182 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



tion produce farm manures, humus, and rest; enrich the soil, as 

 with nitrogen brought by legumes; and improve the mechanical 

 condition of the soil for all crops. In regions needing commercial 

 fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and lime have been used 

 more abundantly and more intelligently, and on crops bringing bet- 

 ter prices. 



A matter of great importance in its bearing upon the increased 

 value of farm lands is the new economic independence of farmers, 

 fundamentally growing out of their improved financial condition. 

 Farmers now occupy a strong economic position, founded upon the 

 tendency of the consumption of some important products to increase 

 faster than population does, and upon the tendency of the desires 

 for these products to increase faster than the production does, so 

 that with respect to these products consumption is close upon the 

 heels of production. 



Poultry. It may seem a matter of small consequence to men- 

 tion poultry and eggs as an instance, but it should be remembered 

 that the values of these products now reach an annual figure of half 

 a billion dollars or more, or an amount about equal to the value of 

 the wheat crop. The price of eggs has been high and growing higher 

 for several years, because consumers have wanted more eggs than 

 have been produced. The exports are not worth mentioning. Ap- 

 parently there is no limit to the consumption of fresh eggs at a 

 moderate price. 



Fruit. There is not enough fruit of any kind raised in this 

 country at the present time which is actually placed upon the market 

 in the grade of first quality, or better, that is produced in sufficient 

 quantity to meet the wants of consumers at a moderate price. The 

 city family that has bought first-grade apples in almost any recent 

 year has paid a luxury price. This is true also of pears, plums, 

 peaches, and oranges, and it is true of the small fruits, such as 

 cherries and grapes. The assertion may easily be extended to most, 

 if not all, of the commercial berries strawberries, currants, black- 

 berries, and raspberries. 



Butter. We have no larger butter exports from this country 

 because the price of first-grade butter is often lower in London than 

 in New York. The highest priced butter in the world in its home 

 markets, taking first and fancy grades and ignoring specialties in 

 other countries too small for notice, is found in this country. With 

 regard to milk and cheese also the economic position has become 

 stronger. 



The annual products of dairying, of fruit and vegetable raising, 

 and of poultry keeping aggregated three-tenths of the gross value of 

 all farm products in 1905, and these particular products belong to 

 the class of those for which there is a tendency of demand to be 

 greater than supply. In the case of none of these products is there 

 a desired quantity satisfactory in quality obtainable by consumers 

 at moderate prices. The public is underfed in the higher grades of 

 these luxuries of the farm. 



