328 



ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



vegetables would insure products of sufficient value to make 

 a good income and provide labor for a fair-sized family. 



Fencing. — The amount of fencing on a farm and the 

 cost per acre of fencing the various fields are factors which 

 would influence one in deciding on the kind and amount of 

 live stock to be kept. 



Waste land, or land which for some reason cannot be 

 cultivated with the regular fields, must be considered in 



:^ 



Figure 142. — It costs much more per 

 acre to plow a small irregular field 

 like the above, than a long field as 

 shown in Figure 143. 



Figure 143. — Plowing a long, regular 

 field. Compare with Figure 142. 

 Which field would you prefer to 

 plow? 



planning a rotation. If there is any considerable amount 

 of such land that can be used only for hay or pasture, stock 

 must be provided to utilize this feed, and very likely a 

 smaller proportion of the tillable land would be needed for 

 hay and pasture, so that a correspondingly larger acreage 

 could be devoted to other crops. 



Soil and location determine the kind of products that 

 can be raised and the kinds desirable to raise. One must 

 not plan a rotation providing for a large acreage of corn, 

 in a community or on a soil not adapted to corn production. 

 Likewise it would not be well to plan to raise a heavy bulky 

 crop, like potatoes, where one is a long distance from market, 

 or to keep dairy stock where faciUties are poor for market- 

 ing dairy products, or to keep beef stock or hogs where 

 grain feed, as corn or barley, is difficult to grow. 



