306 Cooperation in Agriculture 



would mean, of course, that an operator could attend to 

 fewer lines than had formerly been the case. With 20 

 subscribers, each of whom gave but three calls a day, 

 there would be but 60 calls, so that the operator would 

 have a great deal of spare time, and would not need to 

 stay at the switchboard, but could go to it when the bell 

 rang. With 300 subscribers, and an average of 10 calls 

 a day for each subscriber, the number of calls daily would 

 be 3000. If these calls were distributed equally over the 

 entire day, they could still be handled by one girl without 

 difficulty if she gave her entire time, but telephone calls, 

 even in rural districts, are not so distributed. The morn- 

 ing is apt to be a busy time on the farm lines, when business 

 is being transacted with the adjoining town, plans made 

 with neighbors, and orders given of one kind and another. 

 A practical lull then ensues during the major part of the 

 day, followed by a sudden rush of business about supper 

 time, when the telephone visiting begins and the members 

 of the farm-line telephone associations discuss all the 

 events of the day and happenings past, present, and to 

 come, and make appointments for business and for pleas- 

 ure. During this time the farmers' telephone board is a 

 very busy place, so that the number of patrons a single 

 operator can attend to is smaller, and consequently more 

 operators must be employed to handle the calls. As the 

 number of subscribers and of calls increases, this demand 

 upon the operator becomes such that each must be given 

 fewer and fewer lines to attend, especially if their lines 

 are frequently used, so that where one girl might in the 

 early stages of telephone development easily attend to 

 100 or even 150 lines, a point is reached where a girl 



