Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-11-23
BACK TO THE FARM.

DhSN Az AAAaA
81 have nDticed," says the pessi-
mist "that the ma )riry of people who
rant Back u the tarm,' are nightly
particular that they themselves s1sn
stay in the city or Il they DO visiy the
farm at all, they lika to get back in
time to read the evening papers by
their metropolitan radiator"
Vermont is particularly an agricuI
tural state, as some Of the other New
England states are peculiarly COM
mercial or Industrial. There ore the
development of the farm, wnlch may
be a side issue with the commercial
or industrial state, becomes to her
real living and vital issue which holds
the possibilities of success or failure
of her people to reach their highest
standard of achievement. The farm
must enter more largely into the life
of the people OF Vermont, it must be
10 ked upon by ire boys and girls as
valuable and safe Investment, and
what Is more important, as an hon
/ Orable investment and an honorable
! profession. Scientific farming is a
! profession, domestic science is a pro-
| fessiOn just as surely ard appropriate
| ~ as is the following of the law or the
! welding of the surgeOn's tools pro-
fpssion The boy and girl must real
re this. They must frown upon the
I'D fashioned methods Of their grand
ia her5. Thay must install the latest
| and st In their homes and in their
staDies,a las the business man intr0duc-
a the type wriJer in his offic- and the
t lephOne In his home. There is no
/ ,uger excuse for the doWdy dresses
VI the farm rs w fe of Old who lived
8 N ny miles from a fashion BOOK
hat she COuIu not profit by the les
SONS of 9th n WomeL's expert 3nce and
ideas. There is no longer excuse tor
the unWllIln& ness of the man of the
house To place a washing machine
and sewing machine and a bread
mixer IN the mousse any more than thore
is excuse tor his not installing separa-
tors and dairy tools and new met no Is
in his barns duu d airy kitchens. There
is no excuse for torbidGing the young
people piano or a mand lin or for
refusing the girl lessons LIT the boy
go into town and the girl too, and let
Them have their schoolm 4tes out and
intro duce to them what happy CON-
biuatlon Of hard WORK and good tun
| means
In the kitchen ard out in the fslds
waste nj method and negligence must
give place to the wide-awake, alert,
ambitionful vigilance which a m4r
chant exercises in his store and a pro-
fessional man in brushing away his
mental COP webs. OF course the aban-
dOned farm PROPOSE ion does not sound
attractive, the tumoIe down, dila pi
dated buildings anG the. Kitchens with
no useful thing IN them and the barns
whose roofs threaten falling discour
age rather than elate. But the pros
Ferrous farm which Vermont Can MAKE
IN her rich soil tells another story
Her ownership ls Intelligent and her
management careful and her com
mon sensed proprietor and his family
are close TO Nature and her ways.
! They are free from tuberculosis. They
breathe the Gle ar sweet air of the hills
| and the daughters Go not bend over
typeWriters nor the sous over dutl
| iedgers. This Is not, unfortunately,
the story of every Vermont farm, bul
there is no reason why it should not
be. 1t Is not the farm that fails 80
much as it's management. The farm
or himself is lazy. IU is not his pas
lures a I'd fields that are unproductive,
but no is SOW To progress, SLOW 10
comprehend new methods or, CON-
pretending them, to apply them to
his particular case and that is where
the pubic school comes in.
Tue pubnc sChool can help in solv.
irg the farm problem. Just as every
good thing finds It's way 10 the approx
al of mankind by bt ginning with the
children, 80 the agricultural profession
will take on new Est when farming
methods are discussed in the school
r. ON as are rules of grammar, prin-
ciples OF arithmetic and modes OF
spelling.
Dean Russell of Wisconsin College of
Agricull ure says" 1t ls we'll within the
province of the colleges aud secondary
schools Interested In the development
of agriculture to carry the teachings
OF modern agricultural science to tine
rank and file OF producers. The pres
ent wastetul and useless farm prac-
tees might be very much modified il
the pubic schools would develop a
stronger nod on their communities
and enter more vitality into the life
of the people. "-Exchange.