60 BULLETIN 997, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGPJCULTURE. 



Table 48. — Increase in investment due to purchase of tractor. 



Item. 



2-plow 

 tractors. 



3-plow 

 tractors. 



All 

 tractors. 





S972 

 271 



SI, 354 

 430 



81,140 





343 







Total 



1,243 



1,784 



1,483 









317 

 11 



317 



14 



317 





12 







Total 



328 



331 



329 









915 



1,453 



1,154 







In all 67 men disposed of some of their horse-drawn implements 

 after purchasing tractors, and the average amount received by these 

 67 men for such implements was $51. As shown in the table, this 

 item amounted to an average of $12 for all farms. Most of the im- 

 plements sold were plows and disks. Many farmers who did not 

 sell any horse-drawn equipment stated that they had not used some 

 of their old equipment since the purchase of tractors, but at best the 

 value of the implements which could have been sold was small as 

 compared with the other items shown in the table. 



While the purchase of tractors resulted in an increase in invest- 

 ment of more than $1,000 on the average, the cost per year of power 

 for operating the farms did not increase. The cost of the drawbar 

 work done by the average tractor during the year of the investigation 

 was equal to the cost of keeping 2.1 head of work stock, but 2.2 head 

 had been displaced on the average farm, and the cost per head of 

 keeping the remaining work stock was somewhat less than it would 

 have been if tractors had not been owned. 



SAVING OF MAN LABOR DUE TO USE OF TRACTORS. 



The total amount of man labor used for the operation of these 

 farms before tractors were purchased was not obtained and conse- 

 quently it is impossible to give definite figures as to the saving of 

 man labor effected by the tractors on individual farms. However, a 

 comparison of the accomplishment of the tractors with that of one 

 man when using horses should give an indication of the average 

 reduction in man labor effected by the tractors. 



The acres covered per day by the 2-plow and the 3-plow tractors 

 at the different drawbar operations are given in Table 12 (page 16), 

 and the daily duty of one man in the different areas when using 

 horses for spring and fall plowing, disking, harrowing, etc., and cut- 

 ting grain is given in Table 49. 



