4 BULLETIN 651, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
As cotton is the predominating crop on these farms, the yield and 
acreage of cotton per work animal practically determine the degree 
of success. 
High yields are obtained by using fertilizers, legumes, and good 
varieties of seed, and by good tillage. Still better yields could be 
obtained by applying lime also and planting winter cover crops. 
Cotton is fertilized most heavily and corn next. Oats and wheat 
are fertilized lightly, but no fertilizers are applied to cowpeas. 
The cost of producing crops on these farms declines rapidly with 
increase in yields, principally on account of the decrease in man and 
mule labor required per unit of yield. 
Farms that planted from 20 to 23 acres of crops per work animal 
were the most profitable. Farms that had from 21 to 25, 41 to 45, 
and 61 to 65 acres of crops, good sizes, respectively, for one, two, 
and three mule farms, were more profitable than those that had 
intermediate sizes. 
Two-mule farms with a good acreage per mule were the best farms, 
but there are larger farms under exceptional management which are 
as profitable. 
The cost of producing feed crops is such that it is profitable to grow 
them only in sufficient quantities to insure a supply for home con- 
sumption. The tendency of farmers, and the most profitable pro- 
cedure, is to grow the necessary home supplies and then grow all 
the cotton the conditions permit. Likewise the tendency of farmers, 
and, within certain limits, the most profitable procedure, is to grow 
more oats and cowpeas and less corn. 
The high cost of producing feed makes the area poorly adapted 
to the production of five stock. Beef cattle, under present condi- 
tions, are practically out of the question, but there is a limited oppor- 
tunity for dairying, particularly where there is a large family. Hogs 
should be produced on a small scale for home consumption. The 
small number of chickens kept per farm is due to the limited pro- 
duction of grain and five stock and the consequent small amount of 
waste feed. 
Alfalfa and late Irish potatoes are promising crops for this area. 
Soy beans and velvet beans also offer possibilities. 
As a general proposition, where from 20 to 23 acres of crops are 
planted per work animal, 40 per cent of the land should be planted 
in feed crops and 60 per cent in cotton. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA. 
SOILS. 
The 112 farms surveyed are all located on Cecil sandy loam soil. 
This soil, according to the Bureau of Soils, constitutes 55 per cent of 
Anderson County. It consists of brownish gray to brown, medium- 
textured, sandy loam top soil, from 4 to 8 inches deep, which changes 
