190 EXPEEIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Some suggested designs for sewage treatment plants for residences and 

 small institutions, P. Hansen {Abs. in Engin. and Contract., 4I {I'JUf), No. 

 5, pp. 169-112, figs. 5).— This article gives data on the cost of installing a 

 plumbing system, the design and operation of simple septic tanks, a modified 

 Imhoff tanii adapted to the use of a household of 10 persons, a subsoil irrigation 

 system, an intermittent sand filtration plant to handle the sewage from 25 per- 

 sons, and a double contact filtration plant. 



A combination cesspool and septic tank, J. F. Duling {Erugin. News, 11 

 (1914), No. 6, p. 305, fig. 1). — ^A combination cesspool and septic tank, which is 

 recommended for use in porous sandy soils underlaid by gravel in localities 

 where the domestic water supplies are taken from shallow wells, is illustrated 

 and described. 



A new suggested method of water testing for plumbing fixtures, H. F. 

 Shade (Dam. Engin., 66 {lOU), No. 7, pp. 200, 201, figs. 2).— A new method of 

 water testing of plumbing fixtures to take the place of the usual air or water 

 tests is described and its application illustrated. 



Plumbing practice as seen by the inspector {Dom. Engin., 66 (1914), No. 7, 

 pp. 198-200, figs. 9). — This report illustrates and describes recent developments 

 in plumbing fixtures and in arrangements of plumbing, including faucets, con- 

 nection of vent lines, traps with concealed partitions, and grounding of electric 

 fixtures in bathrooms. 



RURAL ECONOMICS. 



The agricultural outlook (U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 584 (1014), PP- 

 22). — This bulletin contains statistical data showing by States the estimated 

 stocks on farms and in interior mills and elevators, price per bu.shel March 1, 

 and percentage of crop which moves out of the county where grown for wheat, 

 corn, oats, and barley ; wages of male farm labor per month with and without 

 board, and at harvest season and at other times per day with and without 

 board; percentages of increase in wages from 1S9.3. 1S99, and 1909 to 1913; 

 the average length of time per day required of hired labor; prices of agricul- 

 tural products March 1, 1913. and 1914 for rye, buckwheat, potatoes, hay, flax, 

 cotton, butter, eggs, and chickens; aud the aggregate value per acre of the 12 

 leading crops. 



Accompanying these tables are a short discussion and two articles, one on pre- 

 paring seed corn for planting, by C. P. Hartley, and the other on the prepara- 

 tion of seed grain for spring planting, by M. A. Carleton. 



It is reported that the money wages of farm labor increased about 2.5 per 

 cent during the past year and about 11 per cent during the past 4 years. The 

 average length of time required per day of hired labor on farms is reported by 

 correspondents at 9 hours 48 minutes. 



The value per acre of crop production in 1913 is estimated at approximately 

 $16.31, the highest average thus far recorded. 



Agricultural production in "West Virginia, O. ]M. Johnson (West Virginia 

 Sta. Bui. 144 (1914), pp. 37-68, figs. 33).— The author, by means of county out- 

 line maps, shows graphically the localization of farm crops and animals, the 

 average yields, the number of mature horses per farm, the total value of all 

 farm property, the percentage of tenants on farms, and the percentage of farms 

 with mortgages. By the use of census and other data he has estimated, by 

 counties, the income and expenses per farm in order to obtain the labor income 

 per farm family, and estimates the average labor income per farm family for 

 the State as a whole as $181. The highest for a single county was $402. On 

 this basis, there were two counties which even failed to produce enough to pay 



