CHAPTER VIII
Period of reorganization.
THE REORGANIZATION of American agriculture began with the passage of the Experiment Station Act in 1887. This act marked the beginning of a comprehensive and systematic application of experimental science to agriculture and was the signal for great activity in research work in all lines of agricultural endeavor. The Experiment Stations are really the foundation of the new agriculture.
As we have seen, the steady stream of settlers and homesteaders pouring Westward had populated the desirable lands and made it profitable to push the railways entirely across the continent. Great interest was developed in the irrigation of the arid regions and the drainage of the swampy sections, and intensive agriculture began to be preached. It was recognized that agriculture expands quite as readily by better cultural methods and a greater production per acre as it does by placing more land under cultivation. In fact, since the free lands were now occupied, the price of land generally was greatly advanced and only an intensive cultivation would pay dividends upon the investment now demanded.
The old days of cheap land and dear labor had
