. 324 CONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY retary. The secretary organises local groups or clubs, the intention being to place one within easy walking distance of every boy in the country. These locals have their volun- teer leaders and officers. Where possible club buildings are erected. The work is thus made intensive. Orange County, California, has two such community buildings. " These buildings are bungalow style, having class rooms, club rooms, and kitchen facilities. A large playground in the rear of each affords splendid opportunity for outdoor games, and in both cases these buildings and playgrounds have become the centre of boy life in these communities." Two elements contribute to the efficiency of the organisa- tion. First, the County Committee, a voluntary organisa- tion of from fifteen to twenty prominent men of the com- munity in business, professional, and agricultural lines. They furnish the resources of the neighbourhood for pushing the work and must stand for the best things in community life. Sub-committees are appointed to carry on the various kinds of work in conjunction with the employed secretary and trained experts. Second, the County Secretary, who must be a man trained for his work, a believer in the coun- try, possess a capacity for leadership, and be a friend of young men. His primary task is to discover, enlist, train, and utilise leadership. He is not to duplicate organisations but to cooperate with those already established in the field. He seeks to coordinate what is established and to stimulate organisation and effort where these are lacking.*^ With the growth of the movement it is expected that county officers other than the secretary v^dll be employed, such as physical directors and social centre directors. At present the activities are those which local volunteer conditions will permit: Bible classes, social meetings, feasts, Boy Scout or- ganisations and work, camps, entertainments, and kindred 11 Roberts and Israel, " Rural Work of the Y. M. 0. A." Annals Am. Acad., Vol. 40, pp. 140-148. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 325 enterprises. The play tendencies and rights of boys are recog- nised and given their appropriate exercise. Lessons in health and hygiene naturally go along with the physical work. In one small community one-third of the school boys were, upon examination, found to have a tobacco heart induced by use of pipes and cigarettes. A donation of pipes resulted and boys and parents alike were made, at least temporarily, more serious minded. Travelling exhibits by stereopticon of tuber- culosis and other diseases, with lectures by local physicians are promoted. Encouragement of cooperation on the part of rural institutions for community improvement is given. Country fairs have been cleansed and reforms undertaken. Christian life and morals receive initiation and stimulus. Country churches are assisted. Such are some of the achieve- ments of County Work organisations. The Y. M. C. A. conducts summer schools for County Work at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, Silver Bay, New York, and Estes Park, Colorado. Over ninety per cent, of the entire force employed have attended summer meetings. The Y. M. C. A. movement is seen to be comprehensive, alert, vigorous, and practical. Much is to be hoped from it. Says Hon. C. C. James of Ottawa, Canada : " The rural manhood branch of the Y. M. C. A. is to my mind the most important, it is the most promising, it enters a field that is unlimited in opportunity, and from the results that we are getting in work with our famers' clubs I believe it will grow rapidly." ^^ EEFERENCES Bailey. "The State and the Farmer," pp. 17 and 132-5; and "The Training of the Farmer,'' pp. 76-7. Butterfield. "Chapters in Rural Progress," Chap. 12; and "Co- operation and Integration of Community Institutions," Rural Manhood, June, 1911, pp. 190-1; and "The Rural Church." Wilson, Warren H. " The Church and the Rural Community," Amer- ican Journal of Sociology, March, 1911, pp. 668-93. 12 The files of Rural Manhood chiefly furnished the material for this section. 326 CONSTRUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY Discussion of the same by E. C. Hayes. Same, pp. 693-5; by J. L. Gillin, pp. 696-700; and by T. N. Carver, pp. 700-702. Henderson, C. R. Unpublished syllabus on "Rural Communities." Lander, E. B. " The Reconstruction of the Country Church," Rural Manhood, February, 1911, pp. 52-54. Armstrong, Rev. H. P. " The Story of Middle Creek," same, pp. 54-7. Small, Charles H. " The Country Church in Ohio," Congregationalist, August 19, 1905. Taylor, Graham. " Rural Regeneration and the Country Church," same, October 3, 1908. " How Churches in Ohio are Lagging," Ohio Journal of Commerce, October 26, 1912, p. 131. Hagerman, J. P. " The History of Country Work in California," Rural Manhood, Vol. II, pp. 67-70. Weidensall, Robert. " The County Field Work of a County Secre- tary," same, February, 1911, pp. 48-9. James, Hon. C. C. " Canada's Rural Progress," same, p. 101. Wallace, Henry. " To Clean a. County Fair a Social Service," same, pp. 83-4. Hetherington, C. W. "Play for the'Country Boy," same, pp. 139-42. Brown, Dr. John. " A Place to Swim in Every Rural Community and Every Boy a Swimmer," same, pp. 155-6. Atkinson, O. E. " Policy and Duties of a County Sub-Committee," same, pp. 159-60. Israel, Henry. " Summer Training Centres for County Work," same, pp. 192-4. Weidensall, Robert. " The Township or Precinct Organisation Terri- tory," same, p. 195. " Things that are Doing in County Work," same, monthly reports. "Conference of Rural Social Workers," Survey, August 26, 1911, pp. 747-9. Hartt, R. L. " The Regeneration of Rural New England Religions," Outlook, March 17, 1900, p. 628 ff. Rural Manhood, reports on County Y. M. C. A. papers, Dec., 1912 and 1913. Annals Am. Acad., Vol. 40, pp. 140-145. Rural Surveys, Board of Home Missions, Presbyterian Church. Earp, Edwin L. " The Riu-al Church Movement." CHAPTER XVIII SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS (cONTIWUEd) ADJUSTMENT OF BBU- CATION TO EUEAL NEEDS The consideration of education is the most important mat- ter in modem life. Present-day civilisation is built upon intellectual attainments. The matter and methods of science rest beneath our chiefest social structures. Minds immersed in ignorance, sluggish in their action or clouded with the vestiges of past superstitions are unfitted to do the work of their age. The schools of the land are the agencies of in- culcating that enlightenment on which both conservation and progress depend and on their successful operation hangs the destiny of the future. To make them qualified and efiicient should be the highest aim of good citizens. Rural schools and rural education as portions of our educational agencies share in this regard. The more outstanding features will re- ceive consideration. In order to face the matter squarely so that we may see the strength and the weakness of our system of training for coun- try life, it will be best to view the demands which press upon rural education. General Sociological Demands. — Certain demands of a general nature are common to both rural and urban education. We may call them sociological because only will sociological consideration reveal them. Social conditions are the closest and most dominant environment of modern men. We depend more immediately on institutions and social agencies to supply our wants than on nature. Nature is ultimate. If she fails, social beings die. But, other things being equal, we reach her through and by means of artificial structures. The farm- 328 CONSTEUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY er does this also, as we saw in Chapter 2. Hence it is coming to be recognised that it is by a study of these chang- ing, developing, external social conditions that the future of the individual and the nature of his education are to be dis- covered. The general sociological demands are the follow- ing: 1. The particular age and place impose their own condi- tions. First, the age has a spirit or certain dominating inter- ests which cannot be avoided. One of these interests is the scientific. Accurate knowledge and methods of procedure have entered into all developed processes of life and are forcing themselves upon others. Industrial processes are founded on the various sciences. Chemistry lies at the basis of prep- aration and preservation of foods, which a competent house- vrife should know; and beneath a knowledge of soils, which the farmer should have. Second, the region or particular kind of community, im- poses its demands. Communities are differentiated by means of their interests. They may be mining, stock-raising, agri- cultural, industrial, commercial. As such their pursuits, aims, activities, agencies, and matters of knowledge are dif- ferent. The community business or interest determines the kind of vocational training an individual should have. Ninety or ninety-five per cent, of the population will either remain in the community they are born and reared in, or will remove to a similar community, one with similar inter- ests. The dominant pursuits of a region may determine what the pupils should be trained for without doing an in- justice to any. If this plan is not followed an injustice is done to a large majority. 2. Specialisation to meet differing demands of a highly organised society is required. That society has evolved from the simple to the complex, from a stage of hardly any specialised functions to one of thousands, cannot be doubted. That the process of differentiation is continuing is a well- RURAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 329 establislied. fact. This means that we are living in an age when specialisation is necessary to success. If one is to be master of his fortune he must be master of his business. So- ciety imposes a responsibility here. It demands that the person must not steal his living, else he will be imprisoned; that he shall support himself legally, or he will be called a pauper. It asks that he shall harness himself into some one of its specialties, make a success of it, or else be a floating day-labourer or a parasite. The educational process, there- fore, must involve a considerable degree of specialisation or vocationalisation. 3. The social situation requires of men an intelligence as to public matters and a profound love of community welfare. Society is growing democratic. The people are demanding greater measures of control of government. They must con- sequently have a larger insight into the nature of the com- plicated mechanism they are to direct and a deeper devo- tion to its interests. If democracy is to prevail and make progress, an enlightened public mind on matters of state must exist. This calls for emphasis on social study in the schools. The nature of community life, as sociology reveals it, is involved. Economies and civics demand accentuation. These must be taught earlier and with a view to imparting a sympathetic insight and understanding of society and social problems. A greater degree of self-government should take place iiL the schools. One-man rule is poor preparation for self-di- rection. Absolutism is not a training for democracy. The general or community interest will not arouse affection if the individual's interest and sense of justice is never put into operation in relation to it. Moralisation of our citizenship depends on, among other things, a participation during the school period in weighing and deciding matters of dispute and infringement of rules. 4. Pemocracy in education requires that the needs of the 330 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGTi masses should, be met. We have educated for the few and disregarded the many. The talented and the leisure class rather than the average, were in mind when courses of study were organised. Tradition commonly ruled and the burden of what had been useful laid its hand heavily on the present, crowding out the useful and the near. Over 95 per cent, of the social energy of the nation is di- rectly devoted to matters of getting a living.-^ Consequently a knowledge of the technical processes and skill, on which this life activity is based, must have a very large recognition in the schools. Again, probably less than 40 per cent, of the children of the United States advance in education beyond the eighth grade, and about 50 per cent, are eliminated from the schools by the beginning of the seventh grade. This means that education must be useful and practical before all else; that what is to be done for individuals to equip them to carry on their life business competently must be done for them in the elementary schools. The best interests of the majority demand this. It is not a whim nor a fad; it is justice. I. EUBAl SCHOOLS Deficiencies of Rural Schools. — The public school system is often referred to as the grandest educational system of the world. It certainly is a remarkable scheme for socialising the young individual. Yet our schools, and particularly the rural schools, are open to criticism. 1. They are wasteful. The scattered condition of the in- habitants has often made it necessary to place a very few pupils in a single school. In Virginia a few years since there were 150 schools that had six pupils or less. In the state of Maine in 1892 there were more than 1,000 schools with an average attendance per school of 12 pupils or less. The 1 See the Author's " Vocational Education," pp. 109-112, where the ODmputation is made. RUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 331 superintendent of that state indicated that 800 of these schools could be abolished with advantage. Other states have reported as bad or worse conditions. Eecent investigations in North Dakota reveal similar con- ditions. Table 31 indicates this situation. TABLE 312 OOMPAKATIVE STATEMENT OF AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE IN BUBAI, SCHOOLS Number of Per Size of School Schools Cent. Four or less 152 3.9 Five 176 4.5 Six 217 5.5 Seven 269 6.7 Eight 329 8.3 Nine 343 8.7 Ten 400 10.1 Total of 10 or less 1,888 47.7 Eleven 295 7.5 Twelve 268 6.9 Twelve to 15 605 15.2 Fifteen to 20 560 14.5 Over 20 336 8.5 Totals 3,951 100.0 Average square miles to each school 15.6 The fact is evident that within certain limits, a large school, say of fifty pupils, can be maintained at the same relative expense as can a school of five. The teacher and the fuel are the chief elements of expense. The same investigation into North Dakota conditions af- fords us a view of the relative expense of smaller and larger schools. Table 32 presents the facts. 2. Eural schools fail to educate in view of the surround- ings. The business demands of agriculture are ignored, home-making and child culture have no place, consideration 2 " Problem of the Rural School." N. C. Abbot, North Dakota Teach- ers' Bulletin, March, 1911, p. 2. 332 CONSTEUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY TABLE 32 DETAILS ON SCHOOL EXPENDITOBES Averages based on Actual Attendance Annual cost of tuition .... Annual cost for teachers . . Annual cost for school offi- cers Annual cost for incidentals Daily cost of tuition based on attendance ! Average number of days school per pupil State Cities Rural Village as a and Dis- Consol. Whole Villages tricts Schools $42.44 $ 41.94 $41.54 $58.63 27.T4 28.41 31.07 21.31 1.55 .49 3.43 .79 13.08 13.04 7.03 12.13 28.9 22.8 30.3 30.0 I 94.6 160.8 70.0 , 1.39 Rural Consol. School $57.14 20.88 1.95 8.97 34.7 1.05 of the eonmiuiiity problems is absent, and the peculiar social and recreational needs of country neighbourhoods find slight recognition. 3. There is lack of stimulus among the pupils of the coun- try schools on account of their small number. Competition enters into the life of education. A class of 12 to 20 will make more progress than one of five or less, because the mem- bers stimulate each other to greater effort. 4. The school term is too short to do good work. This tends towards the deterioration of schools both because it fails to advance the pupils as they should advance and it affords a very small inducement to capable teachers to carry on the teaching. Six or seven months a year with only a moderate monthly salary is not a large attraction for capable young men and women. 5. In many of the states the rural schools are conducted by teachers who are inefficient. They often teach as an ap- pendage to other businesses. Or, more frequently, the young woman teaches only until her marriage. The training of the teachers is insufficient. Many of the teachers in rural schools were but recently pupils of the KUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 333 schools which they themselves teach. They start in with barely enough knowledge to get the lowest grade certificate, with scant knowledge of methods, aims of education, or na- ture of the child. Information from 22 counties and 16 cities of North Dakota corroborates the statement. The per- centage of teachers in the elementary schools of the 22 coun- ties who do not have the equivalent of a high school training, none being college or normal graduates, varies from 5 to 80 per cent. Of the 262 grade teachers of 16 of the larger cities of the state reported upon, 250 are either normal or college grad- uates, and 7 more are high school graduates.* From a study made by the Bureau of Education of the United States of the rural schools in 55 counties it is learned that 4% of the teachers have had less than eight years of elementary preparation, 32.3% have had no pro- fessional preparation whatever, and 20 teachers out of 2,911 report attendance at schools making a specialty of prepar- ing teachers for rural schools. (The efficiency and prepara- tion of rural school teachers. Bulletin 49, U. S. Bureau of Education, prepared by H. W. Eoght.) 6. The rural schoolhouses are inadequate. There should be a place that is fitted to be a social centre. At present there are few such suitable buildings in the country. The schoolhouses are small and ill suited for such purposes. They are poorly built, have little or no ventilation, and are often badly located. They also fail to afford the rooms which the equipment and facilities for vocational training of boys and girls for the farm and home require. Particular Demands of the Country. — What was said in the two preceding sections will serve as a background for the special demands on education which rural regions make. Modern demands as profoundly grip rural as urban inhab- s " l8 the Country Child Getting a Square Deal," Arland D. Weeks, — The Extension, Agricultural College of N. Dak., April, 1900, p. 4. 334 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY itants, though they are less intrusive and conspicuous. Some particulars of these requirements may be given.-- 1. Scientific agriculture should be an intimate part of the educational curriculum. This must be taken in its larger sense as including the topics we have treated previously. Farm management, crop and animal production, farm me- chanics, construction and arrangement of buildings, appre- ciation of the conveniences and utilities on the farm and in the home, an understanding of the conditions of cleanliness and health, and an inculcation of ideals of taste and beauty ; are some of the prominent subjects which demand attention. Good farming, good homes, and good neighbourhoods are dependent on their comprehension. The problem is to get these things understood by the masses. All the agencies now at work — agricultural colleges, United States Department of Agriculture, agricultural high schools, experiment stations, extension work, and farmers' institutes — are hardly touch- ing the masses. Only an occasional farmer and farmer's son get the light. As a factor in this enlightenment the use of agricultural reports and bulletins are important. The average farmer does not use the splendid literature which our government and the agricultural colleges send out to him. He is not fitted to read them and does not know how to obtain and to preserve them. Probably many of the bulletins are too technically written. But the schools have a task to perform in teaching the more mature children how to cooperate with government bureaus and agricultural institutions as to the use and the preservation of certain of the more practical and helpful literature. 