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Citizen Fetus
The Changing Image of Motherhood

Alessandra Piontelli
Citizen Fetus
 Alessandra Piontelli

Citizen Fetus
The Changing Image of Motherhood
Alessandra Piontelli
Maternal Fetal Medicine
University of Milan
Milano, Italy

ISBN 978-3-031-17160-4    ISBN 978-3-031-17161-1 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17161-1

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication
does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant
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The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book
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The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 To
Filippo and Roberto,
my sons
and to
Nicolò, Marco and Francesco
my grandsons
 Preface

Fetuses experienced fluctuating fortunes over the centuries and across

countries and populations. From being idolized and considered citizens
on par or even above those who bore them to fading into oblivion and
being discarded. These mixed fates were due to many causes such as reli-
gious, philosophical and social stances or to swiping calamities like fam-
ine, wars or plagues.
The query whether to save the mother or the fetus during the delivery
(the so-called maternal-fetal conflict) has been perennially recurrent.
The times keep changing, but a fetal swing has occurred recently with
a sharp and prolonged rise of fetuses to stardom and cult figures as well as
an escalation to near-citizenship extending from the 1960s to 2019 to a
fall into sudden obscurity when SARS-Covid-19 (from now on called
Covid or Covid-19) hit the entire globe, to a recent resurgence to citizen-
ship in various tribunals and states.
In the meantime, in poor countries silence and disinterest over fetuses
were uninterruptedly prevalent throughout this lapse of time.
The stretch of time from the 1960s to the present (Covid included)
and its vicissitudes concerning fetuses and pregnancies form the core of
this work.
Though as said, the times have changed, and science and societies have
evolved beyond recognition, it is useful to remember that the debate on

vii
viii Preface

the status of the fetus and its potential rights is nothing new. The issue
was always ardently debated, problematic, morally thorny and politically
charged. At all times passionate disagreement and conflict abounded
even among women.
Despite groundbreaking discoveries and revolutionary transforma-
tions, some basic constants derived from the past and inherent in our
human nature albeit modernized and updated persist to these days.
This sketchy and necessarily incomplete brief excursus focuses on a
very few points from the antiquity.
Broadly speaking until the Age of Enlightenment, our origins were a
big unknown subject to metaphysical speculation, philosophical musing,
religious concerns, which were hotly discussed at many levels and in vari-
ous circles ranging from scholars, to lawyers, astrologists or alchemists.
Embryos and fetuses were regarded by most as non-autonomous enti-
ties, parts and appendages of the mother’s body, often poetically equated
to fruits developing in the uterine soil and rooted in it through the
umbilical cord, also called the abdominal root.
The notion that fetuses were a component of the woman’s body had
many important consequences. Just a few will be mentioned.
Women were valued solely for their capacity of ‘bearing fruits’ and
their bodies honored on the whole merely for the uterus (also called
matrix meaning mother in Latin) and considered fields to be fertilized
and sown by the superior male.
Women were regarded as a flawed replica of all that was masculine.
Even female embryos were considered to become ‘human’ some 50 days
later than male ones.
Infertility was exclusively ascribed to the female, as it was believed that
sterility being inherent to the soil, a barren field could not be fecundated
by the always fruitful seeds.
Female infertility was ground for rejection or divorce. Infertility con-
tinues to be a ground for divorce or rejection and to carry a heavy social
stigma for women in vast areas of the world.
Another peculiar consequence of the view regarding fetuses as a por-
tion of the maternal viscera was that children born by caesarean section,
if they ever survived (their unfortunate mothers anyway did not), were
 Preface ix

considered to be unborn having been unnaturally uprooted from the

‘matrix’ with which they were thought to be merged.
Shakespeare clearly illustrated this belief in his Macbeth (1605–08).
In Act 4, Scene 1, the second apparition declares, ‘None of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth’ giving Macbeth the illusion that he cannot be killed
by his enemy Macduff. In Act 5, Scene 8, Macduff, however, shatters his
conviction by saying ‘…Macduff was from his mother’s womb Untimely
ripped... The evil spirit you serve can tell you I was not born. They cut me
out of my mother’s womb before she could bear me naturally...’. Therefore
Macbeth will be defeated by his enemy who was not ‘Of woman born’.
Aristotle was the first scholar to challenge the view of independent
existence beginning only at birth, and as such he is considered the father
of Embryology. In his ‘On Generation of Animals’ (De Generatione
Animalium), he attributed increasing degrees of animation to the grow-
ing human embryo. According to this theory the embryo started its
development in a ‘vegetative’ state. A ‘sentient’ phase then followed until
quickening, the time in pregnancy when fetal motions are beginning to
be felt at around 16–20 weeks. The embryo was then thought to have
irrevocably achieved a ‘rational’ or ‘human’ soul, the soul being consid-
ered as a kind of animating principle.
Following Aristotle many scholars continued to regard quickening as
the sign that the fetus had finally emerged from the chain of its former
vegetative and animal hazy states and reached ‘ensoulment’ or ‘anima-
tion’, from the Latin anima meaning soul. As said females reached a ‘soul’
some 50 days later than males.
As to the Law, the Romans were the first to grant fetuses legal rights in
the form of ‘inheritance rights’. Insofar as a fetus was conceived before
the testator’s death and subsequently born alive, it was entitled to inherit.
Inheritance rights, nevertheless, did not mean that fetuses were consid-
ered legal subjects, but only potential ones.
In the following centuries, abortion and infanticide, though formally
condemned, were rarely persecuted.
Abortion was widely practiced and tried by many means, such as
medicinal herbs, potions and decoctions to be ingested or inserted locally,
magical litanies and liturgies, mechanical instruments or strenuous
exercise.
x Preface

