FARM MANA(1F,MMNT STUDY OK COTTON KAKMK. 



41 



shown in Table XVII, would seem to indicate that the acreage of 

 cotton which produces the greatest immediate returns is found at 

 about 80 to 90 per cent of the total crop area. 



Table XVII. — Relation of percentage acreage in cotton to percentage returns 

 (113 farms, Ellis County, Tex.). 



Acreage in cotton. 





Per cent 







Number 



of total 



( Ifop 



Diversity 



of farms. 



ace rage 

 in cotton. 



area. 



index. 







Acres. 





22 



50.9 



105.3 



1.97 



21 



03.1 



125.5 



1.51 



26 



73.9 



107.1 



1.44' 



23 



79.0 



138.9 



1.32 



21 



87. 5 



114.6 



1.19 



113 



71.9 



117.5 



1.47 



Per cent 



return oil 

 invest- 

 ment. 



25 to 63 acres 

 63 to 72 acres 

 72 to 76 acres 

 76 to 82 acres 

 82 to 99 acres. 

 All farms 



5.8 

 5. 9 

 6.1 

 6.8 

 6.9 

 6.3 



It is to be borne in mind that this observation is merely a record 

 of the farming- operations under survey. It is not intended to be 

 advice to increase the percentage of cotton acreage, because for rea- 

 sons already indicated cotton raising in this area is depleting the 

 soil and the apparent profit on the farms under review is at the ex- 

 pense of soil fertility, well-balanced agriculture, and a wholesome 

 rural development. The records show that if these important consid- 

 erations are to be ignored, if the soil is to be " mined," and if social 

 and family welfare are to be despised, the immediate profit upon the 

 year's operation in a period of good prices will be greater with a 

 cotton acreage of 80 per cent to 90 per cent of the total area than 

 with less acreage in cotton. The average for all the farms in the 

 survey is T1.9 per cent. 



Eight here we have the crux of the difficulty with Ellis County 

 farming. The system that gives the best immediate returns is one 

 that is gradually wearing out the soil, 1 and that s:ems to be headed 

 straight toward its own destruction. Unless some change in practice 

 is made soon, the average yield of cotton will become so low that the 

 system will be unprofitable. Fortunate the region where the most 

 profitable type of farming is one that maintains the fertility of 

 the soil. 



There are other disadvantages of this most profitable system here. 

 It utilizes only a small part of the horse power on the farm. The 

 man power is idle or poorly employed much of the time. The' profit- 

 ableness of cotton leads to the neglect of other essential features of 

 good farming. The small provision made for producing food for 



1 This term is somewhat misleading. The soil does not actually wear out ; its yielding 

 power is reduced. But by suitable methods this power can be restored. The most essen- 

 tial factor in such restoration is the incorporation into the soil of plenty of decaying 

 vegetable matter. 



