Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-17

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
az DR.. ANDREW M. SOULE

! and their findings along this line
are certainly worthy Of considera
ton at this time. Among Other
things, they offer the following sug
gestions:
Nearly. half the people in this
country live on farms. More thar
half the people in our cities were
born or reared on farms or came Of
farm parents. The farm is our big
sest and best national asset an6
it is a social as we'll as a financial
asset. 1t raises food and people, and
on the latter we depend for the
best Of our man and woman ma
terial.
The average city person Is apt to
think of the average farmhouse as
d pleasant dwelling set among trees
surrounded by fields and equipped
with all modern conveneinces. That
is the kind of farmhouse most ur.
banites see, because that is the
kind commonly found near cities.
Creature comforts soon find their
way to the farm that fringes the
thickly populated centers, and when
this is the case the farmhouse be-
comes most pleasant place in which
to live. For it combines city int
provements with the natural de-
lights Of the country.
However much the farmhouse
may resemble the city house, there
still remains one radical difference
between the two. The farm home
is a vital part Of the farm. The
business of farming, unlike banking
stCrekeeping and manufacturing Is
Il family matter. This makes the
wife a necessary partner. Yet. un-
til quite recently she has received
as little consideration on the part
of those who are trying to adjust
social and economic conditions as
if she did not exist. Much attention
has been given to the farm and the
farmer, his cattle, horses and swine,
his crops and varied problems, but
almost none to his wife.
Uncle Sam woke up to this fact
a few months ago, and decided it
would be a good idea 20 know some
thing about the farm woman and
her problems. Suddenly it dawned
OIL him that knowledge in this field
might be useful in working out d
better way Of life for the forty-odd
per cent of our population which
does not live in, cities or towns.
For several years the department
of agriculture had been lending the
farm women a helping hand, but
only in a scattering way. Enough
was done to gain a fairly clear no.
ton that the average farm woman
had quite as many problems as the
average farm man had, being part
ner in the business, her problems
were equally vital to the success Of
the undertaking.
Desiring to give farm women the
most practical and acceptable as
sistance, the department Of agricul-
ture, cooperating with colleges of
agriculture and county farm bu-
reaus, planned a survey Of some
10000 representative farm homes 10
the rural regions of the thirty-three
northern and western states. The OBJ
ject was to learn from the women
themselves their real problems and
bow the extension service may aid
in solving them. Typical farming
counties in each state first were
chosen, and typical farming commu
mites in each of. these counties were
marked for investigation. A record
was secured from every farm home
in the locality thus selected, ire
spective of size or other conditions
The first data resulting from this
survey shows that throughout the
country the average farm woman
works more than thirteen hours q
day in summer and rests less thar
two. In winter she becomes virtual
ly loafer by averaging only ten ant
a half hours at work and resting Z
little more than two hours each day
Of course, the farm women have no
yet formed union, and 81 per cent
of those interviewed confessed to nc
regular vacation and no prospect Of
one.
The most interesting piece of in
formation revealed, however, has II
do with the modern convenience
which the city dweller views IN g
good deal the same way one views