42 BULLETIN 41, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
high-priced land under an expansive system of agriculture. In the 
region studied the owners made good profits. The average labor in- 
come of the farm owners was $408 and of the tenants $870. In addi- 
tion, the operators had a house to live in and those products which the 
farm furnished toward their living. 
The landlords, on the average, received 3.5 per cent on their in- 
vestments. The size of their investments had no appreciable bearing 
on the rate of income. 
Assuming that the year in which this study was made was a nor- 
mal one, a labor income of $870 to the operator, whether owner or 
tenant, and a return of 3.5 per cent on the capital invested may be 
expected. 
The tenant’s income is in direct proportion to his capital and the 
size of the farm he operates. Men owning small farms often materi- 
ally increase their incomes by renting additional land. This affords 
a better utilization of their equipment without much increase in 
capital. 
The tenant’s income is in proportion to the risk he assumes. On 
the cash-rent basis his income is greater in a good year and less in a 
poor year than when he rents on the share basis. 
The farmers making the lowest labor incomes are on big farms, 
but fail through inefficient management. Poor crops, low prices for 
products sold, poor stock, failure to work, and unused capital are 
the main causes contributing to their failure. 
Modern machinery, with the use of more horses and fewer men, has 
made the farm of less than 100 acres an inefficient unit. Further re- 
adjustments in area will occur, which will tend to lessen the number 
of persons needed and at the same time increase the net production of 
the farm. 
The system of agriculture found in the corn-growing States is an 
excellent example of the expansive type of farming developed on the 
basis of the farm work horse as the motive power. This system is in 
direct contrast to the intensive type found in some of the countries of 
southern Europe, where the man and not the horse furnishes the 
labor. The American type needs large areas and is based on the 
maximum product per man. The European type requires a small 
area and is based on the maximum product per acre of land. 
In the corn-belt States the family-size farm is the most desirable. 
It provides work for the farmer and his sons and permits the best use 
of men, horses, and machinery. If the small farm has a place it 
must be near a city and should be highly diversified in its organi- 
zation. 
WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1914 
