RURAL ECONOMICS. 193 



[Land occupation, live stock, land system, and agriculture in New Zea- 

 land] (New Zeal. Off. Yearbook, 1909, pp. US-i,16. 650-675, 700-726).— Statis- 

 tical returus in 1909 are presented and discussed. Of 75,152 total holdings in 

 1909, 21,927 ranged from 1 to 10 acres in size, 12,360 from 10 to 50 acres, and 

 10.206 from 100 to 200 acres, being slight increases over the number of hold- 

 ings in 1908 (E. S. R., 20, p. 1090). 



Farming as an occupation for city-bred men, W. J. Spillman {U. S. Dcpt. 

 A(/r. Ycttrhdok 1909, pp. ,139-2 -'iH) .—Thiti article discusses the opportunities open 

 to men brought up in cities for acquiring information about farming as an in- 

 dustry and of learning special features of the worK, the conditions which give 

 promise of success, and the advantages of a farmer's life. 



It is deemed advisable that the city man without capital secure employment 

 with a practical farmer with a view of learning the details of the business or 

 take up his residence in the suburbs and begin in a small way as a gardener, by 

 keeping a cow or two, by raising poultry or fruit, etc. Men with capital are 

 advised to consider before investment the amount of capital required for equip- 

 ment in the type of farming to be undertaken, and attention is called to the 

 numerous sources of information now available as aids to the amateur. 



The advantages of a farmer's life are briefly compared with city life and the 

 conclusion is drawn that the " income from farming depends more upon the 

 farmer himself than it does upon any other one factor. An intelligent man 

 who must depend upon his own labor may live well on the farm after he has 

 acquired a satisfactory knowledge of the business. If he can command con- 

 siderable capital he may profit by the labor of others, and if his capital is large 

 enough and he is a good business manager he may live even luxuriously. But 

 the beginner, even with considerable capital, must be prepared to bear some 

 hardships while he is learning the business." 



Means of counteracting rural depopulation, Sohier de Bert {Jour. Soc. 

 Cent. Agr. Belg., 51 (1910), No. 5, pp. 131-140). — This paper enumerates and 

 discusses the various measures that have been put into operation by individuals 

 interested in economic and social progress, by large landowners, and by the 

 governments of Belgium, Holland, Prussia, Spain, France, Denmark, Great 

 Britain. United States. Italy, etc., for making country life more attractive and 

 landowning easier in order to prevent further rural depopulation and to en- 

 courage rural repopulatiou. 



Among the many measures practiced in the various countries, the following 

 are deemed advisable to improve rural conditions in Belgium : Legislation to 

 make small proprietary holdings inalienable and not sub.iect to seizure; the 

 adoi»tion of the metayer system of tenancy; the granting to farm laborers of a 

 certain share of the products; the rehabilitation of the so-called domestic in- 

 dustries such as lace-making; the establishment of larger numbers of rural 

 mutual credit banks, cooperative societies, and mutual insurance societies; the 

 encouragement and spread of agricultural education ; the reorganization of 

 public rural policies; assistance to the poor; road improvement; and civic im- 

 provement and sanitation. 



Agricultural cooperation in Montana, O. H. Barn hill (Ticentieth Cent. 

 Faniirr, 1910, No. JiH9, pp. 3, 19). — This is an account of the organization in 

 1907 at Kalispell. Mont., of the Farmers' Protective Association and of its suc- 

 cessful development to date. The basic idea of the society is protection to 

 farmei's through cooperation from the excessive profits of shippers of farm 

 products and dealers in merchandise, and it conducts a cooperative grocery and 

 general store, grain elevator, and flour mill, and markets large quantities of 

 potatoes grown in the Flathead valley. The business of all departments of the 

 association now amounts to $500,000 a year. 



