﻿40 



BULLETIN 3, TJ. S. DEPABTMENT OF AGBICULTUBE. 



MISCELLANEOUS WORK. 



In Table XLIV the average data for picking apples and strawber- 

 ries, for scooping grain, and for milking cows are tabulated. The 

 duty of one man in picking apples ranges from 34 bushels where the 

 trees yield less than 10 bushels each to 45 bushels where the yield 

 per tree is over 10 bushels. The reports for picking strawberries 

 ranged from 50 to 200 quarts, a wide variation explained by the 

 equally wide variation in yields at different seasons and at different 

 pickings in the same season, also by the practice of paying by the 

 quart, so that growers are not put to the necessity of knowing how 

 much the laborer earns at such work. At the average rate reported 

 for scooping grain it would be necessary to handle 1J bushels or 

 about 6 to 8 scoopfuls each minute, a rate that can be greatly 

 exceeded, if necessary, in intermittent work of this character. While 

 the average for 1,014 reports on milking cows can doubtless be taken 

 as reasonably conclusive, for practical purposes a reduction of 10 per 

 cent, placing the hourly duty for this operation at 7 cows per hour, 

 should be found more acceptable. 



Table XLIV. — A normal day's work in miscellaneous operations, giving the average 

 work factors in terms of designated units per man per day or hour. 



Operation. 



Picking apples 



Picking strawberries. 



Scooping grain 



Milking cows 



Net hours 

 at work. 



9.58 



Conditions. 



(1 to 10 bushels per tree. . 

 \Over 10 bushels per tree. 



A t average yields 



From bin or box 



Hows per hour 



Work factors. 



Daily. 



33. 96 bushels 



44. 84 bushels 



99. 71 quarts 



Hourly. 



2. 47 tons 

 7.94 



Number 



221 

 161 

 105 

 480 

 1,014 



HAULING FARM PRODUCE TO MARKET. 



In Table XLV data on the operation of loading, hauling to market, 

 and unloading certain farm commodities have been assembled by 

 distance to market and expressed in loads per day for each distance. 

 Inspection of the averages for each product shows a fairly uniform 

 decrease with increasing distance, with the exception of 8 instances 

 out of 100, these exceptions being in cases where very few reports 

 were made. The average for all commodities shows no irregularities. 

 The number of loads hauled daily is seen to vary with the time taken 

 to load and unload or with the nature of the product or manner of 

 handling it. From the limited number who reported for distances 

 greater than 10 miles it appears that smaller loads are hauled for this 

 than for the shorter distances, doubtless on account of poorer roads 

 and greater grades in the more remote localities. The average 



