694 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.41 



Investnent after detluctiug the farmer's labor from the farm income shows the 

 same tendencies to variation as the labor incomes, but the variations are not so 

 wide. In each area and for each year before the war the percentage return on 

 investment was under 5 per cent, while for each year during the war it was 

 over 5 per cent. 



From a study of receipts and expenses during the war, compared with those 

 before the war, it is observed that expenses did not increase as rapidly as 

 receipts, yet, separating the years 1916 and 1917, it is found that the percent- 

 age increase in expenses in 1916 was only about one-third as great as the 

 Increase in receipts. In 1917 it was about two-thirds as great, and the author 

 predicts that when 1918 data for the Ohio area are tabulated, they will show 

 the percentage increase in expenses equal to or in excess of the increase in 

 receipts. 



In the Ohio area, with an increase of 2 per cent in the amount of labor, the 

 crop area was increased 9 per cent and the amount of live stock 15 per cent. 

 In the Wisconsin area, with an increase of 4 per cent in the amount of labor, 

 the crop acreage was maintained and the number of cows was increased 13 per 

 cent. In the Indiana area, with no increase in the amount of labor, the corn 

 acreage was increased 15 per cent and the number of hogs sold increased 5 

 per cent. 



The annual output per man of several farm products is tabulated. Dealing 

 with individual farmers for successive years, the author shows that the varia- 

 tions of yearly labor incomes are somewhat greater than the average of all in 

 any of these areas, even though the incomes of entire groups from year to year 

 may be fairly constant. It is observed that the study of an individual farm 

 for a single year will in many instances lead to erroneous conclusions. In try- 

 ing to And an indication as to the number of years that it might be well to 

 conduct studies of individual farms, the surveyors determined the rank in labor 

 income of each farmer for 1912, then of each for the average of 1912 and 1913, 

 or a 2-year average, then the 3-year average, and so on to the 6-year average. 

 Allowing for variation of two places each time, it was found that there were 14 

 farmers who changed their relative standing when comparing 1-year with 2- 

 year average and 12 when comparing the 2-year arid the 3-year average, while 

 only 4 changed relative standing more than two places when comparing the 

 5-year and the 6-year averages. Finally, the author summarizes the advan- 

 tages of both a single year's studies and continued studies. 



Farm management, R. M. Green (Missouri Sta. Bui. 163 {1919), pp. 50. 51).— 

 Studies were conducted during the year to determine the cost of milk produc- 

 tion near St. Louis, St. Joseph, and Kansas City, Mo., also factors in farm- 

 living conditions in one of the richest and one of the counties below average, on 

 owned and on tenant farms, and the system of land rental, rate, value of land, 

 yields, and other related data. The conclusions as briefly stated here are, 

 respectively, that farmers who were selling milk wholesale, in general, failed 

 to receive a price that covered cost of production; that the farmer has been 

 able to finance his plant and provide cash for the education and comfort of 

 his family on his operating profits only in the richest sections ; and that records 

 secured on 848 farms show that where the price of land is about equal to the 

 agi-icultural value of the land, a tenant can secure the use of capital at a 

 much cheaper rate by renting the best farms. 



The thrashing ring in the corn belt, J. C. Rundles (U. S. Dept. Agr. Year- 

 book 1918, pp. 247-268).— On the basis of 80 replies received to a questionnaire 

 sent to 300 ring members mainly from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and 

 Iowa, problems such as the size of ring, property owned in partnership, thrash- 



