CAPITAL-GOODS AS A FACTOR IN PRODUCTION 273 



The operation of harvesting was uniformly accomplished by the 

 use of a sickle under the earlier method, the cutting and binding being 

 done by hand. Comparisons cannot be made in all of the units, as 

 the operations vary so much under the modern method. Three units 

 show the use of self-binders and three the use of the combined reapers 

 and thrashers which do away with the operations of binding and 

 shocking the grain. In unit 13 the use of the self-binder reduced the 

 time for cutting, binding, and shocking under the modern method to 

 2 hours as against 16 hours and 40 minutes under the primitive, these 

 operations under the primitive method requiring more than eight 

 times as long as under the modern. In unit 17 the saving was still 

 greater, the cutting and binding being done in 55 minutes under the 

 modern as against 33 hours, or thirty-six times as long, under the 

 primitive method by the use of sickles, no shocking being reported. 

 The grain was shocked in unit 18, but the operation is kept separate, 

 so that a comparison can be made as to the different operations. The 

 cutting and binding required i hour with the self-binder, and 1 1 hours 

 and 33 . 8 minutes with sickles, while the shocking required two hours 

 under each method. The more complex machines reported in units 3, 

 26, and 27 were propelled by steam in units 3 and 27, and by 26 

 horses in unit 26. Here the grain was reaped, thrashed, and sacked 

 in one continuous operation. In unit 3 the operations necessary to 

 do this work under the earlier method required 48 hours and 40 

 minutes, while under the later method the time required by the 

 machine was 7 . 5 minutes, 7 men being employed, making the total 

 time 52.5 minutes; including the time of the two water-haulers, for 

 the same reason as noted in discussing the combined plow and seeder, 

 the total time under the machine method was i hour and 7 . 5 minutes, 

 or about one forty-third the time required when sickles and flails were 

 used. In unit 27 the totals are 49 hours and 20 minutes under the 

 earlier method and i hour and 2 1 minutes under the later. The totals 

 in unit 26 show the best proportionate results from the use of the 

 combined reaper and thrasher, being 46 hours and 40 minutes under 

 the earlier and i hour under the later method. The time for binding 

 and shocking grain and stacking straw is included in the time for the 

 hand methods given above (units 3, 26, and 27), which operations 

 were not necessary under the machine method. 



Thrashing is reported as a separate operation in units 13, 17, 

 and 1 8. In units 13 and 18 the work was done under the earlier 

 method entirely by hand, the flail, pitchfork, shovel, and winnowing 



