FARM MANAGEMENT 373 



These and many more similar questions must be 

 answered by the successful farmer. He may not formulate 

 the questions, but he considers them, nevertheless. 



It is manifestly impossible to consider all these ques- 

 tions in a book of this size. Only the choice of a farm, 

 the farm labor question and farm accounts will be consid- 

 ered, and these but briefly. 



THE CHOICE OF A FARM 



The most important business transaction that a farmer 

 makes is the purchase of a farm. The score card on page 

 385 gives some of the points that need to be considered 

 before purchasing. There are so many points that one is 

 likely to forget some unless he has a list of them. While 

 discussing these points, some other questions may be 

 considered, as the arrangement of fields. 



317. Size of Farms. If one has sufficient capital, he 

 should not buy too small a farm. The exact size will 

 vary with the type of farming. Investigations in New 

 York have shown that for general farms and dairy farms 

 those farmers who have about 200 acres make much more 

 than those with smaller areas. The most profitable apple 

 farms also average larger than the smaller ones, 109 acres 

 being the average size of a number of profitable ones, and 

 89 acres the average size of less profitable ones. 



There are a number of reasons why the man with a 

 fair-sized farm has an advantage. There are many farm 

 operations that require two or more men for economical 

 work. The small farm needs as much machinery as a 

 large one. Either it must be under-equipped or else the 



