70 



POWER AND THE PLOW 



l For California expressed hi barrels of crude oil; elsewhere in pounds of coal. 



2 For California expressed hi gallons; elsewhere hi the United States in barrels 

 of 31.5 gallons. 



The data for 1907 and 1908 under column 2 are much nearer the figures 

 contained hi first-hand reports from the Northwest and Canada, as is to be 

 expected hi view of the time covered by the latter. For these two years the 

 averages of data contained in 118 letters show the size of the engine to be 27.7 

 horsepower; number of plows, 9.09; width of furrow, 10.6 feet; miles a day, 

 16.75; acres a day, 21.52; number of men, 4.53; number of horses, 3.57; quantity 

 of coal a day, 3245 Ibs.; quantity of coal for each acre, 150.8 Ibs. 



It will be noted that from three to six men are needed in 

 operating a steam plowing outfit. A full crew would consist 

 of an engineer, fireman, plowman, cook, and two or more 

 men with teams to haul coal and water. Wages range from 

 $1.75 for ordinary help to $4 or $5 a day for the engineer, though 

 many receive more than that. Horses cost about $1.00 a 

 day each, and board costs from 50 cents to 75 cents for each 

 man. The Bulletin just quoted estimates the cost of steam 

 plowing in 1907 and 1908 at 85.3 cents per acre in California, 

 $1.14 in the Southwest, and $1.73 in the Northwest, aver- 

 aging the entire season's run of both sod breaking and stubble 

 plowing, and figuring all overhead charges on the basis of 

 about seven years' life of equipment. With gas tractors of 

 smaller size, under the same conditions, the cost was estimated 

 at $1.12 for the Southwest and $1.46 for the Northwest, the 

 differences being due largely to the more rapid work accom- 

 plished with disk plows and a lower cost per unit of fuel. 



