1907.] 



RECORD-BREAKING CROPS. 



29 



others lose. He adds nothing to the total wealth of the coun- 

 try. 



With the farmer it is different. He is a real producer. His 

 labor and intelligent foresight literally " make " wealth ; pro- 

 duce from the earth's surface wealth that but for his exertions 

 would not have existed. He is a public benefactor. 



Sometimes city boys will speak rather slightingly of " far- 

 mers." That is all wrong. " The farmer feedeth all." But 

 for him we should all starve to death, no matter how much 

 money we might have in our pockets or in the bank. And 

 nowadays successful farming requires a very high order of 

 intelligence. 



Here, in round numbers, is Secretary Wilson's estimate 

 of the value of the principal crops raised by the American far- 

 mers in the last vear : 



The figures make the assets of the Steel Trust look small 

 by comparison. But they are not complete. They do not in- 

 clude the value of the eggs, poultry, milk, butter, cheese, beef, 

 pork, mutton, and garden vegetables. If these were added 

 the total would be increased by many hundreds of millions of 

 dollars. How immense is the total value of these things is 

 shown by Secretary Wilson's statement that if each American 

 hen could be made to lay an extra dozen of eggs in each twelve- 

 month, it would increase the national wealth by more than fifty 

 million dollars per year. 



And Secretary Wilson says that in the last six years the 

 farmers' land, buildings, animals and machinery have increased 

 in value by $8,000,000,000. That increase is about equal to all 

 the gold and silver money in the world. The total value of 

 these things now stands at $28,000,000,000, or more than 



