BIG CROPS vs. NORMAL 45 



The practical farmer will figure on the net 

 cost before he concludes to add nitrogen to his 

 land. It will cost him fifty cents a bushel to 

 raise wheat; so instead of showing a profit 

 every bushel of increased yield in the above 

 table shows an actual loss. The old fellows 

 were right : it is ' ' disadvantageous to cultivate 

 land in the highest style of perfection. % 9 



It is only when a shortage of land and an in- 

 creased supply of labor changes the proportion 

 between labor costs and land rent that it is wise 

 to begin to economize in land by putting more 

 labor on each acre to increase its yield. The 

 slow working of the factors controlling this 

 principle are to be seen in the crop yields in 

 this country to-day. Land is rising in value 

 while the productive cost of labor, thanks to 

 modern machinery, has fallen; therefore the 

 trend on production is upward. Man is con- 

 servative and does not keep up with the pro- 

 cession; so we have the result that the best 

 farmers are raising 25% more crops per acre 

 than the average. "Which is merely another way 



