32 



BULLETIN 726, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



1914 and 1915. The usual contract price for the blocking and thin- 

 ning in northern Colorado during 1914-15 was $6 per acre (fig. 13). 

 It will be seen that the estimated cost for those farms where the 

 operator did this work himself was somewhat lower than the con- 

 tract price. This was also true of hoeing. 



Hoeing. — There were 28 farms in the Rocky Ford section, 23 at 

 Fort Morgan, and 32 at Greeley that reported on hoeing practice. 

 Practically two hoeings were given in addition to the blocking. It 

 required 10.2 man-hours per acre, to do the hoeing on the Rocky 

 Ford farms in 1914 and 1915, and the cost was $1.84 per acre. The 

 Fort Morgan growers spent 12.2 hours per acre in 1915, involving a 

 cost of $2.33, while at Greeley, in 1914 and 1915, 10.9 hours per 

 acre were consumed in doing the hoeing, and the cost was $2.07. 



The contract acre rate for the second and third hoeings at Greeley 

 and Fort Morgan was $2 and $1, respectively. It will be observed 

 that the estimated cost for hoeing was much less than the contract 

 labor rate. The time for hoeing extended from May to August 

 (fig. 14). 



CULTIVATION. 



As soon as the plants show four leaves, before blocking and thin- 

 ning, the first cultivation is given (Table XVIII). The cultivator is 

 equipped with L-shaped knives for cutting a small amount of earth 

 away from the row (fig. 15). A small duck foot is used to stir the 



