10 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



the geologist, the specialist on soils, or the climatologist ; other 

 forces are biological and are dealt with by the plant and animal 

 physiologist, the entomologist, the pathologist, the geneticist, or 

 the bacteriologist. A third class of forces which have much to 

 do in determining what the farmer should do are social, that is, 

 they are inherent in the relations arising among men because 

 of the pursuit of farming as a means of making a living. These 

 are called economic forces. Each of these sets of forces should 

 be handled by specialists in modern institutions of education 

 and research. If, therefore, the term " farm management " is 

 preferred, it would be well to designate the particular phase of 

 the subject. For example, one may properly speak of the 

 chemistry of farm management, the physics of farm manage- 

 ment, the biology of farm management, and the economics of 

 farm management, in which it will be noted that the term 

 " agriculture " as commonly used is simply replaced with the 

 somewhat narrower expression " farm management." The so- 

 lution of this problem of terminology may be to adopt the 

 term " farm economics " as being both simple and scientifically 

 correct. 



The Report of the Committee on Courses of Study of the 

 American Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment 

 Stations in 1911 throws further light upon this subject. " The 

 subject taught or investigated under the head of farm manage- 

 ment, as related to the organization and management of indi- 

 vidual estates devoted to agriculture in the judgment of this 

 committee necessarily involves the application of the prin- 

 ciples of economics. These principles constitute the scientific 

 basis of farm management and give this subject its only just 

 claim for consideration as having a pedagogical value entitling 

 it to a place in courses of study or a scientific standing as related 

 to problems of investigation. 



"It is true that the farm manager should take into account 

 what is taught under agronomy, animal husbandry, agrotechny, 

 and rural engineering, but he is chiefly and essentially concerned 

 with the application of economic principles to the conduct of 

 his business; outside of economics there is nothing which 



