Chapter 29

_Resources of government._—All expenditures of government are as subject to economic laws with reference to consumption of wealth as are those of individuals. Actual result in welfare is the only reason for such expenditure. Hence the same tests of economy are applied. Government makes but few expenditures for the immediate purpose of reproducing and increasing wealth. So far as its investments sustain productive industry, and the products of that industry enter into the world’s market, they are subject to the same economic laws of supply and demand that govern all production of wealth. If in any case they are not, it is because of government monopoly cornering the market, or because of unnatural conditions of government production undermining the market. In general, government is simply expending for the common welfare a part of the wealth produced by individual effort.

Its resources are in small part derived from fees for special services rendered to individuals of the community. Such are fees for registration of deeds and mortgages, and of the same nature, though for convenience of collection paid in a different way, is the revenue from sale of postage stamps and stamped envelopes. Revenue may come from pay for certain special privileges or franchises established by license or patent. These are supposed to be not so much in payment for special service as for sharing in responsibility and cost of protection. Another source of revenue is in the shape of money penalty, or fine, for minor trespasses upon good order. Such revenues are accidental, and diminish as the government becomes more perfect. Under peculiar circumstances of opposition by citizens or bodies of citizens to the general order, government confiscates property used in such opposition. A good illustration of this is connected with smuggling, where the introducer of foreign goods opposes government in its revenue laws by fraud or violence, and suffers the confiscation of goods so introduced.

None of the foregoing sources of revenue, unless it be the license, and this is sometimes a mere method of taxation, can serve to any great extent the purposes of government. All government expenditures for general welfare must finally be met by some system of distributing the burden over all the people. This method of distribution is called taxation. The principal revenue is raised by taxation of possessors and producers of wealth, in anticipation of current public needs.

If for any reason government expenditures exceed its revenues, the government, like any individual, becomes a borrower. It may borrow by contract to pay at some future time for construction of buildings or machinery, or by issue of scrip in the shape of promises to pay at some definite or indefinite time in the future, or more distinctly still by sale of bonds, which are definite certificates of indebtedness, negotiated like the notes of individuals in great banking centers. Yet all of these are only methods of postponing the taxation which must support the government in its necessary machinery. Government can live upon credit in the same way, and only in the same way, that individuals can. The economic reasons for such credit must be the same as in individual experience.

_Principles of taxation._—Since taxation in general is simply a way of distributing expenses to those for whose benefit expenditure has been made, the first question is one of fairness in distribution. The benefits from government expenditure ought to be universal, but are not necessarily equal. Like all the good things of nature, the benefits of the government are not appreciated by all alike. No one would probably suggest the possibility of distributing the expenditure exactly in accord with advantage received. Wherever the service is distinctly personal, as in the regular mail service, an attempt is made to charge each person the average cost of the service. Even the large miscellaneous mail distribution at less than cost may be fairly borne by those who use the mail for personal advantage, since this is likely to be in proportion to the intelligent activity shown in correspondence. Some few taxes upon special commodities of questionable advantage to the multitude, like liquors and tobacco, are supposed to be paid by those who gain the only advantage received by anybody in protecting their use.

Some more general principle, however, must be found for adjusting the burden of general expenses so that each individual will bear his share. If the burden belongs to all, it should rest fairly upon all. Hence equality is usually given as the first principle of taxation. But it is evident that in this case equality means equity, not a mathematical division by the number of taxpayers. The interpretation is therefore “according to ability.” According to Professor Rogers, the student of economic history, “_Equality of sacrifice is the only honest rule in taxation_.” This means, in practice, that any system of taxation should be planned with distinct effort to distribute the common expenses according to the ability of different members of society to meet them.

It is evident that no exact gauge of ability is at hand. If the actual income of every citizen could be distinctly known, and the burdens of a dependent household clearly expressed, a basis for equal sacrifice, so far as wealth is concerned, might be reached. But no such basis has been or can be actually found. If found, it would not give an accurate gauge of sacrifice, because the actual wants for comfort of different individuals are so widely varied. Two distinct approximations toward this equity are found. The first is in the total annual consumption of the individual taxpayer, especially of such articles as meet wants above the mere maintenance of healthy existence. In this the government assumes that all will spend according to their ability. The second is in a total accumulation of property. In this the government assumes that every man saves for future consumption all that he gains above his present needs. Both assumptions are untrue in individual cases, and only approximately true anywhere. In many instances the expenditure of a given year upon more continuous wants than ordinary, like a home or farm buildings, will count also as wealth laid by. So, in any combination of the two systems of taxation, the more thrifty and far-seeing will bear a double burden. Yet even this combination may not transgress the rule of equity, since such foresight is itself proof of ability.

To this first principle of equity we may add others, less fundamental, but equally important in practice. _Taxes must be sufficiently definite to be understood and provided for by every taxpayer._ This is needed for maintaining the interest of every citizen in both the necessity and the economy of public expenditures. _Taxes must be so levied and collected as to be conveniently paid._ This means that private enterprise shall be hindered as little as possible in making assessments, and that times and places of collection shall be suited to the convenience of taxpayers. _The collection of taxes must be by such methods as will involve least outlay, either in salaries of officials or in machinery of the collecting process._ These four principles of taxation were announced by Adam Smith more than a hundred years ago, and have commended themselves to students of the subject ever since. It is evident that the last three are more explicit methods for carrying out the first. Most briefly stated; they imply equity, definiteness, convenience of paying, and economy in collecting.

Most legislation with reference to taxes shows some effort to carry out one, if not all, of these requirements. It is evident that a tax may be conveniently paid in connection with ordinary expenditures, and at the same time be very indefinite and quite inequitable. Many taxes upon articles of every-day use in the home are of this nature. A very equitable tax may be so inconvenient from its interference with private interests, and require so many officials for collection, as to make it a serious burden to all. Such a tax would be one levied upon net income, supposing it possible to discover the exact facts for such a levy. Taxes levied without consideration of these principles are defended as means of checking extravagance or vice, as equalizing other conditions of welfare, or as correcting inequalities from other existing methods of taxation. Even these last assume the necessity of equity in the entire system or group of systems.

_Direct and indirect taxation._—For convenience of study, taxes are spoken of as either direct or indirect; that is, a tax may be levied upon one whose property or earnings must be reduced by the amount of the tax, or a tax may be levied upon one whose property when sold, or whose service when rendered to another, will be worth as much more as the burden of the tax he has paid. A poll tax, an income tax, a tax on the farm, or a tax on household goods and jewelry, is assumed to be paid by the owner or user, without reimbursement. But a tax on stock in trade—like the farmer’s live stock—or upon the machinery of production or service—like railroads, insurance companies and banks—is assumed to be transferred as an additional expense to the one who finally enjoys the wealth.

It is easy to see that such a distinction is difficult. Every owner of wealth will consider taxes connected with its possession a part of the cost of such wealth, and wherever possible in the conditions of the market will count a tax in the selling price. It is impossible to judge from the form of wealth or the nature of the service when the tax can be transferred to a final user. A farmer’s wheat may be the source from which he pays the total cost of raising it, including taxes upon the land employed. If, in the condition of the wheat market, he has still a profit upon his management, he will assume that the wheat buyers have paid the taxes. If the market price is so low as to not cover the cost, he will emphasize the fact that he pays the taxes. Yet probably the fact is the same in both cases, that the owner of the land has his profits diminished by the actual amount of the tax. More strictly, the tax is taken from the rent of his land. In any case of over-production, when land gives no rent, the tax will be paid by the producer out of other income. So far, however, as farm products conform to the principle of cost of production in the tendency of prices, there will be a corresponding tendency to shift the tax upon the final consumer.

