THE NEW AGRICULTURE 7 



in themselves develop a high type of husbandman. As a busi- 

 ness extensive agriculture is on a level with merchandizing, 

 publishing, and the learned professions with respect to the in- 

 come it yields and the intelligence and experience required 

 successfully to conduct it ; and this serves greatly to increase the 

 respect which the farmer has for himself and for his business. 



As long as a country can get along with farms of a reason- 

 able size it is not advisable to try to force upon it an intensive 

 type of farming. No country has ever adopted intensive farm- 

 ing until forced to do so to give people a chance to work, or 

 by the demand of society for cheaper food. Therefore, until 

 society is made to suffer undue hardships on account of the 

 high cost of living, a reasonably extensive system of agriculture 

 is the best for everybody. 



QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS 



1. Why should Lord Bacon have ordered his servant to burn the books 

 on agriculture? 



2. Why is a knowledge of both the art and the science of agriculture 

 necessary ? 



3. What marks the beginning of the era of labor-saving machinery ? 



4. What was the first epoch-making scientific discovery relating to 

 agricultural practice ? 



5. Give illustrations showing when real agricultural development began. 



6. Sketch briefly the development in wheat production since 1845. 



7. Explain what became of the increase in the production of wheat. 



8. What is the relation between man-yields and acre-yields ? 



9. Compare extensive and intensive farming as to their respective effects 

 on society and on the farmer. 



