STUDY OF SMALL FAEMS NEAR WASHINGTON. 
In Table V is shown the distribution of capital used in the opera- 
tion of these farms. Nearly 90 per cent of the total capital is in real 
estate. The live-stock and machinery investment is low per farm 
and the value per acre of the farms relatively high. The farms are 
located close to the city, giving them, in some instances, valuations 
which are greater than they would be were it not for the influence 
of suburban real estate values. This speculative factor very often 
controls the real estate values of small farms located conveniently to 
market. To determine the effect of this factor for the farms studied, 
the 'renting value for farming purposes of each farm was deter- 
mined. It will be noticed (Table V) that for the smallest farms 
the renting value approaches very nearly 5 per cent interest on the 
real estate value. This is probably due to the fact that these small 
farms are worth very nearly $234 a year merely as a home for the 
family of a man working in the city. On the larger farms 5 per cent 
on the real estate investment is nearly $100 greater per year than the 
annual cash rent for farming purposes. 
COMPARISON OF INDIVIDUAL FARMS. 
In the previous paragraphs it is shown that in studying groups of 
farms the labor incomes, on the average, are greater on the large 
farms. This, however, does not hold true uniformly when indi- 
vidual farms are considered, as is shown in figure 3 and Table VI. 
There are some farms with good incomes and some with poor incomes 
in each size-group. The size of farm has an important bearing on 
the chances of success in farming, but other factors, such as good crop 
yields, good prices for farm produce, and suitable equipment, which 
may be grouped under the heading of good quality of business, may 
more than overbalance unfavorable size of farm. These individual 
' variations emphasize the fact that the men who rank as conspicuously 
successful farmers rank far above the average in quality of business. 
The farmer who is content to be merely as good as the average need 
not hope to be classed among the more successful operators of his 
community. 
Table VI. — Tillable area, labor income, capital, receipts, expenses and distribu- 
tion of receipts for each of 152 farms near Washington, D. C. 
[Farms arranged according to size of labor income.] 
Labor 
income. 
Tilla- 
ble 
area. 
Investment. 
Receipts. 
Ex- 
penses. 
Per cent of receipts from— 
Real 
estate. 
Other. 
Vegeta- 
bles. 
Fruits. 
Stock. 
Other 
sources. 
S3, 805 
3,654 
3,584 
3,534 
3,342 
2,931 
2,194 
30.5 
32 
25 
56 
26.3 
14.5 
$2,000 
5,500 
8,000 
6,-000 
7,000 
6,000 
S721 
807 
1,789 
1,156 
1,346 
1,138 
715 
S6,244 
5,789 
7,940 
5,330 
5,614 
5,546 
4,578 
S2, 303 
1,820 
3,867 
1,438 
1,855 
2,258 
2,183 
76 
93 
98 
89 
80 
99 
88 
12 
5 
"""20"" 
i" 
1 
4 
12 
1 
1 
1 
1 
18 3,300 
11 
157353°— 20- 
