CAPITAL NECESSAEY IN FAKMING 23 



his customers on commission which is merely a 

 euphonious name for wages. But the farmer 

 is neither an employee nor a broker; he is 

 working for himself and must supply all the 

 capital needed in his business. 



The charge for the farmer's labor takes prec- 

 edent of every other. The money invested in 

 a farm cannot hope to bring in a return except 

 through a man's labor. It is illogical to expect 

 a small capital to pay a man three hundred dol- 

 lars a year and earn interest besides. Indeed, 

 it is asking dollars to be unusually nimble to 

 expect them even to provide a man with the 

 opportunity to earn day wages unless they are 

 present in sufficient numbers. 



How does this theory work out in practice? 

 In one section in New York State not a single 

 man who had less than four thousand dollars 

 invested in his farm made a labor income of 

 $1,000.00, and only one made $800.00. When 

 we reach those with an investment of from 

 $4,000.00 to $6,000.00 we find one man in twelve 

 making three dollars a day for his time and 

 work. But when we look among the farmers 



