90 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOKD. t Vol. 35 



nials ; it offers better opportunities for men to cooperate in buying and import- 

 ing foundation stock ; and it gives tlie farmer new ideas toward whicli to work 

 and makes farm work more fascinating and enjoyable. 



Rural clubs for women, Emma R. Davisson {Nebr. Col. Agr. Ext. Bui. 36 

 (1915), pp. 3-1-i, figs. S).— This bulletin gives a number of typical examples of 

 women's rural clubs, directions for organizing and conducting clubs, a model 

 constitution, and methods of procedure. It also contains a brief outline for a 

 course of study for home economics clubs and topics for club discussions. 



Farm mortgage credit in New Hampshire, G. C. Smith (N. H. Col., Arts 

 and Sci. Research Bui. 2 (1916), pp. 16, figs. 3).— This study is based upon 

 answers to a questionnaire sent to banks and farmers in New Hampshire. 



The savings banks and building and loan associations all reported that the 

 rate at which loans are made on farm mortgages is 5 per cent. Of the farmers 

 reporting on loans from banks 88 per cent reported the rate as 5 per cent and 

 the remaining 12 per cent as 6 per cent ; of the farmers reporting on loans from 

 other sources 76 per cent reported the rate as 5 per cent, and the remainder as 

 6 per cent. With reference to the payment of mortgages, 75 per cent of the 

 farmers reported them as payable on demand, and 73 per cent stated that this 

 system was satisfactory. The reports indicated that the average loans approxi- 

 mated 58 per cent of the total value of the property mortgagetl. The banks 

 reported that 84 per cent of the mortgage loans was taken care of by the banks, 

 while the farmers reported that 61 per cent was so obtained. 



The author believes that well-planned rural-credit institutions are imperative 

 in some of our States and would undoubtedly serve a useful purpose in New 

 Hampshire, particularly in those sections of the State where the farmers have 

 experienced difficulty in securing loans from the savings banks. The survey, 

 however, does not indicate, in his opinion, that existing conditions in New 

 Hampshire are so distressing as to require extensive loaning facilities of a kind 

 different from those already in existence. 



An agricultural survey of Brooke County, O. M. Johnson and A. J. 

 Dadisman (West Virginia Sta. Bui. 153 (1915), pp. 32, figs. iS).— The authors 

 summarize the results of this survey, compiled from the records of 201 farms 

 with an average labor income of $125, as follows : 



" In order to secure an income that will permit a satisfactory standard of 

 living, the farm business must be of considerable size. Where the situation 

 permits very intensive farming, such as trucking, fruit growing, etc., a large 

 business may be conducted on a few acres ; but where the conditions are such 

 as to require general farming, as most kinds of live-stock farming, the acreage 

 must be larger. A farmer with a very small acreage who can not engage in 

 intensive farming because of a lack of markets for the products would find it 

 to his advantage to rent additional land, or, in some cases, to sell his small farm 

 and invest his capital in the necessary work stock and implements to farm a 

 larger area and become a tenant on a farm of sufficient size to give an oppor- 

 tunity to earn a good income. 



"There is a close relation between the amount of capital invested and the 

 family income, but on many farms where the capital is large, organization is 

 poor, and there is no income for labor. ... A combination of enterprise In- 

 cludmg dairy, truck, fruit, or general crop farming organized to suit individual 

 needs soonis to be most desirable. . . . 



"There is no striking difference in production in the groups of farms of 

 .lilTeront sizes nor in the small and large herds. The form in which the prod- 

 uct Is marketed has a considerable influence on the value of the product per 

 cow— market milk paying best. ... 



