COST OF HARVESTING WHEAT. 



19 



thirty or more horses to pull them, which added considerably to the 

 expense, as many extra horses had to be maintained throughout the 

 entire year so as to be available at harvest time. Of late years the 

 smaller outfits have been increasing in number very rapidly. These 

 small rigs are entirely practicable on small areas, since their price 

 is lower than for the larger types, and their weight is so much less 

 that fewer horses are required to operate them. (See PL II, fig. 2.) 

 The amount of work done per day with the different sized outfits 

 is shown in Table IX. 



Table IX. — Acres cut and bushels thrashed by different sized combines in a 

 10-hour day. {65 reports.) 



Width of combines, and horses used. 



Acres per 10-hour day. 



Bushels 









thrashed 

 per day 









Per com- 



Per 



Per foot 



(30-bushel 



bine. 



horse. 



of cut. 



yield). 



12.4 



1.55 



1.77 



372 



13.6 



1.36 



1.51 



408 



19.9 



.90 



1.66 



597 



20.6 



.86 



1.47 



618 



27.0 



96 



1.69 



810 



31.0 



1.03 



1.72 



930 



34.0 



1.13 



1.70 



1,0~0 



42.0 



1.17 



1.75 



1,260 



Usual 

 number 



of men 

 in crew. 



7 feet, 

 9 feet, 

 12 feet 

 14 feet 

 16 feet 

 18 feet 

 20 feet 

 24 feet 



8 horses . . . 

 10 horses . . 

 , 22 horses . 

 , 24 horses . 

 , 28 horses . 

 , 30 horses . 

 , 30 horses. 

 , 36 horses . 



2 

 2 



4 or 5 



5 

 5 

 5 



5 or 6 

 5 or 6 



Note. — The number of horses used on the different sizes of combines varies considerably according to 

 the yield of wheat, the condition of the soil, the topography of the field, and the particular type or make 

 of machine. The figures shown in the first column are about the most common teams for the sizes given; 

 the number used in mdtvidusl cases on the larger outfits are frequently from 1 to 4 above or below the 

 figures given. 



From this it will be seen that there is considerable irregularity in 

 the number of acres cut per day by the different sized outfits, which 

 is due probably to the small number averaged in most of the groups. 

 The yield per acre usually makes but little difference in the acres 

 covered per day except as mentioned below, since the machines must 

 be kept moving at a certain speed in order to do good work. There- 

 fore, in heavy grain, on hilly land, soft ground, etc., it is often 

 necessary to use extra horses in order to keep the outfit moving at 

 the required speed. If the additional horses are not available heavy 

 pulling will cut down the amount of work done per day because of 

 the more frequent resting of the horses that will be necessary. 



In the fifth column of Table IX is shown the number of bushels 

 thrashed per day by the outfits of different sizes based on a yield of 

 30 bushels, which is close to the average yield in the sections where 

 combines are used. The seven- and nine-foot machines usually are 

 operated by two men, one driving and regulating the height of the 

 cutter-bar according to the height of the grain, the other bagging 

 the thrashed wheat and sewing the sacks. The number of bushels 

 thrashed per day per man with the outfits requiring only two men 

 to operate them is considerably higher than with the larger machines 

 which require four or five men, with the exception of the very 