Thus direct and indirect taxes are not always distinguishable; but in the tax systems of the United States most state and municipal taxes are assumed to be direct, because levied upon persons and more permanent forms of property, while the taxes of the general government are by the Constitution indirect, unless levied upon the states according to population. They are in the form of customs or excise, in which some article of commerce or some service rendered gives a value upon which the tax may be transferred. Thus the state, the county, the city and the school district levy upon assessment of property and enumeration of polls. The United States collects upon imported goods of various kinds, upon special articles of manufacture, upon persons or corporations carrying on particular business, and upon commercial transactions of various kinds.

_Assessment of direct taxes._—Assessment implies an enumeration of property in the possession of supposed owners and an appraisement of its value. The officer making the assessment is under constraint of an official oath to give a fair valuation. The market price is supposed to control his judgment, and is usually explicitly named in law.

In actual practice in various states of the Union assessed valuation often falls as low as one-third or even one-fifth of a fair estimate at market value. This is brought about by several causes. Each assessor fears over-valuation, lest his district will bear too large a share of more general expenses; and his successor is inclined rather to lower than raise the standard of value, from neighborly interest. Even if the assessors of an entire county agree upon terms of valuation, they are together under the same influence with reference to state and special taxes. A more definite cause of under-valuation is the practice of exempting a certain limited amount of property from all taxes. If personal property worth $200 is exempt from taxation for every householder, the smaller the assessment for his total property, the larger in proportion is the exemption. Specific taxes at a fixed rate, for state or school or improvement purposes, operate in the same way to force down the valuation of property in the entire state or district. In assessment of real estate even greater violence is sometimes done to equity. In newly settled portions of the country the valuation of land held in the name of non-resident owners is notoriously high. Often in cities the assessor is subject to political influences and social connections in such a way as to destroy all equity in taxation. The official oath attached to such assessments is a sham.

If all property of stated kinds were equally and fairly valued, the burden of taxation would be most fairly distributed as regards property owners. Any tendency to undervalue is sure to oppress the weaker part of these property holders. If the price of a horse is fixed at twenty dollars, when the average price is sixty, the more wealthy owner of horses whose average value is above the general average has a larger part of his property exempt than the poorer owner whose horses are below the average. In the same ratio all household goods and even farms and buildings are under-estimated.

In this connection it is proper to mention the exemption of certain property devoted wholly to public welfare and contributing alike to the good of all citizens. In every state there are multitudes of schools, created and sustained by gifts of benevolent men. These supplement and extend the work of the state for general enlightenment, and are wisely encouraged by exemption from the burden of taxation, because their entire income is devoted to the same ends which the state serves. Public libraries and churches, devoted to such general enlightenment and moral growth, are wisely included in this exemption. Nobody suffers, but everybody gains, by the use of private property for such purposes. If in any way these institutions serve the private ends of individuals, those individuals become themselves property owners, subject to the same taxation as others. Such exemptions may extend even to art collections made by private funds, and to extensive grounds laid out in parks, provided they are open to the public and serve as a means of wholesome recreation and culture.

In general, however, specific exemptions of private property from any taxes lead to abuse of privileges, jealousies and popular dissatisfaction, which result in danger to government and harm to the people. Exemptions of property used for particular purposes, like a farmer’s team, may be thought of as a bounty upon such means of production. But the effect is almost always to the disadvantage of the weak, and the practice gives a general encouragement to the disposition to escape taxes. Farmers, of all classes of people, are most interested in a fair and painstaking assessment of all forms of property. Their influence is most widely extended and far-reaching in its effects. The whole community should be led to realize the absolute necessity of fair taxation and prompt meeting of individual responsibility. Fraud in the treatment of taxes is a crime against society, whether it involves false swearing or not. It partakes of the nature of treason, and may well be subjected to severe penalties. Usually, however, a penalty in the shape of additional taxes and forfeiture of property by sale for taxes, with room for redemption at considerable expense, are sufficient to secure a proper assessment and collection, if the community are really in earnest in resisting the fraud.

_Indirect taxes._—The methods of indirect taxation by excise and custom duties have been familiar for ages. They are usually favored by politicians who dread the opposition of the people to taxation, because the collection is so incidental to ordinary expenditures as scarcely to be realized and never clearly measured. Few users of tobacco or strong drink have any distinct idea what portion of the cost represents the government revenue. Still less in drinking the cup of coffee, or sweetening it with sugar, does the person benefited weigh the tax he pays. It is doubtful if most of those who read this, actually know that sugar pays a tax, while tea and coffee do not, in our country.

So convenient is this mode of taxation that it forms the favorite mode of discrimination in favor of productive industries. A tariff of 50 per cent upon imported cloth may actually increase the price of similar cloths manufactured at home by nearly that amount, thus fostering cloth-making by a premium on the product, while only a few discover the added burden of the tax. Yet these modes of taxation are usually costly to the people. Even if free from complications with either preventing vice or fostering industry, they require a separate body of officials from those provided for direct taxation. They involve investment by every wholesale and retail dealer of extra capital in taxes, upon which extra interest and profit is expected. The actual consumer bears this extra burden with only partial realization of its bulk. If duties are high, the temptation to smuggling and fraud becomes great, and a force of officials must be stretched around the borders of a country to prevent it.

_Custom, or duty._—Duties are said to be either specific or ad valorem. Specific duties are a definite sum upon every pound, ton, yard or other unit of measure, applied to the article taxed. They are easily assessed, and misrepresentation or fraud is scarcely possible. Ad valorem duties are a certain rate per cent upon the invoice value of the goods. In these, frauds are abundant, and experts are required to prevent them. Specific duties are relatively heavy upon the consumers of goods of cheaper quality. A tax of 25 cents on each yard of cloth worth a dollar is five times as heavy as the same tax on cloth worth five dollars. Equalization is frequently attempted by combination of specific duties upon all goods of a certain character with ad valorem duties upon all such goods above a certain quality.

_Excise collections._—The same difficulty is experienced in adjusting taxes by excise under our internal revenue system. Such revenues are largely collected through a sale of stamps, though the dealer himself may be required to pay a license fee, to secure the necessary inspection. Here, too, the tax is specific and bears most heavily upon the users of the poorest grade of goods. If attempt is made to grade it by quality, expensive machinery for preventing fraud is necessary. This is well illustrated in the list of officials required in connection with distilleries and bonded warehouses. Both the manufacture and the sale of alcoholic liquors must somewhere be under the inspection of an expert officer. All this necessary expense of collecting must be borne by the consumers. The bonded warehouse itself must not be mistaken for a part of this machinery, though it is essential to the collection. It is simply a device by which the holder of manufactured liquors subject to sale can avoid the payment of a tax until the time of actual delivery. His warehouse, being under bonds to the government, is open only in the presence of the revenue officer, who carries one of the keys necessary to its opening. Without this the tax would have to be paid at time of manufacture, and interest on that amount, to greater or less extent would finally be paid by the consumer. While this system protects essentially against fraud on the part of the owner alone, it does not protect against the weakness or wickedness of officials, and the temptation is sometimes enormous.

