FARM-MANAGEMENT SURVEY OF REPRESENTATIVE AREAS. 41 
selling it to the proper market or feeding it to the right kind of live 
stock are important factors. Following such types of farming as are 
unsuited to the region is often a cause of unprofitable agriculture 
in some of the older settled States. 
The wide fluctuation in prices of certain crops makes it extremely 
difficult for a farmer to choose a definite rotation. One year they 
will be such as to give handsome profits on certain crops, and the 
next year they may be insufficient to pay the cost of production. The 
question confronting the average farmer is not so much one of pro- 
duction as it is of marketing. Most farmers are able to grow a suffi- 
cient quantity of crops to give them a very comfortable living if they 
are assured of-reasonable prices for their products. However, under 
present conditions the farmer has to take big chances with nearly all 
Fic. 10.—Farm work horses and mules in pasture during the month of August, illustrating 
a practice which is common in many sections. 
of his crops. If he is so unfortunate as to have a combination of 
crops every one of which is low in price in some particular year, 
severe losses will be the result. Potatoes, apples, peaches, onions, and 
cabbage are good illustrations of the crops that fluctuate widely in 
price from year to year. 
The essential characteristics of the more successful farms are a 
sufficient area and a proper organization of well-selected farm enter- 
prises to permit the maximum use of men, horses, and machinery. 
SUMMARY. 
The aim of the farm-management survey is to determine the fac- 
tors governing the profitableness of farming as a business. 
The results from the three districts selected in Indiana, Illinois. 
and Iowa indicate what may be expected from the utilization of 
