124 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



The reply is, he should occupy that which is to him the more 

 efficient land, recognizing the fact that all men will not grade 

 land the same for a given purpose and that gradations vary 

 greatly for different purposes. Assume our two pieces of land 

 to be corn land and that one piece has more fertile soil, greater 

 warmth, better drainage, etc., so that each stalk of corn grows 

 more vigorously and yields a larger ear of corn and more fodder. 

 Then call to mind the character of the differences which may 

 exist in the men. The more efficient man uses better judgment 

 regarding the time to plow the land so that the soil is kept in 

 good tilth ; he harrows at the proper time, driving in the right 

 direction to smooth and crumble the land, thus reducing the 

 holes and the clods to a minimum ; he uses judgment in select- 

 ing the seed corn, which makes sure that each grain is vigorous 

 and of the right variety for the particular soil ; he plants the 

 optimum amount of seed at the optimum depth ; he cultivates 

 at the right time ; he maintains the stand of corn, that is, does 

 not cover or otherwise destroy the stalks of corn ; he eliminates 

 the weeds; he maintains the soil mulch to hold the moisture 

 when needed; and he avoids destroying the corn roots when 

 cultivating large corn. For all these reasons he has more corn 

 plants growing, and each plant yields more product. 



Is it not obvious that this extra product due to more plants 

 and better plants better tilled will be greater on the more efficient 

 than on the less efficient land ? To simplify the concepts con- 

 fine the discussion to the influence of the stand of corn. The 

 more efficient farmer has 95 per cent stand while the less effi- 

 cient farmer has an 80 per cent stand of corn. That is, where 

 there is room for 100 stalks of corn the one will grow 95 while 

 the other will grow 80. Is it a matter of some importance that 

 these extra 15 stalks be on the more efficient land, which means 

 15 large ears instead of 15 small ears of corn? From the stand- 

 point of the competing farmers there is clearly an incentive for 

 the more efficient farmer to seek the more efficient land and to 

 outbid his less efficient competitor for this land. 



The same principle applies to the choice of cows, horses, and 

 hogs as to the choice of land. A good cow has been said to 



