8 BULLETIN 627, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



being influenced by the number of acres cut annually, and the care 

 given it when idle. Where a binder covers a large acreage each year 

 the acres cut with one canvas may be twice as great as with a binder 

 used on only a small number of acres each year, as it deteriorates 

 whether used or not. If properly protected when idle, a binder can- 

 vas should cut from 400 to 800 acres and perhaps in some cases 1,000 

 acres. 



In western Xew York (see United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture Bulletin 338) it was found that it cost nearly 60 cents per day of 

 use to keep a grain binder in repair, or 0.058 cent per acre cut, and 

 that before a binder is worn out 25 per cent of its first cost, on an 

 average, must be spent to keep it in running order. 



The percentage of the first cost represented bj^ repairs is usually 

 less for small binders than for the larger sizes, because of the much 

 smaller amount of work ordinarily done by them during their years 

 of service, while their first cost is only slightly less than for the 

 larger sizes. It is believed that 20 per cent of the first cost for six- 

 foot binders, 25 per cent for seven-foot, and - 30 per cent for eight- 

 foot machines will approximate the average repairs required for 

 these outfits. Repair charges for six-, seven-, and eight-foot binders 

 figured on this basis are shown in Table IV. 



In the eighth column of Table V the approximate cost of binder 

 twine per acre will be found. This varies, of course, with the yield 

 of straw. The twine required in the West is usually about 2§ 

 pounds per acre, while in the East the average is nearer 3 pounds. 

 The cost per pound is generally slightly higher in the West than in 

 the East, but it has been figured in all cases on the basis of 3 pounds 

 per acre, and as costing 11 cents per pound, which is a little higher 

 than the average price in the East during the season of 1916 but 

 slightly less than the retail price to the western farmer during the 

 same season. 



From the figures given in Tables I to IV, inclusive (to which the 

 twine cost must be added, as well as cost for shelter, if any) , it is an 

 easy matter to calculate the comparative cost of cutting an acre of 

 wheat with a six-, seven-, or eight-foot binder. The figures from the 

 tables mentioned (excepting the shelter cost) have accordingly been 

 summarized in Table V and show that the cost of cutting an acre of 

 wheat ranges from 88.4 cents where an eight-foot binder is used to 

 $1,173 for a six-foot binder, each machine being drawn by four 

 horses. In other words, the expense of cutting an acre of wheat 

 with the smaller outfit is nearly 33 per cent greater than where the 

 larger binder is used. The figure in which the farmer is most inter- 

 ested, however, is the cost per bushel, which is readily found by 

 dividing the cost per acre by the average yield. In the last column 

 in Table V are given the costs per bushel for the different sized out- 

 fits, based on a yield of 16 bushels per acre, which is about the average 

 yield for the country as a whole. This shows approximately 7 



