NATURE 



[September 3, 1914 



Probably more has been written about the 

 country during the last twelve months than about 

 the cities, and there still continues a steady out- 

 pour of material describing the state of British 

 agriculture in general, and the conditions of life 

 in the country in particular. It appears, therefore, 

 that the city dweller is much interested in the 

 subject, and apparently much of what is written 

 appeals to him or the shrewd publisher would not 

 publish it. The drawback of a good deal of it is, 

 unfortunately, that the countryman rarely recog- 

 nises the descriptions, and is driven to wonder 

 how they ever came to be written. 



Mr. Hall's book stands out in sharp contrast 

 with all this ; it is written by one who knows what 

 he is talking about, and presents a very faithful 

 picture of British agriculture and rural con- 

 ditions. The tour covered practically all the 

 good farming districts of Great Britain and Ire- 

 land, and it brings out the high specialisation 

 which is now becoming so characteristic of British 

 farming. Some farms indeed can only be com- 

 pared with factories, so closely specialised is the 

 work, and so intense the production. It is not 

 too much to say that no account has yet been 

 printed which gives so good a description of the 

 farming of this country, and it was a very happy 

 inspiration indeed that led Mr. Hall and his two 

 companions, Mr. Beaven and Prof. Wood, to go 

 round the country in a car and put on record what 

 was seen. The last tour of the sort was con- 

 ducted by Caird in 1850-51 and a comparison of 

 the two books shows very clearly that enormous 

 strides have been made since that date. The 

 economic conditions have altered considerably, 

 but the farmer has succeeded in adapting himself 

 to them, and has developed a system which enables 

 him to produce a great amount of material from 

 his land at a reasonable profit to himself. 



Of course, the picture is not uniformly bright ; 

 losses still go on on the farm that ought to be 

 checked ; farmers generally cannot obtain credit 

 and are often indebted to dealers, so that they are 

 unable to make any complaint when unsatisfac- 

 tory goods are supplied, or to take advantage of 

 the Acts of Parliament which have been passed for 

 their benefit; there is much room for cooperation. 

 The labourer, too, is not so well off as he might 

 be. He is, of course, in a much better position 

 than is commonly made out, and he can always, 

 if he wants, move off to the Colonies and set up 

 farming on his own account. In general, how- 

 ever, he is at least as well off as the labourer in 

 the town. Again, the system of rural education 

 is not well adapted to the needs of the rural com- 

 munity. Fortunately, however, in all these direc- 

 tions serious efforts are being made for improve- 

 NO. 2340, VOL. 94] 



ment, and we can look forward with confidence 

 to the future. 



It is impossible in a short space to discuss the 

 various facts that Mr. Hall has recorded ; perhaps 

 the most characteristic feature noted is the close 

 association of sheep with British farming sys- 

 tems : the way in which crops are grown simplj 

 for sheep to eat on the land so that the soil maj 

 be fertilised and compacted without having re- 

 course to implements. It is quite a common thing 

 to grow one or two fodder crops to be consumed 

 in this manner, and to follow these with corr 

 crops. Thus the food materials purchased foi 

 sheep help to fertilise the soil and also to keef 

 up the supply of organic matter. It is much 

 less common to find the farmer depending entirely 

 on artificial manures. 



The tendency to specialisation in agricultural 

 production brings into prominence the difficulties 

 inherent in dealing with crops, soil fertility, dis' 

 eases, etc. ; it makes the farmer more observani 

 and more ready to seek scientific assistance. Th( 

 skilled hop grower is far more interested in the 

 life-history of the aphis or the mildew than is tht 

 small general farmer in any account of the rusi 

 of wheat. With specialisation in agriculture 

 therefore, comes the opportunity to the man o: 

 science ; it thus tends to bring about much closei 

 cooperation between the agricultural and scientific 

 adviser than w^as possible some years ago. 



(2) The second book on our list was written b} 

 Dean Hunt and Prof. Burkett and deals with tht 

 special conditions of the United States ; it is ar 

 attempt to bring into one volume sufficien 

 material for pupils between the ages of fourteei 

 and eighteen. It deals not only with soils anc 

 manures, but also with crops, including maize 

 oats, wheat, barley, and a variety of others, whil( 

 chapters are added on the insect pests am 

 diseases, and on the methods of improvement o 

 crops. Both the authors have had very great ex 

 perience in teaching ; Dean Hunt, now of Cali 

 fornia, saw service at the State College, Penn 

 sylvania, and elsewhere, whilst Prof. Burkett ii 

 well known as the editor of the American Agricul- 

 turist, and was also director of the Kansas Agri 

 cultural Experiment Station. 



The arrangement is in some respects novel 

 the first chapter deals with food required to grov 

 plants and includes accounts of salt, sugar 

 starch, fat, protein, besides the usual potassiun 

 salts, phosphates, and nitrogen compounds 

 Then the student passes on to a study of the dif 

 ferent types of soil, and the characteristics o 

 soils and fertilisers. As is usual in Americai 

 books a liberal use is made of illustrations 

 whilst there is a good supply of practical exer 



