THE BUSINESS OF FARMING 367 



Would be found on some supposed place in the country. Let 

 the complete list be made first, and the values may be added 

 later. Students may learn the approximate values of dif- 

 ferent articles by asking older people at home or elsewhere. 



EXERCISE. Making an Inventory. Let each pupil make 

 an inventory of his father's property, and after the total 

 value of the property has been estimated let him find the 

 necessary net income in order to realize 5 per cent on the 

 investment. Many different problems may be based on this 

 exercise. 



Value of the Farm. There arc many things to consider 

 when determining the value of a farm. The surface and drain- 

 age, the soil, the size as suited to the type of farming, the 

 shapes and sizes of the fenced fields, the kind of improve- 

 ments, the neighbors (whether they are in the same lines 

 of farming or not), the distance to good markets, and the 

 kind of roads. Before buying a farm a man would also 

 think of the climate, source of drinking water, health- 

 fulness, churches, schools, mail service, telephone, and 

 taxes. He might well estimate the cost of securing modern 

 conveniences in the home, including a water-pressure system 

 and house drainage. 



Need for better management in farming is easily seen 

 on a majority of the farms in all sections of America. There 

 are many losses to be checked: (1) better planning of the 

 work to economize time of men and teams; (2) the utilizing 

 of waste forage of the farms; (3) the plowing and washing of 

 soil through failure to use winter cover crops, ^4) loss of soil 

 moisture by improper tillage methods; (5) the bad waste of 

 barnyard manure; (6) failure to save farm seeds for future 

 planting; (7) bad seed that is purchased; (8) spread of weeds 

 on the farm through seeding of weeds in pastures, in fence 

 rows, on roadsides; and by foul seeds purchased; (9) bad 

 rotations; (10) run-down pastures; (11) badly arranged fields; 

 (12) exposure and neglect of machinery and buildings; (13) 



