V. CAPITAL-GOODS AS A FACTOR IN AGRICULTURAL 



PRODUCTION 



QUESTIONS 



i. How productive would a farmer be today if he attempted agri- 

 culture empty-handed, without equipment ? 



2. How effective was the labor of the primitive man as compared 

 with the modern farmer? Did he have any forms of capital-goods 

 to aid him ? How did he get them ? Why ? 



3. Give a definition of capital and show why we use both the 

 expressions capital and capital-goods. 



4. What do the Commissioner of Labor figures indicate as to the 

 increase of technical productivity which has resulted from the use of 

 farm machinery ? Do you think this is likely to increase in the future 

 as rapidly as in the past ? 



5. What other forms of capital-goods besides the ordinary farm 

 implements are being added to our farming equipment today ? Are 

 irrigation works capital-goods ? 



6. Is it possible that as the rate of progress in one direction tends 

 to slow down we may find a more rapid addition to our productive 

 equipment in some other direction? In what fields of capital de- 

 velopment other than farm machinery are we making rapid advance 

 today ? 



7. Show the relation which the amount of farm capital bears to 

 the farmer's return from labor. What relation does the capacity of 

 the farmer bear to this problem ? 



8. Does the increase in the capital factor demand a proportionate 

 increase in the capacity and training of the farmer ? mechanical train- 

 ing ? what other kinds ? 



9. Is it in this connection particularly that economic training is 

 significant ? Explain. 



10. If one needs to be a good mechanic in order to get the best 

 performance from a tractor and to prevent undue deterioration of the 

 machine, does one need to be a good economist in order that capital 

 may be employed most effectively and that capital value may not be 

 dissipated even while physical property remains intact ? Explain. 



n. How much capital does the average American farmer under- 

 take to employ today ? In what forms is it ? What seems to be the 

 outlook for the future ? t 



12. Does the economic efficiency of a piece of farm equipment 

 depend only on its technical performance or does it depend also on 

 how it is fitted into the farm enterprise ? Explain and illustrate. 