_Peculiar taxes._—Aside from these general forms of taxation, peculiar devices are common. The stamps required on official papers or commercial transactions, involving checks, notes, mortgages and deeds, have been familiar at various times in our country, and are associated with the history of the world. These differ little from the practice of affixing stamps to patent medicines, cigars and other articles of trade; but instead of being attached to the article transferred they are affixed to the check or note or deed or bond employed in the transaction. These bear unequally, being proportionally heavy upon the people of small means, and are generally annoying in active business. They are frequently favored, however, as being felt most by those who deal most in commerce.

The heavy taxes laid upon the consumption of alcoholic liquors and tobacco illustrate another device for making so-called luxury bear the heavier portion of taxes. It looks both ways, attempting to check luxurious living or vicious practices by a penalty for indulgence, and at the same time to secure a revenue as the result of such indulgence. Evidently in so far as it prohibits indulgence it is not a revenue measure; and in so far as it secures the revenue it does not prohibit indulgence. It is borne somewhat patiently, because each person feels that he can avoid the payment by ceasing to indulge himself. The universal tendency is to make it purely a revenue measure by fixing the tax just where it will not retard consumption in any material degree, and in some instances will give a quasi dignity to the dealer through his official license.

_Taxation of credits._—A very common device adopted in most of the states is that of assessing credits as well as property. The majority of farmers favor the assessment of mortgages upon a valuation equal to, if not higher than, that upon farms. They forget that the ability to pay taxes from year to year comes out of the profit or rent from the farm; and if both farm and mortgage are taxed, the adjustment comes through the interest which the mortgage must bear. To illustrate, a father sells his farm, worth $5,000, to his son, taking a mortgage for the entire value. If mortgages are assessed, the value of that farm for all purposes of taxation is $10,000; and yet the living of both father and son, taxes included, comes out of that farm’s production. The two have no more property and no more ability after the transaction than before. Thus the mortgaged farms in every community where mortgages are taxed bear double burden.

In a similar way the taxation of any form of notes or bonds or stock doubles the assessment in form without increasing the abilities. _The actual property in use will finally bear the burden of both assessments._ The road-bed and rolling stock of a railway are property whose value is readily estimated. The actual ownership is in a corporation which may be distinctly taxed. Certificates of stock are individual titles in that corporation whose property has already been taxed. Its outstanding bonds are simply claims against that corporation, to be paid out of that property which has already been taxed. So every note, being evidence of debt simply, is not a representative of property, but simply a claim against property supposed to exist somewhere else. It may be an absolute fiction, in being a claim against property only hoped for. The result of all efforts to treat certificates of indebtedness as personal property are hardship to debtors and apparent fraud on the part of many creditors. Even though the creditor escapes taxation by hiding his possession of a mortgage, the possibility of its being taxed is always counted in his bargain with the borrower as an important element in interest. The experience of those states in which such taxation has been abolished proves that lower rates of interest are sure to follow.

_Income taxes._—A favorite device in some countries, and often advocated in this, is a direct tax upon incomes above a certain amount, graduated so as to give a much larger rate upon large incomes than upon more moderate ones. The most obvious reason for such a distinction against the large incomes is the evident failure of our national system of taxation to distribute the burden according to ability. It is evident that the expenditures of the very wealthy for such articles as bring revenue to the government are not in the same proportion to their income as the expenditures of the poorer people are to their incomes. A further reason is based upon the supposition that large incomes involve a considerable unearned increment, in the shape of rent or extraordinary profits, because of accidental opportunity or the crowding of population. An income tax, carefully graduated, is supposed to cause such extra privileges and opportunities to bear a fair share of government expenses.

There are several difficulties in administering such a tax which have stood in the way of its general and permanent adoption. No one has yet devised a certain or fair method of estimating income. The peculiarities of any business or employment make great variation in the ability given by a certain income in dollars and cents. The business man in a small town, with an income of $5,000, might live in relative luxury, and still have a surplus for investment in his business. The same man, attempting business in a large city, might, even with an income of $10,000, find it barely possible to keep up appearances. The income of farmers is largely in provisions and personal privileges from use of teams, etc., never counted in dollars and cents, while the village mechanic pays from his measured income for all such comforts, or goes without them. The actual, necessary expenses of the business of a professional man in the way of books and travel are as essential to his business as are farm implements and live stock to the farm; yet no one counts such expenses as a subtraction from the income. A teacher promoted to a higher position is at once subjected to extraordinary expenses, and may be less able with a higher salary to meet the requirements of his new life than he was with a lower salary to meet the less expensive requirements.

Another principal difficulty is the unpopularity of such a tax from its necessary interference with private business. The country will be almost certainly more divided along lines of wealth over an income tax than over anything else. On the part of the wealthy it seems an effort of the people to take from them actual property rights. On the part of the poorer classes it fosters the assumption that the more wealthy are unjustly so. In the nature of the case, it is an arbitrary adjustment without the possibility of establishing exact reasons for any distinctions made. Finally, since such distinctions are liable to be varied from time to time, an income tax requires some nice adjustment as to the nature of the income. An income from the sale of property is entirely different in character from the income made by interest on the same property. One is a part of permanent investment, the other is the result of productive investment. One destroys the principal if consumed, the other adds to the principal. Yet no one could arrive at the actual, natural income, without a most intricate system of book-keeping open to public inspection. For without public inspection the temptation to fraudulent returns, under the feeling that the tax is unjust, is so strong as to be demoralizing.

_Inheritance taxes._—A device much employed for making large accumulations of wealth bear a larger portion of the community’s burdens is a heavy tax upon inheritance. Since such inheritance requires the guardianship of law for security of transfer, government is suffered to take a liberal fee for such transfer. Moreover, the inheritor is assumed to have no such property interest in what has been accumulated by another as to claim that he can be wronged if government takes a portion. It is defended also by socialists on the ground that large estates are dangerous to the general welfare.

Some facts bear upon the opposite side, and are worthy of consideration. A large estate is the accumulation of enterprise and industry on the part of a man of more than ordinary abilities. The presumption is in favor of following his judgment in making that useful after his death. Most frequently it is employed in some huge industrial machine, which the public cannot manage, but can destroy by even taking a portion from it. One of the main stimulants to all accumulation is the provision for the future wants of a family. If the state takes the accumulation, it also takes the responsibility for the successors in the family line. Wherever it is applied, it is felt to be a heavy burden upon the community at large. If the state interferes with the freedom of a testator, the chances are that few estates will be accumulated, and wasteful methods of expenditure, diminishing the power of the entire community, will surely follow. Moreover, evasions of the inheritance tax are comparatively easy, and are likely to be adopted extensively by the holders of large estates. The very rich can give away a large portion of their property before death without material suffering. Only the moderately wealthy are obliged to hold on to their possessions until death. Any wealthy man can dispose of his wealth during his lifetime, and still retain its income, by giving it away, subject to an annuity. To prevent this the law would have to be extended with intricate inspection to cover all transfers of property. Let no one be deceived into feeling that this is a simple and easy way of saddling government expenses upon the rich.

