FARM MANAGEMENT 375 



The distance of the fields from the barn is also of very 

 great importance in determining the value of the land. 

 All the time that is lost in passing back and forth from 

 distant fields must be charged against the earning power 

 of the land. If it costs $1 per acre in lost time to go to a 

 field, and if the interest rate is 5 per cent, then a field 

 near the barn is worth $20 per acre more. 



319. Topography is usually most important in its effects 

 on the ease of cultivation and on the use of farm machinery. 

 If the land is too steep, it interferes with or may prevent 

 the use of harvesters, manure spreaders and gang plows. 

 In some sections, the most serious results of steep hill- 

 sides is the erosion. In all sections there is some loss of 

 the productive surface soil. In many cases the direction 

 of the slope is important. The four-year average yield 

 of apples in a township in western New York was 43 

 bushels greater on easterly than on westerly slopes. 1 

 The difference is mostly due to the strong west winds. 



320. Soils. The physical properties of soils are even 

 more important than the fertility. The expense of labor 

 is very much more on some soils than on others, not only 

 because of the ease of tillage, but because of the number 

 of days of possible labor. If one can begin spring work a 

 few days earlier and can go out after it rains a little more 

 promptly, it may make a number of acres difference in 

 the area that can be farmed. The physical properties 

 also affect the possible kinds of crops and the danger of 

 loss of soil fertility. 



The natural fertility is more important than the tem- 

 porary condition, that is, it is better to buy a soil that is 



l.New York Cornell Bulletin No. 226, page 326 



