EUEAL ECONOMICS. 395 



furnishing of credit in order to place them on an equal footing with their 

 foreign competitors whose products are sold more cheaply on English markets 

 at the present time. 



In a chapter on " the revival of country life " the work of the Country Life 

 Commission in the United States is reviewed in detail, and the conclusion is 

 drawn that to effect a revival of rural life in most countries there must be 

 (1) an " increased efficiency in both the production and the sale of agricultural 

 commodities, so that better financial prospects may be assured to the cultivator ; 

 and (2) accompanying these material improvements there should be a better- 

 ment of the social and intellectual conditions of rural life." 



Agricultural small holdings in France {La Petite Propriete Riiralc en 

 France. Paris: Govt., 1!)09, pp. XV+S'/S, pis. IS; rev. in Jour. Agr. Prat., n. 

 ser., 18 (1909), No. Jf2, p. 538).— To the part of the data contained in this vol- 

 ume which has been previously noted from another source (E. S. R., 21, p. 688), 

 a series of appendixes has been added whicli deal with the evolution, valuation, 

 ownership, and operation of small holdings during the past 20 years, together 

 with a comparison of the profitableness of small holdings and large holdings. 



[Agricultural holdings in Belgium] (Stat is. Brig. Recense. Agr., J 907. 

 Partir Anal lit., pp. y.i-.j'i). — The number and size of the various agricultural 

 holdings in Belgium for the years 1906 and 1907 are reported. The number 

 of holdings for the two years were 297,768 and 299,084. respectively, more than 

 90,000 of which ranged from 1 to 2 liectares in size. Only 551 holdings exceed 

 100 hectares in extent. 



Agricultural associations in Belgium, M. Turmann (Les Associations Agri- 

 coles en Belgique. Paris, 1909, 2. ed.. pp. JX+.^68). — This book gives an account 

 of the origin and development of agricultural coopei'ative societies in Belgium 

 from 1890, the year when they first began to spring up, to 1900, the date of the 

 first edition of the book. Special emphasis is laid on the causes which led to 

 their formation, and the principal types of official associations, professional 

 agricultural unions, societies for the purchase and sale of products, cooperative 

 producing associations, cooperative credit societies, and mutual insurance 

 societies are discussed. 



An appendix discusses the status of agricultural associations in Belgium in 

 1907, with tables giving statistics for that year in detail. An extensive bibli- 

 ography is included. 



Organization among the farmers of the United States, J. L. Coulter (Yale 

 Rev., 1909, yor., pp. 273-2.9S; Reprint, pp. 28). — This is an account of farmers' 

 organizations in the United States from 1785 to date, particular emphasis being 

 laid on the political, economic, and social activities of the various organiza- 

 tions. It is the conviction of the author that, during the past 20 years, polit- 

 ical activity by farmers' organizations " has been largely left to the old line 

 ix)litical parties, and most effort has been turned to the even more difficult 

 task of establishing all phases of the farmers' own industry on a sound business 

 basis. At the present time agriculture is assuming a more business-like as 

 well as a more scientific character than at any other time in our history." 



The reform of the commission business, G. C. Streeter (Farm and Fireside, 

 33 (1909), No. Jf, p. 5, figs. 2). — The plan of reform advocated in this article 

 is governmental regulation of the commission business, careful grading and 

 branding of products on the part of farmers, and the appointment of sales 

 inspectors to pass upon the condition of goods in cases of dispute. 



Cooperation among farmers, orchardists. and truck growers is believed to 

 be the most practical method of solving the problem of grading and branding 

 the various, farm products, and examples of the successful operation of such 

 organizations are cited ; while governmental regulation of the commission 



