98 FARM MANAGEMENT 



The corn root worm is forcing crop rotation and conse- 

 quent changes in farming in the corn-belt. 



RELATION OF THE TYPE OF FARMING TO THAT OF THE 

 NEIGHBORS 



70. The value of community experience. Under 

 most conditions it is of very great importance to be in 

 the same type of farming as the community. There is 

 so much to learn about farming in any community that 

 one man cannot hope to learn it alone. The experience 

 of the community is of the utmost value to ev^ry farmer. 

 Few farmers realize how much they owe to their neigh- 

 bors. Different men try out new varieties of crops, new 

 machines, different breeds of animals, different methods 

 of raising crops, different kinds of building construction, 

 different ways of saving labor. Each man gets the benefit 

 of the experiences of all ; if a man is following ? type of 

 farming different from his neighbors, he cannot hope to 

 try all these things. He is not likely to progress very 

 rapidly. Sometimes he may visit other similar regions to 

 get the experience of other men, but then it may not apply 

 on his farm. 



71. Community labor supply. If one is following a 

 different kind of farming from his neighbors, he will 

 always have difficulty in securing well-trained help. 



The man who has the only apple orchard in a region 

 will have to train his men for each operation The men 

 will not know how to plow the orchard. They will be 

 thinking of the plowing more than of the trees, and may 

 injure the trees. They will not know how to prune, 

 take out borers, spray, pick, or pack apples. But if the 

 entire community is in the apple business, most of the 



