346 FARM MANAGEMENT 



be even more important than economy of man labor. 

 The chief reason for the high cost of horse labor is the large 

 amount of time that horses do not work. On the farms in 

 Minnesota, the horses averaged a little over 3 hours a day 

 for 300 days. On farm No. 3 in New York, an unusually 

 well-organized farm, they worked 4.9 hours. This farmer 



HOURS 

 1000 



aoo 



Nov. Dec. 



1- IG. 74. Distribution of horse labor on farm No. 1. Seven horses kept. 

 If done at the proper time, the work could be better done with 5 horses. 

 Black is work fixed as to time. White is work that might have been 

 done at some other time. 



is the one previously mentioned who kept lists of work for 

 all kinds of weather, so that all odd jobs were done when 

 teams could not work. A farmer should look upon an idle 

 team in the barn in exactly the same way as he looks upon 

 a hired-man asleep in the hay mow. If the high cost of 

 horse labor were realized, horses would be worked more. 

 The chief reason why it is not realized is because the cost 

 has suddenly increased with the rise in value of feed and 

 labor, and farmers have not yet realized the change. 

 220. Ways of saving horse labor. There are many 



