RURAL ECONOMICS. 



Potts (Rpt. Austral. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 12 (1909), pp. 569-581). — Tliis article 

 gives a history of agricultural development in Australia, and discusses its capa- 

 bilitites for the extension and improvement of both pastoral and agricultural 

 industries as a result of the application of scientific principles to agriculture. 



A review of Australian conditions with reference to land areas, climate, 

 adaptability to live stock and crop raising, population, home and foreign 

 markets, and government interest in fostering agricultural education and ren- 

 dering financial aid, leads the author to conclude that " the outlook for agricul- 

 ture in Australia affords ample evidence for abiding confidence and lasting 

 prosperity." 



Agricultural conditions in Lower Lombardy with special reference to the 

 farm laborer, F. Rovelli (Die Agrarverfassiing der Niederlombardi mit heson- 

 derer Berucksichtigiing der Landarhetter. Karlsruhe, 1908, pp. X-\-228, 

 map 1). — Part 1 of this volume describes the agricultural conditions of Lower 

 Lombardy, including accounts of the more important lines of work such as 

 rice culture and dairying, methods of irrigation, the extent, nature, and capital 

 invested, and conditions of land ownership. 



Part 2, which composes the bulk of the volume (pp. 49-228), is devoted en- 

 tirely to a discussion of the agricultural classes, including landowners, tenant 

 farmers, and farm laborers. The latter are described in detail as to wages, 

 hours of labor, standard of living, and organizations, with a chapter on cooper- 

 ative farms. The social and political aspects of the agricultural labor problem 

 are also presented. A bibliography is included. 



[Improving- the conditions of the rural population], D. G. Acevedo {Rev. 

 Asoc. Rural Uruguay, 39 {1910), No. 9-10, pp. 773- 8/5). —This is a report by 

 the chairman of a commission appointed to investigate the conditions sur- 

 rounding the poorer classes of the rural population in Uruguay, with a view to 

 making suggestions for their physical, educational, and economic improvement. 



The information was secured by means of personal inquiry and in reply to 

 a series of questions sent to representative partie:? in different sections of the 

 country. The answers relate to the number and average size of poor families, 

 the forms of employment in which engaged, the causes contributing to condi- 

 tions of poverty, the ability and aptitude of the people for labor, what indus- 

 tries established in the different districts offer the best prospects of meeting 

 existing conditions, and what practical means should be employed to fit the 

 poorer classes for regular employment. The information here presented affords 

 an insight into rural conditions in Uruguay. 



A practical handbook upon agricultural tenancies, C. E. Curtis and R. A, 

 Gordon {London, 1910, pp. XII +328). — ^This volume contains a clear and 

 concise statement of facts regarding agricultural leases and tenancies in Great 

 Britain compiled fi'om the legal point of view. The authors maintain that 

 recent legislation has so revolutionized agricultural practice and so strength- 

 ened the position of tenant farmers that the time has arrived to set forth the 

 relations of landlord and tenant as to their respective obligations and duties, 

 which this volume aims to make plain. 



The book also contains the texts of the English and Scottish agricultural 

 holding acts of 1908 and the small holdings and allotments acts of 1908. 



Notes on larg-e and small proprietary holdings in Spain, A. Barthe y 

 Barthe (Bui. Inst. Intemat. matis. {The Hague], 18 (1910), No. 2, pp. 507- 

 512). — This article gives a history of land tenure in Spain, with statistical data 

 on the number and size of holdings in certain provinces. 



" Concentration of the land in the hands of a few proprietors is particularly 

 noticeable in the west and middle of the peninsula. In the northern and 

 eastern parts the holdings in general are quite small." Large single holdings 



