UNIT COST OF EQUIPMENT. 47 



Items of equipment. First cost. 

 Personal property (21.85 per cent): 



Work animals .^G40. 71 



Colts and driving horses 250. 95 



Cattle 582. 2G 



Sheep 201.05 



Swine 158. 34 



Poultry ' 52. 60 



Bees 3. 23 



Harness , 131. 05 



Machinery 1 , 125. 48 



Minor articles 200. 00 



Produce, supplies, etc 631. 93 



13,977.60 



Total for both real estate and personal property 18, 209. 19 



In actual practice inniimei-able factors tend to reduce the cost of 

 equipping farms. Few farms in the older sections of the United 

 States like Ohio are equipped outright with new buildings, fences, 

 and macliinery, and the foregoing summary would, of course, apply 

 only to these few farms; but the table is of interest in showing the 

 amount of money spent during a series of years in bringing the 

 equipment up to a profitable workmg basis. The 21 farms studied in 

 such detail are not in any sense exceptional or ' ' model" farms. They 

 represent a large class, probably more successful than the average, 

 and no doubt the detailed estimates of their average equipment 

 cost will be found helpful as a guide in planning the proper distribu- 

 tion of capital. 



UNIT COST OF FARM EQUIPMENT. 



The tliird phase of this study was made less prominent than the 

 two already discussed. This phase is that of current equipment 

 charges on farm operations, including machinery costs per acre of 

 crop, building charges per head of live stock, and storage or build- 

 ing charges per unit of products. From the circulars sent out to 

 Ohio corn growers, from Mr. Thompson's notes, and from the inven- 

 tories on the farms of cooperators considerable data have been 

 gathered regarding the machinery costs, but the determination of 

 annual and unit costs of buildings, fences, etc., has not been attempted 

 because of the meager information at hand. 



That there is a distinct cost each year for buildings, fences, and 

 other improvements is undisputed, but the exact amount is difficult 

 to ascertam, owing to the lack of information concerning the rate 

 of depreciation on such equipment. The depreciation on the modern 



> As the practice in housing potiltry on the average fann is not good, this figure might laeslightly increased, 

 although much more serviceable poultry houses might be constructed as economically as the average ones 

 used. 



212 



