INTRODUCTORY REVIEW 

 OR SUMMARY 



The Commission finds that agriculture in the 

 United States, taken altogether, is prosperous 

 commercially, when measured by the conditions 

 that have obtained in previous years, although 

 there are some regions in which this is only 

 partially true. The country people are producing 

 vast quantities of supplies for food, shelter, 

 clothing, and for use in the arts. The country 

 homes are improving in comfort, attractiveness 

 and healthfulness. Not only in the material 

 wealth that they produce, but in the supply of 

 independent and strong citizenship, the agri- 

 cultural people constitute the very foundation 

 of our national efficiency. As agriculture is the 

 immediate basis of country life, so it follows that 

 the general affairs of the open country, speaking 

 broadly, are in a condition of improvement. 



Many institutions, organizations, and move- 

 ments are actively contributing to the increasing 

 welfare of the open country. The most impor- 

 tant of these are the United States Department 



