seeds and even of large yields, there is not the same scope for skill
that there is in some other lines of agricultural enterprise. Skill
means the capacity to do something difficult, and the more effort
required to produce an object the more value it has, provided its
utility is unlimited. The farming which requires the most skill pays
the best if one has the skill to apply to it. This is because those
who do not have the requisite skill are usually unsuccessful.

CHAPTER XIII

THE COST OF FARMING OPERATIONS

Several millions of the inhabitants of the United States, not to
mention those of other countries, are engaged each year in the
preparation of the soil for the cereal and forage crops and on the
work of seeding and harvesting them. The welfare of one-third the
population is directly and that of the other two-thirds, although less
directly, is quite as surely dependent upon the effectiveness of this
effort. If, for example, as sometimes happens, one-third the
population receives on account of untoward seasonal conditions but
four-fifths of the usual product, everyone must suffer on account of
this unrewarded labor. Many, perhaps most, financial panics have their
origin in crop failures aided, doubtless, by an improper financial
system.

Although widely and sometimes bitterly discussed, little is really
known concerning the relation between the effort expended and the
returns obtained in producing the great staple farm products; yet one
of the most important and vital considerations in the organization of
a farm enterprise is the income, both gross and net, which may be
expected from the different crops contemplated. Obviously the yield
and price of the several crops will vary with the locality and with
the season. It is, therefore, impossible to predict for any year
either what yield may be obtained or what price will be secured. If,
however, a sufficient number of years are selected, an average may be
found which will form a basis for calculating the probable result for
another series of years. The following table gives the yield and the
average farm values per acre for five staple crops for five years,
1905-1909 inclusive, for the United States and for four widely
separated states, viz., Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas and Oregon.

AVERAGE YIELD PER ACRE, 1905-1909.

Pennsylvania Iowa Texas Oregon
Maize, bu