(2) The very perishable nature of animals entails a great risk in the investment of capital in live stock. Not only the products of a single year, but the growth of a number of years, may be suddenly swept away by disease. This may include the crops of several years, thus destroying capital invested in the production of the crops as well as the capital originally invested in the animals. Many a farmer has seen the gradual accumulations of years rapidly melt away in the presence of some contagious disease. Tuberculosis in cattle, cholera in hogs and liver rot in sheep are striking examples of diseases that have caused the farmers of this country untold losses.

(3) When an animal has been properly fattened he must be sold. If held for any great length of time, not only is there a constant outlay for food to maintain the animal, but the condition of the animal may actually deteriorate. Hence it is not possible to hold animals for a better market for a long period of time, as is possible in the case of the cereal grains.

(4) Serious losses may occur where profit was expected through a rise in the price of foodstuffs. Scarcity in food supplies, due to an unfavorable season, often compels the stockman to sacrifice animals that he has been raising for two or three years. It is sometimes asserted that, although society suffers from short crops, the farmer is benefited, because the increase in price is greater than the decrease in yield. One year, for example, the decrease in the production of maize was 30%, while the increase in price was 50%. If, therefore, the crop had been sold it would have brought more than the crop of the previous year. The farmers, however, require about 80% of the maize crop in the production of their live stock, so that when there was a decrease of 30% in the yield of maize, many had none to sell, while others had to purchase maize at increased prices or use other crops, such as oats, which they might otherwise have sold. Still others would be compelled to sell, at reduced prices, their partially fattened animals. There is a constant fluctuation in the price of animals and animal products, due to variation in yield and hence in price of food supplies. It requires continual vigilance on the part of the stockman to secure food supplies at such cost as will enable him to secure a profitable return from his animals.



CHAPTER XVI

RETURNS FROM ANIMALS

In any well-considered plan of farm operations it is essential to have some basis for estimating the amount of food required to carry live stock through the year in order to know, on the one hand, what portion of the crops raised are available for sale and, on the other hand, what food supplies must be purchased. A requisite of any successful farm enterprise is a proper consideration of these market conditions. While domestic animals consume a variety of foods, and each class of animals has special food requirements, the basis of calculation of the needed supplies is fortunately not complicated. Twenty-five pounds of dry matter are required per day for each thousand pounds of live weight of horses, cattle and sheep, and for swine about 40 pounds for each thousand pounds of live weight. It may be more convenient to calculate the food requirement of swine on the basis of increase in live weight, allowing five pounds of dry matter for each pound of increase. Some further details as to food requirements will be found in the paragraphs which follow.

COST OF PRODUCING HOGS

Pigs possess two characteristics which make them unique among domestic animals. They consume concentrated and easily digested foods only, and they produce nothing but meat, fat and bristles. Cattle furnish milk and hides; sheep, wool, hides and sometimes milk; fowls furnish eggs and feathers. On account of their limited range of usefulness and because of the high value of much of the food consumed, it would not be possible to rear swine economically were it not for their prolificacy and the fact that they are employed largely as scavengers. Many cattle are fattened without direct profit. The indirect profit comes from the sale of the pigs which have followed the cattle. It is customary to mature one hog with little or no additional food while fattening two steers. In many well-known ways, pigs consume products which would otherwise be wasted. This is especially true in the more densely settled sections of the world.

On account of their prolificacy, the returns obtained for the amount of capital invested is greater than in the case of sheep, cattle or horses. Ten sows, worth $100 to $150, are sufficient to produce 100 pigs; 75 to 80 ewes, worth from $300 to $500, are required to produce an equal number of lambs; 110 cows, worth $4,500 to $6,000, to produce 100 calves; and 200 mares, worth from $20,000 to $30,000, to guarantee 100 foals. To put the matter in another way, the capital invested in swine may be reproduced in the offspring ten times in one year; the capital invested in horses not more than once in five years.

In general, 500 pounds of maize will produce 100 pounds of pork, which is equivalent to eleven pounds of pork from a bushel. Since hogs are so largely produced from maize, the price of maize and the price of pork are very closely related. For example, if maize is worth fifty cents a bushel, the grain required to produce a pound of increase in live weight will cost about 5 cents; if 40 cents a bushel, 4 cents; if 30 cents a bushel, 3 cents; and so on.

COST OF PRODUCING SHEEP

In the classic investigations by Lawes and Gilbert, food containing 100 pounds of dry matter produced a live-weight increase of nine pounds in steers and 11 pounds in sheep. At the Wisconsin station, sheep required less food than steers per pound of gain. During rapid fattening of sheep 500 pounds of clover hay and 400 pounds of maize may produce 100 pounds of increase in live weight. While swine require a less weight of food for a pound of increase than sheep, on account of the more digestible character of the food eaten, yet the Wisconsin station found that the expense of producing a pound of increase was less in sheep on account of the less expensive character of the food.

MEAT AND MILK PRODUCTION COMPARED

A summary of the investigations of American experiment stations shows that 100 pounds of dry matter produced ten pounds of increase in live weight of steers. The same quantity of food when fed to milch cows produced 74 pounds of milk, plus one pound of increase in live weight. This 74 pounds of milk contained 3-1/4 pounds of fat. In general, therefore, the food required to produce a pound of butter fat is about three times that required to produce a pound of increase in steers.

COST OF STEER FEEDING

The fattening of beef animals is largely conducted by farmers who make a specialty of it. This is particularly true in the so-called corn belt. Into this region are gathered the two and three-year-old and, more rarely, yearling steers, many of which have been reared in Texas or in the mountain states where the supply of maize is not sufficiently ample to fatten them. These are placed in paddocks with open sheds, where they are fed from 90 to 150 days, after which they are sent to market for slaughter. The food consists usually of maize fodder, maize stover, hay, maize (usually in the ear), a little bran, linseed or cottonseed oil meal. The ration per day during rapid fattening is about 20 pounds of dry matter per 1,000 pounds of live weight, containing 16 pounds of digestible substance, of which 1.25 to 1.75 is digestible protein. One hundred pounds of increase may be obtained under average conditions from 150 pounds stover, 325 pounds of hay, 775 pounds of maize and 75 pounds of cottonseed meal.

Great variations will occur, however, depending upon the condition of the animals at the beginning of the feeding period and the degree of fatness or finish to which the animals are brought before placing upon the market. In any case, the food consumed will cost more than the value of the increase. The only way that steers can be profitably fattened is by increasing the value per pound of the animal. Thus an 800-pound steer may be purchased at five cents per pound, or $40. After feeding, say 150 days, he may weigh 1,100 pounds, when to bring a profitable return he should sell for 6 cents a pound, or $65. This is a gain of $25, eight of which came from the increase in value of the original 800 pounds. Usually steers cannot be fattened profitably unless there is an increase of at least three-quarters of a cent per pound in the value of the animals and then, as previously explained, only in connection with the hogs which follow them.

COST OF PRODUCING MILK AND BUTTER FAT

Well-selected and properly fed cows may produce 240 pounds of butter fat annually. The amount of fat obtained will depend upon the richness of the milk. Thus, 8,000 pounds of 3% milk, 6,000 pounds of 4% milk, or a trifle less than 5,000 pounds of 5% milk, will give this quantity of butter fat. These are customary returns from different types of cows.

If each cow in the herd is dry for six weeks each year the daily average of the cows actually milked will be three-quarters of a pound of butter fat. There are herds which make an average of nine-tenths of a pound of butter fat per day, but to secure this result requires superior cattle, careful feeding and more than ordinary care.

The standard ration for milch cows weighing from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds is 25 pounds of dry matter, two-thirds of which is digestible. The ration should contain not less than two pounds of digestible protein. In ordinary practice, about ten pounds of the dry matter of the ration is obtained from maize silage, nine pounds from hay and about six pounds from grain or other concentrates. In general, this is obtained by feeding 35 pounds of maize silage, ten pounds of hay and seven to eight pounds of concentrates. The silage may be estimated at one-tenth to one-eighth of a cent a pound, hay at from one-fourth to one-half cent and concentrates at from three-quarters to one and one-quarter cents per pound, varying, of course, with the different sections of the country. The amount of food needed will vary somewhat with the size of the animals, but will depend much more largely upon the amount of milk and butter fat given. While maintaining substantially the general average just given for the whole herd, it is the practice of careful feeders to vary the amount of concentrates fed to each individual in accordance with the amount of butter fat or milk given.



