--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It were good to know how much hay an acre…" description: "\"It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort of hay will feed and fatten; what quant..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/william-petty-28895_acres_it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acr_41164.png" --- # It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort… ![“It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort of hay will feed and fatten; what quantity of grain and other commodities the same acre will bear in one, three or seven years; unto what use each soil is proper; all which particulars I…” quote by William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/william-petty-28895_acres_it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acr_41164.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/william-petty-28895_acres_it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acr_41164.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a7/william-petty-28895_acres_it-were-good-to-know-how-much-hay-an-acr_41164.png) > “It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; how many cattle the same weight of each sort of hay will feed and fatten; what quantity of grain and other commodities the same acre will bear in one, three or seven years; unto what use each soil is proper; all which particulars I call intrinsic value, for there is also another value merely accidental or extrinsic.” [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage distinguishes between a land's productive capacity—its measurable outputs like hay, cattle, grain—and its non‑productive, incidental attributes, arguing that true value lies in the former. **In simple terms:** Intrinsic value is measurable output; extrinsic value is incidental. Key Takeaway Focus on measurable productivity. Themes Economic valuation Agricultural productivity Resource management Intrinsic vs. extrinsic value Land use efficiency Mood Analytical Pragmatic Type Economic observation Philosophical insight When to use this quote - Farm planning - Estate appraisal - Policy making for agriculture - Investment decisions in land Key Concepts Yield estimation Land suitability Opportunity cost Practical Applications - Land valuation models - Agricultural forecasting Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing solely on intrinsic value affect long‑term sustainability? - What extrinsic factors might be overlooked in this framework? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Grain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grain/) [Intrinsic value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intrinsic-value/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [Farm country -- you know, hay, horses, cattle. It's the ideal situation for me. I like the physical endeavors that go with the farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/farm-country-you-know-hay-horses-cattle-it-s-the-ideal-situation-for/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [My father kept me busy from dawn to dusk when I was a kid. When I wasn't pitching hay, hauling corn or running a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-feller/my-father-kept-me-busy-from-dawn-to-dusk-when-i-was-a-kid-when-i-wasn/) [Bob Feller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-feller/) > [So in a strange way, even though Trump is a billionaire, what he's been saying is, "Everything's rigged, it's all corrupt and I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/so-in-a-strange-way-even-though-trump-is-a-billionaire-what-he-s-been/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [Longhaired preachers come out every night, Tryin' to tell us what's wrong and what's right. But when asked about something to eat, They will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/longhaired-preachers-come-out-every-night-tryin-to-tell-us-what-s/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [I have learned how to plant coastal hay, fertilize and bale it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-turner/i-have-learned-how-to-plant-coastal-hay-fertilize-and-bale-it/) [Janine Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-turner/) > [I was never very interested in boys - and there were plenty of them - vying with one another to see how many famous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-davis/i-was-never-very-interested-in-boys-and-there-were-plenty-of-them/) [Bette Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-davis/) > [Shall we go dance the hay, the hay? Never pipe could ever play Better shepherd's roundelay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-breton/shall-we-go-dance-the-hay-the-hay-never-pipe-could-ever-play-better/) [Nicholas Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-breton/) > [The pollen count, now that's a difficult job. Especially if you've got hay fever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/the-pollen-count-now-that-s-a-difficult-job-especially-if-you-ve-got/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) > [In good yeares corne is hay, in ill yeares straw is corne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-good-yeares-corne-is-hay-in-ill-yeares-straw-is-corne/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The scent organ was playing a delightfully refreshing Herbal Capriccio - rippling arpeggios of thyme and lavender, of rosemary, basil, myrtle, tarragon; a series…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-scent-organ-was-playing-a-delightfully-refreshing-herbal/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [A real farmer. He spent his childhood in the wheat, and his marriage in the hay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/a-real-farmer-he-spent-his-childhood-in-the-wheat-and-his-marriage-in/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [A Song of the good green grass! A song no more of the city streets; A song of farms - a song of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/a-song-of-the-good-green-grass-a-song-no-more-of-the-city-streets-a/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Work and pray, live on hay, youll get pie in the sky when you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/work-and-pray-live-on-hay-youll-get-pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Hay fever suffers tend to be above average in intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-tobias/hay-fever-suffers-tend-to-be-above-average-in-intelligence/) [Andrew Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-tobias/) > [...it’d be like looking for a needle in a burning haystack.' 'Oh, I’ve done that,' Mark said airily. 