18 THE NEW BUSINESS OF FARMING 



the economies practicable, and at this point it 

 is better to divide the large acreage up into 

 separate farms. But as between the farm of 

 fifty acres and that of two hundred the differ- 

 ence is not the difference of a few men and 

 many, but in half-time and full-time work for 

 the same number. 



Profit is the difference between the selling 

 price and the cost of production. The pro- 

 ducer makes in proportion to the difference 

 between these two. The passerby is impressed 

 by the sight of idle land. The horses eating 

 their heads off inside the barn are not in evi- 

 dence. It is therefore a popular conception 

 that idle land means poor farming. Really it 

 is the fat, sleek, underworked, well-groomed 

 horses that mean poor farming and the men 

 spending their time around the stove in the 

 store instead of riding on a gang-plow behind 

 a four-horse team. 



Land is only the vehicle for work. It is the 

 least part of the cost of producing crops. Labor 

 is the chief item. So land should be subordi- 

 nated to labor. The size of the farm should be 



