EDITORIAL. 743 



Til nearl}' all of the German universities courses in rural economy 

 are maintained. These vary considerably, but in general include lec- 

 tures on the elements of political economy, and on capital, labor, land, 

 and farm management, together with some instruction in rural legisla- 

 tion. At Gottingen these lectures were started in 1875, and at Hohen- 

 heim in 1873. In some of the agricultural winter schools also lectures 

 on economics are given, which include such subjects as agricultural 

 societies, factors aifecting agricultural pursuits, cost of agricultural 

 production, systems of farming, crop rotations, and agricultural law. 



This is far from being an exhaustive review of the present status of 

 instruction in rural econoni}^, but it is sufficient to show that with 

 respect to this branch of the science of agriculture the agricultural 

 institutions of Europe are far ahead of our own, both in the extent of 

 the instruction given and in the definite formulation of courses. In 

 the United States scarce a half dozen of our leading agricultural col- 

 leges offer courses in rural economy, while in Europe not only do the 

 agricultural colleges quite generally give attention to this subject, but 

 many of the secondary and primary agricultural schools also include it 

 in their curricula. In general, the subject is considered quite broadly, 

 not alone as farm management from the point of view of the individual 

 farmer, but also as a branch of economic science, in which the external 

 factors related to agriculture as an industry are viewed from the stand- 

 point of the economist. 

 23461— No. 8—04 2 



