ing half-wasted lands in his trail.

It was really a blessing to the land when the scarcity of free homesteads
brought this wasteful process towards its end. When new lands became
scarce, the farms of the middle West increased in value. For twenty years
farm values have been rising steadily, with two evident results: intensive
farming and speculation. The demoralizing effects of the latter are at
once apparent. It was a sad day when the prairie farmer ceased to think of
his farm as a permanent home, but as a speculative asset. But it was a
good day for the business of farming when the farmer discovered the need
of more careful, intensive cultivation to keep pace with rising values.
This marks the beginning of scientific thoroughness and efficiency in our
tilling of the soil.

_Its Development by Government Patronage_

Just then something very timely happened. The modern period of American
agriculture really dates from 1887, when Congress, by the Hatch Act,
established the first national system of agricultural experiment stations
in the world. Previous to this date there had been a few private and state
enterprises; but this Act of Congress established at public expense an
experiment station in every state and territory. The vast usefulness of
this movement in developing a real science of agriculture is evident from
this paragraph from the law:

"Sec. 2. That it shall be the object and duty of said experiment stations
to conduct original researches or verify experiments on the physiology of
plants and animals; the diseases to which they are severally subject, with
the remedies for the same; the chemical composition of useful plants at
their different stages of growth; the comparative advantages of rotative
cropping, as pursued under the varying series of crops; the capacity of
new plants or trees for acclimation; the analysis of soils and water; the
chemical composition of manures, natural or artificial, with experiments
designed to test their comparative effects on crops of different kinds;
the adaptation and value of grasses and forage plants; the composition and
digestibility of the different kinds of food for domestic animals; the
scientific and economic questions involved in the production of butter and
cheese, et cetera."

As a result of this and later laws, over three millions of dollars are now
spent annually, by the national and state governments, to support
experiment station work. Over a thousand men are