392 



AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



on the capital invested in the farm business is greater than the ordinary 

 wages a man can earn as a farm laborer, the interest earned on the 

 investment is the best measure of a man's ability to manage a farm. 

 For example, the investment represented by the majority of the farms 

 in this section at ordinary rates (5 per cent, for example) amounts to 

 $1,500 to $3,000 annually and the farmer's wages as a laborer amount 

 to only about $500. The rate of interest earned is, therefore, ordi- 

 narily the item of most importance in determining the success of the 

 farm business. In any event, the ordinary farmer in this region is 

 accustomed to thinking in terms of the rate of interest earned on the 

 investment as do most other business men with large investments. 



INVENTORY OF REAL ESTATE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR 



LIST VALUE OF FARM IMPROVEMENTS HERE 