COST OF MAINTAINING WORK HORSES

At the Minnesota station, the total cost of feeding and maintaining a farm work horse for one year was estimated to be from $75 to $90, of which about $20 was charged for interest and depreciation. On the basis of 3.3 hours as the length of the working day, the cost per horse per hour was estimated to be 7-1/2 cents. At the Ohio state university, it was found that four horses weighing about 1,400 pounds were chosen to perform 2,185 hours of labor during one year, while under like conditions four horses, weighing about 200 pounds less, worked on an average but 1,641 hours each. For each secular day, therefore, the former worked about 7-1/2 hours, while the latter were employed but five and one-half hours. The cost of food was estimated at $54; cost of shoeing, repairs of harness and stable supplies at $6.50; and the cost of feeding, grooming and cleaning of stables at $23.50, or a total cost of $84 per year. Nothing was charged for interest or depreciation, but the expense of feeding and caring for three colts was included in the estimates given. The annual expense of maintaining a horse was practically the same in both states, but the cost per hour of labor performed was less because of the possibility of employing the horses at productive labor a larger portion of the time. Too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the need of planning a farm organization which will give continuous employment to horses as well as to men in order to realize the most profitable returns. An industrial system that makes it necessary to maintain work animals three days in order to secure one day's work falls far short of an ideal.



CHAPTER XVII

FARM LABOR

The problem of farm labor demands thoughtful and frank consideration. Since work is an essential element in the production of all wealth, it follows that every industry has its labor problem. The adjustment of labor to the production of the various forms of wealth must ever constitute one of the most important problems in any organized society. It is often remarked that the labor problem is the chief difficulty in farming. In a certain sense this is true, since work is a primary element in the production of agricultural as well as all other wealth. It is not true, however, that the problem of labor is more difficult or more intricate than that of other industries. In fact, that problem is less delicate than in some other occupations, because farming is less industrialized.

It is not possible to settle once for all the problem of labor for any occupation, since changing conditions will give rise to new questions or new phases of the old problem. Moreover, the problem of labor on the farm will grow more difficult as farming becomes more specialized and as the methods of production become more complex.

However, the labor problem on the farm is different from that in the manufacturing industries or in trade and transportation. This chapter will not concern itself with an attempt to settle the farm labor problem, but will undertake to state the character of some of the differences between it and other forms of labor and to discuss some of the changes in recent years.

A large proportion of farm work is done by the farm owner, or renter, and his family. There is not much opportunity to profit by the labor of other persons. In 1900 there were in the United States 1,812 industrial establishments each of which employed between 500 and 1,000 persons, while there were 675 establishments each of which had more than one thousand employees. In the same year there were 5,739,657 farms, which employed in the aggregate 4.4 millions of people, not including the owners of the farms. Moreover, over one-half of the 4.4 million persons thus employed were members of the families of the farmer. In other words, aside from members of the family, there was less than one employee to every two farmers. Since a considerable number of farmers employ more than one person, it follows that the majority of farmers employ no help other than members of the family.

In another particular farm labor differs from that of other forms of labor even more widely. There are sociologic as well as economic questions involved. Baldly stated, custom permits, and necessity often requires, the laborer to eat at the same table with the farm owner and in other particulars he mingles intimately with the farmer's family. In all its bearings, this is a very important fact. It constitutes one of the greatest difficulties in the problem of securing suitable farm help. Industrial corporations employ as common laborers largely Italians, Hungarians, Poles and negroes. The English, the Irish, the German, the Swede and the Norwegian have been readily received and assimilated in the American farming communities. The peoples of Eastern and Southern Europe are often criticized because they do not become farm laborers. That they do not is in large part due to the fact that the farm hand is usually a member of the farmer's family. Thus the supply of common labor which is today used by the rest of the industrial world is not open to the farmer.

Farming differs from some other occupations in that it does not ordinarily offer the laborer much opportunity for advancement. The fireman on a railway train becomes the engineer; the brakeman becomes a conductor. There are opportunities in many establishments for the advancement of the industrious and clever. A man may enter their service with the hope of being able to marry and support a family. On the other hand, all our land laws are based upon the idea that each farm should be of sufficient size to support only one family. Where it does support two families, the relation is usually that of landlord and tenant. The farm laborer, therefore, must look upon his employment as more or less temporary. The young man who intends to become a farmer will find employment upon the farm a desirable if not essential preparation for his future occupation.

The introduction of farm machinery has had the effect of increasing the price of farm labor while at the same time decreasing the amount of labor needed. The reason is that the introduction, not alone of farm machinery, but all forms of machinery, has made man's labor much more efficient than formerly. Farm wages have doubled since the introduction of horse-drawn machinery. The labor income in the different sections of the United States is influenced by the extent and efficiency with which machinery is used. The relation of labor income to the use of horse power is shown by the following table taken from a recent census:

INFLUENCE OF FARM MACHINERY AS SHOWN BY THE RELATION OF LABOR INCOME TO HORSES AND MULES.

Number of horses and mules to Divisions of the 1,000 persons United States Labor Income in agriculture North Atlantic $299 1,655 South Atlantic 163 808 North Central 402 3,036 South Central 211 1,603 Western 510 5,476 ———————————————————————- United States $288 2,105

In one of the states of the South Atlantic division the average price of farm labor, without board, was $12 per month, while in one of the states of the western division the price on the same date was $31. Why? Because in the latter case a man's labor was more productive. In the South Atlantic division, in producing the chief crops cotton and maize, a man uses one mule in preparing and cultivating the soil. In the western division plowing and harrowing with six-horse teams is common and nine-horse teams are not unusual. The cotton picker in one day will be able to gather not to exceed 300 pounds of seed cotton, worth not more than $15. The western wheat will be harvested by a machine drawn by 28 horses. In the same time four men with this outfit will cut and thresh 700 bushels of wheat, worth $500.

When the threshing machine was first introduced in Ohio, it was stubbornly opposed by all farm laborers. "They claimed it," says Bateman, "as a right to thresh with a flail, and regarded the introduction of machinery to effect the same object in a few days which would require their individual exertion during the whole winter, not only as an invasion of a time-honored custom, but as absolutely depriving them of the means of obtaining an honest livelihood. At a later date, when a reaper had been introduced into a field of ripe wheat as a matter of experiment only, every one of the harvest hands deliberately marched out of the field and told the proprietor that he might secure his crop as best he could, that the threshing machine had deprived them of their regular winter work twenty years ago and now the reaper would deprive them of the pittance they otherwise could earn during harvest." How short-sighted they were! No class gained so much from the introduction of labor-saving machinery as did those who did the labor. The reason for the increase in well-being, the reason society enjoys luxuries and comforts beyond the fondest dreams of former generations, is due to the fact that the labor of each man has been made so much more effective through these labor-saving devices. The humblest citizen shares in this improvement. Not all share alike and not all share equitably, but each generation sees its members sharing more equitably than those of any generation which preceded it.

The proposition is an extremely simple one. If a man produces just enough food for himself and family, he will have nothing for clothing, shelter, or education. If, however, a man produces four times as much food as he and his family consume, he may exchange one-fourth for shelter, one-fourth for clothing and have remaining a fourth for education, and recreation or savings. This is only another way of saying that the greater the amount of any useful commodity produced by a single day's labor the larger will be the laborer's income or wages.

Although the increase in intensive agriculture and the diversification in farming tend to increase the need of farm laborers, the introduction of farm machinery has much more than offset this demand. The tendency of farm laborers to become farm tenants; or, to state it in other words, the tendency of landowners to rent their land rather than to continue to operate it themselves, is not without its influence upon the labor problem.

The invention and introduction of farm machinery has accentuated the difficulty of keeping the farm laborer continuously employed. The decrease in the demand for farm labor and the increasing lack of uniformity in the amount required have caused a gradual depletion of the smaller villages and hamlets which were a source of labor supply during harvest and other busy seasons.

The problem of keeping labor continuously employed has always been a difficult one on the farm, because of the change of seasons and because of the variations in the weather from day to day. There is a wide difference between those industries which are carried on within doors and farming, which is subject to the caprices of the weather. Natural causes produce tremendous variations in the return for labor. For example, in 1901 there were produced in the aggregate 3,006 million bushels of wheat, maize and oats, while in 1902 there were harvested 4,180 million bushels. Here is an increase of over a thousand million bushels. The same farmers tilled the same soil in the same way as far as natural causes would allow, and yet there was a difference in result amounting to 39 per cent. A variation of one hundred million bushels of wheat from year to year, due to climatic conditions solely, is not at all unusual.

The manufacturer also has far greater control of his labor. When it rains, he has a roof over his workmen, and hence the work is not interrupted. When it grows dark, he turns on the light and the work continues. If it gets cold, he lights the fire and still the work continues comfortably. It is not so in agriculture. There is a great variation in the working efficiency of men employed in farming. In a certain locality there were twenty-one days of rain in the thirty-one days of May. The next year between June 5 and September 5 in the same locality there was not half an inch of rainfall at any one time.

What is true of labor is also true of machinery. The farmer must purchase machinery which he can use only a few days in the year, while the manufacturer, for the most part, employs his machinery continuously, sometimes day and night. While natural causes prevent the farmer from using the same business methods, or from being able to calculate his profits with the same precision as is possible by those following manufacturing and mercantile pursuits, it is nevertheless important that farming should be planned to avoid, as far as possible, the influence of natural causes. Certain kinds of farming are less dependent upon natural causes than others. Wisdom and foresight can do much to avoid, in all farming, untoward influences. The clever farmer seldom complains about the weather.

