COST OF HARVESTING WHEAT. 3 



applicable to many particular cases, should be of considerable value 

 to farmers who are interested in cutting down their harvesting 

 expenses; by showing them where the greatest expenses commonly are 

 incurred. 



THE BINDER. 



By far the largest percentage of the wheat crop of the country 

 is to-day harvested with the binder, the use of this machine being 

 almost universal. Although headers are used in large numbers and 

 over a wide area through the Middle West and West, binders also 

 are used throughout the same area, it being quite common to find 

 both machines on one farm. In some seasons only the binder will be 

 used, in others only the header, while often both will be used, de- 

 pending upon conditions which will be referred to later. The only 

 wheat-growing sections where the binder is not used on the greater 

 part of the crop are in the States of Washington, Oregon, and Cali- 

 fornia, and parts of Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, where 

 much of the wheat is cut and thrashed with combined harvesters 

 (see pp. 18 to 22), although even where these outfits are commonly 

 used binders also are employed to some extent. (See PI. I, fig. 1.) 



The cost of harvesting may be somewhat greater where the binder 

 is used than where the work is done with headers or combined har- 

 vesters. The binder, however, has a distinct advantage over these 

 machines in that the work of harvesting may be begun from one to 

 two weeks earlier with the binder than with either the header or 

 combine, since wheat can be cut with a binder while in the early 

 dough stage and placed in shocks to complete ripening; at the same 

 time it is comparatively safe from destruction by storms. This fea- 

 ture is a very valuable one in many cases, not only for the reason just 

 given but also because it permits the work of harvesting to be ex- 

 tended over a much longer period than with the other machines men- 

 tioned, thus requiring fewer horses and men to harvest a given 

 acreage. 



DUTY. 



The cost of harvesting wheat with a binder varies considerably, 

 being influenced bj the several factors mentioned below. Data have 

 been collected showing the daily duty of six-, seven-, and eight-foot 

 binders, and the results of the tabulation of these data are shown in 

 Table I. By this it will be seen that the six-foot binder is most com- 

 monly drawn by three horses, while on the seven- foot cut four horses 

 are generally used. On the eight-foot binder, the use of four horses 

 is practically universal. On the six-foot binder, the extra horse 

 appears to make but a little over an acre's difference in the quantity 

 of work done per day. The six-foot binder apparently does not over- 

 load three horses except where the yield is exceptionally heavj^, or 



