erest on almost any subject might be discussed. The column need
not be limited narrowly to technically educational topics. The author of
such a column could thus create and build up in a community the right
kind of traditions and a good spirit, tone, and temper generally. His
influence would be potent outside the schoolroom and he would have in
his power the shaping and the guiding of the social, or community mind.
It is wonderful what can be done in this way by a prudent, intelligent,
and interesting writer. The community soon will wish, after the column
has been read through, that he had written more. This would be an
encouraging sign.

=All Along the Educational Line.=--The kind of leadership and
cooperation indicated in this chapter should be exemplified through the
entire common-school system. It should obtain between the state
superintendent and the county superintendents; between the county
superintendents and their deputies, or assistants on the one hand and
the principals of schools on the other; between principals and teachers;
and between teachers and pupils. It should exist between all of these
officials and the people variously organized for social and educational
betterment. Then there would be a "long pull, a strong pull, and a pull
all together" for the solution of the problems of rural life and the
rural school.

CHAPTER XIII

THE FARMER AND HIS HOME

=Farming in the Past.=--In the past, successful farming was easier than
it is at present or is destined to be in the future. In the prairie
regions of the great central West, the virgin and fertile soil, the
large acreage of easy cultivation, and the good prices made success
inevitable. Indeed, these conditions were thrust upon the fortunate
farmer.

But those days are passed. Increased population is reducing the acreage
and cultivation, while it is eliminating the surplus fertility;
competition and social and economic pressure are reducing the margin of
profits. Thrift, good management, and brains are becoming increasingly
important factors in successful farming.

=Old Conceit and Prejudice.=--Twenty years ago, when the agricultural
colleges were taking shape and attempting to impress their usefulness
upon the farmer, the latter was inclined to assume a derisive attitude,
and to refer to their graduates as "silk-stocking farmers"--or, as one
farmer put it, "theatrical" sort of fellows, meaning _theoretical_! In
the farming of the future, h