considered that unless one has had experience in buying farms he is likely to forget some of the details even though he may be an experienced farmer. Below will be found some of the questions which should be carefully considered by the purchaser in selecting a farm. If one expects to make a living on the farm, the cropproducing power of the soil is the basic factor. There are some exceptions, but ordinarily what grows out of the ground determines whether or not one has a chance to make a profit. Types of Farming. The chief factors that determine the type of farming in any region are: climate, soil, topography, transportation, distance to market or shipping point, market demand and supply, capital, labor, and insects, fungi or other pests. These factors do not often change suddenly. A new railroad may be built, and change the type of farming, or an insect pest may force a temporary change. Types of farming are in general stable, yet are nearly always gradually changing and sometimes are subject to sudden and radical change. The farmer must be conservative yet always ready to change when a change is necessary. Crops are closely limited by climate, soil and topography. Animal production is also closely limited by these factors, for animal production depends on crops. Cattle and sheep are usually raised in regions where there is land that is good for pasture but not good for crops. If land is good for crops it is usually too valuable to be used for pasture. The length of the grazing season is also of great importance. This is not determined by the length of the warm period, but by the character and amount of grass. The most important centres of production of products that are easily and cheaply shipped are in regions where the cost of production is least. Sheep can be raised in New York, in Montana, and in Australia. The most important centres of production are where the feed is cheapest, not where the product is used. Wool and mutton can be shipped long distances. Nor is the feed of a portion of the year the dominating factor; the feed cost for the entire year is the important matter. Butter is readily shipped and the centres of production are largely in the regions of cheapest production. But fresh small fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh milk are shipped with difficulty and at great expense, hence are usually produced near market. Hay is very bulky for shipment and is therefore usually produced nearer to market than the grains. It costs less to ship hogs than to ship the corn that a hog would eat. For this reason hogs are most abundant in the portion of the corn belt farthest from Chicago. A larger proportion of the corn near Chicago is shipped for manufacturing purposes. Periods Over and Under Production.- No problem in farm management is more difficult than the problem of forecasting future needs. The farmer who foresees future shortages and raises products to meet them, is a public benefactor and at the same time makes a good profit for himself. The majority of mankind live in the present. If sheep or horses or apples are high, the majority are inclined to rush to these enterprises. But entering at the period of high prices does not mean selling on the high market; for the product comes years later when one must compete with all the others who rushed into the business at the time of high prices. The profit on a colt is not dependent on the prices of horses now, but on the prices of horses four to six years from now when the colt is sold. For every product there is a more or less definite cycle of over- and under-production. When a shortage of hogs occurs it takes two years to bring a surplus. In the meantime too many are likely to be raised so as to cause a surplus when they go on the market. When a shortage of horses is discovered there is usually a shortage of colts as well. Hence, it takes five to eight years to cause a surplus. Violent changes in world affairs, such as the Great War, make violent fluctuations in demand for different products. These call for sudden modifications of agricultural practice and sometimes call for complete changes. At such times the changes that take place are likely to be much too great and are likely to result in serious underproduction of the articles that at first appear to be relatively abundant. As compared with peace, the war demands call for greatly increased amounts of clothing and for 36 relatively large amounts of grain. Cotton, wool and grain rise in price more than food animals. The production of animals is at first relatively unprofitable. Later on, owing to the great decrease in animal production, the animals become highly profitable. Usually it pays a farmer to maintain his general type of farming, but make minor shifts to meet market demands. The Relation of Capital to Type of Farming. Most farmers begin business with a small capital and gradually increase as they save money. With small capital one must economize Usually land, on the less essential things. As horses and machinery are the essentials, so that the man with small capital is likely to have fewer producing livestock and sell more crops than he will when his capital increases. capital increases, not only does he increase the number of livestock but he improves their quality. Type of Farming and Labor.- In nearly every region there are one or two crops or classes of animals that are much more profitable than others. Usually it pays a farmer to use his available labor and equipment to produce the maximum amount of these products. But other crops can be grown at periods when the most profitable crop does not demand attention. It therefore pays to fill in the time with these less profitable enterprises. In the South, the custom is to grow all the cotton that can be handled, but it pays to fill out with less profitable crops so that one has a diversified farm. In the corn belt the maximum area of corn is grown, but it pays to fill out the season with oats, hay and other less profitable enterprises so as to provide a full year's work. Intensity of Stocking.