Farm machinery has made unnecessary, and hence unprofitable, some of the labor at which children were formerly employed. In the not distant past many, perhaps most farmers, owed their prosperity in large measure to the labor of their children. A large family, especially of boys, was a valuable asset. Even a generation ago conditions were not far different, and two generations ago were quite the same as those described by Homer:

"Another field rose high with waving grain: With bended sickles stand the reaper train: Here, stretch'd in ranks, the level'd swaths are found; Sheaves heaped on sheaves here thicken up the ground. With sweeping stroke the mowers strow the lands; The gath'rers follow, and collect in bands: And last the children, in whose arms are borne (Too short to gripe them) the brown sheaves of corn. The rustic monarch of the field descries, With silent glee, the heaps around him rise. A ready banquet on the turf is laid Beneath an ample oak's expanded shade. The victim ox the sturdy youth prepare: The reapers due repast, the women's care."

There is also another reason why the age of the employed has been raised. It is due to the growth of higher education. Where formerly the farmer's children between the ages of twelve and twenty-one did most of the farm work, now many of them at the same age are attending schools and colleges. The sons of a man, who a generation ago found no opportunity to get beyond the district school, graduate from high school and college, and thus spend most of their time in study until they are past twenty-one years of age.

Labor unions have doubtless caused a scarcity of farm labor by increasing the proportion of the created wealth which goes to the man who labors without capital. When a man can obtain fifty cents an hour for laying brick, he does not wish to work in the hay field at twenty cents an hour, even though the difference in the cost of living may in great measure offset the difference in wages.

There is a growing tendency to perform work by what is called contract labor. Thus a person may agree to weed and hoe sugar beets at a certain rate per acre. He, in turn, employs a force of cheap laborers which he sends from farm to farm to do this work. The harvesting of fruits and garden crops is not infrequently done in some such manner. In one instance a contractor of laborers of foreign birth has been furnishing them for all kinds of farm work. He keeps 20 to 40 of these laborers on a small farm, furnishing them a dwelling and selling them food supplies. Farmers telephone for help when in need. The contractor receives $1.65 for a day's work and pays the laborer $1.50.

It appears from the preceding considerations that there are open to every farmer at least three methods of increasing the efficiency of farm labor. He may make every day's labor more efficient by use of labor-saving machinery and the employment of it in the most efficient manner; as, for example, using three 1,500-pound horses to his farm machinery instead of a pair of 1,200-pound horses. He may modify the character of his farming in order that profitable labor will be more continuous. He may modify the method of employing labor; as, for example, by introducing the system of contracting labor for specific purposes where feasible.

Increase in the price of farm labor is not an evil. It is an indication that labor applied to agriculture is becoming more productive and hence more profitable. Since more than one-half the labor of the farm is done by the owner and his family, the farmer is benefited through the rise in price of farm wages. The more that labor can be made to earn upon the farm, the better it will be not only for the farm owner but for society in general.



CHAPTER XVIII

SHIPPING

The means of facile transportation and the machinery of trade are the need and the development of a complex civilization. The importance of these useful adjuncts of everyday life is indicated by the fact that about one-fourth of all the people engaged in gainful occupations in civilized communities are employed in them. Nevertheless the expense of transportation and trade constitutes a tax upon the consumer which it is the aim of modern methods to reduce to the lowest limits. Recent investigations indicate that for every thirteen dollars the consumer expends for farm products the producers receive six dollars. In some directions most remarkable results have been accomplished. A recent quotation on wheat per bushel was as follows: Chicago, $0.93; Antwerp, $1.04; London, $1.06; Hamburg, $1.07. Eleven to 14 cents per bushel represents the cost of haul and commissions between Chicago and the European cities named. Methods of handling have been so perfected that from the time the western farmer places the bundle of wheat at the mouth of the threshing machine the grain literally flows through the channels of trade until it reaches the flour sack. On an average the English miller pays about 20 cents a bushel more for wheat than the American farmer receives for it.

The cost of distributing many other farm products is greater, although the range of distribution is much less. The cost of haulage and selling potatoes is from 25 to 50% of the retail price, while with hay it is still higher. The cost of distributing all forms of truck and market garden produce is high and often wasteful. Many attempts have been made to eliminate a part of this cost as well as to better the conditions of the supplies when they reach the consumer. While many individuals have been quite successful in dealing directly with the consumer, little has thus far been accomplished that affects general trade conditions. Great improvements have been made in methods of transportation and methods of preservation. Cold storage and canned goods have been the direction in which progress has been notable.

WASTEFUL METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION

Owing to customs and traditions there is frequently a great waste of effort in some of the methods of trade. The meat trade of France is an excellent illustration. Certain sections of France make a specialty of rearing cattle. At a suitable age these animals are purchased by other farmers who fatten them. Many of the small towns maintain market places at which fairs are held to facilitate these negotiations. Frequently there is a shipment from one region to another, which is conducted by a middleman. When fattened the steers are collected by a stock buyer, who may ship them to La Villette, the live stock market of Paris. Here they are placed on sale through commission men. There are the usual charges for yardage and food. After being sold the animals are driven to the slaughterhouses. The carcasses are then taken by wagon to the great market of Paris located near the center of the city. Here the retail vender of meats comes, makes his purchase, reloads the meat, which may have been unloaded less than an hour before, carries it to his shop, where the consumer seeks it. The number of people concerned and the amount of hand labor have been excessive.

Nor is the American system without its faults. The Iowa or Illinois farmer fattens cattle that may have been reared in Montana or Texas. After the stock buyer, the commission man and the stock yard company have each taken his toll, the packer ships the carcasses back to the very region where the animals were fattened, when the stockman may purchase it of the local vender of meats. The facilities and perfection with which these many transactions are accomplished is one of the wonderful sights of our country. Nevertheless the producer of meat products may well consider whether some more economical system of distribution may not be devised.

SHIPMENTS: SOURCES OF INFORMATION

All railroad rates are now carefully supervised by the federal government and are open to the inspection of the public. Such information as is ordinarily needed may be obtained from the local station agent, who is always glad to be of service to patrons of his road. If information of a special character is required, it may be obtained by addressing the division freight agent of the railroad in the region under consideration. The name of this officer is to be found in the circulars and upon the posters of the railroad.

In addition to the freight facilities offered by any individual railroad, there are what are known as fast freight lines. These agencies enable through and prompt shipment from inland points in our own country to inland points in another. An individual railroad may operate in connection with several such agencies. A certain railroad, for example, is combined with nine fast freight lines. Freight agents of local roads in the principal towns usually represent the fast freight lines and are prepared to transact business.

In seaport cities there are firms styling themselves foreign freight contractors, outward freight agents, steamship agents, or ship brokers. These firms are prepared to quote prices on shipments to any part of the world on either regular or tramp ships. They will give freely to intending shippers full information concerning methods and conditions of shipment. There is nothing mysterious about the business of shipping farm products. The necessary details may be acquired by inquiry in the channels indicated and by a little study of the data, which will be cheerfully furnished.

RAILROAD RATES

A great many factors are involved in determining the rate which is charged for transporting different products. In a certain sense it is doubtless true that the rate charged is based upon what the traffic will bear. The purpose here, however, is to state some of the customs which exist rather than to discuss the philosophy or justice of them.

The rate may vary with the value of the product, without any regard to the cost of the haul. Suppose the cost of shipping a ten-gallon can of fresh milk between two points to be 32 cents, the cost of shipping a similar can of cream may be 50 cents. The cost of shipping a carload of hay is less than a carload of wheat.

In some instances, zones or belts have been recognized, the rate from all towns within each zone being the same for a given product. Certain railroads centering in New York recognize four zones for the shipment of milk and cream, as follows:

Zone A—First 40 miles. Zone B—Between 40 and 100 miles. Zone C—Between 100 and 190 miles. Zone D—Beyond 190 miles.

It will be noticed that the size of these zones varies and may be the subject of adjustment between railroads and shippers.

While less understood by the public, railroads recognize zones or, more properly, groups of towns in making rates to them instead of from them, as in the instance above mentioned. It is possible to change the rate on a product to a given town by classifying it in another group. The rate on bran and other stock foods from central western points to certain towns in New York state has been the same as that charged to Boston, Mass., while other towns in New York not far removed have taken a lower rate.

Differential rates are recognized to be legitimate. Railroads are allowed to charge a less rate for wheat intended for export than that intended for local consumption. There has sometimes been a wide difference between the freight rate on wheat between Kansas City and Galveston, Texas, depending upon whether the wheat was to be exported or intended for domestic use.

In certain sections and for certain products the railroad rate varies with the season, because of difference in competition. The railroad rate between Chicago and New York on grain is higher while the navigation of the Great Lakes is suspended. As an illustration of the cheapness of transportation by water, it is stated that sometimes it is cheaper to ship wheat from Chicago to Buffalo by boat than to store it in a grain elevator for an equal period of time.

Products may sometimes be sent by baggage to greater advantage than by express, special arrangements for which are generally required.

