FARM PRACTICE I1ST PRODUCTION OF HAY. 5 



both areas, averaging in 1915 about $2.15 per acre and $1.41 per 

 ton for the first crop of hay. (See Table V.) 



The average life of the meadow, including years used for pasture, 

 is 0.68 year longer for the Pennsylvania farms than for the New 

 York farms. The cost of seed per ton per year of meadow life is 7 

 cents less for the Pennsylvania group than for the New York group. 



The yield per acre has an important bearing on the seed cost per 



ton of hay. In the New York area, for example, where the lowest 



yield found on an individual farm was 1 ton per acre, and the highest 



3 tons per acre, the seed cost per ton of hay is $0.62 for the 1-ton- 



per-acre farm, while the seed cost for the 3-ton-per-acre farm is 



only $0.20. 



Table V. — Cost of seed and amount sown in 1915. 



Item. 



Amount of timothy sown, per acre: 



Pounds 



Quarts 



Cost of timothy seed, per acre, at $3.40 per bushel 

 Amount of clover sown, per acre: 



Pounds 



Quarts 



Cost of seed, per acre, at $9.25 per bushel 



Cost of timothy and clover seed, per acre 



Cost of seed per year during life of meadow: 



Per acre 



Per ton 



37 farms in 



Washing- , 



ton County, 



10.50 



7.47 



$0. 793 



9.09 



4.85 

 $1,491 

 $2. 194 



$0. 535 

 .343 



MOWING. 



In the New York area the 5-foot mower is used almost exclusively. 

 Only a few 6-foot mowers and no 7-foot mowers are used. In the 

 Pennsylvania area the 6-foot mower predominates, though a few 

 7-foot machines ^are used. The hay cut per hour, however, is about 

 the same for each State, averaging 1 ton. The acreage grown per 

 farm in the New York group is about two-thirds more than the 

 average per farm in the Pennsylvania group. In Pennsylvania, 

 while a larger mower is used, the fields are smaller, which necessitates 

 more waste time in mowing. Another factor that would tend to 

 decrease the amount mowed per hour in Pennsylvania is that the 

 surface is more broken. The hills are steeper in general than in New 

 York, where the topography is more gently sloping. The cost per 

 ton for labor for mowing is about 28 cents in each case. (See 

 Table VI.) 



