24 



BULLETIN 997, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



BELT WORK. 



The use of the tractor for belt work does not influence horse labor 

 and should really be considered a separate enterprise. However, the 

 doing of such work with the tractor adds to its usefulness and reduces 

 the cost per day of work for such items as depreciation, interest, and 

 repairs. As shown in Table 10, these 286 tractors were used an 

 average of 2.7 days for belt work on the home farm during the year. 

 However, 91, nearly a third, of the 286 were used for no belt work 

 on the home farm during the year. 



Table 11 shows that on the average the 3-plow tractors were used 

 considerably more for belt work than the 2-plow machines. Eighty- 

 five or 82 per cent of the 104 three-plow machines and only 103 or 

 59 per cent of the 174 two-plow machines were used for belt work 

 on the home farm during the year. (See fig. 7.) Table 19 shows 



Fig. 7. — Three-plow machines were used more for belt work than the two-plow machines. 



the number of men who used their tractors for different kinds of belt 

 work during the year and the average time spent on each kind 

 of work: 



Table 19. — Belt work on home farm. 



Operation. 



Sawing wood . 

 Grinding feed 

 Filling silos... 

 Thrashing 



Number 

 perform- 

 ing. 



110 



101 

 58 



in 



Days 

 used. 



1.4 

 1.5 



1.8 

 3.2 



Operation. 



Shredding... 

 Shelling corn 

 Other work. . 



Number 

 perform- 

 ing. 



Pays 

 used. 



3.8 

 1.1 



2.5 



A large number of the men who sawed wood or ground feed during 

 the year used their tractors for this work. A few owned small 

 stationary engines which were used. On the average 1.4 full days 

 was sufficient for sawing the year's supply of firewood and 1.5 days 



