150 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



matter of indifference, aside from the element of profit, whether 

 the work be done by hand or by horse power and machinery. 

 In the production of wheat, for example, the proportion of 

 capital-goods might be reduced and the same produce obtained 

 by increasing the number of laborers. The reverse is also true. 

 But while these variations may be made arbitrarily they have 

 an influence upon the amount of the farmer's share of the prod- 

 uct. Of all the various operations necessary to produce and 

 market a bushel of wheat, some can be performed more cheaply 

 by the use of horses and machines, others by means of laborers 

 without horse power. 



Where the farmer's aim is to have the net profit which is 

 left after paying the hired laborers and paying for the use of 

 the equipments as large as possible, every operation should 

 be performed by laborers, if this method will lower the costs 

 of production, increase the product, or in any other way in- 

 crease the net profits ; and everything should be done by means 

 of horses and machines or other forms of equipments, which 

 can be done to better advantage in that way. It may often 

 happen that the cost of performing certain farm operations can 

 be reduced by the use of horses and machinery in the place of 

 laborers, but it may at the same time happen that the product 

 resulting from these operations is also reduced. It is not 

 always true, therefore, that every operation should be per- 

 formed in the least expensive manner, in fact, it may easily 

 happen that a more expensive method will result in the largest 

 net profit. 



One point never to be overlooked in considering the desir- 

 ability of substituting laborers for equipments or vice versa, 

 is the relative demand which will be made upon the time and 

 energy of the manager. Any change in the proportions of these 

 factors in the composite unit which will increase the amount 

 of managerial activity per such unit must sufficiently increase 

 the farmers' net profit per composite unit to balance the loss 

 which results from the fact that fewer units can be brought 

 under a given amount of managerial activity. 



One consideration which favors choosing machinery rather 



