THE INDUSTRIAL FARM 41 



distinguish it from other business enterprises ; its 

 fluctuating returns, its risks, its dependence upon 

 the weather are best met by working on a large scale 

 so as to equalize the chances, and with adequate 

 capital that will obviate the crippling of its methods 

 by one or two bad seasons. Whatever profits are 

 obtainable by the present methods would certainly be 

 increased by working upon a wholesale scale, and the 

 obvious economies that are in sight may be summed up 

 as follows : 



(1) Economy in management. Under the present 

 system the land has to support a farmer and his estab- 

 lishment on each 200 acres or thereabouts, whereas a 

 man drawing no higher remuneration from the enter- 

 prise ought under proper organization to be able to 

 control four or five times as much land. 



(2) Economy in labour. On a small farm machinery 

 cannot be employed to its full advantage ; the initial 

 expense and the cost of the special labour required are 

 often so great that they only become profitable when 

 continuously employed or applied over a large acreage, 

 e.g., a motor plough, costing 300 to 400, however 

 cheaply it does its work per acre, would be an uneco- 

 nomic implement on a 200 acre farm. The cost of many 

 farming operations can be reduced by bulking the 

 available labour and directing large numbers to a 

 particular^purpose at the proper time. 



(3) Economy in buying and selling wholesale, in 

 avoiding waste, in preparing for market by methods 

 that are only remunerative on a large scale. Agriculture 

 supports a disproportionate fringe of dealers and middle- 

 men who live by buying up small lots of mixed quality 



D 



