44 BULLETIN 716, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
death rate for work horses was 4.2 per cent. The rate of depreciation 
for all work stock kept on these 25 farms during the five years was 
4.1 per cent annually. Twice as many colts were foaled during this 
period as there were horses that died, and 30 per cent more horses wei « 
sold than bought. The number of colts raised was more than suffi- 
cient to meet the death rate for the horses, although the latter might 
have been somewhat higher were it not that several horses were re- 
placed before they became very old. 
Cows were replaced just about as frequently as horses, the per- 
centage of the total number disposed of annually being 14.7 per cent, 
indicating that the average time cows are kept on the same farm was 
6.9 years. The death rate for cows was 1.4 per cent, or much lower 
than for horses. One-fourth of the cows were replaced by purchase 
and three-fourths by heifers from the home farm. About one-half 
of the heifers raised became cows and one-half were sold as beef stock. 
For the five-year period the average annual production of calves was 
89 per cent of the number of cows kept. About 85 per cent of the 
calves were kept until they were over a year old. Some were sold as 
yearlings, but the greater number, excepting the heifers that became 
cows, were carried over another year and sold as 2-year-olds. For 
all cattle the death rate was 2.9 per cent, of which one-half were 
calves under 1 year old. 
The main source of the sheep supply for each farm was lambs 
raised on the farm. There was some buying and selling of sheep 
among the farmers, but 80 per cent of the sheep were raised. Sheep 
losses were greater than those of any other class of stock, the death 
rate being 7.7 per cent annually. The loss from dogs was insignifi- 
cant when compared with that from other causes. The greater part 
of the losses were caused by the stomach worm. 
Almost 90 per cent of the hogs fed out on these farms were far- 
rowed on the farms on which they were fed. The sows usually pro- 
duced two litters a year, and the average number of pigs was 10.5 
per sow annually. The death rate among sows was 6 per cent, and 
that for all hogs 4.8 per cent. 
FACTORS AFFECTING FARM PROFITS. 
The profits from year to year for the farms in this area are shown 
in Table I, on page 12. In 1912, 1914, and 1915 the profits were 
about normal, being within 20 per cent of the five-year average. The 
year 1913 was the poorest year and 1916 the best, whether the profits 
be determined by the labor income or by the per cent received on 
the investment. The labor income in 1913 was 40 per cent below the 
five-year average, and in 1916 it was 70 per cent above the average, 
or almost three times that of the poorest year. These were also the 
years with respectively the least and the greatest amounts of money 
