AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



from one thing to another so that he never ac- 

 quires a high degree of skill in any line, to say 

 nothing of the loss of time in making changes. 



As a result of the development of commerce in 

 the products of agriculture, the modern farmer 

 has found it profitable to look primarily to the 

 production of a few staples which can be put 

 upon the market in exchange for the great variety 

 of things which he desires to use. Incidentally 

 many modern farmers produce certain articles, 

 such as fruits and vegetables, primarily for the use 

 of their own households, and here they are free 

 to follow their own instincts, as did the self- 

 sufficing farmers of olden times, and produce 

 those things which they like best to consume ; but 

 in the production of the staples of commerce they 

 must, if they would best succeed, produce those 

 things which will enable them to obtain upon the 

 market the largest possible means of supplying 

 their wants, in return for every unit of effort 

 which they expend upon their farms. 



From the point of view of the farmer, then, the 

 first problem before us in the economics of agri- 

 culture pertains to the selection of land and the 

 management of a farm in such a manner as will 

 enable the farmer, one year with another, to win 

 the largest net profits. For example, if a farmer 

 is operating land in a given community he should 

 endeavor to determine which grade of land to cul- 

 tivate, which kinds of crops to grow, how in- 



40 