_Special taxes._—A multitude of minor devices are worthy of brief consideration. An occupation tax on business men is easily levied, but bears unequally upon the original payers, and in the end falls most heavily upon the poorest. A house tax, measured by the number of rooms, or the number of windows, or the number of fireplaces, has been supposed adjustable to actual income of the possessors. But it bears very heavily upon men in certain professions requiring house-room, and forces the poor into narrow and crowded quarters. The rent of the poor is necessarily a larger proportion of their living expenses than that of the well-to-do. It is a serious hardship when a tax is levied upon that which a man cannot possibly save.

A tax upon retail dealers and peddlers is frequently advocated, as tending to prevent the increase of unnecessary middlemen and wasteful competition. Yet this, too, bears heavily upon the poor, since it crowds out also those who are satisfied with small profits and deal in small sales. Even a tax upon pawnbrokers, whose profits are supposed to be extraordinary, gives occasion for a sharper grinding of the poor. A study of all these devices will lead one to the conclusion that a tax upon property only, based upon a fair valuation and paid by the controller of the property, is fairest to the whole community and leads to truest conceptions of the relation of property to public expenditure. It is certainly best for rural welfare.

_A single land tax._—A brief consideration must be given to a proposed system of taxation, commonly known as the single land tax. The proposition is to tax all lands, including building sites, to such an extent as may be necessary to meet all public expenditures. The lands are to be valued for this purpose at the rent they will bring, independent of all improvements. The supposition is that such an income is due entirely to the effect of crowding population, and therefore belongs to society as a whole rather than to the individual possessing it. In fact, if the state were to consume the entire economic rent, it would take only, it is said, what already belongs to the community. Other supposed advantages of the single tax system are the reduced expense of assessment and collection, together with incidental effects in promoting production by removing burdens from capital, in preventing the holding of land unproductive, possibly in equalizing wealth and diminishing greed for landed property, while the poorer, cheaper agricultural lands, having no rent value, would be relieved of all burden. These are essentially the views maintained by the followers of Henry George, the leading champion of such taxation. It is claimed, further, that the poor in crowded cities would be better housed, since buildings would bear no taxation, and holders of city lots would make them productive through construction of buildings without adding to their burden of taxation. It is claimed also that such taxation would be finally distributed, and fairly distributed, among all the consumers of products affected by land possession, as well as all even indirectly making use of the land. Since food and shelter are universal, all would contribute, so far as they are self-dependent, according to food consumed and space occupied.

These statements are somewhat inconsistent with each other. If rent is of such a nature, as assumed at the beginning of the argument, that it cannot directly affect all values because it depends upon those values for its existence, a tax levied upon it cannot be distributed but rests wholly upon the landholder. If, on the other hand, a tax on land is distributed among all consumers of its products, there is no economic rent, but the burden rests upon the consumers alone, according to the amount consumed, subjecting this tax to the objection against all indirect taxes that the poor bear the heavier burden.

It is evident, too, that such a tax must bear heavily upon the unthrifty. The valuation of farms must be made by an expert judge of what farms similarly situated ought to produce. A farm valued at $500 annual rent might, under thrifty management, produce twice as much as under unthrifty management. The tax, under thrifty management, could be easily paid; under unthrifty management, it would ruin the manager. This certainly does not levy the tax according to ability. It also bears heavily upon the enterprising young farmer whose capital is small, as compared with the long-established farmer with accumulated capital. The man weak in capital would bear as heavy a burden as the strong.

Again, it provides no system of taxation in newly settled communities where land has practically no value except from improvements. Unless a fictitious value be given to such land for purposes of taxation, as sometimes happens with reference to non-resident land-holders, no government could be maintained.

Finally, since under this system government assumes a control over landed estates, from which it exempts all other forms of property, it tends toward the nationalization of land, which would necessarily destroy the system itself. For if government claims all increment from land production, land ceases to be property and does not pass from owner to owner at a market value: then government fixes arbitrarily the rental of space, and taxation is distributed upon a new principle. If a new principle were not to be assumed, there could hardly be a device conceived more likely to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Farmers, of all men, are best situated to realize the unequal workings of a single land tax system.

_Government debts._—An important part of government machinery is connected with its ability to make use of borrowed capital. Under the pressure of heavy expenditures in case of war, or in undertaking permanent improvements in a new country, or in carrying on various enterprises for common welfare, the demand for means is greater than the supply from ordinary modes of taxation. Not even the special devices of war taxes can meet at once the burdens of a defensive war. The rightfulness of such expenditures upon the credit of the government depends upon the object to be secured. The expense of the war which defends and preserves the future home of posterity may properly be borne in part, at least, by posterity. The court house, the water works, or the electric plant, whose benefits will be shared by the people for a hundred years, may properly be so constructed that all the people benefited may share in the burden. Good economy requires the foresight which builds beyond mere present need. The danger is that expenditure made under expectation that others will pay may be wasteful, and often other reasons than actual needs in the interest of private speculation control.

Nevertheless, there is good reason for government debts; and every form of government, from the loftiest to the most insignificant, finds such indebtedness easy to contract. The smallest school district can issue scrip in payment of its teacher, or can issue bonds for the construction of its school-house. Only the general government, under our laws, can borrow by issuing due-bills in the form of legal tender notes. All of these certificates of indebtedness enter into the general commerce under the common law of supply and demand, and bear an economic price proportional to the certainty of their final payment and the convenience of their use in commercial transactions. The exemption of national bonds, or even state bonds, from local taxation works no more hardship than the exemption of state property. Under ordinary circumstances the entire advantage of such exemption is gained by the state, and so by all the taxpayers of the state. The exemption of national bonds from every form of taxation prohibits interference with the government’s privilege of borrowing when and where it can, and the advantage comes back to the people _in full_ through the low rate of interest or the premium in price which such bonds bear. They are subject to fluctuations in value through their being a means of transferring floating capital between industries. Under a stable government, with a somewhat permanent debt, a holder of bonds is a sort of stockholder in the governmental wealth, with definite stated dividends rather than profits.

Such bonds have various effects upon a general industry of the country. While they lessen somewhat the immediate burdens of present productive industries, they may increase the burden of the same industries in a second generation. Their convenience in securing annuities for long series of years may diminish the enterprise of a community by fostering a class of non-producers, whose wealth is represented in the display of government buildings rather than in productive enterprises. Just so far as government employs the capital of the country through bonds, it diminishes the capital which would otherwise find investment in productive employment. The danger of extravagance to even small communities, from the ease with which such government debts can be contracted, warrants the contrivance of strong constitutional limitations. Indeed, provision, not only against extravagant debt, but for reasonably prompt settlement, may well be required by constitutional law. All property holders, but especially land holders, are interested in preventing extravagant outlay by means of bonded indebtedness. Farmers must know that the burden will have to be borne, with all the natural additions, by the property they hold, and the value of that property will be lessened by whatever extra burden it bears.

