MANAGEMENT IN TRACTION PLOWING 247 



Fifteen minutes' delay to adjust a plow, or to find and tighten 

 a loose bolt, means over 25 cents lost in labor and overhead 

 charges, besides a greater loss from the acreage not plowed 

 in season. With a steam outfit the loss in even greater. 



Men buy plowing engines to cheapen costs and insure the 

 handling of large areas. Capacity is at a premium. With a 

 gas tractor capable of plowing 15 to 25 acres per day the most 

 costly item may lie in saving the wages of one man. One man 

 alone can frequently run an outfit, but the overhead expense 

 on the outfit is often equal to the wages of two. Every moment 

 of the engine's time that can be saved by having an extra man 

 to handle the plows, change shares, run errands, or help about 

 the engine, represents money saved in overhead charges, and 

 in addition to the returns at harvest time. Not only that, 

 but the presence of a second man makes work easier and more 

 attractive to both, if not through the occasional exchange of 

 places, then through the mere fact of companionship. In the 

 past the isolation of the solitary, trudging plowman added 

 immeasurably to the drudgery of it all. 



In hiring labor, it is desirable to hire by the month, as in this 

 case the owner has the services of the crew during the seasons 

 of enforced idleness, without extra charge, while the very 

 fact that laborers are paid by the month insures greater per- 

 manence. Board is usually furnished by the month, and there 

 is no reason why wages should not be paid on a similar basis. 

 By good management, the entire crew could be kept busy on 

 rainy days, and considerable time may be well spent in over- 

 hauling the equipment. When wages are paid by the day, 

 this work is too often neglected. 



It is even better to pay a flat rate as a basis, and a bonus for 

 extra performance. One large farm pays a flat rate per acre 

 for the engineer and plowman, then allows the crew a bonus 

 above the ordinary rate for the whole number of acres plowed, 

 if the daily acreage exceeds a given amount. Thus the laborer 

 not only gets full wages for extra output but a bonus which 





