EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXII. March, 1910. No. 



Popular interest in economic questions relating to the agricultural 

 industry has recently assumed unusual prominence. Generally speak- 

 ing, it conceiTis itself primarily with the food supply of the future in 

 relation to our agriculture, and the present production and prices of 

 agricultural products; but the broad consideration of these matters 

 leads into the field of the present condition and trend of our agricul- 

 tural system, and the relationship of the industry to other industries 

 and to the welfare of the country as a whole. 



While often approached from a superficial and local standpoint, 

 both classes of questions turn upon economic conditions which reach 

 deep into the systems developed in this country for producing, trans- 

 porting, and distributing the products of the soil. Considering the 

 vital importance of the subject this interest is timely, and it presents 

 an opportunity which should not be lost sight of. The present situa- 

 tion strongly emphasizes the need and the utility of thoroughgoing 

 economic studies in this field, and it likewise brings out the dearth 

 of data at present available for an intelligent and effective considera- 

 tion of the economics of the food supply of the j^eople. 



Gradually the underlying importance of agricultural production 

 to human progress and welfare has impressed itself upon a few 

 writers, wdio have set forth in no uncertain terms the trend of the 

 present practice and its inadequacy to meet the needs of the near 

 future. It has been shown that production of the staples in this 

 country is not keeping pace with the increased home demand, and that 

 without a change in the methods of farming and the establishment of 

 a permanent, self-sustaining agriculture, such as has not yet been 

 established in any country, the food supply of the future will not be 

 adequate to meet the needs of the teeming millions. 



Farming in the true sense, under systems which conserve the fer- 

 tility instead of mining it, has been little practiced as yet, and the 

 skimming process has been transferred from one section to another 

 until the limit has been nearly reached. More conservative and thor- 

 ough methods are already forced upon the farmers in some sections, 

 involving more efficient but usually more expensive production. The 



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