6i4 CONSERVATION 



beast their trail of disease and death. sterling. This is largely due to the 



In the old days of ante-paternalism and dissemination of free, scientific litera- 



anti-paternalism, days of every farmer ture to the farmers, and other actual na- 



for himself and the bugs take the hind- tional assistance in combating the dis- 



most, the black-scale and the grass- eases of farm animals. The three crops 



hopper, the chinch-bug and the Hessian of wheat, maize, and oats alone have 



fly and Texas fly swept unhindered increased to the value last year of 200,- 



over the domain of the farmer, his 000,000 over the value of those three 



homestead open at every angle of his crops upon the year President Roose- 



ignorance and his prejudice and his in- velt was sworn in as President of the 



dividual helplessness, and the last scenes United States. During the same period 



of the tragedy were generally seen in the value of farm land has increased 



the auction advertisements, the sheriff's about thirty-two per cent, or from 



hammer and the pathetic procession of 3,300,000,000 to 4,550,000,000 pounds 



the old man and his wagon full of child- sterling, and this has been due largely to 



ren driving down the road, if he had the study and dissemination of litera- 



saved so much as a horse, to begin life ture and practical field help given by 



over again as somebody's hired man. the Nation to the farmers in studying 



Now he drives an automobile, sends his the plant diseases and combating plant 



sons and daughters to college, and the enemies. 



bank complains that he loans instead Two of the most useful laws which 



of borrowing money. Mr. Roosevelt has succeeded in driving 



The farmer has been feeding about through Congress and successfully run- 

 200,000,000 pounds sterling a year ning the gauntlet of every interest in- 

 to one subdivision of his bugs, volved are the meat inspection act and 

 Nearly half this much is saved to him the pure food law, the latter conducted 

 every year by the Bureau of Ento- by the Hon. Mr. Mann. Taking at 

 mology alone. In other words, because random a period of four years, the Bu- 

 the United States Government is in the reau of Animal Industry inspected 

 hands of those who believe in the social 227,000,000 animals per year, and 148,- 

 organisin instead of a social atomism, 000,000 for slaughter. I find in a re- 

 this one department of government has port from the bureau a certain table 

 revolutionized agriculture and has of the causes of condemnation of car- 

 placed the status of the farmer's pros- cassses, in which, roughly speaking, 

 perity upon scientific and permanent 19,000 cattle, 12,000 sheep, 4,000 calves, 

 foundations. and 91,000 hogs, besides as many parts 



The wealth of the American farmer of each, were condemned and thrown 



to-day is about 6,000,000,000, almost away on account of the presence of 



thrice the total wealth of the whole forty-five different diseases. These dis- 



United States before the civil war. The eases included tuberculosis, cholera, 



product of the American farm last year Texas fever, erysipelas, cancer, tumor, 



was twenty-five per cent on even this abscess, gangrene, tapeworm, trichinae, 



enormous investment, and the values and thirty-five others, 



of the last year's product of the farms Under laissez-faire we used to eat 



of the United States were 1,500,000,- all this. 



ooo. The American farm has produced And we didn't know what was the 



enough in 1908 to give 100 to every matter with us! 



family in the United States. It is impossible to give, in anything 



Such has been the intelligence and less than a volume, an adequate idea 



vigor and disinterestedness of the ad- of what this department alone has done, 



ministration of agriculture under Sec- is doing, and will continue to do, for 



retary Wilson, that in Mr. Roosevelt's the American farmer, 



term of office, in the single item of live The Post-office Department has made 



stock alone, the values have increased its own contribution in these seven years 



from 450,000,000 to 866,000,000 pounds of Roosevelt by increasing the number 



