million for steam tractors. We have a total of twenty- 

 seven million horse power on farms, which is 20 per 

 cent more than was accredited by the Census of 1914 

 to all manufacturing establishments in the United 

 States. See Chart 13. 



Trend to Larger Farms 



The motorization of the farm is likely to mean 

 larger farms, especially in sections devoted to general 

 farming. It takes about the same investment in 

 buildings, the same self-binder, automobile and trac- 

 tor for a 100 as for a 160 acre farm. Granting that 

 some implements must be duplicated, the overhead 

 cost is usually greater on a smaller farm. With 

 equally efficient management it costs more to raise 

 a bushel of wheat, a pound of meat or a quart of milk 

 on a small farm. This will be increasingly true as 

 farms are more generally motorized. Surveys of large 

 numbers of farms show that the farmer's labor income 

 steadily rises up to at least a four or five hundred acre 

 farm. On these farms the farmer is using his time, his 

 ability and his investment more efficiently. 



The tendency to larger farms was in evidence 

 before the tractor became a factor in the Central 

 West. See Chart 14. Comparing the Census of 1910 

 with the Census of 1900 we find that farms under 

 20 acres tended to increase, due probably to the 

 development of truck and fruit farming. But the 

 number of farms in the classification of smaller acre- 

 age, from 20 to 100 acres, tended to decrease. The 

 farms from 100 to 175 acres in size remained about 

 stationary, while the farms with larger acreage, at 

 least up to 1,000 acres, showed a marked tendency to 

 increase. The more general use of the tractor and 

 other power machinery is likely to accelerate this 

 movement. 



[39] 



