18 
BULLETIN 651, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
SIZE OF FARM. 
For many reasons it is easier to get efficient organization on large 
farms than on small ones. Suppose that, in a given type of farming, 
from 20 to 23 acres is the most profitable acreage per work animal, 
and the size of farm is 200 acres. Then either 9 or 10 work animals 
could be used efficiently. With 9 mules we have 22.2 acres per 
mule, while with 10 we have 20 acres per mule. But suppose the 
farm contains only 30 acres of crop land. In this case the problem 
of utilizing the work stock to best advantage is difficult, for 30 acres 
is too much for one mule and not enough to keep two mules properly 
occupied. 
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-15 
16-20 
21-25 
26-30 
31-35 
36-40 
41-45 
46-50 
51-55 
56-60 
61-65 
66-70 
71-75 
Fig. 6.— Relation of size of farm to per cent return on investment. 
Let us see if we can find the sizes of farms as now organized which 
are most profitable in the Belton area. This can be done by placing 
the farms in groups differing in size by 5 acres and noting the per 
cent return on the investment and the income per mule in the vari- 
ous groups. In Table XIII the farms are grouped in this manner. 
The first group consists of two farms of less than 15 acres each, 
which lack 0.41 per cent of paying interest on the investment, and 
have an income of only $221 per mule. The profits increase as the 
size increases until the size is 21 to 25 acres, after which profits drop. 
They increase again and reach another high point at 41 to 45 acres. 
After this profits decline again, then increase and reach a third high 
point at 61 to 65 acres, following which there is another decline. 
Farms of more than 75 acres were not used in the table, as they were 
not sufficiently numerous. 
