EDITOEIAL. 705 



Definite provision for investif^ation and propa^findii work in rural 

 economics is gi-adnalh^ being made at the agricultural colleges and 

 experiment stations. This is manifestly broader in its scope and 

 treatment and more systematic than most of the economic work of 

 the stations in the past. The subject is a special field in itself, with 

 its methods and principles, and with relationships and contacts which 

 extend into different fields fi-om those of the student primarily con- 

 cerned with the science of production. 



The advantage of the rural economist is the special point of view 

 he contributes, enabling him to trace farreaching relationships and 

 consecjuences applying to the industry which would be overlooked 

 by investigators in a narrower field of study; and beyond this he 

 supplements the investigations of these s])ecialists in lines not other- 

 wise covered. For, just as the economics of agriculture includes far 

 more than the tabulation of data of production, cost, prices, and 

 distribution, so investigation in rural economics goes beyond the 

 question of cost and x^rofits as brought out in experiment, and traces 

 tendencies and consequences of systems or conditions upon the indus- 

 try and the people associated with it. It views recorded facts and 

 the data it accumulates not merely for themselves or with reference 

 to their direct application, but in the aggregate and in relation to 

 their causes and their effects considered in a broad and comprehensive 

 sense. 



The complexity of modern life is as apparent in farm operations 

 as in other fields of endeavor. Whether or not it is advisable for 

 the Massachusetts farmer to raise wheat does not depend alone on 

 his ability to produce good yields and to sell his wheat for more than 

 the cost of production. It depends on a gi'eat variety of considera- 

 tions relating to the economic conditions of wheat raising, competi- 

 tion Avith western and southern States, Canada, Eussia, Argentina, 

 and Australia, the probable cost of production as compared with that 

 in competing States and countries, transportation facilities, the use 

 of machinery and the local labor conditions, quality of the wheat as 

 compared with wheat from other localities, adaptal)ility of the crop 

 to a suitable rotation system, and especially the suitabilit}^ of the 

 locality to other crops and the returns from them. A scientific study 

 of the economics of any farm operation or system of farm manage- 

 ment must give due consideration to these points individually', as well 

 as to their bearing on one another and their place in a general eco- 

 nomic system. 



There is a recognized need for definite economic studies of limited 

 range. And just here the question arises as to where such studies 

 belong and Avhere they can best be provided for. Some of the col- 

 leges and stations are conducting studies of systems of cropping, 

 farm management, cost of operating farm machinery, the economy 