2. Domestic science must be taught to the daughters of farmers. The high schools and elementary schools are re- sponsible for giving women of the cities an equipment for conducting homes on a more economical and scientific basis. Welfare, happiness and health of the home demand this. RUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS SSS^ The task is being assumed by urban education. It is also' recognised that this training must be given in the grades,. as most of the girls go no farther with their schooling. It is unquestioned that the girls of the country stand in' need of such training, and that they have a right to it. Per- haps they participate in household work more than do their' urban sisters and consequently know more of the current tra- ditional household economy. There may be many excellent, housekeepers in the country, but the fact remains that it; sustains about as general a lack of improved housekeeping; methods as the city. The latest and most up-to-date farm machinery may be found at work in the fields, but anything is regarded as good enough for' the house, and improvements there are consid- ered as a wasted investment. The girls must be educated to better ways, to maintain their dignity and rights in the home, and to view their work as a social function for which they are sacredly and specifically set apart. The school must teach that the household activities are on a par with those of raising grain and stock. Home making, child-nurture, and child-culture lie at the basis of human society. Raising grain and stock is a means to an end. It is ignorance which permits it to be regarded as the greatest object and the home as incidental. Proper education of both girls and boys willi go far to correct this distorted conception. Girls need practical training in child raising quite as much as boys require teaching about agriculture. Chicago- schools are now attempting to qualify the older children for the care of younger ones. Perhaps psychology of a mature sort, and the finer points of child study, cannot be taught; to country children. But a better conception may be given of the requirements of motherhood; of proper foods and clothing for infants; of the deadliness of soothing syrup " dopes " and other drugs, of the periods of teething and the stages of physical development ; of the changes in the nature 336 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY of foods required during the different periods of infancy; and of some insight into children's ways, interests and rights, so that indirect methods of control may supersede that of government by brute strength. 3. Special attention to the socialisation of country chil- dren must be given. This is coming to be recognised. Says President Henry Smith Pritchett, " The more one considers this whole question, the more fully one is persuaded that the problem of teaching the boy on the farm, training him into a successful agent for a new scientific business of farming and making him a factor in the conservation of resources, is inextricably connected with the larger problem of the bet- terment of social and economic conditions of rural life." * The understanding of social and economic conditions is not a matter of light and incidental reading. The social viewpoint must be embodied in the educational process as a matter-of-fact, constant, and integral factor. It must be an atmosphere in which the developing minds live. The social outlook and impulse should become as natural as the individ- ualistic to the developing child. The simplest phases of the social and economic problems of the neighbourhood should be grafted on to the curriculum. Some courses running through the elementary grades, which are called " social study " have been outlined.^ These studies would make chil- dren acquainted with their social environment and give them some appreciation of the conditions, problems and require- ments of community life. The present volume contains much of the matter which this socialisation involves. It is to be observed that this socialisation is also a moralisa- tion, for, as Professor Dewey points out, there is ^ vast difference between " moral ideas " and " ideas about moral- * Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advance- ment of Teaching, p. 106. 5 Since this was written, North Dakota has placed such a course, pre- pared by the writer in the first six grades of its elementary schools. RUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 337 ity," and what is now needed is the former. " We need to translate the moral into the conditions and forces of com- munity life, and into the impulses and habits of the in- dividual." ^ School management will constitute a part in this process of socialisation. Self-government and self-control in school affairs involve the principles which are at the foundation of the larger community life. They impart the attitude and habits which will find realisation in mature affairs. Organ- ised play, well conducted sports and games, and the social activities of the neighbourhood, are also important factors. Civics and history may be made more helpful by the elimina- tion of much extraneous and irrelevant matter and the inclu- sion of matter of vital and current moment.'' Discussions in current events are also vitally contributive. Economic teaching of a simple, practical sort is impera- tive. Tarm management and farmers' organisations for marketing the produce, principles of cooperation and its ad- vantages, and an understanding of the place of agriculture among other callings in society form very essential topics of discussion. If farmers are to organise and cooperate the coming generation must be educated to an appreciation of the need and in the principles and methods of cooperation. In equipping for farm life the other kinds of schools can- not reach the mass of people who need reaching. All the public schools of the nation put together hardly accomplish this. " In New York State, for example, there are some fifty-five agricultural counties. If each of these counties had^n agricultural high school graduating fifty pupils each yedHto give only one boy from each farm in the state an agricultural course would require eighty-two years ; and new generations are coming on in the meantime." Moreover, the separate trade schools are likely to endanger the exist- « John Dewey, " Moral Principles in Education,'' pp. 57-58. 7 See " Eeconstructlon of History for Teaching Purposes," J. M. Gil- Ip+.t.p- School Review. October. 1909. 338 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY ence of our common schools from the very fact that they teach the essentials of living better, will thrive, become dupli- cated and ultimately exterminate the latter.^ 4, Procuring a resident rural leadership is one of the most important considerations ih rural life. It is a part of the educational situation because the schools must develop it. (1) It is the opinion of competent observers that there is a dearth of rural leadership. " The rural people are not lost ; they need opportunity and leadership. So far as possible the work should be established in real rural regions, outside the towns." * " Fundamentally it may be said that the iprob- lem of the farm and of the improvement and conservation of the soil is clearly one of calling for leadership of a high order. ... It is more difficult to distribute the fruits of science, to make them effective instruments in the hands of the great multitude, than it is to win them at first hand. How to bring to the rural population of the United States technical and financial efficiency, together with social contentment, is per- haps the most difficult problem of our democracy." ^^ The Country Life Commission likewise recognises the deficiency. Since country youths are being educated in great numbers in the higher institutions of learning it might be supposed that a developed resident rural leadership would result. An investigation as to what becomes of these students and grad- uates led to the conclusion that accepting attendance upon a long course of instruction in, or graduation from, a normal school, an agricultural college, or a university as a sign of leadership, relatively little of the products of the normals, a majority of those of the actual farming courses of aam cul- tural colleges, and practically none of the products ^Pthe universities whose origin was the farm, return to farm life, although a small per cent, of those from normals and uni- 8 Bailey, " The State and the Farmer," pp. 154-59. a Ibid., p. 87. loPritchett, op. cit., p. 107. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 339 versities settle in semi-urban communities.^^ It is thus seen that the country is being robbed of its educated leadership by the city. Nor is there much hope that the educated element from these institutions can be retained in the country. Universi- ties do not consider it their problem. State normal schools are doing something in agricultural training but their grad- uates and students do not largely go into real country work. Bona fide agricultural courses constitute but a fraction of the educational effort of agricultural colleges, at least of those independent of state universities. Of the graduates from these courses the far larger portion go into government work, experiment station work, teaching of agriculture in colleges and high schools, and agricultural publication work. The situation does not promise to change within many years. We must expect a supply of leaders from some other direc- tion. (2) A consideration of the necessity for a leadership in society generally indicates its importance in rural affairs. It is an established sociological teaching that the vast ma- jority of people are imitators, not originators. They are thus conservers of what already exists rather than creators of new methods and conditions. The problem of civilisation is to develop a larger proportion of inventors and talented individuals. Potentially, there is a far larger proportion of able men and women than is commonly supposed. But they are undeveloped in ability and remain inert and unpro- ductive. Even good imitators, individuals who know what is being done in society elsewhere and who are able to get it done in their own community are relatively rare. The problem of the country is, therefore, to educate a greater proportion of the " born " talented into creators and origina- tors ; and to train a larger number of " born " imitators up 11 Quo/rterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, October, 1910, p. 76. 340 CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY to a stage of intelligent appreciation of community welfare work, and of leadership in realising it in their own com- munity. (3) Rural progress calls for leadership. A rapid im- provement awaits the development of an intelligent resident rural leadership. Good farmers who are successful in farm management will be called on to arouse others and show the way. Those who know best how to raise grain or cattle must be depended on to lead in inciting others thereto. If prices of produce are to be raised and cost of commodities purchased are to be lowered through cooperation some larger spirit must take the initiative. If churches are to be im- proved and education adjusted, farmers, preachers and teach- ers of larger vision and dynamic type are requisite to secure neighbourhood cooperation. The task of securing this qual- ified leadership is gigantic and rural improvement, in view of its scarcity, almost appears as a remote dream. (4) The rural schools have been part caxise of the drift of leadership from the country. They educate away from country life. They have remained so inert that they not only stand aloof from the interest and life which surrounds them, but in subject matter and in ideals given through the subject matter the influence and stimulus are away from farm life. How much of the farm, farming, country life, and lives of " hero " farmers get into reading lessons, histories, geographies, etc. ? Ideals are formed out of what the mind feeds upon. If all the facts and persons studied are chosen from non-agricultural communities, why should not the aims and ambitions of country youth centre in the world that is important enough to be put into their books, their schools, libraries, their " education " ? An experiment has been tried in Iowa which shows the influence the subject matter of the rural schools actually has on determining the future residence and calling of the pupils. In Wright County, Iowa, the question, "What do EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 341 you want to do in life ? " was asked the boys and girla in 34 schools before and after the introduction of agriculture and home economics. At the time the question was first asked, of the 164 boys in the 34 schools, 157 wanted to leave the farm ; of the 174 girls, 163 wanted to leave. After agriculture and home economics had been taught in those schools during three years the returns to the same question were quite different; 162 of the 174 boys and 161 of the 178 girls indicating a desire to stay on the farm.^^^ The general reading matter of the community also directs away from farm life. The farmer must read for knowledge, inspiration and courage, and to obtain mastery over condi- tions, or he is subdued and repelled. There is very little literature that is specially adapted to rural life. The Bible is commonly read from the point of view of " texts " and needs to be interpreted and adjusted to present conditions. Novels have no special relation to conditions under which farmers live. There are few good ones depicting the real farmer. They are likely to be caricatures in types of agri- cultural life and vocabulary. There are practically no good poems of farm life. Those which are written are from the library or study point of view. The nature books are largely forced and lack personality. There is no history of farm life or farm people. Biographies are those of persons who have made their way in other careers. ^^ The general attractiveness of city life, the cleaner and more definite pursuits, the larger business inducements and other allurements, also operate to draw young ambitious per- sons to the cities. (5) It is evident that a permanent rural leadership must be developed in country regions and institutions. These in- iia The Extension, N. Dak. Agricultural College, Feb., 1914, pp. 17-18. 12 L. H. Bailey, " The Training of Farmers," pp. 37^5. 342 CONSTRtJCTIVE RtlRAL SOCIOLOGY stitutions must be centred in the interests fundamental to farming communities. They must impart a knowledge of the technical processes of farm and home, inspire a love and loyalty for farm life, and infuse ideals of heroism and at- tainment which are not foreign to the country and which will not have to be imported to the city to be realised. While the teacher and preacher may be looked to for lead- ership in certain directions they cannot be expected to identify themselves with rural interests so long as they are fleeting residents. The member of the community on whom the permanent and full responsibility for inspiration, guidance, and wise counsel regarding the general social interests rests, must be the farmer. If he does not meet it no one else can or win. He is most interested, has most at stake in every respect, is a life resident, and for these reasons in addition to others he cannot hope to deputise outside persons to do the work. The institution which trains him to this compe- tency and responsibility must be within his reach. It must be available to all the country residents so that all may have their abilities developed. The rural school must be so im- proved and developed that it can meet the demand. 5. We have shown the general necessity of rural social centres in past connections.^* The arguments need no re- iteration. We take it for granted that such centres must be established. They should afford satisfaction for every legiti- mate social desire of the community — play, games, sports, contests in athletics, recreation for the different ages and sexes, amusements suited to all, entertainment which is wholesome, dispensation of information, clubs, and organisa- tions. Much real education in a most entertaining form which would draw the old and young alike could be secured and dispensed by means of motion pictures. A catalog of a film-renting firm illustrates the diversity of educational 18 gee prev'ious chapter. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 343 topics which motion pictures make availahle. Thousands of films are listed under such general department titles as Agriculture, Applied Science, Fine Arts, Literary, History, Religious, Military, Natural Science, Eailroads, Sports, and Travel, which may be rented for a small fee. The church, as we saw, may become a social centre if it secures high class, wide-awake leadership. That it will do so soon or that such a church centre will be available generally is not probable. The matter cannot be left to such voluntary agencies. Its importance makes it requisite that the com- munity, as a public-minded legal entity, should take the responsibility of establishing and maintaining such an insti- tution. The institution must be democratic, must be avail- able every day in the week, and must guarantee a competent leadership. The church cannot be regarded as the most dem- ocratic and ubiquitous clearing house for the social interests of rural communities. Sectarian division, and traditional views as to certain social pastimes, such as dancing, render it impotent to become the democratic institution which the situation demands. The school is the only rural institution which is present in every community and which can be or- dered and manned to meet these requirements. The promise and the actual fulfilment lie in our state and educational agencies. The state educational system is re- sponding to the needs. The schools in many cities are ful- filling the requirements. They are real centres of neighbour- hood activities. Municipalities either in connection with schools or small parks are maintaining social centres by pub- lic taxes. The state educational system of certain states is undertaking the establishment and direction of playground and social centres. Wisconsin is an example. Its univer- sity has established a department of training for this work, and has an extension division and director which organises centres in the communities of the state. In time the educa- tional system^ in its normal schools and other training places 344 CONSTEUCTIVE EUKAL SOCIOLOGY for teachers, must respond, and send teachers into rural com- munities who are trained to meet the needs. Appropriate school buildings and grounds must be created. The Consolidation of Rural Schools. — The greatest hope for a general and thorough betterment of rural social con- ditions lies in the consolidated school. It is no longer an experiment, having been tried for a score of years in Ohio and in all parts of the land. Its full harvest of beneficial results has not been reaped because in both educational and social directions ideals of what ought to be done are just appearing. Enough in these directions has been secured to insure the formation of more competent plans and methods. Some of the benefits are presented. 1. The consolidated school supplies the social clearing house and social centre needed in rural communities. We have seen that the school is the only completely democratic, non-sectarian, universal and permanent institution rural re- gions possess. But the small one-room buildings have in- capacitated them to act as social centres. The consolidated school, with its larger building and grounds established for social as well as educational objects, serves as a competent agent. Its social serviceability is seen in the case of the children while in school, " In the consolidated rural school all children from the entire township or district meet, mingle, compete, strive, make friendships, and learn how to work together. The school is free and accessible to all children within its juris- diction. All the boys and girls, including those attending high school, return home daily, and, doing their allotted work or chores mornings and evenings, keep in touch with the home, the farm, and all its affairs, and remain within the shelter of home during the most impressionable period of their lives. There is no longer so much occasion for part of the children to attend distant boarding schools or to pay board in the near-by villages to attend high school. Class RUKAL SOCIAL IITSTITUTIONS 345 distinctions, which the old district school unconsciously fos- tered, are broken down and removed." ^* In securing an effective play centre it is worth its cost. Play cannot be organised with the one-room school. There are not enough children of a given age, and frequently not enough all told, to have a baseball or football game, or any other which calls for considerable numbers. Small schools are stupefying in their lack of opportunity for organising ac- tivity. Of the Green township, Ohio, consolidated school Mr. Kern says, after a visit : " On the playground all the big boys of the township play baseball. Think what it is to get all the boys of a township — country boys, I mean — on one playground. There will grow up a unity, and each boy having studied and played with other boys of the entire township, will be stronger for it. When the boys and girls of Green township compete with those of Gustavus township in football, baseball, or in literary contests, on athletic ground or in townhall, each team will have the "backing of an en- thusiastic township." ^^ The advantages to the adults of the community are secured by having commodious and comfortable homes in the con- solidated building for their clubs, organisations, and social activities. The Government report on consolidated schools exhibits cuts of various buildings which range in price from $5,000 to $20,000, and any of them could be made to afford quarters for community purposes. Some of them are splen- did looking buildings architecturally, structures a neighbour- hood would be proud of. As yet the social feature has not entered largely into the plans and arrangements of such school buildings. The community needs should be met in their arrangement. 