24 WE FARM FOR A HOBBY 



bushels to sell. If we had sold them at a dime a 

 bushel we would still have had a profit. In fact, 

 we averaged $1.25 a bushel. 



It is obvious that since we do not charge rent 

 against production we should not consider the 

 basic capital investment in land and buildings as 

 a factor in the cost sheets. Capital costs, as here 

 applied to the farm, are those outlays necessary to 

 change what is otherwise actually a commuter's 

 home into a producing farm. The distinction is 

 important because even after one has paid for land 

 and buildings (of no matter what kind or condi- 

 tion) there is scarcely any limit to the amount of 

 money that can be poured into a farm if one has 

 it to pour. Observation tells me that those who 

 have, often spend too much, get disgusted, and move 

 back to town. It is neither necessary nor desirable 

 to invest a great deal of money in farm production, 

 nor and this is at least equally important to do 

 it all at once. Unless time is the vital factor, most 

 of the investing can be left to nature. It is pos- 

 sible, for example, to start in the poultry business 

 with one setting hen and a clutch of eggs. How much 

 more one should invest depends on how quickly one 

 wants to get results. Instead of the hen and eggs 

 one could start by buying a flock of matured pul- 

 lets that are ready to lay. They are cheap today 

 at $1.25 apiece, hereabouts. 



In my case it was not necessary to invest any 



