people, and in consequence there is a growing demand in this 

 and other states for some form of agricultural credit, some 

 agency by which loans may be made on good security, at a low 

 rate of interest, for longer periods than is customary for ur- 

 ban banks. The greater part of the business of the cities is 

 done on credit, but farmers have made comparatively little use 

 of the credit system. 



Cooperative Agricultural Banks. Cooperative banks were 

 started in Europe in the middle of the last century. They are 

 to be found today in Great Britain, India, Canada, and the 

 West Indies. An American commission is now in Europe mak- 

 ing a study of this system of credit with a view to introducing 

 it into the United States. By means of these cooperative 

 agricultural banks farmers are able to secure credit at a low 

 rate of interest on long time. In principle these cooperative 

 associations are not unlike the American building and loan as- 

 sociations. They operate within a limited district, lend their 

 funds at the lowest rate consistent with safety, compel bor- 

 rowers to pay a part of the principal of their loans regularly 

 when they make interest payments. They teach farmers how 

 to work together for commo,n ends and offer in their shares, 

 or bonds, investments for thrifty young people whose savings 

 are small. 



% 



THE THREE FORWARD STEPS IN AGRICULTURE 



(1) Better Farming 



Books as Aids. Dr. Seaman A. Knapp, whose demonstra- 

 tion farm work in the South revolutionized agricultural meth- 

 ods, once said: "Agriculture in most sections consists simply 

 in going through a series of motions inherited from Adam". 

 His idea was that farming is best taught by means of demon- 

 stration of right methods. That he placed little faith in 

 "book farming" is shown by his epigrammatic remark, "This 

 learning agriculture (which is composed of the following in- 

 gredients one eighth science, three eighths art, and one half 

 business methods) is like reading up on the handsaw and jack- 

 is 



