292 



EXPERIMENT STATION EECOBD. 



The crisis of agricultural labor, E. Th^by {Econ. Europ^en, JfO {1911), No. 

 1038, pp. 679-682). — Referring to a report submitted to the Cbamber of Depu- 

 ties by the minister of agriculture, the author of this article comments upon its 

 findings as to the crisis confronting agricultural labor in France. It is shown 

 that owners of farms are finding it more difficult from year to year to secure 

 farm laborers, and that they are now paying increased wages and securing less 

 efficient workmen than formerly. The two causes assigned for the difficulty 

 are (1) the decrease in birth rate, and (2) the exodus of laborers from rural 

 districts to towns and cities. The underlying reasons for this condition are 

 noted and discussed together with a number of proposed remedies, prominent 

 among which is agricultural education, and especially domestic science, home 

 economics, etc., for the women. 



Creation of small holdings for agricultural laborers in Denmark, R. 

 Eakdeb {Jour. Bel. Agr. [London.], 18 {1911), No. 7, pp. 563-566).— It is here 

 pointed out that in Denmark the law provides for loans from the public treas- 

 ury to agricultural laborers for the establishment of small holdings exclusively 

 for agricultural purposes. 



The size of the holding must not be less than 1 hectare, and the loan can not 

 exceed £440. It is secured by a mortgage on the land, buildings, and live stock, 

 and the rate of interest is 3 per cent. For these loans a sum of £222,400 is 

 provided annually. From 1900 to 1910, 5,092 small farms were established at 

 a cost of £232 per farm. It is significantly stated that the State as creditor 

 has entered into possession of only a very small number of these farms, and 

 that their establishment seems to be an efficacious means of obtaining laborers 

 on the farm, as the movement from country to town has diminished in recent 

 years. 



Irrigation in the arid States {U. S. Dept. Com. and La'bor, Bur. Census 

 [Press Bill.], 1911, Dec. 5, folio). — ^This preliminary statement by the Bureau 

 of the Census shows in the following table the number of farms and land area 

 of the arid and semiarid region, the value of the farm lands, and the acreage 

 irrigated in the Ignited States in 1909 and 1S99 : 



Irrigation statistics of the arid and semiarid region. 



<» 1910. 



6 1900. 



The total cost of the irrigation systems reported in arid and semiarid States 

 in 1910 was ?;304,699,450 against $67,482,261 in 1899. The average cost per acre 

 was $15.76 in 1910 and $8.89 in 1898. 



The acreage irrigated in 1909, as classified according to the state and federal 

 laws under which the works were built or are operated, are as follows : United 



i 



