80 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTUKE. 



THE COST OF A CEOP OF CORN" TO THE 

 MASSACHUSETTS FARMER. 



MIDDLESEX SOUTH. 

 An Essay by E. Lewis Sturtevajjt, M. D. 



It cannot escape the attention of any one who examines the 

 various statements of the cost of raising a premium crop of 

 corn as given in the Agricultural Reports of Massachusetts, 

 that there is no uniform method of tabulating results which 

 will allow the real cost of the crop to be readily seen, except 

 in isolated instances. I propose to investigate the various re- 

 ports of competitors as given in the volumes of the Agricul- 

 ture of Llassachusetts, and from this source, supplemented 

 with other facts, estimate the actual cost of raising a premium 

 crop of corn in this State. 



The elements which enter into the cost of raising an agri- 

 cultural crop are four in number: 1. The seed. 2. The 

 material of value withdrawn from the soil. 3. The cost of 

 labor, including the wear and tear of implements. 4^ The 

 interest and tax-account. 



1 . The seed. The amount of corn necessary for the plant- 

 ing of an acre is about eight quarts. From six to ten quarts 

 are the extremes, according to the variety of the corn, the 

 distance at which the crop is planted, and the number of 

 kernels in the hill. 



2. The fertility removed from the soil. To estimate this it 

 will be necessary to consult the analyses given us by chem- 

 ists. The amount of ash or inorganic material removed by 

 the grain is 1.47 per cent, as the mean of nine analyses. This 

 is 0.8232 lbs. to the bushel. This fraction of a pound contains, 

 as the mean of three analyses, 28.6 per cent, of potash and 

 47.08 per cent, of phosphoric acid, as the mean of four an- 

 alyses. The amount of nitrogen in this grain is estimated at 