1* George W. Knorr, " Consolidated Rural Schools and Organisation of a County System," XJ. 8. Experimental Station Bulletin, No. 232, p. 32. !•■> " Among County Schools," p. 260, 346 CONSTKUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY 2. The educational advantages of consolidation are obvious. (1) Better grading with its advantages would be secured. Three teachers could take charge if districts were con- solidated into schools of one hundred, one having about 70 pupils and the others the upper classes. If 70 is too many for the first teacher, which undoubtedly is true, then more could be given to the teacher of the upper class and her num- ber reduced. ^^ (2) There is the stimulus which is obtained from num- bers. A moderately large school is more successful than a very small school, by reason of the institutional spirit which it begets and the spirit of competition and rivalry which will exist between classes and between members of the same class. All of this creates a healthy condition which stimulates work and often makes a dull, stupid boy or girl a bright energetic individual. (3) The school year will be longer. As it is now, some strong districts have a long term and the weak districts have a short term. Under consolidation experience shows that much longer school years are sustained and that the attend- ance is increased and is more regular. (4) Consolidated schools afford the rooms, equipment, grounds, distribution of time, and specialisation in teaching force which are required to modernise and adjust education to rural needs. Agriculture is taught in conjunction with a small demonstration farm of five or ten acres, which is a part of the school plant. Manual training and domestic science are provided in the basement or other suitable rooms fur- nished and equipped for those purposes. (5) Better supervision of schools and more highly qual- ified teachers are secured. Mr. Knorr found this to bfe the case in Ohio. " The data from these Ohio schools represent fair averages and reflect general conditions quite accurately. Of the twenty-four teachers employed in the three district- 10 W, T. Harris, Educational Review, VoL XIV, p. 20,7, EUKAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 347 school townships, one was a graduate of a normal school, seventeen of high schools, two of academies, one of a district school and three were professional teachers of twelve, twenty, and twenty-four years' experience — previous training not stated. " The three consolidated-school townships employed three principals, three high school assistants and nine elementary school teachers, a total of fifteen. The principals were grad- uates from colleges and normal schools; one had specially prepared to teach general science. Of the assistant teach- ers, five were either college graduates or had two or three years of college work to their credit; two were graduates from normal schools; two from academies and two from high schools; nine of the fifteen had normal school training." The consolidated schools demanded two years' experience for teaching, the district schools none. Supervision is obtained by the daily visit of the principal to the class rooms, whereas the county superintendent sees the district schools but once or twice a year. The latter can make his work more effective in the visitation of sixteen to twenty-five consolidated schools than in one hundred or one hundred fifty district schools. The principal of the consoli- dated school relieves the teacher of much of the discipline, making her school work more effective.^'' (6) Country pupils may have the advantage of high school education, as many consolidated schools sustain from two to four years of high school work. This increases the number of those who avail themselves of high school priv- ileges. Mr, Knorr writes : " The per cent, of the school population attending high school in the unconsolidated town- ships was only 2.2^ as compared with 12.4 per cent, in con- solidated townships." One out of thirty-six pupils in the former and one out of six in the latter attended high school.-'® (7) The much needed leadership in rural communities is IT Op. cit, pp. 61-62. 18 Op. cit., p. 29. 348 CONSTKUCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY bred and secured. Pupils who secure an adjusted education right in their home schools will remain at home to use it. The increased high school attendance prepares a larger num- ber of educated men and women to assume the direction of affairs. The teaching force becomes an available asset to the coramunity in this direction. " The consolidated school encourages permanency of residence of principal and teach- ers; it attaches them to the school, begets loyalty and en- thusiasm, and makes possible the formulation of long-time plans. The resident principals and teachers often take the leadership in social and literary activities, and, having be- come a part of the community, set an example of citizenship for all the children. Through contact with parents, as well as with children, they learn the character and home life of the latter quite as intimately as those in district schools, and much better than those in town and city schools." ^® Where normal schools and colleges give them a social outlook and an understanding of rural neighbourhood problems much in the way of leadership may be expected of this teaching force. It is possible that direct educational effort to qualify lead- ership may prove serviceable. Courses to train rural teach- ers to promote rural undertakings are now being projected. The summer school of the State Normal School, Valley City, N. Dak., undertakes such a programme during the 1914 ses- sion. The courses will consist in developing programmes and methods of rural social activities, recreation, neighbourhood events, pageants, etc., suitable to country communities. 3. Much is being done in various directions to improve the rural elementary schools. The establishment of the of- fice of the state rural school inspector and state aid for standardised schools is proving a strong factor for their bet- terment. Providing for the recreation of " county farm- life schools," as has been done in North Carolina, promises to do much to draw the farm and the school together in mu- i» Knorr, op. cit., p. 61. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 349 tual helpfulness. State legislatures all over the nation are appointing commissioners to investigate rural education with a view to its improvement and passing laws to stimulate and improve it. In 1911 the status of elementary agriculture among the states was as follows: States which require instrtiction in agriculture in the common schools are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wis- consin. Those that require agriculture in the rural schools are Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas.^^* Thus it is seen that at the time of the report very few states had made provision for compulsory agricultural train- ing in the schools of the farmers, and even in the states which do compel such instruction the greatest difficulty is found in obtaining teachers who are trained in agriculture and who have the intelligence in the work of teaching it which will make it highly serviceable. This problem can- not be solved and no great improvement can be expected until the schools which are responsible for training teachers for the common schools are multiplied and devote far more attention to rural school instruction, 4. There can be little doubt that the consolidated school is the most economical system of rural education. The bet- ter social and educational benefits it yields is the guarantee of its value. It should not be promoted solely on the grounds of financial saving. Where it has been established as a set- tled part of community life the citizens of the community would resent the imputation that the object of consolidating was cheaper rather than better schools. In many cases con- solidation has resulted in an actual financial advantage. Thus, in Lagrange county, Indiana, with consolidation in eight townships, Mr. Kern writes : " It appears that the transportaion of four hundred and twenty-eight children made possible the closing of thirty-eight schools, a reduction 18a U. S. Ed. Eep. 1911, Vol. I, p. 344. 350 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY of twenty-four teachers, and a net saving of $6,734.74." ^ On the other hand, the comparative table of the attend- ance and cost of district and consolidated schools in I^orth Dakota indicates a larger expenditure for the latter. ^^ Mr. Knorr's investigation indicates that consolidation usually means a slight additional cost per pupil. " Under the stim- ulus of public conveyance more children attend and do so more regularly, and that adds to the cost of conveyance." He also points out that where district schools raise their standards of teaching to approximate that which obtains in consolidated schools, the increased cost raises their cost of administration so as to equal and even exceed that of the latter. Education in agriculture and household economy should make coimtry men and women much larger producers and conservers. This stimulus to production would far more than offset any increase of expenditure which consolidation entails. Considering its social, educational, leadership, and financial aspects, consolidation of rural schools may safely be pronounced to the best educational system and to offer the largest prospects as a means of community improvement. II. HIGHEB EDUCATIOIS" High schools, normal schools, agricultural colleges, and universities may be regarded as higher educational agencies. High Schools and Universities. — The first and the last of these institutions have until recently made very little effort to reach country needs. The universities which do not have agricultural colleges as departments have catered to urban and mining professions almost exclusively, manifesting little interest or responsibility for the condition of the great farming occupation. The high schools, many of which ex- ist in country districts, have been so bound by educational traditions that they have not properly responded to rural exi- 20 " Among County Schools," pp. 250-251. 21 See Table 27. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 351 gencies. In some states the high schools have maintained professional subjects for preparing students to teach in coun- try schools. Outside of this little consciousness of their larger mission existed. Agricultural topics were tabooed, al- though domestic economy was taught in some of the larger cities in agricultural regions. In the nature of the case state universities located in states which maintain separate Agricultural Colleges can do little to help rural education directly. But they may do much to stimulate interest in rural questions and to develop a citizenship in all walks of life which will exert a sympa- thetic and helpful influence in behalf of rural school bet- terment. Indeed the attitude of Universities has undergone a marked change and many of their presidents and professors are devoting much attention to agricultural questions. Likewise it is evident that secondary schools are taking a larger part in instruction in agricultural subjects. Thus " according to the most reliable information obtainable, there were more than 2,000 high schools teaching agriculture in 1911-12. Of this number about 360 were giving courses of two or more years in length. This list includes 46 state schools of agriculture, 40 district schools, and 62 county schools. There are also 16 departments of agriculture in high schools reported.^^^ Eequirements for teaching agriculture varies considerably among the states which have laws on the subject. The pro- visions for secondary instruction by states are as follows: " States requiring instruction in agriculture in rural high schools only: Idaho, Pennsylvania, Utah. States giving aid to special agricultural schools: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Okla- homa, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin. States giving aid to departments of agriculture in high schools: 2iaU. S. Ed. Eep., 1911-12, Vol. I, p. 267. 352 CONSTRUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin. States in which secondary schools or secondary courses in agriculture are maintained by the State Agricultural Colleges in addition to the collegiate courses: Califor- nia, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kan- sas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.^^" As in the case of elementary schools there is a great dearth of competent teachers of agriculture in these schools. The meagre preparation originally required, now that the instruction may cover several years and pertain to various subjects, in a specialised manner, are no longer sufficient. Recently the idea has spread rapidly of establishing pro- fessorships of education in agricultural colleges and profes- sorships of agriculture in colleges of education and normal schools. The provision of Congress to give to land-grant colleges $25,000 a year to train teachers of agriculture and mechanic arts will doubtless do much to create a supply of well trained secondary school instructors. Normal Schools. — State normal schools are making some attempt to equip teachers with a knowledge of agriculture. Information obtained indicates a growing consciousness of the responsibility. Some normal schools have courses in agriculture and maintain ajstMll experimental farm or gar- den to make the work-as real as possible. In certain cases instruction is given in rural school matters. Certain nor- mals not only support an experimental and agricultural course but maintain an instructor who devotes his attention to rural school problems. 21b U. S. Ed. Rep. 1911, Vol. I, pp. 344-5. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 353 It is unfortunate that these institutions do not give more serious attention to sociological matters. Some maintain weak courses in economics and civics given by poorly equipped men, and an occasional normal devotes a short term to so- ciology. Professor Clow has shown that the tendency to sociological courses is gradually rooting into these institu- tions. He also writes convincingly in behalf of thorough work in sociology as giving the proper foundation for teach- ing. It is highly desirable that normal schools devote special attention to rural social problems in training the students who expect to teach in the country. Collected facts indicate how few well-trained teachers locate in rural districts. They prefer to teach in cities at little better wages and with greater expense to themselves. The normals may do two things to send more teachers to rural schools. First, make special effort to establish an educational and social interest in rural life on the part of normal students generally. Second, differentiate the instruction given in the normal so that there shall be a special rural school normal course. These things would induce more persons to devote themselves to rural education and so qualify them for it as to endow them with special fitness, devotion and permanency for the work. That normal schools are hardly touching the demand for trained rural teachers is denoted by such facts as these. In 1909 Minnesota required 3,000 elementary teachers and its normal schools graduated but 690 students. The only public normal school of Iowa in 1911 granted 308 degrees and certificates of all kinds, whereas the demand for teach- ers is over 60 per cent, greater than that of Minnesota. In 1911 Missouri's normal schools certified about 750 teach- ers and its demand is 20 per cent, greater than that of Min- nesota. New York's 15 normal schools graduated 1,811 stu- dents in 1912 to fill the vacancies in a body of 45,000 teachers; Pennsylvania's 15 normal schools sent out 1,925 354 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY teachers for the vacancies occurring among 35,000 teachers.^'^ When it is remembered that the cities more than conBumo this nmnber of teachers yearly it is evident that the coun- try must do without well trained teachers. But the normal schools are beginning to take action to render some assistance to the country districts. In 12 states agriculture is a requisite to secure a teacher's certifi- cate.^^^ This, with the " demand in other states for instruc- tion in agriculture in elementary schools, consolidated rural schools, and rural high schools, has forced many of the nor- mal schools into offering courses to fill the demand. Of the 185 state normal schools in the United States, 104 offered courses in agriculture during the past year ; 6 others, courses in school gardening; and 12, not counted in the 110 preced- ing, in nature study." " The majority of the courses offered are brief, extending from 4 to 12 weeks. A considerable number offer a full year's course and the ISTorth Adams (Mass.) State Normal gives a three years' course." ^^^ Agricultural Colleges. — The agricultural colleges are the institutions which we should look to for the greatest devotion to farm life both in aim and training activity. We must frankly recognise the good they have done in the direction of improved agricultural production. That they have risen to the height of their full opportunity does not appear. First, they have failed to recognise their true mission, the place they should occupy and the exact work they should do, as institutions among other kinds of state educational institu- tions. That their mission is not clear to their own manage- ments is indicated by their constituency. " Not only do the strongest of them contain great numbers of secondary school students, but the institutions themselves represent a mixture 22 U. S. Ed. Eep. 1912, I, 122. 22a Ibid., 1911, p. 344. 22}} Ibid., 1, 367. EUKAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 355 of many separate educational efforts, in which the ordinary college and the school of technology predominate." ^^° Replies to a questionnaire indicate that in states where the agricultural colleges are parts of the state university, the larger portion of their students are from the country; while in those states where these institutions are separate from the universities the larger portion of their collegiate students are urban. Again, as to the work their students eventually engage in the data show striking contrasts between the two classes of institutions. New York and Illinois colleges are types of the first class.. Eeplies as to the number of students who settle in the country supply the facts. The reply from Illinois states that a record of some 226 graduates shows 55 per cent, are farmers, 40 per cent, are in agricultural col- leges, experiment stations, agricultural publication, agricul- tural department work, etc., making a total of 95 per cent, who are direct and indirect agriculturists. New York re- ports that 71 per cent, of its former living students are in some form of farm work, and 20 per cent, in some form of agricultural education. The case is decidedly different with the students and grad- uates of separate agricultural colleges. In Iowa and North Dakota those institutions are separate from the universities of those states and maintain, besides the agricultural courses, courses in mechanical, electrical, mining and civil engineering which are largely attended. Most of the students of those non-agricultural courses never intend to take up farm life nor do the courses articulate in any vital way with agricul- tural interests. Thus in Iowa in 1909 out of 226 graduates but 56 took some course relating to agriculture; and out of 1,160 graduates whose occupations were known, 275 were directly or indirectly connected with agriculture, 132 of the 275, directly. Of the 776 students in the Agricultural Col- 22C " Fourth Carnegie Foundation Report," p. 97. 