18 BULLETIX 604, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AOEICULTUEE. 



buyer and seller and must liave a thorough knowledge of the feeding 

 quaUties of livestock. 



Another rather extreme instance was found in a large farm, with 

 land which for the most part is sandy. The farmers of the county 

 have generally failed with alfalfa on sandy soils, but practically the 

 whole of this farm is in alfalfa, there being no other crop. The 

 owTier feeds practically all the aKalfa to western lambs, buying the 

 necessary grain to feed with it. This farm is usually ver}^ profitable, 

 but it must be borne in mind that the owner is distinctly an expert 

 in buying and selling lambs. Furthermore, his system enables him 

 to utilize to excellent advantage second-grade aHalfa hay which 

 would otherwise be unsalable. It may be noted also that on this 

 farm there was a considerable area of aKalfa several years old with a 

 compact bluegrass sod covering the field and yet making very satis- 

 factory yield of hay. There is little question, however, that if the 

 average farmer on sand}' lands in Lenawee County were to attempt 

 this same kind of farming he would fail; first, because of the admitted 

 difhculty of growing alfaha on sandy land; second, because of the 

 lack of the expert knowledge requhed to make a success in the feed- 

 ing of sheep. 



These two farms merely illustrate the fact that the man who is 

 distinctly above the average in abdity and training in some special 

 line is not limited by conditions which the average farmer may find 

 insurmountable. 



POUXTRY. 



There were no specialized poultry farms encountered in the area 

 surveyed. However, the income from poultry on the farms studied 

 was 6.9 per cent of the total income (Table VI) and only 1 per cent 

 less than the income from the wheat sold. The data show that the 

 farms receiving a small per cent of their total mcomes from poultry 

 made higher labor incomes than those which kept no poultry, and 

 higher also than the farms which kept more. This merely means 

 that on the average farm of the section it pays to keep from 100 to 

 200 hens, or about as many poultry in the aggregate as can be kept 

 mainly on the farm wastes. When the number gets beyond this, 

 poultry raising will not as a rule be profitable unless the farmer has 

 the skill of a professional poultryman. 



SIZE OF FARM BUSINESS. 



The size of business conducted is as a rule a very important factor 

 in determmmg the income of the average farm. Unless there is a 

 reasonably large volume of busmess, there is not sufficient foundation 

 for a satisfactory income. A large business when properly conducted 

 gives opportunity for getting large returns, and m a similar manner, 

 if mefficiently conducted, a large business affords an opportunity 



