PREFACE 



AMONG the newer subjects which are claiming the attention of 

 the thoughtful citizen are Agricultural Economics and Farm 

 Management. Both are mere subdivisions of political economy. 

 Farm management has to do with the farmer's relation to his 

 individual farm, the central principle being the economic question 

 of how he can secure the highest net returns. Agricultural Eco- 

 nomics, however, is concerned with the social aspects of agriculture, 

 and has for its first consideration the welfare of the Republic, and 

 for its second consideration the welfare of agriculture as one com- 

 ponent part of that Republic. Farm Management may be said 

 to look on the farmer as practicing a trade: Agricultural Economics 

 looks on the farmer as a citizen. The question of rural credit, for 

 instance, is, to the teacher of Farm Management, the very concrete 

 problem of where and how can farmer Jones borrow money at the 

 lowest rate of interest: while this same question is, to the teacher 

 of Agricultural Economics, the broad economic problem which 

 recognizes the intimate and vital relation of sound credit to both 

 the individual and community prosperity. 



This book does not pretend to be a work of original research. 

 It is a bringing together of some new and some old information 

 which is scattered over a wide area of books, papers, reports, and 

 other sources. The book is not written for the expert or specialist, 

 but for the average student of agricultural problems. 



My aim in writing this book is threefold: (1) to interest the 

 reader in the subject of Agricultural Economics; (2) to point out 

 by a few simple illustrations the most significant problems in this 

 field; (3) and finally to stimulate thinking and discussion which 

 may help towards the solution of these problems. Conversely, I 

 have not tried to offer ready-made remedies for the problems dis- 

 cussed, or to formulate a set of "laws and principles," or, indeed, 

 to present a large number of entirely new facts to the reader. The 

 facts and illustrations given are believed to have real significance 

 in interpreting the deeper movements in agriculture. 



In peace or in war, the food supply of the nation is a question 

 of fundamental importance. And the food supply is primarily a 

 question of agriculture. In brief, agriculture is an industry which 

 is fundamental in the political economy of our Republic. It is 



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