Show ii Farmers and J I. I j f t j t t r rt I 4 Wa-ste Wa Lail 1111 Expensive Every acre ot or tillable land should be put to work or sold says says' cays ays a new publication of oC the department department department de de- Farmers' Farmers Bulletin Many farmers would make more mOller money if it their business were larger but the size of a farm from a n financial financial finan finan- cial standpoint Is measured not by bythe bythe the the number number of acres embraced In It w but by the that are producing producing producing pro pro- crops pasturing animals economically economically economically eco eco- or supporting a growth of oC marketable forest Nonproductive Nonproductive Nonproductive Non Non- productive acres are loafer acres and the mane money tied up in them is dead capital On er e every farm however er there are arc certain areas necessarily devoted to nonproductive purposes Fences ditches lanes and building lots produce produce pro pro- duce nothing themselves but the they are frequently essential to tion Uon on the rest of oC the farm Never Never- they may occupy in the aggregate ag ag- s gr gate a considerable percentage of oC the a available valla ble land It It Iris Itis is a part of oC t efficient farm management to see to tott r. r it tt that this percentage is no higher than necessary i. i In this com connection fi n some interest interest- Tn w l rep aj given gi by th the bulletin already ned lit hi regard to the f amount of land occupied b by fences of different kinds It takes for In Instance Instance instance In- In stance only rods of oC untrimmed hedge and only rods of oC zigzag rail ra il or worm worn fence to waste an acre of what might be productive land For the same expenditure o of land landone landone landone one can run rods of ot woven wo wire and rods of ot barbed wire Other considerations of course may make It desirable to use the hedge or the worm fence but the waste involved ed Is a factor that should not be over over- looked Similarly farm lanes often orten may maybe 7 be ell eliminated by a simple rearrange rearrange- ment of or fields headlands or turning I spaces at the edges of fields avoided avoid avoid- ed cd and the farmstead itself the itself the group of or farm tarm buildings with wWi their lots and yards the garden and the orchard orchard made made compact In the case o of the tho farmstead however considerations considerations considerations consid consid- of or health and attractive attractive- attractiveness ness less may well Justify a slight sacrIfice sacrifice fice flee of econom economy While a little planning often will result in the the saving of or much land now devoted to these unproductive uses a more difficult problem is presented by waste land land land-land land that thatis is rendered by br swamps ravines rocks slopes etc woodland woodland wood- wood I land that produces nothing salable and pastures that are too poor to be profitable Some areas are o of course hopeless and in that case they should be bo left out o of the reckoning altogether Before this Is done however however however how how- ever it will pay lay to look into the pos pos- of profitable reclamation Many fields for example mn may be turned into productive pastures pastures pastures pas pas- tures or if they will not grow I make this economical enough grass to cal they can be he used for the production production production pro pro- o of timber Umber On the other hand it frequently happens that woodlots which yield nothing but a little firewood for home consumption consumption tion are permitted to occupy valuable valuable valuable able land laud In deciding whether such lots should be cleared and tilled 1 the cost of clearing the tho increased vane of the cleared land the Interest interest interest inter Inter- est on the investment the salable value of the timber products and the added expense for firewood which will follow the disappearance of the timber must all be taken Into ac ac- count With um areas the advisability of bringing them under the plow may be determined by comparing the probable cost with the market price of good arable land in the neighborhood O Obviously the he higher the price of oC land rises the more incentive there is for Cor the farmer Carmer to avoid waste In Inthe Inthe inthe the utilization o of it It is significant however that the Investigations of or orthe the department have shown sho that ir irrespective irrespective irrespective ir- ir respective of or the price tenants put puta a greater part o of the land to productive productive pro pro- use than owners The rhe tenant tenant ten ten- en ant pays rent for each acre and he can not afford to have any of them idle On the other hand the theman theman thenan man nan who has no rent to pay par may be he beable beable heable able to get along on the produce of ofa a part only of or his farm arm and he is therefore more likely to overlook the potential value of the part he lie wastes By so doing he is of oC course throwing awa away opportunities to make monc money but this is not always alwa's appreciated appreciated appreciated by those who have not grasped grasp grasp- grasped grasped grasp grasp- ed the important fact that the av aver average average aver aver- rage r- r age farm is too small smaIl for Cor maximum efficiency and that in the majority o of cases to Increase the size of the farm arm business is to increase the profits tram front it Th Those These se owners however however how how- ever eyer who realizing this are operating operating operating ing leased land In addition to their own are like tenants careful to see ee that they pay for no loafer acres To anyone who is buying or leasing leasIng leas- leas Ing land then the important question question quest quest- ion is not How much am I paying an acre for this Mils tract but How lIow much am I paying for the acres that are going to work for me In the new bulletin it is calculated that a farm of acres selling at an acre will cost the purchaser actually actually ac ac- ac- ac an acre If It 90 per cent of oC it Is productive and an acre f if only 50 per cent o ot of it is due due- tive As a matter o of fact the percentage percentage percentage per per- of improved land in farms east of or the Mississippi is only and west of that river rl only Improved Improved Im Im- proved ed land however it should be he noted is not always the same as productive productive pro pro- land A good timber lot for example is not improved Unproved but it may mayhe mayhe maylie he lie highly productive and farm buildings and fences stand on land that is improved but produces noth noth- lu ing g. g In the final analysis it is the amount of productive land that determines determines de de- the e earning capacity o of a farm tarm and that should therefore determine determine determine de de- de- de termine its price Thicker Fewer Dandelions The dandelion is probably the greatest weed need pest in the west at the Ime line Digging them or picking pickIng picking pick pick- ing the blooms or spraying does no good and their method of producing producing ing and distributing seed enables them to propagate themselves under almost all conditions says T. T S. S Parsons Parsons Parsons Par Par- sons agronomist The best way to keep them out of or fields and lawns is to sow seed so thick that there will be he no chance for the seeds to get a foot foot- hold A A lawn that is infested with cannot be cleaned Ul up The only thing to do is to plow it up and reseed sowing the seed very thick The grass Brass will b bd be so thick that it will crowd out cut the dandelions that start and after the sod Is formed formed formed form form- ed there will be no chance for the dandelion seeds seed to get a start This rule will also apply to al alfalfa alfalfa al- al falfa If there is a thick stand it will be harder for tor the seed to get hold It is more difficult to keep keel the out of or grain fields but here the they are aro not so troublesome as with with a a crop rotation they are kept down very well o |