102 EXPERIMENT STATTON EECOED. (Vol.85 



and while they sustained our life they did not in the same degree 

 with some others share in the benefits of that life." The creation by 

 the Federal Government of a distinctive niral credit system is thus 

 a recognition of the needs of agi'iculture in this direction, and an 

 indication of the belief that to render assistance in meeting these 

 needs will be to fulfill a function which will "promote the general 

 welfare." 



Although the machinery through which it is proposed to carry on 

 the new system does not directly include the agricultural colleges and 

 experiment stations, many agricultural economists and other college 

 and station workers have been active in studying the problem, and 

 the passage of the Act is to them, as to all associated with agricul- 

 ture, an event of much interest. This could not be otherwise, in view 

 of their close touch with farm life. Instruction staffs engaged in 

 preparing students for agricultural service have repeatedly been 

 brought face to face with the obstacles confronting their graduates 

 who wish to farm but have only limited capital. Experiment station 

 and extension workers have often been handicapped in recommend- 

 ing such sound and simple remedies for specific problems as an 

 increase in the farm business by the purchase of additional land or 

 live stock, the drainage of wet areas, the construction of a silo, and 

 the like, by a realization of the impossibility of the farmers securing 

 the necessary capital without excessive interest rates and commis- 

 sions, uncertainty as to the renewal of short-term mortgages, and 

 kindred difficulties. 



The provision of adequate rural credit facilities would thus widen 

 the opportunities of the college and station staffs for usefulness, 

 and render their work more effective and far-reaching. Many of 

 the undertakings for wliich the farmer will wish to utilize his new 

 resources will involve matters with which he is unfamiliar, such 

 as the details of silo construction or of f ann drainage or the selection 

 of pure-bred live stock, and he will often turn to the county agent 

 for assistance. In some cases the borrower's plans may not be of 

 the wisest, and the adviser must endeavor to prevent extravagance 

 and waste. Thus the introduction of a new system will bring its 

 own problems to the colleges and stations, and upon them, accord- 

 ingly, will rest a measure of responsibility for its success. 



The history of the movement resulting in this legislation is in- 

 teresting, partly from the fact that it is of such comparatively recent 

 origin. It is one of many evidences of a new viewpoint and attitude 

 toward the business of farming. 



With the passing away of what may be termed the pioneer or 

 formative period of American agriculture toward the close of the 

 nineteenth century, the need of an efficient system of financing agri- 



