152 FARM MANAGEMENT 



lent ups and downs, so that in some years they pay better 

 and in some years they cause greater losses. But there 

 do not appear to be any types of farming that are regularly 

 more profitable than other types, provided each type is con- 

 ducted where it belongs. 



This is just what we should expect, when we realize that 

 no farmer has a corner on any crop. Whenever one product 

 pays much better tlian others, there is always a rush 

 of farmers into that industry. We may be fairly sure that 

 if some one thing is paying abnormal profits, it will soon 

 be at the bottom of the list because of overproduction. 

 (See pages 76 and 89.) 



103. Relation of intensive and extensive enterprises to 

 capital. The intensive products do not appear to require 

 much less capital than the extensive for the same profit. 

 It is popularly assumed that one may run a poultry or veg- 

 etable farm with little money and yet make a good profit. 

 Less land may be required, but for an equally good profit, 

 as large a capital is usually involved. There are many 

 poultry and truck farms with small capital, but the poultry 

 farmers or fruit farmers making a given labor income 

 usually have as much capital as the farmers making the 

 same labor income from more extensive enterprises. 

 There may be less capital in land, but more capital in 

 other things. It has been shown on page 95 that for 

 persons with small capital, crops are likely to pay better 

 than live-stock. In this case, the less intensive business 

 pays best for persons with small capital. 



In Table 22, we find three farms (Nos. 24, 25, 34) that 

 are very intensive farms with small areas and small 

 capitals. But four of the small intensive poultry, fruit, 

 and truck farms (Nos. 2, 8, 9, and 20) have more capital 

 than some of the farms of 150 to 200 acres. 