_Settlement of government debts._—The settlement of government debts is a matter of uncertain provision. In many instances there has been a tendency toward a permanent debt. The United States has shown a surprising capacity for making such debts for all sorts of purposes, but has also shown an equally surprising ability in payment. And yet examples are not wanting, even in our own country, of a tendency to indefinite postponement and a rapidly increasing burden, until settlement could be made only by compromise or a total repudiation. The effect of such bankruptcy of nation, state or municipality is like that of any failing enterprise, only more widely felt. The repudiation of a government debt affects the capital of the country like the confiscation of estates under ancient tyranny. It destroys the common faith, which is the basis for true productive industry. It takes the nation back into the dark ages as regards its relation to the individual welfare of citizens. Every economic reason existing for the collection of private debts, and leading to government machinery for collecting such debts, has still greater force when applied to the debts of governments. The demoralization, widespread and destructive, which follows repudiation, or anything resembling it, cannot be outgrown for generations. The most plausible reasons for repudiation, except in cases of absolute fraud against the government, should have no weight with a citizen who cares for the welfare of his fellow-citizens and their progress toward that welfare, under the natural laws concerning wealth. A nation of robbers is safer to live in than a robbing nation.

CONCLUSION.

It is clear that Rural Welfare, as far at least as it rests upon Wealth, is to be gained by careful study of laws of nature and human nature quite independent of mere wishes. The only way to improve the present situation of affairs in any community is to use the natural forces within reach to advantage. All the growth of the past is preparation for more growth and better fruit in the present and future. The farmer who knows most about the fundamental principles of property and property rights in society is most likely to best serve his community, as well as himself.

Still it is equally clear that the chief elements of Rural Welfare are not mere wealth. Wealth is but the material out of which the external machinery of welfare is formed. Every way essential to progress in any degree, it does not give the chief test of progress. No one is gaining the full use of his wealth until it is well spent for the welfare that is strictly personal,—health, wisdom and virtue. No society, however wealthy, has reached true welfare till all its members appreciate the higher welfare, and make wealth-seeking a means for securing it.

Rural communities can take advantage of many inexpensive ways of adding to their welfare without great wealth. The natural surroundings of the country home give development to ability and courage in children that are better than wealth. The same principles of thrift that are to be cultivated for the sake of material comforts apply to the larger welfare that a wise enjoyment of nature’s gifts and nature’s lessons may bring. The thrifty farmer comes nearest of all men to the ideal condition of the wise man, expressed in the wish, “Give me neither poverty nor riches.” He can have enough to comfortably house, clothe and feed his family in the midst of surroundings as wholesome as the world affords. He can give his children, by the aid of their healthy bodies and strong hearts, as good opportunities for education as any can use. He has a natural leisure for self-culture in the use of papers and books, if he tries to use it, and his relations with neighbors of similar abilities are more human, more true, than those found in any other circumstances. If farmers live as they ought, their homes are centers of true hospitality, true sympathy for human rights; and with a little more constant care for neighborly spirit would come nearest to giving the true foundation for manly and womanly character in children, and so in their parents.

A family of eight children grew up on a farm of little more than one hundred acres, chopped out of the wilderness. Father and mother worked hard and strove thriftily to make their children useful. A school was the first requisite, even though it must be taught in the one room that was kitchen, library and parlor, if not the bedroom, too. The church was equally important, though it took the choicest lot on the farm for its location. Newspapers and wholesome books were as needful as daily bread. The household was a center of cheer and interest for the entire community. The first Sunday School and the first Temperance Society of all that new country were organized there. The trend of national life towards higher ideals of justice for all humanity was first recognized there, so that three of the four votes cast in that township for the first liberty ticket were connected with the same household. The whole world came nearer these youth because they learned about it.

When opportunity came for larger growth in college training, all but the oldest boy and the oldest girl sought it eagerly. These made the old homestead and a neighboring farm worthy centers of the same true influence. The three sons and the three daughters whose education lifted them to a little wider field of influence are all recognized as having been leaders in this country, and their names are cherished by thousands who have known their work. The thrift that has made them useful in the truest welfare of the world was cultivated and trained on that little farm.

The little farm became itself an evidence of thrift, attractive in its beauty as well as in its productiveness. It gave to the father and mother a satisfactory living till both died, the mother at eighty, and the father at nearly a hundred. Riches they never needed, for they had enough with the blessings of children and children’s children scattered through the world. The farm is still in the family, doing its good work for the fourth and fifth generations, in the same wholesome way and with promise of never-ending welfare. A little wealth well used means enormous welfare.

The farm homes of America will be the seat of America’s welfare if their occupants know all they can of the thrift that gives power, and do as well as they know. Farmers who think carefully and earnestly will not expect to overturn nature as it is, but to use it for all it is worth. This little book is intended to help toward such a use of power and wealth as may bring genuine welfare. Its author hopes in this way to pay in part the debt he owes to the little farm.

INDEX.

Abandoned farms, 303.

Aggregation, disadvantages of, 197; limit to, 196; of forces, 57; of industry, 191.

Aims of industry, 21.

“Anarchy,” 329.

Annual fluctuations in prices, 91, 98, 100, 104.

Arbitration in labor conflicts, 268.

Assessment, direct taxes, 353.

Association, complex, 55; compound, 56; methods of, 55; simple, 55.

“Autonomy,” 328.

Balance of trade, 152.

Bank business, 148; inspection, 151; liabilities, 155; loans, 153; resources, 155.

Banking, safety of, 155.

Banks and banking, 140; described, 141; government, 147; national, 144; state, 136.

Bankruptcy, 179.

Beef prices, 100-106.

Bimetalism, 126, 128.

Bonanza farms, 201.

Bonds, exemption from taxation, 369; deferred payment, 160.

Borrowed money, 164, 284.

Borrowers and lenders, 154.

Bounties, 207.

Boycott, the, 262.

Business security, 224.

Capital a timesaver, 40; circulating or fixed, 40; conservative, 44; defined and classified, 38; distinguished from wealth, 38; floating, 43; in farming, 43; of a country, 39; proceeds of, 279; prudent adjustment of, 314; “timid,” 44; unproductive, 42.

Cattle, numbers of, 9, 83.

Character in production, 47.

Cheap living, 237.

Cheap money drives out good, 125.

Churches, taxes on, 354.

Civilization, developing, 53.

Clearing house, 149.

Clearing systems, 150.

Coinage, 118; of the United States, 119.

Coin a country’s capital, 133; as currency, 131.

“Collectivism,” 331.

Combinations for farming, 204; for production, advantages, 193.

Commerce overestimated, 61.

“Communism,” 330.

Compensation, actual and nominal, 236.

Complex association, 55.

Compound association, 56.

Conclusion, 373.

Conflict between wage-earners and profit-makers, 257.

Conservative influence as security for business, 224.

Consumption, coöperative, 335; for growth, 317; luxurious, 319; of wealth, 307; wasteful, 322.

Contents, table of, xi.

Control of natural forces, 28.

Coöperative consumption, 335; industry, 272; stores, etc., 335.

Copyright, 210.

Corn, acreage and yield, 84; prices of, New York, 87-91; consumption of, 84.

Cost and value, 69.

Courts of arbitration, 268.

Cows, numbers of, 9, 83.

Credit by accounts, 133; by due bills, 134; currency, 135, 117; expanding, 167; expansion, 158.

Credits, taxation of, 359.

Crops in United States since 1850, 10; yield of, 83-86.

Crop-year, 78.

Currency, 130; advantages of national bank, 146; credit, 135.

Custom, or duty, 357.

Deferred settlement and credit expansion, 158; in exchange, 138.

Department stores, 203.

Destructive consumption, 324.

Developing civilization, 53.

Diminishing returns, law of, 79.

