ed. No definite formula can be set down for
desirable area and enterprises in relation to time available for
operating. However, the owner will realize that one pair of hands can do
only so much work. To try to operate beyond the capacity of his own time
and that of others available is to become involved in striving to keep up
with exigencies that may make country life a struggle instead of a
pleasurable existence. It may result, too, in losses due to inability to
get things done on time, and nature deals harshly with those who neglect
the seasonable operations that come in any agricultural enterprise.
"Bulling through" or skimping or cutting corners simply will not work when
one is dealing with plant and animal life and only failure will come to
him who undertakes to bluff nature.

The successful operator of a farming endeavor must always be on top of his
work, that is, able to plan and direct his energies in the most productive
way at the right time. This is really managing and is likely to lead to
success and satisfaction. To have so much to do that one emergency after
another must be met brings the operator down under his farming projects.
He ceases to manage under these conditions and becomes driven by his own
creations. To avoid this unhappy state, which is entirely unnecessary,
planning must be effectively done and operations undertaken in a gradual
way up to one's capacity.

_Cost of Land._--The price one should pay for land in a relatively small
tract cannot be arbitrarily fixed. Those who own large farms or tracts
expect to receive a bonus for the acres located along a highway as
compared with an average price for the entire place. It should be possible
to buy a 5- or 10-acre tract of land in the open country with highway
frontage for from $150 to $250 an acre, depending on location. If the land
is located near town or city where speculative operations have enhanced
values, the cost will be considerably more. Where an entire farm is
desired, the buildings are frequently given no value, the cost being the
price of the land only. As has been stated, it is quite possible to
acquire too much land as well as too little. A few acres selected from a
tract of good, productive soil will usually be found a better investment
than a large farm that has been abandoned because of lack of fertility.

_Accessibility to Cities._--In deciding upon the location of a farm,
methods of transportation that are available are as impo