Once delivered many unfortunate fruits of the womb never attained

any status and faded into oblivion by being quickly disposed of, poi-
soned, abandoned, suffocated or exposed.
Till the Age of Enlightenment the ban on dissection, which dated back
largely to the Greeks and Romans, impeded a faithful knowledge of the
inside human body including the pregnant uterus and its contents.
Both cultures feared dissecting cadavers which were considered to be
polluted and polluting. Save for a generation of Greek medical scholars
who lived in Alexandria in the early third century B.C. who were exposed
to the Egyptian tradition of embalming, human dissections were
restrained till the Middle Ages and beyond.
The Catholic Church, generally regarded by most as responsible for
the ban on dissections, actually encouraged them starting from the four-
teenth century. These dismemberments, however, were not prompted by
scientific interest and had the scope of extracting from dead pregnant
women their fetuses in order to baptize them. Countless women died
during gestation and labor, and ‘emergency caesareans’ were frequent and
solely performed to save the fetus’ soul. Till then pregnancy in an all-­
encompassing sense (including menstruations, amenorrhea, abortion,
the delivery and lactation) was regarded as an affair for women alone and
taboo for men. These emergency ‘surgeries’ on the contrary were carried
out in the women’s home by a host of people ranging from midwives, to
barbers, men of church, husbands and surgeons.
These ‘caesareans’ though intended for other purposes had the end
result of exposing some of the mysteries of women’s bodies, as well as
handing over to male hands the so-called secrets of women.
However, it was only when scholars and men of religion stopped pon-
dering about the ‘soul’ that a truly observational and scientific interest in
the fetus began.
Towards the turn of the eighteenth century several disciplines started
to split and diverge from philosophy, alchemy and religious concerns.
Slowly, but progressively, scientific interest and enquiry became
secularized.
The Church predominantly took on other matters, especially social
concerns and this approach continues to the present day.
 Preface xi

The possibility of dissecting cadavers was of paramount importance for

the knowledge of the human body including the pregnant one.
Vesalius was the first to dissect cadavers in the sixteenth century.
Renaissance artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo also practiced
human dissection.
Men had been reflecting since the dawn of times on women’s bodies,
their mysterious secretions, and on the female’s lustful and procreative
powers, by all of which they were repelled, attracted, fascinated, alarmed
and inspired. From then on they began to have a good look at the female
body’s enigmatic contents.
Embryos and fetuses by being investigated, described and drawn accu-
rately began to be thought of by everyone as autonomous entities.
Until then fetuses, being dead and very frequently the cause of death
itself, had been discarded without being scrutinized.
Within the next three centuries women’s bodies were progressively
entered and made transparent by foreign instruments such as the stetho-
scope, X-rays and a century later by ultrasound.
Over time all these tools together with many other scientific progresses
improved dramatically women’s reproductive health.
This work focuses on the time period from the 1960s to 2022 when
societal interest for embryos and fetuses grew and seemed to have reached
a climax. It then analyzes what has happened so far in this realm since
Covid-19 and the overturning of Roe v Wade altered perhaps forever
our lives.
Besides an historical and sociological stance, I hope this work will
make an interesting reading for parents, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists,
psychoanalysts, psychologists, sociologists and for a large public inter-
ested in fetuses and motherhood.

Milano, Italy Alessandra Piontelli

 Acknowledgments

The help and support of many individuals were critical in making this
work a reality. These include former and current staff, students and nurses
of the Department of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Clinica Mangiagalli,
University of Milano. I am greatly indebted to Prof. Fedele for allowing
me full access to the clinic. Without the help and the teachings of the late
Umberto Nicolini, and of Alessandra Kustermann, and in alphabetical
order, Stefano Acerboni, Luisa Bocconi, Chiara Boschetto, Elena
Caravelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Florietti, Umberto Fogliani, Leo
Gallo, Sara Salmona, Beatrice Tassis, Laura Villa and Cinzia Zoppini, this
book could not have seen the light. Thank you Lucy for always being so
available and kind. The pregnant mothers who so generously accepted to
be part of all these studies have obviously been essential for this work. I
am greatly indebted to all of them.
This work could not have been made possible without the help of
Carlo Castellano and his enormous generosity in allowing ESAOTE to
lend me various equipment each specifically chosen for the various
requirements of this work. Carlo and Ileana have been marvelous friends.
Heinz Prechtl, Christa Einspieler, Giovanni Cioni and Paolo Ferrari
have been fundamental teachers in learning to observe fetal and neonatal
motions during their special training courses. Heinz and Christa have
been so kind to ask me to speak at two meetings in Graz. These symposia

xiii
xiv Acknowledgments

were invaluable for meeting extraordinary people and for learning and
testing out some of my thoughts. I am particularly grateful to Peter Wolff
for some long discussions in Graz, Boston and Milano.
Many other special colleagues and friends have been at my side at vari-
ous stages of my work. A particular thank to Colwyn Trevarthen, and the
late Daniel Stern, and to Diane Garcia and all my friends in LA. Giannis
Kugiumuzakis in Crete has always provided a wonderful arena to test out
my ideas and share them with him and with an exceptional audience. I
am also grateful to the anonymous reviewers of manuscript for their pre-
cious suggestions.
Some very special friends have been of enormous help to me. I want to
especially thank Judith for all our intense discussions in South Africa;
Carol for the endless times we talked about motherhood and for all the
fun we had with it; Luis Verrier for teaching me so much, not just about
work in distant countries, but also on life; Anayke Chux, Jim Penagin,
Sadou Aboubacar and Abu Fofana for all their advice; Jasuhito Kansai for
his exquisite kindness; Maria Teresa Gallo for being so patient with me;
Maria Teresa Savio-Hooke for being such a precious friend; and Silvano
Ponzi for the support he never did miss.
Among my teachers of the past who taught me so much with affection
and generosity, I remember some in particular: Ester Bick, Martha Harris,
Hanna Segal, Liz Spillius, Ruth Riesenberg, John Bowlby and Jerry Bruner.
Rodney de Souza has carefully and patiently revised my English.
Andrea Sommaruga has helped me with figures and computer work.
Finally, my husband Luigi, as always, remained lovingly by my side all
the time, and my sons Filippo and Roberto, albeit living far away, endured
a mother who spoke too often about pregnancies and fetuses.
Ultimately the responsibility for what I say in this book remains
mine only.
 Contents

1 Introduction: The Wavering Fortunes of the Fetus  1

Part I The Ascent of the Fetus   9

2 The 1960s and the 1970s 11

3 Th
 e 1980s 37

4 Th
 e 1990s 63

5 The First Decade of the New Millennium 87

6 2
 010–2019119

7 C
 itizen Fetus149

Part II Beyond Mythology 171

8 S
 tudying Fetuses173

xv
xvi Contents

9 Main Fetal Movements and Some Known Functions185

10 Preparing for Life After Birth213

Part III Other Perspectives on Fetuses 229

11 Old Customs and New Cults231

12 F
 etuses from Other Worlds251

Part IV Covid Pandemic and Fetuses Become Citizens 273

13 D
 arkness Descends: Sars-CoV-19275

14 Pregnancies and Fetuses Fade into Obscurity287

15 Pregnancies and Home After Birth303

16 Fetuses Become Unborn Citizens333

17 C
 onclusion347

I ndex361
 Abbreviations

AI Artificial intelligence
AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
APPPAH Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology & Health
ART Assisted reproduction technologies
CVS Chorionic villus sampling
D&C Dilatation and curettage
DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid
fMRI Functional magnetic resonance imaging
HIV Human Immuno Deficiency Virus
HRT Hormone replacement therapy
LRA Lord resistance army
NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations
PGD Preimplantation genetic diagnosis
PNG Papua New Guinea
RU 486 Mifepristone, also known as 11β-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)-17α-
(1-propynyl)estra-4,9-dien-17β-ol-3-one
SIDS Sudden infant death syndrome

