CROP AND EXPENSES ON FARM 137 



Bulletin 645, 1914, states that the thirteen principal crops occupied 

 three hundred million acres, and had a value at the farm of 4,919 

 million dollars, or about $16.38 an acre. 



Another reliable measure of farm-crop income is the rent act- 

 ually paid to owners of farms. While in a few localities the rent 

 has been boosted up to as high as $8, the general average of cash 

 rent seems to be close to $3, closely agreeing with the average net 

 crop income. Even this $3 rent per acre and year is not a net in- 

 come to the owner since taxes and repair of buildings, etc., must 

 still be deducted. It is also quite generally conceded that the farm 

 is rarely well kept up in the cash rent system. 



The following figures describe the crop income conditions in 

 Germany. They are taken from Helferich "DeutscMantTs Wohl- 

 stand," and represent average yields for 1909-1913, valued at cur- 

 rent prices. 



Rye $14.56 per acre 



Wheat 21 . 50 



Barley 13 



Potatoes 19 . 20 



Oats 11.80 



Hay 12 



Which would indicate a general average close to $16 or the same as 

 the present average for the United States. 



Since less machinery is used in Germany and the fields are gen- 

 erally too small for economical farming, the cost of production is 

 higher in spite of cheaper labor. The "Schlesische Landschaft," see 

 Martin, Statik, p. 259, estimates the cost of producing the crop as 

 follows : on lands of 



Class i cost is 55-65% oi value of crop 



2 57-67 



3 60-70 



4 65-75 



5 72-82 



Taking land of class 3 as average and using the above $16 aver- 

 age for crop, the net income even from these fields and meadows in 

 Germany is only $5.60 or about the same as from the improved land 

 in the United States. 



As regards the regularity of income the figures of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, see Farmer's bulletins 629, 641, 

 645, indicate that in hay even, the average is below seventy per cent 

 of a fair stand. As stated in part one, the state forests of Wiirttem- 

 berg today cut about seventy-three per cent of normal, are still im- 





