May, 1929] Potato Production Costs in New Hampshire 19 



TABLE XVI. 

 Materials and Costs for Different Methods for Blight Control. 



1926. 



♦Data from three farms, 

 tincludes lime. 



sive than dusting. Only when water must be hauled from a dis- 

 tance, or spraying interferes too seriously with other farm opera- 

 tions, is it practicable to use a traction duster. Although the labor 

 required per acre under normal conditions is about half that for 

 the liquid spray, the material cost is so much higher that the total 

 acre costs make it less economic. 



Labor Distribution by ODerations^-^) 



The labor required for the various operations varies with the 

 locality as well as with topography, soil and other factors. The 

 man labor used in raising potatoes on the farms in the various 

 counties in 1926 and 1927 is shown in Table XVII. The greater 

 rainfall during the 1927 season made all operations more difficult 

 and accounts for the heavier labor requirements per acre in 1927 

 than in 1926. 



Machinery 



Area in potatoes is probably the most important factor in- 

 fluencing costs. By doubling the area, beginning with 1.9 acres, 12 

 to 15 bushels more per acre were raised, man labor was decreased 

 nearly 20 hours per acre, cost per acre was decreased about 12 

 dollars, and costs per bushel were reduced approximately 10 cents. 

 The step from 1.9 to 3.8 acres involves the purchase and use of 

 some potato machinery. Except in unusual circumstances, when 

 7.6 acres were raised all operations were done with special potato 

 machinery. The larger area in each case reduced labor and the 

 better methods increased yields to such a point that per acre and 

 per bushel costs were lower even with higher machine costs. 



Fitting the Soil 



The usual practice in fitting is to use the disk two or three 

 times and the spring tooth or smoothing harrow twice. With the 



