18 BULLETIN 1258, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Table 12. — Variations in per cent of land in clover and timothy. 
Per cent of land in clover and timothy . 
Number of farms in— 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
4 
1 
12 
34 
35 
10 
4 
3 
3 
3 
31 
38 
14 
7 
1 
6 
1 
15 
34 
33 
9 
1 
1 
3 
1 
20 
43 
27 
5 
i" 
2 
4 
12 
37 
36 
6 
1 
1 
1 
2 
1 
18 
45 
27 
5 
1 
1 
5 
15" 
45 
26 
8 
..... 
3 
1 
15 
40 
28 
lto4 
5tol4 .. . 
15 to 24 
25 to 34 . 
35 to 44 
12 
1 
45 to 54... 
55 to 64 
65 to 74 
The proportionate amounts of corn, small grains, and clover and 
timothy to be grown on the farms in this locality will vary with the 
size of the farm, the amount of labor at hand, the equipment in use, 
and the degree to which the cropping system has been standardized. 
These amounts, even on many of the well-organized farms, neces- 
sarily vary from year to year, but the farms with least yearly varia- 
tions in the corn acreage made more money than those with greatest 
variations. It was a more standardized cropping system, worked out 
for the individual farm, from several years' experience. 
In general, most farms should have all the acreage in corn that 
can be well cared for and still be consistent with a good crop rota- 
tion system and the economic use of labor and equipment. 
The variation in the yields of corn, oats, and wheat on different 
farms is shown in Tables 13, 14, and 15. The yields of these crops 
in this area in 1917 were greatly reduced by a severe hailstorm which 
occurred about wheat harvest time. The path of the storm was a 
mile or more wide diagonally across the area, and half of the 100 
farms lay within the storm area. Table 16 tells much of the story 
of the effects of the storm upon the yields of corn, oats, and wheat. 
The average yields per acre for the 50 farms outside the hailstorm 
area, as against the 50 farms within the hail area, were: Corn, 45 
bushels, and 25 bushels; oats, 47 bushels, and 17 bushels; wheat, 22 
bushels, and 14 bushels. Again, 1918, there was a poor crop of corn 
in this whole area, as was general throughout the Corn Belt. In 
view of these facts, the lower average crop yields of corn, oats, and 
wheat, for the latter 4-year period, should not be interpreted as 
meaning that crop yields are decreasing. 
Table 13 — 
Variations in yield 
of corn per acre. 
Bushels per acre. 
Number of farms in— 
1910 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 
1917 
1918 
1919 
3to7 
4 
7 
8 
9 
10 
12 
6 
14 
8 
17 
2 
3 
1 
2 
3 
3 
12 
15 
19 
8 
14 
15 
7 
1 
8tol2 
13tol7 
18 to 22 
2 
2 
8 
12 
21 
20 
25 
4 
3 
2 
..... 
23 to 27 
3" 
2 
21 
17 
41 
9 
5 
1 
1 
1 
3 
3 
18 
22 
31 
7 
9 
4 
1 
1 
28 to 32. 
2 
16 
11 
36 
8 
20 
5 
1 
3 
1 
4 
12 
34 
13 
19 
9 
3 
2 
2 
»3to37 
4 
38 to 42 
11 
43to47 
10 
48to52 
42 
53 to 57 
10 
58 to 62 . .. 
14 
63 to 67 
4 
68 to 72. 
3 
73 to 77 
