20 



BULLETIN 341, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



more important hay crop. Only 22 of the entire number of owner 

 farms — 378 — grew no wheat in 1911. 



Table IV. — Per cent of area in various crops by size of farms on 378 owner 



farms, Chester County. 





13 to 40. 



41 to 60. 



61 to 80. 



81 to 100. 



101 to 120. 



121 to 160. 



Over 160. 









1 



Number of farms 



54 



61 



60 



68 



52 



61 



22 



378 





23.7 

 .6 



22.1 

 .2 



20.5 

 1.3 



19.6 

 2.0 



20.4 

 3.0 



18.2 

 2.8 



18.3 

 5.7 



19.8 





2.5 







Total corn 



Potatoes 



24.3 

 7.9 



17.4 

 4.8 



39.9 

 3.7 

 1.5 



22.3 



8.5 



18.9 



5.3 



40.2 



3.0 



1.4 



.2 



.2 



21.8 

 5.8 



19.5 

 6.3 



44.3 



2.2 



.1 



21.6 

 6.8 



18.3 

 6.7 



43.8 



2.3 



.1 



23.4 

 5.9 



17.6 

 6.1 



42.7 



3.8 



.2 



21.0 

 4.9 



18.3 

 6.4 



47.2 

 1.9 

 .1 



24.0 

 4.9 



16.9 

 7.5 



44.6 

 1.5 

 .3 



22.3 

 6.0 



Wheat 



18.2 





6.4 



Hay 



44.0 



Fruit 



2.5 



Truck 



.3 



Special a 





Miscellaneous & 



. 5 





.4 



.3 



.2 



.3 



.3 









Total 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 



100.0 







a Tobacco. 6 MiJlet, rye, etc. 



The percentage of oats increases slightly as the size of farm in- 

 creases. This is because the smaller farms can ill afford to devote 

 their scant acres to so unprofitable a crop. The owners of the larger 

 farms can afford to indulge their fancy for this excellent but usually 

 expensive horse feed. As will be pointed out later, it would probably 

 pay to replace oats by an annual hay crop in this region. 



The percentage of hay acreage increases slightly with increase in 

 size of farm. Hay is one of the most salable crop products produced 

 in this region and brings excellent prices. Hay is also a crop which 

 requires relatively little labor. The smaller farmer devotes more of 

 his land to crops that give him more days' work per acre. The larger 

 farmer already has enough field work to keep him busy and can 

 hence afford to put a larger proportion of his land in hay. 



Farms that carry a very large complement of live stock in this 

 region put more of their land in corn and less in hay than those hav- 

 ing less stock. They, of course, sell less hay, and the greater area of 

 corn saves buying a corresponding amount of concentrated feeding 

 stuffs. 



The fruit orchards of this region are almost entirely for home use. 

 The actual acreage is about the same on farms of all sizes, which 

 accounts for the gradual decrease in percentage area with increase 

 in size of farm. 



Very little commercial vegetable growing is done, in this area. 

 What little is done, however, is seen to occupy a greater percentage 

 area on the smaller farms, which is in keeping with the general ten- 

 dency for small farms to be conducted more intensively than larger 

 farms. If truck farming were well adapted to this area, there would 

 undoubtedly be more of it, especially on the smaller farms. 



