FARM MANAGEMENT PRACTICE OF CHESTER COUNTY, PA. 19 



Miscellaneous crops. — The special unci miscellaneous crops referred 

 ;o in Table III were as follows: Corn for soiling, 3G farms, with 

 in average of about 1 acre each; sweet corn, 9 farms, with 1.2 acres 

 )er farm; millet, an average of 3 acres on each of 35 farms; oat 

 lay, 22 farms, with an average of 3.25 acres; alfalfa, 18 farms, with 

 in average of 4.8 acres each, a total of 78.75 acres of this crop. 

 Since this survey was made the area of alfalfa has increased con- 

 dderably in this locality. A small acreage of each of the following 

 •rops was found on from one to six farms each : Rye, peas and oats, 

 nillet and rye, oats and rye, peas, barley, kafir corn and peas, and 

 vheat, all for hay; for grain, rye, barley, and a mixture of oats and 

 ;pelt; for seed, timothy, clover; tobacco, 5 acres on one farm; for 

 soiling, rye, oats, peas and oats; for forage, beets on six farms and 

 urnips on one farm; one-half acre of broom corn on one farm. 



In a locality where there is much difference in type of farming on 

 lifferent farms, it is usual for the smaller farms to be devoted to the 

 nore intensive types of farming, though intensive enterprises may 

 ilso occur on farms of any size. • By an intensive enterprise is meant 

 me which requires a relatively large amount of labor and capital 

 : or its conduct. Vegetable growing, fruit culture, and the hothouse 

 uisiness are intensive enterprises. Poultry farming is an intensive 

 ype of live-stock farming. Dairying is relatively intensive com- 

 )ared with sheep and beef-cattle farming. It may assume quite an 

 ntensive form, as when a large herd is maintained on a relatively 

 mall farm. 



Aside from the hothouse business, which was found on 27 farms in 

 his survey, there is relatively little intensive crop farming in this 

 irea. The reasons for this will be given later. On the remaining 

 ; arms there is not much difference in type of farming on farms of 

 lifferent size. This is largely due to the predominance of dairying; 

 ;he few farms having no dairy cows do not affect materially the 

 iverages of the various size groups. 



The percentage area of the various crops on farms of different 

 dze is shown in Table IV for the 378 owner farms. The total per- 

 centage of corn acreage is about the same in each of the groups, 

 rhe proportion of corn cut for silage increases noticeably on the 

 arger farms, but this is due to the larger number of cows on these 

 "arms, not to any difference in type of farming. 



The percentage of potato acreage is smaller on the large farms than 

 >n the small ones, but the actual acreage of this crop is larger on the 

 arge farms. The acreage of potatoes does not increase in the same 

 *atio as the size of farm. The percentage of wheat acreage is re- 

 markably uniform in the various size groups. This merely shows 

 low firmly this crop is established in the local agriculture. It fur- 

 lishes the needed straw for bedding, and acts as a nurse crop for the 



