THE HUMAN BASIS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION 1 13 



ceited man makes mistakes which are expensive and unneces- 

 sary. Conceit sometimes makes a man seem courageous who 

 is really not courageous but foolhardy. True courage pre- 

 supposes a correct estimate of one's own ability, knowledge of 

 the difficult task to be performed, good judgment in under- 

 taking or refusing to undertake the work, and resoluteness in 

 executing the task if undertaken. Courage greatly increases 

 the usefulness of a man on a farm. 



Patience is another quality which adds to the value of the 

 worker on a farm. A great variety of live stock must be trained 

 to do what is wanted, and made to do the thing while yet un- 

 trained. The man who loses patience loses power. The man 

 who keeps patient conserves his energies, and that of the animals 

 with which he is working. The love for farm animals makes it 

 easy to be patient in handling them. 



These physical, intellectual, and moral qualities are possessed 

 by farmers in widely different degrees of perfection. These 

 differences in the abilities of men account largely for the dif- 

 ferences in the profits secured by different farmers and in the 

 wages secured by different workmen. A satisfactory choice of 

 workmen on the part of employers, or a wise choice of employer 

 on the part of workmen requires ability to judge the qualities 

 of men. 



It makes a difference which laborer is employed. Owing to 

 the fact that men and equipment, as well as land, vary in 

 their economic productivity, the total produce will be influenced 

 by the way in which the grades of the different factors are as- 

 sociated for productive activity. The way in which this com- 

 bination should be made is the subject of a later chapter. ' 



The supply of the human factor. The human factor in pro- 

 duction is less under direct economic control with regard to the 

 rate of increase of supply or the quality of the new increments of 

 supply than are farm equipments. Malthus' theory of popula- 

 tion emphasized that population tends to be as great as the pro- 

 ductive energy of the country will permit. In the form in which 

 Malthus first stated the theory, the idea was emphasized that 

 the pressure of population upon the food supply would ever be 

 1 



