The country boy is constantly thrown upon his own resources, forced to think for himself, and this calls out his ingenuity and inventiveness.

He develops better all-round judgment and a more level head than the city boy.

His muscles are harder, his flesh firmer, and his brain-fiber partakes of the same superior quality.
The very granite hills, the mountains, the valleys, the brooks, the miracle of the growing crops are every moment registering their mighty potencies in his constitution, putting iron into his blood and stamina into his character, all of which will help to make him a giant when he comes to compete with the city-bred youth.
The sturdy, vigorous, hardy qualities, the stamina, the brawn, the grit which characterize men who do great things in this world, are, as a rule, country bred.

If power is not absorbed from the soil, it certainly comes from very near it.

There seems to be a close connection between robust character and the soil, the hills, mountains and valleys, the pure air and sunshine.