692 



EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



[Vol. 4S 



Over 50 per cent of tlie total crop area of the farms visited was devoted to 

 vegetables and fruits, and 90 per cent of the receipts were from this source. 

 The following table indicates the average labor incomes realized in tlie crop 

 year 1916: 



Labor incouies on small fantis near Washiitr/ton, D. C. 



111 most instances 5 per cent of the laud value exceeds the renting value. 

 The landlords of the rented farms realized an average of only 2.9 per cent on 

 the investment. Twenty to thirty per cent of the crop area is double cropped. 

 The farm produce is disposed of by hauling it to the city and selling it either 

 at the public market stands (wholesale or retail) or through commission men. 



Twenty-four farms, or 16 per cent of those studied, were operated by ten- 

 ants. Twenty of the tenants paid a cash rent and the other four gave a share 

 of the crops as rent. Thirty-six owners rented additional land and, in general, 

 increased tlieir profits thereby. 



The organization and management of farms in northwestern Pennsyl- 

 vania, E. D. Strait and H. M. Dixon (17. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 853 (1920), pp. 32, 

 pi. 1, figs. 8). — A detailed analysis of 422 farms within a radius of lU miles of 

 Grove City, Pa., was made in the summer of 1917 for the purpose of gathering 

 information as to farm organization in this area, which is representative of 

 numerous similar areas in western Pennsylvania, southwestern New York, 

 eastern Ohio, and parts of West Virginia. This study covers the farm year 1916. 



General live-stock and crop farming is gradually being superseded by the 

 dairy type, owing largely to the establishment of a creamery at Grove City. 

 Forty-six per cent of the farms studied might be classitied as dairy farms. The 

 422 farms studied averaged 101 acres in size, 60 per cent of the land being 

 tillable and the remainder being used mostly for pasture. The average value 

 of real estate was $57 per acre. The average capital invested in the dairy 

 farms was $8,112 and in the general farms $7,252. A working capital of $1,994 

 was required to operate the average dairy farm and $1,746 to operate the aver- 

 age general farm. For the year 1916 the average labor income of 159 dairy 

 farms was $279 and of 190 general farms, $291. 



Two charts are given, one showing labor income, receipts, and expenses for 

 the 349 farms arranged according-to total acreage, the other the distribution 

 of the farmer's gross income in which the 349 farms were arranged in 4 size- 

 groups. The latter indicates that on the lai'ger farms, if the farmer is free 

 from debt, the amount available for family living is large, even though there 

 is little or no labor income. 



Data relating to production per farm ; distribution of farm area, capital, re- 

 ceipts, crop area, and live stock ; expenses ; size of farm, organization, and 

 profits ; live stock and live-stock products produced and sold ; crop yields ; main- 

 tenance of soil fertility ; income from sources outside the farm ; and land tenure 

 are tabulated and discussed. 



Some salient features in farm organization, W. F. Handschin (Jour. 

 Farm Econ., 2 (1920), No. S, pp. 141-154)- — This discussion covers the selection 

 of the crops and the proportions in which they are to be grown, as based upon 

 the necessity for soil maintenance, the relative profitableness of the various 