- In order to compare farms as to the livestock enterprises, it is necessary to reduce all animals to a comparable unit. One horse or cow is called an animal unit. Seven sheep, five hogs, or 100 hens are each called an animal unit. In each case twice as many young stock are required. In some of the most intensive dairy regions there are less than two acres of harvested crops per animal unit. In some parts of the wheat regions of the Northwest there are as high as 13 acres of crops per animal unit. In the cotton belt six In most parts of the acres is very common. United States the number is from two to seven acres of crops per animal unit. Regions that have three acres or less of crops per animal unit may be said to be heavily stocked, regions with four or more acres of crops are lightly stocked. An animal unit produces about one ton of manure per month. If the animals are in the barn half of the time, six tons of manure will be available per animal unit. In many parts of the North as high as eight tons are com- When manure is spread by hand it is usually applied at the rate of 15 to 30 tons per acre. It is therefore evident that only on the most heavily stocked farms will the entire farm receive manure. But with a manure spreader, and by making applications of 5 to 10 tons, the entire farm can be regularly manured in most regions of the North and east of the arid region. Timeliness in Work.- Probably no other industry calls for such frequent changes in plans. The problem of timeliness is, therefore, much more difficult than in most industries. A farmer may plan to harvest crops, but a rain comes up and he changes to inside work. The storm seems to be over and he starts out to fix a road, but the rain comes on again and promises to be a rainy day. He then gives up and goes to town to get machinery repaired and do trading. Some farm operations, such as driving fence posts, require that the soil be very wet to work to the best advantage. Other operations, like plowing, require that it be moist but not wet. Plowing can be done when it is too wet to cultivate, harrow, or plant. Other operations, such as harvesting, require dry weather. In most regions the greatest problem is to get the dry weather work done. The different fields also differ in their characteristics. One must plow and plant the fields when he has a chance. The best drained land can be used for the times when the wet land cannot be worked. The decision as to when to be doing a particular piece of work is of great importance. The morning may start out wet and one may start doing one of the wet weather jobs but it may clear suddenly and demand a change before noon. Not only is the problem of quick decisions and frequent changes of plans important, but it is often necessary to do two days' work in one. If land is fitted for seeding and a rain comes it must be fitted again. If by working as long as one can see the field can be planted, it will save perhaps twice the time later and will avoid the danger of not getting the crop in on time. The rushes of work can be taken care of by a family in a way that is impossible on a very large farm. The farmer, being interested, does not complain about working a long day. He can do less work or easier work on a less His wife and important day and so rest up. children also help, particularly on the days of great pressure, so that there is a reserve supply of energy to meet the critical periods. When there are only one or two hired men working with the farmer he can often arouse in his men the same spirit for extra work at the essential time. Size of Farm.- The constant vigilance that is required makes it impossible to supervise agricultural operations by the factory method. The one who makes the decision must be "on the job" all the time. On the other hand, one man is at a very great disadvantage on a farm. Many operations require two men. On a one-man farm, if the farmer goes to town, or does chores or other hand labor, the horses are all idle. Some farm operations require four horses, others call for only two horses. Or if he keeps only two men he cannot take advantage of the work that can be done with four. With two men it is possible to so arrange the work as to make much more efficient use of horses. The most efficient farms usually provide work for two or three persons, a farm that can be run by a farmer and his sons, or by a farmer and one or two hired men. Farms of this size produce food at the lowest cost. The strictly one-man farm or the very large farm find difficulty in competing with the two-man farms. Another reason for the failure of large scale farming is that the distances from the barn to the fields are too great with large farms. Those who attempt to operate large tracts of land are nearly always forced to some sort of a tenant system. By giving the operator a share of the product he becomes personally interested in the success of his operations and his family labor that might not be hired is all available for helping in the work. GEORGE F. WARREN, Professor of Farm Management, Cornell University. FARM MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSOCIATION. See BANKS AND BANKING; BankERS ASSOCIATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. FARM POWER. Aside from the labor of man and the domestic animals on the farm, the sources of power available to the farmer are the natural forces of wind and falling water, and the mechanical power generated by engines through the combustion of some kind of fuel. The power afforded by the windmill, although the cheapest to install and maintain, is uncertain and comparatively feeble, and it has been employed only to a limited