The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-16
BACK TO THE FARM.

This is the cry of the present day,
inspired by the enormous migration
of farmers sons and daughters TO
The turmoil of city workshops and
office buildings and the agitators Of
this new cry have looked into farm
conditions from rverJ point to Us
cover, if possible, why there was dis
content on the farm and why the
boys and girls left its shelter early in
life and sought othe~ fields in which
to earn living ald ont of this in
vestigation has ccme the opinion of
Professor L. NJ. Rap1 superintenda nt
of schools in Berks county Pennsyl-
vania:
"If the boys and girls who live on
the farm can be made to think that
the farm is the bes, place for them.
IT follows as natural consequence
TIKI they will stay here"
And Golfers Weekly tells how this
sage man went on to organize boys
agricultural clubs and girls domestic
science clubs until he had six hun
Ord charter members. They received
bulletins from experiment stations
and the boys planted vegetables and
the girls were instructed in baking
and sewing. Then a newspaper pro-
prietor became interested and offered
one hundred dollars in prizes for the
best corn. potatoes, bread and other
products of garden and kitchen. The
children's interests grew into excite
ment. When they had an exhibit at
the end of the season, the hall had
the appearance of a miniature coun-
ty fair. There are now thousand
members of the boys clubs and al
most as many girls enrolled Then
Golfers goes on to tell of the for
NATION of boys corn clubs, the intro
duction of the piano, the photograph.
the magic lantern into the home books,
and music and laughter and fun
these followed upon the heels of one
another. The rural church." it says
owes debt to the country boy and
girl which apparently it has overlook
ed. Occasionally country parson is
found who realizes something of this
unfulflled mission of the country
church and does what he can. but
generally he is handicapped by the
lack of financial support. 1t ought to
be possible for the country church to
he equipped with parish house, con-
tanning a gymnasium, library and
reading room. Much would depend
upon the minister however. The only
one who could succeed in undertake
ing Of this sort would be one who
could enter heartily into the sports
and amusements of the young people
themselves
In short ii is the old doctrine of !
happiness and laughter and love that |
makes the farm lie an attractive ex-
istence instead OF the humdrum it !
has become to countless people of |
agricultural bolts. The most harden |
ed or indi;.t mt individual will see
pathos and the kernel of the farm |
problem in the following letter from
farmers son to the editor of an ag-
ricultural paper:
II go to echool and it takes up all |!
my spare time to do the chores and !
hep mother with the hard work. If |
father would only let us have a horse |
to go to town once in while or if |
he would take us to an entertainments |
[ would feel more like pitching in !
and working hard. But father never |
lets mother go out and / would rather |
stay at home with her and sister than |
go away without them. Mother al |
ways spends her evenings with MS |
children. l wish we had a phono-
graph and that other boys and girls
would come TO see us. Father spends |