REQUIREMENTS OF FIELD CROPS. 33 



In Table 21 are summarized the average labor and material 

 requirements for all districts. The methods of handling the crop 

 showed considerable variation even within the same region. The 

 labor requirements represent the prevailing practices on the farms 

 that were operated exclusively with horsepower. 



In Thomas and Pawnee Counties, Kans., and Woodward County, 

 Okla., the requirements are for headed grain, while in all other dis- 

 tricts they are for grain cut with a binder. The labor requirements 

 for the two Missouri districts, and Gage and Clay Counties, Nebr., are 

 for conditions where all bundle haulers and field pitchers were fur- 

 nished by the farmer. In Cheyenne County, Nebr., and for the 

 shock thrashing in McPherson County, Kans., the farmer furnished no 

 labor except the bundle haulers. In Pawnee County, and for the 

 stack thrashing in McPherson County and the two Oklahoma dis- 

 tricts, the requirements include no time for thrashing, which was all 

 done by contract. 



A division of the labor as to land preparation and seeding, and 

 harvesting and marketing, indicates that the man-hours for the 

 latter were slightly greater than for the former, while the horse-hours 

 for seed-bed preparation and seeding exceeded those required for 

 harvesting and marketing in all cases except for volunteer wheat in 

 Thomas County, Kans. The man-labor and horse-labor require- 

 ments were highest in the two Missouri districts, where a relatively 

 large percentage of the acreage was covered with tillage implements 

 which were smaller than those used in other districts. Furthermore, 

 in Missouri the farmers furnished a greater percentage of the tin-ashing 

 crew. 



The seed requirements per acre were governed mainly by the 



amount of annual rainfall. The rate of seeding ranged from an 



average of 0.74 of a bushel in Thomas County, Kans., a region of 



limited rainfall, co 1.30 bushels in Pike County, Mo., a region of 



abundant rainfall. The acre use of binder twine ranged from an 



average of 1.5 pounds in Pike County, Mo., to 2.5 pounds in Garfield 



County, Okla. 



OATS. 



Oats do not require so loose a seed bed as many of the other farm 

 crops, and for this reason they are often sown on corn land without 

 plowing. On the farms for which figures are available the following 

 percentages of land were plowed : North Dakota, 92 ; Wisconsin, 80 ; 

 Ohio, 80; Minnesota, 75; New York, 50; Illinois, 11. (See Table 22.) 



