1918.] EURAL ECONOMICS. 693 



Tractors and their use in Mexico, E. Chavez {Rev. Agr. [Mex.], 1 {1917), 

 No. 1, pp. 17-20, pis. 5). — A brief note on the use to wliich tractors may be put 

 in Mexican agriculture. 



Farm storage of grain, C. P. Buck {Bien. Rpt. Kans. Bd. Agr., 20 {1915-16), 

 pp. 1^5-151, figs. 4). — This is a brief discussion of portable and stationary 

 grain storages and grain elevators for use on Kansas farms. 



Farm manure and its housing, B. G. Southwick and F. W. Duffee {Conn. 

 Agr. Col. Ext. Serv. Bui. 5 {1917), pp. 22, figs. 7). — The purpose of this bulletin 

 is to draw attention to the value of farm manures and to emphasize the eco- 

 nomic importance of their proper care and housing. Plans for manure pits and 

 other equipment for manure conservation are included. 



Lambing sheds, R. F. Millek and G. E. Fermeey {California Sta. Circ. 188 

 {1917), pp. 16, figs. IS). — Illustrated descriptions are given for a lambing barn, 

 an open-front lambing shed, movable lambing pens, and sheltered lambing 

 pens and corrals. 



RURAL ECONOmCS. 



Important factors for successful farming in the blue grass region of 

 Kentucky, .J. H. Aenold and W. D. Nicholls {Kentucky Sta. Bui., 210 {1917), 

 pp. 171-206, figs. 7). — This bulletin contains additional data with reference to 

 farms located in Mason, Scott, and Madison Counties, Ky., as previously noted 

 (E. S. R., 36, p. 789). 



The authors point out that the type of farming that should be followed in 

 this community depends upon " the amount of land available, the topography, 

 the quality of the land, and accessibility to market. The most general type 

 suited to conditions in the blue-grass region is the stock with tobacco type. 

 This type combines stock grazing, an enterprise characteristic of the most ex- 

 tensive type of farming, and tobacco culture, one of the most intensive enter- 

 prises, in such a way as to make the most profitable use of the land. It should 

 be remembered in this connection that the farmer who keeps a large percentage 

 of his acreage in blue grass for grazing of live stock will have better lands 

 for tobacco raising, and that lands which have the best blue grass sods raise 

 the best quality of tobacco. Blue grass is specially adapted to the soil and 

 furnishes a nutritious food for fattening cattle, and at the same time it pre- 

 vents erosion of the soil and keeps up its fertility ; while an intensive crop 

 like tobacco enables the farmer to get large returns per acre. Such a system 

 enables the farmer here to make about as much off of a given area of high- 

 priced land as is secured in other good agricultural sections where land is 

 cheaper. A small farm can often be made profitable by intensifying more than 

 is usually done, with tobacco or by dairying." 



The authors illustrate their conclusions by citing data obtained from a 

 number of representative farms from each type. 



Farm management investigations in Missouri, R. M. Gbeen and O. R. 

 Johnson {Missouri Sta. Bui. 151 {1917), pp. 44, 45). — These pages report pre- 

 liminary results with reference to the average cost of keeping horses on farms 

 during the year 1912-1915, inclusive. 



The average cost was $90.33 per annum. The horses appreciated in value 

 through the sixth year, and the average cost of feeding made up 72 per cent 

 of the total cost of keep. On the 20 farms with the lowest feeding cost per 

 head 30 per cent fed oats with corn in equal or larger proportion, while on 

 the 18 farms with the highest feed cost per head 61 per cent used the large 

 proportions of oats. For the economical management of horse labor the study 

 indicated that the horse should work 800 to 1,500 hours a year. The average 

 cost per hour of horse labor for 1912, 1913, and 1915 was 7.6, 8.2, 7.2, and 



