348 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



Of 138 farmers on farms of less than 61 acres, only one man made 

 a labor income of $1,000. Of 34 farmers on farms of over 200 acres, 

 ii made over $1,000 labor income. 



Small farms have many disadvantages. A large part of the farm 

 work cannot be done economically without at least two men. But 

 many of the smaller farms do not have enough work to keep a hired 

 man fully employed. The cost of labor is excessive on small farms, 

 also the cost of horse labor. The cost of producing crops on the small 

 farms is also increased because of the lack of machinery. If a farmer 

 is able to manage horses and machinery to good advantage it may pay 

 him to go in debt for additional land. 



Sometimes it is very difficult to purchase land that adjoins one's 

 farm. The line fence is one of the greatest obstacles in the way of 

 eastern agriculture. The farms are not well laid out, and it is often 

 impossible to purchase so as to make a farm of satisfactory area and 

 shape. It will sometimes pay to sell and buy where a satisfactory 

 area can be secured. 



Many owners have enlarged their acreage by renting additional 

 land. Of the owners for whom a labor income was calculated, 14 per 

 cent also rented land. This, together with the consolidation of farms 

 by purchase, shows how many men recognize the importance of 

 increased acreage. Eighty-six farmers who rented additional land 

 owned an average of 89 acres and rented an average of 51 acres. This 

 gave them 35 acres more than the area operated by the average owner 

 who did not rent. Their average labor income was $522, which is 

 $115 more than the amount made by the average owner who did not 

 rent. For general farming these figures show that a farm should con- 

 tain at least 150 acres. 1 The upper limit of area is determined chiefly 

 by the layout. With ideal conditions, with the buildings in the center 

 of the farm, and with a public road running past the buildings, as high 

 as 600 acres may be run from one center. With more than this area 

 the distance of the fields from the buildings is usually too great. It 

 is not often that one can secure so large an area well located with 

 respect to buildings. The most profitable general farms in Tompkins 

 and Livingston counties contain about 200 to 300 acres of good 

 land. a 



1 Other studies have shown the same result. See especially Bulletin 41, 

 United States Department of Agriculture. 



'The remainder of this reading is from Bulletin 349 of the same station, 

 pp. 677-68. By G. F. Warren. 



