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READINGS IN RURAL ECONOMICS 



to go where the farmers who depend entirely on the farm are 

 making good profits. 



The farm should have buildings that are sufficient for the 

 purchaser's needs. Good land with buildings can be purchased 

 for little more than new buildings would cost. But the buildings 

 without good soil are useless. The prosperity of the farm depends 

 on the soil. No matter how good the buildings are or how attrac- 

 tive the view is, if the soil is not good the place is certain to prove 

 a disappointment financially. One should not be misled by what 

 can be done on the soil. A given amount of outdoors can be 

 made a good soil if one has the money to spend, but to make 

 it pay is a different problem. A good soil is one that nature 

 made good. 



Large crops do not necessarily pay. The beginner nearly 

 always overestimates the importance of large returns per acre. 

 Economy of land is usually much less important than economy 

 of labor and other costs. From cost accounts on a number of 

 New York farms, the following costs per acre were shown : 



The use of land is about one sixteenth of the cost of growing a 

 potato crop. It is less than a fifth of the cost of the oat crop and 

 a third of the cost of a hay crop. By experience, the practical 

 farmer has learned where to economize. He may not be able to 

 express his views in terms of efficiency engineering, but a very 

 large number of farmers have arrived at the correct practice. The 

 writer is never favorably impressed by the amateur's large yields 

 per acre unless he knows the cost. The way to make money on 

 potatoes is to have the cost per bushel less than potatoes sell for. 

 Fairly good crops are likely to be a help in reducing the cost of 

 production, but phenomenal crops are likely to cost too much. 

 The amateur is likely to figure how many cows he can keep on 



