Management of Muck-Land Farms in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan Page: 4
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FARMERS' BULLETIN 761.
the North Central States-Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wiscon-
sin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri-there are 15,000,000 acres of
swamp lands, which consist largely of muck soils capable of being
drained and utilized for agricultural purposes. In the entire United
States in 1909 there were approximately 125,000 acres of cabbage,
50,000 acres of onions, 15,000 acres of celery, and 8,000 acres of
peppermint and spearmint, making a total for the five crops of only
198,000 acres, a large percentage of which, moreover, consists of areas
other than muck. That the production of these crops is sufficient at
present is evidenced by the frequent overproduction of one or more
of them. Indeed it seems quite possible that all of the celery, onions,
FIG. 2.-Muck land devoted to celery and other intensive crops.
mint, and cabbage needed by the whole United States could be grown
on 1 or 2 per cent of the muck land in the eight States mentioned above.
INTENSIVE AND EXTENSIVE CROPS.
The most important and fundamental difference between intensive
and extensive farming is the relative difference in the amount of
labor required to farm a given area. This difference is not generally
fully appreciated. As shown in figure 3, celery and onions require
an enormous amount of man labor as compared with corn, oats, and
hay. Cabbage, potatoes, and peppermint, with respect to labor,
occupy an intermediate position between the highly intensive crops
on the one hand and extensive crops on the other. Onions require
less horse labor than celery, cabbage, and potatoes, because the
cultivation of onions is all done with hand implements.
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Smalley, H. R. Management of Muck-Land Farms in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan, pamphlet, 1916; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc96415/m1/4/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.