44 a EXPERIMENT STATION. [Jan. 



It is true that economic conditions change more readily; that 

 their relations are very complex; that it is often difficult to 

 isolate and measure the results of economic forces; and that in 

 an offhand way many of them, like many of the determining 

 physical or biological laws, are pretty generally known. Never- 

 theless, the greater difficulties of the problem should not longer 

 deter us. The economic principles underlying changing condi- 

 tions are immutable. The laws of economic progress are as 

 sure and fixed as those of biology; we need only a sufficient 

 body of quantitative data with which to work. 



New England is a rich field for the collection of data relating 

 to the economics of agriculture, and especially the economics of 

 marketing, the development of intensive agriculture and the 

 agrarian relations of the State. Many of the problems are vital 

 and press for solution. In their biological and physical aspects 

 these questions have been given careful attention; the forces 

 which affect prices and profits need to be studied immediately. 

 In short, the correlation and co-ordination of the three divisions 

 of study — physical, biological and economic — are not only 

 desirable but essential, and this means the co-operation of the 

 investigators. 



Some Specific Problems. — With the very limited funds at its 

 disposal the department of agricultural economics has begun to 

 study the costs and methods of distributing farm products. 

 Preliminary reports on onion distribution and retail milk 

 distribution have been prepared. A study of tobacco market- 

 ing is now under way. The possibilities of the profitable 

 production of live stock, dairy products, poultry, potatoes, fruit 

 and other products need to be investigated. Credit and mar- 

 keting facilities for New England farmers, agricultural insur- 

 ance, supply of labor and the business organization of agricul- 

 ture are a few immediate problems. 



The Field is Broad. — I wish that all scientific investigators 

 might realize its immediate importance in any program for the 

 conservation of the agricultural resources or the progress of 

 New England agriculture. 