xvii
 List of Figures

Fig. 2.1 The first pill 13

Fig. 2.2 Pregnancy test with rabbits 16
Fig. 2.3 Antinausea for ‘cooking breakfast’ 18
Fig. 2.4 Nestlé scandal. Powder Milk was widely advertised 20
Fig. 2.5 Anything the woman ate and drank was considered not
dangerous, as it was thought that the placenta filtered all 22
Fig. 2.6 Pregnancy clothes became fashionable in the ‘60s and the ‘70s 27
Fig. 2.7 Versions of Nielssen’s photographs are still the most represented 32
Fig. 3.1 The most popular ultrasonographic image. The side-view of
the first trimester fetus 38
Fig. 3.2 Realistic, anatomic model of an early fetus 39
Fig. 3.3 Glorification of the mother. Virgin Mary as immaculate
container for the divine fetus 44
Fig. 3.4 iPhone covers defining a 14-week fetus ‘a person’ with
statutory rights 48
Fig. 4.1 Fetal basketball cap and fetal bed light bulb 73
Fig. 4.2 Women portrayed as truncated fetal containers 74
Fig. 4.3 Fetus advertising glasses that give it an intellectual appearance 75
Fig. 4.4 Fetal Reborn doll commemorating a 15 weeks aborted fetus 77
Fig. 4.5 Few years after Demi Moore’s nude pregnant photo, naked
bumps were to be seen on celebrities, objects, media and
illustrations78

xix
xx List of Figures

Fig. 5.1 Prevue belt was planned for allowing parents to watch the
fetus at all times 98
Fig. 5.2 A portable eco-doppler called Angel Sound 99
Fig. 5.3 Belly casts a lasting memento of the pregnancy regarded as a
unique occurrence 102
Fig. 5.4 Ann Geddess pictures have been widely copied (often badly)
all over the world 104
Fig. 5.5 With the recent acquisition of personhood by fetuses and
zygotes who fostered such transformation imitations of
Geddess’s photos who fostered transformation contain fetuses
with toys, bottles, clothing as babies already born 105
Fig. 5.6 Various kinds of bikini lines 111
Fig. 6.1 ‘Bio-Bag’ for premature fetal animals. Children’s Hospital-
Philadelphia125
Fig. 6.2 Expensive fake bellies suitable for each gestational age are
worn on public occasions 132
Fig. 6.3 Cheap fake bellies are sold on Alibaba 133
Fig. 6.4 Woman wearing a Beyoncè-like yellow maternity dress.
Yellow signifies Erzulie the goddess of love 136
Fig. 7.1 ‘Anatomical Venus’—Museo delle Specola—Florence, Italy 159
Fig. 7.2 Statuette of a fetus emerging from the vagina as if from a
nuclear power plant 161
Fig. 8.1 The brainstem controls most fetal activities 176
Fig. 9.1 8 weeks fetus (c-d) and 11 (a-b) weeks fetuss performing
their first general movements-Note the rapidly changing
proportions of the fetal body 187
Fig. 9.2 16 weeks fetus touching its temples with both hands 193
Fig. 9.3 26 weeks fetus startling. Notice the spreading of the fingers
and the facial motion seemingly indicating ‘surprise’ 202
Fig. 9.4 29-weeks fetus. Reduced nuchal muscular tone within Quiet
Sleep204
Fig. 9.5 36-weeks fetus yawning 209
Fig. 10.1 Until 14–16 weeks the fetal face looks blank and static 215
Fig. 10.2 27-week fetus showing a full smile 216
Fig. 10.3 28-week fetus grimacing (or so-called micro-crying) 217
Fig. 10.4 25-27-28 weeks fetuses protruding (sticking out) their tongue 218
Fig. 10.5 10 weeks dichorionic (upper/a) twins and Monochorionic
(lower/b) twins. Note the thick set of membranes separating
the gestational sac in twins a. and the very thin layer of
membranes in twins b 221
 List of Figures xxi

Fig. 10.6 11-week dichorionic twins separated by a thick four-layered

membrane222
Fig. 10.7 30 weeks Monozygotic (MZ), monochorionic, monoamni-
otic twin fetuses 225
Fig. 10.8 Statuettes representing dead twins (Ibeji) once carried at all
times by the surviving twins—West Africa. Twins were
thought to share the same soul. If one died the other was in
danger too 226
Fig. 11.1 Fertility promoting and protective masks (for pregnancy and
delivery)—West Africa 233
Fig. 11.2 During Geledè ceremonies fertility masks are worn by males 235
Fig. 11.3 Japanese fetal memorial cemeteries 237
Fig. 11.4 Marquesas Islands—French Polinesia—Tikis represent
fetuses—On islands overpopulation is a recurrent problem—
Abortion and infanticide a solution 241
Fig. 11.5 Luk Thep Thai reborn doll 247
Fig. 12.1 Kazakh Women praying secretly for fertility around a heap of
small cradles 253
Fig. 12.2 Middle Sepik area—the inhabitants distinguish between
Monozygotic (MZ) and Dizygotic (DZ) twins 256
Fig. 12.3 Solomon Islands—unwanted babies are thrown to the sharks 258
Fig. 12.4 Prenatal determination of gender (and selection) is formally
prohibited, but widely practiced. Twin female doctors
(Rajasthan) posing in front of a plate prohibiting fetal
gendericide259
Fig. 12.5 Child lying inside a Bilum in the fetal position 264
Fig. 12.6 Delivery room (below) in the only clinic in the area and
delivery menstruation hut—Arunachal Pradesh, India 267
Fig. 13.1 Venice was among the first city-states to institute practitio-
ners dealing with the plague in 1348. In today’s Venice
costumes of plague doctors are plentiful and used especially
at carnival 276
Fig. 13.2 CDC—Zombie preparedness plan 278
Fig. 13.3 Squirrels and rats sold at a market bordering between India
and China 279
Fig. 14.1 Fetal cemeteries with the name of the woman who miscar-
ried, no matter whether spontaneously or not 301
Fig. 15.1 Coffins transported by the army to the incinerator, Italy 306
xxii List of Figures

