EUEAL ECONOMICS. 



293 



on the farms studied and the cost of keeping the different farm animals. A 

 portion of the work was in cooperation with the Office of Farm Management of 

 this Department. 



It was found that the cost of using equipment varied from 1.3 cts. per horse- 

 hour on one farm to 3.8 cts. per horse-hour on another, the average for 12 

 farms being 2.28 cts. The average cost per year of keeping a work horse on 

 14 farms was $88.33, of which 77.4 per cent was silent for feed, 10.7 for labor, 

 and 11.9 for miscellaneous. The average length of workday per horse on 28 

 farms was 3.57 hours, and the average cost per hour of horse labor on all 

 farms 7.9 cts. The average length of workday per man on 28 farms was 9.64 

 hours, and the average cost per hour on 6 farms 13 cts. The following table 

 indicates the cost and the amount of man and horse labor required to produce 

 the crops mentioned : 



Acre cost of producing vaiious farm crops. 



The authors found that when the yields of corn were less than 30 bu. per 

 acre, the corn paid practically nothing for the man labor. They also found 

 that the average annual cost of keeping a cow for supplying home needs was 

 $47.95 on 6 farms, while on a single dairy farm of 12 cows it was $85.10. The 

 latter returned a net loss of $4.18. They found that the cost of keeping a 

 brood sow was $25.91 ; the cost of keeping a hen a year under farm conditions 

 was 65.7 cts. 



Market distribution (Amer. Econ. Rcr., 5 {1915). So. 1, Sup., pp. 112-161). — 

 The papers and discussions included under this topic relate primarily to the 

 marketing of agricultural products. 



R. Meeker maintains that the onl.v way to bring the producer and consumer 

 effectively and permanently together is through the organization of the market. 

 The first step should be to organize the farmers into local cooperative asso- 

 ciations. The object of these associations should be. (1) to determine upon 

 the crop or crops to be grown for shipment to market; (2) to insist upon 

 proper methods of growing the crops; (3) to standardize and guarantee the 

 quality of the products shipped; (4) to superintend the gathering, grading, 

 and packing of crops; (5) to arrange for proper and sufficient means of trans- 

 portation, handling, shipping, and terminal facilities; and (6). to bargain with 

 railroads and other transportation companies for a freight rate that will bo a 

 livable rate for both the farmer and the transporter. 



L. D. H. Weld calls attention to the fact that the principal reasons for varia- 

 tion in the cost of marketing agricultural products are the degree of perish- 

 ability, regularity and irregularity of supply throughout the year, waste and 

 shrinkage, volume in which the products are handled, extent into which a 

 commodity may be subdivided, existence of well established qualities or grades, 

 and the relation between bulk and intrinsic value. 



The remaining papers relate principally to a discussion of the points brought 

 out in these two addresses. 



