GENERAL NOTES 23 



known on the subject. Permanent agriculture, on 

 the other hand, will allow a very much larger num- 

 ber of people to furnish food supply with a com- 

 paratively small equipment of information. 



Professor Hobson of the Department of Econom- 

 ics of Columbia University has prepared statistics 

 showing that the percentage of people on farms in 

 the United States was 87.1% in 1870, 44.4% in 

 1880, 32.9% in 1910, and the proportion of farmers 

 to town dwellers constantly growing less. 



The United States Department of Agriculture 

 studied eight thousand seven hundred and twelve 

 farms in twenty-eight representative districts and 

 found that the farmer averaged only five hundred 

 dollars per year for his own long hours of work and 

 for his management and responsibility. A path 

 cleaner in Central Park, New York, is at present 

 paid one hundred and sixty dollars per month for 

 short hours of work and little responsibility beyond 

 that of voting right. 



When the question of food value of nuts is taken 

 up it must be divided into two parts. Nuts for the 

 feeding of domestic animals and nuts for human 

 food. In this country and in other countries there 

 are locations in which nut forage is very important 

 for fowls, cattle, and hogs. This is the case where 

 beechnuts, chestnuts and acorns occur in vast quan- 

 tities as natural wild products. The time is no doubt 

 near at hand when we shall cultivate nuts of the 

 acorn group in particular in very large quantities, 

 not only as forage food for live stock, but to be 



