304 THE BOOK OF CORN 



cost of labor maintenance are figured together by mak- 

 ing the wage basis the rate of wages per day without 

 board. Having the number of days' labor given to 

 each operation pursued in the growing of the corn crop 

 and the average rate of wages per day without board, 

 the cost of labor and labor maintenance becomes a sim- 

 ple matter. The average wages per day without board 

 ranged from 60 cents in Virginia to $1.50 in Maine, 

 averaging for the 21 states $1.10. 



Teams and Maintenance — The meaning of team is 

 not the same in all districts or in all operations. It 

 may be two, three, or more horses. To bring the vari- 

 ous customs to a common basis the number of horses 

 used in any operation is reduced to a common standard 

 of teams of two horses. As an illustration, if four 

 horses were used to plow in a given crop, it enters into 

 the calculation as two teams. The horse power used 

 in making the crop may be regarded from two stand- 

 points. Wage allowance may be made for their serv- 

 ices on the basis of the rate usually paid where horses 

 are hired. The second way of considering horse power 

 is regarding the necessary complement of horses on 

 the farm as part of the permanently invested capital. 

 Beyond question this is the proper method. On this 

 basis annual cost of team maintenance and an allow- 

 ance for depreciation is the proper charge against the 

 crop. This charge may be made in two ways. The 

 first is to ascertain the average cost per day of team 

 maintenance, charging the corn crop with maintenance 

 only for those days in which the team is actually en- 

 gaged in producing the crop. This plan would be fol- 

 lowed upon the assumption that the horses 01 the farm 

 are constantly engaged in some form of farm work, 

 and that the cost of their keep and care each day 

 should be charged to the work then engaged upon. 

 The objection is that horses are not employed equally 



