The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-06-26
Why Boys Leave the Farm.

Professor u. II. Bailey, Director Of the
College Of Agriculture at cornell lJniyer-
5sty. has been trying to$ ascertain why
boys leave the farm, says thu ANY, orK
Worth. The tresultfof his invest cat ions is
printed In the July, issue Of the Century en-.
Magazine. 52ss VI Sit a, n s3
IA Professor Bailey ADDRESSED y. letters to
students at IA ,or7tll ~ 10 wer1$ f',o,il|{l1
the country. asking each Whether'he} had
I been reared on u farm: where: Whether
Tho Intended foll2"in; tomc aflsi-
ness than farming, md Why. CT lbs re-
plies from students whoSare leaving the
farm Professor Bailey. groups all OF The
reasons under four heads ~ n he Queb-
tion of financial rewards, (2) ihe3uuestlol'
OF physical Ia bor,7 (3) social nnI insellec-
tual Ideals, az miscellaneous hu,llicars,3 rs
& Sixty-two students said that farming
does not pay. tWenty-slX said there IS
too much hard work, and seventeen said
the hours are too long. TWEEN ty-Six ms
stanced the lack Of social tndvn n tnSeH and
fourteen gave MS n reason the be tier OPP
lportllnityN for advancement .lsewhe ere
Twenty-four had a natural bent for some
Thing else and six report-d $,ha; the lnl:s-
entail influence was against enrnIlng. one
said that farming has little rSe'tTinent,
innotherihat the farmer cunnot serve
humanity. n fourth that farmer has
no political advantages. Three complain
ed tllattth association is 8Swit II unculti-
waited people, eleven that The work is too
monotonous and fifteen expected to farm
some day after making money In other
business" X HI m A3 Il. "A MI liE
Perhaps the Fundamental error in all
these discussions Hos In tie assumption
that tho unwllllngness q tArn.-bred boys
\ to remain on the farm Is not one ipt8 inc
I M ,,r t,,bn ANiHYlpNnTIfe.f Nh
body Is astonished n q lawyer son = O.
fuses to become a lawyer, or II q doc tors
son prefers SOMA other profession, q. u
q minister's SON finds no attraction In
theology. Comparatively few business
men hayn ever succeeded in b'lngrg up
their sons to carry on the business. u
Is this spirit which distinguishes American
life from the caste life Of india. i3
In All earlier period probably q larger
percentage Of fnrm-bred boys remained
on tho farm, hut there were fewer other
occupations tc turn to, Their dissatls-
faction was no less. but their Opportlni;
ties were limited II leaving tho farM
is now moro common 1t la because there
are fewer obstructlonS TO the circuil-
ton OF tho population.
But while farmers boys leave tho farm
other peoples boys seem to get back to
the farm somehow. The last census re'
turns showed mat lne number OF fArms
had Increased from l,+i9,Q1s In 1880 10
5,7s9,G57 In 1900. Tho Increase in number
of farms Was to tho Increase In popula,
tlon as 4 10 s,S, While there WAS ono
farm In 1850 Tor every le persons of pupu-
lation there was one In 200 for every
LA$ persons, The improved acreage had
Increased In fifty years from lls, 032bli
to A4,I93lSl, and the total value OF farms
had advanced from $3oi7,3a3,bS $50 70 se0-
GA, 001 ,S3s. Ut 1s I
IN sulte or the aversion o. farmers
boys toward farrnng. the Industry Itself
was never IN higher favor, II farmers
hoys Will not farm there seem 10 be other
boys who will. and thus the balance Ia
maintained in one way or another
In Yirginis, at least, farming never
occupied the attention 81 more white men
or paid .hlsher returns to those, so en-
gagged, With the improvements In farm,
machinery and the promised betteTmfnl
+ Of the State roadway, farming As beeo,a-