AN ECONOMIC STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION OF CANNING CROPS 63 



sandy and gravelly soils had a larger proportion of their tomatoes har- 

 vested than did the growers on the silt and clay loam soils. An early 

 frost would operate in the same way. Also, a dry year wouM give the 

 greater advantage to the heavy soils, and a wet year to the lighter soils. 

 The value of land does not represent the advantage that a particular 

 kind of land may have, in any one year. 



TABLE 66. FARMS IN EACH AREA WITH DIFFERENT YIELDS OF TOMATOES, 1920 



The proportion of tomatoes produced on farms with different yields 

 per acre is given in table 67. Forty-two per cent of the farms having 

 yields of less than 8 tons of tomatoes per acre produced only 2 7 per cent 

 of the total tonnage of tomatoes. 



TABLE 67. PROPORTION OF TOMATOES PRODUCED ON FARMS WITH DIFFERENT 

 YIELDS PER ACRE, 133 FARMS, 1920 



Some factors have considerable influence on the yield per acre but 

 do not increase the cost of production. Some of these are, setting plants 

 and cultivating at just the right time and in the proper manner, and favor- 

 able weather conditions. Certain other practices increase yields but also 

 increase costs. Whether or not these are profitable depends on whether the 

 value of the increased yield is greater than the cost of the practice. 



Acres of tomatoes per farm- 

 Most of the growers raise small acreages of tomatoes (table 68). In 

 the Niagara area, none of the farmers interviewed grew more than 5 

 acres. In the Chautauqua area there were a considerable number of 

 growers who had fairly large acreages. 



While the farmers growing small acreages are more numerous, a com- 

 paratively few who grow larger acreages raise a considerable proportion 



