STUDY OF SMALL FARMS NEAR WASHINGTON. 
15 
the farm area, it is found that the former group returned an average 
labor income of $73 and the latter an average of $468. Obviously, on 
such small, high-priced farms the amount of waste land should be 
reduced to a minimum. 
MACHINERY AND TOOLS. 
But one-third of the farmers with 10 tillable acres and under have 
more than one horse. The equipment on these farms usually consists 
of a one-horse wagon, a one-horse plow, a spike-tooth harrow, a one- 
horse cultivator, a work harness, and necessary hand tools. Each of 
these farms also reported 17 hotbed sash on an average. (See fig. 6.) 
Fig. 6. — Tomato plants in hotbeds. Board fence gives protection from cold winds. 
The large farm usually had both a two-horse and a one-horse 
wagon. The number of cultivating tools increases with the size of 
farm, occasionally including a disk harrow or spring- tooth harrow. 
About half of the farmers have mowing machines. The number of 
hotbed sash increases with acreage up to a certain point, the greatest 
number being found on the farms of 11 to 20 tillable acres, averaging 
50 per farm. 
It is very evident that the operators of the very small farms are at 
a disadvantage in not having enough land to keep two horses busy, 
thus necessitating the use of one-horse tools, which waste man labor. 
When plowing and harrowing and all hauling must be done with one 
horse, the farmer is manifestly not using his time to best advantage. 
Much farm labor, to be done economically, requires the use of at 
least a two-horse equipment. 
Two-thirds of the farmers visited had hotbeds for starting early 
tomatoes, early cabbage, eggplant, peppers, and other early crops. 
