Unity of sentiment and feeling, or like mindedness, which is the condition of all ef fective community work, may grow out of a feeling of common and pressing necessity, as in the case of the early pioneers in time of phys ical danger; it may be based upon a common kinship, nationality or language, as in the case of some Scandinavian communities of our Northwest, or it may be based upon a common religion, as in the case of the early New Eng land towns, many Pennsylvania German com munities, a few Quaker communities, a few Scotch Presbyterian neighborhoods, and espe cially the Mormon settlements of the Far West A combination of all these unifying' factors gives the best results. The agricultural states men of the future must build our agricultural civilization on community action. Effective community action must have some unifying sen timent to give it body and consistency. There fore the problem of agricultural statesmanship is to discover or create these unifying senti ments.
In almost every agricultural region there is one crop which, under the conditions of soil, climate and markets, is more profitable than any other, such as cotton in the South, corn in the Middle West and wheat in the Northwest and in the Middle Southwest. In the early development of every such region there is a tendency toward what is called the 'Ione crop under which all the labor of the farmer is concentrated on his most profitable crop. Later on there is, in every progressive community, a tendency toward diversification. The reason for the change is not that one crop has ceased to be more profitable than any other. There are two reasons which combine to force the change. The first is the necessity of econo mizing the soil, and the other is that of econo mizing the labor time of the farmer. Growing one crop continuously on the same soil tends not only to exhaust those elements in plant food which are required by the crop in ques tion, but to multiply the enemies and parasites which prey upon or injure it. A change of crops not only gives the soil a rest, but inter feres more or less with the development of the enemies of each crop. The crops which are introduced into the rotation need to be chosen very carefully in order to give the soil the max imum rest and also in order to afford the most effective check upon the enemies of the major crop.
Quite as important, however, is the necessity of economizing the labor time of the farmer and his labor force. No crop requires equal time and attention at all seasons of the year. When the major crop requires all the time of the labor force it would be uneconomical to turn aside to work on a less profitable crop. But if the farmer grows as much of the major crop as he can handle when it demands the most attention, he will have time to spare at other seasons of the year. This time will or dinarily be wasted unless he has other crops which require his time then. If minor crops can be found which do not demand attention when the major crop is requiring it, but can be handled at other times and seasons, the farmer can obviously make a more economical use of his labor force by growing some of these minor crops.
Neither of these reasons in favor of rota tion are very strong in a new and undeveloped farming community. In the first place the soil is usually so rich as not to require immediate conservation. In fact, the pioneer farmer was usually in great need of other forms of capi tal, while possessing a superabundance of soil fertility. From his point of view it was not unbusinesslike to reduce his over-supply of one form if by so doing he could increase those forms which he lacked. Therefore he would be inclined to grow only his most profitable money crop. In the second place, on a pioneer farm there are so many other things to do be sides growing crops that the farmer need never spend an idle day from the beginning to the end of the year. Fencing, draining, erecting buildings, clearing stones, stumps and other obstructions and a multitude of other improve ments have to be made. Under such circum stances it is natural and economical that he should grow only his most important money crop, and spend his time during the slack sea sons making these necessary improvements.
In case, however, as in some portions of the South, the labor force is not inclined toward steady and continuous work the year round, the tendency to stick to the principal money crop rather than. to rotate and diversify per sists long after the pioneering period has been passed. Seasons of strenuous work followed by periods of idleness seem to be preferred by the negro farmer. This is one of the chief obstacles to the proper diversification of crops in the South. There is probably no other crop which the cotton farmer could grow which is so profitable as cotton. Therefore, if diver sification meant less cotton, it would probably reduce his income. But if he will equip him self with first-rate teams and tools he can grow more cotton than he can possibly pick. There is a tendency, therefore, to work with inferior teams and tools—with one mule per man, for example, instead of with two, three or four, because one man can usually grow as much cotton with one mule as he can pick. The way for the cotton farmer to increase his income is to cultivate more land, growing as much cot ton as he can pick, and some other crops be sides, provided he can find crops which can be handled when cotton does not demand the full time of his labor force. In order to do this each hand should work at least two mules, though four would be better if the land is fairly smooth and free from obstructions. This habit of working with large teams and tools has had a great deal to do with the prosperity of the farmers of the upper Mississippi•valley. It is also one of the factors in the increasing tendency toward rotation and diversification.