Susan Fenimore Cooper wrote the piece “from the rural hours”. She is conversant with the happenings in the rural areas. This is mainly based on the fact that she understands life in the rural areas fully. She has been brought up in the rural areas and as such can explain many natural phenomena in the rural places. She mentions in her writing “The fields which border this quiet bit of road are among the oldest in our neighborhood.” This informs us that Susan Fenimore lives in the rural areas and hence her wide knowledge and information. She is able to understand that the fields in their neighborhood are the oldest. She also is able to know who owns these fields. She is also able to understand the climate of the area. She sates that it is a temperate type of climate. Cultivation is the main activity in these areas. She tells us that the whole area is not dry at all as is the case in desert areas. This way, the whole area is suitable for cultivation. Susan communicates this information to us based on her interaction with this environment.
The writer is able to change her relations with the environment with time. It seems like as she interacts more and more with the environment, she understands its better. She for instance speaks about the coming of technology in a land that was initially very rural. This means that the writer has been able to trace the history of the land from a period of primitivism and old age to a new era. There is a great level of progression seen in agriculture. The writer speaks of more land being brought under cultivation. We also see the introduction of machines in agriculture. This has made it easier to engage in agriculture. We therefore see great improvement in agriculture. By paying attention to place, I learn that one is able to understand the surrounding. This helps him or her to understand that the environment requires high degree of adaptability. As we see with the rural areas, technology is slowly creeping in. It is also clear to us that certain practices are unique with certain types of environs only. For instance, crop rotation is seen as a common practice in the rural areas.
His main reason for this is to maintain soil fertility. These ideas are main stream. They communicate to us the actual situation in the rural areas. For instance, agriculture is the main economic activity. People feed from what is harvested in the fields. They take advantage of crop rotation save for the modern times when inputs have been introduced into the agricultural set up. I agree with the writer. The kind of set up, illustrated in the piece by Susan depict the situation in the rural areas. For instance, agriculture is the main economic activity. We see progression in agriculture as people bring more land under cultivation. Forests are being cleared to pave way for agriculture to take place. We also see introduction of machines. It now becomes easier to cut down trees as opposed to the past when it was a little difficult. The writer mentions, “In the course of a day, these machines will tear up from twenty to fifty stumps, according to their size.”
The most provocative sentence is found in HECTOR ST. JOHN DE CRÈVECOEUR (1735–1813) From Letters from an American Farmer. The question “Yet why should not I be permitted to disclose those sentiments which I have so often felt from my heart?” is provocative.
It provokes the mind of the person the letter is addressed to think about the plight of the farmer. It also provokes the reader to understand the problems that many farmers used to face in America. Some have not been addressed to date.
