328 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY HISTOBICAL REVIEW 



on third-party movements. Although none of the present studies 

 of the National Non-Partisan League are satisfactory, probably 

 that by R. H. Bahmer now in preparation will meet one's needs. 

 The main criticism of the valuable articles and monographs on 

 special phases of the farmers' relation to politics is that most of 

 them treat their particular subjects as if they reclined in a 

 vacuum. 



Many less tangible rural contributions also deserve consider- 

 ation. The drift of sons and daughters from the farms, together 

 with its many ramifications, is economically as well as socially 

 important. They contributed brains or brawn, and their rural 

 mores may have tempered the ever-growing domination of ur- 

 banism. The expenditures for their formal education was an 

 economic drain on the rural communities from which they came. 

 When the old folks passed away, their estates were probably 

 divided more or less equally among the heirs. The urbanized 

 members of the family, not wishing or fitted to return, made fi- 

 nancial adjustments with those who had remained on the farm. 

 The contribution of rural to urban income through inheritance 

 has been rather significant. The retirement of farmers to 

 nearby towns, leaving their holdings to be operated by tenants, 

 is a similar process. There is hardly anything about these and 

 similar drains that contribute to the unbalance of the rural and 

 urban elements of America. Conversely, the back-to-the-land 

 movements of the population, especially as depression manifes- 

 tations, deserve consideration. 



Perhaps the prospectus of the history of Middle Western 

 agriculture here outlined involves a broader interpretation than 

 that usually associated with the term, agricultural history, and 

 possibly the topics emphasized may seem mundane and drab 

 when compared with what are ordinarily assumed to be the more 

 colorful aspects of American history. Yet they are the vital 

 forces of American development, and furthermore, on the basis 

 of daily experience as historian of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, the author of this paper can assure his 

 readers that there is a distinct pragmatic need for historical 

 studies of these forces. 



