THE EFFECTIVE USE OF LAND AS SHOWN BY YIELD Za 
those years in this region. In the northern section of the South 
Atlantic States the decrease in production indicated in 1920-1924 was 
owing chiefly to the contraction of the area in these crops during that 
period. Probably of basic importance in both regions have been 
the low prices for farm products since the war and the high wages 
of labor, which have compelled farmers not only to cultivate the 
crops less intensively but also to contract the acreage. 
The trend in the weighted composite per acre of corn, wheat, 
oats, and potatoes during the last 40 years in each of these areas 
is shown in Figure 10.1° The data used in preparing this graph 
are given in Table 6. Considering the entire period the greatest 
relative rise in acre-yields occurred in the northern section of the 
South Atlantic States. A considerable rise in acre-yield took place 
in the other two areas. The following indexes show the changes 
that occurred in the yield per acre in these regions during the last 
four decades. 
TABLE 6.—T rend in composite yield per acre for corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes 
[1885-1889= 100] 
i East | Northern > Eas Northern 
Middle North section, Middle North | Section, 
Year Atlantic] Gotta) | South Year Atlantic | ante a] | South 
States ae Atlantic States States Atlantic 
States States 
Per cent | Percent | Percent Per cent | Per cent | Per cent 
1885-1880 2 see re 100 100 100 || 1905-1909__________- 127 124 146 
AS90—1804 nee 100 96 TOG 1910-19142 138 126 159 
ASO5 EROS aaa ee 120 112 P25 AOT5—1919 ee 136 131 170 
1900=1904~ 23 114 116 126 || 1920-1924.__________ 145 125 177 
INCREASED PRODUCTION RESULTING FROM RISE IN ACRE-YIELD 
LEVEL IN THESE SELECTED REGIONS 
In discussing the increase in production resulting from the rising 
acre-ylelds in the United States during the last 40 years it was calcu- 
lated that the composite increase in productivity resulted in making 
available annually during the half decade 1920-1924 about 800,000,000 
bushels more of corn, wheat, oats, and potatoes than would have been 
realized on a like acreage but at the average yield level prevailing 
during the half decade 1885-1889. Using the same method of calcu- 
lation for the State groups it will be seen that the rise in the com- 
posite acre yields of the four crops during the 40-year period effected 
a considerable increase in the average annual total production of 
these crops. The changes resulting from the rise in acre-yields in 
each of these areas is shown in Table 7. 
10 Weighted by total acreage in these crops, See figure 4, p. 9. 
