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The Rural Science Series

Edited by L. H. Bailey

FARM BOYS AND GIRLS

       *       *       *       *       *

The Rural Science Series


  THE SOIL.
  THE SPRAYING OF PLANTS.
  MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS.
  THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND.
  THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING.
  BUSH-FRUITS.
  FERTILIZERS.
  THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. 15th Ed.
  IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE.
  THE FARMSTEAD.
  RURAL WEALTH AND WELFARE.
  THE PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE-GARDENING.
  FARM POULTRY.
  THE FEEDING OF ANIMALS.
  THE FARMER'S BUSINESS HANDBOOK.
  THE DISEASES OF ANIMALS.
  THE HORSE.
  HOW TO CHOOSE A FARM.
  FORAGE CROPS.
  BACTERIA IN RELATION TO COUNTRY LIFE.
  THE NURSERY-BOOK.
  PLANT-BREEDING. 4th Ed.
  THE FORCING-BOOK.
  THE PRUNING-BOOK.
  FRUIT-GROWING IN ARID REGIONS.
  RURAL HYGIENE.
  DRY-FARMING.
  LAW FOR THE AMERICAN FARMER.
  FARM BOYS AND GIRLS.
  THE TRAINING AND BREAKING OF HORSES.

  _Others in preparation._

       *       *       *       *       *


[Illustration: PLATE I.

FIG. 1.--At least once each day the busy farm father may think of a way
to combine his work with the children's play.]


FARM BOYS AND GIRLS

by

WILLIAM A. McKEEVER

Professor of Philosophy
Kansas State Agricultural College







New York
The Macmillan Company
1913

All rights reserved

Copyright, 1912,
by the Macmillan Company.

Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1912. Reprinted
August, 1912; January, June, 1913.

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.




  DEDICATED
  TO THE SERVICE OF THE
  TEN MILLION BOYS AND GIRLS
  WHO ARE ENROLLED IN
  THE RURAL SCHOOLS
  OF AMERICA




PREFACE


In the preparation of this book I have had in mind two classes of
readers; namely, the rural parents and the many persons who are
interested in carrying forward the rural work discussed in the several
chapters. It has been my aim to give as much specific aid and direction
as possible. The first two chapters constitute a mere outline of some of
the fundamental principles of child development. It would be fortunate
if the reader who is unfamiliar with such principles could have a course
of reading in the volumes that treat them extensively. Nearly every
suggestion given in the main body of the book is based on what has
already either been undertaken with a degree of success or planned for
in some rural community.

I am very greatly indebted to the following persons and firms for their
kindness and generosity in lending pictures and cuts for illustrating
the book: E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public Instruction,
Topeka, Kansas; J. W. Crabtree, Principal State Normal School, River
Falls, Wisconsin; George W. Brown, Superintendent of Edgar County,
Paris, Illinois; O. J. Kern, Superintendent of Winnebago County,
Rockford, Illinois; Miss Jessie Fields, Superintendent of Page County,
Clarinda, Iowa; A. D. Holloway, General Secretary, County Y.M.C.A.,
Marysville, Kansas; Dr. Myron T. Scudder, of Rutgers College; Doubleday,
Page & Company, Garden City, New York; _Rural Manhood_, New York City;
_The Farmer's Voice_, Chicago, Illinois; _The American Agriculturist_,
New York City; _The Oklahoma Farmer_, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; _The
Inland Farmer_, Lexington, Kentucky; _The Farmer's Advocate_, Winnipeg,
Canada.

My thanks are also due _Successful Farming_, of Des Moines, Iowa, for
permission to use excerpts from President Kirk's article on the model
school, and portions of a series of brief articles written for the same
magazine by myself.

The references given at the close of the chapters have been selected
with considerable care. It will be found in nearly every case that they
give helpful and more extended discussions of the several topics treated
in the preceding chapter.

  WILLIAM A. McKEEVER.

  MANHATTAN, KANSAS.




TABLE OF CONTENTS


  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE

      I. BUILDING A GOOD LIFE                                        1
           What is a Good Life?                                      2
             1. Good Health                                          3
             2. Usefulness                                           3
             3. Moral Strength                                       4
             4. Social Efficiency                                    5
             5. Religious Interest                                   5
             6. Happiness                                            6
           Is the Human Stock comparatively Sound?                   7

     II. THE TIME TO BUILD                                          12
          