6 



BULLETIN 1455, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



valued at an average of $35,788. After returning 5 per cent on this 

 valuation they paid an average of $2,443 as an annual income to the 

 operators for their labor and management. 



Table 3. — Summary of the farm business of three types of farms in Frederick County, 

 Va., average for 1916-1920 







Size 



of 



farm 



Distribution of farm 

 area 



Farm 

 valua- 

 tion 



Farm 



re- 

 ceipts 



Farm 



ex- 

 penses 



Farm 



in- 

 come 3 



Labor 



in- 

 come l 



Net 



Type of 

 farm > 



Farms 

 stud- 

 ied 



Woods 

 pas- 

 ture 

 and 



waste 



Bear- 

 ing 

 or- 

 chard 



Other 

 crops 



and 

 young 



or- 

 chard 2 



percent- 

 age 

 return 



on farm 

 valua- 

 tion ■'■ 



General 



Mixed 



Orchard 



No. 



32 

 45 



48 



Acres 

 168 

 176 

 137 



Acres 

 73 

 72 

 38 



Acres 

 6 



24 

 52 



Acres 

 89 

 80 

 47 



Dolls. 

 22, 145 

 27, 835 

 35,788 



Dolls. 

 2,843 

 4,525 



10, 217 



Dolls. 

 1,501 

 2,515 

 5,985 



Dolls. 

 1,342 

 2,010 

 4,232 



Dolls. 

 235 

 618 



2,443 



Per cent 

 3.5 

 4.9 

 9.4 



1 General farms: Less th^p 25 per cent of receipts from fruit. 

 Mixed farms: From 25 to 75 per cent of receipts from fruit. 

 Orchard farms: Over 75 per cent of receipts from fruit. 



2 The principal farm crops other than apples are wheat, corn, and hay. Young orchard, included in 

 other crop acreage, was 8 acres for the general farm, 9 acres for the mixed farms, and 20 acres for the orchard 

 farms. 



3 Farm income — the difference between receipts and expenses. 



4 Labor income— the amount the farmer has left for his labor and management after 5 per cent interest 

 on the farm valuation is deducted from the farm income. 



5 Per cent returned on farm valuation is obtained by deducting what the operator considers his time 

 worth from the "farm income" and dividing this balance by "farm valuation." 



In addition to the money returns the farms furnished a certain 

 amount of the family's living. For the years 1918, 1919, and 1920 

 the average value per farm of the family living furnished by each 

 type of farm was: General farms, $624; mixed farms, $611 ; and fruit 

 farms, $435. 



In the general type of farm the crop area was planted principally 

 to corn, wheat, and hay (Table 4). Some corn and hay were sold, 

 but much of it was used as feed. Livestock was the largest and 

 wheat was the second largest source of receipts on these general 

 farms. 



The crop acreage on the mixed type of farms was rather equally 

 distributed among four major crops — apples, corn, wheat, and hay. 

 Although the receipts came principally from three sources — apples, 

 livestock, and wheat — over 50 per cent came from apples. 



The crop area on the orchard farms was given over largely to or- 

 chards, with the remainder of the farm in crops needed for feed. 

 On many orchard farms a small quantity of each farm product 

 common to the valley section was produced and sold. The oppor- 

 tunities for large receipts were greater in the production of apples 

 than in the production of other farm commodities, and the orchard 

 returned much more per acre of land and per dollar of expenditure 

 than did any other enterprise. 



Under these circumstances the proper care of the orchards becomes 

 very important. As the orchards increased in size and as they 

 became a more important part of the farm organization the yield 

 of apples per acre was increased. It is believed that the reason 

 lies largely in the greater attention directed toward the orchard in 

 the way of better pruning, spraying, cultivation, and fertilization. 



