422 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



nomic conditions has not a very large place in the agriculture of 

 this region. In addition to this important finding with reference to a 

 region where the tendency has been to sell in small tracts, the study 

 also brings out many valuable points concerning the management and 

 organization of the types of farming which now prevail in this 

 section. 



During the past year a study has been made of alfalfa in the west- 

 ern part of the corn belt. Alfalfa seems from an agronomic stand- 

 point extremely well adapted to this section of the country, and it is 

 gradually finding a place in the cropping system on the farms. 

 There are, however, important problems of how to modify the present 

 systems in order to make them best fit in with this new crop. There 

 is the problem of what old crop or crops it shall supplant and the 

 extent to which it is feasible to grow this crop without bringing too 

 much rush of work at one season with nothing to do at other seasons. 

 The development of a profitable, feasible farm organization is here 

 of far more importance than a mere knowledge of how to make the 

 alfalfa grow successfully. 



Investigation has been continued in connection with the sandy- 

 land problem of northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin 716, dealing with the particular problems of this region, 

 has been published. Farm-organization problems in this, as in many 

 other poor-land regions of the country, involve questions of ex- 

 pediency quite as much as of economics. The poor-land farmer wants 

 to know what is best to do with what he already has. Studies in 

 this region have been made with this point in mind. 



Attention has been given during the past year to farm-organiza- 

 tion problems in southern Indiana and southern Illinois. 



The North Central States constitute the great live-stock section 

 of the country. In this section estimates were secured from 7,000 

 breeders concerning the influence of age on the value of live stock. 

 These estimates have been classified, tabulated, and the results pub- 

 lished as Department Bulletin 413. 



WESTERN STATES. 



The field studies in progress last year in Washingon, Oregon, and 

 Arizona have been completed. It is expected that the results of this 

 work will show what types of farming have proved to be profitable 

 in these regions and the conditions under which each type is most 

 successful. These will also show the farmer's investment in land and 

 equipment, his receipts, expenses, and net income on the various types 

 of farms. 



The reconnoissance work in the citrus belt of southern California 

 has not yet been completed, but valuable information has already 

 been obtained relative to the business side of the citrus industry. 



Further studies have also been made during the past year in the 

 irrigated sections of the West, particularly in Salt Lake Valley, 

 Utah, in the Billings-Huntley project in Montana, the Hood River 

 Valley, Oregon, and the Yakima. Spokane, and Walla Walla Valleys 

 in Washington. These studies will cover much the same points as 

 those already mentioned in Oregon, Washington, and Arizona, the 

 object being to determine the facts regarding investment, receipts, 



