290 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Concrete silos, C. W. Gaylord and P. H. Wilson (Washington, D. C. 

 [1909], pp. 68, figs. 37). — This contains (lescrii)tions of single and double wall 

 concrete and cement block silos. Directions for building are also given. 



Boiler explosions in Germany during 1908 (C'hcm. Ztg., 33 (1909), Nos. 

 12.'i. pp. 1101. I lOS, figs. 7; 12.',, p. I ] IG. figs. 3). — A compilation of boiler ex- 

 plosions which occurred in Germany during 1!K>.S with a description of the type 

 of boiler, time in use, the method of manipulation and keeping in repair, and 

 the possible cause of the explosion. 



Heating the farmhouse (Country Gent., 7-i (1909), Nos. 2961, p. 1017; 2962, 

 p. lOJfl; Sci. Amer. Sup., 68 (1909), No. 1769, p. 339).— In this paper the de- 

 sirability of equipping farmhouses with modern plumbing and lighting systems 

 and heating api)liances is pointed out. In the opinion of the author furnace 

 heating possesses a number of advantages over other systems, such as the low 

 initial cost of the apparatus and the supply of pure, fresh air which is available 

 provided a proper fresh air inlet and cold air box are installed. 



RURAL ECONOMICS. 



Some needs of agriculture, H. H. Dean ( Venn. Dept. Agr. Bui. 177, pp. 

 150-153). — The needs emphasized in this article for the improvement of agri- 

 culture and rural conditions are organization and cooperation among farmers, 

 regarded as of the greatest importance, freedom from tariff burdens, more 

 direct representation of farmers in all legislation pertaining to the farm, more 

 direct interest in and control of agricultural institutions by farmers, and more 

 agricultural education of a scientific and practical nature. 



Economic organization of rural life, J. L. Coulter (Proc. Conf. Ed. South, 

 12 (1909), pp. 112-129). — This is an address before the twelfth conference for 

 education in the South held at Atlanta, Ga., April 14-16, 1909. 



The paper emphasizes the necessity for the reorganization of agriculture and 

 rural life in which cooperation is to dominate as a means of enabling the 

 farmer to secure a reasonable profit and a larger net income as a result of his 

 industry. Other steps to be taken for the " uplift of agriculture and the agri- 

 cultural class are better educational facilities, better roads, more extended 

 rural mail delivery, the parcels post, and better sanitary conditions." 



While the author is convinced that a modification of our present educational 

 system by placing it on a more extended agricultural basis is urgently needed 

 in order to help solve some of the present economic problems of the farmer, he 

 is still firm in the belief that " agriculture and life in the open country can 

 never be elevated to the place it deserves until it is placed upon a profitable 

 business basis," and that cooperation would be instrumental iu bringing about 

 this result. 



Land reform, P. Gutzeit (Die Bodenreforni. Inaug. Diss., Univ. Leipsic, 1907, 

 pp. IJfl). — This gives a critical history of modern schemes of land holding that 

 have been advocated by reformers in England, America, Australia, France, 

 Switzerland, and Germany, with particular reference to the relation of pro- 

 posed reforms in land-holding to socialism and the physiocratic economic 

 school. The criticisms offered by the author in conclusion relate to land nation- 

 alization as a means of solving social problems in their entirety and improving 

 agrarian economic conditions, and to the land reform of small holdings. 



The right of land inheritance according to the new law in Switzerland, 

 H. L. RuDLOFF (Fiihling's Landiv. Ztg., 5S (1909), No. 5, pp. iSS-i.94).— This 

 article points out some of the features of the laws in different cantons in 

 Switzerland bearing upon the rights of the heirs to real property (E. S. R., 21, 



