Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 



373 



Unfortunately, the whole system of tenancy in the corn belt 

 is greatly influenced by increasing land values and the resultant 

 speculation,s in lands. Too often the landlord does not know 

 whether he will hold a given farm for more than a year ahead 

 and naturally he is unwilling to go into a long-time contract. So 

 long as the rapid rise of lan,d values prevails, we shall never be 

 able to solve with any degree of satisfaction the problem of main- 

 taining soil fertility under tenancy, because it is almost impossible 

 to develop a uniform tendency toward long-time leases. Naturally, 

 nothing which anyone may say or do will ever change this condi- 

 tion quickly. It is an economic condition which only time can 

 change. Nevertheless, this change can be hastened somewhat, and 

 individual men, can do much toward improving conditions on their 

 own farms, particularly where they expect to hold them for con- 

 siderable periods of time. 



First prize in corn breeding class, Tenth Annual Missouri State Corn Show, Reid's 

 Yellow Dent, shown by H. R. Scott, Tarkio, Mo. 



One of the first things that must be considered, therefore, in 

 looking toward a system of soil preservation under a system of 

 tenancy is the lengthening of the lease. The more we talk about 

 this the sooner will it come about, although the change is neces- 

 sarily a slow one. The second thing that can be done is to impress 

 upon the landlord the importance of preserving soil fertility, and 



