THE FIELD OF RURAL SOCIOLOGY 615 



the crop response, the forms of agriculture, and the density 

 of population are strong determinants of the forms and extent 

 of sociability and the amount of leisure. Climatic conditions 

 and crop responses are also influential in directing the flow 

 of immigration and the establishment of immigrant communities. 

 While not immediately responsible for what rural life becomes, 

 geographic factors have a large share in shaping them and are 

 the ultimate conditioning factors. 



Perhaps the second center of consideration is that of popula- 

 tion. The amount of the national, as well as of the rural, pop- 

 ulation is determined by the land. The density of the popula- 

 tion rests on access to the land and involves attention to land 

 ownership. The problem of tenancy may be considered here or 

 under production. National and race elements in the population 

 are significant for unity, cooperation, and progress. Distribu- 

 tion and density give rise to problems of isolation and coopera- 

 tion. Gains and losses of population may denote a healthy or 

 a morbid state and have import for nation and locality. Atten- 

 tion to the amount and causes of losses is imperative. Rates 

 of natural increase of rural inhabitants are symptomatic of 

 physical and social conditions. Proportions of age and sex 

 hint at the productive efficiency and the marital state of rural 

 peoples. 



A third center of interest is that of production, production in 

 the economic sense. Rural sociology is interested in certain 

 phases of production only as they condition the various funda- 

 mental activities of rural communities. It does not regard wealth 

 production as an end in itself, but as an essential foundation of a 

 larger existence. Hence, it must inquire in what way such fac- 

 tors as the following have a determining influence among rural 

 populations: per capita and per family production; extensive 

 and intensive farming; capitalistic or large farming versus 

 farming by small owners; farm ownership; farm tenancy; con- 

 ditions of labor . marketing ; rural credit. Closely related topics 

 are taxation, the various forms of insurance, including accident 

 insurance, and savings-account systems. The possibility of 

 securing a better adjustment relative to many of these factors 

 is worthy of study. 



A fourth point of attack is communication. Roads, systems 