'It’s a game we used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-d-be-like-looking-for-a-needle-in-a-burning-haystack-oh-i-ve-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by William Petty > [Causes of Civil War are also, that the Wealth of the Nation is in too few mens hands, and that no certain means are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/causes-of-civil-war-are-also-that-the-wealth-of-the-nation-is-in-too/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Here we are to remember that in consequence of our opinion that labor is the Father and active principle of wealth, as lands are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/here-we-are-to-remember-that-in-consequence-of-our-opinion-that-labor/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Money is the best rule of commerce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/money-is-the-best-rule-of-commerce/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Raising of money may indeed change the species, but with so much loss as the foreign pieces were raised unto, above their intrinsick value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/raising-of-money-may-indeed-change-the-species-but-with-so-much-loss/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [A thousand acres that can feed a thousand souls is better than ten thousand acres of no more effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/a-thousand-acres-that-can-feed-a-thousand-souls-is-better-than-ten/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Wherefore the race being not to the swift, etc. but time and chance happening to all men, I leave the Judgement of the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/wherefore-the-race-being-not-to-the-swift-etc-but-time-and-chance/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [The method I take to do this is not yet very usual; for instead of using only comparative and superlative Words, and intellectual Arguments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/the-method-i-take-to-do-this-is-not-yet-very-usual-for-instead-of/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [I hope no man takes what I said about the living and dieing of men for mathematical demonstration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/i-hope-no-man-takes-what-i-said-about-the-living-and-dieing-of-men/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [No man pays double or twice for the same thing, forasmuch as nothing can be spent but once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/no-man-pays-double-or-twice-for-the-same-thing-forasmuch-as-nothing/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [An house is of a double nature, viz., one, wherein it is a way and means of expence, the other as it is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/an-house-is-of-a-double-nature-viz-one-wherein-it-is-a-way-and-means/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [“Milk was used in various forms during the summer months; in winter beer or water was used. Bread, cakes, potatoes, and sea food were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/milk-was-used-in-various-forms-during-the-summer-months-in-winter/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [The trade of banks is the buying and selling of interest and exchange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/the-trade-of-banks-is-the-buying-and-selling-of-interest-and-exchange/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Without the knowledge of the true number of the people, as a principle, the whole scope and use of keeping bills of birth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/without-the-knowledge-of-the-true-number-of-the-people-as-a-principle/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [That some are poorer than others, ever was and ever will be: And that many are naturally querulous and envious, is an Evil as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/that-some-are-poorer-than-others-ever-was-and-ever-will-be-and-that/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) > [Every seaman is not only a navigator, but a merchant and also a soldier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-petty/every-seaman-is-not-only-a-navigator-but-a-merchant-and-also-a-soldier/) [William Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) [Explore all 19 William Petty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-petty/) ## More Acres quotes > [“I suppose there was never a reason for tearing down a cabin or scrapping a stopped automobile, if you had all those acres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/i-suppose-there-was-never-a-reason-for-tearing-down-a-cabin-or/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [In the 24 hours since this time yesterday, over 200,000 acres of rainforest have been destroyed in our world. Fully 13 million tons of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/in-the-24-hours-since-this-time-yesterday-over-200-000-acres-of/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [About five years ago, the courses we run in the Field Trials were 52 percent timber. The hawks live in trees, and the quail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-carlisle/about-five-years-ago-the-courses-we-run-in-the-field-trials-were-52/) [Rick Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-carlisle/) > [ \[Footnote:\] Pliny the Elder described a Whale called "Balaena or Whirlpool, which is so long and broad as to take up more in length… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cuppy/footnote-pliny-the-elder-described-a-whale-called-balaena-or/) [Will Cuppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cuppy/) > [One time we did have 300 acres in watermelons. That was fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delta-burke/one-time-we-did-have-300-acres-in-watermelons-that-was-fun/) [Delta Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delta-burke/) > [Our problem with limited resources is not primarily overpopulation; it is greed. Our problem with pollution is not the invention of fluorocarbons or mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winkie-pratney/our-problem-with-limited-resources-is-not-primarily-overpopulation-it/) [Winkie Pratney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winkie-pratney/) > [Only by himself, with one acre and a house, will a dunce be a dunce. Once he manages to gain power, he'll turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/only-by-himself-with-one-acre-and-a-house-will-a-dunce-be-a-dunce/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [And we never got the mule, let alone the forty acres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-evers/and-we-never-got-the-mule-let-alone-the-forty-acres/) [Charles Evers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-evers/) > [I grew up in a town outside of Waco, Texas, and we had 30 acres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-plemons/i-grew-up-in-a-town-outside-of-waco-texas-and-we-had-30-acres/) [Jesse Plemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-plemons/) > [The poet is at the edge of our consciousness of the world, finding beyond the suspected nothingness which we imagine limits our perception another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/the-poet-is-at-the-edge-of-our-consciousness-of-the-world-finding/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [We live on a 500-acre ranch, beautiful ranch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-tucker/we-live-on-a-500-acre-ranch-beautiful-ranch/) [Tanya Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-tucker/) > [There is not an acre of ground on the globe that is in possession of its rightful owner, or that has not been taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-not-an-acre-of-ground-on-the-globe-that-is-in-possession-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The city of London, within the walls, occupies a space of only 370 acres, and is but the hundred and fortieth part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mayhew/the-city-of-london-within-the-walls-occupies-a-space-of-only-370/) [Henry Mayhew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mayhew/) > [The ploughman knows how many acres he shall upturn from dawn to sunset: but the thinker knows not what a day may bring forth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/the-ploughman-knows-how-many-acres-he-shall-upturn-from-dawn-to/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Château and hut, stone face and dangling figure, the red stain on the stone floor, and the pure water in the village well-thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/ch-teau-and-hut-stone-face-and-dangling-figure-the-red-stain-on-the/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) Browse all 218 Acres quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It were good to know how much hay an acre of every sort will bear; 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