RURAL ECONOMICS. 491 



Diita are also presented on the sources of farm receipts, distribution of farm 

 expenses, systems of farm tenure, relation of the age of the farmer, etc. 



Possible agricultural development in Alaska, L. Cuubbuck (17. S. Dept. 

 Agr. Bui. 50, pp. 31, figs. 12).— The author states that Alaska, with an area of 

 586,400 square miles, has 100,000 square miles susceptible of agricultural use, 

 30,000 square miles of which can be tilled. The author presents a summary of 

 available data, including observations made of the south coast and the Yukon 

 drainage areas. He discusses the topography, climate, veget.ation, soils, possible 

 agricultural areas, the feasibility of farming in Alaska, grain production, the 

 reindeer industry, cattle and sheep raising, and the difficulties that confront the 

 homesteader. He concludes that, although hardy vegetables, small fruits, and 

 forage crops can be successfully grown over a wide area, and dairying, poultry 

 keeping, and stock raising are promising industries, Alaska's present popu- 

 lation does not afford sufficient home market to warrant large agricultural 

 development, in view of the great cost of clearing and preparing the land for 

 tillage. Very little of the available land has been surveyed, and if a survey is 

 made in advance of that made by the Government it is done at the expense of 

 the homesteader. 



Farm tenancy in Iowa, B. H. Hibbard (Iowa Agr., IJf (1914), No. 5, pp. 2^2, 

 243).— The author points out that in 1880 24 per cent of the farms in Iowa 

 were rented; in 1910, 38 per cent. Grain fanning is correlated with a high' 

 proportion of tenants, sto4:k farming with a medium proportion, and dairying 

 with a low proportion. Tenancy is high in counties where land is high priced 

 and low where it is cheapest. 



York state rural problems, I, L. H. Bailey {All)any, N. Y., 1913, pp. 273). — 

 This book is made up of 25 lectures or summaries of lectures delivered by the 

 author at different places and on different topics. All deal with rural problems. 

 The aim of the book seems to be to present in an impartial way the rural 

 conditions and possibilities. 



Rural life in Canada, J. MacDougall {Toronto, 1913, pp. 248, pis. 24). — The 

 author, looking at rural life from the religious point of view, calls attention to 

 the depletion of rural population through the decay of village crafts, loss of 

 commerce, and other changes in the modern industrial system. He believes 

 that agriculture has failed to progress as rapidly in scientific business methods 

 as the other industries, and attempts to show the moral effect upon the com- 

 munity that might result from the economic solution of the various rural 

 problems. 



The social unrest, according to the author, is due to lack of appreciation for 

 country life, .satisfactory laborers, means for social enjoyment, healthful recrea- 

 tion, education for country life, and appreciation of country values and com- 

 munity ideals. He explains the function of the church in rural life, laying 

 emphasis upon social service and preventive work, and notes that rural recon- 

 struction has been most effective where there has been a spiritual awakening 

 accompanying it. 



The land. — I, Rural {London, New York, and Toronto, 1913, vol. 1, 4. cd., 

 pp. LXXXIII-}-498, pi. i).— One of the more important facts noted in this 

 report of the Land Enquiry Committee on the social and economic conditions 

 in the rural parts of Great Britain is that the wages of agricultural workers 

 are not sufficient to house and feed their families properly. The committee 

 recommends that a wage tribunal be formed to fix a minimum wage which 

 shall be sufficient to enable the laborers to live in a state of physical efl^ciency 

 and to pay a commercial rent for their cottages. 



The condition and number of laborers' cottages is also entirely unsatisfac- 

 tory, resulting in the loss of laborers and a waste of time by the laborers who 