FACILITIES FOR FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

American railway facilities are, perhaps, unrivaled among the nations of the world, but the United States is still behind other nations in the matter of means of local transportation, in which good roads is only a part of the problem. In France, the so-called messagers are a common feature of local traffic. Thus in the Department of Touraine there are 246 towns each having from one to four messagers, who with their great two-wheel carts, each with single draft horse, make one or two trips to Tours each week. The messagers carry freight both ways precisely in the same capacity as railroads do. While the railroads are fairly abundant these local agencies continue to thrive because delivery can be made directly to the consignee and delivery at the exact time and place is more certain. The enormous loads conveyed in these two-wheel carts by one horse is an element in this system to which the good roads of France now contribute. In 1799, France had constructed 25,000 miles of roadway. Since that time, over 300,000 miles of roadway have been completed and about 30,000 miles of railway have been constructed—ten miles of roadway for each mile of steam railway. The good roads of France are of comparatively recent origin, contributing materially to the improvement in well-being which has taken place during the same period.



CHAPTER XIX

MARKETING

Without stopping to inquire the reasons, it may be recalled that there are two rather distinct forms of trade, wholesale and retail. The wholesale trade is conducted by three classes of persons: dealers or merchants, commission men, and brokers. The dealer is one who buys the goods outright and takes his own risk on making a favorable sale to the retailer. The commission man is one who receives the goods, sells them at such price as he may be able to obtain and remits to the seller the amount obtained less expenses and his commission. The broker is a man who effects a sale without coming in contact in any way with the materials sold. A cheese broker, for example, receives instruction from different factories to sell for them a certain quantity of cheese of a given kind and quality each week or month as the case may be. At the same time he receives from grocery stores which retail cheese orders for various amounts, kinds and quality of cheeses. With this information at hand, he directs the various factories intrusting their business to him to ship the kind, quantity, and quality of cheese required by his several customers. For such service he receives a brokerage, which is less than that charged by a commission man because he is not required to handle or store the material.

Since the different farm products are purchased by different classes of retailers, and since their handling and sale require different facilities and special knowledge, there have arisen in the great centers of trade different kinds of markets, each having its particular facilities for the handling, care and sale, and each conducted by commission men or brokers with a special knowledge of the trade. Furthermore, certain cities have become, on account of their favorable position—to mention but one reason—headquarters for certain products or groups of products. Thus Petersburg, Virginia, has the principal wholesale market for peanuts. Elgin, Illinois, has been noted for its butter market. St. Louis is the leading mart for mules.

In a general way, the following five more or less distinct and important classes of markets for farm products may be recognized: Grain, Live Stock, Produce, Cotton and Tobacco.

METHODS OF TRADE

The brokers or commission men doing business in any one of these markets usually form an association called a board of trade, chamber of commerce or similar title for the purpose of assisting "each other in the pursuit of common ends." The result has been uniformity of methods and charges; but above all in importance, perhaps, has been the definition of classes and grades of the products placed on sale. The tendency is for the associations in the different cities to adopt uniform rules for the grading of products, so that No. 2 red winter wheat may mean the same thing in Toledo and New York; that the quotation on prime beef may refer to the same quality of cattle in Pittsburgh as it does in Chicago; and that No. 1 Timothy hay in Baltimore and St. Louis may be alike. While the tendency is towards uniformity, much yet remains to be accomplished. The shipper must be on his guard lest he suffer loss through the variations in the classification or variations in their interpretations on the different markets.

There has grown up around these markets some agency which stands as a disinterested party between seller and buyer impartially determining the weight and in some cases the quality of the object under negotiation. The State of Illinois employs agents who inspect all cars of grain consigned to the Chicago market. These inspectors determine the kind, grade and weight of the grain in each car. The car is then delivered under seal to the purchaser. If either seller or buyer is dissatisfied with the inspector's decision he may, by complying with certain regulations, have this decision reviewed by a higher authority. The decision of this higher authority is final and must be accepted by both parties. Brokers selling grain in carload lots ship the cars subject to the weight and grade as determined by the inspector at Chicago. Grain of a specific grade may thus be bought in Chicago or other great grain markets with almost perfect security as to weight and quality by persons living in any part of this or any other country. At Elgin the quality of butter is determined by a committee appointed by the Board of Trade from its own members. In the live stock markets, the stock yards company, in addition to furnishing yards, shelter, food and water, acts as agent between seller and buyer in determining the weight of the animals. The purchaser or his agent must determine for himself the quality of the animals he buys.

GRAIN MARKETS

The Chicago and St. Paul Boards of Trade and the New York Produce Exchange are the three great agencies for dealing in grain in the United States. Buffalo, Duluth, Baltimore and Philadelphia are also important markets. Adjuncts to these markets are the great terminal elevators capable of holding almost indefinitely enormous quantities of wheat and other grain. On the Pacific Coast all the wheat is handled in the bags, as is the custom in the other markets of the world. Canada and the United States alone have recognized the principle that wheat and other grains will run like water, which has been a prime factor in their competition with other nations.

Country elevators charge two cents a bushel for storage during the first 15 days and 1/2 cent for each additional 15 days. The charge for storage at terminal elevators for the first 15 days is 3/4 cent. The farmer may thus store his wheat in an elevator in place of his farm if he chooses so to do, although the wheat he thus puts in storage may have been made into flour and consumed before he sells it. This may be looked upon as a sort of intermediary step between storing wheat in one's own granary and dealing in futures.

The country shipper pays 1/2 cent a bushel commission for the sale of wheat. There is also a charge for inspection and insurance, and, in case there is an advance payment, for interest. After five days there are storage charges. This has given rise to the expression, gilt edge, regular and short receipts, depending upon the length of time there remains before storage charges must be paid. Every market has a grade known as contract grade, meaning the quality that must be furnished when wheat or other grain is sold without specifying the grade. In Chicago No. 2 red winter wheat is the contract grade. Where grain is sold or purchased by a broker, the brokerage is usually 1/8 cent per bushel.

HAY MARKETS

At least twenty cities have adopted the rules of the National hay association as to classes and grades of hay and straw. The southern states constitute an important market for the hay of the north central states, while Boston, New York and the mining towns of Pennsylvania are important markets for the northeastern states. The size of bale varies from 75 to 200 pounds. Small bales of 100 pounds each are preferred in Baltimore, medium bales of 110 to 140 pounds in Philadelphia, while New York and Boston usually deal in the larger bales. The commission charges vary from 50 cents to $1 per car. In New York, $1 pays all charges. At Chicago, $3 per car has been charged for the inspection, divided equally between seller and buyer.

PRODUCE MARKETS

Every town of any consequence has its produce market. The South Water street district in Chicago and the West Washington street market in New York are noted for their extent and variety. There are also many special markets for certain classes of produce. Thus Elgin, Chicago and New York have butter exchanges. Wisconsin, Utica, Watertown and Cuba (New York) maintain exchanges where cheese is placed on sale each week during the manufacturing season. There is also a board of trade for cheese in New York City. The prices quoted upon these exchanges are made the basis of many transactions between buyer and seller, who never enter these markets. Not only do buyers and sellers agree to abide by the quotations of one or the other of these markets, but the quotations are also used as a basis of settlement for milk furnished the creamery or factory. These agencies are thus impartial arbiters in countless financial transactions.

The rate of commission varies in different markets and for different products. Generally, however, produce is handled on a 5% basis, but for individual products which are especially bulky and difficult to handle, such as cabbage, 10% may be charged. In some cases commission is by quantity instead of on a percentage basis. Thus for potatoes the commission is sometimes 10% and in other cases 4 or 5 cents a bushel.

LIVE STOCK MARKETS

While poultry and game, as well as the carcasses of the smaller animals, may be handled through the produce markets, the large animals require separate facilities. The United States is noted for its large live stock markets and for the perfection and size of the packing houses which have grown up about them. The most famous example of these combined agencies is to be found at Chicago, but important live stock markets are also maintained at St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and more recently Fort Worth, Texas. The commission charges vary from 50 cents to $1 per head for cattle and from 10 to 25 cents per head for calves, sheep and hogs. In some markets, the commission on hogs is 2% of the gross returns. When located within 150 miles of a central market, it is customary to allow 50 cents per hundred pounds for cattle and 40 cents for hogs to cover shrinkage, and cost of freight, yardage, food, bedding and commission. It is possible for an owner to sell his own live stock in these yards, but the commission man, because of his superior knowledge of existing trade conditions, is almost universally employed. Firms which handle cattle, sheep and hogs seldom sell horses. Although handled by different commission firms, important horse markets are maintained at Chicago and Buffalo immediately adjacent to the market for meat animals. In New York the horse markets are in a different section of the city, that for draft and common work horses on one street, while the American Horse Exchange, located at another point, handles high-class light horses. The usual custom is to sell horses at auction, although they may be purchased at private treaty. In whatever manner purchased, it is essential to understand precisely the character of the guarantee.

