SIZE OF FARMS 



255 



Horses and mules are not much used before they are 

 three years old. If only horses and mules three years 

 old are included, and if all the minor crops are counted, 

 the crop area per mule or horse in 1900 would be 17.1 

 acres. 1 The number of work animals per male worker was 

 1.9. 



163. Relation of the size of farm to efficiency in use 

 of horses. Economy in the use of horse labor is becoming 

 increasingly important. In most parts of the country, 

 it costs as much, or more, to keep a team of horses as it 

 does to keep a man. The best way to economize 

 in the use of horses is to keep them employed. It is 

 difficult to keep horses busy if the farm is too small. 



Table 46 7or Tompkins County, New York, shows how 

 the number of horses increases with the size of farm. Colts 



30 



10 



80 



120 



\bO 



10 



w 



FIG. 64. Relation of size of farm to acres fanned by a horse. 



1 The Census of 1900 reported 18,276,551 horses and mules 2 years 

 old or older, and reported 1,727,672 as 1 and under 2 years old. Horses 

 and mules increased at the rate of 395,807 per year from 1890 to 1900. 

 We may, therefore, assume that there were about 1,331,865 two and under 

 3 years old. This would give about 16,945,000 three years old or older. 



