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



of farms where no fertilizer was used and with the least density of 

 live stock, the crop yields on these farms being only 82 per cent of the 

 average. These men had little manure to apply and also overlooked 

 the importance of heavier applications of fertilizer in order to offset the 

 lack of farm manure. 



The soils of this area are naturally acid, and the use of lime has 

 been found to give very good results. It is always advisable to use 

 lime to insure a good stand of clover. Lime is quite commonly ap- 

 plied to small grains like oats or wheat. Some farmers use ground 

 limestone. In the southeastern part of the area surveyed there were 

 several limestone quarries and small coal mines. Many of the farm- 

 ers living near these buy the limestone and coal and burn their own 

 lime. (See fig. 8.) 



Information as to the use of lime on soils, with specific directions 

 for applying, may be found in Farmer's Bulletin 921, "The Principles 

 of the Liming of Soils." 



The lime is usually distributed by hand. 



INCOME FROM SOURCES OUTSIDE THE FARM. 



Records were obtained from 63 farms where over one-half (56 per 

 cent) of the receipts were derived from outside sources. These farms 

 averaged 71 acres in size with 35 acres in crops. The average total 

 capital per farm was $4,893, receipts $896, expenses $448, farm in- 

 come $448, interest on capital $244, and labor income $204. 



On the average, these 63 farmers spent 139 days at outside labor. 

 The earnings during the time spent off the farm averaged $3.50 a day. 

 Much of the money earned outside was derived from either working 

 in coal mines or else hauling coal from the mines to the railroad. 

 (See fig. 9.) Some worked in limestone quarries. Day labor, work 

 with sawmills, lumber business, labor on roads, school-teaching, 

 milk-hauling, and carrying mail all contributed to the receipts from 

 sources outside the farm business. 



As would be expected, crop yields were somewhat lower on those 

 farms where nearly one-half of the time of the operator was spent do- 

 ing outside work. With some operators, farming was their work dur- 

 ing their spare time. This is usually the case where there is plenty of 

 outside work available. Because of the immediate returns it offers, 

 outside work looks especially attractive to those in need of money, 

 while the returns from many farm enterprises do not come in at given 

 intervals of time. 



For the study of the management of small farms in this area we 

 have three types: those operated where over one-half of the receipts 

 are received from work off the farm, those operated as general farms, 

 and those operated as dairy farms. That the introduction of dairy- 



