68 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



are as varied as the needs of each reclamation proj- 

 ect. We realize that the problem is one that re- 

 quires for its adjustment a broad view one that 

 will settle in its scope all the objections differing 

 to an extent in each district. And these articles, if 

 they are argumentative and not abusive, will do 

 much to bring about an amicable spirit, which, after 

 all, is the prime requisite in the settlement of any 

 dispute. 



"Progressive Ag- Prof. Hardy W. Campbell of Lin- 

 riculture" Well coin, Neb., has just issued his 

 Worth Reading book on what he terms "Progres- 

 sive Agriculture," with the sub- 

 caption, "Tillage, Not Weather, Is the Greatest 

 Factor in Controlling Yields." 



It is the epitome of Prof. Campbell's long years 

 of experience in the arid and semi-arid regions of 

 the west. For thirty-five years he has been experi- 

 menting, and his work shows decided progress dur- 

 ing all the trying periods of his task. He asserts 

 that the past four years have seen his task .come 

 to fruition. His book is divided into seven heads or 

 general classes, viz. : "Planning," "Preparation," 

 "Plowing," "Physical Condition," "Keeping Up Til- 

 lage," "Planting," "Cultivation." The book is filled 

 with a mass of interesting details, all simply re- 

 lated, so that he who runs may read and understand. 



It is a book that should be in the hand of every 

 farmer who has to depend for results on a minimum 

 of rainfall, for it is not alone a wonderful guide, but 

 every line of it is an inspiration to the man who is 

 struggling to make a "winning in the west." 



Interest and Figures that will throw light on 



Rural the charges paid by farmers for 



Credits personal or collateral security in 



various parts of the United States 

 were given out by Carl W. Thompson, specialist in 

 rural organization, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 in his address before the third national conference 

 on Marketing and Farm Credits, in session at the 

 Hotel Sherman, Chicago, November 29 to Decem- 

 ber 2, 1915. 



Prof. Thompson also pointed out the factors 

 that cause variations in these charges. He showed 

 the relations of existing banks of this class of farm 

 loans and considered certain matters with regard 

 to this class of rural securities. 



The average total cost, says Prof. Thompson, 

 including interest and extra charges, varies from 6 l / 2 

 per cent in New England to between 10 and 20 per 

 cent in the Southern or Rocky Mountain states, 

 and he declared this to be the result of figures 

 obtained by the office of markets and rural organi- 



zation of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture. He further stated that in those states of 

 New England where the total cost is lowest (about 

 6 l /2 per cent) the extra charge on the average is 

 only about y 2 to 1 per cent ; in the more highly de- 

 veloped farming regions of the corn belt, where 

 total costs range between 7 and 8 per cent on per- 

 sonal arid collateral" loans, the average extra cost is 

 less than 1 per cent. In those states of the south and 

 west that have the highest average for total costs 

 the average extra charge often ranges between 2 l / 2 

 and 3^2 per cent. Similar variations are also found 

 within many states. 



In Eastern Nebraska, so states the professor, 

 the average total cost for such loans is 8.3 per cent, 

 while in Western Nebraska it reaches 10.6 per cent, 

 illustrating contrasts in interest rates that generally 

 obtain as between the relatively highly developed 

 agricultural areas with abundant rainfall and the 

 semi-arid farther west, and emphasizing the im- 

 portance of climatic conditions as one factor affect- 

 ing interest rates. Prof. Thompson also tells us 

 that no factor affecting interest charges is of greater 

 importance than the method and system of farming. 

 The best credit will always tend to go to those 

 farming regions having safe and regular incomes 

 from year to year. 



Preference in credit, it appears, will be given 

 where population is fairly stable, rather than shift- 

 ing, and another important feature to all farmers 

 is that it tends toward sections where farming is 

 conducted by owners rather than tenants. 



These thoughts are presented to our readers 

 as preliminary to a series of articles on rural credits 

 that will appear in future issues of THE IRRIGATION 

 AGE. 



RUSSIA'S BIG DRAINAGE PROJECT 



Russia will begin the reclamation of 30,000,000 

 acres of swamp land as soon as the war is ended. 

 The drainage and road making all will be done by 

 American machinery and after American methods. 



Theodore Kryshtofovich, representing the Rus- 

 sian minister of agriculture, is authority for that 

 statement. In an interview in Chicago a few davs 

 ago he explained in detail the tremendous reclama- 

 tion scheme that has been mapped out by the Rus- 

 sian government. 



UNIVERSITY COURSE IN IRRIGATION 



A new course in mine and irrigation law has 

 been introduced into the curriculum at the George 

 Washington, D. C, University Law School. The 

 course is particularly designed for students who 

 contemplate practicing law in western states. The 

 subjects are being taught by Judge W. R. King, 

 chief counsel for the reclamation service and at one 

 time chief justice of the supreme court of Oregon. 