Fig. 15.2 Most dreaded having to wear oxygen masks as in Chernobyl 308
Fig. 15.3 Fetuses became alien species and ‘viruses’ 310
Fig. 15.4 Devoured by the wolves. Carnivorous animals ready to
devour them populated the dreams and phantasies of some
pregnant women 313
Fig. 16.1 Initial stages after conception. Pro-life push for having
the so-called ‘Unborn’ being granted ‘personhood’
(a non-clarified concept) from the start meaning the
earliest stages after conception 336
Fig. 16.2 Fetus represented as a child. Fetuses or better so-called
unborn children are represented as babies at any stage.
Women have disappeared and even the uterus it is reduced to
a thin, transparent veil 336
Fig. 16.3 Women as headless child containers. Pro-choice refuse the
view of the woman as headless, limbless, child and milk
producing vessels 339
Fig. 16.4 All pro-choice women refuse to be only containers and
protectors of fetuses as well as happy housewives (unless it is
their choice) as in the illustration above 340
Fig. 16.5 Treating Ugandan girls who fought in the LRA war. Several
girls longed for war and preferred to take up their guns
rather than to be married to an old man for a few goats.
Warriors and husbands raped them, but the same happened
at home. War was pure adrenaline, gave them sociability,
team spirit and made them feel empowered 341
Fig. 16.6 Cheap suction machine and foam uteri for practicing
suction. Since Roe v. Wade has been overturned cheap
suction machines and foam uteri for practicing suction have
appeared for sale in China ‘Delivery fast and free all over the
world’342
Fig. 16.7 Tarot fertility reading. Tarot and palmistry reading offers
have started springing up on the net 344
Fig. 16.8 Tarot and psychic reading go strong on the net. Better than
nothing, the old methods are used. Fast delivery means that
fast decisions can be taken 345
 1
Introduction: The Wavering Fortunes
of the Fetus

The Wavering Fortunes of the Fetus

This work does not intend to enter the abortion debate which has so
often cannibalized, polarized and absorbed any discourse concerning
fetuses. Everyone, including the author, is free to think according to their
conscience and convictions.
The aim of this book is different, and its purposes are manifold.
The main focus are fetuses. At least until now, however, fetuses cannot
come into being without some form of conception necessarily involving
a sperm and an oocyte, and subsequently the body of a woman. ‘Bio-­
bags’ or artificial uteruses are being tried on animals to improve the
chances of survival of very premature fetuses. Women and their bodies,
however, so far are still inevitably and inextricably involved in developing
fetuses. It is therefore impossible to talk about fetuses in the abstract.
Fetuses can be looked at from several different angles. For this work
five main perspectives have been chosen. These different ways of looking
at fetuses may seem totally unalike to the point that the five angles could
almost read as separate essays. Only a unified vision comprising various
points of view, however, can offer a thorough picture of the topic.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

A. Piontelli, Citizen Fetus, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17161-1_1
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 10. What suggestions can you make for the prevention of existing delays in the
administration of justice?
Topics for Debate
1. The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional should be
taken away.
2. Trial by jury should be abolished in civil cases.
3. The loser in a law suit should not be compelled to pay all the winner’s costs,
including his lawyer’s fees.
 CHAPTER XVII
NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION

The purpose of this chapter is to show what nature has done for the United
States, and to explain the relation between national prosperity and natural
resources.

The Things that Make a Nation Great.— The source of

Three things have contributed greatly to the America’s
upbuilding of the American nation. The first is greatness:
the wide extent, the richness, and the varied character of American
territory. The United States is not only a vast country, surpassed in
area by very few other countries of the world, but it possesses great
natural advantages. It contains, as will be seen 1. The land and its
presently, extensive regions which are well- resources.
suited for almost every form of human activity, including agriculture
in all its branches, manufacture, mining, forestry, transportation, and
trade. It is abundantly provided with natural harbors and waterways.
In soil and climate there is great variety. No other country of the
world can produce so many different things under such favorable
conditions.
But it is not enough that a country shall have 2. The initiative and
natural resources. It must have a people with industry of its
initiative and industry to develop them. The people.
American people have spent three centuries at the task of making
the land yield its increase and they have much to show for it.
Originally, for the most part, of Anglo-Saxon stock, the population
has been enriched by the addition of immigrants from every country
of the old world. This mingling of many races into one people has
given the nation vigor and versatility. It has helped to develop among
the American people that alert and progressive spirit which is one of
their most valued characteristics; it has also given strength to
democratic ideals.
The enduring greatness of a nation does not 3. The national
depend, however, upon its material deals.
achievements alone. It cannot be measured by figures of population
and wealth. What a nation contributes to the progress and
permanence of civilization depends not only upon its economic
prosperity but in an even greater degree upon its spiritual and
intellectual strength. This vast land, so richly endowed by nature and
with its riches so fully utilized by man, has won and can retain its
foremost place among the nations of the world by promoting justice
and contentment among its people, upholding the reign of law,
diffusing education among all, and holding true to the ideals of
democratic government.
The Land.—Soil is the fundamental resource Importance of the
of any country. Its fertility determines, in large soil.
measure, the size of the population that can be supported. It is
probable that more than thirty per cent of the American people are
today engaged in earning their living from the soil; at any rate the
whole population is in one way or another dependent upon it. From
the soil comes almost our entire food supply.
Outside the original thirteen states practically The land of the
the entire area of the country has been at some country is privately
period in the hands of the national government owned.
as part of the public domain.[154] By far the greater part of it, however,
has been sold or granted into private ownership. In the course of this
disposal many corporations and individuals managed to obtain large
tracts of land for very little outlay, because careful attention was not
always given to the administration of the land laws; nevertheless the
policy of selling land cheaply and giving it free to settlers helped to
build up the great Western territories. Out of a public domain which
at one time or another included nearly two-thirds of the entire United
States only six hundred million acres now remain in the federal
government’s hands. Most of this is desert, mountain land, or land
that is otherwise unfit for cultivation.
 The Need of Conservation.—So long as land remained plentiful
and natural resources seemed to be abundant, very little thought
was given to the possibility that some day both of these things would
become scarce. The land in some parts of the country was
exhausted by wasteful methods of cultivation and then abandoned.
There are thousands of abandoned farms in the Some examples of
New England states. Coal, iron, and copper wasted wealth.
were mined in ways that permitted enormous wastage. Through
negligence much of our forest wealth was destroyed by fire. By the
beginning of the twentieth century it began to dawn upon the people
that the natural resources of the country were rapidly melting away,
that practically all the good land was gone, while the natural
resources in the way of coal and timber were being so wastefully
used that they would both be exhausted within relatively few
decades unless something were done to conserve them. Accordingly
a movement for the conservation of natural resources was started
and since 1900 it has made considerable progress both in securing
the passage of laws and in the education of the public to the urgency
of the situation.

