Evening journal., 1915-05-22
Survey of County Farms
Shows Many Lax Methods

were very poor. On the farms surveyed,
the average yield of wheat last year
was % bushels per acre of corn, 20 bush /
els of sweet corn, 50 tons, of hay tim !
othy and clover S tons, of alfalfa, %
tons. The latter is a strong argument
in favor OF alfalfa in the "Nliddletownl
Area
"On most of the sixty-fve farms, the
quality OF the cows is inferior, the aver
age receipts per COW being only SOL, nine
Of the best farms showed an average re-
ceipt per cattle unit of Ss3, while only
two could show receipts of 800 per cat
tie unit. With improved stock, or at
least pure-bred bull, a silo and five orr
ten acres of alfalfa, the farmers of
lower New Castle county could increaseI
their farm labor incomes very materi-
ally.
a rather concrete example of the
wisdom of that old and popular adagc,
put not all your eggs into one basket Isl
very evident in the 'Nliddletown Area
Although opinions differ, the records
taken in southern New Castle county
Indicate that a wide diversity of enter
priscs. with from two TO four main
sources of income is more profitable than
specialized farming. Nearly every one
of the siNty-fve farms surveyed had
from three TO four sources of income
that were over 10 per cent. of their total
receipts.
"In figuring up the efficiency Of man
and horse labor on these siNty-hve
farms. we find that out Of the possible
$40 working days in the year, the
average man worked 202 days in pro-
ductive labor while the remaining
ninety eight days we're taken up with
chores, and unproductive labor. such
as trimming hedges. moving head
/ lands, fencing, ditching. taking the
children to school, visiting. etc. An
average Of the best seventeen farms
shows that each man worked 23S days
out of the $40, or thirty-six of pro-
ductive labor more than on the ave-
rage of the sixty-fve farms surveyed.
State Produces TrOtting Stock.
"On the majority of farms in the
Middletown Area the horses are
small and plentiful. The reason is
evident to one familiar with lower
New Castle county conditions. Some
Of the best trotting stock produced m
America came from this section.
Whenever a breeder was disappointed
in a colt, that Is. when the youngster
failed to show sufficient speed quail
ity. he was sold to some farmer for
whatever he would give. The farmer
thus secured a good trotting horse,
and bred from him. In this way the
lower half of the county became
stocked with small horses that trot
to town and back with phosphate or
corn, but are too light for plOw and
OtheT heavy farm work. This fact
is clearly brought out in the sur
vey as on the average of the sixty
five farms. each horse works but
siXty-three days Of ten hours. or two
hours a day for the year Fewer
horses with more weight would lower
the cost of horse labor very materially
This fact is appreciated by the farm
ers themselves, as in one day six
large Percheron stations were seer
in the 'Middletown Area
"Of the sixty-fve farms surveyed
ftty are rented and have an averag,
labor income of S1,16S. The ffteer
that are operated by their ownerl
: showed an average income of $500
; This is not a fair comparison, how
ever. as these fifteen were mucl
| smaller farms than the average o
I those rented, hence they were doinl
( a much smaller business. On tn,
, other hand, the class of tenants il
the "MiddletOwn Area" is far abov
the average. as only one had a minu
labor income, while four of the own
ers who operate their farms went be
, hind last year
TO sum up the conditions as the,
exist today, clover and timothy viii
: produce a satisfactory crop once il
about six years. Alfalfa grows vel
where II has been tried and therefor,
! appears to offer a solution OF the ha,
. problem on the majority OF farms il
} lower New Castle county. A numbe
r OF farmers top-dress their grass Ian,
3 with nitrate of soda. and under favor
2 able conditions are able to yield o
p from one to two tons of good hay pc
- acre.
r Ten farmers grow an average q
D five and one-half acres of asparagus
: yielding SJ69 per acre. on thes,
- farms the average labor income i
e Sl,656, or SASS more than the averag
/. labor income of the sixty-five farm
5 surveyed
e Last year twenty-nine farmer
/, grew an average of SO acres of toma
= toes which returned gross receipts o
p S44 per acre II is doubtful whethe
= the crop was raised at a profit. O
e these farms the labor income aver
= aged S1119, or $40 below the averag
r for the sixty-five.
. Small Profit In Crops.
e ION forty-three farms, there wa
S grown an average of sixteen acres O
p sweet corn. which returned gross re
n ceipts of about S29 per acre As /
o costs about $50 per acre to grow thi
!. crop, the profits cannot be high
i With an average labor income q