FARM MANAGEMENT PRACTICE OP CHESTER COUNT V, PA. 55 



a business of suitable magnitude. There are still very many eastern 

 farms that are far too small for satisfactory results. In this survey, 

 of the 378 farms conducted by their owners 54 of them were from 

 13 to 40 acres in area. The average labor income made by these 54 

 farmers was only $240, which is considerably less than ordinary farm 

 wages. (See Tabic XXVI.) 



Just the opposite condition is found in the corn belt. There magni- 

 tude of business is obtained by extent of acreage, and large farms are 

 the rule, small ones being the exception. Since there is ample demand 

 for the principal products of intensive farming in the region of 

 Chester County, it is perhaps fortunate that the average size of farm 

 is such as to require at least a considerable degree of intensity in the 

 farming. The relatively small farm makes it possible to maintain 

 better schools and a more satisfactory social life in the country, but 

 this applies only to farms of moderate size in this area. A large 

 number of farms are too small to permit satisfactory profits to the 

 owners. 



RELATION OF SIZE OF FARM TO LABOR INCOME. 



The relation of size of farm to labor income is shown in Table 

 XXVI. The farms 13 to 40 acres in size, averaging 28 acres, are 54 

 in number, with an average labor income of $240 per year. This rep- 

 resents what the farmer himself gets for his labor and managerial 

 ability, the value of the unpaid family labor having already been 

 accounted for as a part of the expenses of the business. 



Table XXVI. — Relation of size of farm to labor income on 378 farms operated 

 by owners in Chester County. 



Size of farms, in acres. 



Number 

 of farms. 



Average 

 size. 



Average 



labor 

 income. 



Per cent of 

 farms with 



labor in- 

 come 81,000 



or more. 



13 to 40 



54 

 61 

 60 

 68 

 52 

 61 

 22 



Acres. 

 28 

 52 

 73 

 93 

 110 

 136 

 203 



$240 

 550 

 730 

 848 

 937 

 1,004 

 1,575 



6 



41 to 60 



10 



61 to 80 



25 



81 to 100 



34 



101 to 120 



46 



121 to 160 



46 



161 to 393 



68 









378 



90 



789 



30 







A good many of these farmers found it necessary to obtain a con- 

 siderable proportion of their income from work outside the farm. 

 In addition to this, the farm family has what the farm furnishes 

 toward the family living, and interest on the capital invested. Only 

 three of the 54, or about 6 per cent of the whole, made labor incomes 

 in excess of $1,000. The next group of farms, consisting of those 



