243 



knowledge. A man buys a piece of wild land and clears it for 

 a farm without once considering the capital he is investing or 

 the probable returns. He, after he has eked out a miserable 

 existence for years, may begin to realize that the timber he cut 

 away and burned would have made him more money than he 

 will ever make out of his farm. In other words, the farmer is 

 groping blindly in the fog, a fog cast about him by his own hopes 

 and ignorance, by the real estate men handling poor lands, and 

 by the demagogues who are feathering their own nests by pro- 

 moting a false boom for the country. 



The value of other kinds of property is based on the revenue 

 that they will produce. Even the rent of a farm land is figured 

 on a percentage of the value ; but the value is a fictitious one 

 selected at random. Land is the only kind of property which 

 is valued independently of its productive capacit}' — the only true 

 basis of valuation. 



Some day this fog will rise. The people will rebel against the 

 tyranny of the land speculators and demand that the land be 

 valued at its true worth. When they do. crop production will 

 take its proper place as a solid business transaction, farm land 

 will produce farm crops, forest land forests, iron lands ore, an 1 

 there will be no waste land. The economic condition of the 

 country as a whole, and more especially that of the forested 

 portion, will be tremendously improved. The sow's ear will be 

 left where it will at least be of some value to the sow and the 

 farmer will be infinitely better off and happier witli the more 

 edible portions of the hog. 



MUSHROOM CULTURE. 



A. J. Finn, Inspector of Agriculture, A'. S. W. 



For the successful culture of mushrooms it is essential that 

 the crop be grown either in very rich "made" soil or in a pre- 

 pared manure bed, and in a temperature that does not exceed 86 

 degrees Fahr. and does not fall below 50 degrees Fahr. The 

 second condition is obtained by making use of cellars, disused 

 tunnels, old houses, etc. 



Having obtained a suitable place, the bed must be prepared, 

 its chief constituent being good horse manure that is fairly free 

 from long straw.- Two mediums are employed — ( c7 ) a mixture 

 of earth and manure, (b) horse manure with no earth. 



Where earth and manure are used, it is quite usual to mix a 

 fourth or fifth part of good soil with manure fresh from the 

 stable. The process of fermentation is then slower, and the 

 heat more constant. 



When manure only is used, the bed must be properly prepared, 

 as stable manure ferments quickly and produces a degree of 