356 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY lege of North Dakota in 1909-10, but 98 were pursuing long courses leading up to farming.^* President Pritchett says : " The college of agriculture and mechanic arts has imitated mainly the old arts college and the school of technology. In very many cases the engineering side has run away with the agricultural side, and in prac- tically all of the agricultural colleges to-day it entirely over- shadows in numbers and in influence the college of agricul- ture." ^* Besides this traditional imitation because of no clear conception of their missions, the separate institutions have had political reasons for seeking to build up large student bodies, whatever their source, destiny or kind of instruction. Early in their careers the farmers fought shy of them. In consequence the agricultural and mechanical colleges resorted to all kinds of devices to get students.^^ The fact remains that they have hardly touched the situa- tion. " It is clear that the agricultural colleges, working as they are to-day, will not in a hundred years reach the men who must be taught practical farming. The conservation of the resources of the soil has steadily deteriorated in most states, notwithstanding the existence for forty years of these agencies." Second, these institutions have failed to recognise the so- cial character of the rural problem. It might have been expected, that above all educational agencies, they would have seen that the improvement of farm life, of leadership, and the general enlightenment of the population on funda- mental economic and social matters, are means and condi- tions of securing improved production. Only recently have agricultural college men assumed an aggressive leadership in any of these matters. Only a few institutions give anything like adequate instruction in these phases of farm life. The 23 Quarterly Journal, University North Dakota, October, 1911, pp. 75-6. 24 Op. cit., p. 100. 25 Pritchett, op. cit., p. 103. KURAL SOOIAX INSTITUTIONS 35V sciences of government and economics are usually backward in agricultural institutions, have little application to rural conditions, and sociology of any sort is almost unknown. Yet these are the sciences which must be depended on to give the information and point of view which are needful to create an intelligent leadership, and instructional staff for lower grade institutions. Additional Requirements. — In addition to what has been said about the improvement of high and normal school in- struction to meet agricultural needs it is evident that other things are required. First, the agricultural colleges must recognise their mission and devote themselves to its accom- plishment. Such an institution would be " A college of agri- culture associated with an experiment station and starting from the same entrance requirements as other college depart- ments. Such a college would train leaders in agriculture, the managers of great agricultural plants, teachers of agri- culture, and the like. This conception would be fulfilled by an agricultural college pure and simple, whether a part of a university or whether a separate agricultural college." ^* Second, adequate means must be taken to train men for the occupation of farming by institutions which are closely associated with the farm neighbourhood. " If we are to train men for the thousands of positions which are to be filled in every state in the practical operation of farms, we need not one agricultural college, but many agricultural trade schools ; and to bring about this result we need to keep closely in mind the distinction between an agricultural trade school and an agricultural college." Wisconsin and Minnesota are leading in this direction. Wisconsin has established four agricultural high schools and will erect others. It is likely that the trade school work will be turned over to these schools. This work in the university has been separated from that of the agricultural college and given to a special staff of second- 28 Pritchett, op. cit., p. 98. 358 CONSTEtJCTIVE RURAL SOCIOLOGY ary school instructors. In Minnesota a separate school of agriculture has been established near Crookston which is practically on a trade school basis. ^^ In addition to this it " has just enacted a law by which any high school which will add a department of agriculture that meets the requirement of the State Board of Education may draw upon the state funds to the amount of twenty-five hundred dollars annually, the number of schools being limited to ten additional for each year. Over sixty made the first application, many of which are going on with their plans independent of state aid." Dean Davenport of the School of Agriculture in Illinois holds that the next place to teach agriculture is in the high schools. He indicates that the demand for teachers of agri- culture in high schools has been greater than the supply, that it is less than two years old, and that secondary agricultural education wherever tried has been a great success. ^^ Such schools are not technically trade schools but they afford a vocational element. It has already been amply shown that the rural schools must be depended on to reach the masses of the farming pop- ulation. Extension Work. — It is being recognised that extending the opportunities of continued education to the people of the state who have ceased to attend the schools and higher edu- cational institutions is an obligation resting on higher insti- tutions of learning. The universities are cooperating with the people of the state in this direction. Generally they con- fine their efforts to giving instruction by correspondence courses in college work and professional subjects. However, they are broadening their mission. A few institutions offer correspondence work to all ambitious inhabitants of the state, and send lecturers on practically any subject into communi- ties which desire them. The scope of university extension 27 Pritchett, op. cit., pp. 99-101. 28 E. Davenport, " Education for Efficiency," Chap. 7. RUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 359 work is constantly broadening and augurs well for the future. As yet it has accomplished little of direct results for farm communities. The extension effort is the most significant recent develop- ment of agricultural colleges. " It is an attempt to put the college in the way of aiding every man to help himself on his own farm. In this effort they have gone farther than any other institution and they are setting an example for all in- stitutions." It " includes all affective personal acquaint- anceship with the farmers of the state; all inspection of farms that is not legal and police in character ; the giving of advice by correspondence; publication of an educational na- ture; cooperation with societies and organisations; advisory and cooperative work with schools; the organising of boys' and girls' clubs in schools and country districts ; the conduct- ing of reading courses for farmers, farmers' wives and rural school teachers; experiments and demonstrations on farms; holding of ' farmers' weeks ' and other conventions ; lectures, itinerant schools, and the like ; and all species of helpfulness and advice to the people on the land. The extension depart- ment of a college of agriculture should be a means of arous- ing the country people, and then of helping and guiding them." Professor Bailey regards the institute as a permanent means of reaching the farmers from agricultural colleges. " We must develop a new type of institute man,^^ unlike the college professor on the one hand and the so-called practical farmer on the other." Such men must have special training in and close contact with the colleges, and live on the land a part of the time ; and should be farmers as well as students. 29 During the year 1911 various North Dakota associations for the improvement of farming have placed in the field men of the above type. The same plan is to be executed in expending the million dollar fund to improve farming which was created by the Sears, Eoebuclc & Co., of Chicago, in May, 1912, 360 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Teaching on. farms is likewise important. It carries the laboratory method to the farmer. " A man's farm is his laboratory. No one may direct him how to manage his farm; but a good teacher coming to his place may set him into new lines of thinking and put him in the way of help- ing himself." ^^ EEFERENCES On General Sociological Demands " Vocational Education." J. M. Gillette, Div. II, " Social Demands on Education," pp. 109-112; and pp. 217-222; " Keconstruction of His- tory for Teaching Purposes," School Review, October, 1909; " City Trend of Population and Leadership," Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, October, 1910, pp. 67-79; "An Outline of Social Study for Elementary Schools," Course of Study for the common and graded schools of North Dakota, 1912, pp. 131-138. " Report of the Committee on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural Communities to the National Council of Education," pp. 10-20; and p. 53. " Proceedings of Annual Farmers' Institute Workers," 1910. Bulle- tin, U. S. Experiment Station, No. 1910, pp. 16-19. " Social Science Outlines," J. B. Welch, Elementary School Teacher, May and December, 1906. " Social Study Outlines." " Reports of the Committee of Seven, North Dakota Educational Association," 1909 and 1911, pp. 10-24, and pp. 43- 47. " Moral Principles in Education." John Dewey, pp. 57-58. " The State and the Farmer." L. H. Bailey, pp. 87-107. " The Training of Farmers." L. H. Bailey, pp. 37-45. " The Religious Possibilities of the Motion Picture." Herbert A. Jurrep, New Britain, Conn., p. 16 ff. "Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation," p. 106. " The School and Society." John Dewey. On Adjustment of Education to Rural Weeds. " Problems of the Rural School." N. C. Abbott, North Dakota Teach- ers' Bulletin, March, 1911, p. 2. " Report of Committee of Twelve on Rural Schools." " The School and Society." John Dewey, p. 29. " Is the Country Child of North Dakota Getting a Square Deal ? " A. D. Weeks, The Extension, Agricultural College, North Dakota, April, 1909, p. 4. 30 " The State and the Farmer," p. 17 ff; and " The Training of Farm- ers," pp. 252-256. EUEAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 361 Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation, "Agricultural Education," " The Future of the Agricultural College,'' and " The Train- ing of the Farmer." H. S. Pritchett, pp. 97-107. " Chapters in Rural Progress." K. L. Butterfield, Chaps. 6 and 9. " Education for Efficiency." E. Davenport, Chaps. 7, 8, and 9. " The State and the Farmer." Bailey, pp. 154-155 and p. 170. " The Training of Farmers," pp. 252-256. Education, Vol. XLV, p. 304; March, 1897, p. 418. Educational Review, Vol. XIV, p. 207. Perry, Clarence A. " Wider Use of the School Plant." Education, 31; 529-35; "The Ruralised College." Proceedings North Dakota Educational Association, 1909. " Education From the Ground Up." World's Work, March, 1909, pp. 11309-10; "Farmers' Children Need Farmers' Studies." Clarence H. Poe, same, August, 1903, pp. 3760-2. " What Agricultural Communities Should Teach.'' Survey, May 1, 1909, pp. 162-3. " Learning by Doing." For the farmer boy. Supt. O. J. Kern, Re- view of Reviews, October, 1903, pp. 456-61. " How May the Rural Schools be More Closely Related to the Lives and Needs of the People ? " D. J. Crosby in N. E. A. reports, 1909, p. 970. " The Present Status of Agricultural Education in Public Schools." E. C. Bishop, State Supt. of Nebraska in N. E. A. reports, 1909, pp. 97- 84. " Annual Report of Minister of Public Instruction, New South Wales, Australia," 1908, pp. 18, 19, 36. " The Exploitation of Pleasure." M. M. Davis. Russell Sage Foim- dation. No. 84. " Evening Recreation Centres." C. A. Perry. Russell Sage Founda- tion, No. 85. " Play and Playgrounds." Joseph Lee, American Civic Association, Leaflet No. 11 — second edition. "The School Garden." L. C. Corbett, U. 8. Fwrmer^ Bulletin, No. 218. " Agricultural Instruction for Adults in the British Empire." John Hamilton, same. No. 155. " School Gardens." B. T. Galloway, U. S. Experimental Station Bul- letin, No. 160. " Forestry in the Public Schools." H. A. Winkenwerder, U. 8. Forest Service Circular, No. 130. U. S. Ed. R^p. 1911 and 1912. G. H. Betts. " New Ideals in Rural Schools." Kennedy, Joseph. " Rural Life and the Rural School." 362 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Foght, H. W. "The Eflaciency and Preparation of Rural School Teachers," U. S. Bjireau of Education, Bulletin 49. 8ci. American, June 4, 1913, " Agriculture in the High Schools." On Consolidation " Consolidation of Rural Schools and Organisation of a County Sys- tem." Geo. W. Knorr, U. S. Experiment Station Bulletin, JNo. 232. " Among County Schools." 0. J. Kern, Chap. 12. " The American Rural School." H. W. Foght, Chap. 15. Journal of Education, Vol. XLV, p. 412 flf. Educational Review, Vol. XIV, p. 207. " Problem of the Rural School." N. C. Abbott, North Dakota Teach- ers' Bulletin, April, 1911, p. 2. " The Consolidation of Rural Schools in North Dakota," C. C. Schmidt, Univ. of JV. Dak. Departmental Bulletin, Oct., 1912. CHAPTER XIX' BTTB.AT, CHAEITT AlfD OOEEECTION' I. CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTET In Chapter 6 statistics appeared of the comparative amount of pauperism and crime in city and country. They confirm the statement that the country is relatively immune from the vice, crime, and pauperising conditions of the cities. Yet there are sufficient pathological conditions in rural regions to warrant serious attention. Pauperism. — There is much pauperism in rural regions where it would not be expected, and, certainly, more than is legitimate. Where the " outdoor " method of adminis- tering relief is practised this is likely to be the case. In the hands of men, generally county commissioners, ignorant of the conditions which breed paupers and of the significance of the fact of pauperism ; without knowledge of adequate and preventive means of giving assistance ; this method could not be expected to result otherwise than in building up a per- manent class of dependents. In some cases also commissioners are known to use relief work as a means of obtaining the political support of a cer- tain element in their county or township. Again, it is found that, in some states, their fees are determined by the day and the temptation is strong to increase them by making a relief order stand for a day's work. Thus, in North Dakota, some commissioners formerly wrote such an order and charged the county five dollars for a day's work. This system encour- ages commissioners to sustain a horde of dependents and to op- pose every effort which promises to reduce their number. 364: CONSTRUCTIVE EURAL SOCIOLOGY Very seldom ia an applicant for relief investigated as to worthiness and extent of need. There is little or no visita- tion to see if the assistance is properly used or if it should be discontinued. An officer seldom regards it as his duty to give help so that it does not pauperise, or to attempt to re- claim the professional pauper to self-supporting citizenship. Our county system of administering relief is about as vicious as it could be because it encourages rather than discourages the condition it should seek to remove. Much should be said about the indoor method of assisting the dependent. Probably most of the almshouses are con- ducted in a way to foster a dependent class. Almshouses should be retained for the permanent classes of impoverished persons. Others should be excluded. Admission and dis- missal should be strictly guarded. The common practice is to send all classes of cases there, and to admit and dismiss individuals largely upon their own volition. Half-witted women use them as a lying-in place, depart at will, only to return again for the same purpose, thus adding to the popu- lation both a dependent and defective element. Young chil- dren are housed among professional paupers and others of vicious or undesirable habits and by the process of imitation come to be contaminated. It is almost inevitable that they should recruit either the dependent or the delinquent class. Unwise philanthropy assists the enlargement of the rural dependent class. Feeding tramps is a standing practice in most of our farm regions. This amounts to breeding tramps, for it is an inducement to shiftless individuals to secure an easy living. In the West there has been developed a new species of tramp. " They live in a covered wagon and with a broken-down team of horses they travel from town to town and from place to place, camping in the woodside, begging bread for the family and corn and fodder for the horses." These migrants are not criminals but they do not hesitate to appropriate the EUEAL CHAEITY AND COERECTION 365 things they need. Investigation of a large number of cases showed that the majority of the women were immoral. Vice. — Crime, as we discovered, is less prolific in rural than in urban districts. Yet the former possesses a sufficient amount to demand earnest attention. We have noted that tramps are found throughout the country. Many of them are criminal in tendency and in practice. The floating la- bour class which abounds at certain seasons of the year con- tributes its quota to the establishment of vicious example. These two classes furnish many of the cases of theft, assault, and rape which occur. Much less vice exists in the open country than in villages and small cities. Prostitution hardly occurs. The small tovms in many cases axe infested with vicious habits and rowdyism. Insufficient police force is partly re- sponsible for this condition. Boys are allowed to grow up with idle habits and a freedom of life entirely unsuppressed. They develop a spirit of resistance to the laws and conse- quently a sort of imbecile rowdyism which leads to vicious- ness and finally to crime. This shows itself in petty crimes and misdemeanours. The " bad boy " has unusually large opportunities in the direction of infecting other boys and in organising mischief in these small places. One of the semi-pathological conditions which quite gen- erally exists in country regions is salacious conversation. The talk which takes place about the threshing machine dur- ing idle periods illustrates this. The most disreputable stories are about the only kind narrated. Allusions to the most private affairs of the sexes are frequent and the chief enjoyment is gained from the coarse humour of such butts and stories. The noted Jukes family is an example of the combination of vice and dependency which may be allowed to develop in neglected rural communities. The original Jukes were rural New Yorkers, as were many of the descendants. But 366 CONSTEUCTIVE KUKAL SOCIOLOGY of a total lineage of 1,200 persons 709 were investigated by Mr. Dugdale. Of these 540 were of Jukes blood and 169 connected by marriage. Of the 305 blooded Jukes who reached marriageable age, 82 were illegitimate, 73 prosti- tutes, 12 kept brothels, 51 were syphilitic, 49 were criminals, 95 received outdoor and 53 almshouse relief. Of the 169 who married Jukes, 9 were illegitimate, 55 prostitutes, 6 kept brothels, 16 were syphilitics, 27 were criminals, 47 re- ceived outdoor and 11 almshouse relief. This takes no ac- count of the 58 of the first class and 23 of the second class who were unascertained. Fifty-two and four-tenths per cent, of the Jukes women were harlots. The investigator esti- mated that in 75 years they cost the community $1,250,000, besides the evil inheritances it imposed on posterity. This family is only an extreme case of a type of family which many country and village coimnunities are breeding. Loose methods of relief, a lax or absent police power, and backward methods of treating youthful offenders are among the condi- tions which build up and perpetuate these stocks. A family which promises to become even more famous than the Jukes is the Kallikak Family. This family stock has been investigated by the assistants of Dr. H. H. God- dard, director of the research laboratory of the Training School at Vineland, E'ew Jersey, for the feeble-minded girls and boys, and the results have been made public by Dr. God- dard in a book, " The Kallikak Family." The parents of this stock were a Eevolutionary soldier and a feeble-minded girl, or rather their illegitimate son, Martin Kallikak, Jr. From Martin Kallikak, Jr., have come 480 descendants, of whom 143 were feeble-minded, 46 were normal, and the remainder are undetermined for lack of evidence. Among the 480 descendants, 36 were illegiti- mate, 33 sexually immoral, mostly prostitutes, 24 confirmed alcoholics, 3 epileptics, 3 criminals, 8 kept houses of ill-fame, 82 died in infancy. ETJEAL CHARITY AND COEEEOTION 367 These descendants married witli people of about the same type, making a group of 1,146 recorded and charted persons. Two hundred and sixty-two members of this larger group were feeble-minded, 197 were considered normal, and the re- mainder were undetermined. The latter were frequently not what would be called good members of society. The members of the Kallikak family lived in rural re- gions for most part. What the record of crime, vice, and pauperism would have been had they been residents of cities can only be imagined. But in the morally superior condi- tions of the country the record is startling and reveals the danger which is the result of inadequate laws and methods of treatment of a hereditarily and socially contaminated stock. Country districts are subject to criminal exploitation of men from the cities. Says Professor Henderson : " The criminals of the city go out to plunder rural banks and stores. The common interest does not stop at city lines. The com- mon enemy must be caught where he can be overtaken. The recent extension of trolley lines into the country and the in- troduction of swift automobiles have widened the field for professional burglars of cities. Against these trained vil- lains the thin safes of country merchants and banks are mere tissue paper." Attention is also called to the inefficiency of the rural constable and county sheriff when pitted against the shrewd cunning and audacious daring of city-bred criminals.