EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXIX August, 1913. No. 2. 



The Tenth International Congress of Agriculture was held at 

 Ghent, Belgium, June 8 to 11, in connection with the International 

 Exposition. The attendance was not large, but twenty-five countries 

 were represented. Some very interesting conferences took place, 

 although many of the questions considered were of more immediate 

 application to European conditions. 



The congress was organized by the selection of JNIessrs. Helleputte 

 and Meline as honorary presidents. Baron van der Bruggen, a former 

 Belgian minister of agriculture, as president, J. Maenhaut as presi- 

 dent of the executive committee, Paul de Vuyst as secretary-general, 

 and Henry Sagnier as honorary secretary-general. Vice presidents 

 were selected from the various countries represented. Dr. A. C True, 

 the delegate of this Department to the congress, being chosen for the 

 United States. 



Hon. Jules Meline, of France, president of the International Com- 

 mission of Agriculture, delivered the opening address. In this he 

 announced the conversion of the former committee of arrangements 

 for- these congresses into a permanent international commission with 

 headquarters at Paris. This now comprises about one hundred mem- 

 bers and holds regular sessions for the consideration of questions of 

 interest. An innovation decided upon by the commission as regards 

 the program was the substitution for many of the minor questions 

 hitherto discussed by the congress of a single topjc of large signifi- 

 cance for extended discussion. The topic selected for this congress 

 was rural depopulation. M. Meline presented statistics to show that 

 this was already sufficiently serious to diminish appreciably the wheat 

 and beef production of the world. The remedy, in his opinion, lay 

 m increasing the attractiveness of rural life. 



The discussion of rural depopulation was continued in the section 

 on rural economy, the first of the five sections into which the con- 

 gress was divided. Especial attention was given to the discussion 

 of the advantages of large v. small holdings. The breaking up of 

 large estates into holdings of a size assuring the holders of independ- 

 ence was advocated by Dr. E. Laur of Switzerland, who also favored 

 the restriction of emigration and the improvement of agricultural 



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