20 BULLETIN U&, C. S. DEPAR1 , .\II-.::t OF AOJiJCCLTL'RK. 
A further study of Table VI shows that on the Larger farms the op- 
erators live in much better houses and secure much greater values of 
food products from the farm than do those on the smaller farms. 
Between the extreme size groups the values of family food furnished 
by the farm raries from $267 to $612, and the average rental value of 
the houses from $33 to $306. 
On the farms of the smallest farm group the value of family living 
obtained from the farm actually exceeded the net income from all 
other sources by 39 per cent, but on those of the largest farm group 
the family living furnished equaled only 38 per cent of all of the 
other net receipts. In other words, on the small farms the family 
living obtained is an all-important factor, while on the larger farms 
it is relatively a secondary consideration. 
Another method of measuring the profits of the farm is to sub- 
tract the v;i]ue of the farmer's labor from the farm income and call 
the remainder returns on the capital. Figured in this way, and 
not considering the item of family living obtained, these farms 
returned an average of 6.2 per cent on the investment. On the two 
groups of smaller farms the per cent returns were lowest, while on 
the fourth group, or good-sized family farms, they were highest. 
QUALITY OF FARM BUSINESS. 
CROP YIELDS. 
On farms of a given size the yields secured constitute perhaps 
the most important factor in determining the farm profits. In 
Table VII the farms are grouped according to the average yield of 
crops. The group of farms that have the lowest yields have an 
average crop index ' of 69, which means that the crop yields equaled 
but 69 per cent of the average yields secured by all of the farms. 
This group of farms returned average farmer's earnings 2 of $580, 
while for the other groups the crop indexes were 92, 101. and 126, 
and the farmer's earnings $708, $840, and $1,001, respectively. But 
the farmer's earnings are largely determined by the size of the farm. 
To eliminate the element of size and see the effect of crop yields 
independently, the index of earnings 2 and the per cent return on 
investment are shown. The group of farms with the lowest yields 
gave an index of earnings of HO. or in other words, farmer's earnings 
iThe crop Index represents Ok- relative yields of nil orops on any farm or group of 
farms as compared with the average yield of ;.n crops on all the farms in the survey, 
tin? latter \><-'mw expressed as 100. For method of calculating, see Department of Agri- 
culture J'.iiJift in 341, p. 75. The index here used is weighted, the acreage of eacb crop 
being weighted in proportion to the average amounl of man labor expended on an acre of 
that crop. This weighting Is accessary because of the wide difference in the relative 
Intensity of the crops grown and of the different proportions in which them- crops are 
combined on the differenl farms. 
* s<-<- definitions in footnote, p. 13, 