^ Eural communities are backward in the maintenauce of suitable jails and lockups. The kind which obtain are more often preparatory schools of crime than correctives. Not only are the sanitary conditions vile and unwholesome but the practice of throwing young offenders into prison to con- course with mature criminals can result in nothing but breed- ing criminal careers. The sentencing of boys to prisons and remanding them to jails to await trial are practices which aug- ment crime instead of being checks and preventives. 1 " The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sci- ence," Vol. XL, p. 231. 368 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY II. THE IMPEOVE'MEflsrT OF RUT?, AT, CHAEITABLE AND COEEECTIVE INSTITUTIONS The usual relief agencies consist of outdoor relief and re- lief in almshouses. Outdoor Belief. — Of giving aid to the poor outside of in- stitutions we call " poorhouses " much is to be said in its favour. It is quite generally conceded to be the best plan to follow in those cases of poverty which promise to be tem- porary; also in counties where the number of permanent dependents is small. The reasons for this position may be briefly stated. First, it enables members of the family to share in self-support, and in case of a single individual may lead him to earlier and partial self-support. Second, it keeps the family together, one of the greatest objects in the admin- istration of charity. Third, it avoids attaching to the indi- vidual the stigma of having been in the " poorhouse." Fourth, since a large share of poverty comes in the winter and is temporary in nature the outdoor method saves the in- vestment of dead capital in costly institutions. Fifth, as a supporting reason may be mentioned the fact that the tend- ency of modern charity is in the direction of outdoor relief. In case outdoor relief is resorted to, however, there are some necessary precautions which must be taken to make it safe and economical. First, every case should be carefully investigated by a competent person to make it certain that it is one of real need. Otherwise persons are likely to be im- bued with a spirit of dependency, and a needless expenditure of public money is made. The first point is the more im- portant. It is easier to pauperise individuals than it is to restoi'e them to independence. No risks should be taken. Second, great care should be exercised to see that assist- ance is not prolonged beyond the point of actual need. To unnecessarily prolong assistance is to pauperise. Frequent visitation is therefore essential. Third, careful guardianship EUEAL CHAEITY AND C0EEECTI0:N' 369 is needed to see that political capital is not made out of aid extended and that votes are not being purchased thereby. Fourth, the aid extended should usually be in the shape of the things actually needed rather than in the shape of money, as the latter may easily be squandered, or used to purchase alcohol. With these and other precautions outdoor relief should be made effective. Indoor Belief. — The following statements may be made relative to relief in almshouses. As in outdoor relief the inmates are to be cared for so as to be restored to actual competency if possible and as soon as possible. Many of the requisites depend on the plan of the structure or buildings. First, buildings should be constructed so as to permit of a separation of the sexes in order to prevent immorality, illegitimacy, etc. Second, they should be built to permit the separation of children from the adults. Children drink in the lives of the elders they grow up among. If kept in almshouses they should be carefully guarded from the de- generating influences of confirmed paupers, and should be educated carefully. Third, there should be provision made for the isolation of tubercular and other infectious cases, for the danger of inoculation is well known. Fourth, the insane and feeble-minded should never be kept in almshouses, but if they are they should have separate wards provided for them. Fifth, all able-bodied persons should be given work. Work is the salvation of many dependents and defectives. Some of the good effects of work are as follows: It aids health, good order and morals ; reduces chronic grumbling by taking the mind off the self and creating a feeling of useful- ness and dignity; prevents lapsing into a state of dementia, for just as in insane hospitals idleness is found to keep the inmates insane, so in hospitals for the poor it drives them insane; discourages lazy loafers and keeps them out of the almshouses. Work is the best sifting test known. In the Sauk Coimty, Wisconsin, almshouse work revolutionised 370 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY the inmates, made them contented, restored many of them. Basket making, chair making, etc., are possible forms of work which might be provided. It is not easy to get the inmates to work but it ought to be attempted as a restorative. Sixth, frequent visitation of the institution should be established. Once a year is insufficient. Good authorities say once a month is none too often. Efficiency depends on visitation by intelligent and interested persons. Needed Legislation. — Some consideration may well be given to needed improvements in the system of poor relief through advance in legislation. All that may be done is to enumerate and appraise the several points briefly. First, where it does not exist, a law should be passed for the estab- lishment of a state board of charities. The board should be separate and special from all other boards.* It has special functions, needs special talent. Its work should be one of intelligent supervision of all institutions in the state devoted to the care of dependents, defectives, and delinquents; and there should be rigid inspection by means of a secretary or an inspector who would visit all institutions one or more times annually. It would also secure a service which is much needed, that of arousing an intelligent public opinion on the matter of relief along proper lines. The inspection would secure the right kind of buildings, raise the standard of su- perintendency, and make the administration of the institu- tions more effective. Second, there should be laws entailing strict admission and discharge. As was remarked, one may almost pass into almshouses and out at will. Feebleminded women may make of them a convenience. Debauchees get admitted to rest up, then are away at will. It is a matter of public concern and should be closely regulated. Third, building laws are needed which would require a « This statement is open to discussion. E«cently the tendency has been toward a single board of control. EUEAL CHAEITY AND COERECTION 371 separation of sexes, special classes of insane and diseased, and that of the children from adults. In the case of small populations several counties would better build jointly to secure these ends. Laws now commonly legalise this pro- cedure. Fourth, there should be laws which place superintendents and attendants on a civil-service basis, and require a certain standard of fitness and of preparation for the position of superintendent. Had we the institutions of the larger joint- county type these requirements could well be sustained. The best plan is the most economical in the long run and these steps should be taken. They have the approval of the experts and authorities on matters of relief work in the United States and European countries. Fifth, a law establishing a central accounting system for the state on all charitable and criminal matters is greatly needed. In most of the states it is impossible to discover the amount expended for poor relief and for criminal mat- ters, or the number of persons supported at public expense without resorting to the expense and trouble of visiting every county office and in some states every township office in the state. Such information is necessary if matters are to be improved. If a central accounting system were put into ef- fect it would have a deterring influence on lax administration of public funds. In the matter of poor relief the number of persons aided and the amount of relief should be reported, as well as, perhaps, other facts. Sixth, a Board of County Charities should be established by law, as is done in Indiana. In that state such a board is made mandatory on the petition of fifteen reputable citizens. The duty of such boards is to visit poor asylums, jails, orphans' homes, lockup, and any other charitable or correc- tional institution receiving any public support. They re- port to the Board of County Commissioners quarterly and to the Circuit Judge annually, reports being furnished to the 37a CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY press and the State Board of Charities. Only travelling expenses are furnished. These boards have been of ines- timable value in Indiana. Tramps. — Tramps should receive a treatment specially in- tended to discover their real nature and to reclaim them if possible. They should be submitted to a work test before receiving assistance. The able, really needy man wiU gladly avail himself of earning his meal or other assistance. Every farmer has the ability to apply this rule. Those unable to ■work should go to the ailmshouse or hospital and should be helped thereto. Those vfho are able but unwilling to work should not be fed because they would be encouraged to con- tinue the idle parasitic life. If this rule were generally followed tramping would be lessened decidedly. When the community is compact and is able a work house in which the work test is administered is a useful institution. Besides the application of the work test by the above meth- ods, farm or training colonies for tramps are gaining a very strong advocacy on the part of charity leaders. New Zealand penalises begging so severely that there is very little. It seeks to reform vagrants by means of government " improved farm settlements " and " village settlements " which help the landless to obtain homes. "^ America has not proceeded so far but makes use of farm colonies to train vagrants to useful habits of work. The Feeble-minded. — Feeble-minded children are gener- ally kept in their homes by parents and given an insufficient training. !Not all cases of arrested development may be made self-supporting. Idiocy entails complete dependence. Many backward children, however, may by proper training be fitted to make their own way in life or at least in large measure. This cannot be done in the common schools in classes along with the bright children. If feeble-minded children are to 5 Henderson, C. E., "Modem Methods of Charity," pp. 310-311; Par- eons, Brank, " The Story of New Zealand," Chap. 51, p. 514. RUEAL CHAEITY AND CORRECTION 373 be kept at home they should haye special instruction pro- vided them in connection with the schools. Failing this, they should be sent to the school which the state provides or to similar private institutions, where special attention and fa- cilities exist. Most communities and states are lax in this. Parents dislike to entrust their children to strangers and refuse to admit that they are less able than other children. This attitude on the part of the parents is to the detriment of the child. Tor its own good they should be willing to send it where it may receive the greatest assistance. Incipient Insanity. — One of the weakest places in our treatment of the unfortunate persons who become subject to insanity lies in the initial stages of the disease. The common method consists in throwing the insane into the local jail if they are violent, of giving them a trial before a county board, and of sending them to the state institution for the insane. This process leaves out of account the idea of curability of the patient and disregards his sentiments and standing in the community upon recovery. Statistics of the proportion of insanity cases which are curable are not abundant. Yet reliable statements place it at from one-fourth to one-third. Even higher estimates are made. Nearly one-fourth admitted to the state hospitals are cured, 80 per cent, of these vsdthin a year. Many others are discharged sufficiently improved to return to their homes. " It is estimated that avoidable cases of insanity account for about 50 per cent, of the patients un- der treatment." ® The following reasons are given for the maintenance in each county or small group of counties of a separate detention hospital for the incipient insane. (1) Incarceration in local jails (frequently used) should never be resorted to. The individuals afflicted are subjects not criminals. Moreover, violent behaviour of inmates, such « Ex-Govemor Hughes of New York, " Why Should Any One Go Insane? " State Charity Aid Association, New York City. 374 CONSTEUCTIVE KUEAL SOCIOLOGY as of violent inebriates, is likely to result in harm in develop- ing the trouble. (2) The subject of acute mania should have advantage of a temporary test because of the stigma which attaches to having been an inmate of an " asylum." Besides, the aver- sion to this mode of treatment on the part of the subject and friends prevents that early treatment which might check the development of the attack. (3) The effects of a demented person on the people in the vicinity, especially the children, is bad and should be removed as soon as possible. The reverse is also true, for the insane person is necessarily subject to many deteriorating influences in the home. (4) It is estimated that the average cost of a permanent insane subject in Illinois is about $6,000, a sum to be es- caped if possible. Let us suppose that each patient treated in a detention hospital should cost $1,000. In recovering ten people the state and community would save an item of $50,000. (5) To give a chance for training to coming, and prac- tising physicians in the detection and treatment of psychical disturbances and diseases may be an object. This is, of course, a somewhat incidental consideration, but when we remember that few physicians have had any training in the psychology of mental disorders and that the community is dependent on their knowledge in such cases, their equipment becomes a matter of great importance. Says Dr. Frederick Peterson, " We have emergency hos- pitals for broken bones or acute fevers; but when the most important organ of the body, the brain, becomes affected with an acute disease, the emergency hospital is the jail. This deplorable condition of affairs has led to a steadily increas- ing agitation of the subject of emergency hospitals for the insane. It is an axiom among physicians versed in psychia- try that early diagnosis and speedy treatment are of para- RUEAL CHAEITY AND COEEECTION" 375 mount importance in nearly all cases of acute insanity. Surely, nothing could be worse for a delirious mind than the sight of police officials and prison walls. I advocate, there- fore, the establishment in all large towns and cities of emer- gency pavilions or independent hospitals for the reception of the insane. Two small wards in a general hospital, or a pavilion in connection therewith, will suffice," in large towns. Jails and Lockups. — The work of correction in rural com- munities is carried on by justice, county, and district courts, and by jails and lockups, reformatories and prisons. We are more concerned with the institutions which are located close to the country itself. Without describing the methods and processes in common use let us consider some of the things which should be done to make the work of correction effective and socially safe. There are a number of needed improvements relative to jails and lockups. First, they should be maintained as places of detention for persons awaiting trial rather than for pur- poses of punishment. They are not fitted for" the latter be- cause they have not facilities for giving work and training of a curative nature. Idleness is demoralising. Second, they should not be used as places for the detention of wit- nesses since this mixes the innocent and criminal in a con- taminating manner and places a stigma on the witness. Third, these detention places should be built to permit the entire separation of prisoners from each other and of the sexes. Very few local institutions admit of these necessary precautions against the contamination of the beginners by the hardened criminals, and of the humiliation of woman- hood. Fourth, we have given the reasons for excluding the insane from imprisoimient. Fifth, youthful offenders should never be placed in the position of being regarded as criminals nor should they be thrust in with grown men, per- haps of the professional criminal type. The one crushes the sense of innocence and freedom, the other is a schooling in 376 COJSrSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY vicious and criminal practices. Sixth, some agency of a com- petent nature should he established for supervision and con- struction of local jails. Our common jails are a disgrace to civilisation in nearly all particulars. They should he im- proved by adequate court or state supervision. Since many inmates are later sent to state institutions under state laws it is evident that the state has authority in the premises. Su- pervision by a state agency obtains in Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, California, and Connecticut. In Indiana a county board, whose members serve without pay, cooperate with the state board of charities. In that state the state board may con- demn a jail, and has secured laws excluding juvenile delin- quents, providing a police matron and better separation of the sexes. The Probation System Needs to be Extended to Rural Regions. — The New York State Probation Commission re- gards the " extension of the probation system in the rural section of the state, through county probation officers, as very important. The social conditions, the non-enforcement of law and the absence of preventive agencies in many of the smaller communities, call urgently for probationary meth- ods." The report of the Commission for 1909 says: "Much of the shiftlessness, lawlessness, truancy, vice, and crime in rural places goes uncorrected. Before anything effective is done to check the wayward tendencies in children and the rowdyism in young men, the evils often become so grave as to be beyond remedy. Some of the worst criminals and the most degenerate families in the state have grown up in small communities. In the absence of probation, prac- tically the only course available is commitment to jail, and this rarely does good, and in many cases does harm." ^ In case county probation officers cannot be obtained or until they are provided, voluntary associations with special 7 Survey, May 21, 1910, pp. 304-5. EUEAL CHARITY AND COERECTION 377 appointees to act as sucli should be organised. Justice courts are not proper tribunals for handling juvenile cases because the officers have no training and insight for such duties. A specially selected man who is in full sympathy with children and who has full knowledge of the methods of juvenile courts and probational processes is the only one competent to pre- vent youth from becoming professional delinquents. County Welfare Agencies. — It is possible that county forces might sustain a " Charity Organisation." The fed- erated forces of cities cooperate to prevent duplication of work, confusion in relief, wasteful methods of administration, and the building up rather than the curtailment of a depend- ent population. Should representatives of the schools, churches, poor officials and the various occupations of rural districts get together they could maintain a county associated charities. A council or board of directors with full power to act should be chosen. This would provide the supporting and directing power to the undertaking. An executive com- mittee of the active and wide-awake representatives would work out lines of action and see that they were followed. A finance committee, a survey committee for making a survey of existing conditions, a medical committee and a visitation or friendly visitors' committee, are some of the useful com- mittees. The function which such a county organisation could per- form are many. The more prominent and fundamental ones are cooperation with indoor and outdoor relief; the protec- tion of children from life in an almshouse ; discovering and securing the transmission of defective persons, such as the feeble-minded, the deaf, and the blind, to appropriate insti- tutions ; suppression of vagrancy by securing the general ap- plication of the work test or the passage of colony laws; initiating and conducting work that would help to prevent the production of dependency; and cooperation with city charity organisations. 