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 STATE OF NEW YORK 
 DEPARTMENT OF AGIVICULTURE 
 
 Raymond A. Pearson, Commissioner ' 
 NORMAL INSTITUTE — DECEMBER US, 1908 
 
 AT THE 
 
 NEW YORK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 
 
 So 
 
 FARM MANAGEMENT 
 
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 By J. L. Stone 
 
 New York State College of Agriculture, Cornell University 
 
 |As a topic for discussion this sounds well. But if I were to 
 fi each of you what you understand by the term, I imagine I 
 Duld get exceedingly various replies, and no doubt in the minds 
 some the subject would be rather hazy. I confess that in my 
 jrn case I am somewhat at a loss as to how to express my con- 
 Dtion of the subject. How will this do ? Farm management 
 to do with co-ordinating the activities of the farm, as to their 
 
 jaracter, extent, order in time and method of performance so as 
 
 produce the most satisfactory results. Many factors mg.y enter 
 
 jto the question as to what constitutes satisfactory results. 
 
 Rually the profitableness of the enterprise taken as a whole 
 
 111 receive chief consideration. Frequently the excellence of 
 articles produced will have an important place. That 
 
 Icellence may consist in beauty, flavor, form or size, or any 
 aer characteristic that gives pleasure or benefit. Usually, but 
 always, excellence is in close relation to profitableness. Somer 
 les the effect of the activities conducted upon the farm on the 
 leral well being and aippearance of the farm itself will be a 
 rge factor in the satisfaction realized. On many a farm, profit 
 
 [sacrificed, to a greater or less extent, to appearances. This fre- 
 
 lently occurs on the farms of the wealthy and of lovers of the 
 lutiful. 
 
 iFortunately, those habits of orderliness and neatness that result 
 attractive appearances also contribute to profitableness unless 
 
 ^y are carried to an extreme. I suppose, then, that a farm that 
 
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 is so managed as to maintain its productivity and attractive ap- 
 pearance, that its products are of a high order of excellence and 
 that results in a fair rate of profit, may be said to be well managed. 
 
 If I were able to lay dovpn for you rules for farm management 
 by using which one could invariably secure the results named 
 above, I am sure you would allow I would be doing a great thing. 
 This, however, I cannot do. But possibly I may be able to point 
 out some of the factors that must be reckoned with. 
 
 When our worthy Commissioner of Agriculture asked me to 
 speak to you on Farm Management, he made it plain that it was 
 with a view to giving me an opportunity to relate some of my 
 observations while on a recent brief visit to Great Britain. I am 
 to point out some of the differences and similarity between Ameri- 
 can and British conditions and methods and, if possible, make 
 some suggestions that will help us in our study of problems in 
 farm management. 
 
 In the first place, and taken in a broad way, I was much im- 
 pressed with the thought that the English farmers are adapting 
 j^^yLAT-their systems of hiisbandry to the conditions in which they are 
 placed in an admirable way. The crops and animals selected for 
 production are excellently adapted to the climate, soil and markets 
 of the localities where they are grown. 
 
 It seems to me that there are few questions pressing harder for 
 careful consideration by American farmers than this one. Few 
 farmers give it the thought they should. While traveling in the 
 great dairy district of Cheshire, I was surprised to see nearly all 
 the land in grass. On some farms no plowing is done at all. A 
 little later I was shown at the Agricultural School Farm at 
 Holmes Chapel an eleven-acre field that had carried twenty dairy 
 cows throughout the season. In June it was necessary to turn in 
 a flock of sheep to help keep it down. Even then it was found 
 desirable to clip it with a mowing machine. It is true that such 
 a record is unusual even in Cheshire, but where it is possible to 
 
grow grass like this, or anywhere near it, it certainly is wisdom 
 to keep the land growing grass much of the time. 
 