SCIENCE REVEALING THE TREASURES

OF THE EARTH

By Edwin A. Abbey
From a mural painting in the Pennsylvania State
Capitol at Harrisburg.
In this picture the artist portrays an open coal mine
into which several mine-workers are descending. They
are stalwart, young, artless pioneers, eager for
discovery. They impart dramatic energy and realism to
the picture.
Science is pointing the way. She is accompanied by
Fortune, the latter blindfolded and tiptoeing on her
wheel. Grasping Fortune’s right hand is Abundance,
with an overflowing cornucopia, or horn of plenty, on
 her shoulder. These mythological figures lend the
picture its symbolism.
The artist portrays a great truth. Human labor, wisely
guided by science, has found fortune and abundance
in the mines and quarries of the earth.

SCIENCE REVEALING THE TREASURES OF THE EARTH.

By Edwin A. Abbey

Copyright by Edwin A. Abbey. From a Copley Print, copyright

by Curtis & Cameron, Boston. Reproduced by permission.]

What Conservation Means.—Conservation Conservation

means three things: First, 1. Retention. means three things:
that public lands still in the
hands of the nation and the states shall not be thoughtlessly turned
over to private corporations and individuals for their own profit, but
shall be administered so far as practicable by the public authorities
for the benefit of the whole country; second, that 1. Retention.
such portions of our timber, coal, oil, and mineral
resources as have already passed into private hands shall be so
regulated by law as to prevent their wasteful exploitation; and third,
that the government shall do its best to 3. Replacement.
encourage the replacement of such natural
resources as can be replaced (for example, by the reforesting of land
and the restocking of lakes with fish).
The Mines.—No country can ever become Coal and iron.
great in industry unless it has ready access to
minerals, especially iron and coal. It was the possession of iron and
coal in great quantities that served to make England during the
nineteenth century the industrial leader of Europe. Various regions of
the United States possess these great stores of mineral wealth and
have made good use of them. There is one great difference between
mineral resources and other natural resources, namely, that when
minerals are once taken from the earth there is no way of renewing
them. Soil can be replenished, and forests regrown; but minerals
form an endowment which, when once drawn from the bowels of the
earth, can never be replaced. Hence the urgent need for a policy of
conserving these important sources of national wealth. Coal and
iron, while they are the natural resources upon which the growth of
industry mainly depends, are not the only forms of wealth drawn
from below the surface of the ground in this country. In the mining of
silver and gold the United States is one of the Other minerals.
foremost among the various producing
countries. Copper, lead, oil, zinc, aluminum, quicksilver, and other
natural materials are also taken from the earth in large quantities
each year.
The Conservation of Coal, Oil, and The earlier practice.
Minerals.—Until about fifty years ago, land
containing coal or other mineral resources was sold and granted by
the government like any other lands. The individual or corporation
became the owner of whatever wealth might happen to lie beneath
the surface. In this way an enormous amount of wealth was
practically given away. It was not until a few years ago that the
government decided to reserve for itself all coal and minerals which
might be discovered in lands given to settlers. The present coal
But this action came too late, for most of the situation.
coal-bearing lands had already passed into private ownership. By its
failure to take due thought for the morrow the government had sold,
for a few dollars per acre, what might have been a source of
enormous revenue. If the practice of reserving the right to all coal,
oil, and minerals in granted lands had been adopted in 1810 instead
of in 1910 the value of these rights today would be greater than the
entire national debt.
A large and steady supply of coal is of the utmost value to
industry; in fact modern industry depends upon it. Yet when coal is
once taken out and burned it cannot be replaced; there is only so
much of it in the country and when that is gone there will be no more.
It took nature many millions of years to produce the coal that is there
now. At the present rate of increase in yearly consumption all the
coal that is known to exist in the United States will be gone in about
one hundred and fifty years. Some saving can be made by the use of
oil and water power. Some economies in mining and in the use of
coal are also possible. But these will hardly avail to prevent the
ultimate exhaustion of the supply. At best we can only set that day a
bit further off.
Speaking of oil, the amount of crude Conservation of oil.
petroleum or fuel oil now actually known to be
available in the United States will be exhausted in less than fifty
years if the present rate of consumption is maintained. There is
every likelihood that this rate of consumption will be increased owing
to the greater use of gasoline and kerosene for motor power. Large
quantities of oil, however, are, available in Mexico. Within recent
years it has been hoped that, with the progress of mechanical
appliances, it will be practicable to obtain oil from shale rock.
The Forests.—When the first European The wastage of our
settlers came to America, the colonists forest wealth.
depended heavily upon the forests. From the woods they obtained
timber for their houses and barns, wood for fuel and, by hunting, a
considerable part of their food supply. In all stages of civilization men
have depended upon the forests to satisfy many of their diversified
wants. Nowadays steel has taken the place of timber in the
construction of buildings and ships; coal and oil have largely
replaced wood as fuel; the days when men subsisted by hunting are
past; and mankind is no longer so heavily dependent upon the
forests as in the olden days. Yet the forests of America are still a
great source of wealth even though the timber resources have been
heavily drawn upon during the past hundred years. This is one of the
natural resources which has been wastefully used and it is only in
recent years that attention has been given to conserving what is left
of it. The forests are needed, not only as a source of timber supply,
but in order to preserve the fertility of the soil and to retain in it the
moisture which is otherwise evaporated or run off.
The Conservation of Timber.—In the days The earlier practice.
when so much of the land was covered with
timber the chief concern was to get it out of the way so that the
ground could be used for agriculture. No one seemed to realize that
the day would ever come when forest land would be more valuable
than corn land. Before 1878 the national government sold off many
million acres of valuable forest land at low prices to individuals and
corporations and they, in turn, used it in whatever ways would yield
the largest profit to themselves. By the Timber The Timber and
and Stone Act of 1878, however, it was provided Stone Act, 1878.
that only a limited area of government land containing timber or
stone could be sold to any one person or corporation and then only
at a higher price than agricultural land. But even this did not prove a
sufficient measure of waste-prevention, and in 1891 Congress
adopted the policy of withdrawing large areas of government forest
land from the market altogether. These tracts Forest reserves.
were set aside as national forest reservations
and today there are about one hundred and fifty million acres set
apart to ensure the country’s future supply of timber. The national
government is also permitted to buy from private owners forest lands
in the watersheds of navigable streams in order to protect the natural
flow in such waterways. The administration of all the forest
reservations is in the hands of the United States Forest Service,
which forms part of the Department of Agriculture.
The area of timber land owned by the states, Forest policy of the
by corporations, and by individuals is very much states.
greater than that contained in the national reservations. It is here,
moreover, that the greatest amount of waste is taking place. Forest
fires, most of which are due to carelessness, burn up enormous
quantities of timber every year. The states which still possess
considerable forest resources, such as New York, Minnesota, and
California, are also adopting the policy of creating reservations and
everywhere more effective measures are being taken to prevent
destruction by forest fires. These measures include the maintenance
of fire patrols, the construction of fire-breaks on the ridges of hills,
the clearing out of underbrush, and the stricter supervision of
camping parties.
Timber, fortunately, is a natural resource which can be replaced.
Lands which have been cut-over can be reforested and used to
supply timber for future generations. Large trees take a long time to
mature, however, and the lands which are being planted with
seedlings today will not be yielding material for the sawmill until the
middle of the twentieth century has faded into the past. Both the
national and state governments are now reforesting on a large scale.
To some extent private corporations and individuals have followed
their lead.
Other Natural Resources.—All the nation’s Harbors, lakes, and
wealth does not come, however, from the fields, waterways.
the mines, and the forests. In fisheries America leads the entire
world. The harbors and the waterways of the country are as
important to commerce as the soil is to agriculture. No other country
is better provided with natural harbors, lakes, and navigable rivers
than the United States. All the largest cities are located upon them,
and were it not for the waterways, we would not have the great
cities. Run over in your mind the ten or fifteen largest cities of the
United States and see if you can name any that are not situated on
one of the oceans, the Great Lakes, the great navigable rivers, or on
the Gulf of Mexico. It is not a mere accident that none of the great
industrial centers are without facilities for trade by water. Geography,
not man, determines for the most part the situation of all great
industrial communities. Water power is another natural heritage.
From the giant Niagara to the smallest cataract, Water power.
thousands of these water powers have been
harnessed and made to function as the servant of man, running
factories and generating electricity. Water power does the work of
