s life. It is important that we have a vocation. We must do
something, and do it well. But the real end is not in working at a
profession but in developing our abilities. Our symmetrical growth is
the measure of our success as human beings.

As the student looks out over the ocean of life and scans the horizon
for signs of the wise course for him to take, he should decide whether
the particular mode of life that now appeals to him will yield the
greatest possible measure of growth. He must consult his tastes, his
talents, his opportunities, his training. And the test question is, Will
this line of work yield me the growth, the culture, I desire?

But what are the elements that yield culture to an individual? Using
culture in a very broad sense as a synonym for growth, we may say that
the things contributing most to the culture of the average person are
his work, his leisure, and his service to others. We may now try to
answer the question we started with, as it presents itself to many a
student in the agricultural colleges of our country. Will agriculture as
a business, will the farm life and environment, contribute to the growth
which I desire for myself? Can I extract culture from the corn lot?

Let us first see if the work or vocation of farming gives culture. My
answer would be that there is scarcely an occupation to be named that
requires broader knowledge, more accurate observation, or the exercise
of better judgment than does modern farming. The farmer deals with the
application of many sciences. He must be an alert business man. He
requires executive talent of no mean order. The study of his occupation
in its wider phases leads him into direct contact with political
economy, social movements, and problems of government. The questions
confronting him as a farmer relate themselves to the leading realms of
human knowledge and experience. I speak of course of the progressive
farmer, who makes the best use of his opportunities. He can hardly hope
to become immensely wealthy, but he can maintain that modest standard of
living that usually is the lot of our most useful and cultured people
and that ministers as a rule most fully to the ideal family life. The
truly modern farmer cannot help growing.

There is much hard work on the farm. Yet on the whole there is fully as
much leisure as in most other occupations. There is time to read, and
books are today so easily accessible that living in the country is no
bar to th