Proceedings of Seventeenth Xoemal Institute 271 



and depth. In like manner the capacity of a farm business, or 

 the labor income, depends upon the size, diversity and production. 

 Sometimes other factors limit profits in farming, just as knot 

 holes or split or loose boards in a box may permit waste. In- 

 efficient labor or inefficient direction of it; over-investments, 

 especially in buildings ; low prices ; wasteful feeding or feeding- 

 more heavily than prices of products warrant; using fertilizer 

 more freely than length of season, rainfall, soil or prices warrant ; 

 and unreasonable expenses — are factors that sometimes limit 

 profits. Occasionally a farm is not successful because the type of 

 farming is not adapted to the conditions of the region. New- 

 comers in a region are likely to make this mistake. But all these 

 factors are usually secondary to the three that determine the 

 capacity of a farm business — size, diversity and production. 



WHAT IS MEANT BY SIZE OF BUSINESS ? 



Size does not refer to number of acres alone, nor to number of 

 cows alone, nor to number of hens, acres of fruit, square /eet 

 under glass, number of men or to capital alone. It refers to all 

 of these together. It is, essentially, the amount of productive work 

 done. 



When farms of the same type are being compared, size may be 

 expressed by crop acres, number of cows, or both together; or by 

 acres of fruit, or some other important item. It is not so easy to 

 compare farms of different types. This accounts for the difficulty 

 some persons have had in understanding the effect of size on 

 profits. By means of " work units " '^ all the productive work 

 done on a farm may be expressed in one figure. This is the best 

 measure of size for comparative purposes. ' 



The size of a farm business may be increased in three ways: 

 by buying or renting more land — that is, extending the area ; 

 by intensifying the business- — that is, by growing or increasing 

 the area of crops like cabbage, potatoes, hops, tobacco, fruit, truck, 

 etc., or by keeping more stock or pure-bred stock instead of grades ; 

 or both methods may be used. Where land is not too high in 

 price or rent, it is usually better to increase the area. Where land 

 is high priced or cannot be obtained, it is necessary to intensify 

 or sell out and buy a larger farm in another locality. 



See Warren's " Farm Management," page 350. 



