85 



iiulopcndont of the labor market, as the work may l)e done without 

 liirini; extra men at a time when they are liard to seeure. But the 

 advantaj:^e of hand over machine picking in tlic remo^'al of the husks 

 should not be overlooked. 



The corn ])icker is still an experimental machine. There are a num- 

 ber of problems to solve before a wholly efficient picker will be ]iro- 

 duced. The advisability of a farmer purchasino; a corn picker is a 

 question which each farmer should decide for himself. lie may 

 safely follow this general rule in the purchase of farm machinery and 

 implements of all kinds: A machine newly put on the market, no mat- 

 ter how promising, shoidd not be i)in-chased by a farmer on ordinary 

 terms, because, even with the greatest care on the part of the manu- 

 facturer in designing and constructing the macliine, weak points in 

 operation and construction are bound to develop, which it will take 

 the manufacturer several years to overcome. Not until the machine 

 has been perfected should the farmer purchase it. It is best to allow 

 the manufacturer to do his own exi)erimenting. If special arrange- 

 ment is made W'hereby the farmer is compensated for aiding the 

 manufacturer in developing the machine, that is a different matter. 



ECONOMY OF CORN-HARVESTING MACHINERY. 



The benefits to the farmer of using modern corn-harvesting machin- 

 ery have been pointed out, but a question as to when these machines 

 are really, profitable should also be considered 1)y the successfid far- 

 mer, viz, how^ many acres of corn must a man have to harvest each 

 year in order to make it a profitable iuA'-estment for him to purchase 

 a corn harvester or corn picker? 



We have found that the average life of the com binder is 8.17 years, 

 and the cost $125. If a man has only 20 acres of com to cut per year, 

 the cost for the use of the binder for each year would be $15.30. To 

 this should be added $7.20 for interest, making the total annual cost 

 of the machine $22.50. Other expenses for cutting the 20 acres of 

 corn, according to the previous averages derived, would be $9.20 for 

 team and driver, $6.10 for twine, and $8.96 for shockers; or a total 

 cost for cutting 20 acres of com with a com binder of $46.76, or $2.34 

 per acre. We have seen that the work may be done b}^ hand for $1 .50 

 per acre, and that by hiring a neighbor's team and binder at 75 cents 

 per acre, the work may also be done for $1.50 per acre. We may 

 then conclude that a farmer who has only 20 acres of com to cut per 

 year and does not intend to cut any for his neighbors w-ould lose 

 money by purchasing a corn binder. 



If a farmer has 30 acres of corn to cut per year, the annual cost of 

 the machine, including interest, would be 75 cents per acre. It wdll 

 require a cut of at least 80 acres per year before the farmer can prop- 

 erly estimate the cost per acre for the use of the machine to be 29 



