ABSTRACT
A prosperous farmer, driving a valuable horse, will exhibit with pride the "points" of his swift roadster—the fine action, the speed and endurance. He himself sits stoop-shouldered and muscle-bound; strong, it may be, but slow and awkward; with bad teeth and poor digestion; by no means a model human being either in "points" or "action." Both the farmer and his wife took prizes at the county fair— him for pigs and poultry, her for pies. She gathers little Johnny into her motherly arms. Jim looks sturdy enough but the expert perceives that Jim has adenoids, breathes through his mouth, and is really undersized. Neither the farmer nor his wife ever thought of a Human Standard; whether they came up to it, or if their children did, or of how they might improve the breed. A time is coming when, without public exhibitions, without prize-money or clamorous vote, people shall raise a new standard in child culture—and live up to it.
