A. Has he made every idea in the essay contribute to the point?

B. Has he made a sufficient number of ideas contribute to the point to make it necessarily true?

II. Has the author made his point in the most effective manner?

A. Has he presented his ideas in such an order that the most important ones are given the most important places?

B. Has he given each idea space proportional to its importance?

C. Has he expressed himself clearly, compactly, and felicitously?

2. The criticism should be so written that it makes its

point and makes it in the most effective manner.

3. The criticism should contain the student's point of view toward the essay. It should be based, not upon narrow prejudice, but upon careful analysis of the thought.

4. Frequently the students should write criticisms of one another's long themes.

JAMES CLOYD BOWMAN

ESSAYS FOR COLLEGE

ENGLISH

THE NEW FARMING GENERATION 1

CHARLES M. HARGER

1

AN encouraging note for the future of the farming sections comes out of the Middle West where there has been reached a stage of development that includes something more than the counting of bushels and acres. It is the report that a larger number of young men each year are choosing farming for their life occupation. The agricultural colleges are expanding their facilities to accommodate increased attendance and the demand for "institutes" which shall instruct the agricultural communities is insistent. This means that the position of the farmer as a business man is being established, and his sons, instead of hurrying to the city to seek another occupation, are realizing that there is a field for their best endeavor on the old homestead though that term has almost passed into the realm of melodrama.

The new generation of farmers is something of a surprise to the student familiar with that of early days. It comes with something of an awakening to hear the man in overalls, milk pail or pitchfork in hand, talk in clear English of "balanced nutrition," "economy of production," and "scientific breeding." He discusses the quality of soil ingredients and moralizes on the benefits of crop rotation. He has learned farming from books, which was a method that our fathers scorned,

1 Copyright. Reprinted by permission from The Independent for February 3, 1910.

but the fact that he is able to produce more bushels to the acre and more profit from the year's work is earning him respect. He stands for a new era on the farm and in its management.

Not alone in the better management of the fields is the new generation of farmers making advancement. That is but a part of the accomplishment of an agricultural education. The fact that the young men have been out in the world and have learned how others do things gives them ideas in accomplishment of farm duties with less exertion. The bane of the farmer's life has been that he was compelled to rise with the sun and work until long after its setting. He found it difficult to obtain farm help because the days were so long and the relaxation so limited. The new generation is changing this, partly through the more systematic management of farm work and more by the introduction of new methods.

Milking cows is at best a wearisome task, and the farm boy who spent two or three hours of early morning and of late evening at that task, looks back upon it as a nightmare in his home life. Nowadays the educated young farmer equips the dairy with milking machines which enables him to milk faster than three expert men could do it, and have no labor except that of overseeing the process. Following the plow day after day wears out the most willing youth. Even the sulky-plow did not entirely remove the burden, for the tired horses always called for sympathy. The modern farmer places in the field a gasoline engine to which is attached a half dozen plows, and the plowboy becomes a field chauffeur, getting through the task with little weariness and much satisfaction. Water pipes through the barns and water pressure through the house means comfort to the farmer and his family, motor cars diminish distance and give pleasure, amply paid for by the increase of health and economy of time.

These and many other things that relieve the farmer's life from dreariness have come through the enterprise and advancement of the new generation. Where the boy has been

sent to college and then allowed to carry into effect the lessons he learned there is little for commissions and economists to do the farmer's problem is taking care of itself.

Not much can be expected of the older generation. The man who has farmed in the old way for forty years is going to keep on in his accustomed path. In no profession or avocation is there more unyielding adherence to habit and tradition than on the farm. If this be doubted, visit a rural community in one of the older States and note the processes to which older farmers yet cling.

In contrast inspect a farm in the Middle West where the spirit of progress and advancement is manifest. The modern machinery, the new methods and the larger grasp of the possibilities in making farming a business speak for themselves. The attitude of the worker toward his task takes on a new aspect, he considers his land as so much equipment, the factory against which are placed fixed charges and from which are to be derived legitimate profits. This viewpoint marks the real reason for the modern farmer's success, for out of it is evolved the planning and calculation that result in a steady measure of prosperity, the source of a farmer's happiness.

Given a conviction that he can obtain from the soil a regular income and do it with no greater exertion than is required to succeed in any other business, the attraction of the farm for the young man will be ample — what he has objected to has been the intense labor and uncertainty of results.

This is exactly the object of the education given by the agricultural schools, and as they turn out their hundreds of educated farmer youth there should be a change in the farming community commensurate with the infusion of scientific methods and a more intelligent comprehension of possibilities. This must come from the young generation, and the father will do well to give his sons opportunity to test their theories and to put into practice their new ideas, instead of insisting that old ways be followed simply because they are old.