extent. It has the serious disadvantage of not being portable power, and has to be used where it is located. In some few cases the power of windmills has been converted into electricity and thus distributed about the farm. The various types of farm water-wheels develop a larger and more dependable power than windmills, but labor under the same disadvantage in point of portability. The cheap, portable, reliable farm power of the present day is the gasoline or kerosene motor. The steam engine is also available but is of much heavier and more complex construction, more expensive to buy and requiring more skill to maintain. As to cost of operation, the steam engine is undoubtedly the cheapest where there is wood on the farm. The cost of running it is about one-sixth that of doing the same work with horses. Gasoline and oil motors are but little more expensive than steam machinery, and consequently are much more in favor. Gasoline engines for farm use a are made in two distinct types: stationary and tractor. The former can be used for many kinds of work which can conveniently be brought to the engines such as churning, pumping of water, corn shelling, feed cutting, threshing, etc.; the tractor engine is for work which cannot be brought to the power - where the engine must go to the work- such as plowing and harrowing, seeding, mowing and reaping and harvesting. The stationary types are adapted to several different kinds of fuel, burning indifferently kerosene, distillate or alcohol, as well as gasoline. The tractor engines are comparatively heavy, ranging from 6,000 pounds upward. A tractor of that weight will do the same amount of hauling as 12 horses, and do it continuously, without requiring time for rest. Heavier machines of 10,000 pounds will exert tractive power equal to 25 to 30 horses. These tractors are geared down to slow speeds of one and three-quarter to two miles per hour for use in plowing, which cannot be done faster. They burn gasoline as a rule. For farms within reach of an electric power plant there is the portable electric motor which is serviceable in a multitude of farm operations, even to doing the milking. (See FARM MACHINERY; HYDRAULIC RAM; WATER-WHEEL; WINDMILL). Consult Eighinger, S. R., and Hutton, M. S., Steam Traction Engineering) (New York 1916); Hirshfield, C. F., and Ulbricht, T. C., Farm Gas Engines (New York 1913); Page, V. W., "The Modern Gas Tractor) (New York 1913); Potter, A. A., Farm Motors (New York 1917); Shane, A., Electric Power on the Farm' (New York 1915); Stephenson, J. H., Traction Farming and Traction Engineering' and 'Farm Engines and How to Run Them' (Chicago 1913). FARM TENANCY. See FARM AND FARM PROBLEMS. FARM TYPES AND TENDENCIES. See FARM AND FARM PROBLEMS; FARM MANAGE MENT. FARMAN, Elbert Eli, American jurist: b. New Haven, Oswego County, N. Y., 23 April 1831; d. 1911. He was graduated at Amherst College in 1855, and admitted to the bar in 1858 and to the United States courts in 1862. He studied international law in Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany, in 1864-67; was district attorney of Wyoming County, N. Y., in 186875; United States diplomatic agent and consulgeneral at Cairo, Egypt, in 1876-81; was a member of the International Commission to revise the judicial codes of Egypt, in 1880-81; judge of the mixed tribunal of Egypt in 188184; and United States member of the International Commission which examined the claims of the inhabitants of Alexandria for losses arising from the bombardment in 1882, 1883 and 1884. He secured the obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle as a gift of the khedive to New York, in 1879; made large collections of ancient coins and Egyptian antiquities which he gave to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His publications include Along the Nile with General Grant' (1904); and Egypt and Its Betrayal (1908). He FARMAN, Ella. See PRATT, ELLA FARMAN. FARMAN, fär'mon, Henri, French aeroplane builder: b. May 1875. He began life as a painter at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and then became a cyclist, and was champion several times. He then ran for Panhard cars and won the Paris-Vienna and several local races. next opened a business in motor cars and is owner of the largest garage in Paris, called Palais de l'Automobile. Having enough of selling cars he turned his attention to flying, which had long been in his mind. His first trials were made at Issy les Moulineaux in November 1907, and January 1908. He won the Prix Deutsch Archdeacon of 50,000 francs for the first "kilomètre bouclé»"; then traveled in Europe with his machine; flew to a height of 20 mètres; won all the prizes at that time, including the Grand Prix de Rheims at the first official meeting. He continued his study of new models and made the first cross-country flight with his machine from Buoy to Rheims, alone and with passenger. He was the first man to fly in New York. He opened important works at Billancourt for the supply of machines to the French army and also other countries, including England. FARMER, Henry Tudor, American poet: b. England 1782; d. Charleston, S. C., January 1828. While very young he emigrated to Charleston, S. C., where he continued to reside till his death. He published a small volume of poems entitled 'Imagination, the Maniac's Dream, and Other Poems (1819); also an Essay on Taste.' FARMER, Hugh, an English clergyman and theologian: b. near Shrewsbury, 20 Jan. 1714; d. Walthamstow, Essex, 5 Feb. 1787. He studied in the academy conducted by Philip Doddridge 1731-36. In 1737 he began to serve as chaplain for Mr. Coward and also was pastor of the dissenting congregation at Walthamstow and continued in charge until 1780. In 1761 he removed to London where he was afternoon preacher at Salter Hall (1761-72) and one of the preachers of the Merchants' lecture, 