OCTOBER 23, 1913] 
NATURE 
229 
—between the champions of birds on one hand 
and angling associations on the other. We hope 
this book will pass through many editions, and 
gain in strength as it grows—incorporating new 
data and extending its scope. 
(3) Of making books—big and little—about 
birds there is no end, and the more the merrier 
as long as each newcomer is accurate and sincere, 
with something fresh to reveal. There is no doubt 
of a welcome for the ‘“‘ Bodley Head” bird-book, 
for Mr. Shepherd’s drawings are charming char- 
acterisations, quite unusually successful in reveal- 
ing the ways and habits of the birds. There is a 
good deal of psychology in them. The text is 
pleasantly and clearly written, without waste of 
words, and with insight into what is most distinc- 
tive. We would suggest that the inclusion of 
rarities, such as the rose-coloured pastor, is un- 
called for in a book of this kind. 
NEW AMERICAN BOOKS ON 
AGRICULTURE. 
(1) Cooperation in Agriculture. By G. H. Powell. 
Pp. xv+327+xvi plates. (New York: The 
Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan and 
Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 6s. 6d. net. 
(2) The Farmer of To-morrow. By F. I. Ander- 
son. Pp. viii+308. (New York: The Macmillan 
Company; London: Macmillan and Gon. Ltd: ; 
1913.) Price 6s. 6d. net. 
(3) Animal Husbandry for Schools. By Prof. 
M. W. Harper. Pp. xxii+4o9. (New York: 
The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan 
and Co., Ltd., 1913.) Price 6s. net. 
(4) Elementary Tropical Agriculture, By W. H. 
Johnson. Pp. xi+150. (London: Crosby Lock- 
wood and Son, 1913.) Price 3s. 4d. net. 
HE first book on the list contains a very 
interesting account of the cooperative 
movement in America, especially as applied to 
agriculture. The subject is a very difficult onc, 
and the author shows in his opening pages that 
he is fully aware of the intricacies and pitfalls in 
which it abounds. In the first instance a coopera- 
tive movement is not necessarily organised for the 
sake of profit; it may also be—and is, indeed, 
primarily—run for the benefit of its members in 
other directions. Secondly, as the author brings 
out very vividly, the average farmer is not a 
specialist. He produces a variety of general crops, 
each of which has to be handled and marketed 
through different agencies. Moreover, the sup- 
plies he uses are secured from different sources. 
He is thus in an entirely different position from 
the specialist farmer, who devotes his main atten- 
tion to some one crop, such as apples, potatoes, 
&e., and therefore has much in common with 
NO. 2295, VOL. 92] 
(1) 
ethers who are in the same line of business. 
These men can easily combine; they have to face 
the same problems of production, transport, dis- 
tribution, and sale. Everywhere it is found that 
cooperation is easier for them than for the ordin- 
ary farmer. 
The author therefore considers it a fundamental 
principle that a successful industrial organisation 
among farmers must be founded on a _ special 
industry, such as cotton, tobacco, milk, &c. Fur- 
ther, that the unit must lie in a restricted area. It 
also seems necessary for success that the organ- 
isation must be born in times of adversity; if it 
spring's up in times of prosperity it has less chance 
of surviving the competition of existing agencies. 
Having laid down these fundamental principles, 
the author proceeds to show what has been done 
in the various States to apply them to the case of 
the ordinary farmer producing various crops. 
(2) In this book Mr. Anderson gives a vivid ac- 
count of the problem of soil fertility as it is under- 
stood by the Bureau of Soils at Washington. It is 
written in the direct popular style that is being 
cultivated with marked success by some of the 
present American authors, and it gives a very 
lively picture of the work done by the Bureau and 
its bearing on present-day agricultural problems 
in America. The author does not attempt any dis- 
cussion of the hypotheses, and his statement of the 
position of the other side is somewhat inaccurate ; 
in a popular book, however, it is something if the 
other side is recognised at all, even though it is 
only set up to be knocked over. 
Besides all this there is a very spirited account 
of the position of American agriculture to-day, the 
movement back to the land, the introduction of 
business methods, the rise in capital value of the 
land, and the question of soil treatment. All these 
matters are dealt with in a light and easy fashion 
which cannot fail to hold the reader’s interest. 
(3) The third book on the list is one of the Rural 
Text-book Series, and is designed for schools and 
for short-course students at the colleges. It is 
thoroughly worthy of its companions in the series. 
The descriptions of the animals are good, and the 
illustrations are both adequate and to the point. 
The general reader will be struck by the large 
part British live stock play in the animal hus- 
bandry of the United States. After an enumera- 
tion of the different breeds, the author passes on to 
the methods of judging. The animal’s mouth 
affords useful guidance here, and some good illus- 
trations are given showing the appearance of the 
teeth at different ages. Next follows a detailed 
description of the score card, an American inven- 
tion of great value that has now found its way into 
English colleges. 
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