92 THE THIRD POWER 



Under the present free competitive system, a big 

 crop may be, and frequently is, anything but a bless- 

 ing to the man that grows it. When the crop is 

 small it, in a measure, takes care of itself, even as 

 things are to-day. It is when his fields are most 

 fruitful and the conditions most favorable that the 

 farmer is likely to find himself swamped by the very 

 plenteousness of his yield. I have made the asser- 

 tion that the short crops of 1901 were responsible 

 directly and indirectly in bringing more prosperity 

 to the farmers than any other crop they ever raised. 

 Really they, the farmers, get their blessings in dis- 

 guise. 



Thus it appears that the very instruction that is 

 being given at our agricultural schools, experiment 

 stations, farmers' institutes and by farm papers 

 makes further instruction necessary. When you 

 teach a man how to grow the largest possible crop 

 on a given acreage, and press on him the necessity 

 of doing so, you put yourself under obligation to 

 show him how he may best deal with the products 

 which he has raised in such abundance. Without 

 this latter instruction the former may be worse than 

 useless — nay, may be positively harmful. This is a 

 subject to which our schools and papers ought to 

 give their attention. Certainly the farmers should 

 think about it very seriously. When you increase 

 largely the output, you, of necessity — other condi- 

 tions remaining the same — depress the price, unless 

 you can control the marketing. A community or 



