The territorial division of labor is sometimes carried so far that a particular section of the country comes to depend upon a single crop. When this crop fails the section is much worse off than it would be if it had practiced diversified production instead of specialized production. For example, some of our states have depended in the past almost entirely upon a single crop such as wheat or cotton. A failure of that crop or a poor market for it produces hard times for that section of the country. A sufficiently diversified production would not have this disadvantage. Another disadvantage which comes with the division of labor is that the laborer who performs the same monotonous motions over and over again tends to lose his initiative and to become machinelike. To overcome this difficulty it is important that the work day be not too long, and that the worker have ample time for recreation so that he may counteract the depressing influence of his mechanical labor.