The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1903-11-17
MAN OF THE FIELDS.
nuod from Frs. Pagc)

tic nes fellowship q co4n-ry lie =
tAe future IL ISOLATION nu 81 only u
3r,p Is individual ra~te MAJ determine
For y has now opened communication with
al Other sections of human activity
Tie telephone and TIE rural ssee ae-
lFerT supply the opportunity q personal
fellowship ueI nigh ~ cIo~c a> tha, Wy.
Ills cts. uitI the distinct advantage
nat i may r. controlled according r.
ones preference. b the same mean III
edge i token or the fear of sudden
danger III the country solitude More
over. the rural school i laying the foun-
i3tIon for an intellectual fellowship with
all tie world and all the age Ana the
IEee rural library. winch this Association
lad the honor to i~nauEurlte IN North
GlIollna. completes dttIngly the apparatus
of 2 simple. tree. intelligent. strong.
happy. country lie.
But I beg 10 point ont The danger that
ile rural ~cnool instead OF serving to
enrich and dorm country he. MAJ be the
most efficient agent II pcrpctuating rs
poverty. Under the operation OF the
French Education BIZ cf 1899. revised ID
ISL. there was q fearful exo8u~ from the
farms and village 10 the towns ana 10
PaT.-. | have little doubt that many Of
you can duplicate the observation Or Prof
Bailey in a county in New York. lie
asked the tcrty-Evc children OF a rural
school how maav OF them lived on farms.
All hands went UP but one. When he
asked now many wished to lIye on tie
iaim, no hand was raised. but the one
winch was down before. Clearly that
school had been educating the children
away from the farm. killing with bookiSh
and city methods their native sympathy
with the country and its pursuits. IN
his meter Indifference or compromise
VIII lead to disaster. We need t. insist
that the rurai school shall apply the
fundamental principle o. all education.
and put the rural child INTO direct sym.
pathy with his rural environment and
into intelligent relation with .fe
which he i going to lead. The text
book made By the city man for the only
ch Id he knows. namely. TIC ri
viii have to be rigidly excluded. The
teacher must be less urban and literary
TN his ideals and methods and more at
home amid natural objects.
And now, a. conclude. let me ~ay
that the old love OF nature, which will
have its way with rs at times, and the
new enrichment OF country life have al
ready produced q distinct movement of
winch one sees signs IN Europe as well as
IN America. 1t means intensely and
means good. For one thing. the city is
! trying to countrify itself. Witness the in
PRODUCTION and care Of trees-Paris ex-
ponds sec, 900 a year on It's trCeS-the ex-
tension of the park area, the multiplied
ton play grounds, the rapid development
Of the Detroit potato patch experiment
IL other cities. and the Garden City
Movement Of England, which proposes
= hat 9ypvv ritz which II Will hrIlI chol1
have attached to it in perpetuity and in
yoiable an agricultural area OF SIX thous-
and acres. It really looks as if. in the
city Of the future, agriculture Will join
hands with trade and manufactures to
enhance its prosperity and To preserve It's
physical and moral health. But this Is
not all. The city IN 4 way is moving
INTO the country. Already men begin to
speak O. the problem created by the growth
Of the system Of suburban residence,
which d~eDopulatcs the cities of the bet
ter middle class and leaves the tenement
districts IN undilutcd s0rdidncsS, The de-
Vciopmcnt Of rapid transit makes It pos
! @ioie for trades ana factory operatives,
whose work is III the city to live In the
country. And small salaried men some
times club together and maintain a subur-
ban farm for what their boayd in the city
would cost. Besides, the Young men of
good position and opportunities. Who
heretofore have sought careers in tho
cities are turning III increasing numbers
to the land.
All this means d rcturn to nature. to
a simpler, saner, truer, lie. Il means the
emergence OF agriculture INTO a new dig
nifty and respectabilty. II means the
renascence OF Southern influence in ma
%tional affairs. II J do not en-. it means
fcr Us in tins agricultural region tse re
covely Of at least sone OF the cilarm or
the social life that crowned TIC prosperity
Of other day. 1t means the birth Of 4
new and richer literature to record faith
fully and IN tenderness our past and cole
bratc the larger life o. the new day"