1920.] niPLEMENTAL TILLAGE AT ST. AUGUSTINE. 25 



The cost and number of labourers required per acre to work these 

 2'73 acres is given in the table below : — 



As the c ist and number of labourers required to perform the pre- 

 paratory work of liauling the trash into the drain to clear the land for 

 the implements and hand labour are identical, the figures relating to this 

 item need not be taken into consideration. It will then be seen that it 

 takes 22-53 labourers at a cost of $11.77 to level oli" an acre of land with, 

 implements as against 25-88 or 17"-25 labourers at a cost of fiilO.35 

 .aecording as the men digging out the stools and levelling work one or 

 one and a half tasks a day. When the work is done with implements 

 the soil is left in better tilth, being more loose and friable, than when 

 done by manual labour. In Field 3, St. Augustine the small dr.iins 

 were nearly 3 feet deep and the beds " turtle backed " so that a certain 

 amount of supplementary hand labour was necessary. The whole field 

 •consists of 10-77 acres of which O'Cl acres was levelled exclusively by 

 hand labour as a compr.rison. This field had previously been ploughed 

 at the end of the dry season and the reploughing and levelling was done 

 in September. 



Reforming bi ds and levelling — Field 3, St. Augustine — 10-16 acres. 



Description of work. 



Number of 



Labourers. Animals. 



Cost of 

 Labour. 



On 0'61 acres actually worked by hand labour it is calculated that 

 24 6 men would level an acre at a cost of $9.84, as the men only worked 

 a task a daj'. This shows a gain of 10-27 labourers and $1.08 i^er acre 

 in favour of the implements. 