COTTON, WOOL AND TOBACCO MARKETS

Because of their higher value per pound and the ease with which they can be stored, cotton, wool and tobacco are dealt in somewhat differently than other farm products. The two great cotton exchanges are located at New Orleans and New York, the quotations on these markets controlling the financial transactions in cotton throughout the world. The principal wool markets are Boston, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis. The principal tobacco markets are at Richmond and Danville, Va., Durham, N. C., and Louisville, Ky.



The country shipper or the young farmer wishing to place his products in the ordinary channels of trade must consider and determine among other things the following: What cities have favorable markets for his products; choose some commission man or broker to handle them; calculate the expenses for freight, commission and other customary items; familiarize himself with the rules for grading his products in the market or markets under consideration; and determine what agency there may be for protecting him as to the weight and quality when sales are effected. Whenever practicable, a visit to the market in question and a personal study of the conditions under which selling is done will be wise. Having done so, and perhaps having made a number of sales through these usual channels of trade, he will be in a position to consider whether he may organize to advantage some more direct method of getting his products to the consumer.



CHAPTER XX

LAWS AFFECTING LAND AND LABOR

Thus far property has been treated as invested capital upon which interest must be charged in determining the labor income. Labor, likewise, has been considered principally in its effect upon profits. Society has thrown around the transfer of property and the use of labor certain restraints for the protection of all individuals.

Through the ages certain procedures have become fixed by custom. These legal practices are largely the inheritance of old Roman law and are usually known as common law. Various legislative bodies having jurisdiction enact from time to time other laws. This body of enacted law is called statute law and is much more variable than common law. In the briefest possible manner it is the purpose here to state a few of the principles and applications of the law, chiefly the common law, as it affects the farmer in acquiring or disposing of his property and in his dealings with labor.

PROPERTY

Property may be defined as anything which is a subject of ownership. It possesses the characteristics of being acquired, held, sold, willed or inherited and is of two kinds: (1) Real property, real estate or realty; (2) chattels or personal property. These two kinds of property are subject to quite distinct legal practices. In general, real estate consists of land, things attached to it, such as trees, buildings, fences and certain rights and profits arising out of or annexed to the land. The term land as ordinarily used includes all these things, so that when land is said to be worth so much an acre it includes all fixtures. Ponds and streams are, under this definition, land. The land not only has surface dimensions, but extends upward indefinitely and down to the center of the earth, and hence includes a right to ores, coal, oil, gas or other materials whatsoever.

An article may, however, be real property or personal property depending upon circumstances. Thus a tree growing on the land is real property, but when cut into cord wood becomes personal property. New fence posts ready for use are personal property. When set in the ground they become real estate. Just what goes with a farm or what are fixtures is frequently a subject for legal determination.

FIXTURES

The general rule is that "fixtures are any chattels which have become substantially and permanently annexed to the land or to buildings or other things which are clearly a part of the land."[D] The annexation may, however, be purely theoretical, since the keys to the house or barn, which may be in the owner's pocket, are real estate. One rule concerning fixtures is that they must be so annexed that they cannot be severed without injuring the freehold. The intention of the party making the annexation also often determines, since if the article is annexed with the intention of making it permanent, it then becomes a part of the land. Among the things held to be fixtures, and therefore a part of the land, are: (1) All buildings and everything which is a part of any building, such as doors, blinds, keys, etc.; (2) fence materials which have been once used and are piled up to be used again are a part of the land, but new fence material not yet used is personal property. (3) Growing crops are real property. They go to the purchaser of the land unless specially reserved in the deed. A verbal agreement is not sufficient. (4) Trees, if blown down or cut down and still lying where they fell, are real property; if cut or corded up for sale they become personal property. (5) All manure made on the farm is real estate and passes with the land. (6) All the ordinary portable machines and tools are considered personal property, but certain machines held to be of permanent use upon the land are real estate. Among the things which courts have held to go with the land are cotton gins, copper kettles encased in brick and mortar for cooking food for hogs, cider mills, pumps, water pipes bringing water from distant springs. In general, motive power machinery and the shafting go with the land, but the machinery impelled may or may not, depending upon the way it is annexed. (7) If stones have been quarried for the purpose of using upon the farm, they go with the farm, but if quarried for sale they are personal property.

CONTRACTS

The difference between personal property and real property may be indicated by considering the essential features of a contract. A contract is an agreement between two or more persons. The foundation rule concerning a contract is that every man must fulfill every agreement he makes. An ethical practice grows out of this legal rule which, if strictly adhered to, will save much embarrassment, viz., make but few promises and always keep your engagements.

There are seven requirements generally necessary to a valid contract. (1) Possibility. The thing to be done must be possible. (2) Legality. It must not be forbidden by law. (3) Proper parties. The parties to a contract must be competent. Contracts with idiots or drunken persons are not binding. Some contracts with minors are not binding, although contracts for the necessities of life are. (4) Mutual assent. A proposition not assented to by both parties is not binding on either. (5) Valid consideration. A man is not regarded as injured by the breaking of a promise for which he has paid, or is to pay, nothing. (6) Fraud or deceit. A contract obtained by fraud is void as against the party using the fraud, but may be enforced by the innocent party if he sees fit. (7) Written contracts. Here comes the most important difference between real and personal property. Real property can only be conveyed by a written instrument, properly executed and recorded, while personal property passes by mere possession. Contracts relating to the sale of real estate are not binding unless in writing, while verbal contracts are sufficient for personal property if accompanied by payment of a part of the purchase price or the acceptance of the goods. For amounts under $50 verbal agreement in itself is binding.

TRANSFER OF REAL ESTATE

The purchaser should require of the seller evidence that the title to the land is straight and clear; if not, exactly what the defects are. This is done through an abstract of title, which should be prepared by a competent lawyer. This is not an official document, and its value depends largely upon the ability and watchfulness of the party making the abstract. Ownership of land is conveyed by means of a deed. A deed is an instrument conveying at least a life interest in the land. Care should be taken that the deed contains the essential parts and that it is properly executed.

DEEDS

Deeds are of two kinds: Quit claim deeds, which convey all the rights, title and interest which the seller has in the land, but does not warrant the title; and warranty deeds, which, in addition to what a quit claim does, contain covenants which agree that the seller and his heirs, etc., shall warrant and defend the title to the purchaser against the lawful claims of all persons.

THE REQUISITES OF A DEED

The requisites of a deed are: The parties to the deed, the consideration, the description; and with a warranty deed, the covenants. The seller must be of full age, sound mind and if married his wife should always join in the deed. Her name should appear following his at the beginning of the instrument. She should sign and acknowledge the deed, and the certificate of acknowledgment should state that she is the wife of the seller. If the seller is a married woman, her husband does not need to join in the sale of her own property. It is customary to state the consideration upon which the deed is given, but this is not necessary, nor will a false statement as to the amount paid invalidate the deed.

The description of the land conveyed should be as minute and careful as possible, and preferably in the exact language of former deeds. In case former description is in error, it should be referred to and correct description given. Where land is conveyed by metes and bounds, this description governs, although it may not convey the number of acres of land stated. In describing boundaries the location of monuments takes precedence of distances mentioned.

EXECUTION OF THE DEED

A deed must be signed, witnessed, acknowledged, delivered and recorded. In some states deeds must be sealed, but in other states the law has dispensed with this formality. Witnesses to deeds are not required in all states. Some states require one, but usually two witnesses are required. The parties signing the deed are required to appear before an official designated by statute, usually any magistrate, justice or notary public, and acknowledge the same to be his or her free act and deed.

A deed has no effect until delivered, and should be immediately recorded by the purchaser. Generally an unrecorded deed is not good as against a subsequent purchaser in good faith. It is well to note that the laws relating to the transfer of land are those of the place where the land lies and not necessarily those of the place where the deed is made.

METHOD OF LAYING OUT PUBLIC LANDS

The public lands of the United States are, whenever practicable, laid out into townships each six miles square, "as near as may be," whose sides run due north and south and east and west. The townships are laid off north and south of a base line which is a parallel of latitude, and are numbered north and south from the base line: Thus, T. 3 S., means Township No. 3 south from the base line. Each row of townships running north and south is called a range, and is numbered east or west of the principal meridian: Thus, R. 2 E., means Range 2 east of the given meridian.

The townships are then laid off into sections or square miles of 640 acres, "as near as may be," and these are numbered, beginning always at the northeast section, as shown in the accompanying diagram.

N + -+ 6 5 4 3 2 1 + + + + + 7 8 9 10 11 12 + + + + + W 18 17 16 15 14 13 E + + + + + 19 20 21 22 23 24 + + + + + 30 29 28 27 26 25 + + + + + 31 32 33 34 35 36 + -+ S

Each quarter section is referred to as the northeast or southwest quarter of the section, and each forty acres as the northwest or southeast quarter of a particular quarter. For example, an eighty-acre field may be referred to as the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 3, Township 5 North, Range 3, west of ——. Base line and meridian, or in some cases merely the meridian is mentioned.