coal.[155] Its presence has often determined the location of large
industries.
Geography and the Future.—From what has How geography
been said in the last four sections it will thus be determines a
seen that natural resources are a great factor in nation’s progress.
determining the progress and prosperity of a nation. No amount of
intelligence and industry on the part of the The energy of man
people will ensure rapid economic progress if cannot replace the
they occupy a country which lacks a fertile soil, bounty of nature.
is devoid of minerals, possesses no forests or fisheries, and is
deficient in natural harbors and waterways. Man can do much, but
his powers are limited without the aid of nature. Animals and plants
can be carried from one part of the world to another and made to
thrive in their new environment; but mineral resources were laid
down many millions of years ago in certain definite places and there
they have stayed. A country which has no mineral resources cannot
create them by the genius or industry of its people. On the other
hand, if great natural resources are at hand, progress becomes
merely a question of applying human intelligence and industry to
these resources. The rise of the American nation to its present
position, therefore, is not surprising, although it has taken a relatively
short period of time. It is the joint result of nature’s bounty and man’s
efficiency. To which of these we owe the larger share of the nation’s
progress no one can say. If the country had lacked either, it could not
have progressed in any such measure during the past three hundred
years.
The same things have been true of other Natural resources
countries. England, during the greater part of the and national power.
nineteenth century, was the leading industrial country of the world.
This was unquestionably due not only to the enterprise of
Englishmen but to the great natural resources of the country in coal
and iron. When Germany defeated France in 1870 she took away
from the French certain territories which were rich in minerals. With
the aid of these materials Germany in the course of fifty years was
able to become a great industrial power. Now, as the result of the
World War, the French have recovered these territories and we may
look for a marked revival in the industries of France. During the
peace negotiations more importance was attached to small areas of
coal and mineral lands than to whole provinces of agricultural land.
As the mineral resources of older countries become exhausted it is
altogether likely that industrial supremacy will pass with them. New
countries, which today have unexplored possibilities in coal and iron,
will then have their turn in industrial prominence. Who knows where
the balance of industrial power will be lodged a hundred years
hence. China, for aught we know, may be the chief manufacturing
country of the world in the twenty-first century. If we knew exactly
how long the natural resources of Europe and America will hold out,
and if we knew also just how much mineral wealth there is in the Far
East, we could predict these things with reasonable certainty.
Certain it is, at any rate, that the past history How geography will
of America has been determined, in no small influence the future
degree, by geographical conditions. The same progress of
factors are likely to influence the future. The America.
country is becoming less agricultural, less dependent upon the soil.
As it becomes more industrial our dependence upon its other natural
resources, upon coal, iron, oil, copper, timber, and water power must
necessarily increase. The commerce of the country keeps on
growing, and with this growth the reliance of the nation upon its
harbors and waterways will inevitably become greater. As population
expands there will be a heavier demand upon the food supply and
the time will doubtless come when the United States will have no
food for export. Indeed the day may arrive when agricultural products
will have to be imported from outside. All this points to the need for
emphasis upon conservation. It means that we should avoid all
wastage of natural resources. The fertility of the soil should be
preserved by scientific methods of agriculture. The mineral wealth of
the country should be utilized in such a way as to give the greatest
advantage over the longest period of time. We must reforest our
unused lands. Harbors and waterways should be developed to aid
commerce. If these things are done, America can face the future with
confidence.
General References
 Gregory, Keller, and Bishop, Physical and Commercial Geography of the
United States, pp. 252-350;
A. P. Brigham, Geographic Influences in American History, especially pp. 70-
104;
E. C. Semple, Influences of Geographic Environment, pp. 51-71;
O. W. Price, The Land We Live In, pp. 99-138;
N. S. Shaler, Man and the Earth, pp. 1-19;
C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States,
especially pp. 263-306;
T. N. Carver, Sociology and Social Progress, pp. 174-270 (The Influence
Exerted by Physical Laws over the Organization of Society and the Character of
Individuals, by T. H. Buckle); Ibid., Principles of National Economy, pp. 3-14; 123-
152;
C. A. Beard, American Government and Politics, pp. 405-416; Ibid., Readings in
American Government and Politics, pp. 368-374;
P. S. Reinsch, Readings in American Federal Government, pp. 538-589;
M. H. Gregory, Checking the Waste, pp. 42-85;
Isaac Lippincott, Economic Development of the United States, pp. 149-182.
Isaiah Bowman, The New World: Problems in Political Geography (see index).
Group Problems
1. The civilization of the future as determined by the exhaustion and
development of natural resources. When European and American resources in
coal, oil, and iron give out, what substitutes can be used and to what extent? What
countries have the resources to enable them to forge ahead when that time
comes? Show the connection between industrial progress and each type of natural
wealth. Consider whether there is any way in which a country may keep its
industrial supremacy despite the exhaustion of natural wealth. References:
Encyclopedia Britannica; Statesman’s Year Book; Gregory, Keller, and Bishop,
Physical and Commercial Geography, especially pp. 252-350; 384-394; C. R. Van
Hise, The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United States, especially pp.
359-379; H. T. Buckle, History of Civilization in England, Vol. I (1868 edition), pp.
39-151; Isaiah Bowman, The New World, passim.
2. Conservation and its apostles, especially President Roosevelt.
References: H. R. Burch, American Economic Life, pp. 101-108; C. R. Van Hise,
The Conservation of Natural Resources in the United Stales, pp. 1-14; 359-379;
Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver, Foundations of National Prosperity, pp. 19-20;
Gifford Pinchot, The Fight for Conservation, pp. 40-70; Theodore Roosevelt,
Autobiography, pp. 408-436.
3. The coal industry: its past, present, and future. References: W. J.
Nicolls, The Story of American Coal; Peter Roberts, The Anthracite Coal
Industry, pp. 3-16; 212-227; Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver, The Foundations of
National Prosperity, pp. 191-209.
 Short Studies
1. The relation of human progress to geographic conditions. Gregory,
Keller, and Bishop, Physical and Commercial Geography, pp. 126-179; T. H.
Buckle, History of Civilization, I, pp. 174-270.
2. What are the fundamental factors in national prosperity? T. N. Carver,
Principles of National Economy, pp. 3-15; Isaac Lippincott, Economic
Development of the United States, pp. 14-34.
3. American forest reservations. H. D. Boerker, Our National Forests, pp.
170-232; O. W. Price, The Land We Live In, pp. 65-98; Ernest Bruncken, North
American Forests and Forestry (1900), pp. 161-182; U. S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Circulars.
4. The oil situation. David White, in the Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science (May, 1920); C. R. Van Hise, The Conservation of
Natural Resources in the United States, pp. 47-61.
5. The growth of the iron and steel industry. H. N. Casson, The Romance of
Steel, pp. 1-26; 72-100; J. R. Smith, The Story of Iron and Steel, pp. 108-126;
Andrew Carnegie, Autobiography, pp. 130-197.
6. The conservation of water power. C. R. Van Hise, Conservation of Natural
Resources in the United States, pp. 144-161.
7. The conservation of iron and copper. Ely, Hess, Leith, and Carver,
Foundations of National Prosperity, pp. 210-231.
8. The settlement and use of the national domain. Albert Shaw, Political
Problems of American Development, pp. 87-115.
9. The homestead system. C. R. Van Hise, Conservation of Natural Resources
in the United States, pp. 279-287; G. M. Stephenson, The Political History of the
Public Lands, pp. 190-245.
10. The reclamation of desert and swamp lands. H. R. Burch, American
Economic Life, pp. 93-99.
Questions
1. Mark on an outline map the chief geographical divisions of the United States.
State the chief characteristics of each.
2. Locate on the map the chief agricultural areas, the chief mining districts, the
chief industrial centers, and the chief harbors of the United States.
3. Why do the great railroads of the United States run east and west rather than
north and south?
4. Do you approve of granting free lands to bona fide settlers? Under what
restrictions?
5. Mark on the map the location of (a) the principal coal areas; (b) the principal
oil-bearing areas; (c) the national forests.
6. Show what natural resources are utilized in the building of a house, from
cellar to garret, and tell what section of the United States is the largest center of
production for (a) oak timber; (b) glass; (c) steel beams; (d) electric wire; (e) sewer
pipe.
7. Name the harbors of the United States in the order of their (a) natural
advantages; (b) commercial importance.
8. Compare the general geographical advantages of North and South America.
To what extent has the difference in the relative economic progress of the two
continents been due to geographical differences?
9. Which do you regard as the more urgent need at the present day: the
conservation of timber or of coal or of oil? Give your reasons.
10. Compare the relative geographical advantages of the following cities:
Pittsburgh, Detroit, Atlanta, San Francisco, Baltimore.
Topics for Debate
1. The United States should adopt a rental system for all public lands on which
there are mineral resources or water powers.
2. The United States should insist upon free access to foreign natural resources
(for example, in Mexico).
 CHAPTER XVIII
THE AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS

