or
idle hands to do," found little application in the rural life of a
quarter of a century ago.

=Extremes.=--Even with all its unrecognized advantages, the fact remains
that farm life has been quite generally uninteresting to the average
human being. There are individuals who become so accustomed to hard work
that the habit really grows to be pleasant. This, no doubt, often
happens. Habit accustoms the individual to accommodate himself to
existing conditions, no matter how severe they may be. A very old man
who was shocking wheat under the hot sun of a harvest day was once told
that it must be hard work for him. He replied, "Yes, but I like it when
the bundles are my own." So the few who are interested and accustomed by
habit to this kind of life may enjoy it, but to the great majority of
people the conditions would be decidedly unattractive.

=Yearly Routine.=--The yearly routine on the farm used to be about as
follows: In early spring, before seeding time had come, all the seed
wheat had to be put through the fanning mill. The seed was sown by
hand. A man carried a heavy load of grain upon his back and walked from
one end of the field to the other, sowing it broadcast as he went. After
the wheat had been sown, plowing for the corn and potatoes was begun and
continued. These were all planted by hand, and when they came above
ground they were hoed by hand and cultivated repeatedly by walking and
holding the plow.

=Disliked in Comparison.=--All of this work implies, of course, that the
person doing it was close to the soil; in fact, he was _in_ the soil. He
wore, necessarily, old clothes somewhat begrimed by dirt and dust. His
shoes or boots were heavy and his step became habitually long and slow.
Manual labor too frequently carries with it a neglect of cleanliness.
The laborer on the farm necessarily has about him the odor of horses, of
cows, and of barns. Such conditions are not bad, but they are
nevertheless objectionable, when compared with the neatness and
cleanliness of the clerk in the bank or behind the counter. We do not
write these words in any spirit of disparagement, but merely from the
point of view at which many young people in the country view them. We
are trying to face the truth in order to understand the problem to be
solved. It is essential to look at the situation squarely and to view it
steadily and honestly. Hiding our heads in the sand will not clarify our
vision.

=Other Hard Jobs.=--The ne