de BULLETIN 694, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
buyer and seller and must have a thorough knowledge of the feeding 
qualities of livestock. 
Another rather extreme instance was found in a large farm with 
land which for the most part is sandy. The farmers of the county 
have generally failed with alfalfa on sandy soils, but practically the 
whole of this farm is in alfalfa, there being no other crop. The 
owner feeds practically all the alfalfa to western lambs, buying the 
necessary grain to feed with it. This farm is usually very profitable, 
but it must be borne in mind that the owner is distinctly an expert 
in buying and selling lambs. Furthermore, his system enables him 
to utilize to excellent advantage second-grade alfalfa hay which 
would otherwise be unsalable. It may be noted also that on this 
farm there was a considerable area of alfalfa several years old with a 
compact bluegrass sod covering the field and yet making very satis- 
factory yield of hay. There is little question, however, that if the 
average farmer on sandy lands in Lenawee County were to attempt 
this same kind of farming he would fail; first, because of the admitted 
difficulty of growing alfalfa on sandy land; second, because of the | 
lack of the expert knowledge required to make a success in the feed- 
ing of sheep. | 
These two farms merely illustrate the fact that the man who is 
distinctly above the average in ability and training in some special 
line is not limited by conditions which the average farmer may find 
insurmountable. 
POULTRY. 
There were no specialized poultry farms encountered in the area 
surveyed. However, the income from poultry on the farms studied 
was 6.9 per cent of the total mcome (Table VI) and only 1 per cent 
less than the income from the wheat sold. The data show that the 
farms receiving a small per cent of their total incomes from poultry 
made higher labor incomes than those which kept no poultry, and 
higher also than the farms which kept more. This merely means 
that on the average farm of the section it pays to keep from 100 to 
200 hens, or about as many poultry in the aggregate as can be kept 
mainly on the farm wastes. When the number gets beyond this, 
poultry raising will not as a rule be profitable unless the farmer has 
the skill of a professional poultryman. 
SIZE OF FARM BUSINESS. 
_ The size of business conducted is as a rule a very important factor 
‘in determining the income of the average farm. Unless there is a 
reasonably large volume of business, there is not sufficient foundation 
for a satisfactory income. A large business when properly conducted 
gives opportunity for getting large returns, and in a similar manner, 
if inefficiently conducted, a large business affords an opportunity 
