740 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



\\ hicli iindiM-lic tho prosperity of the farmer and of all other classes 

 in so far as they are dei)endcnt upon aj^riculturc. The subject is 

 divided into two parts. Tart one considers the point of view of the 

 taiiiicr and those economic principles which underlie the manaj^ement 

 of a farm in such a maimer as will make it }■ ield the lartrest net return. 

 Part two discusses the point of view of the nation as a whole and 

 those i)rinciples which sliould ^uide the statesman in his efforts to 

 regulate and improve the agriculture of the country." 



Tlic aniuial jcport or this Ofiice. now in press, contains an article on 

 Agricultural Kconomics as a Subject of Study in the Agricultural Col- 

 lege, with a syllabus of a college course. The article is by President 

 K. L. Buttertield, of Rhode Island, who has made this subject one of 

 special study for some time. 



President Butter jfield takes the ground that the course in rural 

 economy shoidd be something more than the study of farm manage- 

 ment: that ''farm management discusses the aspects of agriculture as 

 a l)usiness and approaches agriculture from the standpoint of the 

 individual farmer, while agriculture is something more than a busi- 

 ness; it is an industry. And l)ecause agriculture is an industry, and 

 indeed ranks among the leading industries, it is related to all other 

 industries and must be considered in those relations. It is not an 

 isolated occupation. It is subject to economic laws. It prospers or 

 lags, not merely because of its internal phases, so to speak, but also 

 because of its external relations. It should therefore l)e studied as an 

 industry as well as an art and a business and approached from an 

 economic standpoint." Agricultural economics "is a discussion of 

 agriculture in the light of the principles of political econom3^" 



AVith this provisional definition in mind. President Butterfield out- 

 lines a short lecture course in agricultural economics under the fol- 

 lowing general heads: (1) Characteristics of the agricultural industry; 

 (2) History of the agricultural industry; (3) Present status of the 

 farming industry; (4) The agricultural market; (5) Business cooperation 

 in agriculture; (0) Agriculture and legislation; and (7) Some current 

 problems — agricultural labor, machinery and agriculture, interest, 

 (rates, indebtedness, etc.), tenant farming, business methods, immi- 

 gration and agriculture. 



The recent action of the Carnegie Institution in establishing a 

 department of economics and sociology in charge of Carroll D. Wright 

 is of interest in this connection. This department has undertaken 

 the preparation of an economic history of the United States, embrac- 

 ing eleven subjects. The second of these subjects, concerning the 

 histor}' and status of the economic and social relations of agricul- 

 ture in the United States, has been assigned to President Butterfield, 

 who is planning to bring to his aid a number of experts in dif- 

 ferent branches of agriculture. Owing to the scarcity of available 



