Agricultural Book Reviews 

 1921 



ABEL, MARY HINMAN. Successful family 

 life on a moderate income. '21 L.ippincott 

 $2 21-16194 



"Successful Family Life on a Moderate In- 

 come" by Mary Hinman Abel is a book which 

 will be of interest not only to the men and 

 women included in the class studied but also to 

 professional students of family life. Emphasis 

 is laid on the importance of a good start In 

 married life, free from debt, as a foundation 

 for future success. Much space is given to 

 the discussion of the woman's contribution, 

 both as an economic force and in other ways, 

 especially in the training of young children 

 in household tasks. The budget plan is treated 

 in detail, of course. An interesting chapter 

 compares the histories of seven families to 

 show how each one plans or does not plan, — 

 families with smaller incomes getting more 

 out of life by planning than those with larger 

 salaries and no future hopes to save for. In 

 conclusion the author says that ample courses 

 in home-making are needed and a wiser train- 

 ing in spending. There is a list of questions 

 at the end of each chapter for those using 

 the book for study and the volume is in- 

 dexed. 



"An excellent contribution to our home 

 economics literature. 



We have needed such a book for a long time. 

 We need more and more of them for the home- 

 makers, both men and women, who are 

 diligently seeking definite aid in their home- 

 making problems. This is not a book of mere 

 directions. It is that much greater thing, an 

 inspiring, helpful discussion of the meaning of 

 family life and the basis upon which it rests 

 as a successfvil enterprise." — J Home Econ 



AGRICULTURAL and home economics lead- 

 ers, United States and Canada, Directory 

 of. 3d ed '21 William Grant Wilson, 51 

 Chestnut st., Cambridge, Mass. $10 with 

 supplements; $5 without supplements 

 This annual directory service consists of a 

 cloth bovind volume of 448 pages and state 

 supplements issued at intervals during the 

 year. It is a truthful record of the names and 

 addresses of more than 10,000 readers in ag- 

 riculture and home economics — a big force of 

 experienced men and women instructors and 

 advisors. Their duties are educational in na- 

 ture and their work is conducted by meetings, 

 demonstrations, consultations, and farm and 

 home visits. 



ARNOLD, JACOB HIRAM. Farm management. 



'19 Macmillan $1.25 19-12269 



Deals with the principles of farm management 

 so far as they have been enunciated, and though 

 it is only small and printed in large type, it con- 

 tains much that will interest the farmer as well 

 as the student of agriculture. An inquiry is 

 recorded as to the rate of interest earned on 

 farms in three states of the corn belt: for "land- 

 lord's" expenditure the annual return was ^Vk 

 per cent., and in an exceptionally good region 

 5V& per cent., after allowing 800 dollars for man- 

 agement salary; this, the author states, "prob- 

 ably represents about what the best general 

 farms are doing." An interesting historical 

 summary traces the development of American 

 agriculture during the last 300 years, and shows 

 that American farm practice is largely derived 

 from English agriculture, modified, however, by 

 the experience of the Indians. — Nature 



BABBITT, SHIRLEY DARE, AND WIM- 

 BERLY, LOWRY CHARLES, eds. Essays 

 on agriculture. $1.50 '21 Doubleday 630.4 



21-19864 

 This collection of essays on agriculture is 

 intended for use as illustrative material in 

 courses in composition in agricultural colleges. 

 Some of the essays have historical value, some 

 are literary in character, others are technical 

 or practical. The collection begins with an 

 essay on farming by Ralph Waldo Emerson and 

 closes with an extract from Xenophon. Be- 

 tween these are represented such a range of 

 writers as Liberty H. Bailey, Mrs Schuyler Van 

 Rensselaer, Theodore Roosevelt, Kenyon L. 

 Butterfleld, David Houston, Edwin T. Mere- 

 dith, Herbert Hoover, Thomas H. Huxley, 

 Charles Darwin, George Washington and 

 Abraham Lincoln. — Book Review Digest 



BENNETT, HUGH HAMMOND. Soils and 

 agriculture of the southern states. '21 Mac- 

 millan $3.50 21-1365 



"It is the purpose of this volume to describe 

 the important agricultural lands of the south- 

 ern states; to tell, in so far as space and the 

 information at hand permit, what the soils are, 

 where they occur, what crops they are used for, 

 what crops they may be used for, what methods 

 of soil treatment are employed on them, and 

 what methods are essential to their most effi- 

 cient use." (Introd.) 



"Mr Bennett, who is connected with the Bu- 

 reau of Soils of the United States Department 

 of agriculture, has employed the results of in- 

 vestigations of that bureau over a great many 

 years. After a general introduction, he takes 

 up his topic by geographical divisions and sub- 

 divisions. The book is not too technical in 

 treatment for the general reader; the more com- 

 plex chemical problems have been avoided. Ad- 

 vice is given for the most efficient farming of 

 soils in every locality. A valuable map is in- 

 cluded, and in an appendix are a great number 

 of tables of soils for easy reference and of crop 

 results attained in various localities." — Literary 

 Review 



BOYLE, JAMES ERNEST. Rural problems in 



the United States. (Nat. social sci. ser.) 

 '21 McClurg $1 21-3976 



"That which is set down in this volume is 

 apparently designed as first-aid to the large 

 and confused classes of general readers who 

 know, from their newspaper headlines and 

 from occasional magazine articles, that some- 

 thing big is going on in that region of Amer- 

 ica which lies between the cities, and who 

 want to know just what it is all about. This 

 book tells them, directly and simply. 



For that reason it is to be recommended to 

 another large class, hardly less confused; to 

 agricultural students, workers, and enthusiasts 

 who know a good deal about rural life in all 

 its phases, and about what must be done to 

 set this and that right."— Cornell Countryman 



"The addition of a volume on rural social 

 problems to this excellent series will be wide- 

 ly welcomed, the more so since Professor 

 Boyle, professor of agricultural economics of 

 Cornell University, has performed the task ad- 

 mirably within the limits set. This is espe- 

 cially true of the chapters dealing with the 

 rural institutions in which, drawing on many 



