Town and Country

Professor L. W. McCaskill, of Lincoln College, pointed out that as urban culture was parasitic upon rural culture, one of the main factors contributing to the fall of all major societies has been the neglect of the soil by the urban societies. "Cities fall because of bad farming, or because they become too big for good farming." He listed statistics illustrating the urban drift and then discussed the implications. The farmer had lost his political dominance. With the war aggravating the drift the farmer had had to mechanise. This led to "one-man farms" and a heavy toll on individual health and welfare. The urban drift was selective the younger sons leaving the farm for "the eldest son, and the young girls left to seek employment which was not available in the country. However, the rural family, not yet "atomised." still contained its characteristics. It's hospitality was traditional land often abused by unthinking city-dwellers); farm people had a greater capacity for informal enjoyment, and an amazing awareness of world affairs. Also, rural populations were characterised by slowness of thought and a low standard of education and attainment compared with industrial districts. The country needed teachers, especially trained for country teaching.