AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



is determined largely by their opportunities for 

 productivity. And yet all forms of capital-goods 

 vary in productivity. Some machines are better 

 than others which were intended to do the same 

 kind of work. The grain binder, for example, 

 is more useful than the old self-rake, and some 

 binders do better work than others. Some horses 

 will do more work or in some other way be more 

 productive than others. Certain breeds of cattle, 

 sheep, or hogs will convert the food given them 

 into more valuable products than other breeds. 

 Hence, other things being equal, the man who 

 works with the most productive forms of capital- 

 goods can produce the largest returns. 



This variation in the productivity of capital- 

 goods is apt to be overlooked, because capital- 

 goods are valued according to their productivity, 

 and when we speak of the amount of capital em- 

 ployed upon a given farm we have in mind the 

 value of the capital-goods, and of course one dol- 

 lar's worth of capital-goods under the same man- 

 agement should be just as productive as any other 

 dollar's worth. 



While variation in productivity is common to 

 both, there is an important difference between 

 land and capital-goods, in that when more capital- 

 goods are wanted it is usually the more productive 

 forms which are made, while an increase in the 

 amount of land under cultivation usually requires 

 that less productive land be resorted to. The 



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