STUDY OF SMALL FAKMS NEAR WASHINGTON. 



9 



In Table V is shown the distribution of capital used in the opera- 

 tion of these farms. Nearly 90 per cent of the total capital is in real 

 estate. The live-stock and machinery investment is low per farm 

 and the value per acre of the farms relatively high. The farms are 

 located close to the city, giving them, in some instances, valuations 

 which are greater than they would be were it not for the influence 

 of suburban real estate values. This speculative factor very often 

 controls the real estate values of small farms located conveniently to 

 market. To determine the effect of this factor for the farms studied, 

 the renting value for farming purposes of each farm was deter- 

 mined. It will be noticed (Table V) that for the smallest farms 

 the renting value approaches very nearly 5 per cent interest on the 

 real estate value. This is probably due to the fact that these small 

 farms are worth very nearly $234 a year merely as a home for the 

 family of a man working in the city. On the larger farms 5 per cent 

 on the real estate investment is nearly $100 greater per year than the 

 annual cash rent for farming purposes. 



COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUAL FARMS. 



In the previous paragraphs it is shown that in studying groups of 

 farms the labor incomes, on the average, are greater on the large 

 farms. This, however, does not hold true uniformly when indi- 

 vidual farms are considered, as is shown in figure 3 and Table VI. 

 There are some farms with good incomes and some with poor incomes 

 in each size-group. The size of farm has an important bearing on 

 the chances of success in farming, but other factors, such as good crop 

 yields, good prices for farm produce, and suitable equipment, which 

 may be grouped under the heading of good quality of business, may 

 more than overbalance unfavorable size of farm. These individual 

 variations emphasize the fact that the men who rank as conspicuously 

 successful farmers rank far above the average in quality of business. 

 The farmer who is content to be merely as good as the average need 

 not hope to be classed among the more successful operators of his 

 community. 



Tab:le VI. — Tillable area, labor income, capital, receipts, expenses and distribu- 

 tion of receipts for each of 152 farms near Washington-, D. C. 



[Farms arranged according- to size of labor income.] 



Labor 

 income. 



Tilla- 

 ble 



area. 



Investment. 



Receipts. 



Ex- 

 penses. 



Per cent of receipts from — 



Real 

 estate. 



Other. 



Vegeta- 

 bles. 



Fruits. 



Stock. 



Other 

 sources. 



12 

 1 

 1 



7 



$3, 805 

 ' 3,654 

 3,584 

 3,534 

 3,342 

 2,931 

 2,194 



30.5 



32 



25 



56 



26.3 



14.5 



18 



S2,000 

 5,500 

 8,000 

 6,000 

 7,000 

 6,000 

 3,300 



$721 

 807 

 1,789 

 1,156 

 1,346 

 1,138 

 715 



$6, 244 

 5,789 

 7,940 

 5,330 

 5,614 

 5,546 

 4,578 



$2, 303 

 1,820 

 3,867 

 1,438 

 1,855 

 2,258 

 2,183 



76 

 93 

 98 

 89 

 80 

 99 

 88 



12 

 5 



20 



1 

 1 



4 





1 



1 



11 





157353°— 20- 



