310 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



eflScient tillage implements is also of vital importance, and a knowl- 

 edge of the best methods in preparing land and cultivation of crops 

 is very essential, in order to plan on ilie amount of farm equipment 

 necessary. The farm roller is an implement which probably is neces- 

 sary on every farm, but very little attention has been given to what 

 kind of a roller is most etticient. The efficiency of an imi>lement to 

 compact the soil was brought to my attention the past year, in those 

 regions which suffer the most from drought. In New Jersey it is 

 customary to seed down to clover and timothy or alfalfa the latter 

 part of August, after harvesting a potato crop or some early crop, 

 which allows the field to be cleared in August. Many fields of clover 

 and timothy and some plantings of alfalfa this past year were not a 

 success, due probably to the inefficient work of the ordinary farm 

 roller, and under such conditions it may be necessary to have an im- 

 plement with a corrugated surface or with a series of convex disks 

 set closely together in order to compact the subsurface of the soil. 

 On several fields where potatoes had been harvested and the vines had 

 been raked off with the ordinary horse rake, even where this failed 

 was rolled after preparing by a disk harrow, the seed failed to germi- 

 nate, which shows where the wheels of the horse rake compacted the 

 soil, which shows conclusively that under dry conditions the ordinary 

 plain roller superficially compacts the surface. There are several im- 

 plements being placed upon the market, which compact the subsurface 

 and which should receive the attention of farmers. 



Many implements for cultivation are now placed upon the market 

 which are equipped with blades or knives for cutting the surface 

 without going very deeply into the soil. Such implements are very 

 efficient for the later cultivations of crops in that they simply loosen 

 the top soil, prevent the cutting off of feeding roots, prevent the evapo- 

 ration of soil moisture from a lower depth and provides a dust mulch 

 to conserve the moisture. 



The Office of Farm Management also makes a study of the efficiency 

 of farm implements, with a view to econoni}^ of labor. It is often an 

 important question to what extent a farmer may employ larger im- 

 plements winch require a greater number of horses and thereby de- 

 creasing the amount of man labor. In manv sections of the East it 

 may be entirely practical to use large power machinery, especially the 

 traction plow, and the traction engine for other farm operations. 

 The traction plow is already in operation in New Jersey and Pennsyl- 

 vania, and where the fields are comparatively large and level, 

 especially where the fields are rectangular, with a long course before 

 is is necessary to turn, such expenditure may be economy. There are 

 many farms which could be arranged for the practical use of a trac- 

 tion plow by rearranging the fields. 



The problem of farm equipment I consider has not been solved as 

 3'et, by any means, and the farmers should assist the Department in 

 giving their inventories of farm tools, in order that this office may 

 secure data enough to establish some standard for farms of different 

 areas and tyi»es of farming. 



RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS 



One of the most important farm management problems is the es- 

 tablishment of some simple system of records and accounts, which 

 will enable the farmer to know more definitely the cost of production 