Discipline in production, 47.

Distribution of wealth, 233.

Division of labor, advantages, 182; disadvantages, 188; economy of, 180; limits, 184; on farms, 186.

Duty, or custom, 357.

Economic functions of government, 337.

Economic machinery of government, 346.

Economic science, 2.

Efficiency, requisites, 53.

Enlightened vs. savage, 50.

“Equality of opportunity,” 333.

Equity in wages, 277.

Exchange, advantages, 58; in distribution, 234; in production, 58; limits of, 60; its machinery, 109.

Excise collections, 357.

Exemptions from taxes, 354.

Exertion as related to value, 69.

Expanding credit, 167.

Farm crops in United States since 1850, 10; interests, fluctuation of, 9; products, prices of, 78; stock in United States, 9, 83.

Farming combinations, 204.

Farms in the United States, 9, 304; small, for homes, 202.

Federations of labor, 267.

Final utility, 67.

Financial crisis, 169.

Floating capital, 43.

Fluctuation of prices, 87-108.

Forces in production, 27.

Franchises, 211.

Free communication, 109.

Freedom in markets, 75.

General welfare, 1.

Gold, ratio to silver, 124; standard, 128.

Government and universal needs, 339.

Government chief incentive to production, 206.

Government, ends of, 338; stable, 18.

Government banks, 147; churches, 342; debts, 368, 370.

Government lands, 294.

Government machinery, 346.

Government resources, 346.

Government wards, 342.

Governmental limits, 337.

Grains, consumption of, 84.

Gresham’s law, 125.

Hard times, 172; causes of, 173; cure for, 178; remedies, 176.

Higgling of the market, 73.

Hogs, number in United States, 9, 83; prices of, 95-99.

Horses, number in U. S., 9, 83.

Human energy, 27.

Ideal manliness, 49.

Improved farming, effect of, 81.

Imprudent consumption, 319.

Incentive of good government, 206.

Income taxes, 360.

Indirect taxes, 356.

Individual Efficiency, 49.

Individual responsibility for use of wealth, 310.

Individualism, 328.

Inheritance taxes, 363.

Insurance, applications of, 229, 239; governmental control of, 228; methods of, 226; nature of, 225.

Interest and rent distinguished, 279; principles of, 283; reasons for, 283; uses of, 291; varying rates of, 286.

Invention in farming, 36.

Labor and savings, relative importance, chart, 53.

Labor conflicts, arbitration in, 268.

Labor defined and classified, 32; operative, executive, speculative, 35; physical, mental, moral, 34.

Labor restrictions, 274.

Land as a force, 29.

Land rent, 293.

Land values, decrease of, 302; sources of, 297; variation, 300.

Legal tender, 166.

License, 210, 347.

Live stock in United States, 9, 83.

Loan associations, 290.

Lockout, the, 263.

Luxury, legal restrictions upon, 321; not easily defined, 319.

Luxurious consumption, 319.

Manliness, ideal, 49.

Market, the higgling of, 73.

Market price, 77.

Markets, 72; freedom in, 75.

Measures, weights and, 114.

Methods of association, 55.

Monometalism, 126.

Monopoly privileges, 209.

Mortgage note, 159.

Mules, number of in United States, 9, 83.

Multiple standard, the, 129.

National bank currency, advantages of, 146.

National banks, 144.

National standards of value, 128.

“Nationalism,” 332.

Nationalization of industry, 275.

Natural forces, 28.

“Nihilism,” 329.

Normal value, 70.

Oats, acreage and yield, 9, 84; prices of New York, 87-91; consumption of, 84.

Obstacles to fair adjustment of wages, 259.

Over-production, 172.

Ownership, 15.

Panic, financial, 179.

Patents, 210.

Personal attainments, 45.

Population, drifting to cities, 303.

Population in United States, 9, 83

Pork, prices of, 95-99.

Power not wealth, 6.

Preface, vii-ix.

Premiums, 206.

Price of products and rent, 299.

Price, the market, 77.

Prices of beef, 100-105; corn, oats, wheat, 87; of farm products, annual fluctuations, 93, 98, 100, 100, 104; of farm products, fluctuations, 78; of hogs and pork, 95-101; of iron, kerosene, silver, and farm wages, 106; of wheat, England, 93; of wheat, New York, 87-93.

Principles of taxation, 348.

Proceeds of capital, 279.

Production defined, 21; extended, 25; forces in, 27.

Productive industries, 21; labor, 32.

Promissory note, 158.

Profit sharing, 269.

Profits defined, 236, 241; fluctuation in, 255; in agriculture, 254; in competition, 252; offset by losses, 256; tendency of, 253; variation in, 251.

Progress in welfare, 17.

Provision for future wants, 316.

Property, public, 16.

Property rights, 15.

Protection of the weak, 343.

Protective tariff, reasons for, 213; reasons against, 217.

Prudent consumption, 312.

Prudent use of wealth, 312.

Public property, 16.

Public responsibility, 344.

Quality, standard of, 116.

Railroads in United States, miles of, 83.

Ready transportation, 111.

Rent, interest and, 279; propriety of, 295; in price of products, 299.

Rents, variation, 300.

Rent values of land, 293.

Repudiation of government debts, 370.

Restrictive legislation, wages, 274.

Restrictions on luxury, 321.

Rural wealth analyzed, 12.

Savage vs. enlightened, 50.

Sheep, number in U. S., 9, 83.

Silver, ratio to gold, 124.

Single land tax, 365.

Skill, 46.

Sliding scale of wages, 271.

Small farms for homes, 202.

Socialism, 330.

Socialistic tendencies, 333.

Social organization for consumption, 328.

Sources of land values, 297.

Special incentives to production, 206.

Special taxes, 364.

Standard, the multiple, 129.

Standards of value, 117; in United

States, 120; fluctuation of, 121.

Standing account, 158.

State banks, 136.

Statistics, use of, 160.

Stock of farms since 1850, in U. S., 9.

Stock company, 161.

Stock exchange, 162.

Strikes, 259.

Supply and demand, 72.

Tariffs, 213, 357.

Tariff, incidental tendencies, 220; reasons against, 217; reasons for, 215.

Tax, a single land, 365.

Taxation, direct and indirect, 351; exemption of bonds, 369; of credits, 359; principles of, 348.

Taxes, assessment of, 353; on incomes, 360; on inheritance, 363; on liquors, etc., 359; peculiar forms of, 358; special, 364.

Trades unions, 264.

Transformation in production, 24.

Transmutation in production, 24.

Transportation, cost of, 113; in production, 22; ready means of, 111.

Trusts, 204; may cheapen products, 194.

Universal education, 341.

Universal needs met by government, 339.

Usury laws, 288.

Utility as related to value, 66.

Value and cost, 69.

Value, essentials of, 65; from utility, 66; in services, 65; nature of, 63; normal, 70; of gold and silver, fluctuations of, 122; standards of, 117; the basis of exchange, 63.

Vicious consumption, 323.

Wage-earners in conflict with profit-makers, 257.

Wages and profits, 239.

Wages, defined, 241; fluctuation of, 248; obstacles to fair, 259; of women, 247; real and nominal, 236; relation to wheat price, 93; sliding scale, 271; tend upward, 248; under stimulated competition, 245; under supply and demand, 244; variation of, 243; with cheap transportation, 250.

