AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN FARMING 



67 



for spraying, cultivating, picking, grading, and packing 

 the fruit of which our fathers never heard. As the tastes 

 of the market rise, the cost of supplying the superior 

 quality of produce must also rise. 



All this, however, is only one factor in the rise of the 

 cost of farm produce. The profits of middlemen cannot 

 be ignored ; the lack of cooperation among the farmers 

 themselves is involved ; the rise in rents, tariffs, and 



EUROPEAN PEASANT FARMERS. 



wages is a thing to be considered ; and the increase in the 

 output of gold, which measures the value of produce, is of 

 vital concern. Here we can merely mention such factors. 

 41. Different Ways of Comparing American and European 

 Farming. American farmers are frequently, but unjustly, 

 compared with those of England, France, Denmark, and 

 Germany in their yields per acre. Here the yield of wheat, 

 corn, potatoes, barley, and other important crops is only 



