A CORN-BELT FARMING SYSTEM. 13 



at a time and have this cleaned up well before moving the fence. It 

 is good practice also to allow the brood sows and their fall litters to fol- 

 low later to gather up what little waste corn may be left in the field. 

 When the hogging down of corn, properly managed, is combined 

 with the hogging down of rye and the pasturing of clover, as outlined 

 in this paper, the result is one of the most economical and efficient 

 of farm systems and one that will meet many of the most urgent farm 

 problems in the corn belt. 



THE SOURCES OF INCOME. 



It is evident that the principal income from this system is to be 

 derived from the sale of hogs. In addition, there will be a calf or 

 two for sale each year. The hay needed for the horses and cows will 

 be cut from the hog pasture shown as field No. 4 in figure 2. This 

 will permit the sale of all the hay cut from field No. 5. 



THE LABOR PROBLEM. 



One of the most striking features of this system is the way it 

 meets and solves the labor problem. The chief aim has been 

 to grow only those crops that do not compete seriously for la- 

 bor, to eliminate as much labor as possible at the rush seasons 

 by the harvesting of crops with live stock, and so to distribute the 

 necessary labor throughout the year as to enable a given crew to 

 handle a maximum acreage with the least possible amount of outside 

 labor. How effectively this is accomplished is shown by the accom- 

 panying chart (fig. 6), which shows graphically the amount of time 

 available for field work throughout an average season and the amount 

 of work of this character that is required during each month on a 

 100-acre farm run by this system. Figure 7 shows the additional 

 labor required to take care of 10 brood sows and their litters under 

 this system of management. 



The labor on the 100-acre farm, as charted in figure 6, is done by 

 one man and three horses, with a very small amount of outside help. 

 The crops are two 20-acre fields of corn, 20 acres of rye, 20 acres 

 of clover and timothy, and 20 acres of timothy. The labor indi- 

 cated in figure 6 also includes the growing of two acres of potatoes. 

 By plowing one field for corn in the fall the one man and three horses 

 are able to handle all the spring work within the limits of available 

 time, get the corn in, cultivate it, and produce the crop without 

 assistance. The next operation is that of putting up the hay, and even 

 with the most modern haying machinery some extra labor is needed. 



As previously stated under " The system of live-stock management," 

 the hogs are turned in on the rye field (fig. 2, No. 3) about July 15 

 and allowed to harvest that crop. On account of this the man and 

 his team are practically relieved from field work after the hay is 

 put up until early in September, when one field of corn must be cut 

 and 20 acres of rye sown. The harvesting of the hay will be done 