Wants basis of wealth, 14; certain, 14; individual, 16.

Waste, false notions of, 325.

Waste in rivalry, 326.

Wasteful consumption, 323.

Watering stock, 162.

Wealth, consumption of, 307; defined, 5, 51; distinguished from power, 6; distribution, 255; individual use of, 309; in farming, 3; in welfare, 1; for welfare, 307; material, 12; (rural) analyzed, 12; used by individuals, 307.

Weights and measures, 114; system of, decimal, 115.

Welfare, elements of, 1; mutual, 2; progress in, 17, 373.

Wheat, acreage and yield, 84; crop in United States, 84, 87, 91; world’s crop, 87, 91.

Wheat prices, annual New York, 91; in England, 93; in New York, 87-93.

Women’s wages, 247.

ADVERTISEMENTS.

_The Best and Newest Rural Books_

Books On Leading Topics Connected With Agricultural And Rural Life Are Here Mentioned. Each Book Is The Work Of A Specialist, Under The Editorial Supervision Of Professor L. H. Bailey, Of The Cornell University, Or By Professor Bailey Himself, And Is Readable, Clear-Cut And Practical.

THE RURAL SCIENCE SERIES

Includes books which state the underlying principles of agriculture in plain language. They are suitable for consultation alike by the amateur or professional tiller of the soil, the scientist or the student, and are freely illustrated and finely made.

The following volumes are now ready:

*THE SOIL.* By F. H. KING, of the University of Wisconsin. 303 pp. 45 illustrations. 75 cents.

*THE FERTILITY OF THE LAND.* By I. P. ROBERTS, of Cornell University. Second edition. 421 pp. 45 illustrations. $1.25.

*THE SPRAYING OF PLANTS.* By E. G. LODEMAN, late of Cornell University. 399 pp. 92 illustrations. $1.00.

*MILK AND ITS PRODUCTS.* By H. H. WING, of Cornell University. 280 pp. 33 illustrations. $1.00.

*THE PRINCIPLES OF FRUIT-GROWING.* By L. H. BAILEY. Second edition. 514 pp. 120 illustrations. $1.25.

*BUSH-FRUITS.* By F. W. CARD, of Rhode Island College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. 537 pp. 113 illustrations. $1.50.

*FERTILIZERS.* By E. B. VOORHEES, of New Jersey Experiment Station. Second edition. 335 pp. $1.00.

*THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE.* By L. H. BAILEY. Second edition. 300 pp. 92 illustrations. $1.25.

*IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE.* By F. H. KING, University of Wisconsin. 502 pp. 163 illustrations. $1.50.

*THE FARMSTEAD.* By I. P. ROBERTS. 350 pp. 138 illustrations. $1.25.

*RURAL WEALTH AND WELFARE.* By GEORGE T. FAIRCHILD, Ex-President of the Agricultural College of Kansas. 381 pp. 14 charts. $1.25.

New volumes will be added from time to time to the RURAL SCIENCE SERIES. The following are in preparation:

PRINCIPLES OF VEGETABLE GARDENING. By L. H. BAILEY. _In press._

PHYSIOLOGY OF PLANTS. By J. C. ARTHUR, Purdue University.

PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING OF ANIMALS. By W. H. BREWER, of Yale University.

PLANT PATHOLOGY. By B. T. GALLOWAY and associates of U. S. Department of Agriculture.

FEEDING OF ANIMALS. By W. H. JORDAN, of New York State Experiment Station.

FARM POULTRY. By GEORGE C. WATSON, of Pennsylvania State College.

THE GARDEN-CRAFT SERIES

Comprises practical hand-books for the horticulturist, explaining and illustrating in detail the various important methods which experience has demonstrated to be the most satisfactory. They may be called manuals of practice, and though all are prepared by Professor BAILEY, of Cornell University, they include the opinions and methods of successful specialists in many lines, thus combining the results of the observations and experiences of numerous students in this and other lands. They are written in the clear, strong, concise English and in the entertaining style which characterize the author. The volumes are compact, uniform in style, clearly printed, and illustrated as the subject demands. They are of convenient shape for the pocket, and are substantially bound in flexible green cloth.

*THE HORTICULTURIST’S RULE-BOOK.* By L. H. BAILEY. Fourth edition. 312 pp. 75 cts.

*THE NURSERY-BOOK.* By L. H. BAILEY. Third edition. 365 pp. 152 illustrations. $1.00.

*PLANT-BREEDING.* By L. H. BAILEY. 293 pp. 20 illustrations. $1.00.

*THE FORCING-BOOK.* By L. H. BAILEY. 266 pp. 88 illustrations. $1.00.

*GARDEN-MAKING.* By L. H. BAILEY. Third edition. 417 pp. 256 illustrations. $1.00.

*THE PRUNING-BOOK.* By L. H. BAILEY. Second edition. 545 pp. 331 illustrations. $1.50.

*AMATEUR’S PRACTICAL GARDEN-BOOK.* By C. E. HUNN and L. H. BAILEY. 250 pp. Many marginal cuts. $1.00.

*WORKS BY PROFESSOR BAILEY*

THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS. By L. H. BAILEY, Professor of Horticulture in the Cornell University.

*472 PAGES—125 ILLUSTRATIONS—$2.00*

In this entertaining volume, the origin and development of the fruits peculiar to North America are inquired into, and the personality of those horticultural pioneers whose almost forgotten labors have given us our most valuable fruits is touched upon. There has been careful research into the history of the various fruits, including inspection of the records of the great European botanists who have given attention to American economic botany. The conclusions reached, the information presented, and the suggestions as to future developments, cannot but be valuable to any thoughtful fruit-grower, while the terse style of the author is at its best in his treatment of the subject.

THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS discusses The Rise of the American Grape (North America a Natural Vineland, Attempts to Cultivate the European Grape, The Experiments of the Dufours, The Branch of Promise, John Adlum and the Catawba, Rise of Commercial Viticulture, Why Did the Early Vine Experiments Fail? Synopsis of the American Grapes); The Strange History of the Mulberries (The Early Silk Industry, The "Multicaulis Craze,"); Evolution of American Plums and Cherries (Native Plums in General, The Chickasaw, Hortulana, Marianna and Beach Plum Groups, Pacific Coast Plum, Various Other Types of Plums, Native Cherries, Dwarf Cherry Group); Native Apples (Indigenous Species, Amelioration has begun); Origin of American Raspberry-growing (Early American History, Present Types, Outlying Types); Evolution of Blackberry and Dewberry Culture (The High-bush Blackberry and Its Kin, The Dewberries, Botanical Names); Various Types of Berry-like Fruits (The Gooseberry, Native Currants, Juneberry, Buffalo Berry, Elderberry, High-bush Cranberry, Cranberry, Strawberry); Various Types of Tree Fruits (Persimmon, Custard-Apple Tribe, Thorn-Apples, Nut-Fruits); General Remarks on the Improvement of our Native Fruits (What Has Been Done, What Probably Should Be Done).

THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE:

A Collection of Evolution Essays Suggested by the Study of Domestic Plants. By L. H. BAILEY, Professor of Horticulture in the Cornell University.

