ORGANIZATION OF THE FARM 



Year after year he scarcely kept even, and would 

 not have been able to make both ends meet had 

 he not engaged in other work during a part of the 

 year. Another farmer offered more for the use 

 of the land than was being paid, and the old 

 tenant gladly gave up the place rather than pay 

 any more rent than he was paying. The second 

 farmer has paid the higher rent and saved money 

 year by year, and at the same time the first men- 

 tioned farmer moved to cheaper land where he 

 has been able to make a living and even a little 

 more, and has not felt so keenly the burden of 

 the rent. 



It is a matter of common observation that the 

 best farm land is usually occupied by intelligent 

 and thrifty farmers, whereas the less desirable 

 land is usually occupied by men not so well en- 

 dowed by nature to put the land to its highest 

 use, and hence who are not capable of compe- 

 ting for the more productive grades of land. The 

 writer's attention was called to this fact, with 

 regard to the distribution of the population over 

 the different grades of land, some years ago, both 

 by Professor Turner and by Professor Van Hise 

 of the University of Wisconsin ; but it was later, 

 in a study of the influence of variations in the 

 qualitative efficiency of farmers upon the amount 

 of rent that would be paid for the use of farm 

 land under competitive conditions, that the eco- 

 nomic principle which explains this fact was dis- 

 covered. 63 



