66 



BULLETIN 341, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



is somewhat smaller. The percentage of the capital represented by 

 cash kept on hand for current expenses does not vary greatly. 



We shall later see that the tenants in this area make a considerably 

 larger labor income than owners. The principal reasons for this 

 will be discussed later, but one of them is shown in this table. On 

 the tenant farms the proportion of the capital invested in land is 

 considerably larger than it is on owned farms. This is mainly due 

 to the fact that the tenant farms are on the average larger than the 

 owned farms. The percentage of investment in live stock is some- 

 what greater on the tenant farms, and the amount of cash to run 

 the farm is somewhat smaller. The 27 special farms, which vary 

 from farms of a few acres to some very large farms with a hothouse 

 business which is merely incidental to the general farm business, 

 have an average capital of $12,893, considerably larger than that of 

 the owner farms and about equal to the total capital — that is, invest- 

 ment of both landlord and tenant — on the tenant farms. But the 

 percentage of capital invested in buildings on the special farms is 

 much larger than it is on the others, while that in live stock is much 

 smaller. The percentage of cash required for current expenses on 

 these special farms is nearly twice as great as on owned farms and 

 two and a half times as great as on the tenant farms. 



EFFICIENCY AS MEASURED BY INCOME ON CAPITAL. 



In the preceding pages the markedly greater efficiency of the large 

 as compared with the small farm has been clearly demonstrated 

 when considered from the standpoint of the labor income of the 

 farmer ; but when we consider the subject purely from the standpoint 

 of the interest on capital invested the story is a different one, as is 

 seen in Table XXXII. In most parts of Europe this matter is con- 

 sidered from the latter standpoint only. 



Table XXXII. — Income on capital on S78 owner farms, Chester County. 



Area groups, acres. . 



f 13 to 



\ 40 



41 to 

 60 



61 to 



80 



81 to 

 100 



101 to 

 120 



121 to 

 160 



Over 

 160 



JTotal.j 



Total 

 tenant. 



Tota! 

 special. 



Number of farms 



54 



61 



60 



68 



52 



61 



22 



378 



124 



27 



Percentage farm in- 

 come is of capital 



10.4 

 4.3 



13.5 

 8.C 



13.2 

 9.8 



12.7 

 9.7 



12.5 

 9.8 



12.6 

 10.2 



11.8 



9.8 



12.5 



9.4 



13.5 

 10.4 



17.9 



Percentage of income 

 on investment 

 when value of 

 farmer's labor is 



14.7 







The agriculture of Europe is based mainly on income per acre. In 

 America more attention is given to income per farm family. The 

 reader is left to himself to judge whether it is better for the country 



