280 AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



whether it be the terms of the contract or the methods of 

 farming. 



The landlord should not be overzealous in driving a hard 

 bargain. The landlord who drives the hardest bargain often 

 finds himself beaten in the end. A farm, like a horse or a cow, 

 is more or less attractive and more or less useful according as 

 it is well or ill treated. Under proper management land may 

 be made to increase in productivity. It is equally true that ill 

 treatment may greatly reduce the fertility of the land. Ill 

 treatment is the more to be feared for the reason that in this 

 way a tenant may sometimes increase his profits for the one 

 year. Hence the following quotations, from men who have 

 had long experiences in letting farms, are in point : " If you 

 try to get more than a fair rent, the tenant will take more 

 than the difference out of the property ; " and again, " Do not 

 beat a tenant before he comes, or he will beat you afterwards ; 

 give him a good ' lay,' and in the long run it will pay you best ; 

 an honest, fair way will always win in the long run." 



The tenant who makes the highest bid is not always the most 

 profitable man to have on the farm. Landowners have too often 

 overlooked the importance of having a thorough understand- 

 ing as to the way in which the land is to be used and the con- 

 dition in which the land and the buildings are to be left at the 

 end of the tenancy. A tenant can well afford to offer an extra 

 high rent for the use of the land for a year or two if he is free 

 to plow up the rich old pastures, produce the most exhausting 

 crops, and take no care to leave the farm in condition for mak- 

 ing a profit in the future. No landlord can afford to sacrifice 

 his capital for the sake of reaping a high rate of interest on his 

 investment for a short time. It is very important, therefore, 

 that the conditions of farming should be such as will guarantee 

 that the farm will be returned to the landlord in as good condi- 

 tion as it was at the beginning of the tenancy. This is not a 

 matter that can be provided for perfectly in the contract, even 

 if the tenant gives bond. To have to appeal to the law to en- 

 force one's rights is always undesirable. It is better to take a 

 smaller rent from a fair-minded man who can be trusted to 