176280. He was a trustee of Dr. Williams Foundation and of the Coward Trust. His works are 'An Inquiry with the Nature and Design of Christ's Temptation in the Wilderness) (1761; 5th ed., 1822); 'A Dissertation on Miracles' (1771); An Examination of Mr. Le Moine's Treatise on Miracles (1772); 'An Essay on the Demoniacs of the New Testament' (1775); "The General Prevalence of the Worship of Human Species in the Ancient and Heathen Nations Asserted and Proved (1783). His life was written by Michael Dodson (1805). FARMER, John, American genealogist: b. Chelmsford, Mass., 12 June 1789; d. Concord, N. H., 13 Aug. 1838. He published in 1829 a much valued Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England.' FARMER, John Bretland, English botanist: b. Atherstone, 5 April 1865. He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. From 1887 to 1892 he was demonstrator of botany at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Magdalen College from 1889 to 1897. From 1892 to 1895 he was assistant professor of biology. In the latter year he became professor of botany at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. He has published A Practical Introduction to the Study of Botany); (Plant Life,' also a number of memoirs, chiefly botanical and cytological. He edited the Annals of Botany and The Book of Nature Study) (6 vols.). With A. D. Darbishire he translated and edited De Vries, 'Die Mutationstheorie.' FARMER, Moses Gerrish, American electrician: b. Boscawen, N. H., 9 Feb. 1820; d. Chicago, Ill., 25 May 1893. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1844. He invented several electro-motors, one of which he used in his workshop to drive a lathe, and another on a miniature railway. On this railway he transported by electricity the first passengers ever so carried in the United States. In 1847 he moved to Framingham, Mass., and invented the telegraph fire alarm. His was the first house to be lighted (1858-59) by electricity. In 1865 he invented a thermo-electric battery and also built the first dynamo, and in 1880 patented an automatic electric light system. Besides these inventions he brought to light and perfected many others of general utility. FARMER, Richard, English Shakespearian scholar: b. Leicester, 28 Aug. 1735; d. Cambridge, England, 8 Sept. 1797. In 1767 he published his Essay on the Learning of Shakespeare,' which passed through several subsequent editions. In it he showed that Shakespeare's knowledge of classical subjects was entirely obtained through translations, which he often followed very closely. He was appointed master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1775, and was a prebendary of Canterbury 1782-88, when he was appointed to a residentiary prebend in Saint Paul's, London. FARMERS, Retired. See FARM AND FARM PROBLEMS. FARMERS' ALLIANCE, a national organization for improving agricultural conditions, advancing social life, securing favorable legislation, etc.; at first non-political, then political, then non-political again. Originating as a State body in Texas about 1876, it coalesced in 1887 with similar State bodies into a national one; and in 1889 joined the Knights of Labor in a common political party called the National Farmers' Alliance and Industrial Union, with a platform demanding more greenbacks, unlimited free coinage of silver, no national banks, antispeculation laws and government ownership of all transportation lines. The southern branch added a demand for government loans at low rates, and sub-treasuries to buy and store farm products. In the West in 1890 the party put up its own candidates; in the South it adopted and dictated the Democratic; it carried the Kansas and Nebraska legislatures, held the balance in Illinois, Minnesota and South Dakota, and elected nine national representatives, and senator each from South Carolina (nominally Democrat), Kansas and South Dakota. In 1892 it fused with others and called itself the People's Party (q.v.), and nominated for President James B. Weaver, who received 1,041,021 votes; but the southern branch declined to change its political affiliations, and seceded, the Alliance proper going out of politics again. The Farmers Alliance, uniting with several other similar organizations, formed the Farmers' National Congress in 1914, which claimed to represent a membership of over 3,000,000 farmers. The congress advocated Federal aid for inland communications; proper protection for co-operative enterprises; the illiteracy test for immigrants and the placing of a poll tax upon them. It opposed ship subsidies and interstate liquor traffic in dry territory. one FARMER'S ALLMINAX, The, a parody of the Farmers' Almanac issued annually from 1869 to 1880 by Josh Billings. It was very popular, the sales mounting to the hundreds of thousands. FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT, a world-wide phase of propaganda actively carried on in agricultural districts to secure efficient co-ordination and co-operation among farmers, so that the best results may be obtained in the harvesting of crops and food supplies. In the United States the movement is fostered by the State Department of Agriculture and the National Association of State Commissioners of Agriculture, and is aggresively carried on through various agencies. See AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS; CO-OPERATION; FARMERS' ALLIANCE; FARMERS' INSTITUTES; FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS; INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURE. FARMERS-GENERAL, a privileged association in pre-Revolutionary France, who leased the public revenue of the country. The system originated in the 14th century when the tax on salt was farmed out in order to raise money for the war with England. Thereafter other taxes were so leased or farmed and in 1720 a board of administration