OFFICE OF FARM MANAGEMENT AND FARM ECONOMICS. 573 



character of the inhiiul " country community," and studies in this 

 have been begun in cooperation with these institutions. These studies 

 will open a new field in farm life research. 



Many farm communities in the T'nited States have built community 

 houses within the last decade. A first-hand investigation of 250 of 

 these community buildings has been made. 



AGRICULTURAL HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY. 



The research in agricultural history during the year has been de- 

 voted mostly to the early development of the sheep, wheat, and cattle 

 industries in the United States; and more recently to the development 

 of agriculture in the Northern Great Plains. Several maps showing 

 shifts in agricultural industries in the United States from 1840 to 

 1910 have been made. A series of maps showing shifts in the popula- 

 tion in the United States from 1790 to 1920 is being prepared, and 

 other materials of historical value on this and other historical subjects 

 are being accumulated for publication when the researches on the sev- 

 eral subjects are completed. 



Research on the agricultural resources of South America is in prog- 

 ress, and maps have been made showing the distribution of cattle, 

 sheep, and swine. Similar maps of crop production are also being 

 prepared. The relation of crop production and the distribution of 

 live stock to climatic conditions is being studied and texts are being 

 prepared to accompany the maps. 



A geographical study of farm practices in growing wheat was 

 })ublished in the 1919 Yearbook and a similar but more thorough 

 study of practices in growing cotton is now in progress. The comple- 

 tion of this work will wait upon the tabulation and use of the data of 

 the 1920 Agricultural Census. Geographical studies of types of 

 farming and live-stock practices ffre also in progress. 



This section is also cooperating in the survey of the agricultural 

 resources of the Northern Great Plains. 



FARM FINANCIAL RELATIONS. 



The draft of a suggested model State law providing for the organi- 

 zation and regulation of farmers' mutual fire insurance companies 

 was completed during the year, as was also the work on a suggested 

 system of records for farmers' mutual fire insurance companies. 

 Statistics were tabulated on farmers' mutual fire insurance companies 

 with a view to securing comprehensive and reliable data concerning 

 cost of insurance in these organizations. 



Information on hail insurance in the United States has received 

 special attention during the j'ear, and a manuscript for a proposed 

 bulh'tin. '' Hail insurance on farm crops in the United States." 

 containing historical as well as statistical and legal data on this sub- 

 ject, has been prepared for publication. 



The data on rural credits and on rural telephones, botli subjects 

 transferred from the Kural Organization Project, formerly a part of 

 tlie Bureau of Markets, have been supplemented to a limited extent 

 during the year. 



