222 PRINCIPLES OF RURAL ECONOMICS 



of cost, such as deterioration, insurance, interest, etc.), and you 

 have solved the problem of how many horses can most profitably 

 be combined with one man in the plowing combination. 



As suggested above, the same law is involved when a given 

 piece of land is taken as the base or fixed unit in a general 

 farming combination, and the problem is as to the quantity of 

 the various other factors to combine with it. This problem is to 

 be determined by the same method, and the same or a similar 

 diagram could be used to illustrate it. In fact it is a universal 

 principle applying to all combinations of different factors for a 

 common purpose. In the fattening of an animal, for example, it 

 will eventually transpire, if the feeding is sufficiently prolonged, 

 that the daily gains will dwindle. For every additional day there 

 will be a smaller and smaller additional gain in weight or value. 

 When the time arrives that the daily gains in value no longer 

 exceed the cost of the daily ration, it is obviously time to sell 

 and stop feeding. This problem also could be illustrated by a 

 diagram similar to that given above. Allow the different rec- 

 tangles to represent the daily or weekly gains in value, then 

 find the rectangle which approximates most closely to the cost 

 of the daily or weekly ration, and you have solved the problem 

 of when to sell. 



One phase of the great law of proportionality as applied to 

 agriculture is the rule that every form of capital should be used 

 to its full capacity. A gang plow, or even a twine binder, on 

 a small farm where it could be only partially utilized, would be 

 a violation of this law. Two horses kept where there is work 

 enough for only one, the possession of many tools, some of 

 which are seldom used, are frequent examples of the same kind 

 of bad economy. To avoid wasting capital in this way, and at 

 the same time to provide adequate equipment for the efficient 

 working of the farm, requires the most careful judgment on the 

 part of the farm manager. 



