THE YOUNG FARMER 



In both case A and case B it is assumed 

 that the greatest net profit per acre is to be 

 obtained with 160 acres, and that the net 

 profit per acre when the farm is of that size 

 is $5. In case A it is assumed that the net 

 profit would decrease $i for each 80 acres 

 added, while in case B the decrease is 

 assumed to be only one-half as rapid. In 

 the first instance the net profit per farm in- 

 creases until 280 acres are reached, when 

 the net profit per farm decreases, until at 560 

 acres no profit would be obtained. In case 

 B the net profit per farm increases until 480 

 acres are reached. Everyone is cautioned 

 not to accept these figures as representing 

 what would actually happen. All that can 

 be said is that as the farm unit increases in 

 size there will come a point at which the net 

 profit per acre will decrease because of the 

 physical difficulty of managing a large area, 

 and, therefore, there is a limit to the size of 

 a single farm. Fifteen thousand acres may 

 lay in one tract and be owned by one indi- 

 vidual, firm or corporation, but its economic 

 management requires for purely physical 

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