AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



to dairying, and others to fruit growing. Where 

 fruit-growing has replaced the old agriculture 

 farms are smaller than formerly. Where dairy- 

 ing has been generally introduced the average 

 farm is larger than before the change. 



Since intensive culture requires more labor 

 upon a given area of land, it is impossible for one 

 man to cultivate so many acres where the culture 

 is intensive as where it is extensive. In new 

 countries, where land is relatively abundant, ex- 

 tensive culture is generally most profitable and the 

 average size of farms is usually greater than in 

 older countries where land is scarce, land values 

 very high, and intensive culture most profitable. 



A farmer can use more land when he has the 

 most efficient forms of capital-goods with which 

 to work. The fact that five times as many men 

 are often employed upon a given area of land in 

 England as upon the same area in the United 

 States is not explained wholly by the difference in 

 the degree of intensity of culture in the two coun- 

 tries. The American farmers have, as is well 

 known, much more and better labor-saving ma- 

 chinery than do the English. 



The efficiency of the farmer is an important 

 factor in determining how much land he can use 

 to best advantage. The energetic man, whose 

 clear head and strong arms enable him to plan his 

 work most economically and to do it quickly, can 

 operate a much larger farm than his neighbor who 



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