The purpose of this chapter is to show the large part which agriculture plays
in the life of the country and to discuss briefly some of the problems of
agriculture today.

Importance of American Agriculture.—Agriculture has always

been the most important single industry in the United States. It was
at one time practically the sole occupation of the The crops in earlier
people; even today it directly or indirectly days.
engages the attention of more than half the adult male workers of the
country. In colonial days the chief task of the people was to raise a
food supply sufficient for themselves. Corn was their principal crop,
the colonists having learned from the Indians the methods of
cultivating it. Corn had the advantage of being well suited to the soil
and climate; besides it grows well even in partially cleared land. But
in colonial days and even for a time after the Revolution the country
did not produce much grain beyond its own needs. The production of
large quantities for export came with the opening up of the great
agricultural areas of the West.
Types of Agricultural Activity.—American 1. Mixed farming.
agriculture has developed, during the past three
hundred years, in five or six different directions. The earliest settlers
in the northern colonies devoted themselves to general or mixed
farming, in other words to the raising of grain, hay, and cattle on the
same tract of land. This was because the environment and needs of
the northern region alike favored this method. Mixed farming has
continued to be the mainstay of agriculture east of the Alleghenies;
in some measure it has spread to other parts of the country as well.
 A second type of agriculture, almost from the 2. Staple or
very outset, made progress in the South. This plantation farming.
involved the raising of certain staple products, such as rice, tobacco,
sugar, and cotton on large plantations. The soil, climate, and general
environment of the southern colonies all lent themselves to this type
of agriculture and it eventually spread itself over the whole region.
Cotton in time out-stripped the other staples and became king of the
whole South. This was largely because the invention of the cotton
gin, an appliance for removing the seeds from the fibre, greatly
reduced the cost of preparing cotton for the market. The scarcity of
free labor to work these great plantations led to the importation of
negro slaves and the institution of slavery had a profound effect
upon the subsequent course of American history. Since the
emancipation of the negroes, the plantation system has remained
although many of the larger tracts have been broken up into small
holdings.
The opening of the Middle West and 3. Cereal growing.
Mississippi Valley brought in a third form of
agricultural activity, namely, the production of cereals (such as corn,
wheat, oats, rye, and barley) on great tracts of prairie land. This form
of agricultural production received a great impetus from the invention
of labor-saving machinery, notably the power-reaper. The region of
extensive cereal production today includes the Middle West, the
Northwest, and the Mississippi Valley, making the richest grain-
growing area in the world.
 LAND REGIONS
OF THE
UNITED STATES.

