The farm machinery industry in this country seems to be the only one that still enjoys a high degree of activity. During the current year new records are being set in the sale of agricultural implements, and this is due to the fact that modern machinery makes possible higher production at lower labor cost.

Farmers with the necessary purchasing power have been buying new machinery, and,according to reports, large farming corporations have been formed lately, for the purpose of cultivating new land for wheat production, and it is estimated that, under favorable weather conditions, the production cost of wheat may be reduced to thirty-five cents per bushel, or about one third of the present cost.

This estimate may seem unreasonably low but it indicates the current trend.

In the ten-year period from 1919 to 1929 the number of tractors on American farms increased from 82,000 to 853,000, and a farm expert recently declared that the last five years have seen a greater increase in the mechanization of agriculture in this country than the previous fifty years. Such a record certainly shows that farming, in spite of great difficulties, is not a stagnating industry.