grained as one of the chief American characteristics; 

 it has contributed to an inflation of land values, and 

 to the present high rate of tenancy. The land ques- 

 tion has therefore entered upon a new and complex 

 phase. In undertaking an equitable solution of this 

 problem, the history of the land under both public 

 and private ownership should be investigated. In 

 essaying this task, it should be kept in mind that the 

 disappearance of the public lands is closely linked 

 with the rapid increase in population, the change 

 from extensive to intensive farming, and the in- 

 creased cost of living. 



2. The history of specific leading industries also 

 remains to he written. As examples of what may be 

 done in this direction we may indicate Hammond's 

 " Cotton Industry " and Thompson's " Rise and De- 

 cline of the Wheat Growing Industry in Wisconsin." 

 Similar studies should be undertaken for cereal and 

 live stock production, the latter including dairy- 

 ing and meat packing. The tobacco, poultry, and 

 beet sugar industries should also be mentioned as 

 profitable fields for research. The history of the 

 range should be a particularly interesting subject for 

 investigation. Such a study should give special at- 

 tention to influences affecting the rise and growth of 

 the industry, such as soil and climate, early trade and 

 commerce, labor, tenancy, the use of improved ma- 

 chinery, markets, prices, transportation, and the 

 tariff; and the relation of the industry to such indus- 

 tries as transportation, manufactures, mining, and 

 lumbering should be considered. The westward 

 movement of the center of production should be 

 studied in its relation to the westward movement of 

 population and the accessibility of markets. The in- 

 fluence of agricultural prices on production, and the 

 influence of grain markets on national politics and 

 finance should receive careful study. Mr. Turner 

 has called attention to the importance of the study of 

 the wheat industry, in the following terms : 



" If, for example, we study the maps showing the 

 14 