LAND REGIONS OF THE UNITED STATES

The great geographical regions of the United States
are indicated by this map. Starting from the East we
have the Atlantic Plains and, just behind them, the
Eastern Plateaus running north and south. Then come
the Appalachian Mountains and the Allegheny
Plateaus, followed, still further westward, by the Lake
Plains, the Prairie Plains, and the Great Plains.
Southward, fringing the Gulf of Mexico, are the Gulf
Plains. To the far west are three great land regions,
namely, the Rocky Mountain area, the Western
Plateaus, and the Pacific Slope.
This map should be used in connection with
Question 1 (page 354).
 As the frontier rolled westward to the foothills 4. Cattle raising.
of the Rocky Mountains a fourth type of
agriculture—using the term in its wider sense—began to make rapid
strides. This was the stock-raising industry, the production of horned
cattle and sheep on large tracts of grazing land or ranches. This
branch of agricultural activity has made its greatest progress in the
Middle Southwest and upon the upland states just east of the
Rockies (Montana, Wyoming, etc.). Cattle are raised on the ranches,
then shipped to the corn belt where they are fattened before being
sent to the abattoirs at St. Louis and Chicago.[156]
Other branches of agriculture which have Miscellaneous
developed largely within the past half century activities.
are dairying, market gardening, and fruit growing. These activities
are not confined to any one section of the country but to a
considerable extent are carried on everywhere. Dairying and market
gardening have made most progress within convenient distance of
the large cities, although improved transportation facilities in the way
of air-cooled and refrigerator cars now permit the shipment of dairy
and garden produce over long distances.
From all this it can be seen that when one speaks of the interests
of agriculture a great many different things are included. The
agriculture of the United States is diversified to an extent that is
found in no other country.
The Value of American Agricultural Size of the various
Products.—The largest cereal crop produced in crops.
the United states is corn; the total in some years runs as high as
three billion bushels. This is more than twice the amount of corn
grown in all the rest of the world. Oats come next, with about one
and one-half billion bushels in the best years, and wheat third, with a
round billion or thereabouts. Cotton is the largest staple crop, with an
annual yield of from ten to fifteen billion bales, each bale containing
five hundred pounds. Of this nearly half is exported. More than
twelve million cattle are received each year at the great abattoirs,
besides an equal number of sheep and twice as many hogs.
The value of this enormous agricultural production, if stated in
dollars and cents, would be misleading because prices change from
year to year; the fluctuations are often considerable within a very
short period of time.[157] But in any case the contribution which
agriculture makes to the yearly income of the nation is enormous.
Upon it the national prosperity depends in a very great measure.
American Agriculture and the War.— How the war
American agriculture had a very important part stimulated
in winning the World War. As this great struggle American food
progressed the task of providing food for the production.
Allied armies and for the civilian populations became month by
month more difficult. Men were drawn off the farms of Europe to fight
and the fields went uncultivated; practically the whole of Belgium and
a considerable part of France were in the hands of the enemy; no
supplies could be drawn from remote parts of the world such as
Australia, South America, or the Far East because the available
ships were needed to carry troops and munitions; so the American
farmer had to speed up production in order to save the situation.
When America entered the war the Allies had practically reached the
end of their resources in foodstuffs; their populations were living
under a rigid system of food rationing. Under the stimulation of this
great emergency American agriculture rose to the occasion and the
increased production of foodstuffs, together with the savings which
were made through the observance of “wheatless” and “meatless”
days enabled the United States not only to maintain an army of two
million soldiers in France but to contribute largely to the food
supplies of the Allied armies and civilian populations as well. The
supply trains which fed the American army in France (and never on a
single day did they fail to reach the front), started from Kansas City
and Chicago, not from Brest or Havre. The American farmer was the
great factor in this service of supply.
A Peculiarity of Agricultural Production— An example of
The Law of Diminishing Returns.—There is increasing returns.
one fundamental feature in which agriculture differs from industry. In
industry, as a rule, the more labor and capital you apply the greater
the amount of the produce. Many industries, indeed, are so
constituted that by applying additional capital and labor you obtain
more than proportionate returns. Take the book-binding industry, for
example. A small shop, employing three men, might bind and stamp
two hundred books per day at a cost of twenty cents per book. But a
large establishment, employing a hundred workers with modern
machinery can easily put through many thousand books at half the
cost per volume. A manufacturer, if he is wise, finds out what
branches of his business are most profitable. Then he applies more
capital and labor in that direction so as to increase his earnings, and
devotes less attention to the things which cannot be made so
profitably. This is known as production under the law of increasing
returns.
But in agriculture the situation is quite different. Any farmer or
ranchman will tell you, if you ask him, that some of his land is better
than the rest and yields him greater profit for the capital and labor
applied to it. But if you thereupon suggest to him that he should
devote all his attention to this particular piece of land, and neglect
the rest, he would think very poorly of your intelligence. And rightly
so, for if he applied more labor and capital to his An illustration of
best land, he would not be sure of getting a decreasing returns.
crop-increase in proportion; on the contrary, he would be quite safe
in saying that, after a certain point, his extra labor and capital would
bring him less than proportionate returns. An investment of ten
dollars per acre may result in a crop of fifteen bushels per acre. It is
very doubtful whether by applying twenty dollars worth of capital and
labor to the land this yield could be doubled and it is quite certain
that it could not be trebled by spending thirty dollars per acre on the
land. In other words, agriculture is carried on, for the most part,
under the law of diminishing returns, which may be briefly defined by
saying that, “if at any given time, the amount of labor and capital
applied to agricultural land is increased beyond a certain point, the
increased investment will yield less than proportionate returns”. If
this were not the case, no one would ever cultivate the poorer lands.
We would raise our entire crops from the most fertile tracts. The
point at which the returns will begin to diminish can never be exactly
fixed, for improvements in the methods of agriculture may place it
further ahead. These improved methods also bring into cultivation
lands which otherwise would not be utilized.
Another Peculiarity of Agriculture—Limitations on Division of
Labor.—In one other fundamental feature there is a difference