14 



BULLETIN 678, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTUEE. 



of the year hauling manure. Very little is hauled more than 8 

 miles out. Of course some is shipped out beyond this distance on 

 railroads and trolley lines. No doubt the availability of manure at a 

 reasonable price is one of the limiting factors in profitable truck 

 farming in the vicinity of the city. 



Truck farmers customarily put the manure in large piles to rot. 

 It is then hauled in small two-wheeled carts and scattered wherever it 

 is wanted. 



Table X illustrates the effect of land value and nearness to the 

 city on the use of manure and commercial fertilizer. Besides these 

 fertilizers, a considerable amount of green stuff, such as rye, clover, 

 and kale, is turned under. These products are not included in the 

 total cost of fertilizer. This table shows that the use of commercial 

 fertilizer here is not as important a factor as in many other trucking 

 sections. The land here, as a rule, is naturally fertile, and, as is 

 evident, manure available in the city largely takes the place of com- 

 mercial fertilizer. 



Table X. — The effect of land value and nearness to city on the use of manure and com- 

 mercial fertilizer. 



Value of land per 

 acre. 



Number of 

 records. 



Distance to 

 Louisville. 



Size of 

 farm. 



Rent per 

 crop acre. 



Value of farm manure a and com- 

 mercial fertilizer per crop acre. - 



Barn 

 manure. 



Commer- 

 cia ] fer- 

 tilizer. 



Total. 



Less than $80 



$80 to $150 



23 

 34 

 22 

 21 



^mes. 



16 

 13 

 12 



8 



Acres. 

 284 

 250 

 188 

 95 



$5.50 

 6.60 

 8.75 



15.00 



$3.75 

 4.50 

 4.60 



18.00 



$0.60 



.70 



1.90 



1.25 



$4.35 

 5.20 



$151 to $200 



6.50 



Over $200 



19.25 







All farms 



100 



12 



212 



8.60 



7.35 



.90 : 8.25 



a The average value of manure is here estimated to be about $2 per ton load laid down on the farm. 



A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TYPES OF FARMS. 



In the foregoing study of the influence of the city on farming, it 

 is shown how there is a tendency for these farms to be smaller and 

 more intensive near the city, while the farms 15 to 20 miles out are 

 larger and raise general crops — corn, wheat, rye, bluegrass — and 

 keep various kinds of live stock, such as beef cattle, dairy cows, sheep, 

 and hogs. These enterprises are the sources of farm receipts, usually 

 pretty well balanced between crops and live stock. Such farms may 

 be classified as the "general mixed type." If dairying becomes a 

 dominant enterprise, with 40 per cent or more of receipts from milk 

 or milk products, the farm may be classified as a dairy farm. If 40 

 per cent or more of the receipts come from potatoes alone, the farm 

 may be called a potato farm; if from potatoes and truck, a potato- 

 truck farm. 



