BARLEY IN THE GREAT PLAINS AREA. 9 



The remainder of the field is in rotations in which each plat is 

 known by a rotation number and letter. On the field diagram the 

 separation of the rotations is indicated by heavy lines. 



The movement of the crops in the rotation is in the direction from 

 Z to A and from A back to the letter that marks the other end of the 

 rotation. 



In figure 2 the diagram is filled out to show the cropping in 1914. 

 The letters following the crop indicate the treatment given the ground 

 in preparation for it, S. P. standing for spring plowed, F. P. for fall 

 plowed, Fal. for summer tilled, G. M. for green manured, S. S. for 

 subsoiled, L. for listed, and D. for disked. To illustrate: In 1914 

 plat A of the 4-year rotation No. 91 was in corn on fall-plowed 

 ground, plat B was in oats on disked corn ground, and plat C was in 

 peas on fall-plowed land. This would be plowed under for green 

 manure. Plat D was in winter wheat where peas had been turned 

 under the year before. In 1915, A will be in oats, B in peas, C in 

 winter wheat, and D in corn. 



COMPARISON OF CULTURAL METHODS ON THE BASIS OF COST. 



The methods under study vary a great deal in the labor involved 

 and in the consequent cost of preparation. Table IV has therefore 

 been compiled in order to show the average cost by the methods under 

 study as determined from the data of eight of the stations having the 

 most trustworthy records. An average of the records for 5§ years 

 at each station has been used in compiling this table. This is equiva- 

 lent to a record of 44 years at one station. An accurate record has 

 been kept of all the farm operations performed under the various 

 methods under trial. These have been averaged for the eight stations. 

 The amount of work required for some methods of treatment varies 

 with the season and with the soil, and the expense of some operations 

 varies with the soil. The amount of labor performed under each of 

 the methods was neither more nor less than that which the man in 

 charge believed to be necessary to bring about the results sought. 



In computing the costs of the various operations a fixed wage of 

 $2 a day for a man and $1 a day for a horse was adopted. This 

 may be above or below the actual labor cost in any particular locality, 

 but it is believed to be a fair average and one that will afford a prof- 

 itable market to the farmer for his labor. The time required for 

 men and teams to cover a given acreage in each of the several farm 

 operations obviously varies with soils and other conditions. The 

 average shown in Table II has been determined from the actual ex- 

 perience of a large number of men connected with these investigations, 

 which experience has extended over a wide range of conditions and 

 many years of time. 



87710°— Bull. 222—15 2 



