RURAL ECONOMICS. 387 



ductiou of durable articles of high specific value, which require large areas of 

 land, to regions distant from the market, and give the regions near the market 

 to perishable articles of lower specific value which make smaller requirements 

 for land per dollar's worth of product. Other charts illustrate the comple- 

 mentary and competing character of field crops in their demands upon the time 

 of the farmer. 



An appendix gives 54 chapter headings for a course in agricultural economics. 



The rural exodus in France (Dcpt. Agr. and Tech. Instr. Ireland Jour., 11 

 {Id 11), No. 3, pp. 495-4^90). — The extent of migration from country to town, 

 the causes of the movement, and some attempts to stay the exodus are here 

 discussed. 



It is pointed out that in 1866 51.5 per cent of the total population in France 

 were employed in agriculture and 43.5 per cent in 1896. The direct cause for 

 the exodus is suggested to be the growing distaste for country life and a prefer- 

 ence for the more showy attractions and supposed advantages of town life. 

 Among the indirect causes much blame is attached to the system of military 

 service which annually takes thousands of young men from the rural district 

 to serve a certain time in a garrison tow:i with the result that many of them 

 never go back to the land, and the long periods of nonemployment entailed by 

 farm work and the low wages earned by farm laborers. Other causes men- 

 tioned are absenteeism of landlords, the technical incompetence of farmers, and 

 a dislike of hard manual toil among laboi'ers, combined with a growing indif- 

 ference and even hostility toward their employers. 



What is considered the most important step taken by the French government 

 so far to check the townward migration is the passage of a law in July, 1909, 

 known as the " loi du bien de famille insaisissable." The measure in many 

 respects resembles the American homestead law. 



Systems of farming in central New Jersey, G. A. Billings and J. C. 

 Beavers (U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. Jt72, pp. IiO, figs. 11). — This publication 

 discusses the prevailing systems of farming in central New Jersey and describes 

 some of the methods followed by the more successful farmers where soil fer- 

 tility and profitable farming have been maintained although the land has been 

 farmed for more than 150 years. It also give suggetions based on a study of 

 the agriculture of the region concerning cropping systems, the management of 

 soils and crops, and the use of manures and fertilizers. 



In giving detailed data as to income and expenses from records carefully 

 kept by the owner of a typical tenant farm of 175 acres, it is shown that the 

 net income for a 10-year period has paid the owner 7i per cent interest for 10 

 years on a valuation of $200 per acre, while the tenant who has operated the 

 farm continuously on the share tenant system for 13 years, after hiring over 

 half the labor and employing a housekeeper for a number of years, has saved 

 on an average $500 per year above all expenses. 



What size enterprise is best suited to the farmer? W. Bohmkeb (Deut. 

 Landio. Presse, 38 {1911), Nos. 90, pp. 1025, 1026; 91, pp. 1040-1042; 92, pp. W49, 

 1050; 94, pp. 1071, 1012; 96, pp. 1090-1092).— These are a series of articles dis- 

 cussing the relative cost and profitableness of large and small agricultural en- 

 terprises of various kinds, as related to capital permanently invested, cost of 

 management, improvements, farm equipment, etc. 



A better net price: The rights of the producer in the consumer's dollar, 

 G. M. TwiTCHELL (Amer. Cult., 13 {1911), No. 49, p. 4).— An abstract of an ad- 

 dress before a meeting of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture Decem- 

 ber 7, 1911, in which the author claims that the combined agencies between the 

 producer and consumer of farm products receive 65 cts. out of every dollar 

 28727°— No. 4—12 7 