3Y8 COI^STEUCTIVE ETJEAL SOCIOLOGY A yearly meeting of the united forces would be stimula- tive. Other county organisations have such gatherings, the county Sunday School Association especially. With reports of work accomplished, discussion of conditions and methods of improvement, speeches and papers, the session could be made educative and promotive of the larger good. Recent reform movements have given birth to the Board of Public Welfare of cities, and the Public Welfare League of Kansas. A suggestion has been made that counties organ- ise a county Board of Public Welfare which should be the legalised agency for conducting the affairs of charity, de- linquency, health, employment, etc.* 8 " A Plan for Co-ordinating State Public Welfare Work," L. A. Hal- bet, Survey, 28; 660-661. EEFKEENCES Henderson, C. E. " Modern Methods of Charity," on treatment of vagrants in Australia, pp. 310-311; "Dependents, Defectives and De- linquents," Part II and Part IV; and The Annals of the American Acad- emy of Political and Social Science, March, 1912, p. 228, " Rural Police." " A Plan for Coordinating State Public Welfare Work." L. A. Hal- bet, Survey, 28: 660-661. Parsons, Frank. " The Story of New Zealand," Chap. 51 ; and " Pol- itics in New Zealand," Chap. 26. Blackmar, F. W. " Social Degeneration in Towns and Rural Dis- tricts," "National Conference Charities and Correction," 1900, pp. 115- 124. Dugdale. " The Jukes." Peterson, Frederick, M.D., Pres. of the New York State Commission of Lunacy. " The Essentials of an Adequate System of Care for the Insane," "National Conference of Charities and Correction," 1902, pp. 166-8. Bonett. " Hospitals for the Acute and Recoverable Insane," same, 1907, p. 397 S. " Why Should Any One go Insane?" Folks & Elwood. State Chari- ties Aid Association, New York City. " Programme to Prevent Increase of Insanity." Survey, January 7, 1911, pp. 523-4. Brown, D. C. " State Supervision of County and Municipal Prisons and Homes for the Poor." '' National Conference of Charities and Cor- lections," 1910, pp. 303-7. KUEAL CHAEITY AND COEEECTION 379 The Survey, May 21, 1910, pp. 304-5. Indiana Bulletin of Charities and Correction, March, 1906, p. 71 ff.; and " The Development of Public Charities in Indiana," Indianapolis, 1905. " The Ka,llikak Family." H. H. Goddard. CHAPTEK XX EtTEAl SOCIAX SURVEYS I. IMPOBTAITCE OF THE SUEVEY Value in City Life. — A work on rural life would be in- complete should it fail to develop the thought of the social survey in its application to rural communities. The survey concept is comparatively new, although in a certain sense all censuses from those of ancient Semitic nations and the Domesday Book of William the First of England down to modern national and state censuses are approaches to making surveys. Scientific methods require time to grow and be- come perfected and the social survey as an objective method of obtaining facts relative to community life has developed and must still be subjected to criticism, experience, and im- provement before it may be called a perfected scientific method of the social sciences. In recent times the survey ideal has taken root in the city. It has sprung out of a practical attempt to obtain informa- tion about urban conditions so that certain abuses might be removed and social problems solved. Perhaps Charles Booth's investigations in London during seventeen years, the results of which appeared in his " Life and Labour of the People of London," may be called the beginning of the mod- em survey. Similar investigations, though not so extensive, have been conducted by various individuals in American cities. In cities life is so complicated, conditions are so numerous and enmeshed, that it is impossible for the mere individual to prosecute the work of a survey which shall be general with ssn RURAL SOCIAL SURVEYS 381 fulness and precision. As a consequence organised efforts have undertaken the work and we have the " Pittsburg sur- vey," and the " Buffalo survey," as their noted examples. Other cities are making inventories of city conditions with a view to projecting plans for the direction of their future de- velopment. The value of the survey is obvious. Before beginning to construct its line of railway a railway corporation sends out its corps of engineers who obtain a knowledge of the charac- ter of the territory through which it is proposed to construct the line relative to advantages and disadvantages of projec- tion and construction. Besides this other experts have gath- ered data as to the resources of the region in order to demon- strate a certain basis for profitable traffic after the road has been built. No material fact is left out of account which throws light on the nature of the undertaking. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be required to develop the project and absolute accuracy and certainty is demanded to warrant, this expenditure. The city is a permanent collective entity. It is to be the home of human beings far into the future. Human welfare is at stake. Complicated conditions bring abuses and prob- lems. Remedies and solutions must be founded on accurately ascertained facts. To gather the facts about all phases of city life and to plat and map the conditions as they exist for the direction of present and future efforts at betterment is as important and necessary in the case of the city as in that of the railway. The practical benefits of the urban survey have appeared. Pittsburg has undertaken the regeneration of its civic life as a consequence of its survey. Other cities have been awak- ened to the consciousness of their untoward conditions be- cause of the revelations in Pittsburg and are moving to take action. The Buffalo survey involved only the conditions of the 70,000 or 80,000 Poles who live in that city, a popula- 382 COI^STRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY tion not known by the municipality nor understood by itself. Since the survey, " in place of general ignorance and either indifference or vague talk of a ' problem,' have been substi- tuted an accurate knowledge of the conditions of the Poles; and aroused interest, on the part of the general local public and of the Poles themselves, in those conditions; the begin- nings of a movement of cooperation, for betterment and mu- tual advantage, between the Poles and the rest of the com- munity; and withal, a clearly defined question of social economy." ^ Additional value attaches to the survey from the fact that it furnishes an accurate objective scientific method which the social sciences may use to their advantage. Value in Rural Life. — Several reasons exist why the sur- vey idea took root in cities first. The social problems arose there earliest to demand consideration. It became necessary to chart the conditions, consequently, in order to solve the problems satisfactorily. Again the community idea is more perceptible in the city. The city is a definitely bounded and compacted aggregation. Therefore the suggestion is likely to occur there before it arises in the country that all the facts and conditions relative to this clearly defined object may be obtained. Where the community idea is clouded and the boundaries between communities are not conspicuously vis- ible, as is the case in the country, the undertaking to secure a neighbourhood reconnaissance appears vague. Until the prism separated the rays of sunlight into distinct groups it was not thought possible to chart the spectrum. Now the twenty-one colours of the normal spectrum with their bound- ary lines may be designated. Rural life surveys have had to await the development of the analysis of country life con- ditions and the defining of rural communities as such. We now know enough about rural communities to undertake the application of the survey to them. 1 " National Conference of Charities and Correction," 1910, p. 238. EUEAL SOCIAL SUEVEYS 883 The value of the rural survey rests on the reply to the questions, Does the country need to know anything about itself? Has the rural community any pressing problems? If this volume is true these questions must be answered in the affirmative. We have discovered many problems in country life. Some of these problems are those of local com- munities and must be solved largely by developing an appre- ciation on the part of the inhabitants of those communities of the conditions lying beneath those problems. Some of the rural problems are inter-oommunity matters and await the development of intercommunity cooperation. The first set of problems because of their localised nature may appro- priately be subjected to the rural social survey. If a survey of the conditions which underlie the second group of prob- lems is to be undertaken it must be on a very large scale, calling for the effort of state or nation. Since the country has its problems and since their solution awaits the discovery of the exact terms entering into the problem the inference is forced upon us that a rural survey which discovered the conditions of any of its problems would be of great value. As a matter of fact the survey has been applied to certain rural matters. In order to discover how to secure the best returns from the soil both national and state agricultural experts have been making surveys to de- termine the location of the different kinds of soils. A coun- terpart of this is to discover what plants will thrive best on each of these soils. These terms being found the problem has found its solution. What now remains to be done to make the application of the survey to the country complete is to follow this same procedure relative to matters of edu- cation, of labour, of church, of recreation, culture, associa- tional matters, and so on, until the whole is covered. It is in line with all similar scientific undertakings to conclude that the compensation to rural community welfare resulting from the survey will be rich beyond peradventure. 384 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Relative Ease of Making a Rural Survey. — As compared with the work of making an urban survey that of a rural community is simple and easy. To make a complete com- munity survey would be to discover and record all the essen- tial facts which bear in any way upon the welfare of the community. In our chapter on the distinction between the urban and rural community it was discovered that while the city is a very distinctly localised and bounded object of investigation it is also a medley of associational relations. It is therefore exceedingly difficult to gather together all the facts relative to urban life and to so rationally relate and organise them that they will give an unbiased and accurate account of the community in its entirety. In fact a full- orbed, exhaustive urban survey has never yet been under- taken. Every survey which has yet been made has been partial. Certain individual surveys have been somewhat ex- haustive in their plan but incomplete in their facts.^ Sur- veys undertaken by organisations or cities have devoted them- selves to the investigation of certain aspects of city life. When we turn to rural communities we find them simple in constitution although their exact perimeters are not easily designated. The latter difficulty is, however, slight as com- pared with that arising from the constitutional complexity of the city. It would not be difficult for the trained investi- gator to gather and chart the essential conditions of a given rural neighbourhood. The live pastor and the virile educa- tor should each be able to accomplish this for the adaptation and direction of their respective sociological functions. II. WATIJBE OF THE StrB.VET Kinds of Surveys — Surveys may be partial and general. They may also be scientific or practical. These two groups 2 Such for instance as T. J. Riley's " The Higher Life of Chicago," and the earlier " Culture Agencies of a Typical Manufacturing Group — South Chicago," by the present writer. EURAL SOCIAL SURVEYS 385 of surveys are not exclusive of each other. Both a partial and general survey may at the same time be either scientific or practical. Clearness requires a brief characterisation of each. 1. The partial survey consists in the investigation, collec- tion, and rationalisation of the facts relative to any partic- ular section of community life. The labour factor of a neighbourhood might be studied. The study would embrace the number, character, and quality of the labourers, wages, conditions of living, relation of workers in various relation- ships to other residents of the community, defects of the la- bour system for the labourers and for the community, etc The educator might investigate all the conditions bearing on education in his school district, or study some particular phase of the educational situation. The latter study might consider the play conditions of the district. This would em- brace such considerations, as the number, ages, and sex of the children, facilities for play in the homes, neighbourhood, and school, nature of their play whether individual or organised, possibility and advantages of organised play in school, or elsewhere, including cost of equipment and direction. The philosophy of the function of play in the life of the individ- ual and society would constitute a background for the direction of the investigation and the conclusions drawn from it. 2. The general survey would attempt to obtain an exact knowledge of all the essential facts of the community. It seeks to know the community in its entirety and the condi- tions of the community in their interrelationships and inter- dependencies. Whatever the purpose of the survey may be it is certain that the more complete and accurate the collec- tion of facts can be made the truer to life and reality will the conclusions be. In this survey hardly any condition, whether individual or collective in its appearance, is too in- significant to be regarded. The musical tastes of a domestic 386 CONSTEUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY or the inventive tendencies of a farmer's boy may have a significance for the life of rural communities. 3. In their purpose surveys may be practical or scientific. A survey is practical when it has for its immediate aim the improvement of some particular phase of neighbourhood life or of the general life of the community. Most of the sur- veys so far have been immediately utilitarian in their aim. A survey is scientific when it is made to serve merely scien- tific uses immediately. A student of society might investi- gate the conditions of city or country in order to understand the nature of such communities. If taught to or published for others this would enlarge the scientific knowledge of such communities. This, however, would not prevent it from be- ing useful ultimately. It may be said that rural sociology stands quite as much in need of such studies as rural welfare demands practical surveys on the part of well equipped work- ers. What a Sociological Survey Should Contain 1. The na- ture of the contents will measurably depend on the purpose of the survey, (a) The partial survey will contain such considerations as are pertinent to its inquiry. Thus a church survey will gather all facts which bear on church life at the least. No doubt the contents actually gathered will depend on the training and outlook of the investigator. Economic conditions might be studied from either or both of two view- points: as a basis of the material resources of the church, or with a view to considering economic conditions as a basis of social welfare. In the same manner the birth-rate of the community might be studied as aiieeting the future member- ship of the church, or as reflecting the ethical views of resi- dents relative to family matters. Thus the view-point of the investigator will broaden or narrow the scope of the investiga- tion. Scarcely any fact exists which might not be of value to the conducting of a church for social welfare purposes. If its aim is merely doctrinal and individualistic, on the other EUEAL SOCIAL SURVEYS 387 hand, a survey is hardly necessary, save for reasons of ex- pediency. But if its aim is broadly social it must under- stand the community sociologically, that is in its entirety. What has been said about the church survey holds true of those which might be made by educators, doctors, farmers, etc. Each of these persons may take the individualistic view of his calling. In this case a survey would be difficult to justify. But if he views himself or his work as having a social function, and if he has in mind the social welfare, his survey must embrace practically every fact in order that he and his function may find their right social relationship. Then the conclusions drawn from the survey will relate to the adaptation of his calling to advance the good of the com- munity rather than to the community welfare in general. Thus the preacher will draw conclusions relative to making his church the best possible social service church under the given conditions ; and no doubt also how to make it better the conditions. (b) The general survey must tabulate all contents of what- ever character because the aim of the survey is as broad as the whole of the community in question. This survey would be undertaken to afford a prospectus of community conditions which would be competent to serve either general or special purposes. It should help the control and direction of com- munity conditions in general. It should be available for the control and direction of any division of labour, institution, or group of individuals. It should shed light on how to up- lift and improve the community as a community. It should prompt a conclusion as to what the church, the school, the home, or any other institution or division of labour should be and undertake. It is assumed that the investigator pos- sesses a knowledge of other community conditions which will serve to regulate conclusions relative to the region surveyed. 