WHEATGROWING IN AUSTRALIA. 37 



$18.00. One man with four horses in a three- furrow plough will do 

 22 acres in six days at a cost of less than $0.84 per acre. Drilling : 

 Man's wages, $6.00; rations, $2.40; horsefeed, three horses, $7.20; 

 total, $7.80. He will drill 90 acres in six days at that cost, or less 

 than $0.18 per acre. Other operations cost similarly less, but in all 

 cases wear and depreciation of plant and interest on capital invested 

 in plant should be allowed for. 



These figures, however, concern cases where labour is em- 

 ployed. The following figures show the outlay where a man is 

 doing the work himself. He could plough, cultivate, and sow 250 

 acres, which would take him twenty-two weeks. The first year he 

 has to purchase his seed wheat and feed for his horses : 



190 bushels seed wheat at $0.80 per bushel . . $153.60 

 10 tons chaff at $19.20 per ton . . . . 192.00 



$345-00 

 Approximately $1.38 per acre. 



At harvest time he would first reap portion of his crop to secure 

 supply of horse feed for the following year, say, 10 acres : 



Reaping and haymaking, 2 men's wages for 



three days at $1.92, food $0.48 per day . . $14.40 

 Twine (for binding the sheaves) .. .. : 6.00 

 Harvesting the wheat crop : One man's wages 



$1,92, food $0.48 per clay for forty days .. 96.00 



One hundred dozen bags at $1.68 per dozen 168.00 



Horsefeed, 5 tons chaff at $19.20 per ton . . 96.00 



Cartage, 1000 bags wheat at $0.18 per bag . . 180.00 



$560.40 



This is reckoning the crop as averaging 15 bushels per acre, when 

 the returns would be : 



15 tons of chaff (a low estimate) at $19.20 



per ton . . .- .,. .. . . $288.00 



1 200 bags of wheat, 3600 bushels at $0.80 per 

 bushel 2880.00 



$3168.00 

 Less expenditure ($345.60, $560.40) . . 906.00 



Balance . ... .. . . '. $2262.00 



