16 



BULLETIN 735, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Of the 302 growers who floated their land, 205 used 4-horse teams. 

 The cost of floating with crews of different sizes can not be used for 

 any practical application, for the men using the greater number of 

 horses invariably have the heavier floats. These heavier floats usu- 

 ally accomplish more in the way of smoothing and firming, the seed 

 bed than the lighter floats for an equal number of operations. 



HARROWING PRACTICE. 



It required an average of 1.75 hours of man labor and 5.75 hours 

 of horse labor to harrow an acre. All of the farmers harrowed their 

 land in preparing the seed bed for beets ; 246 growers used 2-section 

 harrows, and 49 used 3-section harrows, while 13 used harrows of 

 unclassified types. (Fig. 3.) 



Fig. 3. 



-A 4-horse team harrowing a field of sugar beets. 



labor. 



This crew economizes man 



Of the total number of growers, 31 harrowed their land but once, 

 158 harrowed twice, 70 harrowed 3 times, 34 harrowed 4 times, 4 

 harrowed 5 times, 4 harrowed 6 times, 2 harrowed 7 times, and 1 

 harrowed 10 times. The average field was harrowed 2.44 times, at 

 an average cost of 38 cents per acre, or a total cost of 93 cents per 

 acre. 



Harrowing varied a great deal on the various farms, owing to 

 two causes. The type of soil has a great deal to do with the number 

 of harrowings that are necessary, and in this region the growers 

 who use disks, drags, and levels do not use the harrow so much as 

 those who have less machinery of this sort and who use the harrow 

 as a sort of float or level by turning the teetli horizontal to the sur- 

 face of the ground. The first harrowing of the land is usually done 

 immediately after plowing. A man will harrow once what is plowed 