was formed with one of the farmers-general as president. The Minister of Finance had the power to select the farmers-general but the system led to the most corrupt practices, court favorites being often given a tax instead of a pension. Just previous to the Revolution the body of farmers-general numbered about 60. They turned in a fixed amount to the treasury and all tax returns above this fixed amount went into their own pockets. The system was abolished by the constitution of 1791 and during the Revolution many of the ex-farmers-general were sentenced to the guillotine. The system was one of the principal causes of the Revolution, the farmersgeneral not being noted for their leniency in exacting the imports from the tax-paying public. Consult De Nervo, 'Les finances françaises sous l'ancienne monarchie' (Paris 1863); Lowell, The Eve of the French Revolution' (Boston 1892); Gomel, C., 'Les financières de la révolution française) (2 vols., Paris 1893). causes FARMERS' INSTITUTES, gatherings of farmers held annually in the various States, sometimes under the direct management of the agricultural colleges and sometimes controlled by other State officers. The object of these institutes is in great part the bringing together of the workers in agricultural science and the practical farmers, for the discussion of questions of mutual interest. The latest agricultural theories are presented and discussed and compared with the result of practical tests and long experience. They grew out of the public meetings held years ago under the auspices of the local State agricultural fairs throughout the United States; and they stand for improvement in business and home life. Just as the agricultural fairs were carried on in different ways in different localities so the institute is free in its general manner of procedure; but it is marked by characteristics common to all assemblies and localities. In some places the institutes meet for a half or a whole day once a month; in others they are held once or twice a year and last several days. Their activities are more pronounced in the winter when the farmers have more leisure time. The development of farmers' institutes has been chiefly due to the impetus given to the agricultural interests of the country by the Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862. These gatherings are held regularly in all the States and in all the provinces of Canada. In 1899 over 2,000 institutes were held in this country, and the special appropriations for this purpose aggregated over $140,000, not including $30,000 funds estimated as expended from other sources. In 1913 the funds of the various States had risen to $510,784. In all the provinces of Canada, as in all the States of the Union, the institutes are regularly organized with officers possessed of both practical and technical knowledge to direct them. Very frequently they meet under the auspices of the State Agricultural College in this country and under that of the province in Canada. In the beginning of their history they made the mistake of going into politics, and they suffered for it; but since they have decided to tend strictly to the business for which they were organized, they have made great advancement. The The institute forms a clearing-house for the exchange of ideas, of experiences and of acquired knowledge; and not the least valuable members are the graduates of agricultural colleges, the practical teachers of the same, and the modern progressive, scientific farmer. agricultural experimental stations contribute valuable help, also, to the meetings in the assistance which they lend to the organizers and promoters thereof. One of the most valuable features of the institute is the popular lecture, which is generally held in the evening, after the more technical work of the day's session. Movable schools also furnish the farmers, their sons, daughters and wives with valuable instruction in subjects relating to the conducting of all matters pertaining to the farm. The Department of Agriculture of the United States has contributed to the improvement of the agriculture of the country by collecting publications and placing them at the disposal of the farmer. It has also organized lecture courses in agricultural subjects, which it furnishes to institutes and lecturers, free of charge. These lectures are generally well illustrated with lantern slides. In 1913 there were 7,926 regular institutes held in the United States; and these occupied in all 10,578 days. In addition to these there were 800 independent institutes. The total attendance at these institutes was over 4,000,000. But this is only a part of the work done by them for they maintained 187 movable schools, which pretty well covered the country in conjunction with 25 educational trains. From 1903 to 1913 the attendance at the sessions of the institutes increased over 300 per cent while the increase of the appropriations was 175 per cent during the same period. Bibliography. Hamilton, Legislation Relating to Farmers' Institutes' (Bulletin 241); 'Farmers' Institutes and Agricultural Work in the United States' (Bulletin 83); 'History of Farmers' Institutes in the United States) (Bulletin 174); all of which may be had from the office of the Experimental Stations, United States Department of Agriculture. FARMER'S LETTERS, a series of political tracts, in which was denounced the British policy of taxing the North American colonies without representation or consent. The letters, 12 in number, were published in 1767 and were ostensibly written by a farmer. Later they were traced to a citizen of Pennsylvania, John Dickinson. The letters had a tremendous influence in educating and forming public opinion on the burning issues of the day. FARMERS' NATIONAL CONGRESS, an organization having for its object the advancement of the agricultural interests of the |