February 28, 1919] 



SCIENCE 



219 



this species is thus similar to that described 

 by Allen' for S. Donnellii. 



Martha A. Sciiacke 

 University op Wisconsin 



THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR 



THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE 



—SECTION M— AGRICULTURE 



The program of the Baltimore meeting of 

 the Section of Agriculture was considerably 

 interfered with by sickness and absence in 

 Europe on war service. A single session was 

 held on the afternoon of December 27, 1918. 

 The retiring vice-president, Dr. H. J. Waters, 

 was prevented by sickness from attending the 

 meeting and delivering his address, the sub- 

 ject of which as announced was " The Farm- 

 ers' Gain from the "War." 



In the absence of the vice-president, Dr. 

 H. P. Armsby, who is with the Interallied 

 Food Commission in Europe, Dr. A. F. Woods 

 presided over the session. This was devoted 

 to the agricultural situation in Europe as 

 viewed by members of the American Agricul- 

 tural Commission which spent several months 

 in Great Britain, France and Italy in the 

 early fall. 



Describing " Some Impressions of the Effect 

 of War on Agriculture in England and 

 France," Dr. W. A. Taylor reviewed the 

 highly successful efforts in England to stimu- 

 late production resulting in 1918 in an in- 

 creased area in cereals of 32 per cent, and in 

 potatoes of 45 per cent, over the ten-year pre- 

 war average. This increase was not due to 

 the existence of an actual shortage, for ap- 

 parently at no time was there less than three 

 months supply of wheat in sight, or to the 

 expectation of large profits on the part of 

 farmers, but rather to apprehension that con- 

 ditions might grow worse and to the necessity 

 of saving tonnage. The organization through 

 which the increase was accompli-shed and the 

 measures put in force under the Defense of 

 the Realm Act were effective and often revolu- 

 tionary. Local production campaigns were in 

 the hands of agricultural executive com- 



1 Allen, C. E., "A Chromosome Difference Corre- 

 lated with Sex Differences in Sph(erocarpos, Sci- 

 BNOE, N. S., 46: 466^67, 1917. 



mittees, who were authorized when persuasion 

 failed to take drastic action, even to dis- 

 iwssessing tenants and breaking up and oper- 

 ating idle land at the expense of the owners. 

 Restrictions on the crops to be grown, their 

 sale and use were extensive and far exceeded 

 anything hinted at in this countrj-. A re- 

 form of much importance was the putting 

 into operation of a seed control measure sim- 

 ilar to that maintained in several of the states 

 in this coimtry, which yielded such beneficial 

 results that it is expected to be permanent. 

 The government also controlled the price of 

 certain seeds, as seed potatoes, and to avoid 

 local shortages purchased nearly a million 

 dollars' worth of seed potatoes for sale to com- 

 mercial growers and allotment holders. 



While tenant farmers profited by good prices 

 and reduced competition, land owners were 

 prevented by law from raising their rents 

 during the war despite increased taxes and 

 other exj)enses. In consequence the sales of 

 land exceed those for a generation, and in- 

 clude not only large holdings but relatively 

 small farms, mostly land not operated by the 

 owners. Purchasers are mainly of the tenant 

 farmer class, and no marked movement of 

 population from the city to the land was noted. 

 There was much evidence of greatly aroused 

 interest in agricultural research, instruction 

 and extension teaching which is expected to 

 bear fruit in increased facilities. 



In sharp contrast to Great Britain, France 

 showed abimdant evidence of decreased crop 

 production, as was to be expected. In 1917 

 the production of cereals fell to 53 per cent, 

 of the pre-war average. A return to nearly 

 75 per cent, in 1918 was " accomplished 

 through most strenuous and exhausting effort 

 and to a considerable extent at the expense of 

 future crops through the breaking up of the 

 best crop rotation practise." 



The reconstruction problems in France were 

 described as complicated, one of the most 

 difficult being the remanning of the land. Of 

 the 250,000 farmers of the deva.stated region 

 it is estimated that perhaps 100,000 may re- 

 turn to their holdings. Much of the land 

 consists of small parcels, the holdings of an 



