28 OUTLINES OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS 



effective t Might it be extended still farther by the use of field tele- 

 phones? Can you think of still other means of overcoming the 

 factor of distance in supervising the operations of a farm ? 



5. "Profits can be increased most easily by attention to the weak- 

 est points in a system of farming. The more vital the weakness, the 

 greater the increase in profits that can easily be made. It is both 

 easier and more profitable to increase low acre yields than high ones 

 and a small product per cow than a large one." Explain, relating 

 your answer to the principle of diminishing returns. Is this a uni- 

 versally valid statement ? Would it apply to the agriculture of the 

 whole country as well as to the practice of a single farm? By "low 

 yield" does the writer mean low absolutely or relatively to the capacity 

 of given instruments of production? How is capacity to be deter- 

 mined ? 



6. "The Vegetable Growers' Co-operative Association of 



have recently employed an expert to superintend their operations and 

 make researches into the celery and tomato diseases which have been 

 interfering with their success during the last few years." Explain 

 this in terms of efficient organization of agriculture. 



ADDITIONAL REFERENCES 



Card, Farm Management. 



Pratt, The Organization of Agriculture. 



Powell, Co-operation in Agriculture, chaps, i, ii, v, vi. 



Wolff, Co-operation in Agriculture, chap. xiii. 



Fay, Co-operation at Home and Abroad. 



Aldridge, Farming Corporations. 



Levy, Large and Small Holdings. 



Carpenter, Profit Making in Shop and Factory Management. 



Bilings, Seasonal Distribution of Farm Labor, Chester County, Penn. 



Bulletin 528, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 



Humphrey, "Labor Requirements of Dairy Farms as Influenced by Milking 



Machines," Bulletin 423, U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

 Mowry, "The Normal Day's Work of Farm Implements, Workman and 



Crews in Western New York," Bulletin 412, U.S. Department of 



Agriculture. 



TOPICS FOR SPECIAL PAPERS 



The Place of the Promoter in Agriculture. 



Choice of Crops as a Factor in Farm Organization. 



The County Agent as a Factor in Agricultural Organization. 



Business Enterprise in Farming. 



Scientific Management on the Farm. 



An Analysis of Co-operation as a Type of Agricultural Organization. 



