28 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



We need more of the " thoughts and aspirations " such as the 

 " natural beauty and grandeur " of the ideal country home may 

 inspire, and it is certainly to be hoped that the American farmer 

 will avail himself of his natural opportunities and surround him- 

 self with everything which will add to the dignity and beauty of 

 his home. 



But if these beautiful surroundings are to be created they must 

 first be desired by the farmers, and it will certainly be admitted 

 that the desire for food, clothing, and shelter naturally and prop- 

 erly come first and should be satisfied before much attention 

 is given to the creation of beautiful surroundings ; and, again, 

 to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, one must have leisure, and 

 in order to have time, after satisfying the more urgent wants, 

 to create and enjoy beautiful surroundings, it is important that 

 the farmer avail himself of the most economical means of satisfy- 

 ing these wants. We object, therefore, to the general principle 

 laid down by Mr. Kerrick, that farmers everywhere should 

 " think first and work first to provide for their wants on their 

 own farms," rather than look primarily to the production of 

 those things which will give them the greatest purchasing 

 power in the market. We believe the latter method to be the 

 one which will bring the largest means of satisfying wants for a 

 given amount of exertion, whereas, Mr. Kerrick's suggestion 

 points towards a reversion to the self-sufficing economy of 

 earlier times, and to a sacrifice of much of the benefit which has 

 resulted from the extension of commerce and from specializa- 

 tion in industry. 



There are, doubtless, many injustices in the present complex 

 commercial system of agricultural production ; but, in spite of 

 this objection, the commercial system is superior to the old self- 

 sufficing economy which was desirable only in an earlier stage 

 of economic society when the dangers to commerce were so 

 very great and the means of transportation had been so little 

 developed that the farmers could gain little or nothing by pro- 

 ducing for the market. Modern agriculture is not entirely 

 commercial, yet production for the market is the dominant 

 feature. The commercial system has replaced the self-suffic- 