The curvature of the earth's surface makes it impossible for the sides of townships to be truly north and south and at the same time six miles square. The excesses and the deficiencies due to the convergency of meridians and the curvature of the earth are by law added to or deducted from the western and northern ranges of sections and half sections of the townships. While the above has been the rule in laying out public lands for more than a century, there are many exceptions, due to many causes.

In the older settled sections the land was laid out in lots, often in a very irregular manner, although in some cases within a given tract the area was more or less regular. In these cases, the land must be described minutely and carefully by metes and bounds. In some of the southern and western states, also, where there were Spanish grants, much irregularity in the surveys exists. Over much of the north Central states this rectangular system of laying out lands obtains and has worked well in most respects.

THE LANDLORD AND TENANT

Leases of real estate follow the same procedure as deeds, except that a verbal lease, if for a term of not to exceed one year, is valid in most states. A written lease should be carefully drawn, because, according to common law, there are few things implied in a lease that are not stated. Definite statement concerning repairs and insurance is desirable. A tenant should also acquaint himself with the law of the state concerning the surrender of the farm upon the expiration of his term.

It is the duty of the tenant not only to guard the property, but to conduct the farm in a husbandlike manner. Unless otherwise stated in the contract, the tenant must pursue those methods of husbandry which are customary in the vicinity.

THE RELATION OF THE FARMER TO HIS WORKMEN

The requirements of a valid contract, as previously stated, control most of the relations which the employer has with his employees. Contracts for labor, unless for more than one year, need not be in writing. If, however, the service to be rendered is unusual, the agreement should be reduced to writing, because, in the absence of specific agreement, the law assumes that customary service and wages are implied.

Like all other employers of labor the farmer is under obligation to protect his workman from injury. He must not subject them to unusual and unreasonable risks. He must hire workmen suited to the employment. For example, if he employs a young boy to drive a fractious horse, he would be liable for any injury that might occur. In like manner, he must exercise proper care concerning the safety of the machinery placed in the hands of his workmen. He must keep his premises in a safe condition and must not expose his workmen to risks not incident to the employment for which they are hired.

The farmer is liable in damages for the acts of his workmen which are within the scope of their employment, although the authority may not have been expressly conferred. "He who acts by another acts himself." In case one is sued for the acts of his employee, the burden is upon him to prove that the act of the workman was without authority, expressed or implied.

——-

[D] Haigh's "Manual of Law," p. 69.



CHAPTER XXI

RURAL LEGISLATION

Various laws have been enacted by federal and state legislatures for the better protection of producer and consumer. Much of this legislation affects in a very special way the interests of the farmer. Not infrequently, in fact, generally, the state department of agriculture has more or less direct jurisdiction over their enforcement. State departments of agriculture usually publish a collection of the laws of this character. These laws vary greatly in the different states and only the most general outline, as they affect the interests of the farmer, can be given here. Persons can inform themselves as to the details as enforced in a given state by applying to the state secretary of agriculture.

A number of these acts affect interstate commerce, concerning which the United States Constitution says: "No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any impost or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws." By a series of judicial decisions it has been determined that a State has a right to enforce laws affecting interstate commerce when traffic in the articles thus modified or prohibited affects the public welfare. When it is necessary to have a police regulation to prevent fraud in the traffic of an article or for the purpose of guarding the public health or morals, police laws, so called, may be enacted and enforced. Around this general question there has waged a bitter controversy which has occupied some of the best legal minds and is one involving some difficulty.

FERTILIZER CONTROL

One of the first of the "control" measures to be enacted, and the one which has been most universally adopted by the several states, is the law requiring the manufacturer and dealer in commercial fertilizers to guarantee the percentage of the so-called essential fertilizing elements—nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—contained in each bag of fertilizer offered for sale. Subsequent control laws have been modeled more or less closely after this law. Hence a description of the operation and execution of it will serve for all.

The execution of this law is usually under the immediate supervision of the state secretary of agriculture, while the necessary chemical analyses are made by the state experiment station. In some states the enforcement of the law is in charge of the state experiment station, while in others the state department of agriculture has its own laboratories or employs a private chemist. It is, however, becoming a more and more settled policy to place all police regulations in charge of the state department of agriculture, while at the same time the chemical analyses and other scientific and technological inquiries are made at the state experiment station.

In order to facilitate the taking of samples and in order to raise funds for the execution of the law, the manufacturer is required to take out a license and to make a statement of the brands of fertilizers which he will place upon the market in the given state during the given season.

During the spring and fall season agents traverse the state and sample the bags of fertilizers as found on sale by local merchants. The samples are sent by number under seal to the designated chemist, while at the same time the agent transmits to the state officer in charge of the enforcement of the law the necessary information concerning these samples. Upon the receipt of the analysis made by the chemist, who has had no knowledge of the origin of the sample, the state officer compares them with the guarantee of the manufacturer, and if he finds it necessary enters legal complaint. While these laws have been in force for many years in some states and in many states for some years, prosecution has seldom been found necessary. The honest manufacturer is protected from dishonest competition, and the dishonest manufacturer, if there be such, cannot afford the publicity which noncompliance with the law would entail.

It has been customary to publish, with the results of analysis, also an estimate of the commercial value per ton of each brand of fertilizer. This estimated commercial value is obtained by multiplying the pounds of each element or combinations of the element in a ton by a value per pound. To the value of the fertilizer thus obtained is added something for cost of mixing, bagging and freight, and something for profit. The price per pound given to each element or combinations of the elements is based upon the commercial value of the element when purchased in raw materials. The price for each year is usually determined by a conference of those in control of the execution of the law in the several states for certain groups of states. As a matter of fact, the price varies little from year to year.

The published figures, therefore, constitute a table of comparative commercial values as determined by the most expert knowledge. While not constituting a statement of absolute commercial value for any given locality, they do enable the purchaser to determine whether the price quoted on a given brand of fertilizer is within reason. Persons who are unacquainted with the principles controlling the use of commercial fertilizers may, however, be led to believe that the price of the fertilizer is an indication of its value for the production of a given crop. As is well known to all students of the subject, there is no necessary relation between the commercial value of a fertilizer and the fitness of its formula for a given soil and crop. For these and other reasons, the publication of tables of commercial value has been strongly opposed by some manufacturers, and in certain states the custom has been discontinued. While granting that tables of commercial value are subject to misinterpretation, it is perhaps fair to say that such tables have been of most benefit, and, moreover, have been of great value to those who were most likely to misinterpret them.

It has been customary in most states to make analyses only of mixed fertilizers. Thus such raw materials as nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia, dried blood, bone meal, rock phosphate, tankage, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, have not been brought under the operation of the law. If one wishes to purchase nitrate of soda, muriate of potash and tankage with the intention of mixing them according to a formula of his own, he may not find any protection in his state. However, these products can be obtained through reputable dealers who will willingly guarantee the contents. In case of doubt, the purchaser may secure an analysis by his state experiment station at a moderate cost.

The law requires that there shall be affixed to every package of fertilizer offered for sale a statement about as follows:

The minimum per centum of each of the following constituents which may be contained therein:

(a) Nitrogen.

(b) Soluble, available and total phosphoric acid, except in cases of undissolved bone, basic slag phosphate, wood ashes, unheated phosphate rock, garbage tankage and pulverized natural manures, when the minimum per centum of total phosphoric acid may be substituted. This latter applies only in those states where raw materials are subject to inspection.

(c) Potash soluble in distilled water.

It is possible to comply with the law and yet state the guarantee upon each bag of fertilizer in such a manner as to mislead the uninformed. It is not the purpose of this book to deal with such technical details, but if the purchaser of commercial fertilizers is not already well acquainted with fertilizer terms, he should secure an elementary textbook on the subject or write to his state experiment station for a bulletin discussing them.

FEEDING STUFF CONTROL

The law controlling the sale of stock foods is of more recent origin than the fertilizer control act and has not been so universally adopted up to the present time. The necessity for such a law arises from the growing use as stock foods of various by-products in the manufacture of liquors, starch, glucose, sugar, cottonseed and linseed oils and breakfast foods. Various mixtures, varying widely in chemical composition, especially in protein and crude fiber, were placed upon the market. In some instances mixtures were grossly adulterated with such things as oat hulls and ground corn cobs.

The adoption of this law by certain states has served to make other states the dumping ground for inferior stock foods, thus increasing the necessity for similar protection. The law does not apply to the ordinary grains produced by farmers or to the usual by-products of millers.

SEED CONTROL

From time immemorial it has been the universal custom of seedsmen to disclaim all responsibility for the purity and germinating power of their seeds. But as the importance of good seed—good in hereditary power, good in germination, good in its freedom from adulteration, good in its absence of noxious weed seed—has become better understood demand for some method of control has arisen. In at least one state there is a seed-control law modeled quite closely after the fertilizer-control law. However, the usual method of protection consists in purchasing by sample or the insistence of a guarantee, with a subsequent "analysis" of a sample of the purchased seed.

