e no rural slums for the breeding of poverty and crime;
but on the other hand, there is an isolation and monotony that tend to
become deadening in their effects on the individual. Stress and
over-strain does not all come from excitement and the rush of
competition; it may equally well originate in lack of variety and
unrelieved routine. How true this is is seen in the fact that insanity,
caused in this instance chiefly by the stress of monotony, prevails
among the farming people of frontier communities out of all proportion
to the normal ratio.

Farming is naturally the most healthful of the industrial occupations.
The work is for the greater part done in the open air and sunshine, and
possesses sufficient variety to be interesting. The rural population
constitutes the high vitality class of the nation, and must be
constantly drawn upon to supply the brain, brawn, and nerve for the work
of the city. The farmer is, on the whole, prosperous; he is therefore
hopeful and cheerful, and labors in good spirit. That so many farmers
and farmers' wives break down or age prematurely is due, not to the
inherent nature of their work, but to a lack of balance in the life of
the farm. It is not so much the work that kills, as the _continuity of
the work_ unrelieved by periods of rest and recreation. With the
opportunities highly favorable for the best type of healthful living, no
inconsiderable proportion of our agricultural population are shortening
their lives and lowering their efficiency by unnecessary over-strain and
failure to conform to the most fundamental and elementary laws of
hygienic living, especially with reference to the relief from labor that
comes through change and recreation.

The rural community affords few opportunities for social recreations and
amusements. Not only are the people widely separated from each other by
distance, but the work of the farm is exacting, and often requires all
the hours of the day not demanded for sleep. While the city offers many
opportunities for choice of recreation or amusement, the country affords
almost none. The city worker has his evenings, usually Saturday
afternoon, and all day Sunday free to use as he chooses. Such is not the
case on the farm; for after the day in the field the chores must be
done, and the stock cared for. And even on Sunday, the routine must be
carried out. The work of the farm has a tendency, therefore, to become
much of a grind, and certainly will become s