March 28, 1913] 



SCIENCE 



471 



If "the farm is the basis of all industry," 

 as was recently stated by James J. Hill, then 

 science should not fail in this duty ; for Amer- 

 ican agriculture is approaching a crisis, and 

 the use of science must be depended upon to 

 provide adequate support for our rapidly in- 

 creasing population. 



Already the question of food has begun to 

 exert dangerous pressure in the United States, 

 but so much of error and deception has been 

 promulgated that even those who are to occupy 

 the places of highest authority and influence 

 are likely to be led into false positions whose 

 foundations can only crumble beneath their 

 feet. 



There is no fiction in the starving poverty 

 of our race in India, nor in the frequent fam- 

 ines of Russia, nor in the history of the dark 

 ages following the ancient civilization of our 

 people in the Mediterranean countries; and 

 neither should the plans for the future pros- 

 perity of the Aryan in America be based upon 

 fiction. 



EXAGGERATED CROP REPORTS 



Careful investigation reveals the fact that 

 the reports from the federal bureau of statis- 

 tics, as published by the secretary of agricul- 

 ture, are highly exaggerated and deserving of 

 the strongest condemnation, although all 

 would be glad to give praise if these glowing 

 reports were true; and, if the progeny of 

 ninety-two million people and added millions 

 of immigrants could live upon blind optimism 

 or mere boasting, then duty would not com- 

 pel this contribution toward the protection of 

 truth and prosperity, by exposing error. 



The following quotations are taken from the 

 annual reports of the secretary of agriculture : 



From 1905 Beport. — Another year of unsur- 

 passed prosperity to the farmers of this country 

 has been added to the most remarkable series of 

 similar years that has come to the farmers of any 

 country in the annals of the world's agriculture. 

 Production has been unequaled; its value has 

 reached the highest figure yet attained. 



From 1906 Beport. — Economic revolution in the 

 art and science of agriculture, which became 

 noticeable in this country half a dozen years ago, 

 has continued during 1906, with tremendous efifect 



upon the nation 's prosperity. Crops so large as 

 to be beyond any rational comprehension have 

 strained the freight-carrying ability of the rail- 

 roads. 



From 1910 Beport. — Year after year it has been 

 my privilege to record ' ' another most prosperous 

 year in agriculture. "... Nothing short of om- 

 niscience can grasp the value of the farm products 

 this year. At no time in the world's history has 

 a country produced farm products within one year 

 with a value reaching $8,926,000,000, which is the 

 value of the agricultural products of this country 

 for 1910. This amount is larger than that of 1909 

 by $305,000,000, an amount of increase over the 

 preceding year which is small for the more recent 

 years. 



A notable feature of corn production this year 

 is the growing importance of the south. This has 

 been manifested in a small way in very recent 

 years, but now the increased magnitude of the 

 crop in that section, both absolute and relative 

 to national production, forces itself upon the at- 

 tention. 



The demonstration work among southern farm- 

 ers is rapidly increasing. Organized in 1904 for 

 the purpose of fighting the boll-weevil in Texas, 

 this work has now extended to all of the southern 

 states. . . . From 1904 to 1909 there was an in- 

 crease from 1 to 362 agents in the field. The 

 number has now reached 450, and the demand for 

 more is urgent. ... In 1909 figures from a large 

 number of demonstrators showed a comparative 

 increase of from 50 to 400 per cent, in the average 

 yield of standard crops, and the figures for 19] 

 indicate similar results. 



From 1911 Report. — Owing to the prevalence of 

 high prices there has developed a general impres- 

 sion that the agriculture of this country is unequal 

 to the needs of the increasing population. An 

 investigation of the facts with regard to this 

 condition failed to est,ab]ish any cause for alarm. 

 On the contrary, it is evident that this coimtry has 

 been passing through phases of agriculture in 

 which declines in production per acre are the re- 

 sult of exploiting new land and in which recupera- 

 tion follows with a greater pace than that of 

 increase of population. 



The Department of Agriculture has had success 

 in the south through object lessons in the field, 

 where the best southern farmers in their counties 

 were the instructors. This method should be or- 

 ganized in all the states. 



From 1912 Beport. — The record of sixteen years 



