The recent federal census yields additional evidence of the unequal educational opportunities of the farm and nonfarm children of Iowa. It indicates further that these inequalities may help to account for the decline in the number of children on the farms of the state.

During the 15-year period from 1925 to 1940, the total population of the state increased by approximately 118 thousand people. The rate of increase was only about one-third of that for the nation as a whole. Population shifts within the state have also occurred. Thirty-nine counties, or approximately two-fifths of all, suffered an actual decline in population during the same period. More significant for bur analysis, however, are the population shifts which are revealed by a further breakdown of the data.