364 RURAL NEW YORK 



horses. The dcvelopmeut of the gasoline motor is 

 rapidly reducing the demand for hay. The question 

 is whether the farmer can feed this hay to other types 

 of live-stock or whether he will be obliged to change 

 his system of farming. A reduction in the acreage 

 of hay seems desirable, especially on land tbat can 

 be used equally well for other feed crops. 



The question may be asked as to what extent it 

 is legitimate for the farmer to be paid for the de 

 pletion of his soil by cropping. The limit of such 

 payment should be the extent to which the soil is 

 permanently reduced in productive capacity. It is 

 measured by the amount of commercial manures and 

 fertilizers that are necessary on tlie average to main- 

 tain the yield on the poorest land farmed. 



Regional adaptation and types of live-stock are 

 quite as important as uniform crop varieties. In 

 New York most of the animals kept on farms, aside 

 from the horse, are on a by-product or waste land 

 basis. That land, therefore, largely determines the 

 cost of producing a particular type of animal product. 

 Cultivated land of poor quality has the largest dif- 

 ficulty in competing with such production. 



The question may be raised whether the manufac- 

 ture of evaporated, powdered and condensed milk 

 will affect the market milk business in New York 

 State. The swing from cheese and butter to market 

 milk, which has been large in recent years, has been 

 due to the embargo in the form of freight charges 

 placed on milk from distant states, together with its 

 perishable character. But if evaporated milk can be 