2. A somewhat approximate scheme for the direction of rural surveys may be suggested but must not be regarded as 388 CONSTEUCTIVE RUEAL SOCIOLOGY final. The schedules and tabulations under each of them are intended to suggest and to comprehend the important facts to be gathered. Schedule A, Physical conditions. Altitude. Topography. Precipitation of moisture. Average and extremes of temperature by seasons. Prevailing winds, velocity. Length and character of seasons. Kinds of soil. Forests. Mineral resources. Streams and lakes. Schedule B, Elements of population. Number of inhabitants by age and sex. Number and size of families. Widows, widowers, orphans. Nationalities: number, age, sex. Education and Americanising quality of immigrants. Tendencies in population towards transiency and racial displace- ment; increase or decrease. Schedule C, Economic factors. Number and size of farms. Conditions of agriculture. Methods of farming. Acreage and yield of crops. Amount and quality of stock and poultry. Buildings, machinery, and equipment. Marketing. Proximity of markets. Profit of farmer from marketing. Organisations to improve prices and marketing. Number and characteristics of renters, liabourers and labour conditions. Wages, hours. Conditions of living. Comparative rate of taxes, interest. Mortgages. Schedule D, Political conditions. Character of local government. EUEAL SOCIAL SUEVEYS 389 Quality of officers. Political ideas and parties. Voting population. Schedule E, Religious conditions. Number and strength of denominations. Number of churches, size of membership, congregations. Character of pastors: education, view-point. Individualistic or socialised character of church work. Equipment of plants for community work. Auxiliary societies. Schedule F, Cultural conditions. Schools. Number. School attendance by age and sex. Teachers by age and sex. Equipment of buildings as to light, heat, sanitation, desks, blackboards, charts, reference works, laboratories, toilet, water, athletics, organised play, domestic science, agricul. ture, industrial, and manual training, playgrounds. Character of course of study. Culture clubs for men, women, and children. Public libraries: equipment, patronage. Newspapers and periodicals: circulation and character. Institutes, chautauquas, lectures. Schedule G, Community psychology. Public opinion: strong or weak; united or divisive; emotional or rational. Ideals: high or low, socialised or individualistic. Capacity to lead and respond to leadership. Race or class prejudice; feuds; cliques. Schedule H, Transportation and commimication. Location and condition of roads. Method of transit; wagon, carriage, horseback, automobile, trolley. Use of telephone, rural delivery, etc. Organisations for improvement. Schedule I, Esthetic conditions. Appearance of landscape: improved or unimproved, marred, or re- garded. Appearance of homes, bams, outbuildings, fences, forestry, and fields. Appearance of interior of homes. 390 CONSTRUCTIVE EUEAL SOCIOLOGY Schedule J, Recreation. Kecreation clubs. Games and sports. Entertainments. Places and equipment for such activities. Schedule K, Health conditions. Conditions about barns, homes and other structures. Methods of disposal of slops, sewage, garbage, and manures. Undrained swamps. Character of water supply. Heating, lighting, and sanitation of public buildings: churches, ■ schools, halls, etc. Diseased animals. Housekeeping: preparation and care of foods, milk, vegetables. Care of infectious diseases. Treatment of sick or defective school children. Schedule L, Pathological conditions. Degenerate classes and influences. Number, age, sex of dependents. Number, age, sex of criminals. Number, age, sex of defectives. Idiots, feeble-minded, insane, epileptics. Character of institutions for care of defectives, dependents, and de- linquents. Methods and quality of relief work. Methods and care of dependent children. Preventive and ameliorative agencies. Additional interest and insight may be gained by the con- struction of accompanying maps and graphic representations. The chief features of statistical tabulations should be plotted on thick paper, cardboard, or even cloth for the purpose of public display. Comparative black lines and spaces are ef- fective devices for attracting attention and presenting the truth in a short time. The accompanying map of a rural Methodist parish pre- sents some of the more important surface facts v^rhich may be represented on a map. It was made by the pastor of the parish, Mr. S. S. Wyand, a graduate student of the writer. The parish is located in an almost perfectly level region. EUEAL SOCIAL SURVEYS 391 The coulees are slight depressions, dry during most of the time but furnishing a drainage in wet weather. The location of the homes gives an idea of their distance from each other. Eeynolds, in which the church is located, is a rural village of about 500 inhabitants. The railway and the Meridian Road are the chief transportation features of the community, although fairly good roads exist on most section lines. Only enough families were located to indicate the frequency of homes. The size of farms is indicated at the right of the Great Northern Railway only. REFERENCES "The Social Survey: Its Reasons, Methods, and Results." John Dan- iels, "Conference of Charities and Correction," 1910: 236-40. " Sociology and Social Surveys." T. J. Riley, American Journal 80- ciology, 16:818-33. " The Application of the Social Survey to the Small Community." J. L. Gillen, "Publication of the American Sociological Society," Vol. VI: 70-81. " The Small City and the Survey." World To-day, 21 : 828-32. " The Survey Idea in Country Life Work." L. H. Bailey, Rural Man- Jiood, October, 1911, p. 253 ff. "The Pittsburg Survey." Charities, January 2, 1909: 515-638; Feb- ruary, 6: 784-950; March 6: 1035-1194. "Community Study." Warren H. Wilson, Missionary Education Movement, New York, 1911. " Knowing One's Own Community." Carol Aronovici. " Social and Economic Survey of a Rural Township in Southern Minnesota." Carl W. Thompson and G. P. Warber. " The Making of a Town," F. L. McVey, Chap. 1. " Rural Life Survey," edited by W. H. Wilson, Board Home Missions, Presb. Ch., U. S. H., New York. INDEX Absentee landlordism, 218 economic effects of, 223-225 Accidents among farm labourers, 232, 233 Accovinting, farm, 156, 157 in poor relief, 371 Acreage of farms in United States, 19, 211-215 Agee, A., on drainage, 146 Agricultural banks, in France, 185-187 Agricultural Central Loan Bank of Germany, 182-184 Agricultural colleges, 354-357 extension work by, 359, 360 road construction courses in, 197 Agricultural commodities, distri- bution of profits on, 166, 167 Agricultural communities, types of, 49-76. See also Rural communities Agricultural co-operation. See Co- operation Agricultural credit. See Rural credit Agricultural demonstration work, 143, 144 Agricultural education, in agri- cultural colleges, 354-357 in elementary schools, 348, 349 in normal schools, 352-354 in secondary schools, 351, 352, 358 in universities, 350, 351 Agricultural experts, 161, 162 Agricultural extension work, 358- 360 Agricultural high schools, 357, 358 Agricultural immigrants, 70-72 Agricultural lands, available in United States, 205 unimproved, a06-209 393 Agricultural machinery, 2S6, 257, 266, 267 accidents due to, 232, 233 benefits due to, 14t)-152 values consumed per acre for, 159, 160 Agricultural organisation. See Organisation Agricultural production, improve- ment of, 135-153 increase in, 142, 143 organisation of factors of, 154- 156 relation of, to population, 140- 142 science applied to, 142-153 Agricultural regions, dominant, in the United States, 35-37 Agricultural trade schools, 357, 358 Agriculture, importance of, 4-6 influence of economic conditions on, 34 irrigation and, 59, 60 physical conditions of the United States and, 22-47 reorganisation of, 82 response of, to physical condi- tions, 34-46 scientific, 24, 25 sociological implication of, 135- 138 See also Farms and Farming Almshouses, 364, 369, 370 Altitude, distribution of popula- tion according to, 23 Amateur theatricals, 292 American Association for High- way Improvement, 199 American Society of Equity, 50, 170, 298, 299 Amusements. See Recreation Animals and insects, disease transmission by, 243-245 Apple production in United States, 45 Arbour Day, 289, 290 394 INDEX Arid lands in United States, 33 34 reclamation of, 205 Art exhibits, travelling, 303 Artesian wells, 240 Associational life, desirability of, 276-283 distinction between urban and rural communities based on, 12-14 social solidarity and, 281-283 Austin, Charles B., on cotton raising in Texas, 52 Austria, rural credit in, 184 Automobile traction motor, 262 B Backward commimities, 73-76 Bacteria in milk, 247 Bailey, L. H., on decadence of the rural church, 317, 318 on farm abandonment, 96 on farm buildings, 259 on farmers' institutes, 359 on need of rural leaders, 338 on rural socialisation, 286 on social backwardness of coun- try, 275 study by, of student opinion on farm life, 113 Ball, plans of, for neighbourhood clubhouse, 304, 305 Bank of France, 185-187 Banks, agricultural, in France, 185-187 landschaft, 182 Barley, 39, 40 Barley areas in United States, 40 Barns. See Buildings Bathrooms, 263 Bavaria, rural credit in, 179 Bed-bugs, 245 Berries. See Small fruits Bible, interpretation of, 313 Birds, protection of useful, 153 Birth rates, 87 Board, farm, average cost of, 158 Boll-weevil pest, 44, 148 Bookkeeping. See Accounting Bookwalter, on distinction be- tween urban and rural com- munities, 14, 15 Booth, Charles, city investiga- tions of, 380 Bowman, on requirements of plant life, 31, 32 on wind currents in United States, 30 Boys' clubs, 290, 291 Brewer, on care of the home, 238, 239 on flies as disease carriers, ZiS Brigham, on soils of New Eng- land, 33 Buffalo, social survey of, 381, 382 Buildings, farm, 258, 259 Business management of the farm, 107, 108, 154-162 Business side of farming, im- provement of, 154-175 by rural credit, 176-190 'Butterfield, Kenyon L., on rural pastors, 321 on rural socialisation, 283, 284 on undesirable traits of farm- ing populations, 132 California, road construction in, 198, 199 California Fruit Growers' Ex- change, 172, 173 Capitalistic ownership of farm lands, 214, 215 Carey law, 57 Carver, on distribution of profits on agricultural commodi- ties, 166, 167 Cess-pools, 242, 243 Characteristics developed by farm life, 131-133 Charity and correction, rural, 363-379 improvement of, 368-378 needed legislation on, 370- 372 Chemical closets, 243 Cherry production in United States, 46 Child labour on the farm, 281 Child raising, training in, 335, 336 Children, advantages for rearing, in country, 126, 127 clubs for, 290, 291 death rates for, in city and country, 115, 116 diseases of, 248, 250 K^DEX 395 Children — continued. organised play for, 278-281 physical differences between rural and city, 280, 281 See also Schools Church, functions of, 310-316 rural, decadence of, 316-320 improvement of, 310-326 as a social centre, 343 socialisation of, 321, 322 Church survey, 386, 387 Cisterns, 240 Cities, definition of, 10, 20 development of, 12 distribution of, 84 function of, 10, 11 growth of, 78, 79 industrial nature of, 83-85 permanency of, 83 significance and causes of, 94-100 sources of, 85-94 incorporation of, 88, 89 individual types developed in, 16, 17 mob spirit in, 17, 18 problems of, 15, 16 producing unit in, 19, 20 rural emigration to, 274 relative decline in food pro- duction due to, 141, 142 significance and causes of, 94-100 settlement of immigrants in, 69, 70 size and density of, 14, 15 social mediation in, 11, 12 See also Urban Citrus fruits, production of, in United States, 46 Clergymen, rural, 313, 314, 319 social and economic training of, 320, 321 Climate, distribution of popula- tion according to, 23, 24 Clow, on sociological tendencies in normal schools, 353 Clubhouse, neighbourhood, plans for, 304-307 Clubs, rural improvement, 288- 309 boys', 290, 291 farmers', 300, 301 girls', 291 women's, 292-295 young people's, 291, 292 Collective mind, 17, 18 Colleges. See Universities agricultural, 354-357 extension work by, 359, 360 road construction courses in, 197 Collins, P. v., on lack of con- veniences in rural homes, 257 Commercial clubs, farmers' clubs compared with, 300 good roads advocated by, 197 Commercial fertilisers, 145 Communication, improvement of, 191-203 rural socialisation and, 284, 285 social function of, 192-194 Communities, backward, 73-76 distinction between rural and urban, 9-21 corn raising, 50, 51 cotton raising, 51-53 farm village, 61-64 frontier or pioneer, 54-56 grain raising, 49, 50 influence of physical condi- tions on, 22, 23 irrigation, 56-64 limitations of physical environ- ment in, 26, 27 mixed-agricultural, 53, 54 problems of, 15, 16 progress of, dependent on scien- tific methods, 24, 25 purely agricultural, 49-53 rural. See Rural communities rural immigrant, 64-72 socialisation of, 273 types of, 48-76 Community centres. See Social centres Community vigour and physical variation, 25, 26 Competition, demoralising effects of, 168 Concrete basements, 263 Consolidation of rural schools, 344-350 Contagion in city and country, 116 Co-operation in the cotton belt, 53 in Denmark, 171, 172 family, 127 in grain raising communities, 50 396 INDEX Co-operation — continued. in irrigation communities, 60, 61 promotion of, by association, 277 religions, 322 in road improvement, 198 in sanitation, 249 taught by play, 279 value of, 168 Co-operative buying and selling associations, 232 Co-operative demonstration vpork, 143, 144 Co-operative marketing associa- tions, 167-174 Co-operative rural credit associa- tions. See Rural credit Corn, 40 exportation of, 42 production of, in United States, 41, 42 Corn areas in United States, 40, 41 Corn belt of United States, 35, 40, 41 Corn raising community, 50, 51 Cornell University, questionnaire on farm life at, 112, 113 plans of, for rural community centre, 307 Correction and charity, rural, 363-379 improvement of, 368-378 needed legislation on, 370- 372 Correspondence courses in agricul- ture, 358 Cost of living, 139, 140 Cotton, 42 picking of, 43 production of, in United States, 43 the South and, 44 Cotton areas in United States, 42, 43 Cotton belt of United States, 36 Cotton raising community, 51-53 Country, backwardness of, 273- 276 characteristics developed in, 131, 132 contact with nature in, 119, 120 family life in, 126, 127 Country — continued. migration from. See Rural mi- gration problems of, 6, 7, 15, 16 social evils in, 120-125 See also Farms and Rural Country Life Commission, 102 on intemperance, 229 on labour supply, 225 Countryside landscapes, 269, 270 County boards of charities, 371, 372 County library system, 303 County welfare agencies, 377, 378 County Y. M. C. A., 323-325 Creamery business, improvements in, 152 Credit. See Rural credit Credit Foncier, 187, 188 Crime in city and country, 121 in rural communities, 365-367 Crop mortgage system, 43, 44 Crops, loss of, due to insects, 149 rotation of, 145 in United States, 35-47 See also Agricultural produc- tion Culture, influence of, in com- munity, 26 promotion of, by association, 277 D Dairying, 35 improvements in, 152 sanitary requirements of, 247, 248 Davenport, Dean, on agricultural instruction in high schools, 358 " Dead villages," 73 Death rates in country and city, 114-119 Deaths, causes of, in city and country, 118 Demonstration work, agricultural, 143, 144 Denmark, farm marketing in, 171, 172 tenant farming in, 222 Density of urban and rural com- munities, 14, 15 Department of Agriculture, en- forcement of food and drug act by, 238 INDEX 397 Department of Agriculture — con- tinued, investigation of marketing con- ditions by, 165 investigations of rural credit by, 176-178 Deserted farms, 73, 96. See also Rural migration Dewey, on moral principles in edu- cation, 336, 337 on occupations, 13 Diseases, of plants and animals, 153 spread of, in city and country, 116 transmissible, 248, 249 in schools, 250-253 Distances of work places from workers in city and coun- try, 18, 19 Divorce in city and country, 123, 124 Domestic science in rural schools, 334-336 Drainage, 146, 153 reclamation by, 205 Drinking cup, common, 251, 252 Dry farming, 153, 206 Dugdale, investigation of Jukes family by, 366 E Education, as agency of rural health improvement, 238 agricultural. See Agricultural education in frontier communities, 56 for good roads, 197-199 rural, adjustment of, 327-362 sociological demands of, 327- 330 special demands of, 333-344 See also Schools Electric motors, 261, 262 Electricity, application of, to farm needs, 152 Engineer, highway, 202 England, farm tenancy in, 220 large land holdings in, 215 rural legislation in, 215 Enteritis, deaths from, 246 Environment, physical, influence of, 22-27 limitations of, 26, 27 types of communities due to, 48-76 " Estate accounting," 156, 157 Experts, agricultural, 161, 162 Exportation of corn, 42 of food stuffs, 138, 139 Extension work in agriculture, 358-360 Economic advantages of farm life, 127, 128 Economic conditions in irrigation communities, 59, 60 in mixed-agricultural communi- ties, 54 Economic disadvantages of farm life, 128, 129 . Economic effects of absentee land- lordism, 223-225 Economic features, influence of, on agriculture, 34 Economic problems of rural life, 107, 108 Economic status of farmer, 104, 105 Economic training of rural clergy- men, 320, 321 Economic value of farm machin- ery, 149-151 Economics, rural, 3, 4 in rural schools, 337 Fairbanks, Arthur, on individual development, 16 Family life, advantages of cotm- try for, 126, 127 Farm colonies for tramps, 372 Farm labour bureaus, 230 Farm lands, unimproved, 206-209 value of, 104 Farm marketing, 162-167 in Denmark, 171, 172 Farm village communities, 61-64 Farmers, in governmental affairs, 106, 107 individualistic attitude of, 103 as managers. See Farms, man- agement of organisation of, benefits of, 167- 174 requirements of, 169-171 See also Farmers' organisa- tions 398 lOTDEX Farmers — continued. as a social and economic class, 104-106 social status of, 105, 106 wealth of, 104 Farmers' clubs, 300, 301 Farmers' Oo-Operative Demonstra- tion Work, 143, 144 Farmers' Equity Association. See American Society of Equity Farmers' Grain Dealers' Associa- tions, 173 Farmers' institutes, 197, 296, 298, 359, 360 Farmers' organisations, 295-301 : American Society of Equity, 298, 299 clubs, 300, 301 farmers' institutes, 296-298 farmers' union, 299, 300 grange, 295, 296 Farmers' Union, 299, 300 Farming, improvement of busi- ness side of, 154-175 by rural credit, 176-190 tenant, 215-225 improvement of, 223-225 See also Agriculture and Farms Farms, abandonment of, 73, 96 See also Rural migration accounting on, 156, 157 board on, average cost of, 158 buildings on, 258, 259 groimds of, improvement of, 268- 270 improvement of utilities of, 260- 268 income from, 155 labour on, for children, 281 hours of, 231, 232 rates of, 158 regulation of, 267, 268 seasonal demand for, 225, 226 shortage of, 95 social aspects of, 225-234 supply of, 225-228 labourers on, accidents among, 232, 233 life on, advantages of, 113-128 dependence of, on other activi- ties, 103, 104 disadvantages of, 128-133 hove to make more attractive, 256-270 student opinions of, 111-113 Farms — continued. machinery on, 256, 257, 266, 267 accidents due to, 232, 233 benefits due to, 149-152 values consumed per acre for, 159, 160 management of, 154-162 operation of, 215-220 operators of, nativity of, 66, 67 ownership of, 68, 214, 215 size of, 19, 211-215 statistics of, 158-161 methods of collecting, 157, 160 tenancy of, 215-220 in United States, 19 Federation, church, 322 Feeble-minded, training of, 372, 373 Fertile lands of the United States, 32, 33 Fertilisers, 144-148 tests for, 146-148 Filters, 240, 241 Fisher, I., on nervous tension of modern life, 114 on state sanitary supervision, 237 Fleas, 245 Flies, 243, 244 Foder, on sewage contamination, 242 Folk-games, 286 Food and drug act, enforcement of, 238 Food production. See Agricul- tural production Foods, care of, 264 choice and preparation of, 236, 237 exportation of, 138, 139 prices of, increase in, 139, 140 relation of, to health, 245-248 value of, improvement in, 137, 138 Forage crops, cost of production and feeding value of, 160 Foreign farmers, nationality of, 69 Foreign farm operators, 66, 67 Foreign farm owners, 68 Foreign population of United States, 64-66, 89, 90 France, farm ownership in, 220 rural credit in, 184-188 rural depopulation in, 79 Frontier communities, 54-56 INDEX 399 Frosts in Unitea Staves, 28, 29 Fruit production in United States, 44-^6 Function of city and country, 10, 11 G Games. See Play Garbage disposal, 241, 242 Gas engines, 261 Germany, agricultural party of, 79 farm ownership in, 220 rural credit in, 181-184 Giddinga, on excitability of rural populations, 18 Girls' clubs, 291 Goddard, H. H., investigation of Kallikak family by, 366 Good-roads associations, 198, 199 Graft in road administration, 201 Grain dealers' associations, 173 Grain raising community, 49, 50 Grange, 295, 296 Grape production in United States, 46 Grazing region of United States, 36, 37 Great Britain. See England Grounds, farm, improvement of, 268-270 H Harwood, on foods, 138 Hauling, cost of, 196 Hay, cost of growing, 161 and forage in New England and Middle Atlantic States, 35 Health, farm life and, 113-119 sanitation and rural, 235-255 school and, 250-253 Heating plants, 262, 263 Henderson, on exploitation of country by city criminals, 367 Hessian fly, 148, 149 Hibbard, B. H., on mortgages, 179 High school work in consolidated schools, 347 High schools, agricultural, 357, 358 agricultural education in, 351, 352 Higher