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MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 439 



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Fijjurc 12. 

 High Yielding Ladino Clover Pasture on Land where Boulders Had Been Removed. 



Power machinery could not be used before, because the stones were too many 

 and too large. The work of removing boulders with a bulldozer and picking the 

 stones cost $57 per acre. The stony loam soil is suitable for crops and produced 

 yields of 15 tons of corn silage per acre. Crop land had been added to the farm 

 at a cost of $57 per acre, at a time when good crop land in that community was 

 selling at $100 per acre. 



On the same farm, another 14-acre field was cleared of boulders in 1944. A 

 small bulldozer was used, and many of the boulders were broken by blasting. 

 Costs amounted to $188 per acre for all boulder removal work. Soil type, num- 

 ber and size of boulders, and general condition of the two fields were the same. 

 The differences in cost are accounted for by size of bulldozer used. Returns per 

 acre in crops and pasture showed little variation between the two fields. 



Putting the two together, 24 acres were added to the farm, doubling the acre- 

 age of cropland and increasing pasture by 50 percent. The differences in costs 

 of the two fields are extreme. The 10-acre field will easily pay for itself in a few 

 years. The main justification for the second field at the higher cost is that the 

 farm was overstocked and more crop and pasture land had to be added to help 

 support the number ot milk cows kept. It was to the economic advantage of the 

 owner to add crop and hay land at $188 per acre rather than decrease the number 

 of cows; but the same benefits from the work which was done at a cost of $57 

 per acre produced higher returns. 



Case B-2 — On another farm many large boulders were removed from 5 acres at a 

 cost of $250 per acre and this tract of crop land was added to the farm in the 

 place of poor pasture and unsightly boulders. Although cropland was increased 

 by a third, and the new land was needed,, only high yields of vegetables over a 

 period of years will pay the costs of the improvement. The high cost per acre, 

 plus the fact that the farm is a small business unit makes it questionable whether 

 the benefits will justify the work that was done. 



