4 BULLETIN 853, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The dairy farmers who sold all their milk for butter fat made 

 higher labor incomes than those who sold butter only, or butter part 

 of the year and creamery milk part of the year. These men also 

 realized higher prices per pound for butter than those who sold 

 butter only. 



One-seventh of the receipts from live stock came from poultry. 



Hogs were kept on nearly every farm, but receipts from hogs were 

 only 8 per cent of all farm receipts. 



Less than 3 per cent of the total farm receipts were from sheep. 



Receipts from beef cattle were of considerable importance on some 

 of the larger general farms. 



Use of silo. — Over one-half of the dairy farmers use the silo. On 

 the dairy farms where silage was fed it was found that only 38 per 

 cent of the feed used was in the form of concentrates, while on those 

 without silage concentrates constituted 47 per cent of the total feed. 

 Production per cow was greater on the farms where silage was used. 



AREA STUDIED. 



The 422 farms visited in making this study lie within a radius of 

 about 10 miles of Grove City, in northwestern Pennsylvania. The 

 area covered included farms in Mercer, Butler, and Lawrence Coun- 

 ties. More of them, however, were in Mercer County than in either 

 of the others. This study was made in the summer of 1917 in co- 

 operation with the farm management department of the State 

 College of Agriculture, State College, Pa. 1 



DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 



The surface of the region about Grove City is rolling. (See fig. 2.) 

 Most of the area drains into a stream known as Wolf Creek, which 

 crosses it about the center. Bordering this stream and its tribu- 

 taries are considerable tracts of swamp land, but little of which has 

 been drained. Scattered through the area are quite extensive bodies 

 of timber, consisting principally of hardwoods. 



The soils of this region are of glacial origin and mostly belong to 

 the Volusia and Canfield series. 2 They are the result of feeble glaci- 

 ation of shales and sandstones. In texture these soils vary from a 

 clay to a coarse sand. On steep areas the soils are generally stony. 

 The alluvial soils of the bottoms are especially variable in texture, 

 ranging from sands to heavy clays. In some of the swamps a con- 

 siderable amount of muck soil may be found. 



1 Acknowledgment is due to the Dairy Division of the U. S. Department of Agriculture for help and 

 suggestions in planning and conducting the work; to Messrs. E. O. Anderson, of the Pennsylvania Agri- 

 cultural College; F. Montgomery, C. E. Hope, H. L. Chance, C. E. Miller, of the Office of Farm Manage- 

 ment; and J. Coke and J. C. Ncale, of the Ontario Agricultural College, who assisted in collecting the 

 field data. Thanks are also extended to the many farmers of the region who furnished the details con- 

 cerning their farm business which has made this publication possible. 



1 See soil survey of Mercer County, Pa., 1919. 