The germinating power and purity of seed can be determined cheaply by an expert within from five to twenty days, depending upon the species. The federal government has a division of seed control in its Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. Any person may send a sample of seed to this division and have its purity and germinating power determined, and in some of the states the experiment station will perform similar services without charge. Clover, alfalfa, grass and other small seeds should always be purchased subject to such inspection, unless the purchaser is prepared to make his own inspection, which a very little training makes possible.

NURSERY INSPECTION

There is no national law concerning the importation of insect-infested or diseased plant stock.

Several of the states have passed both state and interstate regulations concerning the sale of nursery stock. The insects usually legislated against are San Jose scale, gypsy moth and brown-tail moth, while the diseases usually interdicted are yellows, black knot, peach rosette, and pear blight.

The enforcement of the law is usually placed in charge of a person having special knowledge of economic insects and fungous diseases. In addition to these police regulations this officer may, by various means, attempt to bring into practice methods calculated to eradicate or, at least, lessen the severity of existing attacks.

Commerce in vinegar, dried fruits, insecticides and fungicides is also regulated in some states.

DAIRY, FOOD AND DRUG INSPECTION

An adequate discussion of the rise and development of the control in the sale of dairy and food products would require a chapter by itself, if not an entire volume. Suffice it to say here that the laws on this general subject have acquired an importance in many ways quite beyond that of any of the other control measures discussed in this chapter. In the extent of funds handled, the number of agents employed and the public interest incited, the office of dairy and food commissioner outranks any other control agency. In some states the office is an elective one, and the questions with which the office has to deal become a part of the state political campaign.

The importance of the inspection of dairy and food products grows out of the fact that not only is the consumer, hence all the world, interested, but the execution of these laws touch large commercial interests. Not only are meat packers, distillers and brewers deeply interested, but the wholesale and retail grocers and, more recently, the manufacturing and prescribing druggists, are vitally concerned.

Not many years ago the inspection of dairy products, particularly control of the traffic in oleomargarine, was the chief function of this office. To-day the enforcement of laws concerning pure foods, liquor and drugs is of much greater importance.

Interstate commerce in oleomargarine is now regulated through the enactment of an internal revenue law requiring a tax of ten cents a pound on colored oleomargarine and one-fourth of a cent a pound on uncolored oleomargarine and, further, by prescribing the character of package and method of marking all oleomargarine entering into interstate commerce. State agencies are charged with the duty of requiring the compliance of local dealers and restaurateurs with the general features of the federal law. Some states, however, prohibit entirely the sale of colored oleomargarine within the state.

PURITY IN DAIRY PRODUCTS

Attempts to define what is pure milk, cream, butter or cheese have been fraught with much difficulty. Thus, for example, legal definitions of pure milk have resulted in some cows giving illegal milk. In some instances the law has declared simply that whole milk is milk from which no cream has been removed; in others, the minimum amount of butter fat has been prescribed; in still others, the minimum amount of total solids containing a minimum proportion of butter fat has been made the basis of legal milk. In like manner full cream cheese has been defined as cheese made from whole milk or from milk from which only a given amount of cream has been removed, while in other instances the minimum amount of butter fat which full cream cheese may contain is prescribed. The wide variation in the amount of butter fat carried by cream has caused much jocular comment and some serious discussion as to what is cream.

While it is not feasible to indicate the laws for the several states, the ruling of the federal government as to what constitutes purity in dairy products under the national food and drug act may be accepted as a general guide. A circular giving the required information may be secured by addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.

LIVE STOCK SANITATION

The control of contagious diseases in domestic animals and the inspection of meat products have been the chief work of the Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture since its establishment.

The bureau inspects all imported live animals and under certain conditions will inspect live animals intended for exportation. It inspects all meat products intended for export. Its inspection of meats intended for interstate commerce is less rigid than that exported. Meats sold within the state in which they are slaughtered cannot be required by the federal government to undergo inspection. It thus happens that the people of the several states enjoy less protection in the consumption of meat than the foreign purchaser of American meats unless there is a state meat inspection law. However, it is becoming more and more the custom for the large packers to have all their products inspected without regard to their destination. The meats slaughtered in the locality in which they are consumed are the ones that receive the least supervision.

The federal government has been especially active and efficient in the prevention of interstate commerce in cattle suffering with Texas fever, and sheep attacked with scab and foot rot. Through the agency of the bureau dipping tanks have been provided in all the great live stock markets for the disinfection of cattle and sheep when needed.

Several of the states have laws controlling the importation of diseased animals from other states and the transfer of them within the state. The following are the diseases most commonly mentioned in the laws of the several states: Anthrax, black quarter, hog cholera, swine plague, rabies, glanders and tuberculosis. The law is generally enforced by a state veterinarian, whose acts are supervised either by a state live stock commission or the state secretary of agriculture or these two agencies acting conjointly.

Perhaps the disease which has required the greatest amount of attention in the several states is tuberculosis in milch cows. It is customary for this office to apply the tuberculin test, free of charge, under certain stipulations, to any herd upon the request of the owner and to supervise the slaughter and disposition of the reacting animals. In some states the owner is indemnified in part or in whole for his loss. The amount of indemnity as well as the general features of the law concerning the control of tuberculosis in domestic animals has been the subject of much controversy and cannot be said to have reached an altogether satisfactory solution in most states.

The young farmer should clearly understand that under no circumstances can he afford to have a tuberculous animal in his herd. The contact of a diseased animal with other animals of the herd is certain to entail a greater loss than the destruction of the diseased animal. The farmer must in his own interest rear healthy animals whether or not it is necessary for the protection of the consumer.

FISH AND GAME LAWS

The motives underlying the enactment of laws concerning fish and game are varied. The controversies over these laws in the legislatures of the several states indicate that there is a belief, whatever may be the fact, that there are opposing interests; viz., those of the hunter or sportsman on the one hand, and those of the farmer or landowner on the other. The law of trespass has been one over which has raged much bitterness, both with regard to the form of the law to be enacted and concerning its subsequent enforcement. Sportsmen have usually held that a distinction existed between wild animals occupying private property and domestic animals. The landowner has urged that others should not trespass upon his property for the purpose of shooting wild animals, although his proprietary right in them was no greater.

In like manner, laws concerning the closed season, made to protect animals during the breeding period, are the subject of extended discussion and are being constantly changed; both because there is a difference of opinion concerning the habits of the different species and because the motive varies for maintaining the supply. Some animals are protected on account of their benefit, supposed or real, to agriculture. Other animals are protected because of their gaming qualities, even to the extent of sometimes injuring farm crops. The money spent by sportsmen in the pursuit of game is an element in the varied interests involved. Humane motives and a desire to prevent the further restriction of a not too varied fauna have helped, also, to save certain species from extinction. On the other hand, in some states commercial interests are involved, as where large quantities of birds are taken for their plumage.

Some attempts have been made to introduce foreign species, as the Japanese pheasant. It is, however, with fish that the most has been accomplished in replenishment. The federal government and several of the states have been active in regularly restocking, each season, certain streams with "fry" of edible and game fish.

Information concerning the open season can be obtained from the proper state officer. The fish and game laws are usually under the control of a commission with a secretary as the executive officer.



CHAPTER XXII

RURAL FORCES

The United States is a vast domain. Its material resources are enormous. Its fertile and easily tilled soil, its magnificent forests, its great stores of ore, coal, oil and gas; its fine water-power sites and its temperate and healthful climate have all contributed to the making of a prosperous and progressive nation. Without these natural resources the United States could not be what it is.

The waste of some of these resources is almost beyond belief. In mining, one-half the anthracite and one-third the soft coal is left in the ground in such a manner that it may never be economically recovered. A ton of coal will produce 1,400 pounds of coke, worth $1.50, and 20 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, worth 50 cents. If all the nitrogen in coal which is turned into coke in Pennsylvania were recovered, it would furnish enough of this element to supply the needs of every acre of tillable soil in that state. Only about 44% of the wood in the trees now harvested in the United States is incorporated into buildings, apparatus and furniture. The rest is wasted in the process of cutting, sawing and manufacturing into the finished products.

Facts like these have led the nation to realize that the conservation of our natural resources is an immediate and pressing problem. The United States has, however, a greater inheritance than these great and beneficent gifts of nature and a more fundamental problem than the preservation and efficient use of them. In a single sentence, the greatest inheritance of the American people is their Puritan ancestry. The word Puritan is here used to apply not only to the New England Pilgrims, but to all our early forefathers, whose traditions and practices have served to set this country apart from the other countries of the world. Because of the traditions which have been handed down to us, we are healthier-bodied and cleaner-minded men and women. We are more efficient, not merely in making money, but in everything that goes to make a full and well-rounded life.

It is well to realize the resources of other nations. The agricultural possibilities of France appear to the casual observer to compare favorably with any equal area in the United States. One may see farm land in Italy which has been cultivated for at least two thousand years which is evidently as fertile as any of the limestone valleys of the Atlantic States, the prairies of the Mississippi valley or the Palouse district of the Northwest. Russia has enormous areas of fertile soil. Careful observers report that in Manchuria there are great stretches of country, which today possess natural opportunities similar to those which the Mississippi valley offered one hundred years ago. The recent stories of the deposits of coal and mineral wealth in China are almost fabulous. Europe has rich mines, great forests and unrivaled water-power.