*THIRD EDITION—515 PAGES—22 ILLUSTRATIONS—$2.00*

To those interested in the underlying philosophy of plant life, this volume, written in a most entertaining style, and fully illustrated, will prove welcome. It treats of the modification of plants under cultivation upon the evolution theory, and its attitude on this interesting subject is characterized by the author’s well-known originality and independence of thought. Incidentally, there is stated much that will be valuable and suggestive to the working horticulturist, as well as to the man or woman impelled by a love of nature to horticultural pursuits. It may well be called, indeed, a philosophy of horticulture, in which all interested may find inspiration and instruction.

THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE comprises thirty essays touching upon The General Fact and Philosophy of Evolution (The Plant Individual, Experimental Evolution, Coxey’s Army and the Russian Thistle, Recent Progress, etc.); Expounding the Fact and Causes of Variation (The Supposed Correlations of Quality in Fruits, Natural History of Synonyms, Reflective Impressions, Relation of Seed-bearing to Cultivation, Variation after Birth, Relation between American and Eastern Asian Fruits, Horticultural Geography, Problems of Climate and Plants, American Fruits, Acclimatization, Sex in Fruits, Novelties, Promising Varieties, etc.); and Tracing the Evolution of Particular Types of Plants (the Cultivated Strawberry, Battle of the Plums, Grapes, Progress of the Carnation, Petunia, The Garden Tomato, etc.).

*CYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN HORTICULTURE*

_COMPRISING DIRECTIONS FOR THE CULTIVATION OF HORTICULTURAL CROPS, AND ORIGINAL DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL THE SPECIES OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, FLOWERS AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTS KNOWN TO BE IN THE MARKET IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA_

BY L. H. BAILEY

ASSISTED BY MANY EXPERT CULTIVATORS AND BOTANISTS

In Four Quarto Volumes, Illustrated with over Two Thousand Original Engravings

This monumental work, the most comprehensive review of the vegetable world yet made by an American, is now in the press. Though distinctly an American work, not only plants indigenous to the North American continent are mentioned, but also all the species known to be in the horticultural trade in North America, of whatever origin. It is really a survey of the cultivated plants of the world.

The Editor, Professor L. H. Bailey, has been gathering material for this Cyclopedia for many years. He has enlisted the coöperation of men of attainments, either in science or practice everywhere, and the Cyclopedia has the unique distinction of presenting for the first time, in a carefully arranged and perfectly accessible form, the best knowledge of the best specialists in America upon gardening, fruit-growing, vegetable culture, forestry, and the like, as well as exact botanical information. It is all fresh, and not a rehash of old material. No precedent has been followed; the work is upon its own original plan.

Many scientific botanical authors of justly high repute decline to give attention to the important characters of _cultivated_ plants, confining their work to the species in the original forms only. Professor Bailey takes the view that a subject of commercial importance, one which engages the attention and affects the livelihood of thousands of bright people, is decidedly worthy the investigation of the trained botanist. In the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, therefore, very full accounts are given of the botanical features of all important commercial plants, as the apple, cabbage, rose, etc. At the same time, practical cultivators submit observations upon culture, marketing, and the like, and frequently two opinions are presented upon the same subject from different localities, so that the reader may have before him not only complete botanical information, but very fully the best practice in the most favorable localities for the perfection of any fruit or vegetable or economic plant.

*ILLUSTRATIONS*

The pictorial character of the work is likewise notable. There are over two thousand illustrations, and they are all made expressly for this work, either from accurate photographs or from the specimens. These illustrations have been drawn by competent horticultural artists, in nearly every case under the eye of the Editor, or with the supervision of some one of the sub-editors. No “trade” cuts are used.

In planning the illustrations, artistic effect has been kept in view, and while no drawing is used which does not show its subject with perfect scientific accuracy, the monotonous so-called “botanical” outlines, often made from lifeless herbarium specimens, are notably absent. The intention is to show the life of the plant, not merely its skeleton.

*CONTRIBUTORS, SYSTEM, ETC.*

As above mentioned, the contributors are men eminent as cultivators or as specialists on the various subjects. The important articles are signed, and it is expected that the complete work will include fully 5,000 signed contributions by horticulturists, cultivators and botanists.

The arrangement is alphabetical as to the genera, but systematic in the species. A very simple but complete plan of key-letters is used, and the whole arrangement is toward ease of reference as well as completeness of information. To each large genus there is a separate alphabetic index.

Important commercial subjects are treated usually under the best known name, whether it be the scientific or "common" designation. Thus, the apple is fully discussed as apple, rather than as _Pyrus Malus_, and the carnation comes into view in the third letter of the alphabet, not as _Dianthus Caryophyllus_. Carefully edited cross-references make it easy to find any desired subject, however, in the shortest time.

The plan of presenting the full details of culture of important plants, through the views of acknowledged practical experts upon the various subjects, assures the great value of the book to the man or woman who is obtaining a living from horticultural pursuits.

A special feature of the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture is its wealth of bibliographic reference. The world’s horticultural literature has been thoroughly searched, and most carefully indexed, so that the student will find citations to every available article or illustration upon any subject consulted.

*DETAILS OF PUBLICATION*

The Cyclopedia of American Horticulture is to be completed in four handsome quarto volumes, embracing about two thousand pages, with more than that number of original illustrations. It is carefully printed upon specially made paper of a permanent character. The first volume (A to D, 509 pages, 743 illustrations, 9 plates) is now ready, and the work is expected to be completed during the year 1900.

The work is sold only by subscription, and orders will be accepted for the full set only. Terms and further information may be had of the Publishers,

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

No. 66 Fifth Avenue, NEW YORK

LESSONS WITH PLANTS: Suggestions for Seeing and Interpreting Some of the Common Forms of Vegetation. By L. H. BAILEY, Professor of Horticulture in the Cornell University, with delineations from nature by W. S. HOLDSWORTH, of the Agricultural College of Michigan.

*SECOND EDITION—491 PAGES—446 ILLUSTRATIONS—12 MO—CLOTH—$1.10 NET*

There are two ways of looking at nature. The _old way_, which you have found so unsatisfactory, was to classify everything—to consider leaves, roots, and whole plants as formal herbarium specimens, forgetting that each had its own story of growth and development, struggle and success, to tell. Nothing stifles a natural love for plants more effectually than the old way.

The new way is to watch the life of every growing thing, to look upon each plant as a living creature, whose life is a story as fascinating as the story of any favorite hero. "Lessons with Plants" is a book of stories, or rather, a book of plays, for we can see each chapter acted out if we take the trouble to _look_ at the actors.

“I have spent some time in most delightful examination of it, and the longer I look, the better I like it. I find it not only full of interest, but eminently suggestive. I know of no book which begins to do so much to open the eyes of the student—whether pupil or teacher—to the wealth of meaning contained in simple plant forms. Above all else, it seems to be full of suggestions that help one to learn the language of plants, so they may talk to him.”—DARWIN L. BARDWELL, _Superintendent of Schools, Binghamton_.

“It is an admirable book, and cannot fail both to awaken interest in the subject, and to serve as a helpful and reliable guide to young students of plant life. It will, I think, fill an important place in secondary schools, and comes at an opportune time, when helps of this kind are needed and eagerly sought.”—Professor V. M. SPALDING, _University of Michigan_.

FIRST LESSONS WITH PLANTS

An Abridgement of the above. 117 pages—116 illustrations—40 cents net.