education, rural condi- tions and, 350-360 Highway engineer, 202 Highways. See Boads Hill, James J., on agriculture, 6 Historical factors in environment, 48 History and Historic Landmarks, committees on, 290 Hogs, disease and, 246 Home, care of, 238, 239 improvement of, 262-266 sanitation in. See Household sanitation Horse labour, cost of, 159 hours of, 158 Hot air engines, 261 Hours of labour on farm, 158 House-cleaning, 265 266 "House libraries," 303 Household economies, 265 course in, for women's dubs, 293, 294 Household processes, improvement of, 262-266 Household sanitation, 238-249 Household work, reduction of, 237 Hughes, Charles E., on avoidable insanity, 373 Humidity in United States, 29 Illinois Grain Dealers' Associa- tion, 173 "Immigrant aliens,'' 90 Immigrant communities, rural, 64-72 Immigrants, agricultural, 70^72 settlement of, in cities, 69, 70 Immigration, city growth and, 89- 94 relative decline in food produc- tion due to, 141 in the United States, 64-72 Improved farm lands, 206-209 Improvement clubs, 288-309 Incipient insanity, 373-375 Incorporation of cities, 88, 89 Independence, possibility of, in farm life, 125 Individualism, 103, 104 Individuality, in urban and rural districts, 16, 17 Indoor relief, rural, 364, 369, 370 Industrial nature of city growth, 83-85 400 lOTDEX Industry, diversification of, 53, 54 Infectious diseases, 248, 249 Initiative, possibility of, in farm life, 125 Insanity in city and country, 121, 122 provision for incipient, 373-375 Insect pests, 243-245 loss to crops due to, 149 Institutes, farmers', 359, 360 young people's, 297 Institutions, social. See Social institutions Intellectual development, possibil- ity of, in farm life, 125, 126 Intemperance, 229 Interest rates, rural, 177, 178 Interstate Commerce Commission, 163 Interstate rural migration, 93, 94 Invention, social evolution and, 135-137 Inventive power, application of, to nature, 24 Ireland, absentee landlordism in, 223, 224 tenant farming in, 222 Irrigation, 153 area subject to, in United States, 57, 58 history of, 57 methods of, 58 statistics of, 57, 58 Irrigation communities, 56-64 Isolation of farm life, 131-133 Isotherms of United States, 27, 28 Italian immigrants, in agricul- ture, 71, 72 Jails, rural, 367, 375, 376 James, C. C, on work of Y. M. C. A., 325 Japanese labourers, 228 Jukes family, 365, 366 K Kallikak family, 366, 367 Kephart, on mountain whites, 74, 75 Kern, on economic advantages of school consolidation, 349, 350 Killing frosts in United States, 28 29 Kitchens' 264, 265 Knorr, G. W., on consolidated schools, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 350 L Labour, farm, conditions of, 228- 230 remedies for, 230-232 hours of, 158 rates of, 158 regulation of, 267, 268 seasonal demand for, 225, 226 shortage of, 95 social aspects of, 225-234 supply of, 225-228 Labourers, farm, accidents among, 232, 233 Land, available in United States, 204-206 ownership of, 215-220 significance of, 220-223 social aspects of, 204-225 tenure of, in United States, 215- 220 values of, effect of good roads on, 196 effect of rural mail service on, 193, 194 See also Farm lands Land Credit Bank of France, 187, 188 Land-grant colleges, teacher train- ing in, 352 Land Purchase Acts, 224 Landlordism. See Tenant farm- ing Landschaft system of rural credit, 181, 182 "Larger farming," 16 Latta, investigation of land values and roads by, 196 Laundries, 263, 264 Leadership, rural, dearth of, 106, 107, 287 training for, 338-342, 347, 348 Legumes, enrichment of soil by, 147, 148 Libraries, 301-303 "house," 303 travelling, 303 Life insurance for farm labourers, 232 INDEX 401 Lighting systems, 264 Lime content of soils, 34 Liquor question, 229 Literary clubs, 292 Literature, rural, 341 Live stock production, factors in- fluencing, 38 in United States, 35-37 Loans. See Rural credit Local improvement associations, 288-290 Lockups, 367, 375, 376 M Machinery, farm, 256, 257, 266, 267 accidents due to, 232, 233 benefits due to, 149-152 values consumed per acre for, 159, 160, Mail service, rural, 192-194 Major crop response in United States, 37^6 Malaria, 244, 245 Mangold, G. B., on disease in city and country, 116 Manure, disposal of, 241, 242 Maps to accompany social surveys, 390, 391 Market gardening, 35 Marketing, 162-167 in Denmark, 171, 172 Marketing news, 170 Marriage in city and country, 123, 124 Maunier, Eenfi, city defined by, 20 McGee, W. J., on possible popu- lation of United States, 210 Measles, 248 Medical inspection in schools, 252, 253 Melancholia in coimtry, 122 Mental deficiency, 248 Meridian Road, 192 Middle Atlantic States, agricul- ture in, 35 Middleman system, 164-167 Migration, rural, 274 city growth and, 89 interstate, 93, 94 relative decline in food produc- tion due to, 141, 142 significance and causes of, 94- 100 Milk supply, relation of, to health, 246-248 Milkfng, sanitary precautions in, 247, 248 Mill, John Stuart, on land owner- ship, 220-222 Mixed-agricultural communities, 53, 54 Mixed farming in United States, 35 Mob-mindedness, 17, 18 Monopoly among middlemen, 165 Mormons, farm villages of, 61-64 Mortality. See Death rate Mortgages, under Credit Foncier, 187, 188 under German Landschaft sys- tem, 181, 182 as a step toward farm owner- ship, 179 Mosquitoes, 244, 245 Motion pictures, 342, 343 Motor power on the farm, 260-262 household use of, 265 Mountain Whites, 74-76 Mountains, effect of, on rainfall and temperature, 30, 31 N National Grange, 295, 296 Nativity, death rate and, 119 of farm operators, 66, 67 of farm owners, 68 Natural increase of population, 86-88 Nature, application of inventive power to, 24 contact with, in coimtry life, 119, 120 moulding force of, 22-24 Negro labour in cotton belt, 51, 52 Negroes, death rates for, 119 Neighbourhood clubhouse, plans for, 304-307 Neighbourhood sanitation, 249-253 Nervous tension of modern life, 114 New England, agriculture in, 35 rural depopulation of, 81-83 soil in, 32, 33 New Zealand, agricultural regis- tration law of, 170 prevention of vagrancy in, 372 Nitrogen content of soils, 34 402 INDEX Normal schools, agricultural edu- cation in, 352-354 North Dakota, University of, questionnaire on farm life at, 112, 113 Nut crop of United States, 46 Oats, cost of growing, 160, 161 Occupations, significance of, 13 Ocean, influence of, on temperature and rainfall, 30, 31 Old Home Week, 290 Orchard fruits, production of, in United States, 45 Organisation of factors of produc- tion, 154-166 of farmers, benefits of, 167-174 requirements of, 169-171 See also Farmers' organisa- tions Organised play, 278-281 Outdoor relief, rural, 120, 121, 363, 364, 368, 369 Out-of-door life, advantages of, 113-119 Ownership, farm, 215-220 land, significance of, 220-223 Pacific Coast states, agriculture in, 37 Parasites for destruction of plant pests, 148, 149 Parasitology, 148, 149 Patriotism, 282, 283 Pauperism in rural regions, 120, 121, 363-365 Peach production in United States, 46 Pear production in United States, 46 Peasant proprietors, 220-222 Personal characteristics developed by farm life, 131-133 Pests, elimination of, 148, 149 influence of, 26 Peterson, Frederick, on treatment of the insane, 374, 375 Physical conditions, agriculture and, 22-47 Physical defects of school chil- dren, 251 Physical differences between rural and city children, 280, 281 Physical environment, influence of, 22-27 limitations of, 26, 27 Physical labour in farming, 129, 130 Physical variation, community vig- our and, 25, 26 Physiographic features of the United States, 27-34 Pioneer communities, 54-56 Plant life, influence of soil on, 31, 32 requirements of, 31, 32 Plant pests, elimination of, 148, 149 Play, organised, 278-281 in consolidated schools, 345 Plum production in United States, 46 Plunkett, Sir Horace, on farmers'' organisations, 174 Polish immigrants, in agriculture,. 71 Political influence of agricultural. associations, 169, 172 Poor relief, 363-365 indoor, 363-365 needed legislation on, 370-372, outdoor, 368, 369 "Poor Whites," 74-76 Population, distribution of, accord- ing to physical features, 23, 24 foreign, of United States, 64-66, 89, 90 increase in rural and urban, 78- 100 natural increase of, 86-88 possible, of United States, 209- 211 relation of production to, 140- 142 rural, 104 decline in, 79-83 urban, in United States, 19 urban, semi-urban, and rural, 10 Powell, on health and civilisation, 235 Power. See Motor power Powers, L. G., on scientific agri- culture, 231 Precipitation in United States, 29- 31, 56, 57 INDEX 403 Prices, farmer's and consiuner's, 165-167 increase in, 139, 140 Pritchett, H. S., on colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts, 356 on need of rural leaders, 338 on socialisation of country chil- dren, 336 Probation system, 376, 377 Problem, city, 15 community, 15, 16 rural. 8ee Rural problem Producing areas of the United States, 35-37 Producing unit, size of, in town and country, 19, 20 Production, agricultural, im- provement of, 135-153 increase in, 142, 143 organisation of factors of, 154-156 relation of, to population, 140-142 science applied to, 142-153 problems of, practical import- ance of, 138-142 Profits on agricultural commodi- ties, distribution of, 166, 167 Progress, dependent on scientific methods, 24, 25 Prohibition. See Liquor ques- tion Prune production in United States, 46 Prussia, rural credit in, 181-184 Psychological causes of city growth, 98, 99 Ptomaine poisoning, 245 Public lands, available in United States, 204 exhaustion of, 141 Public Eoads Office, 198 Pumps, 239 Pure agricultural communities, 49-53 Putrefaction of food, 245 Q Questionnaires on farm life, 111- 113 R Race strain, influence of, in com- munity, 26 Raiffensen system of rural credit, 182-184 adaptability of, to America, 189 Rainfall in United States, 29-31, 56, 57 Rainwater, 240 Range region of United States, 36, 37 Rats, destruction of, 153 Ratzel, on health and civilisation, 235 Reading Circles, Yoimg People's, 302 Reclamation of arid lands, 205 Reclamation law, 57 Recreation, promotion of, by as- sociation, 277. See also Clubs Refuse, disposal of, 241-243 Registration of agricultural pro- ducts, 170 Relief work, rural, 363, 364 Religion, social relationships of, 313 Reporting of farm products, 170, 171 Rest rooms for country women, 294 Retail prices, 139, 140 River valleys, 23 Roads, administration of, 200-203 construction of, 199, 200 economic function of, 195-197 improvement of, 197-303 due to rural mail service, 193, 194 influence of, on community life, 191, 192 social function of, 194, 195 superintendent of, 201 Rogers, Arthur A. L., on market- ing, 162, 163 Rome, roads of, 191, 192 Roosevelt, Theodore, Country Life Commission appointed by, 102 on rural exodus, 284 on rural life, 8 Ross, on mob-mindedness in cities, 17, 18 Rotation of crops, 145 Rowdyism, 365 Rural charity and correction, 363-379 improvement of, 368-378 404 INDEX Rural charity — continued. needed legislation on, 370-372 Rural church, decadence of, 316- 320 functions of, 310-316 methods of improving, 320-322 socialisation of, 321, 322 Rural clergymen, 313, 314 social and economic training of, 320, 321 Rural communities, density of, 14, 15 distinction between urban com- munities and, 9-21 individual types developed in, 16, 17 mob spirit in, 17, 18 problems of, 15, 16 producing unit in, 19, 20 social backwardness of, 273-276 social mediation in, 11, 12 Rural credit, 79, 80, 176-190 adaptability of, to United States, 188-190 desirable principles of, 179-181 in France, 184-188 in Germany, 181-184 need of, 176-179 Rural death rate, 114^119 Rural dwellings in United States, 19, 20 Rural economics, 3, 4 Rural education, 327-362 sociological demands of, 327- 330 special demands of, 333-344 See also Agricultural education and Rural schools Rural health and sanitation, 235- 255 Rural immigrant communities, 64-72 Rural leadership, consolidated schools and, 347, 348 dearth of, 106, 107, 287 education for, 338-342 Rural libraries, 301-303 Rural literature, 341 Rural mail service, 192-194 Rural migration, 274 city growth and, 89 interstate, 93, 94 relative decline in food produc- tion due to, 141, 142 significance and causes of, 94- 100 Rural population, 104 decline in, 79-83 Rural problem, social nature of, 101-110 Rural recreation, 278 Rural school libraries, 302 Rural schools, 330-350 average daily attendance in, 331 buildings of, 333 consolidation of, 344-350 deficiencies of, 330-333 health and, 250-253 reorganisation of, 100 teachers in, 332, 333 training of, 348, 353, 354 Rural social centres, 304-308, 342-344 Rural social institutions, im- provement of: the church, 310-326 clubs, 288-309 education, 327-362 Rural social problems, impor- tance of, 6, 7 Rural social surveys, 380-391 ease of making, 384 nature of, 386-391 scheme for, 387-390 value of, 382, 383 Rural socialisation, 272-287 direction of, 283-287 Rural sociology, importance of, 4^8 scope and meaning of, 3, 4 Rural work of Y. M. C. A., 323- 325 S Safety devices for agricultural machinery, 233 Saloons. See Liquor question Sanitation, fundamentals of, 236 and health, rural, 235-255 household, 238-249 neighbourhood, 249-253 state supervision of, in rural communities, 237, 238 San Jos6 scale, 148 Savings institutions, 232 Scarlatina, 248 School libraries, 302 Schoolhouses, rural, 333 Schools, agricultural trade, 357, 358 INDEX 405 , Schools — continued, expenditures for, 332 health and, 250-253 high. See High schools normal. See Normal schools rural, 330-350 average daily attendance in, 331 consolidation of, 195, 344- 350 deficiencies of, 330-333 reorganisation of, 100 as social centres, 342-345 See also Colleges and Univer- sities Schulze-Delitzsch system of rural credit, 182 Science, application of, to agricul- tural production, 142-153 city growth and, 97, 98 Scientific agriculture, 24, 25 eflfect of, on labour problem, 230, 231 in rural schools, 334 Scientific development, possibility of, in farm life, 125, 126 Scientific methods, advancement and, 136, 137 commimity progress dependent on, 24, 25 Schroeder, on unclean milk, 247 Scudder, Myron T., on physical development of country children, 281 Seasonal demand for labour, 225, 226, 228, 229 Sectarianism, 317 Senile dementia in country, 122 Sewage disposal, 242, 243 Shaler, on soils of New England, 33 Shipping rates, 163 Shrubs, 270 Silica content of soils, 34 Simmel, on social ideal, 256, 257 Slums, 120 Small fruits, production of, in United States, 44, 45 Smith, Adam, city defined by, 10 Social achievements, importance of, 135-137 Social aspects of labour in United States, 225-234 of land in United States, 204- 225 Social backwardness of rural com- munities, 273-276 Social centres, rural, 304-308, 342-344 churches as, 315, 316 schools as, 342-345 Social conditions in corn raising communities, 51 in the cotton belt, 52, 53 in farm village communities, 63, 64 in frontier communities, 55, 56 in grain raising communities, 50 in irrigation communities, 60, 61 in mixed-agricultural communi- ties, 54 among the Mountain Whites, 75, 76 Social deficiencies of rural life, 108, 109, 131 Social evil, absence of, in coun- try, 120 Social evils, exemption from, in country life, 120-125 Social heredity, 48 Social institutions, rural, im- provement of: the church, 310-326 clubs, 288-309 education, 327-362 Social isolation due to rural de- population, 95, 96 Social mediation in city and coun- try, 10, 11 Social nature of rural problem, 101-110 Social solidarity, promotion of, by association, 281-283 Social status of farmer, 105, 106 Social study in rural schools, 329, 336 Social surveys, city, 380-3^2 general, 385, 386, 387 kinds of, 384-386 partial, 385, 386, 387 practical, 386 rural, 380-391 ease of making, 384 nature of, 386-391 scheme for, 387-390 value of, 382, 383 scientific, 386 406 INDEX Social training of rural clergy- men, 320, 321 Social unification, 315, 316 Socialisation of the church, 321, 322 of country life, 272, 273 direction of, 283-287 definition of, 272, 273 of school children, 336-338 Society of Equity. See American Society of Equity Sociological demands of rural ed- ucation, 327-330 Sociological implication of agri- culture, 135-138 Soil, composition of, 31 improvement of, 144-148 influence of, 25 in New England, 32, 33 in United States, 31-34 Sombart, city defined by, 10, 11 Specialisation in rural education, 328, 329 Speculation in irrigated lands, 58, 59 Spellman, W. J., farm income es- timated by, 155 Split log drag, 200 Spring water, 240 Spring wheat belt of United States, 35 Standardisation of agricultural production, 170 State boards of charities, 370 State Library Commissions, 303 State sanitary supervision in ru- ral communities, 237, 238 Statistics, farm, 158-161 methods of collecting, 157, 160 Sterilisation of water, 241 Stern, on cultural value of asso- ciation, 278 on improvement clubs, 288, 289 Stock raising, factors influencing, 38 in United States, 35-37 Stoves for schools, 253 Student opinions of farm life, 111-113 Sugar beet industry, labour sup- ply in, 227, 228 Suicides in city and country, 122, 123 Surface water, 240 Surveys, social. See Social sur- veys Swamp lands, drainage of, 205 Tape worm, 246 Taylor, H. C, on farm ownership, 218, 219 Teachers of agriculture, training of, 352 in consolidated schools, 347 rural, 332, 333 training of, 348, 353, 354 Telephones, social function of, 192, 194 Temperature, influence of, 25 in the United States, 27-29 Tenancy, farm, in United States, 178, 179 Tenant farming, 215-225 improvement of, 223-225 significance of, 220-223 Tests for soils, 146-148 Texas fever, 245 Toilet facilities, 263 Toilets, school, 253 Trade schools, agricultural, 357, 358 Tramps, 364, 365, 372 Transmissible diseases, 248, 249 in schools, 250-253 Transportation, agricultural or- ganisation and, 170 and communication, improve- ment of, 191-203 farm marketing and, 163, 164 social and economic function of, 194-197 Travelling art exhibits, 303 Travelling libraries, 303 Trees, 270 Trichinosis, 246 Tuberculosis, milk supply and, 247 Typhoid fever, 242 U Unimproved farm area, 206-209 United States, agriculture in, 4-6, 35-37, 142, 143 available arable land in, 204- 206 average size of farms in, 19, 211-214 INDEX 407 United States — continued. co-operative movement in, 172- 174 death rates in, 114-119 decline of rural population in, 80-83 distribution of cities in, 84 distribution of population in, according to physical fea- tures, 23, 24 European rural credit systems adaptable to, 188-190 farm tenancy in, 215-220 foreign population of, 64-66, 89, 90 immigration in, 64-72 improved and unimproved farm area in, 206-209 industrial statistics of, 20 infant mortality in, 246 major crop response in, 37-46 natural increase rate in, 86- 88 physical conditions in, 22-47 physiographic features of, 27- 34 possible population of, 209-211 precipitation in, 29-31, 56, 57 producing areas of, 35-37 retail prices in (1893-1911), 140 rural statistics of, 19, 20 social aspects of land and la- bour in, 204-234 soil in, 31-34 stock raising in, 35-37 temperature in, 27-29 urban population of, 19, 78, 79, 85-94 United States Bureau of Educa- tion, report of, on rural schools, 333 United States Department of Agriculture, investigations of, on rural credit, 176-178 work of, for road construction, 197, 198 United States Interstate Com- merce Commission, 163 Universities, agricultural educa- tion in, 350, 351 extension work by, in agricul- ture, 358, 359 University of North Dakota. See North Dakota Urban communities, rural com- munities distinguished from, 9-21. See also Cities Urban death rate, 114-119 Urban population of United States, 19 increase in, 78, 79, 83-09. See also City growth. Utah, farm villages of, 61-64 Utilities of home and farm, im- provement of, 260-268 V Vacuum cleaners, 265, 266 Vegetable crops in New England and Middle Atlantic states, 35 Vice in rural communities, 365- 367 Villages, farm, 61-64 W Water power, 260 Water supply, 239-241 possible population of United States and, 210 Wealth of agricultural classes, 104 Weed destruction, 153 Weidensall, Robert, rural work of Y. M. C. A. organised by, 323 Welfare agencies, coimty, 377, 378 Wells, 239, 240 Wheat, 38 spring, area of, in United States, 35 winter, area of, in United States, 35 Wheat areas in United States, 38, 39 Whooping cough, 248 Wilson, Warren H., on decadence of the rural church, 316, 317 on training of rural clergymen, 320, 321 Wind, influence of, 25, 26 Wind currents in United States, 30, 31 Wind power, 260, 261 Winter wheat belt of United States, 35 408 INDEX Women workers on the farm, 232 Women's clubs, 289, 292-295 Young people's clubs, 291, 292 Young people's institutes, 297 Young People's Reading Circles, 302 Yellow fever, 244 Young, on land ownership, 220 Yoimg Men's Christian Associa- tion, rural work and, 322- 325 Zinthes, C. J., on farm machin- ery as labour saver, 151