Life — September 21, 1922 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The New Farm Hand" - Life Magazine, September 21, 1922 This illustration depicts a humorous scene of a young, inexperienced farm worker encountering a large cow for the first time. The caption "The New Farm Hand" suggests the joke centers on the newcomer's obvious nervousness and unfamiliarity with farm animals and rural work. The image shows the boy appearing startled or apprehensive while facing the cow, likely capturing a moment of comedic culture-clash between urban inexperience and agricultural reality. This reflects post-WWI America's broader social tensions between rural and urban populations during the 1920s. The satire gently mocks city folk's lack of practical farming knowledge, a common theme in period humor as industrialization drew more Americans away from agricultural lifestyles.