276 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



which was adequate to do the plowing and planting 

 is wholly insufficient to handle this enormous 

 and immediate work. Importation of labor is 

 necessary. As noted before (Chapter IV) there is 

 in North America a class of labor which follows the 

 harvest as the wheat ripens from the south to 

 the north. This work begins in the southern part 

 of the United States in June and crosses into 

 Canada with the ripening grain. Although the 

 men who follow this are not skilled laborers, they 

 are at least trained to their work. Ordinarily they 

 are steady and industrious. Among their number 

 will be found many college students who spend their 

 summers working in the harvest fields. The work, 

 though hard, is healthful, and the wage, usually 

 from $2.50 to $4.00 per day and board, is above 

 the average for unskilled labor. 



Most of the wheat is cut by self-binders. The 

 binder which takes a seven or eight foot swath is 

 the one most commonly in use. With this machine, 

 by changing horses and working as high as sixteen 

 hours, ongjoutfit can cut from 25 to 40 acres per 

 day. When labor is available the wheat is shocked. 

 It is often, however, left to dry out on the ground. 

 Of course this is true only of the western plains 

 section where the harvest season is usually quite 

 free from rain. Practically none of the grain is 

 stacked but is allowed to remain in the field until 

 it can be threshed. The header is seldom used 