 You are asking, "How was this field managed to make such 
 results possible ? " I am not able to give you the details of its 
 management, but of course it was usually well cared for, as it was 
 the pride of an expert. Undoubtedly there were three principal 
 factors contributing to the result — climate, soil and treatment. 
 Each of these factors is important in crop growing and in this 
 case each was of the highest order. While it is not a matter 
 capable sof demonstration, I am strongly of the opinion that the 
 relative importance of these factors is in the order named — 
 climate, soil, treatment. While the treatment given 'in this case 
 was excellent and the soil just the kind for best results with grass 
 — a strong clay loam, lying nearly level, but well drained — I 
 believe it is to the climate of England that we must look for an 
 explanation of the famous yields of grass there secured, sis well 
 as of some other crops I shall name shortly. The winters are 
 mild, so that the vitality of the plants is not weakened by ex- 
 cessive cold. The summers are never very hot and the moisture 
 supply is almost always abundant. These are the climatic condi- 
 tions that in conjunction with the excellent soil and wise manage- 
 ment make the result I have named possible. This climate also 
 makes it possible for the English farmers to grow good grass on 
 other soils of a character such that if they were in New York, 
 with its ovra excellent climate, they would lie brown and sear 
 through much of our hot summer. The traditional excellence of 
 English agriculture I should, therefore, attribute to the peculiar 
 climate of the country and the wisdom of the farmers in devoting 
 their energies in the main to those lines of crop and stock pro- 
 duction that are best adapted to that climate, and to the various 
 soils. As to markets, they have good demand for nearly every- 
 thing they can produce owing to the dense population of which 
 only a small proportion are engaged in agriculture. 
 
Other prodiuls that arc cxteiisivi'ly grown are nats, roots, pota- 
 toes, beef and sheep. The cmps named are as well adapted to 
 the climatic conditions as is grass. The animal industry, in its 
 excellence is made possible by the grass and roots. 
 
 Eefore making the visit, I was well aware that roots and sheep 
 were important items in British agriculture but it was one of my 
 I jj J chief surprises to see the very large place they take. Koots and 
 / sheep supplement one another admirably in this country, but in 
 England to a much greater extent. In the first place, owing to 
 climatic conditions, the roots are grown there much more easily 
 and consequently more abundantly than they well can be here. 
 The English farmers practice hurdle feeding to quite an extent. 
 This saves the man labor of harvesting the crop and at the same 
 time saves drawing manure to the fields as the hurdling is so man- 
 aged as to secure a sufficient and even distribution of the manure. 
 Owing to climatic conditions, the feeding off of turnips and other 
 succulent crops like rape, kale, etc., may be continued well into 
 the winter. Then, in addition to this, the feeding of the harvested 
 roots upon land that it is desired to manure may be continued 
 almost throughout the winter. Thus it is that the climate makes 
 the growing of grass and roots comparatively easy and inexpensive 
 and the grass and roots make the sheep. 
 
 I have been much interested in the utilization of the cheap and 
 semi-abandoned farm land in some parts of New York and have 
 wondered how it is that the English farmers can make a success 
 with sheep on land that costs them as much for annual rental as 
 would purchase the iNTew York lands referred to while most of 
 our farmers shy at sheep growing. In view of the special adapta- 
 tion to sheep growing of the English conditions, we may not ex- 
 pect to equal the English farmers in this line, but I do believe 
 there is good opportunity for success with sheep in many locali- 
 ties where cheap lands are to be found. Sheep farming can well 
 be conducted upon rather large areas of land. In the south of 
 
England the farms range from 500 to 1,000 acres or more. Tlipso 
 farms need not be located as conveniently to the railway stations 
 as would be necessary if milk production were contemplated. 
 
