now grown so that it employs almost 14,000 persons and costs 

 about twenty-two million dollars a year. The work of the De- 

 partment has been far reaching in its influence. Crops of all 

 kinds have been improved, new crops introduced, better 

 methods of farming stimulated through colleges of agricul- 

 ture and experiment stations, diseases have been eradicated, 

 and general farm knowledge disseminated. The bulletins of 

 the Department may be had on application and should be re- 

 ceived by every teacher. 



Farm Demonstration Work. Within recent years a great 

 deal of good has been accomplished through the demonstration 

 farm. The state and national government, agricultural col- 

 leges and universities employ men to serve as demonstration 

 agents. 



Under this plan the farmer agrees to follow the advice 

 and suggestion of the demonstration agent in his locality in 

 the cultivation of two or three principal crops. Usually the 

 principal money crop, as cotton, a renovating crop, as clover, 

 and the chief food crop, as corn, are selected. The agent visits 

 the farm often during the growing season to watch progress. 

 The advantage of the plan lies in the fact that each farmer 

 who succeeds becomes a missionary for better farming. 



Present Day Problems in Rural Economics 



In a general sense there are three sets of problems which 

 have arisen in rural economic life. They have to do with each 

 of the three factors of production : land, labor, capital. 



Land Problems. One of the most striking facts shown 

 by the last census is that during the decade from 1900 to 1910 

 the price of land in the United States increased 104 % , a great- 

 er increase than in a period of fifty years before. The claim 

 is made that though the price of land has rapidly increased 

 during the past ten years, the value of land as measured by the 

 producing power of the soil has not increased, if, indeed, it has 

 not decreased. An Illinois farmer gave this testimony: "Fif- 

 teen years ago my land was producing 90 bushels of corn per 

 acre; now it is producing 48 bushels, and I can not get more 



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