Some years ago a native of Argentina and a native of the United States were dining together. The Argentinian had served his government as consul to Canada. He related that he had recently written an official letter in which he had occasion to refer to the people of Canada and to those of this country. He explained that in alluding to the former he could say the Canadians, but the latter he could not call Americans, since his people were also Americans. After due consideration he referred to us as "the Yankees." "But," turning to his hearer, he said, with great emphasis, "I do not look upon the people of the United States as a nation, but as a new civilization." In other words, our nation is not simply one of fertile farms, enormous mines, great forests, unparalleled railroad systems, palatial stores, or wealthy cities, but he saw that we are a people of different economic, political, educational, social, moral and religious ideals.

There are in every rural neighborhood certain forces whose objects are to increase the educational advantages, the social opportunities and the moral aspirations of the people. This subject need not be discussed merely in the abstract. There are in every community concrete evidences of these forces. There is the rural church. There is the rural school. In many localities are to be found, also, buildings, for social and fraternal purposes, as grange halls, structures for holding fairs and picnics. These are tangible evidences that there are rural agencies at work in the community whose chief purpose is to increase the educational advantages, the social opportunities and the moral aspirations of the people.

How are these existing rural forces to be made more effective? If co-operation in financial affairs is essential under modern conditions, it is more needed in social matters. Such co-operation does not imply that these separate forces shall be fused into a single one. Each of them has its particular and peculiar work to do, but each should work in harmony and not in the spirit of antagonism with the others.

There should be formed in each locality a committee for which the following name is proposed: The Community Committee of Rural Forces. Emphasis should be placed upon the word "community." Like all moral movements, progress must come from within, and not from without. The movement must be adapted to its environment. Like the plants that grow there, it must be indigenous to the soil.



[Illustration: Mr. Lowell B. Gable, Glen Gable Farms, Wybrooke, Pa., a graduate of Cornell University, is developing 812 acres of land in Chester county. He has a herd of 80 Guernsey cows in milk and is breeding Percheron, registered polling horses and Chester White hogs. Mr. Gable has been supervisor of the township for two years, during which time nine and one-half miles of macadam road have been built without materially increasing the taxes. Mr. Gable firmly believes that one of the best opportunities to be of help to a rural community lies in the work to be done for the improvement of social conditions—"to help make what little leisure there is clean and refreshing." Hence on return from college he played baseball and football with local teams and helped out at every opportunity at dances, musicales and other social entertainments.]

This committee should be composed of representatives of the churches, the schools, farmers' clubs, granges, fair associations, farmers' institutes; and other organizations which are striving to increase the educational advantages, the social opportunities and the moral aspirations of the people.

Oftentimes the object of these rural forces is confused with efforts to increase the financial prosperity of the farmer. It goes without saying that the maintenance of the fertility of the soil is essential to the food supply of the nation. The problems of the economic production of plants and animals are of great importance to the prosperity of the farmer. The idea, however, that the proper solution of these economic problems is to be the means of solving the educational, social and religious problems is simply putting the cart before the horse. Economic questions can only be satisfactorily adjusted through the application of intelligence and right ideas.

Let it be supposed that when a young man decides to pay attention to a young woman that instead of meeting her at the church door, or it may be at the railway station, it is considered better form for him to get permission of the mother to call upon the young woman in her own home. This is the most fundamental question in every neighborhood. What has it to do with the price of wheat?

This illustration has been used to emphasize two points. First, there are many problems in every community that are in no way related to the material prosperity of the neighborhood. Second, there is, at present, no single force in the community with sufficient influence to cope properly with many of these problems.

A young college graduate who is now managing eight hundred acres of land recently wrote: "I firmly believe that one of the best opportunities to be of help to a rural community lies in the work that is to be done for the improvement of social conditions—to help make what little leisure there is clean and refreshing." Hence on return from college this young man has found time to play football and baseball with local teams and to help whenever opportunity offered at dances, musicales and similar entertainments. Games and other forms of recreation may be clean and wholesome, or they may be quite the reverse. It would be the duty of the community committee to see that dances occurred under proper environment—not next an open saloon—and that the young women were properly chaperoned.

In many communities the boys and girls are almost wholly dependent upon the neighboring towns for their amusement. This condition may or may not be desirable. If the town and country are virtually one community, there is every reason why the boys and girls from the farms should find recreation and social intercourse with the boys and girls of the village. It is a relationship that should be fostered wherever possible. When, however, the town and the country are separate communities, which prevent the ordinary social relationships, it is usually unfortunate when the young people of the one community are dependent upon the other community for their amusements.

A deeply earnest man recently said: "I was born and raised upon the farm. I never knew a dull day in my life. I went fishing. I went hunting and——"

"Stop right there," said the listener. "There is not the same opportunity today for a boy to go hunting that there was when you were a boy."

"That is true."

"Our ideas about such things have changed, also."

"Yes," he replied, humbly enough, for he was a man of fine fiber.

"I propose a substitute," said the listener. "There is much more pleasure and recreation to be obtained from photographing animals than from killing them. What is needed in every rural community is a camera club."

When a boy wishes to go hunting, he merely has to buckle on his ammunition pouch, shoulder his gun and he is ready. A camera club, however, requires a social organization and a social center. The community committee would thus be required to decide whether the facilities for developing and printing pictures may best be located at the church, the schoolhouse, the grange hall or elsewhere.

A little reflection will show how many possibilities such a club might have on its social, moral and educational side. The suggestion has been made here, however, only as an illustration of the problems which arise when a rural community is organized for social welfare. The organization of a book club, or a magazine club in a rural community presents precisely the same problems. Some method must be devised for exchanging the books or magazines. Whether they are exchanged at the church, the grange hall or through the school children will depend upon local conditions requiring a community committee to decide.

This community committee will do something more than reach immediate results. It may project its influence far into the future. Not all of life is comprised in a porcelain bathtub and nickel adornments. Nevertheless modern methods of heating and plumbing are desirable in the country as well as in the city. In Indiana there is a one-room school building. In the basement there has been placed a furnace and a gasoline engine. The engine is used not only to teach the boys how to run a gasoline engine, but it makes possible a modern system of plumbing.

It is well known that many of the states within the past decade have voted to abolish or very materially restrict the sale of alcoholic beverages. No great temperance orators have roused the people as was the case thirty years or more ago. Why, then, has such progress been made in recent years? In large part because twenty-five years ago, the teaching of physiology was introduced into the public schools, which taught the evil effects of alcohol to the human system. During the past decade young men who studied these physiologies have been voting.

What has the teaching of physiology to do with the one-room schoolhouse in Indiana with its modern system of plumbing? The girls between the ages of six and fourteen are now becoming accustomed to modern systems of plumbing. When they grow older and marry they will find some way to introduce similar conveniences into their homes without regard to the price of wheat. A wise community committee will find many ways to influence future generations. Such a committee would be a priceless heritage to any community.

The natural resources of the United States are necessary to the prosperity of the people. The preservation and economic use of these resources are of vast importance. The natural resources of the world were, however, as great five thousand years ago as they are today. The soil was no less fertile then than now. The difference between the prosperity of the human race at these two periods is caused by a difference in human motive and efficiency. It is the result of ideals and knowledge. Sit at the banquet table with men who are the real powers in shaping the affairs of the world. The chances are that the champagne remains untouched. These men are not in the habit of partaking of midnight suppers. They must keep themselves fit for the next day's work. They have the approval and loyalty of their wives because they deserve it. In other words, the men who do the world's work are not drunkards. They are not gluttons. They are not libertines. They are efficient because they have healthy bodies and clean minds. It is this efficiency which the critic from Argentina saw when he said, "I do not look upon the people of the United States as a nation, but as a new civilization."

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First Principles of Soil Fertility

By ALFRED VIVIAN. There is no subject of more vital importance to the farmer than that of the best method of maintaining the fertility of the soil. The very evident decrease in the fertility of those soils which have been under cultivation for a number of years, combined with the increased competition and the advanced price of labor, have convinced the intelligent farmer that the agriculture of the future must be based upon more rational practices than those which have been followed in the past. We have felt for some time that there was a place for a brief, and at the same time comprehensive, treatise on this important subject of Soil Fertility. Professor Vivian's experience as a teacher in the short winter courses has admirably fitted him to present this matter in a popular style. In this little book he has given the gist of the subject in plain language, practically devoid of technical and scientific terms. It is pre-eminently a "First Book," and will be found especially valuable to those who desire an introduction to the subject, and who intend to do subsequent reading. Illustrated. 5x7 inches. 265 pages. Cloth.

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The Study of Corn

By PROF. V. M. SHOESMITH. A most helpful book to all farmers and students interested in the selection and improvement of corn. It is profusely illustrated from photographs, all of which carry their own story and contribute their part in making pictures and text matter a clear, concise and interesting study of corn. Illustrated. 5x7 inches. 100 pages. Cloth.