The Young Farmer; Some Things He Should Know (Paperback)

Excerpt: ...somewhat on the price per pound received for it. If it costs one cent a pound to ship 145 maize to a grain market, obviously it cannot be transported without loss when it brings only 50 cents a bushel. On the other hand, two cents a pound may easily be paid for shipping butter which is worth 25 cents a pound. The transportation of $2,000 worth of maize to a railway station ten miles distant is a laborious and expensive operation, but when this same maize is turned into beef or pork, it will transport itself to the station with comparatively little trouble. Notwithstanding the excellent transportation facilities which the farmers of the United States enjoy, 80% of the maize is consumed in the county in which it is raised. Cereal production demands better transportation facilities than cotton farming, tobacco growing or the rearing of domestic animals. (5) Capital must lie idle much of the time. The self-binding harvester or the hay rake is only used a few weeks, or perhaps more often only a few days, each year. A cream separator or a churn may be used every day in the year. In the first instance, 146 there is not only interest on unemployed capital, but the capital is actually deteriorating through nonuse. (6) The production of hay and grain does not give continuous employment. The slightest consideration of the following table must show that unless live stock is kept, there are considerable periods of the year in which very little labor is required, while at other times considerable work is necessary to prevent loss. TABLE SHOWING THE AVERAGE ACREAGE PER FARM OF PRINCIPAL CROPS. New York Ohio Wisconsin Virginia Maize 3 13 9 11 Wheat 2 12 3 6 Oats 5 4 14 1 Barley, rye or buckwheat 2 -- 5 0 Hay and forage 23 11 14 4 Potatoes, beans or othervegetables 3 1 2 1 Fruits 2 2 0 1 Miscellaneous crops 2 1 0 2 Pasture, wood or unimprovedland 58 45 70 93 --- -- --- --- Total size of farm 100 89 117 119 (7) Much depends upon natural forces. While there is...