ECONOMIC PROPERTIES 



be explained, in part at least, in terms of varia- 

 tions in the physical environment, but our especial 

 interest is in the effect and not the cause of this 

 variation in the density of population. Where 

 the population is dense capital is also usually 

 present in great abundance, and can be had more 

 cheaply than in the sparsely settled districts. 

 This abundance of labor and capital enables the 

 farmer to operate his land more cheaply. But 

 this is not all. The farmer who is nearer a great 

 center of population, such as London or New 

 York, can sell his products for the same price 

 which is paid for like products which have been 

 shipped great distances. Thus it is that of two 

 pieces of land equally fertile the farmer prefers 

 the one located nearer a great center of popula- 

 tion, because it enables him to produce and market 

 products more cheaply. 



Because of these variations with respect to fer- 

 tility and location, land is said to vary in produc- 

 tivity, or, in its value-producing power. That 

 is, a given farmer, employing a given amount of 

 labor and capital-goods of a specified grade, can 

 obtain larger gross receipts upon one piece of 

 land than upon another of the same area. 



The words "fertility" and "productivity" have 

 commonly been used synonymously to designate 

 the relative number of bushels or pounds of prod- 

 uct obtained from a given area of land. But the 

 one common property of economic goods is 



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