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Show Mftvestoclcl , &$it a atiorb J The lure of the city, with its', apparent ap-parent opportunities, conveniencas and entertainment, has always p roven tb be a serious problem to thei farmer farm-er and stockman, about as fa' : back as time gfres. But it looks as though the modem school system "has gone a long: way towards solving tJB e problem. prob-lem. It is getting to be an e?s ier matter mat-ter to keep the yourg folks' on the fa.rn 01' ranch, because the.':Varm has been made much more atr Act ive, both in. a financial way and in moire pleasant pleas-ant surroundings. Credit for the changing- ";.condition of affairs must be r.-iven, 'in large measure, to our agrioultnral colleges and the vocational depart ments which now constitute an important part of every high school in ag- Hcultu ral and semi-agricultural distr iets. Competent Compe-tent instructors, aided by far-s'ighted fanners and stockmen, are now irg the young folks v vays and means of making farminjr. and stockraiting interesting and p-Citable. The student hlive the benefifc of the very best ,.boo!(C iarnin and the opportunity of st,ldying the best f0CiL3 herds of pure bred live stock ay wcll. Many of the students ar'" enffournged to rake a few animals 'jf the; f own, being financially backed either by their parents or through the;r local bankers. The start of some very profitable herds .has been made bgr many students as a direct result foundation animals purchased while hi.srh school students. Practical breeds of dairy and beef cattle, swine and sheep aro purchased and the youngsters young-sters are encouraged in their work to such an extent that many students have good paying proposition during dur-ing their school years. Their practical work Is a part of the school course. Needless to say, the young fellow who gets the right kind of a start, so thst he is making good money while still in school will make the best kind of a farmer, because he is engaged in something both interesting and profitable. Live stock judging contests are held regularly. The element of rivalry between be-tween each other and between different differ-ent scthools is encouraged and the schoel live stock judging team which wins honors at the sectional, state and national contests shares publicity honors with the boys who make the football team, the basketball nine or other school- activities. In these contests, con-tests, as at all other times, the boys are constantly thrown into contact with highly bred stock in a practical way, so that when they become live stock breeders themselves, the best bred stock is raised by them, as a matter of course. The vocational departments of the schools also gives practical training in other activities that come in very handy on the farm. They are taught to repair their own automobiles, pumps, radios and farm machinery. They know how to weld a broken axel. : They learn the elements of carpenter work, so that little odd jobs around the farm can be done by themselves, without the necessity of hiring expensive expen-sive labor. With this practical training and tlu higher education in the regular school coarse, we are rearing a crop of better bet-ter .farmers in this country. Now that the f.arm home has its own radio, as 'well as other means of entertainment, automobiie.s, running water, electric power, and the thousand and one other conveniences, there is real attraction at-traction in living on the farm. The l farm boy of today isn't the "hayseed" of earlier generations. He is well educated, edu-cated, polished and is being trained in work which is profitable, for farming farm-ing and stock raising form the very basis of our national prosperity. We're learning to keep the boys and girls on the farm. It is interesting to note that S2 per cent of the boys who have graduated from the agricultural j departments of the high schools op- j erating under the Smith-Hughes Act. 1 have stayed on the farm and are now engaged in farming or stock raising. |