 The fencing should be thoroughly done with special reference 
 to restraining and protecting the sheep. The outlay for buildings 
 would be much less than required in case of dairy farming. The 
 same is true as regards labor. Selected areas could be used for 
 . growing roots, alfalfa and other hay for winter keep. Rape could 
 be grown to help out the pastures and for finishing off in the 
 fall. If after the enterprise was well started it were found de- 
 sirable to increase the winter work in order to give all-the-year^ 
 round employment, a portion of the flock could be devoted to the 
 production of winter lambs. Many farmers who keep a few sheep 
 have told me in recent years that they iind them among the most 
 profitable lines of their fai'ming. I look for the day when sheep 
 growing in New York will regain the importance it had fifty or 
 sixty years ago. 
 
 I found the potato to be another crop that is peculiarly favoied 
 by the climatic conditions in Great Britain. The farmers of Eng- 
 land speak of ten or twelve tons per acre (about 400 bushels) in 
 about the same way as our American farmers refer to 200 bushels. 
 Here the average yield is less than 100 bushels per acre, but -the 
 statistical report of Great Britain places their average crops in 
 the vicinity of 240 bushels. In the south of Scotland, I found the 
 most highly developed potato culture that I saw. On Lord Rosen- 
 bury's estate at Dalmeney, high grade potatoes for seed are a 
 specialty and I was told that their entire area, which usually is 
 about 100 acres per season, not infrequently averages twenty tons 
 per acre and that their especially heavy crops reach forty to fifty 
 tons. I saw a hill dug from the test plats which yielded thirty- 
 two merchantable tubers and Mr. Sinclair, the manager, told me 
 that- a few days before he dug a hill which produced fifty-four 
 merchantable tubers. To American farmers this seems almost in- 
 
credible, but with their highly developed varieties, their excellent 
 potato soil highly manured and fertilized and the climate that re- 
 mains moist and cool through an entire season, the Scotch farmers 
 are able to secure yields altogether out of reach of American 
 farmers, with our greater heat of summer and probability of a 
 dry spell during the season of most active growth. The soil, the 
 fertility and the skillful management we can duplicate, but th© 
 remarkably favorable climate is beyond our control. 
 
 I wish also to say a word as to the comparative excellence of 
 American and English farming. We can do as good farming as 
 do the Englishmen and some American farmers are as skillful as 
 they, but the American average is far below the English. ,1 see 
 two principal causes producing this result. First, the system of 
 land tenure, undesirable as we would consider it from other con- 
 siderations, does tend to excellence of farm management. The 
 density of population and the inability of as many farmers as de- 
 sire to do so to secure farms to operate is the other factor. The 
 landlord will not lease his farm except to men of sufficient means, 
 practical experience and ability to accomplish good results and 
 there being many times as many would-be farmers as there are 
 farms gives large opportunity for selection. I was told that in 
 case a poor farmer died there probably would be fifty applicants 
 for his farm before he was under the ground. The great ease with 
 which land is secured in America makes it possible for very many 
 who have neither the capital, experience nor ability that would 
 enable them to successfully manage land, to secure farms and the 
 result is that our average farming is not very high. 
 
 Again in regard to roads. I have heard Americans very 
 severely criticized for not maintaining roads that are comparable 
 with the English roads. I know that our roads are not what they 
 should be and I am anxious that they should be rapidly improved 
 but I do not believe that Americans are censurable in the degree 
 that some have represented. The roads of England are remark- 
 
ably fine. Scarcely will you find a common road that is not 
 thoroughly macadamized, not only so, but it is maintained in most 
 excellent condition by a thorough system of annual repairs. But 
 we must remember that this result has not been attained in a 
 century or two. Most of these roads were made even before the 
 days of steam transportation when good roads were a more press- 
 ing necessity than at the present day. Consequently they were 
 under greater stimulus to improve the roads. Many of the roads 
 were for military purposes and were looked upon as a necessity 
 for national protection. While I hope to see improvement in 
 American highways continued and even at an accelerated pace, 
 yet I do not feel that because our present roads are inferior to 
 those of Europe that we are especially censurable under the 
 circumstances. 
 
All books are subject to recall after two weeks. 
 
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